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Talk on healthy living set for today

WALLINGFORD -

Wallingford Public Library and MidState Medical Center present Kathy Wietrak, APRN of Midstate's Diabetes Center, for a program on how to make and keep healthy resolutions, Monday, Jan. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Wallingford Public Library, 200 N. Main St. Realistic goal setting and successful strategies to accomplish set goals will be featured. This program is part of the ongoing Dessert with a Doc series partnership between the library and Mid-State Medical Center. Refreshments will be served and advance registration is appreciated.

Register or request additional information by contacting the library at (203) 2656754 or online at http://www.wallingford.lioninc.org.

Zumba-thon Tuesday for Relay for Life

WALLINGFORD - Relay for Life team (Yalesville Volunteer Fire Department) is having a Zumba-thon to raise money for the American Cancer Society on Tuesday, Jan. 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Wallingford YMCA, 81 S. Elm St. Tickets must be purchased to attend, with 100 percent of the money collected to go to the American Cancer Society.

For tickets or to make a donation, contact the YMCA or Jennifer Vargas, sfhgk1@hotmail. com, or (203) 623-9472.

Project Grad group meets Jan. 14

WALLINGFORD - The Project Graduation Committee will meet Jan. 14 at the Park and Recreation Department, 6 Fairfield Blvd., at 7 p.m. All parents of high school students are encouraged to attend.

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Wallingford Briefs Jan. 7

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University's Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund (OFEF) has awarded $300,000 to six startup companies to assist them in growing their business ventures. The fund, established by CMU alumnus and Flip Video Camera creatorJonathan Kaplan and his wife, Marci Glazer, provides early-stage business financing and support to alumni who have graduated from CMU in the last five years.

Since June 2012, the OFEF has provided support to 16 startup companies from across the country and a variety of industries. The most recent award recipients operate in medical, technology, consumer and educational fields. The companies' objectives include everything from reducing back pain and improving pediatric heart surgery to creating a premium gluten-free beer and teaching guitar online. (See information on the award recipients below.)

"Open Field is dedicated to helping Carnegie Mellon graduates dream big and create the next great product or service," said Kaplan, CEO of The Melt and five-time entrepreneur. "We are pleased to provide these investments and encouraged by the success previous Open Field recipients have experienced in just a few short months."

OFEF is part of CMU's Greenlighting Startups initiative, which is designed to speed CMU faculty and student innovations from the research lab to the marketplace. Previous OFEF recipients include NoWait, a seating management system used by large restaurant chains including Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse and T.G.I. Friday's. NoWait recently raised $2 million in funding led by Birchmere Ventures.

"I thank Jonathan not only for his generous support, but also for his hands-on approach to helping future entrepreneurs," said CMU President Jared L. Cohon. "In addition to the financial support, Jonathan and many of his colleagues, including some former CMU classmates, are providing guidance to help our students and alumni create the types of companies and jobs that serve as the country's economic engine."

CMU's entrepreneurial culture has helped to create more than 300 companies and 9,000 jobs over the past 15 years, and CMU spinoffs represent 34 percent of the total companies created in Pennsylvania based on university technologies in the past five years.

The OFEF provides $50,000 in matching investment to each recipient, who also gain access to other funding sources, receive personalized mentoring and attend an annual OFEF business workshop. The university will provide legal and accounting support for OFEF recipients. Peter Stern, a CMU classmate of Kaplan, CEO of Bitly and a serial entrepreneur, will be providing advisory support for the fund, as well as serving as a mentor to one of the OFEF award recipients. The fund will select award recipients biannually.

Mentors will be assigned to each OFEF award recipient, including select CMU alumni who are serial entrepreneurs who have helped to create an excess of $1 billion in shareholder value. Mentors also will include entrepreneurs who are based at Carnegie Mellon, including OFEF Managing Director Dave Mawhinney, a professor of entrepreneurship and four-time entrepreneur.

2013 Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund Award Recipients

Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund award recipients are Carnegie Mellon alumni who have graduated from CMU in the last five years. Alumni, their date of graduation and school or college are noted at the end of each company listing.

Original post:
Carnegie Mellon's Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund Awards Investments to Six "Greenlighting Startups" Companies

SCHOOLS

PELION HIGH JROTC DRILL AND RIFLE TEAMS recently competed in the Greater Midlands Area Drill and Rifle Team Championships. The Drill Team won four categories, and the Rifle Team members won first in four categories. Both teams won the League Championship titles as well.

