Children of Eden composer and songwriter Stephen Schwartz is well-known for his work on many award-winning Broadway musicals and movies (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, Pocahontas, and Prince of Egypt).

Award-winning director, John Caird premiered Children of Eden in London in 1991 and authored the book. For this production, The Roche Players welcome back Perry award-winning production stage manager Anne Bertasso, of Bloomfield, rising Star Award-winning set and costume designer Fred Sorrentino, of Brick, as well as returning choreographer Judi Layne Niebuhr, of Lyndhurst, and warmly welcome new musical director Barry Spatz, of New Brunswick.

Performances will be held in the Nutley High School auditorium, 300 Franklin Ave., in Nutley, at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28 and on Friday, May 4.

A Saturday matinee will be held at 2 pm on May 5. Tickets are $15, and $12 for seniors and children under 12.

Tickets are available at the door, or for advanced tickets call 973-235-5200 or visit www.the-players.org.

Returning to the stage are your friends and neighbors: Abby Maichuk, of Clifton, as Yonah; Randy Rossman, Noah; storytellers Mike Rabbia, his children Kimberly and Anna, Joe Vanden Berk and his children Nick and Samantha, Pete Bechmann, as Adam, Shem; Jessica Gonzalez, as Eve; Al Drozdowski, father; Skylar McMahon, storyteller; Alli Green, of Clifton, as a storyteller; Katie Silva, Aysha; Nando Silva, Japheth; Alan Niebuhr, Ham; Alex Carrion, Cain; and Trevor French, young Cain.

From further afield, veteran Roche Players Bonnie Richelo, of Montclair; Karen Rittweger, of Wayne; Ellen Lipschitz, of Paterson return to the stage as storytellers, as do Jennifer Santiago of Perth Amboy, as Mama Noah, and Jackson Kroll, young Abel, of Montville.

Dadipark is Belgiums oldest amusement park, and it still holds what was once Europes longest bridge. Although it was once a popular tourist attraction, it was plagued by dangerous incidents in its later years. In the worst of these incidents, a young boy had to have his arm amputated after riding the parks Jet Boat. Originally, Dadipark was supposed to be reopened after a year, newly renovated, but it remains closed to this day. Developers have eyed the property with the hope of turning it into a modern amusement park, but none of those plans have come to fruition. Now the park attracts a different sort of tourist, those who come to see what the decaying park has become.

Dadipark [Jollypix via reddit]

It is needed to transport members on trips and to venues so they can engage in various sporting and leisure activities.

The club has committed, together with The Rotary Club of Scunthorpe, to help raise funds.

Organiser George Spiteri said: Some of the vulnerable members are unable to access public transport, while others would be seen as easy targets for abuse while waiting at bus stops or getting about on their own.

The quicker we raise the funds, the sooner the members can enjoy the benefits of a new minibus.

Sylvia Leedham, who helps run the Scunthorpe Gateway Club, said that without the minibus, many of the members would be isolated.

The quicker we can raise the pound;24,000, the quicker we can get the minibus, she said.

The minibus does provide a lifeline for the members and enables them to attend events around the region.

The aims of the Scunthorpe Gateway Club are to give adults with learning disabilities an opportunity to meet each other in a safe and friendly environment and give them the chance to engage in social and sporting activities.

Karen Gray, 37, from Scunthorpe, who attends the club, said: I like meeting up with friends and different people. It gets people involved in doing something.

The Scunthorpe Gateway Club is affiliated to National Mencap and it is a social and leisure club for adults with learning disabilities.

These disabilities can range from mild learning difficulties to profound and multiple learning difficulties.

Some members of the club also have physical disabilities.

The Gateway Club, which is a registered charity, is run wholly by volunteers and unpaid carers.

Activities that members participate in include swimming, bowling, Boccia, athletics and fun days.

Evelyn Fletcher, 62, from Crowle, who attends the club, said: I like meeting friends and I enjoy going ten-pin bowling.

The group has a membership of more than 100 people aged 18 and over with a learning disability.

Members pay an annual subscription of a few pounds per year and pay a small entrance fee to attend on a Friday evening.

A three-month-programme of activities is chosen by the members committee, which means activities are chosen by those who attend the club.

The Scunthorpe Gateway Club relies heavily on goodwill, donations and fundraising to sustain it.

A rented office at the centre allows administration to be co-ordinated centrally by the trustees and volunteers.

The club meets every Friday from 7pm to 9.15pm at Grange Farm Community Centre on Wesley Road, Scunthorpe.

