Local teens will be tuning in at the library as Wicomico Public Libraries celebrates Teen Tech Week, March 8 – March 14, 2015. They join thousands of other libraries and schools across the country who are celebrating this year’s theme, “Libraries are for Making…” to raise awareness about how Wicomico Public Libraries creates a space to extend teens’ learning beyond the classroom where they can explore, create and share content.
Teen Tech Week is a national initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technology, especially the types offered through libraries. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to take advantage of the technology at libraries for education and recreation, and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals who can help them achieve greater digital literacy.
Andrea Berstler, Executive Director, stated that, “providing a ‘space’ for teens in the Library is important. We offer activities, access to computers, and homework help so that they can succeed not only today, but so they can realize their future potential. Once they discover how to use these resources, we show teens that with an education, anything is possible.”
Teens are encouraged to celebrate Teen Tech Week. Wicomico Public Libraries hopes to attract a wide variety of teenagers and increase teen technology literacy locally by offering a series of programs including:
Fan-art Contest- teens are challenged to create an original work of art inspired by their favorite character
Master Chef Apps and Dessert Contest - teen cooks prepare their favorite appetizer or dessert and are judged by local culinary experts
Wicomico Teen Video Contest – teens show their vision by creating a 5-15 minute video which is uploaded to You Tube and judged at the Teen Tech Week Film Festival
Film Festival – Videos from the Teen Tech Week Video Contest are viewed and voted on for best film. During the Film Festival teens enjoy treats from the Master Chef Apps and Dessert Contest
Teen Tech Week is held annually the second week of March. For more information, visit http://www.wicomicolibrary.org.
Wicomico Public Libraries are located in Downtown Salisbury, the Centre at Salisbury, in Pittsville, and the Library Bookmobile. Wicomico Public Libraries offer numerous resources such as free Internet
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, February 28, 2015
NYC police commissioner blames cops for ‘many of the worst parts of black history’
New York City
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told a predominantly black crowd Tuesday that police have made some of the worst parts of black history possible, including slavery.
Speaking at a Black History Month event in Queens, Mr. Bratton said that while police have played crucial role in maintaining order during civil unrest, “many of the worst parts of black history would have been impossible without police, too,” DNAinfo reported.
“Slavery, our country’s original sin, sat on a foundation codified by laws and enforced by police, by slave catchers,” he added.
More
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told a predominantly black crowd Tuesday that police have made some of the worst parts of black history possible, including slavery.Speaking at a Black History Month event
in Queens, Mr. Bratton said that while police have played crucial role in maintaining order during civil unrest, “many of the worst parts of black history would have been impossible without police, too,” DNAinfo reported.“Slavery, our country’s original sin, sat on a foundation codified by laws and enforced by police, by slave catchers,” he added.
More
State Dept. official charged with soliciting minor
A U.S. State Department official was jailed Tuesday on a charge of soliciting a minor.
Daniel Rosen was arrested at his home in Washington, D.C., about noon on Tuesday and was in custody at the D.C. jail Tuesday night, said Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
Rosen, 44, was arrested 'following a series of online exchanges' with a detective assigned to the Fairfax County Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit, Caldwell said.
More
Daniel Rosen was arrested at his home in Washington, D.C., about noon on Tuesday and was in custody at the D.C. jail Tuesday night, said Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
Rosen, 44, was arrested 'following a series of online exchanges' with a detective assigned to the Fairfax County Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit, Caldwell said.
More
EU unveils vast plan to merge 28 energy markets
BRUSSELS — The European Union's executive has unveiled a vast plan to boost coordination between the EU's 28 national energy markets to wean Europe off unstable Russian gas supplies and provide cheaper energy for consumers.
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on Wednesday called it "undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project" since the inception of the EU over half a century ago. He believes that improving links across borders in Europe's energy grid could save businesses and consumers up to 40 billion euros ($45.4 billion) a year.
A more energy-independent Europe will also increase the EU's political options in eastern Europe.
