U.S. to cut funds for water testing at beaches

Health testing at beaches in California and across the nation is at risk of being cut under a plan to eliminate federal funds for monitoring whether the water is too contaminated to swim in.

Citing the "difficult financial climate," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in its budget request this week that it would do away with $10 million in grants it gives each year to state and local agencies in coastal and Great Lakes states to test for tainted water.

"While beach monitoring continues to be important to protect human health and especially sensitive individuals," the EPA said in an emailed statement, "states and local governments now have the technical expertise and procedures to continue beach monitoring without federal support."

But state and local officials have struggled to pay for health testing along California's busy coastline in recent years, and water quality advocates worry that swimmers and surfers will be at even greater risk of getting sick if the federal funds evaporate.

The proposed cuts come as the agency is drafting new nationwide beach water quality standards, which have been panned by environmental groups as being even weaker than the 1986 rules they replace.

"It feels like a double whammy to beachgoers," said Kirsten James, water quality director for Santa Monica environmental group Heal the Bay. "The EPA is on multiple levels telling them they are swimming at their own risk every time they go to the beach."

The EPA has paid $111 million for beach water quality testing over the last dozen years through the grant program authorized by Congress in the 2000 BEACH Act. "As a result, the number of monitored beaches has more than tripled to more than 3,600 in 2010," the agency announced last month.

The grants slated for elimination pay for local health and environmental protection agencies to conduct water quality tests and post warning signs or even close the beach when bacteria levels indicate the water is too contaminated.

Swimming in polluted water exposes people to pathogens that can cause gastrointestinal illness, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes and ear, eye and staph infections.

California is eligible for about $500,000 each year, second only to Florida, and uses the EPA funds to supplement beach water monitoring up and down the coast.

"The cut could reduce the amount of testing unless other funding sources are found," Judie Panneton, a spokeswoman for the state water board, wrote in an email.

State and county budget cuts have in recent years led California beaches to scale back testing, though a law signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown restored funding at the state level, giving the water board authority to provide up to $1.8 million a year to pay for more consistent testing at hundreds of beaches.

Environmental groups said they would press the EPA to restore money for beach monitoring and strengthen water quality standards as they try to determine which states might see their testing programs curtailed without federal funds.

"The potential is that states will decrease the number of beaches they monitor, the frequency or cut back on resources they use to notify the public about conditions at the beach," said Jon Devine, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program.

"We'd likely see a reduction in information about an important public health concern," he added.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/71UjhaSZPBU/la-me-0216-beach-testing-20120216,0,3010031.story

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How to Replace a Lost Boating License in Ontario - Artipot

One of the realities of boating in Ontario is having the proper boating license. It's a requirement for anyone operating a pleasure craft on the water in all of Canada to have taken and passed the boat exam. Having one in Ontario ensures that you're in compliance with the necessary regulations and that you have all the necessary skills and knowledge to be out on the water.

There are many elements to boating that are important to know when you're in control of any kind of boat. Lakes and rivers can be quite busy, especially during the summer months, and safe boating practices will minimize accidents and cut down on boating injuries and fatalities. Having authorization in Ontario enables you to enjoy your time on the water and know that everyone else out there has taken the same boat exam as you.

If the police approach you while you're in control of a boat, you must present your boating license when asked. They may be doing a routine check, you may have been exhibiting some suspicious behavior, or someone may have complained about your boating technique. Either way, if you're asked, you must produce it or face the possibility of a fine. If you lose your verification, there are a few things you can do to ensure you have it by the next time you head out on the water. It's best if you take measures to have it replaced, so you won't run into any trouble when you're out on the water.

The way to replace your boating license is to visit the actual Ontario provider where you got the original. If you have trouble remembering, try a few tips to jog your memory. If you took the exam with anyone else, you could ask him or her for the information. If you kept your receipt from the exam, the name of the place should be on that. The best way to have your boating license replaced if you lose it is to make a photocopy of it when it's issued to you. That way, you'll have a copy to show any authorities, if necessary and all of the information for a real replacement will be right there.

Of course, the best way to keep a copy is to not lose it in the first place. Keep it in a safe place on your boat, or even in your wallet. At the very least, make a couple copies after you take your boat exam, so there is always an easy way to show that you actually have one. It is pretty easy to misplace things when you're having fun on the water, and equally easy to drop things right into the lake. Take some precautions at the start, then if you lose your boating license, it won't be a big deal at all.

