USGBC and Pearson Partner to Launch Online Program for LEED Green Associate Credential
Posted: August 20, 2012 at 9:14 pm
WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has partnered with Pearson to launch USGBC's online workforce education program for the LEED Green Associate credential. The program includes online courses to help learners successfully prepare for the LEED Green Associate exam and learn green building strategies and techniques.
USGBC's LEED green building rating system is the foremost program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings. Nearly 190,000 professionals have earned LEED professional credentials, demonstrating their knowledge of green building and the LEED program. The new online education program will annually target 3,000 first-time LEED learners and more advanced students seeking their LEED credentials.
Pearson is providing nine LEED online courses in healthcare, business, construction and hospitality and tourism. Course content covers knowledge assessment, remediation, self-paced material and practice exams. All online courses will be available in fall 2012.
Pearson is also providing two of USGBC's print titles to prepare students for the Green Building Certification Building Institute's LEED Green Associate Exam: Green Building and LEED Core Concepts, which explains the fundamental tenets of green building, offers strategies for implementation and provides specific case studies; and USGBC LEED Green Associate Study Guide. These titles are available now.
"Buildings across the globe offer us a significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85 percent of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs," said Beth Holst, VP of Strategic Alliances for USGBC. "Partnering with Pearson ensures proven content and substantial market reach so that together we can equip an eager and enthusiastic workforce to meet green building demand head-on."
"The rapid growth in green energy and building underscores the strong need for workforce training in this area," said Leah Jewell, President of Pearson Health Science and Careers. "We're honored to partner with an organization that is helping to spur job growth while contributing to a healthier environment in communities across the nation."
About U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org.
About Pearson
Pearson, the world's leading learning company, has global reach and market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing (PSO). The company provides innovative print and digital education materials, including personalized learning programs such as MyLab/Mastering, education services including custom publishing, and content-independent platforms including the EQUELLA digital repository and Pearson LearningStudio online learning platform. Pearson Workforce Education offers comprehensive workforce education solutions, including jobs market research analysis, curriculum design and development, customizable, modular online courses, and professional development for instructors, that enable workforce education program managers to offer courses that match the specific employment needs of their local area.
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USGBC and Pearson Partner to Launch Online Program for LEED Green Associate Credential
Prenatal yoga may ease depression, boost bonding
Posted: at 10:12 am
(Relaxnews) - Yoga may help women cope with depression during pregnancy, as well as boost maternal bonding, according a new study from the University of Michigan in the US.
One in five pregnant women experience major depression, the researchers noted. "We hear about pregnant women trying yoga to reduce stress but there's no data on how effective this method is," said lead author Maria Muzik, assistant professor of psychiatry, in an August 8 university press release.
"Our work provides promising first evidence that mindfulness yoga may be an effective alternative to pharmaceutical treatment for pregnant women showing signs of depression," she added. "This promotes both mother and baby well-being."
While antidepressants have proven to effectively treat mood disorders, many pregnant women are reluctant to take these drugs out of concern for their infant's safety, said Muzik.
"Unfortunately, few women suffering from perinatal health disorders receive treatment, exposing them and their child to the negative impact of psychiatric illness during one of the most vulnerable times," she noted. "That's why developing feasible alternatives for treatment is critical."
Evidence suggests that pregant women should opt for non-traditional treatments, such as herbal medicine, relaxation techniques and mind-body work, including mindfulness yoga, which combines meditative focus with physical poses, the researchers report.
For the study, women who were 12 to 26 weeks pregnant and showed signs of depression participated in 90-minute mindfulness prenatal yoga.
The findings were published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Copyright (AFP RELAXNEWS), 2012.
Blankenship boys follow their dad into coaching
Posted: August 19, 2012 at 6:15 pm
2012 College Football Preview: What to expect from OU, OSU and TU this football season.
"Angie would kind of shut it down," Bill Blankenship recalls. "She wanted something else to be talked about."
OK, so when Angie and Bill and their three sons - Josh, Caleb and Adam - would convene for a meal, what was discussed other than football?
"Not much," Bill replied with a smile. "It usually got around to football."
Some families are football participants.
The Blankenships are football lifers.
Bill was a quarterback at Spiro High School and the University of Tulsa. Before joining the Golden Hurricane staff in 2007 - and becoming TU's head man last year - he coached all three of his boys at Union High School.
When Angie says, "I can't even estimate how many games I've attended," she's not exaggerating. She and Bill were high school sweethearts, and they've been married since 1978.
"They are still in love and that's incredible to see in this day and age." Caleb Blankenship told the Tulsa World last year.
Bill has coached for three decades. Angie was in the bleachers for all of his games, and she was there for the great majority of their sons' games - from sixth grade through varsity at Union and even at out-of-state games involving Josh and Adam.
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The Best Circuit Training : LIVESTRONG – Exercising with Jeremy Shore – Video
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Eating For Energy Review – Is Yuri Elkaim Program Good? – Video
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VVS Laxman Announces Retirement From International Cricket – Video
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Sonoma County employee perks pay off in retirement
Posted: at 6:15 pm
Published: Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 4:01 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 9:26 a.m.
But the county pension that he now receives is based on a much higher figure, his final earnings of $174,857.
The 30 percent boost came from Kerns cashing out $12,850 in accrued administrative leave and the inclusion of nearly $28,000 in other non-salary pay and benefits the county owed him.
Kerns worked 12 years for the county, so his annual pension of $53,542 is not one of the six-figure payments that has fueled public outrage over county retirement benefits. But like the top earners getting those pensions and hundreds of other former county employees, Kerns benefited from a system that allows workers to increase their retirement checks by including a wide range of pay and benefits outside of salary.
