Friday, June 27, 2014

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

140 px
140 px (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
  • Donald L. Pereira – Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
  • Douglas L. Stang – Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission 
President Obama said, “These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles.  Our nation will be well-served by these individuals, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.” 
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Christopher Hart, Nominee for Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
Christopher Hart is currently a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), where he has served since 2009.  He is also Vice Chairman of the NTSB, a position he held since October 2013 and previously from 2009 to 2013.  Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Hart was the Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 2005 to 2009 and was the Assistant Administrator for System Safety at the FAA from 1995 to 2005.  From 1994 to 1995, Mr. Hart was Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  He was a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1990 to 1993.  He was Managing Partner at Hart & Chavers from 1981 to 1990 and Associate Attorney at Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin from 1979 to 1981.  Mr. Hart served as the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Environmental, Civil Rights, and General Law at the Department of Transportation from 1977 to 1979.  Mr. Hart was an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the Air Transport Association of America from 1976 to 1977 and an Associate Attorney at Peabody, Rivlin, Lambert & Meyers from 1973 to 1976.  He is a licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine, and instrument ratings.  Mr. Hart received a B.S.E. and M.S. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. 
John W. Leslie, Jr., Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation, and upon appointment to be designated Chairperson
John W. Leslie, Jr. is currently Chairman of Weber Shandwick, a position he has held since 2001.  He has also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation since 2003 and as its Chairperson since 2009.  From 1985 to 2001, Mr. Leslie was President of Bozell Sawyer Miller.  Previously, Mr. Leslie was Chairman of the Board of the United States Association for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a participant in UNHCR Missions to Afghanistan in 1998, Kosovo in 1999, and Tanzania in 2001.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Chairman of the U.S. Agency for International Development Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.  Mr. Leslie received a B.S. from Georgetown University.
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Dr. Donald L. Pereira, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Dr. Donald L. Pereira is Chief of the Section of Fisheries at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a position he has held since 2013.  He has held various positions at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources since 1983, including Fisheries Research and Policy Manager, Fisheries Research Program Supervisor, and Senior Fisheries Research Biologist.  He was a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Minnesota from 1987 to 1991.  Dr. Pereira joined the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission’s Council of Lake Committees in 2007, and served as its Vice Chairman from 2011 to 2013 before becoming Chairman.  He also served on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Board of Technical Experts from 2009 to 2013.  Dr. Pereira received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Vermont and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Fisheries from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
Douglas L. Stang, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Douglas L. Stang is Assistant Director for Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a position he has held since 2007.  He has held multiple positions at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation since 1985, including Chief of the Bureau of Fisheries, Supervising Aquatic Biologist, and Senior Aquatic Biologist.  Previously, he was a Research Associate at Iowa State University from 1982 to 1985 and a Graduate Research Assistant from 1980 to 1982.  Mr. Stang began his career as Fisheries Technician at the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries in 1978.  He is a Life Member of the American Fisheries Society and served as President of its Fisheries Administration Section from 2003 to 2005.  Mr. Stang received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an M.S. in Fishery Biology from Iowa State University.

President Obama Speaks at a Minnesota Town Hall

Duke Energy Approves 80 MW Solar Farm in North Carolina

Have a sunny day!
Have a sunny day! (Photo credit: Activ Solar)

An Asheville, NC based solar farm developer, Innovative Solar Systems has just recently received approvals by Duke Energy for an 80MW solar farm project in NC.


Asheville, NC (PRWEB
June 26, 2014
Innovative Solar 37, LLC is an 80MW solar farm project that will be located in the middle of the state to be built on approximately five hundred acres of leased land and will supply enough electricity to power approximately 20,000 small to medium size homes. The CEO of Innovative Solar Systems, John Green states that this is the largest solar farm approved to be built to date in the state of North Carolina. This project is a ground mounted type solar farm system and will employ roughly 300,000 solar photovoltaic panels and eighty inverters that will feed the energy to the Duke grid.
Innovative Solar Systems has been a pioneer in the field of large scale solar farms in NC with almost 1GW of projects to be built out in 2014 through 2015. Many of the company’s large portfolio consist of 35MW to 80MW size projects. Investors have an affinity for these larger projects states Green of ISS as both hard and soft costs are reduced by economy of scale when building large projects. These larger type solar farm projects are much harder projects to develop as the approval process is longer, more tedious and requirements are usually more strict due to size and complexity of the projects.
ISS has a proven track record developing large scale solar farm projects and has many strategic relationships with credit worthy utility companies like Duke Energy. Investors and buyers of solar farm projects have come to appreciate the efforts of ISS and many in the industry believe the company offers the gold standard where bankable solar farm deals are concerned. The managing partners at ISS state that the company is excited to finish up the projects in NC as the company has already moved development operations into five other key states that offer clients great solar projects with solid returns. To learn more about this North Carolina solar farm project or for investor relations please call (828)-215-9064.