About the Author

Fun and safety go hand in hand. Get your boating exam the easy and safe way.

Source: http://www.artipot.com/articles/1156536/how-to-replace-a-lost-boating-license-in-ontario.htm

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Public Speaking ? Creating Value Through Personal Interaction

Public speaking serves many purposes, first of which is providing information to an audience. However, this purpose often serves another master, promotion. Clearly, a public speaker only has an audience if people are interested in gaining insight and information about the topic(s) being covered, but the speaker must find value in sharing that information as well.

For many speakers, the value is intellectual, sharing of knowledge for the betterment of mankind or the expansion of knowledge in a particular field. For others it is to foster an increase in discussion and debate about a particular discipline or topic. In still other cases, the goal of speaking is to increase interest in a topic, concept, research area or product. This is the main focus of this article, the use of public speaking to increase the fiscal interests of the speaker or the entity which the speaker represents.

Examples of this application of public speaking are widespread and varied.

Authors are frequently sent on speaking engagements to build interest in their literary works. Examples of this on a small scale would be local author events at small bookstores and at larger chains. On a greater scale, appearances on major TV programs, like Oprah or Good Morning America, and Radio Talk shows are used to promote their works. By adding a personal touch and a human face to the public, the audience is further engaged with the topic discussion. On more product oriented examples (as if books are not products), infomercials are a prime example of public speaking to increase value. Using studio audiences and interaction lends credibility to product claims. When an audience can see a product being used, with witnesses present, they are subconsciously more apt to believe the claims.

Feedback from the ?common man? or a regular person like themselves allows a consumer to feel more connected to a product.

Furthermore, well known spokespeople add comfortability to the mix. People tend to feel more at ease, and less skeptical, when they see or hear information from a known source. When Publisher?s Clearing House chose Ed McMahon as their spokesperson years ago, he was well known and popular from the Tonight Show. He made PCH a household name because his name was known to so many. He was also considered trustworthy and reliable, so that affect was passed along to PCH for a time. While the advertising medium is not often considered ?public speaking? the principle is important to understand none the less.

Why would a person want to take up public speaking as a matter of vocation? What is the underlying value for this? For some, the value can be clear cut. Top notch speakers can command substantial fees for their services or appearances. Former CEO?s and politicians can often obtain fees in the thousands of dollars, some into tens of thousands. Their experiences and areas of expertise draw enough interest and respect to garner serious financial value for them and informational value for their audiences. Various motivational and financial gurus also have clear value in their speaking engagements as sales pitches. They speak to sell ?systems? or philosophies which their audiences hope to turn into financial and life success. Once again the financial value to these speakers is often clearly tracked by actual product sales attributed to particular events.

For smaller reach speakers, like members of local speaker?s bureaus and organizations, the value can be less clear, but just as real. As a consultant, I choose to speak for a variety of reasons. First, each speaking occasion is an opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge base for perspective clients. Second, speaking increases my name recognition and my ?Brand.? Thirdly, speaking adds a face to the name, which makes my name and company more memorable. The more parts of the brain a person engages in interactions the more entrenched memories will be. While views and information can be transmitted by writing, as this article aims to do, how many readers will remember my name after they finish reading it? Even fewer will remember my face; if it is even shown with the article (it is available on my profile).

However, if I present the topic as a speaker, with a copy of the article, and interact personally with members of the audience through Q and A, many more people will remember all of these things. I would also be able to personally deliver contact information to clients and continue further interactions immediately. This is the main value of taking on public speaking engagements. Add to this the ability to receive immediate feedback and the value of public speaking becomes clear. Personal interaction should not be discounted. Donating time and information to organizations can also build bonds through a sense of obligation or indebtedness on the part of the group receiving it. Loyalty, in this sense, also known as goodwill, is a principle of such value that it is even accounted for financially in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP.

Public speaking holds the potential of great value for those who partake in it and for those who are in the audience. The skills required can be learned, so do not allow fear to keep this lucrative market tool from your arsenal. Use your knowledge and experience and share it to build your ?Brand? value in the market place. Be seen, be heard and be an asset that your potential consumers cannot afford to disregard. Name recognition is not just an asset for politicians and celebrities it is an asset for any entrepreneurs to build upon and enjoy.

