MONTPELIER, Vt. — A partnership of state and federal entities is teaming up to provide small businesses a unique opportunity to discover their true love: More customers.The Vermont Agency of Transportation and Department of Economic Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration; and the Vermont Small Business Development Center are presenting their fourth annual Strategies for Winning Government Contracts event on Feb. 1.The highlight of the day is the matchmaker sessions that allow Vermont businesses to introduce their firms and products in one-on-one, ten-minute appointments with various state and federal agencies as well as large companies who already contract with the government.We like to call it, speed dating for businesses, said Greg Maguire, who runs the Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center, formerly the Government Marketing Assistance Center, at the Vermont Department of Economic Development.Being a small or mid-sized business looking for new customers is a lot like trying to find romance: Its all a matter of opportunity and time, Maguire said. This event gives businesses the opportunity to make lots of contacts with potential customers in a very short period of time.Businesses can meet with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; General Services Administration and Postal Service; the University of Vermont; Vermont National Guard; Agency of Transportation and Departments of Information and Innovation, Buildings and General Services, and Environmental Conservation.Its not only a chance to get contracts with government agencies, but with private enterprises, said Lenae Quillen-Blume, State Director of the Vermont Small Business Development Center, a program of U.S. Small Business Administration. Companies like Fletcher Allen Health Care, Husky Injection Molding, General Dynamics, Goodrich Aerospace, and Dubois & King engineering.Participants can also get hands-on help and practical advice on getting government contracts from experts like Maguire; the Small Business Administration; and the Vermont Global Trade Partnership.This event is really an example of one of Gov. Douglas core economic development strategies: Working with partners like the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center and the SBA to strengthen and grow Vermonts existing businesses, said Mike Quinn, Vermont Commissioner of Economic Development.Vermont is a small state, but many businesses still have trouble navigating how to do business with their state and federal government agencies, said Senator Patrick Leahy, whose office helped coordinate the event. Small businesses and government procurement officials have a great opportunity in this event to meet one another face to face and make connections that could help their businesses grow while helping these agencies line up good, reliable suppliers.The $35 fee also includes breakfast and lunch, with a keynote lunch address from Melissa Dever, Vice President of engineering for Competitive Computing and an enterprise systems architect with over 25 years of applications engineering experience. Governor Jim Douglas will be on hand to deliver opening remarks.The Fourth Annual Strategies for Winning Government Contracts event takes place on Thursday, February 1st, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Conference Center in Burlington.For more information, visit: www.vtsbdc.org(link is external) or call Colleen Montague at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, (802) 828-2715.-30-
FaithLifestyleNewsRegional Bible being translated into Jamaican patois by: – December 28, 2011 Share Sharing is caring! Tweet Share
Flag of Jamaica. KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Bible is, for the first time, being translated into Jamaican patois. It’s a move welcomed by those Jamaicans want their mother tongue enshrined as the national language — but opposed by others, who think learning and speaking English should be the priority, the BBC reported.The sound of patois, developed from English by West African slaves in Jamaica’s sugar plantations 400 years ago, has an electrifying effect on those listening.“It’s almost as if you are seeing it,” says a woman, referring to the moment when Jesus is tempted by the Devil.“In the blink of an eye, you get the whole notion. It’s as though you are watching a movie… it brings excitement to the word of God.”The Rev Courtney Stewart, General Secretary of the West Indies Bible Society, who has managed the translation project, insisted the new Bible demonstrates the power of patois, and cited a line from Luke as an example.It’s the moment when the Angel Gabriel goes to Mary to tell her she is going to give birth to Jesus. English versions read along these lines: “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women.’”“Now compare that with our translation of the Bible,” said Stewart. “De angel go to Mary and say to ‘er, me have news we going to make you well ‘appy. God really, really, bless you and him a walk with you all de time.”Stewart says the project is largely designed to bring scripture alive, but it also has another important function — to rescue patois from its second-class status in Jamaica and to enshrine it as a national language. The patois Bible represents a new attempt to standardise the language, with the historically oral tongue written down in a new phonetic form.For example the passage relating the angel’s visit to Mary reads: “Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, ‘Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu all di taim.”The New Testament has been completed by a team of translators at the Bible Society in Kingston — working from the original Greek — who intend to publish it in time for the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence from Britain on 6 August next year. But some traditionalist Christians say the patois Bible dilutes the word of God, and insist that patois is no substitute for English.Bishop Alvin Bailey, at the Portmore Holiness Church of God near Kingston, argues that patois is too limited a language to represent the nuances of Biblical text, and has to resort to coarse expressions to makes its meaning clear.