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Friday, April 26, 2013

Ella Fitzgerald: A legacy kept alive in theater

Google celebrates the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, the acclaimed African American singer. The Ella Fitzgerald Theater in her hometown of Newport News, Va., has worked to embody her legacy in their training programs and performances.

By Steph Solis / April 25, 2013

Today Google celebrates Ella Fitzgerald's birthday. She would have been 96.

Google

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When the Fitzgeralds lived in Newport News, Va., the building at 2410 Wickham Ave. was the all-white Walter Reed School. Temperance Fitzgerald would walk past it every day on her way to work as a maid.

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It would never occur to her that the institution two blocks from their home would one day have her daughter?s name engraved at the entrance. But 96 years later, the Ella Fitzgerald Theater?stands as a tribute to her child's achievements as a world-renowned artist.

While Google users all over the United States observe what would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 96th birthday, the Ella Fitzgerald Theater within the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in Newport News celebrates her legacy through its programs, the upcoming Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival, and an upcoming tribute ensemble.

Newport News, where Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917, radiates with her spirit.?Michelle Gilliam, director of the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center and one of the founders of the annual Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival, led the restoration of the historic building that used to be the Walter Reed School to establish the Ella Fitzgerald Theater. She opened the 276-seat venue in 2008.

The theater offers a space for local artists, especially young people, to refine their talents and perform. Ms. Gilliam and Kay Sumner, executive director of the arts center, imbue Ella Fitzgerald?s spirit in their work. They train the children who participate in their programs to learn multiple art forms, as Ella Fitzgerald had, and to not let their circumstances stop them from striving for success.

"One of Ms. Fitzgerald's main concerns was youth and just the condition in which youth grow up," says Kay Sumner, executive director of the center. "We're very mindful of that with the programming that we do here. We reach out to the community youth, and we make sure that we give them constructive choices for expression.?

Ella Fitzgerald struggled throughout her childhood, having become an orphan by her early teens. Her parents separated a month after she was born. She lived with her mother, and moved with her to Yonkers, N.Y., when she was young. But when she was 15 her mother died in a car accident.

She moved in with her aunt after her mother?s death. As a form of escape, Ella Fitzgerald started skipping school and heading to movie houses. It was her love of the arts that would lead her into the streets to pursue her dream and inspire her to perform at the Apollo Theater?s ?Amateur Night.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Tphnug5TODM/Ella-Fitzgerald-A-legacy-kept-alive-in-theater

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Source: http://www.cv-jobinterview.com/node/10321

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bill Gates sets South Korea abuzz with 'rude' one-handed shake

Bill Gates triggered a media uproar with a 'disrespectful' one-handed shake upon meeting the new South Korean president. What should Bill Gates have done?

By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / April 23, 2013

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left, shakes hands with Microsoft founder Bill Gates before their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 22, 2013. Gates has his left hand in his pocket.

(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

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Global etiquette can be tricky. Just ask Bill Gates.

Skip to next paragraph David Clark Scott

Online Director

David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.

Coby MID7065

Coby's latest crop of Android tablets?offer low-end performance at rock-bottom prices. The big news here is Google certification?a first for the company?which means the newest models have access to the Google Play app store. The MID7065 ($119.99 list) is the smallest and least expensive model in the lineup. You get the same microSD card slot, mini HDMI out, and relatively clean Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" build found on the larger MID1065. But the MID7065 uses an inferior lower-resolution display and features a cheap plastic build. You shouldn't expect much for this price, and if you can spend a little more, you can do much better.?

Editors' Note: The Coby MID7065 is virtually identical to the MID8065?and MID1065?except for screen size and price, so we're sharing a lot of material between these three reviews. That said, we're testing each device separately?and comparing it with the competition in its size/price range.

Design and Features
A generic-looking 7-inch tablet wrapped in unassuming black plastic, the MID7065 measures?7.8 by 4.8 by 0.45 inches (HWD), weighs 11.84 ounces, and is comfortable to hold in one hand. Along the right edge are the power plug connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, micro USB port (for syncing, not charging), and a mini HDMI port. There are Power and Volume buttons along the top edge, with a microSD card slot on the bottom.

The IPS LCD found on the larger MID1065 has been nixed in favor of a far inferior panel. The 1,024-by-600-pixel non-IPS LCD on the MID7065 isn't particularly sharp, with a narrow viewing angle, and low maximum brightness. Colors also run cooler giving white backgrounds a bluish hue, and I noticed some blooming along the tablets edges, which washes out black backgrounds.