TRI-DISTRICT ARTS CONSORTIUM is accepting nominations for the 2013 Summer Program through Jan. 14. The program will be from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m. July 1-20. http://www.tridac.org

Video from around the world

AIRPORT HIGH SCHOOL will accept nominations for their Alumni Wall of Honor through Feb. 11. E-mail Jcoleman@lex2.org for an application.

COMMUNITY

AUTHOR MCKENDREE LONG III of Blythewood has been awarded a 2012 Stars and Flags Book Award Program finalist medal in the Historical Fiction category for his book Dog Soldier Moon.

RONNIE EARRON STURGES has received the 2012 Officer of the Year award. Sturges started with the Lexington Police Department in 2005 as a patrol officer, he was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division in 2008 and promoted to corporal in the Patrol Division in 2009.

THE NEWCOMERS CLUB OF GREATER COLUMBIA has made a donation of $800 to the Free Medical Clinic to help the clinic provide free healthcare to community residents.

ALISON ESPINOSA has earned the highly prestigious certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Espinosa is a Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Teaching Fellowship alumna and mathematics teacher at A.C. Flora High School.

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People and achievements, Jan. 7

ALEXANDRIA, VA--(Marketwire - Jan 7, 2013) - The American Diabetes Association, the nation's largest and leading voluntary health organization leading the fight to Stop Diabetes, is pleased to announce its officers and Board of Directors members for 2013.

Chair of the BoardKaren Talmadge, PhDPresidentNabu Health Care Consulting Los Altos Hills, CA

President, Health Care & EducationLurelean B. Gaines, RN, MSNChairperson Department of Nursing East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA

President, Medicine & ScienceJohn E. Anderson, MDThe Frist Clinic Nashville, TN

Secretary/TreasurerPatrick L. Shuler, CPASenior PartnerDixon Hughes Goodman, LLP Virginia Beach, VA

Chief Executive OfficerLarry Hausner Chief Executive Officer American Diabetes Association Alexandria, VA

Samuel Arce, MD, FAAFPFamily Practitioner Vice Chairman, National Hispanic Medical AssociationJamaica, NY

Brian BerthaChief Business OfficerCrescendo Bioscience San Francisco, CA

Michael Julian BondAtlanta City CouncilmemberAtlanta, GA

Vanessa Jones Briscoe, PhD, NP, CDE Research Assistant Professor Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN

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The American Diabetes Association Announces 2013 Board of Directors

As the Commonwealth Medical College attempts to achieve financial stability, the school's new vice president for institutional advancement will have a significant role.

Marise Garofalo will oversee development, alumni relations and marketing communications. Most recently the assistant vice president for development at the University of Scranton, she will begin at TCMC on Monday.

"It's just such an exciting opportunity," she said.

Though the college is off probation because of its financial difficulties, officials are still looking for permanent solutions for funding. When the college was on probation and did not have a permanent president, donors were at times skeptical about giving.

"Now we're in a position to be able to look donors in the eye and say we're here for the long haul," said Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., who was appointed as president and dean in August.

As soon as she begins, Ms. Garofalo will start working on an aggressive fundraising plan, including increasing the donor base and seeking corporate and foundation support. Dr. Scheinman is confident she will be able to build endowments for academics and scholarships.

"She is tremendously energetic, intelligent, an organized thinker, a strategic thinker. She's very articulate and very passionate about TCMC," Dr. Scheinman said.

Ms. Garofalo said she is excited to be involved in the mission of the medical college.

"I think this is the best thing that has ever happened to Scranton," she said. "It's so vital for our region."

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com., @hofiushallTT on Twitter

Here is the original post:
Medical college seeks to increase donors

As the Commonwealth Medical College attempts to achieve financial stability, the school's new vice president for institutional advancement will have a significant role.

Marise Garofalo will oversee development, alumni relations and marketing communications. Most recently the assistant vice president for development at the University of Scranton, she will begin at TCMC on Monday.

"It's just such an exciting opportunity," she said.

Though the college is off probation because of its financial difficulties, officials are still looking for permanent solutions for funding. When the college was on probation and did not have a permanent president, donors were at times skeptical about giving.

"Now we're in a position to be able to look donors in the eye and say we're here for the long haul," said Dr. Steven J. Scheinman, who was appointed as president and dean in August.

As soon as she begins, Garofalo will start working on an aggressive fundraising plan, including increasing the donor base and seeking corporate and foundation support. Scheinman is confident she will be able to build endowments for academics and scholarships.

