LOME, Togo (AP) ? A prosecutor says that Togolese authorities have ordered the provisionary release of the former chief executive officer of the French oil corporation Elf after six months of detention in the West African country.
Loik Le Floch-Prigent was arrested in Ivory Coast and extradited to Togo in September where he has been held since on charges of defrauding an Emirati businessman.
Prosecuting lawyer Essolissam Poyodi said Wednesday that Le Floch-Prigent was provisionally released for medical reasons and flew to France for treatment Tuesday. Poyodi said the Frenchman was still at the disposal of Togolese judiciary authorities.
The purported scam against Abass Al Youssef was for $48 million. Businessman Bertin Sow Agba and his cousin, former Togolese Interior Minister Pascal Bodjona, have also been implicated in the scam that has rocked Togo.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's property market is rife with speculation - both about rising house prices and about what the new government may do to curb them once it takes office next week.
Asset prices have whipsawed as investors first bet that government-mandated infrastructure spending would boost real estate prices, only to then fret about new measures to cool a market that has seen double-digit annual price rises in cities like Beijing and Shenzhen.
Markets appear more nervous than the government about the pace of price rises revealed by official January housing data issued last week, and economists at influential state-run think-tanks reckon investors are right to be worried that the new government is preparing to widen a pilot property tax as part of a broader reform of land and fiscal policies.
"China needs to establish a long-term policy system. Right now restrictions only target property transactions," Sun Xuegong, an economist with a think-tank under China's powerful National Development and Reform Commission, told Reuters.
He said China urgently needs a blueprint to stabilise the real estate market, and Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang - set to take over as president and premier, respectively, at China's annual meeting of parliament from March 5 - would not shy away from delivering one.
Wang Jun, an economist with the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) think-tank, believes the only thing holding back new property tightening measures has been the political transition. "Any breakthrough is impossible in the current government's last month in office," he said.
He said repeated assurances to curb home prices during outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao's decade in charge had clearly failed and the new leadership would be determined not to let history repeat itself.
LOOKING FOR CLUES
The raft of tightening options includes expanding the property tax to all of China's biggest cities to raising downpayments and mortgage rates on homes - all of which would likely dent the number of deals and put fresh strain on developers who need sales turnover to service their debt.
Domestic media have circulated what they say is a list of cities that may follow Shanghai and Chongqing on the property tax pilot the government started in 2011. Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Xiangtan are all included, though no local government or ministry official has confirmed the candidates.
Analysts say it is likely that China's big cities, currently experiencing double-digit annual property price rises, are most likely to bear the brunt of any new tightening moves.
"We'll need to look for policy signal clues from the next leaders during the (parliament) meeting," CCIEE's Wang said.
So far, signals have been conflicting.
The last meeting of the State Council - China's cabinet - chaired by Wen last week merely said a campaign to cool property prices was on track, and restated its broad terms.
But bearish investors note that those terms include requiring provincial governors and city mayors to announce detailed plans to implement restrictions that so far have been applied inconsistently.
Beijing's municipal government last year ordered its housing bureau to increase qualification checks of home buyers, including the number of homes owned by the families and how long they have paid social insurance in the city. It also doubled efforts to punish officials assisting unqualified purchasers.
A new cabinet, to be formed by Li when Wen formally hands over the reins at the National People's Congress, could feel it should act quickly to calm a market that has seen real estate prices soar 10-fold in major cities during the last decade.
MARKETS UNNERVED
Such measures might include higher downpayments and mortgage rates to curb speculation. That's what has unnerved markets, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange property share sub-index <.ssep> down around 7 percent since hitting a 34-month high earlier this month. The CSI 300 index <.csi300> of top Shanghai and Shenzhen listings has followed a similar trajectory.
Investors fear home prices will overshoot expectations this year and invite tighter measures, such as raising downpayments to 70 percent of a home's value from 60 percent currently. Mortgage rates could increase to 1.3 times the benchmark rate for second-time home buyers from 1.1 times - as tipped in the market last week before the cabinet statement.
First-time home purchases are still encouraged in China, with 30 percent downpayment and a discount on mortgage loans.
A move by China's Ping An Bank this week to ban its regional branches from approving mortgages was seen by many bankers and analysts as a sign that Beijing was set to tighten controls on property to calm record prices.
LEADERSHIP CHANGE
"Given the political void until mid-March, the new policy looks to be more a goodwill political gesture by the outgoing administration than something that will really bite," said Xianfang Ren, an economist with IHS Global Insight in Beijing.
According to Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician at China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), housing inflation that picked up in the last quarter will taper off with quick and effective reinforcement of tightening measures issued over the past three years.
China had 236 million square metres of unsold homes at the end of last year, about three times last year's monthly sales. That is a reason for Liu to be confident about checking housing inflation. But IHS' Ren reckons three months' supply is very tight and leaves a risk of immediate price rises, with new tightening measures to follow imminently.
She added that if China failed to mop up liquidity, a decisive driver of home prices, "the housing market could run off the leash to the extent of careening the economy to the upside, yet unsustainable, track again."
China's home prices started to creep up again after the central bank cut interest rates in mid-2012 and injected liquidity to boost the world's second-biggest economy. New home prices rose in 53 of the 70 cities monitored by NBS in January from December. On average, they rose 0.7 percent - making eight straight months of upward movement.
In Reuters' weighted index, home prices were up 12.2 percent in Beijing and 10.8 percent in Guangzhou in January from a year earlier, returning to double-digit rises.
A Reuters poll in December showed economists expect house prices to rise 7 percent this year and 5 percent in 2014 on strong demand and a reviving economy.
The conclusion is clear, according to Lan Shen, an economist with Standard Chartered in Shanghai: "The government has not wrapped up its tightening policies yet."
(Additional reporting by Xiaoyi Shao; Editing by Dean Yates and Ian Geoghegan)
Q. We have several employees who drive commercial motor vehicles. We have heard that there are rules about the use of cellphones by those drivers. How do those rules affect us?
A. In January 2012, a joint rule issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admin??is??tra??tion (PHMSA) took effect. The rule restricts commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers from holding a mobile telephone to conduct a voice communication, dialing a mobile telephone by pressing more than a single button or reaching for a mobile phone in an unacceptable and unsafe manner.
