UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO)

OFFICE ACTION (OFFICIAL LETTER) ABOUT APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION

 

 

 

OFFICE ACTION

 

STRICT DEADLINE TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT OF APPLICANT’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION, THE USPTO MUST RECEIVE APPLICANT’S COMPLETE RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF THE ISSUE/MAILING DATE BELOW.

 

ISSUE/MAILING DATE: 1/8/2014

 

The referenced application has been reviewed by the assigned trademark examining attorney.  Applicant must respond timely and completely to the issues below.  15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.62, 2.65(a); TMEP §§711, 718.03.

 

Summary of Issues that Applicant Must Address

 

(1)  Refusal under Trademark Act Section 2(d) – Likelihood of Confusion; and

(2)  Requirement to Submit TEAS Plus Processing Fee

 

Initially, the examiner notes that applicant’s Preliminary Amendment filed September 30, 2013 containing English translations of the applied-for mark has been noted and made of record.

Refusal - Likelihood of Confusion

 

Registration of the applied-for mark is refused because of a likelihood of confusion with the marks in U.S. Registration Nos. 3414545, 3457998, 3661665 and 4179303.  Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. §1052(d); see TMEP §§1207.01 et seq.  See the enclosed registrations.

 

Trademark Act Section 2(d) bars registration of an applied-for mark that so resembles a registered mark that it is likely that a potential consumer would be confused or mistaken or deceived as to the source of the goods of the applicant and registrant.  See 15 U.S.C. §1052(d).  The court in In re E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d 1357, 177 USPQ 563 (C.C.P.A. 1973) listed the principal factors to be considered when determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion under Section 2(d).  See TMEP §1207.01.  However, not all of the factors are necessarily relevant or of equal weight, and any one factor may be dominant in a given case, depending upon the evidence of record.  In re Majestic Distilling Co., 315 F.3d 1311, 1315, 65 USPQ2d 1201, 1204 (Fed. Cir. 2003); see In re E. I. du Pont, 476 F.2d at 1361-62, 177 USPQ at 567.

 

In this case, the following factors are the most relevant: similarity of the marks, similarity of the goods, and similarity of trade channels of the goods.  See In re Opus One, Inc., 60 USPQ2d 1812 (TTAB 2001); In re Dakin’s Miniatures Inc., 59 USPQ2d 1593 (TTAB 1999); In re Azteca Rest. Enters., Inc., 50 USPQ2d 1209 (TTAB 1999); TMEP §§1207.01 et seq.

 

Comparison of Marks

 

Regarding the first, third and fourth cited registrations, the proposed mark AVANTI is identical to the registered marks AVANTI, AVANTI and AVANTI in sound, appearance and commercial impression.

 

As for the second cited registration, the applied-for mark AVANTI is highly similar to the registered mark AVANTI MOTOR CORPORATION in sound, appearance and commercial impression. 

 

The only difference between the marks is the deletion of the generic wording “MOTOR CORPORATION” from the registered mark.  However, the mere deletion of generic wording from a registered mark is not sufficient to overcome a likelihood of confusion.  See In re Mighty Leaf Tea, 601 F.3d 1342, 94 USPQ2d 1257 (Fed. Cir. 2010); In re Optica Int’l, 196 USPQ 775, 778 (TTAB 1977); TMEP §1207.01(b)(ii)-(iii).  Applicant’s mark does not create a distinct commercial impression because it contains the same common word “AVANTI” as registrant’s mark and there is no other source-indicating wording to distinguish it from registrant’s mark.

 

Similarity in sound alone may be sufficient to support a finding of likelihood of confusion.  RE/MAX of Am., Inc. v. Realty Mart, Inc., 207 USPQ 960, 964 (TTAB 1980); Molenaar, Inc. v. Happy Toys Inc., 188 USPQ 469, 471 (TTAB 1975); see TMEP §1207.01(b)(iv).

 

Furthermore, when comparing marks, the test is not whether the marks can be distinguished in a side-by-side comparison, but rather whether the marks are sufficiently similar in their entireties that confusion as to the source of the goods offered under applicant’s and registrant’s marks is likely to result.  Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. v. Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., 685 F.3d 1046, 1053, 103 USPQ2d 1435, 1440 (Fed. Cir. 2012); Edom Labs., Inc. v. Lichter, 102 USPQ2d 1546, 1551 (TTAB 2012); TMEP §1207.01(b).  The focus is on the recollection of the average purchaser, who normally retains a general rather than specific impression of trademarks.  L’Oreal S.A. v. Marcon, 102 USPQ2d 1434, 1438 (TTAB 2012); Sealed Air Corp. v. Scott Paper Co., 190 USPQ 106, 108 (TTAB 1975); TMEP §1207.01(b).  In this case, consumers will undoubtedly call for the goods in the marketplace in a similar manner; namely, AVANTI and AVANTI MOTOR CORPORATION automobiles and motor vehicles.

 

Comparison of Goods

 

Applicant’s “motor vehicles, namely, passenger automobiles, their structural parts, trim and badges” are closely related, if not identical, to the registrants’ “limited edition automotive vehicles, primarily made to order, namely, automobiles”, “recreational vehicles, namely, motor homes” and “three-wheeled motor vehicles” because they are automobiles and motor vehicles likely to travel through the same channels of trade to the same class of purchasers.  For example, the goods are likely to be sold together at automobile and motor vehicle dealerships and advertised together in automobile and motor vehicle supply catalogs, directories and trade publications.

 

Furthermore, with respect to applicant’s and registrants’ goods, the question of likelihood of confusion is determined based on the description of the goods stated in the application and registrations at issue, not on extrinsic evidence of actual use.  See, e.g., Coach Servs., Inc. v. Triumph Learning LLC, 668 F.3d 1356, 1369-70, 101 USPQ2d 1713, 1722 (Fed. Cir. 2012); Octocom Sys. Inc. v. Hous. Computers Servs. Inc., 918 F.2d 937, 942, 16 USPQ2d 1783, 1787 (Fed. Cir. 1990). 

Absent restrictions in an application and/or registrations, the identified goods are “presumed to travel in the same channels of trade to the same class of purchasers.”  In re Viterra Inc., 671 F.3d 1358, 1362, 101 USPQ2d 1905, 1908 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (quoting Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Packard Press, Inc., 281 F.3d 1261, 1268, 62 USPQ2d 1001, 1005 (Fed. Cir. 2002)).  Additionally, unrestricted and broad identifications are presumed to encompass all goods of the type described.  See In re Jump Designs, LLC, 80 USPQ2d 1370, 1374 (TTAB 2006) (citing In re Elbaum, 211 USPQ 639, 640 (TTAB 1981)); In re Linkvest S.A., 24 USPQ2d 1716, 1716 (TTAB 1992). 

In this case, the identifications set forth in the application and registrations have no restrictions as to nature, type, channels of trade, or classes of purchasers.  Therefore, it is presumed that these goods travel in all normal channels of trade, and are available to the same class of purchasers.  Further, the application uses broad wording to describe the goods and this wording is presumed to encompass all goods of the type described, including those in registrants’ more narrow identifications.

In this regard, applicant’s attention is respectfully directed to the attached sample Internet printouts showing the words “Automobile” and “Motor Home” mean “a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people”, “a four-wheeled vehicle with a built-in, self-propelled motor requiring a driver and used on roads to carry people”, “a vehicle used for carrying passengers on streets and roads”, “a motor vehicle built on a truck or bus chassis and designed to serve as self-contained living quarters for recreational travel” and “a large motor vehicle equipped as living quarters”.  Based on this evidence, applicant and the owners of the third and fourth cited registrations operate in the same industry and provide the same goods under identical marks.

Material obtained from the Internet is generally accepted as competent evidence.  See In re Davey Prods. Pty Ltd., 92 USPQ2d 1198, 1202-03 (TTAB 2009) (accepting Internet evidence to show relatedness of goods in a likelihood of confusion determination); TBMP §1208.03; TMEP §710.01(b).

Applicant’s attention is also respectfully directed to the attached sample LexisNexis® articles below showing the wording “three wheeled automobile”. Material obtained from computerized text-search databases, such as LexisNexis®, is generally accepted as competent evidence.  See In re Decombe, 9 USPQ2d 1812, 1815 (TTAB 1988) (accepting LexisNexis® evidence to show relatedness of goods in a likelihood of confusion determination); TBMP §1208.01; TMEP §710.01(a)-(b).

