Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A worker sorts ordered goods into an automated shelving system during operations on Cyber Monday at Amazon's fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, November 29, 2021.

Mike Segar | Reuters

Layoffs and hiring slowdowns have been the top talking points from tech leaders on earnings calls over the past few weeks.

Then there was last week's job report.

More than a half million jobs were added in July, well beyond the expectation of 258,000. Wage growth was up 0.5% for the month (5.2% year-over-year), and the unemployment rate is now 3.5%, tied for the lowest since 1969.

In such a tight labor market, when companies are still struggling to find the talent they need, why are tech companies like Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft shedding workers?

For starters, economists point out that what's happening in one sector isn't representative of the entire economy. Just as the early days of the pandemic lockdown impacted industries differently (airlines and hotels were slammed, while e-commerce and streaming platforms boomed) so too will this next phase of the economic cycle.

Throughout the pandemic, tech companies added workers at a rapid clip. Now, with worries of a looming recession and sky high inflation dampening consumer spending, many of these same companies are looking to cut costs and shore up capital. Amazon almost doubled in size over the past few years as it needed to staff up its warehouses to meet customer demand. Now it's cutting workers, announcing last month that it reduced its headcount by 99,000 people to 1.52 million.

Shopify began adding workers in 2020 in response to the tremendous growth in the number of stores and restaurants that went digital during the Covid-19 lockdown. In July, the company announced it's laying off about 1,000 people, or 10% of its global workforce. CEO Tobi Lutke, in a memo to employees, acknowledged that he miscalculated how long the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom would last.

Changing demographics are also at play in the current labor picture. George Washington University management professor Christopher Kayes points out that constricted immigration policies have led to fewer workers, as have the significant number of people retiring, and retiring earlier since the pandemic. Working mothers still on the sidelines because of struggles with childcare are also a factor. It all adds up to fewer workers available for the increased number of jobs that have been created as the economy grew.

"When you combine the growth in jobs with a smaller labor pool and workers who are just more selective about the jobs they're taking, you're going to have this mismatch," Kayes says.

Dannie Combs, chief information security officer at Donnelley Financial Solutions, says he's never seen an environment like this. He works primarily in Austin, Texas "and there's not a recession here that I can see. There are thousands of jobs available." At the same time, he recognizes that inflation is an undeniable factor for the company, and that he's had to be "creative in our compensation packages and our offers in terms of location and flexibility."

Sanjay Macwan, chief information officer and chief information security officer at Vonage, says the digital transformation that has exploded over the past few years has naturally required and attracted huge numbers of skilled tech workers so there's room to reduce headcount.

At the same time, industries like retail, airlines, and hospitality that ramped down quickly and drastically during the pandemic are now struggling to add those workers back onto their payrolls. "There's a lot of friction in those industries," he adds. "Workers can get harassed and abused by customers, so they leave and go elsewhere and that makes the hiring even more difficult."

Even amid layoffs and labor tumult, both Combs and Macwan are bullish on tech long-term. Says Combs: "In segments like technology, I still believe there are endless opportunities."

Read more from the original source:
Tech companies shed workers even as the talent shortage rages on - CNBC

Authorities search New Jersey residence of Hadi Matar

Fairview police closed Morningside Avenue in the borough on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022 as authorities search the home of Hadi Matar, who was arrested following an attack on Salman Rushdie in Chautauqua, N.Y.

Anne-Marie Caruso, NorthJersey.com

Silvana Fardos, mother of the accused attacker of author Salman Rushdie, darted out of her two-story tan brick home in Fairview on Tuesday afternoon and ducked into a maroon sedan, a hat and medical mask covering her face. Reporters who had camped out on the quiet street shouted questions, but Fardos replied that she had nothing left to say" and drove away.

Four days before, a man authorities say is her son, Hadi Matar, stunned the world when he rushed onto a stage in western New York and stabbed the renowned author repeatedly in the neck, stomach and right eye. Rushdie, 75, remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

Matar, 24, who lives with his mother in Fairview, hadnt been born when the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, called for Rushdies death over passages in his novel, The Satanic Verses, that some Muslims viewed as blasphemous. But on Friday, authorities said he charged the stage in a frenzy, stabbing Rushdie around 10 times until attendees were able to pull him away.

What we know:Iran denies involvement, justifies attack on Rushdie

Since the brazen and bloody attack, a picture has started to emerge of a young man who in recent years had seemed isolated and depressed to those around him, including his mother. He also had grown fixated on religion and admired Khomeini and Irans Revolutionary Guard, posting images of Iranian figures on his social media.

In a weekend interview with the Daily Mail, Fardos said she was shell-shocked by the news of her sons arrest, which she learned about when her daughter, 14, called her saying the FBI was at their home. Still, his withdrawn behavior prior to the attack had seemed to trouble her.

New Jersey:Suspect in Salman Rushdie attack from Bergen County

Fardos told the tabloid that Matar had been moody and introverted and isolated himself in the basement of their home on Morningside Street. He sleeps during the day and wakes and eats during the night," she said. "He lives in the basement. He cooks his own food.

Matar was born and raised in California and moved to New Jersey in recent years, law enforcement authorities said. His parents divorced in 2004, and his father returned to his native Lebanon. Matar changed after traveling to Lebanon for a month in 2018 to visit his father, Fardos told the Daily Mail.

