Odd Birdz View Comments Odd Birdz weaves movement, music and comedy in a show that transcends language and culture barriers. Check out the wacky trailer below! Tickets are now available for the U.S. premiere of Odd Birdz. The off-Broadway production brings Israeli theater troupe Tziporela to the States, following performances around the world. Performances will run at The Players Theatre through November 19. Related Shows Tziporela consists of troupe members Dana Ivgy, Lotus Etrog, Tamara Klayngon, Naama Amit, Efrat Aviv, Gal, Omri Doron, Ben Perry, Danny and Tomer Nahir Petluk. Show Closed This production ended its run on Nov. 19, 2014
On the Aug. 31 “Gardening in Georgia,” host Walter Reeves discovers that growing citrus plants in Georgia isn’t as hard as it seems.”Gardening in Georgia” airs twice on Saturdays, at noon and 7 p.m., on Georgia Public Television. It’s co-produced by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and GPTV.On the Aug. 31 show, University of Georgia horticulturist Mark Reiger shows Reeves several cold-hardy citrus that can be grown on a deck or patio and moved into the house on the coldest winter nights.Stepping stonesReeves shows viewers how to make stepping stones for your yard or garden, too. He uses nails to support strips of cardboard that can be bent into any form to contain poured concrete. On this show, he makes stones in the shape of a foot and a dogwood flower petal.Finally, Reeves looks at mushrooms, the flowering part of an underground fungus. He shows a line of mushrooms that sprouted where a tree root died and is being decomposed by fungi.There is no way to eliminate the underground fungus, he says. So there’s no way to keep mushrooms from popping up. The various ways of dealing with mushrooms when they appear, though, aren’t really so bad. Some can even be fun. read more
California to Require Solar on All New Home Construction FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Orange County Register:For seven years, a handful of homebuilders offered solar as an optional item to buyers willing to pay extra to go green. Now, California is on the verge of making solar standard on virtually every new home built in the Golden State.The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday, May 9, on new energy standards mandating most new homes have solar panels starting in 2020. If approved as expected, solar installations on new homes will skyrocket.Just 15 percent to 20 percent of new single-family homes built include solar, according to Bob Raymer, technical director for the California Building Industry Association.In addition to widespread adoption of solar power, the new provisions include a push to increase battery storage and increase reliance on electricity over natural gas.Builders would prefer the state move slower in imposing the solar mandate, but most nonetheless should be prepared by mid-2020, said the Building Industry Association’s Raymer.Meritage Homes currently installs solar on about 10 percent of its homes, and about 1 percent of them are net zero, a company official said. A KB Home official said his firm has built more than 6,000 solar homes in the past seven years, mostly in California. That’s 12 percent of the 49,600 homes KB Home sold in that period.More: California To Become First U.S. State Mandating Solar On New Homes read more
I made $5.00 an hour when I was 9. Every Friday afternoon my mom would take me in to work with her to clean my uncle’s office building. I vividly remember “cleaning” meant scuffing the walls with the vacuum and collecting a Santa-like bag of trash from all the offices. If I did a satisfactory job and it was on the right Friday (aka payday), my mom would hand me my arguably well-deserved check from my gracious uncle. After our strenuous workday, my mom and I would head over to the bank right down the road. It took a couple years of maturing and a few jobs later before I even noticed that the bank I went to wasn’t actually called a bank but rather a credit union. It performed the same services as a bank, so I thought nothing of it; must be a fancy bank or something.More than a fancy bankMy mom clearly understood the importance of a credit union by financing our money there and I wish I could say the same. I wish I could say I fell into the credit union industry because I supported their mission and purpose. Too much time elapsed before I even started to comprehend the many reasons you should clearly be part of a credit union, but instead by happenstance, I landed a summer internship my junior year of college at CUNA Mutual Group. It wasn’t until that year (21 years old) that I finally started to understand why my mom made that decision to join a credit union such a long time ago. At CUNA Mutual Group, I was on the e-commerce team where I helped various ongoing website projects including boosting SEO efforts and researching content strategy. The summer flew by but I grasped a totally new understanding of the cooperative model and credit union mission from learning workshops and co-workers. I still didn’t fully understand the industry in its entirety since it was only a summer and I was only exposed to one small facet of the organization that seeks to do so much to help. continue reading » 27SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr read more
