COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina voters often think of themselves as presidential tie-breakers, enjoying their prime role as the next to cast ballots after Iowa's caucuses and New Hampshire's primary.

But what if there's a ringer in the race?

The state's senior senator, Republican Lindsey Graham, is flirting with running for president, an idea some initially saw as so unlikely that many thought his longtime Senate buddy John McCain was joking when he mentioned it the first time.

Graham is serious, launching a campaign-like organization and starting to lay the groundwork for a bid. He gave a well-received speech to the influential Republican Jewish Coalition last week in Washington. Next week, he is scheduled to visit California to meet with donors and then head to Iowa.

His potential entry into the race has put his state's political talent into a holding pattern. As they wait for Graham to decide whether to run in a state carried by every GOP nominee since 1980, with Mitt Romney's loss to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2012 the lone exception, they're debating among themselves whether he can or should mount a national campaign.

"Everything's kind of frozen here right now, waiting to see what he'll do," said Warren Tompkins, a longtime Republican operative who ran South Carolina campaigns for President George W. Bush and Romney in 2012.

Added Tompkins' sometimes adversary, Richard Quinn, who ran McCain's 2000 campaign in the state: "I've been with (Graham) since he ran for Congress in '93, and whatever Lindsey does this cycle, I'll be in his corner."

Such loyalty shouldn't be viewed as a harbinger of Graham coasting to an easy win in South Carolina, however. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was one of the first candidates to enter and then leave the 2008 campaign, and Romney, who owns a vacation home in New Hampshire, came up short that same year in his adopted state's primary.

South Carolina is deeply conservative in the "upstate" around Greenville and Spartanburg, less so near the state capital of Columbia, with a coastline that's home to thousands of retirees and members of the military who have moved from elsewhere, bringing their brand of GOP politics with them.

"When you come to South Carolina and win, it means you've checked off all the boxes: social conservative, fiscal conservative, strong defense, all of it," said Katon Dawson, a former state party chairman who backs former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2016.

Go here to see the original:
Graham's consideration of 2016 complicates SC landscape

Feb. 12, 2015, noon

In remote Broken Hill the medical staff use their wits to remedy any manner of injury.

Dr Andrew Olesnicky picture supplied.

According to Dr Andrew Olesnicky hospital emergency departments are like snowflakes all different.

As the Director of Emergency Services at Broken Hill Base Hospital, Olesnicky believes his ED is possibly the most unique in Australia.

Outback ER, a new 8-part series, focuses on what sets the Broken Hill ED apart including how different a life-threatening crisis can be in one of the most isolated locations in the country.

Taking in the Broken Hill Base Hospital, The Royal Flying Doctors Service and the NSW Ambulance service, the series showcases what happens in emergency situations without the resources of a big hospital.

While we treat cowboys we dont want to be cowboys." - Andrew Olensicky

Our ED is small. We dont have huge staff numbers so wouldnt be able to move to a big disaster easily. We are away from 24/7 specialist care so if a patient needs a higher level of specialist care they need to be shipped out to Adelaide, Olensicky says.

