News Release Issued: December 02, 2009
Washington’s new “everything-but-marriage” law, recently approved by voters, will take effect on Thursday, providing expanded rights and responsibilities for domestic partners on the state registry operated by the state Corporations and Charities Division. The registry has had a substantial increase in filings during the month after voters upheld the law in the November Election. There have been an average of 90 registrations a week since the election; the weekly average has traditionally been 35 to 40 new registrations. “Our office is ready for the new changes and is hard at work to ensure the registration process continues to go smoothly,” said Corporations Director Pam Floyd. “Couples needing assistance completing the forms should not hesitate to contact our office.”While the domestic partners will continue to register with the agency’s Corporations Division, the following changes begin December 3:• All terminations will now be handled by the courts in similar fashion to a divorce proceeding. If termination is by death of one partner, then a termination may filed with the Office of Secretary of State when accompanied by a death certificate.• If a member of a domestic partnership changes his/her name or address, they can file that change with the Office of Secretary of State. This form is available at http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/ and in the Corporations Division lobby.This past spring, Senate Bill 5688 was signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire. Immediately following, a group of citizens attempted to reverse the law by forcing a statewide vote on the issue through the referendum process, leaving the outcome of the law up to a public vote. However 53 percent of Washington voters approved Referendum 71 this November, meaning the original law will be implemented throughout the state.The law expands benefits for partners, such as giving them sick leave to care for a domestic partner and rights related to adoption and child custody. Previously, Washington lawmakers provided hospital visitation rights for couples, and expanded rights in areas of community property and guardianship. To learn about how the new law impacts your domestic partnership rights, contact a trusted legal advisor.New Jersey, California and Oregon are among the several states that, like Washington, have laws giving same-sex couples similar rights to married couples.As of this week, there are more than 13,000 domestic partners registered in Washington State, both same-sex couples and heterosexual partners where one partner is 62 or older.Visit http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Butthead Hatch Wants to Kick MoveOn.Org in the Teeth
By Lee Davidson
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 2:14 p.m. MDT
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told a national TV audience Thursday that he would like to kick the liberal MoveOn.org in the teeth for a protest it held against him outside his Salt Lake City office a day earlier.
"MoveOn.org is a scurrilous organization. It is funded by George Soros. He's about as left-wing as you can find in this country," Hatch told MSNBC about the protest. Soros is well known for spending huge amounts on efforts to campaign against George W. Bush in 2004.
Hatch added, "They are up to just one thing, and that is to smear good people. And frankly, they are not going to smear me without getting kicked in the teeth by me."
His comments came after about three-dozen protestors with the group staged a rally Wednesday outside the federal building in Salt Lake City, saying the insurance industry bought Hatch's vote against Democratic health-care reform by giving him nearly $1 million since he took office.
"Sen. Hatch took $913,000 — nearly $1 million — from health-insurance companies basically to purchase his vote against a health-care plan that would support everybody," said Lydia Olchoff, an organizer of the event.
The group stood along State Street holding signs with slogans such as "Whose side are you on?" "Don't side with big insurance" and "We need a public option."
Hatch told MSNBC he is not sure if the group's figures are correct, but he said the donations were spread out over the long 33 years he has served in the Senate.
He added that money has come from people on all sides of the reform debate. "I'm supported by people all over the health-care system, including doctors, hospitals, insurers, and liberal people and conservative people and moderate people," Hatch told MSNBC.
MoveOn.org executive director Justin Ruben responded that when Utah members of his group questioned the money Hatch took from insurance interests, "What did he do? Go on national TV and threaten to kick them in the teeth. Apparently this was easier than defending his ties to the insurance companies."
He added, "Hopefully whoever Sen. Hatch kicks in the teeth is independently wealthy, in case their claim is denied by one of the insurance companies who've been funding his campaign."
e-mail: lee@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company All rights reserved
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 2:14 p.m. MDT
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told a national TV audience Thursday that he would like to kick the liberal MoveOn.org in the teeth for a protest it held against him outside his Salt Lake City office a day earlier.
"MoveOn.org is a scurrilous organization. It is funded by George Soros. He's about as left-wing as you can find in this country," Hatch told MSNBC about the protest. Soros is well known for spending huge amounts on efforts to campaign against George W. Bush in 2004.
Hatch added, "They are up to just one thing, and that is to smear good people. And frankly, they are not going to smear me without getting kicked in the teeth by me."
His comments came after about three-dozen protestors with the group staged a rally Wednesday outside the federal building in Salt Lake City, saying the insurance industry bought Hatch's vote against Democratic health-care reform by giving him nearly $1 million since he took office.
"Sen. Hatch took $913,000 — nearly $1 million — from health-insurance companies basically to purchase his vote against a health-care plan that would support everybody," said Lydia Olchoff, an organizer of the event.
The group stood along State Street holding signs with slogans such as "Whose side are you on?" "Don't side with big insurance" and "We need a public option."
Hatch told MSNBC he is not sure if the group's figures are correct, but he said the donations were spread out over the long 33 years he has served in the Senate.
He added that money has come from people on all sides of the reform debate. "I'm supported by people all over the health-care system, including doctors, hospitals, insurers, and liberal people and conservative people and moderate people," Hatch told MSNBC.
MoveOn.org executive director Justin Ruben responded that when Utah members of his group questioned the money Hatch took from insurance interests, "What did he do? Go on national TV and threaten to kick them in the teeth. Apparently this was easier than defending his ties to the insurance companies."
He added, "Hopefully whoever Sen. Hatch kicks in the teeth is independently wealthy, in case their claim is denied by one of the insurance companies who've been funding his campaign."
e-mail: lee@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company All rights reserved
Friday, October 9, 2009
President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
(AP) WASHINGTON -- A beaming President Barack Obama said Friday he was both honored and humbled to win the Nobel Peace Prize and would accept it as a "call to action" to work with other nations to solve the world's most pressing problems.
Obama told reporters in the White House Rose Garden that he wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the award, or deserved to be in the company of the "transformative figures" who had won it before him.
But, he said, "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."
Obama will travel to Oslo, Norway, in December to accept the award.
"These challenges cannot be met by any one leader or any one nation," the president said. "That's why my administration wants to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek."
Obama acknowledged that, while accepting an award for peace, he was commander in chief of a country engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We have to confront the world as we know it," he said.
He said he was working to end the war in Iraq and "to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies" in Afghanistan.
"I'm also aware that we are dealing with the impact of a global economic crisis that has left millions of Americans looking for work," he said.
"This award must be shared by everyone who strives for justice and dignity," he added.
He said that some of his goals, including that of a nuclear-weapons-free world, might not be accomplished in his lifetime.
"I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee," Obama said.
"Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."
Obama said he was aware that "throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement, it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes."
The award took the Obama and his staff by surprise. Press secretary Robert Gibbs learned from reporters that Obama had won the 2009 prize, and telephoned the White House early Friday to pass along the news to his boss.
"Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning," Obama said. He described his interaction with his two daughters.
"After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday.' And then Sasha added, `Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.' So it's -- it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Apple Tablet Rumored To Launch in Early 2010
Rumors surrounding the launch of Apple's mythical touchscreen Tablet computer have been swirling, and here's one more to add to the mix: the Tablet could hit markets as soon as the first quarter of 2010.
According to DigiTimes, which got the scoop:
Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) will be the manufacturing partner for an upcoming tablet PC device from Apple, according to market sources. The device is expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2010, with initial shipments from Foxconn being in the 300,000-400,000 range, the sources said.
The device will have a 10.6-inch display, and the sources speculated that perhaps Foxconn could secure panels from its subsidiary Innolux Display.
DigiTimes' source also reports that the device will focus on e-reader capabilities, rather than music.
Among other rumors concerning the Tablet, the web has been buzzing with hints of the content deals it is reportedly negotiating with print publishers. Read more about that here.Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/apple-tablet-rumored-to-l_n_312560.html
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Group Plans LDS Conference Weekend Memorial to Gay Suicides
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 09/30/2009 02:05:09 PM MDT
During the LDS Church's semiannual conference this weekend, one group will hold a memorial service for gay and transgender Mormons who have committed suicide.
The Foundation for Reconciliation, a group working to foster greater understanding between the church and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, will highlight the plight of some Mormons who have felt despair -- in some instances, to the point of ending their own lives -- over LDS teachings that being in a gay relationship is sinful. The service is Sunday at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 569 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City.
The foundation, in a news release, said it wanted to call attention to the issue in light of the LDS Church's 2008 support for the gay marriage ban in California, the July detention of a gay couple who kissed on the church's Main Street Plaza and a September speech given by LDS general authority Bruce C. Hafen denying a biological link to homosexuality.
On Nov. 4, the one-year anniversary of California's passage of Proposition 8 outlawing gay marriage in the Golden State, the group plans to deliver, by handcart, its "Plea for Reconciliation" petition to LDS headquarters. The group is gathering signatures online, at www.ldsapology.org.
The foundation also reports that it has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Gov. Gary Herbert to discuss potential legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns.
-- Rosemary Winters
Updated: 09/30/2009 02:05:09 PM MDT
During the LDS Church's semiannual conference this weekend, one group will hold a memorial service for gay and transgender Mormons who have committed suicide.
The Foundation for Reconciliation, a group working to foster greater understanding between the church and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, will highlight the plight of some Mormons who have felt despair -- in some instances, to the point of ending their own lives -- over LDS teachings that being in a gay relationship is sinful. The service is Sunday at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 569 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City.
The foundation, in a news release, said it wanted to call attention to the issue in light of the LDS Church's 2008 support for the gay marriage ban in California, the July detention of a gay couple who kissed on the church's Main Street Plaza and a September speech given by LDS general authority Bruce C. Hafen denying a biological link to homosexuality.
On Nov. 4, the one-year anniversary of California's passage of Proposition 8 outlawing gay marriage in the Golden State, the group plans to deliver, by handcart, its "Plea for Reconciliation" petition to LDS headquarters. The group is gathering signatures online, at www.ldsapology.org.
The foundation also reports that it has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Gov. Gary Herbert to discuss potential legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns.
-- Rosemary Winters
Friday, September 25, 2009
Is LDS Church taking a step back on gay issues?
LDS general authority Bruce C. Hafen's speech last week about homosexuality sounded like a throwback.
He told those assembled at a conference for Mormons trying to "overcome" same-sex attraction that being gay is "not in your DNA." He talked about the 1970s, when psychology manuals listed homosexuality as a mental disorder and gay-rights activists were working just to get anti-sodomy laws off the books.
Was Hafen speaking for himself or the church? Were LDS leaders backing away from statements that they "don't know" if a person is born gay? Has the church changed course?
The church isn't saying yes, and it isn't saying no.
But observers are.
"It was a big step backwards," said Gary Watts, a Provo physician who, for decades, has watched the church's position on homosexuality evolve. "The church has a long way to go to get into the 21st century. They're making incremental movements. What Hafen has done is take them back 25 years."
In the past decade, the church has moved away from 1970s teachings that emphasized psychosocial causes of homosexuality, including parenting, toward a "we don't know" approach -- not denying the possibility of biological factors. In a 2007 article in the LDS magazine Ensign , apostle Jeffrey R. Holland stressed that "no one," not parents nor people who experience same-sex attraction, should be blamed.
"The church does not have a position on the causes of any of these susceptibilities or inclinations, including those related to same-gender attraction," fellow apostle Dallin H. Oaks said in a 2006 interview posted on the church's Web site. "Those are scientific questions -- whether nature or nurture -- those are things the church doesn't have a position on."
Even then-President Gordon B. Hinckley, when asked on "Larry King Live" in 2004 whether people choose to be gay or are born that way, responded: "I don't know."
But Hafen, speaking at Evergreen International's 19th annual conferencea week ago, went further in trying to explain the causes.
He told listeners -- many of them Latter-day Saints trying to heed church teachings not to act on homosexual feelings -- that they may not have "consciously chosen" to have same-sex attraction. But he dismissed the mainstream idea that sexual orientation is inborn and unalterable as an "untrue assumption."
Hafen suggested most lesbians were sexually abused as children and that gay men, during a crucial stage of puberty, may have become "fixated" on the notion they were gay.
"What he said was just flat wrong," said David Melson, executive director of Affirmation, a support group for gay and lesbian Mormons, many of whom have left the faith. "Scientific evidence has shown ... the factors that make one gay take place before birth."
Telling people who are gay or lesbian that, with enough faith, they can change their sexual orientation, Melson added, "borders on being cruel."
The Foundation for Reconciliation, a group that hopes to foster greater understanding between the LDS Church and the gay and transgender community, posted an online "First Aid Kit" for gay Mormons who were hurt by Hafen's remarks (www.ldsapology.org/FirstAidKit.htm). They also requested a meeting with Hafen, a former dean of Brigham Young University's law school and a member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy. Hafen has not responded.
"I was happy to see he had a lot of compassion" for people with same-sex attraction, said Peter Danzig, a Salt Lake City spokesman for the foundation. "But, on the other hand, I thought he probably didn't understand how hurtful some of this advice is going to be."
Contrary to what Hafen said, Danzig argued, many gay Mormons find "spiritual peace" when they accept their sexual orientation isn't going to change. They can choose to live by the church's rules about chastity -- no sexual acts outside of a heterosexual marriage -- and give up the inner turmoil caused by false hopes of becoming straight.
Hafen, whose speech was posted on the church's Web site (www.ldsnewsroom.org) also pointed to the American Psychological Association's 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, saying it was based more on politics than science.
The "longstanding consensus" of the behavioral and social sciences, the APA stated in a resolution passed last month, is that homosexuality is a "normal and positive variation of human sexual orientation."
The measure advised mental health professionals against telling their clients they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. No solid evidence exists that such efforts work, the APA concluded, and some studies suggest the potential for harm, including depression and suicidal tendencies. A task force reviewed 83 studies on sexual-orientation change conducted since 1960.
An LDS Church spokesman declined to say whether Hafen was speaking on behalf of the church or whether his remarks represent a shift in the faith's views. Scott Trotter also did not say whether the church believes homosexuality should still be considered a mental disorder.
"Elder Hafen's talk is self-explanatory," Trotter wrote via e-mail.
Watts, the Provo doctor, who has a gay son and a lesbian daughter among his six children, thinks the speech doesn't necessarily reflect a major policy change for the church as a whole. (Watts and his wife, Millie, led Family Fellowship, a group for LDS families with gay kids, for more than a decade.)
