WELL-TRAVELED WESTWOOD TOTING OWN HOT STREAK.(SPORTS)

Byline: TIM DAHLBERG Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- About the only difference Lee Westwood sees between himself and David Duval is the places they play.

Today, they'll play only a group apart as the two hottest golfers on each side of the Atlantic tee off in search of their first major championship.

``Anybody who wants to be the best in the world has to keep up with the one setting the standard,'' Westwood said. ``Tiger and David may be the best two at the moment, but I'm not that far behind.''

Westwood comes into The Masters with credentials almost as impeccable as those of Duval, who has won 11 of his last 34 starts, including his last …

North Georgia counties seek economic cooperation from Kentucky neighbors.

Byline: Mike Pare

Mar. 11--Hamilton and Catoosa officials are looking at ways the two counties can become more regional players in the economic development game.

"We want to open up the door of communication and cooperation. The community transcends state and county lines," said Ken Stoner, president of the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Stoner helped oversee a 50-member delegation of business and political leaders from North Georgia in Chattanooga on Friday. They spent much of the day touring Enterprise South Industrial Park and talking with Chattanooga economic development officials and others.

Mr. Stoner said a possible …

Hummel leads Purdue past Coppin State

Robbie Hummel had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 11 Purdue beat Coppin State 66-46 on Saturday night.

It was the sixth double-double of Hummel's career, and his first this season.

Nemanja Calasan scored 11 points and E'Twaun Moore added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks for the Boilermakers (4-0). Purdue's next game will be against Boston College on Wednesday in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

Tywain Mckee scored 17 points and Vince Goldsberry added 10 for Coppin State (1-2).

Purdue held the Eagles to 30 percent shooting in the game.

The Boilermakers had to work hard to put …

Irresistible Empire: America's Advance through Twentieth-Century Europe

Irresistible Empire: America's Advance through Twentieth-Century Europe. By Victoria De Grazia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. 586 pp. Illustrations, bibliography, notes, index. Cloth, $29.95. ISBN: 0-674-01672-6.

Reviewed by Michael French

Given the proliferation of studies of consumption, a comparative and integrative study in this area is to be warmly welcomed. Victoria De Grazia makes a notable contribution with a study that offers a good deal of interest to business historians. In Irresistible Empire, she deploys and extends the burgeoning literatures relating to consumption and consumers through a series of transatlantic comparisons. The result is a …

Evaluation of mixtures of certain market wastes as silage.(Report)

INTRODUCTION

Turkey has a large animal production section with approximately 11 million cattle and 30 million sheep (Anonymous, 2008a,b). Despite these large numbers there are significant problems in terms of animal production largely due to the lack of sufficient amount and quality of roughage (Kilic, 2005). Of the 21.5 million hectares of cultivated land only 5.6% is used for fodder crop production (Anonymous, 2008b). The insufficient fodder crop production and limited availability of pastures due to over grazing has meant that only the basic energy needs of the animals for survival and perhaps limited milk production (4-5 kg/d) are being met (Kilic, 2000). This lack of roughage has prompted interest is alternative feed sources, including the 7-10 million tones of fruit and vegetable wastes produced each year in Turkey (Vural, 2000). There are several studies suggesting that such plant wastes could be potential feed sources for ruminants (Saricicek et al., 1994; 1997; Bakshi et al., 2006; Khorshed et al., 2006; Wadhwa et al., 2006; Meneses et al., 2007).

However, as the majority of these wastes have not been evaluated as animal feed, they instead generally become important environmental pollutants (Erdem, 2005; Khorshed et al., 2006). Utilizing these plant wastes as animal feeds would have benefits both in terms of the environment and animal production. In this way, both the national economy would be positively affected and the risks for human health would be prevented.

Fruit and vegetable wastes generally have a high moisture content and if left untreated will rot in 3-4 days (Hersom, 2006). However, they are rich in soluble carbohydrates and thus could be easily ensiled if the excessive moisture content was addressed. Ensilage is an effective and convenient way to conserve such plant wastes for long periods (Kilic 1986; Kinh et al., 2010).

Consequently, the aim of the study is to determine the potential of using ensiled vegetable wastes of different market mixtures as alternative feed sources for ruminants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sampling procedures and analytical methods

The main material of the study was composed of vegetable wastes obtained from three different street markets. Components of the mixture were cauliflower leaves (33%), cabbage leaves (22%), artichoke leaves (17%), carrot (8%), spinach (7%), lettuce (5%), leek (4%) and celery (4%). Collected vegetable wastes (VW) were cleaned from foreign substance and roughly broken to 5-10 cm pieces, then mixed on a clean plastic bag by hand. Different amounts of wheat straw (WS), wheat bran (WB) and salt (S) with regard to fresh weights were added to the mixture in ensilage due to high water content and low feeding value of individual VW in the mixture. For this purpose, seven different groups were formed in the study: 100% VW (Group I, control), 90% VW+9% WS+1% S (Group II), 80% VW+15% WS+4% WB+1% S (Group III), 70% VW+20% WS+9% WB+1% S (Group IV), 90% VW+ 9% WB+1% S (Group V), 80% VW+15% WB+4% WS+ 1% S (Group VI) and 70% VW+20% WB+9% WS+1% S (Group VII). Obtained mixtures were placed in two liter plastic cans by hand, firmly compressed, closed and strapped to prevent air ingress. Each group was prepared as four replicates and plastic cans were left for fermentation at room temperature for 50 days.

Samples of vegetable wastes silage (VWS) were opened after fermentation and their physical analyses carried out according to DLG standards (DLG, 1987) and their pH values were measured using a digital pH-meter (Hanna, model: HI 8314). After taking suitable samples for chemical analyses, crude nutrient contents (dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude ash) of feed samples were determined by Weende analyses method (AOAC, 1995), crude fiber contents by Lepper method (Crampton and Maynard, 1938), and cell wall components were determined by Van Soest analyses method (Goering and Van Soest, 1970). Lactic-, acetic-, butyric acid contents of fresh ensilages were determined by distillation method (Naumann and Bassler, 1993). In-vitro metabolizable energy contents of ensilages were estimated by their crude nutrient contents (TS, 2004) and the regression equations with ADF (acid detergent fiber) (Kirchgessner et al., 1977). …

Kupilikula: Governance and the Invisible Realm in Mozambique.(Book review)

Kupilikula: Governance and the Invisible Realm in Mozambique, by Harry G. West. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2005. xxviii, 362 pp. $25.00 US (paper).

This book is a study by Harry G. West, a social anthropologist from the University of London, on the meaning and importance of sorcery on the Mueda plateau in Mozambique. The time frame covers the pre-colonial time and especially the colonial and post-colonial periods. The sources used are interviews and participatory observations, and fieldwork that has been pursued at several occasions from 1993 to 2004. No archives (for instance Portuguese ones) have been consulted.

The study focuses on the conditions of governance and power on the local level. West argues that African "languages of power" should be in focus instead of Western ideas and …

ELIXIR FOR SCHOLA CANTORUM POETS SPONSOR POETS BYE BYE, MIMI, BYE BYE.(Show)

The chorus line at Berkshire Opera this summer will be local talent.

The St. Cecilia Orchestra, of course, returns for its second season as pit band for Berkshire Opera at Cranwell Opera House in Lenox.

