Adoption statistics show that adoption rates are increasing all over the world. When we see this type of rise in statistics, especially in an area that is so critical it brings several questions to mind.
Why is there such a huge increase in the numbers of children in foster care or in need of adoption? What action plan could be taken to control the rising numbers and who should be held responsible?
Lack of education – Some school programs are to vague on the issue of Sex Education and even though the topic may be discussed it is only in general and there isn’t much guidance as to abstinence. With state and federal laws putting so many restrictions on how schools are to handle sex education it is primarily up to the parent to give the education and the knowledge of how to abstain, use safe sex practices if they are active and to some, look, and listen. Stop and think about the consequences of having a child you cannot care for. Look at the number of children already in the foster care system and think about what you will be doing if you add one more child into an already over crowded system. Morals and values are extremely important and when we take the responsibility to have children it is also our responsibility to teach them to have those high morals and values, to respect themselves and others and to strive for positive results for the future.
Poor living conditions – Poverty and the economic strain that faces not just one country but the world plays a major role in the number of children facing adoption today. When the world wide economy began to falter families lost their homes, divorce cases escalated and the lack of money to care for families caused a major break up of the traditional family environment. Single parents especially fall under this category. The heartbreak of having to place your child in foster care because you cannot provide for them is terrifying. Especially if you are not sure you will “ever” be able to provide.
Child Abuse – There are over 3 million child abuse reports in the US every year. This is a major issue with children who enter the foster care programs and eventually are adopted to new families. This is just the number that are documented, there are at least 6 million reports not just actual cases.
Accidents or death in the family- Large numbers of children in foster care are not there due to lack of caring or neglect, or to the woes of our environmental and financial situations. They are there due to the loss of one or both parents. This could be from natural causes or from accidents that cause the death of one or both parents. In some cases there are other family members who can take the children but in some cases there are not. Foster care services try to keep siblings together during the adoption process but, due to the overwhelming strain on families today, sometimes they can only take one.
Lets look at the affects of adoption on children. Some children cope quite well to adoption and others do not. Grief over the loss of parents and or siblings can take hold of even the youngest of children.
Some adopted children may feel abandoned or neglected and have questions as to why they were given up or what was so wrong with them that their own parents did not want them. Please remember this is not true for everyone. Only some experience these types of issues.
Educational issues and relationship issues may arise from children who are adopted or living in foster care. They may not relate well with others due to lack of self esteem, fear of being abandoned again or anger over being in the system with no control over what happens to them or their siblings if they have them.
Knowing a child’s medical history can in some cases be paramount to helping them later in life should they become ill. If you are the adoptive parent it would be advised to find out as much as possible about the birth parents. Note: due to privacy laws this may not always be easily obtained.
The US State Department estimates that over 11,000 children from foreign countries were adopted into US families just in the year 2010 alone. The top five countries that the largest number of adoptions have been obtained are: The People’s Republic of China with an estimated 3400, Ethiopia with and estimated 2600, Russia with just over 1000, South Korea adoptions totaled 863 and the Ukraine came in at number five with 445 adoptions to the US. Please note that these statistics show a decline in adoptions to the US but not a decline in the over all world wide statistics of children waiting to be adopted.
According to the US State Department there are at least 250,000 children who enter foster care in the US alone, every year. The responsibility falls on everyone to take charge of this alarming issue and help to bring down the numbers of so many children needing love and guidance.
What can we do to help change the growing number of children in the adoption system? We can be proactive in our communities. Join Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, join your local church groups and support as many of your local organizations as possible to help in the fight against the enormous burden on our future leaders and parents. They need our support now to help them change the cycle.
2011年11月7日星期一
2011年11月1日星期二
EPA Planning Approach to improve water quality in U.S. cities.
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a commitment to using an integrated planning process to help local governments dealing with difficult financial conditions identify opportunities to achieve clean water by controlling and managing releases of wastewater and stormwater runoff more efficiently and cost effectively. The integrated planning process, outlined in a guidance memo to EPA's regional offices from EPA's Office of Water and Office of Enforcement and Compliance, will help municipalities prioritize infrastructure investments to address the most serious water quality issues and provide flexibility to use innovative, cost-effective stormwater and wastewater management solutions.
"EPA is firmly committed to helping local governments identify opportunities to achieve clean water using a comprehensive integrated planning approach," EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe said. "An integrated approach allows communities to prioritize their investments to address the most serious water issues first and provides flexibility to use innovative, cost-effective storm- and wastewater management solutions - including green infrastructure."
