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The UAE's EV Revolution: How Rising Fuel Prices Are Accelerating the Adoption of Electric Vehicles

Government Support and Growing Charging Infrastructure Drive EV Adoption. The UAE is Well-Positioned to Become a Leader in the EV Revolution




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Super Micro Needs a New Auditor by This Weekend. Its Options Are Limited.




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How Tech Adoption Fuels China’s Innovation Boom

Zak Dychtwald, founder of the advisory firm Young China Group, believes that the perception of China as a copycat and not an innovator is outdated. Instead, he argues the willingness of Chinese consumers to try new things is powering the country’s new innovation economy. Technology adoption rates in areas such as mobile payment are extremely high. He says non-Chinese companies can learn important lessons from this rapidly changing market and potentially use it to jump-start their own innovation engines. Dychtwald is the author of the HBR article "China’s New Innovation Advantage."




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Atlantic.Net joins NVIDIA?s Cloud Service Provider Program to support AI adoption

Atlantic.Net?empowers customers to advance offerings through market-leading AI cloud solutions, helping to speed up the adoption of AI compute for software developers and businesses




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Lucidworks shares results from a global survey about GenAI adoption, fears, and strategies in 2024

Sinoway defines GenAI as it applies to the business environment as an extension of how AI and machine learning have been used for decades, which had been primarily numeric. GenAI now allows for the same applications, but with text, video, and audio. The same tools we applied to numbers we're now applying to words. GenAI analyzes literally millions, even billions, of data-points and makes predictions about the next letter in a word, the next word of the sentence, or the next sentence in a paragraph. It then comes up with a response to answer a query. Its predictive qualities usually produce good answers, but the possibility of hallucinations, which is what incorrect predictions resulting in wrong answers are called, is worrying.




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Senate Committee Passes Bill to Increase Provider Options for Federal Workers

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee passed a bill that would authorize physician assistants and nurse practitioners to treat injured federal workers. The committee on Wednesday voted 12-3…




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DWC Announces Rule Adoption

The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation announced the adoption of new and revised rules governing dispute resolutions, settlements and commutations. The DWC said it eliminated regulatory references to penalties for certain…




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Second booster approved as option for additional protection against COVID-19




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NFL founds coalition to advance adoption of life-saving policies for student athletes

Professional Sports and Leading Public Health, Nonprofit and Patient Advocacy Organizations Will Advocate State Adoption of Best Practice Medical Emergency Policies NFL Foundation Commits $1 Million in Grants to Support Nationwide CPR Education, AED ...




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5 Practical Options Before 2025 if Your Windows 10 PC Can’t Run Windows 11

Her, we’ll break down five practical choices you have, from simple workarounds to fresh upgrades, to keep your computer running safely and smoothly after the deadline.




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Limiting your options on purpose

Being a photographer with some spending money and a bad habit of lusting after gear, I have amassed a lot of photo gear. Due to that I am often carrying at least two lenses and also prefer zoom lenses versus […]




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Where is the Options Bar in Photoshop and How to Use It?

One of the best things about Photoshop is its exceptional tool flexibility, simplifying our work and enhancing our productivity. The Options Bar works as a gateway to access all the options associated with the selected tool, enabling seamless customization and control over the tools for us. What is the Options Bar? The Options Bar is...

The post Where is the Options Bar in Photoshop and How to Use It? appeared first on Bittbox.




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Why the Cheapest Hourly Rate Often isn’t the Cheapest Option

When choosing an outsourcing partner for design and development, many decision-makers naturally start by comparing hourly rates. At first glance, it seems logical: a lower hourly rate means lower project costs, right?

The truth is, hourly rates can be a misleading metric. The actual cost of outsourcing is much more complex than the dollar amount tied to hourly rates. In this article, we’ll explore why focusing on hourly rates can obscure the true cost of a project and why it’s crucial to dig deeper when evaluating potential partners. I’ll end by suggesting a few things to focus on instead of or in addition to the hourly rate.

Efficiency vs. Hourly Rates

Imagine you have two outsourcing options for a specific task:

  • Pat: A developer who charges $100/hour and takes 3 hours to complete the task. 
  • Terry: A developer who charges $200/hour but only takes 2 hours to complete the same task.

Pat’s hourly rate is lower and Pat’s total cost looks cheaper. The total cost for Pat is $300, while for Terry, it's $400. But there's more at play than the hourly breakdown.

Terry may be faster because they are more skilled, experienced, or familiar with the problem. They produce a higher-quality output that might need little to no revision, while Pat may deliver work requiring additional oversight, rework, or fine-tuning.