What’s more, if the marks of the respective parties are highly similar or identical, the relationship between the goods of the respective parties need not be as close to support a finding of likelihood of confusion as might apply where differences exist between the marks.  In re Opus One Inc., 60 USPQ2d 1812, 1815 (TTAB 2001); Amcor, Inc. v. Amcor Indus., Inc., 210 USPQ 70, 78 (TTAB 1981); TMEP §1207.01(a).

Finally, the overriding concern is not only to prevent buyer confusion as to the source of the goods, but to protect the registrants from adverse commercial impact due to use of a similar mark by a newcomer.  See In re Shell Oil Co., 992 F.2d 1204, 1208, 26 USPQ2d 1687, 1690 (Fed. Cir. 1993).  Therefore, any doubt regarding a likelihood of confusion determination is resolved in favor of the registrants.  TMEP §1207.01(d)(i); see Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Packard Press, Inc., 281 F.3d 1261, 1265, 62 USPQ2d 1001, 1003 (Fed. Cir. 2002); In re Hyper Shoppes (Ohio), Inc., 837 F.2d 463, 464-65, 6 USPQ2d 1025, 1025 (Fed. Cir. 1988).

 

Based on the foregoing remarks, because confusion as to source is likely, registration is refused under Trademark Act Section 2(d) based on a likelihood of confusion.

 

Applicant should also note the following potential refusal.

 

Prior Pending Applications

 

The filing dates of pending Application Serial Nos. 85810253 and 85837874 precede applicant’s filing date.  See attached referenced applications.  If one or more of the marks in the referenced applications register, applicant’s mark may be refused registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark(s).  See 15 U.S.C. §1052(d); 37 C.F.R. §2.83; TMEP §§1208 et seq.  Therefore, upon receipt of applicant’s response to this Office action, action on this application may be suspended pending final disposition of the earlier-filed referenced applications.

 

In response to this Office action, applicant may present arguments in support of registration by addressing the issue of the potential conflict between applicant’s mark and the marks in the referenced applications.  Applicant’s election not to submit arguments at this time in no way limits applicant’s right to address this issue later if a refusal under Section 2(d) issues.

 

Although applicant’s mark has been refused registration, applicant may respond to the refusal and potential refusal by submitting evidence and arguments in support of registration.

 

Applicant must also respond to the requirement set forth below.

 

 

$50 Additional Fee Required - Application Requirement Not Met

 

As noted above, applicant filed a Preliminary Amendment filed September 30, 2013 containing translations of the applied-for mark. 

 

However, inasmuch as applicant was required to submit this information at the time of filing the TEAS Plus application, applicant must submit an additional application processing fee of $50 per class because the application as filed does not meet the TEAS Plus application requirements in 37 C.F.R. §2.22(a).  37 C.F.R. §§2.6(a)(iv) and 2.22(b).  Specifically, as previously noted, the following application requirement was not met: a translation of all non-English wording in the mark was not provided.  

 

Response Guidelines

For this application to proceed toward registration, applicant must explicitly address each refusal and/or requirement raised in this Office action.  If the action includes a refusal, applicant may provide arguments and/or evidence as to why the refusal should be withdrawn and the mark should register.  Applicant may also have other options for responding to a refusal and should consider such options carefully.  To respond to requirements and certain refusal response options, applicant should set forth in writing the required changes or statements. 

 

If applicant does not respond to this Office action within six months of the issue/mailing date, or responds by expressly abandoning the application, the application process will end, the trademark will fail to register, and the application fee will not be refunded.  See 15 U.S.C. §1062(b); 37 C.F.R. §§2.65(a), 2.68(a), 2.209(a); TMEP §§405.04, 718.01, 718.02.  Where the application has been abandoned for failure to respond to an Office action, applicant’s only option would be to file a timely petition to revive the application, which, if granted, would allow the application to return to live status.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.66; TMEP §1714.  There is a $100 fee for such petitions.  See 37 C.F.R. §§2.6, 2.66(b)(1).

Advisory Regarding E-mail Communications

If applicant has questions regarding this Office action, please telephone or e-mail the assigned trademark examining attorney.  All relevant e-mail communications will be placed in the official application record; however, an e-mail communication will not be accepted as a response to this Office action and will not extend the deadline for filing a proper response.  See 37 C.F.R. §2.191; TMEP §§709.04-.05.  Further, although the trademark examining attorney may provide additional explanation pertaining to the refusal(s) and/or requirement(s) in this Office action, the trademark examining attorney may not provide legal advice or statements about applicant’s rights.  See TMEP §§705.02, 709.06.

Miscellaneous

If applicant has questions about its application or needs assistance in responding to this Office action, please telephone the assigned trademark examining attorney directly at the number below.

 

 

 

/David Yontef/

Trademark Attorney Advisor

Law Office 118

(571) 272-8274

david.yontef@uspto.gov

 

 

 

TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER:  Go to http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/response_forms.jsp.  Please wait 48-72 hours from the issue/mailing date before using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), to allow for necessary system updates of the application.  For technical assistance with online forms, e-mail TEAS@uspto.gov.  For questions about the Office action itself, please contact the assigned trademark examining attorney.  E-mail communications will not be accepted as responses to Office actions; therefore, do not respond to this Office action by e-mail.

 

All informal e-mail communications relevant to this application will be placed in the official application record.

 

WHO MUST SIGN THE RESPONSE:  It must be personally signed by an individual applicant or someone with legal authority to bind an applicant (i.e., a corporate officer, a general partner, all joint applicants).  If an applicant is represented by an attorney, the attorney must sign the response. 

 

PERIODICALLY CHECK THE STATUS OF THE APPLICATION:  To ensure that applicant does not miss crucial deadlines or official notices, check the status of the application every three to four months using the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system at http://tsdr.gov.uspto.report/.  Please keep a copy of the TSDR status screen.  If the status shows no change for more than six months, contact the Trademark Assistance Center by e-mail at TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or call 1-800-786-9199.  For more information on checking status, see http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/process/status/.

 

TO UPDATE CORRESPONDENCE/E-MAIL ADDRESS:  Use the TEAS form at http://www.gov.uspto.report/trademarks/teas/correspondence.jsp.

 

108B8C

Time of Request: Wednesday, January 08, 2014  17:49:13 EST

Client ID/Project Name:

Number of Lines: 1359

Job Number:      1826:444322241

 

Research Information

 

Service:   Terms and Connectors Search

Print Request: Selected Document(s): 1-3,5-7,10-11,14-17,21-23,25-28

Source: US Newspapers and Wires

Search Terms: "three wheeled automobile"

 

Send to:  YONTEF, DAVID

          TRADEMARK LAW LIBRARY

          600 DULANY ST

          ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-5790

 

1 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2013 Marketwire, L.P.

All Rights Reserved

Marketwired

 

August 13, 2013 Tuesday 8:50 AM GMT

 

LENGTH: 737 words

 

HEADLINE: South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom Offers Electronic Cigarette Samples Throughout New York City

 

DATELINE: MIAMI, FL; Aug 13, 2013

 

BODY:

South Beach Smoke is bringing Miami to New York City this month, with its debut of the first ever South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom. The South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom is a custom designed, three-wheeled automobile that will be traveling throughout New York City all month long. The Mobile Showroom will stop in high traffic areas around the city, and offer free samples while allowing passersby to try out the popular, tobacco-free electronic cigarettes and various cartridge flavors that South Beach Smoke has to offer, at no cost!

The South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom campaign launched last Thursday afternoon, August 8th, in Herald Square, and will end on the first week of September, just in time for Labor Day. The Mobile Showroom plans to visit New York's most popular sites, parks, nightclubs, and events, including Times Square, the Meat Packing District, Pacha Nightclub, and even Electric Zoo, a popular music festival taking place during Labor Day Weekend on Randall's Island. Not only does the Mobile Showroom showcase South Beach Smoke's Starter Kits, Power Cigs, Cartridges, Disposable e-Cigs, and Accessories, but it also offers special promotions and deals available only to the Showroom's visitors.

