Monday, December 31, 2007

Have a Wonderful 2008 Everyone!

Dave Letterman Show making light of Pat Robertson and Speedcat Hollydale at the Blogging Sumit for responsible content laws
Look! It's David Letterman. Thanks Olga - you the BEST!!!!


Hey Ed, do you really love "DEVO"? We want to see you with one of those flower pot hats!!
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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! God bless you and your families. I hope 2008 brings much happiness, success and love to all.

Please continue to pray for our troops and their families.
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20 Things About Ed

Kate Coe of Fishbowl LA recently asked Ed Padgett 20 questions.
Amongst them:

18. What's your theme song?
Whip It, by Devo




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Life at newspaper leaves pressmen with decades of stories


By Angela Carella
Assistant City Editor

Published December 31 2007

STAMFORD - Like many newspaper pressmen, 85-year-old Canio Pace has ink in his blood.

And blood in the press.

Printing newspapers can be dangerous - a slip, a moment of inattention, and a hand is snared in the heavy, rolling cylinders.

"You have to get initiated in the pressroom. How you do that is you get a finger caught in the press," Pace said, showing a middle digit held together by a metal pin.

Mike Smith lost two fingertips to the press when he was a young man. His hand got caught in a folding cylinder.

"There's a knife in there that cuts the paper; it took my fingers," Smith said. "That is my newspaper legacy."

Warren Eaton said keeping fingers is a family tradition. He is a fourth-generation pressman.

"I have all my fingers. My father had all his fingers; my grandfather, too," Eaton said. "Great-grandpa, I don't know about."

John DeSousa has all his fingers - his problem is keeping them clean.

"You get all kinds of ink on you," DeSousa said. "If you're going out to dinner after work, you got to scrub. I use bleach."

Pace, Smith, Eaton, DeSousa and other pressmen at The Advocate and Greenwich Time have spent most of their lives printing newspapers in the noisy pressroom, working nights, weekends and holidays, ink on their skin and uniforms.

They adjust the amounts of ink - black, blue, red and yellow - making sure the plates on the press are lined up one on top of the other, so the colors are where they're supposed to be. As the press rolls, they adjust the colors - not too much red or blue, just the right amounts of yellow and black.

They load the 1,600-pound rolls of newsprint on the press, using dollies on tracks one floor below. They make sure there is enough tension on the paper so it weaves through the press smoothly at high speed, but not so much that the web of paper breaks. They look for holes in the web, which can cause a break.

But now the 15 press operators and two supervisors are out of work. After 178 years with a press in Stamford, The Advocate will be printed at the News-Times in Danbury and Greenwich Time at the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport.

The Advocate, Greenwich Time, News-Times and Post - and six weeklies in Fairfield County - now are owned or operated by MediaNews Group Inc. of Denver.

The Hearst Corp. bought The Advocate and Greenwich Time from Tribune Co. for $62.4 million in a deal that closed Nov. 1. MediaNews has an agreement with Hearst to operate some of its newspapers.

Because Tribune will sell the Tresser Boulevard building in Stamford and the East Elm Street building in Greenwich separately, The Advocate and Greenwich Time no longer have a press.

For Pace, it is the end of a long love affair with the printing press. It began when he was walking home from school at 16, and stopped to look in the window of City News, then a printing plant in Stamford.

"I watched the paper running through the press. It was fantastic," Pace said. "A guy came out and said to me, 'Kid, you want a job?' "

It was 1937. There was no television. Some people didn't have radios. They learned about the world from newspapers.

To jump to entire article click here.

Hat Tip Margit Rubens
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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Electronic Village: Missing: Chioma Gray


Chioma Gray is a 15-year old girl abducted from her hometown of Oxnard, CA. She is not blue-eyed and blonde ... so the mainstream media hasn't told you about her story yet. It is up to us to beat the drums on blogs like Black and Missing But Not Forgotten or Wichita NAACP to get her story out. We ask all Villagers to be vigilant in looking after their own children ... and keeping an eye out for Chioma as well.

Electronic Village: Missing: Chioma Gray
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Save Our Trade: January Meetings with GCC/IBT Representative Mike Huggins


By Ronnie Pineta

Negotiations were scheduled for January 9th and 10th. The company cancelled the session scheduled for the 10th, so we are going to use this time and opportunity to introduce our GCC/IBT Rep. Mike Huggins to our bargaining unit employees.