This brings us to a crucial point: efficiency and expertise often outweigh raw hourly cost.

Hidden Costs of Oversight and Management

The cost of managing lower-cost teams can quickly add up. Inexperienced or less skilled developers often require more:

  • Guidance and supervision: You or your in-house team may have to spend significant time managing or directing work, which adds hidden costs to the project.
  • Rework and revisions: Less-experienced teams may not get it right the first time, and even small mistakes can snowball into major issues that need to be fixed later on.
  • Communication barriers: Some outsourcing teams might not be as effective in communicating progress or roadblocks, which can slow down the entire project and lead to missed deadlines.

Each of these factors chips away at the apparent "savings" from choosing a lower hourly rate.

Quality: The Long-Term Investment

Design and development work (insourced or outsourced) is an investment, not just a cost. High-quality work may come with a higher hourly rate, but the long-term savings are substantial:

  • Fewer bugs and technical debt: A more experienced development team will likely deliver better code, resulting in fewer bugs and long-term maintenance issues. A more experienced designer is more likely to think through and design for all edge cases, filling in all the gaps.
  • Faster delivery: A skilled team is often more familiar with best practices, frameworks, and tools that allow them to complete tasks efficiently.
  • Scalability: High-quality designers and developers think ahead and design systems that can scale with your needs, preventing costly future refactoring.

The Cost of "Cheap" Work

Sometimes, "cheap" work ends up being the most expensive in the long run. Lower-quality outsourcing might require you to:

  • Hire another team to fix or rebuild the work.
  • Delay product launches due to unanticipated project overruns.
  • Damage customer trust by releasing subpar products riddled with bugs or poor design.

In some cases, teams that seem "affordable" may not have the expertise to foresee potential pitfalls, which means costly issues arise later in the process.

Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership

To truly compare outsourcing options, decision-makers should consider the total cost of ownership (TCO), not just the hourly rate. TCO includes:

  • Efficiency: How quickly and effectively can the team complete the work?
  • Oversight: How much management and guidance will the team require?
  • Quality: Will the output meet your expectations, or will it need significant revisions or rework?
  • Maintenance: What will it cost to maintain or scale the system after the initial work is done?

A team with a higher hourly rate but lower total costs in these areas may be the more cost-effective choice in the long run. For a more complete example:

  • Pat: Your $100/hr developer completes a task in 3 hours ($300), requires 1 hour of oversight from an in-house Senior Developer ($150), and eventually needs to be refactored or rebuilt entirely ($1,000).
  • Terry: Your $200/hr developer completed a task in 2 hours ($400) based on a 10-minute overview from an in-house Senior Developer ($15), and makes an above-and-beyond measurable impact on page performance (priceless).

The best long-term investment becomes more clear when you consider all the variables. 

Conclusion: Think Beyond Hourly Rates

When investing in design or development, your goal should be to maximize ROI, not minimize hourly rates. When comparing outsourcing options, focus on the bigger picture—their efficiency, quality, and the hidden costs of oversight and management. Consider how your prospective partners measure up in terms of:

  • Results: can they point to clear results of their work in which they played some critical role?
  • References: would previous clients choose to hire them again (indicating they are worth their cost)?
  • Communication: do they respond quickly and with clarity?
  • Expertise: do they provide opinions and advice or are they simply order takers?
  • Relevance: is their prior experience directly relevant to your needs? 
  • If not, do they have a track record for navigating novelty well?

The right team might not always be the cheapest on paper, but they’ll deliver the greatest long-term value. Outsourcing isn’t about getting work done cheaply—it’s about getting it done right, and more often than not, the old mantra “you get what you pay for” holds.




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Simplifying the options for RNA-seq: A short guide to different methods

You know you want to explore the transcriptome of your research subject, and you’ve decided to use RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). However, you’



  • Genetics & Genomics

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Simplifying the options for RNA-seq: A short guide to different methods

You know you want to explore the transcriptome of your research subject, and you’ve decided to use RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). However, you’



  • Clinical & Molecular DX

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UK: New Regulations Will Extend Current Redundancy Protections for Individuals Who Are Pregnant or on Maternity, Adoption, or Shared Parental Leave

Currently, employees in the UK on statutory maternity, adoption or shared parental leave who are at risk of redundancy have priority rights to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (but only where such a vacancy exists).

New regulations have been introduced to extend redundancy protections, both before (for pregnant employees only) and after the return to work. These regulations arose in response to research that found that mothers returning from maternity leave still faced discrimination in the workplace after returning from leave.




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How the talent squeeze is driving flexible work options

Devjani Mishra, Barry Hartstein and Michael Lotito provide insight into the findings of Littler’s Annual Employer Survey and several workplace issues and the fast-changing regulations facing employers. (Subscription required.)

Human Resource Executive

View




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Pro Bono Week Podcast – Adoption in Alaska

Renea Saade and Breanne Martell talk about an Alaska adoption case with a great outcome.

Littler attorneys provide pro bono services in a variety of areas, depending on the interests of individual attorneys. The firm values and encourages the community-minded and pro bono efforts of our lawyers and staff.
  




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European firms navigate AI adoption, divisive social issues, and flexible working

Laura Jousselin, Raoul Parekh and Stephan Swinkels discuss how European employers are responding to workplace changes, including AI and remote workplace demands from employees.

International Employment Lawyer

View (Subscription required.)




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Not Selected in H-1B Cap Registration? There Are Options!

Foreign workers fill a critical need in the U.S. labor market, particularly in the professional and technological fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). To fill this need, U.S. employers submit H-1B temporary worker visa status registrations with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is a lottery-based system where registrations are selected from the congressionally allotted quota of 85,000.




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Cal/OSHA Completes Fast-Track Adoption of Emergency Silica Standard Aimed at Engineered Stone Industry

  • On December 14, 2023, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board approved an emergency temporary standard to enhance existing standards regarding the hazards of respirable crystalline silica. The ETS became effective on December 29, 2023.
  • The ETS is of interest to all employers insofar as it marks the fifth time in only three years that Cal/OSHA has approved a rule using its emergency powers.




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European Employers Navigate New Pressures Around Flexible Work Models, AI Adoption and Divisive Social Issues, Littler Survey Finds

(November 8, 2023) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has released its sixth annual European Employer Survey Report. Based on responses from 780 human resources (HR) executives, in-house lawyers and business leaders from across Europe, the report explores the myriad ways in which employers are responding to changes in workplace management, policy and culture.




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Election Outcomes, AI Adoption, and ESG Issues Pose New Challenges for European Employers, Littler Survey Finds

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has released its seventh annual European Employer Survey Report, based on responses from nearly 630 human resources (HR) executives, business leaders, and in-house lawyers from across Europe—57% of whom hold C-suite positions at their organisations.




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Geopolitics, AI adoption, climate risk worrying European firms

Stephan Swinkels, Jan-Ove Becker and Deborah Margolis discuss findings from Littler’s 2024 European Employer Survey Report.

International Employment Lawyer

View (Subscription required)




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ETSI launches remote Plugtests Programme for Mission Critical Services to accelerate adoption and interoperability

ETSI launches remote PlugtestsTM Programme for Mission Critical Services to accelerate adoption and interoperability

Sophia Antipolis, 28 April 2020

To accelerate Mission Critical Services (MCS) adoption and interoperability, a key enabler to MCS deployment, ETSI is running an innovative MCX PlugtestsTM Programme. Testing sessions will also benefit from the latest ETSI specification, ETSI TS 103 564, on Plugtests scenarios for Mission Critical Services.

Read More...




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U of T panel discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis & policy options for Canada

TORONTO, ON-   The global paralysis on the Syrian crisis has led to the largest refugee crisis ever witnessed by the international community, with millions of Syrians being uprooted and displaced. The Canadian government has announced a plan to welcome 25,000 refugees by the end of February in 2016 but much work needs to be done […]




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Hybrid Industrial Cloud Adoption by Manufacturers to Double by 2023

Hybrid industrial cloud adoption will more than double over the next five years at 21.1% CAGR.




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Screw Thread Inspection: Options, Dimensions and Decisions

The standardization of screw threads has been a historical endeavor involving several organizations. However, the ASME B1 Screw Thread Committee has emerged as the primary organization responsible for holding, updating, and curating these standards.




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Collaborative Robots Emerge as Viable Automation Options for SMEs

No robot can replace a person, but they can handle dull, dangerous, or repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for more fulfilling work. Businesses need to embrace robotics to efficiently adapt to production cycles and address supply chain backlogs and labor shortages.




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UV-C an Optimal HVAC Option in Health Care Applications

The use of UV-C in HVAC systems has proven to be an effective way to minimize the threat of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), small particles, and other airborne pathogens commonly found in health care environments.




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Heating Up: Condensing Boilers Poised to Become Top Heating Option Among Consumers

Condensing boilers save space and time on installation, as installing a condensing boiler is a pretty seamless process for a few reasons.




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Energy-Efficient Options for Refrigeration Equipment

Emerson spent more than three years researching and designing its 2018 Dealer Design Award gold-winning product in the Refrigeration and Ice Machines category.




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Navigating Technology Adoption in the HVACR Trades

While new technology can certainly help streamline certain aspects of HVAC business operations, like accounting and inventory management, it still needs to be viewed as a tool to augment the capabilities of employees, not replace them entirely.




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Propane Can Offer HVAC Customers A Reliable Option for Backup Power

The growing electricity demands being placed on the country’s century-old grid are resulting in an increased number of unexpected power outages across the U.S.




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Zoning Adoption Steadily Increases in Residential Market

When it comes to comfort, not much beats zoning. In fact, many industry experts tout that once homeowners have experienced the comfort zoning has to offer, they will never own another house without it.




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Heat Pump Adoption Uptick in Maine

Despite the arguments regarding the practicality of heat pumps in cold climates, residents of Maine have fully embraced them.




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SE-Radio Episode 303: Zachary Burt on Freelancing as a Career Option

Felienne interviews Zachary Burt about freelancing as a career option. How does freelancing differ from employment? How to do personal marketing and sales? How to find a work-life balance when you are self-employed? We also cover practical tips like deciding on an hourly rate and managing demanding customers.




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HR options discussion

New Lesson Plans Entry: 'HR options discussion' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.





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Is Franchising Right for Me? Lesser Considered Options are No Less Important

Over the past decade, the restoration industry has witnessed a significant shift from large franchises to a more diverse mix of independent companies. 




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New Equity Options Classes

115-24 : New Equity Options Classes




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New Equity Option Class and Share Future Contracts - South Bow Corporation (SOBO & FOJ)

119-24 : New Equity Option Class and Share Future Contracts - South Bow Corporation (SOBO & FOJ)




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Self-certification: Amendments to the Rules of the Bourse de Montréal to define Riskless Transactions on Options

129-24 : Self-certification: Amendments to the Rules of the Bourse de Montréal to define Riskless Transactions on Options




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Montréal Exchange brings options trading to university campuses across Canada

04-2014 : Montréal Exchange brings options trading to university campuses across Canada



  • MX Press Releases

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MX Brings OptionsPlay to Canada's Derivatives Market

01-2017 : MX Brings OptionsPlay to Canada's Derivatives Market



  • MX Press Releases

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When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?

Religious News Service reporter Bobby Ross, Jr. recently asked this question, “When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?” With conflicts between religious based adoption and foster care agencies and government non-discrimination regulations playing out across the country including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, this is an important question. In March, the City of Philadelphia issued an urgent call for 300 new foster parents to provide loving homes for some of the over 6,000 kids in Philadelphia foster care. That same month, the City abruptly barred Catholic Social Services, one of the city’s top-rated foster agencies, from placing children with foster families. This decision makes it exponentially harder for hundreds of children in need of foster care to find homes. Foster homes are sitting empty, even as the city begs for more families to help in its foster care crisis. Catholic Social Services and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been serving children throughout Philadelphia for over a century. Their Catholic mission drives them to find loving homes for all children in their care, regardless of the child’s race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. Catholic Social Services currently serves over 100 children in foster homes. No family or individual has ever complained that the agency’s Catholic mission prevented them from fostering or adopting a child. Sharonell Fulton from Overbrook Farms has been a foster parent for over 25 years. She has opened her home to over 40 children, including two children currently in her care. She strives to provide a loving, stable home and treat each child as if they were her own. To do that, Fulton relies on Catholic Social Services’ help, including around-the-clock support and access to information and resources. “What justice is there in taking stable, loving homes away from children?” Fulton said in a statement to CatholicPhilly.com. “If the city cuts off Catholic Social Services from foster care, foster moms like me won’t have the help and support they need to care for the special-needs kids.” By freezing and threatening to cancel its foster care contract with the CSS, the city is “taking away this help and causing harm and heartache to countless families like mine,” Fulton said. The children will suffer if parents like Fulton do not have the support they need. In May, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court in Philadelphia on behalf of archdiocesan Catholic Social Services (CSS), Sharonell Fulton and two other women caregivers associated with the archdiocesan agency. They asked the court to halt the city’s harmful policy. A hearing is expected later this year.




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Rep. Dave Zimmerman Still Seeking Religious Exemption to Save Catholic Adoptions

Catholic adoption agencies across the state have been curtailing or stopping their work altogether as a result of a policy by the Wolf Administration that would take away a lot of their power to decide who would be the best parents for adoption. PA Rep. Dave Zimmerman (R-Lancaster) says there is still hope that a religious exemption will be granted by lawmakers for organizations. “A number of us in the House actually held up the budget because of a religious exemption, related to the Foster care and adoption,” Zimmerman told me in his Lancaster district office. Despite their determined efforts the Governor held firm and it was kept out. “They took the religious exemption out, which means an adoption agency would have to work with any type of family arrangements, whether it’s a man and wife, or an LGBT couple. They would have to work with all of those.” Zimmerman and several of his colleagues would like to see the exemption established. They have an agreement from House and Senate leadership to run bills in the fall to make that happen. “This is just one area. So the question is ‘what’s next?’” Zimmerman said. “I believe that our country and our state were established on religious liberty, religious freedom. We need to have these religious exemptions available to business and family throughout our state. It’s very important.” Zimmerman said another issue that drew debate in the last session was the compulsory age for education. The current law requires children between the ages of eight and 17 to be in school. But new regulations installed in one of the budget codes would expand that from six to 18. Zimmerman was one of the lawmakers who opposed the change. “There are a lot of issues with that,” he said. “Some children are just not ready at six. What about someone who graduates early? What about—in our district—the Plain community that gets work permits at 15?  None of that has been really addressed at this point, so there are some real concerns about the compulsory age.” The age change was something that was being pushed by the Governor, Zimmerman said. Even though it was placed in the budget, he says there will be an effort in the fall to get the change modified. ‘I also look at it as a liberties issue,” Zimmerman added. “The parents can probably make a better decision on their children than government.” Zimmerman remains very committed to pro-life issues. He voted for the Down Syndrome Protection Act and has signed on as a co-sponsor to Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s (R-Centre, Clinton) “heartbeat” abortion bill, which he hopes to see introduced in the fall.




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Maternal & Early Childhood Series: Adoption Challenges in PA

The 4th installment of our series on Maternal and Early Childhood Issues looks at the role the Wolf Administration has played in curtailing Catholic adoption efforts in Pennsylvania. https://fb.watch/bBXX1F6m97/ A woman we’ll call Kelly talked with me about her adoption a number of years ago through Catholic charities. She learned details of what happened as she got older. Kelly says it could have worked out any better. Kelly’s story was a familiar one for decades, but one that is happening less and less in many states across the country, as officials have placed restrictions on adoption agencies that contradict their long-held beliefs. Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf several years ago joined Democratic governors in other states to require adoption agencies to place children with same-sex parents in order to get funding. That requirement by Governor Wolf would be in direct contrast with the long-standing Catholic belief that a marriage is between a man and a woman. It is that parental combination, Catholics believe, that is the best way to raise a child. The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference appealed to the Wolf Administration for a religious exemption. It was denied in 2018, basically causing most adoption efforts by Catholic organizations in PA to grind to a halt. Similar regulations have been shutting down Catholic adoption agencies across the U.S. ever since Boston Catholic Charities did so in 2006. The efforts by the PCC to remove this burden continued on both the state and federal level. We sent an appeal to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington to grant us a religious exemption. We worked closely with U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly on getting federal relief. A number of state senators sent a letter to President Trump asking him to provide relief for our efforts. We’re hoping that a recent Supreme Court ruling involving foster care services by Catholic Charities in Philadelphia. Fulton vs. the City of Philadelphia started when the city said it would no longer contract with Catholic Social Services because CSS would not certify same-sex couples to be foster parents In response, two foster mothers—Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch—and the CSS sued the city, arguing that severing the contract violated their religious freedom. Fulton and Simms-Busch, the mothers who are plaintiffs, claim it was their Catholic faith that inspired them to be foster mothers.After losing in two lower courts, they petitioned the Supreme Court, which first agreed to hear the case in February 2020. Over a year later  the Court ruled that the city’s refusal due to the agency’s same-sex couple policy violated the Free Exercise Clause. Great news and a big win for religious liberty. The PCC is hoping the principal will carry over into adoptions, but the damage may have already been done. In 2019 the Diocese of Greensburg closed its adoption and foster care program after 65 years because of the decision by the Wolf Administration. Adoptions were halted by Catholic agencies in other parts of the state.  Will the adoption work done by these organizations ever return to what it once was? We can only hope and pray.




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ACTEGA, Makro Labelling Team Up to Support Market Adoption of Signite Technology

Signite® is a sustainable decoration technology which has been widely recognized by brand owners and the labelling industry as one of the most potentially transformative and progressive technologies to be developed in recent years.




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Nature's Garden debuts new options for Yoggies line

New packaging options/flavor combinations were created to accommodate the needs/requests of convenience, warehouse, drug store and big box chains.