The ED at the Broken Hill Base hospital. picture supplied

Read the original here:
Outback ER gives a taste of healthcare in the bush

Which teams the Tigers compete against in the postseason usually stays pretty much status quo. The South Dakota High School Athletics Association just released its proposed sports alignments for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. If they stay with the proposal, the wrestling postseason is going to take on a whole new look. The Tigers are competing in the Region 4B Wrestling Tournament in Ft. Pierre next week. They will wrestle against familiar foes in Bennett County, Custer, Harding County, Hill City, Hot Springs, Lead-Deadwood, Lemmon-McIntosh, Lyman, McLaughlin, Newell, Philip Area, Potter County, Red Cloud, St. Thomas More, Stanley County and Sully Buttes. If the proposed realignment sticks, the Tigers will be pointing their bus a completely different direction and join Region 1B. The Tigers will not be alone, as Potter County, Stanley County and Sully Buttes will also make the move. The region will include mainstays Britton-Hecla, Clark/Willow Lake, Faulkton, Groton Area, Ipswich-Edmunds Central, Tiospa Zina, Warner/Northwestern and Webster. Moving in from Region 3B will be Miller/Highmore-Harrold and Wolsey-Wessington. Sisseton will drop from Region 1A to make it a 15-team region. Putting more teams in the region and creating better equality in the four regions is a big part of the movement. Right now, regions 1B and 2B have 12 teams each, while regions 3B and 4B have 16 teams each. The realignment would put 15 teams in 1B, while the other three regions would have 14 teams each. It looks like a pretty solid proposal to me. The only real drawback would be that the Bridge City could be a ways down the line when it comes to the chance to host another regional tournament. Things dont change much in the other sports. In basketball, volleyball and track, Region 6A will gain two schools who are going back to Class A competition in McLaughlin and Stanley County. Winner moving to Region 7A will make it a seven-team region. It will, in fact make it so all eight regions have seven teams. The change in how the SDHSAA is creating a football census wont change much for the Tigers. In the first two years of using male-only school populations, the Tigers will still be 11B and in Region 1. Sisseton, coming down from 11A will enter the region, while Tiospa Zina drops to nine-man football. You might recognize the other teams. They are Aberdeen Roncalli, Crow Creek, Groton Area and Redfield-Doland. Very little will change in cross country. Region 4A will add McLaughlin and Stanley County while losing Wagner. Golfs Region 3A has only Redfield-Doland coming in and Crow Creek leaving. Football has the most dramatic changes for our area teams. No one will face more change than the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte Braves. Class 11A is undergoing a complete metamorphosis. The regions will no longer be territorial. The Braves used to be in Region 3A with Chamberlain, Todd County and West Central. They will now be in Region 1A with Belle Fourche, Canton, Dakota Valley and Dell Rapids. Ping pong that across your state map. All four 11A regions will be a mishmash of towns thrown together during a South Dakota windstorm. The proposal does make sense, though. The SDHSAA is trying to create competitive balance. But it looks funny. Region 2A is Hot Springs, Lennox, Madison and Milbank Area. Region 3A is Pine Ridge, Sioux Falls Christian, St. Francis and St. Thomas More. Region 4A is Tea Area, Todd County, Vermillion and West Central. Nine-man football is going to be a different landscape, mostly because there are a lot of schools switching classes. Herreid-Selby Area is going from 9A to 9AA. McLaughlin stays right where it was so Region 4 will be the Wolverines and Midgets along with Gregory, Hill City, Lyman, Rapid City Christian and Stanley County. Eureka-Bowdle moves up a division from 9B to 9A. They will join Region 1 with Potter County, Castlewood/Estelline, Highmore-Harrold, Tri-State, Warner and Waverly-South Shore. Lemmon-McIntosh remains in Region 4, competing against Kadoka Area, New Underwood, Newell, Philip and Sully Buttes. Timber Lake drops from 9A to 9B and joins Region 4 with Bison, Crazy Horse, Edgemont, Faith, Harding County and Wall. Dupree is once again playing football and will be in Region 4, but will not be eligible for postseason play. Class B will see some other changes in regions for other sports, but there will not be much change. The most notable will be out west in basketball and volleyball. With McLaughlin moving up to Class A, Lemmon will be moving to District 15B along with Timber Lake, McIntosh, Dupree, Tiospaye Topa and Wakpala.

See the article here:
JAY DAVIS: Proposed regions would change wrestling landscape

Updated: Tuesday, February 10 2015, 12:11 AM EST

By: CBS 21 Web Staff HARRISBURG, Pa.-- Officials in the capitol city are planning to invest millions of dollars to clean up part of Harrisburgs Allison Hill neighborhood; specifically Mulberry and Derry Streets, an area now being called Mulder Square.

The city is applying for $6.5 million in grant money to go toward construction, eliminating blight, investing in small businesses and fixing up the landscape.

"There have been times of investment in Allison Hill, but what we're seeing is, is you got to keep after it," Director of Community and Economic Development Jackie Parker said.

This is just one part of Harrisburgs larger five year plan for redevelopment. The city is holding community meetings to discuss those plans. The first is February 19 and 5:30 p.m. at the Hamilton Health Center.