We will be holding meetings in both Los Angeles and Orange County.

We will meet in Los Angeles on Thursday January 10th at 11:00am at Shakey's Pizza. This location is just minutes north of the Oly Plant and frwy convenient.

On January 11th we will be meeting in Orange County at the usual spot, Round Table Pizza on Euclid and Warner in Fountain Valley. Be sure to attend one of these meetings to meet Mike and get informed. Bring your questions as well as a guest.

Maps to both locations can be viewed by jumping to Save Our Trade Blog.

January Meetings with GCC/IBT Representative Mike Huggins
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Saturday, December 29, 2007

Tumultuous Year for Tribune Company Employees


Tribune Company Employees, or my family for that matter, will not soon forget 2007; it was a year of negative events and news. Below is a brief overview, with links back to each article, of the events reported on this blog for 2007.



January: 2007

February: 2007

March: 2007

April: 2007


May: 2007

June: 2007

Continued on next post.

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Tumultuous Year for Tribune Company Employees Part II


July: 2007

August: 2007

September: 2007

October: 2007

November: 2007

December: 2007

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Friday, December 28, 2007

End of the Week News Links


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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Tribune Company Assets

SUMMARY OF WHAT THEY OWN:

23 TV stations--Major carrier of the CW Network, which is owned by CBS and Time-Warner

1 radio station in Chicago

13 daily newspapers mostly in big markets

1 nationwide cable channel-WGN

According to wikipedia:

The Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, responsible for the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Hartford Courant, and the Baltimore Sun, among others. Through other subsidiaries, the Tribune Company also owns Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Entertainment, Tribune Media Services, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

On April 2, 2007, Chicago-based investor Sam Zell announced plans to buy out the media company for $34.00 a share, totalling $8.2 billion. Zell will also turn the company private. The deal is expected to be completed some time in the fourth quarter of 2007[1], and was approved by 97% of the Company's shareholders on August 21, 2007[2]. Upon completion of the transaction, Tribune will divest itself of the Chicago Cubs and its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and possibly Wrigley Field.

The deal was approved by 97% of the Company's shareholders on August 21, 2007.[1] Privatization of the Tribune Company occurred on December 20, 2007 with termination of trading in Tribune stock at the close of the market.[2]

On 21 December 2007, Tribune and Local TV announced plans to collaborate in the formation of an as yet unnamed "broadcast management company".[3]

Television:

CW Stations:

  • WPIX 11 - New York
  • KTLA 5 - Los Angeles
  • WGN 9 - Chicago (Tribune's flagship TV station)
  • KDAF 33 - Dallas
  • WDCW 50 - Washington
  • KHCW 39 - Houston
  • WSFL 39 - Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
  • KWGN 2 - Denver
  • WTTV 4 - Bloomington/Indianapolis
  • KSWB 69 - San Diego
  • WTXX 20 - Waterbury/Hartford/New Haven
  • WNOL 38 - New Orleans
  • KPLR 11 - St. Louis
  • KRCW 32 - Portland, OR

Fox Stations:

  • KCPQ 13 - Tacoma/Seattle
  • KTXL 40 - Sacramento
  • WXIN 59 - Indianapolis
  • WTIC 61 - Hartford/New Haven
  • WXMI 17 - Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, MI
  • WPMT 43 - York/Harrisburg, PA

ABC Station:

  • WGNO 26 - New Orleans

MyNetworkTV Stations:

  • WPHL 17 - Philadelphia
  • KMYQ 22 - Tacoma/Seattle

Other TV Assets:

  • Tribune Entertainment
  • Andromeda
  • Mutant X
  • BeastMaster
  • Family Feud
  • South Park
  • Soul Train
  • Candid Camera
  • Ron Hazelton: House Calls
  • Pet Keeping City Guys
  • Earth: Final Conflict

Cable Channels:

  • Superstation WGN
  • Chicagoland's Television
  • Tribune Broadcasting
  • Once owned 1/3rd of the Food Network, but it’s now owned by Scripps co.
  • Radio WGN (AM) – Chicago

Newspapers:

  • Newsday (Long Island, NY)
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Chicago Tribune
  • The Redeye
  • Baltimore Sun
  • AM New York
  • South Florida Sun-Sentinel
  • Orlando Sentinel
  • The Hartford Courant
  • The Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
  • Daily Press (Newport News, VA)
  • The Advocate (Stamford, CT)--sold 2007
  • Greenwich Time (CT)--sold 2007
  • Hoy (newspaper)
  • El Sentinel (Orlando)

