| Swampscott's Year in Review: 2006 |
[Jan. 8th, 2007|03:10 pm] |
Swampscott's Year in Review: 2006
By George Derringer/swampscott@cnc.com
Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Updated: 07:23 PM EST
The year 2006 was a mixed event for Swampscott. It featured a scare about a crime wave but also plenty of joyous events, anticipation of better things to come with a new high school, senior center and a building for which the town still has to find an optimum use.
Sadly, the year also included one tragedy most of the town will never forget: the loss of U.S. Army Specialist Jared J. Raymond, 20, to an “improvised explosive device” put in the road by terrorists in Balad, Iraq, in September. There were other losses, of course, for families and the community and other celebrations from book readings at the library through the Fourth of July parade and of sizes in between.
Through it all, the Swampscott Reporter has covered it in 52 print editions and often with stories between issues at its Web site as we transition from a weekly printed newspaper into a intensely local online destination. In coming weeks and months, we’ll be inviting our readers, print and electronic, to join us in the 21st century experiment we call electronic community. And your contributions, like ours, will be nearly immediate, not waiting for a weekly publication deadline.
Right now, however, let’s take a look back at just some of the highlights of the year in Swampscott:
January
The year did not start well in Swampscott. There was a brazen home invasion on Beach Avenue on Jan. 2, 2006, by men wielding a shotgun and a hammer. It was, sadly, a portent of other similar incidents to come later in the year.
But there were good people in town all along. Mary Powers, later to be highly honored for her career in teaching, and Joe Markarian, already honored by most for his tireless efforts as chairman of the (High) School Building Committee, returned from New Orleans, where they volunteered to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Firefighters closed the year with a total of 2,033 calls, a number which might (at this writing) actually decrease in 2006.
And there were, thankfully, yet more good intentions. The Swampscott Renewable Energy Committee asked for permission to pursue the possibility of generating wind energy here and got approval from the Board of Selectmen for four possible sites: the new high school on Essex Street, the current high school on Forest Avenue, the Stanley School and the former pumping station (known by some, but darn few, as the “Town Hall Annex”) next to the Bertram House on Humphrey Street.
That idea was to run into a problem later in the year: density. All four sites are too close to existing homes to meet current state standards.
Meanwhile, the more-than-annual discussion of the Aggregate Industries quarry on the Danvers Road erupted into a shouting match during a selectmen’s meeting, even though no public hearing had been scheduled. Quarry spokespeople said no trucks had left the quarry after 5:30 p.m. for months, just as had been promised in August 2005. Neighbors disagreed and suggested the selectmen had ignored their part of town but were finally gaveled down by Reid Cassidy, then-chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Elaine Fortin of Swampscott, another of the good people, organized a relief effort for victims of a major earthquake in Pakistan.
And local girl Sophie Lev, then 11, prepared to perform in a Boston Children’s Chorus performance on Channel 5 to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
An ongoing dispute about the teachers’ contract with the School Committee dragged on in January but had still not been filed for arbitration.
The Swampscott Board of Health, usually in the lead on environmental hazards, followed its passage of a ordinance requiring stores that sell certain kinds of fish to post warning about possible mercury contamination with a specific warning about canned tuna.
Crime rose to the top of everyone’s mind later in January when there was an armed standoff between police and a man accused of shooting his estranged wife, as well a burglary on Puritan Road at 3:30 a.m. — with the residents still at home. The police chief was asked to report back on whether there really a “crime wave” plaguing the town.
Three finalists were named for the Middle School principal’s job to take over from retiring Principal Ron Landman. Long story short: None of them was hired.
And on the football scene, Swampscott’s Dick Jauron was named head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, the Bills are in the same division as the New England Patriots.
February
The colder month started with good news for the town: a report in the Boston Globe that said state aid for school projects — like the new Swampscott High School — might be in jeopardy was dead wrong, said state Rep. Doug Petersen. He was proven quite right later in the year.
Local resident Marilyn Glazer Weisner was named as the education coordinator for the YouthBuild/Just A Start AmeriCorps “alternative education” program in Cambridge.
A fire in the town recycling area behind Swampscott Cemetery destroyed most of the gear used by 30-year Swampscott fisherman Mike Gambale during the Super Bowl telecast.
The athletic community, or at least a vocal part of it, was up in arms after 35-year high school baseball coach Frank DeFelice was not hired for a 36th year.
The Crime Wave is real but not entirely new, Police Chief Ron Madigan, told selectmen Feb. 6. He presented statistics that showed rapid increases in three years in drug-related arrests (22 to 72) and burglaries of both buildings and vehicles with only slighter smaller increases in violent crimes, larceny and vandalism. Still, the rate of crime is well below national averages, the chief said, nothing that the police force has not grown in 10 years, despite increased crime.
Local Democrats offered a glimpse of the future, sweeping all of the delegates to the state party convention for one candidate: future governor Deval Patrick. The other candidate, then-attorney general Tom Reilly, struck out here.
Parking meters briefly arose as a topic of conversation at selectmen’s meetings, then disappeared from the agenda yet again.
Concession stands at the new Forest Avenue fields will be run by the Swampscott Little League under a lease approved by selectmen.
Fifteen inches of snow fell Feb. 12 but it was generally light and fluffy.
Dr. Matt Malone, superintendent of schools, was the target of criticism at a School Committee meeting. It seems Paul Maguire, president of the Swampscott Education Association, invited “parents who asked what they could do to help” to the meeting to discuss the ongoing contract dispute, the non-hiring of former baseball coach Frank DeFelice and hiring of a new high school principal.
The League of Women Voters had a very successful second annual “Evening of Champagne et Chocolat,” highlighted by a power failure that reduced illumination to candlelight.
Police Lt. Peter Cassidy was suspended for five days in February after being charged with driving under the influence of liquor on Jan. 13 near Waterbury, Vt. Additional action would come later.
Reacting to criticism from union activists and parents, the School Committee responded publicly, asking for “respectful dialog” about concerns. Chairman Dan Yaeger said he had been “reluctant” to respond openly because of his own respect for the collective bargaining process. And the “crisis in Swampscott schools,” as some had named it, was resolved later in the year as well.
The town noted the 50th anniversary of The Great Swampscott Train Wreck on Feb. 28. A total of 13 people died in the wreck on the Boston & Maine Railroad tracks here during a snowstorm in 1956.
The Winter Olympics took place. Some people noticed, including those at Clarke School who staged their own opening ceremony. Fewer people remember where the games were held. (Answer later in this story.)
March
The last month of winter opened with good news: Selectmen and the School Committee agreed there would be no requests for an override of Proposition 2-1/2 this spring.
Which didn’t mean there would be no races on the town election ballot in April. Incumbent selectman Bill Hyde Sr. faced a political newcomer, Adam Forman, and a School Committee race between Dave Whelan and Richard Feinberg to replace Phil Rotner — who decided not to seek another term — topped the list.
Also, incumbent Veeder Nellis and challenger Bruce Paradise sought a seat on the Planning Board while incumbent Albert DiLisio faced opposition from Bill Sullivan for a spot on the Housing Authority.
The fun in one of those election outcomes was to come later.
Swampscott High School students and director James Pearse advanced in the state Drama Festival with their production of “A Slap in the Farce.”
A 16-year-old female student was arrested at Swampscott High School and charged with assaulting another girl in a classroom there.
