CitizenSugar -- Breaking News, Together.

If You Could Wake Up Anywhere Tomorrow, Where Would It Be?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:30:24 -0800

Ask 50 people one question and you'll get, well, 50 answers. Fifty People, One Question travels to cities and does just that. Now it's off to New York, Brooklyn specifically, to ask 50 of its millions and millions if they could wake up anywhere tomorrow, where would it be? Many chose to stay in the fantastic hooray of the city — as if where else to go? — while others looked backward and forward, inward and way, way out there for answers. What would be yours?

Briefing Book! Families Fill Up NYC Homeless Shelters

LibertySugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:00:38 -0800

Homeless: No home for the holidays? The number of homeless families in NYC shelters has hit an all-time high. — Gothamist
Law: How are you using Bush v. Gore in your daily life? Apparently the Supreme Court's decision did a whole lot more than just let Bush rule. — 23/6
Religion: Change you can believe in? Rick Warren scrubs anti-gay language from website. — Huffington Post
Condi: What a hilarious way to waste money: Arab leaders shower Condoleeza Rice with $300,000 in jewels that no one will get to keep. — Gawker

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Holy Carp! Nun Landlords Sue Tenants For Fish Smell

CitizenSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:30:31 -0800

The owners of a NYC apartment building have filed a lawsuit against their tenants who continue to stink up the place when they cook large quantities of fish. These landlords seeking relief from the smell have a special connection to another Lord — they're nuns!

In the lawsuit, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart Inc. allege that the defendants produce smells "similar to that of vomit or rotten meat." In fact, one resident worried that a dead body was decomposing and called the authorities!

The nuns have asked the court to make the fish-fryers stop producing the orders, while also paying the nuns' legal fees and damages of at least $50,000. Do you think a court can determine what smell should be illegal, or is it too subjective? While it seems reasonable to ask neighbors to stop making your place smell like vomit or a corpse, I wonder if they should pay thousands in damages.

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New York Taxis Won't Go Green Under City's Watch

CitizenSugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:00:13 -0700

New York City's plan to turn its whole fleet of yellow cabs green by 2012 got the red light this week from a federal judge, who ruled that regulation of fuel emissions standards falls under federal authority.

The plan called for every new taxi to have a standard of least 30 miles per gallon — a benchmark met by hybrid and clean diesel cars.

US District Judge Paul Crotty said enforcing the new regulations now would be costly to the taxi industry, which prompted Mayor Michael Bloomberg to release a statement saying the city is considering an appeal.

Green taxis are a focal point of Bloomberg's environmental plan. There are currently about 1,400 hybrid taxis in the city.

King Bloomberg? City Council Decides Mayor Can Run Again

LibertySugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:15:00 -0700

The New York City Council has voted 29-22 to change term-limit laws to allow Michael Bloomberg to run for a third term, but the royal battle is far from over.

In addition to securing federal Justice Department clearance, the city council's decision must survive various court battles. A lawsuit has been brought by public school teachers, and another by two council members. The city lawmakers explain that the officials who voted for the change get to run again, too, thus violating the city's conflict-of-interest law. The teachers think the change should be put to a referendum. In the 1990s, Ronald Lauder (heir to Estée Lauder) funded the two referendums instituting the term limits. Lauder now backs Bloomberg's bid for a third term.

Regardless of whether they support Bloomberg for another term, 89 percent of New York voters think term limits should be modified through a voter referendum, according to a new poll. Do you agree, or is an additional campaign the last thing NYC needs?

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Graffiti Is Progress in NYC: Obama Street Art

LibertySugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:15:14 -0700

Popular artists including Shepard Fairey, David Choe, and Chico added their work to a growing collection of street art celebrating Barack Obama's candidacy in New York City. This stealth marketing campaign has reared its beautiful head in other cities too, including Chicago, Seattle, and LA. Check out some pictures capturing Obama's street cred. Source

Michael Bloomberg Wants Four More Years . . . Again

LibertySugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:00:11 -0700

Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that he would seek a third term as mayor, thanks to unprecedented challenges and the economic crisis facing New York City. Only problem: New York City's term limit law says his time is up.

