(Thu, Nov 14 2024 2:05 AM to TBD) Blue Line service running w/delays due to a track condition near Cicero; board all trains on the Forest Park-bound side at Pulaski, Cicero and Austin.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 7:05 PM to TBD) 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland buses are rerouted via Narragansett, Diversey, Austin, Belmont and Narragansett due to street blockage near Narragansett/Wellington.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 1:48 PM to Sat, Nov 16 2024 1:48 PM) 70 Division buses are temporarily rerouted via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division, due to street blockage near Division/Leclaire.

(Wed, Nov 13 2024 1:48 PM to Sat, Nov 16 2024 1:48 PM) 70 Division buses are temporarily rerouted via Division, Laramie, Augusta, Cicero and Division, due to street blockage near Division/Leclaire.

SHKODRA, Albania, 25 May 2016 – The OSCE Presence in Albania, USAID and the Austrian Development Co-operation launched a new phase of the ‘Justice without delays’ initiative today in Shkodra, Albania, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of court proceedings by reducing unnecessary hold ups.

Judges and support staff, with guidance from the Presence, USAID and local partners, will analyse the root causes for delays in their court and commit to improved planning and administration of cases by strengthening co-operation with trial participants, including state institutions. This will give the courts the benefit of active case management techniques and provide citizens with better access to justice.

“The courts have made remarkable progress in reducing the number of hearings and the overall length of trial proceedings, with no changes to legislation and no additional budgetary resources,” emphasized Florian Raunig, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania. “This achievement not only benefited court users in those districts, but has become an important step toward improving the quality of justice throughout Albania. It shows the clear potential for all Albanians to have efficient justice in all first instance courts throughout the country.”

Ambassador Johann Sattler of Austria stated that, “the nationwide roll-out of the ‘Justice without delays’ project ultimately aims to increase citizen’s trust in the judiciary.”

The initiative is implemented by the OSCE Presence and USAID’s Project Justice for All, with funding from the Austrian Development Co-operation. It was developed by the Presence and USAID after a study conducted by the Presence showed that almost half of the sessions in Albanian courts were non-productive – no argument was put forward, no documents circulated, no evidence taken and no requests made.

‘Justice without delays’ first started as a pilot project in Kruja court in February 2014, and was quickly embraced by courts in Korça, Puka and Tropoja. Building on the programme’s success in these four initial courts, and with the strong support of the High Council of Justice and the Ministry of Justice, over the next three years the ‘Justice without delays’ initiative will be extended successively to all 18 district courts in Albania.

 

Related Stories

• Albania justice reform adoption welcome, says OSCE Presence in Albania
• OSCE Presence supports dialogue on Albania’s totalitarian past
• OSCE Presence and Albanian National Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinator organize regional meeting

Donald Trump moved one step closer to beating Alvin Bragg’s lawfare against him on Tuesday as Justice Juan Merchan rescheduled ruling on motions to set aside the politically motivated New York convictions.

The post Juan Merchan Delays Ruling on Trump Prosecution, Either Backing Down or Setting Trap appeared first on Breitbart.

Due to roof damage at City Hall in the recent storms, the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society [BMDS] has postponed the pantomime production of the Pied Piper to January 2015, where it will will take place at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium. A BMDS spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society has recently been […]

Today, Somaliland took a significant step in its democratic journey, holding simultaneous presidential and political party…

The post Somaliland Elections Officially Begin Amid High Turnout and Minor Delays appeared first on Horseed Media.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has taken helm of the Bureau of East Africa Community Speaker amidst challenges facing the region bloc which include underfunding and perennial conflict.

1. MCD to elect SC mayor today after much delay  Hindustan Times
2. Delhi Mayor Election Live: MCD set to elect SC mayor today after months-long delay  Hindustan Times
3. BJP councillor nominated presiding officer for mayoral polls, AAP raises objections  The Hindu
4. Mayoral Polls To Take Place Today After Delay of 7 Mths  The Times of India
5. Few meetings, adjournments within minutes — A look at Delhi Mayor’s 21-month tenure  The Indian Express

parcelLab, a global provider of post-purchase experience software, has announced the launch of "Trending Late AI," a new feature powered by artificial intelligence (AI)

Regulators want to give more time to car dealers potentially facing a deluge of mis-selling claims.

