Australia Hit By Micro Burst Storm

A Townsville resident has described cowering in a toilet and praying as a tornado-like storm cut a trail of destruction through the north Queensland city.
About 60 homes have been extensively damaged, including 25 that have had their roofs torn off.
About 7000 people were without power yesterday after the storm chewed up properties in a narrow band through the suburbs of Vincent, Aitkenvale, Pimlico and Gulliver yesterday morning.
Premier Anna Bligh arrived in hard-hit Vincent, where heavy rain continued to fall into the exposed interiors of roofless homes, and declared the city a disaster zone.
She said the army would be called in to help with the clean-up and many victims would be out of their homes for months.
Residents had been through a terrifying experience and it was very fortunate no lives had been lost, she said.
"These quiet suburban streets of Townsville have suffered a shocking and devastating event," Bligh told reporters. "Its force was obviously ferocious."

Trees that have been snapped in half are strewn across roads, roofing iron is wrapped around cars, fences are down, and power lines toppled by gusts of more than 100km/h are still live.
Vincent man Shane Sayers was asleep when the storm hit.
The roof of his two-storey home is now in pieces all over the neighbourhood, and one room is a shell after its windows were blown out.
He said the whole ordeal lasted less than 10 minutes. He said he knew his home was crumbling when he heard an enormous crack.
"That's when I realised the whole house was being torn apart," Sayers said. "We jumped in the toilet and just prayed."
Outside his home, trees have been ripped apart. Among the debris lie dead ibises.
Fellow Vincent resident Tracy Thomas said she and her family huddled in the hallway of their home as the tempest roared around them, taking off the roof. She said the fury of the storm was far worse than category five Cyclone Yasi, which hit north of Townsville last year. "It was nothing like Yasi ... it was worse than that." The worst of the damage was done in a terrifying burst of fury that lasted just two minutes."It was like the roar of a jet taking off. We were freaking out."
Nine people were injured during the storm, including two who were taken to hospital, the Department of Community Safety said.
The neighbouring suburb of Aitkenvale also suffered extensive damage to homes and businesses. One resident, identified only as Ann, told ABC radio she was terrified as the storm raged for 20 minutes. "Horrendous. I've never been so frightened in my life. It was just banging and noise and when we got up everybody's roofs were all over the place."
Ergon Energy spokesman John Fowler said 7000 homes were without power, down from a peak of around 17,000 earlier yesterday.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Brett Harrison said the highest recorded wind gust was 111km/h at Townsville Airport.
He said Townsville had 60mm of rain in an hour. The bureau was not describing it as a tornado as there were no reports of a funnel.
Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell said the damage had been limited to a narrow area. "There are houses badly damaged in a very narrow swathe in two or three of the suburbs, but either side of that life is still going on like normal."AAP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10793384

Mile-Wide Avalanche in Norway

Five skiers have been killed after being engulfed in an avalanche nearly a mile wide in northern Norway.

One person was dug out alive from under 20ft of snow and taken to hospital after the snowslide yesterday near Tromsoe, on Norway’s Arctic coast.
The six tourists, five Swiss and one French national, were part of a group of 12 people skiing in the area when the avalanche struck near Sorbmegaisa mountain, an area near the Lyngen fjord surrounded by high peaks and popular with off-piste skiers and snowboarders. The party had apparently reached the area by boat.
The avalanche was triggered about 1,100 metres up, according to police.
The victims were wearing avalanche transceivers which guided about 30 rescuers digging through the snow. Police and military helicopters were also sent to the site.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/mile-wide-avalanche-sweeps-five-to-their-deaths-1-2183150
“It was a demanding search,” said Tor Indrevold, of the local Red Cross team, adding rescuers were “digging down two storeys” of snow.
The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed four of its citizens had been killed and one injured. They were not named.
The northern tip of Norway is popular with tourists who go to experience the Arctic wilderness or see the Northern Lights. The region also offers cross-country skiing, reindeer sledging, ice fishing and snowmobile rides.
Avalanches are common in Norway at this time of year as blocks of snow and ice begin crumbling under the first rays of spring sun. Two Norwegian skiers were killed by an snowslide on the island of Kvaloeya, just outside Tromsoe, last month.
Yesterday, the local avalanche risk, measured on a five-point scale, was three.

