Delta mayor not happy with high cost of TransLink

TransLink is costing the residents of Delta over $39 million a year in various taxes, according to Mayor Lois Jackson.

?I think it?s very important that we understand where our money is going and how much of it is going,? she said during Monday?s council meeting, rattling off statistics that she termed ?a little bit of trivia.?

According to 2012 property tax rates, Delta homeowners contributed $12.4 million to TransLink last year.

And based on 2010 gasoline and diesel consumption data cross-referenced with vehicles registered in Delta, Jackson estimated Delta drivers contributed a further $22 million to TransLink through their regional 17 cent per litre transit tax.

Lastly, a 10 cent federal excise tax is applied for every litre of gasoline, and four cents on every litre of diesel, sold in Canada.

Each province is entitled to a federal gas tax revenue transfer based on population, with Metropolitan Vancouver receiving $122 million.

Most cities get their own money back through the transfer based on census population. But Jackson said it?s different for cities in Metro Vancouver, which means all $122 million will go to TransLink.

Based on 2011 census population data, Delta?s population of 99,863 represents a $5 million contribution to TransLink.

Adding up all three revenue streams means Delta provides $39.4 million to TransLink each year, or $394.50 per capita.

The mayor has previously been open in criticizing the regional transportation authority for Delta having to pay the highest rates and receiving the worst service in return.

'; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } google_ad_client = 'pub-9774721429222771'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_ad_channel ='3389691084'; google_max_num_ads = '4'; google_feedback = 'on'; google_ad_type = 'text'; google_adtest = 'on'; google_image_size = '300x250'; google_skip = '3'; // -->

Source: http://www.surreyleader.com/news/192147681.html

festivus festivus nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture Larry King Suzy Favor Hamilton mayan calendar

Chinese dare officials to swim in polluted rivers

BEIJING (AP) ? A Chinese businessman angry about a filthy river made an equally dirty dare: He'll give an environmental official about $32,000 just for swimming in the polluted waterway.

Local businessman Jin Zengmin posted on his microblog photos of a garbage-filled river in Rui'an city in the eastern province of Zhejiang. He dared the local environmental protection chief, Bao Zhenming, to swim in it for a prize of 200,000 yuan.

The challenge, made Saturday, reflects growing frustration among the Chinese public over widespread pollution and lack of governmental action. It quickly inspired at least one other offer: A posting Tuesday under an alias on an online forum offered a 300,000 yuan ($48,000) cash prize to the environmental protection chief in the nearby county of Cangnan if the official swam in polluted rivers there.

Jin said on his microblog that a rubber shoe factory has been dumping wastewater into the river, and that the area had an exceptionally high cancer rate.

A Rui'an government official who would give only his surname, Chi, would not say Wednesday whether Bao would accept Jin's challenge. But Chi said the bureau had contacted Jin and will take some measures, including working with residents to clean up trash in the river and putting up signs warning against dumping.

"We will also step up efforts in controlling industrial pollution sources," Chi said.

He also said that the public should shoulder responsibility in protecting the environment and that the environmental protection bureau welcomes public supervision and participation in cleaning up local rivers.

China's booming economy has brought more water pollution, some of it shockingly serious. High-profile industrial accidents along major rivers have disrupted water supplies to big cities in recent years.

Hu Siyi, vice minister of water resources, said last year that 20 percent of China's rivers were so polluted that their water quality was rated too toxic for human contact, and that up to 40 percent of the rivers were seriously polluted, according to state media.

Last month, about nine tons of aniline, a chemical used to make polyurethane, leaked into a river in northern China. The leak wasn't reported for five days, and by then it had contaminated the water supply of a city in a neighboring province. The official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday that 39 people from the company responsible for the leak and local government departments had been punished over the leak, which emanated from a poor-quality metal hose.

Yang Jianhua, a researcher at the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, told the state-run China News Service that the cash-prize challenges reflect the public's deep worries about pollution.

"The environmental agencies are obligated to make efforts and solve the problem," Yang told China News.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-dare-officials-swim-polluted-rivers-104656860--finance.html

Lisa Robin Kelly Nexus 4 Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football

The 'Spring into TEGRA' Contest: Win a Tegra-powered HTC One X+!

It's contest time again! With the seasons changing -- soon, we hope, as it's been a cold winter -- and spring fast approaching, we're teaming up with NVIDIA to award two Tegra-powered HTC One X+ devices (International edition) to a couple of lucky Android Central members.*

To enter, simply follow these three steps:

1. Take a picture of yourself with your tired and worn out mobile device.
2. Head over to the official contest thread.
3. Post the picture, AND tell us why you absolutely NEED a new HTC One X+.

That's all there really is to it! Head over to the official contest thread and get your entry in. You never know… with a little luck and creativity (hint, hint!) you may end up with a brand new device at your front door.

* Contest closes on March 1, 2013, at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be selected shortly thereafter via PM and e-mail. ONE entry per person. Contest open to all Android Central members.

