DanceMardigras is a national country and western and swing dance competition which will take place in New Orleans starting Thursday July 17 through July 20.It will feature competition, social, classes and more.Dancing has become a very important business and social opportunity in Louisiana.
Joey "Pants" is one of the best known character actors in Hollywood, appearing in more than 100 movies and television shows. He is probably best known for his critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning performance as psychopathic mobster “Ralphie Cifaretto” on The Sopranos. His lengthy movie credits include Risky Business, The Matrix, The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals, Bad Boys, Empire of the Sun, Running Scared and The Goonies, among others.
He will join doctors and law enforcement officials at two press events in Louisiana on Thursday, July 24 to spotlight new programs and medicines available to help fight mental health disorders.
Education
President and CEO, Terry Stecz announced today that three of EdisonLearning’s most accomplished company leaders will join the senior leadership team of the EdisonLearning Institute, the research and development arm of the pioneering education company.
Jeff D. McCoy has been named Chief of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Relations for the EdisonLearning Institute. McCoy has served as Senior Vice President of Development for the last seven years at EdisonLearning and built a national development team that under his direction, quadrupled sales in its second year of operations.
Paul O’Neill, JD has been appointed Senior Fellow of the EdisonLearning Institute. For three and a half years O’Neill has served as the company’s lead education attorney, culminating in his current role as Senior Vice President & Chief Regulatory Officer for the company. In 2006, he led the effort to open the company’s first charter school partnership in Louisiana. Andrew H. Wilson Charter Elementary opened in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans last year.
Nelson Broms, the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Equitable Life Holding Corporation, and one of the founders of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, will provide internal support to the creation of a Board of Advisors that will guide the work the EdisonLearning Institute. This esteemed group will be comprised of prominent thought leaders in education, business, government, and philanthropy. For the past 4 years, Broms has served in an advisory and strategic counselor role to EdisonLearning’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“With these appointments we have assembled a strong leadership team capable of guiding the EdisonLearning Institute in the development of an open innovation strategy—a strategy dedicated to building powerful partnerships with leading education thought leaders, researchers, foundations and governments, both in the U.S. and globally,” commented Stecz.
“These relationships will accelerate the identification, vetting and development of leading edge school designs and technologies that will enable all children to achieve academic excellence in the 21st century. The Institute’s work will also provide a critical evaluation of EdisonLearning’s portfolio of products and services to ensure that we strengthen our position as the leading partner in providing innovative achievement management solutions that deliver superior learning outcomes for all children,”
Citrus
The recent discovery of the dangerous Asian Citrus Psyllid just four blocks south of the San Diego-Tijuana border has caused alarm within the citrus industry – and it is asking homeowners to help stop the pest from invading California.
Today, the California Citrus Research Board and speakers from the USDA, California Department of Food and Agriculture, the University of California and the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner’s office met with growers and other citrus industry leaders about the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which can be a carrier of the fatal citrus tree disease, Huanglongbing, also known as HLB and Citrus Greening Disease.
The meeting also included the introduction by the California Citrus Research Board of a new consumer-oriented Web site – CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org – that reminds consumers to inspect for the psyllid monthly or whenever watering, spraying, pruning or tending trees and especially during times of active growth. It also offers photos and tips for visual inspection for the pest.
In addition, the site educates consumers about HLB, a bacterial plant disease that – while not harmful to human health – destroys production, appearance and value of citrus trees, and taste of their fruit and juice. Once a tree is infected with the disease, there is no cure and the tree will eventually die.
“The disease is most likely to infect California citrus by the Asian Citrus Psyllid, meaning presence of the psyllid is a sign of danger,” said Ted Batkin, California Citrus Research Board president. “The pest has now been detected as close as the San Diego-Tijuana border and has been intercepted at various points in California in packages of fruit and plants, including cut flowers. The threat is now greater than ever.
“In addition to working within the industry, we’re calling on consumers, who can play a crucial role in helping us fight the psyllid and the disease, which is a death sentence for California citrus trees.”
The Asian Citrus Psyllid – an aphid-like insect that feeds on the leaves of citrus trees and other citrus-like plants – has already caused devastation in Asia, India, parts of the Middle East and South and Central America. It has even been found domestically in Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. In Florida, the psyllid and HLB are ravaging the citrus industry, destroying acres of trees and putting the state’s $9.3 billion citrus industry at risk.
“We need to keep this tragedy from happening in our backyards,” said Batkin, who notes that California produces 26 percent of the nation’s citrus, following only Florida in production. “The best way to do this is to have citrus tree owners visually inspect for the harmful pest.”
For tips on how to identify the Asian Citrus Psyllid, visit CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org for more information and to find your local Agricultural Commissioner’s office. Alternatively, consumers can contact the California Department of Food and Agriculture hotline at 800/491-1899.
Bertha
Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened on Friday as it accelerated toward the northeast over the open Atlantic in what was expected to be its final days as a storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
On its way to becoming one of the longest-lived tropical storms on record, Bertha was located around 725 miles (1,170 km) south of Cape Race, Newfoundland, by 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) and moving to the northeast at a speedy 18 miles per hour (30 km per hour).
The Asian Citrus Psyllid..... Well, I guess they aren't happy destroying us commercially, now they want to destroy us agriculturally as well....... Tijuana,,, how convenient............... Written by Tod Gevatter
on 7/21/2008
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Hey!!! That Joey Pantoliano sounds like my kind of guy....... Maybe he can help me assemble a crew of good fellas and we can take some of our rice which goes fer whut? 6 - 7 bucks a bushel, and trade it to the Chinese and Russian gang that is buying LPG for what? 'round $2.00 per mcf?, and bring it back here to the states and 'broker' it out to New York, Jersy, Pennsylvania etc. for $8.00 per mcf, skim our buck off the top for the vig and save them from the projected or anticipated $21.00 per mcf cost they are going to experience this winter.... Sound good Joey? Sounds good to me......... So wut ya say pizano??????? (Pssssttt.. Hey Fanuchi! you out there? You want in on some of this action???????)
Written by
on 7/18/2008
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