A ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday marked the official opening of the Residences at Career Gateway, a 58-unit affordable housing development on the South Side.

Residents have already moved into the 14 townhomes on the site, while the 44 apartments in the main building will start filling up this weekend.Amenities include a fitness center, a community room with a kitchen, an outdoor playground, and a childrens obstacle course.

Pricing for the apartments starts at $650 per month, with all units reserved for households at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

The project, which was first proposed nearly three years ago, is the result of a partnership between the non-profit organization Community Development for All People (CDFAP) and Cleveland-based developer NRP Group. It sits at the corner of Heyl Avenue and East Whittier Street, on the former site of Heyl Avenue Elementary School.

CDFAP is working to coordinate the many partners who will provide programming for the buildings 2,400 square foot Career Gateway Training Center. Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Goodwill Columbus, Columbus City Schools and Dress for Success are among the organizations that will provide on-site job and personal development training available to residents of the new development as well as the surrounding community.

Opening the Residences at Career Gateway is a significant next step forward in the journey to ensure the South Side remains a vibrant mixed income community with sufficient high quality affordable housing, said Reverend John Edgar, CDFAP Executive Director, in a statement. The on-site job training facilities offer wonderful opportunities for community residents to develop their job readiness skills and complete programs that connect them to full time positions with South Side employers.

For more information, see http://www.residencesatcareergateway.com.

Continued here:
New Housing Development, Workforce Training Center Opens on South Side - columbusunderground

The physical basis of consciousness is perhaps the greatest mystery and problem in modern science. There can be little doubt that consciousness is a physical phenomenon but we cannot even begin to explain how it arises in brains. The simple and doubtless simplistic medical model of consciousness is that the cerebral hemispheres, where thinking and feeling goes on, are like millions of light bulbs. Consciousness is the brightness with which they shine. If you progressively damage the cerebral hemispheres, consciousness dims. Small areas of damage to the hemispheres have little effect on consciousness: many neurosurgeons have seen patients who walked into hospital with a knife or a nail, for instance, stuck in their brains, and yet who are fully conscious.

The hemispheres are powered, in ways we do not understand, by the brainstem, the part of the brain between the hemispheres and the spinal cord. In the medical model, the brainstem is equivalent to an electric cable supplying the millions of light bulbs. Small injuries to the brainstem can cause profound coma all the light bulbs will be dimmed at once.

Many years ago, when I was still training to be a neurosurgeon, I admitted an elderly American man who had collapsed with a brainstem stroke while watching the Championships at Wimbledon. He was completely paralysed but able to move his eyes up and down in response to my speaking to him. It seemed fairly clear to me that he was locked in fully conscious but trapped within his body. The next morning, I showed the poor man to my consultant on the ward round. These are just reflexes, he said of the patients eye movements. Just reflexes, he repeated fiercely, as he quickly walked away meaning, I suppose, that he preferred to think that the man was not conscious or suffering.

I did not agree but nor, to my shame, did I return and talk to the patient and comfort him. I fear that my failure was even more egregious than my consultants denial of the obvious, but it is extraordinarily difficult to talk to an immobile body, knowing that you cannot get any response, and even more difficult to know what to say. It feels like talking to a corpse. It is not just that the thought of what the patient might be experiencing is too horrible to contemplate but also that it feels unnatural. It is indeed unnatural, to the extent that modern medicine can now keep people alive with profound brain damage who, in the past, would invariably have died in the first few days after the stroke or injury.

So there is now a group of people who are mute and immobile and require 24-hour nursing care. They are categorised as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) if they show no reactions whatsoever, and as being in a minimally conscious state (MCS) if they respond to stimulation to some extent. Some, like the patient in Wimbledon, are fully aware and locked in (as was Jean-Dominique Bauby, the author of The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly).

