October 2021

Being really rich is great, and not enough really rich people are doing crazy things like starting a park on an island or leaving their money to dogs or funding college dorms as long as they can conceive them.

Today, many people were horrified to learn of the hobbies of Charles Munger, a man rich in both ambition and money. The University of California at Santa Barbara accepted $ 200 million donation from him in exchange for allowing him to design Munger Hall, which provides housing for thousands of students, resulting in a dormitory design so obnoxious to the unlucky and non-visionary that an architect on the design review committee of the school quit and the whole Internet lost its lunch.

It took Munger – who is worth over $ 2 billion, due to decades spent as Warren Buffett’s right-hand man – a year and a half to come up with this setup, he said. The secret is that the dorm has compact, windowless rooms. Esteemed architect Paul Goldberger describes the design as “a grotesque and sick joke – a prison disguised as a dormitory.” Also, apparently there is a shared toilet for eight rooms? Ouch.

Not to be someone who Actuallys Paul Goldberger, but prisons, as high surveillance territories, tend to open out into long corridors and also have windows. Take a look at Sing Sing or other classic American penitentiaries, for example. Munger describes his inspiration instead as nautical – “the architecture of ships on land”. He even designed portholes for the bedrooms, he said The Wall Street Journal in 2019, except that it’s just… lights.

This means that there is almost no way it meets the fire prevention code. This means that it is entirely possible and exciting that along the way our hero recreates this must-see of New York architecture, the “air duct.“

A typical floor plan (!).
Photo: UC Santa Barbara

The Santa barbara Independent has been riding this Munger story for ages, having baptized the project Dormzilla partly because of his absolutely stupid and outrageous $ 1.5 billion price tag, needling the school communications team as they to fight desperately to sell the dorm design to the public. UCSB – a huge school with an enrollment of 25,000 – is needed to build more housing, although it built more educational facilities. Santa Barbara has a severe housing shortage, To to which the school contributes by failing to create suitable accommodations to keep up with the growth of its staff and student population.

Dormzilla was weird, everyone thought, even at the age of capture of college by donors, until they find out that the Newspaper had already done all the homework on Buffett’s boyfriend. The other smaller work of the non-architect includes a graduate residency at the University of Michigan, which also largely avoided windows. His plan also groups people into small settlements – but in this case, each bedroom has its own bathroom. So really, it’s more of a hospital than a prison. It’s also extremely ugly, and every aesthetic decision made there, from shower heads to countertops to painting, is disgusting. The Munger Alumni Residence at Stanford is also relatively luxurious – every apartment unit there has a bathroom “for each student”.

Since we all know what this unbuilt UCSB dormitory will look like, together we can pray that the HVAC is absolutely top notch and someone has them put in a bunch of extra bathrooms and maybe windows so that you can get out during a fire. It does – and maybe hire someone who has a taste for color palettes and lighting, etc. – it turns out… Dormzilla is awesome.

It’s time not only to build this dormitory but to build this dormitory almost everywhere, from the wicked streets of hate to the housing of San Francisco in downtown Los Angeles to the silly suburbs of Westchester. Hit the coin, build the beehive, save the future.

1. The proposal has no parking – none, zero, no housing for cars. But it has parking for thousands of bikes. This dorm already surpasses 98 percent of all US housing. I will live in this dormitory.

2. Single occupancy sleeping rooms provide privacy and security not found on many college campuses. UCSB has many triple rooms; a of their undergraduate accommodation standards requires two double bedrooms sharing a bathroom. Sharing rooms with strangers is hilarious sometimes, but most of the time it’s gross and bad. What are we, Europe?

3. The project has enormous social, educational and recreational spaces, as it steals images of private spaces that remain unused all day.

4. Dormzilla devalues ​​empty and disposable spaces in general. “All the classrooms and everything are totally empty except when the lessons are there, which is massively stupid”, Munger said on his thinking and why he makes larger spaces modular and reusable.

5. Build housing. Like, basically that’s it. There are a million reasons why people won’t create more apartments. “These windows are actually just plexiglass with full spectrum light behind” is just another excuse not to build housing. You millennials want to buy condos with your avocado toast money? We’re going to have to build them.

6. Architecture may be an art and a science – perhaps also primarily a zoning and regulatory management practice – but, as we have seen in the history of the past 40 years, architects do not are not building more and more healthy housing. We should grasp the architecture of architects. More hobbyists should design homes if they can get it built! “Something like laying out a bunch of shapes on a piece of land, it’s not rocket science,” Munger told the WSJ Not long ago. This is all very true. But at least architects are required to design their work in a way that recognizes that everyone is pooping.

LOCKPORT – Falls woman, facing an indictment of 54 counts following a fatal car crash on July 4, 2020, has pleaded guilty under a deal with county prosecutors of Niagara.

Breanna Best, 25, has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated intentional homicide, a Class B felony, in connection with the accident that claimed the life of Precious Cox. As part of the deal, state Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. said he would sentence Best to a maximum jail term of 4 to 12 years.