According to most of the comments that I've read (or at least those from the left) it seems that recent charges against Tom Delay are a foregone conclusion. So much for guilt until proven innocence. But that has never stopped the jury of public opinion before, nor will it now. It keeps the bloggers busy and sells newspapers. Here are just some of the comments:

"Now, that's what I call "Breaking News"! CNN.com - Texas grand jury indicts Tom DeLay - Sep... It may be only a small first step, but it's a start. Here's the follow-up: Delay will step aside as Majority Leader. Temporarily. Let's hope it is more than temporary." "Aww what a shame, poor Tom DeLay has been indicted. Pardon me a moment whilst I shed a tear and play a sonata on the world's smallest violin." "Tom DeLay, House Majority Leader and probably the most powerful Republican in the country, has just been indicted on conspiracy charges. The dominos are beginning to fall."

Or could it be really be just a frivolous witch hunt as Delay has pleaded? Knowing how dirty the game of politics is played it would not surprise me.

"Kevin Madden, DeLay's spokesman, dismissed the charge as politically motivated. This indictment is nothing more than prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat", said Madden citing prosecutor Ronnie Earle, a Democrat. Madden later added: "They could not get Tom DeLay at the polls. They could not get Mr. DeLay on the House floor. Now they're trying to get him into the courtroom. This is not going to detract from the Republican agenda."

We don't have enough information yet and only time will only tell. But when it comes to politics I live by one golden rule. No matter which side of the fence you may find yourself, we should remember that ALL politicians are self-serving. And most (if not ALL) politicians are first and foremost humans and therefore corruptible.

And speaking of that, I am reminded of the maxim "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". So no matter how all this turns out nothing will surprise me.

But the law also provides that everyone is entitled to be presumed innocent until otherwise found guilty. We should all remember that as we follow this story.

One more thing, even if Delay is found guilty does that automatically indict all Republicans? Hardly, otherwise Teddy Kennedy and the dems would have been banned long ago.

It will be interesting to watch how this unfolds.

Political FootBall continues to have problems. What started out as a simple maintenance and upgrade has ended up to be a major headache. Aren't computers wonderful?

We expect to be back to business as usual shortly. We appreciate our loyal readers and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

This is not an exciting story, despite the title. But it’s true. And it happens to dozens of people every day, and is the reason why getting to work in London can sometimes take so long.

First, let me explain that this is not a story of me causing a fire alarm to go off, for anti-terrorist police to close a station for half an hour, or some dramatic incident that has left TfL seeking an ASBO against me.

This is a story that starts with a strap of a backpack. This strap, in fact:

This morning I caught a tube from Baron’s Court on the District Line heading East. Normally I change at South Kensington for a Circle Line to Moorgate, or hop off at Mansion House and walk up to the office through the City. This morning I had decided to stay on the District line until Blackfriars, and change there for a Circle line. It’s a man’s perogative, etc.

The tube this morning was very busy. During the Olympics it has on the whole been very quiet, but this morning it was the normal 8:15-8:45am peak time crush. I was stood right next to the door at the very front of the train, crushed in by about 20 other souls attempting to share the exact same square foot I was stood on.

At Victoria, as is often the way for the District Line, a lot of hustling and bustling went on as people fought their way out to the platform, and others tried to struggle onto the train. After around a minute, the doors closed.

Except for the one next to me. Looking down, it was jammed on my bag strap.

Swearing, I attempted to free it. It was jammed solid because the hydraulic pressure of the door was pushing against it, but not with sufficient force for the door to close. The guy next to me tried to help. The guy on the platform waiting for the next train also tried to help. Neither of us could free it. Moving it simply led to the door moving along a bit, keeping the strap jammed.

Then the sound of hydraulics releasing was heard, all the doors on the train went to open, and the driver climbed out of the cab. The release of pressure had allowed me to unjam the strap, and recover it into the train. The driver confirmed we were all fine, climbed back into the cab, closed the doors, and off we went.

