Beach pollution at third-highest level in 22 years

Beaches across the nation continue to be fouled by sewage and storm water pollution that puts swimmers at risk of getting sick, according to a report by an environmental group.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found that although the number of days American beaches were closed or posted with advisories because of contaminated water dropped 3% last year, they were at their third-highest level in 22 years.

California registered a slight increase in beach closures and advisories in 2011, most of them in response to tests revealing elevated bacteria counts, according to the group's annual "Testing the Waters" report.

"We have an ongoing legacy of pollution at our beaches, and the problem is not going away," said Noah Garrison, an attorney with the environmental group's national water program. "We need to be doing more to solve the problem."

The top source of contamination is runoff swept into the ocean by rainfall or irrigation, accounting for about 47% of the beach pollution last year. Beaches along the Gulf of Mexico continued to be hit with closures and advisories related to the 2010 BP oil spill.

The report analyzed bacterial test results and public advisories from more than 3,000 beaches in 30 coastal and Great Lakes states. A high bacteria count indicates beach water is likely to harbor pathogens that can sicken swimmers ? causing skin rashes, stomach and respiratory illnesses, and other infections. Interactive maps in the report allow readers to search by ZIP Code to find out how their favorite beach measures up.

The states with the cleanest beaches in 2011 were Delaware, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Jersey and Florida. The most contaminated were Louisiana, Ohio and Illinois.

California, which accounted for 25% of the nation's beach closures and advisories, ranked 21st out of the 30 states in the number of beach water tests that flunked federal health standards.

Two Southern California beaches made the report's list of 15 "repeat offenders" because of their persistent pollution problems: Avalon Beach on Catalina Island and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. Three earned a spot on the nation's one dozen "5 star" beaches with outstanding water quality: Newport Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach.

The report calls on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen a new set of beach water quality standards it is set to finalize this fall. Environmental groups have criticized some of its provisions as weaker at protecting swimmers from contaminated water than the 1986 rules they replace.

To curb beach pollution in the long term, the report says, coastal states must address the root cause and build more "green infrastructure" to absorb polluted runoff. Projects could include rain-capturing barrels, porous pavement that allows water to filter into the ground, and facilities that divert and treat runoff before it reaches the ocean.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

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Synta Pharma shares fall on mid-stage cancer data

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Exceptional Graphic Design Is Art Through the Creation of Ideas

The most prevalent fields of art which has an effect on people each day is graphic design. This art and advertising skill is essential to many businesses. Drawing upon a number of disciplines which includes art, architecture, language, philosophy, and science this form of design speaks both to personal and public desires by clearly communicating messages to the consumer. High quality graphic design is not only a popular art, but also a practical art through the visualization of ideas. Good commercial design doesn't simply make something look pretty. Instead, it is always in the best interests of the client's needs to create advantageous visual communication with the target audience.

 

Often combining a complex mix of colors, shapes, fonts, along with words and pictures, numbers and possibly charts, photographs and even illustrations, the artist orchestrates these elements to create a exceptional, instructive, subversive and most importantly memorable visual result. The most successful design passes on ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate the audience. Every day we are literally overwhelemd with graphic design from the pages of newspapers and magazines, to every billboard, advertisement, and web page we look at. From corporate reports to business cards, to logos, credit cards, food wrappers, to train, bus, and airport signs, and to even all that junk mail, graphic designers have left their mark. Good design means beneficial visual communication and thus a connection between the design's meaning and the audience.

 

Imaginative graphic artists implement both image-based design and type-based (fonts / words) design when developing graphic design to communicate a client's message to a distinct audience. Both visuals and text can create quite worthwhile combinations. By exploring the creative options presented by words via typography and images through photography, illustration, and/or fine art, designers assemble and present their client's message. When the creative process begins, artists need to work with the client to comprehend the content and the objective of the message, as well as often working with market researchers and other specialists to understand the nature of the demographics. Once a design concept is chosen, the designer may have all skills necessary or may collaborate with a number of other specialists including photographers, typesetters, illustrators, printers, and even web development firms or HTML workers.

 

In addition to a extensive grounding in fine art, the finest artists in this field need computer software, marketing, and creativity, an extensive body of technical comprehension concerning special printing processes and limitations, paper materials, printing pigments, digital file preparation, quality control, and troubleshooting. It is common to find artists who are proficient in many programs with a broad knowledge and forms of design just as it is to find artists who work together. Web design plays a important role for many graphic artists, as well as motion graphics such as the titles for TV shows and movies. The expression "graphic design" is developing as new technologies are offered.

