The final group in the official second round of the 3M Championship was leaving the 11th tee when a roar came rolling in from the northeast. It was a facsimile of those ?Arnie roars?? that were once famous at Augusta National.
As it turned out, that?s exactly what it was: an Arnie Roar. The King was serving as the captain for Team LPGA, one of the three ?Greats of Golf?? groups that were dominating the galleries on Saturday at TPC Twin Cities.
The Greats were playing a scramble, and the captains were allowed to attempt shots or putts whenever they so decided. Palmer?s threesome of Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley all missed the birdie putt at No. 9, so Arnold lined it up and made the putt.
Roar.
Mark Wiebe, Kenny Perry and Corey Pavin were heading down the 11th fairway. Hal Sutton was coming in the opposite direction on the 12th, with a pair of strangers: Jeff Brehaut and John Riegger.
Brehaut and Riegger were among the five players who gained fully exempt status for 2013 through the Champions Tour?s qualifying school last November. The covenant with this is a player must reach his 50th birthday before he joins the senior competition.
Brehaut and Riegger both turned 50 on June 13. While they were waiting, Esteban Toledo and Chie-Hsiang Lin ? the next two finishers in Q school ? had exempt status. Toledo won the Houston event in the first week of May.
?Esteban took full advantage, that?s for sure,?? Riegger said.
Congress eyes TSA misconduct | Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider | www.krmg.com
Posted: 6:57 a.m. Wednesday, July 31, 2013
By Jamie Dupree
Congressional investigators says misconduct among TSA security employees at airports is up 25 percent in recent years, as a new report details workers are routinely accused of stealing, sleeping, bribery and failure to follow proper security procedures.
The 38 page report can found here.
The rundown of misconduct examples probably aren't much different than what you might find in a large workforce - except this one is tasked with airport security, one reason the findings are being discussed before the House Homeland Security Committee today.
Here is a breakdown of the type of offenses, and the percentage of the cases found by investigators:
Attendance and leave (not showing up for work) - 32% Screening and security (sleeping, improper procedures) - 20% Failure to follow instructions (insubordination) - 16% Inappropriate conduct (includes sexual misconduct) - 10% Drugs and alcohol (use on duty/positive tests) - 5% Neglect or duty (careless inspection) - 4% Ethics (bribery, criminal conduct) - 4% Falsification (attendance fraud, etc) - 3% Appearance and Hygiene - 2% All other misconduct - 4%
One example of misconduct in the report detailed how a screener left an airport post to meet a relative at the airline ticket counter, and then attempted to escort that person through screening with a carry-no bag.
"However," the report says, "a TSA supervisor stopped the TSO in order to screen the bag - which was found to contain numberous prohibited items."
That employee was later suspended for seven days for "intentionally allowing property to bypass required screening."
About Jamie Dupree
Jamie Dupree is the Radio News Director of the Washington Bureau of the Cox Media Group and writes the Washington Insider blog.
Wichita Falls, TX. - It's August and that means going back to school is right around the corner.
And although the new year brings excitement, it can be hard financially.
That's where local organizations step in making the transition easier.
St. Matthew Baptist Church in Wichita Falls has been giving back to families in need for almost ten years, providing back to school essentials helping kids start the school year on the right foot.
?"Because it helps them, it gears them up to get them to be where they need to be as well as teaching them, hey I'm ready to get ready for school," says Pastor Doris Smith.
Smith says it takes a team of volunteers to organize the supplies giveaway and the families that come to them receive more than just pencils and notebooks. ?
The church also supplies clothing, socks and this year, they also gave out a home identification kit to help keep kids safe.
Anjahneek Kelly has been coming to St. Matthew to get supplies for her cousins for a few years.
She says being able to get nice stuff for school will help kids get treated fairly.
"Some kids go in with better stuff and then you see them and some people just don't have it so i think it's a lot better to even say that you can get it, even if you know that you really can't," says Kelly.
And volunteer Erin Wisch says knowing kids leave the church feeling good about themselves is the best part of her summer.
