Freedom camping fines drop

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Photo by Queenstown Lakes District Council.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council regulatory manager Lee Webster said most offenders this summer had been ticketed in or near Queenstown.

''We've certainly issued less infringements,'' Mr Webster said.

''I can't say whether or not that's because there's been less people in town freedom camping or whether or not it is because people are adhering to the requirements of our bylaw.

''Maybe people are adhering to the bylaw but we do still have those issues.''

The council issued 794 infringement notices between November 2013 and mid-February 2014, 270 fewer than the corresponding months last summer.

''As a council we have to clear that [rubbish from freedom campers] away, [but] where we can, like anyone who's littering ... we try and find if we've got an owner.''

But it was much harder to catch litterers from freedom camping than those from households.

''With someone who's freedom camping it's usually just cans or rubbish without anything that will link it back to a vehicle.

''It's basically just us clearing it up.''

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Freedom camping fines drop

Freedom provides more details in bankruptcy filing

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Freedom Industries had $16 million in assets and $6 million in liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy last month, according to documents filed Monday.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Freedom Industries had $16 million in assets and $6 million in liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy last month, according to documents filed Monday.

The company that fouled thousands of West Virginians' water with a chemical leak into the Elk River on Jan. 9, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 17.

Under the bankruptcy code, Chapter 11 permits a company to reorganize and continue operating.

Freedom markets and distributes chemicals that are mixed by Poca Blending in Nitro. Etowah River Terminal is the storage facility on the Elk that leaked the chemical. It has about a dozen tanks, each of which can hold tens of thousands of gallons of chemicals. It was formerly a Pennzoil facility.

According to the company's statement of financial affairs filed Monday, the company made $25.6 million between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, through its sale of chemicals; $30.6 million between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013; and $19.6 million between July 1, 2013, through when it filed for bankruptcy last month.

The Barlow Drive property, where the leak occurred, is valued at $976,493, according to the filing. It values its tanks at $8,000, the filing shows.

Freedom had $5.3 million in inventory Dec. 31, when it was last calculated, the filing states. Freedom has a $320,000 federal tax lien, according to the filing.

Freedom is holding calcium chloride in its Etowah Terminal facility for Tetra Performance Chemicals, of Dallas, Texas.

Freedom has more than $1 million worth of machinery and more than $5 million in inventory. It stores nearly $400,000 worth of parts at its Beckley facility on Holy Lane.

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Freedom provides more details in bankruptcy filing

Lichnovsky wins $1,000 MCRTL scholarship

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Homeschool senior student Cassidy Lichnovsky is the 2014 scholarship winner of the Montgomery County Right to Life Oratory Contest at Conroe Bible Church. She received a $1,000 check.

Second place winner was Erica Michelson, who received $500, and Madison McQuary and Chad Golden tied for third place, each receiving $250.

A total of 13 students participated Saturday by each writing and giving a 5-7 minute pro-life speech on abortion, eugenics, euthanasia or infanticide.

Junior and senior students represented Conroe High, Oak Ridge High, The Woodlands High and area homeschool groups.

Attorney Larry Foerster, Judge Michael Seiler, Judge Kathleen Hamilton, Joseph Strack, and Conroe Attorney Marcia Tillman served as judges for the contest.

Lichnovsky spoke about the false reality of abortion and the anguish her grandmother, Jean, went through when she was caught between the sound of her conscience and the voice of a doctor. Her grandmother was told that her child would be born with severe physical and possible mental disabilities and was admonished that she was selfish to bring a disabled child into the world. Her grandmother was pressured to abort her child.

However, Jean did give birth and her son, Joseph, was born with disabilities. However, Joseph, despite doctors predictions even after his birth, is now Cassidys father.

Her fathers reality is that he has never taken welfare and has sustained employment, gives to charities, supports missionaries, votes in every election, Cassidy said.

The world needs to see that a child, planned or not, is the farthest thing from a burden to society, Cassidy said.

She encouraged the audience that it is a lie that beauty can only be seen in perfection, where in reality our world needs imperfection and that in reality, every child has a right to life.

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Lichnovsky wins $1,000 MCRTL scholarship

Toyota wireless EV charging demonstrated as trial kicks off

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Chris Davies

Toyota will begin testing its wireless charging system for the Prius and other EVs and plug-in hybrids later the month, aiming to cut the number of times drivers of eco-friendly vehicles need to plug in. The technology, a ruggedized pad that sits in a parking space and can withstand being driven over by the careless, begins charging as soon as a compatible car is positioned on top, with Toyota's video demo - which you can see after the cut - showing a self-parking Prius automatically maneuvering itself into place.

Toyota confirmed it would be experimenting with wireless charging back in August 2013, with the company telling SlashGear that it believed such a system would cut down on what some would-be EV drivers believed to be a pain-point of ownership. At the same time, Toyota teased details about the fourth-gen Prius, now expected to debut an edgier, more challenging design.

The system itself uses technology from WiTricity, Toyota announced late last year, having invested in the startup after it was spun out of an MIT project in 2011. Since then, the two companies have "cooperated technically" Toyota said.

As for manufacturing the pads, Toyota suggested that it would not be doing that itself, but instead encouraging third-party charger vendors to license WiTricity's system. In addition to drivers equipping their own garages and parking spaces, it's not outlandish to imagine a public parking garage outfitted with the pads so that EVs could recharge when away from home, too.

In Toyota's demo, what appears to be a Japanese Prius test car uses the existing self-parking system to navigate its way into a space and align itself on top of the pad correctly.