That means a CMV driver who wants to use a mobile phone while driving must use a compliant mobile telephone (such as a hands-free device) located close to the driver.
The rule provides stiff penalties for both drivers and companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held mobile telephones while driving. Violating the rule counts against the list of violations that can disqualify a driver from holding a commercial driver?s license. Six violations in a three-year period can result in license suspensions of six months, 12 months or even a lifetime.
Employers that allow drivers to use mobile telephones in violation of the rule face a maximum penalty of up to $11,000.
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Samsung announced their new Samsung Wallet today. The video above is from frAndroid, and here's Simon Sage's background on it from Android Central:
Samsung has announced a new API for developers to help manage event tickets, boarding passes, memberships, and coupons. Samsung Wallet will be a new application which brings all of these types of content into one place. Time and location-based push notifications will help users get a hold of the ticketing information.
If that sounds -- and looks -- familiar, it's because Apple already announced it back in June of 2012 as Passbook.
It's not the first time Samsung's copied an Apple product, it's probably not even the hundred-and-first, though given their bolder, more authentic releases over the last year, it did seem to be something they were growing out of. Apple isn't adverse to copying features from Android either, though historically they haven't been as consistent or blatant about it.
Like with black slab designs I'm pretty much over any obsession with who's copying who, but I do think this smacks of laziness and a lack of pride.
I'm happy for Samsung users that they'll get to enjoy a feature that's been nifty, if limited so far, on iOS 6. But it shows Samsung really doesn't give a shit. Passbook is certainly not the only way to tackle a digital wallet, and it may not even be the best way. By relentlessly copying, Samsung isn't moving the technology forward. They're not raising the bar. They're not making a wallet interface and experience so good anyone is begging for Apple to copy them.
I own a Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, which have LG and Asus designs, and Google software, and I'm currently waiting for an HTC One (love HTC). I have little interest in Samsung products, and it's mostly because of stuff like this. And I want to have interest in Samsung. I want a better Samsung.
Obviously Samsung's making all the money in Android these days, and their upcoming Galaxy S4 will no doubt be an unprecedented hit, so they probably don't care.
Swine cells could power artificial liverPublic release date: 27-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt madelinems@asas.org 217-689-2435 American Society of Animal Science
Stem cell line could also advance research into liver cancers, cystic fibrosis
Chronic or acute, liver failure can be deadly. Toxins take over, the skin turns yellow and higher brain function slows.
"There is no effective therapy at the moment to deal with the toxins that build up in your body," said Neil Talbot, a Research Animal Scientist for the USDA Agricultural Research Service. "Their only option now is to transplant a liver."
Talbot thinks a line of special liver cells could change that. In an interview with the American Society of Animal Science, he discussed how a line of pig liver cells called PICM-19 could perform many of the same functions as a human liver.
In 1991, Talbot created PICM-19 from the cells of an 8-day-old pig embryo. The cell line is significant because it is "immortal," meaning the cells can divide an infinite number of times. Many immortal cells lines continue dividing because they are derived from cancer cells; however, PICM-19 cells are derived from epiblast cells, the embryonic stem cells that form in the early stages of embryo development.
This immortal cell line has helped Talbot study how cells differentiate. Cells from the PICM-19 lines naturally differentiate into bile duct cells or hepatocytes. Hepatocytes do the bulk of the work in a liver. Hepatocytes form and secrete bile, store glycogen, control blood glucose, process vitamin D, and metabolize cholesterol and fat.
"The PICM- 19 cells are the cells that really do all the metabolic functions of the liver," said Talbot.
Hepatocytes also "scrub" toxins from the blood. Talbot said PICM-19 cells could do the same thing inside an artificial liver. There have already been several in vitro tests of artificial liver devices, and the ARS scientists are working on ways to grow the PICM-19 cells without needing "feeder cells." Feeder cells are mouse cells that hold PICM-19 cells in place and provide important molecules for PICM-19 cell growth and maintenance.
Artificial livers are still in development, but Talbot pointed out other applications for PICM-19 cells. Talbot and fellow scientists have used PICM-19 to study malaria, toxoplasmosis and hepatitis viruses. Researchers could also use the cells to study certain cancers of the liver or investigate the changes in the bile duct associated with cystic fibrosis.
Talbot recommends future studies on how PICM-19 cells respond to selective pressures. He said scientists could select for more efficient liver cells by exposing PICM-19 cells to toxins in culture.
"A lot of cells would die, but the survivors would really be tough," Talbot said.
Those tougher cells could make artificial liver devices more effective. Scientists could also use genetic modification to prompt PICM-19 cells to behave like other cells in the body.
"Maybe we want to enable it to make insulin," Talbot said. "It will be like a pancreas."
With PICM-19 cells filling in for livers or other organs, the transplant list could get a lot shorter.
Tom Caperna, an ARS Research Biologist and collaborator with Talbot, presented their work on PICM-19 during the Growth and Development Symposium at the 2012 Joint Annual Meeting. The full symposium summary is titled "Growth and Development Symposium: Development, characterization, and use of a porcine epiblast-derived stem cell line: ARS-PICM-19." It can be read in full at journalofanimalscience.org.
###
Scientific Contact:
Neil Talbot
USDA Agricultural Research Service
301-504-8216 / neil.talbot@ars.usda.gov
Media Contact:
Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
American Society of Animal Science
[ | 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.
Swine cells could power artificial liverPublic release date: 27-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Madeline McCurry-Schmidt madelinems@asas.org 217-689-2435 American Society of Animal Science
Stem cell line could also advance research into liver cancers, cystic fibrosis
Chronic or acute, liver failure can be deadly. Toxins take over, the skin turns yellow and higher brain function slows.
"There is no effective therapy at the moment to deal with the toxins that build up in your body," said Neil Talbot, a Research Animal Scientist for the USDA Agricultural Research Service. "Their only option now is to transplant a liver."
Talbot thinks a line of special liver cells could change that. In an interview with the American Society of Animal Science, he discussed how a line of pig liver cells called PICM-19 could perform many of the same functions as a human liver.