Bloomberg plans to ask City Council to change the law so he can have another shot. He explained:

The question for me has become much less about the theoretical and much more about the practical. And so to put it in very practical terms, handling this financial crisis while strengthening the essential services such as education and public safety is a challenge I want to take on for the people of New York.

A few months ago the majority of you said term limits should be imposed on leaders. Even if in theory term limits end gridlock and purge the system of self-serving incumbents, should an exception be made for Michael Bloomberg?

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Briefing Book! NYC Hands Out Matchbooks With Rotting Gums

LibertySugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:30:12 -0700

Smoking: Need a light? NYC giving out matchbooks with pictures of rotting gums and decaying teeth on the inside. — City Room
Trooper-gate: Mission accomplished? Alaska investigation of Sarah Palin has been shut down until after the election. — Talking Points Memo
Fat Cats: Does this count as a golden parachute? McCain staff includes Carly Fiorina who received $21 million cash severance package when she left HP. — Radar
Media: Not a journalist organization? McCain camp has harsh words for the New York Times. — Townhall
Bailout: What is the biggest flaw in the administration's bailout package? Policy experts weigh in. — Politico

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New York City 911 Centers Can Receive Cell Pictures and Texts

CitizenSugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:15:35 -0700

I go out running alone a lot and watch too much Law & Order: SVU for my own good so I'm always thinking about how I'd be able to get to my cell phone to call 911 from the trunk of a speeding car. Crazy, but true. That's why this advancement from the New York City emergency line is a pretty useful piece of safety technology. The 911 line is now equipped to receive texts, cell phone pictures, and video as calls of distress.

While other cities are already able to accept texts (this I didn't know!) officials say they believe that New York is the first city with the image capabilities. Mayor Bloomberg had this to say about it: "This technology should put a scare into every would-be criminal because the chances of getting caught in the act is now better than ever." Not to mention the increased accuracy in providing descriptions — how often have 911 operators heard, "um, he's a guy with brown hair?" Now they'll be able to see him. By next year, callers' images will be made available to patrol cars and will be accepted as evidence.

The cost of the upgrade? A mere 18 months and $250,000. Since crime in New York is down 3 percent, it seems like a smart investment — and more security than either Stabler or Benson could provide.

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NYC To Require Back-to-School Student Weigh-Ins

LibertySugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:22 -0700

Back-to-school for New York school children will require stepping on the scale. A law going into effect this month will require NYC schools to report student weight and body mass indexes. The anonymous data will be kept by the state's Department of Health, unless parents opt out. In 2004, 21 percent of NYC third-graders were obese.

Recently Michael Phelps, Barack Obama, and John McCain have all come under fire from antiobesity groups. National Action Against Obesity thinks that Obama and McCain have failed to make childhood obesity, a major health problem facing the nation, a high-profile part of their platforms. In addition, they argue that the food and beverage industries influence the candidates' positions.

As for Michael Phelps, the Children's International Obesity Foundation thinks his deals with Kellogg's and McDonald's will do more to increase the problem. To see why,

NYU's Environmental Health Clinic Issues Green Rx

LibertySugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:54 -0700

Dr. Natalie Jeremijenko runs NYU's Environmental Health Clinic. The clinic treats symptoms caused by environmental maladies like contaminated land, polluted air, and dirty storm runoff. The clinic's patients can also come in to discuss personal environmental anxieties that may be caused by climate change and worries about air pollution.

Dr. Green, as Jeremijenko should be called, is an Australian artist, designers, and engineer, who embraces the physician role by wearing a lab coat and writing prescriptions for window treatments, sunflowers, or tadpoles, as tools to heal environmental troubles.

One patient had a case of lead contamination on his vacant lot. So Dr. Jeremijenko prescribed sunflowers and chemical agent EDTA to turn the soil lead-free.

