That's the question the Kern Council of Governments is inviting the community to answer at one of 14 workshops it will host from March through June.
While feedback garnered during the events will be used to shape Kern Cog Directions to 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and accompanying community Energy Action Plans, administrative services director Robert Phipps said the workshops aim to get at bigger ideas, rather than discussions of specific projects.
"It's kind of a visioning process, but it does get down into investments of public funds," he said.
The Directions to 2050 plans detail how area jurisdictions will spend more than $5.3 billion in anticipated transportation and energy-efficiency funding over the next 28 years.
According to a Kern COG news release, more than 70 major highway, road maintenance, public transit, pedestrian, bicycle and energy-efficiency improvements are projected to be funded throughout Kern County over the next few decades.
Some of those have already been funded and are underway, while other projects are on what Phipps called "the wish list."
At the workshops, Phipps said, "usually what we do is we start with growth. The one thing we can say with certainty is we're expected to grow. How do we accommodate the growth?"
From there, Phipps said, meeting attendees can discuss their broader priorities.
"When we start with growth, you have to consider housing, natural resources, water, public services," Phipps said. "Single family dwelling requires more water, more land."
Attendees will also be able to participate in activities designed to help community members prioritize, like an exercise in which people will get a stack of chips, then they can "vote, essentially, with their cards or chips."
"The intent is to determine whether it's a greater public interest to spend more on public transportation versus congestion relief versus bicycle and pedestrian projects," Phipps wrote in an email, "whether a greater mix of housing types is a priority for future growth; or how important it is to put more freight on rail rather than trucks."
For more information and to test out some of the activities from home, visit www.directionsto2050.com.
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Conducting job interviews is one of the most legally dangerous tasks performed by managers.
One misguided question could cause an applicant to think he or she was re????jected due to one of the federally pr?o??tected categories (race, gender, disability, age, national origin, religion or pregnancy status). That?s why every question should relate to this central theme:??How are you qualified to perform the job you are applying for??
Take this hiring quiz to see if you know which questions are legal and which are not:? ?
?1.? A female applicant explains the time gap in her employment history by saying that she took time off to raise her two children. Your next question is:
a) How old are your children now?
b) What child care arrangements have you made?
c) You might be asked to work later than 5 p.m. on occasion. Would you be able to meet that requirement?
d) What happens when your kids are sick?
Interviewing can be tricky. How do you ask fair and legally correct questions and still get the information you need to find out if the applicant is truly qualified for the job? Get the guide to easy hiring ? Interviewing Made Easy: The Right Way to Ask Hiring Questions
?2.? An older job applicant is very overweight. The job requires lifting heavy boxes and you wonder how he?s going to do it without having a heart attack. You say:
a) Do you have any health problems?
b) When was your last physical?
c) This job requires lifting 60-lb. boxes onto a three-foot platform for the entire shift. Can you handle that?
d) Would you be willing to take a physical with the company doctor?? All new employees are required to pass it.
?3.? You notice an engagement ring on a female candidate for a sales rep position. You wonder if she?d be comfortable traveling on the road with the male sales team. You ask:
a) Do you have any reservations about traveling with the other sales reps? You?d be the only woman.
b) Do you think your husband?s going to object if you have to stay overnight?
c) You may have to stay overnight when traveling with the rest of the sales force. Would that bother you at all?
d) This job requires a lot of overnight travel. Will that cause problems at home?
?4?. It?s illegal to ask applicants to describe what information about themselves on an application form:
a) Height & weight
b) Skin color
c) Eye/hair color
d) Scars/identifying marks
?5.? When should you ask an applicant to supply the name of a person to be contacted in case of emergency?
a) After the person has officially been hired.
b) During the job interview.
c) On the application form.
d) When the new employee first reports for work.
?6.? You can ask about an applicant?s religious affiliations when:
a) He tells you about his experience as financial director of his church.
b) Her r?sum? lists membership in religious organizations.
c) The applicant names a pastor as a reference on the application.
d) None of the above.
