A study by SAP Concur shows bleisure trips are on the rise. Here are some ways to make them count

The following are some convenient golf and spa packages to consider going into the new year.

PGA National Resort & Spa South Floridas popular vacation, meetings, wellness and golf destination is offering its value-packed Gold Golf Package for a South Florida stay-and-play winter getaway to treasure.

PGA National offers 90 holes of high-caliber golf on five courses, including the famed Champion Course that is home to the popular PGA TOUR Honda Classic and past host of the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and several Senior PGA Championships.

PGA National also offers the David Leadbetter Golf Academy and David Pelz Scoring Game School for individual instruction and group clinics; Every Ball Counts a science-based, statistics-driven training system for golf improvement -- is offered at its off-site Estates Course; as is a state-of-the-art club fitting at Cool Club.

From Jan. 1 April 14, 2020 the Gold Golf Package starts at $339 (per person, per night, double occupancy) and offers deluxe accommodations with private balcony or terrace, full daily breakfast in the Palm Terrace restaurant, and one round per day (with cart) on the resorts five superb layouts.

Both The Palmer and The Champion courses require a $50 and $135 surcharge, respectively. The offer additionally features unlimited range balls and complimentary bag storage. Resort fees and taxes are included.

Through the Gold Golf Package, guests can combine a golf vacation while enjoying the areas Major League Baseball spring training as the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals share The Ballpark at Palm Beaches. The nearby Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.

They can also enjoy the high-tech 33,000-square-foot Sports & Racquet Club featuring a wide array of fitness activities and classes.

The property is 15 minutes from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) and one hour from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

Season of the Witch at Myrtle Beach

Mystical Golf is showcasing "Myrtle Beachs finest 54 holes of golf on its acclaimed Witch, Man-O-War and Wizard courses with stay-and-play packages to start the 2020 golf season in style.

From January through May, guests will discover wall to wall emerald green fairways rather than dormant brown conditions found on most courses during winter and spring months. The lush conditions are the result of Mystical Golfs substantial investment in overseeding with Ryegrass, emulating the agronomic practices of top courses like Augusta National.

From Jan. 1, the three-day Gold Package begins at $96 (per person, per day, taxes included). It includes three rounds with cart on each of the celebrated layouts (plus one additional complimentary afternoon round), three nights lodging in a three-bedroom villa, free IHOP breakfast daily (available 24 hours per day), and a gratis steak dinner at Logans Roadhouse (includes non-alcoholic beverages, taxes).

Added package highlights include two free beers and lunch at the course each day, complimentary daily range balls, instant replay round for cart fee only, and $15 gift card toward a golf shirt in any of the three well-stocked pro shops. Extra night stays are available at a moderate cost per person.

The resorts three layouts are highlighted by fun elements such as the only back-to-back island greens in the game (Man-O-War), a front nine of dramatic holes weaving through secluded swampland teeming with wildlife (The Witch), and a splendid layout reminiscent of Scotland and Irelands classic courses complete with authentic sod-faced bunkering and castle-style clubhouse (The Wizard).

Man-O-Wars 15th hole ranks among GOLF Magazines Five Most Memorable Island Greens alongside No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass, the Alcatraz hole at PGA Wests Stadium Course and Coeur dAlene Resorts movable, floating putting surface. The course is known for its back-to-back island greens and water features touching every hole. With a commanding 141 slope rating, the par-72, 6,967-yard layout is offset by straight-forward shots and excellent, bent-grass greens.

The Witch sits on 500 acres of tranquil cypress groves and wetlands teeming with flora and fauna. Tactical play is rewarded on the par-71, 6,702-yard layout. With 4,000 feet of bridges wending through swamps (front nine) and rolling hills (back nine), golfers may spy cranes, bald eagles, alligators and black bears.

The Wizard presents deep bunkers, mound-framed fairways and dramatic elevation changes. Trademark stone bridges and an Old-World, castle-style clubhouse add character to the par-72, 6,721-yard shot-makers course.

The Witch, Man-O-War and The Wizard are in the heart of Myrtle Beach and within 15 minutes of Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR).

Worth the Wellness in Los Cabos

The AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Los Cabos is hosting a Wellnessing Getaway in 2020 from February 19 21. Hosted by experts in health, nutrition, and wellness, the 3-day lineup of wellness-focused activities includes a number of yoga and fitness classes, healthy cooking and nutrition workshops, session on skin care, sonotherapy, ancestral cuisine, traditional Mexican rituals, and other considerations. All Wellnessing Getaway activities are included in the nightly rate.

A Mexican spiritual guide will kick off the retreat with an opening ritual calling on the elements. Then, it's onto some high impact with a workout from wellness influencer and certified personal trainer Rachel DeVaux, whose GOOD SWEAT program combines HIIT and circuit training with strength and compound movement.

Additional activities the first day include a masterclass in skin care from Adriana Azuara, founder of All4Spas; vigorous vinyasa complemented with guided yogic sleep and glowing body paint, led by international yoga teacher Danica Johnson; and an ancestral dinner on the beach.

Day 2 is another day of all-encompassing wellness complete with active stretching, a plant-based culinary class, and sound therapy.

The final day of the getaway offers a mindful yoga practice with pranayama, where guests can learn about breathing practices that help calm and balance both the mind and body; an interactive healthy cooking class; and a closing ritual on life in harmony.

Travelers seeking an all-encompassing wellness retreat can opt to stay in one of the resort's duplex wellness suites that offer a variety of fitness and wellness amenities.

Rates start at $695 in an Ambassador Suite and $787 in a Wellness Suite per person per night based on double occupancy.

