truesee's Blog

Jensen Beach pastor sentenced to 20 years for mortgage fraud

Jim Mayfield

TC Palm

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

7:18 a.m. EDT, September 9, 2009

STUART - A defiant Rodney McGill prayed for affliction upon his adversaries prior to his sentencing in Martin County Circuit Court, and turned his back on Judge Sherwood Bauer, Jr., as he was handed a 20-year prison term for his part in fraudulently obtaining some $1 million in real estate loans.

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, for every witness called against me I pray cancer in their lives, lupus, brain tumor, pancreatic cancer," McGill intoned at his counsel table prior to the start of the hearing Tuesday.

McGill, the self-proclaimed pastor of New Hope Outreach Center in Jensen Beach, and his wife, Shalonda were convicted in July on nine counts each of obtaining mortgages by false representation, first-degree grand theft and racketeering.

The state alleged the McGills, individually, and through several of their organizations, selected three women of modest income to purchase properties owned by the McGills on a promised return of $50,000 in 90 days with no money down.

During the trial, prosecutors introduced loan applications on the transactions that contained incorrect job descriptions, inflated monthly salaries, nonexistent bank accounts and forged lease agreements on behalf of the buyers.

During a rambling statement to the court, McGill vigorously maintained his innocence, challenging the fairness of his trial.

"I'm not guilty of anything," McGill said. "This courtroom has been deceived. I shouldn't have been charged. What law did I break? I'm out of the box; I'm smarter than them."

As Bauer began explaining the basis of his sentence, McGill interrupted, "Whatever sentence you gonna give to me just give it to me." He then turned his back as Bauer announced the penalty.

McGill received 20 years on the grand theft and racketeering counts and five years on the mortgage fraud convictions. The sentences to run concurrently. He will face 10 years of probation following his release.

Earlier in the day, McGill's wife, Shalonda, received a sentence of 10 years and five years for the grand theft and racketeering and fraud convictions, respectively. She will also serve a 10-year probation upon release.

Shalonda McGill also was required to surrender her mortgage broker license, and they are prohibited from any further activity in real estate.

The two face repayment of nearly $100,000 in court and investigative costs and restitution of approximately $1 million to lenders who loaned money on four residential properties.

Arguing for a reduced sentence, Shalonda, who did not testify during her trial, broke her silence and told Bauer she acted under duress, was a "victim of being Rodney McGill's wife," and that she was unaware that what she did was illegal.

"Whatever I did was on direct instructions from my husband," she said.

In handing down the minimum mandatory 10-year sentence, however, Bauer said he found no basis to depart from the state's sentencing guidelines.

McGill filed a notice of appeal immediately after his sentencing.

Rodney McGill looks at his wife, Shalonda.

4-year-old 'held ransom' for pizza

EXCLUSIVE by Ben Langford

Northern Territory News

September 9th, 2009 

A DARWIN mum is furious after a pizza delivery man allegedly grabbed her four-year-old son and tried to hold him as "ransom" for payment.

Cindy Paardekooper, 30, claims the driver from Pizza King at the Hibiscus Shopping Centre was an hour late delivering her half-Hawaiian, half-supreme.

When she refused to pay, the driver allegedly grabbed her four-year-old son Cain who was standing on the other side of the fence. ''He grabbed my son, four years old, by the arm through the fence as ransom for the pizza,'' Ms Paardekooper claimed.

''Grabbing a child, that's child abuse, that's assault.''

Ms Paardekooper was upstairs on the phone to Pizza King trying to negotiate a discount for the late pizza while her sister Lisa dealt with the driver at the gate.

Upset at the pizza being so late, she had called the shop before the driver arrived and said she would not pay.

She said she was told the driver would be informed.

Lisa Paardekooper claims the driver held Cain for 40 seconds, demanding cash. ''He said give me the pizza back or the money,'' she said. ''He stuck his hand through the gate and grabbed Cain around the wrist. I raised my fist to him ... when I raised my hand he let go of him.''

Cindy said that was no way to treat a child.

''If I was down there I would have jumped the fence and flogged him,'' she said.

''The manager didn't care (about the incident)when the cops went round,'' she claimed.

The driver left after the pizza was handed back over the fence to him. Pizza King manager Tessie Muscat Couturier yesterday said the driver still had his job.

''I was not there when it happened,'' she said.

''It's up to the police.

''According to him he just only held his hand to tell his mother to pick up the pizza.

''I can't believe he intended to harm the child.''

Police confirmed the incident was investigated after Ms Paardekooper reported it immediately, about 7pm last Saturday.