In 1991, Talbot created PICM-19 from the cells of an 8-day-old pig embryo. The cell line is significant because it is "immortal," meaning the cells can divide an infinite number of times. Many immortal cells lines continue dividing because they are derived from cancer cells; however, PICM-19 cells are derived from epiblast cells, the embryonic stem cells that form in the early stages of embryo development.
This immortal cell line has helped Talbot study how cells differentiate. Cells from the PICM-19 lines naturally differentiate into bile duct cells or hepatocytes. Hepatocytes do the bulk of the work in a liver. Hepatocytes form and secrete bile, store glycogen, control blood glucose, process vitamin D, and metabolize cholesterol and fat.
"The PICM- 19 cells are the cells that really do all the metabolic functions of the liver," said Talbot.
Hepatocytes also "scrub" toxins from the blood. Talbot said PICM-19 cells could do the same thing inside an artificial liver. There have already been several in vitro tests of artificial liver devices, and the ARS scientists are working on ways to grow the PICM-19 cells without needing "feeder cells." Feeder cells are mouse cells that hold PICM-19 cells in place and provide important molecules for PICM-19 cell growth and maintenance.
Artificial livers are still in development, but Talbot pointed out other applications for PICM-19 cells. Talbot and fellow scientists have used PICM-19 to study malaria, toxoplasmosis and hepatitis viruses. Researchers could also use the cells to study certain cancers of the liver or investigate the changes in the bile duct associated with cystic fibrosis.
Talbot recommends future studies on how PICM-19 cells respond to selective pressures. He said scientists could select for more efficient liver cells by exposing PICM-19 cells to toxins in culture.
"A lot of cells would die, but the survivors would really be tough," Talbot said.
Those tougher cells could make artificial liver devices more effective. Scientists could also use genetic modification to prompt PICM-19 cells to behave like other cells in the body.
"Maybe we want to enable it to make insulin," Talbot said. "It will be like a pancreas."
With PICM-19 cells filling in for livers or other organs, the transplant list could get a lot shorter.
Tom Caperna, an ARS Research Biologist and collaborator with Talbot, presented their work on PICM-19 during the Growth and Development Symposium at the 2012 Joint Annual Meeting. The full symposium summary is titled "Growth and Development Symposium: Development, characterization, and use of a porcine epiblast-derived stem cell line: ARS-PICM-19." It can be read in full at journalofanimalscience.org.
###
Scientific Contact:
Neil Talbot
USDA Agricultural Research Service
301-504-8216 / neil.talbot@ars.usda.gov
Media Contact:
Madeline McCurry-Schmidt
American Society of Animal Science
[ | 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.
LONDON (Reuters) - Grocers have seen sales of frozen burgers and ready meals plummet in the wake of a scandal over the discovery of horsemeat in beef products, according to industry data published on Tuesday.
Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said in the four weeks ending February 17, frozen burger sales were down 43 percent year-on-year and sales of frozen ready meals declined by 13 percent.
The issue, which broke on January 15, has only affected the products consumers buy rather than where they actually do their shopping, said Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel.
The horsemeat scandal has spread across Europe since tests in Ireland last month revealed some beef products sold there and in Britain contained equine DNA.
Tesco, Britain's biggest grocer, saw its share of the grocery market fall to 29.7 percent in the 12 weeks to February 17.
Garner said it would be wrong to attribute this decline to the horsemeat scandal as in the same period last year Tesco had promoted heavily, offering consumers a 5 pounds voucher when they spent 40 pounds.
"Not repeating this offer will have adversely affected its share," he said.
In the 12-week period, only No. 3 grocer Sainsbury's increased its share, with a sales rise of 4.6 percent.
No. 4 player Morrisons was the only major grocer to post a sales decline.
Upmarket grocer Waitrose and discounter Aldi delivered all-time record market shares this period of 4.8 percent and 3.3 percent respectively indicating that market polarisation is continuing.
The total grocery market grew 3.7 percent, lagging behind grocery price inflation of 4.3 percent.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
Nastia Liukin (right) visits with Emily Crowley at Boston Children's Hospital in 2010. The charitable hospital was recently cited in a government report for its high charges despite sitting on $2.6 billion in investment assets.
Photo by Gail Oskin/Getty Images for Boston Children's Hospital
In the 2009 movie Whip It, Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a 17-year-old from Bodeen, Texas. Bliss is a social misfit yearning to break out of the constraints of small-town culture. After spotting a flier on a trip to Austin, she finds refuge in the speed, violence, and vaguely illicit appeal of Roller Derby. Skating under the name of ?Babe Ruthless,? she becomes a star, a vision of youth and purity amid the tattoos and beer-soaked sexuality of the sport. But her passion for skating quickly collides with her mother?s view of feminine propriety. Mom is horrified to discover her daughter?s love of Roller Derby and tries to bar her from the championship match.
What Bliss needed was a better strategy. She should have argued that her Roller Derby competitions were a socially sanctioned charitable activity, akin to the Red Cross or?better yet?the Junior League. Meet the Renegade Roller Girls of Bend, Ore. Like their fictitious Texas cousins, they promise violence and scantily clad action in the ?hottest show in town, with our no holds barred play,? and they display the same affection for in-rink violence. But unlike the league in the movie, they do not operate in the shadows of abandoned warehouses; instead, they are registered as a 501(c)3 organization, approved as a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Renegade Rollers are hardly alone. In 2008, the same year that the roller-skating outfit received its charitable status, the IRS approved, along with 50,000 other new charities, the applications of the All Colorado Beer Festival and the Grand Canyon Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. In fact, the IRS routinely approves more than 99.8 percent of the applications it receives for public charity status, often in very short order. In truth, starting a charity takes little more than a stamp, $400 for the filing fee, and a passing facility for filling out government forms.
There are more than 1.1 million charities in the United States, and it is perhaps not surprising that some cases slip through the crack. But the story of the Renegade Roller Girls reveals something more basic about our system for identifying what is or is not a charity. Roughly put, we don?t have one. The failure of the IRS and other regulators to act as gatekeepers has consequences that go beyond a few amusing anecdotes. There are substantial economic costs in the form of lost income tax and property tax revenue from organizations that hardly qualify as charities (as well as the deductions taken by their donors). It also means that more and more charities are competing for a finite amount of money from public and private donors, diminishing the effectiveness of real charities. And when people become aware of this problem, it?s understandable that they come away feeling that many charities are downright uncharitable.