She hoped the trip would motivate him to finish school and get a job but instead he seemed more withdrawn and more religious upon his return and didnt say anything to me or his sisters for months. He criticized her for not giving him a strict Muslim upbringing, she told the paper.

Fardos shed more light on that trip in an interview with a Lebanese television station late Tuesday. In Lebanon, Matar's father refused to see him, Fardos told Al-Jadeed TV in Arabic, alleging that her son was treated poorly by his father.

She said her son grew up enjoying festivities for Christmas and Halloween and read both the Bible and the Quran, although he identified as Muslim. She said she "raised an angel" and that he was a good boy, but that he had changed after a trip to see his father and returned deeply depressed.

At the State of Fitness Boxing Club in North Bergen, where Matar was a member, staff and gym users described him as quiet and a loner.

Several of our members and coaches made efforts to get to know him and pull him into the fellowship of our tight-knit club, as we do with all our members, owner Desmond Boyle said in a statement posted online. It was, however, obvious that he wanted to keep to himself in a quiet and sad manner.

Health news:NJ adds monkeypox vaccine sites for people at high risk of the disease

Police officials have not explained the suspect's motives. They are looking into his social media accounts, which showed images of Khomeini and appeared sympathetic to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that Khomeini founded, according to reports.

Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict,calling on Muslims to kill Rushdie for blasphemy, in 1989.

Irans government has long since distanced itself from Khomeinis decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment lingered. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million, USA TODAY reported.

On Saturday, Matar pleaded not guilty in Chautauqua County Court to attempted murder and assault charges in connection with the attack at The Chautauqua Institute, a nonprofit education and retreat center. He is being held without bail in the Chautauqua County Jail.

Suspect in Rushdie attack pleads not guilty

The man accused of a stabbing attack on "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie has entered a not-guilty plea to charges of attempted murder and assault. (Aug.13) (AP video: Carolyn Thompson)

AP

In her interview on Lebanese television, Fardos was asked if she wanted to see her son. She said she did not. I always talked to him about the future," she said. "Now there is no future.

Go here to see the original:
Mother of NJ man charged in Salman Rushdie attack sheds light on life - NorthJersey.com

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Sheryl Crow opened up about what it was like filming her documentary, "Sheryl," and having to relive her darkest moments.

The documentary chronicles Crows rise to fame, starting from when she was a young girl, the challenges she faced early on in her career and all the highs and lows she has experienced both in her personal life and in her career.

During an appearance on "The Today Show," Crow revealed what experiences were the most difficult for her to revisit while filming the documentary.

"There was a lot of stuff I had never talked about in there," Crow said. "There have been some deaths along the way that have really affected me, certainly John OBrians death from Leaving Las Vegas. My battle with the real low lows and having to go get help, its all in there. Actually, to be honest, it was really liberating finally just talking about it."

Sheryl Crow says her documentary features a lot of experiences she had never spoken about publicly, and called the process of filming liberating. (Getty Images)

SHERYL CROW FELT IT WAS NECESSARY TO TELL HER BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORY IN NEW DOCUMENTARY

Despite feeling liberated in finally telling her story, Crow admitted to feeling terrified during the process, and even more so now that the documentary is out there and people are coming up to her saying they watched it. She noted, "It was king of terrifying laying it all out" and knowing people know "all the good stuff and all of the heavy stuff."

Crow explained many of her popular songs give off the impression that her music is always upbeat and happy, leading them to think her life has always been the same. She believes, however, that the songs about her struggles tell the real story of her life and are the ones audiences can relate to, leaving them feeling something after hearing them.

"People think you have All I Wanna Do and Everyday is a Winding Road and youre upbeat and youre happy all the time, and Soak Up the Sun, but ultimately, its your deep cuts that tell the story," Crow explained.

Crow believes that while her upbeat songs are more popular, it is her slower songs which tell a darker story that resonate more with fans and better tell the story of her life. (Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

Crow's documentary includes her battle with breast cancer, her relationship with Lance Armstrong during his scandal, as well as her other high-profile relationships, her struggles with depression and her time on tour with Michael Jackson.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

While there is some focus on the tougher moments in her life, the documentary also includes some happier moments in her life, and even features her sons. Crow has two sons, Wyatt Steven Crow, 15, and Levi James Crow, 12, who she adopted in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Crow explained she is usually very strict with her children and their exposure to the public, explaining she doesnt allow them to have a presence on social media, but that they are in the documentary and even inspired her to write her new song "Forever," which is featured at the end of the film.

Crow usually keeps her sons out of the public eye, but the both appeared in her documentary, and even inspired Crow to write a song played at the end of the film. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

"They are living through a pandemic, they are worried about their planet, theyre worried about going to school and not being safe with guns and all, and I didnt have that stress," Crow explained. "The song really is to remind us all that every moment is a gift and we have to stay in that moment. Dont be distracted by a phone in between you and your loved ones and make the most of every moment. I wrote it for them."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The documentary, "Sheryl," is available to stream on Showtime.

Lori Bashian is an entertainment production assistant for Fox News Digital.