Now Benjamin Van Wye's Schola Cantorum, unhooked from Bethesda Epsicopal Church in Saratoga Springs this spring when rector Thomas Parke fired Van Wye after an ongoing dispute about wages and duties at the church, is at Berkshire Opera for the first time. The 20-voice choir decided to stay together and performed expertly in this spring's concert of Franz Joseph Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" in Spa State Park's Little Theatre.

"I called around and …

Denver schools chief named to fill Senate vacancy

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter on Saturday named Denver's public schools superintendent as his choice to fill a Senate vacancy that will be created by the promotion of Sen. Ken Salazar to interior secretary in the Obama administration.

The move surprised many Republicans and Democrats, who considered schools superintendent Michael Bennet a dark horse candidate for the Senate spot because of his lack of legislative experience. The 44-year-old Democrat has never campaigned for or held public office.

Bennet had been mentioned as a possible choice for President-elect Barack Obama's education secretary, but Obama chose 44-year-old Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of …

That's what Donaldsons told its staff; now, there's a `snag' // Carson's buys Minn. retailer

A Minneapolis-based department store chain Wednesday announcedthat Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott & Co. had acquired it, but laterclaimed the deal was not final.

Though Donaldsons announced the acquisition to its 3,600employees, spokeswoman Karen Buchanan Wednesday evening saidnegotiations "hit some type of snag." She declined to elaborate, andher denial came minutes after she had been informed that Carson'sChairman Peter S. Willmott declined to confirm the purchase.

"There are a lot of rumors in the market about Carson's and Donaldsons," Willmott said in a brief telephoneinterview. "We don't respond to rumors."

But earlier, Buchanan and a source at …

Reports summarize palliative care research from Sahlgrenska University.

"A pilot study on elderly patients' end-of-life needs was performed at a Swedish geriatric palliative ward. Thirty patients (15 men and 15 women; mean age, 79 years) with a primary diagnosis of cancer and admitted for palliative care were interviewed by a nurse using semistructured interviews," investigators in Gothenburg, Sweden report (see also Palliative Care).

"The study included demographic data, physical and psychologic status, and naming and ranking of individual needs. Elimination of physical pain was ranked as the primary need of half of the patients," wrote H. Wijk and colleagues, Sahlgrenska University.

The researchers concluded: "Only when pain …

BUTLER A GRADUATE OF HARD KNOCKS U.(ACCENT)

Byline: JOE LOGAN Knight-Ridder

PHILADELPHIA Brett Butler is one of those overnight successesthe kind who bursts onto the scene after 12 obscure years in what she calls the ``life-sucking vortex of comedy clubs.''

Of course, now she doesn't have to play the club scene, not with her hit ABC series ``Grace Under Fire'' (9:30 p.m. Wednesdays), and everybody calling her the ``Southern Roseanne.'' All of a suddenly the Marietta, Ga., native is having to learn to cope with fame.

``Getting this much power and attention is like handing a baby a loaded gun,'' says Butler, 36. ``That baby is eventually going to shoot himself or somebody else. I'm not …

Kenny Chesney Leads ACM Nominees With 11

Kenny Chesney received a leading 11 Academy of Country Music nominations Tuesday, including entertainer of the year and top male vocalist.

Rodney Atkins followed with six nominations, including top male vocalist. Brad Paisley, Big & Rich and Sugarland all got four apiece.

Chesney also is up for song and video of the year for "Don't Blink" and vocal event for "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" with Tracy Lawrence and Tim McGraw.

Chesney received double nominations for artist and producer for "Shift Work" with George Strait, as well as for "Don't Blink" for single of the year and "Just Who I Am: Poets & …

Scopa calls for evidence to close the door on arms deal controversy by term's end.(News)

BYLINE: Siyabonga Mkhwanazi

PARLIAMENT'S watchdog committee on government spending is urging anyone with hard evidence of irregularities relating to the arms deal to appear before it.

The committee decided yesterday it wanted to finalise the controversy over the defence procurement package before Parliament ended its term.

MPs agreed that it would be in the best interests of the country and all involved if the matter was laid to rest as speedily as possible.

Committee chairperson Themba Godi (African People's Convention) said in the light of media reports indicating that certain individuals claimed to have obtained new information, they …

Perkins helps Twins beat Rays 3-2

Glen Perkins pitched six shutout innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Monday.

Perkins allowed four hits, struck out four and walked one. Justin Morneau and Alexi Casilla each had two hits for Minnesota.

Tampa Bay's Matt Garza gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings …

Saying so long to D.C. outposts

Lobbying & Law

The high-tech boom was hitting its peak when 3Com Corp., a high-flying Internet networking company based in Santa Clara, Calif, hired Greg Garcia in February 1999 to head its new Washington office. At the time, Garcia said that 3Com, like many other tech companies, was beginning "to recognize that Washington has an impact on how we do business."

Garcia racked up plaudits in two job-- performance reviews while lobbying assiduously on Federal Communications Commission rules and on China trade. Garcia "was doing a fabulous job," says 3Com general counsel Mark Michael, and in December 2000, the company allowed Garcia to hire a second lobbyist.

But by June of this year, both Garcia and his co-lobbyist were unemployed. Responding to a huge budget shortfall, Korn management decided to focus almost exclusively on company units that generate revenue, and the Washington office didn't make the cut. "It was a step we took with profound regret," Michael says, but adds that the shuttering will save 3Com $500,000 a year.

"A business decision had to be made," adds Garcia, who is now a staff member at the House Science Committee, where he handles outreach to information-technology companies. "If I had been called into the executive committee meeting and told, `Greg, the company is in survival mode; are you absolutely essential?' I would have had to say no."

With the economy in recession, 3Com is not alone. Dozens of companies that have a Washington-based government relations staff are struggling with the question: Is an office in the nation's capital stocked with expensive lobbyists a critical business need? According to corporate managers and Washington lobbyists, the answer is: "It depends."

A good Washington outpost serves as a company's political eyes and ears, helping to shelter the firm from damage should a crisis arise or new regulations be proposed. A Washington office can also help secure benefits by marketing products and services to government agencies, winning tax breaks, or lobbying for more-liberal trade rules.

"The question for a CEO would be, `What are our issues in Washington, and how important are they to the bottom line of the company?' " says Charles S. Mack, a former president of the Business Industry Political Action Committee and the author of a book on lobbying. "If the issues have a significant impact on the company in the short or midterm, then it's pretty shortsighted to close the office. If the issues are all fairly low-priority and are ones that a trade association can handle just as easily, then perhaps [shutting the office] is the best way to go."

In tough economic times, "every lobbyist faces the same barrel of the same gun," says Robert C. Cresanti, vice president for policy at the Business Software Alliance. The board of directors and the CEO want to know "what value you are bringing to the running of this company," he adds. "If I say that I've knocked down three or four regulations that were enormously burdensome and kept us from going under the wheels of the bus, then the argument can be made that a Washington presence is important."

CEOs shouldn't make a rash decision to close a Washington outpost, particularly if their industry is highly regulated, Mack says. For the most part, companies haven't done that in 2001. Besides 3Com, only a few firms have shut down their Washington offices this year: DoubleClick Inc., J.C. Penney Co. Inc., Lucent Technologies, Novell Inc., and Ryder System Inc. Meanwhile, AT&T and Cable & Wireless laid off personnel, while Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. chose not to replace top lobbyists who departed. Excite@Home Corp. laid off its lone lobbyist after the company declared bankruptcy in September. This tally does not include those offices that have closed because of a merger. In recent years, major names such as Ameritech, Champion Paper, Dresser Industries, and Exxon have closed their Washington outposts after a merger.