Anyone who visits the Mobile Showroom has three promotions to choose from. The first and biggest promotion South Beach Smoke is presenting through this campaign offers 50% off the customer's entire order, if the order is placed at the actual Showroom. The second promotion is available to anyone on Facebook. South Beach Smoke is rewarding two $100 gift certificates to one lucky winner, plus a friend, who posts a photo with their postcards that read, "Kiss Me! I'm Smoke-Free!" These postcards will be distributed throughout the campaign by the South Beach Smoke representatives at the Mobile Showroom. Last but certainly not least, the Mobile Showroom is offering free samples of South Beach Smoke Disposable e-Cigs to anyone who stops by the truck.

South Beach Smoke offers a better smoking alternative with their premium electronic cigarettes. These e-Cigs are a high-tech, non-flammable solution for obtaining nicotine without exposure to tobacco. They contain no ash, no order, and no smoke -- just pure vapor. Unlike most other e-Cigs, South Beach Smoke contain ingredients that are made in the USA. South Beach Smoke offers three starter kits that provide the necessary items to begin enjoying the freedom and satisfaction of smoking virtually anywhere. In addition to these kits, South Beach Smoke also offers 10 flavored cartridges: 3 Tobacco Blends, Menthol, Vanilla, Cherry, Peppermint, Chocolate, Piña Colada and Peach. All flavors are available in five different strengths: Bold (24mg), Full Flavored (18mg), Light (12mg), Ultra-Light (6mg) and No Nicotine (0mg).

"Business professionals, tourists, shoppers, and even bar-hoppers have stopped by the Showroom to find out more about our e-Cigs and how they work," said a representative from the South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom visitors. "They are having a great time trying out all of our different flavors, and they are surprised to learn that they can smoke these e-Cigs virtually anywhere in the city, without the odor or smoke from traditional cigarettes."

South Beach Smoke is frequently updating its fans on social media with the Mobile Showroom's latest news, deals and locations. To learn more about the South Beach Smoke Mobile Showroom and to stay updated on the New York campaign, follow @SouthBeachSmoke on Twitter and Instagram, and like their page at Facebook.com/SouthBeachSmoke.

As a leading provider of electronic cigarettes, and consistently ranked #1 on numerous review sites, South Beach Smoke's products are affordable and of the highest quality, while keeping customer service as its top priority. Unlike any other brand in the industry, South Beach Smoke e-Cigs contain e-liquid made in the USA. For more information about purchasing a starter kit, visit SouthBeachSmoke.com.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2013/8/13/11G007237/Images/South_Beach_Smoke_Mobile_Showroom_Visits_Union_Squ-71b01a18-1e86-4dc6-aa0a-81f6b1128a1b.jpeg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2013/8/13/11G007237/Images/New_Yorkers_Try_Electronic_Cigarettes_in_Union_Squ-fb6e9366-95fb-4241-83b8-d1a6873a5c68.JPG

SOURCE: South Beach Smoke

 

 Emily Molina

 305-824-4016

<strong>press@southbeachsmoke.com<;/strong>

 

 

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2013

2 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2013 Environment and Energy Publishing, LLC

ClimateWire

 

April 17, 2013 Wednesday

 

SECTION: TODAY'S STORIES Vol. 10 No. 9

 

LENGTH: 653 words

 

HEADLINE: TRANSPORTATION: Auto exec sees new efficiency in internal combustion engines

 

BODY:

Umair Irfan, E&E reporter

Despite all the fanfare around electric cars, the internal combustion engine is still going to power most vehicles in the United States and around the world for decades.

Even as environmental policy discussions shifted away from nitrogen oxides and smog toward carbon dioxide and climate change, pistons are still the preferred way to turn wheels. Facing this reality, automakers are redesigning cars and engines to hit new efficiency targets and make the best use of new fuel varieties.

"Greenhouse gas, more than energy security, is what's driving this next revolution in the automotive industry, and largely because of this administration," said William Craven, general manager for regulatory affairs at Daimler AG.

Craven, speaking yesterday at the U.S. Energy Association in Washington, D.C., highlighted some of the ways his company, which includes the Mercedes-Benz brand, among others, is trying to raise fuel economy to 50 mpg by 2025, in accordance with the Obama administration's efficiency standards.

One way is to re-evaluate how engineers design cars. Craven recalled the first internal combustion-powered car, patented in 1886 by Karl Benz. The three-wheeled automobile burned ethanol acquired from a drugstore. "In some ways, we're going back to this design," Craven said. "Simplicity, the light weight, focusing on how much energy it takes to move a person instead of the vehicle."

About 15 percent of the fuel's energy actually goes toward moving the car, and 2 percent goes to moving the passengers with the remainder wasted, according to Craven. This comes largely from the engine, so reducing the size of the internal combustion engine, as is often the case with hybrid electric cars, improves overall efficiency. Streamlining, lightness and switches

Another technique is to switch engines off rather than idling them. This can increase fuel economy between 5 to 7 percent, and Craven predicted that every new vehicle will have this feature in the near future. However, some drivers find the prospect unnerving. "Customers don't like the engine turning off," said Craven. "People who've been driving cars for a long time, like me, remember the days when it wasn't good that your car shut down when it stopped."

Internal combustion engines also produce a great deal of waste heat. Engineers can put this heat to work to drive turbochargers, which increase fuel efficiency and power output by compressing air. Craven also expects turbochargers will become standard fare on new cars. Thermoelectric generators may also gain traction, since they harness heat to power vehicle electronics, thereby removing energy loads from the engine.

Making cars lighter using metals like aluminum or carbon fiber-reinforced composites is another approach, whereby reducing a vehicle's weight by 10 percent increases mileage by 6 percent. LED headlights, because of how little energy they use, save about 2 to 3 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per mile. Better aerodynamics would improve fuel use, as well, so designers will likely remove side mirrors and replace them with cameras, Craven said.

However, fueling internal combustion engines poses a greater challenge. Craven said that the renewable fuel standards that produce ethanol-gasoline blends could harm older cars and make it difficult for new vehicles to hit performance targets. Ethanol has 25 percent less energy than gasoline and introduces more water during combustion, increasing corrosion and wear on engines. Currently, ethanol is capped at 10 percent in gasoline blends but that limit may increase, making it difficult for automakers to cope.

"The renewable fuel standard is outdated. It's served its purpose," Craven said. The motors themselves, however, still have a great deal of life left in them. "The internal combustion engine will be around a lot longer than what people ever thought and what some people would like," he said.

 

LOAD-DATE: May 24, 2013

3 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2013 Paddock Publications, Inc.

Chicago Daily Herald

 

March 10, 2013 Sunday

 

SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 1

 

LENGTH: 623 words

 

HEADLINE: History is still in the making

 

BODY:

Passion for heritage is a chief component of any successful modern automaker. Few have gone to the lengths to honor their history quite like British automaker Morgan Motor Co.

In 1910 the brand's founder, Henry Fredrick Stanley Morgan, placed the success of his company on a three-wheeled automobile. The iconic vehicle gained popularity with the public and the racing community for decades until postwar steel shortages in 1950 halted production.

After a six-decade hiatus, Morgan announced a return to its roots by unveiling a new three-wheeler in 2010 that's primed for the modern motoring age. Finding one of these special open-wheeled oddities stateside isn't an easy task.

Units bound for the U.S. leave Morgan's Malvern, England, factory and head to one of ten authorized U.S. dealers. One such destination is Northshore Sportscars in Lake Bluff. At first glance, the nostalgia-inducing vehicle looks part vintage motorcycle and part World War II fighter plane with some go-cart influences thrown in.

Power comes from a 2.0-liter V-Twin motorcycle engine sourced from Wisconsin-based S&S Cycle. Output is rated at 90 horsepower, propelling the 1,200-pound machine to an estimated zero-to-60 time of six seconds and a maximum speed of 115 mph.

Five forward gears are selected with a Mazda MX-5 five-speed manual transmission, which turns the single rear wheel through a belt drive setup. Morgan utilized actual wood pieces in the construction of the original three-wheeler's frame and this new version follows that construction pattern. Underneath the sleek aluminum body are lightweight framing components made of Old English ash lumber.

With no roof or doors, entering the low-slung vehicle is easy in theory, but in practice requires gymnast-like flexibility to avoid the exposed side-mounted exhaust pipes. Inside the cabin, or more appropriately called cockpit, you'll find pleated leather upholstery with aircraft-style gauges and milled aluminum toggle switches.