Follow this link:
Sheryl Crow's eponymous documentary sheds light on battle with the real low lows: 'It was really liberating' - Fox News

Tiger Woods remained loyal to the PGA Tour by declining the LIV Golfs offer. Moreover, the star has been acting as a leader to make sure the existing PGA Tour golfers get the proper guidance. Around the 2nd round of the FedEx Playoffs, 22 PGA Tour players including Tiger Woods held a meeting to discuss and set 2 appeals to the Tour commissioner, Jay Monohan.

The meeting was held to discuss the further actions that can be taken by the PGA Tour against the LIV Golf stars. The 15-time Major Champion will not be a part of the BMW Championship in Delaware. However, he made sure to attend the meeting, flying all the way from his Florida home.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Moreover, Tiger took the initiative to set the mindset of the young PGA Tour stars. He later received appreciation for his leadership in the meeting from his fellow PGA Tour golfers.

In the meeting, two appeals were set by the golfers to give to the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan. Firstly, to play against each other more often. And the second was to not compete against the LIV Golf stars in any PGA Tour events apart from the Majors.

Woods, who has been part of the PGA Tour for nearly 25 years, was reportedly very much vocal in the meeting. He allegedly declined an offer of $700 million from Saudi funded Tour. So it is quite apparent that the 46-year-old does share a great bond with his Tour.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Tiger has managed to win 82 PGA Tour wins including his 15 Major titles. This single-handedly depicts his talent, dedication, and contribution to the Tour as well as the sport of golf. One of the PGA Tour pros from the meeting reportedly said, Look at all these build-outs, Tiger Woods built this. And he wants to make sure the place he built continues to be the strongest place in the PGA Tour.

Later on, Woods good friend and fellow PGA star Rory McIlroy too had some wise words for the Hall of Famer. McIlroy added, He is the hero that weve all looked up to. His voice carries further than anyone elses in the game of golf.

The 46-year-old is widely respected among the upcoming stars of the PGA Tour. Moreover, Woods considers most of the golfers as his friends rather than his juniors. This display of leadership and unity is what makes the legacy of Tiger Woods much greater than it already is.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What are your thoughts on Tiger Woods legacy? Let us know in the comments section below!

Watch this story:Meet Tiger Woods family

Read more:
Tiger Woods Built This: PGA Tour Pro Sheds Light on the Idea Behind the PGA Tours Exclusive Meeting - EssentiallySports

Andy Douglas| Press-Citizen opinion writer

Why do we always think we have more time?

More time to address climate change, more time to stop the coral reefs from bleaching?

Fred Meyer, Backyard Abundance director, thinks its because were in a perpetual state of denial. And yet deep down we know our actions are destabilizing the ecosystem to the point where it cannot recover.

You may know Backyard Abundance as a local organization helping people turn their yards into food landscapes. Founded in 2006, the group continues to evolve, especially when it comes to addressing the urgency of climate change.

Meyer and I sat on his back porch last month, overlooking his own abundant yard, musing about the Iowa prairie, a large ecosystem destroyed in the span of 80 years. Before founding Backyard Abundance, Meyer had gone through Master Gardener training, but wanted to do more.

My fascination was with growing food, specifically in ways that helps increase the resiliency of the land, he said.

He soon learned about permaculture, a concept coined in the 70s as a response to the industrialized way growing food was despoiling the planet.

Meyer decided to travel to California for a two-week certification course.

We learned techniques to actually increase the resiliency of land while growing food, he said.

Putting these techniques into practice in his own yard, he felt the joy of working in harmony with nature, especially every time a bee visited the beebalm, or robins communed with the anise hyssop.

I had this idea that people could enhance the environment by making small changes to the landscape. So I thought I should start a group to work on this local level, Meyer said.

He began meeting with people from environmental organizations, and met many folks who had done the work of enhancing their own yards, people who would go on to serve on Backyard Abundances board. As a first project, they created a yard tour to demonstrate what was possible. The first presentation: Meyers own backyard, on a sweltering July day.

One of the first mistakes I made was to have a yard tour in Iowa at noon in July, he laughed.

But 100 people showed up, as well as reporters from two radio stations, and several TV stations and newspapers, demonstrating the level of interest in this approach.

Backyard Abundance established itself as a nonprofit in 2009, and began offering classes. In 2011, it started to offer landscape design services. One of the first projects was the childrens discovery garden on the north side of the Iowa City Rec Center.

Next came the Wetherby Park edible forest. It was a fertile period, as the nonprofit developed a garden in McPherson Park, and an edible classroom also near the Rec Center.

Many people benefitted from this work. Im one of them, as BA consultants 15 years ago helped me start a vegetable garden, which is still going strong.

But Meyer was thinking ahead. Permaculture had taught him to look at the landscape and try to understand its gifts. And his concern about climate change was intensifying.

This carried him down a path of learning wilderness skills, going into resilient landscapes and learning how to thrive on the land.

Basically, observing a healthy ecosystem, he said, and trying to understand what was really going on.

He and I agree that the prevailing human story is too often one of domination, the idea that nature is this messy thing we need to control.

To evolve out of this, to create life-enhancing landscapes, we need a completely different way of thinking, one of cooperating with nature.

Backyard Abundance has recently been organizing wild harvesting workshops.

