Heirs of eugenics victims won’t appeal compensation ruling – WLOS

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Relatives of victims of North Carolina's sterilization program that operated until the 1970s have decided not to appeal a ruling that prohibits them from inheriting compensation payments. (Photo credit: MGN)

Relatives of victims of North Carolina's sterilization program that operated until the 1970s have decided not to appeal a ruling that prohibits them from inheriting compensation payments.

Attorney Elizabeth Haddix of the UNC Center for Civil Rights told the Winston-Salem Journal that the relatives have decided not to appeal a decision last month by the state Court of Appeals.

The court ruled eugenics victims seeking compensation from the state had to be alive on June 30, 2013, for their heirs to qualify for payment. That date was set in the compensation law.

About 7,600 people were sterilized under the program, which ended in 1974. At least 213 victims are considered to have qualified for compensation. They received two checks.

A final payment is to be made after all appeals have been decided.

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Heirs of eugenics victims won't appeal compensation ruling - WLOS

Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation :Protecting the ecosystem with a basis in science – TheChronicleHerald.ca

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The historic Captain Angus J. Walters House in Lunenburg is more than a museum dedicated to the captain of the Bluenose, it is also the home to the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation (BCAF), a charitable organization that addresses the environmental concerns in the South Shore region.

BCAF was established in 1993 and it has grown to an internationally recognized organization. BCAFs goal is to promote the restoration, enhancement and conservation of the ecosystem through research, education and action. BCAF is involved in many environmental projects, including species at risk, watershed-based and environmental education projects. The organization receives direction from a volunteer board of directors supported through a full-time executive director Brooke Nodding.

Nodding is quick to point out that BCAF concentrates on research and the collection of scientific data. The organization is not a lobby group and while they partner with other organizations and groups that may have vested interests, BCAF focuses on the collection and analysis of accurate data which is often made available to community groups and various levels of government.

We are not an issue-focused group, nor are we a lobby group or an advocacy group, Nodding says. Our basis is science. We have worked hard to develop the trust of several groups and to form good working relationships with several local and provincial organizations, including all levels of governments.

Education is an important part of BCAFs mandate and one component are Earth Adventure Camps, held every summer at the Morton Centre on Heckmans Island. The camps being offered in 2017 include:

1. Nature Detectives for children ages six to eight. The afternoon camp will run from July 10 to 14. Children will be asked to help solve a mystery. Natures clues will be used to understand habitats and discover what all creatures need to survive. Children will be encouraged to use their sneaky detective skills to solve the puzzle of the shapeshifters.

2. Wild Adventurers is a full day camp for children ages nine to 12 and will take place July 31 to Aug. 4. Children attending will learn skills from wild animals about how to live in harmony with the natural world. Those skills will be put to the test when the attendees build and sleep in their own forest shelters.

3. Eco Scientists, scheduled for Aug. 14 to 18, is designed for children ages six to eight. They will be encouraged to become a scientist who conducts experiments, explores the natural world, and uncovers the beauty and mysteries of the great outdoors.

There will also be family events that are suitable for all ages and are free of charge. More information on the upcoming camps is available by emailing education@coastalaction.org.

When you are attending the local farmers markets or the summer festivals in our South Shore communities you may see a booth or display distributing information about BCAF. This is another method that the organization uses to get information about the projects and events that are currently underway at BCAF to interested individuals.

There are 14 projects listed as current on the BCAFs website http://www.coastalaction.org, from the American Eel project to Microplastic Debris Research to Stormwater Management. Another current project is the study of the Atlantic Whitefish, which is related to salmon and trout. The endangered Atlantic whitefish is not found anywhere in the world except for Nova Scotia. Historically, this fish has been found in only the Tusket River and the Petite Riviere watersheds. Many factors, including over-fishing, acidification, inadequate fish passage, and the introduction of non-native species are believed to have contributed to the loss of this species on the Tusket River. The introduction of invasive species including smallmouth bass and pickerel add to the unknown factors in recover planning for the Atlantic whitefish. BCAF has found partially digested salmon in the stomachs of pickerel. And in one case there were two living baby snap turtles removed from the stomach of a pickerel.

BCAF is looking forward to staffing three additional term positions for the summer months. Some of the positions at BCAF are long-term and permanent while others are term positions and depended on funding.

While most of the projects that BCAF staff are working on are in the Lunenburg County area, the organization has worked on international projects, provided information to various government departments at all levels and studied specific environmental issues in various parts of the Maritimes. This diverse group is a well-kept secret that is working every day to learn more about the South Shore ecosystem and how it can can be protected for future generations.

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Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation :Protecting the ecosystem with a basis in science - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Miesha Tate sees both sides of Cris Cyborg-Germaine de Randamie controversy – MMA Fighting

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Miesha Tate sees both sides of the controversy over the UFC womens featherweight title.

Inaugural 145-pound champ Germaine de Randamie balked at defending her belt against former Strikeforce and Invicta champ Cris Cyborg, so de Randamie was stripped of the belt by the UFC before she ever made her first title defense.

That means the Holland native will sit on the sidelines for the biggest UFC card so far in 2017, UFC 214, where Cyborg will meet Invicta bantamweight champ Tonya Evinger as part of a title-fight triple bill in Anaheim on July 29.

Appearing on Mondays edition of The MMA Hour, Tate, the retired former UFC womens bantamweight champ, says that if it was her call, shed absolutely step in the cage with Cyborg.

I mean, what do you really have to lose when you fight someone like Cyborg, of her stature? Tate asked. If you beat Cyborg, youre on another level of respect. And if you lose, its like, well so has everybody. So, my opinion of it is, as a fighter, just from a fighter standpoint I think it would be an awesome thing to be able to fight Cyborg.

But of course, conversations about Cyborg come with an asterisk. There was the steroids suspension following a December 2011 fight in San Diego, and the most recent controversy, where Cyborg was provisionally suspended before being granted a retroactive exemption for a banned substance. And if de Randamie doesnt want to fight someone with that sort of history, Tate doesnt feel its her place to judge.

I do respect and understand what Germaine is saying, Tate said. And I dont think shes scared of Cyborg. Shes a fighter. Shes been kickboxing forever. Shes one of the baddest women on the planet.