Adrian Owen is a neuropsychologist who has devoted his life to working with these patients. In Into the Grey Zone, he describes how, almost by chance, he became involved in putting PVS patients in scanners that show brain activity rather than just brain anatomy. He demonstrated that some PVS patients, despite being completely mute and immobile, show evidence of mental activity and are possibly conscious. We must say possibly, because consciousness is an entirely subjective phenomenon and cannot be measured or directly observed from outside. It can only be inferred.

The method Owen developed was to ask PVS patients to imagine that they were playing tennis. In some of these patients but only a minority the functional scans showed activity in the parts of the brain that light up in normal volunteers brains when they are asked to imagine playing tennis. He concluded that the PVS patients whose scans show this same activity must be conscious. Not everybody who works in this field agrees it can be argued that awareness, which these patients certainly show, is not the same as having a conscious sense of self. There is much room for philosophical speculation and argument.

Owen was able to establish communication of a sort with some of these patients, by asking questions to which the patients could reply yes (by imagining a game of tennis) or no (by imagining walking around their home), but the communication was very limited.

There was tremendous media excitement about this groundbreaking work, as Owen recounts in some detail. But what does his discovery mean? Do PVS patients think and feel? Are they in hell, or perhaps even in heaven? Is the law right in permitting PVS patients to be allowed to die withdrawing food and water so that they slowly starve to death? All that is clear is that some patients who have previously been diagnosed as being in PVS have some kind of inner, mental life. What this life might be like is impossible to know. It is, in many ways, a deeply disturbing thought, above all for the patients families.

This is a fascinating and highly readable book, written with evangelical fervour, but it needs to be read with some care. Owen has made a remarkable discovery and is right to be proud of it. He describes in gripping and moving detail and there is no doubting his deep compassion for the patients and their families how his work evolved, but only towards the end of the book does he start to admit how complicated the problem is.

There are many causes of PVS and MCS. Carol, his first subject, who made a remarkable (but incomplete) recovery, having been written off as being in PVS, had suffered from an inflammatory condition of the brain that was entirely different from what many of the other patients he describes suffered: head injuries with extensive structural brain damage. Patients who become clearly conscious after severe head injuries often have terrible personality changes and disabilities, and the same would probably apply to many of the PVS and MCS patients if they are conscious, albeit mute and immobile. As it is, many of the PVS patients Owen studied showed no brain activation when asked to imagine playing tennis. Finally, consciousness is a complex grey-scale phenomenon, not simply a matter of on or off. In places, Owen comes close to making it sound as though all PVS patients were potentially wide awake but locked in.

We cannot know what these patients are experiencing but what we do know is that the suffering of their families is terrible, as I have seen in my life as a neurosurgeon. Anybody who has read Cathy Rentzenbrinks beautiful book The Last Act of Love will know this, too. Owens work raises many more questions than it answers. The complicated problems of how to look after PVS patients and how their families should see them have become a lot more difficult.

Owen is now working in Canada, trying to use electroencephalography to detect awareness and possible consciousness in comatose patients a less complex method than using brain scanners. It is not yet clear whether this will work. Emerging technologies will undoubtedly one day allow us to read the minds of others, he states . I am not so sure, but time will tell.

Henry Marsh is a consultant neurosurgeon and the author of Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Into the Grey ZoneAdrian OwenGuardian Faber, 320pp, 16.99

See the rest here:
Into the Grey Zone: can one really be conscious while in a coma? - New Statesman

You're looking for an actress who owns who she is, makes no apologies, and basically embodies what it means to be a badass woman? One who's bold with her hair, changing it up whenever she damn well feels the need? One who clapped back with total class when she was slammed for wearing locs to the Oscars? Hi, Zendaya Coleman, star of the summer hit Spider-Man: Homecoming and all-around glam icon. She turns 21 on September 1, and in honor of her birthday, here's a look back at a selection of her most fun, most audacious, most notable looks. "Shes super playful about her hair. Shes a hairstylist's dream. She loves to play dress-up. We collaborate and talk. What would complete the vision in terms of the look?" her stylist, Larry Sims, sums up for Allure. Plus, she's fearless. I believe shell try anything. It just has to be the right time, says Tymothe Wallace for Dove Hair, who has also worked with Zendaya for years.

