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Both Minnesota groups vying for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise can be encouraged by the varying examples of stadiums, or stadium plans, the league has been willing to work with in its expansion drive.

The Vikings can reference Atlanta's new club, which will play its inaugural 2017 season in a new stadium to be shared with the NFL's Falcons.

Minnesota United FC can look to a once fellow lower-division club in Orlando City SC, which will move to MLS for the 2015 season and will play in the Citrus Bowl stadium until its new soccer-centric home is ready in 2016.

These divergent, yet both agreeable, examples mean the Vikings and United remain viable options to land an expansion franchise despite their own drastically different stadium situations.

The Vikings, United and a groups from Sacramento, Calif., and Las Vegas presented their cases to the league's leadership in November. The four groups await a decision on the league awarding an expansion franchise in the first half of 2015.

"If Minnesota is getting it, which I believe it is, stadiums are first and foremost," said ESPN soccer commentator Taylor Twellman. "There are no ideas of stadiums. There's no this or that. You need to have a stadium approved, and it needs to be ready to rock for a market like this to work, and it needs to be downtown and next to public transit."

The Vikings have a concrete plan. A $1 billion, indoor stadium in downtown Minneapolis is being built and would be ready for soccer in 2017.

United has nascent plans to build a new stadium. The Loons play their North American Soccer League matches at the National Sports Center in Blaine, and one possible plan is an 18,000-seat, natural-grass, outdoor stadium adjacent to Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

United has not disclosed whether they would seek public financing to help pay for a new stadium. Land acquisition is not considered to be a problem.

Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson previously told the Pioneer Press she didn't believe there would be a civic interest in committing public monies to another stadium.

See the article here:
MLS: Stadium isn't end-all for league

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

DILLEY, Texas (AP) - The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a former oil field workers' camp in rural South Texas that's being converted into the nation's largest family immigration detention center, as federal authorities brace for the possibility that mothers and children may again come pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the 50-acre compound featuring 80 tan, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages connected by dirt roads and newly laid grass sod in Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The first wave of about 30 immigrants will begin arriving in coming weeks and the cabins will eventually hold up to 480 people. Housing being constructed nearby will push capacity to 2,400 by around May.

Advocates say immigrant families are often fleeing drug or gang violence in Central America and should be released to relatives already in the U.S., rather than being locked up. The daily cost of family detention is about $296 per person, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly double the average cost of holding adults as estimated by the National Immigration Forum advocacy group.

Women and children at Dilley will remain until they are deported, released on bond or begin immigration court proceedings that could allow them to stay in the United States. ICE says 70 percent of immigrant families released into the U.S. never showed up for follow-up appointments - part of the reason the agency is adding detention capacity.

Dilly's cottages include bunk beds and cribs that can sleep up to eight, a flat-screen TV and a kitchen - though cooking is prohibited to prevent fires. The cafeteria is open 12 hours daily and snacks can be had around the clock.

There's medical care and counselors, trailer classrooms, library and email access and a basketball court and playgrounds - all meant to showcase the softer side of immigration detention. Yet Johnson stressed that despite President Barack Obama's recently announced executive actions on immigration, anyone who crossed illegally into the U.S. this year remains a priority for deportation.

"This must be clear: Our borders are not open to illegal migration," he said.

Dilley opens as officials are closing a temporary family immigration detention center that, at its height, held about 700 people on the grounds of a law enforcement training center in Artesia, New Mexico. It opened in June, at the height of a crush of families at the border, while Dilley begins during a lull.

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South Texas family lockup will be nation's largest - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

sarah nolan/town journal

Ho-Ho-Kus voters rejected a referendum seeking $2.17 million in bonding to upgrade the track and field on Lloyd Road during a special school district election on Dec. 9. Voters cast 930 "no" votes to 355 "yes" votes.

Ho-Ho-Kus residents largely rejected a referendum seeking $2.17 million in bonding to upgrade the track and field on Lloyd Road during a special school district election on Dec. 9.

