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TYRONE TOWNSHIP (WJRT) -

(12/30/13) - The pre-Christmas ice storm that wreaked havoc on Mid-Michigan, boosted business for some area tree removal companies.

"It was kind of a blessing," said John Judson, owner of Budget Tree & Landscape in Fenton.

He can see the positivebecause it meant work for hiscrews. Judson called it an early Christmas present - one that's still giving more than one week later.

Judson and three of his workers wereback on Jeffers Lane, in Tyrone Township,at Steve Emmel's home Monday afternoon - back for the third day.

"The trees fell across our driveway and we couldn't get out," Emmel said. "The trees were, in the back especially, were hanging over the wires."

Judson is takingone tree down andcleaning upsome others. At least one treehad some top damage and a few had big branches split.

"That can be a widow maker," Judson said.

If you can't burn the wood or find someone who will, you may have to take it somewhere for disposal.

In Flint,for example, you can't putit curbside. Yard waste removal ended at the end of November.

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Ice storm boosts business for tree removal companies

Fall gardens represent the culmination of months of human work, months of plant growth. As such, you need to make a conscious effort to enjoy them to the fullest. While the spring landscape holds the seeds (literally) of a fresh start and thus carries a certain excitement of its own, the garden in autumn holds a trump card: it's called the "harvest," the sights, smells and tastes of which are not to be missed for anything.

But the autumn also brings with it some chores that we must perform before the arrival of winter. Below is an FAQ that will:

You've had a long summer of mowing the lawn, pruning shrubs watering trees, maintaining your perennials, etc. You're ready for a break, come autumn, right? Well, not so fast! There are a number of recommended tasks to perform in the fall garden. I'll get the most obvious (deceptively obvious) one out of the way first, even though you'll have to hold off on this one until after you've performed most of the other tasks:

Q.-- What is the most easily overlooked chore in fall gardens?

OK, here's another task that is not at all obvious (at least to beginners). Everyone knows that you have to water grass and other plants in summer. Anyone who doesn't already know this will find out soon: try skipping on watering your lawn some summer, and you'll wind up with dead grass. But what about when summer's heat passes? I deal with watering trees and shrubs later in this FAQ, but regarding watering lawns, click the following link:

Q.-- With all the snow we'll be getting this winter, I don't have to water my autumn lawn, do I?

Watering the lawn is one thing. But what about mowing in fall. Do you finally get a break from mowing in autumn? And if not, the question is:

Q.-- How long into the fall season should I continue to mow the lawn?

Yet another question about autumn lawn care follows. Lawns are a lot of work, aren't they? That's why I'm all for killing grass to convert lawn areas into planting beds for perennials and shrubs. But if you're a lawn holdout, you'll want the answer to this question:

Q.-- How high should grass be cut in autumn?

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Fall Gardens - Tree, Shrub and Lawn Care in Autumn

Unlike the previous year, 2013 started without any major drama for law enforcement officers but turned into a year seeing eight murders, of which the police solved four. In 2012, the number of murders was 11.

Valentine's Day murder

Four days after Valentine's Day, Ronald Galea, 65, of Birkirkara, was shot outside his meat factory in Hal Far. At around 4:45pm on Monday 18 February, Galea left the Continental Meat Company - a meat factory he owned - and drove off in his Ford Mondeo. Upon exiting the vehicle to lock the gate, a hooded man approached the victim and shot him eight times in the back and head.

A passer-by heard the shots and saw Galea fall to the ground. Immediately calling the police, the eyewitness informed investigators the hooded killer had left the scene in a silver Toyota Vitz. Moments later an ambulance arrived on site but Ronald Galea had lost his fight with death.

Investigators believed that unknown to Galea, his killer had been waiting for him. The weapon used was a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Two days later, the police held a man in his 30s who worked in the same sector as the victim, to assist them in their investigations. Galea was owed substantial amounts of money, however the credit was all related to his business.

The police did not arraign anybody over the killing.