Continued here:
See Zendaya's Hair Evolution, From Mullet to Locs and More - Allure Magazine

New Delhi: The following is the text of the address of the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, at the Business and Climate Summit (BCS) 2017 here today:

I am delighted to speak on this occasion of the Business and Climate Summit (BCS) 2017. I am glad that the Summit has brought together businesses, investors and policymakers to mobilise the business community in support of climate action.

The world came together in 2015 and agreed upon the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It came into force in November 2016 and till date, 160 Parties have ratified the agreement. India as a party to the Paris Agreement is committed towards its successful implementation.

It is also however, critical and necessary that equal focus is given to Pre-2020 actions by developed countries under Kyoto Protocol and that they fulfil their commitments of providing effective finance, technology transfer and capacity-building support to developing countries.

In order to strengthen Pre-2020 actions and close the emission gap, we also need to agree on a timeline for early ratification of the Second Commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. India deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol on August 8, 2017. UNFCCC should endeavour to promote developed country parties in fulfilling their commitments in the Pre-2020 period.

One of the key features of Paris Agreement is Nationally Determined Contributions. India submitted its NDCs in 2015. It includes 8 goals, 3 of which are quantitative, including reducing the emissions intensity of our GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level; achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 and creating an additional sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. The other five goals pertain to healthy and sustainable lifestyle, climate friendly and clean path to economic development, building capacities on climate technology and mobilise domestic and new additional funds.

We are now working on developing a roadmap for implementation of our NDC and have constituted an Implementation committee and six thematic Sub-committees involving key Ministries and Departments.

To achieve the goals, Government of India is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which encompasses eight national missions representing multipronged, long-term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change. The broad policy initiatives of the government are supplemented by actions of the State Governments through their State Action Plan on Climate Change. Key sectors covered by SAPCCs include agriculture, water, habitat, forestry, health and disaster management among others.

Government of India has set an ambitious target of 175 GW renewable power installed capacity by the end of 2022 and we have already achieved 58.3 GW of renewable energy installed capacity so far.

There are a number of other initiatives including distribution of energy efficient appliances where we have distributed about 23.39 crores LED lights; Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide free clean cooking gas connections to women below poverty line where more than 2.8 crore LPG connections have been released.

Through our missions like AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission, we are transforming our cities to make them efficient and climate resilient.

Government of India is also implementing its own National Adaptation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 350 crore.

However, with the responsibility of lifting around 360 million people out of poverty and raising the standard of living of an even greater number of people, technology is one of the powerful solutions for countries like India that can simultaneously address climate change and our development needs.

At the international level, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, India launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) jointly with Government of France. It provides a common platform where global community including bilateral and multilateral organisations, corporates, industry and stakeholders can make a positive contribution to the common goals of increasing utilisation of solar energy in meeting energy needs of ISA member countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner. So far, 36 countries have signed the ISA and 7 countries have ratified it.

Private sector is an integral part of Indias action on climate change as well. Private sector has embarked on a number of voluntary actions. The Indian industry has participated in voluntary carbon disclosure programmes whereby they report their carbon management strategy and GHG emissions.

India is also planning to establish a voluntary carbon market with World Bank assistance with focus on uncovered areas.

Going forward, as political leaders and representatives of the people, we have major role and responsibilities towards the citizens of our country and the globe and a duty to think long-term. We should listen to the voice of science seriously and act accordingly to safeguard our people against the risks posed by climate change.

Sustainability has been a way of life in India for centuries. Indian ethos and values promulgate simple living, respect for life and reverence of nature. Irresponsible pursuit of extravagant lifestyle is slowly eroding traditional values and as a result, minimalist lifestyle, has started to ebb from peoples way of life.