[De Randamies] point shes trying to make is, she doesnt believe its fair, Tate later added, and that, I cannot disagree. I dont disagree with what shes saying.

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Miesha Tate sees both sides of Cris Cyborg-Germaine de Randamie controversy - MMA Fighting

Your Guide to Becoming a Cyborg Advisor | ETF Trends – ETF Trends

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By Terry MullinviaIris.xyz

The role of the investment advisor is evolving quickly. Automated applications have become the go-to tool for many investors. These apps can help with rebalancing a portfolio, determining asset allocation, and recommending tax-loss harvesting. Ironically, the advanced algorithms and efficiency of these tools have not threatened the role of the advisor; they have strengthened it.

The reason: while hard numbers can certainly facilitate investment decisions, they cant address behaviors like panic selling, buying based on greed, early profit-taking based on fear, and stubbornness that causes refusal to buy a stock that drops in price, even though it is a value play.

The human factor is more important than ever in investment advising. This is where the new breed comes in. The Cyborg Advisor.

A Cyborg Advisor is a technology-aided financial professional. This advisor will use robo-advice (recommendations from apps), and offer added value by counseling a client in-person or over the phone.

Click hereto read the full story on Iris.xyz.

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Your Guide to Becoming a Cyborg Advisor | ETF Trends - ETF Trends

SUPERGIRL Actor David Harewood Was Not A Fan Of Playing … – Comic Book Movie (satire) (press release) (registration) (blog)

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David Harewood has a blast portraying J'onn J'onzz on The CW show, Supergirl. However, recently he was asked to pull double duty and step into the role of Cybog Superman as well, a role part Harewood is not overly thrilled about.

Speaking to a young fan at Supernova Comic Convention in Australia, Harewood spoke about his discontent playing the character. "I dont like playing Cyborg Superman," he explained. "Its boring. They didnt really flesh it out, they didnt really write for the character. They just gave me this rather cheap-looking mask and no costume, and said Okay, youre Cyborg Superman. But it didnt really pan out they didnt really go into why he was a cyborg, how he became a cyborg, what his powers were it was just kind of randomly calling him Cyborg Superman. I was very excited about it at first, but then I very quickly realized that there wasnt really much to it so, its kind of boring. Whenever Im walking to my trailer and I see that costume, I just switch off. Because I know its going to be a really boring day.

Check out the full interview below in which Harewood talks about a few other things such as, who he'd like to see J'onn interact with more, his make-up process for The Martian Manhunter (spoiler alert: it's not much), and his favorite superpower.

Supergirl will return to The CW Monday October 9th.

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SUPERGIRL Actor David Harewood Was Not A Fan Of Playing ... - Comic Book Movie (satire) (press release) (registration) (blog)

Tom DeBlass Ready To Avenge Loss Against Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu – Jiu-Jitsu Times

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Ocean County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu owner Tom DeBlass is everything a martial artist should be. Hes a hulk of man who not only takes pride in himself, but in his students.

And why shouldnt he? He can boast grappling champions like Garry Tonon as one of the men he had the honor to promote to black belt.

But boast he wont, as Professor DeBlass is not only humble before God, but humble in the face of his opponents, especially when those opponents are men like the legendary multiple-time gold medalist, Roberto Cyborg Abreu.

Cyborg and DeBlass are set to lock horns at an upcoming Grappling Pro event. The date for the event has not been released yet.

This wont mark the first time DeBlass and Abreu go at it. Back in 2009, the two men met on the mats at ADCC, where Cyborg took the win:

2009 ADCC Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu met and he beat me by a negative 1 to 0 score. No points were scored. Looks like I will

Posted by Tom DeBlass onMonday, June 26, 2017

The Jiu-Jitsu Times had the chance to talk to Professor Tom DeBlass about his last match against Abreu and his chance to avenge his loss at Grappling Pro.

Here is what he had to say.

Jiu-Jitsu Times: You lost to Cyborg back in 2009. What do you think went wrong for you in that fight, if anything?

Tom DeBlass:Um it was a 0-0 match and he won by a negative 1. To be honest there was some mix up in the match. During the match they had Cyborg scored a negative 1 and not me, then it seemed to be switched. He went on to take second that ADCC and that loss haunted me for a few years. However I recently watched it again and I will say he was the aggressor and he deserved the victory. It was 0-0, but he deserved the victory then.

JJT:Do you think youre going to be more aggressive in this match than you were in the last?

TD: LOL! Think? I know!

JJT:Of course! Hope you didnt think that was a dumb question.

TD: Wasnt a dumb question. Include it.

JJT:Will do! Can you tell our readers what usually goes through your head moments before you compete, especially at a big competition? Are you nervous, excited, pumped, or maybe some combination of all three?

TD:Im not too nervous. I simply ask God to give me the ability to compete the best I ever did. I know if I show up being the best version of me, I can best any man on the Earth without the gi. Gi, no. No gi, yes. I have cardio for days, strength, technique, heart, and tenacity that can carry me through any match.

JJT:What advantages do you think you might have over Cyborg in this match? Him over you?

TD:I think Id be arrogant to say Id have any advantages. Im simply honored to compete against such a legend.

JJT:Totally understandable. Okay, Professor, anything else you want to say about the fight to our readers? Any shout-outs?

TD:I want to thank everyone for their support. It means more than you know. I will continue to do my best to inspire everyone. This is just the beginning.

JJT:Thank you for your time, Professor.

Be sure to check out Professor Tom DeBlassFacebook and Instagram pages.

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Tom DeBlass Ready To Avenge Loss Against Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu - Jiu-Jitsu Times

NJ Gov. Chris Christie Pushes Back After Being Spotted on Beach Closed by Government Shutdown – NBCNews.com

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After a government shutdown left the state beaches of New Jersey closed during the Fourth of July weekend, thousands of people had to find other ways to enjoy their long holiday break.

Except for one: Gov. Chris Christie.

Christie and his family were spotted on Sunday lounging on the sand at Island Beach State Park one of the numerous parks and beaches closed by the government shutdown.

In pictures published by The Star-Ledger of Newark, the Christie family appeared to have the sun and the sand which would normally be a packed with families enjoying the holiday weekend all to themselves.