Companies are "filling Washington posts, but not filling them as quickly" as they once were, says Nels Olson, a Washington partner at the executive search firm Korn/Ferry International. Although business is slower than usual, Olson's firm did help Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. bring aboard Lisa A. Rickard as its new head of government relations. She was hired in late November after serving as of counsel in the Washington office of the Florida-based law firm Greenberg Traurig. Previously, Rickard headed government relations for Ryder, but was forced to leave when the company closed its office earlier this year.

Olson won't comment specifically on Dow, but says it's smart for a business to have a strong Washington presence. "There are plenty of examples of companies paying a price for not having quality representation in Washington."

Even so, companies such as Ryder are willing to take the risk. CEO Gregory T. Swienton said in a statement that Ryder "will continue to be an active member in its industry associations" and that it will keep an eye on Washington from its headquarters in Miami. Sources familiar with Swienton's decision confirm that the Washington office was closed in a cost-cutting move.

The same can be said for Lucent Technologies. The company began downsizing in July, reducing its total personnel to 60,000 from 155,000 a year ago. Lucent closed its Washington office and retains only a federal marketing staff. For other needs in Washington, it is using outside consultants. "Outsourcing government affairs will produce a cost efficiency," says Lucent spokesman Bill Price.

If a CEO chooses contract representation or an industry trade association, he or she must assign someone at headquarters to oversee the outsiders, experts say. "We can update them on important things, pose questions as to what they need, and be a de facto Washington office," says Edward Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a high-tech trade group. "But the company has to stay involved."

One former corporate lobbyist says he encouraged his old employer to drop its trade association memberships after the company closed his office. "It's money wasted," this lobbyist says, unless the company has a knowledgeable staff person sitting on the trade group's public policy committees. Otherwise, he says, the firm risks paying $75,000 or more in membership dues, only to have the association advocate public policy positions counter to its interests.

Relying on an outside lobbying firm can be just as expensive as maintaining a small Washington office. "Those guys are pretty dear," says Mack. "If you want to amputate your Washington office and hire a consultant to keep tabs for an hour a week, it's not realistic." Businesses typically pay rates of $5,000 to $20,000 a month for K Street representation.

Witness Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.'s experience last year when its top executives had to testify before congressional committees. The tire maker, which had already been forced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall millions of tires, had no Washington office and only a few outside consultants who worked on an as-needed basis. By the time of the highly publicized hearings, most of the outsiders had quit and the company had to scramble for new representation. Now Bridge stone/Firestone operates its own Washington office and retains a bevy of highly paid consultants. Its lobbying tab shot up from about $100,000 in the year before the August 2000 recall to more than $5 million a year since then.

Other companies have been burned for their lack of Washington savvy. Two years ago, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, held hearings to examine the marketing practices of sweepstakes companies. Major names in the sweepstakes industry, such as American Family Enterprises and the Michigan Bulb Co., scrambled to hire outside lobbying firms, but their efforts were for naught. Collins pushed through legislation to regulate the industry within a year. It's unclear whether a Washington presence would have stopped the legislation or watered it down, but relying on outside firms proved completely ineffective. The legislation passed both chambers of Congress unanimously.

The experience of ZapMe! Corp. offers another cautionary tale. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company caught the attention of Washington activists backed by Ralph Nader when it began handing out computers and Internet hookups to school systems in exchange for the right to monitor students' Web-surfing habits. Its plan was to sell the information to marketing companies.

The activists caused a stir that prompted Sens. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., to introduce legislation to require that companies obtain parental permission before collecting marketing data in schools. ZapMe hired the Washington lobbying firm Van Scoyoc Associates Inc. Even so, the negative publicity damaged ZapMe, and the company went out of business late last year.

Microsoft, of course, is the poster child for those companies that paid a heavy price for being unschooled in Washington's ways. As recently as 1995, the software maker employed just one Washington lobbyist, who was stationed in the firm's marketing department in Chew Chase, Md. Once the Justice Department socked the company with an antitrust suit in 1998, things changed quickly. Microsoft now employs several outside firms and has an office in Washington with 10 registered lobbyists.

Firms such as Yahoo! Inc. and Siebel Systems recently added lobbyists, saving they recognize that a Washington office can prepare a company for such blowouts, as well as bring rewards. Witness the airline bailout package passed by Congress in September, and the pending economic stimulus bill packed with corporate tax breaks that analysts say could be worth billions of dollars to certain companies. Other companies see the federal government as a potential market for their products. Amway, Cisco Systems, and eBay are reportedly looking to hire more in-house personnel in Washington.

"Decisions by policy makers make a real impact on our business," says John Scheibel, Yahoo's director of government relations. "From potential liability issues to the privacy issue, Washington decisions are important to the company."

Holding a grudge over the Dodgers' move.(Opinion)

It is more symptomatic of the times than ever that people make iron-clad judgments about an issue without digging very deep. That holds for anything from how oil prices ramped up so quickly to, well, pick a contentious issue. The migration of the Dodgers is one such topic.

Brian Ettkin, in his July 25 story, has done perhaps a better job than anyone in crystallizing the nature of the forces at work in that famous move. A few remaining Brooklynites still vilify Walter O'Malley for his bold …

Facebook to be worth $234 billion by 2015

New York, April. 1 -- Facebook will have market value of $234 billion by 2015, up from its current valuation of $85 billion, according to an analysis by brokerage firm Wedbush Securities that analyzes the valuations of private companies.

Wedbush Securities analyst Lou Kerner, who made this guess in a report last week on the what he called the 'Second Internet', says by 2015 Facebook will earn $11 billion on $22 billion and have a market value of $234 billion, Business Insider said Thursday.

"That makes the company's recent second market valuation of $85 billion look like a fine deal indeed,'' the business web site said.

In his earlier predictions in February 2010, Kerner had said that Facebook might be worth $100 billion by 2015.

But he now thinks Facebook's margins are better - around 50 percent - and that it will get a bigger share of the global ad market, according to the portal.

The analyst also believes "that other revenue sources - like Credits - will scale faster than he originally anticipated.''

Referring to the quick rise of companies as different as Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, The Huffington Post and Quora, the Wedbush Securities analysis says they are all player in what it calls the 'Second Internet'.''

Because of the social nature of this rising internet companies, the analysis describes this phenomenon as the rise of the 'Social Internet.'

According to the report, only one technology company - Apple - has a current higher market cap of $321 billion than that predicted for Facebook by 2015.(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Indo-Asian News Service.

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

LOCAL GOLFERS GO FOR U.S. OPEN DREAM.(SPORTS)

ALBANY Thirteen amateurs and 38 pros will vie for five sectional spots Friday in the local U.S. Open qualifier at Schuyler Meadows Country Club.

Qualifiers from this field will compete in 36-hole sectional play next month. All but 10 of the 51 players entered have indicated they will play in the sectional June 6 at Purchase if they qualify. The top finishers at the sectionals will qualify for the Open, to be played June 15-18 at Shinnecock Hills in Southhampton, Long Island.

The field has increased by nine over last year. All four players who qualified for the 1994 sectional Matt Young (Country Club of Troy), Paul Jaycox (Kingsboro), Kevin Hughes (Kingswood) and Remi Bouchard (Montreal) have returned.

Here are the tee times (local golfers are identified by clubs; others by residence):

8:30 Chad Frank (Heathrow, Fla.), Mark Davidson (Mohawk), Peter Gerard (Mill Road Acres).

