Monday, April 30, 2012

Liesha Petrovich, MSHE | LinkedIn

Liesha Petrovich, MSHE

Continuing Education Professional specializing in Business, Marketing & Entrepreneurship and Online Learning

Location
Norway, Maine
Industry
Higher Education
Liesha Petrovich, MSHE http://lnkd.in/BHp5ZU

Obama to Crack Down on Deceptive Practices by Colleges That Recruit... chronicle.com

President Obama will issue an executive order today that is designed to protect veterans, servicemembers, and their families from deceptive marketing practices by educational institutions that target them for their federal...

About | Petrovich Consulting

About

There are two things I’m passionate about in my professional career: small business marketing and higher education.

I’ve been a small business owner for 17 years. In that time, I’ve also earned a BS in Marketing, a Master’s in Higher Education and I’m working on my MBA as we speak. I know how hard it is to run a small business and I also know that small businesses need specific education.

You don’t need to understand Corporate Finance, Human Resources or even Corporate Marketing. If you’re reading this, you need education for your small business now. Something that’s effective, affordable and not time-consuming.

And that’s where I come in. I’m dedicated to helping small businesses succeed in their marketing efforts. Feel free to contact me to discuss how you can grow your existing business or learn how to market a new business.

You can view my Linkedin Profile  or my personal website.

Here’s to your success!

Liesha Petrovich

 

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Resources | Petrovich Consulting

Online Learning | Petrovich Consulting

Online Learning

As a student of online learning and having earned a Master in Higher Education online, I have a unique position. I understand online learning from the students perspective and also as an instructor. This allows me to give clients the best of both worlds. 

From Surviving Online Group Projects:

The reality of online group projects (OGP) is that they can be extremely frustrating and stressful. However, they are a necessary evil, if you will, when they are part of an online college’s curriculum. The goal of this presentation is to first educate students on the benefit of OGP’s in the hope that they find value in them, regardless of how challenging they may be. Secondly, it is important to inform online instructors of how stressful OGP’s can be from the student’s perspective.

Thirdly, illustrate common problems and provide practical advice, not just textbook theories. Additionally, prepare students for the actual reality of OGP’s and what to expect. Finally, explain two types of group members, hitchhikers and couch potatoes, and give practical dos and don’ts when dealing with them. Overall, while OGP’s can be overwhelming, it is my intention to give students the tools they need to be able to reach the learning outcome of OGP’s and still keep their sanity

Download the entire ebook here: Surviving Online Group Projects

I specialize in Group Project support and Discussion Board Engagement.  Please feel free to contact me to discuss your specific needs.

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Marketing | Petrovich Consulting

Marketing

Small Business Consulting:

Business Plan Preparation: It can be nerve wracking to write a business plan for the first time. But if you are trying to obtain financing for a business startup or growing your existing business, it is even more important to have a professionally written business plan. As a consultant, I can help guide you through this very important document that often serves as the company’s first introduction to investors.

Marketing Plan & Strategy: Need help on increasing your company’s sales with an effective marketing plan? Not sure what advertising efforts are worth it? I can help. I can do your market analysis including size, segments, growth, competitors, customers, and buying behaviors. With this information, I can assist you in developing effective marketing strategies and tactics to reach targeted market, segments, channels and customers.

Internet Marketing/Website Reports:

Do you have a website that does not generate leads? Do you know what keywords are needed to attract potential customers? It is a mistake to assume that doing business in Small Town, U.S.A. does not include a strong web presence. I provide detailed reports that include the following:

  • Major search engine rankings of existing website
  • Major competition
  • Customer keyword

 

Market Research Reports:

If your small business is struggling with growth, marketing or direction, it is essential that you understand the current business climate. I design and implement intelligent research and deliver meaningful results that help you make business decisions with complete and total confidence.  Detailed marketing reports include:

  • Industry at a glance
  • Industry performance
  • Industry outlook
  • Industry lifecycle
  • Products and markets
  • Competitive landscape
  • Major companies
  • Operating conditions
  • Key statistics
  • Local outlook

Additionally, I will research the local market and any other specific needs you may have. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your options.

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Business Education | Petrovich Consulting

Petrovich Consulting

Effective Marketing for Sole Proprietors

Owning your own business can be extremely exciting. Your in control of your own destiny. Succeed or fail, it’s up to you. And if you’re reading this, I’m assuming your struggling with finding clients.

(1173 unread) - lieshakp - Yahoo! Mail

Illinois pitcher drills bird like Randy Johnson, bird somehow survives and flies away | Prep Rally - Yahoo! Sports

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Even after bankruptcy, trapped by student debt - Yahoo! Finance

The misfortunes that brought schoolteachers Devin and Sarah Stang and their four young children to bankruptcy — and the loss of their house and a car in the process — were their own unique story.

They bought the house at just the wrong time. There were heavy medical expenses when, at five months pregnant, she delivered stillborn twins. And their money woes go back further: When Sarah's college softball team pressured her to drop classes she wanted to take, she quit, lost her scholarship and had to make up the difference with loans. Devin, too, borrowed to get a master's degree. Then they struggled amid school layoffs near their Sandusky, Ohio, home.