Aging sewer systems, not designed to handle heavy rain and snowfall in addition to handling the wastewater from growing populations and local industries, can overflow, releasing untreated sewage into waterways, onto city streets or into the basements of homes. As the runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces, including paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, it accumulates debris, chemicals, sediment and other pollutants. Overflows and stormwater can carry a variety of harmful pollutants, including bacteria, metals and nutrients that threaten communities' water quality and can contribute to disease outbreaks, beach and shellfish bed closings, flooding, and fishing or swimming advisories.
To better protect water quality, EPA will work with local governments to review the Clean Water Act requirements that each municipality must comply with and look for opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of solutions developed to meet those obligations. This integrated approach will identify efficiencies where more than one water quality issue can be addressed by the same solution and where competing requirements may exist, including how to best make capital investments and meet operation and maintenance requirements.
Integrated planning approaches can also have other benefits, like leading to the identification of innovative, sustainable solutions that improve water quality and enhance community vitality. Green infrastructure, such as green roofs, rain gardens, planter boxes, and permeable pavement, is an example of an integrated solution that can reduce, capture, and treat stormwater runoff at its source before it can reach the sewer system. Green infrastructure provides a cost effective way to reduce overflows and add green space in communities.
"EPA is firmly committed to helping local governments identify opportunities to achieve clean water using a comprehensive integrated planning approach," EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe said. "An integrated approach allows communities to prioritize their investments to address the most serious water issues first and provides flexibility to use innovative, cost-effective storm- and wastewater management solutions - including green infrastructure."
Aging sewer systems, not designed to handle heavy rain and snowfall in addition to handling the wastewater from growing populations and local industries, can overflow, releasing untreated sewage into waterways, onto city streets or into the basements of homes. As the runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces, including paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, it accumulates debris, chemicals, sediment and other pollutants. Overflows and stormwater can carry a variety of harmful pollutants, including bacteria, metals and nutrients that threaten communities' water quality and can contribute to disease outbreaks, beach and shellfish bed closings, flooding, and fishing or swimming advisories.
To better protect water quality, EPA will work with local governments to review the Clean Water Act requirements that each municipality must comply with and look for opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of solutions developed to meet those obligations. This integrated approach will identify efficiencies where more than one water quality issue can be addressed by the same solution and where competing requirements may exist, including how to best make capital investments and meet operation and maintenance requirements.
Integrated planning approaches can also have other benefits, like leading to the identification of innovative, sustainable solutions that improve water quality and enhance community vitality. Green infrastructure, such as green roofs, rain gardens, planter boxes, and permeable pavement, is an example of an integrated solution that can reduce, capture, and treat stormwater runoff at its source before it can reach the sewer system. Green infrastructure provides a cost effective way to reduce overflows and add green space in communities.
2011年10月31日星期一
Woman inspires with life story in foster care
At 24, Beecham is as far along in college as many young adults four, five and even six years her junior.
She's also a little older than most people deciding what they want to be when they grow up or what mark they want to leave on the world.
But when Beecham, a Glenn County foster youth advocate, speaks — people listen.
If that is an advantage in life, Beecham said it's only because she speaks from the heart, and from a life experience few people know about or understand.
"Having grown up in the foster care system, you might say that is where I get my passion," said Beecham, the California Youth Connection coordinator at the Glenn County Office of Education, a part-time position.
She also works part-time in a similar capacity with Health and Human Resources, and is enrolled full-time at Butte College.
"Someday, I would love to get a Ph.D. in psychology," she said wistfully; still unsure of her future.
In other ways, however, Beecham is ahead of her time.
When she speaks, Beecham brings tears to the eyes of grown men and rooms full of people to their feet in standing ovation.
She also spends her days helping empower children in the foster care system to find their own voices.
Her goal, she said, is to enlighten the public and policy makers about the unique needs of foster youth, and to change the negative stereotypes many people have.
"The more you talk about being a foster youth, the more the community will be educated," Beecham said. "That is what empowered me to speak the first time, and I haven't stopped. I'm continually pushing forward."
And if she helps just one foster youth
climb from under a veil of secrecy and onto a similar path to success, Beecham said she will have done her job.
"Children are placed in foster care through no fault of their own," she said. "It's not because they did something wrong. It's not because they are bad children. It is usually because their parents did something wrong."
Beecham was 11-years-old when she was taken from her mother, who had been in and out of prison.