The gangland saga

Three months later, gunshots claimed the life of another man in the first of four gangland vendetta murders. After pure chance saved him from a car bomb attempt back in 2012, at 11am on 31 May, luck ran out for Paul Degabriele, known as 'Is-Suldat', when he was shot outside the Enemalta customer care office in Belt il-Hazna, Marsa.

The 49-year-old from Fgura, left a coffee bar and entered into his Toyota Hilux when his assailant drove by in a white van. CCTV footage taken from nearby buildings did not confirm if this was a drive-by shooting, or whether the assailant emerged from the car to kill Degabriele.

Witnesses saw a person with bloodstained clothes walking away from the scene. The white van, identified as the assailant's vehicle, was later found burnt in Hamrun.

Link:
Gangland vendettas, family feuds, and blackmail

"Just one more story, please?" "I need a glass of water." "Mom, I can't sleep!" When youngsters continually struggle to fall asleep at night, new research suggests maybe their body clock doesn't match their bedtime.

That doesn't mean tots should be up at all hours.

"Just like nutrition and exercise, sleep is critical for good health," said sleep scientist Monique LeBourgeois of the University of Colorado, Boulder, who is leading the research. The ultimate goal is to help reset a delayed sleep clock so that children can settle down more easily, she said.

Hint: It seems to have a lot to do with light. We all have what's called a circadian rhythm, a master biological clock that regulates when we become sleepy and when we're more alert. Those patterns vary with age: It's the reason teenagers are notorious for late nights and difficult-to-wake mornings.

But how does that clock work in preschoolers, who need more sleep than older kids or adults? A first-of-its-kind study tracked 14 healthy youngsters for six days to begin finding out.

The children, ages 21/2to three, wore activity monitors on their wrists to detect when they slept. Parents kept diaries about bedtime routines.

Then on the last afternoon, researchers visited each home, dimming lights and covering windows. Then every 30 minutes for six hours leading up to the child's appointed bedtime, they also coaxed each tot to chew on some dental cotton to provide a sample of saliva.

The reason: To test for levels of a hormone named melatonin that is key to the sleep cycle and also sensitive to light. At some point every evening, people's melatonin levels surge and a while later, they begin to feel sleepy. Among adults who sleep well, that melatonin rise tends to happen about two hours before whatever is their chosen bedtime.

For preschoolers, the new study found that on average, the melatonin surge occurred around 7:40 p.m. The children tended to be tucked in around 8:10 p.m., and most were asleep 30 minutes later, LeBourgeois reported in the journal Mind, Brain and Education. When melatonin rose earlier in the evening, tots who hit the sack around 8 p.m. fell asleep a bit faster. But when the melatonin surge was closer to bedtime, the youngsters were more likely to fuss or make curtain calls after lights-out.

Two children in the study actually were tucked in before their rise in melatonin ever occurred, and it took them up to an hour past bedtime to fall asleep, she said.

Excerpt from:
Study sheds light on sleeplessness

SANFORD, Fla. -

A newly released video sheds more light on what Samantha Scheibe claimed George Zimmerman did at her Apopka home to prompt her to call 911.

Police were called to the home on Nov. 18 after a 911 call from Scheibe and Zimmerman showed both needed help.

The video, posted online by investigative journalist Cristi O'Connor, shows Scheibe's complete interview with Seminole County sheriff's investigators just hours after she claimed Zimmerman pointed a gun at her.

"He pointed it at me for a second and said, 'do you really want me to do this?' because I told him I would call the cops," Scheibe told the investigator.

Charges filed against Zimmerman were later dropped after Scheibe told the State Attorney's office in a sworn affidavit that police "misinterpreted her." She said she felt "the arrest report didn't accurately recount what happened."

In the document, she said, "Zimmerman never pointed a gun at or toward my face in a threatening manner."

In the video, Scheibe is seen showing the investigator how Zimmerman held the gun when she said he pointed it at her.

Scheibe also later claimed she's "not afraid of George in any manner."

"I didn't know if he was going to hit me with (a gun)," she said. "I didn't know if he was going to threaten me with it. I didn't know what he was going to do."