Superintendent Matt Malone apologized for a comment he made, allegedly, “If you live near the train tracks, you know what I’m talking about.” He said the comment referred to young people who hang out near the train station, not to the residents of the area near the tracks.
And plans were laid for an all-day kindergarten in Swampscott.
A special Town Meeting voted to buy the former Temple Israel building for up to $3.75 million and appoint a committee to decide what to do with it.
Swampscott High School girls won the Division 3 North basketball championship.
The Fire Department battled two fires in two days, one on Allen Road and one on Andrew Road.
The Board of Health met with officials from Tedesco Country Club to discuss ways for the club to warn residents when it plans to use toxic chemicals. The club, according to Board of Health Chairwoman Dr. Martha Pitman , is the town’s largest applier of chemical pesticides.
State Rep. Doug Petersen announced his new Web site — dougpetersen.com, of course — but if he thought it might help his re-election campaign, it turned out to be unnecessary.
Folks were invited to help interview three finalists for the job as principal of Swampscott High School. Larry Murphy, then principal of the high school in Jaffrey, N.H., got the job.
Swampscott High School seniors Bailey Leonard and Adam Dexter won awards for their acting in the state Drama Festival but the Drama Club’s production was not chosen to advance from the semifinals to the finals this year.
Late in the month, it emerged that Rabbi Baruch HaLevi had been called to lead Congregation Shirat Hayam, the new Conservative Jewish congregation formed by consolidate of Temple Beth El and Temple Israel.
Selectmen began their campaign in favor of local adoption of the Community Preservation Act, which would have added a 2 percent surcharge to future property tax bills, amounting to about $100 a year right now. Money would be used for housing and preservation of historic resources and open space, under terms of the CPA state law.
The Swampscott High School debate team, led by coach Dr. Douglas Reeves, wrapped up a successful debut season.
April
Folks were already streaming out of Turin, Italy, long before April Fools Day. (Trivia answer alert!)
The School Committee approved its request for the $20.8 million budget for the 2006-2007 school year, a 2.85 percent increase over the previous year that will not require fund raising for sports or other extracurricular activities.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said an increase of about $40,000 a year in funding from the state lottery will “just about cover” an increase in the trash collection budget caused when the previous hauler decided to get out of the residential trash collection business.
Maylor announced that a preliminary agenda for meetings of the Board of Selectmen will henceforth be available at the town Web site: www.town.swampscott.ma.us. And it is.
Police Lt. Peter Cassidy got a hearing before the selectmen April 6 and heard the board vote unanimously to terminate his employment.
Fire Lt. Bruce Gordon and Jeff Vaughn, the town’s public health director, asked for volunteers to serve as helpers in case of a region-wide emergency such as an explosion, a bird flu epidemic or bioterrorism.
Larry Murphy was officially named the new principal of Swampscott High School, coming here from Jaffrey, N.H.
Selectmen agreed to discuss the possibility of gaining public access to the former railbed for use as a hiking and biking trail with the owner of the bulk of the property, National Grid (formerly Mass. Electric) yet again.
Town elections provided excitement on Election Night. Dave Whelan beat Richard Feinberg for a spot on the School Committee while Bruce Paradise won election to the Planning Board and Albert DiLisio was returned to the Housing Authority. The real excitement came as early returns showed incumbent selectmen Bill Hyde Sr. in a tie with challenger Adam Forman for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.
Hyde then won an apparent victory by exactly three votes and took the oath of office, pending a recount that came May 11 and reversed the outcome, giving Forman 1,474 votes and Hyde 1,473 votes. That left anyone who wondered if his or her voted “really counts” with nowhere to hide and no argument to present.
The town adopted a state law allowing patrons to take home partial bottles of wine from local restaurants, provided they are placed in tamper-proof bags.
The Rev. Joseph Sheehy, pastor of St. John’s Church here for 14 years until his retirement in August 2004, died in Boston.
May
Responding to citizen complaints, the School Committee voted to move “public comment” to the start of its meetings instead of waiting until the very end, at which time most people had gone home.
Rabbi Edgar and Yvonne Weinsberg received honors as a committee announced plans for a May 19-21 weekend tribute, honoring their 20 years with Temple Beth El and now Congregation Shirat Hayam. The couple moved to Florida in the summer.
Ralph Watson, most recently principal of Andrews Middle School in Medford, was chosen as the next principal of Swampscott Middle School. He will succeed Dr. Ronald Landman, who served in that role for 17 years and was honored by establishment of a foundation to honor his late wife, Chris Landman.
Parents of Performing Students voted to buy sound equipment for local schools.
Town Meeting came around and with no budget controversy to discuss, members and townspeople turned their attention to two other issues: cameras to take pictures of the license plates of drivers entering intersections after the light had turned red (“red-light cameras”) and the proposed Rail Trail.
Swampscott was saddened by a murder-suicide on May 4. John Barclay, 55, shot his wife, Michelle, 53, at their Hampden Street and then shot himself after calling 911 to tell police his wife was dead and he would be dead before officers could get to the scene, only a few blocks from the police station.
The Swampscott Reporter and its parent, the Community Newspaper Company, announced they would be sold in early June from the Boston Herald to GateHouse Media, a company previously called the Liberty Group. GateHouse also purchased other Massachusetts newspaper publishers, including the daily papers in Quincy and Brockton. GateHouse, based in Rochester, N.Y., now owns close to 500 daily and weekly papers nationwide.
Rain, rain and more rain fell May 13 and 14, flooding many streets and basements. Police and Fire Departments received more than 200 distress calls during that weekend.
The “Rail Trail” won an overwhelming vote of confidence from Town Meeting as 82 percent of members voted to give time to the project and allow some spending of town funds to acquire an easement from owners for walking and biking along the former Boston & Maine Railroad railbed.
But red-light cameras — which would emerge again later in the year at a special Town Meeting — lost by a 71-68 count at the annual Town Meeting. The fact that the vote came at 11 p.m. after very short debate could have been a factor, supporters of the devices said, despite their arguments that a lot of Marbleheaders would likely be caught by the cameras as they rush through Swampscott on their way to Boston and environs.
Plans for an gala Opening Night celebration for the new Little League fields near the current high school were rained out May 12 — and again May 19. Little Leaguers played ball without benefit of such a celebration but had a good time anyway.
Four men suspected of being members of a Lynn-based gang were chased and then apprehended at the corner of Paradise Road and Norfolk Avenue.
Middle School teacher Bill Andrake and principal Ron Landman won recognition from the Massachusetts Marine Educators for their work in promoting marine education.
Results of town elections for Town Meeting members turned up a surprising truth: Since not enough people applied to get on the ballot, an amazing 23 percent of those elected were write-in candidates, Eight people won seats with just one (1) vote.
A hurricane relief team organized by First Church in Swampscott returned from Mississippi.
School lunch prices for the coming year were raised by 25 cents.
The Swampscott High School boys tennis team shared the Northeastern Conference title with, gasp, Marblehead, while the Big Blue baseball and softball teams advanced to the state tournament. Seven boys and four girls from the track teams competed in the state meet and the boys lacrosse team also advanced to states. It was a very good spring season at SHS.
The high school was back in the news, sadly, on May 31 as two 15-year-old students were charged with using the Internet to make a threat to commit a crime, specifically a bomb threat that evacuation of the school for 45 minutes.
