N.C. beaches rank third in nation in report

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Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 4:45 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.

Since 2008, North Carolina has had some of the cleanest beaches in the nation and 2012 is no exception.

A report released Wednesday by the Natural Resource Defense Council detailed the environmental health of thousands of vacation beaches nationally and rated them depending on how safe they were for swimmers.

Rated third in the nation, out of 30 states, North Carolina's monitored beach samples exceeded national standards in 2012 only 2 percent of the time, according to the report, "Testing the Waters."

The nation's worst state in the report, Ohio, had samples that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's standards 21 percent of the time, according to Jon Devine, the NRDC's senior water attorney, in a conference call.

In North Carolina, elevated bacteria levels on beaches led to beach closings or advisories for 91 days in 2012, down from 126 days in 2011, according to the report.

Beaches in the Wilmington region ranked highly, with only five beaches closing or having advisory days because of unsafe swimming water in Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties combined last year.

Erin Bryan-Millush, an environmental specialist with the N.C. Department of Natural Resources who monitors beaches, attributed the clean water to proactive local governments and lower rain amounts than usual in 2012.

There is no discharge of storm water runoff on a beach into the ocean in Pender, New Hanover or Brunswick counties, another reason water remains highly rated for swimming, Bryan-Millush said.

Storm water runoff and sewer overflow are two of the top contaminators of beach water nationwide, Devine said.

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N.C. beaches rank third in nation in report

Mississippi’s beaches ranked 19th of 30 in US in water quality

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WILLIAM COLGIN/SUN HERALDA family watches a great blue heron pass in Ocean Springs. A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council ranks Coast beaches 19th out of 30 in water quality.

WILLIAM COLGIN SUN HERALD Buy Photo

Alabama beaches in Gulf Shores and at the Gulf State Park Pavilion have been ranked top in the country by the Natural Resources Defense Council's annual report "Testing the Waters."

Mississippi beaches ranked 19th in water quality, out of 30 states reporting.

But according to the report, testing in 2012 at sites in Jackson County met the standard for bacteria in the water more often than Harrison and Hancock counties.

Mississippi has 22 beach sites that are tested weekly.

And these sites had more bacteria than is acceptable for public health 8 percent of the time they were tested. California, which ranked 20th in the report, had 504 test sites that also missed the mark 8 percent of the time.

The report uses water-quality tests each state performs. In Mississippi, the Department of Environmental Quality handles the monitoring.

These tests are required by the EPA, and the NRDC gets its data from the states or the EPA. The NRDC has been gathering the information for 23 years.

The 2013 report presents information on water quality and beach closings and swimming advisories at more than 3,000 U.S. beach sites along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes.

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Mississippi's beaches ranked 19th of 30 in US in water quality

Untreated sewage closed U.S. beaches for 20,000 days

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NEW YORK, June 27 (UPI) -- For the third consecutive year, U.S. beaches experienced more than 20,000 closing and advisory days due to polluted water, an environmental group says.

The 23rd annual beach water quality report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council found 80 percent of the closings and advisories were issued because testing revealed bacteria levels in the water violated public health standards, confirming serious water pollution persists at many U.S. shores.

The primary known cause of this pollution is massive storm water runoff and sewage, the report said.

"Sewage and contaminated runoff in the water can spoil a family vacation real fast, turning a day of lounging at the beach into a day at the doctor's office with a sick child," Jon Devine, NRDC's senior attorney, said in the statement. "It's no surprise that pollution in the waves is bad for business in beach communities. Our government leaders can help support local economies and salvage countless summer getaways nationwide by tackling one of the principal sources of these problems -- storm water runoff."

The researchers analyzed the latest beach water testing data results from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state beach coordinators at more than 3,000 beach testing locations nationwide.

Thirteen beaches had exceptionally low violation rates and strong testing and safety practices last year. There were:

-- Alabama: Gulf Shores Public Beach in Baldwin County.

-- Alabama: Gulf State Park Pavilion in Baldwin County.

-- California: Bolsa Chica Beach in Orange County.

-- California: Newport Beach in Orange County.

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Untreated sewage closed U.S. beaches for 20,000 days

Contra Costa, San Mateo County beaches rife with bacteria, report says

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San Mateo County beaches are the second-worst in California when it comes to a key measure of bacterial pollution, according to a report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Contra Costa County's beaches were the worst, the report found. But the sample size for Contra Costa County was small -- only two monitoring sites, the north and south ends of Richmond's Keller Beach, were included in the report. San Mateo County, meanwhile, contributed data from 45 sites at beaches on the bay and along the Pacific Ocean.

The beaches in these counties exceeded daily maximum levels for E. coli and other bacteria in 2012 more often than any other counties in the state, the report found. California ranked 20th of 30 coastal states, including those surrounding the Great Lakes.

Stormwater runoff and sewage spills are the primary causes of bacterial pollution on beaches, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which based its annual "Testing the Waters" report on water-quality data from more than 3,000 beach sites across the country. Citing a 2001 analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the council claims as many as 3.5 million Americans -- and possibly more -- become ill every year by coming into contact with pollution from these sources.