Read more from the original source:
Officials plan to invest millions into Allison Hill

Updated: Tuesday, February 10 2015, 12:11 AM EST

By: CBS 21 Web Staff HARRISBURG, Pa.-- Officials in the capitol city are planning to invest millions of dollars to clean up part of Harrisburgs Allison Hill neighborhood; specifically Mulberry and Derry Streets, an area now being called Mulder Square.

The city is applying for $6.5 million in grant money to go toward construction, eliminating blight, investing in small businesses and fixing up the landscape.

"There have been times of investment in Allison Hill, but what we're seeing is, is you got to keep after it," Director of Community and Economic Development Jackie Parker said.

This is just one part of Harrisburgs larger five year plan for redevelopment. The city is holding community meetings to discuss those plans. The first is February 19 and 5:30 p.m. at the Hamilton Health Center.

Read the original here:
Officials plan to invest millions into Harrisburg's Allison Hill section

Photography with landscape as the focus has been growing in popularity and is a favorite among the enthusiastic photographers, both veteran and newbie. There are many beautiful photos out there to be sure. However, there are some common mistakes that are often made; these can easily corrected, thankfully.

Beachcombers in Long Beach, Puerto Galera

At times when taking a photograph that has a long stretching horizon line, it may appear uneven, crooked, or down-right curved. The reason for this can be as simple as the way nature is- bent tree branches, jagged rocks, curving shorelines, and hills and mountains. These elements can create the illusion of a crooked or slanted horizon. It is important to keep these elements of a nature shot in mind and to adjust for them to ensure the horizon is indeed straight when you finally snap that photo. This is easily achieved by paying attention to the hold you have on the camera and the angle and tilt of the camera as you get the right perspective either one side to the other or tilted a little more towards the front or back of the camera.

South Palms Resort Panglao Island

Making sure the horizon in your photos is straight is of great importance because while certain elements such as trees, fences and rocks can be crooked, when the horizon is not level it can destroy the impact of the photo. It can be a challenge to ensure a level horizon, but as with many other things in life practice makes perfect!

Editing can solve slight problems in horizon alignment by simply using the rotating tool and doing some selective cropping with a digital photo program. Whether you use an expensive program like Photoshop or a free program like GIMP, the wonders of technology can make correcting these minor issues much easier and less stressful.

A relatively new revelation to some photographers is a new application of the old rule of 3rds. Beyond the typical standard of using the grid for setting up and framing photos, there is another impact for this rule, and that is creating even stronger nature based photos.

Campo Santo of Nagcarlans Underground Cemetery

When you line up a horizon in your shot, it creates a stronger and more dramatic finished result when the horizon is either in the upper 3rd or lower 3rd of the photograph. Having more sky above or ground below creates a stronger image than having the horizon lined up in the very center of the photograph.

Using this method gives a strong sense of expanse and depth to an image. Centering the horizon in the shot diminishes this effect and weakens the photo. So by simply shifting the horizon up or down in the shot, you can turn a good photo in a breath taking one with a very interesting composition and feel.

Visit link:
Travel Photography: Tips For Great Landscape Photos

Innovative Landscapes is your complete landscape design and construction company in the Hills District, Sydney.

We believe in creating landscapes for lifestyles, no matter what that lifestyle is. Our landscaping team can design a tailored outdoor living space that ensures you take full advantage of your surroundings, whilst staying in tune with the land and natural environment.

We have proven experience in transforming residential spaces from inner-city courtyards and suburban blocks to manicured acreage as well as performing work in the commercial market.

Our landscapers work closely with the client from the concept stage through to the completion of the project, and maintain a professional and approachable attitude throughout the process. This results in an enjoyable and stress-free experience for everyone.

Our services cover everything from outdoor kitchens and swimming pool design to pergolas, decking and retaining walls. We also provide one of the top services for pool construction to Hills District and wider Sydney residents. As with all our projects, all elements of the process are managed by Innovative Landscapes, so you only deal with one company.