Interviewing Made Easy: The Right Way To Ask Hiring Questions opens with a hiring quiz, walking you through real-life scenarios in which you may well find yourself while interviewing. Next, you?ll find 150 legally sound interview questions you can adapt for your own use!? Order your copy here.
1. C will keep you out of trouble.?You?re not asking about family matters here, just whether or not an applicant can fulfill legitimate job requirements.
The other questions aren?t illegal at face value, but they?ll put you at a legal risk: If you use the information to disqualify an applicant, you could be guilty of sex discrimination.
2. Either C or D.?Specifying company re??quirements to all prospective employees is not discriminatory. The problem with A and B is that these questions suggest you?re making assumptions based on appearance (he looks too old, too fat, too weak, etc.). That puts you squarely in forbidden territory in disability and age discrimination laws.
3. C is the safest choice; B is the disastrous one.?Again, C states an actual job requirement?without B and A?s sexist overtones. The rule of thumb for questions that may cross sex boundaries: Ask yourself, ?Would I ask the same question of a male (female) candidate??
4. Only B is against the law.?But you could also be treading on uncertain legal ground with the other three choices, unless those characteristics are rock-solid bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ).
These days, not much passes for a genuine BFOQ. Eye/hair color might be legitimate queries for a modeling agency. Or, asking for height and weight could pass muster under very limited circumstances. Otherwise, these questions only invite suspicion from EEO regulators. If you really don?t need the information for actual job-related reasons, don?t ask it.
5. The answer is A or D.?Once you?ve made the offer or the employee is on the payroll, the time has generally passed when you might have discriminated on this basis. Emergency contact names can become an issue because of possible race discrimination when traditionally ethnic last names are identified. Remember that discriminating against people for associating with or marrying into these groups is also illegal.
6. D, none of the above.?You are never allowed to question a candidate?s religious affiliation, beliefs, observances or practices. You can ask about availability to work specific days or shifts, but only if you can justify a business necessity.
Order your copy of Interviewing Made Easy: The Right Way To Ask Hiring Questions and find out:
How to ensure you?re not asking inappropriate or illegal questions about an applicant?s marital status, religious affiliation, or physical limitations
When to ask an applicant for emergency contact information
How to ask the right questions to gauge an applicant?s communication skills and attention to detail
When to give candidates the benefit of the doubt
How to ask ADA-proof questions
?and much more!
Order your copy today!
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Everywhere I turn I see articles and books about corporate values. I also see more and more companies defining their values as well as training, nurturing and rewarding employees who demonstrate corporate values. Hallelujah!?
What have been key ingredients in most entrepreneur and family businesses are being fully embraced and recognized as important elements of a successful company. Giants like Starbucks and Apple are showing that adoption pays off. Yet I suggest we have to be careful to recognize corporate values are not the end game but an important part of a healthy strategic marketing plan.
I want to share a recent experience I had with a supplier whose employees do well at demonstrating their values? but the company is missing critical elements to make customer service (and customer loyalty), live.
Before we start, lets define what we should be looking for to rate customer service high.?For me, customer service lives through many things including our:
Employees? abilities
Employees? values
Corporate values
Corporate policies
Corporate employee empowerment
Product / service
Delivery system
You may have a few more to add to the list (like? ability to innovate?and diversity), and that?s great. Customer service is a balance of many soft and hard skills that combine to define your brand reputation and long-term profitability.
My Example
For many years I?ve enjoyed the service of a large, popular ?Business Supply Store?. I used (past tense), them for pretty much everything which includes printing the participant guides for the Business Writing / Business Email Etiquette courses I deliver.
Their staff have been terrific; they?ve been polite, happy, knowledgeable and helpful.?Unfortunately, things started to slide a few months ago? then last week came.
Last week I needed one 8.5 x 11 colour copy of new campaign I was building. As always, I brought them a USB memory stick with a pdf of the required document.? The print specialist informed me that to insert the USB stick into their computer would now cost $3.50. I could avoid the $3.50 by going back to my office and emailing them the file.? Really? Go back to the office to email them?