She had faced a potential maximum sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years behind bars.

Best was originally charged with several counts of aggravated vehicle homicide, manslaughter while driving, aggravated assault, first degree assault and driving while driving. drunkenness.

Falls Police Traffic Division Collision Management Unit investigators determined that Best was accelerating, in an unregistered, uninspected and uninsured 2009 Dodge Avenger, without a driver’s license, while three passengers of the vehicle, including Cox, were traveling without a seat belt when it crashed into the home at Porter Road and Hyde Park Boulevard.

Investigators determined that the Dodge was heading west on Porter Road, at speeds of up to 90 mph, as it continued straight on Hyde Park Boulevard, hitting the porch of a house in the 2000 block of Boulevard . The crushing accident left Cox, 27, who was sitting in a back seat on the passenger side of the vehicle, seriously injured.

She was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, where she later died of her injuries.

Best was pulled from the vehicle by the Falls Fire Department and taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center for treatment.

A front seat passenger and a female passenger in the rear seat on the driver’s side of the Avenger were both taken to the ECMC on the morning of the accident and treated as well.

Fall is a great time to take an overnight hike or canoe trip in Arkansas, and we have plenty of opportunities across the state.

If you prefer a traditional getaway with the comforts of home, Arkansas State Parks are great destinations. Some, like DeGray Lake State Park and Petit Jean Mountain State Park, offer five-star accommodations. DeGray Lake State Park also has a beautiful golf course, but staying true to the outdoorsy spirit we will limit the accommodation suggestions to the campsite.

Most state parks have full-service campgrounds that can accommodate larger RVs. They have water and electricity connections and waste tank disposal facilities.

Most state parks also have areas for tent camping with water and electricity, and some have areas for primitive tent camping. Primitive sites only have tent mats with no amenities.

Several of my favorite state parks for camping are Withrow Springs State Park near Huntsville, White Oak Lake State Park near Camden, Lake Fort Smith State Park in Mountainburg, Lake Dardanelle State Park near Russellville, and Village Creek State Park near by Wynne.

The fall foliage is vibrant and the weather is pleasant in the Ozarks in mid-October, making Withrow Springs a prime destination. Its wooded nature gives the campsite an intimate and warm atmosphere and you can take hot showers in the public baths. For this reason, I sometimes camp there when hunting in the nearby Madison County Wildlife Management Area.

Excellent wading for bass and crappie is available at the southern edge of the park at War Eagle Creek.

You can also camp in Madison County WMA, a great place for a weekend squirrel hunt. The WMA has a large number of primitive campgrounds. These are cleared areas in the woods with no amenities, but they are extremely peaceful and private. You can get out of your tent and start hunting immediately. The WMA also offers quick access to great smallmouth bass fishing on the Kings River at Rockhouse.

Lake Fort Smith State Park is very modern and provides an excellent camping base for bass fishing kayaking trips on Lake Fort Smith. The western terminus of the Ozark Highlands Trail is also located here. You can have someone drop you off and pick you up a few weeks later at the Richland Creek Recreation Area, the eastern terminus of the OHT.

Ozark National Forest

The Richland Creek Recreation Area, operated by the US Forest Service, is just one of the many great camping / hiking / fishing options available in the Arkansas National Forests. It’s remote and difficult to reach, but it’s a tidy, well-designed campground with enough privacy. Each site has a fire ring, lantern pole, and tent mat. There is also room for recreational vehicles, but there are no utilities.

Smallmouth bass fishing is surprisingly good in Richland Creek despite its small size in this area. You can go up or down to reach areas with little fishing.

The Ozark Highland Trail begins at the campsite. You can arrive on a Friday, hike the Richland Creek Wilderness Area, camp overnight, and leave on Sunday.

Other options in Ozark National Forest are Wolf Pen Recreation Area near Oark, Redding Recreation Area near Cass, Fairview Recreation Area near Pelsor, Haw Creek Falls Recreation near Hagarville and Ozone Recreation Area near Ozone.

Wolf Pen and Redding are found on the Mulberry River, providing direct access to great smallmouth bass fishing. Fishing is better in Redding, but the campground is too much of a place to party, being so close to Arkansas 23. Wolf Pen is much quieter, but the Mulberry is smaller which limits fishing.

Fairview Recreation Area sits on top of a mountain on State Arkansas 7 north of Dover. No fishing is available there, but you can hike the Ozark Highlands Trail to the Hurricane Creek Wilderness Area, which is home to secluded fishing holes. It’s a full day hike, so you’ll need to camp in the wilderness.

The Ozone Recreation Area is also on top of a mountain on Arkansas 21. There is no fishing, but there is a trailhead for the Ozark Highlands Trail. The campsite loop is shaded, and the pitches are quite private.

The Haw Creek Falls Recreation Area is located on Haw Creek off Arkansas 123. Excellent fishing is available at nearby Little Piney Creek. A footpath for the Ozark Highlands Trail is also nearby.

