Queens school’s student exodus

UPI

Debris from damaged homes lies piled up across the street from the shuttered PS 114 in Belle Harbor.

Hurricane Sandy scattered hundreds of students from one Queens school — to locales as far away as Nashville.

At least 230 students from Belle Harbor’s PS 114 have enrolled in public schools in other parts of the city — the most by far of any storm-struck city school — while dozens of others are now in schools in Long Island, Connecticut, Virginia and Tennessee.

The school was among more than a half-dozen in the Rockaways battered by the storm — which damaged many houses in the surrounding neighborhood as well.

“My closest friends and my family either all live in Rockaway or [the hard-hit Long Island town of] Long Beach, so we didn’t really have places to go that were not two hours away,” said Monica Kalfur, who sent her 9-year-old daughter to live with a cousin and attend parochial school 900 miles away in Tennessee.

The mom, whose house was severely damaged by the storm, said just one student in her daughter’s fourth-grade class has shown up at an alternative site set up by the city in Glendale, Queens, 12 miles away.

“It just worked better trying to keep her in one place while we’re trying to work on the house,” Kalfur added. “She’ll come home right after Thanksgiving, and we’ll figure out where we’re living.”

Some parents said the city’s solution for their damaged school building — sending kids there, then having them board shuttle buses at 7 a.m. to one of three alternative sites — just didn’t work.

Attendance for PS 114 students at the three sites last week ranged from 2 to 10 percent.

“We weren’t given any information on our school or any idea when it is going to open... so all of the families immediately scattered,” said Missy Reder, who needs to wake up at 5 a.m. at a friends’ home on Long Island in order to get her four kids to the shuttle bus.

Other PS 114 families are driving in from Staten Island or renting apartments near the temporary school sites, according to posts on a Facebook page.

“The problem is nobody knows where they’re living the next week,” added Reder. “Most of us, we’re bouncing around.”

As of today, about 18,000 city students are still in relocated schools.

Officials said PS 114 would be among 31 schools they expect to fully repair by month’s end. Six other damaged schools - including PS 207 in Howard Beach - won’t be ready until 2013.

Additional reporting by Kathianne Boniello

yoav.gonen@nypost.com

Read More..

Think local, former U.N. leader Kofi Annan tells Miami forum

In the Ritz-Carlton ballroom in Coconut Grove on Monday, Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed a crowd of well-dressed world savers to open the Continuity Forum of the Americas Business Council (abc*). In a speech that touched on the environment, the Arab awakening, democracy in Latin America, the spiraling conflict in Syria, nuclear war and resource scarcity, Annan encouraged attendees to address these and other problems by thinking local.

“People ask me all the time, ‘what should one do to become a global citizen?’ I tell them, get involved with your community, your city, your town, your village,” Annan said.

For abc*, a think tank dedicated to “people, planet and philanthropy” in the Americas, Miami is the center of that community. Smack dab in the middle of the hemisphere, for two years Miami has hosted the annual Continuity Forum that attracts more than 300 people from all over North and South America. Rebecca Mandelman, senior director of the abc* based in Miami Beach, said she has recently seen more and more of these would-be world changers coming to Miami to stay.

“There’s this intellectual thirst in Miami that brings a lot of these forces together,” Mandelman said. Referring to the co-sponsoring organizations — many of them local, like the Knight Foundation, Univision, PODER magazine and technology company Ico Group — she said, “Miami is like the fulcrum, the center for people in our community.”

The three-day conference, which sold tickets in advance, features a full roster of impressive speakers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. But the main focus is the competition between 32 “social entrepreneurs” who will present their projects to be judged by the five chairman of abc* and the foundation’s 23 fellows. The best three projects will receive $100,000 grants, media support and business connections for two years.

“We evaluate them by their potential to make the greatest impact,” said Mario Scarpetta, director of Colombian cement and energy company Inversiones Argos and co-chairman of abc*. To evaluate their effectiveness, he said abc* would review each project’s “strategic business plans and economic models of their impact.”

The projects range from a museum of sacred Peruvian plants and an indigenous tourism agency in Mexico to a Nicaraguan organization dedicated to fighting cancer and a “green roof” sustainable building company. The presentations, videos and question-and-answer sessions took place in English and Spanish, and Mandelman said she hoped the casual conversations between sessions would lead to future ideas and organizations.

Even entrepreneurs whose projects are not chosen for the abc* grant have the opportunity this week to interact with investors and leaders of the industries they seek to influence. Pati Ruiz of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda in Mexico said her alliance of five conservation organizations is already active in central Mexico, but if awarded the grant she would use it to expand to the rest of the country and into South America.