By the time she was 14, she had lived in several foster homes and attended many schools.
"My freshman year, I attended four high schools, Corning, Marysville, Natomas in Sacramento and Willows," she said. "I was lucky. My sophomore year I was placed in a home in Orland, so I was able to stay there three years until I graduated."
Many foster youth aren't so lucky.
Even though they may be placed in good homes, even loving homes, the odds are against them, Beecham said.
Turnover among foster parents is extremely high — largely due to returning to work, lack of day care, retirement or lack of support — making it hard for foster youth to develop relationships with the people they live with.
Many youth go into foster care never able to recover from the abuse or neglect that put them in the system in the first place.
They often, because of movement, fall behind in school and perform far below grade level.
Foster youth are often restricted by state and federal rules and regulations that prevent them from growing emotionally, bonding with others or able to learn from life's milestones or from making mistakes.
"When you are a foster child, you never really get to be a normal teenager," Beecham said. "You are always afraid you will do something that will cause you to lose your placement."
The fear is genuine, she said. A misadventure that may have garnered a normal child a scolding from a parent — or an argument with a classmate at school — could find a child uprooted, plastic bag of meager belongings in hand, and shipped to the next available home.
By the time foster youth reach high school, chances of graduation or earning a general education diploma are 50 percent, and going to college is one in ten.
By the time they are emancipated, foster youth typically have few resources or know what resources are available to them, and most have even fewer champions to give them the support they need to make it in the real world.
"When I emancipated out of the system at 17, I didn't know anything or what was available to me," Beecham said. "I ended up making mistakes, like getting way over my head into debt. I also became a mother at 17."
Mostly through shear determination, perseverance and reaching out to past mentors, Beecham overcame many of the obstacles that typically keep foster youth down.
"Nobody ever says they want to grow up to be unsuccessful," she said. "At some point, you have to make a relationship that helps you get the support you need."
Glenn County foster youth, at least, are luckier than most.
"They don't get lost in the system like youth in larger counties," said Robin Smith, Foster Youth Services and Project "HELP" coordinator at the Glenn County Office of Education. "In LA, where there are thousands of foster kids, they are just data in a computer."
Smith said working with Beecham as a teenager, maintaining contact through foster youth programs and then bringing her into the Office of Education's Foster Youth Services as the local California Youth Connection coordinator has been a blessing in more ways than one.
"She inspires me," Smith said. "She helped me rekindle a passion for my own job, and motivated me to not give up."
Together, Beecham and Smith work to promote educational success for about 100 Glenn County foster youth through advocacy, mentoring, tutoring, vocational training, work experience, counseling and guidance.
The program is funded by a state grant, which has been renewed for another three years.
Glenn County has also formed a Blue Ribbon Commission to allow the courts, child welfare agencies and other government agencies to share responsibility for local foster youth, all of whom deserve a system that treats them fairly, Smith said.
More importantly, with Beecham as a foster youth advocate, Glenn County youth in the system are finding their own voices before state legislators in Sacramento.
In the first year of a two-year legislative session, 2011 produced several bills that will have a significant impact on the lives of youth in or transitioning out of foster care, Beecham said.
The most significant was AB 212, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Oct. 4, that allows foster youth to remain in a system of care until age 21, as long as they are in college, working or preparing for a job.
It was a huge victory, she said, and one that will prevent youth from ending up alone on the streets at 17 or 18.
Other California Youth Connection supported bills, signed by the governor, included AB 791, which allows children at the age of 16 access to their birth certificate; AB 709, which allows a foster child to be enrolled in a school even if they cannot produce clothing or medical records normally required at admission; and SB 926, which allows a foster child's agent or social worker to disclose the fact that a child is in custody in order to help find a relative for possible placement.
With the help of the community, Beecham is raising money for Glenn County foster youth to attend a legislative conference at the state Capitol in January to advocate for rights and upcoming legislation that may have a positive impact on their lives.
She's also a little older than most people deciding what they want to be when they grow up or what mark they want to leave on the world.
But when Beecham, a Glenn County foster youth advocate, speaks — people listen.
If that is an advantage in life, Beecham said it's only because she speaks from the heart, and from a life experience few people know about or understand.
"Having grown up in the foster care system, you might say that is where I get my passion," said Beecham, the California Youth Connection coordinator at the Glenn County Office of Education, a part-time position.
She also works part-time in a similar capacity with Health and Human Resources, and is enrolled full-time at Butte College.