All of these areas lie within the boundaries of the National Forest, providing limitless possibilities for squirrel and deer hunting with archery equipment, muzzle chargers and firearms. modern.

Ouachita National Forest

In western Arkansas, the Little Pines Recreation Area near Waldron is a multi-use destination on Hinkle Lake, a much unknown bass and crappie lake. The campground also provides easy access to excellent squirrel, deer and quail hunting in the Blue Pine Restoration Zone which encompasses the area. You read correctly. Quail. The pine barbon restoration area is home to the hardiest quail populations to be found on southern public lands.

Crystal Recreation Area is a small, neat and secluded campground near Norman, very close to the Caddo River. You can wade the Caddo near Norman, or you can launch a canoe at Caddo Gap.

Primitive car camping is also available at the Fourche Mountain Recreation Area near Rover and the South Fork Recreation Area near Hollis.

Bard Springs Recreation Area, my favorite campsite in the Ouachita National Forest, is just across the mountain from Shady Lake Recreation Area. Both are close to great fishing on the Little Missouri River, which is stocked with rainbow trout starting in November at the Albert Pike Recreation Area.

These areas are all convenient for the Ouachita Trail and the Womble Trail, both internationally renowned for hiking and mountain biking.

All of these campgrounds provide access to excellent deer hunting in the Ouachita National Forest. It is subject to state-wide deer hunting regulations and no special permits are required.

Plastic accounts for 84% of all litter found on Australian beaches, according to a study conducted by UNSW and based on one of the largest databases of marine debris in the southern hemisphere.

Over 2,000 organizations and 150,000 citizen scientists have participated in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative [AMDI] by sorting and counting the marine debris they have collected since its creation by the association Tangaroa Blue Foundation in 2004.

Now, a study led by UNSW Science has filtered and analyzed 10 years of the AMDI database and created a national map of marine debris patterns.

The study found that nearly half of all debris could be related to land-based sources (garbage and land-based spills) and 7% to marine spills.

But 42% of the debris could not be definitively linked to a source due to the debris breaking down into smaller fragments, which the researchers say highlights the legacy of plastic left in our environment, fragmenting. continually breaking into smaller pieces until they are microplastics.

The results were published in Total environmental science.

“The AMDI database contains beach cleaning entries across Australia, but the added value of this database is that volunteers take the time to categorize what they find, sorting and counting the amounts of plastic. , glass, rubber, metal, paper and others. articles, ”said study lead author and doctoral candidate Jordan Gacutan of the Center for Marine Science and Innovation at UNSW in the School of Biological, Terrestrial and Environmental Sciences.

“We can combine this rich data across space and time to obtain blueprints of the marine debris and plastic problem across Australia.

“This study shows, with unprecedented resolution, the variation of debris elements both regionally and across Australia.”

Study co-author and UNSW Science Dean Professor Emma Johnston says very little environmental stress can be measured nationally.

“So the 150,000 Citizen Scientists who have contributed to this database are doing Australia an incredible service,” says Professor Johnston.

“Their passion for the environment gives us one of the few continental insights into the global marine problem. “

For the AMDI database, the Tangaroa Blue Foundation has developed a method of categorizing and counting all waste collected by a range of citizen scientists and partner organizations, from families to government campaigns.

“We designed the methodology, host it and manage the database, but the data belongs to 150,000 people who contributed to this database,” said Heidi Tait, study co-author and founder and Executive Director of the Tangaroa Blue Foundation.

“This is the impact of the collaboration and the results really underscore that an intervention will not solve the problem of plastics in our oceans, and that a sector or a group of stakeholders will not be able to solve it on their own. , no more. .

“We have to collaborate and this network is a perfect example of partners who have achieved something quite monumental.”

The AMDI database now has nearly 20 million entries, but the UNSW study focused on the 10-year period from which the database recorded beach cleaning nationwide. .

Draw patterns from objects on the beach

Ms Tait said the AMDI database showed that there was a very different signature of marine debris regionally.

“The data shows that what we find in Cape York is completely different from what we find in Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne,” she says.

The UNSW study looked at the national situation, but also grouped its findings according to the six “bioregions” that the Australian government uses to manage our oceans and coasts.

They are: North (Northern Territory to Cape York), Northwest (WA); Southwest (lower WA and SA); Southeast (including Victoria and Tasmania) and temperate (mainly NSW) and Coral Sea / Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Mr Gacutan says that by looking at what objects have been found on beaches, we can better understand problematic objects and where they came from.

“Some bioregions contain a large amount of fishing debris, such as floats and fishing nets, while others have a larger litter problem, and you can identify these patterns by the items you find in these. coastal cleanups, ”he says.

The Southeast and Southwest regions have higher amounts of fishing tackle but, on the other hand, the Temperate East had three times the proportion of cigarette butts, compared to the national average, this which shows a problem with local waste, the study suggested.

The study found that around 40% of all marine debris across Australia came from litter, especially near capital cities where a lot of plastic ends up on the beach from storm sewers.