Direct link between GABA activation and dopamine suppression

What characterizes many people with depression, schizophrenia and some other mental illnesses is anhedonia: an inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences.
Exactly why this happens is unclear. But new research led by neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine may have literally shined a light on the answer, one that could lead to the discovery of new mental health therapies. A report of the study appears on-line March 20 in the journal Neuron.
The study used a combination of genetic engineering and laser technology to manipulate the wiring of a specific population of brain cells deep in a portion of a midbrain area that's known to promote behavioral responses to reward.
"For many years it's been known that dopamine neurons in the ventral midbrain, the ventral tegmental area, or VTA, are involved in reward processing and motivation. For example, they're activated during exposure to drugs of abuse and to naturally rewarding experiences," said study lead author Garret D. Stuber, PhD, assistant professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Cell and Molecular Physiology, and the UNC Neuroscience Center.
"The major focus in our lab is to determine what other sorts of neural circuits or genetically defined neural populations might be modulating the activity of those neurons, whether it's increasing or decreasing their activity," Stuber said. "In our study we found that activation of the nearby VTA GABAergic neurons directly inhibit the function of dopamine neurons, which is something that's never been shown before."
In the past, researchers have tried to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the brain using electrical stimulation or drugs, but those techniques couldn't quickly and specifically change only one type of cell or one type of connection. But optogenetics, a technique that emerged about six years ago, can.
In this study, the scientists used a transgenic animal with a foreign gene that has been inserted into its genome to express a bacterial enzyme that can cause DNA recombination only in GABA neurons and not dopamine cells. Using a gene transfer method developed at UNC and with the animal anesthetized, the Stuber team transferred light-sensitive proteins called "opsins" - derived from algae or bacteria that need light to grow - into the VTA, targeting GABA cells. The presence of these foreign opsins in GABA neurons allows researchers to excite or inhibit them by pumping light from a laser into brain tissue.
The animals were then tested in different reward situations, simple tasks in which they were trained to associate a cue with a sugar water reward from a bottle or were given the opportunity to drink the reward by "free licking," where they could drink as much as they want.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120322/Direct-link-between-GABA-activation-and-dopamine-suppression.aspx

State Gov Restrict Feeding Homeless

When Philadelphia’s spring dogwoods blossom, Brian Jenkins will head to a triangular greenway on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway just before dusk and help set up two long, cloth-covered tables where cornbread, grilled Tilapia and peach cobbler are served to the homeless.
The outdoor feeding that begins each May includes music, sometimes a banjo-strumming gospel singer or a sound system and a choir. Parents come with children in tow, and while some have found a place to sleep, in an economy still recovering from recession, more are in need of something to eat.

Enlarge image

Homeless Picnics Razed by Food-Safety Crackdown

Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Homeless advocates are concerned the bureaucratic intrusions will cause some small operations, such as those that don’t have access to approved kitchens, to go out of business.

Homeless advocates are concerned the bureaucratic intrusions will cause some small operations, such as those that don’t have access to approved kitchens, to go out of business. Photographer: Saul Loeb/Getty Images

This year, the annual ritual has sparked a clash between groups such as Chosen 300 Ministries Inc., where Jenkins works, and Mayor Michael Nutter. The city has banned feedings in city parks, except for family picnics and public events, and is considering rules to protect the homeless from foodborne illness. Jenkins says the requirements, such as preparing items in approved facilities and attending food-safety classes, are a ploy to rid tourist areas of people deemed an eyesore.
“Jesus didn’t have to go to an approved kitchen,” Jenkins said. “If I have to pay a fine, then I will. I’m still going to feed outside, the way I always have. I’ll just put up a sign that says ‘God’s Family Picnic.’”
Philadelphia’s city leaders are entering a showdown that’s playing out across the U.S., according to advocates for the homeless. Dallas has implemented food-safety requirements and cities such as Middletown, Connecticut (STOCT1), and Nashville,Tennessee (STOTN1), have stopped food distribution that didn’t comply with public health codes. The churches and ministries aren’t going quietly.

