DAY: May 18 2024

• 5-18-2024 HAVE SMARTPHONES KILLED THE ART OF CONVERSATION? Once upon a time, human relationships unfolded without smartphones. The reality may be hard to recall, so profoundly have these devices transformed the way we relate to the world and others in fifteen years or so. As an anthropologist interested in modernity, I am particularly preoccupied by the impact of these devices on our conversations. In my book, “The End of the Conversation? Words in a Spectral Society” (French original: “La fin de la conversation? La parole dans une société spectrale”), I investigate the pernicious effects of this technology
• 5-18-2024 HOW TO REWARD EMPLOYEES FAIRLY AND IMPROVE TEAM DYNAMICS A recent study has shed light on how to reward employees more fairly and improve team dynamics. The study found that when less skilled employees report their performance voluntarily, they often exaggerate their achievements and ask for higher bonuses. These employees also tend to put in less effort and are less concerned about fairness when sharing their contributions voluntarily. Interestingly, the researchers discovered that requiring employees to explain their contributions leads to fairer decisions about bonus allocation and improves
• 5-19-2024 BILLIONS ARE SPENT ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF IT WORKS During the COVID lockdowns, schools and universities worldwide relied on education technology—edtech—to keep students learning. They used online platforms to give lessons, mark work and send feedback, used apps to teach and introduced students to programs that let them work together on projects. In the aftermath of school closures, the market for edtech has kept on growing. The value of the sector is projected to rise to US$132.4 billion globally by 2032. The problem is that we don’t know very much about how effective many edtech apps or programs
• 5-19-2024 STUDY FINDS CONSUMERS WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR NATURALLY COLORED COTTON CLOTHING Research has looked at consumer attitudes toward naturally colored cotton clothing. The study found that amid increasing concerns over the environmental impact of conventional cotton processing, consumers are willing to pay more for a greener T-shirt.
• 5-18-2024 HOW AI IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SALES STRATEGIES In the fast-evolving business landscape, artificial intelligence, or AI, is taking center stage in transforming sales processes, making them more efficient and responsive to the dynamic market demands. A new University of Alabama at Birmingham study titled “AI in Sales: Laying the Foundations for Future Research” highlights the pivotal role AI is playing in reshaping the sales sector.
• 5-18-2024 WHEN CONSUMERS WOULD PREFER A CHATBOT OVER A PERSON Actually, sometimes consumers don’t want to talk to a real person when they’re shopping online, a new study suggests. In fact, what they really want is a chatbot that makes it clear that it is not human at all. In a new study, researchers found that people preferred interacting with chatbots when they felt embarrassed about what they were buying online—items like antidiarrheal medicine or, for some people, skin care products. “In general, research shows people would rather interact with a human customer service agent
• 5-18-2024 NEW STUDY REVEALS THE POTENTIAL OF COACHING EMPLOYEES TO DRIVE NEW STRATEGIC IDEAS In the landscape of modern business, inclusion isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a strategic imperative. Companies like IBM, Volkswagen and Starbucks are moving to more participative strategy development approaches that reflect a growing understanding of the importance of diversity in fostering innovative and creative strategic ideas. Yet the outcomes of inclusive strategy processes often fall short of expectations. A new study in the Strategic Management Journal sheds light on why that may be. In their study of an inclusive strategy process in a large insurance company, Violetta Splitter, along with co-authors
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SHOW WAYS TO PROPEL PRODUCT SUCCESS New research explores the key strategies that firms should adopt when launching a new product. The researchers say that these strategies depend on the current market view of the product and the firm. Employing the correct one, which might sometimes be collaborating with overtly demanding reviewers or instituting rather challenging pilot tests, ensures that the product launch will go as successfully as possible.
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DEVELOP ALGORITHMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW HUMANS FORM BODY PART VOCABULARIES An example of the study’s language sample and the words for arm/hand and leg/foot in English and Wolof. Human bodies have similar designs. However, languages differ in the way they divide the body into parts and name them. For example, English speakers have two words for foot and leg, whereas other languages express the concepts foot and leg in one word.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS AVOIDING SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE AN ELECTION HAS LITTLE TO NO EFFECT ON PEOPLE’S POLITICAL VIEWS In the weeks before and after the 2020 presidential election, researchers ran a number of tests to try to understand how much Facebook and its corporate cousin, Instagram, may be contributing to the nation’s political divide. One of those experiments—led by Matthew Gentzkow and Hunt Allcott, economics professors at Stanford University—centered on more than 35,000 Facebook and Instagram users who were paid to stay off the platforms in the run-up to Election Day. There’s a lot that researchers could glean from the social media hiatus, including whether people’s political attitudes
• 5-18-2024 USING COMPUTER MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE DEBATE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE Different types of noise and how they act inside or outside the social interaction process. Cognitive biases are among the most important factors that prevent people from changing their minds. Climate change deniers and climate activists often tend to accept only information that confirms their respective opinions on the matter. However, opinion dynamics are also influenced by a factor that the researchers call “ambiguity noise.” Unlike biases, ambiguity noise is variable, depends on many random factors, and leads to inconsistent judgment.
• 5-18-2024 FOR SOME INDIGENOUS SOUTHERN PLAINS TRIBES, AN ORIGINAL FLUTE SONG IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD MARRIAGE “Warrior with flute” by Timothy Tate Nevaquaya. Used with permission. Credit: Timothy Tate Nevaquaya Every love story is unique, and in traditional Indigenous Southern Plains culture, it begins with an original ballad performed on the flute. In order to win a lover’s affection, and respect among the tribe, each pursuer must compose one good flute serenade. Paula Conlon, a former music professor at the University of Oklahoma, has researched the history and cultural significance of the Indigenous flute since the 1980s. Conlon presents her work Tuesday, May 14, at 9:45
• 5-18-2024 WANT TO BE AN INFLUENCER? OUR RESEARCH SHOWS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FIRST You’re hard at work, lying in a hammock, composing the perfect selfie on the beach. The turquoise sea sets off the idyllic sunset, and just visible though the fronds of a palm tree is the logo of the hotel which is paying you to promote it to your millions of followers on Instagram. Click. The perfect shot. And another typically perfect day in the life of an influencer. Or is it? Certainly a career as an influencer can seem appealing. The work generally involves promoting products or services through sponsored
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Media psychologists at the University of Cologne have studied how students’ individual needs, conceptions and reasons relate to cheating behavior in online exams. Online exams have become a more common type of exam at universities, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. They are advantageous because they save time and offer flexibility. However, cheating attempts present a big challenge for lecturers. This is why universities have been working on ways to thwart cheating in online exams by putting organizational and technical measures into place.
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Trust and distrust in social media coexisted in the study participants. Credit: Emmaline Nelsen Are anti-misinformation interventions on social media working as intended? It depends, according to a new study surveyed over 1,700 participants in the United States, revealing that anti-misinformation features increased users’ awareness of misinformation in social media; but did not make them more likely to share information on social media
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Seventy-eight percent of people in England and Wales think that crime has gone up in the last few years, according to the latest survey. But the data on actual crime shows the exact opposite. As of 2024, violence, burglary and car crime have been declining for 30 years and by close to 90%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)—our best indicator of true crime levels. Unlike police data, the CSEW is not subject to variations in reporting and recording. The drop in violence includes domestic violence
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Can we truly assess whether someone finds us attractive? Cognitive psychologist Iliana Samara discovered that men, in particular, tend to overestimate the interest of their date. She explains why this may be. “Imagine you walk into a packed bar, looking for a date. Your eyes are naturally drawn to attractive faces. If you’re a man and find someone attractive, you’re more likely to assume they’re also interested in you. “Then, when you approach them, whether you’re a man or woman
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Having more education has long been linked to better individual health. But those benefits are also contagious, say the co-authors of a new working paper. “It’s not just that the individuals who have more years of education are in better health,” said David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics. “It’s that even people with fewer years of education—for example, people with just a high school degree—are in better health when they live around
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Our research on children in early primary years, show they are better are writing with a pen or pencil than a keyboard. Children today are growing up surrounded by technology. So it’s easy to assume they will be able to write effectively using a keyboard. But our research suggests this is not necessarily true. We need to actively teach students to be able to type as well as write using paper and pen or pencil. Our research Our research team has published two recent
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? The provision of therapies for children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can be an affectively challenging, sometimes procedurally complex, process for the various stakeholders involved. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of this process, are crucial to various outcomes, in particular
• 5-18-2024 HOW DO MINDFULNESS, COMPASSION AND NEED FULFILLMENT AFFECT SATISFACTION IN MIDLIFE MARRIED COUPLES? Many people practice mindfulness or self-compassion techniques in their everyday life as part of their normal self-care routine. Although many studies support the individual benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion, few have focused on romantic relationship outcomes. A new study published in Personal Relationships has examined how mindfulness, self- and other-compassion, and need fulfillment relate to relationship and sexual satisfaction in midlife married couples. The study involved survey results from 640 adults aged 40–59 years who were residing in Canada and were married. Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental attention and awareness to
• 5-18-2024 HOW ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS ARE ADAPTING TO GENERATION ALPHA Growing up, did you play with hyper-sexualized Barbie dolls, boys-only Thomas the Tank Engine trains, or slim, white Disney princesses? If so, you’re not alone, but this is no longer the case for Generation Alpha. Brands like Mattel, once criticized for promoting unrealistic body standards and gender stereotypes, now portray themselves as feminist and progressive. The recent Barbie movie serves as a prime example of this shift. Millennial parents are actively seeking out toys, books and movies to educate their children about life and teach them values that align
• 5-18-2024 STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA FACE CHALLENGES TRANSITIONING TO THE WORKPLACE, BUT WITH SUPPORT THEY CAN THRIVE Transitioning from university to the workplace is a critical period in anyone’s life, but it can be especially challenging for students with dyslexia. While academic settings often offer accommodations for people with dyslexia, professional environments often fall short on such support systems. Fortunately, there are strategic interventions that can be established in workplaces to help individuals with dyslexia not only adapt, but excel in their careers. It is estimated that up to 20% of the population has dyslexia and 80% of people with a learning disability have dyslexia
• 5-18-2024 BUSINESSES UNINTENTIONALLY DISCOURAGE DIVERSE IDEAS, FINDS STUDY Businesses influence the ideas they receive from external contributors by unintentionally signaling which ideas they like, a research analyzed 1.44 million ideas to understand how organizations unknowingly shape the ideas they receive. Data came from organizations that asked visitors how they could improve their websites before choosing which ideas to use. Chosen ideas were communicated for all to see.
• 5-18-2024 WHAT’S IN A NAME? A LINGUISTICS EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY SOME BABY NAMES DOMINATE THE CHARTS YEAR AFTER YEAR What do names like Noah, James, Mateo, Mia, Evelyn and Luna all have in common? They’re not only some of the top baby names in the United States, but they also seem to flow off the tongue. And that’s exactly why parents love them. On May 10, the Social Security Administration released a list of the top baby names in the United States in 2023. Liam and Olivia maintained the number one spot in their respective categories for the fifth consecutive year while Noah and Emma also retained second place.
• 5-18-2024 ACCESS TO GARDENS AND CITIZEN SCIENCE HELPS ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION AMONG CHILDREN, STUDY SHOWS Access to gardens and citizen science projects at school can help promote pro-conservation behavior among pupils, a new study shows. Offering children the chance to take part in authentic scientific ecological work and gardening encourages an interest in plants. This can change behavior—to spend more time gardening or to pursue a botanical career—and fuels a positive attitude towards safeguarding the environment, experts found
• 5-18-2024 WHAT PROFESSIONALS EXPECT FROM FUTURE EMPLOYERS Employers who want to attract new talent should recognize diversity and enable inclusion. This is confirmed by a representative study by IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU), which surveyed more than 1,200 trainees and students across Germany. The results clearly show that 75.1% of prospective employees consider it very or somewhat important that companies implement measures to promote diversity and inclusion. This suggests that companies that communicate these measures openly and transparently
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 MECHANISTIC MODEL SHOWS HOW MUCH GOSSIP IS NEEDED TO FOSTER SOCIAL COOPERATION Gossip often has a negative connotation, but imagine you are part of a group deciding on a job candidate to hire or a local political candidate to back. Candidates who get a good reputation by helping others may be more likely to receive help in the form of a job offer or endorsement, a feedback loop known as indirect reciprocity. Gossip can facilitate cooperation. Previous research has shown that people tend to cooperate more when they think their peers are gossiping about their behavior, gossip
• 5-18-2024 SINGING RESEARCHERS FIND CROSS-CULTURAL PATTERNS IN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE Are acoustic features of music and spoken language shared across cultures? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen have contributed to a global study of music and speech, published in Science Advances. An international team of researchers recorded themselves performing traditional music and speaking in their native language. In all 50+ languages
• 5-18-2024 NEW RESEARCH REVEALS JUST HOW FEW LGBTQI+ PEOPLE PLAY SPORTS The topic of homophobia in sport has recently made headlines in Australia, with a series of homophobic incidents involving men’s AFL players. These homophobic incidents are usually well-reported in news media, but research has rarely explored the impact on participation for LGBTQI+ people. Fresh research into the problem Our new research is one of the first pieces of academic research in Australia to document how many LGBTQI+ people play and engage with sport. We also explored current levels of discrimination across sport in Australia, and the barriers and enablers
• 5-18-2024 SWIPE RIGHT OR LEFT? HOW DATING APPS ARE IMPACTING MODERN MASCULINITY What it means to be a man is changing. Critical men or masculinity studies is an emerging robust research field that explores how men and masculinity are being transformed by shifting socio-economic, sexual and political conditions in our post-industrial world. Fascinating new male-identifying sub-cultures and communities have emerged, like mushroomcore and dandies. Yet heteronormative masculinity is typically framed as threatening, toxic or maladaptive, as in the case of fragile masculinity. In my years of swiping on dating apps, I encountered different kinds of masculinities, as well as some very offensive
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SAY AUTOMATED NEWS VIDEO PRODUCTION IS BETTER WITH A HUMAN TOUCH AI-generated videos for short messages are only as well received as manually created ones if they are edited by humans. News organizations—including Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Economist—have been using AI powered video services to meet growing audience demand for audio-visual material. A study recently published in the journal Journalism now shows that the automated production of news videos is better with human supervision. Technology providers like Wochit and Moovly are allowing publishers to mass produce videos at scale. But what do audiences think of the results? Researchers led by LMU
• 5-18-2024 HOW ‘ETHICAL INFLUENCERS’ ENGAGE THEIR AUDIENCES ABOUT SAVING THE PLANET Have a quick think back to the last time you scrolled through social media. Maybe it was this morning, last night or a few minutes ago. What do you recall? One thing you’re bound to remember is the continuous stream of influencers showing off their latest content. These could be videos of influencers discussing the latest skin-care products, the trendiest places to eat, their latest shopping haul or the PR packages they received from various brands. Much of social media influencing is about getting consumers to buy more products.
• 5-18-2024 ALLYSHIP IS ESSENTIAL TO NEW MOTHERS RETURNING TO WORK, SAYS STUDY Returning to work after parental leave can be one of the most challenging experiences for any parents, especially mothers, to navigate. Fortunately, there are simple, kind and thoughtful ways in which organizational members—regardless of formal status, parental identity or gender identity—can help mothers feel supported as they return to work, which can also benefit job satisfaction and maternal well-being.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS SAYING ‘PLEASE’ MAY NOT BE SO POLITE IN EVERYDAY REQUESTS By kindergarten age, most children have been taught that “please” is a magic word. “Please” is an expression of politeness that shows courtesy and respect, turning a potential demand into a request that will—poof!—magically be granted. But a new study on the ways people make requests of one another suggests that “please” might not be an all-purpose marker of politeness, but rather a more focused, strategic tool to manage frictions or obstacles among family members, friends and even coworkers.
• 5-18-2024 MILITARY RANK AFFECTS MEDICAL CARE, OFFERING SOCIETAL INSIGHTS: STUDY Stock project from Pexels Human relationships are inherently shaped by power dynamics, yet quantifying their impact has remained a scientific challenge. Now, a large new study published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that military doctors give more attention to higher-ranked patients, providing concrete evidence about the privileges that come with elevated status, frequently at the expense of the less powerful. “One of the things we are trying to show is that this is not a military-specific analysis,”
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DISCUSS CURRENT STATE OF HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND BIPHOBIA Gender-neutral bathrooms, conversion therapy and Quebec’s advisory committee on gender identity have been in the news lately. These are polarizing, hot-button issues. While there have been legislative and social advances for LGBTQ+ rights, ignorance and discrimination persist and continue to negatively affect the lives of many. On May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, UdeMNouvelles asked two Université de Montréal professors and researchers who are experts in the field to share their views.
• 5-18-2024 PICKLEBALL COURTS IN A LEGAL PICKLE OVER THE ASSOCIATED NOISE Experts recommend HOAs and communities consider the “popping” noise associated with pickleball when deciding to build courts near homes. Credit: AIP Pickleball Legal Consultant is a job title that likely did not exist a decade ago, but as pickleball courts infiltrate neighborhoods to satiate an appetite for a sport whose namesake is a snack, communities take issue with the resulting influx of noise. Now homeowners’ associations and city councils face litigation by those whose lives are disrupted by pickleball’s din. Charles Leahy, an attorney, retired mechanical engineer, and former HOA
• 5-18-2024 TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING HOW COMPANIES DO BUSINESS In the fast-paced world of modern business, technology plays a crucial role in shaping how companies operate. One area where this impact is particularly significant is in the organization of production chains—specifically the way goods are made and distributed. A new study from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business advances understanding of the U.S. production chain evolution amidst technological progress in information technology (IT), shedding light on the complex connections between business IT investments and organizational design. Advances in IT have sparked significant changes in how companies design
• 5-18-2024 HOW DOES THE US KNOW THAT FORCED LABOR IS HAPPENING IN CHINA? A SUPPLY CHAIN EXPERT WEIGHS IN The Biden administration has added 26 more companies to the list of Chinese textile traders and manufacturers whose goods are blocked from entering the United States because of their alleged ties to forced labor. The banned imports, known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, names businesses that are said to be involved in exploiting