LINK TO PHOTO:

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/09/09/83071_ntnews.html

Judge tailors punishment that fits criminals to a T

JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER

WAUSEON - I did the crime, I did the time, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

Such a reaction could crop up in Fulton County, where a no-nonsense judge is requiring some criminals to wear customized clothing in public: neon green shirts with large, black letters announcing, "I'm a thief."

To curb crime and provide a form of public punishment, Western District Court Judge Jeff Robinson recently introduced the "criminali-tees," and so far several convicted shoplifters, while performing community service, have worn the garish, attention-grabbing garments.

The shirts aren't designed to be a fashion statement, but rather a statement of fact, a wash-and-wear way to help weave criminals back into the social fabric.

Public punishment, the judge said, serves as a deterrent, particularly at a time when more people are being tempted to steal from others.When the economy started to tank, the judge noticed "what appeared to be a huge uptake in the number of shoplifting cases occurring in the community."

During one proceeding, he asked a thief how she expected to get away with stealing stuff from a busy retail store, and she seemed rather proud to know security cameras can't spot shoplifters in a particular area, he said.

After that, he decided shoplifters needed to "suffer a little bit of humility." And, he said, a message needed to be sent to others that being a thief isn't something they want to get involved in.

The shirts, the judge said, are not worn with a sense of pride, and the message appears to be having its desired effect. "Shoplifting cases are down," he said, but he added that the shirts alone aren't the reason. Enforcement efforts have stepped up.

Judge Robinson's line of criminal wear isn't limited to thieves.

One man, for instance, was ordered to wear a T-shirt with "I starved my horses to death" on it, the judge said, but before the shirt was made, the offender - who was to wear the shirt while shoveling manure in the horse barns at the Fulton County Fairgrounds - was sent to prison on a felony charge.

Not a new idea

Mr. Robinson, a judge since 2005, admits customized clothing for criminals isn't a new idea. A judge in Defiance County, who is now retired, "had a whole parcel of shirts for juveniles" to wear, he said.

Judge Robinson should be commended for saying he's had enough and doing something to discourage people from stealing, said Wayne Seely, former police chief in Wauseon and Sylvania Township who is now an associate professor of criminal justice at Owens Community College.

"I think it is quite an idea on the judge's part. He deals with these people every day. Every day."

Mr. Seely said he has heard of prisoners being ordered to wear specialized clothing on a large scale in Arizona, where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the man known as America's toughest sheriff, dressed prisoners in pink underwear and re-established chain gangs in old-fashioned striped uniforms.

Closer to the Toledo area, in a community 30 miles northeast of Cleveland, Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti has gained national and international attention as a result of his "creative justice," which includes offers to modify criminals' sentences if they wear certain costumes or apparel.

One time, the judge offered to reduce the sentence of a man who shot his Great Dane if he dressed up in a Safety Pup dog costume and visited elementary schools.

Another time, three men who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex were ordered by the judge to take turns wearing a bright yellow chicken suit outside the court while holding a sign that read, "No Chicken Ranch in Painesville." In exchange, the judge agreed to suspend a 30-day jail sentence. The sign and costume referred to the "World Famous Chicken Ranch," a legal prostitution house in Nevada.

In Judge Robinson's court, not all sentences handed down include an order to wear the T-shirts. But when a printed and public message would be an appropriate penalty, the clothing comes off the hanger and onto the offender.

Based on the law of averages, some offenders likely will try to skirt the shirt system.

That's why there are rules, said Mike Mann, probation officer and bailiff for Western District Court.

The shirts must be worn with "I'm a thief" visible, Mr. Mann said. In cold weather, parkas or sweatshirts cannot hide the message, he added.

Offenders, who are required to sign a release form and agree to return the clothing in good condition, mustn't allow friends or anyone else to wear the shirts (such as to a party as a prank).

Offenders hesitant

Reaction from violators to the T-shirt requirement, which can cause public humiliation, has been predictable.

"Do I really have to wear this?" offenders ask. At least one shoplifter offered to pay a stiffer fine instead.

A convicted shoplifter who did court-ordered community service at the Open Door of Delta, an outreach center, didn't want to wear the shirt where she would be seen, Executive Director Cherie Mercer said.

"I told her this is the agreement with the court and she did it," she said. The offender was assigned to work in the high-traffic area of the complex's thrift store. If customers had reactions, they kept comments to themselves, Mrs. Mercer said.

Community response so far, Mr. Mann said, has been pretty positive, particularly from law enforcement officials.

"Police officers think it is a good idea," he said.

Mark Powers, a lawyer in Fulton County who represents clients who come before Judge Robinson, said he's aware of the shirts, but hasn't seen anyone wearing one in public. So far, none of his clients has been ordered to wear them, but "I am sure that will happen," he said.

And when it does, he'll be OK with it, even if his clients aren't.

