Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack

Monday, November 08, 2010

Tax Foundation: 2011 State Business Tax Climate Index (Eighth Edition)

October 26, 2010 http://www.scribd.com/doc/41525892/Tax-Foundation-2011-State-Business-Tax-Climate-Index-Eighth-Edition

2011 State Business Tax Climate Index (Eighth Edition) http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22658.html

Background Paper No. 60

(The link for the document, “2011 State Business Tax Climate Index (Eighth Edition), PDF, 1022.4 KB by Kail Padgitt” may be also accessed from the Tax Foundation website here: http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp60.pdf)

(Hat Tip and some excellent commentary may also be found here: http://www.mdpolicy.org/policyblog/newsID.159/news_detail.asp - by The Maryland Public Policy Institute, “Maryland’s Tax Climate” by John J. Walters.)

The Baltimore Business Journal wrote about the tax climate index here: http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2010/10/26/maryland-ranks-44th-in-tax-climate-study.html - “Maryland ranks 44th in tax climate study,”

Baltimore Business Journal Tuesday, October 26, 2010 Read more: Maryland ranks 44th in tax climate study | Baltimore Business Journal.

Introduction - http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22658.html

The Tax Foundation presents the 2011 version of the State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI) as a tool for lawmakers, the media, and individuals alike to gauge how their states' tax systems compare. Policymakers can use the SBTCI to pinpoint changes to their tax systems that will explicitly improve their states' standing in relation to competing states.

The modern market is characterized by mobile capital and labor. Therefore, companies will locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage. States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth.

American companies often function at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. They pay one of the highest corporate tax rates of any of the industrialized countries. The top federal rate on corporate income is 35 percent, and states with punitive tax systems cause companies to be even less competitive globally.

While most of the tax debate this year has focused around state budget problems and the expiration or extension of the 2001-03 Bush tax cuts, it is important to remember that states' stiffest competition often comes from other states… http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22658.html

[20101026 Tax Foundation 2011 SBTCI bp60.pdf]

Tax Foundation, business, regulatory, taxes, rankings, State Business Tax Climate Index, Kail Padgitt

Tax Foundation: 2011 State Business Tax Climate Index (Eighth Edition)

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

NBC Suspends Olbermann for Political Donations

Political Contributions: NBC Suspends Olbermann for Political Donations – CNBC www.cnbc.com MSNBC has suspended prime-time host Keith Olbermann indefinitely without pay for contributing to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates this election season: Friday, 5 Nov 2010: http://www.cnbc.com/id/40030762

“MSNBC has suspended prime-time host Keith Olbermann indefinitely without pay for contributing to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates this election season.

“Olbermann acknowledged to NBC that he donated $2,400 apiece to the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grivalva and Gabrielle Giffords.

“NBC News prohibits its employees from working on, or donating to, political campaigns unless a special exception is granted by the news division president—effectively a ban. Olbermann's bosses did not find out about the donations until after they were made. The website Politico first reported the donations.”

Contractual considerations aside, I’m on the other side here. I do not believe that Don Imus, Helen Thomas, Dave Weigel, Rick Sanchez, Juan Williams, or Keith Olbermann should have lost their jobs.

I believe in free speech.

I do not, for the record, agree with, or like, hardly anything the above group of journalists said or did to cause them problems with their jobs. I do not care nor am I surprised that Olbermann contributed to Democrats.

For another point of view, read: “Olbermann Suspension is Lunacy,” by Matt Taibbi - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/231499/83512 ... “Just quickly: I just found out about the suspension of Keith Olbermann for making political contributions. NBC apparently has some policy prohibiting journalists from donating to candidates, so they suspended him indefinitely without pay….”

Then again, read: “Flashback: Olbermann Comments On Rick Sanchez, Juan Williams Firings,”by Frances Martel - http://www.mediaite.com/tv/flashback-olbermann-comments-on-rick-sanchez-juan-williams-firings/

My contract says I am not allowed to contribute to any candidates and I like my job and I honor that clause. However, I have grown exhausted with the war on journalists and I’m especially tired of the war on the commentary segments of Fox, CNN, MSNBC, et al. If you don’t like – don’t watch it.

