The climate of Southern California is great for creating a
garden that bursts with color and blooms virtually year-round. Fall and winter
is the time to rest, but a little pruning, fertilizing, and organizing can give
you a leg up on the rest of the year. Come springtime, garden activities
include mowing and fertilizing, as well as plant prep for hotter summer
temperatures. Prime growing season tasks include keeping on top of weeds and
spent flowers and supplementing water when needed. Unlike much of the country,
Southern California gardeners spend fall planting again before waiting for
winter rains and restoration. Through all the seasons, help your garden by
planting a few favorite, super-easy perennials and hardy native plants. Even
though the sun shines almost year-round in Southern California, deer can be an
issue; check out plants less palatable to these pesky animals. If you're looking
for inspiration, tour a Southern California garden where the gardener uses
spaces to create garden rooms. Rink Rats recommends in Claremont, California
the wonderful Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
Two of
The Best Perennials for Your Garden –
Every region has its share of extra-easy plants. These
time-tested favorites have become classics of country and cottage gardens and
are full of heirloom charm. Pick these perennials and you can enjoy a colorful,
almost carefree yard. We've pulled together some of the easiest-to-grow
perennials in the Southwest. Add them to your landscape for season-long color.
Datura
A sprawling native wildflower with pretty trumpet-shape
flowers, datura blooms all summer long. The beautiful white flowers are
fragrant in the evening hours and the gray-green leaves make a nice foil.
Note: All parts of this plant are extremely poisonous.
Plant Name: Datura meteloides
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and wide
Grow it with: Salvia, which offers wonderfully contrasting
spiky blooms.
Zones: 7-11; often grown as a self-seeding annual in colder
areas
Agave
This dramatic, shrub like succulent offers interesting
texture and foliage. It's no wonder agaves are becoming favorites of gardeners
everywhere -- their bold, architectural form really stands out in the
landscape.
Plant Name: Agave americana
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 25 feet tall in bloom and 6 feet wide
Grow it with: Western columbine for a bold combination of
color and texture.
COLLEGE
CHRONICLES – Another law school has joined the war of
tuition. Wayne State University Law School in Detroit is the latest law school
to slash its prices. Reports the Detroit Free Press: Wayne State University’s
Law School will freeze tuition next year and give a scholarship to every
incoming student in a move designed to make a law degree more affordable, while
boosting sagging enrollment at the Detroit school.
In total, the tuition freeze and additional scholarship
money will amount to the equivalent of a 14% tuition cut for all incoming
students, the school is to announce this morning…
The move will keep annual tuition costs at $28,138 through
at least the 2015-16 school year. By comparison, the University of Michigan law
school costs $25,490 per semester. Like many law schools, Wayne has had to deal
with shrinking enrollment. The school, which placed 87th in U.S. News &
World Report’s most recent law-school ranking, saw its enrollment fall to 419
students this fall, down from 484 students the previous year, according to the
Free Press. “For us, it is really important to ensure that everyone has access
to quality legal education,” Wayne’s dean, Jocelyn Benson, told the paper.
In the last couple of years, several other law schools have
trimmed their prices, seeking to lure price-sensitive students amid a national
decline in applicants. University of Arizona, Penn State Law, Brooklyn Law
School, University of Iowa College of Law and University of La Verne College of
Law have also lowered their tuition.
The law schools may be taking a page from the “Crazy Eddie”
school of marketing, but their strategy is not insane.
Three institutions that trimmed tuition for some or all
students were set to boost their first-year class sizes by 22% to 52% this fall
compared with 2013, according to an analysis of preliminary enrollment data by
The Wall Street Journal from September.
NATURE
OF THINGS – Many wild animals are returning to Southern
California this time of year, specifically to Claremont. Students have returned
to the numerous Colleges and Universities we have in the area. The Acorn
Festival returns in November to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. The over hyped
Christmas decorations and gift shopping returns earlier and earlier every year
at this time. “The Snub” returns after a brief stint with the Republicans down
south.