But if the shirt fits …

"Quite frankly, the idea is to get people to not do this and if that is an effective way to not do that, it serves its purpose," Mr. Powers said.

A couple of churches have been "kind of apprehensive" about the shirts, said Mr. Mann who links offenders with places where they can perform court-ordered community service.

The churches didn't flat out refuse, and would allow the shirt-wearing offenders on their properties if no other community-service opportunities were available, he said.

Most places, however, have been receptive, said Mr. Mann, who calls ahead to let agencies know the lawbreakers have been ordered to wear the shirts.

The shirts aren't just visible in Fulton County.

"I'm a thief" shirts have been worn by violators who performed community service in Lucas and Henry counties, further expanding the unusual penalty into the court of public opinion.

LINK TO PHOTO OF JUDGE AND T-SHIRT:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090907/NEWS02/909070303

Police: Robber Returned To Ask Victim For Date

Tuesday,  September 8, 2009 6:59 AM

Updated: Tuesday,  September 8, 2009 6:22 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police said they arrested a suspected robber on Sunday after he returned to his victim's home to ask her out on a date.

18 and Under

Birth Order: Fun to Debate, but How Important?

PERRI KLASS, M.D. 

CBS

BEAV! WALLY! The title character of “Leave It to Beaver,” played by Jerry Mathers, lower left, helped define the younger-sibling experience.

She is the oldest, her mother would say, so she gets lots of attention, and she works very hard. When her younger sister turned out to be an equally good student, the proud mother explained that naturally she wanted to be just like her older sister.

Then a long-looked-for baby boy was born. When he was a toddler, I began to worry that his speech seemed a little slow in coming. His mother was perfectly calm about it. He is the only boy, she said, so he gets lots of attention, and he doesn’t have to work very hard.

Everyone takes it personally when it comes to birth order. After all, everyone is an oldest or a middle or a youngest or an only child, and even as adults we revert almost inevitably to a joke or resentment or rivalry that we’ve never quite outgrown.

Children and parents alike are profoundly affected by the constellations of siblings; it is said that no two children grow up in the same family, because each sibling’s experience is so different.

But that doesn’t mean the effects of birth order are as clear or straightforward as we sometimes make them sound. Indeed, birth order can be used to explain every trait and its precise opposite. I’m competitive, driven — typical oldest child! My brother, two years younger, is even more competitive, more driven — typical second child, always trying to catch up!

I surveyed some experienced pediatricians about when parents are likely to bring up birth order. Many cited the issue of speech, especially when a second child doesn’t talk as well or as early as the first.

And parents are likely to talk about mistakes they think they made the first time around. This time, we’re going to solve the sleep thing good and early. This time, we’re going to get it right with potty training. This time, we’re going to sign the child up for soccer.

“Too many parents are haunted by experiences both good and bad that they identify with their birth order,” said Dr. Peter A. Gorski, a professor of pediatrics, public health and psychiatry at the University of South Florida. And that might lead them to classify their own children according to birth order, he went on, which in turn can lead to a sense of identification or even rejection and to “self-fulfilling prophecies.”

Frank J. Sulloway, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of “Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics and Creative Lives” (Pantheon, 1996), points out that second-born children tend to be exposed to less language than eldest children. “The best environment to grow up in is basically two parents who are chattering away at you with fancy words,” Dr. Sulloway said.

He cited a huge and well-publicized Norwegian study, published in 2007, which found that eldest siblings’ I.Q.’s averaged about three points higher than their younger brothers’. (The study made use of Norwegian military records, so all the subjects were male.)

Those differences in verbal stimulation, like the differences in I.Q., are “relatively modest,” Dr. Sulloway continued, and unlikely to result in clinical speech delays. But in a child who is already vulnerable, a child who may be temperamentally less likely to evoke adults’ attention, or a child growing up in a less stimulating home — well, then, being the second child might be the added risk that makes the difference, he said.

“Birth order doesn’t cause anything,” Dr. Sulloway said. “It’s simply a proxy for the actual mechanisms that go on in family dynamics that shape character and personality.”

We can all cite examples and counterexamples, from our own families, our friends, history and literature. There are plenty of families where the younger child is brighter or more academic, and plenty of literary and historical examples (Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, Meg and Jo March, Dmitri and Ivan Karamazov — and you can think about those authors and their older siblings as well, and draw any comparisons you like). And then there are plenty of examples of brilliant eldest siblings, but given my own eldest status, I will refrain from citing any. (I told you this always gets personal.)

I.Q., though it does grab headlines, may shape family life less than personality and temperament. “It’s a part of a bigger picture that really involves family dynamics,” Dr. Sulloway said. “Child and family dynamics is like a chessboard; birth order is like a knight.”

