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Courtesy photo Fairy Godmother Project (FGP) volunteer Olivia Douglass, contract specialist with F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265), prepares a meal for donation. Since the formation of the Southern Maryland chapter in spring 2013, FGP volunteers have donated and delivered more than 300 meals to support local families dealing with pediatric cancer.

By Donna Cipolloni

NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs

They dont have wings and they dont wave wands, but the volunteers with Fairy Godmother Project are no less magical to the families they assist at a time when help is most needed.

The mission of Fairy Godmother Project is to ease the burden of everyday life for local families who have a child in treatment for a form of pediatric cancer by providing things like cooked meals, house cleaning, lawn care, gas cards, grocery cards or a much-needed parent or family night out.

Imagine what those things would mean to you if you were traveling every day to a treatment center hours from home because there is no local pediatric oncology treatment facility here, said Vicki Quade Hoffman, chapter coordinator of the Southern Maryland Fairy Godmother Project. Parents are missing work and struggling to raise their other children as normally as possible while watching a child fight for their life. We provide day to day support that allows them to better focus on their family.

Hoffman became involved with Fairy Godmother Project through its executive director and her friend, Andrea McConnell, who cofounded the organization in her Virginia community.

I knew it was something I wanted to bring to Southern Maryland, said Hoffman, full-time mom and former teacher.

Using social media to spread the word, a general interest meeting was held in March 2013 and just two months later, the groups initial fundraiser raised over $5,000, enabling them to begin supporting their first family. Embraced by the local community, they went on to raise more than $18,000 and were quickly supporting four families.

It was October 2013 when we were devastated by the loss of our first godchild to this awful disease, Hoffman said. Were still serving the other three families.

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Fairy Godmothers in Southern Maryland

Dec. 11, 2014, 4:30 a.m.

CLUBS and groups using Warrnambools recreation reserves could face increased fees as the city council looks to recoup more of the $635,000 it spends annually on maintenance and management.

An audit of council expenditure has revealed recreation reserve user fees offset the cost by about 10 per cent, which is below the industry benchmark of 15 per cent.

CLUBS and groups using Warrnambools recreation reserves could face increased fees as the city council looks to recoup more of the $635,000 it spends annually on maintenance and management.

An audit of council expenditure has revealed user fees offset the cost by about 10 per cent, which is below the industry benchmark of 15 per cent.

About 45 representatives of 30 user groups met last night at the Lighthouse Theatre where councils recreation and culture manager Russell Lineham aired the possible increase.

The contentious issue will be bounced around by user groups before feedback goes back to council to be incorporated into decisions on its next annual budget.

Two options here are either the clubs take more responsibility for certain things or the council increases fees, Mr Lineham said earlier.

We think theres room for negotiation. In the 2013-14 financial year council spent $635,000 on sports ground maintenance and received $68,000 from income which represents a return of just over 10 per cent.

Across all reserves under council control the average expenditure on each is $42,000 while the average return is $4900.

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WCC ponders lifting recreation reserve charges for sports groups

Future Landscape Architect Beck Schultz
Future Landscape Architect.

By: Beck Schultz

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Future Landscape Architect Beck Schultz - Video

Winter garden London by Landscape Architect Marco Gaudioso
Winner Project. Competition by invitation for the artistic impressions to transform two pounds in a contemporary gardens in Canary Wharf, London (UK). by Marco Gaudioso email: landscapearchitect.g...

By: Marco Gaudioso

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Winter garden London by Landscape Architect Marco Gaudioso - Video

CoeurdAlene Park is looking a little ragged around theedges.

So the Brownes Addition Neighborhood Council and the Friends of CoeurdAlene Park are teaming up to write a new master plan and make somechanges.

Theyve hired landscape architect Bob Scarfo to help them come up with the changes they would like tosee.

Topping the list is removing some of the overgrown shrubs that they say are a haven fortransients.

During a neighborhood meeting in November, one resident told a story of two men who emerged from a shrubby hiding spot and

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Bob Scarfo, a landscape architect who is gathering ideas from the community for CoeurdAlene Park, stands in the park in Brownes Addition on Dec. 3,. The neighborhood council and Friends of CoeurdAlene Park are starting a process of gathering ideas from the neighborhood about desired improvements in thepark. (Full-size photo)(All photos)

CoeurdAlene Park is looking a little ragged around theedges.

So the Brownes Addition Neighborhood Council and the Friends of CoeurdAlene Park are teaming up to write a new master plan and make somechanges.

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Facelift pondered for historic Coeur dAlene Park - Thu, 11 Dec 2014 PST

A TV drama focussing on the murder of a Hampshire landscape architect will be aired tonight.

The dad of victim Jo Yeates has welcomed a new ITV drama which tells the story of an innocent man wrongly suspected of killing his daughter.

David Yeates says he believed the programme will shine a light on police failings in their investigation which he believes led to delays in catching the man responsible.

Mr Yeates said there had been inadequacies in the police probe and he hoped the programme, which airs next month, could bring a positive and help improve future investigations.

He also spoke of the familys loss at it prepares for the fourth anniversary since Jo, pictured above, was brutally strangled, before her body was found dumped at the side of a road in Bristol.

The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, which will hit TV screens next week, tells the story of Mr Jefferies, who was arrested on December 30 after the discovery of Jos body on Christmas Day in 2010.

Jo vanished on December 17 after going for Christmas drinks with colleagues in the city.

Mr Jefferies, a retired schooltmaster, was later released without charge.