Finally, the Parrots have returned to the Southland and
Claremont, flying west every day at 6:00 PM. The popular theory is that the
Parrots came from Simpson's Nursery in east Pasadena on East Colorado Blvd in
the Lamanda Park area. It caught on fire in 1969. (Alternately I've seen some
stories state the name was Simpson's Gardenland and Bird Farm which burnt down
in 1959) Either the parrots were released to save them from the fires or they
managed to escape on their own in time. From these parrots, the Pasadena
Parrots came about. Other stories claim that the parrots have migrated up from
Mexico but others still state they were originally black market birds released
by smugglers .
Although no one seems sure how they actually ended up in
Southern California, at least six and possibly as many as thirteen different
species have been spotted in southern California. The different species even
inter-breed at times: Sources say that they are yellowhead amazon parrots, an
endangered species that has been kept as pets for decades because they are some
of the best "talkers" amongst the many different species of parrot. Additionally
California's Parrot Project and California Flocks keep track and offer up
information on the different species of parrots found in the state.
Species that have been identified in Southern California by
CaliforniaFlocks.org include: Yellow Chevroned Parakeets, Mitred Conures, Blue
Crowned Conures, Indian Ringneck Parrots, Nanday Conures, Yellow Head Amazons,
Blue Fronted Amazons, Lilac Crowned Amazons, Green Cheeked Amazons, Red Masked
Conures, Red Lored Amazon and White Fronted Amazons.
2014
ELECTIONS PICKS – WELCOME
TO THE FINAL WEEK OF THE MIDTERMS (MAYBE) - The 2014 midterm elections
should end next Tuesday. But there is a good chance they won't. In fact, they
could easily drag into January and the completion of the likely (though not
certain) Georgia Senate runoff between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican
David Perdue. And Louisiana, where Democrat Mary Landrieu is trying to hold on,
is almost certainly headed to a December runoff. Republicans need six seats to
take the Senate and are near certain to pick up three open seats currently held
by Democrats in West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana.
Rink
Rats Election Picks:
California
Governor – Jerry Brown
CA 27th Congressional – Judy Chu
CA 41st
Assembly – Chris Holden
CA Super. Public Ed. – Tom Torlakson
Claremont
Measure W – No
CA Proposition 1 – Yes
Michigan Governor – Rick Snyder
Illinois
17th Congressional – Cheri Bustos
U.S.
Senate – Republican 51, Democrat 47, Independent 2
U.S.
House – Republican 241, Democrat 194
AUTO CONTRACTS
ON THE HORIZON – Part II
(Part I last week)
'Right
to work' impact?
Kristin Dziczek, director of the Industry & Labor Group
at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said next year's talks with
Detroit automakers will include a "whole list of things that are going to
be really hard."
With younger, lesser-paid workers representing a bigger
chunk of UAW membership than in 2011, the union will need to have their support
to ratify contracts. That's why the UAW will need to win benefits for both new
and older workers.
And because of "right-to-work" laws, Michigan
workers will be able to opt out of the union if they don't like it. "We
haven't been in this situation," Dziczek said. "We don't know how it
will play out."
It's going to be a balancing act, Dziczek said. "I
don't think they can get rid of second tier, but I think they can get darn
closer." She said the UAW might be able to win a phase-out of the two-tier
contract in the next negotiations in 2019.
Dennis Williams, President of the United Auto Workers said
the fact that UAW members in Michigan will have the right to quit the union
after the next contracts take effect is not going unnoticed: "This is new
to our members, this is new to the state of Michigan — so we'll deal with it,
but it's not going to be a total focus of mine."
He said that in other right-to-work states, the union has
been successful in retaining the vast majority of its members. "I've
always believed that if you do your job representing people, that people will
be there to support you."