Access to clean air, water and a liveable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is just not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation. We have only one planet and humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.

The global nature of climate change calls for a collective response. India has been engaging actively in multilateral negotiations under the UNFCCC, in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner to establish an effective cooperation and equitable global approach, based on the principles of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities & Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) enshrined in the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

As we move forward in our work on implementation of Paris Agreement, we believe that the incoming COP 23 Presidency of Fiji and UNFCCC Secretariat will host a successful meeting with an outcome, which is agreed upon by all Parties.

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Environment Minister's inaugural address at Business and Climate change Summit 2017 - India Education Diary

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a famous French philosopher and Jesuit priest who was also trained as a paleontologist and geologist. He took active part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard proposed the concept of the Omega Point and further developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere. Some of his ideas caused dispute between him and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, because of which several of his books were censured. In his significant book, The Phenomenon of Man, he described the unfolding of the cosmos. In another work, Book of Genesis he deserted the traditional interpretations of creation which greatly displeased some officials of the Catholic Church. He was opposed by his Church superiors and some of his books were denied being published during his lifetime by the Roman Holy Office.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Childhood and Early Life

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on May 1, 1881 in Orcines, France. On his paternal side, he was a descendant of an ancient family of magistrates from Auvergne originating in Murat, Cantal whereas from his maternal side he belonged to a family which was entitled under Louis XVIII. His father, Emmanuel Teilhard was an amateur naturalist. He was also an avid stone and plant collector and always promoted conservation of nature in the household. The birth of Teilhards spirituality was credited to his mother, Berthe de Dompiere. In 1893, when he was only twelve, he went to the Jesuit college of Mongr, in Villefranche-sur-Sane. In 1899, he joined the Jesuit novitiate at Aix-en-Provence, where he started his philosophical, theological and spiritual career. In 1902, he earned a licentiate in literature in Caen. Between the time period 1905 and 1908, Teilhard taught physics and chemistry in Cairo, Egypt, at the Jesuit College of the Holy Family. From 1908 to 1912, he studied theology in Hastings, in Sussex. During this time, he developed his scientific, philosophical and theological knowledge in the light of evolution. Teilhard was consecrated as a priest on August 24, 1911, at the age of 30. For the next two years, from 1912 to 1914, he worked in the paleontology laboratory of the Muse National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris.

In June 1912, Teilhard was a part of original digging team along with Arthur Smith Woodward and Charles Dawson who were carrying investigations at the Piltdown site; it was the site where first fragments of the Piltdown Man were discovered. He was acquainted with Henri Breuil at the museum's Institute of Human Paleontology, and in 1913, he took part with him in excavations in the prehistoric painted caves in the northwest of Spain, at the Cave of Castillo. He also served in World War I in December 1914 where he was a stretcher-bearer in the 8th Moroccan Rifles. During the war, Teilhard narrated his experiences in his diaries and also to his cousin, Marguerite Teillard-Chambon in letters who later edited these experiences into a book, Gense d'une pense (Genesis of a thought). He wrote his first essay, La Vie Cosmique (Cosmic life), in 1916, in which he had revealed his scientific and philosophical thoughts. On May 26, 1918, Teilhard pronounced his solemn vows as a Jesuit in Sainte-Foy-ls-Lyon. In August 1919, while he was in Jersey, he wrote Puissance spirituelle de la Matire (the spiritual Power of Matter). For some time, he pursued three unit degrees of natural science: geology, botany and zoology at the Sorbonne. After 1920, he taught geology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. After being granted a science Doctorate in 1922, Teilhard became an assistant professor.