See the rest here:
Golf and Spa: Packages that Guarantee Time Off Well Spent - Business Traveler USA

Misinformation abounds; we read in scientific literature that native juniper trees are invasive pinyons are often regarded as such, and both are treated as if they were undocumented immigrants.

David Charlet, Shah-Kan-Daw,Anthropogenic simplification of vegetation structure.

Utahs Dixie National Forest just released a scoping letter for the Pine Valley Wildlife Habitat Improvement Project. Its the latest in a never-ending barrage of federal agency Pinyon-Juniper, Sagebrush and other woody vegetation killing projects that are turning public lands into hot, dry, ugly, weedy wastelands. This one targets 320,000 acres of the Pine Valley Ranger District north of St. George, including 250,000 acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas. The landscape includes an immense laccolith (a lens shaped mass of igneous rock). It lies at the intersection of three Ecoregions Great Basin, Mojave and Colorado Plateau and is high in biodiversity. California Condor, Peregrine Falcon, Northern Goshawk, Townsend Big-eared Bat, Spotted Bat, Elk, Mule Deer, Wild Turkey, Flicker, Grey Vireo, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Virginias Warbler and Brewers Sparrow are listed as species of concern. Theres resounding silence about Pinyon Jay, a species whose population is plummeting as its pine nut producing forest habitat is being obliterated by federal agency vegetation treatment projects.

The Forest Service relies on a modeling report by The Nature Conservancy prepared under a Challenge Cost-Share Agreement. The report proclaims that TNC can foretell the future with Landscape Conservation Forecasting TM modeling.

Future conditions of the Districts major ecological systems, under alternative management scenarios, can be predicted with computer state-and-transition models.

TNCs crystal ball is trademarked, perhaps to create the illusion that this is cutting-edge stuff, or to dissuade activists prying into the process. Assumptions abound, with value judgements on the worth of plant communities heartily thrown into the mix. Crested wheatgrass seedings (exotic cattle forage grass) are considered benign. Encroaching native Pinyon, Juniper and Ponderosa Pine trees are high risk or bad actors.

Predictably, TNC finds that the Forests woody plant communities, even Serviceberry (a whopping 70,000 acres) and Cliffrose (11,000 acres) categories, are drastically uncharacteristic. Serviceberry is 100% departed from the condition TNC claims it should be in. Who knew there was a major Serviceberry and Cliffrose health crisis on our National Forests? Theres not. Its all about how the modelers contrived to define and categorize what the plant community living in a particular land area should be.

Categorizing the plant community as what an agency desires to be the dominant plant species, rather than what is present or what the late successional stage actually is, clears the way to justify destroying mature and old growth woody plant communities reducing them to bare dirt, ash, and the ultimate goal, grass for livestock forage.

If you were to go out on the Dixie Forest and look at TNCs Serviceberry sites, you would see PJ, some Ponderosa Pine and a variety of shrubs growing there. Its the conifers that are the projects target. TNC states the major problem in Serviceberry sites istree encroachment by Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine. The Dixie Forest can apparently get the most bang for the buck (a consideration in the TNC report) by slaying these trees. Why have trees when they can be replaced with exotic grass for cows instead? Any Serviceberry or Cliffrose plants present are likely to be killed as collateral damage in the vegetation purge being set in motion.

TNC models the outcome of various forest destruction methods. For Serviceberry, these are: Chainsaw-Lopping, Herbicide+Plateau+Seed, Hypo-Hatchet-Spyke, Contractor Masticate+Herbicide+Seed, Inhouse Masticate+Herbicide+Seed, Rx Fire, Thin+Herbicide+Seed. A stench of herbicide wafts from the screen just reading about it.

The Spyke HydroAx (I had to Google it) is an herbicide squirting ax that mainlines poison into a tree trunk. Seeding is to be done using exotic grass. The type of chemical generally referred to as herbicide is not revealed. Its likely to be the persistent plant poison Tebuthiuron, sold as Spike, that kills a broad range of woody vegetation. But who knows, it could be 2,4-D, glyphosate (Round Up), drifting Dicamba or a toxic brew of them all. Outside Roadless areas, all methods except chainsaws and fire are modeled for use. Inside Roadless areas, TNC finds a modest amount of tree encroachment which is high risk, so the forest would be Spyke hydro-hatcheted or burned in an Rx fire. They delight in making plant killing sound beneficial. Following deforestation, watersheds are proposed to be doused with Plateau (Imazapic) herbicide that interrupts plant seed germination and is touted as preventing cheatgrass.

Theres already a big cheatgrass problem on this heavily grazed Forest that suffers many kinds of human impacts, with flammable cheatgrass carpeting understories of trees and shrubs in some areas, especially dominating in wildfire sites. Project disturbance will only make matters worse. Cheatgrass thrives in machine disturbed soils, hot deforested sites, and torn up cryptogamic crusts. These crusts are vital components of arid ecosystems, a living soil covering of lichens, mosses and blue-green algae that help prevent weeds, limit erosion, and sequester CO2. TNCs vegetation community descriptions and modeling are dead silent about crusts.

Cheatgrass relishes the hot, dry conditions created by clearing the land of micro-climate moderating woody plants. It loves cattle grazing trampling tears up soils, manure and urine nutrients abound, and a half ton dispersal agent spreads seeds all over the place.

A new scientific paper has yet again demonstrated that livestock grazing causes cheatgrass. Project disturbances will generate the perfect storm of conditions for cheatgrass to dominate in this chronically grazed landscape. No amount of herbicide will prevent it. TNC models project outcomes with proper livestock grazing, without detailing what this means. If it is grazing under the Forest Plan standards, the weeds stem from those failed policies. Another recent paper warns that frequent fires from annual arson grasses are causing forest loss.

with climate change and human assistance we are moving to a grass world.