The first class was named meet our edible friends. Everything we do is about experience and immersion and helping people to learn and connect, Meyer said.

The nonprofitreworked its mission statement, with a focus on "wellness."Meyer sees the mental health crisis as related to our disconnection from the natural world.

Were offering classes around therapy in nature. After all, were a part of nature, he said.

Lately, he has been teaching edible forest gardening classes at the university and saidhis students have a level of awareness that he didn't have at their age. Theyve been handed a future, he said, that is laughable.

The Union of Concerned Scientists did a study and found that Iowa will eventually have the climate of Oklahoma, he noted. Well have the same amount of rainfall but with big deluges and big droughts. Were going to need to learn how to collect rainwater.

Why do we always think we have more time?

Andy Douglas is the author of"Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir" and"The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga."

Excerpt from:
Opinion: Nonprofit shows we can take the time to help the climate - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Along with conserving water and helping the environment, the city of Sacramento is providing rebates to people who convert their lawns to drought-tolerant landscapes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. TheGreat American lawn, the setting for barbeques, wiffleball games, and picnics for generations, could be the next causality of the climate crisis in the west. In reality, experts say the lawn should never have existed in California in the first place.

"It's insane how much goes into keeping this carpet that really never belonged in California. It's just to fit this suburban sort of myth of the Great American lawn," said Haven Kiers, UC Davis associate professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design.

California's hot, dry summers, attributed to the Mediterranean climate, are not conducive to lush green lawns, and as the west gets hotter and drier due to climate change, states like Nevada are banning home lawns in an attempt to conserve water.

As the state's parched reservoirs reach record low levels and the land continues to subside due to overdrawn aquifers, many Californians continue to supply their lawns with water. With lawns covering 2% of the continental U.S., grass can be considered the largest irrigated crop by acres in the U.S., according toNASA.

Grass consumes large amounts of water, water that the west does not have to spare,according to Scientific American.About half of residential water use in a single-family home goes to outdoor watering, like grass, according to Carlos Eliason, spokesperson for the city of Sacramento. Meanwhile, drought-tolerant landscapes use about a third of the water as regular lawns.

New landscaping strategies under the name xeriscapes could assist in alleviating the stress on water systems. Xeri derives from the Greek prefix for dry, so xeriscape is a dry landscape.

However, this can be a bit misleading. Dry in this case refers to the amount of irrigation needed to sustain it. Xeriscapes rely almost solely on water supplied by the environment, meaning the plants selected are accustomed to our climate. In a word, the modern approach to California landscaping is xeriscaping, according toCalRecycle.

There's many misconceptions surrounding drought-tolerant landscapes as well. Many might picture a drought-tolerant landscape as a barren landscape of gravel with a few cacti sprinkled in, but that is not necessarily the case.

I think one of the myths of xeriscapes is that you can just cover your lawn or cover the front yard with gravel, and you know, maybe five plants, and that's good," said Kiers. "In terms of heat retention, the urban heat island, these front yards that are just all gravel or rocks are absorbing so much heat and they're radiating it all back.

By contrast, the city of Sacramento encourages river-friendly landscaping, which they describe as "an environmentally friendly, holistic approach to gardening that works with nature to reduce waste, prevent pollution, and support the integrity of one of Californias key ecosystems -- the Sacramento River Watershed. "

In a place with a great growing climate like Sacramento, there's infinitely many options. Professor Kiers recommends using plants native to California, such as salvias, sages and oaks to reconfigure your yard along with mulch to keep the soil cool and moist. Planting trees in cities and residential areas is key to reducing the urban heat island effect, which can raise city temps by up to 7 degrees, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Resources like the California State Water Resources Control Board's river-friendly landscape guidelines or Calscape.org can provide inspiration in designing your yard and selecting the right plants.

Professor Kiers also says that xeriscapes are far less work than a typical lawn.

"Once things are established, then it really is (less work). You cut it back every now and then and weeding is the only issue," Kiers said.

City-run initiatives and programs are available to encourage people to undertake lawn conversion as well. The city of Sacramento has a program that incentivizes people to rip up their lawns and convert their yards to xeriscapes.Currently, people can receive up to a $3,000 grass converter rebate for replacing their lawns and businesses can get $50,000.

1/9

1 / 9

More here:
Why xeriscapes might be the next generation of home landscapes in California - ABC10.com KXTV

Though we are still in summer, the cool days of fall are around the corner, which is the best time of the year to install plants in your landscape as they will not be as stressed due to the cooler temperatures. While planning for an attractive landscape for your enjoyment, consider including plants and other items that will attract wildlife to your yard. Remember that what you include in your design, such as plants, feeders, water features, etc., and where you place these items will affect the kinds of animals and other wildlife, like butterflies that will be attracted to your yard.

First, develop an overall landscape plan for your property. Be sure that your plan includes all the areas of your yard you want to plant. Keep your plan simple and try to avoid a cluttered look. Initially, dont worry about selecting specific plants, but concentrate more on grouping plants. You should decide during the initial planning stages where such items as an ornamental pond or bird feeder will be located. Think about the views that you will have from inside your house.

When deciding what to include in your design, remember the three basic needs of wildlife: food, cover and water. The needs are the same whether in the forest or your back yard.