Hello! I have multiple disabilities and cannot work, and often I have no energy to take care of personal tasks like scheduling appointments, online shopping for needed items, making phone calls, etc.
I'm considering hiring a part-time VA for only 3-10 hours per month. I'd like to use a service to match me with a vetted VA who's a good fit. I haven't found any that aren't tailored to small business owners, which I am not, who need someone for 20-40+ hours per month.
Also, every service I've come across seemed to undercharge the customer as well as dramatically underpay and overwork its virtual assistants while not offering them benefits. I don't feel comfortable with that kind of arrangement. I'd like to find a service that gives employees a minimum of $25/hour. It would also be ideal if the company opted out of the gig economy model in favor of a salaried approach with benefits.
I know that's a long, specific, and unlikely list. If you know of a service that hits even one of these targets, please point me in the right direction. It would be such a huge improvement in quality of life. Thank you!!!
TL;DR: Please let me know where I can find a VA service that provides any of the following: - Help with admin for personal tasks for individuals without a business or kids - Lets you choose a low number of hours (I'm looking for 3-10) - Does not exploit its workers by paying < $25/hour - Bonus if employees are salaried and get benefits

Hello all, I received an initial disability rating of 80% with numerous items deferred. All claims were submitted at the same time. The back-pay showed up within a week or so of that. I continued the C&P exams for all the other items, which are still being scheduled for those deferred items even though my rating was increased to 100% p&t over a month ago. I received the newly adjusted rate, but nothing in the form of additional back pay. My question is the difference between those two ratings is approximately $2000 a month from the initial filling date, again it's been over a month and I haven't seen any additional back-pay. I haven't called the VA yet. I am curious if anyone else has experienced something similar? This has all taken place within a 14 month period.

In a fascinating study, evidenced for a possible landing sight for Lehi in America has been discovered within easy travel distance to Palmyra, NY. If substantiated, it could add weight to an Atlantic migration, the controversial Solutrean Hypothesis, in addition to the traditional Siberian route. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/05/19/first-americans-chesapeake-parsons-island/
The link is behind a pay wall. Here’s the article
PARSONS ISLAND, Md. — With the Chesapeake Bay sloshing at his knee-high boots, Darrin Lowery stood back and squinted at a 10-foot-tall bluff rising above a narrow strip of beach. To the untrained eye, this wall of sandy sediment is the unremarkable edge of a modest island southeast of the Bay Bridge. To Lowery, a coastal geologist, its crumbling layers put the island at the center of one of the most contentious battles in archaeology: when and how humans first made their way into the Americas. The story of the first Americans has long been a matter of public and scientific fascination, undergirded at times by vicious disagreements. The timeline of when people arrived has shifted earlier in grudging steps over the past century, and scientists today mostly agree people were in the Americas at least 15,000 years ago. Story continues below advertisement
Lowery’s site and others like it could revise the story again, pushing back the timeline earlier than most experts thought possible. In total, Lowery and a motley crew of collaborators have discovered 286 artifacts from the site on the island’s southwestern edge. The oldest, they reported, was embedded with charcoal dated to more than 22,000 years ago, a time when much of the continent would have been covered in ice sheets. If Lowery is right, Parsons Island could rewrite American prehistory, opening up a host of new puzzles: How did those people get here? How many waves of early migration were there? And are these mysterious people the ancestors of Native Americans?
Casts of tools found at Parsons Island are seen on display. Lowery and his team have unearthed 286 artifacts from the site so far. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) New claims of sites dated this far back face a wall of skepticism, rooted in legitimate scientific scrutiny and in the threat they pose to long-entrenched views. To complicate matters, Lowery — who has been affiliated with the Smithsonian but does much of his work independently — presented the results of his study of Parsons Island in a 260-page manuscript posted online rather than in a traditional peer-reviewed journal. The peer-review process is designed to help validate scientific claims, but Lowery argues that in archaeology it often leads to a circle-the-wagon mentality, allowing scientists to wave away evidence that doesn’t support the dominant paradigm. He says he isn’t seeking formal publishing routes because “life’s too short,” comparing this aspect of academic science to “the dumbest game I’ve ever played.”
The island is also a challenging site to study for a variety of reasons — most poignantly because it is rapidly eroding as the land subsides and sea level rises. The spot where the artifacts were found is now covered by the choppy waters of the bay. “The visit reinforced my will to invest my time into this time period, because it’s a very fragile record,” said Sebastien Lacombe, an archaeologist at Binghamton University, who visited the island in 2017. “It’s at risk of disappearing, and we’re at risk of [allowing] these sites and artifacts to lose their meaning forever.” ‘A weirdo kid’
Darrin Lowery walks a beach on Parsons Island. Most of the artifacts were excavated by erosion, discovered on the beach after they had already fallen out of the bluff. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery began exploring the Chesapeake shoreline as a child, wandering his backyard on Tilghman Island, about 15 miles southwest from Parsons Island. In 1977, 9-year-old Lowery picked up a distinctive fluted stone projectile point. A few years later, he saw something similar on a documentary on public television, in which a Smithsonian archaeologist explained it was a Clovis point, a relic of what most people then believed were the first Americans. For the last half of the 20th century, the peopling of the Americas followed a tidy narrative. Humans traveled from Siberia across a land bridge that connected Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, when sea levels dropped. They then migrated southward around 13,000 years ago, when the ice sheets covering the continent retreated and exposed a previously impassable inland route. These people — named after a site in Clovis, N.M. — left behind distinctive, fluted stone points that have since been found scattered across North America. Story continues below advertisement
Lowery turned to his dad and said, “I found one of those.” He found more by walking the shoreline every day. Lowery made discoveries as he meandered, and he began to understand how seasonal patterns, sediment movement, wind and waves could unearth ancient treasures. “I was a weirdo kid,” he recalled. He trained as a geologist, and it was geology that initially attracted Lowery to study Parsons Island. In 2010, he published an article in Quaternary Science Reviews describing layers of windblown silt deposited between 13,000 and 41,000 years ago at Miles Point in eastern Maryland. But the geological record is like reading the CliffsNotes version of a book, and he was frustrated by an “unconformity” in the sediment layers where thousands of years were missing, like someone had ripped out those chapters.
Parsons Island is rapidly eroding. The archaeological site is now covered by the Chesapeake Bay. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery and a colleague were prowling around in a whaler, looking for a spot that might fill in the blanks, when they spotted a black streak of sediment rising up out of the bay. They pulled up to Parsons Island and thought they had found “the Rosetta stone” to decode the geology. Parsons is a 78-acre island less than a mile offshore that is privately owned by the Corckran family, which uses it as a family retreat. With the Corckrans’ permission, Lowery and colleagues began to visit regularly. The bluff layers preserved a remarkably intact geologic timeline going back more than 40,000 years. Then, one morning in August 2013, the team discovered a leaf-shaped prehistoric stone tool jutting out of this crumbling wall. They knew from the work they’d already done that it was probably quite old. Story continues below advertisement
On a recent visit to the island, geoarchaeologist Daniel Wagner demonstrated why. He stepped back to scan the cliff, then tapped a narrow spade into a light tan sediment layer just above his head. That, he said, is the geologic “chapter” where they’d expect to find Clovis artifacts. Lower layers were set down before Clovis. The palm-size tool Lowery and his colleague found came out of the dark sediment layer near their knees. The scientists used two methods to date the sediment around the artifact, both showing it was more than 20,000 years old. They scoured the beach on 93 visits and conducted a formal, top-down excavation, collecting the 286 artifacts. They sent out sediment to labs that specialize in studying ancient pollen and microfossils called phytoliths to help reconstruct the ecosystem at the time. Back then, this region wouldn’t have been a coastline. The sediment the tools are embedded in dates to the “last glacial maximum” — the scientific term for the most recent coldest period of the Ice Age. In the final analysis, Lowery thinks the artifacts may have been transported downslope before they were buried, making them between 15,000 and 20,500 years old. “This was a swale, where water was collecting,” Lowery said, envisioning the ancient landscape. “You’ve got a dune. It’s got sedges and small trees on it that are windblown and all contorted, and then behind it you’ve got a little pond.” That pond may have attracted prehistoric bison, musk ox and llamas, whose fossilized molars he’s found scattered on the island shore. And it may have been what attracted the mysterious people who left behind a cache of stone tools. A story in flux
Parsons Island is seen from nearby Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Parsons Island is the latest addition to a growing list of what are called pre-Clovis sites. But while the long-held “Clovis First” theory has crumbled over the past three decades, that has only deepened the debate about how much earlier the first Americans arrived. Claims of early sites present a challenge on two fronts. The first is technical: Dating a site convincingly can be difficult, depending on the context. Sediments can shift or be disturbed. What at first look like artifacts can turn out to be “geofacts,” created not by humans but by natural processes or animals. As a result, many pre-Clovis sites “enjoy a Warhol-esque 15 minutes of fame, and then they disappear” because of real problems with the geology or the methods, said archaeologist James Adovasio. In 1973, he began excavating Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, which dated back 16,000 years. It was instantly mired in controversy, and the site still has its critics today. The second challenge reflects the culture of science. For a long time, people who claimed to find pre-Clovis sites were swimming upstream against deeply entrenched thinking. Tom Dillehay, an archaeologist at Vanderbilt University, began working on a site in southern Chile called Monte Verde in 1977, which was dated to 14,500 years ago. He recalled a group of researchers he calls the “Clovis police,” scientific gatekeepers who summarily rejected any pre-Clovis sites, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes as a knee-jerk reaction. Monte Verde began to change that. In 1997, a group of respected archaeologists visited the site and declared it authentic. “It took about 25 to 30 years for Monte Verde to be accepted,” Dillehay said. “We went through hell.”
Holly, a German shorthaired pointer, runs across a bluff top on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery says he isn’t interested in running that gantlet. He noted that he drew on multiple labs and methods for dating the Parsons Island artifacts in an effort to ensure that any one extremely old date isn’t a fluke. He’s also invited other researchers in to visit and study the site. That approach irritates some scientists. David Meltzer, an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University, said in an email that he would not discuss Lowery’s claims “until they go through the wringer of peer review and get published.” Others like Stuart Fiedel, an independent archaeologist based in western Massachusetts who has been skeptical of other sites, say the site should not fly under the radar just because of Lowery’s unconventional process. Story continues below advertisement
“There are people I know in the field who will not pay any attention to it, because it has not been peer-reviewed, which I think is kind of sticking your head in the sand,” Fiedel said. “It’s there. We can’t act as [if] nothing’s been found there.” Share this article Share
A bigger issue may be the site’s rapid erosion. Most of the artifacts were found after they’d fallen out of the bluff, which means their place in the geologic timeline is obscured. Nine artifacts were found in place, and only three were able to be dated using charcoal flecks found next to them. Steven Forman, a geoscientist at Baylor University, helped date the sediment layers at Parsons Island, corroborating findings from another lab. He said that it’s hard to find the artifacts in the kind of bulletproof geological context needed to support extraordinary claims. “The case is not as tight as we like to see it with other sites,” Forman said. Michael Waters, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University who has worked on pre-Clovis sites and excavated at Parsons Island, thinks he probably got there too late, when most of the artifacts had already been eroded out. Still, he pays someone to monitor the bank profile on a regular basis, because he’s ready to jump on a plane if they see something in place. “Too bad we didn’t get there four to five years sooner,” Waters said. Enter ancient DNA
An ancient bovine tooth is among the fossils found so far on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Parsons Island isn’t the only site that could dramatically push back human arrival in the Americas. Last fall, a study published in the journal Science described fossilized human footprints discovered at White Sands National Park in New Mexico that have been dated to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. That stunning finding suggests people were here during the Ice Age — much earlier than most experts thought possible if the first humans arrived via the Bering land bridge and inland corridor. The dates at White Sands are still being disputed because of questions about the methods. But the timeline collides head-on with another exciting line of evidence: studies of ancient DNA. By examining genetic material preserved in bones and teeth and comparing those samples to modern populations, scientists have been able to track when populations mingled and became isolated from one another, offering a new window into patterns of human migration. Story continues below advertisement
In broad strokes, they’ve found that the ancestors of Native Americans split from ancient Siberian populations no earlier than 23,000 years ago. The studies can’t say where such splits took place, but many scientists interpret genetic evidence to mean that the ancestors of modern people weren’t in the Americas until much later. Genetic studies suggest that Native American ancestors traveled into what is now the United States between 17,500 and 14,600 years ago. Joe Watkins, a senior consultant for Archaeological and Cultural Education Consultants in Tucson and a Choctaw tribal member, said that he sees a few problems with using the still-evolving DNA evidence to decide how ancient sites are related to modern-day people. “The reality is genetics does not equal culture,” Watkins said. He also argued that there are still too few samples of ancient DNA in the Americas to be sure they capture the whole story. “Trying to create population histories based on 10 people, if you will, is a little bit of a scientific conundrum,” Watkins said. It could be that additional ancient genomes will one day help fill in the blanks. Another possibility is that earlier sites could represent small, isolated groups of people who didn’t contribute to the ancestry of living Native Americans.
A tree-lined path leads to a beach on Parsons Island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) “Let’s suppose you have a successful population colonizing an area, and then one day, 15 males go out and get eaten by a short-faced bear,” Lowery said. “You reduce the genetic diversity, and bada boom, bada bing, game over.” All this explodes the neat picture of one population migrating into the Americas as ice sheets retreated, hunting big animals like mammoths and giant sloths, driving them into extinction as they went. If there were small groups making their way into the New World, with different stone tool technologies, and far earlier than previously believed, how did they get here? People could have migrated along the coast by boat, following a “kelp highway.” It’s also possible the ice sheet was not as impenetrable as experts have long thought. Lowery’s longtime collaborator, Dennis Stanford, proposed that people crossed the Atlantic Ocean in what is known as the Solutrean Hypothesis, though that idea has been rejected by many archaeologists. To resolve the question, scientists need to keep looking for more evidence. Archaeology is a historical science, and unlike chemistry or biomedicine, where researchers can perform the same experiment over and over again to see if they get the same results, consensus is built by argument, counterargument and new evidence. To a certain extent, older ideas and prejudices also fall away as new people enter the field, said James Feathers, who performed dating on samples from Parsons Island before he retired from the University of Washington. “Sometimes you have to wait for people to die off,” Feathers said.
Alex Corckran, whose family owns Parsons Island, stands on a beach on the southern side of the island. (Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post) Lowery is determined to keep motoring around the Chesapeake, researching the ephemeral landscape that he loves and that may contain clues about human prehistory. He acknowledges that the sites, perhaps a little bit like him, are “persnickety” but that shouldn’t deter interest in them. Instead, it should spur more. He noted that if a pod of silverfish was found gnawing on documents in the National Archives, people would be galvanized to act. “I view it as my swan song,” Lowery said, “to say you can learn a lot from [an] eroding site if you do a little bit of effort and look at it systematically.”
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Warning: This is a candid expression of my perspective, and I am eager to hear other points of view.
Having dedicated over a decade to military service, spanning active duty, IRR, TR, and IMA roles, I have also been receiving disability compensation for several years. One issue that has increasingly frustrated me is the law preventing Service Members from collecting their entitled VA benefits while on duty. Despite extensive research, I have yet to find a logical justification for this regulation. The common retort, "It's the Government, what is there to understand," no longer suffices.
In my view, once compensation for disabilities has been awarded, Service Members should not be forced to choose between receiving VA benefits and military pay. This policy seems to ignore the reality that disabilities do not simply vanish when one is on military duty. In fact, these conditions could potentially worsen or become aggravated during service.
Beyond the undue burden this places on Service Members, it also complicates operations for the VA. The VA must track periods of service, notify members multiple times, and manage what often amounts to a fabricated debt. Many individuals, based on conversations I've had, leave it to the VA to deduct nominal amounts over the years. However, this debt can grow substantially, further cutting into VA compensation if the Reserve member faces this situation annually. This approach undermines the VA's ability to effectively support veterans.
I welcome any feedback. Do you share this frustration? Can you provide insight or understanding into this issue?
Here is 10 U.S.C. 12316 for reference https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title10/html/USCODE-2010-title10-subtitleE-partII-chap1209-sec12316.htm