June
The Swampscott Police Association dedicated a monument to the officers, past and present, who have served the town since the 1882 creation of the Police Department.
Swampscott High School graduated 179 students on a drizzly, damp Sunday afternoon at Blocksidge Field as valedictorian Patrick Looby and salutatorian Anne McNerney both delivered memorable speeches.
There was another public hearing on renewal of the earth removal permit for Aggregate Industries’ quarry June 6. Selectmen and quarry neighbors talked for 87 minutes before continuing the hearing until June 19.
School Committee members agreed to consider adding both Latin and Chinese classes, reaching down as low as the sixth grade.
The state tournament news was mixed: the baseball team won its first three games, the softball team was eliminated in the first round and the boys tennis team eliminated, hooray, Marblehead. But the boys lacrosse team also made an exit after the first round.
Fourth of July T-shirts went on sale with a straightforward message: “Celebrate Swampscott.”
It was June 19 and time for another public hearing on the quarry’s earth removal permit. The permit was granted but selectmen voted to install a video camera at Fiory’s Variety Market at the corner of Essex Street and Eastman Avenue to watch and see how many trucks left the quarry, if they were covered and when they left. Selectmen thought it would be easy to do, with Selectman Charlie Baker suggesting the view be streamed live over the Internet at the town’s Web site. Selectmen were wrong and there is still no camera in place, though Town Administrator Andrew Maylor says he’s still working on it and it will cost much more than expected.
ARTS, along with the Swampscott Public Library, the Swampscott Yacht Club and the Swampscott Rotary Club, planned Family Day at the (Fisherman’s) Beach on June 24. The Rotary Club didn’t win the annual Duct Tape Regatta; the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor did.
Martha Kelleher was rehired as assistant principal for instruction, athletics and operations at Swampscott High School.
High School junior Hannah Reardon went to the Centennial Girl Scout celebration inTaiwan.
State Rep. Doug Petersen announced that the state will repave Paradise Road, leveling it again between the shopping center. Soon, maybe soon, well, maybe not that soon, but money did come for repaving Essex Street and making other improvements there to accommodate the new Swampscott High School.
Swampscott student Nicole Poirier teamed with longtime theater professional and Marblehead resident Barbara Eyges of the Theater of Light to create a new summer theater camp.
Local Mike Cassetta found a way to get to California almost for free with a van that runs on used cooking oil. There was no word on whether the percentage of trans-fats in the fuel improves or hurts mileage.
Suzanne Mogel, a client of the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott, always wanted a rose garden. Nobody promised her one, but the staff provided one at the outside patio area of the Shapiro-Rudolph Adult Day Center, thanks to the donation of rose bushes by Dan Fallon of American Quality Property Services and its landscape foreman, Louis Mastromarino, who planted the bushes.
Little Leaguers, 11 and 12 years old, and their coach, Tim Cassidy, prepared for the District 16 tournament opener June 27, then beat Wyoma 3-2 in the first game.
Ah, but there was bad news too. Vandals, determined to mar as many good things in life as possible, put graffiti on the Little League fields, tennis courts and the Swampscott High School building itself on Forest Avenue.
July
The Fourth of July parade was spectacular (it was actually July 2) and the fireworks equally so the next day, but the celebration was especially sweet for one family. Firefighter Richard Blake and his officer, Lt. James Potts, stopped in the middle of the parade after Blake noticed a small boy in the crowd who was choking. Blake scampered up Humphrey Street to the boy. Together, with firefighter, James Snow, helped dislodge a piece of candy that had been blocking the boy’s windpipe.
New trash trucks trawled the town the first week in July as Hiltz Waste Disposal assumed the town’s contract for rubbish hauling.
Good weather helped a lot this year as crowds filled Phillips Park for the annual Public Safety Day.
Rain was back in the news again July 11, filling the usual spots and causing a big leak in the roof at Bertucci’s Restaurant in Swampscott Mall that caused water to come through the light fixtures. The problem was solved the next day there.
Demolition of an old structure next to the former pumping station (“Town Hall Annex”) caused a big problem when an unknown material, a purple powder, spilled on the ground July 10. It caught fire, prompting a call first the Fire Department and then the state district hazardous materials team. It turned out to be an alkaline “super drain cleaner” that had been used when the sewage pumping station was still in operation a decade or more ago.
The Phillips Park Study Committee presented its report, showing that usage of the park could quadruple if …. Well, if the fields are rearranged, artificial surfaces are put in place on some fields and lights are installed. They didn’t offer an estimated cost at first, but it turned out to be $5.5 million and the project could be done in stages, the committee suggested.
State Rep. Doug Petersen reported the town will get an additional $750,000 from the state, give or take a few thousands, for 2006-2007. Town officials smiled broadly and said they had hoped for more.
The Swampscott Sailing Program donated two sailboats to the town, gladly accepted by the Board of Selectmen.
Police officers expressed concern after they arrested a local man to answer charges on an outstanding warrant and found him carrying a pellet gun that looks almost exactly like a standard U.S. military issue pistol. While the law requires fake guns to have their barrels painted with an orange tip, it takes only a Magic Market to make the orange disappear. Officers publicly said they worry about being fooled, especially at night, by look-alike “replica” guns.
Swampscott and all of Essex County won first place in a rather dubious place: Forbes.com. The magazine-related Web site named Essex County the “most overpriced” real estate market in the United States.
Swampscott Little Leaguers fell to Saugus in the District 16 finals.
Rail Trail fans rejoiced, if briefly, when it appeared the town might already own an easement over the National Grid-owned railbed. It turned out a few weeks later that while Town Meeting voted in 1975 to get an easement, it was never actually done.
Off-duty Police Detective Sgt. Tim Cassidy was on his way home from the gym one morning when he noticed a couple of shady characters (our words, not his) on bikes looking in drives on Merrymount Drive. He grabbed his police radio and called in a report. Cassidy saw the men go into a garage, then saw the homeowner flee. Cassidy chased one man on foot while the other intruder jumped on his bike. Both men were arrested when other officers arrived at the scene.
Want to ban door-to-door salespeople? (Think hard: Verizon cable TV people are reportedly going door-to-door lately.) Police Chief Ron Madigan said a new town bylaw, passed by Town Meeting in May, allows residents to shoo salespeople away permanently if they post a “No Solicitors” sign on their door and register their address at the police station.
Sheila Scranton and Remo Zimbaldi were promoted to lieutenants’ posts at the Fire Department.
Can the news get better than this? Water and sewer rates went down. Down, I tell you, down.
August
Red-light cameras were put back on the warrant for a special Town Meeting by the Board of Selectmen on Aug. 7. Several companies offer the cameras, which take pictures of offenders’ license plates and then collect fines for offenses, which are then not reported to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Fines are shared, to varying degrees, by the companies and the town.
Bike riders and police officers met again Aug. 6, this time when a retired Somerville cop, Sean Canty, saw two bicyclists riding unusually slowly along Norfolk Avenue and alerted Swampscott police. Arriving officers were greeted with obscene gestures and the bicyclists suddenly increased their speed. The men were arrested and charged in connection with vehicle break-ins earlier that morning on Aspen Road.