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TV drama on murder of Jo Yeates to be screened tonight

Landscape architect James Corner unveiled a new concept for the Nicollet Mall redesign Thursday night stunning light and art walks for Nicollet between 6th and 8th streets.

The new design for the central stretch of Nicollet replaces an earlier concept featuring glass staircases descending from the skyway linking the IDS to Macy's. Businesses, Metro Transit and city leaders raised concerns about the logistics of the staircases, prompting the design team to consider alternatives.

The light walk will feature a trellis of tilted mirrors on the east side of the mall, Corner said. When people walk under the mirrors headed north on the mall they will see their reflection and those of passersby; going south they will see reflections of the sky.

At night the light walk will resemble a starry sky that could change colors, imitating the Northern Lights.

The west side of the street will include mature trees, street furniture and an art walk with spheres lit at night with distinctive patterns. Corner said there's talk of collaborating with the Walker Art Center to curate art installations in storefronts and perhaps a large art piece could be suspended over 7th Street.

The blocks will also have diverse activities, such as bocce ball in the summer, curling in the winter and community gatherings.

The goal is to transform the blocks from rather drab spaces to the most vibrant section of Nicollet, Corner said.

The designer and other project leaders briefed the community on the project at the Hyatt Regency.

The $50 million project has secured $21.5 million in state bonding and $3.5 million from the City of Minneapolis. A plan to assess businesses for the remainder of the project's cost will be finalized early next year.

The goal is to complete the Nicollet Mall renovation by the end of 2016. The entire mall, from Washington Avenue to Grant Street, will be redone with more durable paving materials, new trees, enhanced lighting and public art. It will also be renovated to be streetcar ready, project organizers said.

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Light walk will be focal point for redesigned Nicollet Mall

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - They are a part of every major city's landscape, those who say they are down on their luck, so they panhandle to get by.

"You can survive on this, you can make good money on this, it's all in how you do it," said Ronnie.

Ronnie is a panhandler and likes his spot near Phoenix's Cityscape in downtown Phoenix.

"I always stay near food because you know you're going to get something to eat," he said

As Super Bowl 2015 approaches, Cityscape is the crown jewel of downtown Phoenix and is expected to be a happening place.

The NFL experience will be two blocks away at the Phoenix Convention Center where it's expected to draw thousands.

Past Super Bowl host cities including Dallas and Indianapolis have strengthened panhandling laws to discourage the practice.

Phoenix Police and city officials say as long as they obey the law and stay off the streets they will not contact panhandlers.

Downtown residents disagree on whether panhandlers should be discouraged during big events.

"They are a part of the community, they are people just like we are, doing their own thing. I have a home and they don't," said Bill Hemphill.

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Phoenix changes panhandling laws ahead of Super Bowl

Move to keep pace with tech landscape; senior employees might be affected

With the structure and nature of deals changing along with the technology landscape, the $108-billion information technology (IT) services industry is scrambling to keep up with the required skill-sets. This means, companies need to retrain and restructure their employee base.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services player, seems to be undergoing a similar exercise. The workforce optimisation, which is still in the planning stage, is expected to get over in February 2015.

According to company sources, every vertical has been asked to identify senior staff who have not been very productive. Employees who have been put under the scanner are above the rank of consultant - senior consultant, principal consultant, vice-presidents, etc.

"These are employees with around 20 years of experience and some 25,000 employees could fall in this category. They would be reviewed during the process which will get over by February 2015, before the next appraisal cycle starts from March," the sources added.

According to one executive, who did not wish to be named, the employees are being evaluated under two criteria - how critical his or her role is and how much revenue he or she has been able to generate for the company. Apart from this, the company is also pulling back staff from onsite locations, especially those whose roles are not being considered as critical. The restructuring, however, will not have any impact on the hiring of junior-level employees and freshers, added the executive.

When contacted, a TCS spokesperson said: "As a performance-driven company, workforce optimisation is a continuous process, which happens throughout the year taking into account employee performance, business needs, and people aspirations. This leads to some amount of involuntary attrition in the company. This is nothing out of the ordinary or a special situation for us to comment about." The company went on reiterate that it is on track to hiring 55,000 professional for FY16.

At the end of the quarter ended September 30, 2014, TCS had a total headcount of 313,757 following a gross employee addition of 20,000.

Analyst covering the company and the sector are not too concerned about the development. Several of the analysts that Business Standard spoke to said this trend has been happening for some time now and players such as Infosys and Wipro, too, have initiated such programmes.

"Around one to two per cent of involuntary attrition happens in almost all the companies and TCS is not an exception. The overall numbers at TCS may be more pronounced due to its size," said an analyst on condition of anonymity.

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TCS plans workforce restructuring

MacGillycuddys Reeks: Mountains are part of a pilot scheme that shows way forward for an effective shared community management of landscape. Photograph: Nathan Kingerlee/Outdoors Ireland

The report by the Irish Uplands Forum recommends a small amount of seed funding and a large dose of moral support to develop projects similar to those already piloted in Kerrys MacGillycuddys Reeks and at Mount Gable in Co Galway.

The report by the voluntary group was presented to Minister of State for Rural Development Ann Phelan to mark United Nations International Mountain Day.

Naturalists, ecologists, outdoor education interests, local authorities, rural recreational officers, farm and forestry advisers and rural and agricultural policymakers were also involved, according to forum chair and mountaineer Frank Nugent.

The conference agreed on a Dungarvan Declaration, which refers to the vital benefits to society, such as water supplies and biodiversity of a landscape maintained by generations of hill-farmers.

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Mountain landscape management requires community approach