To donate to the club, or for more details, call Sylvia on 01724 350769.

Gabby Seiler scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Class AAAA No. 2 Chiefs defeated No. 9 Heritage, 7-1 in the quarterfinals Saturday at McIntosh Stadium.

McIntosh (18-2-1), the defending Class AAAA state champions, is two wins away from another title and will play in its third consecutive state final four and fourth in six seasons next weekend.

Heritage, which finished tied for the most wins in school history, was in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2001 and finished the year 16-4-1.

Very proud we made it this far, Heritage coach Chad Suddeth said. Best season in Heritage history in the last 10, 11 years.

Heritage had some hope early in the second half when University of Florida signee Arielle Gunderson scored off a rebound to cut the deficit to 3-1. But McIntosh reasserted itself over a dominant, seven-minute stretch.

First, Jackie Roshelli scored with just over 31 minutes to play, then Seiler took over. Off a corner kick, Seiler scored on an amazing header, and two minutes later, again beat Patriots keeper Mady Carter for a 6-1 lead.

That Gabby Seiler is the best Ive seen, she is dynamic, Suddeth said. We didnt have an answer for her. They scored a couple of goals that kind of took some life out of us. That speed of play is a lot different than we were accustomed to.

It didnt take long for the host Chiefs to take the lead for good in the opening half. At the 33:53 mark, sophomore forward Amanda Bartholomew slipped past the Heritage defense and got a shot past Carter.

Seiler had a number of chances for goals in the first 18 minutes of the game, but came up short, so the sleek junior moved into a sacrificial state of mind in the final 16 minutes of the half.

Seiler made a great crossing pass and found Jackie Gray, and Gray beat Carter to put the Chiefs up 2-0. Seiler did it again with 4:02 to play until halftime, threading the needle and finding freshman Cecily Hartman for an easy goal and a 3-0 cushion.

I told the girls (McIntosh is) the best team were going to see all year, Suddeth said.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It seems youre spending more on Mom this year — $12.00 more to be exact.

Most of you will be sending her flowers, and one local florist is making sure that money spent on Mom is staying here to help the local economy.

Flowers show love. Theyre bright, theyre cheery. So when you get them, it makes you happy, said Bruce Wilson, manager of The Flower Centre of St. Pete.

Flowers are a popular gift. About two thirds of consumers will buy mom a bouquet. On average, The National Retail Federation says youre spending $152.00 on gifts this year, which means pretty good business for The Flower Centre of St. Pete.

Holidays make it possible for us to work year-round, to keep everybody full-time year round, said Wilson.

Six or seven trucks willmake deliveries, and extra peoplewill answer phones, process orders, and make that special gift beautiful. The Flower Centre will triple its business on a weekend like Mothers Day and its found a way to keep that money not only in the US, but here in Tampa Bay as well.

Were trying to buy more and more US because that will keep the money as local as possible and here in the country, said Wilson. He added flowers that used to come across the globe from Holland, Colombia, and Ecuador now ship from across the country.

All of our peonies are coming from the Carolinas. Ive gotten the tulips from Virginia. We do our tropicals from Hawaii. Any time I can find flowers that are local…Florida snaps were in for a while and theyre grown in Lakeland and Palmetto and stuff, so we try to buy where we can.

So of the $18.6 billion spent on Mom this year, at least we know some if it stays right here in the Bay Area. Its keeping our economy moving and growing and we feel like were doing our part, said Wilson.

While many of you will spend your money on flowers, cards, and brunch, the National Retail Federation says 13 percent will give electronics like tablets and digital cameras.

Speaking exclusively to CTVs Question Period, MacKay said information about the project was readily available online.

That information was on a DND and Public Works website for three years, MacKay said in an interview that will air Sunday. It was released accurately in detail at the time hellip; and suggestions otherwise are simply false.

However, critics say that DNDs website did not include an announcement that the contract was awarded to the German firm FFG. A notice about the deal was posted in April on an industry website where companies can bid on government work.

The fact they didnt issue a press release suggests they didnt want people to know about it. So it gives a perception they were nervous about this, and they were trying to cover it up, said Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank that has scrutinized DNDs spending figures.

MacKay is fighting back after weeks of attacks from opposition parties. On Friday, he was accused of downplaying the true costs of Canadas mission to Libya last year.

The incremental cost of the mission was double the $50-million figure MacKay gave last October, a report by the Rideau Institute showed.

Recently released figures show the incremental cost of the Libya mission was $103.6 million. The full cost of the mission was $347 million. The DND typically only reports the incremental costs of military missions to the public — expenses considered above and beyond normal operating costs.