“The strength of our project is that it’s already up and running,” Ruiz said in Spanish after her presentation. “We have the tools to expand and reproduce what we’re doing.”

Although most of the conference attendees were excited about the ideas, some expressed frustration with the lack of avenues for individuals to get involved.

“I think that’s the problem with a lot of these conferences: There are no action items, nothing you can really do if you’re not a big-time donor,” said one attendee who didn’t want to be named because he works for one of the co-sponsors of the conference. “We come, watch, applaud and leave.”

Still, abc* continues to connect some of the most creative innovators in a younger generation to current political and business leaders who have the resources to give their ideas wings, Mandelman said, and the rest of the Continuity Forum promises to help make this happen.

“We believe that collective engagement can advance the Americas,” she said.

Read More..

Keys substitute teacher facing 130 child-porn counts

A now-former substitute teacher in Keys schools has been accused of possessing a huge cache of child porn.

William Britt, 55, formerly of Cudjoe Key, is charged with 123 counts of possessing child pornography and seven counts of possessing a photograph of a sexual performance by a child. All are felonies.

Records provided by the Monroe County School District's Human Resources Department indicate Britt earned $100 daily substituting at Horace O'Bryant Middle School, Sugarloaf School, Key West High School, Marathon High School, Poinciana Elementary School, Glynn Archer Elementary School and Gerald Adams Elementary School.

He was taken to the Monroe County Jail on Thursday on $145,000 bond.

In some cases, Britt, who started working as a sub in 2010, worked with prekindergarten and special-needs students.

In a prepared statement Friday, schools Superintendent Mark Porter said "at the time of his original hire, Mr. Britt was subject to and successfully passed all of the background screening and fingerprinting efforts that the School District requires of all employees. In fact, there is no indication in Mr. Britt's background of any prior criminal misconduct.

"There is also currently no evidence or indication that Mr. Britt committed misconduct in his role as a teacher or substitute teacher."

Monroe Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Britt came to the agency's attention after his former landlord saw child porn in a box as he was helping Britt move out earlier this month. The landlord called authorities.

Britt was arrested following a search of his recreational vehicle, parked at the U.S. Navy's Sigsbee Park, where he reportedly moved from Cudjoe. In it, Herrin said, detectives found the child porn along with a sawed-off shotgun and a loaded handgun.

During an interview with a detective, Britt said he knows he is "sick" and that he works at schools "because he enjoys the company," Herrin said.

Deputy Anthony Fuentes wrote in a report that pictures he saw from Britt's collection were "extremely disturbing," depicting naked children as young as age 6 performing sex acts. Evidence includes photographs, videos, computer hard drives and other digital storage devices.

Read More..

Stock index futures signal mixed open

PARIS (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.03 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 3.37 a.m. EDT.

* World equities fell on Monday as concerns about the fiscal crisis in the United States and progress on a bailout plan for Greece dented optimism over global growth prospects.

* Data showed over the weekend that China‘s export growth climbed to a five-month high above 11 percent, beating expectations and adding to recent data suggesting the country’s seven straight quarters of slowing economic growth have ended.

* China‘s reassuring data, however, was offset by figures showing Japan’s economy shrinking 0.9 percent in the third quarter. Though this was in line with expectations, the decline in capital expenditure was much steeper than forecast.

* On Sunday, the Greek parliament approved an austerity budget for next year, a necessary step to unblock a new tranche of credit from the European Union and International Monetary Fund before the government runs out of cash, although investors remain concerned about whether the EU and IMF will agree to send the next tranche.

* A senior Republican senator voiced confidence on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers would forge a deal on the year-end “fiscal cliff,” while a top aide to President Barack Obama signaled a willingness to compromise over raising tax rates on the rich.

* Apple Inc and HTC Corp <2498.TW> announced on Saturday a global patent settlement and 10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars. Shares of HTC jumped by their permitted daily limit on Monday.

* China‘s Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country’s largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector. Yahoo Inc holds 24 percent of Alibaba.

* Exxon Mobil said it faces a $ 3.3 billion spike in costs at its LNG project in Papua New Guinea, the latest Asia-Pacific project to be hit by cost overruns as competition is set to grow from new gas supplies coming on tap in North America and Africa.

* The bullish money held by hedge funds and other big speculators in U.S. commodities has sunk to a four-month low as they unwound from gold and a broad number of markets after Superstorm Sandy’s feared hit on the U.S. economy, trade data showed on Friday.