Europe imports 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, half via pipelines through conflict-torn Ukraine, and it could to take years of investment to reduce that dependency. Ukraine and Russian energy monopoly Gazprom have been embroiled in numerous gas price wars, which have hit supplies in Europe over the past years.
"Our dependence on external energy resources has affected our ability to conduct an independent foreign policy," warned the leader of the European Parliament's liberal ALDE group, Guy Verhofstadt.
He said that an ambitious energy project will create jobs, tackle climate change and hit Russian President Vladimir "Putin where it hurts most."
Sefcovic said the EU would work closely with neighbors like Algeria, Turkey and Norway to help diversify sources of supply.
More
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on Wednesday called it "undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project" since the inception of the EU over half a century ago. He believes that improving links across borders in Europe's energy grid could save businesses and consumers up to 40 billion euros ($45.4 billion) a year.
A more energy-independent Europe will also increase the EU's political options in eastern Europe.
Europe imports 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, half via pipelines through conflict-torn Ukraine, and it could to take years of investment to reduce that dependency. Ukraine and Russian energy monopoly Gazprom have been embroiled in numerous gas price wars, which have hit supplies in Europe over the past years.
"Our dependence on external energy resources has affected our ability to conduct an independent foreign policy," warned the leader of the European Parliament's liberal ALDE group, Guy Verhofstadt.
He said that an ambitious energy project will create jobs, tackle climate change and hit Russian President Vladimir "Putin where it hurts most."
Sefcovic said the EU would work closely with neighbors like Algeria, Turkey and Norway to help diversify sources of supply.
More
The Wal-Mart ripple effect begins with this retailer
Let the wage war begin.
Less than a week after Wal-Mart announced that it would raise wages for 500,000 employees to $9 an hour in April, off-price retailer TJXsaid in its fourth-quarter earnings report that it, too, will boost pay.
The parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods said Wednesday its full- and part-time hourly U.S. employees will earn at least $9 an hour starting in June. In 2016, all hourly U.S. workers who have been with the company for six months or more will earn at least $10 an hour.
"At TJX, we attribute our success over the last 38 years primarily to the people we have hired who have remained focused on our mission of delivering consumers amazing values," CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in the company's earnings release.
"This pay initiative is an important part of our strategies to continue attracting and retaining the best talent in order to deliver a great shopping experience for our customers, remain competitive on wages in our U.S. markets, and stay focused on our value mission."
More
Less than a week after Wal-Mart announced that it would raise wages for 500,000 employees to $9 an hour in April, off-price retailer TJXsaid in its fourth-quarter earnings report that it, too, will boost pay.
The parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods said Wednesday its full- and part-time hourly U.S. employees will earn at least $9 an hour starting in June. In 2016, all hourly U.S. workers who have been with the company for six months or more will earn at least $10 an hour.
"At TJX, we attribute our success over the last 38 years primarily to the people we have hired who have remained focused on our mission of delivering consumers amazing values," CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in the company's earnings release.
"This pay initiative is an important part of our strategies to continue attracting and retaining the best talent in order to deliver a great shopping experience for our customers, remain competitive on wages in our U.S. markets, and stay focused on our value mission."
More
Maraschino Cherry Tycoon: The Secret Drug Lair New York City Police Uncovered
In a scene reminiscent of the TV show "Breaking Bad," New York City investigators raided the business of one of the nation's largest processors of maraschino cherries -- only to find that his Brooklyn factory also allegedly served as a marijuana growing operation, authorities said.
Investigators returned to the factory today in the Red Hook section, a day after the owner shot and killed himself in an apparent suicide as authorities raided it. police said.
There's a good chance the cherry atop your sundae or at the bottom of your Manhattan is fromDell's Maraschino Cherries, a family business founded in 1948 that now appears to have also hosted what sources described to ABC News as a large-scale, elaborate marijuana growing operation.