Out of immediate need I gave her the go ahead.? Within seconds she inserted the drive and opened my pdf.
Now, let?s be clear that it?s not the money.?I don?t mind paying for service but don?t like being taken advantage of.
Did I complain? Yes ? I mentioned my views to the print specialist and the Manager including that they were about to lose my business. ?What happened? ?NOTHING!? They said they were sorry but it was a new policy from corporate and they didn?t have authority to override it.
Fast Forward: The End Of The Week
I found an independent printer a few blocks away to print the finished campaign (alternate solutions are everywhere).
But the real loser wasn?t me? or my $3.50 (plus tax), or even all my printing business. The real loser was a long-term relationship and my respect for the ?Business Supply Store?. I?m also disappointed how they treat their staff.? Not only are customers being taken advantage of? their staff seem to have no opportunity to use their judgment.
Side comment: I believe well hired ? and well-trained employees should be empowered to make straight forward decisions and to make a problem situation right? especially the first time a loyal customer runs into a new? ?policy?.
What We Can Take Away From This
We get a chance to make a first impression every time we have an interaction. Every time we speak with or write to our customers / co-workers we set the stage for how successful that interaction will be and establishes expectations for the next interaction. Example: If I have a great interaction I want to go back ? if I have a bad interaction I want to stay away.
We?ve talked before about how it?s cheaper to keep good customers ? customers who will refer you to their friends.
In a time when companies are begging for loyal, hard-working employees who give great customer service ? what is wrong with this case study?
In a time when companies are begging for loyal customers who will make more ? and hopefully larger purchases in the future ? what is wrong with this case study?
Imagine how this could all be different if the company was looking beyond having a greeter at the door but included employees and customers in discussions about all aspects of their product development, customer care, corporate values, policies and service delivery.
Imagine the possibilities when we consider all of the places customer service lives.
Conclusion
If you want your employees to invest a lot in your business and your customers ? you have to invest a lot in them? and trust them. ?If you want your customers to invest a lot in you ? you have to invest a lot in them? and respect them.
Happy communicating.
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If you enjoyed this post we think you?ll like:?Bruce on Canada AM,?Build Client Trust?and?Effective Business Email Writing Training.
Bruce Mayhew Consulting facilitates business writing, email writing and?email etiquette courses.
A video provides background on the Allen Institute for Brain Science and looks ahead to the new project.
By Alan Boyle
Software billionaire Paul Allen is pledging $300 million to establish a series of "brain observatories" at the Seattle research facility named after him, with the aim of mapping and manipulating the mouse brain.
The project's leaders say the insights gained could be applied as well to higher forms of life, including humans. "We believe that this project has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the mammalian brain," Christoph Koch, chief scientific officer for the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and Harvard neuroscientist R. Clay Reid said in the journal Nature.
Details about the brain observatory project were laid out today at the Allen Institute in Seattle. In an advance interview, Koch cast the effort in terms usually reserved for the multibillion-dollar Hubble Space Telescope project or the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider.
"We're focusing a huge amount of resources on trying to understand this piece of highly, highly complex math and science. The most organized piece of matter in the known universe is the cerebral cortex, the one that makes you and me think and smell and hear and talk. That's what we're trying to understand," Koch told me. "Just as people spend a huge amount of time and effort to build these different observatories to look at the origin of space and time, we're going to build these observatories, these very sophisticated instruments, all of them using common standards, all peering at the brain ? primarily animal brains, but also the human brain."
In a way, seeking out the secrets of the brain is harder than looking for the Higgs boson, because neuroscientists have not yet developed a model for brain function as robust as, say, the Standard Model of particle physics. "In that sense, neuroscience may never have the maturity of physics, partly because the system we're dealing with is enormously more complex," Koch said.