The clinic is run by NYU's art department (not the public health program); but patients do see real results. Would you consider getting a check-up at an environmental health clinic?

Source

NYC Bans Cars for (Salsa) Dancing in the Streets?

LibertySugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:00:21 -0700

New York City shut down seven miles of city streets for six hours on Saturday, opening roads from the Brooklyn Bridge to Park Avenue for pedestrians only. New Yorkers and tourists alike took up tai chi or salsa dancing right in the middle of the street! The Summer Streets program will happen again over the next two weekends. Other city dwellers around the world enjoy a day of recreation in the street, too, as places like Guadalajara, Mexico, Bogotá , Colombia, and Paris have instituted days without cars for some time now.

San Francisco plans to do something similar at the end of the month, by shutting down car access and setting up aerobics, yoga, and hula hooping attractions. Merchants and business owners at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf call the plan a disaster, complaining that closing the waterfront to cars will cut off access to their businesses. But, after a dust up with some city lawmakers, SF Mayor Newsom's plan got approved. Who knew pedestrians could be so political? Would you like to enjoy some Summer Streets in your city?

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Does Civil Disobedience Like "Critical Mass" Inspire Change?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:03:45 -0700

If you live in a city, chances are you know to avoid the streets during the last Friday of every month. That's when the event, Critical Mass, takes over with hoards of bicyclers all gathered together to ride the streets, snarling traffic, and calling attention to the plight of the two-wheeled rider. Some call it a social movement, a celebration, some a protest ride, and others, the mildly creative, "Critical Mess." Whatever the nomenclature, it's a happening that inspires passion — like this video taken at last Friday's Critical Mass ride in New York City. In the video — especially in the slow-motion replay — it appears as though the police officer approaches the bicyclist and shoves him over. The officer has since been placed on desk duty pending investigation of the incident, but the video fully encompasses the conflicting viewpoints of mass disobedience as a means to enact change. The riders intend to disrupt order. That's the means by which they make their message heard — the thought is if enough people, a critical mass of people, follow suit and subjugate the norm, the norm will be questioned. However, from those on the other end of the "conversation," the disruption caused by these methods does more to denigrate the cause than to gain followers. To those questioning why the police don't do more to control the event, and perhaps stop events like the one captured in the video, the Seattle Post Intelligencer had this to say yesterday: "police don't exactly have a hands-off policy, but they're not going to devote significant resources to the regular act of civil disobedience."Is Critical Mass the perfect example of change-inspiring civil demonstration, or is the emphasis really on "disobedience?"

Does Civil Disobedience Like "Critical Mass" Inspire Change?

CM is perfect! It's nonviolent, directly related to their message and changes behavior.

It's ridiculous to think that you'll gain sympathy to a cause by bothering everyone.

It's neither. It's just one of those things that happens in cities — not a big changer.

Other. I'll ride on into the comments.

Congressman Targets Islamic Subway Ads — Train Wreck?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:45:30 -0700

The Islamic faith may be getting a ticket to ride — the New York City subways that is. A series of ads selling Islam are planned to hit cars in September — unless one US congressman has his way. Rep. King (R-NY) says advertising for Allah is fine — but he thinks the people sponsoring the messages unacceptable.The 1,000 posters set to grace the subway's 6,200 cars are sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America and showcase Q&A style headlines like, "Head Scarf?" or "Prophet Muhammad?" followed by "You deserve to know." One cleric promoting the campaign said: The idea is to evoke certain thoughts in the mindset of the person who is looking at the ads and get them to a point where they can reflect upon certain words that one could define as hot words or key words that get thrown around a lot but are not necessarily defined in the most proper context.

Why would Rep. King have a problem with that? It's not the ad, it's the money behind it. One of the backers is Siraj Wahhaj, imam of a Brooklyn mosque. Though he was the first Muslim to lead a prayer before the House of Representatives, he was also a character witness for convicted 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman.King (also a ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee) says, "he is a known Islamic extremist, and you would be giving him credibility and stature through a known government facility." King is asking the MTA to can the campaign. Should they?Source

Congressman Targets Islamic Subway Ads — Train Wreck?