Many New Jerseyans including his own lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, the Republican candidate for governor in November were not pleased when the images emerged.

Guadagno publicly chastised Christie in a Facebook post on Monday morning.

"If I were governor, I sure wouldn't be sitting on the beach if taxpayers didn't have access to state beaches. It's beyond words," Guadagno wrote. "We need to end the shutdown now. It's hurting small businesses and ordinary New Jerseyans."

After being spotted on the beach Sunday, Christie flew to Trenton to speak with reporters about the government shutdown.

The Christie family was using a state residence, which the governor mentioned he had been using for the weekend during the news conference.

"That's where my family is sleeping, so that's where I'll sleep," Christie said during the news conference Sunday. "When I have a choice between sleeping with my family or sleeping alone, I generally like to sleep where my family is."

During the news conference, a tanner-looking Christie was asked whether he had gotten any sun, to which he responded that he hadn't.

Later Sunday, when the photos surfaced, the governor's spokesman, Brian Murray, reiterated that sentiment, saying Christie had not, in fact, gotten any sun because he was wearing a hat while on the beach.

The photos show that Christie was, indeed, wearing a hat.

Murray later said on MSNBC that he was being a "smart aleck" when he made the hat comment and that Christie was on the beach for only 45 minutes before heading back to Trenton.

"They didn't ask, 'Are you on the beach?' They asked, 'Did you get some sun?'" Murray told MSNBC's Katy Tur. "So no, he didn't."

He added that the part of the beach Christie was photographed on is part of the governor's residence and is closed to the public year-round.

In the shots of the governor enjoying the beach, taken by NJ Advanced Media photojournalist Andrew Mills, Christie is seen with his toes in the sand, lounging back in a beach chair with his wife, Mary Pat.

"We have a residence in Princeton, as well. And that place is a place where people can go and tour, but they can't if the government is closed. Am I supposed to move out and stay in a hotel?'' Christie asked Monday during a phone interview with WTXF-TV of Philadelphia.

Mills said the newspaper originally planned to book a plane to photograph reveling beachgoers baking in the sun and enjoying a weekend off along the Jersey Shore in juxtaposition with empty stretches of beach.

Once at the airport, Mills spotted the governor's helicopter and knew that Christie was in the area, he said in a Star-Ledger article.

He decided to try the state residence where Christie could be staying, and in a moment of unparalleled luck, he spotted the governor and his family and took the shot.

"I really wonder about journalists who spend money flying planes to look for people where they actually said they'd be," Christie told WNYW-TV of New York.

Christie defended his use of the beach house, saying: "That's the way it goes. Run for governor, and you can have the residence."

The governor reiterated the sentiment to WTXF, telling those critical of his use of the closed beach: "Well, I'm sorry. ... They're not the governor.''

On Monday morning, Christie tweeted out a photo of a New Jersey beach and noted that a large percentage of the state's beaches were still open and could be enjoyed by the public.

"NJ beaches are open in 119 of our our [sic] 130 miles of coastline. Come and enjoy them but use sunscreen and hydrate!" Christie tweeted.

Christie later tweeted again, saying, "Another beautiful day at the Jersey shore. Our beaches are open & full of people. Come & see for yourself! And you can hit the boardwalk!"

Ironically, the images accompanying Christie's tweets were taken by Mills on the same flight during which he snapped the picture of the governor on the closed beach. Christie did not attribute the images to Mills, but they appear as images 18 and 22 in a gallery on NJ.com.

The cause of the shutdown hinges on the state's budget and legislation to overhaul the state's biggest health insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Christie blamed the shutdown on Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto. The speaker is blocking a vote on a bill to restructure Horizon because he believes it is a bad policy, according to NJ.com.

The bill has bipartisan support and was approved by the Senate.

Prieto, for his part, pushed back on Christie's claims.

"The Assembly is the only one trying to pass a budget to get government going again," he told reporters after Christie's news conference, according to Politico. "I will not be bullied into doing something that's not good for the state of New Jersey."

Christie said he would call New Jersey lawmakers back to Trenton on Monday, which would be the third official day of the shutdown.

Related: Reunited? Christie and Trump to Work Together on Curbing Opioid Abuse

Christie said that without the Horizon legislation, he would veto about $350 million of the Democratic priorities.

"It should end today. Send me a budget," he said. "I'm ready to work, but I can't work if I don't have any money. These guys have to get their act together."

Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney, an ally of Christie, called for a meeting with lawmakers and Horizon's chief executive, Bob Marino, to try to hash out a way forward. Marino will attend the meeting, but he opposes the proposal, the company said.

Christie ordered the shutdown of nonessential state services, like parks and motor vehicle offices, on Friday after he and lawmakers failed to agree on a state budget.

While New Jerseyans hoping to enjoy a traditional Independence Day weekend won't be able to use the state's beaches and parks, several other Garden State institutions will remain open, including New Jersey Transit, state prisons, the state police, state hospitals and treatment centers, as well as casinos, race tracks and the lottery.

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NJ Gov. Chris Christie Pushes Back After Being Spotted on Beach Closed by Government Shutdown - NBCNews.com

Polllution testing reveals health of Bay Area beaches – The Mercury News

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Headed to the beach this summer? A new list tells you how to find surf and avoid sickness.

Statewide, Californias overall water quality during summer is excellent, with 96 percent of the 416 monitored beaches monitored getting an A or B grades, according toHealtheBays recently released Beach Report Card.

Santa Cruz County beaches performed well in summer dry weather, with 85 percent of its 13 monitored beaches receiving A or B grades.

San Mateo Countys 21 monitored beaches followed suit, with 90 percent earning A or B marks in the summer.

But EastBaybeach grades took a dip this year, with 75 percent of eight monitored sites receiving an A or B grade in the summer. And three out of four beaches in Contra Costa and Alameda counties received C-to-F grades in the winter, more than double that of the countys five-year average.

The report card by the Santa Monica-based non-profit organization is based on data filed by county health departments, which are required to test beach water quality samples for three types of bacteria at least once a week during the summer season.