Now, the Stangs just want a truly clean slate, financially. But even the ordeal of bankruptcy won't give it to them, and the reason is a common one: Much of their debt comes from private student loans.

Virtually any other kind of debt — including medical bills, mortgage, credit cards and car loans, even gambling losses— can be discharged in bankruptcy, allowing the "honest but unlucky" a chance to restore their footing through an arduous restructuring overseen by a court.

But under a 2005 law passed by Congress to protect lenders, private student loans fall under the same nearly-impossible-to-clear category as child support payments and criminal fines.

"It's a huge part of why the younger generations are here now," said the Stangs' bankruptcy lawyer, Matthew Barrett, whose busy office in Amherst, west of Cleveland, belies stories about the improving economy. He estimates half his clients have problems with student debt.

To advocates for student borrowers, the law is infuriating, counter-productive and — if intended to ensure lenders would be willing to make loans to students— demonstrably unnecessary. They see changing it as among the most effective, and least costly, ways to help those most seriously burdened by student debt, without giving a break to those for whom it's manageable.

Yet despite a voluble national conversation on student debt, the issue has gotten comparatively little attention.

At stops in three swing states this week, President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to head off a scheduled doubling in federal Stafford loan rates, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Changing that law could save more than 7 million new borrowers on average $1,000 a year, according to the White House. But this across-the-board benefit for current college students would do nothing for older borrowers already in trouble.

Acting without Congress, the Obama administration has implemented a series of protections for those pressed to pay back federal loans, such as income-based repayment and a public-service loan forgiveness program — steps lauded by advocates for borrowers.

However, the president appears never to have directly addressed a proposal by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, to overturn the 2005 law on private loans. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently told Durbin the dischargeability proposal had "some merit" and that the administration wanted to work with him to expand the protections it has implemented for federal student loans into the private market. Regardless, the bill has little chance of passing the divided Congress in an election year.

"There's a special circle of bankruptcy hell for these kinds of debts," said Rich Williams, higher education advocate with the group US PIRG, which lobbies on student loan issues. "It's not that students are asking for extra protections. We're asking for the same protections entitled to every other form of consumer debt."

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates 37 million Americans have student loan debt, totaling $870 billion. The average balance is around $23,000 (though that partly reflects a relatively small number of very large balances; the median is $12,800). Only 39 percent are paying down balances. An estimated 5.4 million borrowers have at least one student loan account past due.

Roughly 85 percent of outstanding student loan debt is owed to the federal government. The remaining 15 percent that's counted as private student debt is owed to various non-federal lenders, ranging from banks to loan companies like Sallie Mae Corp. to non-profits and state-affiliated agencies (under the Durbin bill, loans from any government-funded entity still wouldn't be dischargeable, only those from truly private lenders).

Generally, it's these private loans that bring borrowers to the door of bankruptcy lawyers like Barrett. Private student loans often lack the protections of federal ones, and have rates that typically start higher and can shoot up. A recent survey of bankruptcy attorneys found 81 percent reporting more clients with student debt in recent years, and roughly half reporting a significant increase.

Barrett says he's seeing more recent college graduates who couldn't get a job after graduation or who, if they did, faced garnishment of entry-level wages.

Before the 2005 law passed, lenders would "try to work with (borrowers) on a payment plan," Barrett says. "They had the threat, if we don't make it so this person can afford to live and eat and get to work and dress for work, then they're going to file for a bankruptcy plan and we're going to get hit.

"Now, they'll hit you with a garnishment — and if you can't make ends meet, tough."

Private lenders haven't always enjoyed a spot at the front of the line of bankruptcy creditors.

Until 1976, all education loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy. That year Congress began requiring borrowers to wait at least five years before they could discharge federal student loans. Since 1998, borrowers have been unable ever to discharge federal student loans, and in 2005 the then-Republican-controlled Congress made private loans almost impossible to discharge. Essentially, borrowers must prove they can't repay and will never be able to, but the standard is vague. And litigating in bankruptcy court may be impossible financially for someone in those circumstances.

With federal loans, the concern was that making it too easy to walk away from debts would put taxpayer dollars at risk.

With private loans, the lender protections were justified by fears that otherwise lenders wouldn't extend students the capital they needed to cover tuition bills. Student loans offer no security or collateral. Lenders are betting on a borrower's education to produce future earnings. Put differently, a bank can repossess your car but not your brain.

Changing the law "would force our members to raise borrower rates or elevate their already strict underwriting standards and essentially make it harder to make the loans," said a spokeswoman for the Education Finance Council, which represents nonprofit and state-based providers of non-federal loans, in a statement issued on behalf of president Vince Sampson. A Moody's report also suggested younger student borrowers might be especially tempted by an easier bankruptcy filing, not appreciating the long-term credit damage.

But such arguments swim upstream against a lot of historical data.