20101107 sdosm NBC Suspends Olbermann

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Sunday, November 07, 2010

The Facebook Skeletons Come Out

By JEREMY W. PETERS and BRIAN STELTER

Published: November 5, 2010

"As the Facebook generation ages, time indeed may prove that they are more willing to overlook the indiscretions of their peers out of empathy."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/fashion/07indiscretions.html?_r=2&hp

AMONG the many firsts in the 2010 elections, it is safe to assume that the following words had never before been uttered about a future member of Congress, “This is a candidate who is probably best known for getting drunk and having sex on television.”

Kimihiro Hoshino/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Krystal Ball, who says, “I am not the only person with stupid photos out there.”

The comment, made by the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, was lobbed at Sean Duffy, who overcame his bawdy past as a star on MTV’s “Real World: Boston” in 1997 to ride a wave of conservative discontent into office. Some of Mr. Duffy’s youthful indiscretions that were captured on film and dredged up by his opponents included a drunken toga party and images of him dancing on a pool table in his underwear.

With the ubiquity of technology and social networking Web sites like Facebook that allow — and compel — young people to document themselves drinking, wearing little clothing or putting themselves in otherwise compromised positions, it was a given that a generation of politicians would someday find themselves confronted with digital evidence of their more immodest and imprudent moments.

But who knew it would happen this quickly? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/fashion/07indiscretions.html?_r=2&hp

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Ken's Project Blog: Burning Down the House

Burning Down The House

Filed under: Five Days in October — Ken @ 4:57 pm

In the news recently was a story about the Cranick family in Tennessee that watched their house burn down because they didn’t pay a $75 fee for fire protection services from a local fire company, but that isn’t the whole story

[...]

Now, why not skip over to The Huffington Post and see how many of these facts they include in their coverage of this fire – they include a link to Keith Olbermann’s “report” on this – play that video at your own risk, you’ve been warned.

Sources:

The Blaze:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/firefighters-let-home-burn-because-owner-didnt-pay-75/

Mediaite.com:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/report-firefighters-allow-house-to-burn-because-resident-did-not-pay-fee/

Huffington Post (for examples of selective facts supporting unrelated political claims): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/04/firefighters-watch-as-hom_n_750272.html

Obion County Fire Prevention website:
http://troy.troytn.com/ocfire.htm

South Fulton Fire Department:
http://www.cityofsouthfulton.org/fire.htm

South Fulton Fees & Forms web page:
http://www.cityofsouthfulton.org/forms.htm

Fixfulton.com:
http://fixfulton.org/arc/5

Ken's Project Blog: Burning Down the House

http://hansenreport.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/burning-down-the-house/

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Women Writers Suffrage League

"to obtain the vote for women on the same terms as it is or may be granted to men. Its methods are those proper to writers - the use of the pen."

In 1908 two members of the Women's Social and Political Union, Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton, formed the Women Writers Suffrage League (WWSL). The WWSL stated that its object was "to obtain the vote for women on the same terms as it is or may be granted to men. Its methods are those proper to writers - the use of the pen." Women writers who joined the organisation included Beatrice Harraden, Elizabeth Robins, Charlotte Despard, Alice Meynell, Margaret Nevinson, Evelyn Sharp and Marie Belloc Lowndes. Sympathetic male writers such as Israel Zangwill and Laurence Housman, were allowed to become "Honorary Men Associates".

The WWSL worked closely with the Actresses' Franchise League (AFL). Inez Bensusan oversaw the writing, collection and publication of Actress Franchise League plays. Pro-suffragette plays written by members of the WWSL and performed by the AFL included the play How the Vote was Won a play co-written by Christabel Marshall and Cicely Hamilton. Other popular playsincluded Votes for Women by Elizabeth Robins and Hamilton's A Pageant of Great Women.