Charitable hospitals are perhaps the best example. They are a linchpin in the American medical system, accounting for about two-thirds of all Medicare beds in this country. And while they are only about 1 percent of the country?s charities, charitable hospitals collect 43 percent of all charitable revenue, about $650 billion a year.
The phrase charity hospital may still conjure up images of scruffy floors, Jell-O-laden dinner trays, and volunteer nuns, but that isn?t the reality anymore. Charitable hospitals can be extraordinarily luxurious. Witness the Greenberg Pavilion at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, which advertises its hotel-like amenities such as Frette bed linens and original works of art. (A hospital room there can run $2,400 a night.) And they can be extraordinarily profitable, too. Leaders of charitable hospitals routinely are paid into the seven figures, even more on some occasions. In fact, charitable hospitals are far more likely to make money: 77 percent of charitable hospitals are profitable compared to 61 percent of for-profit institutions. Some are immensely profitable, such as Boston Children?s Hospital, which was recently cited in a government report for its high charges despite sitting on $2.6 billion in investment assets.
The purpose here is not to demonize charitable hospitals; they are the product of a changing business, regulatory, and health care system. Charitable hospitals are not worse than for-profit hospitals; they are, in fact, fundamentally the same. In 2006, the Congressional Budget Office compared for-profit and charitable hospitals across various critical service criteria and found only the smallest differences between them. The CBO study found the charitable hospitals to be slightly more likely to provide uncompensated and specialized services; on the other hand, for-profit hospitals were modestly more likely to provide Medicare or Medicaid services and to serve economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. It is hard to come away from the CBO study with the view that there are any significant business differences between the two, which makes the lucrative charitable tax exemption that charitable hospitals receive all the more puzzling. Illinois, for one, has tried to strip several of its charitable hospitals of their tax exemptions for just this reason.
It?s hard to understand why some organizations receive charitable status and others do not. One of our core, and fairly obvious, organizing principles is that a charity must dispense a public service rather than a private good. But many of our most prominent civic charities would struggle to meet that basic test. Tickets to symphonies, operas, and the like are often so prohibitively expensive that their primary services effectively exclude everyone but the well-off.
Private schools are perhaps an even better example, not only because they charge enormous tuition fees but also because they are of questionable social value. Average costs at prep schools exceed $10,000 a year?a figure that has skyrocketed in recent years?and can reach more than $40,000 in some cases. Not surprisingly given these costs, private school students tend to be wealthy, white, and from much better educated families than their public school peers. Nevertheless, we grant these institutions of privilege charitable and tax-exempt status, even though they unquestionably lead to greater social and economic stratification through the hollowing out of the public school system. Private schools are of course largely supported by their tuition fees, but the benefits they receive from their charitable status are substantial. Indeed, sometimes it is that very status that leads the superwealthy to make incredible gifts to some very fortunate schools. Take, for example, the $49 million Ethel Allen left the Hackley School in Tarrytown, N.Y., last year, or the $50 million gift by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson to support the Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas.
It may seem that changing the charitable status for private schools is unthinkable. Perhaps, but it has been tried before. In 2009, the British Charity Commission revoked the charitable charters for two private schools, finding that they provided too little in the way of financial aid to needy students. While the commission?s ruling was ultimately overturned by the courts, the commission?s position still stands for the common sense notion that charities should demonstrate a public benefit in order to maintain their charitable status. When so much of the American charitable sector seems so uncharitable, it is perhaps time we remind ourselves what a charity is really supposed to be.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Most Venezuelans expect President Hugo Chavez to recover from cancer and return to active rule even though he has been in hospital and virtually unseen for two-and-a-half months, a poll showed on Tuesday.
Local pollster Hinterlaces said 60 percent of interviewees believe Chavez will be cured and back to governing, while 14 percent think he will recover but be unable to rule again, and 12 percent view his state as incurable.
Chavez, 58, underwent a fourth operation for cancer in Cuba on December 11. Last week he returned to Venezuela and was whisked to a military hospital in Caracas.
Apart from four photos of him in hospital in Havana, the socialist president has not been seen or heard in public, with even friend and ally Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, unable to enter his room on two hospital visits.
The surprisingly optimistic view of Venezuelans - in contrast to a more pessimistic consensus among diplomats and analysts that Chavez's 14-year rule is probably nearing its end - came in the presentation of two recent surveys by Hinterlaces.
"Far from weakening 'Chavismo,' far from reducing the popular support for President Chavez, his absence and illness have strengthened the bonds of affection and identification with the president's ideals," Hinterlaces head Oscar Schemel said.
Previously released results from the same surveys showed that if Chavez is forced out, his vice president and preferred successor, Nicolas Maduro, is favored to win an election in a possible match-up against opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
Hinterlaces gave Maduro 50 percent of potential votes, compared with 36 percent for Capriles.
The opposition leader has publicly accused Hinterlaces of pro-government bias, and political polls in Venezuela are notoriously controversial and divergent.
The survey also showed that 60 percent of people view the devaluation of the bolivar currency earlier this month as negative for Venezuela. But the government otherwise scored high marks for its social welfare policies and ability to improve lives.
Accused by the opposition of lying and putting a gloss on Chavez's state, officials are urging Venezuelans to be patient.
"The president has the right to take whatever time he needs to recover ... We have the patience to wait for him, to understand him and to accompany him in his battle for life," Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said on Tuesday.
"We can't succumb to the blackmailing of the right-wing - and its cruelty and inhumanity - which is clamoring for the president to appear, to intervene, to be sworn in right now."
Chavez missed his scheduled January swearing-in for the new, six-year term he won in last year's presidential poll.
(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Sony may have teased American photographers by launching the NEX-3N and Alpha A58 in Europe, but it's not cruel: both interchangeable lens cameras are coming to the US this April. The NEX-3N will cost a relatively frugal $500 when bundled with the camera's signature motorized, 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Venturing into DSLR territory with the Alpha A58 will cost an only somewhat dearer $600 when paired with a refreshed 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 kit lens that's quieter and less error-prone than its ancestor.
