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NEW ORLEANS -- The director of the New Orleans Recreation Department will step down from his post to take a job with the Children's Defense Fund, NORD announced Wednesday.

Larry Barbarino Jr.'s last day is Friday, the city said. The Children's Defense Fund would not confirm to WDSU that Barbarino is taking a job there and had no comment.

"Larry, given some of the limitations of our system right now, you know has done a good job and certainly has tried to do what's right for this community," City Council President Arnie Fielkow said. "So I wish him the very best in his future work."

Barabino was hired in the summer of 2006 to rebuild the city's recreation department after Hurricane Katrina. The city estimates the hurricane and flood damage to NORD facilities exceeded $60 million.

During the past three years, Barabino is credited with getting 90 playgrounds, 10 swimming pools and 23 recovery projects up and running.

Fielkow said he appreciates Barabino's efforts as the head of NORD. But as the chairman of the Youth and Recreation Committee, he said there's too much turnover in the department's leadership, and he would like to see New Orleans emulate other cities.

"Philadelphia, Gwinett County (Georgia), Baton Rouge, you know, have shown that maybe using a commissioned model dedicating a specific funding stream so that the amount of money is not politicized each year as we go through budgeting. All of these are what make really good recreation systems in America right now," Fielkow said.

Ultimately, Fielkow envisions NORD offering great programs and facilities that are seamless from neighborhood to neighborhood, a vision shared by a NORD parent.

"I feel like anything can be improved upon and I feel like his stepping down shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but it can certainly bring in an opportunity for a new party to bring in a bold new vision," said parent Jean-Paul Villere.

The city has yet to name a replacement for Barabino. Fielkow said it's likely the associate director will serve in the interim. The position is appointed by the mayor.

Nonprofit hospitals can breathe a sigh of relief that a health-care overhaul proposed by Sen. Max Baucus doesn’t include an excise-tax measure that had been contemplated just a few months ago for hospitals not offering enough charity care.

For months, nonprofit hospitals have feared minimum charity-care requirements after a set of options released in May by the Baucus-led Senate Finance Committee suggested Congress would take the tax route. The threat of a tax on nonprofit hospitals had come mostly from Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, who has been questioning for years the charitable — thus tax-exempt –- status of some nonprofits that pay executives huge corporate-like salaries and sue poor patients for payments, while amassing great wealth during the stock market’s boom years.

Instead, the Baucus bill unveiled today adds four relatively benign requirements of hospitals, many of which have already adopted most of the practices. The requirements are:

* a periodic community needs assessment
* publicizing financial assistance policies
* limiting the billing of patients who qualify for financial assistance
* and the prohibition of “extraordinary collection actions”

“What the Baucus Bill proposes is a supplement to, rather than a replacement of, the community benefit standard and without the controversial excise tax and minimum patient charity care standards originally proposed by Senate Finance last May,” said Michael Peregrine, a health-care lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago.

The community benefit standard is a 35-year-old, loosely defined requirement for hospitals to maintain their tax-exempt status. Different hospitals include different expenses in their reporting of community benefits — with some expenses having nothing directly to do with patient care.

The American Hospital Association said it was still reviewing the details of the Baucus Bill and would provide comment later.

Bracelets are encircling strips that can be worn on the wrist, made out of a any of wide variety of composites that depend on the purpose. There are several

kinds of bracelets available in the market today. You can find lot of options for you to choose from rubber bands, plastic bands, vinyl bands, silicon bands etc.

Silicone is a semi-inorganic polymer that is capable of resist heat, flexible and water resistant.

Because of these characteristics, silicone is used for a large variety of products, including silicone wristbands. They are fashionable, non expensive jewelry items, very colorful, enduring and comfortable.

These wristbands have become a mode rage among young people. These wristbands which are also known as rubber bracelets were designed by Lance Armstrong Foundation and sold to raise funds for assisting cancer survivors.

The popularity arose greatly because the silicone bracelets and the cancer foundation’s programs were publicized on the very popular Oprah show. Besides from molded with a debossed or embossed design, they can also be imprinted on, made in single-color or multi-color. Another plus detail is that some glow in dark. The different kinds of silicone wristbands acquirable are standard silicone, slim silicone, thick silicone etc.