While a recent study shows that for the first time American consumers have rated service provided by credit unions below that provided by banks, one analyst believes it’s not yet a tipping point–but is certainly a “big red warning sign” indicating how consumer definitions around service are changing.“One thing this new report tells us is that the big banks’ service is getting much better,” said Cornerstone Advisors Senior Director Sam Kilmer, who believes one reason the shift is occurring is banks are now spending less time on mergers.As CUToday.info reported, for the first time in the history of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), banks have been given a higher customer satisfaction score than credit unions. In the wake of this report, questions and issues around what’s taking place in member service at credit unions are being highlighted in a series by CUToday.info. continue reading » ShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr read more
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But heated rhetoric has also been on the rise in the region, where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam challenge China’s claim to about 90% of the sea.Regional tensionsVietnam, frequently at loggerheads with China over the issue, is this year chairing the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).At a June 26 summit in Hanoi, Vietnam and the Philippines – China’s most vocal challengers over the sea – warned of growing regional insecurity amid concern that Beijing was advancing territorial claims under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States this week hardened its position on the South China Sea, where it has accused China of attempting to build a “maritime empire” in the potentially energy-rich waters, despite regional concerns.The rivals have accused each other of stoking tension in the strategic waterway at a time of strained relations over everything from the new coronavirus to trade to Hong Kong.A statement from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 13 was the first time the United States had called China’s claims in the sea unlawful and accused Beijing of a “campaign of bullying”. As China held military drills in the South China Sea this month, Vietnam said Beijing’s actions were “detrimental” to its relationship with the Southeast Asian bloc. The United States simultaneously deployed two aircraft carriers to the area for what it said were pre-planned exercises.In a blustery response to the Chinese drills, Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said China “will be met with the severest response, diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate”, if the exercises encroached on Philippine territory.That followed a surprise move by President Rodrigo Duterte – who had courted Beijing since taking office in 2016 – to suspend his decision to scrap a two-decade-old troop deployment agreement with the United States.Troubled watersChina illustrates its claims with a vague, U-shaped “nine-dash line” that includes swathes of Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, as well as the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. It also overlaps the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.A tribunal at The Hague, based on a suit brought by the Philippines, ruled in 2016 that China has no “historic title” over the waters, and that its line was superseded by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.Last year, Chinese and Vietnamese vessels became embroiled in a months-long standoff in Vietnam’s EEZ where a Chinese research vessel conducted a sweeping seismic survey of waters overlapping Vietnamese oil blocks.In May, the same Chinese research vessel was involved in another month-long standoff with Malaysian ships in Malaysia’s EEZ, close to where a drillship contracted by Malaysian state oil firm Petronas had been operating.Chinese incursions happened 89 times between 2016 and 2019, Malaysia’s government said on Tuesday.Indonesia has also begun to take a tougher stance. In January, Jakarta summoned China’s ambassador and dispatched air and sea patrols after Chinese vessels entered Indonesia’s EEZ around the northern Natuna islands.The tensions have already affected Vietnamese oil production in the area, including operations controlled by Russia’s Rosneft and Spain’s Repsol.”We’re already seeing reduced appetite for oil and gas investment in Vietnam,” said Andrew Harwood, research director at consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie.”Escalating tensions will not improve the situation”. Topics : read more
According to an EDF Group spokesperson, the utility planned to switch some of its passive investments into indexed funds using the new MSCI indices as soon as these were launched, although they did not say how much of the fund’s €28bn assets under management would be affected. French utility company EDF has adopted new MSCI climate change indices for its €28.1bn nuclear plant decommissioning fund.The indices aim to increase exposure to companies providing solutions to address climate change, with twice the exposure to clean technology companies compared with the underlying benchmark.According to MSCI, they also help to reduce exposure to “stranded assets”, in that they have 50% lower exposure to thermal coal and four times less exposure to companies with carbon intensive products, compared to the underlying index.Bernard Descreux, director of the asset management division at EDF, said: “As a responsible asset manager, we firmly believe that enabling the transition to a low carbon economy is crucial to the development of a sustainable financial system.” EDF technicians at work“We are already in discussion with our partner asset managers to shift progressively towards the new indices, liquidity permitting,” the spokesperson said. “We wish that a liquid and deep derivatives market will surge quickly with many market participants to ensure efficient trading conditions.”According to the spokesperson, around €10bn of the nuclear decommissioning fund was held in international equities benchmarked to the MSCI All Countries World Index, with a majority of this equity portfolio invested in passive funds.Remy Briand, head of ESG at the index provider, said: “The devastating impacts of climate change will be felt beyond the traditional horizons of most sectors and it is critical that the investment industry collaborates to enable the transition to a low carbon economy, before climate change becomes a defining issue for financial stability.“While there are transition risks associated with taking early action, there is a growing body of evidence to show that earlier action will ultimately mean a less costly adjustment.”The MSCI Climate Change indices are MSCI’s third category of climate index series after MSCI Global Environmental indices, launched in 2010, and MSCI Low Carbon indices, launched in 2014. The latter includes indices launched in collaboration with major asset owners FRR in France and AP4 in Sweden, as well as asset manager Amundi.In France, all nuclear operators have to set aside assets dedicated to financing the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and the long-term management of radioactive waste. read more
The Evening Standard says the Blues are looking to settle on their targets this month with Frank Lampard keen to make up for lost time having recently seen the club’s transfer ban lifted. Loading… A loan deal is also an option, although it would cost around £5m. Read Also:Real Betis star performs one stunning feat in Spanish topflight The Blues see the former Monaco man as an alternative to Wilfried Zaha who is also on their shortlist, but Crystal Palace’s £80m valuation of the player has put them off. FacebookTwitterWhatsAppEmail分享 Adding to his attacking options is a priority for the Chelsea boss as he looks to provide some support for top scorer Tammy Abraham. Lampard has Eden Hazard’s transfer fee left unspent following the Belgian’s move to Real Madrid which could be spent on Lemar who is valued at £50m.Advertisement Promoted ContentWho Is The Most Powerful Woman On Earth?This 1982 Movie Is Better Than Any Other Blockbuster Up TodayWhat Happens When You Eat Eggs Every Single Day?Ever Thought Of Sleeping Next To Celebs? This Guy Will Show You7 Mysterious Discoveries Archaeologists Still Can’t Explain2020 Tattoo Trends: Here’s What You’ll See This Year10 Hyper-Realistic 3D Street Art By Odeith5 Of The World’s Most Unique Theme Parks7 Facts About Black Holes That Will Blow Your Mind7 Universities In The World With The Highest Market ValuePlaying Games For Hours Can Do This To Your BodyBirds Enjoy Living In A Gallery Space Created For Them read more
Mayor Alex Morse says the Soldiers’ Home failed to do enough to protect its residents.“Our Board of Health had conversations with a lot of long term care facilities including folks at the Solders’ Home. Unfortunately though it doesn’t look like those precautions were actually implemented,” he stated.Massachusetts Governor Baker said he did not know about the center’s outbreak until March 29, after several veterans had already died.There were 226 veterans living at the Soldiers’ Home when the outbreak started. At this time, less than half of them are still residing there. A record number of residents have reportedly passed away from COVID-19 at a Massachusetts veterans’ home.According to reports, 68 residents at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke who tested positive for the virus have died as of Wednesday. It is unknown whether another person who died also had COVID-19. Meanwhile, another 82 residents and 81 employees have tested positive.Late last month, the superintendent of the home was put on paid administrative leave after information was released about the deaths of 11 veterans amid a coronavirus outbreak at the facility.The state has already deployed the National Guard to assist at the facility, while state and federal authorities have launched investigations into the situation.Officials at the facility told local leaders in March that they were taking precautions similar to those they do for the flu for COVID-19.Long term care facilities have become the crisis within the crisis. Last week I called for State intervention at all nursing homes with positive cases to ensure proper staffing, protocols, and PPE. https://t.co/LRVIJgkPn6— Alex Morse (@AlexBMorse) April 27, 2020 read more