"She is tremendously energetic, intelligent, an organized thinker, a strategic thinker. She's very articulate and very passionate about TCMC," Scheinman said.

Garofalo said she is excited to be involved in the mission of the medical college.

"I think this is the best thing that has ever happened to Scranton," she said. "It's so vital for our region."

shofius@timesshamrock.com @hofiushallTT

Original post:
Medical college to step up fundraising

North Haven began 2012 with news of several projects designed to improve the infrastructure and the economic development picture in town. Voters approved a bonding package to improve the town's firehouses and roads, as well as build a new sanitation garage. Ground was also broken on one medical center project in January, while a separate project spearheaded by Yale-New Haven Hospital got underway later in the year.

January

North Haven residents vote to approve a $14 million bonding package that includes $9.23 million in funding for the construction of a new firehouse and the renovations of three other firehouses, $4 million to mill and pave approximately 20 miles of town roadways, and $710,000 for the construction of a new public works garage.

Ground is broken for a new medical center at Devine and State streets, near the Crossroads building and Healthtrax. Expected tenants are cardiologists, gynecologists, orthopedic professionals, and primary care physicians.

Republican State Senator Leonard Fasano and Republican State Representative David Yaccarino announce plans to run for re-election. Democrat Steve Fontana announces plans to run against Fasano for the 34th District Senate seat.

The North Haven Fire Department celebrates its 100th anniversary on Jan. 31.

February

Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) announces it will open an outpatient center in the former AT&T building at 6 Devine Street in January 2013. The plan calls for the facility to house a walk-in primary care center, a Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center, an Inflammatory Disease Center, MRI and digital X-ray imaging, and laboratory and blood-draw services.

Plans get underway for a child abuse prevention program in the spring. North Haven resident Raymond Fowler presents the idea and receives support from First Selectman Michael Freda and selectmen Tim Doheny and Alan Sturtz.

The 2011 Grand List grows by 0.15 percent-about $4.5 million-in net assessed value, with rising motor vehicle values accounting for the bulk of the increase as home values dropped. Rising assessments on personal property, which applies primarily to business equipment, also bolster the town tax base.

Continue reading here:
Year in Review: 2012

The "Teddy Bears with Love Drive," a two-month-long community service project by Fairfield University's Student Alumni Association, recently gave more than 1,400 bears from alumni to children's hospitals and charities from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Alumni chapters from Hartford, Boston, Chicago, New York City, northern New Jersey and Washington, D.C., collected more than 200 of the bears and donated them to their local charities and hospitals, according to a release.

"Every year, I'm more and more amazed by the generosity of all of Fairfield's alumni, students, friends ... the entire community," Colleen McGinn, associate director of alumni relations and association adviser, said in a statement.

The bears were given to more than a dozen locations overall, including St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, New York's Hour Children and Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

More than 100 teddy bears were also donated to Sandy Hook Elementary School students as part of the "Heal Newtown" initiative organized by Connecticut's KC101 FM Radio.

Since its inception 13 years ago, the university program has collected and donated more than 15,000 teddy bears and stuffed animals.

For information, email the association at FairfieldSAA@gmail.com.

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Fairfield University program donates teddy bears

Spectator staff browsed through our photo archive and selected some of the best and most interesting of 2012.

Fireworks during the Outdoor Classic between the Montreal Canadiens alumni and the Toronto Maple Leafs alumni, at Ivor Wynne Stadium on January 20, 2012. Photo by Kaz Novak, The Hamilton Spectator.

A bullet hole in the windshield and blood on the airbag and seat of a vehicle driven by a man pursued by police on February 13, 2012. At about 1pm the vehicle hit a utility pole just south of the Quigley Road and Albright Road intersection. A 26-year-old man was pulled from the vehicle and transported immediately to Hamilton General Hospital. The entire intersection and areas around Bishop Ryan high school were closed for an SIU investigation. Photo by Cathie Coward, The Hamilton Spectator.

Lucene Charles is overwhelmed by the support of at least 200 Hamiltonians who came to the Federal Building on Bay Street in Hamilton, February 17, 2012. Charles and her five-year-old daughter Ajohke (left) were given a six-month stay on their deportation order. Photo by Cathie Coward, The Hamilton Spectator.

An injured man and his young son wait for medical attention at the scene of a VIA Rail train derailment in Burlington, February 26, 2012. Photo by Cathie Coward, The Hamilton Spectator.

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Year in Photos: Local news