Warning: This is a candid expression of my perspective, and I am eager to hear other points of view.
Having dedicated over a decade to military service, spanning active duty, IRR, TR, and IMA roles, I have also been receiving disability compensation for several years. One issue that has increasingly frustrated me is the law preventing Service Members from collecting their entitled VA benefits while on duty. Despite extensive research, I have yet to find a logical justification for this regulation. The common retort, "It's the Government, what is there to understand," no longer suffices.
In my view, once compensation for disabilities has been awarded, Service Members should not be forced to choose between receiving VA benefits and military pay. This policy seems to ignore the reality that disabilities do not simply vanish when one is on military duty. In fact, these conditions could potentially worsen or become aggravated during service.
Beyond the undue burden this places on Service Members, it also complicates operations for the VA. The VA must track periods of service, notify members multiple times, and manage what often amounts to a fabricated debt. Many individuals, based on conversations I've had, leave it to the VA to deduct nominal amounts over the years. However, this debt can grow substantially, further cutting into VA compensation if the Reserve member faces this situation annually. This approach undermines the VA's ability to effectively support veterans.
I welcome any feedback. Do you share this frustration? Can you provide insight or understanding into this issue?
Here is 10 U.S.C. 12316 for reference https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title10/html/USCODE-2010-title10-subtitleE-partII-chap1209-sec12316.htm

In many psychopathy related online debates, there is this pseudo-scientific distinction between Sociopathy (environment) and Psychopathy (born with) and all associated misconceptions about how neurology works. Here a quick overview about how the misconception of these beliefs are classified in academic literature, followed by a quick criticism on their own classification, followed by the consequences. Bypassly, a bunch of information I share with you between the lines:

"Genetic determinism is linked to essentialist reasoning, which can be understood as the view that every entity, including biological traits, contains an immutable underlying essence that predicts similarities between members of a group (Gelman, 2003). Genetic determinism can be regarded as the biological component of essentialism (Keller, 2005), but it is generally considered to be a lay concept deserving independent and focused attention. As Dar-Nimrod and Heine (2011) argue, essentialist thinking can be reinforced by a superficial understanding of genetics, in which genes take the role of concrete placeholders for essentialist ideas. Such an understanding of genetics tends to inaccurately attribute an overactive, primary, or even exclusive determining power to the gene. However, recent developments in genomics and epigenetics have reinforced the notion of gene action as probabilistic and mutually interdependent with the environment, (...)" (Genetics Education p. 108)

In contrast, the view that humans are born as a blank sheet of paper, is a view held by a popular philosopher those opinion is essential to many contemporary views on personal identity and personhood in general.

"The empiricist philosopher John Locke expressed the idea that humans acquire all or almost all of their behavioral traits from nurture, claiming that the human mind is a tabula rasa, and that mental functions and behaviors develop solely from environmental influences" (p. 109)

Since biological determinism is considered a "layman's belief", where does this idea come from? There have been studies looking at the distribution of said theory across cultures and is considered a universal concept (p. 112) The study looked into how much genetic-influence is overestimated across Europe, North America, and South America on traits.

"Gericke et al. (2017) reported that bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism and, to a lesser degree, intelligence, severe depression, attention defcit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and violent behavior scored lower for genetic deterministic beliefs among the participants of the study, when compared to heritability scores from the literature, whereas only two traits—related to the biological component (diabetes and breast cancer)—scored higher, indicating genetic overattribution. Hence, there was, among the Brazilian students involved in the study, a tendency to attribute less power to genes for social and mental traits, compared to biological traits." (p. 113)

Without going into further detail, the results show that the opposite of the hypothesis is true. Most people underestimate genetical influence. Another striking result is that there is still a strong underlying belief in mind-body dualism; with phenotypical traits associated with "genetics" and mental traits to be considered "environmental". For example, ADHD's is indeed strongly linked to genetics. is often considered to be environmental or a choice, by layman".
This is also indicative that people are willing to blame for mental disabilities, believed to have control over, but not to external forms of disability, even when the risk factor is increased by one's actions (for example, in the case of breast cancer).
Interestingly, genetic determinism is not that popular among layman as thought, despite being mistakenly proposed in much literature.

"While some traits—the same fve in each country—showed elevated rates of genetic overattribution, rarely did a majority of respondents endorse a deterministic response. To conclude, this large study in three countries from three different continents did not support the idea that genetic determinism is a general and widespread belief. This general finding of low overall genetic overattribution was also reported by Gericke et al. (2017) in the same sample of Brazilian undergraduates (using a distinct analytical approach), as well as by Willoughby et al. (2019) for laypeople in the United States. However, it is at odds with other prior literature (e.g., Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011; Keller, 2005; Nelkin & Lindee, 2004). Several authors have previously reported BGD to be a widespread phenomenon in common discourse (Keller, 2000; Nelkin & Lindee, 2004), in the media (Condit et al., 2001), and in school textbooks (Gericke et al., 2014)." (p. 118 [this quote is probably the most interesting one])

For those who got curious now about "what to belief then everything thought before turns out to be wrong", here comes salvation:

"Although the topic is complex, there is consensus that the interplay between genes and environment is a core idea of genetic literacy (Boerwinkel et al., 2017). Fifty-seven experts participating in a delphi study brought to light the genetics knowledge that is relevant for laypeople in the twenty-frst century. Nine knowledge categories of genetic literacy emerged. One of them addressed understanding M. Hammann (*) · J. C. S. Zang Zentrum für Didaktik der Biologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, T. Heemann Kardinal-von-Galen-Gesamtschule Nordwalde, Nordwalde, Germany 128 multiple and interactive causation of genetic phenomena: “Multiple genes and multiple environmental factors interact in the development of most traits.” Some experts even argued that gene-environment interaction was the most relevant category of all." (p. 128)

In regards to psychopathy and the resurfacing debate about heritable traits, it is important to note that "teach that the environment can influence cell functioning through changes at the protein level" and " that environmental factors can cause mutations in genes, or alter gene expression". In other words, genes are not hard-coded stones flowing through our bodies like gears, but mutable and flexible, soft and alterable molecules-compounds.
Unfortunately, however,

"educational standards inadequately address the impact of the environment on genes and their products (Dougherty et al., 2011), high-school textbooks provide only limited discussions on genetic and environmental influences on multi-factorial diseases (Hicks et al., 2014) and omit the impact of the environment on gene expression altogether (Aivelo & Uitto, 2015; Martínez-Gracia et al., 2006), trait-formation tasks in high-school textbooks hardly ever address the role of the environment in trait formation (Heemann & Hammann, 2020), internet websites fail to address gene–environment interactions (Cheng et al., 2008), and media portrayals emphasize genetic infuences and diminish environmental on"

The educational services' attempt to combat biological determinism and racism kinda backed-fired, when this led to many students largely adopting Locke's view, as seen in the following pages of the quoted paper, which is that people are a product of their environment and education, neglecting the genetic influence. On the other hand, people who are "self-taught", are probably mostly confronted with a pseudo-intellectual oversimplification of biological determinism, leading to "self-taught people", to accept "the harsh reality" in contrast to "liberal educational systems in which everything is soft switching environmental factors". This could also explain the phenomena of LARPerpathy.
If we want to get political, this also explains why a lot of younger people are "left-leaning".
Hopefully, this helps to understand why the nurture vs nature debate itself, is outdated and arguably a layman debate in itself.