Three local beaches landed on HealtheBays infamous Beach Bummer List, which ranks the 10 most polluted beaches in the state:

But other local beaches earned stellar grades for cleanliness, such as:

To find a clean beach near you, check the grades for local Bay Area beaches, by county:

Get top headlines in your inbox every afternoon. Sign up for the free PM Report newsletter.

Santa Cruz County:

San Mateo County

Alameda and Contra Costa Counties

San Francisco County

To reach the full report, go to: http://www.beachreportcard.org

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Polllution testing reveals health of Bay Area beaches - The Mercury News

Unsuitable beaches with no place to change – New York Daily News

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, July 3, 2017, 4:10 AM

It was all so easy. Just some plywood, two-by-fours and screws to construct simple privacy walls to give male swimmers at Hamilton Fish Pool on the Lower East Side a place to change their clothes not in full public view.

Congratulations to the Parks Department for rectifying a sexist situation after we complained.

Thus all 36 of the citys main outdoor pools, which opened for the summer on Thursday, have full changing areas. While female swimmers have always had a real Ham Fish locker room (even equipped with a bench), long ago the boys/mens lockers were converted to a computer room. The guys were exiled to outdoor lockers fully exposed.

The choices for modest males were 1) use an out-of-the-way toilet stall or 2) arrive in your bathing suit and stay in your bathing suit or 3) try the old towel-around-waist-while-wiggling-your-suit-on-and-off technique.

The fix the workmen installed at Ham Fish last week is the same already in place at the Sunset Park, Highbridge and McCarren pools: A few wooden walls attached together. No floors or ceilings or electric or plumbing. Just privacy.

Now the parkies should deliver the same idea of basic changing areas to the citys seven beaches. The 14 miles of sand and shore are Orchard Beach, Coney Island/Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Rockaway, South Beach/Midland Beach, Wolfes Pond and Cedar Grove.

Even though master builder Robert Moses created them with changing areas, just as he made 11 giant pools like Ham Fish, no city beach now provides a place other than toilet stalls to change from street clothes to bathing suit and back again.

Moses also built Long Island beaches, run by the state. There are seven, covering 14 miles: Jones, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow, Wildwood, Heckscher, Orient and Hither Hills. Same number, same mileage, but all have changing areas four each at Jones and Robert Moses.

The same at more than 80 state-run beaches upstate. All have free to use changing areas apart from the toilets. How can the city do any less?

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Unsuitable beaches with no place to change - New York Daily News

Beautiful Weather from Inland Connecticut to the Beaches | NBC … – NBC Connecticut

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WATCH LIVE

(Published 6 hours ago)

Another day of gorgeous weather is expected with mostly sunny skies and temperatures rising into the middle to upper 80s.

Take a look at our high temperature forecast for today. High temperatures ranging from the middle 80s along the water to the upper 80s for inland parts of the state.

The weather will be spectacular if you're hitting the beaches or heading out on the boat. Make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen as the sun index is forecasted at an 8 out of 10.

Here's a look at the beach and boating forecast which features a light wind out of the west, current water temperature of 66 degrees, and waves less than a foot.

The weather will remain quite for Independence Day and right through the end of the week.

Let us know how you're enjoying the beautiful weather. Tweet at us or Facebook us using the hash-tag #NBCCT.

Published at 7:49 AM EDT on Jul 3, 2017 | Updated 5 hours ago

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Beautiful Weather from Inland Connecticut to the Beaches | NBC ... - NBC Connecticut

Why California lawmakers may snuff out smoking at beaches and parks – LA Daily News

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Public parks and state beaches would be added to the list of no-smoking zones in California under a bill from a Democrat that cleared another legislative hurdle last week.

The proposed restrictions which would apply to cigarettes, cigars, marijuana and e-cigarettes will prevent wildfires, curb pollution and protect animals that mistake life-threatening cigarette butts for food, supporters say.

Smoldering cigarette butts have caused major wildfires, Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, said in a statement. They are a major polluter on our beaches and oceans.

Senate Bill 386 was passed by the Senate late last month. And on Tuesday, it cleared the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on a 10-4, mostly party-line vote. Republican Steven Choi, of Irvine, broke ranks with his party by voting in favor of the ban. Assemblyman Rudy Salas, a Democrat from a swing district in Bakersfield, voted against it.

Some areas including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Cruz, San Diego and most communities along the South Bay coast already have ordinances banning smoking in parks and public beaches.

The measure along with a similar bill from Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine, of Marin County is just the latest attempt by lawmakers to bring an end to smoking and smoking-related trash in public parks and on beaches not covered by local bans. An almost identical bill passed the Legislature last year, only to be vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, who called it too broad and punitive. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nixed another such attempt in 2010.

Glazers bill would prohibit smoking at all state beaches, estuaries and bays, slapping violators with fines of up to $250.

The proposed ban includes all of the state parks system in California, which encompasses 40 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage and 4,500 miles of trails. About 67 million people visit state parks each year.

The proposal would outlaw smoking along Orange Countys five state beaches Bolsa Chica, Huntington, Crystal Cove, Dana Point and San Clemente and comes nearly a decade after cities along Orange County tackled the issue and extinguished smoking on the sand.

The ban would also include Los Angeles state beaches such as Leo Carrillo State Park north of Malibu and other state parks along the coast that include camping areas. Most Los Angeles beaches are run by the county, which already have an ordinance in place restricting smoking in areas.

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In Orange County, state parks also manages the trails, open space and camping areas of Crystal Cove and El Morro. County beaches in Orange County have also not passed smoking bans on the beach, so areas such as Salt Creek or Capo Beach in Dana Point, or Sunset Beach in Huntington, still allow smoking.

Rick Erkeneff, Surfrider Foundation South Orange County chapter chairman, said he went to Strands Beach in Dana Point this week and was greeted by the stench a man puffing on a cigar.

The whole beach could smell it, it was nasty, he said. People say its personal freedom. When your personal freedom affects my quality of health or quality of life, I have a problem with that.

In 2004, Huntington Beach was one of the first cities to ban smoking on the sand at city beaches. Huntington Beach recently extended its ban into beach parking lots.

The past decade has seen a major push against smoking in public, including bans at city parks, most college campuses and the OC Fair. Laguna Beach recently became the first in the county to ban smoking in the entire city.