“On the other hand, although Cape York in Queensland had a huge amount of debris, most of it came from external sources, for example floats and plastic bottles that could have been both dropped at sea or floated away. other countries, ”Gacutan said. said.

“We know Cape York is very, very remote, so the amount of plastic we find on the beaches is not due to the people who live there.”

Ms Tait says better evidence needs to be used to inform how we are dealing with the growing problem of marine debris.

“We need to be really focused and strategic in the changes put in place to mitigate marine debris, and we need to measure and monitor to make sure we’re actually fixing the problem, that’s where the data is going to be so critical to the future, ”she says.

Improve citizen science for management

Dr Graeme Clark, lead author of the study and senior research associate at UNSW, said the study focused on filtering the data to ensure it was as accurate and reliable as possible. before use.

“One of the main concerns people have about citizen science data is the quality, accuracy and reliability of the data we get from these cleanings,” he says.

“You get a huge variability in the quality, for example some people can start cleaning the grassy area of ​​a beach or the parking lot; children collect differently from adults; and that really limits comparisons between sites.

“We tried to maximize the quality of the data and control the sites we visited by really conservative filtering.

“We only looked at sandy sites that face the ocean and have not been altered by structures such as dikes and breakwaters.”

Dr Clark says the methods presented by the UNSW team could impact how citizen science databases are used and improve the way marine debris data is collected globally. .

“Improving the quality and rigor of citizen science data makes it easier to use in management and decision-making,” he says.

“Citizen science datasets are powerful tools for monitoring marine debris and can help shape management plans to better tackle the problem of marine debris and plastic pollution at a localized level.”

Ms Tait says the most unique aspect of the AMDI database is that it is based on a scalable model that identifies the source of the debris.

“If you look at what’s going on now internationally with the discussions on global plastics treaties, nationally with the National Plastics Plan and state government plans to tackle single-use plastics: how are we going to measure them to make sure these policies have an impact? ”she said.

“For example, if a global plastics treaty is formalized by the United Nations, we should see the 95% of international marine debris that we find in Cape York diminish in the future, if that treaty is successful.

“It’s a way to measure the impact of the mitigation strategies put in place to see if they are actually having a positive impact and reducing marine debris and litter at the source. “

Read it to study.

Through Tanya waterworth 1h ago

The mood was dark at the popular Max’s Lifestyle in uMlazi yesterday after owner Max Mqadi was shot in the parking lot on Thursday evening.

Police said Mqadi, a popular figure in the hospitality industry in South Africa and abroad, was shot four times as he left the scene and got into his vehicle.

His management team confirmed yesterday that he “survived a terrorist attack and is recovering”.

There were reports that two assailants approached Mqadi as he got into his car and shot him. An injured Mqadi managed to escape the shooters and took off.

He went to a nightlife spot on Florida Road where he asked for help. He was taken to a hospital in uMhlanga.

The attempted murder rocked social media yesterday, with a wave of support and wishes for his recovery.

There have also been numerous comments regarding a shared photo, allegedly from Mqadi’s iPhone, which was damaged by a bullet. The cell phone would have saved his life because he was talking on the phone at the time of the shooting.

There were also images of a driver’s seat soaked in blood inside the vehicle.

When The Independent on Saturday visited uMlazi’s premises yesterday, the atmosphere was subdued and calm as the staff went about their duties.

One staff member said it was “business as usual” as preparations were underway for a busy weekend, while another confirmed where Mqadi’s car had been parked and where the shooting had taken place. occurred.

Apparently, Mqadi normally left work around 7:00 p.m.

A voice note also circulated on social media platforms, allegedly a recording of a local security company alerted to the attack on Mqadi immediately after it occurred.

He said, “The shot is positive, yeah, he got hit three or four times… he managed to drive up to Florida Road… is in the hospital right now. The info is that they were two suspects who had been on the prowl since half past six in the evening.

“The security guard tried to get them out of the parking lot but they were walking around… when Max got in his vehicle to leave, they shot him.”

Yesterday morning, the management of Max’s Lifestyle released a statement in which they said: “It is with relief that we wish to confirm that the founder and owner of Max’s Lifestyle Village, Max Mqadi, survived an assassination attempt last night. (October 14, 2021).

“Mr. Mqadi was shot at point blank range by unknown gunmen as he left the world famous uMlazi restaurant. Fortunately, however, the owner of the world-class restaurant who was voted one of the world’s best restaurants in 2016 survived the attack and is recovering.

“We would like to take this opportunity to convey our sincere gratitude to all South Africans and the world community who have expressed messages of support to Mr. Mqadi.”

“We also urge all supporters to continue praying for his speedy recovery,” the statement read, adding that “the eagle keeps flying just because there is a storm, relying instead on its wings it confronts it and flies above this “.

While details remain unclear about the shooting, provincial SAPS spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said Mqadi was shot and that police were investigating.

Under the Durban tourism banner, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said yesterday they were shocked by the shooting.