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Toyota wireless EV charging demonstrated as trial kicks off

Cris "Cyborg" Justino Responds to Dana White's Hurtful Criticism

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Former Strikeforce women's champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino is mad, and she isn't going to take it anymore.

Justino issued a response to Dana White, who last week told media in Las Vegas that Cyborg was taking performance-enhancing drugs. White also said Justino looks like Wanderlei Silva.

Here's what Justino told Brazilian outlet Combate, with a translation from Bloody Elbow:

Nobody has the right to accuse you without evidence. I have explained many times that the doping episode was an error during the weight loss for that fight, and it is our mistake and we evolved. Just because we are not perfect, we have no right to judge anyone.

Two years have passed since then, I have served my suspension, I resumed my career, I returned with the help of champion Tito Ortiz and George Prajin, who extended their hand when everyone else turned away from me.

And, finally, fought three times since, and was tested in two of the last three fights. Can test me today, tomorrow or whenever they want. I'm with a clear conscience. I cannot be judged for the rest of my life for a mistake I made two years ago. I do not want to remember my whole career by the only mistake I made.

I was in attendance at the media session where White made his comments, so I have a unique view of this situation.

White is who he is. We've had an up-close look at the UFC president over the past decade-plus, and we know what to expect. He says what he thinks, and he doesn't have much of a filter. He's not going to change. This has endeared him to UFC fans around the world.

But sometimes White's honesty is a detriment, and I think this is one of those situations. There have been several jarring instances of White bashing his own fighters over the past few monthsAlistair Overeem immediately comes to mindand his comments often seem counterintuitive.

There is a difference, though, between being honest and being outright mean, not to mention making unfounded accusations. Yes, Justino has a drug test failure for stanozolol on her record. But as she noted, she has passed two drug tests since then. We must assume she is a clean fighter at the moment, at least until proven otherwise.

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Cris "Cyborg" Justino Responds to Dana White's Hurtful Criticism

New Jerseys Top 10 Beaches Contest Resumes After Superstorm Sandy

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POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) New Jerseys Top Ten Beaches contest is back after a one-year break while the shore began its recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

Voting started Monday in the contest, sponsored by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and Richard Stockton Colleges Costal Resource Center. Ballots can be cast online at http://www.njtoptenbeaches.org.

The contest was started in 2008 to encourage stewardship of and pride in the states beaches while promoting a competition for bragging rights among New Jerseys favorite beach towns. Previous versions asked beachgoers to share their favorite memories and photos of the Jersey shore.

New wrinkles in this years contest ask beachgoers to consider specific things about their favorite beaches, including how much it costs to access the beach and whether amenities such as parking and restrooms are available.

This year were asking people to take a little time to really think about the criteria that make the places they pick worthy of winning a spot on the 2014 Top Ten list, said Kim Kosko, a spokeswoman for the Sea Grant Consortium. We want them to realize how important our beaches and other coastal assets are and that were all responsible for their well-being. What we do today directly impacts the future of shore communities.

This years contest also ends the regional groupings that had allowed clusters of beaches to compete as a single unit in past years. For instance, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood had for many years competed as a single entity, The Wildwoods. This year, each individual town will be voted on separately. The same goes for individual beach towns on Long Beach Island.

Voting runs through April 30. Winners will be announced on May 22.

The contest was suspended last year while parts of the shore struggled to recover from the damage Sandy caused on Oct. 29, 2012.

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New Jerseys Top 10 Beaches Contest Resumes After Superstorm Sandy

World Premiere of Beaches Musical, Co-Starring Mara Davi and Alysha Umphress, Begins Feb. 18

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World Premiere of Beaches Musical, Co-Starring Mara Davi and Alysha Umphress, Begins Feb. 18

By Michael Gioia 18 Feb 2014

Virginia's Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of Beaches, adapted from the 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, beginning Feb. 18 at Signature's MAX Theatre. Mara Davi and Alysha Umphress co-star in the roles originated on screen by Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler, respectively.

Directed by Signature artistic director Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), the musical chronicling a decades-long friendship between two women stars Davi (A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone) as Bertie and Umphress (American Idiot, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) as Cee Cee Bloom.

Beaches, originally scheduled through March 23, was given a week-long extension through March 30. Opening night is set for March 4.

Based on the 1985 novel by Dart (later adapted into the 1988 movie with Midler and Hershey), the musical features a book by Dart and Thom Thomas, lyrics by Dart and music by David Austin.

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"We've assembled an amazing cast along with a terrific creative team to bring this special story to life," said Schaeffer in an earlier statement. "Iris, Thom and David have created a magical world of memories and friendship in this heartfelt story for the stage in a very original way."

Joining Davi and Umphress are Clifton Samuels (Follies) as Michael Barron, Matthew Scott (Sondheim on Sondheim, Jersey Boys) as John Perry, Donna Migliaccio (Ragtime) as Leona Bloom, Helen Hedman (Signature's My Fair Lady) as Rose White, Brooklyn Shuck (Annie) as Young Bertie, Presley Ryan (NBC's "The Sound of Music") as Young Cee Cee, Maya Brettell (Studio Theatre's The Big Meal) as Teen Bertie and Gracie Jones (Olney Theatre Center's Spring Awakening) as Teen Cee Cee.

Rounding out the cast are Svea Johnson (Karen Lewandowski/Nina), Michael Bunce (Arthur/Melman/ensemble), Bayla Whitten (nurse/ensemble), Jamie Eacker, Heather Brorsen, Davis Hasty, Dan Manning, Ryah Nixon and Robbie Roby.

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World Premiere of Beaches Musical, Co-Starring Mara Davi and Alysha Umphress, Begins Feb. 18