Food: This is one of the easiest needs that you can provide. The greater the variety of food, the greater the diversity of wildlife you are likely to attract. Food can be provided naturally by the planting of grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees. You can supplement naturally grown food with various products that will attract birds and animals. Food is one of the most significant enticements for attracting wildlife onto your property. Many homeowners who dont have enough land to provide water and cover can enjoy some wildlife by feeding alone.

Water: Most homeowners are not fortunate enough to have a natural water source in their yard. In most cases, it must be provided. Ensuring access to water can be accomplished with something as simple as a birdbath or as elaborate as an ornamental pool or pond. In addition to its wildlife value, a water feature can be a focal point in the yard. Locate it so it can be easily viewed outside and inside the house.

Cover: Protection from the weather and places to rest and raise young are essential components of any wildlife sanctuary. Different animals have different cover requirements:

Rock piles or stonewalls for chipmunks and lizards

Dense shrubs for cottontails

Water for frogs and turtles

Try to locate cover close to the food and water; remember, many cover plants can also be food plants. Arrange plants so they are attractive to look at and two so they fit in with your overall landscape plan.

As your landscape matures and the wildlife habitat develops, it will become increasingly exciting. Your yard can become a stage where different species of wildlife are the stars, and the people are the audience.

Do you use the same password for all your online accounts? Change it nowbut not before you see these easy-to-guess passwords to avoid using, based on analysis by VPN provider Twingate. Click for more.

Timothy Daly is the Agricultural and Natural Resource agent with UGA Extension Henry. He can be contacted at 770-288-8421 or tdaly@uga.edu.

Originally posted here:
TIMOTHY DALY: Making your garden attractive to wildlife - Henry Herald

ANTONIO LANGHAM GLANCED across a crowded hotel ballroom in downtown Atlanta and noticed an older, white-haired gentleman slowly walking in his direction. Langham, a household name in Alabama football lore, was being honored that weekend as the Crimson Tide's "SEC Legend" on the eve of the 2009 SEC championship game. The older gentleman walking toward Langham was Roy Kramer, and Langham sheepishly admits that he didn't immediately recognize the former SEC commissioner.

But make no mistake: The pair will forever be linked.

It was 30 years ago that Langham's 27-yard interception return for a touchdown saved Alabama in the inaugural SEC championship game, a thrilling 28-21 victory over Florida. The unbeaten Crimson Tide went on to win their first national championship in the post-Bear Bryant era when they defeated Miami 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl. Langham's memorable pick-six may have also saved Kramer, who came up with the creative (and controversial) idea of playing a conference championship game after the SEC expanded to 12 teams in 1992, not to mention setting in motion the model that still is at the center of determining the national champ.

"We were at the banquet the night before the game, and I'm just mingling after we're all up on the stage and see him coming toward me with his arms out," Langham said. "I look around and am thinking, 'Who's he walking over to hug?' I know it's bad to say, but I had no clue who Commissioner Kramer was. I mean, I had met him before, but I sort of stepped out of the way because I thought he was looking for somebody else."

But Kramer knew exactly who he was looking for, the guy who wore No. 43 for Alabama on that cold, rainy night in Birmingham's Legion Field in a game that shaped college football more than anybody could have known at the time.

"Antonio, I just want to hug your neck," Kramer told Langham with a hearty laugh. "You are my favorite athlete of all time."

IT WAS A HUGE GAMBLE by Kramer and the SEC to add a championship game in 1992. They were the first major conference to do so after finding a little-known NCAA bylaw that stipulated a conference with 12 teams could split into two divisions and play a championship game. The SEC had just added Arkansas and South Carolina as its 11th and 12th members.

"The bylaw was originally put in for Division III conferences, but it applied to everybody," Kramer said. "Once we hit 12 teams, we knew we could take advantage of it, and I knew it wouldn't be popular with everyone in the sport, even in our conference. But our teams having a chance to potentially play for two championships at the end of the season, the conference championship and the national championship, was something that gave a flair to our conference that was unique at the time."

So unique that then-Florida coach Steve Spurrier asked, "Is that even legal? Commissioner Kramer assured me that it was, and I guess a lot of the growth and changes we see today in college football goes back to that game." Spurrier was one of the few coaches in the SEC at the time who liked the idea.

"Oh, I loved it. There's nothing like a championship game," said Spurrier, who revels in telling the story about a charity golf tournament he played in around that time with then-North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith and then-Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams.

"Coach Smith asked, 'Are you guys going to get a playoff in football?'" Spurrier said. "I told him I didn't know, that everybody just sort of plays their season, then the bowls come in and pick the teams they want, and then after they play, they get a bunch of sportswriters together and they vote on who's national champion."

The Head Ball Coach then looked at his two Hall of Fame hoops counterparts and asked his own question: "How would you boys in basketball like it if you did it like that?"

Smith looked at Spurrier and quipped, "We wouldn't, because that's stupid."

In retrospect, Spurrier would wholeheartedly agree.

"Maybe that SEC championship game Commissioner Kramer came up with got the ball rolling," Spurrier said. "At least we've got a little bit of a playoff scheme now to determine the champ."