"It might just be Elder Hafen," he said.
Melson suggested Hafen is among LDS leaders who take a "more hard line" when it comes to homosexuality.
"There are a significant number of church leaders," Melson said, "who understand the scientific research, who are willing to listen to alternate views, who are a little bit more moderate in their statements."
Hafen also took a step back from declarations the church made in the wake of Proposition 8 -- the ballot measure it helped pass in California outlawing gay marriage in the Golden State -- that it does not oppose some rights for same-sex couples.
He suggested the law need only "tolerate" homosexual behavior not "endorse" it, which he said was accomplished when gay sex was decriminalized.
But, in a news release last November, the church said it does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization, medical care, fair housing and employment or probate rights.
Utah gay-rights supporters are pushing for precisely those kind of protections. Their bills fizzled in the 2009 Legislature but will return in 2010. Advocacy group Equality Utah has invited the LDS Church to join the so-called "Common Ground Initiative."
So far, the church has not responded.
rwinters@sltrib.com
How Hafen's speech stacks up
Here's how statements made by Bruce C. Hafen, a member of the LDS First Quorum of the Seventy, last week compare with some made in 2006 by LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks and a 2008 church statement.
Hafen » "Having same-gender attraction is not in your DNA."
Oaks » "The church does not have a position on the causes of any of these susceptibilities or inclinations, including those related to same-gender attraction. Those are scientific questions -- whether nature or nurture -- those are things the church doesn't have a position on."
Hafen » "Evidence that people have indeed changed [their sexual orientation] threatens the political agenda of the activists, because actual change disproves their claim that homosexuality is a fixed condition that deserves the same legal protections as those fixed conditions like race and gender."
Church statement » "The church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights or probate rights."
He told those assembled at a conference for Mormons trying to "overcome" same-sex attraction that being gay is "not in your DNA." He talked about the 1970s, when psychology manuals listed homosexuality as a mental disorder and gay-rights activists were working just to get anti-sodomy laws off the books.
Was Hafen speaking for himself or the church? Were LDS leaders backing away from statements that they "don't know" if a person is born gay? Has the church changed course?
The church isn't saying yes, and it isn't saying no.
But observers are.
"It was a big step backwards," said Gary Watts, a Provo physician who, for decades, has watched the church's position on homosexuality evolve. "The church has a long way to go to get into the 21st century. They're making incremental movements. What Hafen has done is take them back 25 years."
In the past decade, the church has moved away from 1970s teachings that emphasized psychosocial causes of homosexuality, including parenting, toward a "we don't know" approach -- not denying the possibility of biological factors. In a 2007 article in the LDS magazine Ensign , apostle Jeffrey R. Holland stressed that "no one," not parents nor people who experience same-sex attraction, should be blamed.
"The church does not have a position on the causes of any of these susceptibilities or inclinations, including those related to same-gender attraction," fellow apostle Dallin H. Oaks said in a 2006 interview posted on the church's Web site. "Those are scientific questions -- whether nature or nurture -- those are things the church doesn't have a position on."
Even then-President Gordon B. Hinckley, when asked on "Larry King Live" in 2004 whether people choose to be gay or are born that way, responded: "I don't know."
But Hafen, speaking at Evergreen International's 19th annual conferencea week ago, went further in trying to explain the causes.
He told listeners -- many of them Latter-day Saints trying to heed church teachings not to act on homosexual feelings -- that they may not have "consciously chosen" to have same-sex attraction. But he dismissed the mainstream idea that sexual orientation is inborn and unalterable as an "untrue assumption."
Hafen suggested most lesbians were sexually abused as children and that gay men, during a crucial stage of puberty, may have become "fixated" on the notion they were gay.
"What he said was just flat wrong," said David Melson, executive director of Affirmation, a support group for gay and lesbian Mormons, many of whom have left the faith. "Scientific evidence has shown ... the factors that make one gay take place before birth."
Telling people who are gay or lesbian that, with enough faith, they can change their sexual orientation, Melson added, "borders on being cruel."
The Foundation for Reconciliation, a group that hopes to foster greater understanding between the LDS Church and the gay and transgender community, posted an online "First Aid Kit" for gay Mormons who were hurt by Hafen's remarks (www.ldsapology.org/FirstAidKit.htm). They also requested a meeting with Hafen, a former dean of Brigham Young University's law school and a member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy. Hafen has not responded.
"I was happy to see he had a lot of compassion" for people with same-sex attraction, said Peter Danzig, a Salt Lake City spokesman for the foundation. "But, on the other hand, I thought he probably didn't understand how hurtful some of this advice is going to be."
Contrary to what Hafen said, Danzig argued, many gay Mormons find "spiritual peace" when they accept their sexual orientation isn't going to change. They can choose to live by the church's rules about chastity -- no sexual acts outside of a heterosexual marriage -- and give up the inner turmoil caused by false hopes of becoming straight.
Hafen, whose speech was posted on the church's Web site (www.ldsnewsroom.org) also pointed to the American Psychological Association's 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, saying it was based more on politics than science.
The "longstanding consensus" of the behavioral and social sciences, the APA stated in a resolution passed last month, is that homosexuality is a "normal and positive variation of human sexual orientation."
The measure advised mental health professionals against telling their clients they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. No solid evidence exists that such efforts work, the APA concluded, and some studies suggest the potential for harm, including depression and suicidal tendencies. A task force reviewed 83 studies on sexual-orientation change conducted since 1960.
An LDS Church spokesman declined to say whether Hafen was speaking on behalf of the church or whether his remarks represent a shift in the faith's views. Scott Trotter also did not say whether the church believes homosexuality should still be considered a mental disorder.
"Elder Hafen's talk is self-explanatory," Trotter wrote via e-mail.
Watts, the Provo doctor, who has a gay son and a lesbian daughter among his six children, thinks the speech doesn't necessarily reflect a major policy change for the church as a whole. (Watts and his wife, Millie, led Family Fellowship, a group for LDS families with gay kids, for more than a decade.)
"It might just be Elder Hafen," he said.
Melson suggested Hafen is among LDS leaders who take a "more hard line" when it comes to homosexuality.
"There are a significant number of church leaders," Melson said, "who understand the scientific research, who are willing to listen to alternate views, who are a little bit more moderate in their statements."
Hafen also took a step back from declarations the church made in the wake of Proposition 8 -- the ballot measure it helped pass in California outlawing gay marriage in the Golden State -- that it does not oppose some rights for same-sex couples.
He suggested the law need only "tolerate" homosexual behavior not "endorse" it, which he said was accomplished when gay sex was decriminalized.
But, in a news release last November, the church said it does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization, medical care, fair housing and employment or probate rights.
Utah gay-rights supporters are pushing for precisely those kind of protections. Their bills fizzled in the 2009 Legislature but will return in 2010. Advocacy group Equality Utah has invited the LDS Church to join the so-called "Common Ground Initiative."
So far, the church has not responded.
rwinters@sltrib.com
How Hafen's speech stacks up
Here's how statements made by Bruce C. Hafen, a member of the LDS First Quorum of the Seventy, last week compare with some made in 2006 by LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks and a 2008 church statement.
Hafen » "Having same-gender attraction is not in your DNA."
Oaks » "The church does not have a position on the causes of any of these susceptibilities or inclinations, including those related to same-gender attraction. Those are scientific questions -- whether nature or nurture -- those are things the church doesn't have a position on."
Hafen » "Evidence that people have indeed changed [their sexual orientation] threatens the political agenda of the activists, because actual change disproves their claim that homosexuality is a fixed condition that deserves the same legal protections as those fixed conditions like race and gender."
Church statement » "The church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights or probate rights."
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Review of Nespresso's CitiZ and Milk
by Julie Wolfson
For serious coffee fans without a lot of space, Nespresso's new CitiZ packs all of their first-rate-espresso-making punch into a machine with a footprint that's nearly half the size of their other models. Like the Latissima, Antoine Cahen from Les Ateliers du Nord in Lausanne, Swtizerland designed the slim architecturally-inspired coffee-maker, lending an art deco feel that comes in two versions. The Nespresso CitiZ, at just five inches wide, keeps it basic with a single head espresso machine, while the CitiZ & Milk features a built-in Aeroccino, Nespresso's highly efficient and superlative milk steamer.
Use of the machine wins points for dead-simple operation that yields delicious long and short espressos with impressive crema. A top-loading slot drops a pod into the machine, which applies Nespresso's 19 bars of pressure to make the coffee. Below the spout there's a cup tray, which flips up to accommodate larger beverages and a drip tray catches any spills.
The machine drops the pod into a compartment for neat disposal and the water container in the rear also minimizes mess and its one-liter capacity makes for a low-maintainance appliance.
For serious coffee fans without a lot of space, Nespresso's new CitiZ packs all of their first-rate-espresso-making punch into a machine with a footprint that's nearly half the size of their other models. Like the Latissima, Antoine Cahen from Les Ateliers du Nord in Lausanne, Swtizerland designed the slim architecturally-inspired coffee-maker, lending an art deco feel that comes in two versions. The Nespresso CitiZ, at just five inches wide, keeps it basic with a single head espresso machine, while the CitiZ & Milk features a built-in Aeroccino, Nespresso's highly efficient and superlative milk steamer.
Use of the machine wins points for dead-simple operation that yields delicious long and short espressos with impressive crema. A top-loading slot drops a pod into the machine, which applies Nespresso's 19 bars of pressure to make the coffee. Below the spout there's a cup tray, which flips up to accommodate larger beverages and a drip tray catches any spills.
The machine drops the pod into a compartment for neat disposal and the water container in the rear also minimizes mess and its one-liter capacity makes for a low-maintainance appliance.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Obese People Have Severe Brain Degeneration
Obese People Have 'Severe Brain Degeneration'
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 25 August 2009 09:59 am ET
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.
The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent "severe brain degeneration," said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.
"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," said Thompson. "But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."
The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.
Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. It's also been shown to reduce sexual activity.
More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.
Obese people had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention and executive functions), hippocampus (long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement), the researchers said in a statement today. Overweight people showed brain loss in the basal ganglia, the corona radiata, white matter comprised of axons, and the parietal lobe (sensory lobe).
"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older," Thompson said.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 25 August 2009 09:59 am ET
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.
The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent "severe brain degeneration," said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.
"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," said Thompson. "But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."
The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.
Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. It's also been shown to reduce sexual activity.
More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.
Obese people had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention and executive functions), hippocampus (long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement), the researchers said in a statement today. Overweight people showed brain loss in the basal ganglia, the corona radiata, white matter comprised of axons, and the parietal lobe (sensory lobe).
"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older," Thompson said.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Building on former Ballard Manning's/Denny's site approved
A mixed-use building planned for the Ballard site of the quirky former Manning's Cafeteria and Denny's restaurant has won city approval.
The Department of Planning and Development on Monday granted design and environmental review for the eight-story building at the northwest corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street. The building would put 287 residential units above 32,734 square feet of ground-floor retail space, with 446 parking spaces at street level and underground. It would be five stories at the corner and eight further in.
According to the city's report:
The design for the building is slightly contemporary, with a traditionally urban feel. The building includes a strong base, with more vertical expression in the bays. Proposed materials would include pre-cast concrete materials and older "used" looking brick at the base, to add emphasis and interest at the pedestrian level. In the upper levels, wood-resin panels and stucco-like materials would be used. Residential decks would be steel-framed with concrete. At the corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street, the building will include a tower element incorporating glass panels.
The Seattle Landmark Preservation Board ruled last year that the Googie-architecture restaurant building was a landmark, but later decided there was no financially feasible way to keep the building and cleared the way for demolition.
The owner, BCC Mikie Ballard LLC, has a deal to sell the site to developer Rhapsody Partners. Freiheit & Ho Architects designed the plan. Here's the full (107 MB) design report.
People can appeal Monday's decision to the Hearing Examiner's Office through Aug. 24.
The Department of Planning and Development on Monday granted design and environmental review for the eight-story building at the northwest corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street. The building would put 287 residential units above 32,734 square feet of ground-floor retail space, with 446 parking spaces at street level and underground. It would be five stories at the corner and eight further in.
According to the city's report:
The design for the building is slightly contemporary, with a traditionally urban feel. The building includes a strong base, with more vertical expression in the bays. Proposed materials would include pre-cast concrete materials and older "used" looking brick at the base, to add emphasis and interest at the pedestrian level. In the upper levels, wood-resin panels and stucco-like materials would be used. Residential decks would be steel-framed with concrete. At the corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street, the building will include a tower element incorporating glass panels.
The Seattle Landmark Preservation Board ruled last year that the Googie-architecture restaurant building was a landmark, but later decided there was no financially feasible way to keep the building and cleared the way for demolition.
The owner, BCC Mikie Ballard LLC, has a deal to sell the site to developer Rhapsody Partners. Freiheit & Ho Architects designed the plan. Here's the full (107 MB) design report.
People can appeal Monday's decision to the Hearing Examiner's Office through Aug. 24.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sounder FC's Keller & Ljungberg Named to MLS All-Star Game
By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter
TUKWILA — The fans, players, coaches, general managers and media have spoken — Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg are Major League Soccer All-Stars, the first Sounders FC players to earn the distinction.
The 11 players who received the most All-Star votes were announced by MLS on Monday. The All-Star Game is July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, home of Real Salt Lake, with the MLS stars facing Everton FC of the English Premier League.
The game will be carried live on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. PDT.
Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear and his staff will coach the MLS stars. The coaching staff's five player selections will be announced next Monday, and two commissioner's selections will complete the 18-man roster.
Ljungberg, who came to Sounders FC as its designated player after a long career in England, didn't seem overly excited about his selection because, as he said, there are no all-star games in Europe.
"Of course, that's a nice thing. It's an honor," Ljungberg said. "It's great and it will be fun."
Ljungberg was voted in despite missing four of Sounders FC's 17 MLS matches due to surgery rehabilitation and a serious migraine. He has two goals and five assists but has shined as the team's attacking center midfielder, the player who sets the offense.
Keller, the Sounders FC captain, has 45 saves and five shutouts. He has allowed 13 goals in 16 games, and Sounders FC has lost only once with him in net for a full match.
"Kasey was almost a shoo-in," Sounders FC assistant coach Brian Schmetzer said. "Kasey has been just such a tremendous influence on an expansion team and just helping this team get to where we're at. That's a no-brainer for me. And then Ljungberg — anybody that knows anything about soccer understands what a dynamic player he can be."