Other:

  • Chicago Cubs (and Wrigley Field)
  • Tribune Media Services
  • Classified Ventures, LLC (partial)
  • CareerBuilder (partial)
  • Brass Ring
  • Zap2it
  • Chicago magazine
  • Forsalebyowner.com
  • Channel Guide Magazine

Former Tribune Properties:

Television:

(Station and Market Former and Current Affiliations Sold to...) WATL, Atlanta, GA WB/MyNet Sold to Gannett Corporation in 2006 WCWN, Albany, NY WB/CW Sold to Freedom Communications in 2006 WGCL (formerly WGNX), Atlanta, GA Ind./CBS traded to Meredith Corporation in 1999 WLVI, Boston, MA WB/CW Sold to Sunbeam Television in 2006

-10/2007 Time Media sells the Recycler Classifieds to Target Media Partners. Recycler publishes 4 ad papers, and 11 weekly or bi-weekly photo ad and employment guides in Southern California.

-10/2007 The Tribune Company sells its two southern Connecticut daily papers, the Greenwich Time and The Advocate of Stamford, to Hearst Corp. for $62.4 million. The papers will be managed by MediaNews Group.

SOURCE: GREED WATCH

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San Francisco Peninsula Press Club: Private eye nabs newspaper theft suspects


Higher prices for recycled newsprint have caused a surge in newspaper thefts, the Berkeley Daily Planet reports. The thefts have prompted publishers to form a coalition to push police to enforce a new state law prohibiting such thefts and persuade recycling centers to not accept large quantities of newspapers with recent dates on them. The thefts also led the East Bay Express to hire a private investigator to catch the perpetrators. Zelda Bronstein of the Planet writes:

"On his first night out, early on Dec. 12, the private detective caught and filmed the man and an accomplice in the act. The thieves ended up in front of KMC Paper, a recycling business on Oakland’s Poplar Street, where they were met by eight police cars. The man lacked a driver’s license, and his pickup truck had no license plate. He was issued a citation, and his vehicle was impounded."

According to East Bay Express president Hal Brody, the truck contained more than 500 copies of the Express and nearly that number of Bay Guardians, as well as substantial numbers of the Daily Planet, the East Bay Daily News, Bay Area Business Woman, Classified Flea Market, El Men-sajero, El Avisador Magazine, Diablo Dealer Auto Mart, Bay Classifieds, and Jobs and Careers.

One underlying difficulty is ignorance of the law on the part of recyclers, the general public and even some police, the Planet notes. The Express’s private investigator spent 20 minutes on the phone convincing the Oakland Police dispatcher that stealing free newspapers is a crime. It became a crime in California last January, when AB 2612 went into effect.

Private eye nabs newspaper theft suspects
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Bush condemns Bhutto assassination

Dec. 27 - U.S. President George W. Bush had a stern message for those responsible for the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Bhutto. Bhutto, the former prime minister was assassinated as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi, putting the planned Jan. 8th presidential election in doubt. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

President Bush makes statement on the death of Benazir Bhutto

"Laura and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of Benazir Bhutto, to her friends, to her supporters. We send our condolences to the families of the others who were killed in today's violence. And we send our condolences to all the people of Pakistan on this tragic occasion.

The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice. Mrs. Bhutto served her nation twice as Prime Minister and she knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. Yet she refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country.

We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honor Benazir Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life".

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

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Thursday Morning News




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Is it Cold Outside?



As I watch my thermometer slowly rise to 39 degrees this morning, Jacque Turner and Speedcat Hollydale in Minnesota, tell me this is not cold weather. What we consider cold weather in Southern California is actually warm weather in different parts of our country.
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Pakistan's Bhutto assassinated at rally



Former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was murdered after speaking at a rally this morning. The streets of Pakistan look like Los Angeles during the riots, with fires burning throughout the country. Her killer detonated a bomb strapped to him, killing not only himself, but also twenty innocent bystanders. What a waste of life this tragic event shows.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