The grasses are, more or less, like kindling. If someone lights a match and throws in the middle of a forest, it is unlikely a fire will start, but throw it in a field of cheatgrass and odds are that its going to catch.

This raises the specter that arid mountains are fated to become treeless as cheatgrass and other annual weeds drive fire after fire, precluding native plant recovery. Proposing radical disturbance of the Pine Valley project in a landscape highly vulnerable to weed expansion is madness.

TNCs cheatgrass cure-all is Plateau herbicide. Ive seen its handiwork in plenty of places. BLM revels in spraying this chemical in its cattle-centered fire rehab projects, and its own woody vegetation assaults. Plateau does not discriminate between cheatgrass seeds and native plant seeds when it halts germination. It disrupts natural recovery that may be taking place. Spray hype ignores that Plateau (plus 2,4-D or other chemicals that may be mixed in if cheatgrass has already started germinating) can kill the perennial native grasses and forbs that survived fires. BLM sprayed it to control cheatgrass after the Holloway Fire in eastern Oregon. Result: Gray stripes of dead herbicide-killed bunchgrass and lots of cheatgrass. In the aftermath of the 2015 Owyhee Idaho-Malheur Oregon Soda Fire, BLM spent vast sums on aerial spraying of Plateau. Theres now an explosion of cheatgrass and seas of expanding medusahead.

TNCs Pine Valley modeling for Wyoming Sagebrush (85,000 acres, 100% departed) and other communities follows the Serviceberry pattern in lockstep. Areas occupied by trees are categorized as sage sites, found to be highly departed and uncharacteristic. In the immortal words of Ely BLM whose massive PJ killing projects have long relied on TNC methods, the forests are out of whack. This can only be cured by laying them to waste. For the 100,000 acres of Pine Valley Pinyon-Juniper forest that TNC concedes is present, 83% of the PJ is in a state of Departure. Across the landscape, TNC finds an out of balance build up of conifers.

Landfire website information is key in TNC, BLM and the Forest Service categorizing plant communities in an earlier successional state as the norm, with minimal woody vegetation cover. Clicking on BPS at the Landfire site takes you to a TNC Conservation Gateway site. TNC has long been deeply involved in generating the data that underlies the manipulation of woody vegetation communities, with work supported by taxpayers through Challenge Cost Share grants. The FRCC site is cited as a joint government and TNC site:

Homepage of the Interagency and The Nature Conservancy Fire Regime Condition Class website, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, The Nature Conservancy, and Systems for Environmental Management.

I truly dont understand the whole circular reasoning process. I do, however, understand enough from reviewing scores of agency documents using BPS, FRCC and similar model artifices and classifications to justify radical deforestation and sagebrush destruction, to believe that this methodology has become a huge problem for conservation of wildlife habitats and biodiversity. I encourage other activists and scientists more skilled than me to critically examine it. The BPS and FRCC categories are used as the basis for finagling ways to attack late successional forests and shrubs. This lays the foundation for disrupting natural plant succession, preventing mature forests from developing, and destroying those that exist. Heres a typical goal from an Ely BLM document: Move the landscapes within the watersheds towards Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) 1, with a mosaic of seral stages attaining the potential cover percentages of grasses and forbs for the respective biophysical settings (BpS).

What Ely BLM does to a PJ forest that TNCs models proclaim to be Out of Whack.

In Pine Valley, TNC admits that PJ grows in the similar elevation and precipitation zone as Serviceberry, but points to a hodgepodge of references at the Landfire site to proclaim that Serviceberry, not PJ is what should be present. Departure is based on the difference between the plants on the land now and the plants that are claimed to have been present under pre-settlement conditions.

Fire return intervals and Fire Regime Condition Class from Landfire data (which TNC has been deeply involved in, and funded for, developing over the years) are used to divine pre-settlement plant reference communities. These fire return intervals are used to plot the Historical Range of Variability (HRV). FRCC uses the departure from HRV. The modeled plant community is called the Biophysical Setting (BPS). Monocultures of flammable cheatgrass and old growth forests can end up in the same agency FRCC category, Class 3. How can that be? Under the models, cheatgrass burns too frequently (which is true), and mature forests and sage have not burned frequently enough. Hence, the only recourse is treatment. Somehow it is only ever the forests that get treated by the Feds, not cheatgrass monocultures. Placing plant communities in FRCC Classes 2 and 3 is used by agencies for fire risk fearmongering. Class 1 is the stark ideal.

A cardinal rule seems to be to never look outside the artificial world you are creating, to see what evidence is around you. Never consult historical sources from or about the early settlement era such as explorer or settler journals, Mining District records, the early Interior Departments General Land Office survey records or other sources. Never look at all the past agency veg clearing projects that drastically altered communities. Never look at what the land can tell you, the weathering stumps of very old trees, or blackened soils from charcoal processing. In this case, that extends to never look at the Forests Website. There, up until recently, by a photo of a stone monument to Mountain Meadows Massacre victims, was a photo of charcoal kilns from the regions iron ore mining and other evidence of considerable early settlement era disturbance.

The Dixie country is no stranger to trickery and deceit. At Mountain Meadows in the project area, the Mormons Utah Territorial Militia (Nauvoo Legion) armed Southern Paiutes and coerced them into joining a militia attack on an emigrant wagon train bound for California. The Whites plotted to pin the attack on the Paiutes. Militiamen disguised themselves as Native Americans but feared some emigrants had seen through their disguises. Using a white flag of truce, they led all the emigrants over 8 years old to slaughter. John D. Lee, the only militiaman to be convicted, believed Brigham Young may have ordered the attack and concealed evidence. Surviving children recounted seeing the militiamen washing off war paint.