The MID7065 is a Wi-Fi only tablet that connects to 802.11b/g/n networks on the 2.4GHz frequency only and Bluetooth 2.1 is on board. The MID7065 comes in a 4GB model for $119.99 or an 8GB model for $129.99, and our 32 and 64GB SanDisk cards worked fine in the microSD card slot.

Android and Performance
The tablet is powered by the same dual-core 1.2GHz Amlogic Cortex A9 processor with 1GB RAM and a MALI 400 GPU found in the larger MID1065. It's not the fastest setup, but it bested the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) with its dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP4430 chip in all of our benchmarks and matches the performance of the 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD with its dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP4460 processor. Fortunately, Coby uses a different touch screen digitizer that doesn't feel quite as imprecise as the one found on the MID1065, which leads to almost-constant choppiness in navigation. Performance is similar between the 10- and the 7-inch tablets?you'll still notice occasional lag here, but things are a bit smoother. There is still a delay between when the Power button is pressed and when the display wakes up.

Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" is now two versions behind the latest 4.2 "Jelly Bean" build, but Coby has left it unskinned. Android newcomers, however, might be better served by the more polished, easy-to-use custom Android skins like Samsung's TouchWiz or the heavily modified Android featured on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets. If you're a fan of pure Android, however, you'd be better served by the Editors' Choice Google Nexus 7, but you'll need to pony up $199.

Previous Coby tablets only offered second-rate app stores like GetJar, but the MID7065 hooks into the Google Play app store which has more than 800,000 titles, and includes excellent integrated Google apps like Gmail and Maps.?

The tablet can handle Xvid, DivX, MPEG4, H.264, and AVI videos at up to 1080p resolution. For audio, you get MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and WMA support. Screen mirroring worked fine using a mini HDMI cable, and the tablet was able to output video at 720p or 1080p resolution. There is no rear-facing camera, and the 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera is fine for the occasional Skype call, but not much more.

In our battery rundown test, which loops a video with screen brightness set to max and Wi-Fi on, the MID7065 clocked a positively anemic 2 hours, 45 minutes. The same-size Kindle Fire HD notched 7 hours, while the Nexus 7 lasted 10 hours, 30 minutes in the same test.

Conclusions
With Google certification, and access to the official app store, Coby's latest line of MID tablets is a notable step forward for the company. The MID7065 is the cheapest of the bunch, and for the seriously budget restrained, it's about as low as you can go while still keeping access to Google Play. That said, the refreshed Amazon Kindle Fire?is also a good deal at $159.99, offering similar performance with a much easier to navigate operating system and content ecosystem. The Kindle Fire offers a better display, more battery life, and better build quality. And if you're in it for the untainted Android, spend a little more for the Nexus 7, which is our Editors' Choice for small-screen tablets with excellent performance for an affordable price.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Wx_wZWuv7N4/0,2817,2417887,00.asp

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Real estate investment trusts increasing lobbying profile - Sunlight ...

By Nancy Watzman Apr 24 2013 11:16 a.m.

As more businesses opt for a legal status known as "real estate investment trusts" (REITS) to qualify for tax breaks, they have an active champion in Washington, the trade group known as the?National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

The group may not have the name recognition of some of the larger financial lobbies, such as the American Bankers Association or the Real Estate Roundtable, but it has a very active lobbying profile, primarily on tax bills. This week the group, known as NAREIT,?reported spending more than $1 million during the first quarter of this year, almost doubling the amount it spent during the first three months of last year. Since 1991, the group has reported spending more than $27 million on lobbying and $8.7 million on campaign contributions, according to a search on Influence Explorer. The contributions are almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

NAREIT employs a stable of in-house lobbyists as well as a long list of lobbyists for hire--a total of 41 in 2012, according to a search on Influence Explorer. Robert Dibblee,?senior vice president of government relations for the group, is a fixture?at?Washington fundraisers for members of Congress.

Traditionally REITS are entities that invest in and own properties and are traded on the open market. However, as the New York Times reported this week, more corporations in diverse businesses are beginning to reorganize as REITs because of the tax advantages involved--they are largely exempt from federal taxes. For example, the Corrections Corporation of America, which operates for-profit prisons, recently received approval from the Internal Revenue Service to reorganize as a REIT and, according to the Times, hopes to save $70 million in taxes as a result. The company justified the change by arguing that the money it collects from governments for holding prisoners is effectively rent.

Among the tax issues top on NAREITs agenda is to amend law to make investment in REITs more attractive to foreign investors by easing their taxes. The group is a strong supporter of legislation known as the Real Estate Jobs and Investment Act?and?continues to work actively to change the law both in Congress and through the federal agencies, under the banner of ?"FIRPTA Reform."