Beyond wages, other issues will be contentious. Dziczek said
automakers likely will seek to reduce pension costs as they did with salaried
retirees. GM and Ford Motor Co. both offered lump-sum buyouts to salaried
pension recipients if they agreed to forgo future benefits. GM off-loaded its
pension plans to Prudential, while last year Chrysler froze its salaried
pension plans for 8,000 people.
Harley Shaiken, a University of California Berkeley
professor and labor expert, said the labor talks will pose a challenge. A deal
"is going to be tough. It's going to require some swallowing hard on both
sides." Much may depend on the economic conditions a year from now and if
U.S. automakers are still posting billions in profits.
Williams dismisses suggestions that the UAW will focus
solely on the Detroit's Big Three automakers: "We're not going to give up
on organizing. In fact, actually we have more organizing going on right now
than we've had for a long time — but we're going to approach it in a different
way."
Beyond negotiations with Detroit automakers, the UAW will
have to negotiate major contracts with John Deere, Mitsubishi and UAW Local
6000, which represents 17,000 state of Michigan employees. "This is not
going to be an easy task," Williams said. "It's a full plate."
Growth
opportunities seen - Williams, who moved to Detroit four years ago,
has kept a low profile since winning election in June at the union's
constitutional convention in Detroit. He's been meeting members, visiting
plants and local union halls.
Since taking office, Williams has met with GM CEO Mary Barra
and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. He plans to meet with Ford CEO Mark
Fields soon. The meetings haven't been a "deep dialogue," he says.
Rather, he characterized them as sessions to get to know each other.
The 2015 contract talks will be the first with Fields and
Barra at the helm. In an interview last week, Barra said GM has a strong
relationship with the UAW and a good relationship with union leaders.
"We're having productive conversations about our approach," she says.
"We're going to work together. There's a lot of creativity."
In 2013, the UAW's membership rose about 2 percent, or
nearly 9,000 members to 391,415 — the most since 2008. It was the fourth
straight year of membership gains for the union. Membership is still down about
one-third since 2005 and down dramatically from when its 1.53 million members
in 1979. Williams says the union sees foreign automakers, parts companies, the
gaming industry and higher education as potential areas for new members.
"The UAW has a great opportunity to grow," he said.
Williams' election marked the first time in the union's
history that the president is someone who has not worked in an automobile
factory. Williams, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a younger man, got a
job as a salvage welder at tractor company J.I. Case and joined the UAW in
1977. His past isn't lost on him: Williams sits behind the president's desk in
a makeshift tractor chair with his name and UAW logo embossed on it. It was
built by an Iowa UAW local.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: John Cleese
(75), Rochelle Hanson …famous public servant and finance expert, Juli Roberts …famous
educator.
STEVE BALLMER
TALKS MICROSOFT'S COMPETITION - Given the chance to do it
all over again, what would former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (Detroit Country Day ’73) do differently?
'I probably would have started us doing hardware earlier so that we could have
been more effective in the phone business,' he told Charlie Rose in an
interview last week. A few other tidbits for the tech set: he still thinks
Microsoft is the company to bet on in the long run. "If your time frame is
one year, I'd probably take Apple, because they get the most earnings. If your
time frame is 30 years and I'd probably take Microsoft and Google. And I - I'd
pick Microsoft over Google because I am completely non-objective."
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/1, 7:30 PM ET, Fox;
Stanford Cardinal (5-3) at #5 Oregon Ducks (7-1); RR smells an upset Pine Trees
38 Ducks 35. Season to date (5-4)
RINK
RATS NCAA FOOTBALL POWER FIVE –
1.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
2.
Alabama Crimson Tide
3.
Oregon Ducks
4.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5.