Then there are all the other influences, from family size to socioeconomic status. “Typically firstborns tend to boss their younger siblings around, but what if you’re a very shy person?” Dr. Sulloway said. “Napoleon was a second-born and his older brother was a very shy guy, and he usurped the older-sibling niche because his older sibling didn’t occupy that niche.

“And why didn’t he occupy that niche? Temperament.”

Now, of course birth order played into my patients’ patterns, but so did gender and birth spacing and, above all, temperament. That little boy was more even-tempered, more placid than either of his sisters, easily soothed, and I think he would have shown that temperament no matter what.

But temperament also helped define his relationship to the four larger people in his immediate circle. “I wouldn’t discount the impact of birth order,” Dr. Gorski told me. “It sets up the structure of one’s place in relation to others from the beginning, as we learn how to react to people of different ages and different relationships.”

Pediatricians are always being warned not to let a speech delay slip past because of parents’ beliefs that boys talk later or that youngest children talk later. I did eventually insist on a hearing test and speech therapy for this little boy. As it turned out, his hearing was fine, and his sisters drilled him over and over with “use your words” exercises until his speech improved. That is one of the advantages of having hardworking older sisters.

Trooper recovers stolen wallet, with a bonus

Officer reports theft, tracks down suspect

MIKE CHALMERS 

The News Journal 

September 8, 2009

Angel Cruz of Philadelphia was carrying several stolen credit cards and driving a stolen Blazer, police said.

An off-duty state trooper thought he was just trying to recover his wife's stolen wallet Sunday afternoon

He got back the wallet -- plus a colleague's long-lost keepsake.

The story began about 2 p.m. after the trooper and his family finished eating at TGI Fridays on Rocky Run Parkway, said state police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh. He did not name the trooper.

As the trooper walked back to his car, he noticed a maroon Chevrolet Blazer parked unusually close.

The Blazer drove away, and the trooper discovered someone had popped his passenger-side door lock and stolen his wife's wallet.

Whitmarsh said the trooper dropped his family at home so his wife could make some calls to cancel their credit cards. The trooper then returned to the area in his police cruiser to look for the Blazer.

He found the Blazer parked outside Sears at Concord Mall. Next to the Blazer, a man was leaning into an SUV and rummaging through the glove box, Whitmarsh said.

When the trooper identified himself, the man jumped back into the Blazer and tried to drive away. The trooper, hanging from the Blazer's partially open door, struggled with the man and reached inside to put the vehicle in park.

Other troopers arrived and took the man -- identified as Angel Cruz, 54, of Philadelphia -- into custody, Whitmarsh said.

Cruz was carrying several stolen credit cards, Whitmarsh said, and the Blazer had been reported stolen in Philadelphia.

But what really caught the troopers' attention was the watch Cruz was wearing.

It was a Delaware State Police trooper's 20-year watch, which had been stolen from a trooper's car on Dec. 21, 2007, while he shopped along Concord Pike.

The thief in that incident had also stolen the trooper's identification and credentials.

Whitmarsh said that trooper had all but given up hope of seeing the watch again.

Cruz had modified the watch so the months in the dial were in Spanish, instead of English, Whitmarsh said.

Cruz, who was later admitted to Wilmington Hospital after a medical complaint, has been charged with theft, receiving stolen property, reckless endangering, resisting arrest and other charges. Bail information was not available.

Whitmarsh said the case shows that people should "never give up hope when a treasured item is lost or stolen."

09/09/09: from The Beatles to the apocalypse, 10 things to look out for on Wednesday

With just a few days to go until 09/09/09 - a date that excites marketing men almost as much as it does numerologists - here's a tongue-in-cheek round-up of what to expect.

 

Matthew Moore

Daily Telegraph
3:50PM BST 07 Sep 2009

09/09/09 promises to be busy day for The Beatles, Derren Brown and Barack Obama

1) The Beatles: Rock Band goes on sale
The computer game that children, parents and even grandparents can enjoy together finally hits shops on Wednesday. The release date was selected with a nod to the band's song Revolution 9, with its "number nine, number nine, number nine" refrain - a marketing opportunity so good they've used it twice.

2) Remastered Beatles albums go on sale too
Over the past four years every album in the Beatles back catalogue has been digitally remastered at Abbey Road studios. Now they are being made available both as single albums - with expanded sleevenotes and rare photos - and a box set. Completists can also splash out on a second box set in mono rather than stereo.

3) Apple announces something big (possibly to do with The Beatles)
The teasingly secretive tech giant has invited a hand-picked audience to a press conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. Steve Jobs and co are keeping quiet about what they plan to unveil, but have dropped enough hints to ensure feverish speculation.