Ignition is achieved by turning the key and lifting a bomb-release styled, flip-cover switch. Creature comforts are limited other than additional padding along the sides. Interior storage consists of the passenger foot well. Additional storage can be found under the rear hatch cover, which lifts off and is sufficient for an overnight bag or two.

Practical, no, but this revamped three-wheeler is about one thing and one thing only: making driving fun.

Norb Bries, owner of Northshore Sportscars, has spent considerable time behind the wheels of these unique vehicles and can attest to its greatest attribute.

"It delivers an unmatched, full wind-in-your-face motoring experience. The motorcycle engine has this great sound, which can be clearly heard when going down the road," he said. "Even with two occupants, the car is very sporty and very stable at both low and high speeds."

While a standard car is available, every three-wheeler can be customized to suit a buyer's specific tastes. Ten standard colors are available along with several special metallic options. For those wishing to complete the vintage aircraft look, several graphic packages are available, complete with faux bullet holes, fighter plane shark fuselage graphics and pinup girl nose art.

Optional equipment ranges from polished roll hoops, cowl and headlight buckets to black exhaust pipes and shields to a Mohair tonneau cover for rainy day drives.

Automakers are periodically reviving storied nameplates but rarely do you see a commitment to stay this true to the original product.

With it's vintage vibe, reliable powertrain components and grin-producing capabilities, this three-wheeler is the perfect ride for any winding road enthusiast who wants to celebrate the past while looking to the future.

 

GRAPHIC: The Morgan is powered by a 2.0-liter motorcycle engine made by  Cycle in Wisconsin. Historical photos courtesy of Northshore Sportscars Morgan Motor Co. began producing three-wheeled cars in 1910, and they soon became favorites of racing enthusiasts. Photos Courtesy of Prestige Motorcar Photography A comfortable, luxurious leather cabin is found inside the vehicle.

 

LOAD-DATE: March 10, 2013

 

5 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 2012 Kearney Hub, Kearney, NE

Distributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Kearney Hub (Nebraska)

 

July 16, 2012 Monday

 

SECTION: LOCAL

 

LENGTH: 583 words

 

HEADLINE: Fascination is the name of the Sidney-made vehicle, it's also the response it evokes from people who see it

 

BYLINE: SAM PESHEK Hub Intern, KEARNEY HUB

 

BODY:

KEARNEY-- Keith Carpenter is having too much fun.

Years of searching, bidding wars against car collectors and a trade offer of $500,000 and beachfront property in Miami could not separate Carpenter from any of his unusual three-wheeled automobiles. At 74, he and his wife, Eileen, are enjoying the time of their lives together by sharing their Fascination autos with people across the United States.

 This weekend, the Kearney State College graduates will bring the No. 2 Highway Aircraft Motor Co. Fascination car back to the Cruise Nite car show for the first time in 20 years.

 "People come up to us at car shows and say they remember seeing it in Holdrege or Sidney driving down the streets, and it brings back a lot of memories for people," Eileen said. "It's fun to bring it back to Kearney because we both went to school here. It holds a special place in our lives."

 The No. 2 Fascination car is one of just five manufactured by Sidney's Highway Aircraft Motor Co. in 1972 and will be the only one making the trip from the Carpenters' home in Denver for this weekend's show.

 The Highway Aircraft Motor Co. opened in Sidney in the late 1960s to build the Fascination cars. The company reached an agreement with Egging Manufacturing of Gurley to help build the cars, and obtained a building at the former U.S. Army Depot near Sidney.

 Shortly after production started, the owner of Highway Aircraft Motor Co. was removed from the project by stockholders. Two vehicles were completed before production stopped, and three more were left unfinished, leaving a total of five Fascinations.

 Keith said his obsession with the three-wheeled car began when he spotted the black and gold Fascination prototype, the No. 1, when he was driving past a Denver used car dealership 30 years ago. He knew he had to have it.

 "I'm going to bring home that car," he said. "I don't care how. If it's some kind of oddball, goofy-looking thing that nobody has, this old man wants it."

 Keith lost track of the car after that day and spent years on the phone calling car dealerships and friends that shared his interest in car collecting to ask if they knew where the car was.

 "A guy like me loves the hunt," he said. "I always kept a real strong interest in those Fascinations."

 Just before the trail ran cold on the hunt for No. 1, a longtime friend told Keith and Eileen he had purchased a strange, three-wheeled car that resembled an airplane. When Keith saw the car, he immediately recognized the oddity he saw years ago.

 Shortly before his friend died, he told Keith the car was for sale at auction.

 The auction for the car opened at $7,000 and quickly escalated into a standoff with a man from Lincoln who he said had "more money than God," but Keith did not back down.

 When the day was over, the Carpenters took the Fascination home for $75,000 and have been touring the country with the prototype and the red and white No. 2 model he found years later in New Mexico.

 The No. 2 model will make the trip to Kearney after stops as a main attraction at auto shows from Las Angeles to Miami.

 "It's very fun to have," Eileen said. "We love talking to people from around the country. We have something unique and we feel like we need to share it because otherwise people would never see it."

 Keith, a 1956 graduate from Kearney State, has no plans to sell his Nos. 1, 2 and 5 Fascination models. Keith said he and Eileen plan to donate the vehicles to the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

 email to:

 sam.pesek@kearneyhub.com

 

LOAD-DATE: October 31, 2012

6 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2011 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)

 

September 29, 2011 Thursday 

AUBURN/CHARLTON/DUDLEY/OXFORD EDITION

 

SECTION: So I've Heard; Pg. 6

 

LENGTH: 1226 words

 

HEADLINE: Jury duty changes bring wooden box to mind

 

BYLINE: Ed Patenaude

 

BODY:

A series of jury duty measures - exempting police and other groups from service - is before the State Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee, the Sunday Telegram reported recently.

This isn't to get into the merit of any of the proposals, but to remember when jurors served for a month at a time, before adoption of the one day, one trial system in vogue since the 1980s.

Jurors are currently selected from town and city street census lists. Failure to return a census form is not an escape hatch, says Webster Town Clerk Robert T. Craver. Jury dodgers may place their voting privileges in jeopardy, but their names are not automatically removed from the computerized list maintained for the State Jury Commissioner, he says.

Assistant Town Clerk Norma Bembenek monitors the information. Names are removed when a death certificate is submitted, or when a notice is received that a resident has moved to another jurisdiction and registered to vote there.

This sounds like a pretty good system. Nobody can force a citizen to vote, but hiding from the procedure isn't that easy. Incredible as it may sound, jury duty was once a pretty closed process, at least as it was managed in Webster, and possibly in other municipalities throughout the state.

Boards of Selectmen prepared jury lists or the names of citizens whose identities were subject to call over a given time, generally one year. This apparently welled from the Great Depression, when everyone wanted to serve to gain the stipend involved.

It was still alive when I moved from sports to general news and Webster Board of Selectmen meetings in the late 1950s. The corruption was in the jury list, though no one ever used such a strong term at the time.

The number of potential jurors was relatively small, generally about 100. Identities were typed on slips of paper, folded, placed in small envelopes, sealed and placed in a wooden box with a small, hand-size door to retrieve forms.

A deputy sheriff would serve selectmen with a warrant for a given number of jurors, mostly three or four, and the board's secretary would take the box out of the office vault.

Selectmen would draw the number of envelopes required, and the chairman would identify the jurors. It was a pay drawing.

The jurors were always men, often retired, unemployed or self-employed; town employees, union members, political operatives, and friends or relatives of a selectman. There was some probing at one point, apparently because of a change in the state law, and the names of a few women were added to the jury list. It took some time, but Mary Wojcik was the first Webster woman summoned for jury duty. She was a conscientious, fair-minded person, a good juror type.

One day or one trial came along and jury service finally opened to citizens at large. It's why I don't understand jury dodgers. The small wooden box was still around a couple of decades later, forgotten in a corner at the Town Accountant's office. The then-accountant brought it out one day and questioned: "What's this?"

For an update to jury service, Dudley's Daniel J. Healy spent a day at Fitchburg Superior Court earlier this month. It was a repetition on the service summons he received some years ago, also for the Fitchburg jurisdiction. Dan has concluded that someone in the Jury Commissioners office thinks Dudley is close to Fitchburg. He accepted the assignments without seeking a change in venue. "It was a 45-minute drive on a nice day," he said of his recent summons,

A gigantic blueberry in Columbia Falls, Maine, is a domed offshoot of famed architect Buckminster Fuller's geodesic design, says Dudley's Michael T. Branniff.