Spartacus Educational

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wwriters.htm

Retrieved November 7, 2010

For more information see: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 "The Use of the Pen" - Women Writers, Banners and Cat Tails http://lightbrightandsparkling.blogspot.com/2010/09/use-of-pen-women-writers-and-their.html

Hat Tip on Image: Turn of the Century, Women Writers' Suffrage League

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=1012084&imageID=1536719&total=752&num=360&word=col_id:542&s=1&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=images&sLevel=&sLabel=Woman%20Suffrage%20and%20Feminism%20Photographs%20in...&imgs=20&pos=362&e=w

20101107 Women Writers Suffrage League

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/11/women-writers-suffrage-league.html

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George D. Sirinakis, 81, of Westminster, MD

Wednesday, November 3 2010

Sirinakis, George D. passed away last Wednesday. Pritts Funeral Home published the following obituary on its website, http://www.prittsfuneralhome.com/:

George Dimitrios Sirinakis, 81, of Westminster, died Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at home.

Born on October 4, 1929 in Skyros, Greece, he was the son of the late Dimitrios George and Kyparissia Efthasiou Sirinakis. He was married for 52 years to Zoe A. Sirinakis.

Mr. Sirinakis arrived at the port of Baltimore as a Greek Merchant Marine in October 1957. At that time he was introduced to his wife by a cousin living in Baltimore. After finishing his tour of duty he returned in May 1958 and was married in June of that same year.

In 1959, he and his wife bought Harry’s Lunch from her parents, Aristidis “Harry” and Vasiliki Amprazis.

In July 1976 they moved the restaurant to its present location on Main Street, Westminster.

They retired in 1987 and sold the business to their son Harry in 1990; today it is known as Harry’s Main Street Grille. Mr. and Mrs. Sirinakis were also the owners of Harry’s Sub Shop from 1976-2010.

With only an elementary school education, he learned English while settling in Westminster, Mr. Sirinakis became a pillar in the local business community. He was a past member of The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA); a member of the Elks Lodge #2277 and the Moose Lodge.

He belonged to Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Frederick, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Baltimore and St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Ocean City, MD.

Mr. Sirinakis enjoyed traveling, especially to Skyros, the island in

Greece

where he grew up. He enjoyed many vacations with his family at their home in Ocean City. He also enjoyed gardening. His deepest passion, however, was always his family.

Surviving him besides his wife Zoe are sons and daughter-in-laws James G. and Dawn Sirinakis of Crownsville; A. Harry and Rebecca Sirinakis of Westminster; a daughter Kyparissia Sirinakis of Bethesda; grandchildren Andrew Essman, and Alexandra, Aristidis, Nicholas and Michael Sirinakis; and a brother Dimitrios G. Sirinakis of Sykesville.

He was predeceased by a sister, Efrosini Sarris.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, from 5-7 PM and Sunday from 1-4 PM at Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel, 412 Washington Road, Westminster.

Services will be held on Monday, November 8th at the funeral home chapel with Father Anastasios Kousoulas officiating. Eulogy begins at 12:30 PM, a Greek Orthodox funeral service at 1 PM and interment will be in Westminster Cemetery immediately following the service.

Memorial contributions can be made to Carroll Hospice, 292 Stoner Avenue, Westminster, Maryland 21157; Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 920 West 7th St. Frederick, Maryland 21701; or National Stroke Association,www.stroke.org.

http://www.prittsfuneralhome.com/cgi-bin/Calcium39.pl?Op=PopupWindow&Amount=Month&NavType=Absolute&Type=Block&CalendarName=PrittsFuneralHome&Date=2010/11/3&ID=1235&Source=

http://www.prittsfuneralhome.com/

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2010/11/george-d.html

20101103 Sirinakis George D 81

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Westminster Maryland Online http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/ http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

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Sherri Hosfeld Joseph, the owner of Birdies Coffee Café http://www.birdiescoffee.com in Westminster

Sherri Hosfeld Joseph, the owner of Birdies Coffee Café in Westminster, smiles at a light moment at the fifth annual Carroll County Philanthropists of the Year awards on October 20, 2010. Photo by Kevin Dayhoff

Monday, November 01, 2010

Community Foundation of Carroll County honors Philanthropists of the Year

Community Foundation of Carroll County honors Philanthropists of the Year

By Kevin Dayhoff 10/21/10

http://www.scribd.com/doc/41122324/Community-Foundation-of-Carroll-County-honors-Philanthropists-of-the-Year-by-Kevin-Dayhoff

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/11/community-foundation-of-carroll-county.html

Over 250 community leaders filled the Portico social hall at St. John Catholic Church early Wednesday morning to honor the recipients of the fifth annual Carroll County Philanthropists of the Year awards.