Link:
Samantha Scheibe tells deputies he threatened her with a gun

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Spartan Sewer Septic Tank

While the state government is aiming to see a 20% growth in tourists visiting Gujarat in 2013-14, growth of the number of hotel rooms at popular tourist locations is unlikely to keep pace with tourist inflow growth. Several tour operators in the state say that in the last few years, while there has been a significant rise in interest in Gujarat tourism thanks to the popular campaign Khushboo Gujarat Ki, addition of quality hotel rooms at tourist spots has been slow.

In the longrun, such logistical issues can de-rail the Gujarat government's ambitious plans for tourism growth, say operators. Data from the tourism ministry website shows that from January 2010 to December 2013, around 35 new hotel projects including even bed-and-breakfast inns, totalling around 2,300 rooms have been approved in Gujarat. In comparison, 296 hotel projects have been approved in Kerala, 130 in Maharashtra, 90 in Tamil Nadu, 68 in Uttar Pradesh during the same period.

S Maheswari of Height & Sight Holidays based in Bhuj said, "In the last few years, there has not been many quality hotel rooms added in tourist locations across the state. Major additions have been in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara which get business travellers." For that matter, Ahmedabad had seen a huge jump in hotel rooms from 519 rooms in 2006-07 to around 1,975 rooms in 2012.

Another operator, Sharvil Patel who runsAltius Travels, an Ahmedabad-based travel agency and is also a member of the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI)says that while the Saurashtra region has witnessed a decent growth in the number of hotel rooms in the recent past, in Kutch, however, the process is slow.

Data from theGovernment Information Technology Committee (GITCO)shows that in between April 2011 and April 2013, while cities like Ahmedabad have seen an addition of 2,890 rooms, tourist places like Dwarka have seen an addition of only 26 rooms, Ambaji has seen none, Palitana has actually seen a decline of 25 rooms, Girnar and Somnath have also not seen any room additions. In comparison, 365 rooms have been added at Vadodara, 353 in Surat and 284 rooms in Gandhidham. Even Mehsana and Anand have seen 106 and 137 rooms added respectively during the period as these are close to industrial and commercial centers. Tourist spots like Mandvi (20 rooms), Porbandar(nil), Patan (nil) and Pavagadh (nil) have not seen many hotel rooms getting added to accommodate tourists.

M Vakharia, head of Gujarat chapter of the Outbound Tour Operators of India (OTOI) too admitted that there were logistical issues that could impact the growth of Gujarat tourism in the long run, like long road routes to reach destinations, not many quality rooms at tourist spots. "Infrastructure issues could eventually bring down the number of repeat visitors," he said.

On its part, the state tourism department, is working to improve infrastructure. Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has almost completed the upgradation of the Toran Hotels, with an investment of around Rs 15 crore. Sanjay Kaul, managing director, TCGL said, "We have almost finished the upgradation work of the Toran hotels across the state, a project we had taken up around a year back." He, however, also added that the state government has taken a decision that it would not invest in building hotels and would encourage private investors to set up hotels in Gujarat. "Number of enquiries for putting up new hotel projects has definitely increased in the last few years," he said.

Gujarat had seen a 13.6% growth in the number of tourists visiting Gujarat last year, which was around 25 million.

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New hotel room addition at tourist spots in slow lane

(Three recent news items lead me to republish a post that predated my Boston.com days. The firstis a new study showing that antipsychotics and stimulants can be used together in treatment of aggression associated with ADHD. The second is a recent New York Times article, The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder, the third an article from today's New York Times: ADHD Experts Re-evaluate Study's Zeal for Drugs. I am hopeful that 2014 will be a year of radical rethinking about what we now call "ADHD.")In the Tony award winning play God of Carnage two couples meet in an elegant living room for an ostensibly civilized conversation about the aggressive act of one couples child against the others. The meeting soon degenerates to reveal the underbelly of conflict in the two marriages. Husband and wife hurl insults, precious items and even themselves with escalating rage. We see, as they attempt in vain to focus on the childrens behavior, the proverbial elephant in the room.