It's actually a roadside stand for "Wild Blueberry Land." Mr. Branniff and his wife, Linda K. Branniff, have vacationed in Maine for years and always visit "the wild adaptation of `Bucky Dome,'" says Mr. Branniff.

Buckminster Fuller, a native of Maine, was the architect who designed the geodesic home, and a three-wheeled automobile to go with it. He had a couple of car bodies built by Waterhouse Co., when they made custom bodies in the 1930s. Mr. and Mrs. Branniff, both involved in local historical research, were certainly aware of this.

Besides the stand's tie to this area, homemade blueberry pies and pastry "render this wonderful stop (into) a genuine diabetic hell," writes Mr. Branniff, always out front and center on Dudley's historical preservation issues. Mrs. Branniff is the author of occasional features on Dudley's historical locations, published in the Webster Times. They certainly know Dudley history.

I've known John Guy LaPlante for 40 years or longer, and he's been welcomed into my life for all of that time.

John, 82 , a lifelong reporter, writer, editor, public relations officer and publisher, settled in Deep River. Conn., about 20 years ago, made a solo trip around the world, wrote a book about that, authored other works, and surprised his legion of friends about three years ago by signing up for Peace Corps service. He spent a couple of years in the Ukraine, teaching English and French, and, in the process, was recognized as the World's Oldest Peace Corps Volunteer. As might be imagined, this became fodder for his latest book. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps.

Mr. LaPlante had a PR business with accounts in this area at one point, and took advantage of ancillary services in Webster's public library. He came to know Lori Pepka, who worked at the main desk at Corbin during that period.

Fast forward to the current day. Mr. LaPlante was on his way to a speaking engagement in North Brookfield and decided to drop by our home. He took a wrong turn off Thompson Road, realized his mistake after entering the Treasure Island complex, saw an open door, and sought assistance. He went to the open door and was startled when Lori Pepka greeted him with "Hello, Mr. John Guy LaPlante."

"She remembered my whole name," John said that same evening. "It was incredible. She was as kind as ever, and I met her mother, a likewise nice person."

Webster selectmen voted recently to build a new dog pound-animal shelter in or near the town wastewater treatment plant off lower Hill Street, in an isolated area with traffic mostly to the facility.

This raises a question: What's wrong with building anew at the existing pound on Sutton Road ? The lot is 100 feet wide and 150 feet long, probably big enough to serve Webster's needs. Since Gerald and Marilyn Fels answered Animal Control Officer Michelle Lafleche's appeal for "a new and improved shelter," plans ought to include a "thank you" plaque to Webster's great benefactors in a place known to the public, acknowledging gratitude while promoting pet adoption programs.

The old pound might be the best place for a new one!

A postings on one of the bulletin boards in the Webster town hall is specific: Veterans Memorials are "sacred," and Dudley Veterans Services Officer wants this known.

In part, the notice reads, "It has been called to my attention that Veterans' Memorial Squares in Webster and Dudley are being subjected to advertising the postings of scheduled events such as politics, real estate sales, etc."

An open house sign for a house on Ray Street keeps popping up in front of a memorial to a World War II veteran who served as a Webster Assessor 37 years.

It lists the agent's identity and identifies a "marketing center."

 

LOAD-DATE: September 30, 2011

7 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 2011 Citizen-Standard, The (Valley View, PA)

Distributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia)

 

September 15, 2011

 

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 24

 

LENGTH: 687 words

 

HEADLINE: Hiller curates Art Museum show by Iraqi architect

 

BYLINE: Nathan Lerner

 

BODY:

Architect, Zaha Hadid, has achieved international acclaim for her distinctive, futuristic buildings. She is the first female to ever be awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Hadid's innovative sense of style also manifests itself in a panoply of smaller items that she has designed. A new exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art represents the first in the U.S. to feature Hadid's product designs in a setting of her own creation.

 It showcases 40 items designed by Hadid. This includes a sterling silver coffee and tea set for Sawaya & Moroni, shoes for Lacoste, and even the prototype for her Z-Car, a hydrogen-powered, three-wheeled automobile.

 Chestnut Hill resident, Kathryn Hiesinger, is the Museum's Curator of European Decorative Arts after 1700. In this capacity, she curated the show on Hadid. Hiesinger is a noted authority on the subject, having penned the book, "Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion," which is scheduled for publication in the fall.

 Hiesinger explained in a recent interview, "She has been a leader in digital design and direct-to-production technologies, pushing the limits of engineering and current building practices; that is, of what can be built.

 "The fields of architecture, urban planning and design are deeply interrelated in Hadid's practice, developed from the same theoretical concepts and the same formal language."

 Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid grew up in a progressive, well-traveled, Westernized, Muslim household.

 Hiesinger observed, "This gave her an expansive world view and innate boldness." Hadid obtained an undergraduate degree in mathematics from American University in Beirut, Lebanon, before studying at the Architectural Association in London.

 Hiesinger pointed out, "Her educational background has been deeply important for her professionally. It has given her the ability to develop and realize the complex geometries that her buildings and designs require."

 Hiesinger illuminated the curatorial selection process, "The factors are public interest, scholarly contribution, budget and schedule.

 Curators propose their exhibition ideas to the Director, who makes the final determination. Hadid has made impressive contributions to the fields of architecture and design that I wanted to recognize."

 Hadid herself shaped the parameters of the show.

 The 68-year old Hiesinger was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where she was an ardent bibliophile. "As a little girl I wanted to be a librarian because I loved to read."

 While attending Wellesley College, however, her career aspirations changed. "I took my first art history course at college. However, it wasn't until after my sophomore year, when I spent the summer in Italy looking at art, that I became seriously interested in making a professional career in the field, in some capacity.

 "Although I didn't know it at the time, my favorite professor, John McAndrew, had been director of the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Architecture and Design. I discovered this when I took responsibility for the Museum's design collections."

 Hiesinger went to graduate school in fine arts at Harvard, where she earned Master's and Doctorate degrees in Fine Arts.

 While there, she met her future husband, Ulrich W. Hiesinger.

 After graduation, she became a curatorial assistant in the Department of Medieval and Renaissance Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she has spent virtually her entire professional career.

 Besides the catalogues for shows Hiesinger has curated at the Museum, she has authored "Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour at Acadia Summer Arts Program;" "Collecting Modern: Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art since 1876," and the upcoming tome on Hadid. She also co-authored "Landmarks of Twentieth Century Design" as well as "AntiqueSpeak."

 The show, "Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion," will open Sept. 17 and continue through March 25, 2012, at the Perelman Gallery of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 Nathan Lerner, the Director of Davenport Communications, is actively involved in civic and cultural affairs. He welcomes feedback at culturevulture1@aol.com

 

GRAPHIC: This futuristic car created by Zaha Hadid is a lightweight carbon fiber composite made by GTM Cars, Kingswinford, England. Photography courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects: Project Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with Kenny Shachter/ROVE Gallery London. Chestnut Hill resident, Kathryn Hiesinger, is the Philadelphia Art Museum's Curator of European Decorative Arts after 1700. She has curated the show on architect Zaha Hadid that will run from Sept. 17 to March 25 of 2012. (Photo by Stuart Watson Photography)

 

LOAD-DATE: December 6, 2013

 

10 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2011 States News Service

States News Service

 

March 25, 2011 Friday

 

LENGTH: 3955 words

 

HEADLINE: INTERPRETATION OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON VEHICLE AND VESSEL TAX

 

BYLINE: States News Service

 

DATELINE: BEIJING, China

 

BODY:

The following information was released by the State Administration of Taxation of the People's Republic of China:

Source: General Office of the State Administration of Taxation

an an On February 25, 2011, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Vehicle and Vessel Tax (hereinafter referred to as the "the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax") was passed by the 19th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress. On the same day, the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax was promulgated in the No.43 Presidential Decree signed by Mr. Hu Jintao, President of the State. The Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax will come into force as of January 1, 2012.

an an Q1: What are the background and necessity of the launch of the Law?