The invitation shows a silhouetted woman dancing to music from an iPod, with the caption "It's only rock and roll, but we like it", sparking rumours that the long-awaited deal to make Beatles (them again) tracks available on iTunes has finally been struck. But why would the band agree to split the Penny Lane pound by releasing remastered CDs and MP3s on the same day?

4) Cats vanish from the internet
Whimsical trend blog Urlesque have christened 09/09/09 A Day Without Cats on the Internet, urging other websites to ban amusing cat videos and pictures from their pages for 24 hours. They write: "Cats rule the internet... but whether you're a bona fide cat lady who loves it all, or someone who can't stand the over-population of cats on the interwebs, we can all agree that cats need a break."

A poll to find an alternative animal meme for the day indicated strong support for rabbits (16 per cent), just ahead of turtles (14 per cent) and goats (13 per cent).

5) Fantasy film 9 released
Given its title, the name of the Elijah Wood-voiced lead (9), and the number of major characters (also 9), it is almost as if this post-apocalyptic animation was dreamed up with the release date in mind. In fact, the feature length film is an adaptation of an Oscar-nominated short released in 2005. The plot centres on nine dolls, known as stitchpunks, created by a scientist to keep the human soul alive after military machines take over the planet.

6) Barack Obama addresses Congress
The US president will seek to erode opposition to his healthcare reform programme with a prime time televised speech to a joint session of Congress. Uncertainty about Mr Obama's personal views on the detail of the proposed bill has hampered Democrat attempts to win over sceptics.. "People will leave the speech knowing where he stands," said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, promising that the president will "draw some lines in the sand".

7) The 'biggest ever' Twitter Tea Party protest
Shortly after Mr Obama sits down, opponents of his fiscal stimulus package will attempt to take over the micro-blogging website with anti-tax hashtags . The online gathering, planned for 9pm, comes three days before thousands of libertarians and fiscal conservatives are expected to assemble on Capitol Hill as part of a "March on Washington" . The Tea Party protest movement takes its name from the 1773 Boston Tea Party, with the initials appropriated to spell out "Taxed Enough Already".

8) England qualify for the 2010 World Cup...
... if they beat Croatia at Wembley. Fabio Capello's side are in fine form and top Group 6, but the last time they had a chance to qualify for a major tournament by beating the Croatians at home, they flunked it.

9) Derren Brown wins the lottery
The self-confessed conman will attempt his most intriguing stunt yet on Wenesday night - guessing at least five of the six Lotto numbers minutes live on Channel 4 minutes before they are drawn. "This the culmination of a LOT of secret work and research," Brown wrote on his blog. "I apologise now if it goes boobs-up." Win or lose, he will explain his method in a full-length show on Friday.

10) The end of the world
Numerologists who predicted doomsday would fall on June 6 2006 weren't wrong, they just got their numbers upside down. 999 is far worse than 666 and we're all going to die, it appears.

Powerful Ideas: Cars Could Run on Watermelons

Charles Q. Choi

Special to LiveScience

07 September 2009 09:17 am ET

Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas — some existing, some futuristic — for fueling and electrifying modern life.

Watermelon juice could become the newest renewable energy source for vehicles, scientists now suggest.

Each year, about 1 out of 5 watermelons are left behind in fields because they are misshapen or because of cosmetic blemishes. In the 2007 growing season, this amounted to roughly 360,000 metric tons of lost melons in the United States alone.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture now suggest these reject watermelons, which are currently just plowed back into the field, could find use in biofuel.

The scientists propose the sugar in these melons can be fermented into ethanol — more commonly known as drinking alcohol — which is finding increasing use as a fuel worldwide. Watermelon juice makes up roughly half the weight of a melon, and this juice is up to 10 percent readily fermentable sugar.

In experiments, scientists found they could efficiently convert the sugars in watermelon juice into ethanol. They estimate roughly 26 liters of ethanol could be made per metric ton of rejected watermelons.

"A field of watermelons can yield somewhere between 30 to 60 tons per acre of watermelon, so a fifth of that can be impressive," said researcher Wayne Fish, a chemist with the Agricultural Research in Lane, Oklahoma.

A watermelon field can range in size from small family-operated units of roughly 20 to 30 acres to commercial production fields of 100 to 1000 acres, Fish added. A watermelon seed producer also informed him that acres of the melons are regularly grown just for the seeds, ignoring all else. "You can imagine the juice from that would be substantial as well," he said.

Although watermelons by themselves will not solve the nation's daunting fuel needs, Fish noted "this represents a small piece of a giant puzzle." For instance, leftovers from other crops that might otherwise go to waste could be converted into fuel as well. "I've gotten calls from Mexico wanting to talk about the agave plant, which is used to make tequila and is very high in sugars. So people in Mexico and the desert parts of the United States could take advantage of that."