Whether its pool design and construction or a total backyard makeover at Innovative Landscapes, we work hard to deliver a final product that exceeds all expectations. To ensure your landscaping investment is worthwhile, we will create a space that not only adds value to your property, but that you will enjoy being in. Why not make the most of your surroundings and enjoy your leisure time at home?

Have a look through our website to find out more about our work in landscape construction and design in Sydney Hills and the surrounding areas. Or, give us a call on 0410 414 473 to discuss your project.

View original post here:
Landscape Design & Pool Construction Hills District Sydney ...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Landscape architects must come upon the Shore Course with the same timidity that befalls a caricaturist confronted with the Mona Lisa.

Consider the image: jade-colored fairways sweep along a Pacific Ocean pounding insistently at the shore, while bentgrass greens are surrounded by natural rocks and sugary bunkers. Here and there, the horizon is pierced by the jagged scribble of cypress trees.

Part of the stately Monterey Peninsula Country Club, the Shore Course is one of several renowned golf courses on the Monterey Peninsula. This week, three of them -- Shore Course, Spyglass Hill and the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links -- will play host to the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The marquee event emphasizes the region's golf ties, with 28 courses helping bolster the Monterey County's $2.3 billion tourist economy. And yet these luxuries have an open secret in an arid, drought-stricken setting where policymakers fight over water like bickering divorcees -- they require billions of gallons annually, and no one says a peep.

One reason is that California's loose groundwater rules have given many courses unfettered access to water. Another is that several courses, including those playing host this week to Bill Murray, Ray Romano, Buster Posey and some of the world's best golfers, realized long ago that the well was running dry, and decided to do something about it.

That story was the first chapter in a book that is still being written, one that involves litigation, plenty of wheeling and dealing and how communities define themselves. As California's seemingly interminable drought stretches on, local golf courses have started turning to recycled wastewater, begun to let creeks run dry and even reshaped course layouts.

But another chapter is still to come. While many courses have made impressive strides in adapting low-impact water practices, more still pump unregulated water from aquifers.

That could be about to change. Under California's 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the state's highest-priority groundwater basins -- and several on the Central Coast rank at or near the top -- will be forced to examine their long-term sustainability for the first time in state history.

And that means some courses could find themselves playing from a very difficult lie.

How it Works

Read the original:
How Monterey County golf courses find ways to deal with California's ongoing drought

California Custom Landscape (909) 465-6515 C.L. #791956

Agoura Hills | Alhambra | Arcadia | Artesia | Avalon | Azusa | Baldwin Park | Bell | Bell Gardens | Bellflower | Beverly Hills | Bradbury | Burbank | Calabasas | Carson | Cerritos | Claremont | Commerce | Compton | Covina | Cudahy | Culver City | Diamond Bar | Downey | Duarte | El Monte | El Segundo | Gardena | Glendale | Glendora | Hawaiian Gardens | Hawthorne | Hermosa Beach | Hidden Hills | Huntington Park | Industry | Inglewood | Irwindale | La Caada Flintridge | La Habra Heights | La Mirada | La Puente | La Verne | Lancaster | Lakewood | Lawndale | Lomita | Long Beach | Los Angeles | Lynwood | Malibu | Manhattan Beach | Maywood | Monrovia | Montebello | Monterey Park | Norwalk | Palmdale | Palos Verdes Estates | Paramount | Pasadena | Pico Rivera | Pomona | Rancho Palos Verdes | Redondo Beach | Rolling Hills | Rolling Hills Estates | Rosemead | San Dimas | San Fernando | San Gabriel | San Marino | Santa Clarita | Santa Fe Springs | Santa Monica | Sierra Madre | Signal Hill | South El Monte | South Gate | South Pasadena | Temple City | Torrance | Vernon | Walnut | West Covina | West Hollywood | Westlake Village | Whittier | Burbank | Costa Mesa | Downey | East Los Angeles | El Monte | Fullerton | Garden Grove | Glendale | Huntington Beach | Inglewood | Irvine | Norwalk | Orange | Pasadena | Pomona | Santa Clarita | Simi Valley | South Gate | Thousand Oaks | Torrance | West Covina | Banning | Beaumont | Blythe | Calimesa | Canyon Lake | Cathedral City | Coachella | Corona | Desert Hot Springs | Hemet | Indian Wells | Indio | La Quinta | Lake Elsinore | Menifee | Moreno Valley | Murrieta | Norco | Palm Desert | Palm Springs | Perris | Rancho Mirage | Riverside | San Jacinto | Temecula | Wildomar | Adelanto | Apple Valley | Barstow | Big Bear Lake | Chino | Chino Hills | Colton | Fontana | Grand Terrace | Hesperia | Highland | Loma Linda | Montclair | Needles | Ontario | Rancho Cucamonga | Redlands | Rialto | San Bernardino | Twentynine Palms | Upland | Victorville | Yucaipa | Yucca Valley