A team of city and state environmental regulators, along with prosecutors from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, had been at the company for several hours Tuesday investigating a complaint of illegal chemical dumping in the waters off Red Hook, prosecutors said.
At first owner Arthur Mondella, 57, cooperated with the search, police said. Then, as investigators discovered "flimsy shelving and a faint smell of marijuana," a source briefed on the investigation said, Mondella became increasingly vague.
More
Investigators returned to the factory today in the Red Hook section, a day after the owner shot and killed himself in an apparent suicide as authorities raided it. police said.
There's a good chance the cherry atop your sundae or at the bottom of your Manhattan is fromDell's Maraschino Cherries, a family business founded in 1948 that now appears to have also hosted what sources described to ABC News as a large-scale, elaborate marijuana growing operation.
A team of city and state environmental regulators, along with prosecutors from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, had been at the company for several hours Tuesday investigating a complaint of illegal chemical dumping in the waters off Red Hook, prosecutors said.
At first owner Arthur Mondella, 57, cooperated with the search, police said. Then, as investigators discovered "flimsy shelving and a faint smell of marijuana," a source briefed on the investigation said, Mondella became increasingly vague.
More
App Assists Homeless Without Fears They’ll Spend it On the Wrong Things
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) - It can be an uncomfortable situation. A stranger approaches you when you’re stopped at a red light or while you’re walking down the street. The person asks for money. You’d like to help.
But you wonder to yourself if the money will be used to buy necessities or some sort of vice.
“So you have that kind of moral hazard of, so you’re giving a person money, but you actually could make their lives worse,” said Neel Sus from his tech company Susco Solutions.
Sus says he has always had a desire to help people but he could never be certain that cash donations would be used for necessities.
More
But you wonder to yourself if the money will be used to buy necessities or some sort of vice.
“So you have that kind of moral hazard of, so you’re giving a person money, but you actually could make their lives worse,” said Neel Sus from his tech company Susco Solutions.
Sus says he has always had a desire to help people but he could never be certain that cash donations would be used for necessities.
More
Here Is The Most Wildly Popular Type Of Store In Each State
It may not surprise you that there's a lot of demand for surf shops in Hawaii, but did you know that South Dakota is all about its art galleries?
A recent collaboration between The Huffington Post and Yelp reveals what kinds of stores are the most insanely popular in each state, based on the review website's listings. It's the same idea behind our recent map showing each state's most popular type of cuisine.
To collect info for the map, Yelp delved into its online catalogue of store listings and calculated the percentage of a given type of shopping business relative to the total number of business listings in that state. Then, it compared those percentages with each type of store's representation nationwide and produced a list of the top 10 most disproportionally common stores in each of the 50 states.
The map below, made by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller, shows which type of retail shop is the most likely to appear in each state.
More
A recent collaboration between The Huffington Post and Yelp reveals what kinds of stores are the most insanely popular in each state, based on the review website's listings. It's the same idea behind our recent map showing each state's most popular type of cuisine.
To collect info for the map, Yelp delved into its online catalogue of store listings and calculated the percentage of a given type of shopping business relative to the total number of business listings in that state. Then, it compared those percentages with each type of store's representation nationwide and produced a list of the top 10 most disproportionally common stores in each of the 50 states.
The map below, made by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller, shows which type of retail shop is the most likely to appear in each state.
More
Breaking News: Another Fight In Salisbury
UPS Illegally Shipped 136 Million Contraband Cigarettes In New York, Says New Lawsuit
A new multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit alleges that UPS unlawfully shipped almost 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in New York, undercutting anti-smoking efforts and depriving the state of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The joint lawsuit, filed Wednesday by both the state and the city of New York, says the shipping giant made nearly 80,000 illicit shipments of cigarettes from unlicensed vendors on the state's Native American reservations to locations elsewhere in the state from 2010 to 2014.