Most of the coaches in the SEC hated the idea of a conference championship game, and Alabama's Gene Stallings was especially upset. Their fear was that the SEC was putting itself at a decided disadvantage in the national championship race by playing an extra game.

2 Related

"We were 11-0 and hadn't won anything," recalled Stallings, now 87 and living on his farm in Paris, Texas. "I remember thinking how hard it was going to make it for the SEC to win another national title, but Roy knew what he was doing.

"I'd say it's worked out just fine because you're not going to find a better environment or a better showcase for college football than the SEC championship game each year."

And that 1992 title game paved the way for the SEC to win 16 of the next 30 national championships, with six schools winning titles.

It was such a novel concept at the time, though, that nobody around the sport knew what to make of it.

"I don't think any of us had really thought about it," former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "Give credit to Roy, though. He had a vision, and it's a game that carries a lot of marketing weight and a lot of financial weight. I think the SEC is very, very proud of their game. They were the first to have one, and it's part of their culture.

"It's probably as important to them as the Rose Bowl is to us."

The Big Ten began expansion conversations with Penn State in 1989, but the Nittany Lions didn't begin play in the conference until 1993. Delany said there wasn't a concerted effort to go from 11 to 12 just to add a conference playoff. In fact, the Big Ten didn't expand again until 2011, when Nebraska came aboard, and it started its conference championship game that season.

In 1996, the Big 12 was the next major conference after the SEC to add a championship game, following the merger of the Big Eight and four teams from the old Southwest Conference. More dominoes fell with the ACC adding Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College and playing its first conference championship game in 2005. The first Pac-12 conference championship game was played in 2011 after the league grew to 12 teams with the additions of Utah and Colorado.

"It's interesting that some of the most vocal opponents to some of these moves, even the long resistors, have their own championship game," said current SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who helped craft a 12-team College Football Playoff expansion proposal that was voted down in February by the short-lived Alliance (ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12). The CFP will remain at four teams through the end of its current contract, which runs through the 2025 season.

"When we first went down the conference championship game road, we felt our game would be a way for our teams to play their way into the national championship game," said Mark Womack, Kramer's right-hand man who remains the SEC's executive associate commissioner.

"Now, everything else that has happened in our sport, conferences getting bigger and bigger and having their own TV networks, I don't think we quite foresaw the unprecedented change in what we're seeing right now in college athletics. We thought our conference championship game might precipitate some change, but nothing like this."

THE ONLY THING on Kramer's mind that Dec. 5 night nearly three decades ago was that he might get run out of town if a three-loss Florida team managed to upset Alabama and ruin the Crimson Tide's national title hopes. The Gators got the ball back in the final minutes of a tie game with a chance to take the lead when Langham stepped in front of a pass by Florida's Shane Matthews and took it to the house.

"There was a lot of angst even before the game, a lot of angst, and I'm not sure what the future of the conference championship game would have been had Alabama lost that first one and been knocked out of the national championship," Kramer said. "Our goal was for that game to serve as a showcase for the SEC, and I think we accomplished that."

The inaugural SEC championship game was televised nationally by ABC with the legendary Keith Jackson on the call and earned a 9.8 rating, not to mention 83,091 fans packing Legion Field. The game moved to Atlanta in 1994 and has been one of college football's crown jewels ever since.

A year ago, the SEC championship game between Georgia and Alabama led all conference title games in viewers (15.3 million) and attendance (78,030). The 1992 game generated $6.1 million in total revenue, including TV money, while the 2021 game generated $26.6 million.

"It's been a great way to celebrate SEC football, fans from all over the conference there and the stadium sold out [for 26 consecutive years]," Womack said. "I would argue that it rivals the national championship game as the best game in college football."

And, yes, Kramer admits establishing the game was a bit of a gamble, but not the only gamble that night. Langham said he rolled the dice on Matthews' short pass route, and instead of giving ground and forcing the underneath throw like Alabama's coverage dictated on the play, he hid behind the Florida receiver and came from the outside to intercept the pass.

Preseason Power Rankings Preseason polls | Poll reax Top 100 players | NFL draft rankings Coaching tiers | QB confidential SEC | ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten Pac-12

"I was gambling, too, because Shane Matthews was a great quarterback and didn't make mistakes," said Langham, who is on the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. "Something just told me to sit on the route. I just wanted to make a play because the last thing you want is Steve Spurrier and those guys driving down the field at the end of the game."

Langham guesses he's been to about 90% of the SEC championship games since that first one. He's always amazed at the way it has grown and takes pride in the fact that the SEC was out front in helping the sport evolve and grow.

As Kramer surveys the current college football landscape, he's not sure how much credit or blame he deserves from what some labeled a "gimmick" 30 years ago.

Keep in mind that Kramer was also the chief architect of the BCS system, which was launched in 1998 and determined college football's national champion until the CFP took its place in 2014.

Mike Aresco, the American Athletic Conference commissioner, once described Kramer as "a guy who could always see the future."

That future continues to change, as conferences are now going away from divisions. The NCAA Division I council announced in May that it would relax its restrictions on conference championship games, paving the way for leagues to avoid title-game matchups determined by division winners and eliminating divisions altogether. The Pac-12 immediately announced its title game this season would pit the two teams with the highest winning percentages.

