| Coaching is mercenary work
So much vitriol surrounds Bob Huggins' move from Kansas State to West Virginia. And K-State officials expressed shock and indignation that Huggins would leave after one season.
Is anyone really surprised a coach would leave after one season? If they are, they're naive. It's all about winning and money, and Huggins obviously thinks he can win more -- and thus make more money -- at West Virginia, his alma mater.
At his introductory news conference Friday, Huggins said, "I want to stay here as long as I can do what I'm supposed to do and as long as you people will have me."
What he is "supposed to do" is win; he'll do that, no question. Huggins is a good coach whose teams play hard, get after you on defense and run on offense. The Mountaineers will contend for Big East titles and go to NCAA tourneys.
My Philippine passport
If it's any consolation, my Philippine passport can hop from one ASEAN country to another without need of a visa, unless I'm on the blacklist for working without a permit, or it's in states like Singapore, Malaysia or Myanmar and I'm suspected of intending to join a protest action. Crossing the Mekong river from Chiangrai in Thailand to Huay Xai in Laos with my husband to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and taking the bus from Vientiane back to Bangkok a few days later was pure visa-free bliss. In the ruins of a Buddhist wat in Vientiane, we met a European man traveling with his Filipino wife. The man complained about how long it took to process his visa in Laos while his wife breezed through immigration. This was a rare moment when my Philippine passport shone with pride! It's a pity, the man continued, that not many Filipinos travel to Laos and lesser known destinations in Southeast Asia.
Election 07: A woman’s place is on the board
Renatta Cooper, a candidate for the Pasadena Board of Education's Seat 2 in the April 17 runoff election, put her son through school in Pasadena. But he graduated from high school nearly eight years ago. It wasn't until recently that Cooper, who formerly taughtgraduate-level child development programs at Pacific Oaks College and Children's School in Pasadena, noticed something amiss with the way the public school district has been operating. I feel that if I can do something that can benefit the children in my community, then I am supposed to do it, said the 52-year-old Cooper. It's a lot easier just to talk about what other people should do, but stepping up and trying to do it is a whole lot different, she added. Along with her work at Pacific Oaks, Cooper has also been a member of the First Five LA commission, a group that film director Rob Reiner helped create to better the first five years of children's lives.
The credit trap - how $4000 debt became $47000
Twenty-five years old, nearly $50,000 in debt and facing three more years of Weet-Bix for lunch. It's a numbers game for Waikato resident Sarah Brown, who clocked up $4000 of holiday expenses on a credit card eight years ago and now owes almost what she earns in a year. The details of the $47,000 debt are set out on a colour-coded spreadsheet written by her budget adviser. "This is my little bible at the moment. I know exactly what I owe, I know exactly how much I pay, who to, and how much money I can't spend." Brown is determined to clear her debt and has been sticking to her budget for more than a year. But despite a well-paid job in international freight forwarding and a second job in a cafe, there is no money for shopping, eating out or going out with friends.
Dist. 303 candidates outline referendum plans
All 12 spring election candidates running for the St. Charles school board are promising to do their homework before going back to voters for money to build new schools. Some say that still could mean putting a bond referendum on the ballot as soon as next spring, while others say it might mean delaying that until 2009, at the earliest. I am absolutely not in favor of a referendum at this time, said challenger Kenneth Bertrand, who is running for one of three 4-year seats. There isnt enough information out there for me to say, We need to do this, or we need to do that. In all, nine challengers and one incumbent, Kathy Hewell, are in the race for 4-year posts. Incumbents Jim Gaffney and Bobbie Raehl are facing each other for a 2-year term. The election is April 17. All the candidates say there is a need for additional space in District 303.
How To Shop For Money-Saving Fluorescent Bulbs
Using compact fluorescent light bulbs is a great idea and can save more than $30 on each bulb you replace, even factoring in a higher purchase price.
But buying compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs as they're called, takes more knowledge than buying incandescent bulbs. That may be why they still only make up about 5 percent of the light-bulb market, according to Department of Energy estimates.
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Beaverdale remains voice in Rice talks
Here's what Register readers have to say about this story so far. The following excerpts are in response to a story Tuesday about the City Council's approval of the development plan. You can see more reader comments at DesMoinesRegister.com.
"Let's hope that last night's outcry from the community at least heightens Rice School Development Partners' sensitivity to the residents' desire for a development characteristic of Beaverdale. Right now, there are no restrictions on the development for brick construction materials, or other important construction details. I truly hope the developers offer residents an olive branch, and make this property the best it can be. It will likely be around, long after the Boesens are gone."
- lostthegreen
"We (DSM residents) all 'profit' when development takes place within the city limits that helps to offer options to people that might otherwise choose to live in the 'burbs."
- capitalcityguy
"This entire fiasco defines what is wrong with Des Moines.
GE Money on a roll with $3.5b
GE Money says it has become the country's largest non-bank finance company and has doubled the size of its New Zealand business in the last two years. Greg White, its Auckland-based managing director, said the financier had assets of more than $3.5 billion in the form of loans and was on a fast growth path. In 2005, GE Money - part of the global General Electric group - bought the Wizard Home Loans group in New Zealand and Australia. Last year, it bought the $500 million mortgage portfolio assets of Superbank which closed its banking operations in this country. GE Money also reportedly paid $145 million for Eric Watson's Pacific Retail Finance. "In the last two years we have more than doubled the size of our operations," White said.
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