To explore the Full Line of Anchor Audio Products visit Anchor Audio Warehouse at Public Address Systems
or call 1-800- 772-1605 to inquire about specific items or what products would match your sound system needs.
Scott Schwartz ? SDS Consulting Group ? Greenwich, CT ? 203-979-9822 ? Consulting & Speaking
Full service independent consultant. Services offered include Public Speaking, Training Programs, marketing campaigns and strategic planning at costs that small businesses can afford. Local source for small business outsourcing.

Source: http://www.1directory.net/writing-speaking/public-speaking-creating-value-through-personal-interaction-4706.html

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?It?s Hard to See Welfare Dependency When You?re Black? (Powerlineblog)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/199469288?client_source=feed&format=rss

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The Grammys 2012: Two Days Later - seattlepi.com

After a severe cut in ethnic Grammy categories, the Grammys 2012 don't look like a celebration of "music, truly universal and healing" anymore, to quote the night's host LL Cool J. Music may be still healing, helping us to deal with events like the untimely death of Whitney Houston, but it surely isn't universal, not at the Grammys 2012, at least, where besides rock, pop, rap, r&b and country, nothing else seems to exist. So what is left of the ceremony two days after?

Time To Attend Nature's Calls

Lady Gaga with a caged face staring at the stage ("the black one is the Queen," said my little daughter, and was wrong for the Queen of the night was beautiful Adele, with the best voice and makeup, cool as a cucumber even when she said "snot," gum-chewing and sweetly smiling). Gold-wrapped Bruno Mars. Chris Brown skipping on and off colorful blocks, parkour for nursery school (Is he the one who beat up his girlfriend? These r&b faces are interchangeable). Rihanna and Coldplay (did someone say Lana del Rey was bad on SNL?). Katy Perry (barely keeping her eyes open because of the darned lashes). David Guetta (music, what music?). Nikki Minaj - with her alter ego Roman - this girl has never been in serious trouble; otherwise, she wouldn't be treating the issues of good and evil with such frivolity, and rightfully angering many people).

The Real Deal

The hopeful beginning with Bruce Springsteen lamenting our lack of concern for the ones in need, conveniently placed first, in fear of not leaving an unpleasant aftertaste, God forbid, of social injustices and inconvenient truths. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt's touching tribute to Etta James. Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean. Foo Fighters (both the feisty open air performance and the moving speech about recording in a garage and acknowledging the "human factor" in music). Taylor Swift (simple and understated with a strong, timely song). Adele (effortless and well deserving the standing ovation she got). Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood (both cute). Paul McCartney (Sir Paul McCartney, apologies).

A Note To Producers

No matter how elaborate the productions, lavish the costumes, and ape-like the choreography, the people want music, and they won't be fooled. Two acts particularly - Adele and Foo Fighters - have proven on February 12, 2012, that a voice and a couple instruments are enough, even today. So cut the feathers and the Auto-Tune. What we could do with is a bit of Native American, or a Latin Jazz, or Cajun. Peace.

View the original article on blogcritics.org

Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/The-Grammys-2012-Two-Days-Later-3322206.php

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Santorum plans aggressive strategy against Romney (AP)

PORTLAND, Maine ? A day after Mitt Romney regained some momentum in the Republican presidential contest, his rival Rick Santorum went on the attack, calling the front-runner "desperate" while promising to compete aggressively to win the state where Romney grew up.

Santorum said Sunday he could do "exceptionally well" in Michigan, where Romney's father served as governor. The Midwestern state and Arizona host Republican presidential nominating contests on Feb. 28.

"We're going to spend a lot of time in Michigan and Arizona, and those are up next. And that's where we've really been focusing on," Santorum told ABC's "This Week." He suggested that a strong showing in those contests would make the presidential contest "a two-man race," dismissing current rivals Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

Santorum shrugged off his third-place finish Saturday in caucuses in Maine, where he didn't actively compete, as well as his second-place finish in a straw poll of conservative activists.

Romney has been painting Santorum as a long-time Washington insider who pursued home-state projects. Santorum on Sunday described Romney's recent criticism as "desperate."

"You reach a point where desperate people do desperate things," said Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania during his 16 years in Congress, first in the House and then in the Senate.