Florida State Criminals
SMALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/1, 4:00 PM ET,
Bravo; It is Homecoming at Maxwell Field, Willamette Bearcats (4-2) at #5
Linfield Wildcats (6-0). No contest
Wildcats 45 Willamette 14. Season to date
(4-4)
NFL
PICK OF THE WEEK – Sunday 11/2, 8:30 PM ET. NBC; Big game in the AFC North, Baltimore Ravens
(5-3)at Pittsburgh Steeler (5-3). Big Ben prevails, Steelers 32 Ravens 28. Season to date (4-4)
THE
SWAMI’S BREEDERS CUP PICKS – Santa Anita
Friday,
October 31
Race #7, Dirt Mile – Goldencents; Rafael Bejarno
Jockey, Leandro Mora Trainer
Race #9, Distaff – Untapable; Rosie Napravnik Jockey,
Steven Asmussen Trainer
Saturday,
November 1
Race #7, Turf Sprint – No Hay Never; Wes Ward Jockey,
Lanfranco Dettari Trainer
Race #8, Juvenile – American Pharoah; Victor Espinoza
Jockey, Bob Baffert Trainer
Race #9, Turf – Telescope; Ryan Moore Jockey, Sir
Michael Stoute Trainer
Race #12, Classic – Shared Belief; Mike Smith Jockey,
Jerry Hollendorfer Trainer
“Bet
with your head, not over it.”
Season
to date (61 - 51)
MARKET WEEK - WALL STREET IS FINALLY ABANDONING AMAZON
AMAZON TANKS ON BIG LOSS - Amazon
reported one of the biggest losses in its history and admitted that some of its
investments had not gone well as it vowed to be 'selective' about where it put
its money in future. The ecommerce group's shares plunged 11 per cent in
after-hours trading ... after news of a $437m loss in the three months to the
end of September sharpened questions about its ability to generate long-term
profits. ... Under pressure from analysts on a conference call to discuss its
quarterly figures, Amazon's chief financial officer struck a tone that was
contrite by the standards of a company that usually says as little as possible.
"With anything new that we
do . . . there's certainly a wide range of outcomes,' said Tom Szkutak,
Amazon's finance chief, when asked about its investments in hardware and
overseas markets including China. ... Amazon's profits have been sapped by big
investments in new Kindle devices, cloud computing infrastructure and
warehouses across the world. ... But losses that exceeded Wall Street
expectations have caused its shares to drop by close to or more than 10 per
cent after each of the past four quarters' earnings announcements.
DRIVING THE WEEK – President
Obama on MOnday meets with his "Advanced Manufacturing Partnership
Steering Committee" and plans to announce some new efforts to boost U.S.
manufacturing ... Pending home sales at 10:00 a.m. Monday expected to rise 1
percent ... Durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday expected to rise 0.3
percent headline and 0.5 percent ex-transportation ... Case-Shiller home prices
at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday expected to rise 0.1 percent ... Consumer confidence at
10:00 a.m. Wednesday expected to rise to 87.0 from 86.0 ... FOMC announcement
at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday expected to include end to QE3 but continued dovish
language on rates ... First read on Q3 GDP on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. expected to
show growth of 3.0 percent ... Personal income and spending on Friday at 8:30
a.m. each expected to rise 0.3 percent ... Employment cost index at 8:30 a.m.
Friday expected to rise 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent, showing moderating wage
and benefit costs ... Twitter reports third quarter results today with user
growth still the big issue ... Facebook reports Tuesday.
Social Security checks will rise by 1.7% --
which translates into $22 more each month for the average retired worker.
In 2015, the average worker will receive
$1,328 a month, or $15,936 a year, according to the Social Security
Administration.
Next year's annual cost of living increase is
up from 1.5% this year, but still less than 2012's increase of 3.6%. Seniors
received no increases to their benefits for two years prior as prices fell due
to the recession.
Next
week: Dear Rink Rats, and Jack Ass of the month.
Until Next Monday, Adios.
Claremont, CA
October 28, 2014
#V-28, 237
CARTOON
OF THE WEEK – Peanuts,
Charles Schultz
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