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With the winter weather upon us, letter carriers are making their appointed rounds.So I'm asking residents and business owners to help them by clearing snow and ice from the approach to the mailbox.High levels of snow and sheets of ice blocking access to mailboxes can make mail delivery not just difficult, but hazardous. Clearing a path to the mailbox including steps, porches, walkways and street approaches will help us maintain consistent delivery service and prevent injuries.

Customers receiving door delivery should make sure their sidewalks, steps and porches are clear.Customers receiving curbside delivery should remove snow piles left by snowplows.

Unfortunately, delivery service may be delayed or curtailed whenever streets or walkways present hazardous conditions for letter carriers, or when snow plowed against mailboxes prevents letter carriers from opening the door to the mailbox while seated inside a delivery vehicle. We will not curtail delivery without careful consideration, and only as a last resort.We will attempt to deliver any curtailed mail the next business day.

I'm also asking that residents and businesses with collection boxes near their property keep them clear of snow and ice. With the public's help, our carriers will deliver your mail promptly and safely throughout the winter season.

LAUREEN POINDEXTER

Postmaster, Champaign

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Make a clear path for the mail carrier

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Posted: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 12:00 am

Tree removal forces closure in Galt By News-Sentinel Staff Lodi News-Sentinel |

The Twin Cities project contractor is moving forward this week with tree removal and fence relocations required within and adjacent to the East Stockton Park and Ride Lot, south of Twin Cities Road.

To safely remove these trees, the Park and Ride will be closed Thursday through Sunday, and will reopen next Tuesday, according to city staff.

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Tree removal forces closure in Galt

The Christmas tree at the Cabatuan public plaza that was removed due to opposition from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Nereo Lujan)

A Christmas tree built atop a monument of Andres Bonifacio in a town in Iloilo province has been removed following a protest made by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

The 30-foot-tall Christmas tree at the public plaza of Cabatuan, 24 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City, was removed by the municipal government on Saturday after NHCP chair Maria Serena Diokno wrote a letter to Cabatuan Mayor Ronilo Caspe expressing disapproval of the project.

We firmly oppose the construction of a Christmas tree on the Andres Bonifacio monument at the public plaza of Cabatuan, Iloilo. The construction over the monument desecrates Andres Bonifacio, whose 150th birth anniversary we celebrated on November 30, Diokno said in her letter dated December 11.

We urge you to put up the Christmas tree elsewhere. In future projects or activities, we hope that the [local government unit] would be more responsible in protecting and preserving historic sites and structures, Diokno said.

Nereo Lujan, provincial information and community affairs officer and a native of Cabatuan, had called the attention of the NHCP on the putting up of the Christmas tree at the 81-year-old monument.

Caspe said he ordered the removal of the Christmas tree in compliance with Dioknos letter.

We had hoped that by putting up the Christmas tree we would highlight the monument, Caspe told the Inquirer. We will stress the importance of unity and hope as symbolized by Andres Bonifacio, the mayor said.

The mayor said he had ordered the repainting of the monument a week before November 30 in commemoration of the heros birth anniversary.

He said the municipal government put up the Christmas tree at the monument because it was the most strategic location at the center of the public plaza facing the main entrance.

Read more:
Christmas tree over Bonifacio monument axed

A majestic oak that stands outside Jack London's cottage in Glen Ellen has been given a reprieve now that further lab tests reveal the tree is healthier than once thought.

In this season of joy, what a gift! Tjiska Van Wyk, executive director of Jack London Park Partners, wrote in an email.

Officials were planning to cut the tree down in November amid concerns that one of its branches could fall and damage London's cottage or possibly injure someone. Three arborists had determined that the tree, which is more than 300 years old, is infected with a pathogenic fungi and is dying.

A subsequent test confirmed that the tree has significant decay. However, park officials believe it can remain standing for awhile longer.

The iconic tree has for centuries provided sustenance for Coast Miwok Indians and later nurtured the famous author's artistic spirit.

The oak was what London saw when he looked out the window of his office. When the weather was good, he sat in the shade of the tree's massive branches, notebook in hand, and wrote.

In December 2012, a large branch that faced away from the cottage crashed down during a storm. More limbs that faced the building subsequently were trimmed off.

The park hosted several events this year as a way of saying good-bye to the tree. Those included a Native American blessing and schoolchildren harvesting acorns from the tree for re-planting in the area.

The latest analysis of the tree was conducted by Matteo Garbelotto, a UC Berkeley professor and principal investigator for the Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab. He told park officials that the tree likely will have to come down sometime in the next decade, if not sooner.

Park officials are taking further measures to reduce the risk of the tree causing injury or property damage. They include new parking restrictions near the tree, pruning and close monitoring of the tree's condition.

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Jack London oak saved from the ax

CalFire has asked the developers of the Enchanted Resorts project, now known as Calistoga Hills, for more details about its tree removal plans.

In a Dec. 19 letter, Meghan Reeves of CalFire said the developers Timber Harvesting Plan needs to be resubmitted with more information about the plans environmental impacts.

She listed 52 required changes, including additional analysis of the plans use of herbicides, greenhouse gas emissions, and effects on recreational use and sensitive bird and plant species. Reeves said a botanical survey was performed at the wrong time of year, and that the plan needed to include more analysis of slope stability.