Before 1976, when student loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy, there's little evidence borrowers abused the practice. A federal study from that time estimated less than 1 percent of all matured student loans were discharged in bankruptcy.

Experts like Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center say bankruptcy is demoralizing, humiliating and difficult, and nobody undertakes it lightly.

"I wasn't raised to say, 'I'll go file bankruptcy,'" said Devin Stang, who is 41. The family's student debt totals $25,000 in federal loans and about $37,000 in private ones, much of it from taking required continuing education credits to keep up their teaching licenses and job prospects at a time of widespread layoffs.

Surrendering one of their two cars in bankruptcy will limit the Stangs' work options, Barrett says. And digging out will be even harder because, even after their other debts are clear, the private student lenders could garnishee up to 25 percent of wages.

If they could discharge their private loans in the same manner as credit card debts, "away we'd go on our lives," Stang said.

There's also little evidence that changing the law would affect the availability of private student loans. In fact, private student lending was expanding rapidly before 2005, when the loans were dischargeable. Then Congress awarded lenders stronger collection powers — but private student lending fell by two-thirds in just a few years, coinciding with the broader credit crunch.

A leading financial aid expert, Mark Kantrowitz of the website Finaid.org, doesn't buy the lenders' argument. He says changing the law might slightly increase fees, but lenders make their decisions based on credit scores and macro-economic factors.

Al Lord, the CEO of Sallie Mae., the largest private lender, which originated $2.7 billion in education loans last year, has predicted changing the law would affect the availability of credit for young people. But he said in a 2010 earnings call that the financial impact on Sallie Mae would be "small" and "not particular troublesome," in part because almost all its new loans — 85 percent at the time — have co-borrowers.

In a statement, Sallie Mae said the company would support reforms allowing students who have made a "good-faith effort" for five to seven years to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, but specified it would want the reform to apply to both federal and private loans (there's no proposal on the table to make federal loans dischargeable).

Even if changing the law did make private loans disappear, some advocates think that wouldn't be so bad.

In fact, new lending has already fallen sharply recently, and it hasn't kept people out of college; enrollment is way up. Students who might have gotten private loans five years ago, but can't now, are apparently choosing less expensive schools or borrowing more of what they need from the federal government, which accounts for more than 90 percent of new loan volume now.

A study by the Project on Student Debt, a foundation-supported research group, found that half of students who took out private loans in 2007-2008 failed to borrow their maximum eligibility in federal Stafford loans. Those students could have — and almost certainly should have — borrowed more from Washington first (undergraduates can cumulatively borrow up to $31,000 in federal Stafford loans, and in some cases, as much as $57,500). Now, they're doing so.

Finally, if the spigot of private loans cut off, it might temper college cost increases. Colleges would find it harder to get away with charging more than what students can borrow from the government.

"These private loans are toxic," said Williams, of the student advocacy group. If students still can't afford a college without one, he said, they should probably consider another college.

____

Follow Justin Pope at http://www.twitter.com/JustinPopeAP

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Child Bride Has Marriage Annulled. Laxmi Sargara is Our Hero of the Day | Healthy Living - Yahoo! Shine

Laxmi holds up her hard-won annulment. (AFP)At an age when most kids are learning to walk, Laxmi Sargara was already married. Her husband, Rakesh, was just three-years-old when family sealed the deal on their fate. She was one.

How a child bride finally made her escape

Now seventeen years later the couple have set a history-making precedent by having their marriage annulled. But the real hero of this story is Laxmi, now 18, who took remarkably brave steps to reverse the archaic tradition and opened the door for more child brides to follow.

Though technically illegal in India, poor families living in rural areas often rely on these types of partnerships, using kids as pawns in order to provide more financial stability to those who can't afford to feed their children long-term. The fall-out is hardest felt for child brides, plucked from their parents' homes in their teens and forced to live with the husband they wed as a toddler and his family. The girls are expected to play the role of obedient wife and daughter-in-law, and in some instances, are beaten into submission by members of their new family.

Photos reveal tortures Afghani child bride endured

Just days ago, Laxmi's was informed of her own marriage obligations, promised almost two decades before by her Rajasthani elders, and given a move-in deadline of April 24 from her in-laws.

"I was unhappy about the marriage. I told my parents who did not agree with me, then I sought help," Sargara told AFP.

She reached to a social worker in Jodhpur who advocates for children's rights through an organization called the Sarathi Trust. The social worker contacted the groom, who was prepared to go through with family arrangement. After some persuading, he finally changed his mind and agreed to an annulment, influenced by the fact that he'd be marrying a woman risking everything to live without him.

"It is the first example we know of a couple wed in childhood wanting the marriage to be annulled, and we hope that others take inspiration from it," Kriti Bharti, the social worker who orchestrated the annulment, told AFP.

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs sentenced to life

A joint legal document signed by both Rakesh and Laxmi made it official and provided a road map for other young brides to do the same.