Allen Institute for Brain Science
This image highlights a coronal section of an entire mouse brain, which was stained to mark anatomical boundaries in many brain regions. This process reveals areas where the density of cell bodies is higher (stained in red) compared to the density of axonal projections, or connections between neurons (stained in green). Such anatomical maps will be among the products emerging from the "brain observatories" created by the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
The brain observatory project plans to start with the visual cerebral cortex of the mouse brain, because that's an area that neuroscientists understand relatively well, Koch said. Researchers from outside institutions could work with the Allen Institute's staff, using sophisticated instruments to light up the electrical circuitry of individual neurons, trace the connections between neurons, and watch how thousands of brain cells respond to specific stimuli.
All these techniques would be stitched together to produce a full physiological and structural characterization of entire brain regions. Such insights should lead to better computer models for brain function, which can be fed back into the experimental side of the project for validation. Having the firepower for computer modeling right next door to the experimental labs should produce "a virtuous circle that will be iterated until the model faithfully reproduces the data," Koch and Reid wrote.
From mice to humans An estimated 60,000 neuroscientists are studying the brain at 10,000 labs worldwide, but the brain-observatory approach should be "very complementary" to those widely distributed efforts, said Allan Jones, the Allen Institute's chief executive officer. The institute's findings, including genetic atlases of the mouse brain and the human brain, are traditionally shared openly with other researchers, even before journal publication.
Koch compared the mouse brain to a set of 100 billion Lego toy blocks, organized into 1,000 different kinds of blocks. "First we need to understand how many different parts are out there, and then how they fit together," he said.
The insights gained from the visual cortex could be applied to further exploration of other functional areas of the mouse brain, and then to other mammalian brains ? including our own brains. When it comes to cortical structure, "there isn't anything particularly unique about us," Koch said. "The principles are all going to be the same. ... If we understand them in a simpler system, then we are a long way toward understanding us."
Another aspect of the project is the development of lab-grown human brain cells that reflect the genetic components associated with neurological conditions ranging from autism to Alzheimer's. Stanford neuroscientist Ricardo Dolmetsch, a specialist in that technique, will be joining the Allen Institute later this year, as will Harvard's Reid.
During today's briefing in Seattle, Allen said his interest in brain research stems from his work in computer software, as a founder of Microsoft Corp. and other ventures. (Microsoft is one of the partners in the msnbc.com joint venture.) He noted that the most advanced software doesn't come close to matching the complexity of the human brain.
"There is really no greater challenge, with potentially huge impact, than understanding how brains work," he said. Allen said he was also motivated by the fact that his mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease. But he emphasized that the institute would focus on basic research rather than disease treatment.
"Our dream is to one day uncover the essence of what makes us human ? to explore and understand how the brain makes us remember, forget, interact with each other and become the people we are," Allen said.
Ten-year plan Allen's $300 million pledge will be spread out over four years to jump-start the Seattle institute's initial 10-year plan for the observatories. The software executive, whose net worth was recently estimated at $13.2 billion, founded the institute in 2003 with a $100 million contribution, and has donated an additional $100 million since then.
"My commitment today doesn't just continue the work of the institute," Allen said. "It greatly expands the scale and the scope of our mission."
The Allen Institute says it will use some of the money to double its staff to more than 350 employees over the next four years, as well as to develop new suites of instruments and new computer-modeling capabilities.
Leroy Hood, president and co-founder of the Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology, said he was looking forward to collaborating with the Allen Institute's researchers on the brain observatory project.
"I think it's a terrific project," Hood told me. "Their approach to 'big science' and openness is exactly what's needed to move the field forward."
In addition to Allen's contributions to neuroscience, the billionaire has pursued a wide variety of interests beyond software, including ownership of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team and the Seattle Seahawks football team, the establishment of the Allen Telescope Array, and financial backing for SpaceShipOne's prize-winning rocket venture and the Stratolaunch air-launch company.
Back in 2008, I set up a scale of financial denominations for big scientific projects, ranging from 1 allen (the estimated cost of the SpaceShipOne project, $25 million to $30 million) to 1 apollo ($100 billion or more). On that scale, Allen's contribution to the brain observatory project equals roughly 10 allens, or three-quarters of a rover (the $400 million Opportunity rover, that is, not the $2.5 billion Curiosity rover). Still more money will be needed for the out-years of the project, perhaps including government funding.