The first 11 players named to the team are not necessarily the starting lineup. If any of them are unavailable, Kinnear will select alternates.
Next up: Chelsea
Sounders FC will have unlimited substitutions for the Chelsea friendly on Saturday, a game in which every player wants to see action. Chelsea is one of the most recognized and successful franchises in Europe, but Schmetzer said playing-time decisions for the match will come down to the team's needs for the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Houston on July 21.
"We have to manage [midfielder Osvaldo] Alonso's minutes, because he'll be a big part of [next] Tuesday's match," Schmetzer said. "With some of the other guys, we'll see how we get through the week."
Alonso, a fan of Manchester United of England, wants badly to play against Chelsea.
"It's a dream," he said. "Chances to play against a team like Chelsea are very few."
Seattle Times staff reporter
TUKWILA — The fans, players, coaches, general managers and media have spoken — Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg are Major League Soccer All-Stars, the first Sounders FC players to earn the distinction.
The 11 players who received the most All-Star votes were announced by MLS on Monday. The All-Star Game is July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, home of Real Salt Lake, with the MLS stars facing Everton FC of the English Premier League.
The game will be carried live on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. PDT.
Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear and his staff will coach the MLS stars. The coaching staff's five player selections will be announced next Monday, and two commissioner's selections will complete the 18-man roster.
Ljungberg, who came to Sounders FC as its designated player after a long career in England, didn't seem overly excited about his selection because, as he said, there are no all-star games in Europe.
"Of course, that's a nice thing. It's an honor," Ljungberg said. "It's great and it will be fun."
Ljungberg was voted in despite missing four of Sounders FC's 17 MLS matches due to surgery rehabilitation and a serious migraine. He has two goals and five assists but has shined as the team's attacking center midfielder, the player who sets the offense.
Keller, the Sounders FC captain, has 45 saves and five shutouts. He has allowed 13 goals in 16 games, and Sounders FC has lost only once with him in net for a full match.
"Kasey was almost a shoo-in," Sounders FC assistant coach Brian Schmetzer said. "Kasey has been just such a tremendous influence on an expansion team and just helping this team get to where we're at. That's a no-brainer for me. And then Ljungberg — anybody that knows anything about soccer understands what a dynamic player he can be."
The first 11 players named to the team are not necessarily the starting lineup. If any of them are unavailable, Kinnear will select alternates.
Next up: Chelsea
Sounders FC will have unlimited substitutions for the Chelsea friendly on Saturday, a game in which every player wants to see action. Chelsea is one of the most recognized and successful franchises in Europe, but Schmetzer said playing-time decisions for the match will come down to the team's needs for the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Houston on July 21.
"We have to manage [midfielder Osvaldo] Alonso's minutes, because he'll be a big part of [next] Tuesday's match," Schmetzer said. "With some of the other guys, we'll see how we get through the week."
Alonso, a fan of Manchester United of England, wants badly to play against Chelsea.
"It's a dream," he said. "Chances to play against a team like Chelsea are very few."
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thornton Creek Breathes Again at Northgate
By Michelle Ma
Seattle Times staff reporter
Dragonflies alight and swoop delicately from plant to plant. For biologists and project managers alike, the presence of these insects, which are sensitive to pollution, indicates a healthy ecosystem.
That wasn't always so across the stark, paved grounds of Northgate Mall. Polluted runoff from the parking lots and neighborhood streets had nowhere to go except directly into Thornton Creek, a stream that weaves through Shoreline and North Seattle and empties into Lake Washington at Matthews Beach Park.
But with enough community pressure and compromise, change can happen.
A large, paved lot once devoted to overflow mall traffic and RV parking has been replaced with a landscaped, open space that allows the beginnings of Thornton Creek to flow above ground for the first time in decades. Before, a large underground pipe diverted the water to an outfall several blocks away.
This project now lets water in the creek's south fork flow as it should above ground and nourish its new stream bed before exiting under Fifth Avenue Northeast into the existing creek.
"If you look at it 10 years from now, it will be the defining development that helped transform the whole neighborhood into a different place," said John Lombard, a Northgate resident with Thornton Creek Alliance.
Seattle Public Utilities recently completed the stream-restoration channel as part of a new development that brings more than 100 condos, 278 apartments, senior housing, a 14-screen movie theater and more retail space to the North Seattle neighborhood.
Lorig and Stellar Holdings say they've rented about 50 of the apartments, which exceeds their goal to date. The market has been slow for the condos, however, with only one unit sold, said Stephen Holt, partner at Lorig in charge of the project.
Still, Holt said he's hopeful that as more people discover the area, the condos will find buyers. He said the open space and creek will become a place to gather within the new development.
"I think it is going to put a mark on that as a place, as a neighborhood, that's not just identified by a shopping mall and traffic problems."
The new creek channel is seen by many as the aesthetic glue holding together Northgate's new development.
It's also the key compromise that allowed the building project to move forward after residents strongly opposed an option that didn't include stream restoration, said Janet Way, a Shoreline City Council member and president of the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group.
"It took incredible courage for everybody to get on board," Way said.
The new channel spanning nearly 3 acres helps to filter and clean almost all runoff from more than 600 acres around the project, mostly from neighborhood streets.
It also stores and slowly releases water to Thornton Creek, providing a holding place during heavy rains.
Seattle Public Utilities designed the channel to naturally filter pollutants in stormwater runoff from streets and parking lots.
Runoff enters the channel on one end, then flows through four chambers. Small rocks and sediment settle and can be removed by the city using trucks with large vacuums. Aquatic plants help to capture and remove pollutants, similar to how a wetland functions.
The water exits the channel into free-flowing Thornton Creek at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd Street.
Before, all the runoff carrying pesticides, oils and other pollutants was flushed through a pipe and discharged into the creek at the same intersection, said Nancy Ahern, Seattle Public Utilities deputy director for utility-systems management.
"Ultimately, it was the best design solution for what we were trying to do," Ahern said. "The city needed a project that provided benefit to the creek. A do-nothing solution wasn't acceptable."
The city started construction on the $14.8 million creek-channel project about a year and a half ago. Young native plants dot the landscape, and project managers expect vegetation to fill more of the channel and surrounding walls within a year.
The final outcome is acceptable for most supporters of Thornton Creek's restoration. Years of development have encroached and narrowed the stream, causing faster water flow and more stream-bank erosion.
As Northgate and Shoreline have developed, more paved surfaces give stormwater fewer places to naturally sink into the ground, said Dan Mahler, president of Thornton Creek Alliance.
The nearly 12-square-mile Thornton Creek watershed is the largest in Seattle and Shoreline, and about 67,000 people live in homes that send pollutants into the watershed. Coho salmon have been seen in the creek and Mahler recently saw a cutthroat trout in the stream behind his Northgate home.
"Before this (channel), you wouldn't know there was a creek there at all," he said. "What we've got here is a great start. It's serving a very vital function in delivering clean water to the south fork."
Seattle Times staff reporter
Dragonflies alight and swoop delicately from plant to plant. For biologists and project managers alike, the presence of these insects, which are sensitive to pollution, indicates a healthy ecosystem.
That wasn't always so across the stark, paved grounds of Northgate Mall. Polluted runoff from the parking lots and neighborhood streets had nowhere to go except directly into Thornton Creek, a stream that weaves through Shoreline and North Seattle and empties into Lake Washington at Matthews Beach Park.
But with enough community pressure and compromise, change can happen.
A large, paved lot once devoted to overflow mall traffic and RV parking has been replaced with a landscaped, open space that allows the beginnings of Thornton Creek to flow above ground for the first time in decades. Before, a large underground pipe diverted the water to an outfall several blocks away.
This project now lets water in the creek's south fork flow as it should above ground and nourish its new stream bed before exiting under Fifth Avenue Northeast into the existing creek.
"If you look at it 10 years from now, it will be the defining development that helped transform the whole neighborhood into a different place," said John Lombard, a Northgate resident with Thornton Creek Alliance.
Seattle Public Utilities recently completed the stream-restoration channel as part of a new development that brings more than 100 condos, 278 apartments, senior housing, a 14-screen movie theater and more retail space to the North Seattle neighborhood.
Lorig and Stellar Holdings say they've rented about 50 of the apartments, which exceeds their goal to date. The market has been slow for the condos, however, with only one unit sold, said Stephen Holt, partner at Lorig in charge of the project.
Still, Holt said he's hopeful that as more people discover the area, the condos will find buyers. He said the open space and creek will become a place to gather within the new development.
"I think it is going to put a mark on that as a place, as a neighborhood, that's not just identified by a shopping mall and traffic problems."
The new creek channel is seen by many as the aesthetic glue holding together Northgate's new development.
It's also the key compromise that allowed the building project to move forward after residents strongly opposed an option that didn't include stream restoration, said Janet Way, a Shoreline City Council member and president of the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group.
"It took incredible courage for everybody to get on board," Way said.
The new channel spanning nearly 3 acres helps to filter and clean almost all runoff from more than 600 acres around the project, mostly from neighborhood streets.
It also stores and slowly releases water to Thornton Creek, providing a holding place during heavy rains.
Seattle Public Utilities designed the channel to naturally filter pollutants in stormwater runoff from streets and parking lots.
Runoff enters the channel on one end, then flows through four chambers. Small rocks and sediment settle and can be removed by the city using trucks with large vacuums. Aquatic plants help to capture and remove pollutants, similar to how a wetland functions.
The water exits the channel into free-flowing Thornton Creek at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd Street.
Before, all the runoff carrying pesticides, oils and other pollutants was flushed through a pipe and discharged into the creek at the same intersection, said Nancy Ahern, Seattle Public Utilities deputy director for utility-systems management.
"Ultimately, it was the best design solution for what we were trying to do," Ahern said. "The city needed a project that provided benefit to the creek. A do-nothing solution wasn't acceptable."
The city started construction on the $14.8 million creek-channel project about a year and a half ago. Young native plants dot the landscape, and project managers expect vegetation to fill more of the channel and surrounding walls within a year.
The final outcome is acceptable for most supporters of Thornton Creek's restoration. Years of development have encroached and narrowed the stream, causing faster water flow and more stream-bank erosion.
As Northgate and Shoreline have developed, more paved surfaces give stormwater fewer places to naturally sink into the ground, said Dan Mahler, president of Thornton Creek Alliance.
The nearly 12-square-mile Thornton Creek watershed is the largest in Seattle and Shoreline, and about 67,000 people live in homes that send pollutants into the watershed. Coho salmon have been seen in the creek and Mahler recently saw a cutthroat trout in the stream behind his Northgate home.
"Before this (channel), you wouldn't know there was a creek there at all," he said. "What we've got here is a great start. It's serving a very vital function in delivering clean water to the south fork."
Friday, June 5, 2009
Alumni, Graduates Alike Bid Fond Farewell to Granite High
By Amy K. Stewart, Deseret News, Published: Friday, June 5, 2009 12:44 a.m. MDT
It's a bittersweet day for a grand old school.
Seniors will say goodbye to Granite High School at graduation tonight, while thousands of alumni also bid farewell as one of Utah's oldest public schools closes its doors for good. The school opened in 1906.
"I know the decision has been made, but it's hard to pack up 100 years of memories," said Granite School Board member Connie Anderson. She taught at Granite High for almost three years and voted against closing the school.
"It's hard to sing 'The Song of the G' for the last time. And it's hard to have the last graduation. And it's hard to wonder what is going to happen to the building."
The school is another casualty of tough financial times as Granite School District had to slice $28 million from its budget to keep the district in the black.
Shutting down Granite High, with its 300 students, will save $1.3 million in annual operation costs. The Granite High program will merge into the alternative school Granite Peaks High School with a mission to serve at-risk students. Granite District administrators are working with South Salt Lake and Salt Lake County in hopes of transitioning the old brick building, 3305 S. 500 East, for civic and community use.
"It breaks my heart," said Ida Coombs Bickley, 82, class of 1944. She still lives half a block from the school.
Bickley and her daughter, Connie Lynn Bickley, 49, class of 1977, attended Granite High's awards ceremony this week, along with Ida Bickley's granddaughter, sophomore Maria Bickley, 15.
All three women had vastly different experiences at the school, but all three fought for what they believed in.
Ida Bickley recalls being frustrated over girls not being allowed to take the auto mechanics class because it would require wearing pants. After graduation, she became a mechanic at Hill Air Force Base and worked on war planes.
Connie Lynn Bickley remembers 1977 as the first year girls at Granite High were allowed to letter in sports. The boys were very much against it and suggested the girls receive a charm bracelet instead. She lettered in swimming.
Maria Bickley joined other students this spring in attempts to save Granite High from closure. Students created protest signs and attended the board meeting, only to watch the school board vote 4-3 to disband the school.
"I was really looking forward to graduating from here," Maria Bickley said. She plans to attend Highland High School this fall.
The awards assembly this week ended with a slide show including photos of the historic school building constructed more than 100 years ago. The three women stood with the students to belt out the school song:
"She will remember, you'll not forget her
Though you are far away
She is calling, calling to you ever
Honor the grand old G!"
Granite High had myriad goodbye activities throughout the week, including a barbecue and student bands on the quad Tuesday. Students signed yearbooks and exchanged hugs.
Principal Carole Harris distributed memorial T-shirts. They have the school logo on the front, with the words "Honor the Grand Old G." The back reads "Forever Farmer."
Seventy students will don caps and gowns, including 43 who are headed to college, for this evening's graduation ceremony on the football field.
Student-body secretary Mayra Tiburcio, 17, said the closing of Granite High has taken away some of the excitement of graduation but has also made it "more special because we are the last graduating class."
With all eyes on them, student government leaders said they are nervous about their commencement speeches.
"It's the last graduation ever so I am going to try and do my best for our school," said Esad Ferhatbegovic, 18, student body vice president.
Tiburcio said, "We want to make it something for everyone to remember."