"Someday, I would love to get a Ph.D. in psychology," she said wistfully; still unsure of her future.
In other ways, however, Beecham is ahead of her time.
When she speaks, Beecham brings tears to the eyes of grown men and rooms full of people to their feet in standing ovation.
She also spends her days helping empower children in the foster care system to find their own voices.
Her goal, she said, is to enlighten the public and policy makers about the unique needs of foster youth, and to change the negative stereotypes many people have.
"The more you talk about being a foster youth, the more the community will be educated," Beecham said. "That is what empowered me to speak the first time, and I haven't stopped. I'm continually pushing forward."
And if she helps just one foster youth
climb from under a veil of secrecy and onto a similar path to success, Beecham said she will have done her job.
"Children are placed in foster care through no fault of their own," she said. "It's not because they did something wrong. It's not because they are bad children. It is usually because their parents did something wrong."
Beecham was 11-years-old when she was taken from her mother, who had been in and out of prison.
By the time she was 14, she had lived in several foster homes and attended many schools.
"My freshman year, I attended four high schools, Corning, Marysville, Natomas in Sacramento and Willows," she said. "I was lucky. My sophomore year I was placed in a home in Orland, so I was able to stay there three years until I graduated."
Many foster youth aren't so lucky.
Even though they may be placed in good homes, even loving homes, the odds are against them, Beecham said.
Turnover among foster parents is extremely high — largely due to returning to work, lack of day care, retirement or lack of support — making it hard for foster youth to develop relationships with the people they live with.
Many youth go into foster care never able to recover from the abuse or neglect that put them in the system in the first place.
They often, because of movement, fall behind in school and perform far below grade level.
Foster youth are often restricted by state and federal rules and regulations that prevent them from growing emotionally, bonding with others or able to learn from life's milestones or from making mistakes.
"When you are a foster child, you never really get to be a normal teenager," Beecham said. "You are always afraid you will do something that will cause you to lose your placement."
The fear is genuine, she said. A misadventure that may have garnered a normal child a scolding from a parent — or an argument with a classmate at school — could find a child uprooted, plastic bag of meager belongings in hand, and shipped to the next available home.
By the time foster youth reach high school, chances of graduation or earning a general education diploma are 50 percent, and going to college is one in ten.
By the time they are emancipated, foster youth typically have few resources or know what resources are available to them, and most have even fewer champions to give them the support they need to make it in the real world.
"When I emancipated out of the system at 17, I didn't know anything or what was available to me," Beecham said. "I ended up making mistakes, like getting way over my head into debt. I also became a mother at 17."
Mostly through shear determination, perseverance and reaching out to past mentors, Beecham overcame many of the obstacles that typically keep foster youth down.
"Nobody ever says they want to grow up to be unsuccessful," she said. "At some point, you have to make a relationship that helps you get the support you need."
Glenn County foster youth, at least, are luckier than most.
"They don't get lost in the system like youth in larger counties," said Robin Smith, Foster Youth Services and Project "HELP" coordinator at the Glenn County Office of Education. "In LA, where there are thousands of foster kids, they are just data in a computer."
Smith said working with Beecham as a teenager, maintaining contact through foster youth programs and then bringing her into the Office of Education's Foster Youth Services as the local California Youth Connection coordinator has been a blessing in more ways than one.
"She inspires me," Smith said. "She helped me rekindle a passion for my own job, and motivated me to not give up."
Together, Beecham and Smith work to promote educational success for about 100 Glenn County foster youth through advocacy, mentoring, tutoring, vocational training, work experience, counseling and guidance.
The program is funded by a state grant, which has been renewed for another three years.
Glenn County has also formed a Blue Ribbon Commission to allow the courts, child welfare agencies and other government agencies to share responsibility for local foster youth, all of whom deserve a system that treats them fairly, Smith said.
More importantly, with Beecham as a foster youth advocate, Glenn County youth in the system are finding their own voices before state legislators in Sacramento.
In the first year of a two-year legislative session, 2011 produced several bills that will have a significant impact on the lives of youth in or transitioning out of foster care, Beecham said.
The most significant was AB 212, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Oct. 4, that allows foster youth to remain in a system of care until age 21, as long as they are in college, working or preparing for a job.
It was a huge victory, she said, and one that will prevent youth from ending up alone on the streets at 17 or 18.
Other California Youth Connection supported bills, signed by the governor, included AB 791, which allows children at the age of 16 access to their birth certificate; AB 709, which allows a foster child to be enrolled in a school even if they cannot produce clothing or medical records normally required at admission; and SB 926, which allows a foster child's agent or social worker to disclose the fact that a child is in custody in order to help find a relative for possible placement.