My job (OPS worker for a public university) has been telling me they will be moving me to a full-time, salaried/contracted A&P position for a year. I have this in writing multiple times, and the paperwork to reclassify my position was signed, processed, then trashed due to a lower-management change. I am now the only employee in my department working 40 hours with no benefits. Coincidentally(?), I am also the only employee with reasonable accommodations, which are under scrutiny for no provided reason. I apologize for the length, but that is the tldr, and everything is public record.
I began my job as a part time, at-will/OPS employee in January of 2023. In June, I casually began a conversation with my coworker about going full-time since I was already working 35 hours a week. He is friends with my bosses boss, and said he'd talk to her about it. Bosses boss said it was possible, and she'd gather more info about it. Somewhere in there, we discussed the my tuition getting paid as part of the benefits package offered (this is offered to all FT employees). In July, my boss (who was later terminated) came into my office and told me that I needed to go to her if I wanted to go full-time, and that she would make it happen.
In September, boss emails me asking if I still want to go full time, I reply yes, she replies that she hasn't forgotten about it and thanks me for my patience. In December, I follow up via email again, and boss tells me we can address if after the first of the year. I tell her that my tuition is due the 19th of January, and asked if I will be FT by then and get my tuition paid for. She says yes.
In January 2024, I email my boss again, copying HR, for an update. My boss and HR reply saying they'll set up a meeting to "discuss my transition to full-time status." They have the meeting, and boss later asks me verbally if I want benefits. I say yes. Somewhere after that, the new A&P position is drafted up and sent over to HR. I end up getting a tuition deferment to mid-Feb. On Jan 29, I email again asking for an update, and my boss says HR is working on approving the position, and that my company "will be paying my tuition." HR replied saying the position was still with them for approval, and once it is approved, it will be posted for candidates to apply, and that they're working on my tuition payment.
In February, my boss is terminated. My bosses duties fall to my bosses boss. The next week, bosses boss tells me verbally that she will be signing the paperwork for the new position. Somewhere after that, she signs the paperwork and HR starts working on getting the job posted. This same week, I turned down a job interview for a comparable position at another gov agency. Later that month, we have an interim director appointed. During this time, I am also approved for and begin working from home 2 days a week as a reasonable accommodation, all signed off on by the HR ADA office and bosses boss.
In March, I email HR again asking where we are, and let them know I only ended up getting my tuition partially covered (ended up paying $500 out of pocket). HR says they're in the middle of creating the position, and that she will see where we are. A week later, they tell me that they stopped the process and that they'll need to start over with my new boss. The already-approved position and paperwork signed by my bosses boss were scrapped. I email my boss asking if he can follow up, and he said he is meeting with bosses boss and will bring it up.
In April, I email interim boss for an update. He gives this vague response about how the department's staffing model needs to be looked at and addressed with HR. He says that he's indicated that I need to be brought up to full-time, and that bosses boss is working to resolve the situation. Boss also starts having concerns about the departments "arbitrary working from home" (done by another coworker, who decides she can WFH whenever she wants without permission), and sends the university's WFH policy (separate from WFH as an accommodation).
Early May, he tells me verbally that I will start working 40 hours a week as an OPS employee. He also asks if I will be coming back in the office everyday, and I say no due to my accommodation. He goes on to say that other coworkers were working remotely and not getting work done, tells me he knows I am getting my work done, but that these coworkers are essentially ruining it for everyone. I tell him again that I have an accommodation, and he says he will need to talk to HR about that. I email him my paperwork with ADA coordinator copied, and she says the paperwork still stands with bosses boss signature and that it does not need to be reissued. The next week, he makes an announcement to the staff that all WFH requests have been denied, other than me due to an "exception," and that he's still talking to HR about it. Same day, coworker who is ruining it for everyone tells me she's planning on faking a disability to get an accommodation. I tell my boss about this immediately. Nothing happens.
Yesterday, I email my boss if it was still in the works to become an A&P employee with a benefits package. He replies saying no changes in position classification will occur in the immediate future.
The state of florida employee website says "OPS employees do not fill established positions and may not be assigned the duties of any vacant authorized position." My departments org chart has 2 empty positions I am/could be considered filling: Marketing Representative and Marketing and Communications Representative. I am currently classified as "information assistant and writer," but I am the only marketing position, manage everything myself with no guidance, and additionally manage an assistant that reports to me. Assistant is also employed as an information assistant and writer.
I am now the only employee in my department working 40 hours a week with no benefits, my accommodations are under scrutiny, and I turned down an interview for a position that would have paid more than. Do I have any sort of legal ground here, especially with everything being public record? Is there anything I can do other than find a new job? Could this be discrimination?

Can you invest your disability pay into the stock market.

Bonjour,
J'ai remarqué que depuis certains temps des enseignes proposent de payer via Klarna ou Alma (si j'ai bien compris ce sont juste deux concurrents qui font la même chose, l'un étant suédois, l'autre francais). Par exemple sur ce pantalon Decath'
Au début je n'y prêtais pas attention parce que je voyais ca un peu comme un Cofidis et autres arnaques du genre, tu payes en plusieurs fois mais tu te manges des frais de malades en mode crédi conso.
Mais la je vois qu'il y'a 0 frais sur cet exemple précis. Je ne sais pas si c'est le cas de tous.
Du coup je me demande si ca peut devenir intéressant d'utiliser ce genre de services ? Ca va pas chercher bien loin, et c'est pas comme si je ne pouvais pas me payer ce pantalon à 45€ cash, mais dans un but disons "d'optimisation", est ce que ca ne pourrais pas avoir du sens de faire au moins certain de ses achats de cette façon ? Est ce qu'il y'a une arnaque / point de vigilance ? Le seul bémol que je vois éventuellement c'est peut être le coté "pousse à la consommation" ou "te donne l'impression d'avoir + de pouvoir d'achat que tu n'en as réellement"
Quelqu'un à déjà testé ?

The thing about this climate crisis that no one talks about is that economically, this is not new. This is the same sort of shift as any other massive economic shift we've seen in history, whether resulting from technology or environment or society or any combination of the three. It will be rapid; as rapid as the economic expansion of Europe when it discovered just how profitable colonisation and slavery were. But it's not really anything unseen in an economic sense.
How markets work is this: everything is just supply and demand. If there is a known demand for something, in a roundabout way, the market will ensure that demand is supplied. It might melt a few glaciers in the meantime, or be delayed by a war or two, but it's a force akin to that of nature, or evolution, or cause and effect. The markets will balance. Eventually.

A detour through history

The Chinese never developed eye-glasses. They didn't have the need for glass, because their drink of choice was tea, so the materials they worked with were mostly ceramics. In Europe, the cultural drink of refinement was wine. This didn't need to be kept hot, or be brewed and poured perfectly and all that stuff I'm told is important with tea. But it had requirements and qualities of its own, and one of them is that it looks pretty on display -- and that's why Europe developed and refined glass so much faster than China.
Glass is an incredibly old invention. It's fragile, much more fragile than pottery, so we rarely find it in archeological digs. But it's been invented in and/or expanded to many many cultures throughout history since at least 2000 BC in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria, followed by the Greeks, the Romans, the Canaan, and the Persians. Basically anyone with an empire, including the Chinese, was making glass. Unfortunately they'd only just discovered transparent glass by the late Bronze Age, when the Bronze Age collapsed due to a series of environmental, migratory and urban changes.
(A good reminder that historically, periods of mass technological advancement are followed by civilisation collapses and dark ages. Until the present, of course. But that's been true of every present.)
A lot of glass-making technology was lost, but some important things were saved and some new stuff was rediscovered, and most of this discovering happened in Europe because they had, as I mentioned, wine. And rich people wanted to show off their pretty, colourful wine, and that only worked if your glass was transparent. And Italy had access to pure silica quartz, plus soda ash via their trade with the Levant, and so some clever spark there developed the first pair of eyeglasses.
And that's how you have Mecca, Italy and Venice (the latter of whom had been producing the famous Venetian glass, but moved all their glassmakers to Italy because they'd built all their buildings out of wood) all mass producing eye-glasses with consistent standards for Europe and the Middle East by the 14th century.
This might seem like a small development, but gradual loss of sight used to be a disability. Like, it seriously disabled people from doing many things. Far-sightedness meant artisans couldn't create and scholars couldn't read -- I can't even imagine how many people died falling off a horse just because they were short-sighted. For civilisations to have access to devices that got them decades of productivity out of some of the most skilled people in their societies was massive. And that's part of how you get European dominance over Asia, because the Chinese economic powerhouses didn't care about glass as much as Europe did. It's not enough to just invent something. To develop a technology, a society needs both the resources to play with and the need to play with it. That's why we get so much advancement from war. You can thank Germany for your microwave.

How on earth is this relevant to the market or our climate crisis?

Glass will be invented, and then it will be forgotten, and then it will be invented again. But only some economies flourished from it.
We have no control over anything but us. And that's terrifying. The climate change that crippled the Bronze Age wasn't even their fault and they still got thrown back to the Dark Ages.
We are going to see our own change in the market. We are going to live it. And one thing is true, whether National or ACT or BP like it or not: fossil fuels cannot continue to be relied upon as a commodity. Not long-term. It's a dying industry, slowly but surely, and it'll die whether we manage to wean ourselves off petrol or whether we use it all up first.
To a lesser extent, this is true of other non-renewables too. We are not at critical mass yet with our lithium-ion batteries, but we're now at the stage where people in the third world all seem to have cellphones. This is not a sustainable practice for a limited metal we have to mine from the earth. When something is running out, we don't have to stop using that material in the things we build; if we start to use it all up, it will soon get too expensive to build with, and that will stop us.
And that's why we have to stop using it: because if you as a country or industry pour all your energy and resources into developing technology based off that now-scarce resource, you will be left with no usable technology when that resource runs out.

What are National doing?

This is a political sub, so I won't mince words: something's gone wrong with National. Something's always been wrong with ACT, but National's change is recent. Power has been centralised in the board and the candidate selection process is no longer in the hands of the rank and file after Steven Joyce's shakeup, instead dominated by corporate interests. And they have dominated. We have a cabinet of lobbyists, and not just on National's side of the board; Luxon has pulled together the whole industry.
When we attribute "intentions" to things like forces and political parties, it can be easy to forget there's not a concerted, rational mind at play behind their decisions, and their actions are influenced by all of the people and factors and forces that make them up. When I say, "National has been bought by lobbyists", I don't mean every single person in the party is a corporate shill. I just mean that there is enough corporate, business, and big-money influence in the party that they are no longer being governed primarily by their voter base or even their party members.
Nothing makes this more obvious than National's direction in politics. When your LABOUR and GREEN parties are the ones proposing to fix your climate crisis via free-market ingenuity that we can patent, sell on and capitalise off, something has gone wrong. There is money to be made in climate change, and National are off chasing oil down the bottom of a well.
If we don't wean ourselves off fossil fuels, we will find ourselves paying for it the increased price for them when we don't have the green technology to utilise at the end of supply. If we don't put our minds to green tech and science, we won't have the environment-saving and cleaning and reinforcing products and knowledge to sell on when the demand for them peaks through the ceiling -- instead we will be buying from other countries at big prices, paying to ship their experts here to tell us how to manage our estuaries or dump sites or skink habitats or whatever it is we need to fix next. New Zealand got lucky with our green energy; we were already using renewables by sheer coincidence when the climate crisis struck, and it made our transition to this new world very smooth. We will not be that lucky again.
Look at what we produce as a country. We held on far too long to our wool market out of some idea that it was "what we were supposed to be doing", and it nearly wrecked the country. Because it took us so long to change, and because we'd converted all our land into pasture, the most effective market for us to turn to became beef. Now that market is thriving, and we are willfully ignoring the real economic costs that will come with being a beef export country, and that cost is methane. There is not a future where countries will be allowed to emit methane for free. And there are no methane-light cows to switch to. Not until we develop them.
And this is what people talk about when they talk about environmental solutions still to be developed -- as if other people are going to develop them. That is incorrect. WE are the Cow Country. WE are the ones that should be foremost of the cow-fart field. If we do, we will be the ones benefitting by selling our bio-engineered cows and our science that made it happen. But if we don't, if we trail behind, we let other countries get out in front, and then our industry relies on them, and their industry outgrows us.
And these are all individual product or problem examples, but we are dragging our feet across the entire green industry. Why?

Big Oil does not care if your tech is Green

I say big oil, but there are other anti-environment and pro-corporate interests at play here. And again, there's not some big puppetmaster moving his pawn pieces, but there is influence, and companies don't want the world to go green, because when they do, they stop getting money for all the things they're getting money from right now. They don't care about the environment because they don't have the capacity to care; they are not a they. They are a force, a conglomeration, a hivemind of workers breaking their back for the company, until they clock off and become their own person again.
Their only interest is keeping ahold of their incredibly profitable market, and that market needs machines that use oil, and consumers willing to buy those machines, and people who aren't thinking about switching to a non-oil version of their tractor that doesn't exist yet (because no one has found the need to invent it. Or had the right resources.)
Oil cares about oil. Mining cares about mining. Tobacco cares about tobacco. Beef cares about beef. And we get value out of these industries as a country, as a society, so when they say"This thing is bad for me", we do have to listen to that. Otherwise we won't get our beef, or our oil. But "This thing is bad for ME" isn't the same as "This thing is bad for YOU". And companies are relying on consumers to not know the difference.