Goodbye Granite High
Granite District officials are organizing an open house for the public and an alumni goodbye event sometime in June. For more information or to volunteer to help, call 801-646-5000.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
South Beach Diet Philosophy
South Beach Diet Philosophy
By Arthur Agatston, M.D., Prevention
The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats—the good ones—and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbs and bad fats. As a result, you're going to get healthy and lose weight—somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds in the next 2 weeks alone. Here's how you'll do it.Phase 1 You'll eat normal-size helpings of meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. You'll have plenty of vegetables. Eggs. Cheese. Nuts. You'll have salads with real olive oil in the dressing. You'll have three balanced meals a day, and it will be your job to eat so that your hunger is satisfied. Nothing undermines a weight-loss plan more than the distressing sensation that you need more food. No sane eating program expects you to go through life feeling discomfort. You'll be urged to have snacks in the midmorning and midafternoon, whether you need to or not. You'll have dessert after dinner.You'll drink water, of course, plus coffee or tea if you wish.For the next 14 days you won't be having any bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No fruit, even. Before you panic: You'll begin adding those things back into your diet again in 2 weeks. But for right now, they're off-limits.No candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar for 2 weeks, either. No beer or alcohol of any kind. After this phase you'll be free to drink wine. It's beneficial for a variety of reasons. Not a drop during the first 2 weeks, however.Now, if you're the kind of person who lives for pasta or bread or potatoes, or if you believe that you can't get through a day without feeding your sweet tooth (three or four times), let me tell you something: You're going to be shocked at how painlessly 2 weeks will pass without these foods. The first day or two may be challenging; but once you weather that, you'll be fine. It's not that you'll have to fight your urges—during the first week the cravings will virtually disappear. I say this with such confidence only because so many overweight people who have already succeeded on this program tell me so. The South Beach Diet may be new to you, but it has existed for several years—long enough to have helped hundreds of people lose weight easily and keep it off.Phase 2 After the first 2 weeks, the strictest part of the diet, you will be somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds lighter than you are today. Most of that weight will come off your midsection, so right away you'll notice the difference in your clothes. It will be easier to zip your jeans than it's been for some time. That blazer will close without a bulge.But this will be just the noticeable difference. You won't be able to see that during those 2 weeks you'll also have changed yourself internally.You will have corrected the way your body reacts to the very foods that made you overweight. There's a switch inside you that had been turned on. Now, simply by modifying your diet, you'll have turned it off. The physical cravings that ruled your eating habits will be gone, and they'll stay away for as long as you stick with the program.The weight loss doesn't happen because you're trying to eat less. But you'll be eating fewer of the foods that created those bad old urges, fewer of the foods that caused your body to store excessive fat.As a result of that change, you will continue losing weight after the 14-day period ends, even though by then you will have begun adding some of those banished foods back into your life. You'll still be on a diet, but if it's bread you love, you'll have bread. If it's pasta, you'll reintroduce that. Rice or cereal, too. Potatoes. Fruit will definitely be back.Chocolate? If it makes you feel good, sure. You will have to pick and choose which of these indulgences you permit yourself. You won't be able to have all of them, all the time. You'll learn to enjoy them a little differently than before—maybe a little less enthusiastically. But you will enjoy them again soon.You'll remain in Phase 2 and continue losing weight until you reach your goal. How long it takes depends on how much you need to lose. In this phase, people lose, on average, a pound or two a week.Phase 3 Once you hit your target, you'll switch to an even more liberal version of the program, which will help you to maintain your ideal weight. This is Phase 3, the stage that lasts the rest of your life. When you get to that point, you'll notice that this plan feels less like a diet and more like a way of life. You'll be eating normal foods, after all, in normal-size portions. You can then feel free to forget all about the South Beach Diet, as long as you remember to live by its few basic rules.As you're losing weight and altering how your body responds to food, a third change will be taking place. This one will significantly alter your blood chemistry, to the long-term benefit of your cardiovascular system. You will improve invisible factors that only cardiologists and heart patients worry about. Thanks to this final change, you will substantially increase your odds of living long and well—meaning you will maintain your health and vitality as you age.You may start on the South Beach Diet hoping just to lose weight. If you adopt it and stay with it, you will surely accomplish that much. But you'll also do a lot more for yourself, all of it very good. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this diet can, as a fringe benefit, save your life.A Day in the Life I've described, in a nutshell, how you would pass the initial weeks on the South Beach Diet. Now I'll back up and tell you in greater detail how a typical day will go. Let's start with the first day of Phase 1. You've no doubt treated yourself to a memorable meal the night before, but whatever carb-driven cravings you prompted came as you slept, with no further damage done. By the time you wake up today, your bloodstream is a relatively clean slate. The immediate goal is to keep it that way. We will accomplish that simply by not introducing any bad carbs into your system.We'll begin with a two-egg omelet fortified by two slices of Canadian bacon, cooked in a spray of olive or canola oil. You may yearn for your usual toast or bagel, but if you can get your mind off bread, the rest of you will follow.This will be your first test of the new regimen. It may take a few days to wean yourself from the customary morning dose of carbs. But it's our goal in Phase 1 to begin reversing your body's likely inability to process sugars and starches properly, the condition at the root of most weight problems. To accomplish this, we must cut off all carbs but the healthiest ones. This means we'll allow those highest in fiber and nutrients and lowest in sugars and starches—vegetables and salads only, in other words, at least for these 2 weeks.This morning's combination of proteins (the eggs and Canadian bacon) and good fats (the oil and the bacon, which is leaner than its American cousin) will keep your stomach full and occupied with digestion. You won't have to contend with hunger pangs now or later this morning. It didn't have to be the Canadian bacon omelet—we could have gone with two eggs and some asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, or peppers. That would have introduced some good vegetable fiber to the mix. An omelet with ham or low-fat cheese would have been fine, too.With this meal you can have coffee or tea if you like, with low-fat milk and sugar substitute. There are many to choose from nowadays—I prefer one that's actually derived in part from a form of sugar, although it has no calories. Some diets prohibit coffee or tea because caffeine does intensify cravings somewhat. But you've got enough changes to contend with without having to give up your morning coffee, too.A phenomenon I've noticed when dealing with overweight people is how many of them skip breakfast altogether—especially women, for some reason. It's not even necessarily an attempt to save on calories. They say they just don't like eating first thing in the morning.The problem is that this allows blood sugar to drop and hunger to increase over the course of the morning, resulting in powerful cravings for a lunch that includes carbs of questionable value—the very kind guaranteed to keep you overweight. So, skipping breakfast is a bad idea, especially if you're trying to fight off obesity.Planning Your Meals The array of breakfasts, even in the strict first phase, is varied. There's a frittata made with smoked salmon, for instance, and something we call Vegetable Quiche Cups To Go, which are made with eggs and spinach and, for the sake of convenience, can be prepared in advance and then microwaved at mealtime. We make liberal use of eggs for breakfast, which will alarm some people who have been taught to avoid them due to cholesterol concerns. It turns out that eggs contain no saturated fat and raise the good cholesterol along with the bad. The yolk is a good source of natural vitamin E and protein, too. So eggs are permissible. By the second phase of the diet, we'll begin to reintroduce carbs, even whole grain toast and English muffins, along with high fiber cereals. Fruit, too.Whether you feel the need for a midmorning snack or not, you should be ready for one by 10:30 or so. Wisely, you remembered to pack a part-skim mozzarella stick.Cheese and yogurt are the only low-fat foods I recommend for dieters, because they're the only ones that don't add bad carbs to replace the fats. The sugar is limited to lactose—milk sugar—which is an acceptable component of the South Beach Diet.You can find cheese sticks in most supermarkets—they've become a favorite snack for children. They're convenient and they taste good. Most important, they do the job of filling you up with good fats and proteins. That means you won't arrive at the lunch hour feeling famished.When lunch rolls around, you may have a salad—lettuce and tomato mixed with grilled chicken or fish, dressed in a viniagrette made with olive oil. You'll also have water or a beverage containing no sugar. Another day you might choose grilled shrimp over a bed of greens, or a tomato stuffed with tuna salad. Niçoise salad is great, too.All these dishes can easily be made at home, and, thanks to the trend toward fresh, healthy dining out, can usually be found in restaurants, too. Don't even think about limiting the amount you eat—the point of this diet is to eat well. Food is one of life's dependable pleasures, and it can be a wholesome one if you're eating the proper foods. Accomplish that and you'll be free to indulge in the improper treats from time to time.I hope you are beginning to see the pattern of these meals: They're all combinations of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. They are normal, everyday dishes intended to fully satisfy your hunger while depriving your system of the low-quality sugars and starches that have wreaked such havoc on your blood chemistry. You may have noticed that we're not discussing calorie counts, fat grams, or portion sizes. The South Beach Diet is designed so that you don't pay attention to any of that. One hallmark of this program is its simplicity—life is complicated enough without having to overanalyze your food before you eat it. If you're eating the right foods you don't need to obsess over how much of them you eat. Since fats and proteins create the sensation of satiety much more efficiently than refined carbs do, you won't sit in front of the TV all night popping bites of steak into your mouth, though you can easily imagine snacking for hours on potato chips or cookies!Through this diet, you'll understand the principles of metabolism—not as a matter of academic interest but in a practical, nuts and bolts way that will give you a basic understanding of how foods affect your blood chemistry and how that, in turn, determines what you weigh. You'll actually learn how to control your blood chemistry and your metabolism through food choices.Knowing how individual foods affect your internal workings will help you lose weight and maintain the loss. In the future, if you ease up on the diet and find you've gained a few pounds, you'll know how to undo the damage.Changing Your Thinking Okay, by now it's midafternoon, typically the first dangerous time of day, dietwise. This is when you might normally crave a sugar fix, owing to the natural dip in blood sugar and consequently, energy, that takes place about this time. This is when people tend to run to the coffee shop, the candy counter, or the vending machines. Instead, you'll have nuts—let's say plain almonds (not salted or smoked). Nuts contain good, healthy fats, and they fill you up. It's possible to have too many of them, however, and undermine your weight loss. I recommend counting out 15 almonds or cashews or whatever you choose. Some people have told me they prefer pistachios, in part because they're so small that you can allow yourself 30 of them. Cracking and eating 30 pistachios makes it a more elaborate, and therefore more satisfying, snack.Now it's time to begin thinking about dinner. Recent trends in fine food have brought us all toward something close to the South Beach Diet way of thinking—fresh vegetables, fish, and lean meats are the staples of dinner on our program. So Phase 1 features dishes such as grilled salmon with lemon, roasted eggplant and a salad, chicken made with balsamic vinegar, or even marinated London broil and mushroom caps stuffed with spinach.You could happen upon any of these on the menu of a good restaurant and be happy with them. And this is the strict phase of the diet! As you'll see, in the meal plans for Phase 1, we rely on chicken, fish, lean beef, and plenty of vegetables and salads to go with them.We strongly recommend that you have dessert after that meal. The second dangerous time of day is between dinner and bedtime. This is when all good intentions and strong resolve are challenged.Partly it's just the normal nightly routine—you unwind with a book or in front of the TV, perhaps in the company of friends or family, and the communal snacking habit kicks in. If you've got children, as I do, you've almost certainly got lots of temptations around the kitchen. Or it may just be that you've trained yourself to expect something sweet after a savory dinner.In any event, we've come up with two basic strategies for dessert during Phase 1. The first, and simplest, is to have some sugar-free gelatin. For people who love fruit, it may even make up for the loss of fresh fruit flavors during these 2 weeks. The other suggestion makes ample use of low-fat ricotta cheese. You can use it as the basis for a number of delicious, permissible desserts. This one is reminiscent of the Italian delicacy known as tiramisu, which combines cheese, chocolate, espresso, and ladyfingers. Instead, you take a half-cup of low-fat ricotta and stir in a few teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, some slivered almonds, and a packet of sugar substitute. It tastes great, and I guarantee that when you're done you'll feel as though you've had a real dessert. We've tried a number of variations on this—using vanilla or almond extract, lemon zest, or even topping the ricotta with sugar-free chocolate syrup and then baking it.And that's day one on the South Beach Diet! By the time you finish the last bite of mocha ricotta, you will have already begun ridding yourself of the cravings that pushed you into the growing (in every way) ranks of the overweight in America.Your blood is different from the way it was 24 hours ago: it's healthier. Get through another day this way and you'll be even closer to your goal of weight loss, and my goal for you, of better overall health.