Career

Teilhard traveled to China in 1923 with Father Emile Licent, who was in-charge of important laboratory collaboration between Natural History Museum in Paris and Marcellin Boule's laboratory. While he was in Ordos Desert, he wrote several essays which also included La Messe sur le Monde (the Mass on the World). The next year, he resumed his lecturing at the Catholic Institute and also took part in several conferences for the students of the Engineers' Schools. The Catholic Church asked him to teach at the Catholic Institute and to continue his geological research in China. In April 1926, he traveled back to China. Teilhard remained in China for the next twenty years which also included a number of voyages throughout the world. Between 1926 and 1935, he made five geological research expeditions in China, which enabled him to establish a general geological map of China. During 1926-1927, Teilhard traveled to the Sang-Kan-Ho valley near Kalgan (Zhangjiakou) and made a tour in Eastern Mongolia. In this period, he wrote Le Milieu Divin (the divine Medium). He also started writing the first pages of his main work Le Phnomne humain (The Human Phenomenon).

In 1926, Teilhard joined the excavations of the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian as an advisor. He also played the role of the advisory for Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China, which was founded in 1928. He stayed in Manchuria with Emile Licent and for some time remained in Western Shansi and northern Shensi with the Chinese paleontologist C. C. Young and Chairman of the Geological Survey of China, Davidson Black. After the tour of Manchuria in the area of Great Khingan, Teilhard joined the team of American Expedition Center-Asia in the Gobi organized by the American Museum of Natural History with Roy Chapman Andrews. Teilhard, along with Henri Breuil, discovered that the Peking Man the nearest relative of Pithecanthropus from Java was a faber. During this period, Teilhard wrote L'Esprit de la Terre (the Spirit of the Earth). As a scientist, he also took part in the famous Croisiere Jaune or "Yellow Cruise" managed by Andre Citroen in Central Asia. He joined the China Group in Kalgan who joined the Pamir group, in Aksu. He spent several months in Urumqi, capital of Sinkiang with his colleagues. In 1933, he was ordered by Rome to give up his post in Paris. Teilhard also undertook many explorations in the south of China which included his traveling to the valleys of Yangtze River and Szechuan (Sichuan) in 1934 and to Kwang-If and Guangdong, in the next year.

World Travels

Between 1927 and 1928 Teilhard stayed at Paris, France during which he traveled to Leuven, Belgium, to Cantal, and to Arige, France. On the invitation of Henry de Monfreid, he went to Obock in Harrar and to Somalia with his colleague, geologist Pierre Lamarre. Teilhard stayed in France and in the United States from 19301931. In 1935, he joined the Yale-Cambridge expedition in northern and central India along with geologist Helmut de Terra and Patterson, who had affirmed their assumptions on Indian Paleolithic civilizations in Kashmir and the Salt Range Valley. On the invitation of Professor Ralph van Koenigswald, he went to the site of Java man during which a second cranium, was discovered. In 1937, onboard of the boat, the Empress of Japan, he wrote Le Phnomne spiritual (The Phenomenon of the Spirit). The ship carried him to United States where he was awarded with the Mendel medal by Villanova University during the Congress of Philadelphia, recognizing his works on human paleontology. In the year 1939, his book LEnergie Humaine was banned by Rome. During his stay at France, he suffered from malaria. While returning to Beijing, he wrote L'Energie spirituelle de la Souffrance (Spiritual Energy of Suffering). In 1941, Teilhard presented his most important work Le Phenomena Humaine to Rome and by 1947, he was precluded by Rome to write or teach on philosophical subjects.

Death

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin died in New York City on April 10, 1955. He was buried in the cemetery at St. Andrews-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, upstate New York.

Read more:
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Biography - Pierre Teilhard de ...

When it comes to self-improvement, there's something people don't seem to talk aboutit's not just about you.

Before self-improvement, there's a moment. An "enough is enough, I'm making a change," moment.

The way I see it, self-improvement is just being humble enough to accept the knowledge, help and support of other people.

It's about surrounding yourself with people who inspire you to be better, people who show you the tools to achieve your goal.

If the goal is mental improvementyou return to school, join a book club, or seek out a teacher.

For spiritual improvement people often seek fellowship of similar believers.