"It makes me feel accomplished and it just makes me feel like a better a person the accomplishment of helping people and just them being happy or leaving with a smile on their face with a brand new bag of stuff," says Wisch.
If you still need school supplies but could not make it to St. Matthew here are a few other options:
TALLAHASSEE -- The state Board of Education tapped Pam Stewart to be interim education commissioner Friday, amid calls from Democratic lawmakers and union leaders for the job to become an elected position.
Stewart?s appointment follows the resignation of Tony Bennett, who had become entangled in a grade-fixing flap in his home state of Indiana. Bennett stepped down Thursday to avoid becoming a ?distraction? to Gov. Rick Scott, he said.
In an emergency conference call Friday, members of the state education board lamented Bennett?s abrupt departure and named Stewart his temporary successor in a unanimous vote. Chairman Gary Chartrand said the board would consider ?next steps? at its Sept. 17 meeting.
But board member Kathleen Shanahan said immediate action was necessary, and called for the creation of a committee to examine the integrity of Florida?s education accountability system.
?While I think Pam is a great interim option for us, we as state board members are responsible for the execution of the accountability system in the state of Florida and it?s a mess,? Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the board also needed to consider a request from Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford to withdraw from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a national consortium crafting assessments for the new Common Core State Standards.
?We have been a leading indicator in this country about accountability returns and performance,? she said. ?We are at a tipping point of watching that all dissipate.?
Vice Chairman John Padget urged his colleagues not to let Bennett?s resignation ?throw [them] off course.?
A longtime educator and current K-12 chancellor, Stewart has been Florida?s interim education once before. She held the position for four months after former Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson resigned last August, but did not apply to be his permanent replacement.
Stewart declined requests for interviews Friday.
Meanwhile, two Democratic lawmakers and Florida Education Association President Andy Ford stepped up calls for the state education commissioner to be an elected position.
Florida used to have an elected education commissioner. But that changed in 2003, on account of a constitutional amendment that reduced the number of elected cabinet members and created the state Board of Education.
The last elected education commissioner was former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Under the current system, the governor appoints seven members to sit on the state Board of Education. The board selects an education commissioner to oversee day-to-day operations at the state education department.
But the recent revolving door of education commissioners has caused some observers to question the model.
On Friday, state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, said Floridians had grown tired of ?political appointees and politically driven commissioners who really don?t understand the meat and potatoes of Florida education.?
?What we are in essence dealing with is a lack of trust among Floridians of those who are putting these people in place,? Bullard said.
Said Rep. Jos? Javier Rodr?guez, also a Miami Democrat: ?For us, it really comes down to accountability at the highest levels of education. If you are going to have elected statewide cabinet officers as we do, why not a statewide education commissioner??
Changing the structure of the education board would require a constitutional amendment.
Republican state Sens. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Greg Evers, R-Baker, suggested the idea last year, but their proposal got little traction in the Legislature. An identical bill by Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, also died in committee.
Herald/Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report. Kathleen McGrory can be reached at kmcgrory@MiamiHerald.com.
This could all be yours, with your own pair of Microsoft AR glasses.
Microsoft recently filed a patent for augmented reality (AR) glasses that would allow users to play multiplayer games in real space with each other, according to documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (uncovered by NeoGAF). The patent covers not only the technology of the glasses, but also a system for player matching and information that the glasses would collect.
The filing includes patent art from the perspective of two boys wearing the glasses while sword-fighting in augmented reality over ?Jane Smith (The Queen)? as the user decides between games including Dance, Tennis, and ?search and find.? In the system Microsoft describes, users send voice invitations to play a game via the glasses, and then the glasses use eye-tracking, facial recognition, depth information, and ?device information? like gyroscope or accelerometer readings to conduct the game.
A leak last summer suggested that AR glasses were part of the long-term trajectory of Microsoft?s upcoming console, the Xbox One. The leaked PowerPoint showed that the company intended to first launch the console, then a pay-TV service, then ?Fortaleza? glasses that would not only work with the console over Wi-Fi but would present AR experiences in the real world as a mobile device via Xbox Live.