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/11/community-foundation-of-carroll-county_05.html

20101020 5 POY 8

http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/2010/11/sherri-hosfeld-joseph-owner-of-birdies.html

http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/1486564857/sherri-hosfeld-joseph-the-owner-of-birdies-coffee

LABELS: DAYHOFF DAILY PHOTOBLOG, DAYHOFF PHOTOS, DAYHOFF PHOTOS PEOPLE, NON-PROFITS CC COMMUNITY FOUND, PEOPLE JOSEPH SHERRI HOSFELD,WESTMINSTER BUS BIRDIES'S

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/) http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

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Katakamidotcom News Indonesia: Incentives for settlement freeze likely on agenda ...

Katakamidotcom News Indonesia: Incentives for settlement freeze likely on agenda ...: "File photo : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before a meeting in Wash..." http://katakamidotcomnewsindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/11/incentives-for-settlement-freeze-likely.html

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Katakamidotcom News Indonesia: Photostream : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev vi...

Katakamidotcom News Indonesia: Photostream : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev vi...: "Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev visits Kunashiri Island, one of four islands known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and Northern Ter..." http://katakamidotcomnewsindonesia.blogspot.com/2010/11/photostream-russian-president-dmitry.html

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John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance - by Kevin Dayhoff

John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance

In http://www.explorecarroll.com/ please find two pieces I wrote about the late John Schaeffer of Westminster Bank and Trust Company.

Since these two tributes about Mr. Schaeffer appeared in the paper, many folks have come forward with stories about Mr. Schaeffer’s great mind for business, his service to his community and his extraordinary sense of customer service.

Perhaps one of the best among many was the story of the Mom with four children who had a problem with her checking account. Mr. Schaeffer, the president of bank the mind you, found the problem and because the Mom could not get back to the bank because she was busy with her children; Mr. Schaeffer hand delivered the paperwork and her checkbook to her house.

Explore Carroll DAYHOFF John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance ..

Explore Carroll DAYHOFF John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance …

DAYHOFF:John Schaeffer 82 was among men of finance who helped shape Westminster. Eagle Archives. By Kevin Dayhoff

The Oct. 31 death of John C. Schaeffer, 82, of Westminster, caused many older Carroll County residents to reminisce nostalgically about days long gone by.

Schaeffer was a well-respected country banker, who knew the business of finance and served his community steadfastly for many years.

Moreover, he was friendly, and always had time to talk with anyone, no matter his or her position or station in life.

A glimpse into the life and times of Schaeffer is also a history lesson in banking in Carroll County, and a study of the legacy of distinguished community leadership for over a half-a-century.

http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/4912/john-schaeffer-82-was-among-men-finance-who-helped-shape-westminster/

Work Hard and Be Nice to People

http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/2010/11/work-hard-and-be-nice-to-people.html

http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/1503455081/work-hard-and-be-nice-to

LABELS: WORDS OF WISDOM

[20090911 Work Hard and Be Nice to People]

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/) http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

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Friday, November 05, 2010

Award-winning photojournalist, Phil Grout, to show over four decades of work at Birdie’s Café by Kevin Dayhoff

Award-winning photojournalist, Phil Grout, to show over four decades of work at Birdie’s Café

By Kevin Dayhoff

Posted 11/05/10

Phil Grout, an award-winning photojournalist, fine art photographer, and author will appear for the opening of a retrospective show of his work at Birdie’s Cafe Gallery in Westminster, this evening.

The show titled “44/40,” spans over four decades of Grout’s work, from Vietnam to Africa, Plains Georgia, to Carroll County; and includes almost 70 pieces of work.

Since 1966 Grout has worked throughout North, South and Central America, Asia and Africa gathering images for newspapers, magazines, wire services, and book publishers.

According to his website, philgrout.com, and a series of e-mail interviews, Grout said he “started to learn his craft as a photographer in 1966 working as a photojournalist for the U.S. Navy covering naval operations in Vietnam.

“But I quickly learned it wasn’t the images of war I was hunting, but more the face of humanity as I roamed the back alleys of Saigon; Hong Kong; Sasebo, Japan and Olongopo, Philippines.”