"Stormwater pollution remains a persistent problem on our coasts and beaches," said Noah Garrison, a California attorney with the council, "and it's certainly a

Most polluted

Keller Beach formed the basis for Contra Costa County's poor showing in the report. Two monitoring sites exceeded bacteria thresholds a combined 17.3 percent of the time.

San Mateo County had a far greater data sample, but its 16.5 percent violation rate was driven by a trio of chronic offenders in terms of water quality: Parkside Aquatic Park and Lakeshore Park, two lagoon beaches in San Mateo, and Pillar Point Harbor north of Half Moon Bay.

One segment of the beach at Pillar Point Harbor had some of the highest violation rates in the state. Pillar Point-Capistrano, measured twice a month, exceeded public health standards for bacteria 52 percent of the time in 2012.

Sabrina Brennan, a member of the San Mateo County Harbor District board, said fecal contamination at Pillar Point is a long-standing issue, and a study on the subject is wrapping up. Brennan said she advises people not to let their children play at the Capistrano segment.

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Contra Costa, San Mateo County beaches rife with bacteria, report says

Texas beaches tank in quality

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With the Fourth of July weekend coming up, thousands of Texans will be heading to the beach.

But they shouldn't assume the water quality is good.

Among the 30 states that have coastal or Great Lakes beaches, Texas ranks 21st in beach water quality.

According to a report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, nine percent of beach water samples at Texas beaches exceeded national standards for contamination in 2012.

In last year's report on the 2011 season, Texas ranked eighth among the 30 states.

This year's report presents information on water quality as well as the frequency of beach closings and swimming advisories at more than 3,000 U.S. beaches on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.

Texas has about 2,500 miles of coastal, bay and estuary shoreline, with 336 miles covered by monitoring and notification provisions of the federal Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000.

In addition, the Texas Coastal Management Program under the Texas General Land Office funds a project to create a standard sanitary survey program for the state's beaches, according to the NRDC report.

In 2012, Texas reported 169 coastal beaches, with 9 percent of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeding the daily maximum bacterial standard. Beaches with the highest percentage in 2012 were Palacios-Palacios Pavilion in Matagorda County with 33 percent; Cole Park and Poenisch Park, both at 32 percent; Ropes Park at 31 percent in Nueces County; and Sargent Beach at 29 percent in Matagorda County.

The report calls upon the Environmental Protection Agency to set beach water quality standards that protect human health and provide states with support they need to monitor beach pollution and notify the public when pollution levels are high.

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Texas beaches tank in quality

Mechanisation of Thought Processes: Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century – Video

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Mechanisation of Thought Processes: Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century
Professor Murray Shanahan gives his talk titled #39;Mechanisation of Thought Processes: Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century #39;. Recorded at NPL on 20th Ju...

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Mechanisation of Thought Processes: Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century - Video

The Artificial Intelligence Company You Should Watch

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Boris Sofman is the cofounder and CEO of Anki, a startup that had been in stealth for five years until it unveiled its first product with a bang as the headline demo at this years WWDC. Before founding Anki, Boris worked at iRobot and earned his sci-fi creds by getting a PhD from the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. Here, he talks to Michael Grothaus about the future of AI.

Lets get this one out of the way first, because its every developers dream. You were chosen to be the opening demo at this years WWDC. How did that feel?

It was such an exciting experience! And an honor as well. We'd been working on Anki for over five years without publicly announcing anything, so to finally be able to share with the world in such a way was simply incredible. We'd actually been working with Apple for a while already regarding selling Anki Drive in Apple stores. There really seemed to be an excitement at Apple not just around Anki Drive, but how we're using their devices in ways no one has used them before.

What is AI exactly?

AI is the science of using data to allow systems to behave with intelligence and with a purpose. This can be purely in software (a video game character, a chess program, voice recognition), but the most exciting application for us is when you combine it with robotics to make physical things behave with a level of intelligence never before possible.

Will any computers ever have true intelligence that operates at a human level?

The core approach to any AI problem is to represent the structure and constraints of the problem in a way that is computable. This is harder for some problems than others, and as a result there are areas where AI is already superior to a human, but others where it will be a long time before AI can come close to a human's capabilities. We're nowhere close to a general-purpose AI that can do everything a human can, but we're increasingly capable of addressing complex challenges and we're knocking off problems that were previously untouchable.

And your company, Anki, is working on some of those challenges?

Yes. Anki is an artificial intelligence and robotics company that is taking these technologies out of the lab and into peoples everyday lives. With these technologies, we're able to program physical objects to be intelligent, adapt and interact with their surroundings, and to surprise people with what is possible. Consumers have never before fully benefited from these technologies, which promise to make all aspects of our lives more fun, more useful, and more efficient. Anki Drive, which is a video game programmed for the real world, is the first step for us and demonstrates whats possible with Anki technology.

You made some breakthroughs with Anki Drive. Tell me about them.