By Arthur Agatston, M.D., Prevention
The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats—the good ones—and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbs and bad fats. As a result, you're going to get healthy and lose weight—somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds in the next 2 weeks alone. Here's how you'll do it.Phase 1 You'll eat normal-size helpings of meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. You'll have plenty of vegetables. Eggs. Cheese. Nuts. You'll have salads with real olive oil in the dressing. You'll have three balanced meals a day, and it will be your job to eat so that your hunger is satisfied. Nothing undermines a weight-loss plan more than the distressing sensation that you need more food. No sane eating program expects you to go through life feeling discomfort. You'll be urged to have snacks in the midmorning and midafternoon, whether you need to or not. You'll have dessert after dinner.You'll drink water, of course, plus coffee or tea if you wish.For the next 14 days you won't be having any bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No fruit, even. Before you panic: You'll begin adding those things back into your diet again in 2 weeks. But for right now, they're off-limits.No candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar for 2 weeks, either. No beer or alcohol of any kind. After this phase you'll be free to drink wine. It's beneficial for a variety of reasons. Not a drop during the first 2 weeks, however.Now, if you're the kind of person who lives for pasta or bread or potatoes, or if you believe that you can't get through a day without feeding your sweet tooth (three or four times), let me tell you something: You're going to be shocked at how painlessly 2 weeks will pass without these foods. The first day or two may be challenging; but once you weather that, you'll be fine. It's not that you'll have to fight your urges—during the first week the cravings will virtually disappear. I say this with such confidence only because so many overweight people who have already succeeded on this program tell me so. The South Beach Diet may be new to you, but it has existed for several years—long enough to have helped hundreds of people lose weight easily and keep it off.Phase 2 After the first 2 weeks, the strictest part of the diet, you will be somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds lighter than you are today. Most of that weight will come off your midsection, so right away you'll notice the difference in your clothes. It will be easier to zip your jeans than it's been for some time. That blazer will close without a bulge.But this will be just the noticeable difference. You won't be able to see that during those 2 weeks you'll also have changed yourself internally.You will have corrected the way your body reacts to the very foods that made you overweight. There's a switch inside you that had been turned on. Now, simply by modifying your diet, you'll have turned it off. The physical cravings that ruled your eating habits will be gone, and they'll stay away for as long as you stick with the program.The weight loss doesn't happen because you're trying to eat less. But you'll be eating fewer of the foods that created those bad old urges, fewer of the foods that caused your body to store excessive fat.As a result of that change, you will continue losing weight after the 14-day period ends, even though by then you will have begun adding some of those banished foods back into your life. You'll still be on a diet, but if it's bread you love, you'll have bread. If it's pasta, you'll reintroduce that. Rice or cereal, too. Potatoes. Fruit will definitely be back.Chocolate? If it makes you feel good, sure. You will have to pick and choose which of these indulgences you permit yourself. You won't be able to have all of them, all the time. You'll learn to enjoy them a little differently than before—maybe a little less enthusiastically. But you will enjoy them again soon.You'll remain in Phase 2 and continue losing weight until you reach your goal. How long it takes depends on how much you need to lose. In this phase, people lose, on average, a pound or two a week.Phase 3 Once you hit your target, you'll switch to an even more liberal version of the program, which will help you to maintain your ideal weight. This is Phase 3, the stage that lasts the rest of your life. When you get to that point, you'll notice that this plan feels less like a diet and more like a way of life. You'll be eating normal foods, after all, in normal-size portions. You can then feel free to forget all about the South Beach Diet, as long as you remember to live by its few basic rules.As you're losing weight and altering how your body responds to food, a third change will be taking place. This one will significantly alter your blood chemistry, to the long-term benefit of your cardiovascular system. You will improve invisible factors that only cardiologists and heart patients worry about. Thanks to this final change, you will substantially increase your odds of living long and well—meaning you will maintain your health and vitality as you age.You may start on the South Beach Diet hoping just to lose weight. If you adopt it and stay with it, you will surely accomplish that much. But you'll also do a lot more for yourself, all of it very good. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this diet can, as a fringe benefit, save your life.A Day in the Life I've described, in a nutshell, how you would pass the initial weeks on the South Beach Diet. Now I'll back up and tell you in greater detail how a typical day will go. Let's start with the first day of Phase 1. You've no doubt treated yourself to a memorable meal the night before, but whatever carb-driven cravings you prompted came as you slept, with no further damage done. By the time you wake up today, your bloodstream is a relatively clean slate. The immediate goal is to keep it that way. We will accomplish that simply by not introducing any bad carbs into your system.We'll begin with a two-egg omelet fortified by two slices of Canadian bacon, cooked in a spray of olive or canola oil. You may yearn for your usual toast or bagel, but if you can get your mind off bread, the rest of you will follow.This will be your first test of the new regimen. It may take a few days to wean yourself from the customary morning dose of carbs. But it's our goal in Phase 1 to begin reversing your body's likely inability to process sugars and starches properly, the condition at the root of most weight problems. To accomplish this, we must cut off all carbs but the healthiest ones. This means we'll allow those highest in fiber and nutrients and lowest in sugars and starches—vegetables and salads only, in other words, at least for these 2 weeks.This morning's combination of proteins (the eggs and Canadian bacon) and good fats (the oil and the bacon, which is leaner than its American cousin) will keep your stomach full and occupied with digestion. You won't have to contend with hunger pangs now or later this morning. It didn't have to be the Canadian bacon omelet—we could have gone with two eggs and some asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, or peppers. That would have introduced some good vegetable fiber to the mix. An omelet with ham or low-fat cheese would have been fine, too.With this meal you can have coffee or tea if you like, with low-fat milk and sugar substitute. There are many to choose from nowadays—I prefer one that's actually derived in part from a form of sugar, although it has no calories. Some diets prohibit coffee or tea because caffeine does intensify cravings somewhat. But you've got enough changes to contend with without having to give up your morning coffee, too.A phenomenon I've noticed when dealing with overweight people is how many of them skip breakfast altogether—especially women, for some reason. It's not even necessarily an attempt to save on calories. They say they just don't like eating first thing in the morning.The problem is that this allows blood sugar to drop and hunger to increase over the course of the morning, resulting in powerful cravings for a lunch that includes carbs of questionable value—the very kind guaranteed to keep you overweight. So, skipping breakfast is a bad idea, especially if you're trying to fight off obesity.Planning Your Meals The array of breakfasts, even in the strict first phase, is varied. There's a frittata made with smoked salmon, for instance, and something we call Vegetable Quiche Cups To Go, which are made with eggs and spinach and, for the sake of convenience, can be prepared in advance and then microwaved at mealtime. We make liberal use of eggs for breakfast, which will alarm some people who have been taught to avoid them due to cholesterol concerns. It turns out that eggs contain no saturated fat and raise the good cholesterol along with the bad. The yolk is a good source of natural vitamin E and protein, too. So eggs are permissible. By the second phase of the diet, we'll begin to reintroduce carbs, even whole grain toast and English muffins, along with high fiber cereals. Fruit, too.Whether you feel the need for a midmorning snack or not, you should be ready for one by 10:30 or so. Wisely, you remembered to pack a part-skim mozzarella stick.Cheese and yogurt are the only low-fat foods I recommend for dieters, because they're the only ones that don't add bad carbs to replace the fats. The sugar is limited to lactose—milk sugar—which is an acceptable component of the South Beach Diet.You can find cheese sticks in most supermarkets—they've become a favorite snack for children. They're convenient and they taste good. Most important, they do the job of filling you up with good fats and proteins. That means you won't arrive at the lunch hour feeling famished.When lunch rolls around, you may have a salad—lettuce and tomato mixed with grilled chicken or fish, dressed in a viniagrette made with olive oil. You'll also have water or a beverage containing no sugar. Another day you might choose grilled shrimp over a bed of greens, or a tomato stuffed with tuna salad. Niçoise salad is great, too.All these dishes can easily be made at home, and, thanks to the trend toward fresh, healthy dining out, can usually be found in restaurants, too. Don't even think about limiting the amount you eat—the point of this diet is to eat well. Food is one of life's dependable pleasures, and it can be a wholesome one if you're eating the proper foods. Accomplish that and you'll be free to indulge in the improper treats from time to time.I hope you are beginning to see the pattern of these meals: They're all combinations of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. They are normal, everyday dishes intended to fully satisfy your hunger while depriving your system of the low-quality sugars and starches that have wreaked such havoc on your blood chemistry. You may have noticed that we're not discussing calorie counts, fat grams, or portion sizes. The South Beach Diet is designed so that you don't pay attention to any of that. One hallmark of this program is its simplicity—life is complicated enough without having to overanalyze your food before you eat it. If you're eating the right foods you don't need to obsess over how much of them you eat. Since fats and proteins create the sensation of satiety much more efficiently than refined carbs do, you won't sit in front of the TV all night popping bites of steak into your mouth, though you can easily imagine snacking for hours on potato chips or cookies!Through this diet, you'll understand the principles of metabolism—not as a matter of academic interest but in a practical, nuts and bolts way that will give you a basic understanding of how foods affect your blood chemistry and how that, in turn, determines what you weigh. You'll actually learn how to control your blood chemistry and your metabolism through food choices.Knowing how individual foods affect your internal workings will help you lose weight and maintain the loss. In the future, if you ease up on the diet and find you've gained a few pounds, you'll know how to undo the damage.Changing Your Thinking Okay, by now it's midafternoon, typically the first dangerous time of day, dietwise. This is when you might normally crave a sugar fix, owing to the natural dip in blood sugar and consequently, energy, that takes place about this time. This is when people tend to run to the coffee shop, the candy counter, or the vending machines. Instead, you'll have nuts—let's say plain almonds (not salted or smoked). Nuts contain good, healthy fats, and they fill you up. It's possible to have too many of them, however, and undermine your weight loss. I recommend counting out 15 almonds or cashews or whatever you choose. Some people have told me they prefer pistachios, in part because they're so small that you can allow yourself 30 of them. Cracking and eating 30 pistachios makes it a more elaborate, and therefore more satisfying, snack.Now it's time to begin thinking about dinner. Recent trends in fine food have brought us all toward something close to the South Beach Diet way of thinking—fresh vegetables, fish, and lean meats are the staples of dinner on our program. So Phase 1 features dishes such as grilled salmon with lemon, roasted eggplant and a salad, chicken made with balsamic vinegar, or even marinated London broil and mushroom caps stuffed with spinach.You could happen upon any of these on the menu of a good restaurant and be happy with them. And this is the strict phase of the diet! As you'll see, in the meal plans for Phase 1, we rely on chicken, fish, lean beef, and plenty of vegetables and salads to go with them.We strongly recommend that you have dessert after that meal. The second dangerous time of day is between dinner and bedtime. This is when all good intentions and strong resolve are challenged.Partly it's just the normal nightly routine—you unwind with a book or in front of the TV, perhaps in the company of friends or family, and the communal snacking habit kicks in. If you've got children, as I do, you've almost certainly got lots of temptations around the kitchen. Or it may just be that you've trained yourself to expect something sweet after a savory dinner.In any event, we've come up with two basic strategies for dessert during Phase 1. The first, and simplest, is to have some sugar-free gelatin. For people who love fruit, it may even make up for the loss of fresh fruit flavors during these 2 weeks. The other suggestion makes ample use of low-fat ricotta cheese. You can use it as the basis for a number of delicious, permissible desserts. This one is reminiscent of the Italian delicacy known as tiramisu, which combines cheese, chocolate, espresso, and ladyfingers. Instead, you take a half-cup of low-fat ricotta and stir in a few teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, some slivered almonds, and a packet of sugar substitute. It tastes great, and I guarantee that when you're done you'll feel as though you've had a real dessert. We've tried a number of variations on this—using vanilla or almond extract, lemon zest, or even topping the ricotta with sugar-free chocolate syrup and then baking it.And that's day one on the South Beach Diet! By the time you finish the last bite of mocha ricotta, you will have already begun ridding yourself of the cravings that pushed you into the growing (in every way) ranks of the overweight in America.Your blood is different from the way it was 24 hours ago: it's healthier. Get through another day this way and you'll be even closer to your goal of weight loss, and my goal for you, of better overall health.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
TX Mayor J.W. Lown Resigns for Immigrant Lover
SAN ANGELO, Texas — The mayor of a West Texas city abruptly resigned Wednesday, picking love over his love of office.
J.W. Lown told the San Angelo Standard-Times in a telephone interview from Mexico that he was involved in a relationship with a man who does not have legal status in the United States.
Lown, 32, said he didn't want to take the oath of office knowing he was "aiding and assisting" someone who is not a U.S. citizen. He was to be sworn in Tuesday but did not show up for the ceremony.
"We had to do the right thing and come to Mexico and wait in line for a visa," Lown said.
Lown, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico, said he didn't know how long it would take to obtain a visa for his partner. He said they would return to San Angelo if "the people of San Angelo will welcome me back."
Lown, who has his own real estate company, said he'd made thousands of decisions as mayor and weighed the one to resign "in the same manner."
City Manager Harold Dominguez said he had spoken to Lown twice since receiving the resignation letter Wednesday morning.
"My impression is that he is very happy with the decision he made," Dominguez said. "He gave the decision-making process a lot of thought, and he is at peace with it. He did sound happy."
"I think it goes without saying we lost a great public servant with Mayor Lown," Mayor Pro Tem Jon Mark Hogg said. "He cared about and advocated for the city of San Angelo."
Lown on May 9 overwhelmingly won re-election to a fourth term, garnering about 89 percent of the votes.
The job of San Angelo mayor pays $600 annually. The mayor is elected at-large, serves a two-year term and has no additional power beyond that of other city council members.
J.W. Lown told the San Angelo Standard-Times in a telephone interview from Mexico that he was involved in a relationship with a man who does not have legal status in the United States.
Lown, 32, said he didn't want to take the oath of office knowing he was "aiding and assisting" someone who is not a U.S. citizen. He was to be sworn in Tuesday but did not show up for the ceremony.
"We had to do the right thing and come to Mexico and wait in line for a visa," Lown said.
Lown, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico, said he didn't know how long it would take to obtain a visa for his partner. He said they would return to San Angelo if "the people of San Angelo will welcome me back."
Lown, who has his own real estate company, said he'd made thousands of decisions as mayor and weighed the one to resign "in the same manner."
City Manager Harold Dominguez said he had spoken to Lown twice since receiving the resignation letter Wednesday morning.
"My impression is that he is very happy with the decision he made," Dominguez said. "He gave the decision-making process a lot of thought, and he is at peace with it. He did sound happy."
"I think it goes without saying we lost a great public servant with Mayor Lown," Mayor Pro Tem Jon Mark Hogg said. "He cared about and advocated for the city of San Angelo."
Lown on May 9 overwhelmingly won re-election to a fourth term, garnering about 89 percent of the votes.
The job of San Angelo mayor pays $600 annually. The mayor is elected at-large, serves a two-year term and has no additional power beyond that of other city council members.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Gregoire Expands Same-Sex Partnerships
By Seattle Times staff
Surrounded by about 300 people — most of them gay and lesbians couples and their children — Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed legislation giving registered same-sex domestic partners all the rights and benefits that Washington now offers married couples.
The law will take effect on July 26 unless opponents seeking to repeal it can successfully collect enough signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot. A network of conservative and religious organizations, led by the Faith and Freedom Foundation, plans to begin immediately collecting signatures to repeal the measure under Referendum 71.
They have until July 25 to collect 120,577. If they are successful, the law would be suspended until voters decide the referendum. Several gay-rights advocates have established a campaign called Decline 2 Sign, to raised money in an attempt to defeat the measure.
The Monday morning bill signing by Gregoire at the Montlake Community Center was a festive event, marking a significant milestone for the state's same-sex couples. It expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding such partnerships to all remaining areas of state law that now only address married couples.
The measure also extends coverage to unmarried heterosexual couples over the age of 62.
As of Monday, there were 5,395 registered domestic partners, representing every county in the state.
The signing came almost three years after the state Supreme Court ruled against 11 gay and lesbian couples seeking the right to marry in Washington and upheld the state's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that limits marriage to one man and one woman.
Charlene Strong, a Seattle woman who was instrumental in the initial push for changes in the law after her partner drowned in the flooded basement of their Madison Valley home, said while she is thrilled with the advancements, she's eager for the next step: reversal of DOMA.
"It is important for us to sit and talk to those who oppose us," Strong said. "We need them to hear us, to meet our families... ."They speak from a place of fear. We need them to speak from a place of understanding."
Surrounded by about 300 people — most of them gay and lesbians couples and their children — Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed legislation giving registered same-sex domestic partners all the rights and benefits that Washington now offers married couples.
The law will take effect on July 26 unless opponents seeking to repeal it can successfully collect enough signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot. A network of conservative and religious organizations, led by the Faith and Freedom Foundation, plans to begin immediately collecting signatures to repeal the measure under Referendum 71.