“Max Mqadi is one of the pioneers of city tourism and the city cannot afford to lose people like him who put our city on the world map.

“We call on the police not to neglect anything and to arrest the perpetrators.

“We wish him a speedy recovery and call on anyone who may have information about this heinous crime to work with the police,” Mayisela said.

The independent on Saturday

The January 8 memorial outside the Pima County Courthouse is designed to talk about how the community came together after the January 8, 2011 shooting, which left six people dead and 13 injured, including the representative of the ‘era. Gabrielle Giffords, right, looking at the memorial with her husband, Senator Mark Kelly. (Photo by Randy Metcalf / Courtesy of County Pima)

The names of the victims of the January 8, 2011 shooting in Tucson, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was injured, and her congressional aide Gabe Zimmerman, who was killed, are engraved in the January 8 memorial in Tucson . (Photo by Kasey Brammell / Cronkite News)

WASHINGTON – On January 8, 2011, a mass shooting in Tucson left six people dead and 13 injured, including the representative at the time. Gabrielle Giffords, resonated nationally.

Ron Barber thinks that should be remembered nationally as well.

The hairdresser testified Thursday in support of a bill that would make the Jan. 8 memorial in Tucson an “affiliate zone” of the national park system, a designation he said “lets our country know it exists.” .

“When you look at what happened that day, it has national and international significance,” Barber said during a House natural resources subcommittee hearing on the bill. “When this shooting took place, it not only affected the conscience of our community, it affected the conscience of our entire country and abroad.”

The proposal received a mixed reception from the National Park Service, who said he could not support the affiliate designation until he has had the chance to study whether the site “meets the criteria of national importance, suitability and feasibility” for inclusion in the network national parks.

“The ministry appreciates the desire of the sponsor of the bill to bring greater recognition to the events of January 8, 2011,” said Mike Caldwell, acting deputy director of the National Park Service for park planning, facilities and operations. land. “However, we have no basis for knowing whether the proposed site meets the criteria for inclusion or affiliation with the national park system, as no study has been carried out for the site.”

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Senator Mark Kelly, visit the Jan.8 memorial in Tucson last December, ahead of its dedication on Jan.8, 2021, the 10th anniversary of the shooting it commemorates. (Photo by Randy Metcalf / Courtesy of County Pima)

Barber disagreed, saying during the audience that “if it doesn’t matter nationally, I don’t know what it is.”

The privately funded memorial was unveiled on January 8, 2021, to mark the 10th anniversary of the shooting at a ‘Congress in Your Corner’ event outside a Tucson Safeway, where Giffords, a Democrat, was meeting with voters when an armed man approached and opened fire.

Giffords was seriously injured by a bullet to the head and has spent years recovering, still walking limp and struggling with her speech. Barber, his aide-de-camp at the time, was shot in the leg and 11 others were injured.

Giffords community outreach staff member Gabe Zimmerman was killed in the attack along with U.S. District Chief Justice John Roll, Christina-Taylor Green, 9, Dorothy Morris, Dorwan Stoddard and Phyllis Schneck. Barber remembers them as “six wonderful people”.

“I don’t use the word ‘lost’ because the truth is they were killed. They were murdered, ”he said.

He recalled over the phone Thursday how locals made three makeshift memorials “hours after the shooting” at Giffords office, the hospital where the victims were treated and the Safeway where it happened.

“Some people prayed, some people read poems, some people brought candles or tiles with messages on them, flowers and everything,” Barber said. “The reason we built this memorial where we did is that it is located downtown, in a historic downtown community neighborhood, the historic courthouse, and is now in public view. ”

Related story

The permanent January 8 Memorial stands in El Presidio Park, two curving alleys facing each other that represent the community’s embrace after the shooting. They dive so spectators can walk along the walls adorned with symbols honoring the victims, survivors and the Tohono O’odhams who originally inhabited the area.

Barber, a Democrat who took over from Giffords in power, said the memorial’s organizers “did everything to get him out of partisanship.” The fundraiser was led by Giffords and local car dealership Jim Click, a Republican.

“What I think is important is that it doesn’t happen every day – thank goodness – and it’s never happened before that we’ve had these people who were federal employees, if you will, killed or almost killed by a gunman who came to assassinate a congressman, “Barber said after the hearing.” That in itself deserves national recognition. “

The bill does not require the park department to take back the memorial, which belongs to Pima County, but it would allow the federal government to help the county commercialize the site and would require the development of a management plan by the federal government. Barber said Thursday’s hearing It was the first time he or the foundation had heard of the park service’s position.

“They haven’t contacted us, but now that I know their position I’m going to contact him on behalf of the board to see if we can turn him around a bit on that,” Barber said.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a 2013 report from the Congressional Research Service said that sites affiliated with the National Park Service “may receive assistance from the NPS but are generally owned and administered primarily by non-federal entities “.