an an A: In December 2006, the State Council abrogated the Provisional Regulations on the Tax of Vehicle and Vessel Licenses and the Provisional Regulations on Tax of Vehicle and Vessel Use, and formulated the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax. The Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax was implemented as of January 1, 2007, with positive results achieved. In 2010, a revenue of RMB24.16 billion was achieved from the collection of vehicle and vessel tax, representing a 380% increase over the total revenue collected from vehicle and vessel license tax and vehicle and vessel tax in 2006.

an an According to the decisions authorized by the NPC and relevant regulations on legislation, the separate regulations on tax formulated by the State Council should be converted into law when relevant conditions get ripe. So far the conditions have become ripe for the conversion of the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax into the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax. That could be spelled out in three aspects: the first is that since the initial stage of the founding of New China when the vehicle and vessel tax was levied, especially since the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world, the State Council has made a series of adjustments and improvements in the system of vehicle and vessel tax during the course of tax system reformation, based on the changes of situations. This has provided solid foundation for the legislation; the second is that during the 60 years of tax imposition, no matter what changes have been made to the names of tax categories, the systems related to the imposition of vehicle and vessel tax have been fully understood by the masses and accepted by the taxpayers; the third is that China has witnessed rapid economic growth in the recent years. There has been rapid increase in residents' incomes. Private cars have become increasingly popular. There is sharp increase in motor vehicle ownership. Statistics show that as of October 2010, China had surpassed the United States in the production and sales volume of automobile, making it the world's largest auto producer and consumer. Motor vehicle ownership had arrived at 199 million as of October 2010, only next to the United States. Meanwhile, the small amount of resources per capita, the low capacity of resources and environment to sustain rapid social and economic growth, the increasing fragility of ecological environment and the rapid increase in car production and consumption have caused a series of problems such as short supply of oil, traffic congestion and air pollution. It is necessary for the country to convert the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax into law, under the circumstance that the tax system is stable and the conditions for legislation have become ripe.

an an Q2: What is the significance of the promulgation?

an an A: The significance can be expressed in four aspects: (1) it reflects the principle of law-based taxation; (2) it facilitates the construction of legal system for taxation; (3) it improves the tax system by ways of legislation, and reflects the equity of taxation; (4) it represents the first set of law of the People's Republic of China that derives from regulations and the first set of local tax law, which is of landmark significance.

an an Q3: As compared to the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, what adjustments have been made to relevant elements of the tax system through the promulgation of the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax?

an an A: The adjustments include five aspects:

an an (1) The scope of tax imposition has been expanded. According to the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, all the vehicles and vessels that should be registered in vehicle and vessel administration departments as prescribed by law are subject to the imposition of vehicle and vessel tax. The vehicles and vessels for internal operations of organizations without the need for registration are exempted from taxation. Taking into account the attribute of vehicle and vessel tax as a category of property tax and the equity of tax burden, all vehicles and vessels, whether or not subject to registration, should be the objects of vehicle and vessel tax imposition. As prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, all the vehicles and vessels prescribed by the Law shall be objects of taxation.

an an (2) The tax base of passenger vehicle has been reformed. According to the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax and its detailed rules for implementation, tax shall be imposed based on the numbers of vehicles when it comes to the taxation of mini- and small-sized passenger cars (passenger vehicles). Because vehicle and vessel tax falls into the category of property tax, the tax should be imposed based on the assessed value of vehicles. However, it is difficult to assess the value of vehicles owing to the large amount and dispersed distribution of passenger vehicles. Given that the displacement of passenger vehicles is in positive correlations with their value, tax shall be imposed based on the displacement of passenger vehicles as prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax.

an an (3) The structure of tax burden was adjusted. On the one hand, to support the development of transportation industry, it is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that the amount of tax imposed on trucks and motorcycles that account for around 28% of vehicles and vessels (exclusive of yacht) shall be the same as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, and the amount of tax imposed on passenger cars capable of carrying more than 9 passengers (inclusive) shall be slightly increased from the amount as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax. The amount of tax imposed on trailers shall be decreased from the amount applicable to trucks as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax to 50% of the amount applicable to trucks. On the other hand, in order to give better play to the functions of vehicle and vessel tax in regulating incomes as well as to reflect the policy orientation of car consumption, energy conservation and emission reduction, structural adjustments have been made to the tax imposed on passenger vehicles (vehicles capable of carrying fewer than 9 passengers) that account for around 72% of vehicles, based on the displacement of engines, that is, the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of 2.0 liters and below that account for around 87% of passenger vehicles shall be the same as or slightly reduced from the amount as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax; the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of 2.0-2.5 liters (inclusive) that account for around 10% of passenger vehicles shall be slightly increased from the amount as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax; the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of more than 2.5 liters that account for around 3% of passenger vehicles shall be markedly increased from the amount as prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax.

an an In addition, in order to give better play to the regulatory functions of vehicle and vessel tax, tax shall be imposed on the basis of the length of yacht when it comes to tax imposition on yacht, and the amount of tax shall range from RMB600 to 2,000 per meter.

an an (4) Tax preferences have been regularized. According to the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, the provision prescribed by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that regular deductions and exemptions can be granted by provincial governments, governments of autonomous regions and governments of municipalities directly under the Central Government to tax imposition on public transit vehicles and vessels remains unchanged. Meanwhile, three preferential provisions have been supplemented: (i) vehicles and vessels that save energy or employ new energy can be subject to tax deduction or exemption; (ii) regular deductions or exemptions of vehicle and vessel tax can be granted by provincial governments, governments of autonomous regions and governments of municipalities directly under the Central Government to motorcycles, three-wheeled automobiles and low-speed lorries that are owned by rural residents and employed mainly in rural areas based on local circumstances; (iii) deduction or exemption of vehicle and vessel tax can be granted to taxpayers having difficulties to pay tax due to severe natural disasters and taxpayers that need tax deduction or exemption due to special reasons.

an an (5) Strengthen the administration of tax collection. In view of the considerable amount of motor vehicles and dispersed distribution of tax sources, it is difficult for tax authorities alone to implement tax collection and administration effectively. The transportation administrative departments of public security organs have established perfect setups of motor vehicle administration and stringent systems and administrative measures. It is of practical importance to improve the effectiveness of tax collection and to prevent the loss of tax sources that public security organs play a supportive role in carrying out tax collection and administration on the premise that their amount of work is put under control. It is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that the owner or the custodian of vehicles shall, when applying for the handling of procedures for vehicle registration and periodical inspections, submit to the transportation administrative departments of public security organs the certificate of taxpaying or tax exemption. The transportation administrative departments of public security organs shall deal with relevant procedures after inspection.

an an Meanwhile, tax authorities find some difficulties in implementing effective control on the sources of tax imposition on vessels, due to the high mobility of vessels. Thus, it is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that vessel inspection institutions shall assist tax authorities in strengthening the administration of vehicle and vessel tax collection by providing them with information related to vessels.

an an Q4: Why are the custodians of vehicles and vessels taken as taxpayers of vehicle and vessel tax?

an an A: The custodians of vehicles and vessels are units that have the custodianship instead of ownership of vehicles and vessels. Normally the owners of vehicles and vessels are also custodians of them. However, in China, the ownership is often separated from the custodianship when it comes to vehicles and vessels. For instance, the state organs have the custodianship of vehicles and vessels; meanwhile the ownership belongs to the state. It is unfeasible to impose tax on the state which is taken as the owner of vehicles and vessels. Therefore, it is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that the custodians of vehicles and vessels are also taxpayers of vehicle and vessel tax.

an an Q5: Why is the tax imposed on the basis of displacement when it comes to passenger vehicles?

an an A: Theoretically, because vehicle and vessel tax falls into the category of property tax, tax should be imposed on the basis of assessed value of vehicles and vessels. However, in practice, it is difficult to assess the value of vehicles and vessels. Statistics indicate that on the whole the displacement of passenger vehicles is in obvious positive correlations with their value, that is to say, the higher the displacement is, the higher the selling prices tend to be. Take 2008 data on domestic passenger vehicles as an example: the correlation coefficient between displacement and price arrives at as high as 0.97175. For tax collection and administration, displacement provides a good alternative to value or assessed value of vehicles. We have learned that in countries such as Britain, Germany, Japan and Korea, displacement is taken as the basis of tax imposition on motor vehicles. For instance, in Japan, tax is imposed on the basis of Grade-10 displacement of passenger vehicles; in Korea the tax base is Grade-6 displacement of passenger vehicles.