"Now I am mentally relaxed and my family members are also with me," said Laxmi, who beamed as she held up the document for photographers. She plans to continue her education in hopes of landing a job so she can maintain her independence. But Laxmi's newfound freedom comes with risk.

In India, where an estimated 50 percent of girls are married before they're 18, opponents of arranged child marriages can face serious threats, including gang rape, beatings and maiming. On the same day as Laxmi's annulment became official, protesters trying to stop a mass child wedding in Rajasthan were attacked and injured by villagers. When a 13-year-old refused to wed her arranged husband in 2009, her parents withheld her food for two weeks. Amazingly, the young girl prevailed and gained international attention and support for her stance. This week Laxmi moved the needle even further; hers is the first legally-binding child marriage annulment in India's history.

Child marriages are a worldwide phenomenon, particularly in rural areas with high poverty rates and closely-guarded ancient traditions. In parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, The Middle East and even the U.S. underage children are forced into marriages at the behest of their families. In recent years, American officials have cracked down on fundamentalist polygamist sects in Utah and Texas known to pair adult grooms with child brides. Other countries provide less legal clout needed to protect young girls. In Yemen where, there is no punishment for families who marry off an underage daughter, about half the country's brides are under 15. In Saudi Arabia, there is no minimum age for marriage at all. An 8-year old girl found this out in 2009, when the Saudi courts denied her annulment request. At the time, her husband was 58.

Related:
Escape from polygamy
The future for Texas' child brides

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Jen Lancaster: Child-Free by Choice

Once in a while, I question our choice to remain child-free.

It's not that I don't love our pets (two pit bulls, one shepherd mix and five cats -- all rescues) and enjoy the rich, full lives we've built for ourselves, but there's always going to be a small part of me that asks, What if? No matter how happy anyone is with their choices, I believe it's human nature to wonder about the path not taken.

If my husband Fletch and I reproduced, I have to wonder -- what would our kid be like? We always assumed that our progeny would have my twisted sense of humour and his twisted world view and would thus end up a supervillain, or at the very least, wouldn't get into a decent college because of a piss-poor attitude and problem with authority figures.

After we were married, we were broke. Flat broke. Not only did we not have health insurance, we could barely keep a roof over our heads, let alone have the kind of coin to throw around on onesies and Pampers. More importantly, our lives were completely chaotic and we weren't about to subject another human being to our shitty choices.

By the time we had our finances back on track, we both felt too old to bring kids into the mix. (What if I spent the past 20 years on birth control only to find out it didn't matter because I couldn't have kids anyway? I'd be apoplectic!) And I'd be lying if I said a houseful of Barbie shoes holds any appeal.

Yet when I hang out with my friend Wendy's daughters, I'm always smitten, likely because they're almost exactly like me. (Despite Wendy's best efforts.)

The last time the girls were here, her youngest took a long, contemplative look around my backyard and then said all matter-of-factly, "Jen, when you die, I want your house." Wendy was mortified, but in my opinion, you can't get a better compliment than that.

Would we be the kind of parents who treat our kid like a status symbol, especially given that we now live in the super class-conscious North Shore suburbs depicted in John Hughes movies? Would I be the mother who'd run the family into financial ruin to make sure my girl had more Louis Vuitton bags than any of her classmates so she'd have a positive self-image? I suspect I might.

I bet I'd work hard to expose my child to culture early and often so she wouldn't be the asshat afraid to go out to dinner when her Indian roommate craves tandoori chicken. And if maybe she'd been more places and tried more things than the rest of her peer group? I'd probably be OK with that, too.

All my questions are answered the day I meet Margo.

But before I get to Margo, allow me to set the scene. In Inferno, Dante depicts an allegorical journey through the nine circles of Hell. If Dante penned his epic poem today, he'd include the tenth circle of Hell -- the Whole Foods in Deerfield, Illinois.

Nowhere has the motto "abandon all hope, ye who enter here" been more appropriate. From the parking lot dotted with third-row seating Suburbans covered in pro-environment bumper stickers to the pacifists who will cut you for the last jar of almond butter, it's entering an arena where irony ceases to exist.

Regardless, I want some damn kale salad. While I'm standing at the counter, a well-heeled mother and her even better-heeled child of five or six cut in front of me. The kid's clearly just come from ballet practice, however her dance outfit is topped in a pair of D&G jeans. She's also wearing Hunter Wellington boots. I know they're pricey because I tried on a pair and ultimately didn't buy them. (More because of my tubby calves than cost, but that's not the point.)

The child tugs on her mother's arm, then whispers something in her ear. Then the mom says to the deli clerk, "Margo wants to know what kind of sushi you have today."

Suddenly all the resentment I feel towards this kid and her $300 jeans melts away. How badass is it that a little girl is so adventurous that she's not afraid of a little raw fish? I went three decades before I ever tasted so much as a California roll.

Margo tugs on her mom's sleeve again.

"Margo wants to know if the rice is extra fresh."

Um, OK, not only does Margo appreciate tasty sushi, but she also has an eye towards quality. Maybe Margo will become a chef. Her finely honed palate is going to set the culinary world on fire!