With the help of the community, Beecham is raising money for Glenn County foster youth to attend a legislative conference at the state Capitol in January to advocate for rights and upcoming legislation that may have a positive impact on their lives.
2011年10月18日星期二
French deploy IR Hammer
The French air force and navy have begun operational deployment of the infrared terminal guidance version of the Hammer AASM.
Developed and produced by Sagem, with French defense procurement agency DGA acting as program manager, the Hammer AASM is a family of air-to-ground weapons, comprising a guidance kit and range augmentation kit fitted to standard bombs, making the AASM a high-precision guided weapon with a range exceeding 37 miles.
The AASM IR version features a guidance kit with an infrared imager in the nose cone, along with the standard hybrid GPS/inertial guidance systems.
Following the initial deployment of the Hammer AASM, the French air force and navy carried out the first firing tests of this version of the AASM under combat conditions.
Sagem said by adding infrared terminal guidance to the standard hybrid GPS/inertial version of the AASM, the Hammer IR proved to be particularly well-suited to precision strikes against targets with uncertain coordinates, offering impact accuracy to within a few yards, even when GPS signals were unavailable.
The AASM has been deployed in foreign theaters of operation, demonstrating its reliability and accuracy, including for long-range missions.
The GPS/inertial version of the AASM guided weapon, with 500-pound bombs, has been in service with the French air force since 2008, and with the French naval aviation since 2010.
A new version with laser terminal guidance, capable of engaging moving targets, is completing development.
Developed and produced by Sagem, with French defense procurement agency DGA acting as program manager, the Hammer AASM is a family of air-to-ground weapons, comprising a guidance kit and range augmentation kit fitted to standard bombs, making the AASM a high-precision guided weapon with a range exceeding 37 miles.
The AASM IR version features a guidance kit with an infrared imager in the nose cone, along with the standard hybrid GPS/inertial guidance systems.
Following the initial deployment of the Hammer AASM, the French air force and navy carried out the first firing tests of this version of the AASM under combat conditions.
Sagem said by adding infrared terminal guidance to the standard hybrid GPS/inertial version of the AASM, the Hammer IR proved to be particularly well-suited to precision strikes against targets with uncertain coordinates, offering impact accuracy to within a few yards, even when GPS signals were unavailable.
The AASM has been deployed in foreign theaters of operation, demonstrating its reliability and accuracy, including for long-range missions.
The GPS/inertial version of the AASM guided weapon, with 500-pound bombs, has been in service with the French air force since 2008, and with the French naval aviation since 2010.
A new version with laser terminal guidance, capable of engaging moving targets, is completing development.
2011年9月21日星期三
2012 Ford Focus Energy in motion and frugal too
One of many pleasant little villages you pass through along this road, "it could be missed with the blink of an eye", as they say in Ireland, unless you spot an unusual monument. It's a full-sized stainless-steel replica of a Model-T Ford. Yes, you are on the ancestral home turf of Henry Ford, of Ford Motor Company fame. Erected as a new millennium project, the site has been visited by a number of Ford family members, the most recent being William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. and family.
Bill is a great-grandson of Henry Ford and currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company. A commemorative plaque at the site was dated August 3, 2011. That was only a couple of weeks prior to my visit with the latest product from the Dearborn, Michiganbased company, a 2012 model year Ford Focus.
The new Focus was redesigned mainly in Germany and is built on a new C-car platform that will underpin a number of other Ford products. It's a global car in every other sense and is produced in Ford plants in Spain, Russia, China and, as well as Germany and North America (Michigan).
In Canada, Ford sells Focus in both 5-door hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles. And in Ireland it's also offered in a wagon version, called an "Estate". Although different descriptive names are used, both countries also offer Focus models in four prepackaged equipment and trim levels.
Sticker shock, however, is a highvoltage jolt when you do a euro-todollar conversion on the asking prices on an Irish Focus - it's almost double the Canadian price. Our proximity to the largest and most lucrative car market in the world certainly helps keep Canadian auto prices low when compared with most other countries in the world.
Besides having the steering wheel on the right side of the passenger cabin, my test Focus also came with a diesel engine, which is not available in Canada. In fact, two sizes of diesel engine (1.6-and 2.0-litre) are offered, and only one gasoline (or petrol) engine (1.6-litre) is available.