Maine GOP officials declared Romney the winner of Saturday's caucuses. The results ended a three-state losing streak to Santorum, who swept contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday.

With the next primaries more than two weeks away, the break seems unusually long in the rapid-fire race that's featured six contests in the last 14 days. Romney and his rivals now have 17 days to raise cash and bolster their organizations for what's shaping up to be a slog to the Republican nomination and the right to face President Barack Obama in November.

As Santorum eyes Michigan, Romney turns his attention to extending his huge cash advantage over his rivals.

The Massachusetts governor left Maine before the caucus results were announced to attend a West Coast fundraiser Saturday night. He issued a written statement to mark his victory in the low-turnout contest.

"I'm heartened to have the support of so many good people in this great state," Romney said in the statement. "The voters of Maine have sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House."

Romney is expected to spend much of next week courting donors, while sprinkling in a handful of campaign events. He'll be in Arizona Monday evening.

Romney won a plurality of the Maine vote just hours after winning the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington.

But questions about Romney's durability as his party's presumed front-runner persist. Fully 61 percent of Maine voters selected a candidate other than Massachusetts' former governor in a state practically in his backyard. And Romney's showing was down considerably from 2008, when he won 51 percent of the vote.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a prominent voice among some conservatives, said Romney has work to do to convince GOP voters he's moved beyond his "pretty moderate past ... even in some cases a liberal past."

"I am not convinced, and I do not think the majority of GOP and independent voters are convinced," Palin said on Fox News Sunday.

Romney has focused more on social issues in recent days. He has been particularly aggressive in criticizing Obama's recent decision regarding contraception.

On Friday, after three weeks of controversy that pitted the nation's Catholic bishops against the White House, Obama revised his policy. Instead of requiring church-affiliated nonprofit employers to cover free contraception with the health insurance they offer workers, the policy now requires insurance companies to provide free birth control coverage in separate agreements with workers who want it.

White House chief of staff Jack Lew defended the decision Sunday, noting that there is no longer room for compromise.

"This is our plan," he said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Santorum said the president's plan doesn't resolve the issue. He says many Catholic institutions are self-insured and those organizations will still be forced to pay for women's contraception despite their religious objections.

"There's no compromise here. They are forcing religious organizations, either directly or indirectly to pay for something that they find is a deeply, morally, you know, wrong thing," Santorum, a Catholic, told NBC's "Meet the Press."

The focus on social issues plays well for Santorum, who has long been considered a staunch cultural conservative. Those credentials helped fuel his success last week.

But he wasn't a factor in Maine, where Romney captured 39 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating Paul's 36 percent, state Republican chairman Charlie Webster said. Santorum and Gingrich, who didn't actively campaign in Maine, won 18 percent and 6 percent respectively.

It was a disappointing showing for Paul, who on Sunday suggested that there was virtually no difference between his rivals.

"All three of them have represented the same system, the same status quo," Paul said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

The Maine vote totals reflected about 84 percent of the state's precincts, with nearly 5,600 Republicans voting out of 258,000 registered. The contests scheduled for the coming days will not be counted, including an entire county that postponed its caucuses because of a snow storm.

"We were a little bit disappointed last night," Paul said, because he's done well in that county in the past and expected to do well Saturday.

Coming off last week's success, Santorum saw a surge in donations. His campaign reports gathering $3 million in the three days immediately following after last week's hat trick, but he's unlikely to catch Romney in the money race.

Santorum reported just $279,000 in the bank at the end of December, compared with Romney's $19.9 million. Gingrich had $2.1 million, but is still carrying substantial debt, while Paul reported $1.9 million.

Romney won 11 delegates and Paul 10, according to an analysis of the Maine results by The Associated Press. Santorum and Gingrich were shut out. That brings the delegate count to 123 for Romney, 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul, with 1,144 delegates needed for the nomination.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120213/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Officials: Gaza man killed in Israeli airstrike

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed a security guard in the Gaza Strip.

The security officials in Gaza say 71-year-old Abdelkareem Abu Zeituneh was guarding an orchard when his trailer was hit. They say three other people were wounded in Sunday's airstrike.

The Israeli military said in a statement that aircraft targeted tunnels and a weapons factory in response to rocket fire on southern Israel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-02-12-ML-Israel-Palestinians/id-eb15cc7bc43a41028db68c90f01e6d30

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