Underage drinking, which emerged as a topic even at the Swampscott High School graduation ceremony in June, filled the front page after 31 people faced charges in connection with a party on Pleasant Street Aug. 9. Police said such parties, once held outdoors in the summer, are now usually held indoors but are just as illegal. One man, a Pleasant Street resident, was arrested three times in 10 days, including the last Aug. 15, for underage drinking.
Anna Booras was named best all-around sailor in the youth sailing program at a barbecue held by the Friends of Swampscott Sailing. Kevin Maxwell and Kevin McClung took the Francis P. Cassidy Award for best racer.
BOOM! A blasting operation gone wrong at the Aggregate Industries quarry sent rocks, some weighing more than pound, flying on Aug. 21. One rock went through the windshield of a car driven by a Beverly woman on Essex Street while others showered homes and vehicles as far away as the corner of Sunset and Summit View drives. Ten days later, Aggregate fired the blasting firm that had caused the problem.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor was given a new contract calling for pay hikes from a current $110,000 up to $130,00 in fiscal 2010.
A robber who vaulted over the tellers’ counter at Citizens Bank on Paradise Road Aug. 21 was being sought by police.
Selectmen named a committee to study “red-light cameras” and make a recommendation to a coming special Town Meeting.
All that acrimony and all those letters to the editor came to an end on a sunny Aug. 23 afternoon at the high school library as Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Malone and Swampscott Education Association President Paul Maguire settled their contract dispute in what both men called “a win-win situation.” The dispute, which centered on curriculum directors’ positions system-wide, was settled two weeks before the start of the new school term.
BAM! A Revere police officer’s car, parked in her Puritan Lane driveway, was struck by a vehicle driven by a neighbor’s visitor.
The new Swampscott High School, as pretty near anyone could see from Essex Street, was ahead of schedule for its planned September 2007 opening. Talk around town was whether the school should open in the spring of 2007 and whether the Council on Aging Senior Center might move to the new building first.
September
A Sunday morning fire destroyed a garage next to 1 Beaumont Terrace.
A Swampscott man was arrested at gunpoint outside a Middleton motel and charged with five counts of carrying a firearm without a license as well as assault following a fight outside the motel.
Another Swampscott man was indicted on 12 counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography with intent to disseminate.
Bob and Roger Baker announced that their 1935 Swampscott Fire Department pumper, which served 20 years at the old Phillips Beach fire station, is for sale.
Wild turkeys wandered the town, turning up almost every morning on Walker Road or its environs.
The town solemnly noted the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Primary election day here was not exactly a surprise. Deval Patrick won 48 percent of the vote for governor in the Democratic Party primary, leaving Chris Gabrieli with 33 percent and Tom Reilly only 19 percent. But local voters differed from their party friends in the race for the lieutenant governor’s race, giving Deborah Goldberg 47 percent of the local votes and Tim Murray just 31 percent. Murray won statewide and would become the lieutenant governor after the results of the November general election.
Mary Powers was chosen as Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in Wal-Mart’s 11th annual teacher of the year program, run by the Harvard Chapter of Phil Delta Kappa International. Previously named by the Swampscott Education Association as its teacher of the year in 2004, the third-grade teacher at Machon School was honored by a big group of officials and very proud Machon students at a special ceremony.
Well, oops, the news came out. Town Meeting voted to get an easement over the old railroad track area back in 1975 and acquired some of the land outright in 1977, but the easement was never actually recorded at the Registry of Deeds. The Rails to Trails Implementation Committee was back to square one.
The Great Shofar Blowout got 796 people to Phillips Beach to sound their shofars at the same time, setting a new Guinness Book of World Records mark and easily eclipsing the puny 400 people who sounded their horns in 2005. The Pennsylvania effort was to break the Swampscott record of 386 set Aug. 17, 2004. No word yet from Pennsylvania this time.
It’s not in Swampscott, not even in Marblehead, but the ground was broken for the new Marblehead-Swampscott YMCA off Leggs Hill Road in Salem. The new Y is supposed to be done in early 2008.
Tara Gallagher of the Renewable Energy Committee brought the news to selectmen: State law prohibits wind energy towers within 1,000 feet of a residence and none of the proposed locations in Swampscott comes close to that requirement, the town will have to rely on more traditional sources of electricity generation — at least for now.
U.S. Army Specialist Jared J. Raymond, 20, of Swampscott was killed in Balad, Iraq, Sept. 19 and the entire town mourned with his family as plans were made for a hero’s funeral Sept. 28. Schools were closed, streets quiet and decorated with hundreds of flags of every size, and St. John the Evangelist Church packed for Raymond’s funeral. Thousands lined the streets between the church and Swampscott Cemetery, where Raymond was laid to his final rest.
A Swampscott man was arrested by Danvers police and charged with a string of housebreaks in Boxford in September.
More Oops Department: A driver apparently wanted to back up but went forward instead, right into the ocean at Fisherman’s Beach. His car rolled over but there were no injuries.
October
Superintendent of Schools Matt Malone issued a memo to school staff to outline new steps to avoid the kind of violent incidents that had taken place elsewhere in the country in recent weeks and months.
Swampscott students averaged three points higher on SAT tests in 2006 than in 2005 and the percentage of graduates going to four-year colleges rose from 74.5 percent to 78.6 percent.
Selectmen urged voters to “just say no” to allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell wine, referring to a statewide referendum on the November ballot. Voters here and throughout the Bay State followed that advice.
Selectmen also approved naming the intersection of Burrill and Essex streets as Jared J. Raymond Square, honoring the soldier who gave his life in Iraq on Sept. 19. A dedicated ceremony was scheduled for Veterans Day.
A special Town Meeting was scheduled for Nov. 13 with red-light cameras and union contract settlements on the agenda. What was new? The location: the newly acquired former Temple Israel building on Humphrey Street with a (now blocked) entrance from Atlantic Avenue.
Oh, no! The new high school project will be about $600,000 short, said the School Building Committee.
At the behest of Congressman John Tierney, Swampscott and Marblehead agreed to square off in a challenge to see which town could save the most energy (and therefore greenhouse gases and other pollution created by electricity generation) by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Our Renewable Energy Committee led the charge and the town greatly exc eeded its state goal but the overall results, well, don’t ask.
A brazen armed robbery attempt at a Railroad Avenue home was thwarted when one of the homeowners picked up a chair and threatened to break it over the suspect’s head. The thief ran off but was captured by police after a brief foot chase.
Ah, those red-light cameras. The special committee appointed by selectmen to make a recommendation to Town Meeting agreed the cameras are a bad idea. Selectmen differed, arguing that the lights will improve both public safety and town revenue.
The School Building Committee pared its request for more money back to $525,000, gladly accepting $75,000 from the current School Committee budget for completion of the new high school in advance of a request for more money at the Nov. 13 Town Meeting.
Deanna Mazina of Swampscott and Clarke School, won the 2006 Miss Massachusetts Actress title in the pre-teen division.
Nearly 200 people showed up one night to share memories of the New Ocean House, which burned down in a spectacular blaze of faded glory on May 8, 1969. The Swampscott Historical Society sponsored the event.
A Lynn woman was arrested early one morning at Swampscott Mall after she apparently walked there from her apartment and called 911 to say she had stabbed a former boyfriend. Police found the man dead in her apartment.
Pumpkinfest, an annual event sponsored by ARTS (Arts Resources in the Town of Swampscott) and the League of Women Voters, was delayed a night by rain and then plagued by very strong winds that kept blowing out the candles. Those who braved the elements enjoyed it nonetheless.