Just 355 residents voted to fund the project with 930 casting "no" votes. The district intended to replace its grass field and cinder track with a synthetic turf field containing organic infill - not crumb rubber, which has been widely debated due to health concerns - and an all-weather track. Officials have said the track and field are both in disrepair and "hazardous," as well as being difficult and expensive to maintain.

"The Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education and administration wish to thank Ho-Ho-Kus residents for expressing their thoughts through the ballot box," a statement from the district said. "While we did not receive enough yes-votes to proceed with the field and track project, we do appreciate all those who supported the process of researching the possibility of a new field."

The board had been discussing the potential project for over a year before deciding to put the issue to a vote. While many residents felt the price tag for a new facility was too hefty, the board did receive debt service aid to cover approximately 40 percent of the synthetic turf field portion of the project, amounting to around $700,000 from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Still, it appears that the tax increase of $118 per the average-assessed home in the borough over a 10-year bond was a factor for many casting their vote, as expressed by residents at meetings and in letters to the editor. Other issues heavily debated throughout the process included the safety and aesthetics of a turf field.

Many wondered why the board didn't choose to address just the track, which is of particular concern for safety reasons according to school officials, and leave the grass field. But the board said the grass would need to be addressed and replaced either way during construction and they felt putting grass or sod in the infield would be "throwing good money after bad," since the field cannot be properly maintained due to excessive use. The school district owns the only two fields in the borough - North Field and the Lloyd Road field. Lloyd is used daily during physical education classes, for school sports and for the borough's Recreation Department sports.

"We are unable to sustain a grass field because of the near constant use of the field, which results in a surface that is comprised of hard, compacted dirt and thin, patchy grass areas soiled by goose droppings," Board President Colleen Federer said in a letter to residents before the referendum. "We would all like to have 'Yankee Stadium' grass on our field. That is not realistic. Our school field could never be regularly and extensively rested, generously and daily watered, and fertilized and chemically treated, all of which are required to achieve a lush grass athletic field surface. It would be imprudent to install a sod field knowing that we would be unable to protect that investment."

E-mail: nolan@northjersey.com

See the rest here:
Voters reject $2.17 million bond for new track, field

........................................................................................................................................................................................

DILLEY, Texas The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a former oil field workers camp in rural South Texas thats being converted into the nations largest family immigration detention center, as federal authorities brace for the possibility that mothers and children may again come pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the 50-acre compound featuring 80 tan, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages connected by dirt roads and newly laid grass sod in Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The first wave of about 30 immigrants will begin arriving in coming weeks and the cabins will eventually hold up to 480 people. Housing being constructed nearby will push capacity to 2,400 by around May.

Advocates say immigrant families are often fleeing drug or gang violence in Central America and should be released to relatives already in the U.S., rather than being locked up. The daily cost of family detention is about $296 per person, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly double the average cost of holding adults as estimated by the National Immigration Forum advocacy group.

Women and children at Dilley will remain until they are deported, released on bond or begin immigration court proceedings that could allow them to stay in the United States. ICE says 70 percent of immigrant families released into the U.S. never showed up for follow-up appointments part of the reason the agency is adding detention capacity.

Dilleys cottages include bunk beds and cribs that can sleep up to eight, a flat-screen TV and a kitchen though cooking is prohibited to prevent fires. The cafeteria is open 12 hours daily and snacks can be had around the clock.

Theres medical care and counselors, trailer classrooms, library and email access and a basketball court and playgrounds all meant to showcase the softer side of immigration detention. Yet Johnson stressed that despite President Barack Obamas recently announced executive actions on immigration, anyone who crossed illegally into the U.S. this year remains a priority for deportation.

This must be clear: Our borders are not open to illegal migration, he said.

Dilley opens as officials are closing a temporary family immigration detention center that, at its height, held about 700 people on the grounds of a law enforcement training center in Artesia, N.M. It opened in June, at the height of a crush of families at the border, while Dilley begins during a lull.