Back to National

Tobacco lobbyists have bought out Parliament, and are literally drafting our tobacco laws. And they are just one interest around the table. But they have had a huge effect. Imagine what's happening to the interests of your politicians when you have your lobbyists working together. Imagine where the interests of lobbyists for mining and oil might meet. Now imagine fisheries has a guy in there too.
Our oceans should be feeling very nervous right now.
It's the small influences we can't see that make these big decisions later on. The people who select our future MPs. The people who decide, hey, I'm going to try this new glass technique. But it takes an awful lot of decisions to make a glassblowing society.
A lot of what we do, we don't do consciously, like developing eye-glasses. But the benefit of our open democracies, of our information-based societies, of our unprecedented understanding of economies and markets and science and climate, should mean that when we choose to do something consciously, we can do it.
When we don't, something has gone wrong.

A Green Future

To get to the sort of green economy the non-business parties are picturing, you need someone who has the time and acumen to get us there.
That SHOULD be National. There is so much involved in politics; our politicians are running so much. And they're spending most of their time undoing the last guy's policies. Labour's policies sound like the Greens. National doesn't have any except "win". ACT are doing Charter Schools again. And the policies being made are being made in the interests of business people.
Our politicians don't have visions like Hollyoake of a New Zealand forging our own future, or Muldoon's determination to make things better for the average kiwi, or (heaven help me), Roger Douglass's respect for politics. None of the old guard are happy with how politics is shaping up, and certainly not the right, or who eventually became the right, in Douglass's case -- this is what he had to say on the subject: “John Key lived by the polls and it’s very dangerous. If you want to help people, you have to tell them the truth. The problem is that the politicians of today, they want to help themselves. So they poll in order to know what to say and it’s disgusting.”
I think in that one sentence, Douglass sums up everything wrong with the modern National Party. Once upon a time, National were in it to help people. They're not anymore.

Where to now?

It's all just markets.
If National won't change, they'll kill their market and they'll be replaced by a new party, just like the Liberal Party and Reform Party and Social Credit Party before them. National and Labour have always been around, but not always as these parties, or in these forms. The political spectrum will move to meet demand -- even when curtailed by corporate interests.
Or National will change, take control of their candidates and board, and live to fight for another century or so.
Either way, the economy will continue, and so will climate change. We will still need to develop new technologies using our available resources, and direct our technology-developing towards fixing environmental solutions. I hope New Zealand will benefit from this, and not just witness it. But if it's not National making the push, another political party will. We can see that happening right now, with the other parties suggesting their own green business ideas that National should be sweeping up votes for. There is voter and consumer demand for green businesses, and National are distracting us instead with shiny baubles because the corporations influencing them don't want you to see them.
Another thing Douglass was frustratingly right about: all our parties are doing at the moment is undoing each other's policies. It's hard to see New Zealand making any forwards progress at all if that's our direction.

Hello everyone. Hoping you’re having a good weekend.
So I tried searching around the subreddit here and I haven’t found a solid answer anywhere, so I am going to ask this here just in case if others in the future get curious.
So my contract ends in 643 days from now, and I plan on going to Japan with a work visa and working abroad for a good 2-5 years. The job I’m wanting to get will be kind of low pay, maybe ¥250,000 (roughly $1,600) a month from the organization I’ve been looking at. (I just want the worldly experience of living and working overseas while I’m still young.)
When I was looking at my old paperwork from 2 years ago from my recruiter’s office, I was reminded from those documents (and the career data brief) that I have an 8 year commitment. I didn’t completely forget about it, but I also don’t want to run into any issues.
So here is my concern… What if I am off in Japan (or “insert name” country for others in a similar situation,) what will happen if I am recalled? If I remember correctly, I hear that we have to “touch base” with a military personnelist annually in regard to saying where we are, what we’re doing, if we’re staying fit, or something upon that nature. (I think it’s a recruiter we were supposed to talk to every year? I may be wrong.) What do I say to them? “Oh yeah, I’m not even in the country. I’m working for a company here in Japan (or X country) and I live here too.”
Also, don’t our security clearances span 5 years? When I am a civilian, I was just going to let it expire. Do I have to reach out to a security manager when I am not enlisted anymore about overseas travel? What would happen if I/someone want to get a job down the line that requires a security clearance? (Such as an embassy job?) How would I/someone go about reporting that?
Also, not like this applies to me (at least right now for all that I know,) but it could apply to someone… Can we still utilize our VA benefits overseas? I don’t think we could use the home loan as I believe it’s restricted to CONUS, but what about education or disability?
I want to apologize if I seem to be overthinking this, or if I seem to be asking super easy questions I should already know the answers to, or if this comes off as like, illogical or something of that nature. Please forgive me. I don’t know if this exact topic will be mentioned in TAPS or not, or if it would be mentioned at any point before I separate.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your time.

I am a new attorney (less than a month). Previously, I spent 8 years managing private group disability claims for an insurance company. I was contacted by a small private company in Tampa Bay, Florida that represents claimants in the SSDI application process. They are NOT attorneys and have no attorneys employed. This is not a law firm. The owners are looking to expand into the VA disability space because the fees are not as restrictive as SSDI (which are capped), so they contacted me given my experience in disability generally. Mainly, they advised they need an attorney to do VA hearings (still have to look into this) and kept mentioning they need an attorney for the “credential” of being barred in Florida to establish this line of business.
I just started at a statewideID firm with a base salary of 125k and can work from home full-time. My current firm is really bad…and I have only been employed for two weeks…I am paid alot as a new person with no knowledge, but there is no communication between team members, etc. There is high turnover and no training or guidance, etc. This firm is everything everyone hates about ID all in one place. I honestly struggle to even call it a “firm.” Even the office is dilapidated.
I told this new company about my salary and remote work environment, which to me are amazing for a person who has never practiced law. They seem desperate and still want me to come in for an in-person interview next week with the CEO. The company is small (less than 200 people). They are open to paying me more. I would NEED to be in-office. The commute would be horrible (Tampa Bay traffic)..1.5 hours each way I would imagine.
At my current firm and probably every law firm, I get a % of business/fees I generate on my own. This position appears to be base salary alone.
Given this organization’s desperation, I have more negotiating power than I otherwise would.
Can someome give me some serious compensation advice for a role like this? I was even thinking of asking for a straight percentage of every successful VA benefit recovery but am unsure of how realistic this is.
EDIT: This arrangement is prohibited in Florida due to impermissible fee sharing with a non-lawyer company, probably prohibited in that I would be aiding the company in their u licensed practice of law, along with a host of other issues since the business is not a law firm. I have notified the company and advised I would not be proceeding with an interview.
Link to a 1995 ethics advisory opinion on a similar situation: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-95-1/
Link to a solid FL Bar ethics post: https://www.floridabar.org/ethics/etarticles/ethics-alert-business-arrangements-with-nonlawyers/

Currently there are 306,186,849 shares of common stock outstanding. Last week, the posted snapshot from Bloomberg indicated that in sum about 1.2 million shares have been bought by GameStop under rule 10b-18. This would decrease the publicly available share count to approximately 305 million. GameStop have now declared they may at any time issue an additional 45 million common shares and 5 million preferred shares.
Tinfoil Prediction: they will issue 10 million common shares at market price and raise the share count (ex counterfeits) to 315 million. That number is divisible by 7. After issuance of those 10 million common shares, they will issue one (fraction of a) preferred share for every 7 common shares (741). The preferred shares will be issued via an issuing agent which happens to be Computershare. Accounts held with the transfer agent, which also happens to be computershare, will receive the preferred shares directly and the remaining 60-70% of preferred shares will be dumped on the depo (DTC) or the brokers, who then can try to distribute them (lol) or rather fight for them because: Holders of shares of Common Stock held in “street name” through a brokerage account, bank or other nominee will not receive physical rights certificates and must instruct their broker, bank or other nominee whether to exercise Subscription Rights on their behalf.
The clue is in the name and preferred shares have some preferable status, such as regular dividends etc. In this particular case, they may have the non-transferable and non (cash-)substitutable right attached to a subscription of common shares, meaning the right to acquire common shares at a predefined price such as for a discount to the market price. This makes preferred shares inherently more valuable than common shares (take a look at BNED this week and their filing on 15 May 2024). Consequently, market participants may compete to receive the preferred shares and may pay a premium for common shares prior to issuance of preferred shares or recall the ones which may have been lent. This may put shorts under water. GameStop may use the proceeds from issuing 10 million shares to strengthen the balance sheet. GameStop might also incentivize holders of preferred stock further by issuing other benefits such as NFT divis, wu tang audio etc. However, the proceeds may also be used to finance equity investments in compliance with GameStops investment policy or repurchase of their common stock. The continuation of such repurchases under rule 10b-18 may be particularly interesting at the time due to the volume restriction based on average trading volume of the preceding four weeks at the time of a buyback under this rule. Currently, the 10 day trading volume is 73.1 million shares (according to Schwab). This is another factor that might put shorts under water. To spell it out clearly: given the action of the last week, GameStop could currently raise capital (but don’t need to) and repurchase a fat amount of its own common stock on the free market and yet remain in compliance with the safe harbor rule.
Substantial rises in the stock price could then incentive GameStop to issue more of their remaining 35 million shares of common stock to procure working capital or capital for future buybacks. However, a decreasing stock price could incentivize GameStop to issue shares and then repurchase them at a lower price, continuously decreasing the share count and thus applying upwards pressure on the price in the long run. Holders of common stock AND preferred stock need not worry about this since proceeds from the business activities could then be rerouted via preferred shares. In the end, every market participant had a right and chance to gain his preferred shares, right ;)
Edit: fractionalizability of preferred shares as defined in the recently published S3 document.
Edit 2: Relevant Barnes filing:
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2024--Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED) (“BNED” or the “Company”), a leading solutions provider for the education industry, announced today that its registration statement for its fully backstopped $45 million equity rights offering (the “Rights Offering”), was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on May 14, 2024.
The Rights Offering is one of the previously announced proposed transactions (the “Transactions”) contemplated by the Company’s definitive agreement with Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR) (“Immersion”), and certain of the Company’s existing shareholders and strategic partners, that will enable the Company to substantially deleverage its balance sheet, strategically invest in innovation and operate from a position of strength. The Transactions remain subject to shareholder approval and other closing conditions.
Upon closing of the Transactions, which is currently expected to occur in June 2024:
BNED will receive gross proceeds of $95 million of new equity capital through the Rights Offering and a $50 million new equity investment led by Immersion; the Transactions are expected to infuse approximately $75 million of net cash proceeds after transaction costs;
The Company’s existing second lien lenders will convert approximately $34 million of outstanding principal and any accrued and unpaid interest into BNED Common Stock; and
The Company has received commitments to refinance its existing asset backed loan facility, pursuant to an agreement with its first lien holders, providing the Company with access to a $325 million facility (the “ABL Facility”) maturing in 2028. The refinanced ABL Facility will meaningfully enhance BNED’s financial flexibility and reduce its annual interest expense.
Through the Rights Offering, BNED will issue 900,000,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”) at a cash subscription price (the “Subscription Price”) of $0.05 per share. In the Rights Offering, BNED will distribute to each holder of record of its Common Stock on May 14, 2024 (the “Record Date”) one non-transferable subscription right (each, a “Subscription Right”) for every share of Common Stock owned by such holder on the Record Date, and each Subscription Right will entitle the holder to purchase 17 shares of Common Stock. Each holder that fully exercises their Subscription Rights will be entitled to Over-Subscription Rights to subscribe for additional shares of Common Stock that remain unsubscribed as a result of any unexercised Subscription Rights, which allows such holder to subscribe for additional shares of Common Stock up to the number of shares purchased under such holder’s basic Subscription Right at $0.05 per share.
If any Subscription Rights remain unexercised upon the expiration of the Rights Offering after accounting for all Over-Subscription Rights exercised, the standby purchasers led by Immersion, Outerbridge Capital Management, LLC and Selz Family 2011 Trust will collectively purchase, at the Subscription Price, up to $45 million in shares of Common Stock not subscribed for by the Company’s stockholders.
The Company will not issue fractional shares in the Rights Offering or cash in lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock. Any fractional shares of Common Stock that would be created by an exercise of the Subscription Rights will be rounded to the nearest whole share.
The Company expects that the net proceeds of the offering will be used to pay expenses in connection with the Transactions and reduce the balance under the Company’s ABL Facility.
The Company expects that Computershare Trust Company N.A., the subscription agent for the Rights Offering, will mail rights certificates and a copy of the prospectus for the Rights Offering to holders of record of Common Stock as of the Record Date beginning on or about May 15, 2024. Holders of shares of Common Stock held in “street name” through a brokerage account, bank or other nominee will not receive physical rights certificates and must instruct their broker, bank or other nominee whether to exercise Subscription Rights on their behalf.
The subscription period will expire at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 5, 2024. However, the Company may extend the period for exercising the Subscription Rights. Subscription Rights that are not exercised by the expiration date of the Rights Offering will expire and will have no value.
The shares of Common Stock to be issued upon exercise of the Subscription Rights will be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “BNED.” The Subscription Rights are non-transferable and the Company will not be listing the Subscription Rights on the NYSE or any other national securities exchange.
Neither the Company nor its Board of Directors has made or will make any recommendation to holders regarding the exercise of Subscription Rights. Holders should make an independent investment decision about whether or not to exercise their Subscription Rights based on their own assessment of the Company’s business, the Rights Offering and the other Transactions.
Questions about the Rights Offering or requests for a copy of the prospectus related to the Rights Offering may be directed to the Information Agent, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, at (877) 800-5185. (Banks & Brokers may call collect: (212) 750-5833.
Other Important Information
The issuance and sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Rights Offering is subject to, among other things, the approval of our stockholders at a special meeting (the “Special Meeting”) to be held on June 5, 2024. If the issuance and sale of our Common Stock pursuant to the Rights Offering is not approved at the Special Meeting, then the Rights Offering will be cancelled. The Rights Offering is being made pursuant to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-278799), which was declared effective on May 14, 2024. The Company reserves the right to cancel or terminate the Rights Offering at any time. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any Subscription Rights or any other securities to be issued in the Rights Offering or any related transactions, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of Subscription Rights or any other securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Edit 3: Barnes pumped 150% on Friday.

