Armaan blog

Radiation in Mass. rainwater likely from Japan

Health officials said Sunday that one sample of Massachusetts rainwater has registered very low concentrations of radiation, most likely from the Japanese nuclear power plant damaged earlier this month by an earthquake and tsunami.

John Auerbach, the Massachusetts commissioner of public health, said that radioiodine-131 found in the sample — one of more than 100 that have been taken around the country — is short lived. He said the drinking water supply in the state was unaffected and officials do not expect any health concerns.

Nevada and other Western states also have reported minuscule amounts of radiation, but scientists say those presented no health risks.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the in-state sample was taken in the past week, but they did not say where. The testing is part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency network that monitors for radioactivity.

State officials said similar testing was done in California, Pennsylvania, Washington and other states, and showed comparable levels of I-131 in rain.

Massachusetts testing last week of samples from the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs showed no detectable levels of I-131, health officials said.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. directed the Department of Environmental Protection to collect additional samples for testing from several water bodies across Massachusetts. Results will be available over the next several days.

In Japan, mounting problems, including miscalculated radiation figures and inadequate storage tanks for huge amounts of contaminated water, stymied emergency workers Sunday as they struggled to bring the country's nuclear complex back from the edge of disaster. Workers were trying to remove radioactive water from the nuclear compound and restart the regular cooling systems for the dangerously hot fuel.

Lightspeed Aviation Foundation Announces Finalists for 2011 Grants

s grants totaled more than $100,000.

Lakeland, FL (Vocus/PRWEB) April 02, 2011

The Lightspeed Aviation Foundation has announced the names of 20 charities, selected from hundreds of nominees, that will benefit from grants to be awarded this year. The Foundation is in its second year of partnering with the pilot community to identify worthy causes, give pilots a voice in who they will support and make a lasting difference.

The announcement was made from the AOPA Live Stage at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida. Charities selected are: Angel Flight Central, Angel Flight East, Angel Flight Soars, Angel Flight Southeast/MercyFlight Southeast, Angel Flight West, AOPA Foundation, Aviation Exploring, Civil Air Patrol, Commemorative Air Force, EAAChapter 44, Experience Aviation, Helicopter Foundation International, JAARS, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Ninety-Nines, Recreational Aviation Foundation, Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, Wings of Hope, Women in Aviation Int’l, and Youth Aviation Adventure.

Again this year, all pilots will be invited to vote online at LightspeedAviationFoundation.org. The top five charities, as chosen by the pilot community, will each receive a check for no less than $10,000. Gift recipients will be announced via webcast on AOPA Live at the Pilot’s Choice Awards at AOPA Summit in September.

Lightspeed Aviation customers will also be able to participate by registering their Lightspeed headset and designating a portion of their purchase to one of the nominated charities. Designated gifts will be distributed to the finalists no later than January, 2012.

Allan Schrader, Lightspeed Aviation president, says, “This foundation has the values of our company at its core. It is unique in that it does not ask for or accept financial gifts, so I’m very pleased that last year we were able to award more than $100,000 in grants based purely upon the direction we received from the aviation community.We're happy to continue enabling pilots everywhere, as well as our own customers, to participate with us in making a significant contribution to the future of aviation."

Since 1996, Lightspeed Aviation has emerged as the innovation leader in aviation headsets for the professional or general aviation pilot. From comfort, clarity, technological advances to customer support, Lightspeed Aviation and its signature headset Zulu, have become the premium standard.

More information:LightspeedAviationFoundation.org

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Bill DolanLightspeed Aviation Foundation503-887-1743Email Information

Proposed Miss. license plate to honor KKK leader

JACKSON, Miss. – A fight is brewing in Mississippi over a proposal to issue specialty license plates honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans says it wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of what it calls the "War Between the States." The group proposes a different design each year between now and 2015, with Forrest slated for 2014.

"Seriously?" state NAACP president Derrick Johnson said when he was told about the Forrest plate. "Wow."

Forrest, a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and reviled by others for leading the 1864 massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. Forrest was a Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war.