 

So the next time your interest is drawn to a poster, a billboard, a business logo, a magazines/book cover, a brochure, or an advertisement and you react, know that by means of design some company has reached with you!

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Sara's House: Thoughts

It's been a few days since my last post, so I thought I would post an update about how everything has been going. I know this isn't a typical Sara's house post, but my house hasn't exactly been typical over the last two weeks. The last two weeks have been so crazy, I feel like I am having an outer body experience. I am expecting to wake up any minute now, oh wait, I AM AWAKE. We have been trying to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of our children. It's working pretty well. My surgery is Thursday, pet scan is Monday, and after that I am hoping for good news, and no more doctor visits for a while.
We went to Tulsa over the weekend to celebrate my husband's birthday. Friday afternoon we did some shopping and spent time with the kids. Friday evening we went out to dinner with my brother and sister in law. I had a couple of drinks and a lot of laughs. I haven't laughed like that in a while, I need to remind myself to laugh more and worry less. It works wonders for the soul. I need to not take myself so seriously. Saturday evening, my best friend came over and we went out for a night of more laughing and a drink. She and I have been best friends since fourth grade, we have been through everything together. I am discovering as I get older it is more important to me to find true friendships, true friends are so rare these days.
I feel as though God has been trying to teach me a lesson over the last year, and it took all of this to finally get me to listen. I am beginning to listen. I have taken so many moments for granted, and I am realizing I dont ?get those back. In life, there is nothing for certain, except death. We are not gauranteed a tomorrow, so make the best of today. Enjoy the moment and live! Have faith. Spend time with your loved ones. Family is the most important thing, they will be the ones to pick you up when everything falls apart. Goodnight.

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UCSF cancer expert testifies at congressional forum on breast ...

Treatments must move into the realm of precision medicine, says Frank McCormick.

Frank McCormick, UCSF

Cancer medicine must depart from a one-size-fits-all tradition, and move instead to targeted treatments, said cancer expert?Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, during a congressional forum this week that focused on cutting-edge cancer research and treatment.

McCormick, director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, was part of a top-tier panel of expert witnesses at an event held by the Senate Cancer Coalition in Washington, D.C. It was the first public gathering convened by the non-partisan organization in almost a decade. The hearing served as a platform to examine how breast cancer research has led to the development of more personalized approaches to better detect, treat and prevent many types of cancer.

?In 1971, it was presumed that cancer was a single disease and perhaps there would be a single cure. This turns out to be not the case,?? McCormick said. ?Probably at least 200 different diseases, cancer is caused by thousands of mutations in a very complicated manner?each of these different types of tumors requires different types of treatment. For example, we have learned that there are at least seven different types of breast cancer. And with further research, we are likely to discover that there are even more.??

In his presentation, McCormick explained that advances in understanding cancer at the molecular level ? especially the discovery that cancer is caused by changes, or mutations, in genes that control normal cellular function ? have set the stage for a new era in cancer care including an array of surgical and pharmaceutical options now available to patients.

Now scientists must move into the realm of precision medicine, he said, in which treatment is based on the specific characteristics of individual patients and their tumors in which an individual?s genetic makeup or specific molecular markers of their disease help to determine the course of treatment.

?This is one of the most promising new approaches in modern cancer treatment,?? said McCormick, president of the American Association for Cancer Research, the world?s oldest and largest cancer research organization.

Driving Precision Medicine

UCSF is already at the forefront of precision medicine.

Chancellor?Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, who shepherded the first targeted cancer therapies to clinical trial as president of product development at Genentech, has won accolades for her innovative leadership in working to create an infrastructure that propels laboratory discoveries into new therapies for patients.

In 2011, she co-chaired a National Academy of Sciences committee recommending the creation of a Google maps-like data network that would integrate the wealth of data emerging on the molecular basis of disease with information on environmental factors and patients? electronic medical records, with the goal of developing more diagnostics and treatments tailored to individual patients.

Other UCSF cancer experts are spearheading advances in personalized treatment plans. Earlier this year, two clinical studies led by UCSF ? the largest ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer ? demonstrated that an available molecular test could predict the likelihood of death from early-stage lung cancer more accurately than conventional methods. The studies might in time improve the odds of survival for hundreds of thousands of patients annually.