* Sharon McCollam, the former chief financial officer of Williams-Sonoma Inc , will come out of retirement to take over as finance chief at Best Buy Co Inc at the end of the year, a source familiar with the matter said.

* UK lawmakers will quiz executives of Starbucks , Google and Amazon on Monday about how they have managed to pay only small amounts of tax in Britain while racking up billions of dollars worth of sales here.

* U.S. stocks advanced on Friday but failed to make up for what turned out to be the worst week for markets since June, as investors turned their attention from the presidential election to the coming negotiations over the “fiscal cliff.”

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> edged up 4.07 points, or 0.03 percent, to 12,815.39 at the close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX> rose 2.34 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,379.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 9.29 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,904.87.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson/editing by Chris Pizzey, London MPG Desk, +44 (0)207 542-4441)

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

DWTS All Star Teams Rehearse for Week 8

With seven couples left to duke it out for the coveted mirror ball trophy, the Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars competition is really heating up!

Related: 'DWTS' Pro Derek Hough Will Need Surgery

Melissa Rycroft, Apolo Anton Ohno and Shawn Johnson graciously let ETOnline in on their week eight rehearsals as the celebrities and their pro partners were immersed in preparation for Monday's Trio Challenge.

"Between [Derek Hough's] neck and my knee, it's pretty interesting to choreograph around," said Shawn who, earlier this year, was forced to drop out of the summer Olympics as the result of a skiing injury.

As if Shawn's knee didn't present enough of a challenge, Hough will soon have to undergo surgery for a herniated disc. The DWTS pro told ET that his injury has made things especially tough given what is expected of the samba, their assigned dance.

"There are so many head whips," cringed Derek.

Video: Shawn Johnson Upset over 'DWTS' Partner's Injury

Click the video for more from Shawn and Derek, including interviews with Melissa Rycroft, Apolo Anton Ohno and their pro partners.

Don't forget to tune in to ABC tonight for all the action! Plus, in honor of Veterans Day, the first round will feature performances to songs that pay homage to servicemen and women.

Read More..

NJ Transit offering more limited rail service

New Jersey Transit is offering more limited service on the rails two weeks after Superstorm Sandy damaged tracks, signals and overhead wires.

The Morris & Essex lines, including Midtown Direct, Bergen and Port Jervis are operating. However, service remains suspended along the Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Lines.

Limited service also continues on the Northeast Corridor.

Trains into New York City remain extremely limited.

NJ Transit is encouraging rail passengers to continue to use buses and ferries.

PATH, meanwhile, is operating limited service between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Newark to 33rd Street in Manhattan.

Read More..

Self-publishing industry explodes, brings rewards, challenges

The publishing world is being upended, and reinvented, by people like Hugh Howey, Ily Goyanes and Kristy Montee.

They are part of a movement using the power of e-books and the Internet to lead publishing into a new frontier, and through the biggest upheaval of the industry since Guttenberg’s press.

“It’s the Wild West,” Montee said. “It is literally changing at the speed of light.”

Howey is a writer who authored, designed, formatted and self-published all but the very first of his 14 novelettes and stories as e-books — and saw his Wool series of sci-fi stories make the Top 100 Kindle Best Sellers of 2012, above J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy and the four-book bundle of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

Goyanes is one of a new breed of independent publishers filling the void between self-publishing and traditional publishing giants, offering technical, marketing and distribution help for do-it-yourself authors.

Montee is a Fort Lauderdale-based writer better known to her readers — along with her sister and writing partner, Kelly Nichols — as P.J. Parrish, the pseudonymous author of the Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye thriller series. She’s among the new “hybrid authors,” with a foot in both traditional and the self-published worlds.

“For a long, long, long time in our business anything that you published yourself just had a stench of amateurism about it,” she said. “That was just for desperate people who couldn’t make their way through the labyrinth of the New York system, so they resorted to paying pretty much scam artists to publish their books for them at great expense. And then, Amazon came out with the Kindle, which pretty much changed everything.”

With the stigma fading, and Amazon’s help, self-publishing has exploded. On its website, Publishers Weekly last month cited a new analysis of data from Bowker, which shows the number of self-published books produced annually in the U.S. has nearly tripled, growing 287 percent since 2006, with 235,625 print and e-titles released in 2011.

As a “mid-list author” with 13 moderately successful books to her name, Montee felt the pressure when her publisher began trimming its author list to reduce costs.

“So a lot of us, and this includes a lot of my friends,” began looking for ways to survive independently, Montee said. “Amazon made it extremely easy and very attractive to go self-publish through their model.”

She and her sister regained rights to two of their early books to re-publish and have a novella in the works they plan to self-publish.