Nationally Tense

“This is nationally very tense,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz said in an interview.
Homeless advocates say it’s not the cost that’s bothering them, since many municipalities are offering food-training classes for free. Instead, they’re concerned the bureaucratic intrusions will cause some small operations, such as those that don’t have access to approved kitchens, to shut down.
Philadelphia’s Board of Health is scheduled today to consider additional food-safety standards for feeding three or more people outside, including a mandatory permit. Nutter said another policy change that bans outdoor feeding at city parks will increase “the health, safety, dignity and support” for the homeless.
“It’s not about who is on the parkway but how it is used,” Nutter said in prepared remarks March 15 announcing his policy changes. “Providing food to those who are hungry must not be about opening the car trunk, handing out a bunch of sandwiches and then driving off into a dark and rainy night.”

Houston Ordinance

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has also been the target of criticism as her city considers restrictions on homemade meals.
“People have the best intentions, but you leave food out for four hours or don’t store it properly, it can be severe,”Jessica Michan, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said in an interview.
Houston this month considered making those who feed the homeless register, banning the storage or preparation of food in private homes and requiring that one person obtain food-safety training. Fines would have been as much as $2,000.
The proposal has been amended and now makes food-safety training voluntary, with violations of as much as $500 if permission to serve food isn’t obtained by the property owner. Hearings have brought crowds of almost 100 people and left one lawmaker in tears.
The measure was intended to protect the homeless, who may have less access to health care or be more at risk of complications if they develop foodborne illnesses, Michan said.

Red Herring

“It’s a red herring,” Randall Kallinen, a civil rights lawyer in Houston who has organized opposition to the city’s plans, said in an interview. “They can’t provide one example where someone got injured or sick. This is really a way to push homeless out of downtown.”
Targeting people and groups who try to share food with the homeless has become more common, according to a 2010 report by the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless and theNational Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. Limits on sharing food outdoors grew as the economic collapse in 2008 led to more demand for meals. There are restrictions on sharing food in at least 23 towns and cities in the U.S., according to the report.
New York City prohibits private donations of food to homeless shelters as part of a policy partly aimed at ensuring meals are nutritious.

New York Shelters

The Homeless Services Department has rules about food preparation going beyond nutritional standards the city set in 2009, and updated in 2011, said Samantha Levine, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
“We are regulated by the state in the provision and delivery of food to homeless people in our shelter system and those regulations are very specific and written to ensure safety and proper distribution of food to homeless people,” said Barbara Brancaccio, a spokeswoman for Homeless Services. “There is very little opportunity for people to come in with food from outside, and that’s how it’s always been.”
The safety measures can be an important public health protection as long as they don’t restrict access to food or the rights of the homeless, Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said in an interview.

Good Samaritan Laws

“The only thing worse than being homeless is being homeless on the street with a stomach infection,” said Donovan, who supports the intent behind the proposals.
There were 636,017 homeless people in the U.S. in 2011, a 1 percent decrease from 2009, according to the Washington-basedNational Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit policy group. Urban areas have the highest rate of homelessness, about 29 people per 10,000. Houston has an estimated 10,000 homeless people every night, according to the Beacon, a nonprofit group that provides services to the poor.
U.S. lawmakers have sought to encourage donations to the hungry. Congress passed a good Samaritan food donation act in 1996 under President Bill Clinton to protect businesses, organizations and individuals that donate food from legal liability. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., also have good Samaritan laws that provide additional protection to donors, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The latest city initiatives run counter to a philosophy of helping the homeless, said Heather Johnson, a civil rights attorney with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

Do-Gooder Rebellion

“Food-safety restrictions, while well intentioned, make it more difficult for groups to share food and may make it harder for the homeless to get meals,” Johnson said in an interview.“We’re seeing more cities and municipalities adopting these kinds of regulations.”
Philadelphia’s mayor last week instructed the parks department to issue a regulation in 30 days banning outside feeding in all city parks, with exceptions for picnics and permitted events. A temporary food distribution location at City Hall will be set up for groups to provide food to the homeless, according to a press release.
The regulations would apply to Jenkins’s site along the parkway, a mile-long scenic boulevard that connects City Hall to just near the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jenkins, who currently feeds the homeless indoors because of the winter season, plans to resume his ministry’s outdoor program in May.
Jenkins called Nutter’s plan an “attack on the poor” and expects to fight, even if that means violating a ban.
“You can’t regulate someone doing good,” Jenkins said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-22/philadelphia-regulates-brotherly-love-to-curb-homeless-picnics.html