San Francisco Peninsula Press Club: Health care cost hike helps union effort


The Guild's $500,000 campaign to unionize workers at the combined Contra Costa Times-ANG newspapers wasn't attracting much interest from employees until last month when their health care premiums jumped, the SF Weekly reports. Employees quickly discovered that the increase wasn't as sharp for unionized employees at the Mercury News, which is also owned by MediaNews. Now, the unionization effort is gaining momentum, the SF Weekly reports. The Weekly quotes one unnamed Contra Costa Times employee as saying she might become the newsroom's Norma Rae, who would lead the effort to organize workers like the textile worker played by Sally Field in the 1979 movie. The would-be Norma Rae is quoted as saying:

"Every day some new crap happens that nobody can believe. We always felt protected here because the Times was profitable, but health care increases showed us how vulnerable we are. MediaNews is going to do what suits them and we really don't matter."

Now Chronicle reporter and union organizer Carl Hall says he is convinced he has enough support to call for an official vote, which requires 30 percent of BANG employees to sign cards saying they want the Newspaper Guild to represent them. But actually winning a vote is much more uncertain. "If we held the election today, we'd have 100 votes," he says. "We need 50 more." By the way, Hall is taking six months off from his job at the Chronicle in order to work full time on organizing the Times-ANG news operation.

The SF Weekly says management held a Nov. 5 seminar for top editors to give them talking points if the union campaign comes up: Editors first assure the employees that it is absolutely their right to unionize. Next, they should seamlessly segue into the poor financial health of the newspaper industry and how there is nothing a union can do about that. Finally, they should politely bring up how the ANG union did so little for its members. Wages and benefits in the previously unionized ANG newsroom were about the worst in the Bay Area.

The Guild says it wants to cooperate with management and work to reinforce quality journalism. MediaNews chief executive Dean Singleton is skeptical, saying:

"I've been in the newspaper business for three and a half decades, and I've never had a union work for me. Management has its own responsibilities, and for the life of me, I've never seen a union contribute to those."

Health care cost hike helps union effort
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Kwanzaa

A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture
Annual Founders Kwanzaa Message
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Randy Newman - I Love L.A.

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Wednesday Morning Linkage


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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Take Back the Times: Is This The First Zell Move, Or Just Coincidence?

By Ken Reich

The year ahead is certain to be a dramatic one for the Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, under its new CEO, Sam Zell. Since, in the newspaper business at least, he is such an unknown quantity, all we can do is watch carefully, and hope for the best.

Already, in the Los Angeles Times Business section this morning, there is an article by Roger Vincent speculating which pieces of Tribune-owned real estate, Tribune might sell, in order to pay down its heavy debt somewhat. At present, Vincent writes, Tribune only leases the old Times-Mirror Square, but it has an option to buy this property, and then could turn around and either sell or lease out the now mostly-empty Times-Mirror corporate headquarters. The Times, he writes, is likely to stay where it is in the older buildings on the famous Square.

There's quite a bit about the various options for the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Zell has already indicated he will sell the KTLA Studios in Hollywood, and there are opportunities for sales in Baltimore and elsewhere. Zell has vowed to sell the Chicago Cubs, maybe even before the start of the next season.

All this is interesting, but a small article in yesterday's New York Times piqued my interest more about Zell's plans, since it dealt with the future editorial page editorship of the Baltimore Sun, one of Tribune's big newspapers, and I think the real proof in the pudding about Zell will be what he does with his newspapers editorially.

To continue reading, click on the link below.

Is This The First Zell Move, Or Just Coincidence?
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Merry Christmas to All

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Get Lost With Easy-Writer: Merry Christmas


By Kanani Fong

My house is always the slowest one to get decorated. While neighbors are very efficient at getting their lights up with military precision the day after Thanksgiving, I tend to put a strand up, forget what I'm doing, then start again on another day. The entire process takes weeks. Some days the lights go on, others they don't. I finally finished this afternoon, putting up some plastic ornaments on a bare myrtle tree. (The lights are new LED strands which use 88% less energy).

I was barefoot and standing in the front yard, when Santa drove by in a white Mercedes convertible with a buxom blond elf in the passenger seat. "Merry Christmas" they both yelled, they drove away laughing. It's not Currier and Ives here, it's Santa in a Merc with a babe out of Victoria's Secret. Which brings to mind what else happened today.