It brought to mind another depiction of the nature of the elephant, presented by the pharmaceutical industry. A recent issue of The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics features prominently a two page ad from Shire, makers of drugs commonly used for treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A mother and her son sit at the desk of a doctor in a white coat. Behind them is a large elephant draped in a red blanket on which is printed the words, resentful, defiant, angry. The ad recommends that these symptoms, in addition to the more common symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, should be addressed. This is the message: doctors should be treating these symptoms with medication.

From my vantage point of over 20 years of practicing pediatrics, where I sit on the floor, not in a white coat, and play with children, I believe that the plays depiction of the nature of the elephant is much more accurate and meaningful than that of the pharmaceutical industry. In the play the elephant is the environment of rage and conflict in which the aggression occurs, while in the ad the elephant is the childs symptom. Consider these two stories from my pediatric practice (with details changed to protect privacy.)

Everything was a battle with six year old Mark. Though I asked both parents to come to the visit, Mom came alone. She was furious.Tell me what to do to make him listen. We had a full hour visit, and as she began to relax, she shared a story of constant vicious fighting between herself and her husband. Mark, who had been playing calmly and quietly, took a marker and slowly and deliberately made a black smudge on the yellow wall. His mother was too distracted by her own distress to stop him. I said, You cannot draw on the wall, but maybe you are upset about what we are talking about. He came and sat on his mothers lap. She reluctantly revealed her suspicion that his angry behavior was a reflection of the rage he experienced at home. She agreed to get help for her marriage, and Marks behavior gradually began to improve.

Janes parents became alarmed when her aggressive behavior began to spill over into school. Her third grade teacher told them that not only was she distracted and fidgety, but she seemed increasingly angry. At our second visit, Dad became tearful as he described his cruel and abusive father. He acknowledged being overwhelmed with rage at Jane when she didnt listen. He yelled at her and threatened her. He longed for a positive role model to learn how to discipline her in a different way. He realized he needed help to address the traumas of his own childhood in order to be a more effective parent for Jane.

If the elephant in the room is the childs symptoms, as the drug companies would have us believe, then medication may be the solution. Children taking medication for ADHD often tell me that it makes them feel calm. The full responsibility for the problem then falls squarely on the childs shoulders.

For Mark and Jane, and countless children like them, the elephant in the room, however, is not the childs symptoms. It is the environment of conflict in which the symptoms occur. If the family environment is the elephant, the treatment of the problem is not as simple as prescribing a pill. Families must acknowledge and address seemingly overwhelming problems. The parents relationship with each other, and each parents relationship with his or her own family of origin, often contributes significantly to this environment.

In the supportive setting of my office, Mark and Janes parents were freed to think about their childs perspective and experience. Rather than focusing on what to do they understood what their children might be feeling growing up in an environment of conflict and rage. This ability for parents to think about their childs feelings has been shown, in extensive research at the intersection of developmental psychology, genetics and neuroscience, to facilitate a childs development of the capacity to manage strong emotions and adapt in social situations.

In another interesting link between this ad and God of Carnage, one of the fathers is an attorney representing a drug company. He speaks loudly on his cell phone, seemingly oblivious to the effect of his behavior on the other people in the room. His conversation reveals the profit motive of the drug company taking precedence over the well being of the patient.

God of Carnage was written by Yasmina Reza, a French playwright. While the play itself is hugely entertaining as a witty farce about family life, an important message was in a brief scene at the very end. The telephone rings. The mother answers. It is her daughter, all upset about the loss of her pet hamster, which the father had set free one night because he was annoyed by the animals habits. Suddenly the mood of the play, which was lively with scintillating dialogue throughout, becomes serene as the mother speaks lovingly to her distraught daughter. Perhaps most of the audience was barely aware of the sudden mood change. Yet it lifted this delightful play into universal significance. Freeing herself from the preceding chaos, she calmly gives her full attention to her daughters experience.

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ADHD, the aggressive child and the elephant in the room