November
Governor-elect Deval Patrick won 57.5 percent of the vote for governor in a four-way race Nov. 7 while his Democrat friends also swept every contest in the general election.
A quick-thinking resident helped police nab two suspects in a string of car thefts not far from the police station one Sunday morning. The man, who saw two men breaking into his car and then running away when they realized they were being seen, went to the police station to report the crime. While talking with an officer, he suddenly exclaimed, “There goes one of them now!” Two suspects were soon under arrest.
Two trucks, both owned by Dan Dandreo, in different locations, were ablaze at once in suspicious fires Nov. 1
Gail Anderson, who teaches at the Middle School, was named 2006 Educator of the Year by the Swampscott Education Association. She was previously a finalist for Massachusetts Teacher of the Year.
Takoda Blood, 6 years old, had a film accepted by the Northamption Independent Film Festival.
Swampscott’s first drive-by shooting took place Nov. 13 on Hillcrest Circle when two rounds were fired from a small vehicle toward a front window. The shooters missed and left holes in the walls. Nobody was injured.
Town Meeting rejected red-light cameras by a comfortable but not overwhelming margin, perhaps 60-40 in a show of hands. It also approved $525,000 more for the new high school without debate after hearing that all the funds needed to complete the $54 million project would come from reallocation of money already in town coffers.
Jared J. Raymond Square was dedicated the morning of Nov. 11 with about 200 local residents on hand to honor the memory of the fallen soldier and to honor his mother and family.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor offered his annual “fiscal forecast” at the special Town Meeting, showing that the budget starts out about $1.27 million out of balance in the wrong direction. Maylor must submit a balanced budget to selectmen early in 2007, however, leaving selectmen to decide if they like that budget or want to ask voters for an override of Proposition 2-1/2 tax limitations.
Rehabilitation of Phillips Park, estimated to cost $5.5 million, can be done in stages, Town Meeting was told, and fund raising from a variety of sources will soon begin.
Verizon will offer cable TV service in town, thanks to approval of a contract between the town and the company. Verizon can now compete on an equal footing with Comcast for cable TV, Internet and telephone services.
Aggregate Industries was given permission for a few Saturday hours in the remainder of 2006.
Another piece of construction machinery owned by contractor Dan Dandreo was found ablaze Nov. 28 but two men nearby were quickly arrested and charged with arson.
A Richardson’s Ice Cream container with wires sticking out was left outside Sleepy’s mattress store in the Vinnin Square Mall late on the afternoon of the Friday after Thanksgiving, creating an instant bomb scare. Most of the mall was evacuated and the state police bomb squad called. It was a hoax, but clearly intended to look like a bomb.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, the Marblehead football team beat the Big Blue, denying Swampscott a clean sweep after a smashing victory by the local girls in the annual Powder Puff game.
And speaking of sports, the boys cross country team won the Division 2 state title.
December
The weather was still pretty warm as selectmen chose to again shift the maximum amount of property taxes over to commercial and industrial property, but that still meant a 7.9 percent increase in taxes for the median Swampscott home, now valued at $401,350. In dollars, that’s an increase of $378.
Realtor Phyllis Sagan and Selectman Marc Paster, who works for American Trust Mortage and is chairman of the selectmen and organizer of the Swampscott Business and Professional Association, were honored for their “Commitment to Swampscott” by the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce.
Allen Shapiro, founder of the Toys for Local Children charity in 1984 while he was teaching at Swampscott High School, challenged his former students to give money and toys this year to help more than 1,000 local children celebrate the holidays.
The Stanley School Chorus sang at Fanueil Hall in Boston on Dec. 2.
A school task force was named to investigate moving fifth-graders to the current high school building in the fall of 2007, when the current Middle School is closed and grades 6-8 moved to what is the current high school on Forest Avenue. Three “listening sessions” were scheduled and will culminate in a public forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, in the current high school’s Little Theater.
Again this year, Hospice of the North Shore lit the Town Hall pine tree with lights in a remembrance ceremony.
Swampscott Patrons of Performing Students organized a “Save Me a Seat” campaign to raise money to fully equip the new auditorium at the new high school. In return for gifts of certain amounts, people get their names on seats in the auditorium.
A caller with good intentions thought he saw a young person with a gun in his belt approaching Swampscott High School. Police locked down the school but found out that a cell phone had been mistaken for a gun.
It took an undercover police officer less than 60 seconds to buy drugs at a Swampscott gas station Dec. 15. The young man on duty at the station, the only person present, was arrested.
The Swampscott Yacht Club planned a cold trick for the New Year: a Polar Bear Plunge at noon Jan. 1.
A head-on crash at Paradise Road and Franklin Avenue Dec. 20 sent both drivers to the hospital.
Bonnie Hanlon, originally from Swampscott, went on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” She wanted but she settled for $16,000 after correctly answering nine questions.
And while it’s not in Swampscott, the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore began a campaign that should give us all pause, trying to collect 6 million pennies — one for each of the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust — in giant containers at the JCC. Holocaust survivor Sonia Weitz helped launch the campaign.
Finally, a robber visited the liquor store on New Ocean Street by pulling a knife and making off with $1,030 in cash. A white male in his mid-20s is being sought.Amlodipine
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| Mining contaminants persist in wells, USGS finds |
[Jan. 2nd, 2007|10:20 am] |
Mining contaminants persist in wells, USGS finds
RESTON, VA ?A study recently released by the US Geological Survey (USGS) suggests that traces of mining-related contaminants persist in some private drinking water wells in reclaimed surface-coal-mining areas of the northern and central Appalachians, according to a press release issued by the USGS.
The study compared water from 58 privately owned wells in areas near reclaimed surface coal mines to water from 25 wells in unmined areas between the high-sulfur coal regions of western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia and the low-sulfur coal region of southern West Virginia, the release said.
Concentrations of iron and manganese, detected in conjunction with sulfate, aluminum, and five other constituents, were found to exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standards in water from wells in mined areas, the report noted.
These contaminants typically decreased to background levels at distances 1,000 feet or more from surface coal mines and in wells deeper than 150 feet, according to the release.
The USGS also found that radon concentrations in water were generally lower in mined areas, due in part to rock fracturing during surface mining that allows radon gas to escape, Mark Kozar, a USGS hydrologist, said in the release.
To read the full release, click here.
For related information on this story, click here.
For more of the latest news, click here.
To subscribe to Water Technology?/I> magazine, click here.
To discuss this topic with other water and wastewater industry professionals, click here. Amlodipine
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| Novartis says Exforge gets U.S. approval |
[Dec. 31st, 2006|06:13 am] |
Novartis says Exforge gets U.S. approval
By Sven Egenter
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.VX) said on Friday its Exforge medicine had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a new treatment for patients with high blood pressure.
The FDA issued a tentative approval because Exforge has met all the required standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing quality, Novartis said.
"Exforge is expected to be available to patients in the U.S. in late September 2007, pending the expiration of market exclusivity and patent protection for amlodipine besylate," the company said.
Exforge combines in one pill the two most commonly prescribed hypertension medicines in their categories -- Novartis' Diovan and Pfizer's (PFE.N) Norvasc (amlodipine besylate).