Custom silicone bracelets are cheap, they’re socially contributing, and making a big difference within organizations trying to raise money, to promote causes and companies trying to promote activities and events. Along with this, it can be used for money raising, holidays, schools, sports, religious etc.

Rubber bracelets go with all kinds of clothes. Though a single one can be worn , they tend to look better when some are worn at the same time. If you want a clean cut look then wear bright colors. A lot of these come in quantities of a dozen or more, and in every color that exists. You can have either thin or wide bands.

It can be used as a visible and appealing method to publicize your advocacy to a certain cause, sports team, or identity. Custom rubber bracelets are also worn by athletes, politicians and even celebrities. They can be easily made awareness bracelets for various causes that are extending through the nation, similar to the Lance Armstrong Livestrong awareness wristband.

Not only these bracelets can be used as awareness wristbands, they are excellent for fundraising promotions too. Schools, clubs and various organizations can sell the bracelets as fundraisers to spread awareness and raise school pride. Churches can use them as fundraisers to make money to develop several missions and charities.

Ever since Lance Armstrong started the silicone wristband craze with the release of his yellow millions of people worldwide

have discovered a new and effective method of supporting their favorite causes. Today, there is almost every color imaginable to be found on these ubiquitous silicone bracelets; each one performing their part in raising awareness for a multitude of diseases and causes. What does the future hold for this latest fad to take our society (and a plethora of others worldwide) by storm?

Fashionable Fad

Although silicone wristbands have become incredibly popular, it is exceptionally difficult to argue that they are the height of fashion. Even with the cachet factor, it is essential to remember that they are made of rubber. Very few consumers are choosing to wear their awareness bracelets to the ball or senior prom. However, this does not translate into these wristbands as being. Indeed, silicone wristbands have become a fashionable fad. fad, by definition, is a “short-lived fashion…something that is embraced very enthusiastically for a short time, especially by many people. Undoubtedly, many people have enthusiastically embraced silicone bracelets. But, just how short-lived is this awareness bracelet craze?

From Fad to Mainstay

Simple market analysis reveals to us a dichotomy in the silicone wristband industry. Retail sales are beginning to lag, yet manufacturers are producing silicone bracelets in record quantities, with no end in sight. How is this possible? Simple. The fad is fading but a new, effective, and inexpensive mainstay has taken its place custom silicone wristband. Silicone bracelets have already proven themselves effective for fundraising. Now, their fully customized cousins are proving even more effective at targeting a variety of smaller causes, and they are making a dramatic push into corporate promotions and trade shows. Custom silicone wristbands are being adopted by small non-profit organizations, large corporations, and everything in between as a powerful tool for spreading their message, promoting their brand, and announcing new products or even entirely new businesses. Is the key chain a fad? Is the coffee mug, pen, calendar, mouse pad, or T-shirt a fad? No, these items are here to stay. Custom silicone wristbands are here to stay as well. Customized bracelets are more than just a simple promotional or fundraising item. They are walking billboards. Human nature dictates that we share anything that we have received free with practically everyone we meet. If we have purchased a custom silicone wristband to support our local sports team, church youth group, or favorite small charity, human nature often dictates that we share this good deed as well.

The Bottom Line The bottom line is that custom silicone wristbands can and will be used by all types of organizations large and small. They are an inexpensive and incredibly effective marketing tool that puts an exciting twist on word-of-mouth advertising and viral marketing. Organizations are beginning to realize that an investment of mere pennies per wristband has the potential to reach dozens of prospective customers with each fully customized bracelet introduced into their target market. In addition, local schools, churches, and small non-profit organizations recognize the benefits of bolstering school spirit or spreading their message while raising funds at the same time. So, if you are looking for the silicone bracelet fad to fade any time soon, look again. Custom silicone wristbands are not only here to stay,
you can expect to see even more of them as everyone from small local churches to huge corporate conglomerates jump on board. With the possible combinations of colors, messages, designs, and even sizes being infinite, creative minds everywhere will be looking to harness the power of the custom silicone wristband.

PHILADELPHIA--(Business Wire)--

The Judge Group, a Philadelphia-based international professional services firm specializing in Technology Consulting, Enterprise-Wide Staffing and Corporate Training, has pledged $25,000 to the nonprofit organization NPower PA for the second year in a row.