8:39 Craig McLean (Dorset, Vt.), Thomas Falotico (Murphy's), Jeremy Kerr (Shaker Ridge).

8:48 Thomas Konopacki (Stevens Point, Wis.), James Lacy (Catskill), Hans Otto Albertsson (Manchcester, Vt.)

8:57 James Schouller (Stamford), Keith Kelly (Wolferts Roost), David Nevatt (Albany CC).

9:06 David Mooradian (CC of Troy), Ralph Bauer (Turkey Point, Ontario), Ben Morin (La Prairie, Quebec).

9:15 John Blain (Hamilton), Rick Pohole (Williamstown, Mass.), Jason Gobleck (Stowe, Vt.).

9:24 Jason Sladish (Endicott), Jim Tureskis (Wolferts Roost), Michael Downey (Fairfield, Conn.).

9:33 Chris Lyons (Schuyler Meadows), Bobby Brown (Greenville), Remi Bouchard (Montreal).

9:42 Rick Rumble (Pittsford), Bernie Weaver (Wolferts Roost), Peter Baxter (Lake Placid).

9:51 Matthew Young (CC of Troy), Paul Jaycox (Kingsboro), Brian Tennyson (Chestertown).

10:00 Mark Brown (Sagamore), Jim Nefti (Ballston Spa), Gary Grabinski (Shaker Ridge).

10:09 Terry Mullen (Town of Colonie), Randy Duncan (Pinehaven), David Lewis (McGregor).

10:18 Paul Pratico (Schenectady Muny), Frank Mellet (Colonie CC), Michael Nickell (Enid, Okla).

10:27: Jay Golden (South Fallsburg), Christopher Sladish (Endicott), Scott Perry (Alban Hills).

10:36 John Marchisi (Middletown), Kevin Hughes (Kingswood), Jay Butler (Clifton Park).

10:45 Herb Moreland (Western Turnpike), John Taylor (Saratoga Spa), Mike Luecke (Wolferts Roost).

10:54 Ed Parga (Ballston Spa), William Theofilopoulos (Canada), Dan Power (Walden).

Tri-County Amateur:Two-time defending champion Tim Minor of the Edison Club heads a field of 48 for the Tri-County Golf Association Match Play Championship, which will be played Friday through Sunday at the Colonie Country Club.

Twenty-two players are entered in the senior division.

The field is approximately 30 fewer than last year's total. The event is a week earlier this year, causing conflict with the Garden City Invitational. ``There's still a lot of quality in the field,'' said Tri-County president Peter Spitalny.

All players will compete in medal qualifying Friday. The top 16 advance to match play, which will have double rounds Saturday and Sunday. The championship match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.

In the seniors group, the top eight move into match play for a single round Saturday and a double round Sunday.

Here are the tee times (senior players in italics):

7:30 Mark Fitzgerald, Peter Meckler.

7:50 Chris Braman, Glenn Stopera, Shawn Maes.

8:00 Frank Bolognino, John Mullane, Dick Gunning.

8:10 Jack Stopera, Justin McCarthy, David Schland, Archie Coupe.

8:20 Doug Karo, Tim Minor, Dom Istoricko, Bob Cooper.

8:30 Don Bibby, Dave DeGenero, Ken Brown, Bob Johnson.

8:40 James Reid, Aaron Bloch, Scott Emerick, Grier Bibby.

8:50 Stan Moore, Gary Torino, Joe Coiskey, Gary Grimaldi.

9:00 Jim Corbett, Jim Cocca, Sal Romano, Rich Rosetti.

9:10 John Wojtusik, Phil LeClair, Rob Tessier, Mike Lawson.

9:20 Bob Wade, Dave Charnock, Mike McDonald, Bill Kiernan.

9:30 Carlo Rosetti, Larry Kronau, Bill Moll, Fred Maurer.

9:40 Neil Golub, Joe Aiello, Marvin Gertzberg.

9:50Jim Mannix, Ron Farrigan, Dick Sauers.

10:00 Frank Otten, Don Maki, Fred Bond, Thomas Valentini.

10:10 Chuck Hanley, Ken Moore, Ray Kelly, Matt Kupic.

10:20 Jim Murphy, Bill Kent, Gerry Corbett, Jim Welch.

10:30 Joe McCoy, Peter Spitalny, Mike Daniels, Bruce Sowalskie.

10:40 Steve Plaskon, Jim Mueller, Chris Comi, Gary Weleski.

NENY PGA:In Kingston, assistant pro Tom Frisina beat his head pro, Frank Mellet of the Colonie Country Club, to win the Wiltwyck Classic, the weekly stop of the Northeastern New York PGA.

Frisina shot a 2-under-par 70 at the Wiltwyck Country Club to beat Mellet, assistant pro at the Colonie Country Club, and David Strawn of Cranwell (Lenox, Mass.) by one stroke. Frisina earned a $974 top prize from a purse of $3,898. Tom Frisina (Colonie CC) $974 37-3370 Frank Mellet (Colonie CC) $565 37-3471 David Strawn (Cranwell) $565 37-3471 Bobby Brown (Windham) $410 37-3572 Rick Pohle (Taconic) $292 39-3473 Jeff Gunning (Town of Colonie) $195 37-3774 Paul Daniels (Wahconah) $195 37-3774 Jim Hefti (Ballston Spa) $127 35-4075 Paul Jaycox (Kingsboro) $127 39-3675 Brian Lowe (Catskill) $102 39-3877 Tom Falotico (Murphy's) $102 39-3877 Roland Stafford (Hidden Waters) $61 41-3778 Tom DeBerry (Normanside) $61 39-3978 Bob Haggerty (Schenectady Muny) $61 40-3878 Peter Gerard (Mill Road Acres) $61 42-3678

Can't find a dream home? Then create your own... ; The self-build property market is booming, says David Prosser

House prices keep on climbing, and more people than ever arefinding themselves priced out of the type of property they reallywant to buy.

This soaring cost is the chief factor behind a boom in the self-build property market, analysts claim. More than 20,000 people builttheir own home last year, in a market that is now estimated to beworth up to [pound]7bn a year. John Hay, of Buildstore, a companyset up specifically to target self-builders, says: "We reckon theaverage person building their own home ends up with a property worth25 to 35 per cent more than its cost." Put another way, buildingyour own home gives you access to a property that would cost up to athird more than you could afford on the open market.

And building your own home does not necessarily require a crashcourse in construction, plumbing and electrics. "Very few self-builders do much of the work themselves," Hay adds. "The most valuethat self-builders bring to the project is in their management timeand skills."

But don't make the mistake of thinking self-build will be easy.Terence Blacker, the novelist, who built his own home in Norfolkfour years ago (see story, right), says it's important to berealistic. "Everyone underestimates the difficulties of self-building and empha-sises the glamour - the idea that this is a greatway of making money is quite wrong," Blacker says.

The best self-build projects are those that have beenmeticulously planned. Even before you've identified a plot of landon which to build, it's worth talking to lenders about how much youmight be able to borrow. You can also take early soundings fromarchitects and builders.

The next stage is to start looking for land. Talk to land agents,scan classified advertising and search the internet - or use word ofmouth. If this doesn't work, Buildstore maintains a service calledPlotsearch, which has details of land available all over the country- search for a fee of [pound]35.

Don't assume that you need an empty piece of land and bear inmind that you will pay more for land with outline planningpermission for a home already granted.

Once you've identified your target plot, you can hold moresubstantive talks with builders and architects about costings. Youwill need budgeting information in order to apply for a mortgage.Since most plots go to auction, the majority of buyers need a firmmortgage offer in place to buy the land.

Two types of mortgage appeal to self-builders. "The traditionalway of financing this is with a mortgage where the funds arereleased at each stage of the process," says David Hollingworth, ofindependent adviser London &Country.

With this sort of loan, pioneered in particular by Norwich &Peterborough Building Society, you ask for the full amount needed tofinance the project. If successful, the money will be released inslices. Typically, the money is paid in arrears, so you need to havecapital in place to pay builders and others until you get each sliceof cash.

The alternative is the accelerator mortgage, promoted byBuildstore. With these loans, the cash for each stage is availablein ad-vance. Bear in mind that you'll still have to make repaymentson the new mortgage, as well as servicing any borrowing you have onyour existing property.

With your finances in place - and the land secured - the easy bitof a self-build project is over. Getting the property built is thenext challenge. Norwich & Peterborough publishes an excellent guideto self-build and there is also help available in magazines, fromsales fairs and from specialists such as Buildstore.

Managing the planning and building processes are separate steps,but the more work you can do yourself, the lower your costs will be.Get as many quotes as possible and remember that you can claim backVAT on all materials used in the build.

Ben and Merry Albright, from Pembridge in Herefordshire, builttheir first home in their early 20s. Two years ago, Ben, a salesmanager, and Merry, a full-time mum, sold the property and beganbuilding another house nearby. The home was featured on Channel 4'sGrand Designs and won the 2006 Eco-Build Award.

"Seven years ago, we were looking to buy our first home andwanted to stay close to my childhood home, but everything was out ofour price range," says Merry, now 30. "We found a plot in the nextvillage where the developer had had planning problems and we boughtit cheap."

In all, their first home cost around [pound]130,000, which theyraised with a self-build mortgage from Norwich & Peterborough, andtwo years ago they were able to sell the house for [pound]300,000.All of that money went on building their new home, a four-bedroomproperty in the same village, which has been valued at[pound]400,000.

Supporting science -- G'town officials consider business incubator options

Germantown officials got a better look at what a possiblebusiness incubator program looks like when they toured the officesand labs Thursday afternoon at Memphis Bioworks Foundation.

The foundation has pitched the idea of the city helping subsidizesome up-and-coming medical device companies that would want to workin a Germantown satellite office.

A business incubator program "is not a place where eggs getwarm," said the foundation's president and executive director, Dr.Steven J. Bares. While Memphis Bioworks has found a 10,000-square-foot building in Germantown where up to five start-up companiescould locate, Bares said, "Incubators are not operationally self-sufficient. The tenants pay a portion of the operation costs."

If the city can find the funding in its budget, the foundation isseeking about $150,000 for the first year and $125,000 annually foranother four years.

The nonprofit agency helps provide biomedical research start-upbusinesses with support services, mentoring and capital planning. Ithas 25 such start-up companies working in a 40,000- square-foot laband office building at 20 S. Dudley in the Medical Center area nearDowntown Memphis. Tenants pay $15 per square foot for office spacethat includes utilities and Internet connection and shared copy areaand boardroom space.

Aldermen Mike Palazzolo, Mark Billingsley and Greg Marcom touredthe facility Thursday, along with Economic and Development ServicesDirector Andy Pouncey and Brian Pecon with the city's EconomicDevelopment Commission.

"This is such uncharted waters for the board," Palazzolo saidduring the tour.

Marcom asked what was the city's return on such a project. "Ifthey're successful, they're going to stay in town. That's thereturn," Bares said. "You are growing real jobs where people want togo."

City officials also met Germantown resident Dean Didato withSynergy Technologies, which is one of the start-up companies atMemphis Bioworks. It specializes in protecting poultry and red meatfrom e-coli and salmonella . Before striking out on his own, Didatoworked for Buckman Laboratories.

Palazzolo said later: "It was worth the trip." But more workneeds to be done to see how other Tennessee cities operate theireconomic development programs. "We've got to balance the risk versusthe return. We're not there yet."

One example city officials can look at is Franklin, just outsideNashville.

With state money, Williamson County built a 15-acre Cool SpringsLife Sciences Center. Its only tenant, BioMimetic Therapeutics, wentfrom a startup company with six employees to one with 100 workers inseven years. The company was given tax breaks and the city isspending money on road construction that leads to the center.

- Lela Garlington: 529-2349

Schools focus on integrating technology

Emmy Pusateri can multitask with the best of them. The QuakerValley High School senior is wired -- with her iPod playing, shejuggles assignments and socializing on her school-issued laptop thatshe's had since she was a freshman.

"It has changed how I study, how I research, everything. I feelmuch better prepared to go to college," said Pusateri, 17, ofSewickley. "I couldn't imagine life without a laptop at this point."

When thousands of students return to class this week, they willlearn in classrooms that reflect their electronic world. Schools areemphasizing the integration of technology in the classroom andcurriculum, focusing on teaching students the skills they need in adigital world.

With all but two Allegheny County school districts receivingClassrooms For the Future grants -- Allegheny Valley did not applyand Duquesne was not eligible -- every district is equipped withtechnological teaching tools. But it's not the tools alone that makethe difference, said David D. Carbonara, director of instructionaltechnology at Duquesne University.

"We want to de-emphasize the fact that there are 72,000 laptopsin the classroom," Carbonara said. "Who cares? The critical piece ishow they use them. Some are coming together to make them used forgathering. Those schools use the power of technology to gather dataand collaborate together."

One way to do that is through video conferencing, which allowsstudents to take virtual field trips or converse with studentsaround the district or around the world.

Last year, students at Seville Elementary in the North HillsSchool District teleconferenced with a Pennsylvania author andstoryteller. The district hopes to do more teleconferencing thisyear, said Jeff Taylor, director of curriculum, assessment andtechnology for North Hills.

Along with video conferencing, Mt. Lebanon students reach out toone another and their teachers via blogs, which many schools shun.Teachers monitor the blogs, allowing students to learn how to behaveon the Internet in a safe environment, said Chris Stengel, directorof technology.

Technology has touched every part of a student's day. Grades andhomework assignments are now available on district portal Web sites,memos to parents are sent via e-mail or text message, and studyguides are part of class Web sites in many districts. Students inthe Fox Chapel Area School District start using online supplementsdesigned by their teachers as early as first grade, said NortonGusky, coordinator of educational technology for the district.

"The key is not the technology but how we're trying to use it tomake learning more engaging and interactive," Gusky said. "Now wehave to look at how do we take technology to the next level wherewe're personalizing it and using it to meet the needs of manystudents."

Carbonara said technology is a part of students' daily life, fromtexting on cell phones to instant messaging to iPods. With theintroduction of iTunes University to local schools this year,students will be able to access original content from their teacherson their iPods, said Kevin Conner, instructional technologyspecialist for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

While teens are spending more time on the Internet and playingwith their new gadgets, parents need to understand that technologyis just a part of their world, Taylor said. Knowing how to usetechnology for play will help them in school as well as in the workforce, said Danielle Czegan, instructional technology specialist forPine-Richland School District.

"When rock 'n' roll came out, it was like, 'Oh my god, the worldis going to fall apart,' " Czegan said. "And it can be the same now.The kids are so into their technology. It's just taking it andshowing them how to use it in different lights."

Vic: Fire wrecks inside of solarium business

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2004
Vic: Fire wrecks inside of solarium business

MELBOURNE, AAP Aug 9 - Fire destroyed the fittings of a solarium business in Melbourne's
south-east today.

The blaze, which began about 1.45pm (AEST) in the business in Packenham, was believed
to have been caused by a fault in the solarium equipment.

A Country Fire Authority spokesman said there had been limited structural damage, but
damage to the fittings and equipment in the building was significant.

People in the shop managed to escape from the John Street building and no-one was injured.

Crews from five trucks contained the fire to the inside of the shop with "very aggressive
firefighting", the spokesman said.

It was contained after 10 minutes.

About 30 people were also evacuated from surrounding businesses, including a law office,
accountant, Centrelink and a shoe shop, but damage to those buildings was limited to smoke
and water.

An estimate of the cost of the damage was not available.

AAP mp/dk/scoN

KEYWORD: FIRE

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: One dead, another critical after Pacific Highway crash

AAP General News (Australia)
02-28-2004
NSW: One dead, another critical after Pacific Highway crash

SYDNEY, Feb 28 AAP - A young man died and another was in a critical condition early
today after their car spun across oncoming lanes of the mid-north NSW Pacific Highway
and landed in a creek.

Police said the 18-year-old driver lost control of the car heading north on the Pacific
Highway, near Gateshead, south of Newcastle around 1.45am (AEDT).

Three of the four people inside the car were thrown from the vehicle, with the car
finishing up in a creek on the opposite side of the highway, police said.

The driver, a resident of the …

Vic: Man charged with stealing AFL tickets

AAP General News (Australia)
01-14-2004
Vic: Man charged with stealing AFL tickets

A Melbourne man who allegedly stole 100 AFL finals tickets and then sold them to unwitting
fans made a brief appearance in court today.

Twenty-nine-year-old ALEXANDRA DOLIDZE, of Sandringham, faced the Melbourne Magistrates
Court charged with theft and obtaining property by deception.

DOLIDZE was working as a courier in September last year.

According to the brief of evidence, he was employed to collect a parcel containing
100 football finals tickets from the St Kilda …

NSW: Rivkin still unfit to attend prison

00-00-0000
NSW: Rivkin still unfit to attend prison

SYDNEY, Aug 28 AAP - Convicted stockbroker Rene Rivkin is still not well enough toattend weekend detention, according to medical advice received by prison authorities.

The updated advice came six weeks after authorities requested a review of Rivkin'smedical fitness following reported sightings of him driving about Sydney and attendingwork shortly after undergoing brain surgery.

NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham today said a medical report, whichincludes two opinions, was received yesterday.

"Dr Charles Teo has responded to my earlier inquiry about Mr Rivkin's condition," MrWoodham said today.

"Dr Teo said he has consulted a neurologist to obtain a second opinion.

"The neurologist confirmed Dr Teo's opinion that Mr Rivkin is not fit to attend periodicdetention."

MORE jo/nf/ldj/jlw

KEYWORD: RIVKIN

SA: Advocates liken Baxter to Camp X-Ray

00-00-0000
SA: Advocates liken Baxter to Camp X-Ray

Refugee advocates converging on the Baxter detention centre have likened the facilityto Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay.

Advocates from around Australia have begun arriving at the centre on the outskirtsof Port Augusta in South Australia's north for a mass protest against the treatment ofasylum seekers.

About 300 police, who expect around 3,000 protesters, have today established roadblocksabout two kilometres from the centre in readiness for the demonstrators' arrival.

Some advocates have called for independent investigation into management at Baxter,which they describe as a brutal regime.

Refugee Action Collective protest organiser FLEUR TAYLOR says centre managers AustralasianCorrectional Management, authorised by the Department of Immigration (DIMIA) have increasedpunishment of Baxter detainees.

AAP RTV sl/kn

KEYWORD: BAXTER ADVOCATES (ADELAIDE)

Vic; Firespotters take to air after lightning over high country

00-00-0000
Vic; Firespotters take to air after lightning over high country

Airborne fire-spotters are taking to the air at first light today to check for freshbushfire outbreaks after thunderstorms passed over Victoria's tinder-dry high countryovernight.

Department of Sustainability and Environment spokesman MIKE NIVEN says lightning wasrecorded overnight southwest of Mount Buller.

The lightning was recorded over forest which has not yet been touched by the giantfires which have torched almost a million hectares of Victoria's high country.

Lightning strikes during thunderstorms over …

NSW: Factory alight in inner Sydney

00-00-0000
NSW: Factory alight in inner Sydney

A factory is ablaze in Sydney's inner west tonight with flames leaping through the roof.

Six fire tankers have been called to the pallet factory at Camperdown on Denison Streetand a hazardous materials unit is also there.

A NSW Fire Brigades spokesman says the 20 by 30 metre factory contains transport palletsand neighbouring property is believed to be under threat.

No injuries have been reported.

AAP RTV gmw/psm/

KEYWORD: FACTORY (SYDNEY)

Fed: Australian troops shoot two al-Qaeda

00-00-0000
Fed: Australian troops shoot two al-Qaeda

Australian troops have killed or wounded two al-Qaeda fighters in a gunfight in Afghanistan.

more RTV mb/daw/jmt

KEYWORD: TERROR AUST (CANBERRA)

Fed: Budget slips further into red as expenses rise

00-00-0000
Fed: Budget slips further into red as expenses rise

By Jim Hanna, Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, Feb 15 AAP - The federal Budget slipped further into deficit at the halfwaymark of the financial year as revenues fell and expenses surged, official figures showedtoday.

The measure most widely used to indicate the Budget position, the underlying cash balance,dropped to a deficit of $6.16 billion for the six months to December 31, 2001, FinanceMinister Nick Minchin said in a statement.

The deficit for the five months to November was $4.38 billion.

Senator Minchin's statement indicates the government still expected to achieve a surplusof $502 million by June 30 this year, although this does not (not) take into account around$485 million in new spending unveiled this week.

The government's net operating result - the difference between its revenue and itsexpenses - was a deficit of $3.973 billion to December 31, 2001.

"Revenues weak, expenses high," was how Access Economics director Chris Richardsondescribed the December Budget snapshot.

"It does point to a broader picture of continuing weakening of the federal Budget position,"

Mr Richardson told AAP.

But with a healthy economy delivering good tax revenue in the current half of the year,another Budget surplus should be expected, he said.

Meanwhile record low interest rates sparked little, if any growth in borrowing duringDecember, official figures showed today.

Housing finance for owner occupation climbed 2.2 per cent to a record $8.1 billionin December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said.

But personal finance fell 3.4 per cent to $4.72 billion, commercial lending dippedhalf a per cent to $17.6 billion, and lease finance dropped 18.8 per cent to $546 million,the ABS said.

The falls were registered despite the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates to a recordlow 4.25 per cent in December.

Mr Richardson said the lending figures were consistent with retailers' reports of adisappointing Christmas trade but were nothing to worry about going forward as other economicindicators were improving.

In the business world, BHP Billiton chief executive Paul Anderson hosed down expectationsof an imminent world economic recovery.

Speaking after unveiling a record half-year profit of $US1.2 billion ($A2.33 billion),Mr Anderson warned of premature optimism about the economic climate ahead.

"We've gone through such a tough time in the last six months or so, I think everybody'sjust excited about the fact that it looks like the worst might be over, sort of like waitingfor summer to come," he said.

"It's been so long that when it finally starts to show, people get very excited aboutit, and I just think that perhaps the market in general is a little ahead of itself."

AAP jph/lm/cd/sb o

KEYWORD: ECONOMY NIGHTLEAD

Vic:CFA preparing for late hot start to bushfire season

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2001
Vic:CFA preparing for late hot start to bushfire season

The Country Fire Authority in Victoria says unusually cool weather ahead of the bushfire
season could lull people into a false sense of security.

The authority's chief officer RUSSELL REES says the wet start to summer has resulted
in a late burst of growth, which will become dry fuel for fires early next year.

Mr REES also warns Melburnians planning a camping holiday over Christmas that the green
grass areas do not extend past the Great Dividing Range.

He says people have to be aware that the northern parts of the state are already facing
dangerous fire conditions.

The Country Fire Authority today launched its Bushfire Blitz campaign, where firefighters
visit the community to help residents develop survival plans suited to their area.

AAP RTV svm/clr/ldj/rp

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRE VIC (MELBOURNE)

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA: Marriage celebrants meet

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2001
WA: Marriage celebrants meet

PERTH, Aug 5 AAP - The institution of marriage, funerals and rites of passage are the
hot topics of discussion scheduled for a three-day 2001 Australian Federation of Civil
Celebrants conference.

Federal Attorney General Daryl Williams officially opened the 2001 - A Celebrants'
Odyssey conference in Perth earlier today.

Mr Williams spoke to the group about proposed changes affecting civil celebrants, including
the changes in society and ceremonies that reflected cultural and traditional diversity.

Other topics on the agenda at the convention include discussions about namings, ceremonies
and possible legislative changes to the Marriage Act.

AAP ajm/md

KEYWORD: MARRIAGE

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Decision due on Albury bypass today

AAP General News (Australia)
02-21-2001
Fed: Decision due on Albury bypass today

The people of Albury-Wodonga have been invited to hear a decision on a controversial
road project to be made by Transport Minister JOHN ANDERSON today.

Mr ANDERSON will announce the route of the Hume Freeway Bypass of Albury, after almost
30 years of debate on the issue.

The project has been highly controversial because there are two routes, one which …

Feds: Highlights of the AAP Image File

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2000
Feds: Highlights of the AAP Image File

SYDNEY



Tom Maher Aust womens basketball presser

Heroin Drug bust

Susie O'neill launches her ferry

Jana Pittman accepted to Sydney Uni





CANBERRA



AMA doorstop with Rob DeCastella on fitness campaign







Asian Pacific Markets

Nuclear Waste for Japan

War Conflicts across the world in 2000

Human Cloning







Matthias Engesser

Picture Editor

AAP Information Services

engesserm@aap.com.au

(02) 9322 8707

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS IMAGE

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Alice Springs to Darwin rail link contract next month

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2000
SA: Alice Springs to Darwin rail link contract next month

South Australian Labor leader MIKE RANN says work on the Alice Springs-to-Darwin railway
will begin by the end of the year.

He says the contract for the billion dollar rail link will be signed next month with
construction hopefully starting in November.

The SA opposition leader was yesterday briefed on the project by AustralAsian Railway
Corporation chairman RICK ALLERT.

Mr RANN says work on the rail line should be completed by early 2004.

He says about 2,000 jobs will be be created during the construction phase of the project.

Mr RANN says SA's commitment to the project had been capped at $150 million.

He says the SA, Northern Territory and federal governments had jointly put up $480m
for the project with $750m to be raised by the private sector.

AAP RTV sl/slp/rt

KEYWORD: RAIL (ADELAIDE)

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Man to be extradited to NSW after body found in river

AAP General News (Australia)
02-23-2000
Vic: Man to be extradited to NSW after body found in river

A Victorian man is to be extradited to New South Wales to face a murder charge after
the discovery of a man's body in a river last year.

SHANE MARCUS KING, aged 22, has appeared in Dandenong Magistrates Court today for an
extradition hearing following a six-month investigation by New South Wales detectives.

KING is one of two men arrested in relation to the murder of NATHAN MORRIS ASCHER some
time between July 7 and 30 last year.

Mr ASCHER's body was found in the Wakool River near Moulemein, north-west of …

Fed: Migrants help fill demand for IT workers report

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-1999
Fed: Migrants help fill demand for IT workers report

Australia's booming information technology industry is facing a dire shortage of experienced
workers, according to a new report.

The report says universities are failing to churn out enough local students to meet
the IT industry's demand.

The document, published in a Monash University journal, says most of the growth in
supply of IT professionals will come from migrants, trained in Australia as full fee-paying
overseas students.

But it warns there's also an urgent need for extra government funds for training local students.

The report finds current demand for skilled IT workers has outstripped expectations.

Earlier, it was projected the number of computing professionals would jump from a total
of 79,000 in 1993-94 to 146,000 in the year 2004-05.

But official figures show that by August last year there were already 135,000 people
working in the field.

The report cautions that if Australia can't produce the required number of computing
professionals, its capacity to be a competitive global player in the knowledge industries
will be under threat.

AAP RTV daw/sub/msk

KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY (CANBERRA)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD: D Arcy pulls out of Windies trip

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-1999
QLD: D Arcy pulls out of Windies trip

The Queensland Labor MP at the centre of the Net Bet scandal has pulled out of an official
visit to the West Indies.

This comes as the BEATTIE Government moves to strip him and two other Labor Party figures
of their interest in an Internet gaming company.

Controversial backbencher BILL D'ARCY, who went public today for the first time since the
scandal broke, says he will make way for an alternate delegate to attend the Parliamentary
Executive Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago next month.

Premier PETER BEATTIE has welcomed Mr D'ARCY'S announcement, saying he's made the right
decision.

But he also says cabinet has approved legislation to force Mr D'ARCY, former backbencher
DON LIVINGSTONE and Ipswich City Councillor PAUL PISASALE to sell any interest they or their
families have in Internet Casino company Gocorp.

The legislation will cancel Gocorp's interim licence unless ties with two companies partly
owned by the three and their families, are severed.

Mr D'ARCY says the media and other persons had forced his decision by linking him to
investigations being carried out by the Auditor-General and the Criminal Justice Commission.

AAP RTV sls/am/jn

KEYWORD: NET CASINO (BRISBANE)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Mass paddle against homelessness starts on harbour

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-1999
NSW: Mass paddle against homelessness starts on harbour

Hundreds of enthusiasts are expected to take part in today's inaugural Harbour Challenge, a
canoeing event to raise awareness and support for Sydney's homeless.

Organisers Sydney City Mission say the challenge will include ten young people from the
mission's youth centre in Robertson in the Southern Highlands.

One of sport's most famous paddlers, iron man GUY LEECH, joins champion swimmer KIEREN
PERKINS, Olympic kayaker CLINT ROBINSON, actor STEVE BISLEY and a group of breast cancer
sufferers, in the four-kilometre challenge.

Federal Sports Minister JACKIE KELLY will also participate and officiate at the event.

Those taking part will use various craft, from dragon boats, Canadian touring canoes and
estuary kayaks, to surf skis and outriggers.





The event will begin from north-western Putney near Ryde at 8.30am (AEDT), with other
paddlers joining in at 9.45am from inner western Glebe.

The challenge is expected to finish at Darling Harbour around 10.30am.

AAP RTV psm/rft/lm

KEYWORD: CHALLENGE (SYDNEY)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Customers chase two more banks on fees

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2012
FED:Customers chase two more banks on fees

SYDNEY, Feb 1 AAP - St George and Bank SA are the latest Australian banks to be taken
to court by customers angry at the fees they are charged.

Legal firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers on Tuesday filed a claim against the two banks
in the Federal Court to help thousands of customers claw back what they claim are unfair
fees.

The firm has previously launched similar action against National Australia Bank, ANZ,
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and Citibank.

It's acting on behalf of customers outraged at exception fees the banks charge for
late payments on credit cards and having insufficient money in business and personal transaction
accounts.

Maurice Blackburn senior associate Paul Gillett says they are in for a long fight to
recoup the fees plus interest.

"Everyday Australians are sick of the banks taking them for granted," he told reporters
in Sydney on Wednesday.

"And they are sick of the banks throwing their weight around and sick of the banks
making massive profits while they do it.

"Maurice Blackburn is doing what it can to try and get some of that money back for
families and small businesses around this country."

More than 10,000 St George and Bank SA customers are party to the bid to recoup $16
million in fees.

The latest action follows a $50 million claim the law firm launched in September 2010
on behalf of ANZ customers trying to claim back exception fees.

In December 2011, action was launched against National Australia Bank, Commonwealth
Bank, Westpac and Citibank.

It is the biggest collective action in Australian legal history.

AAP bt/cdh/jmt

KEYWORD: BANKS

� 2012 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW:Main stories in Wednesday's Sydney papers

AAP General News (Australia)
02-02-2011
NSW:Main stories in Wednesday's Sydney papers

SYDNEY, Feb 2 AAP - Main stories in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph:

Page 1: Swimmer Ian Thorpe will end months of speculation and announce that he will
be going for gold at the 2012 London Games.

Page 2: Flood-ravaged Queensland, still deep in mourning and struggling to find its
feet, is once again preparing for nature's deadly fury with Cyclone Yasi.

Page 3: Julia Gillard's $1.8 billion flood levy is in doubt, with the Greens yesterday
revealing they were "yet to be convinced" about the Federal Government's proposal..

World: An elderly US man dubbed the Geezer Bandit is being hunted by police after robbing
his 13th bank.

Finance: The flooding in Australia is the biggest natural disaster ever to hit the economy.

Sport: Ian Thorpe is set for a comeback to swimming.

MORE lxs/jfm

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS NSW

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Main stories in Friday's 0745 ABC news

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2011
Main stories in Friday's 0745 ABC news

SYDNEY, Aug 12 AAP - Main stories in Friday's 0745 ABC news:

- The British government has unveiled more measures to counter street violence and
is considering a ban on social media when used to plot crime.

- British Prime Minister David Cameron blames much of the unrest on a culture of violence
and not poverty or racial tensions.

- British police say they've arrested a 20-year-old man over the robbery of a Malaysian
exchange student during the riots.

- The number of asylum seekers waiting to be sent to Malaysia has now doubled to over
200 people, putting pressure on the government's swap deal.

- Local residents on Christmas Island have labelled the federal government's Malaysian
solution a `giant bungle'.

- The federal opposition says a report on the government's immigration detention centres
has found a legacy of denial and failed administration.

- A Department of Immigration spokesman says there is room for improvement, but denies
criticism that staff are under-trained.

- The conviction of high-ranking crime investigator Mark Standen has given a rare view
into the workings of the secretive Crime Commission.

- US stocks have staged yet another strong rally after more volatile trading on Wall Street.

- The Australian sharemarket is set to rise when trading begins this morning, reflecting
the rally on Wall Street overnight.

- Tour de France winner Cadel Evans says today's victory parade through Melbourne is
his time to say thanks to all of his fans.

AAP ra/

KEYWORD: MONITOR 0745 ABC SYDNEY

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Dr Death campaigner may run for parliament

AAP General News (Australia)
02-20-2006
Qld: Dr Death campaigner may run for parliament

A campaigner for victims of Queensland's Dr DEATH is considering standing at the next
state election as an independent.

BERYL CROSBY has been the voice of the Bundaberg Patients' Support Group since the
scandal surrounding JAYANT PATEL .. dubbed Dr DEATH .. broke last year.

But Ms CROSBY .. who's a former patient of Dr PATEL .. says she's too busy fighting
for compensation and corrective surgery for other …

FED:Crime report highlights Mexican drug risk

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2011
FED:Crime report highlights Mexican drug risk

By Joel Cresswell

MELBOURNE, April 15 AAP - Australia's flourishing economy is proving irresistible to
brutal Mexican drug cartels and other organised crime syndicates, the Australian Crime
Commission (ACC) says.

ACC chief John Lawler says the Mexican cartels would continue to push hard into Australia
where they could reap up to 100 times more for a kilo of cocaine than in South America.

Speaking at the launch of the ACC's report into organised crime, Mr Lawler highlighted
the amphetamine trade, money laundering and identity crime as the biggest risks to Australia.

He described organised crime rings such as the Mexican cartels as an "ever evolving
trans-national phenomena of immense size".

"If we look at the supply side we have quite clearly a very wealthy country, a very
lucrative market and we have the economics of that where a kilogram of cocaine in Colombia
is about $2500 and in Australia it can be, on our latest reports, anywhere between $150,000
and $250,000," Mr Lawler said.

The ACC report, Organised Crime in Australia, launched in Melbourne on Friday is regarded
as the most comprehensive study to date into underworld activity.

It describes organised crime as borderless, says it is embracing new technology at
a frightening pace and puts its cost to Australia at between $10 and $15 billion annually.

Home Affairs and Justice Minister Brendan O'Connor described the report as a "how-to
manual" for fighting organised crime.

He said the report highlighted the rapidly changing face of organised crime from which
no sector was immune.

"We must dismiss any traditional view we may have had of organised criminals being
limited to geographical areas, common ethnic groups or social systems," he said.

"They work beyond their borders to operate transnationally, they join forces where
it suits them, work across multiple criminal markets and use processes and strategies
that frequently mirror the corporate and legitimate world."

The report aims to educate businesses and individuals to create an environment "less
fertile for organised crime".

Accompanying the release of the report is a series of public fact sheets on cyber crime,
outlaw motorcycle gangs, money laundering and the drug trade.

"We are arming people with the knowledge they need to report potential criminal activities,"

Mr Lawler said.

Closer collaboration between law enforcement, government and industry against the high
level criminal activity is also recommended.

The report describes Australia's illegal party drug market as a multi-billion-dollar
enterprise with a large number of syndicates.

"Australians are among the world's highest per capita consumers of illicit stimulants,
and drug prices in Australia far exceed prices overseas, making domestic drug production
and importation highly profitable," the report says.

The role of ethnic crime is also examined, concluding the greater propensity for violence
of certain groups.

AAP jcr/mh/jlw

KEYWORD: CRIME (WITH VIDEO)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW:Pregnant woman robbed of laptops

AAP General News (Australia)
12-29-2010
NSW:Pregnant woman robbed of laptops

Two men .. who held a heavily pregnant woman at gunpoint in Sydney's east .. might
have been seeking information on laptop computers which they stole from her.

The woman .. who's eight months pregnant .. was upstairs in her Maroubra home late
yesterday when she was confronted by the men .. who were armed with a gun and knife.

Police say the men stole several laptops before fleeing the Beauchamp Road house.

The 19-year-old woman was uninjured .. but left badly shaken by the incident.

AAP RTV lxs/wjf/ajw/

KEYWORD: PREGNANT (SYDNEY)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.