Sons of Confederate Veterans member Greg Stewart said he believes Forrest distanced himself from the Klan later in life. It's a point many historians agree upon, though some believe it was too little, too late, because the Klan had already turned violent before Forrest left.

"If Christian redemption means anything — and we all want redemption, I think — he redeemed himself in his own time, in his own actions, in his own words," Stewart said. "We should respect that."

State Department of Revenue spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury said legislators would have to approve a series of Civil War license plates. She said if every group that has a specialty license plate wanted a redesign every year, it would take an inordinate amount time from Department of Revenue employees who have other duties.

SCV has not decided what the Forrest license plate would look like, Stewart said. Opponents are using their imagination.

A Facebook group called "Mississippians Against The Commemoration Of Grand Wizard Nathan Forrest" features a drawing of a hooded klansman in the center of a regular Mississippi car tag.

Robert McElvaine, director of history department at the private Millsaps College in Jackson, joined the Facebook group. McElvaine said Forrest's role at Fort Pillow and involvement in the Klan make him unworthy of being honored, even on the bumpers of cars.

"The idea of celebrating such a person, whatever his accomplishments in other areas may have been, seems like a very poor idea," McElvaine told The Associated Press.

Mississippi lawmakers have shown a decidedly laissez-faire attitude toward allowing a wide variety groups to have speciality license plates, which usually sell for an extra $30 to $50 a year. The state sells more than 100 specialty plates for everything from wildlife conservation to breast cancer awareness. One design says "God Bless America," another depicts Elvis Presley. Among the biggest sellers are NASCAR designs and one with the slogan "Choose Life."

The Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has had a state-issued specialty license plate since 2003 to raise money for restoration of Civil War-era flags. From 2003 through 2010, the design featured a small Confederate battle flag.

The Department of Revenue allowed the group to revise the license plate this year for the first of the Civil War sesquicentennial designs. The 2011 plate, now on sale, depicts the Beauvoir mansion in Biloxi, Miss., the final home of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president.

SCV wants license plates to feature Civil War battles that took place in Mississippi. It proposes a Battle of Corinth design for 2012 and Siege of Vicksburg design for 2013. Stewart said the 2015 plate would be a tribute to Confederate veterans.

Johnson, with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he's not bothered by Civil War commemorative license plates generally. But he said Mississippi shouldn't honor Forrest, who was an early leader of what he calls "a terrorist group."

"He should be viewed in the same light that we view Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden," Johnson said of Forrest. "The state of Mississippi should deny any vanity tags which would highlight racial hatred in this state."

Democratic Rep. Willie Bailey, who handles license plate requests in the House, said he has no problem with SCV seeking any design it wants.

"If they want a tag commemorating veterans of the Confederacy, I don't have a problem with it," said Bailey, who is black. "They have that right. We'll look at it. As long as it's not offensive to anybody, then they have the same rights as anybody else has."

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Mississippi Department of Revenue, specialty license plates:

Publix, Whole Foods top grocery satisfaction survey

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Publix Super Markets Inc and Whole Foods Market Inc were the top-rated U.S. supermarket chains in 2010, according to a new study released by the American Customer Satisfaction Index on Tuesday.

Consumer satisfaction with supermarkets in 2010 slipped for the first time in three years, falling 1.3 percent from a year earlier to an ACSI score of 75 out of 100.

Higher food prices were a major contributor to the decline in satisfaction, ACSI researchers said.

Overall costs for food rose 1.5 percent in 2010 after declining in 2009. Big price increases on staples like beef, dairy and produce have been particularly painful for some cash-strapped shoppers.

Publix operates in the U.S. Southeast and has led the category every year since 1994. Roughly 2,000 consumers polled during the fourth-quarter of 2010 gave Publix a rating of 84, a 2 percent decline from a year ago.

Whole Foods, which has been luring new customers with its focus on value and selection, rose 4 percent to 79. Austin-based Whole Foods recently has been the top-performing large U.S. supermarket chain as its well-heeled customers spend a bit more freely on things like organic fruits and vegetables.