I apologised to those around me for delaying their journey, even though the total delay was perhaps 60-90 seconds.

Then realised everybody else on the train was delayed, too.

Then a thought about queuing theory and a little knowledge about how loaded that line is with train traffic at that time of the morning hit me: I had delayed tens of thousands of people.

Let me explain how I worked this out.

The District Line is composed of rather large gauge trains. I estimate that conservatively, each train is capable of shifting 2,000 people during peak times. There were certainly at least 2,000 people on my train this morning. Yes, they are only 6 carriages each, but each is certainly capable of holding nearly 350 people, and frequently does. I’m prepared to revise my numbers down if shown evidence.

In addition, the District Line platforms are not just used by the District Line. They’re also used by the Circle line between Gloucester Road and Tower Hill.

A glance at any “passenger information display” on a platform along this part of the network during rush hour will tell you the mean time between trains is 1 minute. There are close to 60 trains an hour going along that piece of track during rush hour.

Because my train was delayed for over a minute, this must have caused the train behind it to be given a red signal. This in turn would have caused the train behind that to be given a red signal, and so on. This buffer effect would be dampened beyond Gloucester Road going West, because the Circle and District lines diverge, giving more time for the red signals to switch to green, meaning scheduled trains would not have to stop in an unscheduled manner.

However, there would have been at least - I think - 5 trains affected by this delay in addition to my own. So we’re now up to 12,000 people in total delayed by my bag strap jamming a door.

It gets worse.

I changed at Blackfriars to a Circle line train. I got off the train I had delayed, waited 60 seconds on the platform and got on the Circle line train immediately following it, obviously now delayed. Cautiously making sure my bag was far from any doors, I boarded aware this train was now at least 2 minutes late against schedule.

Satisfied at the figure I had come up with of around 12,000 delayed passengers, I had assumed I had done no more damage, until we got to Aldgate.

The tube system has a tendency to expect passengers always want to be moving all of the time. Any delay of more than a minute or two at a station is always explained via an announcement. As we sat at Aldgate, the driver announced we were being “regulated” by a red signal. Looking out of the window, I could see an East-bound Metropolitan line train crossing our tracks to head across to East London.

That’s when it hit me. We were “out of position”. The train was a couple of minutes late, and so the guys running the switching had decided to give priority to the Metropolitan Line train, and we were held for approximately 4-5 minutes.

Whilst this part of the Circle line between Aldgate and Tower Hill was not as busy as the District/Circle line Tower Hill back West, a 4 minute delay was enough to ensure that the train behind us was going to be red signalled waiting for us to clear the platform.

That would be enough for the train behind that to be stopped.

And that would be enough for the train behind that to be stopped, which would probably be on the shared part of the network. That would be enough to cascade across the whole part of that line back to Gloucester Road, causing delays to perhaps 12 trains in total.

By now the numbers per carriage were down a little as we were close to the end of peak, but there was probably at least 1,000 people per train out there. Rounding up for the few more probably still around the Victoria area, and we’re up to 25,000 people.

There’s obviously some fudging here - people boarding trains at the “correct time” for them, did not realise the train they were getting was in fact the one after the one they had expected, and they did not suffer any delay. But I also suspect that this effect wasn’t dampened until after the peak ended at around 9:30am, and there were people who boarded their trains at 8:30am or before still out there (it can take 60 minutes easily to get from the “end” of a line into central London), whose journey had taken at least a few minutes longer than normal.

I doubt many noticed. I doubt anybody cares.

But it did make me think about how queueing theory applies to real world problems, and how when TfL moan about people keeping coats, bags and belongings clear of the doors, or jamming the doors to squeeze on rather than wait 6 more minutes for the next train, that they might have a point.

If you cause a train to be delayed, you are not simply inconveniencing the dozen or so people glaring at you in your vicinity. Or the people on the rest of the train who would glare at you if they could. But in fact, you have a cascade effect down the rest of the network. Tens of thousands of people delayed, because you didn’t want to wait 5 minutes. Or because you didn’t keep an eye on your belongings near the door.