OmniBox TV is Now the Fastest Growing Subscriber Based TV Media Solution in the United Sates

Example of 1080i displayed on 1080p TV Frame 1
Example of 1080i displayed on 1080p TV Frame 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Omniverse One World Television, Inc. has executed agreements triggering the fastest growing subscriber base in TV.


Tampa, FL (PRWEB) 
June 26, 2014
Omniverse One World Television, Inc.(OmniBox TV) has secured agreements that include over three million subscribers in sixteen districts throughout the country. This program is part of a subsidy program in cooperation with ValuNet offering TV and Internet to low-income housing units that include a variety of apartment units, town-homes, and condominium complexes.
Throughout this negotiation, the New OmniBox TV streaming media player won these contracts because of the wide variety of choices the OmniBox has to offer. Traditional broadcast is still the leader in Live TV Channel distribution. However, OmniBox TV's ability to offer Live TV, On Demand Channels, Email, Communication, Web Browsers, Flash Media Players, and Google Play Store empowers the end user to download their favorite apps such as Netflix, Games, Skype, Facebook, and many other applications. The additional features OmniBox TV offers over traditional broadcasters made OmniBox TV rise to the top.
"Many of us have access to our tablets, smart phones, computers, and two hundred dollar cable bills, but we forget the single mom downtown with three kids on a strict budget may not have these luxuries. In today’s economy the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. We have created a product with no contracts or credit checks with the lowest subscription model in the market that lets folks search the Internet, do homework, communicate, play games, and watch TV. I don’t see the low-income single mom as a dollar sign but rather OmniBox TV offering a value solution for this fast growing demographic,” said Jason DeMeo, CEO of Omniverse One World Television, Inc.
About OmniBox TV:
The New OmniBox TV unit is a Set Top Box that turns every TV into a Smart TV. It syncs with your home internet or mobile hot spot giving you access to Live, On Demand, and Web content with 1080P HD streaming ability. Our users can now view their favorite live channels, shows, and movies while having access to their favorite social media sites, email, and web browsing, all this right from your television. The Next Generation OmniBox now comes with many new features including the Google Play Store, Flash Media Players, Multiple Web Browsers and over 1,000 Live and On Demand Channels Included with subscriptions starting at only $19.95 per month with no contracts or credit checks.
OmniNet offers the ultimate All-In-One solution combining High Speed Internet, The New OmniBox TV, and Phone service with one low monthly payment. Monthly subscriptions start at $49.95 with no contracts or credit checks. Hardware sold separately.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plan, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks described. All such forward-looking statements whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements that may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Bitcoin 101 - Calling All APIs - Live Streaming Price Data From Bitcoin Exchanges

The bitcoin logo
The bitcoin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Confused about APIs and JSON? Looking to run an arbitrage business or build a data intensive site? Well this video is for you. This is the first of our videos looking at programming calls for exchange data. In just a few lines of code, we grab the last price from four exchanges (Btc-e, Kraken, Bitstamp and Bitfinex) and pseudo exchange extraordinaire, Coinbase. James walks you through the first steps of building a live feed of this data.

New York to Legalize Medicial Marijuana

sea of little green
sea of little green (Photo credit: prensa420)



New York is set to legalize medicinal marijuana as Governor Andrew Cuomo has reached a deal with lawmakers on the Compassionate Care Act. The bill's regulations are more conservative than the lax rules of other states who have legalized cannabis for medical purposes. Specifically, it only allows people to vaporize the drug, or to consume it in food while restricting them from smoking it. Additionally, only certain diseases will qualify for prescriptions. We take a look at the bill and why many supporters are calling this a historic victory, in this Lip News clip with Gabriel Mizrahi.