an an Q6: What is the principle for determining the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles? After the adjustment, have the burdens of taxpayers been universally increased?

an an A: We rely on three principles to determine the amount of tax: (1) we take into consideration the criteria of tax amount implemented in different localities; (2) after the adjustment, the tax burden of most passenger car owners will not be increased; (3) we take into account the tax burden of tax imposition on passenger vehicles in most countries. Based on the above principles, it is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of 2.0 liters and below which account for 87% of passenger vehicles shall be the same with or slightly reduced from the pre-adjustment amount; the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of 2.0-2.5 liters (inclusive) which account for about 10% of passenger vehicles shall be slightly increased from the pre-adjustment amount; and the amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of over 2.5 liters which account for less than 3% of passenger vehicles shall be markedly increased from the pre-adjustment amount.

an an Meanwhile, according to the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, the amount of tax imposed on trucks, passenger cars and vessels (exclusive of yacht) shall be the same with the pre-adjustment amount on the whole. The amount of tax imposed on trailers shall be 50% of the pre-adjustment amount which is equivalent to the amount of tax imposed on trucks.

an an Generally speaking, after the legislation, the amount of tax remains basically unchanged as compared with the pre-adjustment amount, with some structural adjustments implemented.

an an Q7: Why are the tax amounts applicable to some grades of passenger vehicles back-and-forth crossed as prescribed by the Law? Will it lead to the situation that tax amounts of different grades and regions are mutually dropped away?

an an A: Three considerations account for the back-and-forth cross-over of tax amount as prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax: (1) we need to ensure that the nominal amount of tax imposed on passenger vehicles with displacement of 1.6-2.0 liters (inclusive) ranges from RMB360 to 660; (2) we need to take into account the tax burdens of passenger vehicles in different regions to avoid the excessive difference between tax amount prescribed by law and the actual tax burdens, which is conducive to the smooth transition of regulations currently in force into the new tax law; (3) we need to reserve some space for local governments to work out applicable tax amounts based on their specific social and economic conditions as well as local needs for energy saving, emission reduction of motor vehicles and effective control over traffic congestion.

an an As for the dropping away of tax amount caused by the back-and-forth cross-over, it is theoretically possible. However, taking into account the situation that tax amounts within provinces are uniformly formulated by local governments based on the ownership of passenger vehicles of their localities, the likelihood of dropping away is slight. As for the inter-provincial amount of tax imposition, there is little likelihood of dropping away largely due to the sound communication and consultation among different regions. Besides, the tax amounts applicable to passenger cars as prescribed by the Detail Rules for the Implementation of Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax currently in force are back-and-forth crossed, which have not given rise to complex situations so far in practice.

an an Q8: Why does the government promulgate the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax under the circumstances of growing expectations on inflation and the government's policy orientation of gradually increasing residents' incomes?

an an A: The main cause of the promulgation is that China has already accumulated six decades of practice in vehicle and vessel tax imposition. Presently the system is stable, and the conditions for legislation have become ripe. The legislation is aimed at further improving the tax system as well as reflecting the equity of tax burden, rather than increasing revenues. In compliance with the principle of "maintaining overall tax burdens unchanged", the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax has optimized the structure of tax burdens. The amount of tax imposed on trucks, trailers and vessels (exclusive of yacht) and 87% of passenger vehicles remains unchanged or has been reduced; the amount of tax imposed on about 13% of passenger vehicles has been increased. As a tax category levied on the ownership aspect, the vehicle and vessel tax will not have an obvious effect on the prices of vehicle and vessel transactions. The revenues from vehicle and vessel tax are relative small as compared to those from other tax categories, so the imposition will not have an obvious effect on the increase of the proportion of residents' incomes in national revenue distribution.

an an Q9: What's the reason for tax imposition on yachts based on their lengths?

an an A: Different from common vessels, yachts have some special characteristics. Specific research is needed to determine the basis and amount of tax imposed on yachts. Generally speaking, there are four dimensions that can be taken as the basis of tax imposition on yachts, namely, net tonnage, engine power, actual value, and length. As for net tonnage, the materials used for yacht manufacture are mostly high-grade ones such as glass fiber reinforced plastics and aluminium alloy, which are light in weight, so the net tonnage of yacht is slightly correlative to its value. As for engine power, because engines of different power can be installed in yachts of the same length, based on customized needs, there is no obvious positive correlation between the engine power and value of yachts. As for the actual value of yachts, it is of the same difficulty to make assessment of the actual value of yachts and vehicles; in the current collection and administrative conditions, it is hard to levy on yachts based on their prices. For the above reasons, most countries in the world have taken length as the dimension for yacht taxation, mainly because that the length of yacht is highly correlative to its value and is highly measurable. From a long-term perspective, the length-based tax imposition on yachts can effectively close the loopholes that may arise from other tax dimensions. Therefore, it is prescribed by the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax that tax shall be imposed on yachts based on their lengths.

an an Q10: Why does the law provide that the tax amount applicable to yacht shall be RMB600 to 2,000 per meter?

an an A: As stipulated in by the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, yachts are deemed as common vessels. Tax is imposed on yachts on the basis of net tonnages. The tax amount is lower than it should be, which significantly from the actual prices of yachts. Given the attribute of yacht as a recreational implement which is different from passenger vehicle as a means of transport, to reflect the equity of tax burden, the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax provides that the tax amount applicable to yachts shall be RMB600 to 2,000 per meter. Now in China, the length of yacht ranges from 7.9 to 30 meters. Therefore, the tax amount for each yacht shall be RMB4,800 to 60,000.

an an Q11: Why does the law provide that the localities of the withholding agents shall also be the localities for vehicle and vessel tax payment?

an an A: Withholding agent refers to insurance institutions that handle the payment of compulsory insurance for the responsibilities arising from traffic accidents of motor vehicles. The provision that the localities of withholding agents shall also be the localities for vehicle and vessel tax payment enables vehicle and vessel owners to pay tax when making purchase of compulsory insurance, which reduces the time and cost for tax payment, and addresses the difficulties of taxpayers such as unfamiliarity with roads, inconvenience of parking and queuing up for payment. It also increases the effectiveness of tax collection through the administration of tax sources.

an an Q12: What categories of taxes are currently imposed on the owners or custodians of passenger vehicles? Will the imposition result in double taxation?

an an A: Currently China imposes three categories of taxes on the owners or custodians of passenger vehicles, i.e., vehicle purchase tax, fuel oil consumption tax, and vehicle and vessel tax. Vehicle purchase tax derives from the additional fees for vehicle purchase, and fuel oil consumption tax derives from the road toll. The above two tax categories derive from the transformation of some administrative fees into taxes, with revenues collected earmarked for road construction and maintenance. As a category of property tax, vehicle and vessel tax has a history of 60 years since the founding of New China. It is imposed on the aspect of vehicle and vessel ownership. The conversion of the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax into law is legislation only rather than creation of new tax categories. The abovementioned three tax categories have different functions. There is no double taxation.

an an Q13: Why is it decided that the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax shall come into force as of January 1, 2012? What regulations should be complied with for the imposition of vehicle and vessel tax in 2011?

an an A: The decision that the Law shall come into force as of January 1, 2012 depends on two considerations: one is that a period of preparation is needed for the formulation and implementation of regulations by the State Council, for the determination of tax amount applicable to passenger vehicles by local governments, for the dissemination of tax laws, and for the training of relevant staff; the other is that the vehicle and vessel tax is imposed on a yearly basis. The implementation as of January 1 will facilitate the smooth transition from the provisional regulations to legal system and tax calculation and collection.

an an In 2011, the vehicle and vessel tax shall be imposed in compliance with the Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, its detailed rules for implementation and the measures formulated by local governments for tax collection. As of January 1, 2012, the Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax will take effect, and the Provisional Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Vehicle and Vessel Tax promulgated by the State Council on December 29, 2006 will be abrogated as of the same date.