Back to the TNC report. Its full of little boxes and connecting lines, called state and transition models. These diagrams of little boxes make it all appear very complicated when basically they represent disrupted plant community succession stages. The modeling rigamarole is aimed at keeping woody plant communities from existing on the land as a late successional climax stage, i.e. a fully developed forest and/or shrubland.

The modeling is also infused with value judgments about the benign nature of crested wheatgrass, forage kochia and other plants the Forest Service and cattlemen prefer, in developing something termed Unified Ecological Departure defined with nonsensical jargon. This can only be cured by huge influxes of federal funds totaling as much as $550/acre for PJ mastication and herbicide, or $800/acre for aspen thinning.

The Wests Arid Forests Are Being Ripped Apart Based on Modeling Chicanery Targeting Woody Plant Communities

Beautiful wild places and irreplaceable wildlife habitat across public lands are being destroyed based on these convoluted modeling schemes. In Bodie Hills Bi-State Sage-Grouse country of California and Nevada, a TNC report is used by BLM as a basis for manipulation across the landscape. In Montana, TNC is aiding cattle ranchers in targeting lower elevation Douglas fir for eradication.

Nevada Ely BLM Watershed Assessments (Cave and Lake Valleys, South Steptoe, Egan Johnson project and many others) are masterpieces of the Dark Arts and arcana of modeling deception in support of landscape-level attacks on forests and sagebrush. Fire return intervals and other information embraced and/or developed by TNC undergird the documents. The 2019 Ely BLM Long and Ruby Valley Watershed EA continues to use TNC Biophysical Setting (BPS) info via the Landfire sites link to TNCs own conservation.org website.

In Idaho, Owyhee BLM, NRCS, TNC and cattle ranchers long schemed to destroy the ancient juniper forests on Juniper Mountain by using bogus fire return intervals and other information from the Landfire site to model the trees out of existence. If a short enough fire return interval is used, the modeling finds that forests cant exist because the land burns too often. This aids BLM and the livestock industry immensely in Rangeland Health Assessment process. It provides a tree scapegoat that distracts attention from livestock damage. The land is defined as unhealthy because there are junipers present. Rather than deal with the cows, the agency gets rid of the trees. Abracadabra. Ancient forests vanish.

Voodoo vegetation modeling map for Juniper Mountain, used to justify napalming many thousands of ancient Western Juniper trees across the rugged mountain. The maps left sidebar has no indication of any juniper at all being present. Zero juniper communities are mapped.

Juniper Mountain was covered in Western Juniper forest before the trees were modeled out of existence, and fated for treatment.

Six-foot diameter charred stump of Western Juniper after the Juniper Mountain forest was napalmed by BLM.

These projects destroy native vegetation to generate more cattle forage across the West all the while claiming lofty goals of restoring pre-settlement plant communities, fire suppression, saving sage-grouse or other species, when in fact they are doing just the opposite.

Expanse of Juniper Mountain Western Juniper, some still smoking in the aftermath of Owyhee BLMs Rx burn.

The Dixie Forest modeling madness is mirrored in methods being used by federal agencies across the West. Ignore what is on the land now especially mature and old growth forests. Ignore crusts. Use the shortest fire return/disturbance intervals you can get away with. Ignore history. Conjure up plant community categories heavy on grass and short on woody plants. Categorize plant communities growing in the elevation and precipitation zone where Pinyon-Juniper grows as some other type of plant community with shorter fire return intervals. Design Ecosites and other models to justify keeping the land in a permanent state of arrested development, where theres more grass and less woody plant cover. Cloaked in scientific garb, TNC operates as an agent, enabler and tool of government and corporate policies tailored to benefit the livestock, logging and other industries, getting government grants for its work.

Sagebrush communities cant rest easy either. Mature and old growth sagebrush with denser canopies exceed the amount of cover the models allow. Sage with splendid crusts but sparse grass cover, or sites where the cows have killed off understory plants, are similarly found to be deviant and uncharacteristic. Sagebrush that provides crucial habitat for Pygmy Rabbit, Brewers Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, Sage Sparrow and Sage-grouse must be mowed, roller-beat or otherwise abused. Passive restoration, removing grazing disturbance to heal understories, is verboten.

Heres my non-trademarked Future Forecasting (even without consulting what happens when the Wheel of Fortune is reversed in the little Tarot book I found soggy in the street one day):

Intertwined wild cards of climate change, weeds and grazing, now rule. Arid mountain ranges are becoming treeless. They are under siege from hotter temperatures, climate-driven fire and other stresses. Federal deforestation projects that denude mountains of climate-moderating trees and woody plant cover worsen the Climate Crisis. They fast forward potentially irreversible forest and shrub community loss.

David Charlets Shah-Kan-Daw paper, written after a trip to Iran in the Bush Iraq War years, lays out the path the public lands are on. What happened to Irans forests and shrubs over many millenia is happening to the arid West in a heartbeat, less than 200 years. Federal projects based on flawed models are driving ecosystems past a point of no return.

Instead of elaborate scheming to justify killing more trees and shrubs under a relentless Manifest Destiny management mindset, we must preserve all that we have. Shred the heap of BLM and Forest Service plans authorized or in the works, based on dodgy models designed to disrupt native woody communities. End weed-causing grazing. Apply the funds saved to developing bio-controls for annual grasses. Reforest and restore shrubs across our public lands.

Cheatgrass and other weeds thriving 2 or 3 years after BLM cut and burned junipers in Pole Creek on Juniper Mountain.

A wall of cheatgrass and bulbous bluegrass from Owyhee BLM Pole Creek juniper burning continuous tinder dry grass where four years ago there was forest cover.