Even though diesel models are priced higher (about $700 more) they tend to be more popular with Irish buyers. It's mainly because diesel fuel is cheaper and these engines provide considerable better fuel economy. You pay a bit more, but get more for the car when you trade it in, I was told.
My test Focus came with Active Park Assist, which automatically pilots the Focus into a parallel roadside parking space. A salesperson at the dealership sheepishly described it as a "lady park system" and could only recall ever selling one vehicle with it.
Apparently I'm more in touch with my feminine side than I ever realized - okay, call me a sissy - but I do like Active Park Assist. It first measures a parking space as you drive by and tells you if the car will fit in it. You can then choose to let it do the steering or just use it as a guidance system - so parking is a much easier task.
On a side note, Ford is planning to build (in Detroit) a full electric version of the Focus and it's expected to be released next year. A full recharge, with a 240-volt charging station is reported to take less than four hours, which would be best in the industry.
Ford describes the "Kinetic Design" styling theme used to create the Focus as "a visual representation of energy in motion." Sounds great and it is a good looking car, especially the 5-door hatchback. Soft, flowing curves allow Focus to slip through air with a very low 0.295 coefficient of drag, which is an eight per cent improvement over the previous generation car. Underneath it has 25 per cent more torsional rigidity, with 55 per cent more highstrength steel, plus more than 26 per cent of that is ultra-highstrength or Boron steel (in the B-pillars). That's a higher ratio than any other Ford product.
The upfront space provided is excellent and there's an impressive range of seat adjustments to accommodate an above-average height driver, like myself. Legroom in the rear, however, is a bit limited and taller occupants may need to seek a compromise with frontseat users.
In addition to the strong body structure, a new generation driver's airbag uses a tether system that when deployed pulls in the lower section and creates a "pocket" that lessens its impact on the driver's chest and ribs. Smaller occupants also benefit from unique side airbags with shoulder vents that stay open, to reduce pressure quicker.
The Healy Pass spans Ireland's spectacular Beara Peninsula. It connects the counties of Cork and Kerry and it's a very special driving experience. The road is long, winding and narrow, but the valley views on either side of the mountain ridge can be absolutely stunning when the weather cooperates - and it did.
The Focus also proved to be a highly enjoyable driving experience as it danced back and forth along the winding mountain road with Michael Flatley-like agility. Some credit must go to the new, and standard Dynamic Cornering Control system that uses "torque vectoring" techniques. It enhances cornering ability by lightly applying the brakes to an inside front wheel.
The diesel engine was another revelation. It had gobs of great pulling power and ran so quietly that passengers questioned, "is it really a diesel?" Our total average fuel economy was a very frugal 5.3 L-100km (about 53 mpg), with roughly a 60/40 mix of highway and city driving.
A feature associated with hybrid drivetrains that I've never come across in a diesel-powered car, called Active City Stop, was also interesting. It saves fuel normally wasted while idling by automatically turning the engine off and restarting. It worked like a charm, even with the manual transmission in my test Focus.
Hopefully, at some point, Ford will offer this engine to Canada. Some competitors have already announced their intention to add diesel engine models, so it's a real possibility.
Bill is a great-grandson of Henry Ford and currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company. A commemorative plaque at the site was dated August 3, 2011. That was only a couple of weeks prior to my visit with the latest product from the Dearborn, Michiganbased company, a 2012 model year Ford Focus.
The new Focus was redesigned mainly in Germany and is built on a new C-car platform that will underpin a number of other Ford products. It's a global car in every other sense and is produced in Ford plants in Spain, Russia, China and, as well as Germany and North America (Michigan).
In Canada, Ford sells Focus in both 5-door hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles. And in Ireland it's also offered in a wagon version, called an "Estate". Although different descriptive names are used, both countries also offer Focus models in four prepackaged equipment and trim levels.
Sticker shock, however, is a highvoltage jolt when you do a euro-todollar conversion on the asking prices on an Irish Focus - it's almost double the Canadian price. Our proximity to the largest and most lucrative car market in the world certainly helps keep Canadian auto prices low when compared with most other countries in the world.
Besides having the steering wheel on the right side of the passenger cabin, my test Focus also came with a diesel engine, which is not available in Canada. In fact, two sizes of diesel engine (1.6-and 2.0-litre) are offered, and only one gasoline (or petrol) engine (1.6-litre) is available.