Last year, San Clemente introduced an ordinance that outlaws smoking at beach entrances.

Some state parks, like San Onofre State Park, areas have already addressed fire concerns.

While smoking is legal on state beaches, it is banned on hiking trails located in the upland section of San Onofre State Beach extending well inland from I-5.

The proposed ban would also cover public parks, but was amended to include some wiggle room, allowing local parks directors to establish smoking zones.

Because the no-smoking signage would cost the state roughly $1 million, the bill must be approved by the Assembly appropriations committee before advancing to the Assembly floor. The proposal has no formal opposition and is backed by the American Lung Association, Save the Bay, the California State Lands Commission, the California Statewide Firefighters Association and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.

Jennifer Savage, Surfrider Foundation California policy manager, said the non-profit is hopeful the legislation will not again by vetoed by Brown.

Were optimistic its going to pass again because theres a lot of support for it, she said. For decades, cigarette butts are always the most littered items. Its really a simple fix, if theres no cigarettes, theres no cigarette butts. That eliminates a major source of trash on our beach.

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Why California lawmakers may snuff out smoking at beaches and parks - LA Daily News

Summer mornings a special time at Manatee beaches | Bradenton … – Bradenton Herald

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Bradenton Herald
Summer mornings a special time at Manatee beaches | Bradenton ...
Bradenton Herald
Summer has arrived. But before the heat comes up every day, Manatee County's beaches offer gentle breezes and soft, cool sand just after sunrise, an early ...

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Summer mornings a special time at Manatee beaches | Bradenton ... - Bradenton Herald

NJ Governor Chris Christie is blistered over his day at the beach – CNBC

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Gov. Chris Christie got blistered online Monday after he was photographed sunning himself with his family on a New Jersey beach that he had closed to the public because of a government shutdown.

Christie defended his use of the beach, saying he had previously announced his vacation plans and the media had simply "caught a politician keeping his word."

The Republican governor was photographed Sunday by NJ.com at Island Beach State Park lounging on a beach chair in sandals and a T-shirt.

"I didn't get any sun today," Christie told reporters at a news conference later in the day in Trenton. Then, when told of the photos, his spokesman told NJ.com that was true because Christie was wearing a baseball hat.

The deeply unpopular governor then returned by helicopter to the state-owned governor's beach house, flying right into the middle of a growing storm of his own making.

He was widely mocked online, with memes using the image of Christie in his beach chair.

"Let them eat funnel cake," blared a headline in the tabloid Trentonian newspaper.

"SON OF A BEACH," screamed London's Daily Mail.

Christie ordered the shutdown of nonessential state services over the July Fourth weekend, including parks, beaches and motor vehicle offices, in a stalemate over his demand that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield be overhauled so that the state can tap into the nonprofit insurer's surplus to finance drug treatment.

Christie, who is heading into his final six months in office with approval ratings at an abysmal 15 percent, made supporting the $34.7 billion state budget contingent on the overhaul.

He has blamed a top Democratic lawmaker for the shutdown, with the state plastering CLOSED signs at parks with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto's picture and office phone number.

"That's the way it goes," Christie said Saturday about his family's use of the beach home. "Run for governor, and you can have the residence."

Later, after he was photographed on the beach, he sarcastically called it a "great bit of journalism."

"They actually caught a politician being where he said he was going to be with the people he said he was going to be with, his wife and children and their friends," Christie said in an interview with the New York Fox TV station. "I am sure they will get a Pulitzer for this one."

Christie's Horizon proposal has perplexed some conservatives, who are fighting the legislation. Union groups that typically align with Democrats, such as the state's largest teachers union, also oppose the idea.

Among those affected by the shutdown over the weekend were Cub Scouts forced to leave a state park campsite and people trying to obtain or renew motor vehicle documents.

Liberty State Park was closed, forcing the suspension of ticket sales and ferry service to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. But the two sites remained open.

Prisons, state police, state hospitals and New Jersey's bus and commuter railroad remained open.

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NJ Governor Chris Christie is blistered over his day at the beach - CNBC

Will the EPA handle climate change honestly? Have some doubt. – SYFY WIRE (blog)

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Let's talk for a moment about doubt.

Science is, in many ways, all about doubt. If you have an idea that you think explains some phenomenon, it's important to have some healthy doubt about it. Does it explain everything you see? Are you missing some key point? Is it possible you have some bias, some prejudices, that are causing you to prefer your idea over others?

By doubting your findings you make them stronger. That's how science approaches truth.

But there's a key factor here: The doubt has to be honest. Without agenda, without bias, without deception.

It is here that the current political party in power of the United States government parts with science. The entire methodology of the GOP over the past two decades has been to cast doubt on scientific results they disagree with ideologically, but their doubt is in no way honest. It is with agenda, with bias, and very much deceptive.

This is nowhere more obvious than their attacks on the science of climatology. To be clear: The planet is heating up. Rapidly. Faster than it has in recorded history, faster than it has in at least 11,000 years. The basic science on this is very well understood, and has been for more than a century. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere allows the Sun to warm the Earth, but doesn't allow all that heat to escape back into space. The balance is upset, and the planet warms.

Where is that CO2 coming from? Us. Humans. Mostly by burning fossil fuels, we dump 40 billion tons of it into the air every year, far more than any other natural source by a huge factor. Nothing else comes close. When you look at the reasons temperatures are climbing up, the only explanation is human influence.

These are the facts scientists have established over decades of investigation. They did not find them overnight, and initially the field was filled with disagreement over the results, the methods, the measurements. But honest doubt and scientific skepticism honed the ideas, and now we have an excellent grasp on how much the planet is warming, what many of the effects are, and what's causing it.

There is a very strong scientific consensus on it as well, not won by ideology or agenda or bias, but by evidence.

[It's pretty much this simple: Global warming is real, and our fault. Credit: The Consensus Project]

It is on this evidence that the GOP has turned their sights. And they have never been more focused, or more able to do damage. They have been sowing the seeds of doubt for decades, and now they are reaping.