Both A- and E-mount cameras will also be getting a similar raft of accessories for the US unveiling. An RM-VPR1 remote commander comes in April for $65, while a compact HVL-F20M flash is due in May for $150. A-series photographers will have no shortage of lenses to choose from -- they'll get cracks at both a stand-alone version of the 18-55mm lens and a new 50mm f/1.4 prime in May for respective prices of $220 and $1,500, while a 70-400mm f/4-5.6 telephoto zoom is coming in July for an eye-watering $2,200.
Dustin Lance Black receives an Academy Award for "Best Original Screenplay"in 2009 for "Milk". The openly gay screenwriter, director, producer and LGBT rights activist gave a very emotional speech about the struggle to produce the film, which tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California and in the U.S. This win was monumental for Black, the legacy of Harvey Milk and for the entire LGBT community.
"Brokeback Mountain" Wins For Adapted Screenplay
"Brokeback Mountain" won for "Best Adapted Screenplay" and "Best Director (Ang Lee)"during the 78th Academy Awards. "The film is adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. The screenplay is written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry. Starring Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams the film depicts the complex relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983.
Charlize Theron Wins For "Monster"
Charlize Theron wins an Academy Award for "Best Actress" for her role in the 2003 movie <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq70brIQP40">"Monster"</a> during the 76th Oscars. In the award-winning (based on a true story) film she portrays lesbian sex worker and murderer Aileen Wuornos.
Ellen Degeneres Hosts The 79th Academy Awards
Popular comedian, television host and actress Ellen Degeneres hosted the 79th annual Academy Awards, making her <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/today-history-february-25-ellen-degeneres-hosts-oscars-1st-paper-money-us">the first openly gay host in the Academy's history</a>.
Gay Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are the 2013 Academy Award producers. They've produced projects such as <em>Chicago</em>, <em>Smash</em> and <em>Footloose</em>. During an interview <a href="http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2013/02/11/gay-duo-producing-oscars-we-wont-disappoint">with Advocate</a> Meron said, "The producers of the Oscars are openly gay. That infuses our work in a subtle way and will always be there. The LGBT viewers will not be disappointed."
Judy Garland Sings "Over The Rainbow" During Oscars
Gay icon Judy Garland sings "Over The Rainbow", the popular tune scored in the 1939 film, "The Wizard Of Oz". The film won two Academy Awards including "Best Original Song". During Garlands acceptance of her "Juvenile Academy Award" she was asked to sing the hit song.
Joan Rivers Nudges Queen Latifah About Private Life At 2007 Oscars
Rumors have long swirled about rapper, singer, actress and producer Queen Latifah's sexuality ever since her role in the 1996 movie, "Set It Off" where she played a gun-toting, bank robbing lesbian. During the 2007 Oscar Awards Joan Rivers blatantly tried to get the actress to discuss her love life on the red carpet. In 2012, many suspected Latifah would come out when she headlined Long Beach Pride, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/04/queen-latifah-did-not-come-out-pride_n_1529566.html">but she did not</a>.
Barbra Streisand Wins And Arrives In Glitter
Gay icon Barbara Streisand won an Academy Award for Best Actress for "Funny Girl" in 1969, a tie with Katharine Hepburn in "Lion In The Winter". She arrived in a black sheer glittery ensemble. Work!
Neil Patrick Harris Opens 2010 Oscars
Neil Patrick Harris opened up the 2010 (82nd) Academy Awards singing a cinematic infused number with feather boa-ed dancers. In the humorous number he references "dropping the soap".
Two Films With Gay Characters Nominated In The Same Category
Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman were both nominated for "Best Lead Actress" at the 2002 Oscars. Moore was nominated for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IioYhtWTb9Y">"Far From Heaven"</a> and Kidman for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmFDGAPiKJE">"The Hours"</a>. Both films had gay characters. "The Hours" also won for "Best Picture" that year. This was Nicole Kidman's second nomination, but first Academy Award.
Hillary Swank Wins For "Boys Don't Cry"
Hillary Swank wins an Academy Award for her first Oscar nomination and her inspiring role in the 1999 film <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOarssJWHhI">"Boys Don't Cry"</a>. The film touches on gender, transgender issues and bravery. At the beginning of her acceptance speech, Swank talks about how Hollywood has came a long way to produce <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171804/">a film</a> of that nature.
Hugh Jackman's Opening Number At The 2009 Oscars
Hugh Jackman certainly did not disappoint when <a href="http://www.today.com/id/29337814/site/todayshow/ns/today-entertainment/t/host-hugh-jackman-gives-oscars-his-all/#.USYmq0JAukA">he hosted the 81st Academy Awards</a>. The Australian actor and People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" pointed out that although the country was in a recession and the Academy couldn't afford an opening number, Jackman proceeded on with one anyway, proclaiming in one of his songs, "I'm saying it's alright to be gay!" in acknowledgment of the movie "Milk," which went on to win two Oscars.
Natalie Portman Wins For "Black Swan"
Natalie Portman wins for her 2010 psychological thriller film <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs">"Black Swan"</a>. Portman plays a devoted ballerina who plays The Swan Queen in a production that is very important to her. In the mist of preparing for the production, Portman has sex with a competitive fellow ballerina. This win was great in terms of films that portray other arts and it also was great in terms of films that portray complex same-sex relationships.
Angelina Jolie Wins For "Girl Interrupted"
Bisexual actress Angelina Jolie snags her first Academy Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actress" in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yy93Sav5T4">"Girl, Interrupted"</a>. This is great for the bisexual community. It's also great because "Girl, Interrupted" has lesbian undertones, the main character played by Winona Ryder is enchanted by Jolie's character.
Elton John Wins Oscar For 'Best Original Song'
In the 67th Academy Awards, openly gay Sir Elton John won <a href="http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/20-richest-oscar-winners-time/#!/13-elton-john-net-worth_726/">his first Oscar</a> for "Best Original Song" for his performance of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" for the Disney classic "The Lion King" in 1994.