Former Rep. Ron Barber, who was shot dead in the Tucson shooting on January 8, 2011, speaks at the dedication of the memorial on the 10th anniversary of the attack. The curved wall behind him is one of two meant to evoke the community’s embrace after the shooting. (Photo by Randy Metcalf / Courtesy of County Pima)

To be considered an affiliate, The report stated that a site should “meet the same standards of importance and suitability” of NPS locations, “require special recognition or technical assistance beyond what is available through existing NPS programs”, be managed under the same rules as NPS locations and ‘be assured of sustainable protection of resources.

The law project was sponsored by Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Tucson, and co-sponsored by seven of the other eight members of the state congressional delegation. Only Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, did not sign.

Barber wanted “we could have 100%” of the state delegation’s support, but for the “90%, if you will, of the delegation supporting it, they understand what it’s about. “

“It’s about honoring the people who were killed, those who survived and all the people who came to our aid,” Barber said.

Representative Raúl Grijalva, D-Tucson, said during the hearing that he “wishes he did not exist” and “that we do not have to take the time to commemorate him”.

“Sadly, January 8, 2011 is a day Tucsonians and the nation will never forget,” Grijalva said.

Could we see a national agreement for the Epic electronic patient record? Jon Hoeksma is speculating and exploring what this could mean for the healthcare system.

Speculation over a nationwide deal between NHS England and U.S. electronic medical records (EPR) provider Epic was fueled last week, ten years after the NHS ‘nationwide computing program ended.

Rumors have circulated over the summer that Tim Ferris, NHS England’s new digital transformation manager, is a big advocate for the system and has told his colleagues that it should be used by many other trusts.

Highly regarded, Ferris joined NHS England from Massachusetts General Hospital, which in 2016 deployed Epic in a program that reportedly cost nearly $ 1 billion.

Ian O’Neil, the current director of transformation at NHS England, told an industry conference in London last week that there had recently been high-level meetings with Judy Faulkner, the founder from Epic, but declined to provide details on the topics under discussion.

In response to subsequent questions from Digital Health News about whether national deal negotiations were underway with Epic, the NHSX press office sought to play a forehand with a ‘come on, nothing at all’ statement. see here ” :

“In response to your questions about discussions with providers, it is standard practice for the NHS digital leadership to meet regularly with technology providers who currently provide services to the NHS. “

As for what the meetings covered:

“The meetings cover a range of topics, all with the aim of ensuring that providers are working towards the vision and priorities of the NHS, especially in the context of strategies such as What Good Looks Like and Data Saves Lives (Reshaping Health and Social Care With Data). “

The idea of ​​procuring a single national EPR system for all hospital trusts in England was the central pillar of the failure of the NHS National Program for IT (NPfIT) which ran from 2003 to 2011.

In subsequent NPfIT reports and surveys, the National Audit Office concluded that the national top-down approach failed to recognize the very different local circumstances between hospitals and failed to gain the support and commitment of clinicians. local.

So far, this is all in the realm of rumor and speculation. There have also reportedly been discussions with Epic in recent months as to whether it could potentially offer its system as a platform for use in Integrated Systems of Care (ICS).

As the NHSX press release says, it makes perfect sense for NHS agencies to have meetings with all of its major software and technology vendors. And hopefully other vendors benefit from similar discussions and access.

Just imagine for a moment

But let’s just assume for a moment that some sort of national deal to make Epic more widely available is under discussion, and again this is just speculation, what could that look like and how much could it cost?

The cost of an EPR varies enormously depending on the supplier and the local organization, and there is a glaring lack of price transparency. An NHSX source told Digital Health News last week that new work was planned to get better price data.

How much does an EPR cost?

Best estimates suggest that NHS hospital EPR deals typically weigh between £ 20m and £ 100m over ten years.

Epic sits at the very top of that scale, in the range of £ 80million to £ 100million (average call it £ 90million) over ten years, with most of the money not going to the software provider but to the infrastructure and dedicated personnel to implement. , install and run the software. It is said that the division is about the thirds.

But the costs can be much higher, Cambridge University Hospitals had a budget of £ 200million in 2014 for their digitization program as the epic first NHS site.

The Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust’s Epic project is reportedly well in excess of £ 175million.

Manchester NHS FT University Hospitals have a budget of £ 181million, while Northern Ireland has a budget of £ 275million and Frimley Health NHS FT has a budget of £ 108million.

These types of projects are the single largest investment most NHS hospital trusts will make, aside from physical buildings.

There are currently 138 acute care trusts in England and Epic is used in five of them: Cambridge University Hospitals, University College London Hospitals, Great Ormond Street and Royal Devon. A number of other NHS trusts in the process of implementing the system.

So let’s say for the sake of argument and suspending all competition and procurement rules, that there are about 100 more acute NHS trusts to fund to get the system – what would it take?

So the 100 acute trusts paying out around £ 90million would add up to around £ 9bn. Let’s round up to £ 10bn for a bit of contingency and modest management consulting fees.

And everyone ?