Link:
Voodoo Vegetation Modeling Dooms Native Forests and Wildlife Habitat - CounterPunch

Homeserve (LON:HSV) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at HSBC from GBX 1,000 ($13.15) to GBX 1,090 ($14.34) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 12th, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a reduce rating on the stock. HSBCs price objective points to a potential downside of 14.04% from the stocks previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Liberum Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Homeserve in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and set a GBX 1,360 ($17.89) target price on shares of Homeserve in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a GBX 1,500 ($19.73) price target on shares of Homeserve in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Homeserve in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Peel Hunt reaffirmed an add rating and set a GBX 1,350 ($17.76) price target (up previously from GBX 1,250 ($16.44)) on shares of Homeserve in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of GBX 1,342 ($17.65).

HSV opened at GBX 1,268 ($16.68) on Thursday. Homeserve has a fifty-two week low of GBX 847.50 ($11.15) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 1,298 ($17.07). The companys 50-day moving average is GBX 1,214.53 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 1,173.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion and a P/E ratio of 38.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 86.86, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

HomeServe plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides home repair and improvement services to household customers under the HomeServe brand. It offers plumbing, drainage, electrics, water supply pipe, gas supply pipe, appliance repair, pest infestation, and locksmith services, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services.

See Also: Roth IRA

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Homeserve (LON:HSV) Price Target Raised to GBX 1,090 at HSBC - Slater Sentinel

If youve been to Mexican spot Mission or Hawthorne on U Street, youre familiar with the Mission Group mentality: lively bars with frequent food-and-drink happy hours and tons of no-fee event spaces. Co-founders Fritz Broganand ReedLandryare sticking to the same formula for the newest addition to their restaurant family, the Admiral, a seafood spot opening today in Dupont Circle.

While Mission is all about tequila, the Admirals drink of choice is bourbon. Specifically, 75 different types of American whiskey. If you prefer brews over booze, a dozen draft lines are pouring classics like Pacifico, Stella Artois, and Sam Adams as well as two draft cocktails.Still riding the hard seltzer train? The bar serves both Truly and White Claw.

Keeping in step with the Admirals sister spots, happy hour is daily with both food and drink specials. The first session from 4 PM to 7 PM features half-price oyster platters, $7 draft cocktails, and select beers for $5 or $8. On Thursday through Saturday starting at 11 PM there are more half-price bivalves in addition to shot specialsliquid courage to dance to the DJ.

The restaurants name is in homage to Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont (you may be familiar with a certain circle also named in tribute). For chef Roberto Hernandez, the moniker beget the menu. It was like: Admiral. Navy. Seafood. Ocean. Thats the road weve got to take, says Hernandez.

The nautical menu is the marriage of seafood plates and global pub favorites. Hernandez looked to New England for a buttery lobster roll on a potato bun. Dishes like jambalaya and hushpuppies are pulled from the south. Jumbo lump crab dip gratin is a tribute to the Mid-Atlantic, and oysters at the raw bar are sourced from Virginia.

Theres also plenty of land-loving bar snacks like brisket sliders, bourbon BBQ chicken wings, and french fries made in-house. The restaurant is opening with a preview menu until December 24 and will unveil the full offerings on December 26.

The restaurants pice de rsistance is a massive 200-seat outdoor patio with its own bar, lounge area, and event space. While the patio is currently winterized the team is exploring adding heaters for cold weather.

In the meantime, you can pull up a chair indoors. Like the menu, the decor plays on the seafaring theme with navy banquettes and light-washed wood. Eighteen flat screen TVs are scattered across the space, which means the bar can play both the big game and the big political showdown (it is Washington, after all).

Bottomless brunch will be available on weekends in January 2020.

The Admiral. 1 Dupont Circle., NW.

Join the conversation!

Daniella joined Washingtonian in August 2018. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison grad and lives in Logan Circle.

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The Admiral Opens In Dupont Circle With Daily Oyster Happy Hour And A Massive Patio - Washingtonian

Carl R Staub

AVON LAKE, Ohio -- The stately brick colonial at 31940 Lake Rd. has everything you could ask for in a lake house: a grand two-tier patio with views of the Cleveland skyline, dock access for your boat, and plenty of space inside and out for entertaining,

"This home has incredible curb appeal, quality finishes and a great floor plan," says Howard Hanna listing agent Kim Crane. "The lake access is amazing and really sets this apart from other lakefront homes. With over 10,000 square feet of living space this home is also an incredible value for the price tag."

Built in 2006, the home has 3 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and huge finished walkout lower level. On the market for just a couple of weeks, the home is available for $1,950,000.

Keep on reading for more photos and information about the home.

Carl R Staub

Carl R Staub

See the full listing

Address: 31940 Lake Road

City: Avon Lake

Price: $1,950,000

Square footage: 10,381

Year built: 2006

No. bedrooms: 3

No. bathrooms: 5.5

Lot size: 0.91 acre

School district: Avon Lake City School District

Real estate agent and contact info: Kim Crane, Howard Hanna

p: (440) 333-6500

e: kim@kimcranehomes.com

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The living spaces on the main level feature tall ceilings, Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, and wood moldings and trim.

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The sun room, with accessed from the family and dining rooms, is covered in oak and has a slate floor.

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The kitchen features cherry cabinets, granite counters, tin ceiling, breakfast area, bar and butler's pantry.

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The office has an atrium with an additional workspace on the second level.

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Bedrooms and bathrooms

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The first-floor master suite comes with lakefront views, en-suite bathroom and a spiral staircase down to the lower level.

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The two upstairs bedrooms share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom.

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Finished basement

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From the listing: "The walkout lower level is finished and includes a family/media room with a fireplace, three rec rooms, a full kitchen, two full baths, ample storage space, and patio access."