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The Artificial Intelligence Company You Should Watch

Ohio Aerospace Institute Announces Partnership With ERAU

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Thu, Jun 27, 2013

The Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI), which supports the state's aerospace economy, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide's Center for Aviation and Aerospace Leadership (CAAL) announced Monday that they have formed a special partnership that will allow them to collaborate on aerospace education, research and development, and leadership training.

"This collaboration is more than us simply working together. It is a testament to both OAI's and Embry-Riddle's innovation, commitment to and leadership position in the aerospace industry," said Dr. Michael Heil, president and CEO, OAI. "We look forward to working with the Embry-Riddle team to develop informational workshops on the issues and trends impacting our industry and to further aerospace research right here in Ohio and across the country."

This unique partnership will afford both OAI and Embry-Riddle the opportunity to further demonstrate their aerospace expertise. These two organizations will work together on and participate in the following:

"We are very pleased to have entered this memorandum of understanding (MOU) with OAI," said Robert Mansfield, CAAL's executive director. "OAI is one of the premier aerospace institutes in the U.S. We believe together we will do much to maintain America's leadership in aviation and aerospace and strengthen Ohio's and the Nation's competitiveness in the industry."

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Ohio Aerospace Institute Announces Partnership With ERAU

Rockford Area Aerospace Network Shares Results from 50th Annual Paris Air Show

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June 27, 2013, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS The Rockford Area Aerospace Network (RAAN), a committee comprised of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) and the State of Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Office of Trade and Investment, has just returned from a successful trip to the prestigious 50th Annual International Paris Air Show. RAAN and its members were able to attend the show due to a state awarded State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant. The grant funded nine Illinois companies to attend the trade show; six of the companies in attendance were from the Rockford region. The local companies that attended included:

The goal of the show was to seize new business opportunities and forge technology partnerships. RAANs continued participation in the Paris Air Show solidifies the Rockford regions globally-recognized brand as a leading, international aerospace cluster. The participation of Illinois companies at the Paris Air Show also helps further Governor Pat Quinns goal of doubling Illinois exports by 2014.

While at the show, RAAN visited with representatives from 37 companies, including France, Germany and Great Britain. Additional outcomes from the show included:

The Paris Air Show was the perfect opportunity to expose Rockford to companies and representatives located all over the world, said Eric Voyles, Vice President for National Business Development at RAEDC. We met with several representatives and highlighted the fact that we are one of the largest epicenters of aerospace activity in the United States. The show was great exposure for Rockford and it allowed us to increase foreign direct investment in our region, which ultimately will lead to new business development and more job creation.

The Paris Air Show is the largest and worlds most prestigious tradeshow focused on bringing together the biggest aviation and aerospace companies to showcase the latest technological innovations. Approximately 2,100 companies exhibit from 45 countries and 151,000 trade visitors attend the show. Since its inception, the show has been at the heart of the development of the aviation and space industry and over the years has become one of the industrys major networking events.

The Rockford Region is one of the largest epicenters of aerospace activity in the country, home to more than 200 suppliers. There are more than 90 aerospace suppliers in the Rockford metropolitan area alone. The region leads the state in aerospace manufacturing employment, with more than 80 percent of Illinois aerospace workforce being found in Rockfords metropolitan areas. This makes the Rockford metropolitan area sixth in the nation in terms of concentration of aerospace production employment and one of the largest in the nation in overall aerospace employment.

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Rockford Area Aerospace Network Shares Results from 50th Annual Paris Air Show

Permaswage — World-Leading Designer And Manufacturer Of Aerospace Fluid Fittings — Acquired By Precision Castparts …

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GARDENA, Calif., June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Permaswage Holding SAS (Permaswage), the world-leading designer and manufacturer of aerospace fluid fittings, an investment of the European private equity firm Bridgepoint, has been sold, subject to regulatory approvals, to Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) (PCP) in a $600 million, all cash, transaction.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101213/LA13515LOGO)

Permaswage is the technology leader in the fluid fitting industry providing proprietary and standard components, tooling, and training to all major aerospace companies globally. Permaswage products can be found on virtually every major commercial and military aircraft program. Permaswage operates from manufacturing locations in Gardena CA, USA; Les Clayes-sous-Bois, France; and Suzhou, China, and employs 680 people worldwide.

"The acquisition of Permaswage by PCC provides our company, and all its employees, a very capable and resourceful new home," said Andrew Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Permaswage. He added, "Under the Bridgepoint ownership since 2007 the company has been allowed to develop and expand rapidly and I have every confidence that this will continue as we go forward under the PCC umbrella."

The company expects the transaction to be completed during the third quarter of 2013.

Advisers acting in this transaction on behalf of the company included: Lazard (exclusive financial advisor); KPMG (financial vendor assistance), CSP Associates (commercial vendor assistance), Clifford Chance (legal).

For further information:

Andrew Roberts

Permaswage

Tel: +1-310-217-3119

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Permaswage -- World-Leading Designer And Manufacturer Of Aerospace Fluid Fittings -- Acquired By Precision Castparts ...