Novartis shares were down 0.2 percent at 70.35 Swiss francs by 0951 GMT, broadly in line with a largely unchanged DJ Stoxx index of European healthcare providers (.SXDP).
Analysts at Vontobel called the Exforge approval a "nice Christmas present" for Novartis.
"The most obvious market for Exforge are the over $4.5 billion of sales Pfizer makes with Norvasc, but it should also help to prolong the life cycle for Diovan," they said.
Exforge is seen as a key near-term sales driver, together with diabetes drug Galvus and blood pressure treatment Tekturna, though they are also the firm's major risks if there are any delays in their rollout. All three are expected to be launched in 2007.
In November, Exforge was granted a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the regulatory agency that reviews European Union submissions for new medicines, Novartis said.
"Novartis expects to receive approval from the European Commission and to make Exforge available in the EU during the first half of 2007," the company said.
The need for new antihypertensive medicines was urgent, as seven out of 10 patients are not at their target blood pressure, Novartis said.
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| Castro does not have cancer, says Spanish doctor |
[Dec. 26th, 2006|03:42 pm] |
Castro does not have cancer, says Spanish doctor
By Times Online and agencies
A recent picture of Fidel Castro: few details have emerged about his condition from a country where the President's health is a state secret
A leading Spanish surgeon who has just returned from treating Fidel Castro in Havana said today that the Cuban leader does not have cancer.
José Luis García Sabrido, chief surgeon at Madrid’s Gregorio Maranon hospital, flew to the Cuban capital on Thursday to examine the 80-year-old leader.
Today, he said that the President was suffering from a digestive condition, but was amazed at Mr Castro’s good spirits and health.
"He has his intellectual activity intact, I’d say fantastic given the recovery from the previous surgery," Dr García Sabrido said.
"He does not have cancer, he has a problem with his digestive system," the surgeon added. "His condition is stable. He is recovering from a very serious operation. It is not planned that he will undergo another operation for the moment."
Mr Castro, 80, has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July. Since then, there has been little information about his condition.
The President has placed his younger brother, Raúl, in charge of the Government. President Chávez of Venezuela, a close ally of the Cuban communist leader, recently denied reports that Mr Castro was suffering from cancer.
Dr García Sabrido has operated on important personalities in the past and is very prestigious in Spain and abroad. He is highly regarded by the Cuban Government and recently addressed a surgery conference on the Caribbean island.Amlodipine
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| CV Therapeutics Files Application for European Marketing Approval of Ranolazine for Treatment of Chr |
[Dec. 25th, 2006|02:39 am] |
CV Therapeutics Files Application for European Marketing Approval of Ranolazine for Treatment of Chronic Angina
20 Dec 2006
announced today that a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) seeking approval of ranolazine for the treatment of chronic angina has been filed with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
PALO ALTO, CA, USA | Dec 20, 2006 | CV Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVTX) announced today that a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) seeking approval of ranolazine for the treatment of chronic angina has been filed with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The MAA includes additional data and results from studies conducted after March 2004.
The MAA for ranolazine, a new chemical entity, has been filed for review under the EMEA centralized procedure by the company's European subsidiary, CV Therapeutics Europe, Ltd.
"A new anti-ischemic option like ranolazine could meet a significant unmet medical need in Europe," said Louis G. Lange, M.D., Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of CV Therapeutics. "With ranolazine now on the market in the U.S., we look forward to bringing the benefits of ranolazine to patients around the world."
Chronic angina is a serious and debilitating heart condition, usually associated with coronary artery disease and marked by repeated and sometimes unpredictable attacks of chest pain.
About CV Therapeutics
CV Therapeutics, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on applying molecular cardiology to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, small molecule drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
CV Therapeutics' approved product, Ranexa(R) (ranolazine extended-release tablets) is indicated for the treatment of chronic angina in patients who have not achieved an adequate response with other antianginal drugs, and should be used in combination with amlodipine, beta-blockers or nitrates.
CV Therapeutics also has other clinical and preclinical drug development candidates and programs, including regadenoson, which is being developed for potential use as a pharmacologic stress agent in myocardial perfusion imaging studies and CVT-6883, which is being developed as a potential treatment for asthma and other conditions. Regadenoson and CVT-6883 have not been determined by any regulatory authorities to be safe or effective in humans for any use.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including; the conduct and timing of studies; timing of regulatory submissions; timing of regulatory review and approval; commercialization of products; market acceptance of products; dependence on lead product; dependence on performance of commercialization partners; intellectual property protection and disputes; and other risks detailed from time to time in CV Therapeutics' SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. CV Therapeutics disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.louis vuitton
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| Next step for gay marriage |
[Dec. 21st, 2006|01:06 pm] |
Next step for gay marriage
STATE SUPREME COURT: AGREES TO WEIGH WHETHER BAN VIOLATES CIVIL RIGHTS
By Patrick May
Mercury News
Both sides in the legal battle over California's ban on same-sex marriage said Wednesday they hope the state Supreme Court's unanimous decision to review the issue will finally clarify whether preventing gays and lesbians from marrying is discriminatory.
Calling it ``perhaps the major civil rights issue of our time,'' San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said he hopes it brings a definitive ruling on marriage equality in the nation's most populous state.
``In seeking to end this systematic discrimination against gay and lesbian couples, we are not only asserting the rights of equality and privacy uniquely enshrined in our state Constitution,'' Herrera said, ``we are also asking the Supreme Court to do what the Court of Appeal did not -- to base its decision on constitutional principles rather than on its impressions of popular opinion.''
Attorneys arguing that the ban is constitutional said they also are looking forward to a full review by the state's high court in the hopes the matter will be resolved once and for all.
``We've believed all along that only the Supreme Court can provide Californians the clarity needed on this important issue,'' said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. The attorney general's argument is not based on opposition to same-sex marriage, but he has argued in defense of the current law, which he says provides same-sex couples virtually all the rights and benefits afforded married heterosexuals .
Randy Thomasson, spokesman for Voteyesmarriage.com, a group opposing same-sex marriage, said he was disappointed with the court's move.
``If the law ain't broke, don't fix it,'' he said. ``This is bad news for marriage and the voters of California who already passed a state law reaffirming that marriage is a natural and beautiful institution between a man and a woman.''
The justices are reviewing a decision this fall by the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal, which ruled 2-1 that California marriage laws do not discriminate because homosexual couples have most of the rights granted married couples.
An outcome is not likely until next year. Massachusetts remains the only state that allows same-sex marriage.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom put the debate in the national spotlight by allowing same-sex couples to marry at City Hall in 2004. California's justices halted the wedding ceremonies and voided 4,037 marriage licenses. Sidestepping the core constitutional question, they ruled that the mayor did not have authority to make marriage law. The justices, however, solicited arguments on whether banning same-sex marriage was discriminatory -- a challenge that reached the court Wednesday after meandering through trial and appellate courts.
Whether prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying violates their constitutional rights is the biggest question surrounding marriage the California Supreme Court has faced since 1948, when it ruled that laws banning mixed-race marriages were unconstitutional.
The same-sex marriage case was brought by about 20 couples and the city of San Francisco. Had the court not agreed to hear it, the lower court's decision would have stood.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and lead counsel on behalf of same-sex couples in Woo vs. Lockyer, said the high court's review will bring something his clients have long been waiting for -- clarity.