Total train wreck. It's free speech — the ads are acceptable regardless of the backers.

Right on track. King's raising a salient point — running the ads validates the backers.

Other. I'll give you my roundtrip in the comments.

What's Too Much? Are Safety Kits For Drug Users Worth It?

CitizenSugar — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:00:26 -0700

The back page of New York magazine every week is the Artifact feature, where they archive a tidbit of the city — this week was an annotated picture of the kit given by the city to drug users to ensure the safe usage of their substance of choice. I was more than surprised by its. . . thoroughness? I mean I have hobbies, but no government agency has ever given me a kit that contains not only every thing I need to accomplish said extracurricular — down to a nine-step info card of how to do so, but that's just me.

I honestly don't know where to stand on this conundrum, but I have some questions:

If someone is a habitual drug user, what are the chances that they will actually use all of these items as they're intended? The kit contains 10 different doodads, including capsules of sterilized water for mixing the drugs (see, I had no idea this was necessary) itsy-bitsy cotton balls to trap dirt and debris from getting in the syringe, a bottle of bleach, and an empty bottle to use to clean the needles in. Oh, and the needles come from a whole different location. Will the complexity stop these goods from actually getting put to use?
At what point is the line between encouraging drug use by making it so much safer, easier, and government-sanctioned? If drug users aren't exposed as easily to diseases and live longer as addicts, what kind of future societal health problem could we be creating?

I'm just getting started — we haven't even considered money yet. To see the rest,

NY Parents Paid To Parent Their Own Kids — Great Service?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:02:27 -0700

Tough, dangerous, and impoverished neighborhoods are hit with a double-whammy when it comes to raising kids: parents who are away from home a lot trying to make ends meet, and as a result, kids that are left to their own devices learning tough and dangerous behaviors to match. New York City has a program aimed at ending that cycle.It's called Opportunity NYC and it pays cash to 2,500 families from the city's poorest neighborhoods, to do the things that are expected of parents: taking their kids to the doctor, or going to parent-teacher meetings. In areas where liquor stores out number banks and crime is high, the experimental plan is paid for by private funds with support from the mayor's office, aims to create well-parented kids to become future citizens of the world. One recipient of benefits from the plan is a 37-year-old mom with 12 children. She lives in a large housing tower where she enters through the back door because she is too scared to go in the front. In the past four years, she's seen 10 shootings by her house. The plan's benefits appealed to her greatly. In the past two months, she has received almost $1000 for accomplishments like making sure her children do not miss school, and have dental check-ups. Is this exactly the kind of service that will attack problems like crime at the root by giving kids the proper parental support to grow up to resist the cycle, or is it ridiculous to pay parents to parent their kids? Source

NY Parents Paid To Parent Their Own Kids — Great Service?

Great service. Letting parents raise better citizens through financial freedom is smart!

Ridiculous. Parenting is not a paid profession, and no one forces any one to do it.

I like that it's privately funded, but parenting seems like an odd thing to compensate for.

Other. I'll tell you my opinion in the comments.

Ground Zero Reconstruction Planners Ditch Timetable

LibertySugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:00:16 -0700

The building schedule for skyscrapers and a memorial planned for New York City's Ground Zero have been tossed out by the World Trade Center owners, due to unrealistic goals and rising costs.

Planners will announce a new timetable this September, seven years after the Twin Towers fell, according to BBC. Officials previously promised that the Freedom Tower, set to replace the destroyed towers while taking the title of the nation's tallest building, would be complete in 2006, then 2011, and finally in 2013.

Planners promise that the next date will be realistic, rather than emotional. The original Twin Towers took about five years to build. After September 11, 2001, how long did you expect it to take to rebuild Ground Zero? Does the stalling delay the healing process?