In addition to biofuel production, the researchers noted watermelon juice could be a source of two commercially valuable "nutraceuticals," or food extracts thought to have medicinal effects. These are lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that gives watermelons their red color and has been shown to be important in prostate health, and L-citrulline, an amino acid involved in detoxifying ammonia and dilating blood vessels.

Since it could prove very expensive to haul watermelons to biofuel facilities, "particularly with the way fuel prices were last summer, if the mountain won't come to Mohammed, why not bring Mohammed to the mountain and process the watermelons right in the field?" Fish said.

Fish envisioned a traveling fermentation system that goes from farm to farm "like a mobile schnapps machine." Some growers will probably keep any ethanol they make for use in their own home operations to cut down on fuel costs, he said, while others will sell it on the market. He added biofuels company Common Sense Agriculture in College Station, Texas, is now devising such a mobile unit.

Fish admitted, "We tasted what we made. The problem is that with the fermentation that we're doing, we're trying to get the most fuel in the shortest amount of time, so we tend to make some fusel oils, which are not conducive to a pleasant taste and aroma."

Fish added, "We do have enough in a bottle at about 190 proof for people to see and smell and touch. It kicks like a mule."

Fish and his colleagues detailed their findings online August 26 in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels.

LINK TO BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS:

http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/2/1/18

To find a job, older workers might want to look in the mirror, too, and spruce up the vintage look

Paige Parker

The Oregonian

It's the most unwelcome of all job hunting tips, and the former recruiter was just the person to break it down for a seminar audience of unemployed Baby Boomers:

You've got to do something about that hair, he said.

And that gut.

And while we're at it -- guys, lose those pleated Dockers. Because to the 35-year-old who will likely interview you, all of it flashes OLD.

Telling the worried out-of-work to get a makeover may seem glib and demeaning, and heeding this advice akin to selling out to a superficial society that discounts experience and skill.

Or it just may have the ring of truth.

"I would try to at least not broadcast when I graduated and how many years I'd worked other places," says Carol Goss, a 55-year-old architect who landed a job two weeks ago with Soderstrom Architects. She networked like crazy through four months of unemployment to get the job. "And yes -- the hair is colored."

Nationally, unemployment among workers 45 and older is at its highest in the 61 years the Department of Labor has tracked it. In Oregon, the number of workers 55 and over who'd filed unemployment claims stood at about 21,500 in June - more than doubling over the last year, as have the state's overall unemployment figures, which hover just under 12 percent.

Now, unexpectedly unemployed Baby Boomers are retooling themselves to compete with younger job candidates, from buying new clothes to crafting an "ageless resume" that omits pesky dates.

"You walk in the door looking like it's the '80s, and you're dead in the water," says Karen Shimada, executive director non-profit, Life By Design Northwest, co-sponsored the job search workshop in July that featured the tough-love recruiter. "It's not right, and we're not condoning it, but it's the reality."

Life By Design Northwest launched in headier times to assist Oregonians nearing retirement in planning a meaningful, service-oriented second act; now, its efforts include shepherding shell-shocked Boomers with shredded investments and savings back into the job market.

"People in the weird gap between 57 and 62, if they find themselves out of work, they're just panicked because of health care," Shimada says. "Many who come to our workshops would volunteer for free if they could just get health insurance."

It takes longer for laid-off people over 45 to find a job - on average, six weeks longer - than younger workers. Older workers who've been laid off tend to find new jobs lacking both the pay and prestige of their former positions, according to an AARP analysis.

Non-profits like Experience Works link low-income, older workers with temporary, part-time, paid training jobs, and coach them in successfully applying for permanent positions. But their workers are finding jobs hard to come by, and for the 11 Oregon counties served by Experience Works, the placement rate has fallen from 55 percent to 36 percent in the last year.

"For every job out there, there's anywhere from 50 to 350 applicants - for a little administrative assistant job," says Julie Forrette, an employment training assistant for Experience Works' Washington County office. "Now, they can't even get an interview."

It's difficult to tell how much age discrimination factors in. After all, it's supposed to be illegal, so it's only hinted at -- as in, the time a recruiter privately told the AARP Oregon's Joyce DeMonnin, that if he sees a candidate over 50 with a belly, he thinks about his health care costs.

DeMonnin tells job seekers to spend a couple of hours on the computer actively looking for work, then a couple more polishing themselves.

"This is the time in your life you actually have time to hit the gym," she says. "Looking for a job is nothing like when they looked for a job 10 years ago or 20 years ago. It's really shocking to go out into that world."