Timber Harvesting Plans are reviewed by CalFire and other state agencies. Tree removals cant start until CalFire approves the plan.

Developer Aaron Harkin said back-and-forth over the plan is a pretty standard procedure.

We just have to check all the boxes, he said.

Trees are slated to be removed on 38 acres of the 88-acre property, according to Eric Sutera, the registered professional forester who filed the plan on behalf of the developers. Not all of the trees on the 38 acres will be removed.

Harkin said the permit is needed because the affected land is being converted to residential and commercial use. He said the developers also need to apply for a separate tree removal permit from the city.

A lot of the trees are dead or drying, and have to be removed for to preserve the vitality of the forest and reduce fire risk, he said. The tree removal plans contained in the Timber Harvesting Plan were already included in the plans environmental impact report, he said.

Voters approved the project by passing Measure C in 2012. The 110-room luxury hotel will include a spa, more than 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, two pools, a restaurant and lounge, 20 private homes and 13 custom estates.

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CalFire seeks details about resort's timber harvesting plan

Heres a word on mistletoe, for your holiday reading pleasure, from science humorist Alex Reshavov. This post was originally published in 2011. Enjoy!

The quaint holiday decoration you invited into your home and hung over your doorways is a vicious parasite that leeches nutrients from innocent host trees. It is riddled with cytotoxins, and its seeds are dispersed via bird crap. Merry Christmas.

Pretty parasite

Makes for a far nicer centerpiece than a jar of tapeworms. Image Credit: Kenraiz.

Not all parasites are creepy-crawly worms or protozoans. Some are cheerful-looking shrubs with dainty white berries. Viscum album is one species of mistletoe*, a group of parasitic flowering plants in the order Santalales. It is an obligate hemiparasite. This means that while it does not derive all of its sustenance from a host plant, it does need some interaction with the host to reach its mature state. As a hemiparasite, mistletoe need only steal from its host trees xylem, the transport tissue that handles water and water-soluble nutrients. It is gracious enough to eschew the hosts phloem, which transports sugars. This renders it less of a pathogen, as the host loses water but not food to the parasite.

Gracious host

Viscin has worked it magic. Image Credit: Christer Johansson.

Mistletoe bears a fruit that some birds find delicious. The seeds of these berries are covered in a gluey substance called viscin. Birds eat the berries and then fly off to another tree where they eventually expel the digested remains of the fruit, its viscin coating still adhering to the seeds. The sticky seeds cling to the new branch and begin to grow. As it enlarges, the plant forms a peg that drills through the host branch and eventually reaches the xylem. Now the parasite develops its haustorium, a root-like appendage that allows it to siphon nutrients from the host.

Coming to America

Viscum album is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is the original Christmas mistletoe, a leafy green shrub adorned with white berries. It has a wide host range, infecting over 450 tree species, including both hardwood and coniferous varieties. So, yes, hypothetically your Christmas mistletoe could attack your Christmas tree (were it still planted in the ground, of course).

Read more here:
Mistletoe’s parasitic kiss

Microsofts version of Facebook for Windows Phone significantly improved on Monday, with the addition of secondary Live Tile support for monitoring Facebook Chat or specific posts.

Oh, and theres stickers now, too.

The new secondary Live Tiles within Facebook for Windows Phone.

Microsofts own dev team released version 5.2.1 of Windows Phone on Monday morning, with the new improvements. Microsofts Michael Stroh, a social media manager for Microsoft,revealed that the top requested feature from users was better notifications, which is what Microsoft prioritized.

Unfortunately, a Android/iOS-style notification center for Windows Phone isn't (reportedly)due until next year, with the release of Windows Phone 8.1. So Microsoft instead turned to its mosaic of Live Tiles, allowing those boxes to serve as bulletin boards when new activity occurs on the Facebook feed.

The redesigned Live Tile apps allow users to see what others have posted on their Wall. And the secondary notifications allow much more: For the first time, you can pin Facebook chat, events, groups, pages, and photo albums to Live Tiles, Microsoft said, to specifically see who commented on a photo, what they wrote, and which photo they commented on. IfWindows Phone 8.1 does roll out as expected, however, theres a fair chance that the Live Tile-centric notifications will go away.

The app now supports all languagescurrently supportedby Windows Phone, Microsoft added, for a total of 50.

Microsoft has been hard at work trying to add as many apps as the company can to Windows Phone; at the end of last week, the company added forever-running game Temple Run 2. Or you can pay 99 cents for ubiquitous fictional pitchman Ron Burgundy to browbeat you with his cel-shaded awesomeness.

A week ago, Microsoft said it had surpassed the 200,000-app mark within the Windows Phone Storeand we asked Microsoft to make those apps better. Microsoft may not have taken our words to heart, but it looks like its responding nevertheless.

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Facebook for Windows Phone gains secondary Live Tiles

This Tree in the backyard that sheds more than a golden retriever
Slow motion is cool.

By: KENT Y.

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This Tree in the backyard that sheds more than a golden retriever - Video

Mother of THREE with Hypothyroidism Sheds 12% Body Fat!
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Mother of THREE with Hypothyroidism Sheds 12% Body Fat! - Video