Even though diesel models are priced higher (about $700 more) they tend to be more popular with Irish buyers. It's mainly because diesel fuel is cheaper and these engines provide considerable better fuel economy. You pay a bit more, but get more for the car when you trade it in, I was told.
My test Focus came with Active Park Assist, which automatically pilots the Focus into a parallel roadside parking space. A salesperson at the dealership sheepishly described it as a "lady park system" and could only recall ever selling one vehicle with it.
Apparently I'm more in touch with my feminine side than I ever realized - okay, call me a sissy - but I do like Active Park Assist. It first measures a parking space as you drive by and tells you if the car will fit in it. You can then choose to let it do the steering or just use it as a guidance system - so parking is a much easier task.
On a side note, Ford is planning to build (in Detroit) a full electric version of the Focus and it's expected to be released next year. A full recharge, with a 240-volt charging station is reported to take less than four hours, which would be best in the industry.
Ford describes the "Kinetic Design" styling theme used to create the Focus as "a visual representation of energy in motion." Sounds great and it is a good looking car, especially the 5-door hatchback. Soft, flowing curves allow Focus to slip through air with a very low 0.295 coefficient of drag, which is an eight per cent improvement over the previous generation car. Underneath it has 25 per cent more torsional rigidity, with 55 per cent more highstrength steel, plus more than 26 per cent of that is ultra-highstrength or Boron steel (in the B-pillars). That's a higher ratio than any other Ford product.
The upfront space provided is excellent and there's an impressive range of seat adjustments to accommodate an above-average height driver, like myself. Legroom in the rear, however, is a bit limited and taller occupants may need to seek a compromise with frontseat users.
In addition to the strong body structure, a new generation driver's airbag uses a tether system that when deployed pulls in the lower section and creates a "pocket" that lessens its impact on the driver's chest and ribs. Smaller occupants also benefit from unique side airbags with shoulder vents that stay open, to reduce pressure quicker.
The Healy Pass spans Ireland's spectacular Beara Peninsula. It connects the counties of Cork and Kerry and it's a very special driving experience. The road is long, winding and narrow, but the valley views on either side of the mountain ridge can be absolutely stunning when the weather cooperates - and it did.
The Focus also proved to be a highly enjoyable driving experience as it danced back and forth along the winding mountain road with Michael Flatley-like agility. Some credit must go to the new, and standard Dynamic Cornering Control system that uses "torque vectoring" techniques. It enhances cornering ability by lightly applying the brakes to an inside front wheel.
The diesel engine was another revelation. It had gobs of great pulling power and ran so quietly that passengers questioned, "is it really a diesel?" Our total average fuel economy was a very frugal 5.3 L-100km (about 53 mpg), with roughly a 60/40 mix of highway and city driving.
A feature associated with hybrid drivetrains that I've never come across in a diesel-powered car, called Active City Stop, was also interesting. It saves fuel normally wasted while idling by automatically turning the engine off and restarting. It worked like a charm, even with the manual transmission in my test Focus.
Hopefully, at some point, Ford will offer this engine to Canada. Some competitors have already announced their intention to add diesel engine models, so it's a real possibility.
2011年8月8日星期一
Sunstone Hotel Investors Management Discusses Q2 2011 Results
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Sunstone Hotel Investors Second Quarter 2011 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, Monday, August 8. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Bryan Giglia, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance of the Sunstone Hotel Investors. Please go ahead, sir.
Bryan Giglia
Thank you, Camille. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. By now you should have all received a copy of our second quarter earnings release, which was released this morning. If you do not yet have a copy, you can access it on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com. As you may have noticed, in addition to our scheduled quarterly release, we are also providing additional disclosures including property-level operating statistics. This additional disclosure can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website also.
Before we begin this call, I would like to remind everyone that this call contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including those described in our prospectuses, 10-Qs, 10-Ks and other filings with the SEC, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. We caution you to consider those factors in evaluating our forward-looking statements.
We also note that this call may contain non-GAAP financial information including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, FFO, adjusted FFO and hotel EBITDA margins. We are providing that information as a supplement to information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
With us today are Ken Cruse, President and Chief Executive Officer; John Arabia, Chief Financial Officer; and Marc Hoffman, Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, the team will be available to answer your questions.
I will now turn the call over to Ken. Ken, please go ahead
Kenneth Cruse
Thank you, Brian. And thank you, all, for joining us. Today, I'll cover 3 topics including our second quarter performance, our outlook for the remainder of the year and Sunstone's now completed leadership transition. After that, Marc will cover our operational details, and John will review our finance initiatives, as well as our new supplemental disclosures. I will then conclude our prepared remarks before opening up the call for your questions.