They have until July 25 to collect 120,577. If they are successful, the law would be suspended until voters decide the referendum. Several gay-rights advocates have established a campaign called Decline 2 Sign, to raised money in an attempt to defeat the measure.
The Monday morning bill signing by Gregoire at the Montlake Community Center was a festive event, marking a significant milestone for the state's same-sex couples. It expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding such partnerships to all remaining areas of state law that now only address married couples.
The measure also extends coverage to unmarried heterosexual couples over the age of 62.
As of Monday, there were 5,395 registered domestic partners, representing every county in the state.
The signing came almost three years after the state Supreme Court ruled against 11 gay and lesbian couples seeking the right to marry in Washington and upheld the state's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that limits marriage to one man and one woman.
Charlene Strong, a Seattle woman who was instrumental in the initial push for changes in the law after her partner drowned in the flooded basement of their Madison Valley home, said while she is thrilled with the advancements, she's eager for the next step: reversal of DOMA.
"It is important for us to sit and talk to those who oppose us," Strong said. "We need them to hear us, to meet our families... ."They speak from a place of fear. We need them to speak from a place of understanding."
A Few Questions for Governor Gregoire
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, May 18, 2009 at 11:59 AM
During both of your runs for governor you said that "Washington isn't ready for gay marriage." Are we any readier today?
"Hello?!?"
Where are you on marriage equality today, post-Iowa, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire. Would you sign a marriage equality bill today?
"I'll have to see a bill on my desk."
Will you sign a marriage equality bill if it lands on your desk?
"I want to see a bill on my desk."
Presumably you don't want to see a bill on your desk just so you can veto the thing?
"I want to see a bill on my desk."
In your remarks you said that during this process people came to see the "absolute sameness" of gay and lesbian couples—the sameness of our love, the sameness our commitment to our families. Why not the "same" institution then to protect our families? Why create a separate institution? Why not open marriage, the absolute same institution, to absolutely-the-same same-sex couples?
"What we've learned over the last three years is that those who said 'let's take this one step at a time' were right. During the first legislative effort, after the first [domestic partner] bill passed, legislators went home worried about being criticized for supporting it. But they found the opposite reaction when they went home; they heard from voters and constituents who supported their decision, they heard from people they didn't know were gay. That education allowed us to get where we are today."
Thank you, Governor.
"Hello?!?"
Where are you on marriage equality today, post-Iowa, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire. Would you sign a marriage equality bill today?
"I'll have to see a bill on my desk."
Will you sign a marriage equality bill if it lands on your desk?
"I want to see a bill on my desk."
Presumably you don't want to see a bill on your desk just so you can veto the thing?
"I want to see a bill on my desk."
In your remarks you said that during this process people came to see the "absolute sameness" of gay and lesbian couples—the sameness of our love, the sameness our commitment to our families. Why not the "same" institution then to protect our families? Why create a separate institution? Why not open marriage, the absolute same institution, to absolutely-the-same same-sex couples?
"What we've learned over the last three years is that those who said 'let's take this one step at a time' were right. During the first legislative effort, after the first [domestic partner] bill passed, legislators went home worried about being criticized for supporting it. But they found the opposite reaction when they went home; they heard from voters and constituents who supported their decision, they heard from people they didn't know were gay. That education allowed us to get where we are today."
Thank you, Governor.
Gregoire Set to Okay More Partner Rights
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is set to sign into law a measure that would expand the state's domestic partnership law to include "everything but marriage." The bill would give additional spousal rights and benefits to domestic partners, including same-sex couples and unmarried senior heterosexual couples, in various areas of state law.
Among them:
-The right to use sick leave to care for a domestic partner.
-The right to wages and benefits when a domestic partner is injured, and to unpaid wages upon the death of a domestic partner.
-The right to unemployment and disability insurance benefits.
-The right to workers' compensation coverage.
-Insurance rights, including rights under group policies, policy rights after the death of a domestic partner, conversion rights and continuing coverage rights.
-Rights related to adoption, child custody and child support.
-Business succession rights.
---
The current domestic partnership law already addresses:
-Some public assistance provisions, such as access to state-funded domestic violence shelters.
-Rights and obligations for public officials' domestic partners to file public disclosure reports.
-Probate and trust laws.
-Guardianship and power of attorney issues.
-Judicial process and victim rights, including testimonial privileges that allow domestic partners the right to refuse to testify against each other in court.
-Dissolution, parenting plans and child support laws.
-Community property and other property rights and responsibilities.
-Homestead exemption laws.
-Health care facility visitation rights.
-Ability to grant consent for health care for a partner who is not competent. Health care providers can disclose patient information to the patient's partner.
-Title and rights to cemetery plots and rights of interment.
-Right to control disposition of a deceased partner's remains, including right to make anatomical gifts, authorize autopsies and consent to remove partner's remains from a cemetery plot.
-Inheritance rights when the domestic partner dies without a will.
-Administration of an estate if the domestic partner dies without a will or if the named representative declines or is unable to serve.
-Making domestic partners beneficiaries of wrongful-death actions. Lawsuits for wrongful death could be brought on behalf of a surviving domestic partner.
-Requiring that information recorded on death certificates include domestic partnership status.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is set to sign into law a measure that would expand the state's domestic partnership law to include "everything but marriage." The bill would give additional spousal rights and benefits to domestic partners, including same-sex couples and unmarried senior heterosexual couples, in various areas of state law.
Among them:
-The right to use sick leave to care for a domestic partner.
-The right to wages and benefits when a domestic partner is injured, and to unpaid wages upon the death of a domestic partner.
-The right to unemployment and disability insurance benefits.
-The right to workers' compensation coverage.
-Insurance rights, including rights under group policies, policy rights after the death of a domestic partner, conversion rights and continuing coverage rights.
-Rights related to adoption, child custody and child support.
-Business succession rights.
---
The current domestic partnership law already addresses:
-Some public assistance provisions, such as access to state-funded domestic violence shelters.
-Rights and obligations for public officials' domestic partners to file public disclosure reports.
-Probate and trust laws.
-Guardianship and power of attorney issues.
-Judicial process and victim rights, including testimonial privileges that allow domestic partners the right to refuse to testify against each other in court.
-Dissolution, parenting plans and child support laws.
-Community property and other property rights and responsibilities.
-Homestead exemption laws.
-Health care facility visitation rights.
-Ability to grant consent for health care for a partner who is not competent. Health care providers can disclose patient information to the patient's partner.
-Title and rights to cemetery plots and rights of interment.
-Right to control disposition of a deceased partner's remains, including right to make anatomical gifts, authorize autopsies and consent to remove partner's remains from a cemetery plot.
-Inheritance rights when the domestic partner dies without a will.
-Administration of an estate if the domestic partner dies without a will or if the named representative declines or is unable to serve.
-Making domestic partners beneficiaries of wrongful-death actions. Lawsuits for wrongful death could be brought on behalf of a surviving domestic partner.
-Requiring that information recorded on death certificates include domestic partnership status.
Friday, May 15, 2009
"Daily Show" Takes on Army, White House over Translator Firing
A storm is brewing over President Obama's refusal to intercede on the behalf of Dan Choi, an Arabic translator and lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was just dismissed for being gay. Choi went on the "Rachel Maddow Show" last week and said he intends "to fight it tooth and nail," and that this kind of behavior "weakens the military." 54 Arabic translators (and hundreds more servicemen) have been dismissed from the Army due to their sexuality.
Jon Stewart excoriated President Bush for his policies and President Obama for flip-flopping on the issue, saying:
"So it was okay to waterboard a guy 80 times but God forbid the guy who could understand what that prick was saying has a boyfriend? Waterboarding may make a prisoner talk, but it ain't gonna make him talk English."
He then introduced the following segment on the issue, in which John Oliver supported the Army's choice with the "he's gay" defense. He eventually screamed at Stewart saying, "I will not let you Cramer me."
Jon Stewart excoriated President Bush for his policies and President Obama for flip-flopping on the issue, saying:
"So it was okay to waterboard a guy 80 times but God forbid the guy who could understand what that prick was saying has a boyfriend? Waterboarding may make a prisoner talk, but it ain't gonna make him talk English."
He then introduced the following segment on the issue, in which John Oliver supported the Army's choice with the "he's gay" defense. He eventually screamed at Stewart saying, "I will not let you Cramer me."
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Lieutenant Dan Choi to Obama: Don't Fire Me
Knights Out founder and Army Lieutenant Dan Choi published an open letter to President Obama and every Member of Congress on CNN's website begging them to not discharge him for being gay. It reads, in part:
"The Department of the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23rd. I will not lie to you; the letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me. It is a slap in the face to my soldiers, peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity, to accept capable leaders, to accept skilled soldiers.
"My subordinates know I’m gay. They don’t care. They are professional.
"Further, they are respectable infantrymen who work as a team. Many told me that they respect me even more because I trusted them enough to let them know the truth. Trust is the foundation of unit cohesion.
"After I publicly announced that I am gay, I reported for training and led rifle marksmanship. I ordered hundreds of soldiers to fire live rounds and qualify on their weapons. I qualified on my own weapon. I showered after training and slept in an open bay with 40 other infantrymen. I cannot understand the claim that I “negatively affected good order and discipline in the New York Army National Guard.” I refuse to accept this statement as true.
"As an infantry officer, I am not accustomed to begging. But I beg you today: Do not fire me. Do not fire me because my soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force – we are a family and we support each other. We should not learn that honesty and courage leads to punishment and insult. Their professionalism should not be rewarded with losing their leader. I understand if you must fire me, but please do not discredit and insult my soldiers for their professionalism."
"The Department of the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23rd. I will not lie to you; the letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me. It is a slap in the face to my soldiers, peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity, to accept capable leaders, to accept skilled soldiers.
"My subordinates know I’m gay. They don’t care. They are professional.
"Further, they are respectable infantrymen who work as a team. Many told me that they respect me even more because I trusted them enough to let them know the truth. Trust is the foundation of unit cohesion.
"After I publicly announced that I am gay, I reported for training and led rifle marksmanship. I ordered hundreds of soldiers to fire live rounds and qualify on their weapons. I qualified on my own weapon. I showered after training and slept in an open bay with 40 other infantrymen. I cannot understand the claim that I “negatively affected good order and discipline in the New York Army National Guard.” I refuse to accept this statement as true.
"As an infantry officer, I am not accustomed to begging. But I beg you today: Do not fire me. Do not fire me because my soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force – we are a family and we support each other. We should not learn that honesty and courage leads to punishment and insult. Their professionalism should not be rewarded with losing their leader. I understand if you must fire me, but please do not discredit and insult my soldiers for their professionalism."
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Marie Osmond Backs Same-Sex Marriage
Two nights ago, Marie Osmond gave a lengthy interview to Channel 4. "Nothing about her has been off limits" in her new memoir, we were teased. But after a tedious recounting of Marie's "Dancing with the Stars" fainting drama, neither Osmond nor Channel 4's morning-lady team addressed recent rumors about Marie's adopted daughter Jessica being a lesbian and living in a committed relationship with another woman.So it must have been a bummer for Channel 4 News to hear Marie spill her guts to a LA radio host. Marie still was less than straight forward on her daughter's sexual orientation, but she apparently diverges from her church and brother Donny on civil unions and even gay marriage:
One of the things that we have to be careful of is that we don't create hate. Because people believe certain things and we can’t make everyone become homogenized.Everybody has a right to believe what they believe. But I do think everyone has a right to have civil rights. I believe everyone should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. You know, on those types of things, I am very supportive. When it comes to marriage, you know, I think civil rights need to be for all. It also appears that Marie loves Jessica for who she is. And that would support the idea, rejected by the LDS church, that being gay is inborn, not a choice. Otherwise, how could a member of the Osmonds, the most righteous of Mormon clans, grow up to be gay?
One of the things that we have to be careful of is that we don't create hate. Because people believe certain things and we can’t make everyone become homogenized.Everybody has a right to believe what they believe. But I do think everyone has a right to have civil rights. I believe everyone should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. You know, on those types of things, I am very supportive. When it comes to marriage, you know, I think civil rights need to be for all. It also appears that Marie loves Jessica for who she is. And that would support the idea, rejected by the LDS church, that being gay is inborn, not a choice. Otherwise, how could a member of the Osmonds, the most righteous of Mormon clans, grow up to be gay?
Maine Becomes 5th State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage
By GLENN ADAMS The Associated PressWednesday, May 6, 2009 1:04 PM
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region.
New Hampshire legislators were also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn't indicated whether he'll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be the region's sole holdout.
The Maine Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, for a bill that authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.
Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who hadn't previously indicated how he would handle the bill, signed it shortly afterward. In the past, he said he opposed gay marriage but supported civil unions, which provide many benefits of marriage.
Debate was brief. Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to an openly gay member, Sen. Lawrence Bliss, D-South Portland, to preside over the final vote.
Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith."
"You are making a decision that is not well-founded," warned Plowman.
But Senate Majority Leader Philip Bartlett II said the bill does not compel religious institutions to recognize gay marriage.
"We respect religious liberties. ... This is long overdue," said Bartlett, D-Gorham.
Maine is now the fourth state in New England, to allow same-sex marriages. Connecticut enacted a bill after being ordered to allow gay marriages by the courts, and Vermont passed a bill over the governor's veto.
New Hampshire's House was also expected to vote on a bill Wednesday and send it to Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat.
Massachusetts' high court has ordered the state to recognize gay marriages. In Rhode Island, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been introduced but is not expected to pass this year.
Outside New England, Iowa is recognizing gay marriages on court orders. The practice was briefly legal in California before voters banned it.
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region.
New Hampshire legislators were also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn't indicated whether he'll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be the region's sole holdout.
The Maine Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, for a bill that authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.
Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who hadn't previously indicated how he would handle the bill, signed it shortly afterward. In the past, he said he opposed gay marriage but supported civil unions, which provide many benefits of marriage.
Debate was brief. Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to an openly gay member, Sen. Lawrence Bliss, D-South Portland, to preside over the final vote.
Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith."
"You are making a decision that is not well-founded," warned Plowman.
But Senate Majority Leader Philip Bartlett II said the bill does not compel religious institutions to recognize gay marriage.
"We respect religious liberties. ... This is long overdue," said Bartlett, D-Gorham.
Maine is now the fourth state in New England, to allow same-sex marriages. Connecticut enacted a bill after being ordered to allow gay marriages by the courts, and Vermont passed a bill over the governor's veto.