Even the SEC is focusing on a single-division model with either eight or nine conference games once Oklahoma and Texas join the league.

No matter what that scheduling format looks like or even how CFP expansion turns out, good luck in ever getting the SEC to give up its conference championship game.

"I don't even want to think about that, because it's a cultural event for our region, and based on viewership, I'd say for the country," said Sankey, noting that the SEC title game a year ago was the highest-rated college football game of the season.

"You think about our student-athletes, and they point to this game now. So we have to be careful as we think about change, and I tried to be with the last discussion on playoff expansion, to understand where there are real points of meaning -- and not just value that seems transactional -- but real meaning. And to me, the SEC championship game has great meaning, and we shouldn't forget that."

Kramer is not a big fan of a 12-team playoff because he thinks it would devalue the regular season, and he also said that 16 teams (which is where the SEC and Big Ten will be with this latest round of expansion) is about as big as a conference needs to be.

Delany, who retired as Big Ten commissioner in 2020, tends to agree.

"What Roy did was break through from 10 to 12 members and redefine what a large conference was," Delany said. "We all grew from there, from 10 to 12 to 14 and now 16. I hope that's enough. I think it's very hard to have a conference that's much larger than 16 because then it becomes a small association."

Kramer will leave it to others to navigate the future of college football. He's now 92 and lives on an East Tennessee golf course overlooking scenic Tellico Lake.

"I guess, to some degree, we started all this," Kramer said. "Some might think it's good, some not so good."

Read more from the original source:
How the 1992 SEC championship game altered the college football landscape forever - ESPN

I was listening to a podcast by Moxie LaBouche called Your Brain on Facts and she mentioned the U.S. School Garden Army. While "Victory Gardens" were well known, (Plant a row to feed the hungry) this program was totally new to me so I did some digging!

The School Garden Army was created in March 1918 by the U.S. Bureau of Education, funded by the War Department and blessed by President Woodrow Wilson. The motto was "A garden for every child, every child in a garden." Each "soldier of the soil" pledged to "Consecrate my head, heart, hand and health through food production and food conservation to help the World War and world peace." (Sound familiar, 4-H kids?)

This program enlisted boys and girls at school and at home into planting gardens to help in the fight in France during World War I. Many of our nations food supplies were used to feed our soldiers, and this program was a real and patriotic way for kids to be involved in feeding their own families and supporting the war efforts.

It was even suggested that they name their garden plot after someone they knew who was fighting abroad. The government estimated that there were 7 million children ages 9 to 16 who could help by growing vegetables, berries, fruits and poultry.

Government publications were sent to teachers. The courses included lessons on nature, preparing soil, sowing seed, caring for the soil and harvesting the crops. Food canning and preservation was also taught. Urban and suburban students learned how to garden and learned to experience the rural kids' way of life.

Teachers were provided with Spring and Fall Manuals of the United States School Garden Army, insignia or service badges for officers and privates, service flags for Garden Army Soldiers, Pied Piper posters and regional leaflets for supervisors and teachers. The teachers provided gardening experience and learning opportunities for lifelong skills.

Some of the lessons in the manuals include: how to plan your garden, calendar of planting and care, plants to grow, adding flowers and fortifying the soil. They also discussed using what we currently call cover crops by planting cowpeas, soybeans and vetch and crop rotation. Hot beds and cold frame building instructions were offered along with methods of extending the seasons to allow more food production. Maturity descriptions of when to pick produce were included along with how to store vegetables on pantry shelves, in the cellar and in an outdoor pit.

Another lesson stressed that it was a patriotic duty to sell excess produce as it provides food for others and an opportunity for household income or money to invest in War Savings Stamps. This important lesson also taught thrift and an introduction to a "business system" that includes marketing strategies.

In reading some of the publications, methods and chemicals have changed from what was taught over 100 years ago. We do not use the same kinds of pesticides for example: arsenate of lead, kerosene wash or emulsion and Paris green. I've also never had the opportunity to use a wheel hoe. Street sweepings are we talking "road apples" here? coal and wood ash aren't things that a lot of homes have on hand these days.

The Garden Army was run similar to a military unit; they had requirements for enlistment, companies, officers and insignias. The soil soldiers needed to keep their equipment clean, keep the garden orderly while being part of a patriotic effort.

If you have questions about your garden or landscape, contact a master gardener at the University of Illinois Extension office in Mattoon at 217-345-7034 or through our online hotline at forms.illinois.edu/sec/1523725. Be sure to visit U of I Extension's horticulture website, exteniosn.illinois.edu/ccdms, and like the Master Gardeners' Facebook page, @ColesCountyMasterGardeners.

From the Nov. 22, 1992, Journal Gazette, this photo of Cosmic Blue Comics in Mattoon; where I spent virtually every Saturday afternoon for about two years. That small back room you see just off to the right of the Coca-Cola sign was where they kept the many, and I mean many, long-boxes of back issues. I still own my bagged copy of "Tales of the Beanworld" issue No. 1 that I found back there. Sadly, this location is now just a "greenspace".