Online job applications, social networking and panel interviews can trip up older candidates. Shimada, who has volunteered at job fairs, said she's noticed older workers tend to ramble nervously when they introduce themselves to a potential employer.

"What we've really emphasized is everyone needs their own, 30-second commercial," Shimada says. "Give them something that entices them without trying to dump everything on them from the get-go."

Often, says Linda Wiener, a Vancouver-based older worker consultant who is also the age issues consultant at job marketplace Monster.com: "You're dealing with the younger interviewer. There's a prejudice, a 'Gosh, you're like my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, my uncle.'"

The out-of-work need to critically evaluate which of their skills could transfer to another career, then hit a community college for retraining if need be. Even then, Wiener says, "they may have to face the stark reality of not getting back in the same wage zone, maybe ever. That's really a medicine ball in the stomach."

Some Boomers bristle at the notion that they need to polish themselves or their blur their resume, deeming it inauthentic.

"As much as it galls me to have to do it, you've got to research and put in a cover letter that butters them up," says Byron Miller, a 63-year-old construction worker and security guard who has been looking for work since he semi-retired last year. "I want to get hired on my skills. I don't want to have to butter somebody up."

But, Shimada, a fan of the ageless resume, says it's crucial to "get in the head of the 30-year-old who's interviewing you."

"Say you've worked in multi-generational teams, you love new ideas, you're not attached to powerful titles but you're really about teamwork," she suggests. "Understand the value set of the Gen Xers who are interviewing you."

Goss says she updated her hairstyle early in her job search, figuring, "55 is awfully old. I don't feel that old. So why would I want to look it?"

But more than that, she treated everyone she met as a potential connection, and her years of experience paid dividends when a former client gave her the lead and reference that turned into her new job. Goss says she understands how a person's appearance and spirits might flag during a long spell of unemployment.

"It's hard to stay upbeat," she says, "and keep plugging away at it."

Sunday September 06, 2009, 8:30 PM

Domestic assaults by women increasing

LARRY GRARD

Morning Sentinel

Staff Writer

09/07/2009

The reasons vary, but the statistics speak with one voice: More women are being arrested for domestic assaults.

The latest data, supplied by the state Department of Public Safety, show that last year, police arrested 1,067 women for domestic assault. That's up nearly 300 from 2003, representing an 8 percent increase.

Such arrests aren't commonplace, but a trend is there, police say.

"When I started, you might see one a year," said Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong, who has 36 years in law enforcement. "I think police officers are more attuned to it. In the past, it wasn't even looked at. Domestic violence is for everybody now."

Police have adjusted their training and responses accordingly.

Ann Jordan, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said that today, police are trained to arrest "the predominant aggressor," and "dig into the facts" before making a charge.

Jordan also noted the change in societal attitudes.

"Ten years ago," she said, "many men would not come forward because of the stigma involved. And there's an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol, on both sides. People who wouldn't normally assault do so when they're under the influence."

While more men than women are arrested for assault involving firearms, 21 women were arrested in the state last year for using a knife or cutting instrument during an assault, compared to 20 men.

"But it doesn't matter what the sex is," Jordan said. "Assault is wrong."

DeLong agreed that drugs and alcohol play a role in the number of women committing assaults on their domestic partners.

"Women drink and drug more now," DeLong said. "More work and socialize after work, rather than going home to their families. Today, they're on the same level as the guys."

Another byproduct of societal change: Women might be more inclined to fight back now.

"They're a little bit less likely to take the abuse that was routine in the past," said Jon Oplinger, a sociology professor at the University of Maine at Farmington. "They're fighting back."

Exposure to violence, Oplinger said, is a factor that instigates violence, among both sexes.

"It's on television," he said. "The show '24' is graphic. It makes it more acceptable, and it feeds on itself.

"You see women fighting on TV shows, and boxing matches. I don't consider it particularly entertaining, and you wouldn't have seen it 20 years ago. That translates into action, at some point."

Sgt. William Bonney of the Waterville Police Department agreed with Oplinger, that modern women are more likely to assert themselves.

"Women who have been victims in the past strike first," Bonney said. "Now we're stuck arresting them."

Chief Joseph Massey said that officers are trained to look for the primary aggressor, and the mandatory arrests can come into play.

"Whenever an assault occurs, with probable cause, there's an arrest," Massey said. "There don't have to be cuts and bruises. I think there was a reluctance in the past on the part of police to charge women for a variety of reasons, some of them cultural."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/6138967/Freaky-fruit-and-vile-vegetables-mother-natures-freaks-of-nature.html

http://www.mixx.com/videos/7512563/man_driving_75_mph_while_reading_novel

Have You Seen This Robot?