Is this project worth the price tag? How will it mesh with other potential neuroscience projects, such as the proposed billion-dollar European Human Brain Project? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
Update for 6:30 p.m. ET: At today's Seattle news briefing, I asked Koch what the top technology on his wish list would be. "We'd like to listen to every single nerve cell," he replied. "Right now, we can't do that." He envisions some sort of wireless receiver system that would have so much resolution that it could monitor individual neural impulses inside your head. Sounds pretty science-fictional to me, but what do you think?
Also, this week's issue of Nature includes a report on the $40 million Human Connectome Project, a five-year, $40 million initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health to map the brain's long-distance communication network. Some researchers wonder whether the project is really ready for prime time. "I would do the basic neuroscience before I started running lots of people through MRI scanners," David Kleinfeld, a researcher in physics and neurobiology at the University of California at San Diego, is quoted as saying.
Is this the decade of big-science brain research? That's one more question to chew over in the comment section.
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
The last original restaurant to debut with the Borgata in 2004, Old Homestead Steak House was named Atlantic City?s top restaurant in Zagat?s 2012 America?s Top Restaurants guide.?
As the final remaining, ?original restaurant property at the Borgata, Old Homestead Steak House maintains a special status among peers.?
When opened nearly a decade ago, Borgata pretty much redefined everything we had come to think about casino dining. Executive chef Romeo DiBona, the only person to ever oversee the kitchen here, explains Old Homestead?s unique philosophy.?
?We have think-tanks ? myself, [owners] Marc and Greg Sherry, [general manager] Brian Palin and sous chefs Amador Campos and Luis Rivera. We go over things ? menu items, presentations.??
Since opening, name-brand chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay have also come to inhabit the sprawling facility. But Old Homestead, which may also claim the distinction of being New York City?s most tenured steak house ? existing since 1868 in the same location ? has always managed to stand out.?
Part of that certainly comes from decades of experience. Another crucial element is their extraordinary selectivity. Prime beef, typically accounting for less than 10 percent of all produced, just isn?t good enough for Old Homestead. In fact, they are noted for rejecting anything that isn?t the top two or so percent of all graded beef.?
The dining space, with plenty of wood tones and multiple levels, is equally special. Our meal began with bang-bang shrimp, two colossal-size decapods. Lightly tempura-battered the duo tilted together, like bosom buddies leaning against each other after a long night of carousing. The huge shrimp ? each hand-sized ? were perfectly prepared, no small feat in and of itself. Exteriors remained crisp and revealed a plethora of sweet white meat within. Finished by pickled cucumbers, chipotle mayo and an ancho chile sauce, the garnishes nicely added to the lure of that magnificent seafood.?
As a middle course, we selected a recent addition to the bill of fare: Kitchen Sink Salad (with a name like that, did you really think we could skip it?). Mixed greens blended with ? deep breath ? thinly sliced strips of salami, hearts of palm in small discs, chunky avocado, halved artichoke hearts, diced red onion, cherry tomatoes, strips of red pepper and lots of unami-inducing bleu cheese. A light, unobtrusive champagne mustard vinaigrette provided acid and moisture to this mega-mix. It reminded us of a lovely Sunday summer brunch you might enjoy at an Italian?s home.?
It was light in texture and still provided plenty of oomph in the flavor department. Throw in a loaf of crusty bread and this wonderful conglomeration would easily become a meal.?
My dining partner opted for wild salmon as her entr?e. The thick filet, probably 10 ounces, was cut to match the rest of the prolific portions. Mounted atop saut?ed Chinese mustard greens, the fish was seared to a nice medium. Glazed with miso and topped by spicy sesame seeds, the pale pink protein was finished with a toss of crisp lotus chips.?
I don?t often order prime rib, typically preferring cuts like New York strip or rib eye. On this evening, I was glad to have made an exception. Described by our server as weighing in at 32 ounces, their Empire Cut was over a foot in length and packed with the ?wow? factor.?