MacKay told Question Period that the initial figure he provided was true in the early days of the conflict.

I believe theres a deliberate attempt to confuse the public and then blame that confusion on me. When I said the cost was $50 million to date, thats exactly what it was to date, he said.

MacKay said he always cautioned the final price could increase since wars are unpredictable.

But critics say the Conservatives have a long history of hiding the true costs of projects, from the proposed F-35 purchase, to the new tank contract.

Its difficult to understand somebody who represents the government,a minister of crown, can so consistently mistake numbers to the public, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said.

With a report from CTVs Richard Madan

In the first instance, the Chief Minister undertakes foreign trips in exceptional circumstances and instead pays more attention on realizing the cherished objective of good governance. However, whenever he visits abroad, he takes with him a very small entourage and keeps duration of the stay to the minimum. It has also been observed that the Punjab Chief Minister always squeezed some benefits for his province as a result of his engagements with the leadership and businessmen of the host countries. We believe that the good example set by the Chief Minister must be emulated by others not only in rest of the provinces but also at the federal level. It is a fact that Pakistan is in dire straits financially and it has to obtain loans to repay foreign debt and with this in view foreign trips should be kept to the barest possible. However, we have observed that our leaders are fond of foreign visits and proceed abroad almost every month and on occasions we have observed that the President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister all embark on such visits simultaneously. There is also tradition of taking friends, relatives and unnecessary staff and officials along and all the expenses are charged to the national exchequer. We appreciate Shahbaz Sharif who has emerged a role model not only in this respect but also in managing affairs of his province.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) – Three men may have thought they were gaming gamemaker WMS Gaming by allegedly stealing more than $1 million in circuit boards and other equipment for over a year.

Now they are getting their payback.

They were basically stealing circuit boards and selling them on the black market, Waukegan Police Cmdr. Gabriel Guzman said Friday.

Two Waukegan men and a Round Lake resident were arrested March 14 for their thefts from the company at 800 S. Northpoint Blvd., Waukegan, that manufactures slot machines, video lottery terminals and software to help casinos manage all the machines. All three have been ordered not to have any contact with the company.

They were identified as:

Hector Echevarria, 45, of the 1300 block of Walnut Street, Waukegan. He is charged with theft over $10,000 for allegedly stealing over $1 million in equipment. He is free on bond with a May 16 court date in Lake County Circuit Court.

Leonardo Santos, 44, of the 1900 block of Broadsmore Lane, Round Lake, was identified in court records as a production manager who allegedly tried to steal central processing units that are valued between $500 and $10,000 from the company. He was charged with theft over $10,000 and is free on bond with his next court date Tuesday, April 24.

Oliver Villarreal, 26, of the 500 block of May Street, Waukegan, was charged with theft over $10,000 for also trying to steal central processing units valued between $500 and $10,000. He is due in court May 21.Guzman said he did not know if the three were selling the circuit boards online or through another avenue. The circuit boards and other equipment have applications outside gaming machines.

The over 60-year-old company started out with pinball and video arcade machines. Founder Harry Williams went to Stanford University for a degree in engineering and he developed the tilt mechanism for pinball changing the game entirely.

The Sun-Times Media Wire Contributed To This Report

Content Copyright 2012 WLS Radio 890AM and WLSAM.com. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reuters

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PARIS–France’s Socialist president-elect François Hollande may use a summer audit of state finances to water down his generous campaign promises rather than risk a backlash from financial markets against stubbornly high deficits and rising debt.

Advisers say he could even freeze some spending if the review turns up any nasty surprises, soothing investors who are worried he has become the figurehead for a fight against German-imposed austerity in the eurozone.

Hollande, due to take office this week after toppling President Nicolas Sarkozy in last Sunday’s election, dismayed analysts with his campaign spending promises, such as hiring 60,000 school staff and creating 150,000 state-aided jobs.

France already has one of the highest levels of public spending in Western Europe, at around 55 per cent of GDP, and has not balanced its budget since 1974.

But Hollande, a 57-year-old graduate of France’s elite ENA civil service school, together with other Socialist leaders has already been discretely preparing the ground to play a more cautious game.

“There are certainly deficits, things hidden in the shadows,” Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Socialists’ parliamentary leader and a candidate for prime minister, said of the audit.

“We will discover the reality and strike a balance between fostering growth and making the necessary efforts to reduce the debt.”

Those close to Hollande are now urging him to use the review by the country’s top audit body, the Cour des comptes, as a justification for lowering his growth forecasts for the eurozone’s No. 2 economy, widely seen as too optimistic.