Obviously, increasing global economic concerns, as well as the recently highlighted need for near-term stimulus and meaningful long-term fiscal reform in the U.S. have generated significant turbulence in the markets. While these macroeconomic concerns have taken their toll on individual stock values, we have not seen a direct translation into slower business trends in our hotels. In fact, as evidenced by our second quarter performance in our July results, we continue to see robust demand trends across our portfolio. Moreover, our liquidity position remains very strong, our debt maturities are well staggered and our business plan is oriented towards fiscal discipline and operational excellence. Accordingly, we are well-positioned for the current environment.
Moving to our second quarter results. For our comparable portfolio, second quarter RevPAR rose to nearly $132, an increase of 7.2% over the second quarter a year ago. Our solid RevPAR growth was driven by a 4.1 increase in rate and a 3.1 increase in occupancy. Transient business trends, in particular, were strong during the quarter and generally offset isolated instances of weakness in group demand. Our Q2 performance was further enhanced by strong growth in our recently renovated hotels and a corresponding decline in renovation disruption as we completed the majority of our 2011 renovation projects, including rooms renovations at 9 of our hotels during the first or second quarter of this year, leaving only a handful of ongoing projects throughout our portfolio.
Quality renovations and proactive asset management are leading to improved market penetration as measured by our composite, Smith Travel Research RevPAR index, which we refer to as our STR index. Our STR index increased nearly 100 basis points in the second quarter. Penetration was particularly strong in June with our portfolio gaining 230 basis points in STR index. Going forward, continued market share growth remains a core asset management focus.
Bryan Giglia
Thank you, Camille. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. By now you should have all received a copy of our second quarter earnings release, which was released this morning. If you do not yet have a copy, you can access it on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com. As you may have noticed, in addition to our scheduled quarterly release, we are also providing additional disclosures including property-level operating statistics. This additional disclosure can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website also.
Before we begin this call, I would like to remind everyone that this call contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including those described in our prospectuses, 10-Qs, 10-Ks and other filings with the SEC, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. We caution you to consider those factors in evaluating our forward-looking statements.
We also note that this call may contain non-GAAP financial information including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, FFO, adjusted FFO and hotel EBITDA margins. We are providing that information as a supplement to information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
With us today are Ken Cruse, President and Chief Executive Officer; John Arabia, Chief Financial Officer; and Marc Hoffman, Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, the team will be available to answer your questions.
I will now turn the call over to Ken. Ken, please go ahead
Kenneth Cruse
Thank you, Brian. And thank you, all, for joining us. Today, I'll cover 3 topics including our second quarter performance, our outlook for the remainder of the year and Sunstone's now completed leadership transition. After that, Marc will cover our operational details, and John will review our finance initiatives, as well as our new supplemental disclosures. I will then conclude our prepared remarks before opening up the call for your questions.
Obviously, increasing global economic concerns, as well as the recently highlighted need for near-term stimulus and meaningful long-term fiscal reform in the U.S. have generated significant turbulence in the markets. While these macroeconomic concerns have taken their toll on individual stock values, we have not seen a direct translation into slower business trends in our hotels. In fact, as evidenced by our second quarter performance in our July results, we continue to see robust demand trends across our portfolio. Moreover, our liquidity position remains very strong, our debt maturities are well staggered and our business plan is oriented towards fiscal discipline and operational excellence. Accordingly, we are well-positioned for the current environment.
Moving to our second quarter results. For our comparable portfolio, second quarter RevPAR rose to nearly $132, an increase of 7.2% over the second quarter a year ago. Our solid RevPAR growth was driven by a 4.1 increase in rate and a 3.1 increase in occupancy. Transient business trends, in particular, were strong during the quarter and generally offset isolated instances of weakness in group demand. Our Q2 performance was further enhanced by strong growth in our recently renovated hotels and a corresponding decline in renovation disruption as we completed the majority of our 2011 renovation projects, including rooms renovations at 9 of our hotels during the first or second quarter of this year, leaving only a handful of ongoing projects throughout our portfolio.
Quality renovations and proactive asset management are leading to improved market penetration as measured by our composite, Smith Travel Research RevPAR index, which we refer to as our STR index. Our STR index increased nearly 100 basis points in the second quarter. Penetration was particularly strong in June with our portfolio gaining 230 basis points in STR index. Going forward, continued market share growth remains a core asset management focus.
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