The roadmap suggested that these AR glasses would not appear until some time in 2015. That?s two long years before we can challenge real people to virtual swordfights over a real, but also virtual, queen.
?He hugged me a little too closely," says Emily Gilbert, a San Diego Marilyn Monroe impersonator, "and then put his arm around me, like this, and then he proceeded to slide his arm down, and then did a little grab to my derriere.? Gilbert is the ninth woman to accuse San Diego mayor Bob Filner of sexual?harassment. Even Herman Cain at this point is like, "Wow, you sexually?harassed?a lot of women."
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) ? The upcoming season of The CW's "Arrow" is getting some flash, as in the popular DC comic book character, the network announced at Tuesday's annual Television Critics Association press tour.
"We plan to introduce a recurring character and the origin story of Dr. Barry Allen, who you know as The Flash," said network President Mark Pedowitz. "We do want to expand upon the DC Universe. We think that there are rich characters we can use, and we felt like this was a very organic way to get there."
If all goes as planned, there could be a spinoff.
"Arrow" debuted in the 2012-2013 season and was The CW's most popular new show.
It stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, who is based on the DC Comics character The Green Arrow. A spoiled billionaire who was stranded on an island for five years, Queen returns home as a secret hooded crime fighter out to rid his city from corruption using his newfound talent with a bow and arrow.
"Arrow" returns for its second season in October.
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Online:
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow
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Alicia Rancilio covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow her online at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar
Heard but not seen: do university leaders need to be more visible in a changing higher education landscape? Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images
They are the education leaders whose students barely know their names, let alone their faces. They are the sector figureheads who have remained remarkably quiet in a time of policy upheaval and funding reform. But with the changing landscape of higher education, and policy pushing for more transparency in the sector, it may be time for vice-chancellors to make themselves more visible.
Where do you think vice-chancellors need to focus their efforts in the year ahead? We're providing a platform for you to share your views on what you think the sector expects from its university leaders. Of course, different universities will have different priorities, but most are still involved in a delicate balancing act of teaching and research.
So what do busy vice-chancellors need to work on? Some, like Exeter University's Steve Smith, admit they're having a pretty "sweet" time at the moment, despite the challenges of keeping both staff and students happy. In our recent interview, he says: "As long as I'm being shouted at by both sides I've probably got it just about right."
Demographics are changing, with more students asking themselves whether they are getting value for money on their chosen course. But with fierce competition among universities to secure the highest quality of applicant (and that goes for research talent too) ? even Smith admits: "If I were up against some of them I don't think I'd stand a chance."
Whose interests should university leaders be lobbying for behind closed doors: cash-strapped research departments or cash-strapped undergraduates? And talking of money, how can vice-chancellors balance their books in the months and years ahead without compromising the core values of their institutions?
Join our live chat Friday 2 August from 12-2pm BST to discuss what the sector needs from its university leaders in the 21st century.
Here are some points we'd like to cover:
? Visibility of vice-chancellors on campus
? Meeting the needs of staff and students
? Representing universities in the public and press
? Role of vice-chancellors in lobbying / policy making
? Internationalisation vs UK higher education brand
? Transparency of leadership and governance
? Recruitment strategies
You can also follow the debate live on Twitter using the hashtag #HElivechat
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, become a member of the Higher Education Network.
Lakewood-based Solera National Bancorp. Inc. announced Tuesday that Douglas Crichfield has retired as president and chief executive officer.
Ray L. Nash, who has served on the board since its inception, has been named interim president and CEO until a new person is hired.
"Doug has ably led Solera through a very difficult economic period," said Ronald E. Montoya, chairman. "We can understand Doug's desire to take life easier now that Solera is on solid footing."
Crichfield was named president and CEO in the fall of 2008 when the bank had less than $55 million in assets.
The company said it has now more than $170 million.
Nash, 61, was chief financial officer at Vectra Banking from 1989 until 1998 when it was acquired by Zions Bancorporation. Nash continued to work at Vectra until 2000.
Prior to Vectra, Nash was controller of the WestAmerica Mortgage Co.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939, hpankratz@denverpost.com or twitter.com/howardpankratz