"Supermarket massiv propost fuq San Ġwann ODZ
PA mgħarrqa b’oġġezzjonijiet għal pjanta ta’ 7,000 metru kwadru biswit San Mikiel
Aġġornata fis-1.20pm bil-kummenti tal-PM
L-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar bħalissa qed tikkunsidra applikazzjoni għal supermarket ġdid enormi fuq art ODZ f’San Ġwann, biswit skola privata.
Il-proposta hi li jinbena supermarket b’żewġ sulari b’parkeġġ taħt l-art fuq sit ta’ 7,000 metru kwadru fi Triq tal-Balal u Triq tal-Prepostu, f’żona ta’ San Ġwann magħrufa bħala Ta’ Ġnien Tut.
Is-sit jinsab ftit aktar minn 250 metru minn supermarket ieħor, filwaqt li għadha qed tiġi pproċessata applikazzjoni għal supermarket u ħanut DIY f’sit direttament fuq it-triq.
Il-PA ġiet mgħarrqa b’oġġezzjonijiet għall-iżvilupp propost, partikolarment minħabba li s-sit inkwistjoni huwa art agrikola barra miż-żona tal-iżvilupp u jinsab qrib skola, Fondazzjoni San Mikiel għall-Edukazzjoni.
Il-Prim Ministru Robert Abela qal lil Times of Malta li jemmen li l-proposta hija “non-starter” peress li tmur kontra l-viżjoni usa’ tal-gvern Laburista.
Is-Sindku ta’ San Ġwann Trevor Fenech qal is-Sibt li kellu l-intenzjoni li jressaq oġġezzjoni għall-proposta.
L-applikant qed jipproponi li jitwaqqa’ strutturi eżistenti, inklużi strutturi illegali mibnija fuq il-post, u jiżviluppa s-sit f’supermarket b’parkeġġ fil-kantina, ħwienet fil-livelli tal-pjan terran u tal-ewwel sular u uffiċċji relatati.
Skont il-formola tal-applikazzjoni pubblika mressqa mill-periti JG Periti, Jason Pace huwa l-uniku sid tas-sit inkwistjoni.
Madankollu, il-websajt tal-PA telenka lill-iżviluppatur bħala Meleney Gauci.
It-teħid ta’ art agrikola ODZ, aħseb u ara art li tkun fuq l-għatba ta’ skola u żona ekoloġika protetta, żgur mhix meħtieġa jew leġittima.
L-erja totali tas-sit hija ta’ madwar 12,000 metru kwadru.
Iż-żona proposta għall-proġett tmiss ukoll ma’ Wied Għomor u Wied il-Kbir, żoni protetti ta’ importanza ekoloġika u siti ta’ importanza xjentifika.
Dawk li joġġezzjonaw jinsistu li l-applikazzjoni tmur kontra l-politika rurali tal-PA u l-għanijiet tal-Pjan Strateġiku għall-Ambjent u l-Iżvilupp, li jillimita l-użu tal-art għal użi li mhumiex meħtieġa jew leġittimi fiż-żoni rurali.
“San Ġwann diġà għandu bosta supermarkets u t-teħid ta’ art agrikola ODZ, aħseb u ara art li tkun fuq l-għatba ta’ skola u żona ekoloġika protetta, ċertament mhix meħtieġa jew leġittima,” kitbu l-oġġezzjonaturi fir-rappreżentazzjoni tagħhom ippreżentata ma’ il-PA.
San Mikiel huwa dar għal kważi 500 tifel u tifla u aktar minn 100 edukatur. F’oġġezzjoni, l-assistent kap anzjan tal-iskola, Carina Gerada Sinnott, qalet li, bħala parti mill-edukazzjoni kontinwa tagħhom u permezz ta’ inizjattivi bħall-EkoSkola, it-tfal huma mgħallma jirrispettaw u jieħdu ħsieb l-ambjent u jipproteġuh għall-ġenerazzjonijiet futuri.
“Din l-applikazzjoni tgħaddi minn dan is-sens ta’ responsabbiltà biex tipproteġi l-pajsaġġ naturali li dejjem qed jonqos li jgawdi minnu pajjiżna. Jipprova jagħti prijorità lill-bini ta’ supermarket fuq is-saħħa u l-benessri tat-tfal tagħna u l-protezzjoni tal-ambjent naturali limitat tagħna,” kitbet.
Oġġezzjonanti nnutaw li hemm applikazzjoni pendenti għall-iżvilupp ta’ supermarket u ħanut DIY f’sit direttament faċċata tas-sit, b’parkeġġ taħt l-art.
Din l-applikazzjoni tressqet minn Joe Cassar f’isem JDG Holdings Ltd.
L-Awtorità tal-Ambjent u r-Riżorsi kienet oġġezzjonat għal dan l-iżvilupp propost, li, qalet, qajjem tħassib ambjentali sinifikanti u kien meqjus oġġezzjonabbli mil-lat ambjentali.
“L-ERA hija mħassba wkoll dwar it-tixrid, il-proliferazzjoni u l-intensifikazzjoni ulterjuri ta’ interventi ta’ tip urban f’żona ODZ u l-formalizzazzjoni ulterjuri tas-sit, peress li dan jista’ jservi inopportunament bħala predispożizzjoni għal proposti oħra simili fi ħdan iż-żona kif ukoll fuq fuq skala nazzjonali,” qal.
Pace huwa involut ukoll f’żewġ offerti oħra biex jinbnew supermarkets fuq art ODZ. Wieħed jinsab fuq 5,500 metru kwadru ta’ art ‘il barra mill-bypass ta’ Birkirkara u ieħor fi Triq Il-Kummerċ, Triq Is-Snajja u l-bypass tal-Imrieħel.
Sindku: PM jappoġġjani fi proġett oppost
Is-Sindku ta’ San Ġwann Trevor Fenech qal is-Sibt li se jkun qed iressaq oġġezzjoni għall-proġett.
“Din l-applikazzjoni qatt ma kellha tiġi ppreżentata,” qal hekk kif wiegħed li jopponi l-proġett.
Fenech qal li kien tkellem mal-Prim Ministru Robert Abela dwar il-proġett, u qal li huwa ottimist peress li Abela ""kien ċar dwaru u l-Partit Laburista jappoġġaw il-kawża tagħna.""
Abela kkonferma dan, u qal lil Times of Malta li ma jridx li l-proġett imur ‘il quddiem u li l-Partit Laburista se jkun qed jappoġġja lill-kunsill biex joġġezzjona għalih.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
—
L-Amazon Deals tal-lum (Afljat), id-destinazzjoni tiegħek one-stop għal oġġetti affordabbli, perfetta għal dekorazzjoni tad-dar, elettroniċi, provvisti għall-annimali domestiċi, sports u selezzjonijiet tal-ġugarelli. - https://amzn.to/3FeoGyg
Ċaħda ta' responsabbiltà: Dan is-sit huwa għal skopijiet informattivi biss u m'għandux jitqies parir legali [saħħa, taxxa, professjoni]. Aħna m'aħniex responsabbli għal kwalunkwe telf, ħsarat, jew obbligazzjonijiet li jistgħu jinqalgħu mill-użu ta 'dan il-blog. Dan il-blog mhux maħsub biex jissostitwixxi parir mediku professjonali. Il-fehmiet espressi f'dan il-blog jistgħu ma jkunux dawk tal-host jew tal-maniġment.
https://www.reddit.com/SinoMaltaNews
"
"SanĠwann ODZ 擬建大型超市
巴勒斯坦權力機構對聖邁克爾教堂旁 7,000 平方米的計劃提出了強烈反對
下午 1.20 更新了 PM 的評論
規劃當局目前正在考慮申請在 San Ġwann ODZ 土地上新建一家大型超市，毗鄰一所私立學校。
該提案是在 Triq tal-Balal 和 Triq tal-Prepostu 的一塊 7,000 平方米的場地上建造一座帶有地下停車場的兩層超市，該場地位於 San Ġwann 的 Ta’Ġnien Tut 地區。
該地點距離另一家超市僅250多米，而在馬路對面的地點開設超市和DIY商店的申請仍在處理中。
巴勒斯坦權力機構對擬議開發項目的反對意見如潮水般湧來，特別是因為該地點是開發區外的農田，並且靠近一所學校——聖邁克爾教育基金會。
總理羅伯特·阿貝拉告訴《馬耳他時報》，他認為該提案“行不通”，因為它違背了工黨政府的更廣泛願景。
San Ġwann 市長 Trevor Fenech 週六表示，他打算對該提案提出反對。
申請人建議拆除現有構築物，包括在地盤上搭建的違章構築物，並將該地塊開發為超市，設有地下停車場、地面和一樓的商店以及相關辦公室。
根據建築師 JG Periti 提交的公開申請表，傑森佩斯 (Jason Pace) 是該場地的唯一所有者。
然而，PA 網站將開發商列為 Meleney Gauci。
佔用農業ODZ土地，更不用說學校門口和生態保護區的土地，當然是沒有必要或合法的
該場地總面積約12,000平方公尺。
該計畫擬議的區域也毗鄰 Wied Għomor 和 Wied il-Kbir，這兩個保護區具有重要的生態意義和重要的科學意義。
反對者堅持認為，該申請違反了巴勒斯坦權力機構的農村政策和環境與發展戰略計劃的目標，該計劃限制了農村地區不必要或合法用途的土地佔用。
反對者在向他們提交的陳述中寫道：「SanĠwann 已經擁有眾多超市，佔用農業 ODZ 土地，更不用說學校門口和生態保護區的土地，肯定是沒有必要或合法的。」公共廣播電台。
聖邁克爾是近 500 名兒童和 100 多名教育工作者的家。學校高級助理校長卡琳娜·杰拉達·辛諾特(Carina Gerada Sinnott) 表示反對，她表示，作為持續教育的一部分，透過EkoSkola 等舉措，孩子們被教導要尊重和愛護環境，並為子孫後代保護環境。
「這個申請粗暴地踐踏了保護我國日益減少的自然景觀的責任感。它試圖將超市的建設置於我們孩子的健康和福祉以及保護我們有限的自然環境之上，」她寫道。
反對者指出，有一項正在申請中，要求在該地點正對面的地點開發一家超市和一家 DIY 商店，並設有地下停車場。
該申請由 Joe Cassar 代表 JDG Holdings Ltd 提交。
環境和資源管理局反對這項擬議的開發項目，稱這引起了重大的環境問題，從環境角度來看是令人反感的。
「ERA 也擔心 ODZ 區域內城市類型乾預措施的進一步蔓延、擴散和強化以及該地點的進一步正規化，因為這可能不合時宜地成為該地區內以及全國範圍內，」它說。
佩斯還參與了另外兩項在 ODZ 土地上建造超市的投標。其中一處位於 Birkirkara 繞道旁，佔地 5,500 平方米，另一處位於 Triq Il-Kummerċ、Triq Is-Snajja 和 Mrieħel 繞道上。
市長：總理支持我反對項目
San Ġwann 市長 Trevor Fenech 週六表示，他將對該項目提出反對意見。
「這個申請根本不應該提交，」他在承諾反對該計畫時說道。
費內奇表示，他已與總理羅伯特·阿貝拉就該項目進行了交談，並表示他對此感到樂觀，因為阿貝拉「明確表示他和工黨支持我們的事業」。
阿貝拉證實了這一點，他告訴《馬耳他時報》，他不希望該項目繼續進行，工黨將支持委員會反對該項目。
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-propose-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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"Massive supermarket proposed on San Ġwann ODZ
PA inundated with objections to 7,000 square metre plans next to St Michael's
Updated 1.20pm with PM's comments
The Planning Authority is currently considering an application for a massive new supermarket on ODZ land in San Ġwann, adjacent to a private school.
The proposal is to build a two-storey supermarket with underground parking on a 7,000- square-metre site on Triq tal-Balal and Triq tal-Prepostu, in an area of San Ġwann known as Ta’ Ġnien Tut.
The site is just over 250 metres from another supermarket, while an application for a supermarket and a DIY store on a site directly across the road is still being processed.
The PA has been inundated with objections to the proposed development, particularly because the site in question is agricultural land outside the development zone and is close to a school, St Michael Foundation for Education.
Prime Minister Robert Abela told Times of Malta that he believes the proposal is a ""non-starter"" as it goes against the Labour government's broader vision.
San Ġwann Mayor Trevor Fenech said on Saturday that he intended to file an objection to the proposal.
The applicant is proposing to demolish existing structures, including illegal structures built on site, and develop the site in a supermarket with basement parking, stores at the ground and first floor levels and related offices.
According to the public application form submitted by architects JG Periti, Jason Pace is the sole owner of the site in question.
However, the PA website lists the developer as being Meleney Gauci.
The take-up of agricultural ODZ land, let alone land that is on the doorstep of a school and a protected ecological area, is certainly not necessary or legitimate
The total area of the site is around 12,000 square metres.
The area proposed for the project also abuts Wied Għomor and Wied il-Kbir, protected areas of ecological importance and sites of scientific importance.
Objectors insist that the application runs contrary to the PA’s rural policy and objectives of the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development, which limits land take-up for uses which are not necessary or legitimate in rural areas.
“San Ġwann already has numerous supermarkets and the take-up of agricultural ODZ land, let alone land that is on the doorstep of a school and a protected ecological area, is certainly not necessary or legitimate,” the objectors wrote in their representation filed with the PA.
St Michael is home to almost 500 children and over 100 educators. In an objection, the school’s senior assistant head, Carina Gerada Sinnott, said that, as part of their ongoing education and through initiatives like EkoSkola, the children are taught to respect and care for the environment and to protect it for future generations.
“This application runs roughshod over this sense of responsibility to protect the increasingly diminishing natural landscape that our country enjoys. It attempts to prioritise the construction of a supermarket over the health and well-being of our children and the protection of our limited natural environment,” she wrote.
Objectors noted that there is a pending application for the development of a supermarket and a DIY store on a site directly opposite the site, with underground parking.
This application was filed by Joe Cassar on behalf of JDG Holdings Ltd.
The Environment and Resources Authority had objected to this proposed development, which, it said, raised significant environmental concerns and was considered objectionable from an environmental point of view.
“The ERA is also concerned about the further sprawl, proliferation and intensification of urban type interventions within an area ODZ and the further formalisation of the site, since this may inopportunely serve as a predisposition for other similar proposals within the area as well as on a national scale,” it said.
Pace is also involved in another two bids to build supermarkets on ODZ land. One is on 5,500 square metres of land off the Birkirkara bypass and another on Triq Il-Kummerċ, Triq Is-Snajja and the Mrieħel bypass.
Mayor: PM backs me in opposing project
San Ġwann Mayor Trevor Fenech said on Saturday that he would be filing an objection to the project.
""This application should never have been filed,"" he said as he pledged to oppose the project.
Fenech said he had spoken to Prime Minister Robert Abela about the project, and said he was optimistic as Abela ""was clear about him and the Labour Party backing our cause.""
