Health care among early leaders in the S&P 500

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NEW YORK (AP) Health care stocks have started off the year on a tear.

The industry group that includes health care providers, drugmakers and biotechnology companies has advanced 7.3 percent this year, making it the second-best in the Standard and Poors 500 index, trailing only energy companies. Even drugmakers, traditionally considered a safe-haven play, are outperforming the market.

The rally has solid foundations, but not all companies will benefit equally from the influx of cash. Also, the wide range of stocks in the sector offer investors vastly differing risk and return dynamics.

U.S. health care spending is projected to climb at a faster pace than economic growth in coming years as the population ages and President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act gives millions of Americans greater access to care.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects that total health care spending will rise 70 percent over last years estimated level of $2.8 trillion to $4.8 trillion by 2021. Thats almost 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

Theres just a lot more money flowing into health care and were seeing the markets react accordingly, says Derek Taner, a portfolio manager at Invesco.

President Obamas re-election in November gave the sector a boost by removing the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Republican candidate Mitt Romney had said that he would overturn the act if elected.

The biggest beneficiaries of the act will likely be hospital companies, which have the potential to increase their earnings significantly, says Taner, who manages Invescos Global Health Care fund.

So-called managed-care companies should also benefit from the increase in spending, though they also face higher taxes and restrictions on how they can price their coverage, so the law will be challenging to them too.

HCA Holdings Inc., a bellwether for the hospital industry, has gained 25 percent so far this year. Tenet Healthcare Corp., a Dallas-based operator of acute care hospitals, has advanced 20 percent.

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Freedom High quarterback with Kaepernick look is Nevada-bound

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Freedom High quarterback Dante Mayes, who resembles 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in playing style and appearance, is headed to the famous signal-caller's college as well.

Mayes has orally committed to Nevada after taking a recruiting trip to Reno this past weekend, Freedom coach Kevin Hartwig said on Friday.

"He looks just like him," Hartwig said of the Mayes-Kaepernick comparison.

Hartwig describes Mayes, who is 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, as strong-armed and athletic but shorter than Kaepernick and lacking the tattoos.

Mayes, a three-year starter, passed for 2,487 yards with 26 touchdowns as a senior, guiding the athletic Falcons to an unbeaten Bay Valley Athletic League title. He also rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

Nevada is headed by new coach Brian Polian, a former Stanford assistant under current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Polian only announced his staff on Friday.

"It's a great fit," Hartwig said. "They have a new staff, and they're going to keep the pistol zone-read stuff, which is exactly what we do. It's a great transition."

Mayes, who carries a 3.6 grade-point average, wants to study at Nevada's medical school and has talked about wanting a career in medicine for two years, Hartwig said.

The Falcons have thrived with their dynamic trio of Mayes, Darrell Daniels, a versatile Washington commit, and junior Joe Mixon, a four-star recruit by rivals.com who ran

Hartwig said the school will have a signing party for Daniels and Mayes on Feb. 6.

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End freedom camping call

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Dennis Pezaro

However, the Queenstown Lakes District Council is powerless to do anything more about the problem, chief executive Adam Feeley says.

During the open forum at this week's Wanaka Residents' Association annual meeting where Mr Feeley was guest speaker, Dr Pezaro called for tougher penalties against freedom campers, in light of concerns shared by health officials worldwide about predicted norovirus epidemics.

''Norovirus is expected to sweep the northern hemisphere in their summer and it will inevitably find its way south,'' Dr Pezaro told the meeting.

''Only 40 years ago we were taught there was no giardia,'' he said.

Yet pollution from poorly disposed toilet waste now meant New Zealand's streams were ''unreliable'' and freedom camping could cause the same devastating result with the norovirus stomach bug.

''My concern is that if you allow people to continue to camp with inadequate toilet facilities then goodness know what this norovirus will do ... I'm very concerned that it could disable communities and community water supplies.''

Although he appreciated what the QLDC was doing to address the freedom camping issue, ''I do think we need to strengthen our resolve''.

''We must stamp [freedom camping] out before it starts to beat us.''

However, the council had limitations under the Freedom Camping Act in what it could do, Mr Feeley said.