For breast cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued recommendations last month that would accelerate patient access to new medications while reducing the time and cost of drug development. The new regulatory guidelines were based in part on a groundbreaking, national breast cancer trial called I-SPY 2 led by?Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. The trial combines personalized medicine with a novel investigational design to identify women at high risk of early breast cancer recurrence. It is underway at 19 major cancer research centers around the country.

As scientists continue to make progress in understanding the complex roots of cancer, they face ?unprecedented?? opportunities, McCormick said during the congressional hearing on June 19. The hearing was titled ?Preventing and Treating Breast Cancer in the 21^st?Century: Seeking the Right Treatment at the Right Time.??

?By continually probing the biology of cancer, researchers can make new discoveries and then apply that knowledge to improve clinical outcomes to patient benefit,?? McCormick said.

Governmental funding as well as a ?steadfast commitment?? from the White House and Congress would help fulfill the promise of cancer and biomedical research, McCormick said.

The Senate Cancer Coalition is co-chaired by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). The coalition was established in 1995 by Feinstein and former Senator Connie Mack (R-Florida) but has been largely inactive since 2003. Feinstein and Hutchison are working to revitalize the group to provide Senate colleagues with the opportunity to explore the state of cancer care with leading scientists, physicians and other health care professionals and patients.

The panelists at the hearing included Barbara Wold, PhD, advisor to the National Cancer Institute Director on Cancer Genomics Research; Leslie Bernstein, PhD, director of the Division of Cancer Etiology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Photo by Noah Berger

Related Links:

Watch Congressional forum

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Egyptian president moves into Mubarak's old office

CAIRO (AP) ? The new Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi moved first thing Monday morning into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he could do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post.

The country breathed a sigh of relief that at least the question of who won the presidential runoff had been resolved on Sunday after the first free and fair elections in Egypt's modern history. People returned to work a day after a panic that sent many home early for fear that violence might erupt when the winner was announced. Traffic was flowing again through Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of last year's uprising and a major intersection that had been blocked for nearly a week by Morsi supporters protesting against the military's power grab.

Egypt's benchmark stock index closed with record gains of 7.5 percent in a sign of optimism after a president was named. And newspapers were brimming with upbeat headlines, after a week of rumors and scaremongering. "Morsi president on orders from the people: The revolution reaches the presidential palace," said a banner headline in independent daily Al-Shorouk.

"His priority is the stability on the political scene," said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi who said the president was in his office to consult on forming a new government and choosing his team.

Morsi, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood group, is the first Islamist president of Egypt. He defeated Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in a tight race that deeply polarized the nation.

Now he faces a daunting struggle for power with the still-dominant military rulers who took over after Mubarak's ouster in the uprising.

The 60-year-old, U.S.-trained engineer comes into office knowing little about his authorities and what he can do to resolve security and economic crises and meet the high expectations from the country's first popularly elected leader.

The contours were emerging of a backroom deal between the military and the Brotherhood that led to the ruling military council blessing Morsi as president. One mediator said negotiations are still under way to hammer out political understandings.

Emad Abdel-Ghaffour, the head of the ultraconservative Islamist party Al-Nour, said in the week between the June 16-17 presidential runoff and the announcement of the winner on Sunday, many politicians tried to mediate between the Islamists and the generals to defuse a political crisis.

"There was an easing (of tension)" when the elections results came through, he said. But discussions are still under way to clarify the authorities of the president and the military. And one of the immediate sticking points is the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament by a court order, days before the presidential runoff.

As polls closed on June 17, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces announced constitutional amendments that shocked the Brotherhood and many other political activists who took part in the uprising 16 months ago.

The ruling generals gave themselves sweeping powers that undercut the authority of the president. That followed a government decision that granted military police broad powers to detain civilians. The military council, which promised to transfer power to an elected leader by July 1, said the moves were designed to fill a power vacuum and ensure that the president doesn't monopolize decision-making until a new constitution is drafted.

Two days before the runoff, a court packed with judged appointed by the Mubarak regime also dissolved the country's first freely elected parliament. The military council followed by declaring it was now in charge of legislating.

Closed-door meetings between Brotherhood members and the ruling generals as well as mediation from different groups, including pro-reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei, aimed at easing the crisis and defusing a political stalemate.