Marlon Brando Wins For "On The Waterfront"
Marlon Brando, who was rumored to have had a string of celebrity gay affairs, wins an Academy Award for the 1954 film "On The Waterfront". In Brando's biography<a href="http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/brando-book-details-string-of-gay-celebrity-affairs_26_01_2006">1975 biography</a>,'The Only Contender,' written by Gary Carey, he unapologetically admitted to having "experiences" with men.
Tom Hanks Wins For His Role On 'Philadelphia'
Tom Hanks won the Oscar in 1994 for "Best Actor In a Leading Role" for playing Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer infected with AIDS who gets fired because his colleagues fear they'll get infected, too. During his emotional and touching acceptance speech, Hanks thanked two of his childhood mentors, whom he called "two of the finest gay Americans," who inspired his acting career.
Cher Wins Oscar For Her Role In 'Moonstruck'
In 1988, Cher beat out the likes of Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter and Sally Kirkland and took home the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Loretta Castorini in "Moonstruck." And who could forget her dress that night, too?
James Franco Does Drag
Even though their Oscar hosting duties in 2011 <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscar-reviews-what-critics-thought-162253">were met with a lot of criticism</a>, at one point during the night, co-host James Franco came out on stage donned in drag, while Anne Hathaway rocked a tuxedo. Maybe we'll be seeing Franco on "Drag Race" season 15, 18...?
The Dresses
"What are you wearing?" has become the quintessential question everyone, especially the women, knows they'll have to answer. And many memorable looks come from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/the-oscars-25-most-memora_n_486067.html?slidenumber=ZztEutAq%2BIY%3D&slideshow#slide_image">gay designers such as Valentino</a>, who dressed Julia Roberts in 2001 (picture) when she won the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" in "Erin Brockovich," the late Alexander McQueen to Zac Posen.
Sean Penn Wins Oscar For Playing Harvey Milk
In 2009, at the 81st Academy Awards, Sean Penn took home the Oscar for "Best Actor In a Leading Role" for playing gay-rights activist, Harvey Milk, in the movie "Milk." Penn eloquently said in his acceptance speech: "I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone."
Geoffrey Fletcher Wins For "Best Adapted Screenplay" For "Precious"
Geoffrey Fletcher won an Academy Award for "Best Adapted Screenplay" for "Precious" and gave a concise emotional speech. "Precious" was adapted from the novel "Push" by lesbian writer Sapphire.
INFLATABLE satellites have been developed by a Scottish university in a bid to cut down on space junk orbiting Earth.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) there are over 500,000 obsolete pieces of man-made debris orbiting the Earth causing hazards for other satellites.
But the new gadgets ? which are made of thin plastic ? burn up when they re-enter the atmosphere which means no mess is left behind in space or on the ground where they land.
The new satellites are hoped to become the future of looking at Earth from space
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Engineering students from StrathclydeUniversity will now travel to Sweden later this year to test a prototype at an altitude of 35km ? around the same height Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from when he broke the speed of sound last year.
The new satellites are tipped to be the future of taking atmospheric measurements and will also be able to perform high-altitude observations of disaster areas such as forest fires.
The Glasgow-based research team won backing from European space agencies to investigate the use of inflatable satellites.
The current models are made from ultra-thin plastic but when they are inflated they form a tough protective barrier around fragile equipment kept inside.
They are designed to last for a few months but satellites with chemically hardened skins that can last several years are also being developed.
The satellite is sent up on a rocket and deployed in low earth orbit ? it would then inflate due to residual air trapped inside ?before the satellite began to perform its observation tasks.
When the work of the satellite is over ? anywhere between two and 12 months ? a signal from a team on Earth causes the structure to change shape.
The change in shape then causes it to slow down to such an extent that it drops out of orbit rather than stay floating in space.
They then burn up as they descend through the atmosphere at great speed leaving no potentially damaging debris behind.
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?Worthwhile?
Andrew Allan, a 22-year-old Masters student working on the inflatable satellite project, said the current prototype consisted of a number of inflatable pods housing the satellite?s electronics, which are mounted on a 1.5 square metre platform.
He said: ?This project is about laying the building bricks for this kind of satellite.
?Hopefully, we can show it?s possible and it?s worthwhile.
?It is designed to leave orbit so it will nothing up there and, because it will burn up, nothing will reach the Earth?s surface.?
In 2009, US and Russian communications satellites ?collided in space at an altitude of about 800km over Siberia.
The collision added more than 2,000 pieces of traceable debris to the inventory of space junk.
The problem of defunct satellite technology was again highlighted in 2011 when large pieces of the six-tonne UARS spacecraft plunged into the Pacific Ocean.
Dr Massimiliano Vasile, the director of Strathclyde?s ?Advanced Space Concepts ?Laboratory, said the issue of space debris had become so ?compelling? it could no longer be ignored.
He said: ?The estimates about the number of pieces of debris are changing every year.
?The debris can be anything from launch parts to pieces of satellites which have detached or have been involved in a collision. Then there are the satellites themselves.
?The problem has become compelling because the impact of not doing something now outweighs the [financial] cost of tackling it.?
The next stage for the Strathclyde students is to travel to Esrange in the far north of Sweden in September for the launch of their prototype.
The launch was made possible by the Experiments for University Students initiative, which is supported by the European Space Agency, the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
At the end of last year, the students attended a selection workshop at the ESA?s Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) near Amsterdam, where their project was ?accepted on to the initiative.
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Short URL: http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/?p=58360
Posted by Guest on Feb 24 2013. Filed under Scottish News, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
PUBLISHED: 11:53 EST, 24 February 2013 | UPDATED: 11:53 EST, 24 February 2013
South Africa today won the third Test against Pakistan by an innings and 18 runs to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep.
The Proteas had won each of the first two Tests with a day to spare and went one better at Centurion, wrapping up the tourists' second innings for 235 on the third evening.
Dale Steyn took four for 80 in the second innings while Kyle Abbott took nine wickets on his Test debut.
Key moment: South Africa celebrating the key wicket of Younis Khan
Posing with the trophy: South Africa re-affirmed their status as the No.1 Test team
Half-century partnerships between Azhar Ali and Imran Farhat and the unlikely pairing of Saeed Ajmal and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed were in vain as Pakistan managed only a minor improvement on their first-innings capitulation to 156 all out.