Deeply pink, just as ordered, it possessed a degree of tenderness comparable to quality veal. But its flavor profile, big and bold, was entirely different. Slowly roasted, the rich layers of marbled fat had broken down, creating a luscious mouth feel as well.?
I paired this classic with two steakhouse favorites ? asparagus with Hollandaise and tater tots. The asparagus, ideally in tune with the early spring we?re enjoying, was offered either grilled or steamed. We opted for the former, and delighted in one of the very best versions of ?mother sauce? Hollandaise we?ve ever sampled, warm, viscous and eggy.?
*/ var formWrap = $( 'add_comment_form' ); var formDivs = $$( '#add_comment_form div' ); for ( i = 0; i ' + name + ' said... on ' + timeStamp }); var commentPar = new Element( 'p', { 'html': '?' + comment + '?' }); var ruleDiv = new Element( 'div', { 'class': 'rule' }); authorPar.inject( commentDiv ); commentPar.inject( commentDiv ); commentDiv.inject( commentWrap ); ruleDiv.inject( commentWrap ); } else { msgPar.innerHTML = "Comment has been sent for approval"; } } } // FUNCTION TO DISPLAY LATEST COMMENT ON MULTIMEDIA PAGES TRIGGERED BY AJAX CALL BACK function showMMComment(theName, theComment) { // 'name' and 'comment' have placeholder content for testing, actual data would be sent from DB var name = theName; var comment = theComment; var flagged = false; var status; var error; /* COMMENT HTML MARKUP STRUCTURE
TheDude said...
Mandy Moore is pretty smokin. I wish I was cool enough to date her. Does anybody know how I can get her number?
*/ var formWrap = $( 'media_add_comment' ); var commentForm = formWrap.getElement( 'form' ); commentForm.setStyle( 'display', 'none' ); var msgPar = new Element( 'p', { 'html': 'Thank you, your comment has been added.' }); msgPar.inject( formWrap ); if ( comment != '' ) { if ( !flagged ) { if ( name == '' ) name = 'Anonymous'; var commentWrap = $( 'comments_wrap' ); var commentUl = commentWrap.getElement( 'ul' ); var commentLi = new Element( 'li', { 'class': 'clear' }); var numDiv = new Element( 'div', { 'class': 'num', 'html': '?' }); var commentPar = new Element( 'p', { 'html': '' + name + ' said... ' + comment }); numDiv.inject( commentLi ); commentPar.inject( commentLi ); commentLi.inject( commentUl ); } else { msgPar.set( 'html', 'Comment has been sent for approval' ); } } } function displayNewComment() { var msgP = document.getElementById("msg"); msgP.innerHTML = "Thank you for your submission. Your comment has been added below."; if(comment != "") { if(!flagged) { var commentSection = document.getElementById("ajaxSection"); var commentDiv = document.createElement("div"); var timeStamp = 'Mar 21, 2012 at 04:41PM'; commentDiv.innerHTML = '';
commentSection.appendChild(commentDiv);
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function validateCommentForm(form){
var fieldEmail = document.getElementById("field.email");
var fieldName = document.getElementById("field.name");
var nameValue = fieldName.value;
var emailValue = fieldEmail.value;
var filter = /^([a-zA-Z0-9_\.\-])+\@(([a-zA-Z0-9\-])+\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/;
if (filter.test(emailValue)) {
var fieldBody = document.getElementById("field.body")
var bodyValue = fieldBody.value;
bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/&/g,"&");
bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/,"/g,">");
bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/\r\n/g," "); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/\n/g," "); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/\r/g," "); fieldBody.value = bodyValue; if(navigator.appName == 'Microsoft Internet Explorer') { if(document.getElementById('submit').disabled) { document.getElementById('submit').disabled=false; } else { document.getElementById('submit').disabled=true; } } return insertComment(form,true,function(){return showEditorialComment(nameValue, bodyValue)}); } else { alert('Please enter a valid Email below.'); form.elements[field.email].focus(); return false; } }