“I don’t think the patois words can effectively communicate what the English words have communicated,” he said. “Even those (patois) words that we would want to use to fully explain what was in the original, are words that are vulgar.”Many others see the elevation of patois as a backward step for Jamaica, in a globalised world demanding English.Linguists at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, who have been working on the translation, insist that patois is an authentic language, with its own tenses and consistent grammatical rules.According to the BBC, a bastion of ‘proper’ English, in Jamaican patois plural nouns are made with the word “dem” (“they” or “them” in English) — so the plural of “uoli prafit” (“holy prophet”) is “uoli prafit dem”, and the plural of “enimi” (“enemy”) is “enimi dem”The past tense is marked by the word “did” — so “he lived” is, in patois, “im did liv”The future tense can be marked with ” a go” or “wi” (“will”) — “Im a go siev” is “He will save”, and “Yu wi nuo” is “You will know”Examples:Jos laik ou im did taak chuu im uoli prafit dem — Just like how he talked through his holy prophetsIm a go siev wi fram wi enimi dem — He will save us from our enemiesSo yu wi nuo se wa yu ier a chuu – So you will know that what you hear is true.By Caribbean News Now contributor Share 38 Views no discussions
Things got heated at PNC Park on Sunday as three Cincinnati Reds players and two Pittsburgh Pirates have been ejected following a benches-clearning incident in the top of the fourth inning.Reds manager David Bell, outfielder Yasiel Puig and relief pitcher Amir Garrett, as well as two Pirates relievers, Keone Kela and Felipe Vázquez, were ejected for their involvement in the incident. Bell immediately approached home-plate umpire Jeff Kellogg to argue the call, while players began pushing and shoving each other on the mound.Several players were restrained, and at one point, Yasiel Puig appears to draw his elbow back to throw a punch. Benches clear in Pittsburgh during Reds – Pirates game. pic.twitter.com/Dm6SSnvUNP— MLB (@MLB) April 7, 2019Archer was allowed to stay in the game and responded by strking Dietrich out. MORE: The 20 ugliest, weirdest and most entertaining baseball brawls since 1976Derek Dietrich hit a two-run home run in the second inning and admired his shot as it left the park, likely causing Chris Archer to throw behind his back when he came to the plate again in the fourth inning. Archer is known for being one of baseball’s more flamboyant pitchers, often strutting and celebrating following strikeouts.All aboard the showboat 🚢 pic.twitter.com/fqOj0CkjLK— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 7, 2019The umpire warned both teams following the wild pitch but that didn’t stop the benches and bullpens from clearing out. MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN
Veteran NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski has been suspended from ESPN without pay, according to the New York Post. ESPN has not publicly confirmed the suspension and declined to comment to the Post. Wojnarowski’s suspension stems from replying “F— you” in an email in response to Missouri senator Josh Hawley. Hawley had sent an email criticizing the NBA for the messages allowed on the back of players’ jerseys during the NBA restart. Hawley argued there should be additional messages such as “Stand with Hong Kong” or messages supporting law enforcemant. The letter was addressed to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.Wojnarowski apologized for his actions saying they were “disrespectful” and he made a “regrettable mistake.” In its own statement, ESPN called Wojnarowski’s email “completely unacceptable behavior.”https://t.co/cHyqaxBLQC pic.twitter.com/b2gPBcNzS3— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 10, 2020MORE: LeBron won’t wear social justice message on jersey When news came down of Wojnarowski’s reported suspension, several people came to his defense. The hashtag #FreeWoj began trending on Twitter as several NBA enthusiasts shared their praise and offered support for the veteran reporter. Many of those people sharing the #FreeWoj hashtag were NBA players. Players like LeBron James, Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, Jamal Murray and more shared their opinion.#FreeWOJ!! 🤜🏻🤛🏾— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 12, 2020Aye #Freewoj man 😂😂— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) July 12, 2020Till it’s backwards 🙏🏾🙏🏾 https://t.co/AwP0IqUHW6— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) July 12, 2020#freeWoj— Anthony Tolliver (@ATolliver44) July 12, 2020💯 https://t.co/4Erg4PubDj— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) July 12, 2020#FreeWoj— Jamal Murray (@BeMore27) July 12, 2020#FreeWoj ✊🏾 but in the #Verzuz battle I’m taking @ShamsCharania— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) July 12, 2020#NBATwitter finding out @espn suspended Woj #FreeWojpic.twitter.com/xCgeEZj5fW— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) July 12, 2020Until It’s Backwards!! https://t.co/BzKDZtjQAd— 13am Adebayo💥 (@Bam1of1) July 12, 2020😭😭😭 #freewoj tho https://t.co/TpARz2cLIa— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) July 12, 2020🗣 #FreeWoj ‼️— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) July 13, 2020NBA players weren’t the only ones sharing messages of support. On Change.org, a created petition named “Get Adrian Wojnarowski (Woj) His Job back. FREE WOJ” has over 6,000 signatures as of this writing.