Another bill the group has been active on: ?The Marketplace Fairness Act,?now under consideration in the Senate. The bill would give states the authority to force online retailers to collect local taxes. States see the bill as a revenue enhancer; critics decry it as a tax hike. The real estate industry backs it because, like other brick-and-mortar enterprises, it sees online sellers as having an unfair competitive tax advantage under the current system. The Senate has scheduled a procedural vote this afternoon that will determine whether the legislation gets an up-or-down roll call on final passage, or is blocked by a filibuster.

Source: http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2013/Real_estate_investment_trusts_increasing_lobbying/

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

We want your UFC 159 picks

After months and months of build-up, UFC 159 is (almost) here. The light heavyweight championship is on the line, along with other fights that have some animosity behind them. We want your picks, but we're doing things a little differently this time.

Go to Cagewriter's Facebook page and vote for who you think will win. Click on the fight for the poll that bout:

Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping
Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson
Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller

If you want your picks to show up on Cagewriter next to picks from Kevin Iole and me, write in the comments why you think your choice will win. On Friday, we'll run picks and results of the poll.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/want-ufc-159-picks-164853317--mma.html

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White House says it's open to fix on FAA furloughs

FILE - This April 22, 2013 file photo shows travelers standing in line at the LAX International Airport in Los Angeles. Under pressure, the White House signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy flight delays for airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Huerta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 24, 2013, before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation hearing on flight delays that are being caused by the FAA's decision to furlough air traffic controllers because of mandatory budget cuts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Under pressure, the White House signaled Wednesday it might accept legislation eliminating Federal Aviation Administration furloughs blamed for lengthy flight delays for airline passengers, while leaving the rest of $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts in place.

The disclosure came as sentiment grew among Senate Democrats as well as Republicans for legislation to ease the impact of the cuts on the FAA, possibly by loosening restrictions on agency spending.

In a further reflection of congressional concern, the senior members of the Senate Commerce Committee met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to consider possible ways to eliminate the delays.

According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which is privy to FAA data, there were 5,800 flight delays across the country for the three-day period beginning Sunday, when the furloughs took effect. Some were caused by weather. The union said that compares with 2,500 delays for the same period a year ago.

At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney said that if Congress "wants to address specifically the problems caused by the sequester with the FAA, we would be open to looking at that.

"But that would be a Band-Aid measure," he added. "And it would not deal with the many other negative effects of the sequester, the kids kicked off of Head Start, the seniors who aren't getting Meals on Wheels, and the up to three-quarter of a million of Americans who will lose their jobs or will not have jobs created for them."

Officials estimate the FAA furloughs will save slightly more than $200 million through Sept. 30, a small fraction of the $85 billion in overall reductions that stem from across-the-board cuts, officially known as a sequester, that took effect in March.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the other top Democrats have consistently expressed opposition to piecemeal legislation aimed at easing the impact of the spending cuts, a position that congressional officials say reflected the administration's position.

But support for that view among Senate Democrats has eroded in recent days as airlines reported thousands of flight delays and industry executives pressed for a restoration of full funding for air traffic controllers.

"I think it's better to do a big deal, but as we work toward that big deal we have to admit that there are some things that are very problematic," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who helped write legislation to give the FAA flexibility to switch money between accounts and permit full staffing by controllers.

At least three other Democrats support the measure, which Klobuchar co-sponsored with Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and several other GOP lawmakers. "This is a very simple bipartisan bill that fixes the problem," Hoeven said, adding he had informed the White House of his plans.

It was not clear whether supporters of the legislation or of similar proposals would seek a vote before Congress begins a one-week vacation at the end of the week.

Nor was it clear whether any FAA-related measure might include a provision to keep open smaller towers that the agency says might be closed as a result of the spending cuts, a provision that numerous lawmakers in both parties favor.

Democrats said it was unlikely any FAA bill would be expanded to offset the impact of the cuts on Head Start or other programs that draw more support from Democrats than Republicans.

Apart from the inconvenience caused by delays, some lawmakers have criticized Huerta, saying they were blindsided by the flight delays. Republicans have been particularly vocal.

Huerta got a public tongue-lashing during the day when he appeared before the House Appropriations Committee.

"You didn't forewarn us this was coming. You didn't advise us how to handle it. This imperial attitude on the part of this administration ? you are the latest example of it ? is disgusting," Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said.

Huerta said LaHood had warned at a news conference in February that the furloughs were coming and could create flight delays of up to 90 minutes.

He also said he had testified about them at a hearing before a different committee earlier over the winter.

"It's fair to say the thing that captured the media's attention was the" threatened closure of small towers, he added. "The furlough problem didn't sink in with Congress and the public until recently."

___

Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-Obama-FAA/id-071fe61ec15f4f9981bd41366575c212

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013