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Camp for immigrant detainees unveiled

A playground surrounded by cottages that will house immigrants at a new family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, on Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. AP / Will Weissert

DILLEY, Texas - The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a former oil field workers' camp in rural South Texas that is being converted into the nation's largest family immigration detention center, as federal authorities brace for another possible influx of mothers and children pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the 50-acre compound featuring 80 tan, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages connected by dirt roads and newly laid grass sod in Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The first wave of about 30 immigrants will begin arriving in coming weeks and the cabins will eventually hold up to 480 people. Housing being constructed nearby will push capacity to 2,400 by around May.

Advocates say immigrant families are often fleeing drug or gang violence in Central America and should be released to relatives already in the U.S., rather than being locked up. The daily cost of family detention is about $296 per person, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly double the average cost of holding adults as estimated by the National Immigration Forum advocacy group.

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Congressional Republicans are settling on a strategy to strike back at President Obama's executive action on immigration. As Nancy Cordes reports...

Women and children at Dilley will remain until they are deported, released on bond or begin immigration court proceedings that could allow them to stay in the United States. ICE says 70 percent of immigrant families released into the U.S. never showed up for follow-up appointments - part of the reason the agency is adding detention capacity.

Dilly's cottages include bunk beds and cribs that can sleep up to eight, a flat-screen TV and a kitchen - though cooking is prohibited to prevent fires. The cafeteria is open 12 hours daily and snacks can be had around the clock.

There's medical care and counselors, trailer classrooms, library and email access and a basketball court and playgrounds - all meant to showcase the softer side of immigration detention. Yet Johnson stressed that despite President Barack Obama's recently announced executive actions on immigration, anyone who crossed illegally into the U.S. this year remains a priority for deportation.

Read the original:
South Texas immigration detention center set to open

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DILLEY, Texas (AP) The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a former oil field workers camp in rural South Texas thats being converted into the nations largest family immigration detention center, as federal authorities brace for the possibility that mothers and children may again come pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Homeland Security SecretaryJeh Johnson visited the 50-acre compound featuring 80 tan, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages connected by dirt roads and newly laid grass sod in Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The first wave of about 30 immigrants will begin arriving in coming weeks and the cabins will eventually hold up to 480 people. Housing being constructed nearby will push capacity to 2,400 by around May.

Advocates say immigrant families are often fleeing drug or gang violence in Central America and should be released to relatives already in the U.S., rather than being locked up. The daily cost of family detention is about $296 per person, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly double the average cost of holding adults as estimated by the National Immigration Forum advocacy group.

Women and children at Dilley will remain until they are deported, released on bond or begin immigration court proceedings that could allow them to stay in the United States. ICE says 70 percent of immigrant families released into the U.S. never showed up for follow-up appointments part of the reason the agency is adding detention capacity.

Dillys cottages include bunk beds and cribs that can sleep up to eight, a flat-screen TV and a kitchen though cooking is prohibited to prevent fires. The cafeteria is open 12 hours daily and snacks can be had around the clock.

Theres medical care and counselors, trailer classrooms, library and email access and a basketball court and playgrounds all meant to showcase the softer side of immigration detention. Yet Johnson stressed that despite President Barack Obamas recently announced executive actions on immigration, anyone who crossed illegally into the U.S. this year remains a priority for deportation.

This must be clear: Our borders are not open to illegal migration, he said.

Dilley opens as officials are closing a temporary family immigration detention center that, at its height, held about 700 people on the grounds of a law enforcement training center in Artesia, New Mexico. It opened in June, at the height of a crush of families at the border, while Dilley begins during a lull.