I’ll certainly be more careful in future.

The next time I’m sat waiting for a signal to clear or am told that we are “being regulated”, I’ll wonder about whose bag or foot was to blame, and how the numbers of people flowing through London make butterflies flapping their wings on the network capable of huge cascading effects on transport infrastructure.

About a week ago, my Mom took very ill, advancing into her final days with terminal lung cancer. So I have not worked on the new site or Behold and it will be at least a week before I get back to it.

My Mom is 84, has had a full and satisfying life and has said she is ready to go - it is her time. She is a strong woman and doesn't want anyone to be sad or worry about her.

It is always tough losing a loved one. But she'll live on in our memories. And as a genealogist, it is my plan to record as many of these memories as possible so that her future descendants and relatives will know about her and her soul will live on.

Ubisoft had cancelled another three projects last month to combat revenue losses and work on its long-term growth

Councillors voice disappointment they are only giving honour to snooker champ after his death.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the International Championship second round after beating Mink Nutcharut 6-3.

The local Wildlife Trust says "extreme flooding" has meant a setback to the project.

Tania Cork felt she might need an inhaler for the rest of her life after catching flu last year.

The city centre facility has faced delays following the old one's closure for demolition.

Habibur Masum is accused of stabbing his wife to death as she pushed their baby in a pram.

1. Niagara Health offering free parking after delays reported  News Talk 610 CKTB
2. Implementation of new Niagara Health patient info system resulting in long wait times  St. Catharines Standard
3. Temporary delays impacting registration at emergency departments  Thorold News
4. Niagara Health Working Through Delays  101.1 More FM
5. Niagara Health experiencing temporary delays impacting registration and EDs  Niagara Health

This paper examines when firms pursue structural realignment through the recombination of business units. Our results refine and extend contingency theory and studies of organization design by drawing on theories of decision avoidance and delay to describe conditions when firms pursue or postpone structural realignment. Our empirical analysis of 46 firms from 1978 to 1997 operating within the U.S. medical device and pharmaceutical sectors demonstrates that while decision makers initiate structural recombination during periods of industry growth (i.e., munificence), they reduce their recombination efforts during periods of industry turbulence (i.e., dynamism) and managerial turbulence (i.e., growth in top management team size). We also find evidence that firms delay realignment and bide their time for better environmental conditions of declining turbulence and industry growth before pursuing more structural realignment. Together, these findings suggest that decision makers often delay initiating structural recombination until they can effectively process information and assess how structural changes will help them realign the organization to the environment.

NEW YORK: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case has put off ruling on whether the president-elect’s conviction should be thrown out on immunity grounds, enabling prosecutors to weigh next steps following his Nov. 5 election victory.

Justice Juan Merchan had been due to rule on Tuesday on Trump’s argument that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in July that presidents are immune from prosecution involving their official acts meant the New York state case should be dismissed.

Instead, Merchan granted a request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to have until Nov. 19 to consider how to approach the case in light of Trump’s looming inauguration in January 2025, email correspondence made public on Tuesday showed.

Trump’s scheduled Nov. 26 sentencing is now widely expected to be postponed.

Trump in May became the first U.S. president - former or sitting - convicted of a crime when a jury in Manhattan found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a potential sex scandal shortly before his first election win in 2016. Trump, who pleaded not guilty, has vowed to appeal the verdict after sentencing.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote there were “competing interests” between ensuring a criminal case proceeds as usual and protecting the office of the president.

“The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances,“ Colangelo wrote.

Trump is set to be the first felon inaugurated as president after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

At issue in the six-week Manhattan trial was a $130,000 payment made by Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with him in 2006 but which he has denied.

Trump’s defense lawyer Emil Bove wrote that the case ultimately needed to be dismissed to avoid interfering with Trump’s presidential duties.

“The stay, and dismissal, are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern,“ Bove wrote.

TRUMP FACED FOUR CRIMINAL CASES

Trump, 78, is hoping to enter office unencumbered by any of four criminal cases he has faced and which once were thought to have threatened to derail his 2024 candidacy to return to the White House after having served from 2017-2021.