Scott Pruitt is a climate change denier. He is also the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), having been nominated by Donald Trump and approved by the GOP-controlled Senate. During that confirmation hearing he made some soft statements downplaying his denial, but in the end his stance was clear (in fact, in March 2017 he flatly stated that carbon dioxide is not a "primary contributor" to global warming).

He also said during the hearing that his personal opinion on climate change was "immaterial" to being the EPA administrator*. That's blatantly false. My evidence?

Last week, Pruitt announced an initiative to attack climate science. This will come in the form of a "red team/blue team" exercise, a standard practice used by the military to evaluate methods and strategy and look for weaknesses. Two teams are assembled, essentially one pro (blue) and one con (red), and the cons look for weaknesses in the pros' strategy.

This sounds superficially like a good idea. And, if this effort were done to evaluate a political decision about policy, for example, or examine a tactic in dealing with a foreign power, I'd be all for it.

But it's not. There is no need for an exercise like this for science, because we already have a similar method to evaluate science. It's science itself.

That is why I think this new initiative is such a sham. Mark my words: It will in no way deliver anything new to the field of climatology scientifically. It will instead just be used to elevate a handful of climate science denial talking points in the public's mind. Plus, this has been the modus operandi of the GOP congresspeople whenever they hold a hearing on climate, from Rep. Lamar Smith to Senator Ted Cruz: An honest approach to the science is never used. It's never even considered. Instead, they stack the panel with deniers who generally either use outdated, disproven arguments or amplify some small amount of doubt in the real science to make an apparent canyon out of a crack.

Not-so-incidentally, this announcement from Pruitt comes on the heels of his suspending the work of the EPA's Board of Scientific Counselors, and accusations based on email evidence that EPA officials pressured a scientist on that board to influence her congressional testimony. These are very serious attack on EPA science from the administration itself.

I expect we'll see precisely the same thing with the "red team." I can guess with some confidence a few of the names who will be on that side. One need only look up who has testified before Congress in the recent past. I think of more interest will be who they pick for the blue team. Will it be strong defenders of climate science, people like Michael E. Mann, Gavin Schmidt, Katharine Hayhoe, Zeke Hausfather?

We'll see. By coincidence, I found this short video by climatologist Michael E. Mann describing very nearly this exact thing:

So do not believe for one second that this is a "good faith" effort to improve the science. Given long history and copious evidence, the conclusion to draw here is that the reasoning behind this exercise is to cast doubt where it is not deserved or needed. And given both Pruitt's record as well as the majority of GOP politicians in power today, this doubt will be anything but honest.

* Far more material to his position is his deep entanglement in fossil fuel interests, as well as the nearly $350,000 he has received from the oil and gas industry since 2002.

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Will the EPA handle climate change honestly? Have some doubt. - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Team of six astronomers from India discover rare giant radio galaxies – Hindustan Times

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A team of six astronomers from India has reported the discovery of a large number of extremely rare kind of galaxies called giant radio galaxies (GRGs), the largest galaxies known in the universe.

The last six decades of radio astronomy research has led to the detection of thousands of radio galaxies. However, only about 300 of them can be classified as GRGs. The reasons behind their large size and rarity are unknown.

The huge size of GRGs has defied any theoretical explanation so far. Our work will help in understanding how these galaxies grow to be so large, said lead researcher Pratik Dabhade, at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA, Pune) and also at the Netherlands Leiden Observatory.

Dabhade worked with Joydeep Bagchi (IUCAA), Mamta Pommier (CNRS Observatoire de Lyon), Madhuri Gaikwad (NCRA-TIFR Pune and Max-Planck Institute Bonn), Shishir Sankhyayan (IISER Pune) and Somak Raychaudhury (IUCAA).

We are studying whether they are born in regions of very sparse galaxy density, or they have extremely powerful, well-collimated, long-lasting radio jets which allow them to expand to very huge distances, he said in a statement.

The team carried out a systematic search for these radio giants and found a large sample of GRGs, using a nearly 20-year-old radio survey.

In the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the scientists report the discovery of 25 GRGs from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array Sky Survey.

These extremely active form of galaxies harbour a super massive black hole central-engine at the nucleus, which ejects a pair of high energy particle jets nearly at the speed of light, which terminate into two giant radio lobes.

According to Joydeep Bagchi, understanding the life-cycle of the black holes energetic activity, properties of the matter which falls into it, and the influence of the surrounding medium which acts on the lobes far away from the host galaxy, and provides a working-surface for the radio jets to act, are among the most important problems in this field.

GRGs are visible only to radio telescopes.

These behemoths span nearly three million light years across, or even more sometimes. This size corresponds to stacking nearly 33 Milky Way like galaxies in a line.

Since the GRGs are known to expand to such large sizes, they are believed to be the last stop of radio galaxy evolution.

The first GRG was discovered in the 1970s using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in the Netherlands in 1974.

Since then, all major radio telescopes and powerful computer simulations have been used in an effort to unravel their mysterious nature.

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Team of six astronomers from India discover rare giant radio galaxies - Hindustan Times

Cornell dedicates telescope in honor of James Houck – The Ithaca Voice

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This story was written byBlaine Friedlander and originally published in the Cornell Chronicle.

ITHACA, N.Y. Cornell astronomers gathered atop Mount Pleasant at sunset June 25 to honor one of their own. The 25-inch reflecting telescope at the universitys Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory was named in memory of the late James R. Houck.

Houck, a Cornell professor of astronomy, who was a major contributor in developing infrared spectroscopy for astrophysics, died in September 2015. He was part of NASAs first major infrared space mission, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, or IRAS, and he served as the principal investigator for the infrared spectrograph on NASAs Spitzer telescope.

The newly dedicated large telescope sits under a dome high above Varna, New York. Houck and his student, George Gull 72, built it from scratch 43 years ago. Parts were machined by high school students at the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and at Ithaca engineering firm Therm, Inc. The instruments brawn relies on a parabolic mirror polished from a 1930s Pyrex test blank (provided by retired astronomy professor William Shaw) from the Hale telescope atop Mount Palomar, California. The Cornell observatory and telescope were completed in 1974.