Source

New York City Plans to Gain $55 Million on Waterfall Art

LibertySugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:00:25 -0700

I'm sure I don't "get" most esteemed works of art, but I'm still undecided about whether my reaction to New York City's waterfall art project is "wow" or "huh?" Four waterfalls designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson will show around NYC until October. Three cascade into the East River and New York Harbor from scaffolding towers, while the fourth falls from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Money-wiz Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the art will create $55 million in economic activity for his city (it cost $15.5 million). In a truly American fashion, companies will offer $10 boat tours of the falls, as well as a $50,000 Waterfall Package dripping with luxuries like a private boat tour, champaign, diamonds, dinner for two, and a luxury hotel stay.

Do you find public art to be an eyesore, or a beautiful economic ~~waterfall~~ windfall for cities?

US Officials Drive and Ditch in London Leaving $4.7 Million Tab

LibertySugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:10 -0700

A current diplomatic showdown between the US and its motherland involves $4.7 million of unpaid fines US diplomats owe for refusing to pay London's traffic congestion charge.

So what are the transatlantic positions? The US calls the £8 per day charge to enter the city a tax. Therefore, tax-exempt foreign service officers need not pay. The UK sees the charge as service fee, not a tax. In 2006, London's mayor called the US ambassador a "chiseling little crook" for evading the charge. Other countries share the US position, and Russia and Japan owe millions too, according to Bloomberg.

London also has to swallow the pain of more serious diplomatic offenses. In 2007, 20 serious crimes (think assault, drinking and driving, or robbery), attributed to foreign diplomats, went unpunished thanks to diplomatic immunity.

I wonder if the US will try to get foreign diplomats headed below 60th street to pay the New York City congestion charge that goes into effect next March! Should the diplomats pay up like everyone else in London?

Source

Study Finds Long-Term 9-11 Stress in Lower Manhattan

CitizenSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:00:35 -0700

Coming up on the seventh anniversary of September 11, the New York City health department wanted to know how those affected are coping today. They released findings from the first study to assess 9-11's long-term effect on mental health today.

The results illuminate the day's lingering impact and the staggering difference between those living near the World Trade Center compared with the rest of Manhattan.

One in eight Lower Manhattan residents reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — 12.6 percent — three to four years after the attacks. Considering within six months only 1 percent of Manhattan as a whole reported PTSD symptoms, this is a significant finding. To see what else they found,

Front Page: Crane Collapses in NYC, Myanmar Evicts Relief Centers

CitizenSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:49:32 -0700

Crane Collapses in NYC: A crane at a construction site tipped over and crashed into another building at East 91st Street and First Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan just after 8 a.m. this morning. At least two people were pulled out of the wreckage as Fire Department trucks and emergency medical workers responded. One person is confirmed dead at this time. “The crane operator is the only confirmed dead at this time. He was still in the cab of the crane” when it came down, said an official at the scene. No news yet on the second person said to be most seriously injured. Rescue workers continue to remove people from the affected buildings. The crane's top portion apparently broke off striking the building across the street.

Myanmar Evicts Relief Centers: Myanmar's junta has begun evicting stranded families from government-run cyclone relief shelters today, concerned that the 'tented villages' might become permanent. A government official says, "it is better that they move to their homes where they are more stable," At one camp people were told to clear out by the end of the day. The official said, "here, they are relying on donations and it is not stable." Local residents and aid workers said 39 camps are being cleared out as part of a general eviction plan. A 21-year-old trishaw driver said as he was leaving the camp with his five brothers and sisters, "we knew we had to go at some point but we had hoped for more support."

To see pictures of the crane collapse,

The Pope Is Coming to America! Today!

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Pope Benedict XVI arrives this afternoon for his first US visit. Nearly half a million faithful, including Stephen Colbert, have acquired tickets to his events in Washington, DC and New York City.

A recent poll found that 74 percent of American Catholics approve of their spiritual leader. But, it's not all fishes and loves. More than 6 out of 10 Catholics reported that the Church is out of touch with their views. About 75 percent of Catholics and non-Catholics disapprove of how the Church leadership handled the priest sexual abuse crisis. It is likely that the Pope, who while aboard his plane to the US said he was "deeply ashamed" of the scandal, will apologize to Americans this week.