My kids and I were driving across a parking lot, when a skinny woman crossed in front of me. You could tell by her movements that she was a clumsy awkward person. It was in her gait, the way she held her hand. But most of all, it was the way she walked with her enormous bought boobs (maybe they were a gift from Santa and the elf). She appeared to walk on her tippy toes in a shuffle that followed the lead of her boobs, her body bent in a forward angle. It was as if there were a small chihuahua nipping at her heels, propelling her forward as if by surprise. Her hair was dyed and teased, the t-shirt was tight. The boobs were so over-sized that they made her look like a Looney tune.

From the back seat, my son said, "Did you see that?"
"Yes," I said.
"Well, I can't believe it. They're so high."
"Enormous," I said.
"Yeah, I can't believe that little girl was wearing such big UGG boots. I hate UGGS. They're so ugly."
"UGGS?" I asked.
Just then, I caught sight of the girl he was referring to, which was not the shuffling double breasted boobie who had wandered in front of our car. This girl over to the side was wearing bright pink UGGS and they seemed to take up her entire leg.I started laughing.

Tonight I am baking persimmon bread. The kids are watching The Simpson's Movie, I washed the dog. So my Christmas Eve consists of the scent of bread, the sounds of Homer Simpson and laughter, along with the smell of a wet dog. It's Christmas Eve, and it's swell.
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Changing Family Traditions


Christmas 2007 will be over in but twenty-two hours, but I wish it were Christmas past and nothing more than a bad memory now.

I worked a double shift last night and printed the Los Angeles Times for the San Fernando Valley, and when my product was looking it’s best, I was able to relax for a moment and scan through the many pages of the newspaper.

A particular article, by Sandy Banks, caught my attention regarding traditions and how her family has made changes the past two years. Why this was of interest to me was the lost tradition my family had on getting together for Christmas Eve the past twenty-three years. We ended our tradition tonight, so Sandy’s story grabbed my attention, as I should have been with my six children tonight, as usual, and not working.

We have moved our tradition to Christmas Day, and not at my house, but at my daughter Lauren’s home. So Christmas Eve just did not feel normal, but changes are something we have to deal with in life. My colleagues at the newspaper understand what I’m referring to, but many new users may not have a clue why we changed our tradition, so click here to fully understand what my family is going through this Christmas Day.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Everyone.
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Monday, December 24, 2007

Norad Tracks Santa Around The World

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Fruitcake Friends

"There are different levels of friendship. In my world, the highest level is very difficult to attain, it's only available to a select few who have passed a most unusual hurdle. Ignoring ridicule and hackneyed clichés, these few reaffirm each year at this time that they are the finest. These are the ones who love fruitcake...."
Read the rest on:
Get Lost With Easy-Writer: Fruitcake Friends
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Monday Morning Media News


Bill Conover and Laura Molina

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Jacob Soboroff and Why Tuesday?


Jacob Soboroff and the Why Tuesday? team arrived to cover the Des Moines Register presidential debates this week in Johnston, Iowa by horse-drawn carriage. Why? Watch the video.




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Mayor Sam's Sister City Blogger Party

Edward and Mayor Sam
Last night I headed over to North Hollywood for Mayor Sam’s Sister City Bloggers party, and arrived two minutes before the party started, which was scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. As I entered the bar, I noticed the place was void of people, so I questioned the attractive bartender and she stated she was unaware of a blogger party being held at the NoBar tonight.

As I pondered if I had erred on the date of the party, I sipped on a cold beer, and thought about driving back to San Dimas. Feeling a bit foolish for not paying attention to the date, Mayor Sam walks in, which changed my face from frowning to smiling.

Before long there was standing room only, as the bloggers and users squeezed into the backroom for a chance to meet Mayor Sam. The missing bloggers, Zuma Dogg, Brian Humphrey, CD-13, Joseph Mailander, and Red Spot saddened me.

But there will be further parties next year, thank you Mayor Sam for hosting the party last night, I had a fun time.
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Pressroom Christmas Party



Fred Kirby was having a great time at our Christmas party last Friday, with plenty of food for all, we had a great time together for a few minutes. Additional photographs can be viewed on Flickr, and remember, the pictures are grouped into sets that can be viewed as thumbnails as there are over 2,300 pictures with many more to be added.

David Martinez hosted our party, collected money from everyone, decorated the quiet room, and set the food out in an attractive manner. David is pictured with Monica Hayes, our human resources representative.
And a special thanks to Gatha Hayes and Laura Molina for helping serve the food. Thanks for caring about us David, we all appreciate your efforts very much.
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