"Margo wants to know if the rice is extra-sticky. The last time it was almost too sticky."

So Margo thinks she's Iron Chef.

"Margo needs a taste first."

Margo needs to learn how to say "please."

"Margo enjoyed the Escolar you carried last week. Margo wants to know if there's any more in the back."

Margo goes to Montessori school, doesn't she?

"Margo wants wasabi but she doesn't like the wasabi you have on display now. Margo wants to know if there's other wasabi that's like wasabi, only less wasabi-like."

And now I'm done.

At this point I'd like to shake both mother and child, shouting,"MARGO IS SIX! MARGO KNOWS NOTHING! MARGO EATS PASTE!"

Also? Margo's the exact reason that I shouldn't -- and won't -- have children.

But I will have kale salad.

So there's that.

Visit Jen Lancaster on Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Effective Marketing for Sole Proprietors

CCS 483-21: Effective Marketing for Sole Proprietors

This three-part program will supply self-employed business owners the tools needed to successfully market themselves.

The program allows students to creatively consider their marketing tools, media and technological options. Participants will create an effective marketing strategy and gain the confidence to incorporate it into their business plan.

Who should attend?
Any sole proprietor or entrepreneur interested in gaining a competitive edge through effective marketing techniques.

Instructor: Liesha Petrovich

TheBloggess.com

jennsylvania

Friday, April 20, 2012

Liesha Petrovich

This is the place where you can find samples of my work that highlight my experience as a:

  • Online Higher Education Professional
  • Leader in Higher Education
  • Experienced Business Professional
  • Instructional/web designer
  • Small Business Educator

Please understand that this portfolio contains only selected samples. To view the complete portfolio, please contact me as each page is password-protected.

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy!


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Edit Profile | LinkedIn

Liesha Petrovich, MSHE Edit

Continuing Education Professional specializing in Business, Marketing & Entrepreneurship and Online Learning

Location
Norway, Maine
Industry
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Online-Education Start-Up Teams With Top-Ranked Universities to... chronicle.com

Last fall, two Stanford computer-science professors helped create an online course-hosting platform that opened some of the university’s classes to the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of students enrolled free of charge....

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How the Duggars Support 19 Kids and Live Debt-Free | Financially Fit - Yahoo! Shine

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Classes | Effective Marketing 101

Dog Grooming Gardiner: How to Protect Your Dog From Fleas In The Yard | Dog Grooming Gardiner

By 

Pet Grooming Tips

If you’ve been fighting fleas in the yard, aggressive treatments are an essential part of gaining a foot hold over the infestation. Treating just your dog or cat will mean that fleas and their eggs will be left in the yard to continue the cycle.

The flea life cycle consists of four stages. They are the egg, larvae, pupae and adult biting fleas in your yard. Treatments should target each of these stages to break the life cycle. Adult fleas lay their eggs on the host and then the egg drops out wherever the host rests, lies, or plays. These eggs then hatch and go into the larvae stage. From there, they then move to the pupae stage waiting to emerge as an adult flea. The entire cycle takes approximately two weeks.

Many pesticides and other treatments target the adult fleas. In yard treatments often only address the adult stage while leaving the eggs or pupae to continue to hatch and grow. This is counter productive, leaving many continuing to buy pesticides that are only targeting a small part of the problem.

Killing fleas in the pupae stage is almost impossible. The key to keeping the infestation under control is to use a product on the egg and larvae stages to prevent them from getting to the pupae stage. There are natural products available that are designed for this purpose that will not only keep your pet free of fleas, but will not expose him or her to harmful chemicals.

It’s nearly impossible to prevent fleas in the yard. Some improvements can lower the risk of fleas making it on to your property to begin with. Fleas move from one host to another and a stray dog or cat can wander through your yard leaving little presents as they go. Having solid fencing around your yard can prevent these visitors and their unwanted friends from coming over uninvited. In addition, keeping your pets on your own property gives you more control. If your pets are spending time on property other than your own, you don’t know what if any flea control that property owner has.

A good approach to flea control is multi-pronged. You can stop this from ever happening by making some simple changes to ward off an infestation of fleas. You can actually kill adult fleas in with a simple, all natural solution. Sprinkle food grade diatomaceous soil lightly in your dog’s bedding and in areas he likes to sleep. You can use the food grade DE in your home and garden to deal with fleas or bed bug infestations. In yard improvements and treatments will finish the life cycle of the flea leaving you and your pets happy and pest free.

Find this all natural flea killer here. More ideas for using food grade diatomaceous earth.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Rieger

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6428990

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Former coach of the year fired from Christian school for out-of-wedlock pregnancy | Prep Rally - Yahoo! Sports

In an incredibly bizarre situation that appears headed for a legal challenge, a Dallas-area volleyball coach and science teacher was fired by the Christian school at which she worked for becoming pregnant before being married.

As first reported by Dallas Fort Worth network WFAA, Rockwall (Texas) Heritage Christian Academy volleyball coach and science teacher Cathy Samford was fired during the fall semester after she became pregnant out of wedlock. Samford had led the volleyball program for three years and had been named the school's coach of the year once during that span.

Still, that couldn't help save her job when she first admitted her pregnancy during the fall semester, with the school terminating her based on a  violation of her contract's morals clause because it was determined her pregnancy meant she could not serve as "a Christian role model."

"I looked it up and thought, 'They can't do this,'" the 29-year-old Samford told WFAA. "We all have different views and interpretations. It's not necessarily the Christian thing to do to throw somebody aside because of those."

While Samford and her lawyer, Colin Walsh, are working toward filing a discrimination suit against the school, their case may be complicated by the fact that Heritage Christian Academy is a private school, and recent Supreme Court decisions have defended the right of Christian schools to exert more influence on their hirings and firings because they consider teachers to be "ministers in the classroom."

"The Supreme Court, as a matter of fact in the last month, has ruled 9-to-0 that a Christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry, so we have the right to have standards of conduct," Heritage Christian Academy headmaster Dr. Ron Taylor, who acknowledged that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had contacted the school, told WFAA. "How's it going to look to a little fourth-grade girl that sees she's pregnant and she's not married?"

While the two parties attempted mediation, those efforts failed quickly because the school refused to consider a settlement for the case.

That has left Samford uninsured and in financial distress as she heads towards giving birth, a situation she never considered possible when she was a proud member of Heritage Christian Academy's faculty.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

DTotD: Sulley Muntari gives his shirt to a Chievo ball boy, ball boy tries to give it back | Dirty Tackle - Yahoo! Sports

Though this isn't a dirty tackle and there is no physical pain involved, the emotional damage here is just crippling.

After scoring the only goal in Milan's 1-0 win at Chievo Verona, Sulley Muntari was likely feeling quite good. So, to spread those good vibes a little further, he generously gave his shirt to the smallest Chievo ball boy as he headed for the tunnel. But Muntari underestimated the kid's loyalty to his own club and instead of eagerly grabbing the shirt and thanking Muntari for his gift, the ball boy didn't crack a smile and tried to give the shirt back to the player.

Though the kid followed him to try and return it, Muntari wouldn't take it back. A couple of the bigger ball boys tried to take it, but he wouldn't let go, probably because he wanted to throw it away himself. And that, my friends, is a humbling moment for Sulley Muntari.

Video via @Milanello

Friday, April 6, 2012

Coke withdraws from group that backs Stand Your Ground law - Yahoo! News

ORLANDO, Fla./NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co is dropping its membership in a conservative national advocacy group that supports "Stand Your Ground" laws such as the one being used as a defense in the Florida killing of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.

The move by the world's biggest soft drink maker comes as corporate America faces increased scrutiny from consumers and shareholder activists over lobbying and political spending.

PepsiCo Inc ended its relationship with the group - the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - in January.

In a statement on Thursday, Coca-Cola made no direct mention of the controversial self-defense law pushed by ALEC that provides shooters with wide latitude for claiming self defense when they perceive a threat.

"The Coca-Cola Company has elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)," the statement said.

"Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our company and industry."

Trayvon Martin, 17, was killed on February 26 in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, 28, a white and Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer who has claimed he acted in self defense and has not been charged with a crime.

At a rally in Sanford on Saturday, civil rights leaders said they were considering economic boycotts of national companies that support "Stand Your Ground" laws.

Coca-Cola and other ALEC member companies were targeted last year by the civil rights group ColorOfChange for their support of ALEC, which is also behind what ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson calls "voter suppression laws" in many states. The laws require voters to show identification.

Since Martin's killing, Robinson said ColorOfChange has let the corporations know that ALEC was behind a push for states to adopt legislation modeled after Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

Robinson declined to name which other companies the group is pursuing, saying their strategy is to give corporations a chance to withdraw from ALEC before escalating the issue publicly.

POLITICAL RISK

ALEC's private enterprise board includes executives from companies including Pfizer Inc and Reynolds American, which stood by the group on Thursday along with Procter & Gamble Co, a member company.

"We don't agree with every ALEC position, but we participate in ALEC's healthcare forums because state legislators that are the members in ALEC, they make decisions that impact our business and the country's business every day," said Peter O'Toole, a spokesman for the world's largest drugmaker.

Pfizer reviews its membership in outside organizations regularly, he said.

Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes, said ALEC provides "a valuable forum for sharing of ideas and fostering better understanding of a broad range of both legislative and business issues."

Cigarette-maker Altria Group, which has an employee on the ALEC board, said its involvement is focused on business-related issues.

Exxon Mobil Corp declined to comment as did Diageo Plc, which makes Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka.

Late on Thursday, Kraft Foods Inc said in an emailed statement: "We belong to many external groups, including ALEC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes growth and fiscal responsibility.

"ALEC covers numerous issues but our involvement has been strictly limited to discussions about economic growth and development, transportation and tax policy. We did not participate in meetings or conversations related to other issues.

"Our membership in ALEC expires this spring and for a number of reasons, including limited resources, we have made the decision not to renew."

Companies that were not immediately available for comment included Johnson & Johnson, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, United Parcel Service Inc, among others.(http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-board/)

Bruce Freed, president of the Center for Political Accountability in Washington, said he was not surprised that Pepsi and Coke were ahead of the pack in distancing themselves from ALEC, because they could be more vulnerable to a consumer boycott than other companies.

"Companies recognize that political spending poses a risk," said Freed, whose group is also pressing companies to rein in their spending.

ALEC, which describes its mission as to advance the principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, said it would welcome back Coke if it ever had a change of heart.

"We definitely respect differences of opinion and ideas and whatever people want to do...," said Kaitlyn Buss, spokeswoman for ALEC.

ALEC develops model bills, but one of the group's insiders said it does not actively lobby.

"The legislators often have an idea, a concept or a thought and they go to ALEC to implement that thought," said Victor Schwartz, a Washington lawyer and lobbyist who serves as co-chairman of the ALEC task force on civil justice. He was not speaking as an ALEC spokesman.

The investment firm Walden Asset Management in Boston gave a tally of a dozen large companies earlier this week that recently agreed to make new disclosures around their lobbying efforts, including: Coke, General Electric Co and Johnson & Johnson.

In a letter to ColorOfChange dated January 25, 2012, PepsiCo told Robinson the company had decided to drop its decade-long membership in ALEC after its membership expired.

"We review all organizations in which we have membership each year to assure they serve a critical purpose for PepsiCo and its priorities," Paul Boykas, vice president of public policy and government affairs said in the letter.

Robinson said Coca-Cola made its decision on Wednesday after ColorOfChange posted a Web page criticizing Coca-Cola's continued support of ALEC. Robinson said the Web page was up for eight hours before ColorOfChange removed it based on Coca-Cola's change of heart.

(Reporting by Barbara Liston in Orlando and Martinne Geller in New York; additional reporting by David Ingram in Washington, Ross Kerber in Boston and Lewis Krauskopf and Matt Daily in New York; editing by Maureen Bavdek and Andre Grenon)

Beyoncé Shares Stunning, Makeup-Less Bikini Pic! | Stop The Presses! (NEW) - Yahoo! Music

Thursday, April 5, 2012

"Too Pretty" Columnist Samantha Brick Ridiculed - Yahoo!

Going through life as a "tall, slim, blonde" woman is harder than it looks, according to British columnist Samantha Brick, who has become the focus of criticism and ridicule for writing that her life as a beautiful woman has been especially difficult.

Brick, 41, published a column in the Daily Mail on Tuesday entitled, "'There are downsides to looking this pretty': Why women hate me for being beautiful."

Brick bemoaned having to go through life as a beautiful woman, constantly receiving free champagne and wine from suitors, flirting with male bosses, and angering female friends and co-workers with her looks.

"While I'm no Elle Macpherson," Brick wrote, "I'm tall, slim, blonde and, so I'm often told, a good-looking woman. I know how lucky I am. But there are downsides to being pretty, the main one being that other women hate me for no other reason than my lovely looks."

By Wednesday morning, Brick had become the center of a Twitter campaign aiming to take her down a few notches for her perceived vanity. Twitter users created the tongue-in-cheek hashtag #samanthabrickfacts to make jokes about Brick's alleged beauty.

"James Blunt wrote "You're beautiful" after he briefly caught sight of Samantha Brick in a crowded place. #samanthabrickfacts," Tony Cowards wrote on the site.

"Samantha Brick was originally cast in title role in Pretty Woman but Richard Gere vetoed it because she was too pretty," a user named Susan Cullen said Wednesday.

The Daily Mail's website, where the column was published, received more than 3,000 comments in response to Brick's essay, many of which called into question whether Brick was as pretty as she declared. The column was accompanied by seven photos of the alleged British beauty, and anecdotes of occasions when Brick was hated by other women for her looks.

Brick, who was not able to reached for comment, recalls in the column posing next to a male friend for a photograph on his birthday, at the suggesting of the photographer.

"Another woman I barely knew pushed me out of the way, shouting it wasn't fair on all the other women if I was dominating the snap. I was devastated and burst into tears," she said.

Brick's article raised ire with many women for her early accusation in the column that any woman feeling angry at Brick was just jealous.

"If you're a woman reading this, I'd hazard that you've already formed your own opinion about me and it won't be very flattering. For while many doors have been opened (literally) as a result of my looks, just as many have been metaphorically slammed in my face and usually by my own sex," she writes.

Brick ponders her relationships with women, noting that she has never been asked to be a bridesmaid at a friend's wedding, often gets snubbed by female neighbors and acquaintances in social situations, and is targeted by married women who think Brick is trying to steal their husbands.

"I'm not smug and I'm no flirt, yet over the years I've been dropped by countless friends who felt threatened if I was merely in the presence of their other halves. If their partners dared to actually talk to me, a sudden chill would descend on the room," Brick said.