Of course, this does not cover all mental health trusts, community trusts, ambulance trusts, combined health and care trusts, or other specialist providers. And that doesn’t cover social care, but Epic generally doesn’t cover those areas, so put them aside for the sake of this speculative “what if” scenario.

Let’s also ignore the fact that there is currently barely enough implementation capacity to handle current sites.

What would be the benefits of a nationally unique acute RPE?

If we instead imagined all of this happening, what would be the benefit to the NHS and the patients it serves?

Well, for starters, almost everyone in the acute industry would use the same system and not have to retrain every time they moved to a different organization. Everyone would learn to use the same system and get the most out of it.

For inpatients, close integration between prescriptions and test results and integrated clinical decision support tools would be beneficial. Electronic medication management would be universal and part of the basic RPE with significant benefits for patient safety.

One of Epic’s greatest pride is that they have never bought another company and that the whole system has been developed in-house. So that would mean that there would be no more messy interfacing of different systems to create your own set of EPR capabilities.

The digitization of patient records and clinical workflows also opens up a whole new ability to perform large-scale predictive analytics, better conduct research and clinical trials, and identify patients at risk.

One of the big financial benefits that US hospitals see after implementing Epic is better coding of procedures resulting in increased billing, which does not apply directly to the NHS.

The world beyond the hospital parking lot

But all of these benefits would only apply within hospital boundaries, and even within a single provider organization, an EPR isn’t everything. It has to interface and connect with many other systems.

Go to the exit of the hospital car park [if you have fuel] and the familiar complex and messy heterogeneity would remain unchanged.

Enter the world of community, mental health, primary care and it becomes much more complex and requires a lot of plumbing and interoperability between the different systems. Digitizing suppliers is an important but sufficient part of a complex puzzle.

And that, more than anything else, would seem to be the most telling argument for any nationwide purchase of a hospital EPR to enable the digitization of acute care providers, regardless of the quality of the solution. And there is no doubt that Epic is very good.

In the age of integrated health and care; SCIs; complex patient journeys spanning multiple organizations; to equip patients with the tools and information to co-manage their own health; it would appear that it is fundamentally backward to focus solely on digitizing one sector, no matter how small, with one type of system.

A decade after the end of NPfIT, does the NHS really need a PFI-like program for the acute digitization of providers that could lock it in higher costs and patterns of care for decades to come? ?

* Fun fact – Massachusetts General is also where the MUMPS (MMassachusetts General Hospital Utility MultimatePprogramming System) still used by Epic and other healthcare software vendors was invented in 1966.

Mr. Hatch’s work experience appears to be a better fit in his new job than that of Ms. Fialkoff or Mr. Gutman, and gives him the kind of interagency knowledge that could help him provide service in his new position.

At the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Hatch, who has worked as an employment lawyer, will lead a campaign to raise awareness and enroll in the federal child tax credit program. He replaces Acting Commissioner Sandra Abeles, who joined the agency in 2014, and supervised its application and technology divisions.

Mr. Hatch met Mr. de Blasio during John Edwards’ first presidential campaign in 2004; Mr. Hatch was deputy director of state for New York, while Mr. de Blasio was co-chair of the New York campaign. Mr. Hatch then worked as Mr. de Blasio’s chief of staff when he was a city councilor, before embarking on a traveling career through New York and national politics, with stints in the Working Families Party and as a Director of State for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

When he joined Blasio’s administration in 2014, Mr. Hatch jumped from job to job whenever he needed a skilled and hardworking team. In his most recent role, he worked as the ‘Covid-19 public-private partnership czar’, helping to raise $ 100 million in donations for the city’s fight against the pandemic.

Mr. Hatch declined to comment for this story.

The three appointments contrast with other major moves by M. de Blasio this year. He appointed Meisha Porter, a longtime municipal education official, to become school chancellor in February; for New York City emergency management, it hiring John Scrivani, an accomplished emergency management professional; and in the Correctional Department, he chosen Vincent Schiraldi, who had worked inside correction systems as an operator and outside as a reformer.

Yet the appointment of political allies to key government positions is not a new practice in city government, or for Mr. de Blasio, who in 2014 appointed one of his taxi industry fundraisers as deputy commissioner at the agency that regulates the industry, the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He also appointed his 2013 campaign treasurer to head the city’s investigation department. Daily news reported that in 2014, Mr de Blasio’s team put together a donor and lobbyist spreadsheet to use when appointing to various boards.

The appointment of a trusted ally to become a commissioner can also benefit this agency by raising its profile and strengthening its influence with the mayor.

• NXP and partners will showcase V2X-compatible prototypes at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, including a V2X-compatible smart electric bike prototype from high-end manufacturer Riese & Müller
• V2X electronics can help protect bikes and other road users from accidents
• NXP Launches New Application Processor for Advanced V2X and IIoT Applications

HAMBURG, Germany, October 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – World ITS Congress – NXP® Semiconductors has announced that it will present new security scenarios made possible by vehicle-to-vehicle communication (Vehicle-to-X or V2X) at this year’s ITS World Congress in Hamburg. NXP will work with partners such as high-end manufacturer Riese & Müller, to highlight better protection for vulnerable road users, new V2X application scenarios designed to help prevent traffic accidents and demonstrations electric bike safety. NXP’s V2X technology is based on 802.11p, a communications standard also known as DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communication). Optimized for automobiles, 802.11p enables vehicles, road infrastructure and other road users to exchange information in real time.