The Republican Trump has portrayed the hush money case brought by Bragg, a Democrat, and the three other state and federal criminal indictments brought in 2023 as politically motivated attempts to harm his presidential campaign. He pleaded not guilty in all four cases.

“It is now abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system,“ Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Tuesday.

Special Counsel Jack Smith brought two of the cases against Trump, one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and the other involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. A Florida-based federal judge in July dismissed the documents case. The Justice Department is now evaluating how to wind down Smith’s election-related case.

Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his bid to reverse his 2020 loss in that state, but the case remains in limbo.

The Supreme Court, in a decision arising from one of Smith’s two cases against Trump, decided that presidents are immune from prosecution involving their official acts and that juries cannot be presented evidence of official acts in trials over personal conduct. It marked the first time that the court recognized any degree of presidential immunity from prosecution.

In making the case for immunity, Trump’s lawyers said the jury that convicted Trump in the hush money case was shown evidence by prosecutors of his social media posts as president and heard testimony from his former aides about conversations that occurred in the White House during his 2017-2021 term.

Bragg’s office countered that the Supreme Court’s ruling has no bearing on the case, which they said concerned “wholly unofficial conduct.” The Supreme Court in its ruling found no immunity for a president’s unofficial acts.

Many people don't understand their rights as a an airline passenger or when they're due compensation. Here's what you need to know before your next flight.

The post What To Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled appeared first on Clark Howard.

Apple’s shares fell 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, a day after the US tech giant unveiled its new iPhones with AI

US President-elected Donald Trump. — Reuters/file

Trump, due to be sentenced on Nov 26, may receive reprieve. Presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution.President-elect repeatedly derided the case as witch-hunt.

The judge...

New York Judge Juan M. Merchan had been set to rule Tuesday on an earlier request to throw out Trump's conviction because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer on presidential immunity.

The post Judge delays ruling on whether to scrap Trump’s conviction in hush money case appeared first on Boston.com.

This week Zorba and Karl talk about why it takes so long to get a doctor appointment, and they examine new research showing screen time is linked to delayed development […]

Cambridge, MA — A Workers Compensation Research Institute study of workers with low-back injuries shows those who receive longer-term prescriptions for opioid painkillers take significantly longer to return to work than those who are not prescribed opioids.

Washington – The Transportation Security Administration has delayed changes to its aircraft prohibited items list that would have allowed certain small knives in carry-on luggage beginning April 25.

Washington — The National Labor Relations Board has pushed to Feb. 26 the effective date of its revised “joint employer” rule, saying the move will “facilitate resolution of legal challenges.”

Tyler, TX — The National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule, originally set to go into effect Feb. 26, has been put on hold until at least March 11.

Toronto — Researchers at York University say they’ve found a link between women who perform shift work and delayed onset of natural menopause.

Albany, NY — Attorneys general from New York, California and Maryland have filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to indefinitely delay a requirement for employers to provide enhanced training intended to protect farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families from exposure to pesticides.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency on June 14 announced its intent to publish a Federal Register notice establishing the availability of expanded pesticide safety training materials, in accordance with 2015 revisions to the federal Agricultural Worker Protection Standard.

Houston — Filipino seafarers often delay or completely avoid medical care – despite their rights to it under maritime law – for fear of retaliation from employers, including potentially losing their jobs, results of a recent study show.

Washington – OSHA will delay enforcing a new interpretation of its Process Safety Management Standard, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to call for the agency to withdraw that interpretation.

Washington – OSHA is delaying by three years its certification requirements for crane operators, the agency announced in a final rule published Sept. 25.

Washington – OSHA is seeking a one-year delay on crane operator certification requirements scheduled to go into effect in November.

Washington — Employers who make “good faith efforts” to document their evaluations of crane operators have an additional 60 days to comply with OSHA’s Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Certification Extension, according to a Feb. 7 enforcement memorandum from the agency.

Does the rulemaking process delay potential lifesaving rules, or is it necessary to ensure the promulgation of the best rules possible? A Senate subcommittee listens to the debate.