A marine lab sent out a plea today for the return of their autonomous underwater vehicle

JESSICA SICK

Updated 1:42 PM EDT, Fri, Sep 4, 2009

 

Mote Marine Laboratory

The Mote Marine Laboratory sent out a plea today for the return of their autonomous underwater vehicle.

"Mote scientists spent Thursday using side-scan sonar in an effort to find a scientific robot that has been missing since Monday, July 31, 2009," the e-mail stated. "Now we're seeking the public's help for the safe return of the robot."

The robot in question is a little over six feet long, 115 pounds, yellow, and answers to the name "Waldo."

It was last heard from on August 31, patrolling the waters off Southwest Florida looking for signs of red tide - a very important job -- and gliding up and down and forward through the water, sending signals to satellites when it surfaced.

"It just stopped sending a signal," said Mote scientist Dr. Gary Kirkpatrick. "There are a few possibilities that we think are likely: It could have had a major leak or malfunction and sank to the bottom and is just sitting there. Or, it could have had a malfunction with its computer or its communication system and is floating on the surface but unable to tell us that it's there.

"We're hoping that if anyone has seen Waldo, they will call and let us know so we can pick it up," Kirkpatrick said.

A $500, "No-Questions-Asked" reward is being offered for the return of Waldo so it can be re-united with its AUV siblings, Carmen and Nemo.

 

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Pharmacist gives robber Tylenol instead of painkiller

The robbery occurred at a CVS pharmacy in Santa Ana, police said.

SANTA ANA – Police arrested a 30-year-old man who walked into a CVS pharmacy and demanded OxyContin pills from an employee.

The robbery occurred around 5 p.m. Wednesday at 3911 South Bristol St. near Sunflower Avenue, said Santa Ana police Cmdr. Tammy Franks.

The robber told the pharmacist that he had a gun and demanded OxyContin. The pharmacist refused and the robber jumped the counter and struggled with the pharmacist until he complied. The pharmacist tricked the robber and gave him Tylenol instead of the painkiller, Franks said.

During the holdup, employees called 911. Arriving officers arrested Timothy Wade Voroshuck. He was booked on suspicion of robbery and false imprisonment at the Orange County Jail. He is being held in lieu of $145,000 bail.

The pharmacist did not sustain any injuries.

No gun was found at the scene.

The five-toed 'sock' that is taking the running world by storm

Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:09 PM on 06th September 2009

A cushioned trainer has long been the most important item in the wardrobe for any runner keen on preserving his feet and joints.

But that could all be about to change as a craze for new running socks that mimic what it would be like to be barefoot is starting to take hold.

The FiveFingers brand has been taking off in America ever since they were named one of the best inventions by Time magazine back in 2007.

And now their fame has spread across the Atlantic, with a British osteopath Matt Walden starting to use them here to help rehabilitate his patients.

They have become the subject of huge chatter on the internet and the micro-blog site Twitter as the idea of running without trainers takes hold.

Revolutionary: A pair of FiveFingers that mimic the sensation of being barefoot that are shaking up the running world

On Twitter, one poster wrote this week: 'Just got a pair of Vibram FiveFingers - I think my whole running world is about to change.'

Another added: 'First half-mile in my Vibram FiveFingers - Oh my god - How could I *ever* run in anything else?! They are sooo good.'

Professional athlete Helen Pryer, one of Britain's top 200 metre runners who is coached by Linford Christie, is also a fan.

'I just find them really comfortable so I use them for my spring training and during gym training. I prefer them to flat shoes and spikes,' she told the Sunday Times.

The ultra-thin socks made from hard-wearing neoprene are said to help prevent injuries including ankle sprains and sore knees and sell for around £80.

They are like gloves for feet that basically give the sensation of being barefoot while still protecting the skin.

Manufacturers say they act like a second skin and force the wearer to land on the centre of the foot and not the heel which fits with natural balance.

They have been developed on the premise that trainers - which can often be bulky - sometimes cover up problems because they cushion the foot so much.

The thin rubber has separate toe sections - hence the name FiveFingers - and have been doing brisk trade in running and athletics circles. 

Vibram is an Italian company and when they first designed the 'shoes', they were aiming them at sailors, yoga fans and kayakers.

But they have proved hugely popular with runners and even professional athletes as the idea catches on.

Chief executive Tony Post, who uses them himself, told the San Francisco Chronicle: 'It used to be all about adding more. Now, we're trying to strip a lot of that away.'

Vibram says sales of the 'shoes' have tripled every year since they were first launched back in 2006. It expects to make $10million from sales in North America this year. 

Experts are cautious, however, about whether runners should ditch their trainers just year - warning that any change to a regime should be made with care.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1211526/The-toed-sock-taking-running-world-storm.html#ixzz0QLnTSfTR