If the goal is physical improvement, you seek out a gym or trainer and read articles on nutrition.

When it comes to physical improvement, people always ask me the same thingHow did you do it?

The thing is, I didn't.

I was lucky enough to find my support systemmy tribe.

I've lost 110-pounds. But I didn't do it alone.

While my tribe couldn't do the burpees for me (unfortunately!) they could sure do them with me. They answer my questions, push me that last mile and inspire me to do one more rep.

They're as proud of that 110-pounds as I am.

My coach corrects my technique, keeps me from getting hurt and reminds me of how far I've come.

My best friend is always willing to commiserate on how much we hate running (A lot. We hate it a lot!) and how much we hate kale (Also a lot!).

She will let me complain about how heavy the weight is, just so long as I keep lifting it while I complain.

Losing weight is a lot of workbut doesn't feel as hard when you're not the only one working.

I've tried every diet out there.

I've done the soup diet and all the cleanses.

Every weekend I would tell myself change started Monday.

Every "quick fix" diet pill on the market, I've tried. They all make big claims and promise spectacular results and I believed them. When one didn't work, I'd work my way down the shelf to the next one.

I failed. Every time. Over and over again, I failed.

I didn't know what I was doing wrong and every morning when I looked in the mirror and saw the same thing, I felt like change was impossible. It was something other people did.

Turns out, success is more attainable when you accept help along the waymore enjoyable when you have people to celebrate it with.

Later, someone shared a quote with me: "You can't be your best self until you find your tribe."

In my tribe, there are those that take a "tough love" approach (looking at you, coach), those who are constant cheerleaders, and those who silently come alongside me and remind me I'm not going it alone. There are those who, when I am struggling, I can look across the gym to for instruction.

Sure, theres a certain amount of personal responsibility required (even my tribe doesnt follow me around to slap the french fries out of my hands).

But, theres comfort in knowing you have support.

September is National Self-Improvement Month. If you havent already, let this be the month you accept knowledge, guidance and supportthe month you find your tribe.

More:
Finding your tribe - Claremore Daily Progress

The team. Photo supplied

Pakuranga head student Meg Sutton has just returned from a trip to Australia to compete in the FISAF (Federation of International Sports, Aerobics & Fitness) Australian Nationals.

Her team represented New Zealand in the Aerobics Adult Open Division an amazing achievement, as four of the five members are still in high school.

Having qualified for the World Championships in the Netherlands in October 2017, Megs team decided to attend the Australian Nationals to gauge how they would fare against such stiff competition.

The Australians and Czechs are the best in the world,' said Meg, So we wanted to see if we had any chance against them before committing to the World Champs.

They competed against the top team from each of the Australian states and, phenomenally, they placed third to the delight of Meg and her teammates.

We were staggered! she said.

Just really shocked, you know. It was the best five days and we didnt know what to expect. It was just amazing to place against teams who were 25 and older.

The team now faces a tough decision regarding the World Championships.

We dont have any sponsorship, so we would have to fund it ourselves, said Meg.

Plus, most of us are doing NCEA exams this year, so going away in October is a big ask.

View post:

Aerobics success for Pakuranga student - Times - Times Online - Auckland

Doreen junior gymnast and Chirolife regular Brooke claimed a world championship title at the International Aerobics Championships held in Phoenix Arizona this month.

The 12-year-old and her Junior Aerodance team, proudly representing Australia, competed in the AeroDance category, which consisted of individuals, mixed pairs, trios and teams across different division.

In addition to coming home with a bunch of medals, the girls came back with a sense of pride having competed on the international stage and with memories that will last a lifetime.

Both Brooke and her sister Chloe, also an elite national level gymnast, train hard on a weekly basis in a way thats comparable to the gruelling training rosters of professional athletes.

The sporty sisters know just how important keeping their bodies in balance is, both for their posture and flexibility as well as for their mental strength.