"Our lawsuit alleges that UPS blatantly disregarded New York and federal tax and public health laws, by shipping tens of millions of cheap, untaxed cigarettes to New Yorkers," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement Wednesday. "We contend that UPS cost this state millions in revenue and is helping to make illegal, low-cost cigarettes available to our young people, who are disproportionately lured to smoking by lower costs."
"To limit smoking, which remains the number one preventable public health crisis today, we must stop the flow of illegal cigarettes and enforce the law," he continued.
More
The joint lawsuit, filed Wednesday by both the state and the city of New York, says the shipping giant made nearly 80,000 illicit shipments of cigarettes from unlicensed vendors on the state's Native American reservations to locations elsewhere in the state from 2010 to 2014.
"Our lawsuit alleges that UPS blatantly disregarded New York and federal tax and public health laws, by shipping tens of millions of cheap, untaxed cigarettes to New Yorkers," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement Wednesday. "We contend that UPS cost this state millions in revenue and is helping to make illegal, low-cost cigarettes available to our young people, who are disproportionately lured to smoking by lower costs."
"To limit smoking, which remains the number one preventable public health crisis today, we must stop the flow of illegal cigarettes and enforce the law," he continued.
More
Stephen Hawking Warns That Aggression Could 'Destroy Us All'
Forget doomsday asteroids, global plagues and super volcanoes. British theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking says we're facing a much more immediate threat -- and it's our own behavior.
“The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression,” Hawking told contest winner Adaeze Uyanwah, according to the Independent. “It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.”
Uyanwah, a 24-year-old from California, won the "Guest of Honor" contest fromVisitLondon.com. The prize package included a tour of London's Science Museumwith Hawking.
While being shown around, Uyanwah asked Hawking which human shortcoming he would most like to change, and which trait he'd enhance.
Hawking chose aggression and warned that a nuclear war could end civilization and possibly the human race. We need to replace aggression with empathy, which "brings us together in a peaceful loving state,” he said.
The subject of "The Theory of Everything" also told her that the future of man lies beyond Earth.
More
“The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression,” Hawking told contest winner Adaeze Uyanwah, according to the Independent. “It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.”
Uyanwah, a 24-year-old from California, won the "Guest of Honor" contest fromVisitLondon.com. The prize package included a tour of London's Science Museumwith Hawking.
While being shown around, Uyanwah asked Hawking which human shortcoming he would most like to change, and which trait he'd enhance.
Hawking chose aggression and warned that a nuclear war could end civilization and possibly the human race. We need to replace aggression with empathy, which "brings us together in a peaceful loving state,” he said.
The subject of "The Theory of Everything" also told her that the future of man lies beyond Earth.
More
What A Man's Hands Say About How He Treats Women
Listen up, ladies. If you want to figure out if your date is a nice guy or a jerk, take a look at his hands.
A strange new study suggests that the shorter a guy's index finger is compared to his ring finger, the more likely he is to be nice to women. Guys whose index fingers and ring fingers are close in length, or whose index fingers are longer than their ring fingers, watch out!
"When with women, men with smaller ratios [of index to ring finger] were more likely to listen attentively, smile and laugh, compromise or compliment the other person," Dr. Debbie Moskowitz, a psychology professor at McGill University in Montreal and the study's lead author, said in a written statement.
More
A strange new study suggests that the shorter a guy's index finger is compared to his ring finger, the more likely he is to be nice to women. Guys whose index fingers and ring fingers are close in length, or whose index fingers are longer than their ring fingers, watch out!
"When with women, men with smaller ratios [of index to ring finger] were more likely to listen attentively, smile and laugh, compromise or compliment the other person," Dr. Debbie Moskowitz, a psychology professor at McGill University in Montreal and the study's lead author, said in a written statement.
More
Light of Literacy Awards Ceremony Scheduled for Thursday, April 9th
Salisbury, MD – The Friends of Wicomico Public Library will hold its third annual Light of Literacy Awards Ceremony on Thursday April 9th, 2015. Nominations are necessary to make this event a success. Nominees help others improve their reading, information, computer, financial and other literacy skills, giving them the necessary tools to become lifelong learners. Winners will be honored at an awards breakfast at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.