Link:
Nations Largest Family Lockup To Open In South Texas

The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a former oil field workers' camp in rural South Texas that's being converted into the nation's largest family immigration detention center, as federal authorities brace for the possibility that mothers and children may again come pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited the 50-acre compound featuring 80 tan, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages connected by dirt roads and newly laid grass sod in Dilley, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The first wave of about 30 immigrants will begin arriving in coming weeks and the cabins will eventually hold up to 480 people. Housing being constructed nearby will push capacity to 2,400 by around May.

Advocates say immigrant families are often fleeing drug or gang violence in Central America and should be released to relatives already in the U.S., rather than being locked up. The daily cost of family detention is about $296 per person, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nearly double the average cost of holding adults as estimated by the National Immigration Forum advocacy group.

Women and children at Dilley will remain until they are deported, released on bond or begin immigration court proceedings that could allow them to stay in the United States. ICE says 70 percent of immigrant families released into the U.S. never showed up for follow-up appointments part of the reason the agency is adding detention capacity.

Dilly's cottages include bunk beds and cribs that can sleep up to eight, a flat-screen TV and a kitchen though cooking is prohibited to prevent fires. The cafeteria is open 12 hours daily and snacks can be had around the clock.

There's medical care and counselors, trailer classrooms, library and email access and a basketball court and playgrounds all meant to showcase the softer side of immigration detention. Yet Johnson stressed that despite President Barack Obama's recently announced executive actions on immigration, anyone who crossed illegally into the U.S. this year remains a priority for deportation.

"This must be clear: Our borders are not open to illegal migration," he said.

Dilley opens as officials are closing a temporary family immigration detention center that, at its height, held about 700 people on the grounds of a law enforcement training center in Artesia, New Mexico. It opened in June, at the height of a crush of families at the border, while Dilley begins during a lull.

But Royce Bernstein Murray, director of policy for the National Immigrant Justice Center, said patterns are seasonal and advocates and federal officials alike expect crossings to increase again in the spring.

Original post:
South Texas family lockup will be nation's largest immigration detention center

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New Lawn Sod Farm in Belleville Michigan has been ...

The failure of the Faber Field bond referendum, and probability of major rehab work at the Coleman School softball field, will heighten the need for district/borough sports coordination in upcoming months, according to Glen Rock Board of Education (BOE) member Carlo Cella III.

At the Nov. 24 BOE meeting, Cella, board liaison to the municipal Recreation Advisory Board (RAB), said, "The Faber Field referendum defeat was a major topic at the Nov. 18 RAB meeting, and (scheduling) is something that we need to be involved with."

Cella added, "In case it isn't generally known, the high school and middle school send many varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams to play baseball, soccer and lacrosse at Faber Field, and everyone needs to be aware of that."

He added that "I also discussed our intention to modify the Coleman field, and that tentatively, we are thinking of closing it down starting at the end of the current school year, to be reopened for girls softball in March 2016.

"So we need to get closely-coordinated with the borough with respect to opening and closing fields - ours and theirs," Cella said.

The possible shutdown of lower Faber - near-term due to deteriorating conditions, and longer-range should the possible alternative of a natural grass renovation there require an initial "rest" period - has loomed larger since Glen Rock voters defeated the synthetic turf plan in November.

BOE alternatives for Coleman's also-declining fields have been deliberated for over a year - with $430,000 already budgeted in the current school year to re-sod the school's playing surfaces.

In light of all possibilities, Cella said district buildings and grounds supervisor Sandy Marinos and athletic director Frank Violante will jointly engage with borough recreation officials and others on a comprehensive field usage and utilization study.

That initiative will be an integral part of the charge to the new ad hoc committee established by Mayor John van Keuren, which will address alternative solutions at Faber Field or elsewhere, in the context of overall recreation facility needs. Referring to that group, Cella said, "We will be providing input to the committee, but we will not be part of it."

The BOE is currently vetting a tandem investment to add lights to the high school's synthetic turf football/all-purpose stadium, alongside the budgeted natural grass rehabilitation at Coleman.

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Glen Rock school officials join talks on field usage