Advisers are pressing him to pare back spending in certain areas, particularly the deficit-ridden social security system, and to raise taxes by eliminating widespread exemptions and raising the CSG welfare charge on income and capital revenues.

“There are holes in the program on the spending side and we will be obliged to take action,” said one long-standing adviser, who asked not to be identified.

The situation is delicate for Hollande after he promised change to voters tired of unemployment running at a 12-year high of nearly 10 per cent and talk of spending cuts.

Sarkozy, despite his tough rhetoric, took only tentative steps to putting France’s finances on an even keel and the country was stripped of its prized triple-A credit rating by Standard & Poor’s on his watch.

In a strongly-worded report in February likely to presage its summer findings, the court, a quasi-judicial body, said at the current pace it would take 10 years to eliminate the deficit, which ended last year at 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product. It said public debt was approaching a “danger zone” of 90 per cent of GDP.

With markets edgy, the Socialists will have to be careful how they manage the Court’s report. In February, Spain’s new conservative government sent shock waves through eurozone markets after it uncovered a worse-than-expected deficit of 8.5 per cent of GDP from its Socialist predecessor.

“It will certainly not be on that scale but the Court of Audit always finds some bad surprises,” said Jerome Cahuzac, the Socialist head of the National Assembly finance committee and a possible candidate for budget minister.

Aware of the political risk of angering left-wing voters, Hollande’s advisers say he must act within two months of taking office on May 15, allowing the Socialists to point the finger at Sarkozy’s outgoing government.

Any announcement would likely be after June 10 and 17 parliamentary elections, essential for Hollande to gain a working majority for legislation.

“We have a window of opportunity, but it has to be done quickly,” said a second Hollande adviser.

Some economists have warned that the election of a tax-and-spend Socialist, with no agenda for much-needed structural reform in France, could plunge the heart of the eurozone into disarray as the situation deteriorates in Spain and Greece.

But Socialist heavyweights have emphasized they will be fiscally responsible, as well as planning reforms to improve France’s flagging competitiveness — though these do not include the German-style wage restraint which Sarkozy advocated.

“No one can expect us to arrive and give everyone handouts. That is not the reality of the situation,” said Michel Sapin, who oversaw Hollande’s program and is tipped as a future finance minister. “Joy . . . gives way very, very quickly to responsibility.”

The Socialists say research and innovation, production quality, speed and flexibility are more important than cutting wages, which could hurt domestic consumption.

While Sarkozy clashed head on with France’s powerful unions, the Socialists’ closer ties with them — particularly the moderate CFDT — may allow them to accomplish bolder reforms.

Hollande wants a deal on an overhaul of the retirement system at a conference with unions in the autumn, to put the loss-making system permanently in the black. Socialists say this could vastly improve state finances with no short-term negative impact on growth.

In the meantime, financial markets — jittery after Greece’s weekend elections cast its future in the eurozone into doubt — will impose a financial corset on the Socialists.

With debt forecast to peak at nearly 90 per cent of GDP next year, France is already paying out around 2.5 per cent of GDP in interest payments, even with interest rates at record lows. This would spike much higher if the markets lost faith in France.

To keep his promise to balance the budget by 2017, Hollande wants to find 100 billion euros: half from new revenues and half from limiting growth in public spending to 1.1 per cent per year — a small cut once inflation is taken into account.

But his plans are based on optimistic growth assumptions of 1.7 per cent of GDP next year, rising to an average 2.5 per cent after 2013. France’s trend growth rate for the last 20 years has been 1.6 per cent, and economists expect that to dip to 0.9 per cent this year.

“The Court is not going to find any big holes in government finances because national accounting in France is very serious, but the problem will be the growth: the forecasts are too optimistic,” said the second adviser.

Going on past form, the Court will recommend a mix of tax rises and spending cuts to plug the deficit. It has also said the social security system deficit was unprecedented in Europe and must be cut by trimming spending.

Such considerations may influence an extraordinary session of parliament in July which Hollande is due to convene to pass a revised 2012 budget and a medium-term spending plan.

The month-long session is scheduled to pass legislation ending several tax exemptions, imposing tax surcharges on banks and oil companies, approving a top tax rate of 75 per cent for the wealthy and quashing a social VAT introduced by Sarkozy.

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Having missed the perky poodle in the next vehicle, I was completely unaware of the looming dog drama. What came next was a body-blocking, caffeine-protecting wrestling match that could easily have resulted in a viral video.