Governor McAuliffe announces more than $8.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding

United States Department of Housing and Urban ...
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Seal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Projects include housing rehabilitation, downtown revitalization and water and sewer service -
RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced more than $8.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for 13 projects in Virginia.
“The Community Development Block Grant program is a long-standing program that provides necessary resources to our localities to improve their communities,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “From sewer projects to downtown revitalization and housing rehabilitation, these projects are improving the lives of Virginians across the Commonwealth.”
Since 1982, the federally-funded CDBG program has been administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and Virginia receives approximately $17 million annually for this grant program. CDBG grants are awarded through a competitive process. Most projects benefit low- and moderate-income persons, and many projects are targeted for the prevention or elimination of slums and blighting conditions.
Five of the projects are noted as multi-year funding projects. Multi-year funding projects are those that will receive a contract allocating a portion of the funds this year, and after achieving specific performance targets, the project will then be eligible for additional funding. One additional project is receiving a letter of intent, indication the project is worthy of funding but lacks key components necessary for the project to be immediately implemented. This allows the locality to address the missing key component by spring 2015.
“This competitive program allows Virginia to address major community issues and utilize available resources to make our communities great places to live, work and do business,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones.
2014 CDBG Competitive Grant Awards:
Locality
Project Name
CDBG Award
City of Martinsville
Northside Comprehensive Community Development
$   934,904
Town of South Hill
West Main Street Project, Phase II
Multi-Year Funding
$   600,000
Wise County
Roda, Osaka and Stonega Sewer, Phase I
$   1,000,000
Buchanan County
Hurley Regional Water Project, Phase V
Letter of Intent
$  700,000
Town of Appalachia
Exeter Water Line Replacement, Phase II
$   485,626
Grayson County
Nuckolls Curve Water Project
$   259,755
Town of Crewe
Lipscomb and Stratton Streets Neighborhood Revitalization Project
Multi-Year Funding
$   700,000

Town of Clifton Forge
Lower Roxbury Neighborhood Revitalization
Multi-Year Funding
$   600,000
Mecklenburg County
Lambert Road Housing Rehabilitation
Multi-Year Funding
$   500,000
Town of Colonial Beach
Colonial Beach Downtown Revitalization
$   747,000
Greensville County
Washington Park Community Development, Phase V
Multi-Year Funding
$   500,000
Town of Troutdale
Troutdale Housing Rehabilitation Project
$   688,430
Town of Cleveland
Cleveland Town-wide Revitalization Project
$   799,880

Total Recommended
$   8,515,595

Governor McAuliffe Statement on General Assembly Actions on His Vetoes

English: 1830 Constitution of Virginia, Page 1
English: 1830 Constitution of Virginia, Page 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Governor Terry McAuliffe released the following statement after the General Assembly failed to override any of his line item vetoes to the 2015-2016 biennial budget:

“I am pleased that the General Assembly upheld six of the eight vetoes that I applied to the budget without controversy.

“With respect to the Speaker’s ruling on my veto of the Stanley floor amendment, I am continually surprised and disappointed by the lengths to which Republicans in the House of Delegates will go to prevent their own constituents from getting access to health care. Instead of putting all of my vetoes through the process prescribed by the Constitution of Virginia, House Republicans robbed the voters of their voice by using a procedural gimmick to obstruct the normal legislative process where this veto was concerned. If my veto was as objectionable as House leadership claimed, they should not have had any difficulty overriding it in both chambers. Instead, the Speaker elected to exercise powers that the Constitution of Virginia reserves solely for members of the Judicial Branch.

“As my team and I evaluate the House’s failure to override my veto, I remain focused on expanding access to health care for Virginia residents, and I intend to move forward on that goal as I have promised. Virginians elect their leaders to act in their best interests, not to bog good public policy down in parliamentary gimmicks.

“With respect to the his ruling on the judges veto, Speaker Howell once again resorted to procedural tricks in order to prevent the representatives of the people of Virginia from voting on the vetoes that I lawfully submitted to the General Assembly. I have no objection to the General Assembly’s authority to appoint these judges while in session; my veto was aimed at defending the powers of the Governor against an unconstitutional overreach by the legislature. It is unfortunate that the Speaker elected to cast these judicial slots into unnecessary uncertainty, particularly after I proposed a straightforward legislative remedy this afternoon.  My team and I will evaluate the Speaker’s ruling on this veto and I will take the actions I deem best for the people who elected me to serve.”