And of course, this wouldn't be a truly American visit without some financial analysis. To see how much this visit is going to cost,

Japan Succeeds at Decreasing Homelessness

LibertySugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:00:24 -0700

Japan's homeless population dropped to 16,000 down 2,500 from the previous year. Japan continues its downward trend, and the Welfare Ministry thanks better employment prospects in the cities and local governmental policies.

The homeless are overwhelmingly male, with 14,707 men, 531 women, and 780 gender unknown. Osaka claims the largest population, with 4,333, and Tokyo comes in second with 3,796.

The success Japan has had in addressing homelessness is more apparent when you compare its numbers to other places. For example, San Francisco's homeless population is estimated at 6,248 out of a population of 750,000. Tokyo has half the amount of homeless, even though the city has 12.7 million residents! New York City fares a bit better. A recent count found 3,306 people living on the street, out of a population of 8 million. Tokyo has 4 million more people, and the same amount of homeless.

Are you surprised by these comparisons? Is your quality of life impacted by a homeless crisis? Should curbing homelessness, by creating affordable housing and a social safety net, be a government priority?

Source

Taxi! New York City Passes Midtown Toll Roads

CitizenSugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:00:59 -0700

Want to drive your Caddy through Times Square? That'll be $8, Mac. The New York City Council passed a measure yesterday that will charge all cars heading below 60th Street during the day.

Called congestion pricing, it won't take effect until March 31, 2009 — if the state Senate and state Assembly pass the legislation and it nabs the governor's signature. NYC is set to get a federal grant of over $350 million (which they could use as collateral to borrow $4.5 billion) to improve mass transit. But not everyone's happy about the plan. To see who's threatening to sue,

Headline: Explosion at Times Square Recruiting Station

CitizenSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:25:43 -0800

An explosion that the New York City police are saying came from an "improvised explosive device" rocked an Armed Forces Career Center in Times Square early this morning. The bomb detonated in the early hours, and authorities are now investigating ties to similar bombings at the British and Mexican Consulates in 2005 and 2007.

No one was injured in the blast, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "the fact that this was deliberately set is an insult to all of the brave men and women of our armed forces," adding that the perpetrator will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Source

Bloomberg Ends Speculation — He "Will Not Be" a Candidate

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:00:19 -0800

In an op-ed published in the New York Times this morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg slammed the door on his flirtation with a surprise entree into the quest for the White House. The former Democrat who is now serving as a Republican — and who happens to be a billionaire — was a wildly coveted contender capable of mounting a serious, self-financed, independent candidacy. Rumors ran rampant.

With this morning's piece however, that chance is no more. Bloomberg said,

I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president.

With these unmistakable words, Bloomberg went on to give his vision for a crackerjack campaign and surefire leadership for the future.

We need innovative ideas, bold action and courageous leadership. That’s not just empty rhetoric, and the idea that we have the ability to solve our toughest problems isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream.

Stopping short of naming a candidate who he feels embraces that courage, he concluded,

If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach — and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy — I’ll join others in helping that candidate win the White House.

Are you disappointed there won't be a Bloomberg candidacy? Does this declaration land him on everyone's short list for Vice President?

Source

Is Trademark Counterfeiting a Serious Crime?

LibertySugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:00:46 -0800

The Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) seized $1 million of counterfeit Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Rolex and Coach goods Tuesday in New York City. Created in 2006, the OSE addresses quality of life issues such as lawless clubs, illegal conversions of apartment buildings into hotels, and trademark counterfeiting bazaars. Tuesday's Chinatown raid came after a two-month investigation by OSE officials. Do you think counterfeited designer goods warrant the attention of a special unit? Source

Is Trademark Counterfeiting a Serious Crime?

Yay! Trademark laws are useless if not enforced.

Nay. We should be able to buy a less-expensive, and lower-quality, version of a trend.