Commercial & Residential Garden Design & Planting Hauling - Drain Systems Irrigation / Sprinkler Systems Landscape Lighting Tree & Shrub Installation Reseeding & Sod Artificial Rock Waterfalls & Ponds

Landscape Design

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

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

Landscape Maintenance

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

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

Lawns Flower beds Irrigation systems Low-voltage lighting Tree trimming/removal Drainage Weed abatement Seasonal replanting

See the original post:
California Custom Landscape - Landscape Design ...

Use Landscape Evergreen Trees and Shrubs in your yard for year round color and interest. Unlike annuals and perennials, the landscape evergreens, also know as conifers, evergreen shrubs or evergreen trees, retain their foliage or needles year round. Rhododendrons and some Azaleas are considered to be evergreen shrubs also because they retain their leaves during the winter. Landscape evergreen trees and evergreen shrubs require very little care after they are established. As with all plants extra care and attention to watering evergreen trees and shrubs in the first year of planting is essential. Evergreen trees live for mulch. Well aged bark, peat moss and or pine straw are excellent mulches for all conifers. Maine evergreen trees that produce large decorative cones: Pine cones are most well known. White Pine produces the long cylindrical cones that often will have a "sugar" coating on them. The "sugar" is tree sap somewhat hardened. Austrian Pine cones are large but more compact than white pine and very solid. Their shape is more triangular with a wide base. Muhgo and Red Pine have cones similar in look to the Austrian but theirs will be about half the size and weight. White and Black Spruce have small but still usable size cones. The real prize cones are found on the large Colorado spruces. Spruce cones are more papery feeling than Pine and lighter in color. They are similar in shape to white pine but more round at the tip and wider at the base. Evergreen cones will close up when wet. Allowed to dry most will reopen fully. Here, in Blue Hill, Maine many Rhododendrons and some Azaleas are considered tender evergreen shrubs also because they retain some of their foliage over winter. But our focus is on the hardy evergreen trees and evergreen shrubs that are so at home in the cold north.

Dwarf and miniature landscape evergreens are an excellent choice for home landscaping projects. Very little trimming is needed for miniature or dwarf evergreens. They fit into today's more compact yards easily and they can be combined in their own endless mix of color and texture. There are enough cultivars available now that person could have a bed of all dwarf blue conifers or all gold. Dwarf conifers are the ideal choice to use in a bed that will be seen from inside your home. They are also ideal to use as foundation plantings if acquired at a large enough size to be seen. While the dwarf evergreens start out very small and slow they won't usually overgrow their allotted space.

Unlike annuals or perennials, landscape evergreens will be there for you year round. Once established evergreen trees and shrubs need little maintenance. They provide shade that inhibits the growth of weeds. In spring the colorful new growth on evergreen trees and evergreen shrubs is a delight. Often a lighter shade of color the new growth lends a bi-tone effect to plants. As new growth hardens off the shrubs become one solid color again. Except for those that are actually bi-tones like the Snowtip Cedar. In Summer and Fall the dark green conifers are a lush backdrop for bright colored annuals and perennials. And what would winter be without a dusting of snow shown off on a rich green backdrop of evergreen shapes?

In our garden we have also used evergreen trees as hedges to outline the space, block the wind and road noises and provide privacy. One of the pleasant side effects of these evergreen hedges has been an increase in small song bird population in the garden.

Originally posted here:
Evergreen Tree & Evergreen Shrubs for home landscape ...