The visitors began the third day on 14 for one, with Azhar and Younus Khan at the crease, having followed on 253 runs behind.
However, the partnership was broken on 38 by Steyn, with Younus edging to captain Graeme Smith at first slip on 11.
Howzat! Alviro Petersen, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers have a huge appeal for LBW against Saeed Ajmal
Azhar and Farhat patiently negotiated the remaining overs before lunch but after their partnership reached 54, a mix-up as they turned for a second run saw Azhar sent back by his partner and run out for 27 as Steyn fizzed in a powerful throw and AB de Villiers demolished the stumps.
Farhat followed for 43, slashing a short ball from Kyle Abbott to De Villiers, as the rot set in.
Misbah-ul-Haq (five) offered another easy catch to the wicketkeeper with a thin edge off Rory Kleinveldt and Asad Shafiq (six) then popped a leading edge off the same bowler straight to Vernon Philander at wide mid-off, with Pakistan still 139 behind.
Two reviews then went in the batsmen's favour, Ajmal successfully overturning an lbw decision as Hawk-Eye showed Robin Peterson's delivery was bouncing over the top, before South Africa failed to have Sarfraz caught at slip.
Defence: Pakistan's Azhar Ali showed some resistance to put some fight into their performance
Ajmal paddled Peterson neatly over De Villiers' head for two and lofted the next ball down the ground for six as the pair offered some overdue resistance with a stand of 62 by tea.
The interval arrived with Sarfraz unbeaten on 30 and Ajmal on 27, but the latter added only an additional boundary in taking the partnership to 69 before being dismissed lbw by Steyn, with DRS this time unable to save him.
Again, the departure of one set batsman was swiftly followed by another. Sarfraz had advanced to 40 from 45 balls before slashing Steyn to third man, where Dean Elgar took a very well judged catch.
Bails flying: De Villiers runs out Ali for 27 runs and end Pakistan's hoes of survival
Ehsan Adil hit two boundaries before becoming Abbott's ninth victim of the match, caught at mid-on for 12.
Rahat Ali hit five boundaries, two of them edged off Steyn in an over that also saw him successfully overturn a bat-pad decision against him, but was trapped lbw by Peterson to end the match.
Abbott's match figures of nine for 68 were the third best ever by a Proteas debutant, bettered only by Alf Hall and Sydney Burke who took 11 wickets apiece.
The two teams will now contest two Twenty20 internationals, next Friday and Sunday, followed by five one-day internationals.
Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings fell 36% despite higher revenue, as the natural-gas producer pared its crushing debt.
The earnings report gave investors their first glimpse of Chesapeake, the country's second-largest gas producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., without longtime Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon at the helm. Mr. McClendon, who led the Oklahoma City-based company during an epic growth spurt, is retiring from the company on April 1 under pressure from the company's largest shareholders.
The energetic executive, who normally dominates earnings calls, let Chief Operating Officer Steve Dixon take the lead on Thursday.
Mr. Dixon restated Chesapeake's commitment to now focus on harvesting the oil and natural gas from its existing acreage and continuing to sell assets to bridge a $4 billion funding gap as it shifts its focus from natural gas to more profitable oil production.
"To this end during the past year, all of our assets teams have been retasked and incentivized to shift their focus from acreage capture mode to meeting budgets and delivering higher returns on capital," Mr. Dixon said during the call.
Overall, Chesapeake reported a profit of $300 million, or 39 cents a share, down from $472 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding debt-repurchase expenses, hedging impacts and other items, adjusted earnings fell to 26 cents a share from 58 cents. Revenue climbed 30% to $3.54 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of 14 cents a share and revenue of $2.86 billion.
Chesapeake and other producers that pioneered hydraulic fracturing have become victims of their own success. The drilling boom they unleashed greatly increased the amount of natural gas produced from shale formations, causing prices for the commodity to collapse and putting a dent in their expansion plans.
Chesapeake lowered its estimate for gas prices in 2013 and projected its total output will fall by roughly 7% due to a drop in natural-gas production, even as its production of oil and natural-gas liquids will rise by 27%.
The prolonged fall in prices caused Chesapeake to slash its reserves in the fourth quarter by 16% to 15.7 trillion cubic feet of oil and natural gas.
Average daily production was flat sequentially but rose 9.3% from a year ago, led by oil production, which grew to 15% of total production from 10%. Average realized prices for oil improved 4.8%, while those for natural-gas and natural-gas liquids weakened sharply. Chesapeake said it sold natural gas for $2.02 per million British thermal units in the fourth quarter, a year-over-year decline of more than 20%.
Chesapeake said it made headway in curbing spending. The company said it spent $1.4 billion on drilling and leaseholding in the fourth quarter, down from $2.4 billion the quarter before. The company also said its long-term debt fell by $3.6 billion from the third quarter, to $12 billion.
"Cost control and lower capex in the quarter was a pleasant surprise," said Jefferies analyst Biju Perincheril in a client note. "The challenge, however, for the new management will be bringing operations to near cash flow neutral status without greatly sacrificing its upside potential."
Chesapeake has long been optimistic about natural-gas prices, but it said it hedged 50% of its 2013 natural-gas output at $3.62 per million cubic feet. The hedge may be a sign of lessening appetite for risk, analysts said. It hedged 85% of its oil output at $95.45 a barrel.
On Wednesday, Chesapeake's new board said an internal investigation under way since April found no wrongdoing in Mr. McClendon's controversial personal-financing methods. The probe covered a loan Mr. McClendon received from a former board member, the trading activities of a hedge fund he helped run until 2007, and his borrowing from firms that do business with Chesapeake.
While a Chesapeake without Mr. McClendon might satisfy many investors, including the large shareholders that led the revolt against him, some analysts will miss the executive's electrifying style. Chesapeake didn't have "the same flair on the conference call without McClendon," Morningstar's Mark Hanson said.
Chesapeake shares were up 0.44% at $20.33.
Tess Stynes and Daniel Gilbert contributed to this article.
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
A new 30,000-seat football stadium will be named after America?s second largest private prison operator as part of a $6million (?3.92million) sponsorship deal.