Kroger Co, the largest mainstream U.S. grocery chain, was close behind Whole Foods with an unchanged score of 78.

Supervalu Inc and Safeway tied at 74.

Supervalu, which has been losing market share and struggling to get its pricing line with rivals, was down 4 percent. Safeway, which lowered its pricing to par with competitors, was up 3 percent.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which sells more groceries than any other U.S. retailer, ranked last after respondents gave its grocery business a score of 71. That was unchanged from a year ago.

"While supermarket chains like Publix thrive on the strength of their customer service, Wal-Mart continues to be a place where people shop because of price," said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI.

"Service has a strong impact on customer satisfaction, but low prices coupled with low quality do not," he said.

A separate survey from the National Grocers Association showed that the most important factors for determining where shoppers spend their money included access to high-quality fruits and vegetables, product freshness, and a clean, neat store.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Gary Hill)

A.R. Gurney's play 'Black Tie' is well tailored

NEW YORK – Sometimes, your dad's old hand-me-down suits need altering to fit just right. Sometimes, his advice does, too.

Such is the premise of A.R. Gurney's very enjoyable new play "Black Tie," which made its world premiere at Primary Stages' 59E59 Theaters on Thursday night. A comedy about how values change from generation to generation, the play benefits from some excellent acting and writing.

It takes place on the eve of a wedding in a hotel in the Adirondacks. The groom's family has arrived to prepare for the rehearsal dinner downstairs and the father, Curtis (a fine Gregg Edelman), is slipping on his late father's tuxedo, which he has had tailored for the occasion to honor tradition.

That's when a familiar spirit appears: It's Curtis' charming father, who has been aroused from The Great Beyond by his loving son to help write his wedding speech and for advice. Dressed in an impeccable tuxedo of his own, the silver-haired father cannot be seen or heard by anyone but Curtis.

The father, played deliciously by Daniel Davis, is hardly mute: He's a font of old-school elegance, quipping relentlessly, advising on the "proper" way things should be and liberally quoting from Joseph Conrad and Lord Byron.

He believes in continuity, in dinner jackets, that "pants" should be called "trousers." When he says he's "very fond" of someone, he really means the opposite. And he's revealed to be a snob, as when he discovers the bride's father manages a supermarket in Utica, an upstate New York city that is far from glamorous.

"Do we know anyone in Utica?" he asks Curtis.

"I don't know, Dad," Curtis answers.

"I'm not sure we do. I'm not sure we should," he replies.

Curtis' preparations for the rehearsal dinner do not go smoothly. His wife (a delightfully flinty Carolyn McCormick, of "Law & Order" fame), never really much liked Curtis' dad and thinks the old tuxedo makes him overdressed. The two lovingly bicker like a comfortable married couple.

More bad news: Their daughter (Elvy Yost) soon reports that the youthful guests are messing with the carefully constructed seating arrangements and that an unwanted guest has arrived. And the groom himself (Ari Brand) is having second thoughts. Plus, the bride's parents may resent the WASPy-ness of the groom's parents. Even the decision to wear black tie may be sending the wrong message.

Curtis — and especially his ghostly father — have a hard time with each new revelation. Davis, who played the butler Niles in "The Nanny," does a superb job of slowly unspooling his character's horror at modern life: unembarrassed divorcees, interracial marriages, the lost art of sparkling after-dinner speeches and, perhaps most shockingly, wedding receptions held in a place as tacky as the hotel's Ticonderoga Room.

"Life is a long, incoherent, ungrammatical sentence, and all I can do is try to provide some basic punctuation," the ghost says at one point, in one of Gurney's best lines.

Director Mark Lamos has handled several of Gurney's plays and keeps the rhythm of the new one at a happy pace, juggling five characters who pop in and out — including an apparition, who, naturally, knows how to make a grand exit when the time is right.

As for "Black Tie," the makings of a very sad commentary on life actually ends up fine in the end: Some of the old ways may not work now, but some of the new ways lack a certain pizazz. Gurney has tailored a fine piece of work to joke about both.

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