Its built in a way that you can teach students a lot of about professional telescopes, said James Lloyd, associate professor of astronomy, at the dedication. Lloyd teaches his own students with the telescope. For students, it lets you do the things you need to understand in order to run a much larger telescope. That comes from Jims real dedication to teaching and to students. Im pleased were formally naming this telescope.

While the telescope now honors its builder Houck, the observatory is named for chemical industrialist M. John Hartung (Class of 1908) and Boothroyd, founder of Cornells astronomy department.

The Houck Telescope is capable of extraordinary research, said Jonathan Lunine, the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and director of the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science.

Weve had a chance to observe transiting extrasolar planets with two of my classes, Lunine explained at the dedication. Its a very high-quality telescope. To be able to see the light from a star begin to dim at the right time for the predicted transit as the planet moves across the parent star was an incredible thrill.

Rob Houck, left, and Chris Houck, stand at the telescope their father Jim Houck built. The instrument is now named in his honor. Jason Koski/University Photography

Gull, a mechanical engineer working in the astronomy department, reminisced about building the observatory on evenings and weekends, completing the telescope off-site at the rocket lab in the Space Sciences Building. We got it all assembled and got it all working, he said.

Houcks sons, Chris Houck 90 and Rob Houck 93, returned to Ithaca for the dedication. The observatory meant a lot to him. We would come up here occasionally, but I know he enjoyed bringing new people up here, said Chris Houck.

He loved teaching undergraduate and graduate students. He was very passionate about it, said Rob Houck, who recalled being coaxed by his father to mow the observatorys yard. My dad also enjoyed the visceral pleasure of staring at the stars all night with a telescope.

Featured image:James Lloyd, associate professor of astronomy, uses the newly renamed Houck Telescope to scan the heavens after sunset June 25. Image by Jason Koski/University Photography, courtesy of theCornell Chronicle.

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Cornell dedicates telescope in honor of James Houck - The Ithaca Voice

An asteroid was streaking toward Earth, collision seemed all too possible – Orlando Sentinel

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On Dec. 6, 1997, Jim Scotti of the Spacewatch program at the University of Arizona spotted an asteroid.

This wasn't entirely unusual. The problem: It appeared the asteroid was on a possible collision course with Earth.

Asteroid 1997 XF11, as it was later called, was a big one - a mile in diameter. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center was alerted. Other astronomers weighed in. After a few months of study, Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the asteroid discovery and warned there was a small but "not entirely out of the question" chance it would hit on Oct. 26, 2028.

On June 30, 2017 - Asteroid Day - it's worth remembering that the prediction turned out to be wrong.

But for a while, Marsden's calculations set off a panic. "Asteroid Is Expected to Make A Pass Close to Earth in 2028," read New York Times front page headline on March 12, 1998. The Washington Post's story, running on an inside page, said the asteroid was "virtually certain" to come closer to Earth than the distance to the moon.

This was not good. People seemed to recall learning in elementary school that an asteroid had once wiped out dinosaurs.

"With regard to the asteroid," wrote the Post's Editorial Board, "we'd like a bit more reassurance."

But was Marsden right? Would the asteroid come that close?

"Sure, there was some uncertainty associated with the actual miss distance," he later wrote, "but the tests that I made strongly suggested that the object would come closer than the moon."

Astronomers continued investigating.

Eleanor Helin and Kenneth Lawrence of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., looked for and found previous images of 1997 XF11 taken accidentally in 1990. These images, upon being analyzed by Paul Chodas and Donald Yeomans - also of JPL - ruled out the chance of collision in 2028.

"Zero chance," was the JPL's ruling.

Marsden and his team later acknowledged they were wrong. As Dan W.E. Green of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics then told The Post: "There was no debate, of course not. . . . We never disagreed. We quickly threw into our own saw that the closest approach moved out to 600,000 miles."

The danger was over.

However, the debate over the XF11 affair continued. In 1998 NASA created the Near Earth Object Program Office, now the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, to find the 90 percent of so-called near Earth objects larger than one kilometer in diameter. Congress also held hearings about the impact hazard of near earth objects.

Marsden maintained he was right to announce the presence of asteroid 1997 XF11 quickly. He wanted to make sure future observations of the asteroid wouldn't be missed for future study.

Underestimating the miss distance, he wrote in 2007, "was the one and only shortcoming to my calculations."

Marsden died on Nov. 18, 2010.

The astronomy community had learned much from the XF11 affair. Now it was time to look forward, and to keep looking for asteroids.

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An asteroid was streaking toward Earth, collision seemed all too possible - Orlando Sentinel

Machines of loving grace: how Artificial Intelligence helped techno grow up – The Guardian

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Home computing artwork for the Artificial Intelligence compilation. Photograph: Warp Records

In the days of ever-changing playlists and unlimited Soundcloud mixes it might seem strange that something as simple as a compilation album could change the course of music. And yet that was what happened 25 years ago this month, in July 1992, with the release of Warp Records first Artificial Intelligence compilation. It was a record that helped to launch the careers of Autechre, Aphex Twin and Richie Hawtin, birthed the genre that would later become known as intelligent dance music (or IDM), and changed the idea of electronic music as merely a tool for dancing.

Artificial Intelligence wore its heart on its sleeve: the front cover features an android slumped in an armchair in front of a stereo, with albums from Kraftwerk and Pink Floyd scattered around. Below this, the tagline electronic listening music from Warp spelled out the compilations modus operandi: this was electronic music for the home, not the rave a notion that was largely foreign 25 years ago.

In retrospect, the compilations tracklisting was equally historic. Aphex Twin, whose classic Selected Ambient Works 85-92 album had been released just five months previously, contributed the eerie Polygon Window under the pseudonym The Dice Man; Autechre appeared twice, with the joyous electro of Crystel and the Egg; Richie Hawtin (as UP!) was responsible for Spiritual High, a pulsating acid track that feels a little out of place in its out-and-out embrace of the dancefloor; Warp stalwarts Black Dog Productions (as IAO) contributed the warm electronic embrace of The Clan; B12 (as Musicology) served up breakbeat techno on Telefone 529 and the bleep-inspired Preminition; and Dutch producer Speedy J gave us elegant breakbeat number De-Orbit (and Fill 3 on the CD release). Even the Orb contributed, under the guise of leader Dr Alex Paterson, closing the record with a gorgeous live take on A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld, known as Loving You Live.