Florida Atlantic University announced the partnership with GEO Group Inc, which runs 101 prison facilities with about 73,000 beds, on Tuesday raising questions about the suitability of the match.
Prediction: next is a stadium named after a DARPA funded drone corp.
Does it take a raft of ordinances and outside support to save historic structures from demolition in a small town? Not necessarily, when the building stock is beautiful.
Paula YoungbloodHouse of the Seasons, a gem of Italianate style, not only still stands but shines in Jefferson, Texas. The town in northeast Texas has managed to retain its architectural splendor with very little in the way of legalities.
How does a Texas town of 2,000 people, with 195 state historical markers in the county and a 1,000-acre National Historic District, care for its historic buildings? ?
Jefferson, Texas, is not a Certified Local Government. It is not part of the Main Street Program, is not a Preserve America Community and does not have a local historic preservation ordinance. About the only ordinance on the city books that would protect its historic character is one that forbids mobile homes to be moved inside the city limits. So how did Jefferson end up with hundreds of preserved, restored historic buildings?
Jefferson?s heyday was from about 1840 to the late 1870s. During these years Jefferson was a trading partner with Shreveport and New Orleans. Steamboats would leave New Orleans headed up the Mississippi, veer onto the Red River, navigate across Caddo Lake and head up Big Cypress Bayou to Jefferson. During this time Jefferson grew to become the sixth largest city in Texas, with a population of over 30,000. The many wrought iron balconies in Jefferson?s historic district attest to New Orleans?s influence.
BnB FinderThe Alley-McKay House, one of many historic homes in Jefferson that have been restored and turned into bed and breakfasts.
In addition to its New Orleans-style ironwork and structures, downtown Jefferson boasts fine examples of Greek Revival (early 1800s to after the Civil War), Italianate (late 1800s), and Gothic (mid-1800s) architecture, all popular in Jefferson?s heyday, as well as a few Queen Anne & Victorian Eclectic buildings.
There were two central factors involved in Jefferson? economic decline: the destruction of the ?Great Raft? and the growth of America?s railroads. The Great Raft was a naturally occurring log jam that created a 150 mile dam on the Red River. This natural dam allowed water levels in Caddo Lake and on Big Cypress Bayou to remain high enough for commercial steamboat travel. When the Great Raft was destroyed water levels fell, making Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou unnavigable.?
Also by the 1870s, the railroads were coming to Texas, which eliminated the need for steamboats. The railroads killed the steamboat trade in Northeast Texas just as it eliminated the great cattle drives across Central & West Texas. Jefferson was unable to catch the train of railroad commerce, as the new Texas & Pacific rail line, from Texarkana to Marshall, bypassed the town altogether.
With the demise of the steamboat industry and the rise of Marshall, Texas, as a hub of the Texas & Pacific Railway, Jefferson?s population plummeted. Without the commerce of transportation, Jefferson?s business people exited for greener pastures leaving the infrastructure behind. Jefferson entered the 20th century as just another small town on a Texas map.
In the 20th century national, state and local leaders endorsed the concept of Urban Renewal. Especially after World War II, many Americans want to embrace the new and cut ties with the old. Thousands of historic buildings and structures were demolished across America, with new apartments, shopping centers and modern buildings taking their places. Jefferson, Texas, missed Urban Renewal altogether. When urban renewal movement elsewhere was at full tilt, Jefferson?s historic homes and buildings basically were ?mothballed?. There weren?t any large businesses or corporations longing to tear down the old and build the new. Jefferson got by with what it had.
And what it had began to be seen as an asset. In the spring of 1939, thirty-five Jefferson ladies formed the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club. The action taken by this organization is the main reason Historic Jefferson, Texas, still exists.
Courtesy of Jessie Allen Wise Garden ClubJefferson's local garden club took the initiative in purchasing and saving historic buildings. Shown here, members of the club headed to clean up their recently purchased Excelsior House Hotel.
The Garden Club started its annual spring Pilgrimage in 1948, showcasing Jefferson?s blooming flowers and historic homes. Revenue from Pilgrimage ticket sales were used to purchase and restore historic buildings in Jefferson. These buildings included the Presbyterian Manse (built in 1839), The Excelsior House Hotel (built in 1850) and the Jewish Synagogue (built in 1860 and later converted in to the Ruth Lester Playhouse).
Today Jefferson serves as an example of bottom-up, not top-down, historic preservation. People from all over move here to live their dream of owning a store, running a bed and breakfast, or just living peacefully in a beautiful setting. The first step in living this dream is preserving and restoring the real estate purchased, be it a building or home. (The author can be counted in this number; my wife and I purchased a home built in 1905, which constantly presents us with historic preservation projects.)?
Meanwhile, Jefferson's ongoing preservation and restoration (and believe me, when you own a historic property, they are ongoing) have created good paying jobs for local carpenters (real carpenters, not just sheet rock hangers), electricians, plumbers, painters, and brick masons.
Paula YoungbloodOak Alley, a Greek Revival House, built circa 1850 by one of Jefferson's founders, Daniel N. Alley.
Even without laws requiring preservation, through local pride, teamwork and a shared sense of place we?ve managed to keep most of our historic buildings. Local business owners have worked together to conserve a downtown of picturesque buildings. Take our iconic Jefferson General store; it would not be as cool if it stood alone in a giant parking lot, like Cowboys Stadium. It works because of the brick streets and the other historic buildings around it. If you bought a building near it, tore it down and built a new building, that new structure would not fit in (nor is it what tourists want). It?s better to restore the historic building.
And Jefferson?s tourists tend to become residents. They want to be a part of this quiet, historic, "Mayberry? environment. Why tear down a home and build a new one? They could do that in Dallas, Houston, anywhere. No, most of them move here because they want to live in an historic home. Jefferson keeps her historic character and charm through a shared vision of our community. There?s life in these old buildings and testimony to civic pride.
Jeff Campbell is the Tourism Director for Jefferson, Texas, and an avid mountain biker. When not working on his historic house, Jeff spends his spare time in search of taquerias and barbecue joints.
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Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
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Posted by Guest on Feb 24 2013. Filed under Scottish News, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