Brotherhood members said the election results, delayed for four days, were held up by authorities as a bargaining chip to reassure the generals in the face of mounting Brotherhood opposition to the military's tightening grip and the group's rise to power.

Former presidents were sworn in by parliament. But with the parliament dissolved, it was not clear where Morsi will be sworn in. Authorities say he could be sworn before the country's highest court, but his supporters are pressing for parliament to be reinstated, arguing that the court decision only disputed a third of the house's seats.

Abdel-Ghaffour said discussions with the generals centered on the Brotherhood's argument that only the disputed third of parliament be dissolved because it was that portion that was elected based on articles deemed unconstitutional. Independent and party members competed for a third of the 498-seat house, which the court said violated rules of equality between candidates.

Brotherhood lawyers say another court, Egypt's highest administrative court, is likely to back their claim.

"This is likely to happen," said Abdel-Ghaffour, whose Islamist party won 25 percent of the dissolved parliament seats in addition to the Brotherhood's nearly 50 percent. "A third of parliament can be dissolved and re-elected in 75 days."

The speaker of the dissolved parliament met with the No. 2 general on the military council, Chief of Staff Gen. Sami Anan, twice since the court decision on June 14.

Abdel-Ghaffour also said talks centered on reassurances the generals were seeking regarding the Brotherhood's control of the new government, including demands that Morsi appoint a prime minister who is a technocrat from outside the Brotherhood.

The stickier issue of drafting the constitution was also raised as well as fears over who controls the key foreign and defense ministries. The generals' new declaration ensures the military appoint the defense minister and control all issues regarding military personnel.

Before parliament was dissolved, a panel appointed by the legislature was supposed to be in charge of drafting the new constitution which would determine the role of Islam in legislation, Egypt's future political system and the role of the military.

In the recent power grab, the ruling generals gave themselves, the prime minister, judges or a fifth of the panel members the right to veto details of the constitution that will be drafted, curbing the powers of Islamists to control the process. The parliament-formed panel is expected to meet Tuesday, and Abdel-Ghaffour said it is expected to continue its work.

"Both sides want reassurances," Abdel-Ghaffour said. "But there is a will for the caravan to keep moving," he said, using an Arabic expression.

In his first speech after being named president, Morsi called for national unity and pledged he will be a "president for all Egyptians." In an effort to heal national divisions, he vowed to appoint diverse deputies including a woman and a Christian. He also has reached out to other presidential hopefuls who got significant support in the first round of elections.

His spokesman Ali said Morsi wants to form a national coalition government that will bring in technocrats and representatives of a broad variety of political factions. But that is likely to take time, Ali said.

Thousands of Morsi supporters, backed by some liberal and secular youth groups who drove the uprising, vowed to press on with their protest in Tahrir Square to pressure the ruling generals to rescind their decrees and reinstate parliament. Tens of thousands spent the night in Tahrir in joyous celebration of Morsi's win. But by morning, the crowds had thinned considerably.

But Brotherhood officials said the protests will continue until the military responds to their demands.

The military-backed government, headed by Kamal el-Ganzouri, resigned Monday, according to legal tradition. The military council asked it to stay as a caretaker government, state TV said.

Morsi faces enormous challenges of improving the economy and maintaining law and order ? both of which deteriorated in the post-Mubarak period. His victory is a stunning achievement for the Muslim Brotherhood, a shadowy organization repressed by successive regimes.

He is Egypt's first civilian president ? his four predecessors all came from the ranks of the military.

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Wikipedia founder backs UK student wanted by US

LONDON (AP) ? The founder of Wikipedia urged British officials on Monday to block the extradition of a 24-year-old British student wanted in the United States over alleged copyright offenses.

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales expressed support for Richard O'Dwyer, who was arrested at his university dorm in 2010 by British officers accompanied by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. O'Dwyer's alleged crime was running a file-swapping website called TVShack.net, where users shared links to movies and television shows, many of them protected by copyright.

Wales said merely posting links is not a crime and urged citizens to stand up for their rights online.

"Richard O'Dwyer is the human face of the battle between the content industry and the interests of the general public," Wales said in an online petition posted on Change.org, adding that the student had always done his best to "play by the rules."

By midday Monday the petition to halt O'Dwyer's extradition had gained more than 20,400 signatures.

The Guardian newspaper has thrown its support behind O'Dwyer as well, saying in an editorial published Monday that his case was "unfair" and "absurd."

Associated Press

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