Abela confirmed that, telling Times of Malta that he did not want the project to go ahead and that the Labour Party would be backing the council in objecting to it.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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"सैन इवान ओडीज़ेड पर विशाल सुपरमार्केट प्रस्तावित
पीए में सेंट माइकल के बगल में 7,000 वर्ग मीटर की योजना पर आपत्तियों की बाढ़ आ गई
पीएम की टिप्पणियों के साथ दोपहर 1.20 बजे अपडेट किया गया
योजना प्राधिकरण वर्तमान में एक निजी स्कूल के निकट, सैन इवान में ओडीजेड भूमि पर एक विशाल नए सुपरमार्केट के लिए एक आवेदन पर विचार कर रहा है।
यह प्रस्ताव सैन इवान के ता' इनियन टुट नामक क्षेत्र में त्रिक ताल-बलाल और त्रिक ताल-प्रीपोस्टु पर 7,000 वर्ग मीटर की साइट पर भूमिगत पार्किंग के साथ दो मंजिला सुपरमार्केट बनाने का है।
यह साइट दूसरे सुपरमार्केट से केवल 250 मीटर की दूरी पर है, जबकि सड़क के ठीक सामने एक साइट पर एक सुपरमार्केट और एक DIY स्टोर के लिए आवेदन अभी भी संसाधित किया जा रहा है।
पीए में प्रस्तावित विकास पर आपत्तियों की बाढ़ आ गई है, खासकर इसलिए क्योंकि विचाराधीन स्थल विकास क्षेत्र के बाहर कृषि भूमि है और एक स्कूल, सेंट माइकल फाउंडेशन फॉर एजुकेशन के करीब है।
प्रधान मंत्री रॉबर्ट अबेला ने टाइम्स ऑफ माल्टा को बताया कि उनका मानना ​​है कि यह प्रस्ताव ""नॉन-स्टार्टर"" है क्योंकि यह लेबर सरकार के व्यापक दृष्टिकोण के खिलाफ है।
सैन इवान के मेयर ट्रेवर फेनेच ने शनिवार को कहा कि उनका इरादा प्रस्ताव पर आपत्ति दर्ज कराने का है।
आवेदक साइट पर बनी अवैध संरचनाओं सहित मौजूदा संरचनाओं को ध्वस्त करने और बेसमेंट पार्किंग, भूतल और पहली मंजिल के स्तर पर स्टोर और संबंधित कार्यालयों के साथ एक सुपरमार्केट में साइट विकसित करने का प्रस्ताव कर रहा है।
आर्किटेक्ट जेजी पेरिटी द्वारा प्रस्तुत सार्वजनिक आवेदन पत्र के अनुसार, जेसन पेस विचाराधीन साइट का एकमात्र मालिक है।
हालाँकि, पीए वेबसाइट डेवलपर को मेलेनी गौसी के रूप में सूचीबद्ध करती है।
कृषि ओडीजेड भूमि का अधिग्रहण, स्कूल और संरक्षित पारिस्थितिक क्षेत्र के दरवाजे पर मौजूद भूमि को छोड़ दें, निश्चित रूप से आवश्यक या वैध नहीं है
साइट का कुल क्षेत्रफल लगभग 12,000 वर्ग मीटर है।
परियोजना के लिए प्रस्तावित क्षेत्र विद गोमोर और विद इल-कबीर, पारिस्थितिक महत्व के संरक्षित क्षेत्रों और वैज्ञानिक महत्व के स्थलों से भी सटा हुआ है।
आपत्तिकर्ता इस बात पर जोर देते हैं कि आवेदन पीए की ग्रामीण नीति और पर्यावरण और विकास के लिए रणनीतिक योजना के उद्देश्यों के विपरीत चलता है, जो ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में उन उपयोगों के लिए भूमि अधिग्रहण को सीमित करता है जो आवश्यक या वैध नहीं हैं।
आपत्तिकर्ताओं ने अपने अभ्यावेदन में लिखा, ""सैन इवान में पहले से ही कई सुपरमार्केट हैं और कृषि ओडीजेड भूमि का अधिग्रहण, एक स्कूल और एक संरक्षित पारिस्थितिक क्षेत्र के दरवाजे पर मौजूद भूमि को छोड़ दें, निश्चित रूप से आवश्यक या वैध नहीं है।"" पा।
सेंट माइकल लगभग 500 बच्चों और 100 से अधिक शिक्षकों का घर है। एक आपत्ति में, स्कूल की वरिष्ठ सहायक प्रमुख, कैरिना गेराडा सिनोट ने कहा कि, उनकी चल रही शिक्षा के हिस्से के रूप में और एकोस्कोला जैसी पहल के माध्यम से, बच्चों को पर्यावरण का सम्मान और देखभाल करना और भविष्य की पीढ़ियों के लिए इसकी रक्षा करना सिखाया जाता है।
“यह एप्लिकेशन हमारे देश में तेजी से घटते प्राकृतिक परिदृश्य की रक्षा करने की ज़िम्मेदारी की इस भावना का खंडन करता है। यह हमारे बच्चों के स्वास्थ्य और कल्याण और हमारे सीमित प्राकृतिक पर्यावरण की सुरक्षा पर एक सुपरमार्केट के निर्माण को प्राथमिकता देने का प्रयास करता है, ”उसने लिखा।
आपत्तिकर्ताओं ने कहा कि भूमिगत पार्किंग के साथ साइट के ठीक सामने एक साइट पर एक सुपरमार्केट और एक DIY स्टोर के विकास के लिए एक आवेदन लंबित है।
यह आवेदन जेडीजी होल्डिंग्स लिमिटेड की ओर से जो कैसर द्वारा दायर किया गया था।
पर्यावरण और संसाधन प्राधिकरण ने इस प्रस्तावित विकास पर आपत्ति जताई थी, जिसमें कहा गया था कि इसने महत्वपूर्ण पर्यावरणीय चिंताओं को उठाया था और इसे पर्यावरण के दृष्टिकोण से आपत्तिजनक माना गया था।
""ईआरए एक क्षेत्र ओडीजेड के भीतर शहरी प्रकार के हस्तक्षेपों के आगे फैलाव, प्रसार और गहनता और साइट के आगे औपचारिकीकरण के बारे में भी चिंतित है, क्योंकि यह क्षेत्र के साथ-साथ अन्य समान प्रस्तावों के लिए अनुचित रूप से एक पूर्वाग्रह के रूप में काम कर सकता है। राष्ट्रीय स्तर, “यह कहा।
पेस ओडीजेड भूमि पर सुपरमार्केट बनाने के लिए अन्य दो बोलियों में भी शामिल है। एक बिरकिर्करा बाईपास के पास 5,500 वर्ग मीटर भूमि पर है और दूसरा ट्रिक इल-कुम्मेर, ट्रिक इस-स्नज्जा और मिरीसेल बाईपास पर है।
मेयर: प्रोजेक्ट के विरोध में पीएम ने मेरा समर्थन किया
सैन इवान के मेयर ट्रेवर फेनेच ने शनिवार को कहा कि वह इस परियोजना पर आपत्ति दर्ज कराएंगे।
उन्होंने परियोजना का विरोध करने की प्रतिज्ञा करते हुए कहा, ""यह आवेदन कभी भी दायर नहीं किया जाना चाहिए था।""
फेनेच ने कहा कि उन्होंने परियोजना के बारे में प्रधान मंत्री रॉबर्ट अबेला से बात की थी, और कहा कि वह आशावादी थे क्योंकि अबेला ""उनके और लेबर पार्टी के हमारे मुद्दे का समर्थन करने के बारे में स्पष्ट थे।""
अबेला ने टाइम्स ऑफ माल्टा को बताते हुए इसकी पुष्टि की कि वह नहीं चाहते थे कि परियोजना आगे बढ़े और लेबर पार्टी इस पर आपत्ति जताने में परिषद का समर्थन करेगी।
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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"
"Proponen un gran supermercado en San Ġwann ODZ
Autoridad Palestina inundada de objeciones a los planes de 7.000 metros cuadrados junto a St Michael's
Actualizado a las 13.20 con los comentarios del PM.
Actualmente, la Autoridad de Planificación está considerando una solicitud para un nuevo supermercado enorme en un terreno de ODZ en San Ġwann, al lado de una escuela privada.
La propuesta consiste en construir un supermercado de dos plantas con aparcamiento subterráneo en un terreno de 7.000 metros cuadrados en Triq tal-Balal y Triq tal-Prepostu, en una zona de San Ġwann conocida como Ta’ Ġnien Tut.
El solar se encuentra a poco más de 250 metros de otro supermercado, mientras que todavía se está tramitando una solicitud para un supermercado y una tienda de bricolaje en un solar justo enfrente.
La Autoridad Palestina se ha visto inundada de objeciones al desarrollo propuesto, particularmente porque el sitio en cuestión es un terreno agrícola fuera de la zona de desarrollo y está cerca de una escuela, la Fundación para la Educación St Michael.
El primer ministro Robert Abela dijo al Times of Malta que cree que la propuesta ""no tiene sentido"", ya que va en contra de la visión más amplia del gobierno laborista.
El alcalde de San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, dijo el sábado que tenía intención de presentar una objeción a la propuesta.
El solicitante propone demoler las estructuras existentes, incluidas las estructuras ilegales construidas en el lugar, y desarrollar el sitio en un supermercado con estacionamiento en el sótano, tiendas en los niveles de la planta baja y del primer piso y oficinas relacionadas.
Según el formulario de solicitud pública presentado por los arquitectos JG Periti, Jason Pace es el único propietario del sitio en cuestión.
Sin embargo, el sitio web de PA enumera al desarrollador como Meleney Gauci.
La ocupación de tierras agrícolas de ODZ, y mucho menos de tierras que se encuentran a las puertas de una escuela y de un área ecológica protegida, ciertamente no es necesaria ni legítima.
La superficie total del sitio es de unos 12.000 metros cuadrados.
El área propuesta para el proyecto también linda con Wied Għomor y Wied il-Kbir, áreas protegidas de importancia ecológica y sitios de importancia científica.
Los objetores insisten en que la aplicación va en contra de la política rural de la AP y los objetivos del Plan Estratégico para el Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo, que limita la ocupación de tierras para usos que no son necesarios o legítimos en las zonas rurales.
""San Ġwann ya cuenta con numerosos supermercados y la ocupación de tierras agrícolas de ODZ, y mucho menos de tierras que se encuentran a las puertas de una escuela y de un área ecológica protegida, no es ciertamente necesaria ni legítima"", escribieron los objetores en su reclamación presentada ante el PA.
St Michael es el hogar de casi 500 niños y más de 100 educadores. En una objeción, la subdirectora principal de la escuela, Carina Gerada Sinnott, dijo que, como parte de su educación continua y a través de iniciativas como EkoSkola, a los niños se les enseña a respetar y cuidar el medio ambiente y a protegerlo para las generaciones futuras.
“Esta solicitud pasa por alto este sentido de responsabilidad de proteger el paisaje natural cada vez más disminuido del que disfruta nuestro país. Intenta priorizar la construcción de un supermercado por encima de la salud y el bienestar de nuestros niños y la protección de nuestro limitado entorno natural”, escribió.
Los objetores señalaron que hay una solicitud pendiente para el desarrollo de un supermercado y una tienda de bricolaje en un terreno justo enfrente del sitio, con estacionamiento subterráneo.
Esta solicitud fue presentada por Joe Cassar en nombre de JDG Holdings Ltd.
La Autoridad de Medio Ambiente y Recursos se había opuesto a esta propuesta de desarrollo, que, según dijo, planteaba importantes preocupaciones ambientales y se consideraba objetable desde un punto de vista ambiental.
“La ERA también está preocupada por la mayor expansión, proliferación e intensificación de las intervenciones de tipo urbano dentro de un área ODZ y la mayor formalización del sitio, ya que esto puede servir inoportunamente como una predisposición para otras propuestas similares dentro del área, así como a nivel mundial. escala nacional”, afirmó.
Pace también participa en otras dos ofertas para construir supermercados en terrenos de ODZ. Uno está en un terreno de 5.500 metros cuadrados frente a la circunvalación de Birkirkara y otro en Triq Il-Kummerċ, Triq Is-Snajja y la circunvalación de Mrieħel.
Alcalde: PM me respalda en proyecto opuesto
El alcalde de San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, dijo el sábado que presentaría una objeción al proyecto.
""Esta solicitud nunca debería haberse presentado"", dijo mientras se comprometía a oponerse al proyecto.
Fenech dijo que había hablado con el primer ministro Robert Abela sobre el proyecto y dijo que era optimista porque Abela ""fue claro acerca de que él y el Partido Laborista respaldarían nuestra causa"".
Abela lo confirmó y le dijo al Times of Malta que no quería que el proyecto siguiera adelante y que el Partido Laborista respaldaría al consejo para oponerse al mismo.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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"
"Un immense supermarché proposé sur San Ġwann ODZ
L'AP inondée d'objections aux projets de 7 000 mètres carrés à côté de St Michael's
Mis à jour à 13h20 avec les commentaires du PM
L'autorité de planification examine actuellement une demande pour un nouveau supermarché de grande envergure sur le terrain de l'ODZ à San Ġwann, à côté d'une école privée.
Le projet consiste à construire un supermarché à deux étages avec un parking souterrain sur un terrain de 7 000 mètres carrés à Triq tal-Balal et Triq tal-Prepostu, dans une zone de San Ġwann connue sous le nom de Ta' Ġnien Tut.
Le terrain se trouve à un peu plus de 250 mètres d'un autre supermarché, tandis qu'une demande d'ouverture d'un supermarché et d'un magasin de bricolage sur un terrain situé juste en face est toujours en cours de traitement.
L'AP a été inondée d'objections au projet de développement proposé, notamment parce que le site en question est un terrain agricole en dehors de la zone de développement et est proche d'une école, la St Michael Foundation for Education.
Le Premier ministre Robert Abela a déclaré au Times of Malta qu'il estime que la proposition est « un échec » car elle va à l'encontre de la vision plus large du gouvernement travailliste.
Le maire de San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, a déclaré samedi qu'il avait l'intention de déposer une objection à la proposition.