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Outdoor spaces

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The outdoor space includes a multi-level patio with several seating options, 180-degree views of the lake and walkway down to the dock and shoreline.

Carl R Staub

Carl R Staub

For more information on 31940 Lake Rd. in Avon Lake, contact Kim Crane, Howard Hanna at (440) 333-6500 or kim@kimcranehomes.com.

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Brick colonial with amazing lake access in Avon Lake asks $1.95M: House of the Week - cleveland.com

Just because winter is here doesnt mean that you cant move forward with some of those all-important outdoor projects. Get in front of the outdoor season while the temps are cooler, so you have more time to enjoy your staycation area when its warm! Here are a few outdoor projects that can be completed this winter:

Warm up with a fire feature:

With the unpredictable weather in Clarksville, Tennessee, an outdoor fire feature can be enjoyed most months of the year. An outdoor fire pit or fireplace can add warmth to the season as well as create an inviting social atmosphere. Fire features also give your outdoor living area a beautiful focal point. The grill master in your house might also enjoy a new outdoor kitchen! You can browse the AR Stoneworks outdoor fireplaces and kitchen products here.

Splash around by spring:

Avoid the rush! By installing a pool in the off season your family will literally be able to splash into spring and take advantage of your investment the moment mother nature starts sending out those warm days. AR Stoneworks offers a stunning line of unique fiberglass pools with over 30 models in dazzling colors. All Custom Fiberglass Pools are backed with a lifetime warranty! Start your pool process today!

Upgrade your driveway, patio or pool deck with pavers:

The winter months are the perfect time to install hardscape projects such as pavers, retaining and garden walls. Pavers can be installed in place of asphalt and concrete or they can be overlayed over your existing media. Paver overlays save a lot of money on demolition and give the area a new updated look. They have a lifetime guarantee against cracking and are on average six degrees cooler under the hot sun than other media. AR Stoneworks offers a variety of pavers, including quality pavers from Belgard. Belgard pavers are designed to be strong, durable, stylish and environmentally friendly, ensuring your driveway or patio will stand the test of time.

De-stress with a spa:

The holiday season tends to bring on more stress. Step outside your fast-paced life and into the soothing, effervescent waters of a new swim spa or hot tub. Along with inground, fiberglass options AR Stoneworks also carries Shoreline modular spas. Shoreline spas are custom built with a host of features like, Bluetooth Radio, LED lights, high efficiency performance pumps and a variety of jets and seating arrangements that will ensure a spa experience that fits your physique and lifestyle.

Upgrade your indoor fireplace:

Is your staycation area inside? Freshen up the look of your indoor fireplace with veneer stonework. The team at AR Stoneworks will make your dream fireplace come to life with a custom design. Update an older home with a more modern veneer stone fireplace. Veneer comes in a variety of natural and manufactured styles, colors and cuts.

You can contact AR Stoneworks for all of your staycation area needs by calling 931.218.2828 or filling out the form below.

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Improve your backyard this winter with these easy projects - Clarksville Now

Posted 12-20-2019 by Janae Pierre.

Bryan Stevenson (center) joins Walter McMillian and his family after his exoneration in 1993.

Equal Justice Initiative

The film Just Mercy premieresFriday in Montgomery. Its based on civil rights attorney Bryan Stevensons efforts to free Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully charged with murder in 1988 and sentenced to death row. A year later, Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a Montgomery nonprofit that defends people who may have been wrongly convicted, often due to the color of their skin.

Anthony Ray Hintoncredits the Equal Justice Initiative with saving his life.

Had it not been for EJI, theres no doubt in my mind I would have been executed by now, he says.

In 1985, Hinton was convictedof murdering two fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham. Hinton told detectives he didnt do it, but he says they didnt care.

He [the detective] said but since yall always taking up for one another, take this rap for one of your homeboys who truly did it,' Hinton says. And that cost me 30 years of my life.

Thirty years. That washow long Hinton spent on death rowbefore the state exonerated him in 2015.Decades later, wrongful convictions are still not unusual in Alabama. Kira Fonteneauis the former public defender for Jefferson County.

Not much has changed, she says. The conditions that set people up to be wrongfully convicted still exist in the system today.

Take race, for example. Fonteneau says people of color are being locked up for things they didnt do.

And we see that because there are a lot of things that go along in the criminal justice system that often will make it either easier for people to plea or for their version of the events not to get told in trials, she says.

Fonteneau says often times people of color cant afford an attorney or an expert witness two things that are vital in many cases.

Carla Crowder is an attorney and executive director of Alabama Appleseed, an advocacy group that focuses on criminal justice issues. She says in Alabama, people of color are at a major disadvantagebecause of structural racism across the entire criminal justice system.

You have vastly disproportionate numbers of white prosecutors and district attorneys, Crowder says. The appellate courts are entirely white and the Alabama Supreme Court.

Thats why many civil rights attorneys believe Stevensons work, chronicled in his memoir,is so important.They say hes leveling the playing field to make sure people have the legal representation they need to fight a system much larger than themselves.

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Just Mercy Sheds Light on Lack of Change in AL Justice System - WBHM

As it settles into New Yorks cultural fabric, the Shed the $475 million arts center in Hudson Yards that opened earlier this year has a question to answer: After a flashy first season that has included a kung fu musical, Bjrk and a concert series conceived by the director Steve McQueen, how do you keep people interested?

The venues sophomore season, announced Friday, is a response to that question.

One thing we wanted to do was to have a wide enough range of commissions in that first season to demonstrate that there was something for most people in our program, Alex Poots, the Sheds artistic director and chief executive, said in an interview.

Theres less pressure on this season to do everything, he added.

Its still an eclectic mix.