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End freedom camping call

Freedom to play ball: Camarillo park adds diamonds

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Freedom Park is a mark of Camarillo's rising sportsprofile.

The park near the Camarillo Airport has been remade into five baseball fields, all with lights, including Veterans Field, a full-size field. The latest upgrades come after the opening of the 55-acre Pleasant Valley Fields to soccer leagues and tournaments in January2010.

To celebrate the completion of the new baseball fields, the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District will hold a grand opening at Veterans Field at Freedom Park onFeb.2.

The fields have only been used on a try-out basis during a recent tournament by Pony Baseball players. Park district officials stood by to see how play went and how the fields heldup.

The renovation took nearly a year, though planning has been in the works for more than a decade, according to Daryl Wagar, superintendent of parks for thedistrict,

(View the Freedom Park: Camarillo diamonds slide show.)

"The park was designed around Camarillo Pony Baseball League's specifications," Wagar said. "Veterans Field is the only full-sized lit baseball field in Camarillo and maybe in VenturaCounty."

The five fields were created by eliminating the three original softball fields, which had been part of the former Oxnard Air Force Base, and creating two more fields from grassy open space, according toWagar.

The Camarillo Pony Baseball League donated about $180,000 to the district, covering about 10 percent of the cost ofrenovation.

The overall construction costs added up to just over $1.8 million, including change orders, according to park district General Manager DanLaBrado.

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Freedom to play ball: Camarillo park adds diamonds

Freedom National Insurance Company, Inc. Appoints New Regional Marketing Manager over Arizona

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Freedom National Insurance Company, Inc. appoints new Regional Marketing Manager.

Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) January 24, 2013

Maricela joins Freedom National as a Regional Marketing Manager to continue Freedom Nationals recent success providing cutting edge insurance offerings to many of the top agencies in Arizona. Maricela comments I am excited to start a new challenge within Freedom National and look forward to working with the team to further develop their auto insurance book profitably while adding new agencies to their network of offices. I am fortunate to be joining such a respected company that prides itself on top quality service and leading edge technology.

Jason Wootton, VP of Sales and Marketing said Maricelas wealth of experience and industry knowledge has already made her a key addition to the Freedom National family. We view her addition to the company as a sign of our commitment to being the leading company in Arizona. Our new innovations and the increasing demand from our agencies and producers led us to look for an addition to our team who will fit in with our ethos of innovation, integrity and exceptional service, and it is very fortunate that we were able to find someone of Maricelas caliber to fulfill this role. Im confident that Maricela will play a key role in growing our auto insurance book working with our existing agents and new agents.

About Freedom National Insurance Company, Inc.

Freedom National Insurance Company is a technology driven, service oriented company focused on the non-standard auto insurance market.company which Freedom offers customers, producers and agencies a range of quality products and services to suit their auto insurance needs. They currently offer auto insurance products in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah with up to 12 more additional states being added in 2013. Freedom National Insurance Companys focus on technology,technology advanced underwriting, service and innovation has led to exceptional growth as of late and will continue to provide a stable platform for expansion and profitable growth.

Jason Wootton Freedom National Insurance Services, Inc 949-862-8407 Email Information

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Freedom National Insurance Company, Inc. Appoints New Regional Marketing Manager over Arizona

GGN: Star Trek Was Rand Programming, Females Destroyed by Eugenics, 300M Y/O Aluminum Found – Video

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GGN: Star Trek Was Rand Programming, Females Destroyed by Eugenics, 300M Y/O Aluminum Found
Part Four (4) PLEASE SUBSCRIBE Please visit: http://www.ggnonline.com or http for the latest news commentary by Global Government News DONATIONS WELCOME Visit http://www.ggnonline.com to make a PayPal donation because it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. -Darko HEADLINES WITH LINKS FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. DDarko2012 is making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a #39;fair use #39; of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 USC Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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GGN: Star Trek Was Rand Programming, Females Destroyed by Eugenics, 300M Y/O Aluminum Found - Video

Color-Blind Man Is Now A Cyborg Who Can Hear Color

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When Neil Harbisson was a kid, he could only see in black and white.

In fact, he wasn't totally convinced that colors actually existed.

But now, Harbisson can sense color.