If you know someone who is lighting the way for others and has a passion for utilizing what they do to ensure others succeed please nominate them for a Light of Literacy Award. You may nominate more than one person. Nominee submissions are due by Friday, March 6th.
Nominations can be mailed to:
Friends Awards
c/o Wicomico Public Library
122 S. Division St., Salisbury, MD 21801
If you know someone who is lighting the way for others and has a passion for utilizing what they do to ensure others succeed please nominate them for a Light of Literacy Award. You may nominate more than one person. Nominee submissions are due by Friday, March 6th.
Nominations can be mailed to:
Friends Awards
c/o Wicomico Public Library
122 S. Division St., Salisbury, MD 21801
Cuccinelli: Homeland Security Negotiations 'Embarrassing' for GOP
The political back and forth on a GOP plan to fund Homeland Security without the immigration provisions opposed by President Barack Obama has been "embarrassing," says Ken Cuccinelli, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund and former Virginia attorney general.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats signed onto the plan, putting the Senate on track to pass it and stop a partial agency shutdown on Friday.
Shortly before the decision, Cuccinelli told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV the Republicans seem unable to negotiate and would rather roll over.
"You don't need to have a PhD in negotiating tactics. When you see something like that, you know you're looking at a guy who has no idea how one properly goes about negotiating anything," Cuccinelli said.
"It's embarrassing to watch when such important strategic issues are at stake. It's horrible to watch and there are reasons we all thought [House Speaker John] Boehner should be removed.
More here
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats signed onto the plan, putting the Senate on track to pass it and stop a partial agency shutdown on Friday.
Shortly before the decision, Cuccinelli told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV the Republicans seem unable to negotiate and would rather roll over.
"You don't need to have a PhD in negotiating tactics. When you see something like that, you know you're looking at a guy who has no idea how one properly goes about negotiating anything," Cuccinelli said.
"It's embarrassing to watch when such important strategic issues are at stake. It's horrible to watch and there are reasons we all thought [House Speaker John] Boehner should be removed.
More here
Team Bibi Schools Team Obama In Boycott Showdown
About 20 House and Senate Democrats announced early on that they would not attend the March 3 speech, which is being cast as a rebuke to President Obama, but since then only a handful have joined them as pro-Netanyahu advocates counter by hinting at political consequences for the no-shows.
Christians United for Israel, for example, sent out an action alert a few weeks ago urging its members to contact their representatives in support of the Netanyahu speech. The result was a blast of more than 30,000 emails asking lawmakers not to let “partisan politics and petty excuses keep you from fulfilling the most basic of responsibilities of your office.”
Mr. Obama is refusing to meet with Mr. Netanyahu during his visit here, accusing Mr. Boehner of breaking protocol in issuing the invite. Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who as presiding officer of the Senate would normally sit on the dais behind the prime minister, has scheduled a trip and won’t be in attendance.
But only 23 of the House’s 188 Democrats, two of the Senate’s 44 Democrats and one independent have said they will skip the March 3 speech, according to an online “whip list” maintained by The Hill.
“Here’s the difference: Obama doesn’t have to run for re-election again. A lot of these guys do,” Mr. Brog said. “So if they’re doubling down with the White House on what is increasingly proving to be a naive approach to this evil, they could pay with their jobs.”
Here is more
Miller, most Senate Democrats back end to contested judicial elections
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller called Tuesday for an end to Maryland's practice of allowing challengers to run against appointed Circuit Court judges, saying a system that forces judges to raise money for political campaigns is "very unseemly."
Miller endorsed a constitutional amendment that would require newly appointed Circuit Court judges to run to keep their seats in so-called "retention" elections, in which voters would either say yes or no to their remaining on the bench. That is the system the state uses for appointments to its appellate courts.