The 2020 season will include the world premiere of Help, a theatrical work by the author and poet Claudia Rankine that explores white male privilege a subject that Rankine also addressed in an article in The New York Times Magazine this year. Help will be directed by Taibi Magar, with movement choreography by the dancer Shamel Pitts. It will debut in March.

The United States premiere of Misty, a play by the British playwright and actor Arinze Kene, will come in September. Misty had a buzzy debut in London at the Bush Theater last year, before transferring to the West End. The Shed has commissioned an altered version.

In May, the Sheds flagship space, the McCourt Theater, will host a large-scale interactive artwork from the visual artist Toms Saraceno, part of an exhibition, Particular Matter(s), that deals with climate change.

The season will also feature work by the artists Ian Cheng and Howardena Pindell, plus commissions from the Sheds Open Call program, which develops work by New York artists.

Alongside newcomers, the 2020 slate will feature artists behind two of the first seasons big shows.

The choreographer William Forsythe, who brought A Quiet Evening of Dance to the Shed this year, will return to the venue in October to debut a new work jointly commissioned by the Shed and Boston Ballet.

And after leading an interpretation of Verdis Requiem at the Shed last month, the conductor Teodor Currentzis, along with the MusicAeterna chorus and orchestra, is set to perform another program in November, the details of which will be announced next year.

See the rest here:
The Sheds Second Season to Feature New Commissions and Familiar Faces - The New York Times

After a white Fort Worth police officer fatally shot a black woman through the window of her home, North Texans wanted information and answers.

Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when a neighbor called police to do a welfare check at her home. Officers' presence in her yard late at night may have frightened her. She went to a window. Seeing a figure inside a room, officer Aaron Dean shot Jefferson. Her nephew was in the room when it happened.

The article about this October 12 tragedy was KERA News' most-readstoryof 2019.

In April, reporter Stella Chvez was the first to break law enforcement news of a different kind: the largest U.S. worksite ICE raid in 10 years. That story became our second most-read of the year.

Chvez received a tip on Twitter about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside a building in Plano. By the time she arrived, they were on the way to Allen, but she didn't know exactly where. She followed a helicopter in her car, hoping it would lead her to their destination. It did.

ICE agents raided a technology repair company, arresting 284 employees on charges of working in the U.S. illegally.

The other stories that round out the year's 10 most-read show our community's hunger for information after tragedy, guidance on civic processes and context for complex issues.

No. 3 America's mass shooting count

Just about every news outlet in the country reported on the El Paso shootings. What was different about our third most-read story, "The El Paso Shooting Is The 249th Mass Shooting Of 2019" by the Guns & America reporting initiative, was that it helped readers understand how to situate this particular tragedy among the many.

RELATED | View coverage about theEl Paso shootingsor other El Paso stories

No. 4 November voter guide

In November, Texans cast votes for a slew of county and local political races and initiatives and 10 state constitutional amendments. Casting a vote itself isn't hard. It's thoroughly understanding what the choices mean that takes time along with remembering logistics like where to go and what to bring.

We hope our fourth most-read article of the year, a voter guide to the November 2019 elections, helped.

RELATED | See political coverage

No. 5 A TexRail guide

Speaking of guides, our No. 5 article was an explainer on how TexRail works, plus what the cars are like, where the stations are, where to park and the cost of fare.

The new commuter train, which runs from Fort Worth to DFW Airport, opened in January.

No. 6 New Texas gun laws

Eight new gun laws went into effect in Texas on Sept. 1. Guns & America offered a rundown of those laws, which include allowing Texans to carry guns in places of worship, unless otherwise banned by those places with signage, and carry guns without a license during a state of disaster.

The laws also detail several new prohibitions not against carrying or owning a firearm, but against making it more difficult to do so. For instance, landlords can't ban renters and their guests from carrying guns in lease agreements.

No. 7 How to define 'mass shooting'

It's difficult to emotionally process one tragic event after another. That's made even more challenging when there is no official, shared definition around the mass violence phenomenon in the U.S.

Our No. 7 story, "What Is A Mass Shooting? Why We Struggle To Agree On How Many There Were This Year" from the Guns & America initiative, sought to at least help readers understand why there's often such a lack of clarity on the tragic topic.

RELATED | Why Some Shootings Are Called Mass Shootings And Others Are Ignored

No. 8 How to find therapists of color

I just want to confirm, are you African American? Clients will sometimes ask Dr. Stacia Alexander that over the phone in their quest to find a black therapist.

The licensed professional counselor in Dallas was one of the people who informed our February story, "How More People Of Color Are Finding Therapists Who Look Like Them." It highlighted the Therapy for Black Girls online directory and the deep reasons it's important to a lot of clients that the mental health professional sitting across from them looks like them.

RELATED |Meet 'Black Girl Magic,' The 19 African-American Women Elected As Judges In Texas

Also: Explore more mental health coverage

No. 9 Fatal crane crash

In June, Kiersten Smith and her fiance Eric Ridenhour were enjoying a relaxing Sunday in their second floor apartment on the northeast cusp of downtown Dallas. She was watching Grey's Anatomy and he was making grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was a stormy, windy day.

Then a crane crashed through their apartment, killing Smith and injuring several other people at Elan City Lights apartments.

She and Ridenhour were to be married this past September. "She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," he said.

No. 10 Dallas mayoral candidates guide

Dallas had nine nine candidates for the May 4 mayoral election. There were 13 declared candidates at one point.

Our Dallas mayoral candidate guide was the tenth most-read article of 2019 and, hopefully, it offered on-the-fence Dallas voters the information they needed to feel confident about their choice.

The election whittled the number down to two Texas Rep. Eric Johnson and Dallas City Council member Scott Griggs with Johnson winning the runoff election in June.