The advantages, and the profits, can be huge. The downside, of course, would make a Vegas gambler sweat.

“The largest, by far, percentage of authors are making less than $500 a year self-publishing, because there’s a glut,” said M.J. Rose, a best-selling novelist and founder of the writer’s marketing company AuthorBuzz.com. “There’s over 350,000 books being self-published every year and readers are not finding them. There’s just no way to expose people to all of these books.”

Howey, however, who spends mornings writing at his home in Jupiter, might be the perfect example of what “making it” looks like in this thoroughly modern twist on every writer’s dream. He began writing while working at a bookstore, and he received a modest advance when a small press picked up his first novel.

Read More..

Course to explore Jewish communities in Asia, Africa

Florida International University research professors Nathan Katz and Tudor Parfitt, considered to be the world’s leading authorities on Eastern Jewish communities, will explore the Jewish experience in Asia and Africa in a new, 13-week course to be offered at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, 301 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

The course will look at the Jewish experience far beyond Florida, which has been the traditional focus of the museum. Among the Jewish populations of Africa to be explored include the Lemba of Zimbabwe, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Ibo of Nigeria. The Asian communities include the Jews of Kochi; Mumbai and northeastern tribal peoples of India; Shanghai, China, a home in the 19th century to Sephardic Jews seeking business opportunities and refuge in the 1930s-40s to European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution; and a "Judaizing " movement in Papua New Guinea.

Classes start in January and are open to both degree-seeking FIU students and community members interested in taking it on an auditing

basis. The class will be the first FIU offering at the Miami Beach museum, which recently joined the FIU family.

The classes will feature guest speakers, including a visiting member of Zimbabwe’s Lemba Jewish community.

Before joining FIU earlier this year, Parfitt was director of the Jewish Studies Center at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, where he was dubbed "Britain’s Indiana Jones" for his pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant and his discoveries of remote Jewish communities.

Katz is Bhagwan Mahavir Professor of Jain Studies and is director of FIU’s Program in the Study of Spirituality. He spent many years living in South Asoa and is a recipient of four Fulbright research and teaching awards. He was instrumental in bringing the Dalai Lama to Miami three times and has played an influential role in the interreligious dialogues between Jews and Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Degree-seeking FIU students may register for the class though Nov. 18. Community members who want to audit the class should contact the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education at 305-576-4030, ext. 128 or by emailing carlaspector@caje-miami.org. The cost for the 13-week course is $295.

Books club at the garden

The Green Book Club will begin its monthly meetings on Nov. 13, at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2000 Convention Center Dr. in Miami Beach.

My sources tell me the meetings, which are from noon to 2 p.m., are a great place to meet new people and become a better reader/writer by experiencing books in a whole new way.

The group reads and discusses environmentally-themed books chosen and read during the month preceding each meeting, which is on the second Tuesday of every month. This month’s pick is "Vita’s Other World: A Gardening Biography of V. Sackville-West," by Jane Brown (Viking, 1985).

Also, floral design classes, taught by accredited floral designers, will begin at the garden on Nov. 27. The designers will combine lectures, demos, and critiqued hands-on workshops to develop an understanding of the art of flower arranging. The class runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is the first part of a six-part floral design study hosted by the Miami Beach Garden Club.

The cost is $26 per class, or $150 for all six. A certificate from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs will be awarded those who complete the six courses. Lunch is included in the cost. To register, email Nina Worth at ninanevanu@gmial.com or call 305-532-9987.

Read More..

Sharp aims for near full-output from display plant – media

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sharp Corp aims to raise the output from its Kameyama No.2 plant to near 100 percent, from a current 30 percent, as early as the end of 2012, by mass producing larger, high definition, power-saving IGZO screens, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday.

The Kameyama plant makes IGZO displays, which consume 10 percent to 20 percent of the power required by conventional panels, for Apple Inc‘s iPad tablet.

The company has won orders for larger 30-inch displays from manufacturers, the report said, without citing sources.

The panels would be used for computed tomography (CT) or game monitors that require clearer definition than conventional high-definition displays, the report added.

Sharp, which secured $ 4.6 billion in emergency loans from its banks in September, is looking to IGZO to spark a revival in its fortunes, as it forecasts a 450 billion yen ($ 5.66 billion) net loss for the current business year ending next March.

($ 1 = 79.4500 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Michael Perry)

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Buzzmakers: Brooke's Cancer Fight & World War Z

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. It's Brad vs. Zombies in World War Z

Zombie attack!!! Brad Pitt plays a family man and United Nations employee who faces a deadly zombie pandemic in World War Z -- we gave you an exclusive first look and now we've got the intense trailer!