He makes no apologies.
"You play by the rules," he said. "I don't begrudge anyone taking what they have coming to them. ... If people find that objectionable, then maybe they need to change the rules."
County pension costs are up more than 400 percent since 2000 and the average annual compensation on which pensions are computed has risen 75 percent during that time to nearly $92,000 for workers retiring in 2011.
The Board of Supervisors, in charge of setting benefits for a retirement system they acknowledge is unsustainable, has made no changes despite public outcry that bloated pensions are compromising essential public services.
But last week, they indicated add-ons like the ones that raised Kerns' pension would be high on their list of fixes. They proposed to eliminate some and exempt others from retirement calculations. Supervisors also proposed to cut pay and make longer-range pension changes, including setting lower benefits for future hires. The moves won't take effect unless unionized employees agree.
A Press Democrat analysis shows that when they retire, Sonoma County government workers boost their final earnings, and thus their pensions, by an average of more than 12 percent over their annual salaries. The average increase for sheriff's deputies and other public safety workers is higher, more than 14 percent.
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Bx. pol Rivera hired unqualified boytoy to run her nonprofit, which she used as personal piggy bank
Posted: at 6:14 pm
By CANDICE M. GIOVE
Bronx Democratic Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera allegedly used a taxpayer-funded nonprofit as her personal piggy bank, installed her unqualified lover as the groups leader and then helped him get a fat raise so he could take her on nice dates.
I had no background in nonprofits, said former boyfriend Vincent Pinela, who detailed the shocking arrangement to The Post.
Pinela, a personal trainer, was executive director of the Bronx Council for Economic Development from 2006, when he started dating Rivera, until 2010, shortly after they broke up.
I shouldnt have been hired, he said.
Angel Chevrestt
BOYTOY #1 Vincent Pinela was named boss of a Bronx nonprofit despite zero experience in the field.
BOYTOY #2 Tommy Torres, with Naomi Rivera, was paid $1,100 a week as a staffer while also a teacher.
Rex Dittman
NAOMI RIVERA, 47 Assemblywoman since 2005, representing Morris Park. Allegedly installed one boyfriend as head of a nonprofit she funded and gave another a job on her staff.
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Bx. pol Rivera hired unqualified boytoy to run her nonprofit, which she used as personal piggy bank
Weis can’t stop son from following him into coaching
Posted: at 9:13 am
LAWRENCE The son wanted to be a football coach, and the father was skeptical. Football was in the family blood, but the life comes with sacrifices. Charlie Weis knew this. And he wanted to make sure his son, Charlie Jr., did, too.
For Charlie Jr.s entire life, in places such as New York and Boston and South Bend, Ind., he had been the kid on the sidelines. Hed been in the stands for Super Bowls, watching his dad coach the offense for the New England Patriots. Hed been the son whom everybody knew at Notre Dame, the one who shared the same name as his father, the Irishs head coach; the one who often heard his family name mocked as the team struggled.
When I was younger, it was a lot harder, Charlie Jr. says now.
But the son who was always around football kept telling his dad that he wanted to be a coach, that he wanted to be just like him. If nothing else, Weis says, he wanted to warn his son. Coaching a college football team in front of 80,000 fans can be a lonely existence. And did he really want his son to endure the long days, the hours away from family, the nomadic lifestyle? Did he really want to follow his old man?
Maybe Charlie Weis couldnt give his son the advice he needed. But he knew someone who could.
Its a sunny afternoon in early August, and Charlie Weis is watching over KU football practice in Memorial Stadium. Across the field, Charlie Jr. is standing near the sideline and barking out cues for a running-backs drill. Weis, of course, is in his first full season as the Jayhawks coach, and Charlie Jr., a sophomore at KU, has taken a spot on his staff.
Officially, Charlie Weis Jr. is a student manager. But inside the program, coaches and players say hes more than that. After spending last season as a student intern at Florida for Gators coach Will Muschamp, Charlie Jr. followed his dad to Lawrence. When they arrived, Weis says, Charlie Jr. helped running backs coach Reggie Mitchell master the new offensive scheme.
Hes got tremendous knowledge of the game, KU quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus says. He knows our plays. He knows our playbook. He knows defenses. He knows coverages and fronts.
Earlier this year, Charlie Jr. helped teach KUs graduate assistant how to break down film, a skill he had learned from his dad, and Weis says his son has become the perfect go-between for players and a valued consultant for dealing with recruits.
PBT: Nellie's done with coaching — he's earned it
Posted: at 9:13 am
Coaches tend to retire and then drift back. You do something for so long, it gets in your blood. So you have to take what they say with a lot of salt. Not a grain. A lot. But Don Nelson is talking like theres no question about it, hes not coming back.
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports that Nelson has said he is permanently done with coaching, not interested, even if called.
Nelson was in talks for the Timberwolves job before they went with Rick Adelman. Hes been rumored here and there for a variety of jobs, and will continue to be. But if hes loving life sitting on beaches sipping drinks with umbrellas in them, more power to him. Hes earned it.
Its interesting, though, that theres not more interest in Nelson returning, considering the positional shifts we see going on in the league. Versatility and smallball is all the rage right now, and that fits right in with what Nelson does. While defense is still at a premium for winning in the playoffs, his ingenuity could do a lot with some of the rosters that are out there. Or it could crash into the ocean. Thats the risk with Nelson.
But it looks for now like we wont be seeing Nellieball again, even as it tenets seem to be roaming the landscape.
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PBT: Nellie's done with coaching — he's earned it