New Hampshire's House was also expected to vote on a bill Wednesday and send it to Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat.
Massachusetts' high court has ordered the state to recognize gay marriages. In Rhode Island, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been introduced but is not expected to pass this year.
Outside New England, Iowa is recognizing gay marriages on court orders. The practice was briefly legal in California before voters banned it.
Granite High School to Close
By Amy K. Stewart
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:35 p.m. MDT
Granite High School will cease to exist in its current location this fall, a move Granite School Board members deemed necessary to meet needed budget cuts for the coming school year.
The board voted 4-3 late Tuesday night to close the school.
District staff presented data pinpointing lagging enrollment, lack of academic rigor and high overhead costs.
"We have a great sense of responsibility in making all of our students succeed," said board president Sarah Meier. She voted for the closure.
Others believe the school is working well and needs support. "Closing a school is literally the last place to go to balance a budget," said board member Dan Lofgren. He voted against the measure.
The budget cuts, including the Granite High closure, were recommended by Granite District Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp. "This has probably been the most difficult thing I have done," he said.
Granite District needed to cut $28 million from its proposed 2009-10 budget which goes into effect on July 1. The district had already slashed $25 million but needed to pare another $3.4 million.
Closing Granite High, 3305 S. 500 East, will save the district $1.3 million in annual operating costs.
Ronnenkamp emphasized this doesn't mean the Granite High building will be torn down. "That certainly is not the intent of the recommendation," he said.
South Salt Lake officials, as well as Salt Lake County representatives, have expressed interest in using the building for office and recreation purposes.
The Granite High program will move to the district's alternative school facility, Granite Peaks High School. "Alternative isn't a bad word," said board member Julene Jolley.
Board member Gayleen Gandy said, "These students can be successful wherever they go."
Granite High is a magnet program with 12 teachers instructing 295 students from throughout the district.
Seventy-five percent of Granite High students are on free or reduced lunch; 53 percent are minority students; 37 percent are English language learners, and 33 percent don't have parents or siblings who graduated from high school.
There is a 47 percent student mobility rate, according to data collected by the school.
The Newcomers program at Granite High helps transition students who are new to the country and are learning to speak English.
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:35 p.m. MDT
Granite High School will cease to exist in its current location this fall, a move Granite School Board members deemed necessary to meet needed budget cuts for the coming school year.
The board voted 4-3 late Tuesday night to close the school.
District staff presented data pinpointing lagging enrollment, lack of academic rigor and high overhead costs.
"We have a great sense of responsibility in making all of our students succeed," said board president Sarah Meier. She voted for the closure.
Others believe the school is working well and needs support. "Closing a school is literally the last place to go to balance a budget," said board member Dan Lofgren. He voted against the measure.
The budget cuts, including the Granite High closure, were recommended by Granite District Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp. "This has probably been the most difficult thing I have done," he said.
Granite District needed to cut $28 million from its proposed 2009-10 budget which goes into effect on July 1. The district had already slashed $25 million but needed to pare another $3.4 million.
Closing Granite High, 3305 S. 500 East, will save the district $1.3 million in annual operating costs.
Ronnenkamp emphasized this doesn't mean the Granite High building will be torn down. "That certainly is not the intent of the recommendation," he said.
South Salt Lake officials, as well as Salt Lake County representatives, have expressed interest in using the building for office and recreation purposes.
The Granite High program will move to the district's alternative school facility, Granite Peaks High School. "Alternative isn't a bad word," said board member Julene Jolley.
Board member Gayleen Gandy said, "These students can be successful wherever they go."
Granite High is a magnet program with 12 teachers instructing 295 students from throughout the district.
Seventy-five percent of Granite High students are on free or reduced lunch; 53 percent are minority students; 37 percent are English language learners, and 33 percent don't have parents or siblings who graduated from high school.
There is a 47 percent student mobility rate, according to data collected by the school.
The Newcomers program at Granite High helps transition students who are new to the country and are learning to speak English.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
DC Gay Marriage Measure Set for Mayor's Signature
By Tim CraigWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, May 5, 2009 3:04 PM
An overwhelming majority on the D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, sending the District deeper into the national debate and galvanizing supporters on both sides of the issue.
The measure, approved by a vote of 12 to 1, now goes to Mayor Arian M. Fenty (D), a supporter of gay marriage.
If Fenty signs it, the District will put the same-sex marriage issue directly before the Congress. Under Home Rule, the District's laws are subject to a 30-day congressional review period.
After the vote, a large crowd of opponents, led by local ministers, began yelling, "Get them off the council!" referring to the members who supported the measure. The crowd caused such a ruckus that security guards and D.C. police officers had to be called in to restore order.
"We need a new council. They are destroying our youth," shouted Paul Trantham, who lives in Southeast. "Every minister who fears God should be here. This is disrespectful to the nation's capital. There is nothing equal about same-sex marriage."
Another protester, C.T. Riley, added: "This is not over. We are going to the Hill with this issue."
The council initially voted unanimously, without debate, to approve the bill. But council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) apparently did not realize what he was voting on. A few minutes after the initial vote, Barry made a motion to reconsider the vote.
He then voted against the proposal. Before the final vote, Barry noted he has been a longtime supporter of gay rights but said he decided to stand with the "ministers who stand on the moral compass of God."
"It has been a very agonizing and difficult decision," Barry said. He then added, "I feel comfortable with this position because I know where my heart is. . . . I am representing my constituents. I have thought about it lot and I have been a friend of [the gay] community and will continue to be a friend of this community."
Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), one of two openly gay members of the council, appeared to take a swipe at Barry over his stance.
"This issue is whether or not our colleagues on a personal level view me and [council member] Jim Graham as your equals," Catania said, referring to the other openly gay member of the council. "If we are permitted the same rights and responsibilities and obligations as our colleagues. So this is personal. This is acknowledging our families as much as we acknowledge yours."
Barry quickly fired back at Catania.
"I understand this is personal to you and Mr. Graham. I understand because I have been discriminated against," Barry said. "I resent the implication that because you are not here on this particular issue, that you are not being treated equally. . . . I resent Mr. Catania saying either you are a bigot or against bigotry as though this particular legislation represents all of that."
Catania responded he doesn't think Barry is a "bigot."
"But your position is bigoted," Catania added. "It is hard for me, as a friend, for you to vote against a status that you can enjoy, that I cannot."
If Congress does not try to block the bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, Catania has said he will introduce a separate bill later this year to allow same-sex marriages to be conducted in the District.
Barry predicted today there could be a "civil war" in the District if the Council decides to take up a broader gay marriage bill later this year.
"All hell is going to break lose," Barry said while speaking to reporters. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."
Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, who opposes gay marriage, said opponents are developing a "political and legal strategy" to block same-sex marriage in the District.
Supporters of same-sex marriage, who also descended on the Wilson Building today, said they will be ready for that fight.
Steven Gorman of Crestwood held a "marriage equality" sign in front of the Wilson building during the debate.
"I've been out for 25 years, and I've been battling for 25 years," said Gorman, who married his partner last summer in California. "This is not over, but we are winning."
An overwhelming majority on the D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, sending the District deeper into the national debate and galvanizing supporters on both sides of the issue.
The measure, approved by a vote of 12 to 1, now goes to Mayor Arian M. Fenty (D), a supporter of gay marriage.
If Fenty signs it, the District will put the same-sex marriage issue directly before the Congress. Under Home Rule, the District's laws are subject to a 30-day congressional review period.
After the vote, a large crowd of opponents, led by local ministers, began yelling, "Get them off the council!" referring to the members who supported the measure. The crowd caused such a ruckus that security guards and D.C. police officers had to be called in to restore order.
"We need a new council. They are destroying our youth," shouted Paul Trantham, who lives in Southeast. "Every minister who fears God should be here. This is disrespectful to the nation's capital. There is nothing equal about same-sex marriage."
Another protester, C.T. Riley, added: "This is not over. We are going to the Hill with this issue."
The council initially voted unanimously, without debate, to approve the bill. But council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) apparently did not realize what he was voting on. A few minutes after the initial vote, Barry made a motion to reconsider the vote.
He then voted against the proposal. Before the final vote, Barry noted he has been a longtime supporter of gay rights but said he decided to stand with the "ministers who stand on the moral compass of God."
"It has been a very agonizing and difficult decision," Barry said. He then added, "I feel comfortable with this position because I know where my heart is. . . . I am representing my constituents. I have thought about it lot and I have been a friend of [the gay] community and will continue to be a friend of this community."
Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), one of two openly gay members of the council, appeared to take a swipe at Barry over his stance.
"This issue is whether or not our colleagues on a personal level view me and [council member] Jim Graham as your equals," Catania said, referring to the other openly gay member of the council. "If we are permitted the same rights and responsibilities and obligations as our colleagues. So this is personal. This is acknowledging our families as much as we acknowledge yours."
Barry quickly fired back at Catania.
"I understand this is personal to you and Mr. Graham. I understand because I have been discriminated against," Barry said. "I resent the implication that because you are not here on this particular issue, that you are not being treated equally. . . . I resent Mr. Catania saying either you are a bigot or against bigotry as though this particular legislation represents all of that."
Catania responded he doesn't think Barry is a "bigot."
"But your position is bigoted," Catania added. "It is hard for me, as a friend, for you to vote against a status that you can enjoy, that I cannot."
If Congress does not try to block the bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, Catania has said he will introduce a separate bill later this year to allow same-sex marriages to be conducted in the District.
Barry predicted today there could be a "civil war" in the District if the Council decides to take up a broader gay marriage bill later this year.
"All hell is going to break lose," Barry said while speaking to reporters. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."
Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, who opposes gay marriage, said opponents are developing a "political and legal strategy" to block same-sex marriage in the District.
Supporters of same-sex marriage, who also descended on the Wilson Building today, said they will be ready for that fight.
Steven Gorman of Crestwood held a "marriage equality" sign in front of the Wilson building during the debate.
"I've been out for 25 years, and I've been battling for 25 years," said Gorman, who married his partner last summer in California. "This is not over, but we are winning."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Granite High Speaks Up about Closure
By Amy K. Stewart
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 5:08 p.m. MDT
Granite High School students are letting their voices be heard — loudly — about the potential closure of their school.
"If we do go out, we're going out with a bang," said Granite High student body president Arisbee Romero, 17.
Hundreds of teens gathered on the northwest corner of the Granite High campus, 3305 S. 500 East, to chant, cheer and display their protest signs as passersby honked and waved.
A public hearing to collect comments on the proposal to close Granite High begins at 7 tonight at the Granite School District office, 2500 S. State Street.
The Granite district must cut $28 million from its 2009-2010 budget. The district has already slashed $25 million but still needs to pare $3.4 million from the budget.
Closing Granite High would save $1.3 million in annual operation costs.
Granite High is a magnet program with 12 teachers instructing 295 students from all over the district.
Seventy-five percent of Granite High students are on free or reduced lunch; 53 percent are minority students; 37 percent are English-language learners; and 33 percent don't have parents or siblings who graduated from high school. There is a 47 percent student mobility rate, according to data collected by the school.
Protest signs Tuesday said: "Go Granite! Another 100 Years!" and "Granite is not just a school. It is also a home."
Other signs touted drawings of a farmer, the school's mascot. The students held up red and blue letters spelling "GO GRANITE!"
The teens built a human pyramid, shook their signs and painted each other's faces with a red or blue "G."
Lina Hall, 17, Granite High's junior vice president who helped make the protest signs, said she and her classmates have been learning about the civil-rights marches in their history classes. "We wanted to do something similar," she said.
Others went a more peppy direction.
Dressed as a farmer, junior Chelsea Lucero, 16, hopped around waving red and white pompoms. The school doesn't have sports teams, so there are no official cheerleaders. "It's up to us to convince the school board," she said.
Teachers distributed white T-shirts that read: "Rock Solid, For Another 100 Years." They were left over from the school's centennial celebration.
If Granite High is closed, students in the school boundaries will go to Cottonwood High.
Granite freshman Jerah Perez, 15, said he doesn't want to go to Cottonwood High. "It's too big," he said.
Junior Carley Johnson, 17, said she believes students will simply drop out, "because we chose to be here."
Granite High school counselor Julie Wallace said the protest rally was a good way to focus the teens' energy.
"They need to be able to say something and make sure the people who make decisions know how they feel," Wallace said.
"They want to be heard," said Beverly Shelley, a Granite High science teacher. "This is their school. It belongs to them."
The rally originally called for students to march from the school to the district office, but school administrators decided it was safer to keep the kids on campus. Further, the school board wasn't at the district office in the afternoon, so there was no audience, said Granite principal Carole Harris.
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 5:08 p.m. MDT
Granite High School students are letting their voices be heard — loudly — about the potential closure of their school.
"If we do go out, we're going out with a bang," said Granite High student body president Arisbee Romero, 17.
Hundreds of teens gathered on the northwest corner of the Granite High campus, 3305 S. 500 East, to chant, cheer and display their protest signs as passersby honked and waved.
A public hearing to collect comments on the proposal to close Granite High begins at 7 tonight at the Granite School District office, 2500 S. State Street.
The Granite district must cut $28 million from its 2009-2010 budget. The district has already slashed $25 million but still needs to pare $3.4 million from the budget.
Closing Granite High would save $1.3 million in annual operation costs.
Granite High is a magnet program with 12 teachers instructing 295 students from all over the district.
Seventy-five percent of Granite High students are on free or reduced lunch; 53 percent are minority students; 37 percent are English-language learners; and 33 percent don't have parents or siblings who graduated from high school. There is a 47 percent student mobility rate, according to data collected by the school.
Protest signs Tuesday said: "Go Granite! Another 100 Years!" and "Granite is not just a school. It is also a home."
Other signs touted drawings of a farmer, the school's mascot. The students held up red and blue letters spelling "GO GRANITE!"
The teens built a human pyramid, shook their signs and painted each other's faces with a red or blue "G."
Lina Hall, 17, Granite High's junior vice president who helped make the protest signs, said she and her classmates have been learning about the civil-rights marches in their history classes. "We wanted to do something similar," she said.
Others went a more peppy direction.
Dressed as a farmer, junior Chelsea Lucero, 16, hopped around waving red and white pompoms. The school doesn't have sports teams, so there are no official cheerleaders. "It's up to us to convince the school board," she said.
Teachers distributed white T-shirts that read: "Rock Solid, For Another 100 Years." They were left over from the school's centennial celebration.