``This is very significant because it means the California Supreme Court is going to definitively determine for the entire state whether same-sex couples will be able to marry in California,'' he said. ``All sides in this have a great interest in clarity. Marriage for many same-sex couples, as well as for heterosexual people, is one of the most important life-defining issues. Some of the couples we represent are elderly, even in their 80s, and they very much want to marry before either one of them dies.
``Every day that goes by,'' he said, ``our couples are hurt in so many different ways by not being able to legally marry.''
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| New drug combination can significantly reduce risk of heart attack in about 90 days |
[Dec. 18th, 2006|01:59 am] |
New drug combination can significantly reduce risk of heart attack in about 90 days
Combining certain blood pressure lowering drugs with cholesterol reducing drugs in patients with moderate cardiac risk can reduce heart attacks by half - News Release
Date 05 Dec 2006
Category All
Contact Laura Gallagher
See also...
Faculty of Medicine
International Centre for Circulatory Health
External sites:
ASCOT study website
European Heart Journal
(Imperial College is not responsible for the content of these external internet sites)
Issued by MediNews on behalf of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT)
Under strict embargo for 08.01 GMT
Monday 4 December 2006
Combining certain blood pressure lowering drugs with cholesterol reducing drugs in patients with moderate cardiac risk can reduce heart attacks by half, according to new results from a large European study.
The study, published today in the European Heart Journal, shows that the risk of heart attack can be reduced by more than 50 percent by combining atorvastatin calcium, which reduces cholesterol, with amlodipine besylate, which lowers blood pressure. The benefits are evident as early as 90 days after the start of treatment.
The research was conducted as part of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT), which involves over 19,000 patients in the UK, Ireland and the Nordic countries. This trial also showed that simultaneous initiation of atorvastatin and amlodipine is about three times more effective at preventing heart attacks than the usual treatment of adding atorvastatin, a statin, to one of the world's most widely used blood pressure-lowering drugs, a beta-blocker called atenolol.
The new drug combination reduced the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiac events by 53%. Adding atorvastatin to atenolol only achieved a non-significant 16% reduction by the end of the study.
These results have major implications for physicians and their patients worldwide, according to a principal ASCOT investigator, Professor Peter Sever of the International Centre for Circulatory Health at Imperial College London.
"ASCOT demonstrates that the risk of heart attacks can be more than halved in the many patients at moderate risk who doctors see every day. In addition, there is a reduction in strokes of more than 25 percent. This is achieved by combining two well known and widely-used drugs - amlodipine and atorvastatin," said Professor Sever.
"However, if we continue to use older blood pressure-lowering drugs, such as atenolol, and choose only to treat high blood pressure in isolation without giving a statin, we only confer a small part of this potential benefit. As a result, the risk of heart attacks and strokes remains unacceptably high in too many patients despite treatment to blood pressure targets," he added.
Results establish important hypothesis for future research
The differences in risk reduction between the two treatments may be explained by recent, ongoing laboratory studies. These suggest that amlodipine and atorvastatin may stabilize the fatty deposits in the walls of the arteries (atherosclerotic plaques) which can rupture to cause cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.
Professor Sever said: "The new data generate an important hypothesis that suggests a synergistic effect between atorvastatin calcium and amlodipine besylate, which goes beyond the effects of the individual drugs. This is an exciting possibility for future research, which we and other groups will be exploring."
The future of treatment
The ASCOT Study is resulting in a worldwide re-evaluation of the management of patients with a moderately increased risk of cardiac events. The importance of combining a contemporary blood pressure drug regimen based on a calcium channel blocker with a statin is gaining importance. Meanwhile, the use of beta blockers - except where they are specifically indicated - is being questioned.
"For the first time, these important data show that the selection of a blood pressure-lowering drug regimen combined with a statin may have significant clinical implications for preventing heart attacks. It is vital that we use the right combination from the start to maximise the reduction in cardiac risk," Professor Sever said.
-ends-
Note to editors
"Potential synergy between lipid-lowering and blood pressure-lowering in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial Lipid-Lowering Arm" European Heart Journal 2006, Volume 27; 24: 2982-2988
About cardiovascular risk
More that 330 million adults in Europe and North America suffer from high blood pressure, which also affects an additional 639 million men and women in the rest of the world. (The Lancet, January 2005)
About 80% of people with high blood pressure have additional uncontrolled cardiovascular risks. (World Health Organisation).
About ASCOT
ASCOT is the largest European study of people with high blood pressure and more than three additional common cardiac risk factors, e.g. history of smoking, age over 55 years, diabetes, lipid abnormalities, etc. It included more than 19,000 men and women with high blood pressure who were at a moderate risk of strokes and heart attacks and without previous history of heart disease. To control their blood pressure, they received either the newer drug - a calcium channel blocker, amlodipine besylate - or a beta-blocker, atenolol. Where necessary, the ACE inhibitor perindopril or the diuretic bendroflumethiazide were added to control the blood pressure. Additionally, 10,000 patients also were treated with the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin calcium or a placebo (dummy pill). This is the only major European study to date to combine these two treatment strategies.
The most commonly seen adverse events (AEs) in the amlodipine regimen were peripheral oedema and cough. The most commonly seen AEs in the atenolol regimen were dizziness and fatigue. No new, unexpected AEs were observed beyond those seen in previously published ASCOT resultslouis vuitton
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| 莱阳治理硫酸软骨素行业 |
[Dec. 15th, 2006|07:32 am] |
莱阳治理硫酸软骨素行业
33家企业通过验收，3家被关闭
张晓红 李华坤
本报讯 针对硫酸软骨素行业的结构性污染，山东省莱阳市环保局日前开展专项整治活动。通过整治，全市48家软骨素企业中，已有33家通过验收。
据悉，莱阳市此次专项整治活动从摸底排查和不间断抽查入手，抓住监察和验收不放松，依法打击企业违法排污行为。对不符合要求的企业或停产或关闭，依法严处，确保企业污水达标排放。此外，还拍摄制作了专题活动宣传片，为本次活动造势。
截至6月底，莱阳市有6家企业新上了污染治理设施；4家递交了试生产申请；1家企业因污染治理设施未经验收而停产；3家无环保审批手续的已全部关闭。 氨氯地平
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| Louis Vuitton opened first store in Kyiv |
[Dec. 15th, 2006|02:49 am] |
Louis Vuitton opened first store in Kyiv
11.12.2006 | 17:45
The new store is located on Kyiv’s centreal street Kreschatyk in Passage – which Kyiv authorities want into posh shopping area. Photo: Rynok.biz.
Louis Vuitton, world’s famous manufacturer of luxury products and accessories opened its first store in Kyiv yesterday.
This is a 366 store of Louis Vuitton worldwide and third in former USSR countries. Besides Kyiv, the company has two stores in Moscow.
“We are happy to welcome Louis Vuitton,” said Jean-Marc Gallot, president Europe for Louis Vuitton. “Ukraine is, of course, a very important market for our development. For the past several years an increasingly large number of Ukrainians began making purchases from our stores abroad.”
Photogallery from the opening
The new store is located on Kyiv’s centreal street Kreschatyk in Passage – which Kyiv authorities want into posh shopping area. Currently Helen Marlen Group Passage is finishing preparations for opening its store next door to Louis Vuitton’s.
Total retail area of the new store is 300 sq. meters. The company does not disclose total sum of investments.