The Circuit Courts are Maryland's principal trial courts for serious criminal and civil cases. The judges are now appointed by the governor but must run to stay on the bench for a 15-year term in the next possible election. Traditionally, new judges run in both party primaries. Usually they win the nominations of both parties, but in some cases a challenger wins one party primary to set up a general election contest.
More
Taxpayers Duck Obamacare Tax, Snubbing IRS
Taxpayers are already telling their accountants they plan to stiff the IRS on the Obamacare tax, saying they figure the chances the agency comes after them for a few hundred bucks are pretty slim, and it makes sense to take the risk.
Still other taxpayers are recoiling when they find out they owe far more than the $95 minimum penalty for not having insurance in 2014, said Christopher Wittich, an accountant in Minnesota.
“And that’s a big problem for them,” he said. “They don’t have 200 bucks.”
Taxpayers are facing the first round of penalties under Obamacare’s “individual mandate,” which requires most Americans to prove they have health insurance coverage or else pay the tax that the Supreme Court ruled made the law constitutional.
But Indiana accountant Scott Frick said one of his clients, told he would have to fork over $850 for going without insurance last year, thought about the IRS and decided not to pay, just to “see what happens.”
The episodes raise questions for the revenue agency, which is trying to figure out just how far it’s prepared to go to collect the Obamacare tax — and if future administrations will enforce it at all.
Under the 2010 law the IRS cannot pursue criminal penalties or put liens on the property of people who ignore the Affordable Care Act’s mandate.
More
Still other taxpayers are recoiling when they find out they owe far more than the $95 minimum penalty for not having insurance in 2014, said Christopher Wittich, an accountant in Minnesota.
“And that’s a big problem for them,” he said. “They don’t have 200 bucks.”
Taxpayers are facing the first round of penalties under Obamacare’s “individual mandate,” which requires most Americans to prove they have health insurance coverage or else pay the tax that the Supreme Court ruled made the law constitutional.
But Indiana accountant Scott Frick said one of his clients, told he would have to fork over $850 for going without insurance last year, thought about the IRS and decided not to pay, just to “see what happens.”
The episodes raise questions for the revenue agency, which is trying to figure out just how far it’s prepared to go to collect the Obamacare tax — and if future administrations will enforce it at all.
Under the 2010 law the IRS cannot pursue criminal penalties or put liens on the property of people who ignore the Affordable Care Act’s mandate.
More
A Letter To The Editor: Wicomico County BOE Waste
Joe,
Good morning. I enjoy reading your blog... thank you for keeping the community informed.
I thought I'd pass along another example of our great BOE's waste of taxpayer's money. In light of our financial situation it is beyond me how money is continually put toward unnecessarily extravagant items. The latest that has come to my attention is a fully funded trip to Florida for 2 BOE employees to attend a conference regarding the "summer program". They left 2/17, returned 2/22 or 2/23. Flights, hotels, meals paid for. How much could this have cost the taxpayers of Wicomico County? Not to mention the same two employees have been on other "conferences" together in the past which required flights/mileage/hotels/meals... Is traveling up and down the east coast really necessary? They also frequent local "establishments" during the summer months under the guise of "meeting to write curriculum", no doubt this is written off as an "expense".
Good morning. I enjoy reading your blog... thank you for keeping the community informed.
I thought I'd pass along another example of our great BOE's waste of taxpayer's money. In light of our financial situation it is beyond me how money is continually put toward unnecessarily extravagant items. The latest that has come to my attention is a fully funded trip to Florida for 2 BOE employees to attend a conference regarding the "summer program". They left 2/17, returned 2/22 or 2/23. Flights, hotels, meals paid for. How much could this have cost the taxpayers of Wicomico County? Not to mention the same two employees have been on other "conferences" together in the past which required flights/mileage/hotels/meals... Is traveling up and down the east coast really necessary? They also frequent local "establishments" during the summer months under the guise of "meeting to write curriculum", no doubt this is written off as an "expense".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)