He still can't see colors. But now he can hear them with a device he helped create in 2004 called the Eyeborg.

The device can detect 360 colors the human eye can normally perceive. It also detects infrared light.

"Hearing colors changes the way you see everything," Harbisson says in a Cyborg Foundation video.

Harbisson says he finds the sounds generated by colors in supermarkets "stimulating."

He also turns music, like Justin Bieber's "Baby," for example, into vibrant paintingstranslating the sounds of the song back into the colors he's learned to associate with them.

Harbisson says that he is the first legally recognized cyborg in the world, as his passport photo shows him with the Eyeborg attached to his head.

"It's not the union between the Eyeborg and my head what converts me to a cyborg," Harbisson says. It's "the union between the software and my brain. My body and technology have united."

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Color-Blind Man Is Now A Cyborg Who Can Hear Color

PWD, Corporation encroach on city beaches for parking lots

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Study establishes over 15 acres have already been converted; space for vehicles and roads being developed on sands by dumping debris

Beaches in various parts of the city are being converted into parking spaces and roads, according to a study.

The research commissioned by the Save Chennai Beaches Campaign was carried out by faculty members of various institutions, such as the Indian Institute of Science. It has established that over 15 acres of beach sands have already been converted into parking lots and roads by agencies such as the Public Works Department (PWD), the Chennai Corporation and private entities.

Around 2.6 acres of beach sands have been converted into parking lots at Pattinapakkam by dumping and compacting of debris in the past few years. The study has found that the Chennai Corporation and the PWD were responsible for the dumping.

A 0.4 acre-area of sands in Srinivasapuram beach has been converted into a shed for migrant labourers and this too was through the dumping of debris. The identity of the agency behind this is as yet unknown. Another 0.3 acre area of beach sands in the same locality has been encroached upon by the PWD for construction of a road leading to the Adyar estuary.

The Chennai Corporation and PWD have also dumped debris in an intertidal zone of Adyar creek to create a bund in an area measuring 5.78 acre, the study found.

At present, debris has been dumped on the mudflats of the Adyar river in Anna Sathya Nagar. Over 5.71 acre area of beach has already been covered by the civic body, PWD and private contractors.

A private entity has dumped debris on Thiruvanmiyur beach to construct a road in an area of 0.28 acre. The same entity has encroached upon another 3.4 acre of area, according to the study. The Chennai Corporation has dumped debris to construct a road from Kapaleeswarar Nagar beach to Periya Neelangarai which has eaten up 0.35 acre of beach area.

Chennai Corporation lorries have been found to have dumped debris on many of the coastal stretches, according to the study. However, the civic body officials said they were getting rid of the debris only in dumping yards.

Google Earth images from 2001 to 2004 show that a stretch of beach in Pattinapakkam was covered with sands. The study has found that the area has now been filled with two-metre-high construction debris which has been compacted and made into a parking space. Researchers in the team said, this was unauthorised and a violation of CRZ notification.

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PWD, Corporation encroach on city beaches for parking lots

Red tide presence strengthens along Naples beaches, but fish kills decline

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Photo by COREY PERRINE // Buy this photo

Corey Perrine/Staff The footprint evidence is clear where a fish was picked away by birds Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, at Barefoot Beach State Preserve in Bonita Springs, Fla. An agal bloom, known commonly as red tide, is a phenomenon where high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a microscopic marine algae, contain toxins that paralyze the nervous system in fish. In large quantities, they cause the water to appear red or murky, hence the name. The blooms can affect humans causing eye and respiratory conditions such as coughing, sneezing, tearing and itching.

NAPLES Fewer dead fish linked to red tide are washing ashore at Naples beaches compared with several days ago, but tests indicate the microscopic algae has a stronger presence than last week, according to Collier County officials.

The latest red tide report Thursday from the county's Natural Resources department said water samples taken near the Naples Pier show a high level of red tide.

At Barefoot Beach, Vanderbilt Beach, Seagate and south Marco Beach, tests showed red tide was at a medium level at all four locations.

The latest finding indicates the presence of red tide has heightened compared to a week ago when it was at low levels at Seagate and elsewhere.

Red tide is an algae that releases a toxin that can kill marine life and aggravate respiratory problems for people who suffer from asthma and emphysema.