Store’s interior is done in accordance with Louis Vuitton’s concept by own architecture department.
The store in Kyiv carries women’s bags, shoes, clothes, men’s and women’s accessories.
Absence of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection is explained by store’s primary target audience – women. Gallot, however, did not rule out that men’s products could appear in the store in the future.
Gallot also said that other famous world brands such as Christian Dior or Chanel will follow Louis Vuitton’ lead and appear in Kyiv within next two years.louis vuitton
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| Christmas trees are going back up at Sea-Tac airport |
[Dec. 12th, 2006|06:13 am] |
Christmas trees are going back up at Sea-Tac airport
By Janet I. Tu and Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporters
Related
Text of the Port of Seattle news release
Airport's trees stoking "war on Christmas"
The holiday trees that went away in the middle of the night are back.
Tonight, Port of Seattle staff began putting up the trees they had taken down Friday night after a local rabbi requested that a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed. Port officials said the rabbi's lawyer had threatened to imminently file a lawsuit, leaving them with insufficient time to consider all the issues.
A nationwide furor erupted over the weekend as news of the trees' removal spread, with a flood of calls to Port officials and harshly worded e-mails to Jewish organizations. Today, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said he would not file a lawsuit and the Port, in response, said it would put the trees back up.
"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis said in a statement. "The rabbi never asked us to remove the trees; it was the Port's decision based on what we knew at the time. We very much appreciate the rabbi's willingness to work with us as we move forward."
A menorah will not be displayed this year.
Port spokesman Bob Parker said "we look forward to sitting down after the first of the year with not only Rabbi Bogomilsky but others as well, and finding ways to make sure there's an appropriate winter holiday representation for all faiths. We want to find out a way to celebrate the winter holidays that is sensitive to all faiths."
Bogomilsky, who works with Chabad-Lubavitch, an Orthodox Jewish outreach organization, said, "Like people from all cultures and religions, we're thrilled the trees are going back up."
But he said he was disappointed that Port officials chose not to put up the menorah as well, pointing out there are still several days until the start of Hannukah. "I still hope that they'll consider putting the menorah up this year. But ultimately it's their decision."
He also said he hopes the Port will apologize for mischaracterizations that led people to believe he was against having the trees displayed.
"At the end of the day it's not about trees, but adding light to the holiday, not diminishing any light."
At the airport tonight, Matt Bachleda of Snohomish was playing cards while waiting for his daughter to arrive from Paris. He was surprised to see Port staff putting a tree back up in the baggage claim area.
"It looks like Christmas is back," he said.
The reaction to the trees' removal had been swift and vociferous. News outlets nationwide picked up the story.
"There's been such an outcry from the public — from people of all faiths — who believe that the trees should be reinstalled," Davis said. "I'm very thankful that we can return the trees and get back to running our airport during this very busy holiday season."
Port Commissioner John Creighton said he had been swamped with e-mails, 99.9 percent of which supported putting the trees put back up.
"I'm overjoyed as to the resolution," Creighton said. "I'm very happy we were able to reach an agreement that was acceptable to the rabbi and to us."
Creighton said he personally would've preferred the airport also put up a menorah this year. But "there's a fair amount of sensitvity at the airport. Whatever we do, we do after putting some thought into it."
The situation began rather quietly back in late October or early November when Mitchell Stein, a construction consultant for the Port, contacted a Port staffer saying he'd like to put up a large menorah near the Christmas tree at the international arrival hall.
Stein, who is Jewish and is friends with Bogomilsky, said he thought it would be a "great opportunity for the Port to show their joy and commitment to diversity."
Over the next several weeks, though, he said, he was referred to several different people on staff, who told him different things about whether a menorah would be allowed.
Stein said Harvey Grad, the rabbi's attorney, contacted the Port last week and sent officials there a legal brief as a way of spurring action, given that Hanukkah was coming up, and to let the Port know the legal precedents involved in the issue.
It was not intended to be threatening, Stein said. When Port commissioners "told us just before Shabbat that they were taking down all the Christmas trees, we were totally aghast."
But some Port commissioners said they first heard about a threatened lawsuit Thursday.
"From what we were made to understand, if we didn't accede to the group's demands," they would file a lawsuit by the next day, Creighton said. "At the time, it seemed to be a reasonable solution to remove the Christmas trees."
Not only the Port, but local Jewish organizations, felt the consequences of that decision.
Robert Jacobs, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said about 14 organizations or rabbis had reported receiving hate e-mail. On Monday, his organization was advising local Jewish institutions that have received significant numbers of hate e-mails to consider having security during Hannukah and other holiday season events.
This is not the first public clash over the traditional symbols of Christmas.
For years, judges — including those of the U.S. Supreme Court — have been sorting out disputes over how nativity scenes and Christmas trees can be displayed in the lobbies of public buildings, in downtown plazas and in parks.
The furor has been building for years. Last month, the Alliance Defense Fund, a religion-based legal aid group in Arizona, announced it had lined up an army of attorneys who were prepared to defend the tradition of Christmas in schools and on public property.
"Frankly, it's ridiculous that Americans have to think twice about whether it's okay to say 'Merry Christmas,'" the group's president Alan Sears said.
Federal law prohibits government entities from endorsing any religious symbols, proselytizing for religion or preferring any one religion over another, said John Strait, an associate professor of law at Seattle University.
He said the Christmas holiday has become so secular that many symbols associated with it, such as the Christmas tree, have simply become symbols of the holiday. But legal debates rage over just how religious some symbols, such as the nativity scene, actually are. Strait said the menorah has achieved about the same religious status as a nativity scene.
Stewart Jay, a law professor at the University of Washington, admits that the rules aren't always so clear. A holiday display, he said, is allowed as long as it mixes several holiday symbols and traditions.
The Port of Seattle, Strait and Jay agree, could have allowed the menorah along with its Christmas tree in such a way that it would not have been an endorsement of religion. "And that would have been the end of it," Strait said.
In fact, the Christmas trees on their own might have been problematic, Jay said. Adding a menorahmight have given the Port some legal cover.
Across Washington, holiday displays and celebrations reflect the diversity of ways public and private bodies have found to recognize the holidays.
Each year — for many years — Seattle City Hall has featured a Christmas tree, menorah and Kwanzaa display, the mayor's spokeswoman, Marianne Bichsel said. "We want to make sure that however people choose to celebrate this time of year, that it is honored," she said.
In many school districts across the state, including Seattle and Bellevue, any holiday program or decorations must be tied to curriculum, officials there said.
The city of Redmond celebrates the season with displays of evergreen branches with white lights, poinsettias and wreathes inside City Hall. Outside, an evergreen tree, part of the city's landscaping, is decorated with multi-colored lights.
King County opts for "giving trees" in the lobby of the court house and the county administrative building. The trees include the names and gift wishes of people in need during the holiday, spokeswoman Carolyn Dunkin said.
Last year, a Catholic lawmaker from Spokane and his supporters stirred up a hornets' nest when they sang Christmas carols in front of the giant holiday tree that dominates the Capitol rotunda in Olympia. Rep. John Ahern, a Republican, said the Washington-grown fir is a holiday tree, not a Christmas tree.
Next week, following a lighting ceremony, a menorah will accompany that tree in the rotunda, said Steve Valandra spokesman for department of general administration, which oversees the capitol grounds.
Staff writer Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report.
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