Brooke and Chloe benefit from regular chiropractic care here at Chirolife under the care of Dr. Ian Deitch (Chiropractor).

On her recent achievement, Brooke remarked:

I could never have achieved the amazing result of being part of a World Championship winning team, without the help of Dr Ian!

We want to congratulate Brooke on her achievement and wish her all the best in future competitions.

Did you know? Aerobic gymnastics pairs technical execution and artistic choreography with pop music in a short routine.

Chiropractic care a great way to keep your body in balance so you can achieve gold in whatever you do!

About Chirolife: Chirolife is a chiropractic healthcare centre located in the Melbourne suburb of Rosanna. It is run by Dr. Ian Deitch (Chiropractor) who has over two decades of experience in providing a natural alternative to healthcare for the local community.

About The International Aerobics Championship: The championships is the founding organization for sportaerobics/aerobic gymnastics worldwide. This year they presented their 28th Annual International Aerobic Championship in Phoenix, July 29-August 2, 2017.

Read the original here:

Local Gymnast from Doreen Wins Aerobics World Championship - PRWire (press release)

"Attendance numbers at the pool continue to decline, resulting in decreased revenue from user fees to cover the pool's operation and maintenance costs and an increase in the amount needed to subsidize the cost of pool operations and maintenance," said Randy Distad, director of city parks and recreation.

Farmington Mayor Todd Larson said: "It is costing way too much to keep it open and each year there are three or four problems, so it is costing a fortune and it has outlived its life."

In 2013, the city conducted a facility maintenance study and an aquatic feasibility study that concluded the outdoor pool needed $1.2 million in improvements to address deficiencies. Those issues included mechanical equipment, a new filtration system, electrical service and updates to the pool deck, pool shell and bathhouse.

Five years ago, city staff alerted the council about the pool needing significant improvements within five years to continue to operate, Distad said.

In November 2016, a city recreational referendum narrowly was defeated by city taxpayers. If passed, a city pool would have been part of a $12.3 million waterpark complex and new recreational ball fields and other improvements.

Declining attendance

City pool revenues in 2015 were $71,120, and in 2016 pool revenues were $67,419.

Paid admission numbers showed a decline from 2014 to 2017. Total pool attendance numbers for the summer 2014 season was 10,118, and in 2017 attendance dropped to 7,026.

In 2014, the pool was open 72 days with an average daily attendance of 141. In 2015, the pool was open 69 days with an average daily attendance of 134. In 2016 the pool was open for 63 days with an average daily attendance of 136.

This summer, the pool was open 61 days and the reported average daily attendance was 115.

Group swim lessons showed to be 234 in 2014, and 127 signed up to take lessons in 2017. Private swim lessons were also on the decline; there were 33 private lessons in 2014, and only nine private lessons in 2017.

In the past four years, water aerobics classes showed greater participation with 52 signed in 2014 and that number rose to 92 swimmers signed up for water aerobics classes this past summer.

Punch card swimming admissions declined in the past four years, however. Those numbers went from 3,680 in 2014, down to 1,890 cards in 2017.

Pool closing

The second draft of the tentative 2018 Farmington city budget calls for the city pool to close, according to Robin Hanson, city finance director.

"The draft budget assumes the pool is closed in 2018, and the potential savings kept in the 2018 budget would go toward demolition, fill and reclamation of the pool and bathhouse areas," Hanson said at the Aug. 21 meeting.

The city pool is located inside Evergreen Knoll Park, so tentative plans are to demolish the pool and fill it in to offer more green space at the park, Larson said.

The mayor said he understands the community will be disappointed since the pool is still used by some families and the neighborhood.

Larson said this financial decision had to be made since the pool has outlived its life and does not make financial sense.

As a native to Farmington, Larson recalled swimming in the pool as a boy, and said his family enjoyed the city pool when his children were growing up.

"People need to also understand the pool probably lived 10 years past its lifespan and we have been running on Band-Aids for a long time," he said.