With pictures and words Grout, “became a gatherer of the threads which bind us together as human beings.”

After the war, Grout “came home and settled in rural Maryland with his wife, Mary Lou, and worked for nearly 10 years as a photographer, reporter, and editor for the Hanover Evening Sun in Westminster.”

Since moving to Carroll County, Grout has authored three critically acclaimed photo essay books. His work has been awarded by the Associated Press as well as various arts organizations. It has also been featured in art galleries throughout the

United States

.”

According to Grout, “I fell in love with this land and its people who worked the land in my new rural home. That love pulled me away to Plains, Georgia in the late 70’s to complete my first book as I lived in an abandoned sharecropper’s home near President Jimmy Carter’s farm, and learned first hand the rigors of working the land and documenting the “tillers of the soil.”

His first venture into the book world won him national critical acclaim, including recognition from Publisher’s Weekly which called "A Spell in Plains" “a triumph.”

In the 1980’s Grout took his camera throughout the developing world in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and India documenting the work of various relief organizations.

A second book of photography, “Seeds of Hope,” “grew from the splinters left in the wake of a hurricane which cut a path through Nicaragua in 1988,” recalled Grout.

Grout then went on to live in Ghana, West Africa in 2002, with an extended family of cocoa farmers to create his latest book, “Harvest of Hope,” a portrait of those who toil to bring us chocolate.

Grout, who is also an avid gardener, is constantly pushing the artistic envelope in search of new and innovative ways to tell a story, over the past four decades he has explored drawing, blacksmithing, woodworking, papermaking, and new photographic processes in photography.

In a May 21, 1995 article in the Baltimore Sun, credits his father, Gerald C. Grout, for his interest in art and photography. “He’s the one who really got me into photography. He was a physician and a fine photographer. He had his own darkroom, and I used to watch him,” Grout told Sun writer, Ellie Baublitz.

At the time, the article in 1995 described Grout’s show at the Carroll County Arts Center, also a retrospective, “Jubilee: A Photographic Retrospective.”

“Like his father, Mr. Grout has a studio and darkroom in his Westminster home, where he develops prints, standard photos as well as what he calls ‘photoglyphs’ and an even newer image using handmade paper,” wrote Baublitz in 1995.

“His photographs capture people, animals, and nature, mostly in black and white, few in color, some as photoglyphs.

The photoglyphs are a relatively new method of developing prints that Mr. Grout discovered while experimenting with chemicals,” observed Baublitz.

“For those who have the time, Mr. Grout can tell the story behind (each of) his photographs.”

Indeed, his photographs all tell a short philosophical story about Grout’s worldwide travels in the four decades of a life rich in storytelling and experiences.

Grout is “Good picture shooter and a colleague in journalism… (We worked together) starting in the Navy and then at the Hanover Evening Sun… I have three or four walls covered with his work in my home…. (I) recommend you stop by and see his stuff,” said Carroll County Commissioner and fellow Vietnam veteran, Dean Minnich

Sherri Hosfeld Joseph, the owner of Birdie’s and an artist and critically acclaimed photographer herself, added, “Phil Grout is one of the greatest photojournalists of his generation. We are truly blessed as a community that he has chosen our stories to document. Phil has an amazing ability to find the extraordinary in everyday life - and this show, a retrospective of forty-four years of his work, will leave you awestruck.”

After his work in Africa, Phil returned to his first love, photojournalism, and newspapers in 2006, freelancing for Patuxent Publishing and its string of papers in central Maryland. His photo illustrations regularly appear in Carroll Magazine as well.

Phil’s photography and reporting have been awarded by the Associated Press, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association as well as various arts organizations.

An opening reception for the artist will be held at Birdie’s Cafe, 233 E. Main St., Westminster, MD Friday, November 5, 2010, from 6-10 p.m. The exhibition will remain through Friday, December 31, 2010.

For more information and to see an extensive collection of Grout’s work go to www.philgrout.com or Birdie’s Café at http://www.birdiescoffee.com/.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/41131999/Phil-Grout-award-winning-photojournalist-to-appear-at-Birdie%E2%80%99s-Cafe-Gallery-in-Westminster

http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/2010/11/phil-grout-award-winning.html

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