Good luck!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/slfU0bu4V1o/story01.htm

Tony Scott UFC 151 empire state building Hurricane prince harry hunger games Joey Kovar

Immigration Talks Mull IDs for All Workers (WSJ)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286257042?client_source=feed&format=rss

iOS 6 Release Date Canelo Alvarez Chavez vs Martinez Yunel Escobar Irish Daily Star seth macfarlane Black Mesa

Square's Business in a Box Is a One-Stop Startup Kit

Square's quest for small business domination continues in the form of Business in a Box, a convenient, all-in-one package that intends to get small businesses up, running, and using as many Square products as possible. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Wp5CDzPOi0A/squares-business-in-a-box-is-an-one+stop-startup-kit

cbs Jim Harbaugh Who Won The Superbowl Super Bowl Halftime Show 2013 Super Bowl Commercials 2013 Ray Lewis Murders 2013 Super Bowl Commercials

People with disabilities at greater risk of violence and subsequent mental ill-health

Feb. 20, 2013 ? People with disabilities are at a greater risk of being the victims of violence and of suffering mental ill health when victimized, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Hind Khalifeh and colleagues from University College London and King's College London.

A recent World Report on Disability highlighted violence as a leading cause of morbidity among disabled people. The research published February 20 is the first to assess the extent to which people with disabilities experience different kinds of violence and the associated health and economic costs. The authors analyzed data from the 2009-2010 British Crime Survey to estimate the odds of a person with physical or mental disabilities experiencing physical, sexual, domestic or non-domestic violence. The survey did not include individuals with disabilities living in institutions.

On the whole, the authors found that, compared to those without any disability, the odds of being a victim of violence in the past year were three-fold higher for those with mental illness-related disability, and two-fold higher for those with physical disability. The odds were similarly raised for physical and sexual violence, and for domestic and non-domestic violence. Their analysis also revealed that victims with disability were twice as likely to experience emotional difficulties following violence than non-disabled victims.

Across England and Wales in 2009, approximately 224,000 people with disabilities experienced violence, resulting in an excess economic burden of ?1.51 billion. The authors state that overall, the prevalence and risk of violence they estimated in their study is consistent with reports from other countries such as the US and Taiwan.

According to the authors, their research highlights the need for clinicians to be aware of the greater risks of domestic and non-domestic violence among patients with all disability types, and of the increased risk of emotional difficulties among disabled victims. The study concludes, "Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of violence prevention programs in people with disability that address risk factors specific to this group, such as caregiver stress or communication barriers to disclosure."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Hind Khalifeh, Louise M. Howard, David Osborn, Paul Moran, Sonia Johnson. Violence against People with Disability in England and Wales: Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Survey. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e55952 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055952

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/lk3aCo1lL70/130220184947.htm

right to work Clackamas Town Center 12 12 12 Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction man of steel man of steel Adrienne Maloof

AngloGold Ashanti earnings plunge as strikes bite

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti, the world's third-largest bullion producer, posted a plunge in quarterly earnings, hit by wildcat strikes at its South African mines and troubles at one of its largest African operations.

The South Africa-based miner said on Wednesday fourth-quarter adjusted headline earnings were 2 U.S. cents compared with 61 U.S. cents in the previous quarter.

Production dropped to 859,000 ounces in the quarter after 250,000 ounces, or $208 million in earnings, were wiped out by work stoppages that included illegal strikes and underground sit-ins at its South African operations.

Full-year production was 3.9 million ounces, well off the company's target of between 4.3 and 4.4 million ounces.

"We took a hit in South Africa," said chief executive Mark Cutifani, who leaves to lead Anglo American in April, adding that the company stalled the re-opening of its South African operations this year.

"We were unhappy with the way one or two operations came back to work and we sent people back home. We then spent about ten days with the guys working, reinforcing the need to treat each other with dignity and respect."

Obuasi, its largest mine in Ghana, also continued to underperform. A decision in October to change the mine development contractor cost the company $44 million. Already part of AngloGold for more than a decade, Cutifani said Obuasi was taking too long to deliver.

SECTOR BLEEDING

South African gold and platinum producers have been scarred by violent labour clashes that late last year halted operations and slashed production.

More than 50 people were killed in labour strife last year, including 34 shot dead by police at Lonmin's Marikana mine in August - the deadliest single security incident in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994.

"It is not just one company that is facing the challenges, many of the companies are in the same boat," Roger Baxter, a senior executive at the Chamber of Mines told a South African parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

AngloGold's closest rival Gold Fields reported a 20 percent fall in headline earnings last week, largely due to the impact of an illegal strike at two South African mines it has since spun off.

Harmony Gold, however, which produces 95 percent of its gold in South Africa, reported a 28 percent hike in headline earnings for the three months to end-December.

AngloGold is already in the middle of a corporate and cost review with some assets, like Namibia's only gold mine Navachab, considered for sale. It has also pushed back some projects.

"Capital numbers have been kept tight, we continue to trim where we do not see real short-term uplift," said Cutifani.

Gold equities have historically traded at a discount to the metal but South African mining shares have felt additional pain thanks to the sector's tarnished image.

"The thing that concerns me most is getting performance back into the share price," Cutifani said.

AngloGold's shares dropped 3.90 percent to trade at 231.51 rand, in line with the JSE's gold index, which was 3.45 percent lower by 1236 GMT.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anglogold-ashanti-q4-earnings-plunge-strikes-bite-064625443--finance.html

ja rule amityville horror acm passover recipes 2012 kids choice awards kansas ohio state wrestlemania results