If Granite High is closed, students in the school boundaries will go to Cottonwood High.
Granite freshman Jerah Perez, 15, said he doesn't want to go to Cottonwood High. "It's too big," he said.
Junior Carley Johnson, 17, said she believes students will simply drop out, "because we chose to be here."
Granite High school counselor Julie Wallace said the protest rally was a good way to focus the teens' energy.
"They need to be able to say something and make sure the people who make decisions know how they feel," Wallace said.
"They want to be heard," said Beverly Shelley, a Granite High science teacher. "This is their school. It belongs to them."
The rally originally called for students to march from the school to the district office, but school administrators decided it was safer to keep the kids on campus. Further, the school board wasn't at the district office in the afternoon, so there was no audience, said Granite principal Carole Harris.
New York Times Confirms Apple-Verizon Talks: Media Pad
Well, looks like something's definitely up between Apple and Verizon Wireless. First came Monday's piece from USA Today claiming that Verizon could get an iPhone as early as next year, and now both BusinessWeek and the New York Times are reporting that Apple and Verzion are in talks—possibly about an "iPhone lite" and a touchscreen "media pad." What gives?
I admit, I was highly skeptical of yesterday's report from USA Today claiming that Verizon and Apple are in "high-level" talks about bringing the iPhone to "America's most reliable network." But later on Monday, BusinessWeek published a post detailing the talks, which (it claims) involve "two new iPhone-like devices," including "a smaller, less expensive calling device"—an "iPhone lite," according to an anonymous source—and a "media pad" with the potential to "shake up the tech industry."A few hours later, the New York Times chimed in, confirming that Apple and Verizon execs were in "high-level" discussions to "sell a version of the iPhone" (they key word is "version," I'm guessing) that "would work on Verizon's network." Even more interesting, the Times' (anonymous, again) source said it "is not out of the question" that the device would work on Verizon's "current" CDMA network, which acting Apple CEO Tim Cook recently noted "doesn't really have a life to it after a certain point in time." (Verizon is slated to migrate to a new, faster network—known as LTE—starting next year, as is GSM-based AT&T, although it'll take years for the carriers to fully roll out the new networks.)As for the mystery devices (only in prototype stages, apparently), BusinessWeek had the best (though still unconfirmed) details. The "iPhone lite" would be a "less expensive device" that's "thinner and smaller" than the current iPhone BW reports. Under the hood would be a new, integrated "system on a chip" that would lower manufacturing costs.More exciting would be the "media pad," a device that's smaller than the Kindle but armed with a larger touchscreen "that would let users listen to music, view photos, and watch high-definition videos" and would "place calls over a Wi-Fi connection," BW claims, adding that at least one of the devices could arrive "as early as this summer."That's pretty much the "what" of the reported Verizon-Apple talks. Then there's the question of "why?"Possible reasons (as culled from the BW and NYT stories): Apple is using the Verizon discussions merely as a plot to wring better terms out of AT&T, which is reportedly in talks to extend its iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple to 2011. Another possibility: Apple would give the new iPhone-type devices to Verizon in exchange for Verizon not taking on the widely anticipated Palm Pre, which (for now) will only be available on Sprint.Both the Times and BusinessWeek caution that while talks between Apple and Verizon have "heated up" in the past few weeks, "no deal is imminent" and talks could easily break down. Verizon, of course, famously passed on the iPhone before AT&T made its deal with Apple. Personally, I'm still trying to make sense of all the news. Apple's strategy all along has been to make "one phone for the entire world," and most of the world (including AT&T and T-Mobile) uses GSM networks. Verizon (along with Sprint) is using CDMA, a wireless technology that's facing obsolescence as Verizon preps for LTE and Sprint toys with WiMax (a 4G technology based on Wi-Fi).And while Verizon will have its first few LTE markets ready by 2010, I have a hard time believing that Apple would release a device either this year or next that would only work in a few select areas of the country. (Once LTE takes off, it'll be a different story, but that won't happen until at least 2011.)And if the rumored "media pad" (which sounds a lot like the Apple tablet everyone's been buzzing about) makes calls through Wi-Fi, well … why wouldn't Apple just sell it directly, rather than going through a cellular carrier?In any case, based on all the stories cropping up, it's clear that something's afoot—and while bringing the iPhone (or "iPhone-like" devices) to Verizon now might be a strange strategic move for Apple, it would be great for U.S. consumers, who would finally have another option for getting the iPhone. Stay tuned.
I admit, I was highly skeptical of yesterday's report from USA Today claiming that Verizon and Apple are in "high-level" talks about bringing the iPhone to "America's most reliable network." But later on Monday, BusinessWeek published a post detailing the talks, which (it claims) involve "two new iPhone-like devices," including "a smaller, less expensive calling device"—an "iPhone lite," according to an anonymous source—and a "media pad" with the potential to "shake up the tech industry."A few hours later, the New York Times chimed in, confirming that Apple and Verizon execs were in "high-level" discussions to "sell a version of the iPhone" (they key word is "version," I'm guessing) that "would work on Verizon's network." Even more interesting, the Times' (anonymous, again) source said it "is not out of the question" that the device would work on Verizon's "current" CDMA network, which acting Apple CEO Tim Cook recently noted "doesn't really have a life to it after a certain point in time." (Verizon is slated to migrate to a new, faster network—known as LTE—starting next year, as is GSM-based AT&T, although it'll take years for the carriers to fully roll out the new networks.)As for the mystery devices (only in prototype stages, apparently), BusinessWeek had the best (though still unconfirmed) details. The "iPhone lite" would be a "less expensive device" that's "thinner and smaller" than the current iPhone BW reports. Under the hood would be a new, integrated "system on a chip" that would lower manufacturing costs.More exciting would be the "media pad," a device that's smaller than the Kindle but armed with a larger touchscreen "that would let users listen to music, view photos, and watch high-definition videos" and would "place calls over a Wi-Fi connection," BW claims, adding that at least one of the devices could arrive "as early as this summer."That's pretty much the "what" of the reported Verizon-Apple talks. Then there's the question of "why?"Possible reasons (as culled from the BW and NYT stories): Apple is using the Verizon discussions merely as a plot to wring better terms out of AT&T, which is reportedly in talks to extend its iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple to 2011. Another possibility: Apple would give the new iPhone-type devices to Verizon in exchange for Verizon not taking on the widely anticipated Palm Pre, which (for now) will only be available on Sprint.Both the Times and BusinessWeek caution that while talks between Apple and Verizon have "heated up" in the past few weeks, "no deal is imminent" and talks could easily break down. Verizon, of course, famously passed on the iPhone before AT&T made its deal with Apple. Personally, I'm still trying to make sense of all the news. Apple's strategy all along has been to make "one phone for the entire world," and most of the world (including AT&T and T-Mobile) uses GSM networks. Verizon (along with Sprint) is using CDMA, a wireless technology that's facing obsolescence as Verizon preps for LTE and Sprint toys with WiMax (a 4G technology based on Wi-Fi).And while Verizon will have its first few LTE markets ready by 2010, I have a hard time believing that Apple would release a device either this year or next that would only work in a few select areas of the country. (Once LTE takes off, it'll be a different story, but that won't happen until at least 2011.)And if the rumored "media pad" (which sounds a lot like the Apple tablet everyone's been buzzing about) makes calls through Wi-Fi, well … why wouldn't Apple just sell it directly, rather than going through a cellular carrier?In any case, based on all the stories cropping up, it's clear that something's afoot—and while bringing the iPhone (or "iPhone-like" devices) to Verizon now might be a strange strategic move for Apple, it would be great for U.S. consumers, who would finally have another option for getting the iPhone. Stay tuned.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Verizon & Apple Discussing iPhone
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Verizon Communications Inc. and Apple are discussing the possible development of an iPhone for the US telecom giant to be introduced next year, USA Today reported on Monday.
The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the situation," said Verizon entered into "high-level" discussions with Apple a few months ago when chief executive Steve Jobs was still running the day-to-day affairs of the company.
Jobs is on a leave of absence for health reasons until June but the discussions are continuing, USA Today said.
AT&T is currently the exclusive service provider for the iPhone in the United States, and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that it is seeking to extend the deal, which expires next year, until 2011.
USA Today noted that if Apple produces a version of the iPhone for Verizon it would be the first version of the hot-selling smartphone for a CDMA wireless network, which is different from AT&T's GSM technology.
Vodafone, co-owner of Verizon Wireless, sells the iPhone in Europe.
Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen, told USA Today that should Verizon succeed, it would be a big loss for AT&T.
"Breaking the (iPhone) exclusivity with AT&T is a huge thing," he said. "That would send shivers into AT&T's stock and senior leadership."
The biggest winners would be consumers, he added. "They could pick the network they wanted to use: AT&T's or Verizon's," Entner told USA Today. "It would finally give consumers choice, and choice is a good thing."
Verizon on Monday reported a net profit of 3.21 billion dollars in the first quarter of the year, up 5.3 percent from the same period last year.
With its purchase of Alltel in January, Verizon also became the largest US carrier with 86.6 million wireless customers at the end of the quarter ahead of AT&T's 78.2 million.
Revenue grew 11.6 percent in the quarter to 26.6 billion dollars.
The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the situation," said Verizon entered into "high-level" discussions with Apple a few months ago when chief executive Steve Jobs was still running the day-to-day affairs of the company.
Jobs is on a leave of absence for health reasons until June but the discussions are continuing, USA Today said.
AT&T is currently the exclusive service provider for the iPhone in the United States, and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that it is seeking to extend the deal, which expires next year, until 2011.
USA Today noted that if Apple produces a version of the iPhone for Verizon it would be the first version of the hot-selling smartphone for a CDMA wireless network, which is different from AT&T's GSM technology.
Vodafone, co-owner of Verizon Wireless, sells the iPhone in Europe.
Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen, told USA Today that should Verizon succeed, it would be a big loss for AT&T.
"Breaking the (iPhone) exclusivity with AT&T is a huge thing," he said. "That would send shivers into AT&T's stock and senior leadership."
The biggest winners would be consumers, he added. "They could pick the network they wanted to use: AT&T's or Verizon's," Entner told USA Today. "It would finally give consumers choice, and choice is a good thing."
Verizon on Monday reported a net profit of 3.21 billion dollars in the first quarter of the year, up 5.3 percent from the same period last year.
With its purchase of Alltel in January, Verizon also became the largest US carrier with 86.6 million wireless customers at the end of the quarter ahead of AT&T's 78.2 million.
Revenue grew 11.6 percent in the quarter to 26.6 billion dollars.
Same-Sex Couples Across Iowa Apply to Marry
By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa – Same-sex couples began applying for marriage licenses at government offices across Iowa on Monday, and at least one lesbian couple tied the knot in a ceremony in Des Moines.
Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe were declared "legally married" by pastor Pat Esperanaza during a ceremony in front of Polk County administrative offices in Des Moines. It didn't take long before they were referring to one another as "wife."
"It's not very romantic is it?" Melisa Keeton joked about the location and media attention at the ceremony.
They will share the last name Keeton.
The couple believes they were the first same-sex couple married in Polk County, and possibly the state, since an April 3 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
"I didn't think it would be us," said Shelley Keeton, whose twin brother was served as one of the witnesses to the ceremony.
Earlier, the couple was able to get a judge to waive the state's three-day waiting period before marriages are considered final.
Grant Lan, 35, and his partner Andrew Mahoney-Lan, 32, were first in line at the Polk County office. The Windsor Heights couple planned to seek a waiver that would let them marry Monday.
"It's huge to be here first," Mahoney-Lan said.
Alicia Zacher, 24, and her 22-year-old fiance Jessica Roach, both of Des Moines, said they have a 4 p.m. appointment to get married if they can get a waiver. They said they wanted to get married as soon as possible after seeing how California voters reinstated a ban on same-sex marriage.
"You just never know when they'll try to take it away," Roach said.
A handful of Iowa's largest counties were seeing a rush right away, but foot traffic from same-sex couples began to slow toward midmorning.
At the Pottawattamie County recorder's office in western Iowa, Marilyn Hebing said about 10 couples filed their applications after the office opened, and more were slowly trickling in.
"It was pretty exciting, they were cheering out there," she said of the early morning crowd.
Dubuque County Recorder Kathy Flynn Thurlow said three couples had come into her office within the first few hours of opening. Her county, which borders Wisconsin, had gotten many telephone calls inquiring about the licenses.
"I expected even more (applications), already but we just don't know," she said.
In eastern Iowa, Johnson County Recorder Kim Painter, Iowa's only openly gay recorder, said when she saw the court's declaration, "We rolled open our windows and we've been busy."
She said that within the first half hour they had accepted about a half dozen applications and had about 10 more couples waiting to file. Some waited outside on the street under a tent and sipped coffee in what Painter called a "festive atmosphere."
Painter said she and her partner plan to apply to be married this week.
Rumors surfaced over the past week that some recorders would refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples over conflicts with their personal beliefs. Some conservative groups and lawmakers were accused of trying to recruit recorders to refuse the licenses.
State agencies sent out information to recorders statewide last week saying they could be removed from their positions if they don't follow the law and issue the licenses.
"There's a lot of people fishing around out there, but we'll see," said Painter. "I am quite optimistic that all 99 recorders will follow the rule of law and issue licenses."
Marilyn Dopheide, the Carroll County recorder and president of the Iowa County Recorder's Association, said that within about an hour of the recorders' offices opening there had been no problems with licenses being issued.
The Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous and emphatic decision on April 3 made Iowa the third state to allow same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts and Connecticut. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November. Vermont passed a law that will take effect in September.
In its decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld an August 2007 decision by a Polk County District Court judge who found that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection. One couple was married in 2007 before the Polk County judge ordered a stay on his decision.
The court issued an order Monday confirming that the appeals process in the case has officially concluded.
Gay marriage opponents have no other legal options to appeal the case to the state or federal level because they were not parties to the lawsuit, and there is no federal issue raised in the case.
Their only recourse appears to be a constitutional amendment, which couldn't get on the ballot until 2012 at the earliest. A constitutional convention could be called earlier, but is unlikely.
Iowa's same-sex marriage case had worked its way through the courts since 2005, when Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization, filed a lawsuit on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples in Iowa.
Iowa has a history of being in the forefront on social issues. It was among the first states to legalize interracial marriage and to allow married women to own property. It was also the first state to admit a woman to the bar to practice law and was a leader in school desegregation.
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