Each year, more than 1.3 million people are killed in road accidents around the world and more than 50 percent of fatalities are cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. Technologies such as V2X and driver assistance systems can make a significant contribution to help reduce these numbers and are already used as standard in some passenger car models today.

To demonstrate how the safety of road users can be improved, NXP and Riese & Müller have built a prototype of an intelligent electric bicycle. The demonstration combines NXP’s RoadLINK ® automotive qualified DSRC modem and Hardware Secure Element IC for V2X applications, with the Cohda Wireless on-board unit. The setup allows the e-bike to transmit data about its position, speed and direction of travel to other nearby V2X compatible vehicles that could pose a potential hazard to the rider. The module calculates distances between road users and changes in position within seconds. In the event of a dangerous situation, the cyclist and the driver of a car would receive a timely collision warning.

“Everyone on the road deserves to be safe, from the cycling student to the road worker and those in premium vehicles. The quest begins by enabling vehicles and road users to communicate in real time and V2X addresses this need by connecting infrastructure and road users, ”said Huanyu Gu, senior director of ADAS product marketing at NXP. “V2X can connect and inform a vast network of e-bikes, e-scooters, breakdown assistance vehicles, and even jobsite lighting to create a safety network for all who share the roads.”

Additional V2X Product News

To drive the expansion of the V2X ecosystem, NXP also announced the next step in innovation – the launch of the new i.MX 8XLite application processor. The product is intended for secure V2X and IIoT applications and is capable of simultaneously handling very complex cryptographic and telematic data. More information on this announcement can be found here.

NXP at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg from October 11 to 15 Hall B5, Booth B5302:

Interactive demonstrations

• V2X: electric bike with V2X and radar (SmartMicro), VOI electric scooter, ADAC light bar
• RFID-based automated payment with Shell and Omega
• SigFox low cost smart asset tracker
• Plus, explore our interactive tech showroom of over 40+ app-based demos

Hamburg city showcases that showcase NXP’s V2X include:

• Ford of Europe, Kopernikus, Continental, Cohda Wireless and NXP present the future of automated valet parking at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. NXP V2X technology inside the car and in the parking garage infrastructure allows the Ford electric vehicle to park and recharge – without human intervention
• BiDiMoVe (Two-way multimodal network): prioritization according to public traffic demand at traffic lights including a new danger warning system
• Green4transPORT: dynamic traffic management, including intelligent traffic light control to reduce carbon emissions

NXP V2X technology in action:

About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI) enables secure connections for a smarter world, delivering solutions that make life easier, better and safer. As a global leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving innovation in the automotive, industrial and IoT, mobile and communications infrastructure markets. Drawing on more than 60 years of combined experience and expertise, the company has approximately 29,000 employees in more than 30 countries and achieved sales of $ 8.61 billion in 2020. Find out more more, go to www.nxp.com.

NXP and the NXP logo are trademarks of NXP BV All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. © 2021 NXP BV

For more information please contact:

NXP-Corp
NXP-Auto

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05894635-5be3-437d-a8ca-90f266faf802

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For much of 2021, site preparation was underway for a Covert car dealership on the highway. 71 west of Bee Cave at the intersection of what are now two new road names to the area – Duke Covert Drive and Sweetwater Village Drive. Now passing motorists can see that construction of the building has started.

When fully constructed, the concessionaire will extend along Sweetwater Village. Duke Covert, which connects the area to the highway. 71, is named in honor of Duke Matthews Covert, said Philip Robinson, senior partner of Covert Austin. Covert died in December and was the great-grandson of Frank Covert Sr., who founded the Covert franchise in 1909, according to Covert’s obituary.

The Covert family expects the dealership to contain storefronts for Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC and Jeep, Robinson said. Construction materials will include stone and stucco. Completion of the initial phase of the concession is about a year away, he said.

“The showrooms for GMC and Cadillac, these will probably open first, then we’ll have the Jeep showroom in a few months,” Robinson said. “We had some issues with the steel supply. It’s a challenge, but the contractor is doing a great job.”

The concessionaire is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Bee Cave, or ETJ, and is part of a larger 400-acre development known as Sweetwater East, which is managed by a division of Wheelock Street Capital.

The development agreement between Bee Cave and the developers allows the Covert concessionaire to cover up to 38 acres. The agreement also provides for diffuse pollution controls to protect Little Barton Creek and other area watersheds that ultimately flow into Lake Travis.

The agreement also states that the concessionaire must adhere to city requirements for proper road signage and that structures 35 to 45 feet in height must be set back from the freeway. 71 by up to 275 feet.