Le demandeur propose de démolir les structures existantes, y compris les structures illégales construites sur place, et d'aménager le site en un supermarché avec un parking en sous-sol, des magasins au rez-de-chaussée et au premier étage et des bureaux connexes.
Selon le formulaire de candidature publique soumis par les architectes JG Periti, Jason Pace est l'unique propriétaire du site en question.
Cependant, le site Web de l'AP indique que le développeur est Meleney Gauci.
L’appropriation des terres agricoles de l’ODZ, sans parler des terres situées aux portes d’une école et d’une zone écologique protégée, n’est certainement ni nécessaire ni légitime.
La superficie totale du site est d'environ 12 000 mètres carrés.
La zone proposée pour le projet jouxte également Wied Għomor et Wied il-Kbir, des zones protégées d'importance écologique et des sites d'importance scientifique.
Les opposants insistent sur le fait que la demande va à l’encontre de la politique rurale de l’Autorité palestinienne et des objectifs du Plan stratégique pour l’environnement et le développement, qui limite l’occupation des terres à des usages qui ne sont pas nécessaires ou légitimes dans les zones rurales.
""San Ġwann compte déjà de nombreux supermarchés et l'appropriation des terres agricoles de l'ODZ, sans parler des terres situées aux portes d'une école et d'une zone écologique protégée, n'est certainement ni nécessaire ni légitime"", ont écrit les opposants dans leur réclamation déposée auprès de l'AP.
St Michael abrite près de 500 enfants et plus de 100 éducateurs. Dans une objection, la directrice adjointe principale de l'école, Carina Gerada Sinnott, a déclaré que, dans le cadre de leur éducation continue et grâce à des initiatives comme EkoSkola, les enfants apprennent à respecter et à prendre soin de l'environnement et à le protéger pour les générations futures.
« Cette candidature bafoue ce sens des responsabilités dans la protection du paysage naturel de plus en plus menacé dont bénéficie notre pays. Il tente de donner la priorité à la construction d’un supermarché plutôt qu’à la santé et au bien-être de nos enfants et à la protection de notre environnement naturel limité », a-t-elle écrit.
Les opposants notent qu'une demande est en cours pour l'aménagement d'un supermarché et d'un magasin de bricolage sur un terrain situé juste en face du site, avec un parking souterrain.
Cette demande a été déposée par Joe Cassar au nom de JDG Holdings Ltd.
L'Autorité de l'environnement et des ressources s'était opposée à ce projet de développement, qui, selon elle, soulevait d'importantes préoccupations environnementales et était considéré comme répréhensible d'un point de vue environnemental.
« L'ERA est également préoccupée par la poursuite de l'étalement, la prolifération et l'intensification des interventions de type urbain au sein d'une zone ODZ et par la poursuite de la formalisation du site, car cela pourrait inopportunement servir de prédisposition à d'autres propositions similaires dans la zone ainsi que sur un à l’échelle nationale », a-t-il déclaré.
Pace est également impliqué dans deux autres appels d'offres pour construire des supermarchés sur les terrains de l'ODZ. L'un se trouve sur un terrain de 5 500 mètres carrés au large du contournement de Birkirkara et un autre sur Triq Il-Kummerċ, Triq Is-Snajja et le contournement de Mrieħel.
Maire: le PM me soutient dans mon opposition au projet
Le maire de San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, a déclaré samedi qu'il déposerait une objection au projet.
""Cette demande n'aurait jamais dû être déposée"", a-t-il déclaré en s'engageant à s'opposer au projet.
Fenech a déclaré qu'il avait parlé du projet au Premier ministre Robert Abela et s'est dit optimiste car Abela ""a été clair sur le fait que lui et le Parti travailliste soutenaient notre cause"".
Abela a confirmé cela, déclarant au Times of Malta qu'il ne voulait pas que le projet se poursuive et que le Parti travailliste soutiendrait le conseil en s'y opposant.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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"Riesiger Supermarkt im San Ġwann ODZ geplant
PA wird mit Einwänden gegen 7.000-Quadratmeter-Pläne neben St. Michael's überschwemmt
Aktualisiert um 13:20 Uhr mit Kommentaren der PM
Die Planungsbehörde prüft derzeit einen Antrag für einen riesigen neuen Supermarkt auf dem ODZ-Gelände in San Ġwann, angrenzend an eine Privatschule.
Der Vorschlag sieht den Bau eines zweistöckigen Supermarkts mit Tiefgarage auf einem 7.000 Quadratmeter großen Grundstück in Triq tal-Balal und Triq tal-Prepostu in einem als Ta’ Ġnien Tut bekannten Viertel von San Ġwann vor.
Das Grundstück liegt etwas mehr als 250 Meter von einem weiteren Supermarkt entfernt, während ein Antrag für einen Supermarkt und einen Baumarkt auf einem Grundstück direkt gegenüber noch in Bearbeitung ist.
Die PA wurde mit Einwänden gegen die geplante Entwicklung überschwemmt, insbesondere weil es sich bei dem betreffenden Gelände um landwirtschaftliche Flächen außerhalb der Entwicklungszone handelt und in der Nähe einer Schule, der St Michael Foundation for Education, liegt.
Premierminister Robert Abela erklärte gegenüber der Times of Malta, dass er den Vorschlag für einen „Nichtstarter“ halte, da er der umfassenderen Vision der Labour-Regierung zuwiderlaufe.
Der Bürgermeister von San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, sagte am Samstag, dass er beabsichtige, Einspruch gegen den Vorschlag einzulegen.
Der Antragsteller schlägt vor, bestehende Gebäude, einschließlich illegaler Gebäude, die auf dem Gelände errichtet wurden, abzureißen und das Gelände in einen Supermarkt mit Tiefgaragenparkplätzen, Geschäften im Erdgeschoss und im ersten Stock sowie zugehörigen Büros umzuwandeln.
Laut dem von den Architekten JG Periti eingereichten öffentlichen Bewerbungsformular ist Jason Pace der alleinige Eigentümer des betreffenden Grundstücks.
Auf der PA-Website wird der Entwickler jedoch als Meleney Gauci aufgeführt.
Die Inanspruchnahme landwirtschaftlicher ODZ-Flächen, ganz zu schweigen von Flächen, die vor der Haustür einer Schule und eines Naturschutzgebiets liegen, ist sicherlich nicht notwendig oder legitim
Die Gesamtfläche des Geländes beträgt rund 12.000 Quadratmeter.
Das für das Projekt vorgeschlagene Gebiet grenzt auch an Wied Għomor und Wied il-Kbir, Schutzgebiete von ökologischer Bedeutung und Stätten von wissenschaftlicher Bedeutung.
Die Einwände bestehen darauf, dass der Antrag im Widerspruch zur ländlichen Politik der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde und den Zielen des Strategischen Plans für Umwelt und Entwicklung steht, der die Landnutzung für Nutzungen begrenzt, die in ländlichen Gebieten nicht notwendig oder legitim sind.
„In San Ġwann gibt es bereits zahlreiche Supermärkte und die Inanspruchnahme landwirtschaftlicher ODZ-Flächen, ganz zu schweigen von Flächen, die vor der Haustür einer Schule und eines geschützten ökologischen Gebiets liegen, ist sicherlich nicht notwendig oder legitim“, schrieben die Einspruchsführer in ihrer bei eingereichten Stellungnahme die PA.
St. Michael ist die Heimat von fast 500 Kindern und über 100 Erziehern. In einem Einspruch sagte die Oberassistentin der Schule, Carina Gerada Sinnott, dass den Kindern im Rahmen ihrer laufenden Ausbildung und durch Initiativen wie EkoSkola beigebracht werde, die Umwelt zu respektieren und zu pflegen und sie für künftige Generationen zu schützen.
„Dieser Antrag missachtet dieses Verantwortungsbewusstsein für den Schutz der immer kleiner werdenden Naturlandschaft unseres Landes. Sie versucht, dem Bau eines Supermarkts Vorrang vor der Gesundheit und dem Wohlergehen unserer Kinder und dem Schutz unserer begrenzten natürlichen Umwelt einzuräumen“, schrieb sie.
Die Einspruchsgegner wiesen darauf hin, dass ein Antrag für die Errichtung eines Supermarkts und eines Baumarkts auf einem Grundstück direkt gegenüber dem Grundstück mit Tiefgarage anhängig sei.
Dieser Antrag wurde von Joe Cassar im Namen von JDG Holdings Ltd. eingereicht.
Die Umwelt- und Ressourcenbehörde hatte gegen diese vorgeschlagene Entwicklung Einspruch erhoben, die ihrer Meinung nach erhebliche Umweltbedenken aufwirft und aus Umweltgesichtspunkten als anstößig angesehen wird.
„Die ERA ist auch besorgt über die weitere Ausbreitung, Verbreitung und Intensivierung städtebaulicher Interventionen innerhalb eines ODZ-Gebiets und die weitere Formalisierung des Standorts, da dies ungünstigerweise als Prädisposition für andere ähnliche Vorschläge innerhalb des Gebiets sowie auf einer anderen Seite dienen könnte.“ nationaler Ebene“, hieß es.
Pace ist außerdem an zwei weiteren Ausschreibungen für den Bau von Supermärkten auf dem ODZ-Gelände beteiligt. Eine davon befindet sich auf einem 5.500 Quadratmeter großen Grundstück an der Umgehungsstraße von Birkirkara und eine weitere an der Umgehungsstraße Triq Il-Kummerċ, Triq Is-Snajja und Mrieħel.
Bürgermeister: Premierminister unterstützt mich bei meinem Ablehnungsprojekt
Der Bürgermeister von San Ġwann, Trevor Fenech, sagte am Samstag, dass er Einspruch gegen das Projekt einlegen werde.
„Dieser Antrag hätte niemals eingereicht werden dürfen“, sagte er und versprach, sich dem Projekt zu widersetzen.
Fenech sagte, er habe mit Premierminister Robert Abela über das Projekt gesprochen und sagte, er sei optimistisch, da Abela „klar zum Ausdruck brachte, dass er und die Labour Party unsere Sache unterstützen“.
Abela bestätigte dies und teilte der Times of Malta mit, dass er nicht wolle, dass das Projekt umgesetzt werde und dass die Labour Party den Rat bei seinem Einspruch unterstützen werde.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/massive-supermarket-proposed-san-gwann-odz.1092652
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I’ve heard of people getting the VA to pay for service dogs for vets with a service connected mental health disability, such as PTSD or MDD. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, can I get the VA to pay for my dog to get trained as a service dog? I am 50% service connected for MDD and 100% P&T.

I own an Audio/Video company out In Tampa. I am a disabled veteran owned small business so we do some government contracts from time to time when asked as there are certain contracts set aside for that specific designation meaning we have a pretty high chance of securing the contract.
We got an RFP for a bunch of studio AV equipment. Although not our forte, this contract doesn't require any installation. Just procurement and the VA is having someone able to supply it so they reached out to us.
I was wondering if anyone here has experience in this side of and has a distributor they recommend for this type of equipment. There were a few that we signed up with but the pricing seems like they just took MSRP and cut a few dollars off. I understand there is way less margin in this stuff but it doesn't seem possible to make such a little amount. Unfortunately B&H sells everything under the sun so we utilized that as retail and some of the prices given to us from the distributor are higher than B&H which leads me to believe they're not giving us stuff anywhere near cost. I'm happy to pay above cost but can't pay retail and make $0. It's over $500-$600k of equipment.
Would love some assistance if anyone has the experience. We signed up with TecNec who seems fair but doesn't have 90% of what we're needing and BandPro out of California who has 90% of it but as mentioned basically looks like MSRP with a few dollars knocked off.
Edit: the brands asked for Sony Fujinon Libec MultiDyne Camplex Angenieux Wooden Camera Tilta Vocas DJI Blackmagic BirdDog