Water samples were collected Tuesday, with newer samples collected Thursday as part of the county's twice-weekly testing to keep beachgoers up to date.

There have been reports of dead fish washing ashore near the Moorings and as far north as Barefoot Beach, but the overall number of dead fish decreased in recent days.

"It is possible the wind is a little bit offshore and so it could be pushing the fish offshore," said Alina Corcoran, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in St. Petersburg.

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Red tide presence strengthens along Naples beaches, but fish kills decline

Astronomy Photographer of the Year calls for entries

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Run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, in association with Sky at Night Magazine, the competition is an international search for images of the cosmos, from photographs of galaxies millions of light years away, to dramatic images of the night sky taken closer to home.

Entrants have until 13 June to submit their entries, with the winning images due to be showcased in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, from 19 September to 23 February 2014.

There are four main categories in the competition Earth and Space, Our Solar System, Deep Space and Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year taken by photographers under the age of 16. There are also three special prizes: People and Space, Best Newcomer and Robotic Scope, awarded to the best photograph taken using a computer-controlled telescope.

Photographers can enter the competition online by visiting http://www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto and may each submit up to five images. The overall winner will receive 1500, with category winners each receiving 500. There are also runner-up cash prizes and all winning entries will receive a one-year subscription to Sky at Night Magazine.

In a press statement, competition judge and Sky at Night Magazine editor Chris Bramley, says: The fantastic standard of entries last year showed that you don't need expensive equipment or decades of experience to take stunning astrophotos. I'm really looking forward to seeing what new astro-imagers submit in 2013.

Also on the judging panel this year isspace scientist and TV presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Dr Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and science and astronomy writer Will Gater,among many others.

The winners of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013 will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Royal Observatory on 18 September.

To view the entries online, visit: http://www.flickr.com/groups/astrophoto.

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Astronomy Photographer of the Year calls for entries

Astronomy Prizes Award Cosmic Achievements by Scientists

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Scientists who have helped further our understanding of cosmic phenomena from gamma-ray pulsars to galaxy formation have been awarded top prizes from the American Astronomical Society. The following are recipients of the 2013 awards, announced by AAS this week:

Kenneth C. Freeman, an Australian National University astronomer who has studied the structure and evolution of galaxies, won the AAS's top award, the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, for a "lifetime of seminal contributions" in the field.

"Through his many PhD students and his generous interactions with countless colleagues, his influence on galactic and extragalactic astronomy has extended far beyond his own research," AAS officials said of Freeman.

Jason Kalirai, of the Space Telescope Science Institute, was honored for his work in stellar and galactic astrophysics. Among other achievements, he devised new methods to measure the age of the Milky Way galaxy using white dwarf stars and described the fraction of mass that stars lose over their lives. Kalirai, who is 34, received the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize for outstanding achievement in observational research by an early-career astronomer.

"Being a professional astronomer is the most rewarding profession in the world," Kalirai said in a statement. "I get to use some of the most advanced tools that humans have ever created to address the universes biggest mysteries. It doesnt get cooler than that!"

Eiichiro Komatsu, of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, was awarded the Lancelot M. Berkeley - New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy. Komatsu's 2011 report that placed tight new constraints on the standard cosmological model was the most highly cited astronomy paper last year, according to AAS.

For his theoretical work on how massive stars are formed, Mark Krumholz, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, was given the Helen B. Warner Prize for a significant contribution to astronomy by an early-career scientist.

The Annie Jump Cannon Award for outstanding research and promise for future research by a woman went to Sarah Dodson-Robinson, who studies the formation of planetary systems and teaches at the University of Texas, Austin.

Caltech's Keith Matthews was recognized with the Joseph Weber Award for instrumentation for his achievements in infrared astronomy at the Palomar and Keck observatories. Among other feats over his career, Matthews' NIRC2 camera in the Keck 2 telescope allowed scientists to characterize supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

The Dannie Heineman Prize in Astrophysics for exceptional work by mid-career astronomers went to Rutgers University's Rachel Somerville for her scholarship on galaxy formation and evolution.

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Astronomy Prizes Award Cosmic Achievements by Scientists