Pictured, Shelbyville's Bob Murray from the June 2, 1982, Journal Gazette, displaying his dominance over the TRON arcade game at the "Carousel Time" arcade at the Cross County Mall, later to be the Aladdin's Castle, soon thereafter to be not a thing anymore. I spent just about every Saturday at that arcade, perhaps with that exact same haircut. No overalls, though. I was more of an "Ocean Pacific" kind of kid.

Pictured, from the Nov. 28, 1988, Journal Gazette, Icenogle's grocery store. Being from Cooks Mills, we didn't often shop at Icenogle's...but when we did, even as a kid, I knew it was the way a grocery store is supposed to be in a perfect world, and that's not just because they had wood floors, comic books on the magazine rack, or plenty, and I mean plenty, of trading cards in wax packs.

I had long since moved away from Cooks Mills by the time this Showcase item about Adam's Groceries ran in the June 13, 1998, Journal Gazette, but there was a time when I very well could have been one of those kids in that photo; for if it was summer, and you had a bike, and you lived in Cooks Mills, that's where you ended up. At last report, they still had Tab in the Pepsi-branded cooler in the back. I'm seriously considering asking my money guy if I could afford to reopen this place.

Pictured, from the July 16, 1987, Journal Gazette, this ad for Mister Music, formerly located in the Cross County Mall. I wasn't buying records at that age, but I would eventually, and that's where it all went down. If you don't think it sounds "cool" to hang out at a record store with your buddies on a Friday night, a piping-hot driver's license fresh in your wallet, you'd be right. But it's the best a geek like me could do. Wherever you are today, owners of Mister Music, please know that a Minutemen album I found in your cheap bin changed my life.

Portrait of the author as a young man, about to throw a guitar through a target at that year's Sound Source Music Guitar Throwing Contest, from the April 18, 1994, Journal Gazette. Check out my grunge-era hoodie, and yes...look carefully, those are Air Jordans you see on my feet. Addendum: despite what the cutline says, I did not win a guitar.

Pictured, clipped from the online archives at JG-TC.com, a photo from the April 18, 1994, Journal Gazette of Sound Source Music Guitar Throwing Contest winner, and current JG-TC staff writer, Clint Walker.

Here today, gone tomorrow, Vette's Teen Club, from the June 20, 1991, Journal Gazette. I wasn't "cool" enough to hang out at Vette's back in it's "heyday," and by "cool enough" I mean, "not proficient enough in parking lot fights." If only I could get a crack at it now.

FutureGen: The end of the beginning, and eventually, the beginning of the end, from the Dec. 19, 2007, JG-TC. I wish I had been paying more attention at the time. I probably should have been reading the newspaper.

Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions, and adapt to changes and opportunities.

For the holidays: Get inspiring home and gift ideas sign up now!

Read more:
YARD AND GARDEN: A garden for every child, a child in every garden - Journal Gazette / Times-Courier

Home ownership has a middle name. Its called continuous work. For the past couple of years, Ive had work done on my house that has caused both my front and back yards to not get the care they needed.

When the steps to my bungalow almost collapsed last year, I had to have new steps poured and new side walls built. I was left with a bunch of old bricks that I preferred not to throw away. So I ended up lining the front of my house with those bricks. I also had some brick pavers. I ended up paving the little bit of yard between my front walkway and my neighbors gangway.

I will not miss having to mow that little piece of grass. I left about a foot of dirt so that I can still have a flower bed on that side. I planted about a hundred tulip bulbs, and this spring, it was absolutely enjoyable to watch all the different tulip colors slowly emerge from the ground. As the tulips died back, I had zinnia flower seeds, which I sowed, and now they have grown into a beautiful floral border for the sidewalk.

I laid in a bunch of grass seed and my front yard is green, although there is still a significant amount of weeds in it. I will be spending time using weed-and-feed to kill the unwanted green growth. But its looking very nice out front and the hard work I put into it is paying off.

I also decided that since the front yard was coming along so nicely, I should tackle the backyard. Years ago, I built a retaining wall. Its the perfect seating area should I have a large gathering, but its also difficult to get the lawn mower to cut the grass in front of it. So I decided to take on a new project. I decided that rocks in front of the wall would be my updated look.

At the same time, a friend who lives way south in Park Forest decided she no longer wanted the rocks that were in front of her house. She hired a man and he dug up 29 black bags of rocks. Id say each bag held over a hundred pounds of rock.

The man took 20 of the bags away, but left nine. And after repeatedly calling the man to get the final nine bags, my friend was frustrated because she just wanted them gone.

Since I needed rocks for my now redesigned backyard, I told her I would take the rocks. I took my own black bags and divided the rocks into second and third bags because they were so heavy. On my last trip home with the rocks, there was a young gentleman who stopped his car and asked if I needed help getting them out of the car and onto the back sidewalk. And I admitted I did. And he lifted those rocks like they were nothing. So to the young gentleman driving that Jeep, thank you so very much!

I ended up spending over two weeks cleaning those rocks because they were covered with dirt, dried grass clippings and other miscellaneous garbage. I dug up the dirt from in front of the wall, added a double layer of landscape fabric and slowly but surely added buckets of clean rocks to that area.

If you dont like doing yard work, rocks are a great way to decorate.

But be forewarned, it takes a lot of rocks to fill an area nicely.

View original post here:
Rocks: a great alternative to grass - Austin Weekly News