The focus on electronic listening music that Artificial Intelligence encouraged may have been unusual but it was not entirely without precedent, even in 1992. The classic Detroit techno productions of the late 80s notably those of Derrick May had brought an increased melodic sophistication to dance music, while in the UK artists like the Orb and the KLF had helped to pioneer the armchair-friendly sound of ambient house. Meanwhile, Belgiums R&S Records probably Warps only real rival in terms of 1990s intelligent techno had already put out pioneering, thoughtful releases from the likes of Rising High Collective, Nexus 21 and Sun Electric.

You can hear these influences running through Artificial Intelligence. But Warp managed to codify this new strain of electronic music, signalling their intentions via the compilations name, strap line and cover art, as Warp co-founder Steve Beckett explained in Simon Reynolds Generation Ecstasy: You could sit down and listen to it like you would a Kraftwerk or Pink Floyd album. Thats why we put those sleeves on the cover of Artificial Intelligence to get it into peoples minds that you werent supposed to dance to it.

Warp would go on to release a groundbreaking series of electronic music albums under the Artificial Intelligence name (featuring all of the artists who appeared on the first AI comp apart from the Orb) leading to the release in May 1994 of the second, slightly disappointing compilation. By this time, though, the genre Warp had earmarked as electronic listening music and which had variously been known as art techno, intelligent techno and electronica had found itself another name, one that would prove hugely controversial over the years: IDM.

The new name had its origins in the electronic mailing list, then the bleeding edge of communication technology. In August 1993 the Hyperreal organisation set up the Intelligent Dance Music list to discuss music relating to Aphex Twin and Warps early Artificial Intelligence compilations (Aphex Twins Rephlex label also featured heavily). It was a name that proved controversial from the off, with its rather snobbish focus on intelligence being at odds with the all in it together ethos of rave (although, you could argue that such apparent snootiness was a precursor to the trainspotting Discogs nerdery that exists today). One of the very first posts to the new list asked can dumb people enjoy IDM, too? and few, if any, of the artists associated with the term have ever embraced it. And yet the name endured, particularly in the US where rave made less of an impact and electronic music was, for many years, an underground phenomenon that spread largely online.

The term IDM survives into 2017, although it remains as stubbornly hard to tie down as ever. If it was once defined by the Artificial Intelligence series, then the further we get from that series release, the harder it is to say who exactly is IDM among the fractured, ever-expanding array of electronic music sounds. Is Jlin, an artist who picked up comparison to the likes of Squarepusher thanks to her intricate post-footwork rhythmical mazes, IDM? How about Flying Lotus, who featured in Pitchforks recent 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time? Or Nina Kraviz and her label?

Well, until someone thinks of something better and stuff that sounds a bit like Aphex Twin just isnt going to cut it we might just be stuck with it. Either way, these kinds of taxonomic discussions are thankfully reserved for the most arid corners of the web, allowing Artificial Intelligences true legacy to shine: the album that announced techno as music for the mind as well as the feet.

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Machines of loving grace: how Artificial Intelligence helped techno grow up - The Guardian

Artificial Intelligence Key To Treating Illness – WVXU

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Complex computer software may be the key to correctly diagnosing and treating patients with various diseases.

Dr. Nick Ernest, a UC graduate who beat the Air Force in a simulated game of aerial combat with his artificial intelligence (AI) system, is now applying the concept to the human body.

In a proof of concept study, Ernest harnessed the power of his Psibernetix AI program to determine if bipolar patients could benefit from a certain medication. Using fMRIs of bipolar patients, the software looked at how each patient would react to lithium.

Fuzzy Logic appears to be very accurate

The computer software predicted with 100 percent accuracy how patients would respond. It also predicted the actual reduction in manic symptoms after the lithium treatment with 92 percent accuracy.

UC psychiatrist David Fleck partnered with Ernest and Dr. Kelly Cohen on the study. Fleck says without AI, coming up with a treatment plan is difficult. "Bipolar disorder is a very complex genetic disease. There are multiple genes and not only are there multiple genes, not all of which we understand and know how they work, there is interaction with the environment."

Ernest emphasizes the advanced software is more than a black box. It thinks in linguistic sentences. "So at the end of the day we can go in and ask the thing why did you make the prediction that you did? So it has high accuracy but also the benefit of explaining exactly why it makes the decision that it did."

More tests are needed to make sure the artificial intelligence continues to accurately predict medication for bipolar patients.

AI could work for other diseases

Ernest says there's no reason this wouldnt work for other illnesses.

It almost doesnt matter what the application is. This could have easily been whether this person responded well to a surgery or a different drug. With my company, we use this methodology with determining costs and markets, maintenance for machinery. Really any sort of predictive analytics or big learning type application could utilize this.

Ernest has started another study. Its to predict recovery rates for people who have had a concussion.

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Artificial Intelligence Key To Treating Illness - WVXU

Artificial intelligence takeover: Workers told to be READY for rise of machines – Express.co.uk

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GETTY

The professional services firm said AI had the power to overhaul business models and could leave workers sidelined and companies struggling to adjust, unless preparations are made now.

It said firms and the state must double down on their efforts to improve the education system and help workers re-train to ensure AI delivers the much-heralded boost to the UK economy.

Jon Andrews, PwCs head of technology and investments, said: There are different sectors that will be impacted in different ways.

The vast majority of workers will not see the change happening to them and they will have a very different job by 2030.

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The vast majority of workers will not see the change happening to them and they will have a very different job by 2030.

Jon Andrews, PwC

"But some of them you can see coming.

Experts believe the rise of AI poses a threat to workers across the professions, from staff in fast food restaurants to journalists, accountants and doctors.

About 30 per cent of UK jobs are at high risk of being eradicated by AI by 2030, PwC has estimated.

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Asus

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Asus Zenbo: This adorable little bot can move around and assist you at home, express emotions, and learn and adapt to your preferences with proactive artificial intelligence.

However, AI will also create new roles for human beings and could drive up productivity and bolster economic growth.

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Artificial intelligence takeover: Workers told to be READY for rise of machines - Express.co.uk