More here:

No-splash zone: Farmington city pool will not re-open next summer - Farmington Independent

Over the years, Robert Kushner has seen many obese patients get tripped up trying to keep pounds off because they rely on fast food, juggle too many tasks and dislike exercise.

So Kushner, an obesity expert, began helping patients plan diet and physical activity around their lifestyles and habits.

We dont necessarily put people on any specific diet; it really gets to what is their life, what are their struggles, he said. We believe obesity care cant be inconsistent with culture, family or how you lead your life.

He recently suggested that a patient split meals with his wife when they dined out, rather than each having large portions or avoiding restaurants entirely. When the man said he was uncomfortable sharing a meal with his wife when the couple was out with friends, Kushner said to do it anyway.

I said, Its a strategy that works whether youre with other people or not. ... Be assertive, said Kushner. I think people dont think about it because they just arent raised to share.

The patient kept track of the foods he was eating, learning to avoid larger portions and fattening dishes. He has lost 15 pounds in six months, cutting about 500 to 700 calories per day.

More than a third of U.S. adults are obese, according to a 2015 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kushner, who directs the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said he realized in the 1980s that obesity was a looming problem. He started combining diet, nutrition, exercise and behavioral changes into a plan for patients.

Since then, whats changed is the maturity of the area, understanding more about the effects of stress and sleep on body weight, and some of the behavioral-change techniques have expanded, he said.

In addition to promoting good sleep habits and stress management techniques such as meditation, Kushner and his colleagues suggest bariatric surgery for patients with a body mass index of 40 or more and for some who are less obese but who have medical problems such as Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease. They also recommend medication for patients with BMIs as low as 30 who have additional medical problems or have failed to lose weight despite lifestyle changes.

While studies havent generally proved that lifestyle changes are effective for weight loss, Kushner said patients often have trouble shedding pounds unless problems like stress are managed.

Kushners approach proposes gentler, moderate changes. Rather than tell patients to cut out every unhealthy food they love, Kushner suggests focusing on alternatives with higher fiber and water content but fewer calories. (Think beans, vegetables, salads, fruits, broth-based soups and whole grains such as oatmeal.)

For the couch potato who finds exercise overwhelming, Kushner advises walking for short periods, building up to three 10-minute brisk walks daily to boost your energy level and mood while you also burn calories.

He also suggests that dog owners walk their pet for 30 minutes daily rather than leave Fido in the back yard. Kushner found that dog-walking helped overweight and obese people lose weight in a study, and he wrote a book about it Fitness Unleashed!: A Dog and Owners Guide to Losing Weight and Gaining Health Together with veterinarian Marty Becker.

I call it an exercise machine on a leash, Kushner said. It is a way for people to think about moving their body around in a fun way.

Most of his patients lose about 10 percent of their body weight (some more than 20 percent) after six months and keep it off during the program, Kushner said.

Patients say they feel understood and more motivated as they are given personalized direction to make positive changes in their lifestyle, he said.

Kushner created a questionnaire to screen patients for traits that prevent weight loss such as eating whats convenient rather than planning healthy meals or having an all-or-nothing mentality traits that Kushner and colleagues found in a study to be strongly linked with obesity.

Once you take the quiz and know your factor type, I can personalize a plan to help you lose weight and keep it off, Kushner said.

Another way Kushner hopes to help patients tackle obesity is by teaching medical students about treating and preventing it. He found in a recent study that the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination was focusing much more on diagnosing and treating obesity-related illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, than on how to counsel patients on diet, physical activity, behavior changes, the use of medications and bariatric surgery.

But Kushner said his approach isnt only about weight loss.

We know that as little as 5 to 10 percent weight loss will improve the health and well-being of individuals and can also improve blood sugar, blood pressure, the fats in your blood, arthritis or reflux symptoms, as well as your mood and energy level.

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Losing weight gets personal: Combining diet and behavioral changes may help - Washington Post