Just when you thought that the zombie genre may be starting to generate less screams and more Zzzz's, World War Z arrives with an adrenaline shot in the arm for the genre -- complete with insane special effects and a claustrophobic urgency and realism not seen since the introduction of those "speed zombies" in 28 Days Later.

Directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), World War Z invades theaters June 21, 2013.

2. Oprah Reveals Her 2012 'Favorite Things'

It's officially the holiday season!

Oprah just revealed her "Favorite Things" for 2012, which includes such items as a $1,800 Jetson E-Bike, a $192 hand-picked Tom Ford lipstick palette and a $238 Lafco soap set.

"This luxuriously oversize, deliciously scented soap is my new go-to gift. I even brought a set to Mr. and Mrs. Colbert when I interviewed Stephen for Next Chapter," she says about the pricey soap set.

But of course if you don't have the income of Oprah, you can pick up O's December issue to learn how you can win all 49 of Oprah's favorite things, which hits newsstands November 6.

"Oprah's Favorite Things" is also getting its own two-hour, prime time special airing Nov. 18 on OWN. The special will surprise unsuspecting military spouses with items from the media mogul's exclusive must-have gift selections for the holiday season, and for the first time, viewers of Oprah's Favorite Things: 2012 will have the opportunity to watch and win select items featured in each segment of the show.

3. Brooke Burke-Charvet Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Brooke Burke-Charvet released a video online Thursday to announce that she was recently diagnosed with a cancerous growth on her thyroid gland. In the video posted on her Modern Mom blog, the 41-year-old actress and TV host explained that a nodule was discovered on her thyroid and after a series of tests over the last few months, it was eventually determined to be cancerous and her thyroid will have to be removed.

"Which means that I'm going to have a nice big scar right her across my neck," Brooke said. "And I don't get to just walk around and pretend like nothing happened or not follow up or not share it, because it's going to be pretty much dead center."

Brooke said the discovery -- which originated from a regular physical -- came as a complete shock because she's otherwise healthy. "As crazy as it is, my head is in the right place, and it's going to be good," she said, adding that the doctors consider this a form of "good cancer" compared to many others and the prognosis is good. "I'm just going to make a positive out of this negative thing."

She said the surgery has been scheduled and she promised to keep her fans updated through her blog. "Now I'm ready to deal with it and I'm going to be fine. And I feel really, really strong."

Speaking on Thursday's episode of The Talk, Brooke's co-host on Dancing with the Stars, Tom Bergeron, commented on her cancer diagnosis. "My love and support are with you -- we are all there with her," he said. Bergeron added that he personally has a very positive outlook. "I've known about this for a few months. I have had experience with this in my family. You never want to hear the word cancer. But thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. It has an incredibly high success rate."

4. Kirstie on Secret Relationship with Swayze

Kirstie Alley reveals to ET's Chris Jacobs intimate details about what she says was a powerful attraction and hidden relationship with her North and South co-star, Patrick Swayze. Although both stars were married during filming of the mini-series, Alley tells Jacobs when she first saw Swayze, they had an intense attraction and she tried to avoid "going down that road," but they ultimately fell in love.

"Both of us were married. We did not have an affair. But again, I think what I did was worse. Because I think when you fall in love with someone when you're married, you jeopardize your own marriage and their marriage. It's doubly bad," said Alley.

Alley goes on to say that although she's friends with Patrick's wife, Lisa Niemi, who asked Alley to speak at Swayze's funeral, she is uncertain if Lisa is aware of their relationship.

5. One Direction & Drew Brees Play Catch - Exclusive

One Direction and Drew Brees teamed up last month to film an adorable Pepsi spot and during Thursday night's episode of The X Factor, the band will not only perform their newest singles, Live While We're Young and Little Things, but also reveal an alternate ending to the ad!

For those who missed the spot, the original ended with Drew Brees sacrificing his last can of Pepsi in order to become an unofficial member of One Direction. But, according to Angelique Krembs, VP Marketing for Pepsi, they also wanted to show fans what would happen if Drew won the last can of Pepsi. "Our latest Live For Now spot has received an enormous amount of buzz and online excitement," Krembs said. "And of course everyone wants to see the boys from 1D suit up in football gear and have some fun."

While you have to wait until Thursday to see the entire surprise ending to Pepsi's Live For Now television commercial, ETonline scored an exclusive sneak peek of One Direction tossing the pigskin around with Brees!

Tune in to The X Factor on November 8 at 8 p.m. to see the alternate ending!

Read More..