Many of those who commented disagreed with Brick's assessment, writing "Can we get a serving of humble pie with a side order of reality check over here please?" and "Oh get over yourself dear. You are NOT THAT pretty, just average. : VERY average. I think you've lost female friends because you're a conceited delusional prat. Is this a belated April Fool's story DM?"

Brick, however, notes that she is now looking forward to the time when age will finally fade her beauty, so that she can "blend into the background" in her life.

"I can't wait for the wrinkles and the grey hair," she writes.

But following her inflammatory column, Brick's name and face may be more recognizable than ever before.

"April 3rd will now by known as international Samantha Brick day! #SamanthaBrickFacts," Twitter user @Rossildinio.

Added another: "Disney have renamed their film 'Samantha Brick & the Beast.' #samanthabrickfacts. "

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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Wisconsin Wife, 80, Lands Plane for Dying Pilot Husband - Yahoo!

A frail 80-year-old Wisconsin woman spent a harrowing 90 minutes learning how to handle a Cessna plane and then land it after her husband, who had been piloting the plane, collapsed while at the controls.

Helen Collins successfully landed the plane as it was running out of gas and an engine sputtering.

She is expected to be released from the hospital today with minor injuries after her bumpy landing Monday night at Sturgeon Bay. Despite the miracle landing, Helen Collins' husband John, 81, did not survive.

Her son, Richard Collins, recounted the ordeal today, punctuated with tears of grief for his father and chuckles of relief for his mom.

"I can't even tell her how to run a computer, let alone land a plane," Richard Collins, 55, told ABCNews.com. "It was a very trying time. I thought I was going to lose them both."

John and Helen Collins were flying from Florida to Wisconsin on Monday. John had not been feeling well on Thursday and the couple's son James Collins, also a pilot, wanted to meet them in Rome, Ga., where they were stopping, to fly the rest of the way.

"He wasn't right. You could tell something was wrong. He said he had a sore neck," Richard Collins told ABCNews.com today. But John Collins said he would fly himself.

"He had called me on the phone and asked me where I was," Richard Collins said. "I said I was at the airport waiting for him and he said he'd be there in 20 minutes. The next thing I knew, I saw the plane fly over the airport."

About six miles from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., something had gone wrong.

Helen Collins had called 911 to say that "her husband, the pilot of the aircraft, was having some sort of medical emergency and was unresponsive in the aircraft," according to a Door County Sheriff's Office report.

She was going to have to land the plane.

Collins said his mother had flown in the past, even flying solo, but she had never flown the two-engine Cessna and she had not piloted in about 30 years.

Richard Collins worked with the Cherryland Airport to send out the family's other plane with a pilot to shadow his mother and help her land. Another pilot was communicating with her from the ground.

"Robert [Vuksanovic, the pilot in the second plane] got in the air and was flying just off Helen's wing and was consulting her via radio," according to the report. "The two aircrafts did several fly-by type maneuvers as practice runs."

"The sheriff said she was amazingly calm and alert and level-headed," Richard Collins said of his mother who he described as "about as frail as frail can be" after having undergone two open-heart surgeries in the past several years.

Collins recalled his mother saying to everyone instructing her, "Don't you guys have faith in me? I can do this." But moments before landing, she said, "I don't think I can do this."

After circling for an hour-and-a-half, she was able to land the plane.

Keith Kasbohm, director of Cherryland Airport near Sturgeon Bay, told the Associated Press, "She was on her last attempt to get lined up with the runway. She reported one engine was sputtering on that last attempt to land. We were all watching and knew she had to do it."

"She bounced pretty hard," Richard Collins said. "When she bounced, the plane tilted forward and the landing gear broke."

Both Helen and John Collins were taken to the hospital where John Collins was pronounced dead. His son believes he had a heart attack. His mother has a crushed vertebra, but is expected to go home today.

When Richard Collins spoke to his mother, she described what had happened in the plane.

"She said that Dad became unconscious and took off his seatbelt to breathe better," Richard Collins said. His father lay down in the plane and his mother saw him "turning gray."

"She felt his hand and she knew," Richard Collins said as his voice cracked. "Everybody is so proud of her."

John Collins was the president and CEO of the family business, C&S Manufacturing, in Sturgeon Bay and had 50 employees. He began flying planes in the 1980s and frequently volunteered his services for Angel Flight, a group that helps transport patients in need to the hospitals they need to get to.

"My dad is the kind of guy that will help anybody. He's very generous and never turned anybody away," Richard Collins said. "He was like a father to anybody he knew. You couldn't find a better person. He's a better person than me. He's been a pillar in the community, my mom too."

Last week, the family spent time in Florida, relaxing by the ocean and eating out together.

Richard Collins remembered a conversation he heard his parents having in Florida last week while he was in his room going to bed.

"He says, 'Helen, I'm really lucky to have you.' And she said, 'No, I'm lucky to have you.' He said, 'No, I'm luckier to have you,'" Collins said through laughter and tears. "They were very tight."

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