NPower PA helps charities in the greater Philadelphia region leverage their valuable resources and make effective use of technology in their day-to-day operations. NPower facilitates changes that allow nonprofits to help more people and increase the reach of their programs, all while significantly reducing their costs.

As a technology focused fir m, The Judge Group believes strongly in NPower`s mission of helping nonprofits use technology to better serve the community. For the second year in a row, The Judge Group has pledged $25,000 as part of NPower Pennsylvania's 2009 Nonprofit Technology Awards Luncheon on October 16th in Philadelphia. Additionally, Judge employees offer their expertise by participating in NPower`s Tech Volunteer Days and two members of Judge`s executive team are on NPower`s CIO Advisory Council.

"The Judge Group`s support could not have come at a better time," stated Anthony Pisapia, Director of Fundraising & Communications for NPower PA. "We are getting more requests for services this year than in the past and economic conditions are straining nonprofits as more out-of-work families need help. We truly appreciate The Judge Group`s contribution."

"I am happy to continue to show our support for NPower and the nonprofit organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region," stated Martin E. Judge, Jr., CEO and Founder of The Judge Group. "Being in the industry for nearly 40 years, I know first-hand that utilizing technology resources to the fullest potential has a positive effect on an organization`s infrastructure and in turn the

community in which it serves."

For more information about NPower PA or the 2009 Technology Awards Luncheon on October 16th, visit www.npowerpa.org.

About The Judge Group:

Founded in 1970 by Martin E. Judge, Jr., The Judge Group is a privately-owned international professional services firm specializing in Technology Consulting, Enterprise-Wide Staffing and Corporate Training. Our solutions are successfully delivered through an annual workforce of 3,500 professionals and an international network of over 35 practice offices. For more information about The Judge Group visit www.judge.com.

The Judge Group

Christina Piselli

Marketing Specialist

610-667-7700

cpiselli@judge.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

HAYWARD — While Bay Area TV and radio stations have been reporting all morning that Alameda County Sheriff's deputies are looking for a 12-year-old

Hayward boy who was missing overnight, a sheriff's department official said the boy is believed to be at his grandmother's house.

KTVU television crews were at Ochoa Middle School this morning interviewing teachers and reporting that the boy was last heard from when he called his father

Yesterday and said he was taking an AC Transit bus home.

The boy did not show up and was reported missing. He was not with his mother, who lives in Contra Costa County.

A sheriff's sergeant told Bay Area News Group this morning that the boy is at his grandmother's.

Concerns about child safety have been heightened with the rash of recent news about missing kids in the Bay Area:

the disappearance of 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell of Fremont; the discovery of Tahoe kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard;

the ongoing search for evidence in the Michaela Garecht and Ilene Mishelhoff cases and the reports of strangers approaching children in the Concord and Pleasant Hill areas.

The Fishwrap of Record has finally seen fit to tell its readers about the latest ACORN scandals (the San Bernardino tapes, which don’t get a mention, are beyond belief). True to form, the New York Times commits grievous sins of omission that whitewash the paper’s own role in deliberately covering up ACORN’s illicit activities before Election Day last November.

The Times article by Scott Shane casts the ACORN stings as a purely partisan game: “Conservatives Draw Blood From Acorn, Favored Foe.”

The lead sentence paints any investigative journalism of ACORN’s long history of taxpayer abuses and shady business and campaign finance practices as opportunistic attacks on Barack Obama: “For months during last year’s presidential race, conservatives sought to tar the Obama campaign with accusations of voter fraud and other transgressions by the national community organizing group Acorn, which had done some work for the campaign.”

But it was a then-liberal whistleblower Anita MonCrief, formerly of ACORN affiliate Project Vote, who worked extensively with New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom last year on several investigative pieces exposing the financial shenanigans in the ACORN web of money-shuffling, non-profit, tax-exempt affiliates.

Strom called MonCrief a “gold mine” in July 2008. One of the last stories Strom wrote — blowing the whistle on an internal report raising red flags about ACORN’s massive potential violations of federal law– appeared in the Times on October 21, 2008: