Lea County State Bank Relies on Banker’s Toolbox Solution to Combat Money Laundering
Business Wire, August 13, 2009
-Implementation of BAM Enables Bank to Achieve Stronger Risk
Management-
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Bankerâs
Toolbox, a provider of software tools to help financial institutions
manage anti-money
laundering, fraud detection and commercial real estate stress
testing, today announced that Hobbs, N.M.-based, Lea
County State Bank ($225 million asset) successfully implemented
Bankerâs Toolboxâs Bank
Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Management System (BAM®).
Prior to implementing Bankerâs Toolboxâs automated technology, Lea
County State Bank was manually completing their Bank Secrecy
Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance reporting. The motivation
to change to an automated solution came after a turnover of compliance
staff. With fewer staff members to handle the bankâs BSA/AML workload
and complete the work in an efficient and timely manner, the need for an
automated program that worked well with the bankâs core processor,
Harland Financial Solutionsâ Phoenix System, increased.
âWhat is most impressive about BAM is the information we were able to
obtain â information that we didnât even know about before,â said Dâdee
Sharp, senior vice president and cashier for Lea County State Bank. âBAM
aggregates all of the data within our core for teller transactions, ACH
and wires. We can access the system and search on different levels of
criteria, which really opens our eyes to possibly illegal transactions
of which we would have otherwise been unaware
Legislators decry health-care reform
Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 20, 2009 by James Thalman Deseret News
Congressional proposals to reform to the country’s mode of health care delivery aren’t even off the drawing board, but that didn’t stop hours of discussion generally decrying any federal fixes during legislative interim meetings Wednesday at the Capitol.
Several Utah lawmakers claimed massive changes in draft versions are threats not only to American health care but to the American way of life.
Speaking from behind 15 or so copies of a 1,200-page draft reform bill stacked like a cinder block wall, Sen. Chris Buttars told fellow members of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee “if this is any indication of what we’re headed for, man, I’m really afraid.”
Buttars, who is co-chairman of the committee, said he has read the bill five times, “and it never gets down to showing exactly what the reform I’m buying is and if it’s any good.” He said the whole idea of national reform efforts is “health care on a cloud” and could be the forerunner to “classic socialism.”
Proponents of reform, or at least to do something, said in testimony and in interviews afterward, that picking apart legislation that hasn’t even been debated in congressional committees only adds to the sideshow aspect of the reform effort.
Several town hall meetings across they country hosted by members of Congress during the August recess have degenerated into shouting matches and claims that the federal government is trying to ram through several changes that simply turn over another sector of the U.S. economy to the federal government.
“I just want them to tell us in understandable language what needs to be done, why doing it is a good thing,” Buttars said. “Right now, I have no idea, but I do know whatever is passed it will be two or three times the size of the stacks sitting in front of us today.”
“Let’s agree that the bill is too long,” said Judi Hilman, executive director of the Utah Helath Policy Project who became the de facto defender of federal reform proposals during the meeting.
She said although she had only read the draft House bill once, but that the size of the issue should be cause for alarm among state lawmakers but a call to add their voice to what should be a joint, state and federal, bipartisan courageous discussion of the health care and how it works in the United States.
“Utah can have an important voice,” she said. “What I’m saying is this train is leaving the station. We’d better get on it to make the reforms better around the issues we know will matter most over the long term.”
Other groups, including a newly organized physicians group, told lawmakers and repeated at a news conference that the fear factor surrounding health care reform is creating a lot of spin but not much momentum for rational discussion.
Dr. Marcy Zwelling, a Los Alamitos, Calif., internist in town to speak for the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights, said “the whole debate has been turned on its head
Challenging HDD project provides 10,000-foot record-setting crossing.(DIRECTIONAL DRILLING)
Underground Construction, March, 2009
A new global horizontal directional drill (HDD) undersea crossing record has been set in terms of pipe diameter, pipe weight and length of crossing in Saudi Arabia.
The record-setting bore came during the drilling of a second 10,000 foot bore and pull-in of a 30-inch diameter pipe near Al Jabayl for the Berri Causeway Pipeline project. This second bore was 42 inches in diameter and qualifies asa new world record length crossing.
In 2007, Tatco Boring of Abu Dhabi was awarded the Berri Causeway Flank 2 HDD project. The main contractor is Al Robaya Est. and the owner is Saudi Aramco. The project required a bay crossing comprising two parallel pipelines, each of more than 3,150 meters in length
San Bruno school mulls security cameras
Oakland Tribune, Oct 21, 2008 by Neil Gonzales
SAN BRUNO — Parkside Intermediate School officials are fed up with a rash of graffiti hitting their campus, and they want to install security cameras to catch the culprits.
“It’s not appropriate for younger kids when they see nasty stuff and inappropriate language” spray-painted on campus walls, said Assistant Principal Dan Lyttle. “It’s not the environment I want for the kids.”
Parkside leaders are scheduled to go over their proposal for a camera system during a San Bruno Park School District board meeting tonight.
Some local high schools already have such a surveillance system to deter vandalism, student fights and other problems, but Parkside would be the first middle school in San Mateo County to follow suit.
The proposal is to install up to 16 cameras outside the main building and gymnasium area, Lyttle said. “During the summertime, we were pretty badly vandalized.”
The cameras would focus on “blind spots” or areas that can’t be seen from the street after school hours, he said.
The use of the devices would respect students’ privacy in that the cameras would not be directed at bathrooms and locker areas, he said.
The consideration of cameras doesn’t mean Parkside has more problems than any other school, said district board President William “Skip” Henderson.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to maintain our facilities, keep the school clean and keep it safe for the kids,” Henderson said. “That’s a good school.”
The board would still have to approve the cameras
Cycling
Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 14, 2008
TOUR DE FRANCE
Ninth Stage
A 139.2-mile, high-mountain stage through the Pyrenees from Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre
1. R. Ricco, Italy, Saunier Duval-Scott, 5 hours, 39 minutes, 28 seconds.
2. Vladimir Efimkin, Russia, AG2R-La Mondiale, 1 minute, 4 seconds behind.
3. Cyril Dessel, France, AG2R-La Mondiale, 1:17.
4. Dmitry Fofonov, Kazakhstan, Credit Agricole, same time.
5. Christian Knees, Germany, Team Milram, same time.
6. Maxime Monfort, Belgium, Cofidis, same time.
7. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Caisse d’Epargne, same time.
8. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Republic, Liquigas, same time.
9. Damiano Cunego, Italy, Lampre, same time.
10. Yaroslav Popovych, Ukraine, Silence-Lotto, same time.
Also
20. Christian Vandevelde, United States, Garmin Chipotle, same time.
60. George Hincapie, United States, Team Columbia, 6:27.
118. Danny Pate, United States, Garmin Chipotle, 18:55.
142. William Frischkorn, United States, Garmin Chipotle, 28:11.
Overall Standings
(After nine stages)
1. Kim Kirchen, Luxembourg, Team Columbia, 38 hours, 7 minutes, 19 seconds.
2. Cadel Evans, Australia, Silence-Lotto, 6 seconds behind.
3. Christian Vandevelde, United States, Garmin Chipotle, :44.
4. Stefan Schumacher, Germany, Gerolsteiner, :56.
5. Denis Menchov, Russia, Rabobank, 1:03.
6. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Spain, Caisse d’Epargne, 1:12.
7. Stijn Devolder, Belgium, Quick Step, 1:21.
8. Oscar Pereiro, Spain, Caisse d’Epargne, same time.
9. Samuel Sanchez, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 1:27.
10
Dressed to impress
Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), March 18, 2009
YOUNGSTERS dressed up for a book day.
About 180 students at Rastrick Independent School, Brighouse, dressed up as their favourite book characters and raised pounds 124 in donations for Save the Children.
CAPTION(S):
IN CHARACTER: Hamaad Khan, aged six, as Pirates of the Caribbean, Acheala Alexander, five, (Little Miss Sunshine) and Hannah Davis, seven, (Pippi Longstocking) (PW120309Ebook-01)
UL Warns of Counterfeit Fire Extinguishers
Market Wire, February, 2007
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is notifying
consumers that fire extinguishers manufactured by International Technology
Services have not been evaluated for safety by UL and bear a counterfeit UL
Mark in the United States.
Name of Product: 2-B-C Fire Extinguisher
Units: Unknown Quantity
Date of Manufacture: Unknown
Manufacturer: International Technology Services
Identification: These fire extinguishers are approximately 8″-9″ tall and
approximately 2-3/4″ in diameter and have a black head attachment with a
squeeze trigger for activation the extinguisher.
The nameplate of the counterfeit products is marked “FIRE EXTINGUISHER”
“2-B-C” and “INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.”
What you should do: UL recommends that users stop using the product
immediately and return it to the place of purchase.
Consumer Contact: Consumers should call 1 732 635-0230 with questions or
contact: International Technology Services, 71 Commerce St, #265, Boston,
MA 02109 or International Technology Services, 7 Lincoln Highway, Suite
210, Edison, NJ 08820.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit
product safety certification organization that has been testing products
and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than
19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with
21 billion UL Marks appearing on 71,000 manufacturers’ products each year.
UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers
includes 66 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving
customers in 104 countries. For more information, visit: www.UL.com .
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Joe Hirschmugl
1 847 664-1508
Email Contact
Journal, The – Hemorrhoids nasty but not dangerous
Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 6, 2009
Dear Dr. Gott: Should hemorrhoids be surgically removed ?
Dear Reader: Hemorrhoids are swollen and inflamed veins in and around the anus .
There are a number of reasons for a person to develop hemorrhoids. Obesity, straining during bowel movements, pregnancy, a family history and chronic diarrhea or constipation are a few of the more common causes.
Symptoms include bleeding during a bowel movement, itching or irritation of the anal area, a protrusion from the anus (with external hemorrhoids) and pain. As a general rule, internal hemorrhoids don’t cause discomfort and can’t be seen or felt.
Hemorrhoids often can be treated with lifestyle modifications. Try a sitz bath with a unit that fits over your toilet, or place a couple of inches of warm water in your bathtub and squat or sit in the tub two or three times each day until the swelling diminishes. Use an ice pack over the area to relieve swelling. Take acetaminophen or aspirin for pain relief. Topical hemorrhoid creams, hydrocortisone suppositories or pads that contain witch hazel are available over the counter and will provide relief of symptoms.
Once the hemorrhoids are under control, there are several preventive steps a person can take, such as drinking up to eight glasses of alcohol-free liquids daily, eating foods high in fiber, exercising, avoiding long periods of standing or sitting and incorporating fiber supplements into the daily diet .
There are several procedures a physician can assist with in his or her office or through an outpatient setting, beginning with rubber-band ligation, clot removal through a simple incision, injection to shrink the hemorrhoid, or laser or infrared light or heat. When all else fails, hemorrhoidectomy is a surgical procedure that is extremely effective but carries possible complications .
Speak with your physician regarding which options might be best for you .
Dr
Schumacher back in action – in go-kart race
AFP, December, 2006
KERPEN, Germany (AFP) â Retired Formula One legend Michael Schumacher returned to racing for the first time when he took part in a go-kart race in his hometown Kerpen. Germany’s seven-time Formula One champion Schumacher, who retired at the end of the season after finishing second behind Fernando Alonso in the title race, was the main attraction at a behind-closed-doors race involving 18 teams and 280 drivers.
Spectators and the media were forbidden from attending the race as Schumacher, 37, strives for privacy after so many years in the limelight. Schumacher started racing go-karts at the age of four and became European champion before switching to Formula One
The adventurous traveler’s guide to health
SciTech Book News, Sept, 2008
The adventurous traveler’s guide to health.
Sanford, Christopher.
U. of Washington Press
2008
220 pages
$14.95
Paperback
RA783
Although Dr. Sanford (Travel Clinic, U. of Washington) mentions exotic diseases that travelers may encounter abroad, he dispenses advice primarily on avoiding and treating more common health hazards. Emphasizing that risk is determined more by what one does than where one goes, he answers questions on such concerns as vaccines, travelers’ diarrhea, and what to pack in a first-aid kit
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