We couldn't have covered these stories without the support of our fellow North Texans. Thank you for listening to, reading and trusting the work of KERA.

Read more from the original source:
2019's Top Stories Shed Light On Tragic Events And Complex Issues - KERA News

Artists concept of the just-launched CHEOPS space telescope, which will study hundreds of exoplanets in greater detail than ever before. Image via ESA/ ATG medialab/ DLR.

After a one-day delay, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its CHEOPS mission last week, on the morning of December 18, 2019, from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. CHEOPS is the first ESA mission dedicated to studying exoplanets, those distant worlds orbiting other stars. NASAs planet-hunting space missions, first Kepler andnow TESS, have been finding new exoplanets. CHEOPS will study hundreds of exoplanets already known to exist out of 4,000-plus now confirmed to determine their sizes, masses, densities and possible atmospheres.

In this way, CHEOPS will take us some steps along the road of finding out what many exoworlds are actually like, not an easy task.

CHEOPS stands for CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite. The telescope will reside in a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth at an altitude of more than 400 miles (700 km).Kate Isaak, CHEOPS project scientist, said in a statement:

We are very excited to see the satellite blast off into space. There are so many interesting exoplanets and we will be following up on several hundreds of them, focusing in particular on the smaller planets in the size range between Earth and Neptune. They seem to be the commonly found planets in our Milky Way galaxy, yet we do not know much about them. CHEOPS will help us reveal the mysteries of these fascinating worlds, and take us one step closer to answering one of the most profound questions we humans ponder: are we alone in the universe?

Watch the launch below:

Heike Rauer, Director of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin, said:

More than 4000 exoplanets have been discovered in the Milky Way, yet we still know far too little about these distant worlds in our cosmic neighborhood. We are all eager to see which faces the planets characterized by CHEOPS will show us.

So how does CHEOPS observe these planets?

Like some other telescopes, it will watch as the planets transit in front of their stars, as seen from Earth. As Juan Cabrera Perez, Head of the Extrasolar Planets and Atmospheres Department at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, explained:

We could describe this fluctuation in brightness as a mini stellar eclipse, as the transiting exoplanet reduces the intensity of the light from the star for a short time. This fluctuation can be measured and analyzed an area in which we can contribute suitable tools and many years of experience.

EarthSky 2020 lunar calendars are available! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

Cool photo of CHEOPS launch, December 18, 2019. Image via ESA/ S. Corvaja.

CHEOPS will focus on some of the most common exoplanets discovered so far, ranging in size from Earth to Neptune, or about approximately 6,000 to 30,000 miles (10,000 to 50,000 km) in diameter. Using data from the transits, CHEOPS can determine the size, mass and density of the planets. All of these are important in order for scientists to figure out the planets compositions. Some will be rocky like Earth, while others will have deep, gaseous atmospheres like Neptune or even Jupiter or Saturn. Knowing this will also help scientists determine which of these worlds might be potentially habitable. Of course, rocky planets similar in size to Earth, or a bit larger super-Earths would be the most interesting in this regard. Nicola Rando, CHEOPS project manager, said:

Both CHEOPS instrument and spacecraft are built to be extremely stable, so as to measure the incredibly small variations in the light of distant stars as their planets transit in front of them. For a planet like Earth, this amounts to the equivalent of watching the sun from a distant star and measuring its light dim by a tiny fraction of a percent. Now we are looking forward to the first part of the operational activities, making sure that the satellite and instrument perform as expected, ready for scientists to perform their world-class science.

CHEOPS will also be able to find out which of these planets do have atmospheres and whether they have clouds. This will help differentiate between deep, gaseous primordial atmospheres with no real solid surface beneath them, and thinner atmospheres like those on terrestrial planets such as Earth, Venus or Mars.

CHEOPS is just the first of three planned ESA missions to study exoplanets.

The Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) space telescope, expected to launch in 2026, will focus on searching for Earth-like planets, ones that are rocky and about the same size as Earth orbiting in their stars habitable zones. So far, most such worlds have been found orbiting red dwarf stars, the most common type of star in our galaxy. CHEOPS, however, will look for these planets around sun-like stars. It will also be able to determine the age of these planetary systems with more accuracy than possible before.

A couple of years later, in 2028, ESA will launch the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL) mission, which will study the atmospheres of exoplanets. As well as atmospheric composition, this will help scientists develop a comprehensive catalog of exoplanetary orbits, radii, masses, densities and ages.

All three of these exciting missions, and others, will greatly increase our knowledge of these exotic, far-off worlds.

View larger. | Timeline of ESA and NASA exoplanet missions, including CHEOPS. Image via ESA.

As Gnther Hasinger, ESA Director of Science, said:

CHEOPS will take exoplanet science to a whole new level.After the discovery of thousands of planets, the quest can now turn to characterization, investigating the physical and chemical properties of many exoplanets and really getting to know what they are made of and how they formed. CHEOPS will also pave the way for our future exoplanet missions, from the international James Webb Telescope to ESAs very own PLATO and ARIEL satellites, keeping European science at the forefront of exoplanet research.

The CHEOPS mission is a partnership between ESA and Switzerland with additional contributions from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. More than 100 scientists and engineers are involved. The nominal mission is expected to last 3 1/2 years. While the CHEOPS science team has the bulk of observation time, 20% of the time is reserved for other scientists from around the world.

CHEOPS and the coming follow-up missions will open an exciting new chapter in exoplanetary study. What fascinating discoveries will they make?

Bottom line: ESA has successfully launched its CHEOPS space telescope to study hundreds of exoplanets in more detail than ever before.

Via ESA

Via German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Read more: Visit CHEOPS website

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Europes CHEOPS mission will shed light on strange new worlds - EarthSky