 

LOAD-DATE: March 24, 2011

11 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2010 States News Service

States News Service

 

June 21, 2010 Monday

 

LENGTH: 222 words

 

HEADLINE: AWARD-WINNING IRAQI-BRITISH ARCHITECT NAMED UN ARTIST FOR PEACE

 

BYLINE: States News Service

 

DATELINE: NEW YORK

 

BODY:

The following information was released by the United Nations:

Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid has been named to the roster of artists who use their influence and prestige to promote the ideals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Ms. Hadad, a winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, often referred to as "architecture's Nobel," will receive her official designation as a UNESCO Artist for Peace at a ceremony at the agency's Paris headquarters on Thursday.

She is being recognized for her efforts to "raise public awareness of intercultural dialogue, to promote excellence in design and creativity, and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization," according to a news release issued by UNESCO.

Born in Baghdad in 1950, Ms. Hadid graduated in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before enrolling at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London (UK).

In addition to buildings, she has also designed clothes, furniture and even a three-wheeled automobile called ZCar.

Among the other eminent personalities that comprise UNESCO's Artists for Peace are Haitian author Franketienne, the award-winning Philippine Madrigal Singers, Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, Bangladeshi fashion designer Bibi Russell, and Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil.

 

LOAD-DATE: June 21, 2010

 

14 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2004 Bangor Daily News

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

 

December 27, 2004 Monday 

All Editions

 

SECTION: Pg. B1

 

LENGTH: 651 words

 

HEADLINE: Museum offers respite from holiday hubbub

 

BYLINE: LEANNE M. ROBICHEAU OF THE NEWS STAFF

 

DATELINE: OWLS HEAD

 

BODY:

If you ever wanted to kick the kids out of the house once the Christmas presents were unwrapped, the Owls Head Transportation Museum has found a place to put them.

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins spent some time together Sunday afternoon creating all sorts of planes and things in an activities program geared toward families and the holidays.

The day at the museum was a gift for some.

When asked what brought 6-year-old Terrence Charles "T.C." Conway and his dad, Charlie, to the museum instead of playing at home Sunday with his Christmas toys, the Thomaston boy said,    "My mother wanted us to. She wants a break from us."

T.C. and some 30 other youngsters made plastic-foam airplanes cut from what looked like food-packaging trays.

Patterns for wings and other airplane parts were traced from templates and pieced together. Making the planes fly took just the right amount of clay added to the body and nose of the model.

With a running start, T.C. darted across the room and tossed the plane into the air. The yellow plane took a nose dive and off came the clay.

The activities events included making airplanes, boomerangs, unicycles from compact discs, coloring and cutting out paper Messerschmitts and gluing them together to make them three-dimensional.

The Messerschmitt is a three-wheeled automobile made in the 1950s in Germany. The passenger sat behind the driver and the vehicle opened like a cockpit, said Ethan Yankura, the museum's education director.

Other activities involved making paper helicopters and playing with an airport made from wood that had a fire station, parking garage and repair shop.

Some children sat down to watch the movie known as "Aeronautical Oddities," an old film that showed attempts at making aircraft. "Some of them flew, some of them didn't," Yankura said.

Many of the adults learned about the event in area newspapers, they said, and decided to bring their children or grandchildren to the activities day.

"It's great having these activities," Sharon Lombardo of Owls Head said, bragging that she has her two grandchildren visiting "the whole week - December 23 to January 3." Devon and Fox Whitman, 12 and 9, respectively, are visiting her from Middle Grove, N.Y.

There were also grandparents from away visiting grandchildren who live here.

Bob Currie of Hollywood, Md., joined his son, Rob Currie of Camden, and 41/2-year-old grandson "R.C." Currie in making airplanes.

The museum trip was truly a family affair for another Maryland grandparent, Cynthia Lawrence of Baltimore, who joined her daughter, Hannah Demmons of Rackliff Island, and grandchildren Ellie Demmons, 8, and Cyrus Demmons, 6, for the activities. Lawrence's son, Job Lawrence of Stanford, Calif., his wife, Dana Wang, and their children Jona, 6, and Maya, 5, were also there.

"The boys love things that fly," she said.

The Hardgrove family of Orlando, Fla., didn't come to Maine to visit relatives for the Christmas holiday.

"We're here to see the snow," Ellen Hardgrove said, while helping her 5-year-old daughter, Leah, get a handmade unicycle to work.

The Hardgroves come to Maine twice a year - once in summer and usually Christmas week. They rent the same house each year in Spruce Head.

From their previous vacations, they know the transportation museum well.

"Summertime, if it's rainy, we come to the museum," Mark Hardgrove said.

Hardgrove, 46, is a private transportation consultant who works mostly with mass transit. "So, this is perfect for me," he said. In fact, Hardgrove said he is "infatuated with Maine" and wants to live here year-round.

"This is one of the nicer museums we've been to," he said. "My son [Sam, 9] loves firetrucks and trains and cars. My daughter loves anything the older brother loves."

The museum is open every day of the year, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and for its volunteer banquet day, which this year will be April 10.

 

LOAD-DATE: December 27, 2004

 

15 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2004 PR Newswire Association, Inc.

PR Newswire

 

June 22, 2004 Tuesday

 

SECTION: WASHINGTON DATELINE

 

DISTRIBUTION: TO NATIONAL, ARTS ANDLIFESTYLES EDITORS

 

LENGTH: 1747 words

 

HEADLINE: United States Commemorative Postage Stamp to Honor R. Buckminster Fuller -The Man (and Mind) Behind the Geodesic Dome

 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON June 22

 

BODY:

Fifty years ago, R. Buckminster Fuller obtained the patent for his most famous invention -- the geodesic dome, and next month the U.S. Postal Service will issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the legendary American inventor, architect, engineer, designer, geometrician, cartographer and philosopher. Fuller's papers are archived at Stanford University, where the first-day-of-issue ceremony will be held in the Cubberley Auditorium, School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, at 11 AM PT on Fuller's birthday, July 12. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040622/DCTU017 )

"Hailed as 'one of the greatest minds of our times,' Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems," said Anita Bizzotto, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, U.S. Postal Service, who will dedicate the stamp.

Scheduled to join Bizzotto at the ceremony are Fuller's daughter Allegra Fuller Snyder, professor emerita, Dance and Dance Ethnology at the University of California, Los Angeles; Dr. Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, Gemini 12 and Apollo 11; Michael A. Keller, university librarian, Stanford University; Joshua Arnow, president, board of directors, The Buckminster Fuller Institute; Carolyn Johnson, reporter/anchor, KGO-TV ABC; and Scott Tucker, district manager, San Francisco District, U.S. Postal Service.

   The stamp artwork is a painting of Fuller by Boris Artzybasheff (1899- 1965). The painting, which originally appeared on the cover of Time magazine on Jan. 10, 1964, depicts Fuller's head in the pattern of a geodesic dome.Geodesic domes and a number of his other inventions surround Fuller, including the Dymaxion Car, the 4D Apartment House and several objects and models that reflect the geometric and structural principles he discovered.

Born in Milton, MA, in 1895, Richard Buckminster Fuller belonged to a family noted for producing strong individualists inclined toward activism and public service. "Bucky," as he came to be called, developed an early understanding of nature during family excursions to Bear Island, ME, where he also became familiar with the principles of boat maintenance and construction.

Fuller served in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919, where he demonstrated an aptitude for engineering. He invented a winch for rescue boats that could pull airplanes out of the ocean in time to save the lives of pilots. Because of the invention, Fuller was nominated to receive officer training at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he further developed his abilities. In 1926, when Fuller's father-in-law, James Monroe Hewlett, developed a new way of manufacturing reinforced concrete buildings, he and Fuller patented the invention together, earning Fuller the first of his 25 patents.

Fuller's lifelong interests included using technology to revolutionize construction and improve housing. He designed the Dymaxion House, an inexpensive, mass-produced home that could be airlifted to its location; the Dymaxion Car, a streamlined, three-wheeled automobile that could make extraordinarily sharp turns; a compact, prefabricated, easily installed Dymaxion Bathroom; and Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDUs), mass-produced houses based on circular grain bins. The word "dymaxion" was coined by store advertisers and trademarked in Fuller's name. Based on the words "dynamic," "maximum" and "ion," it became a part of the name of many of Fuller's subsequent inventions.

In 1927, Fuller made a now-prophetic sketch of the total earth which depicted his concept for transporting cargo by air "over the pole" to Europe. He entitled the sketch "a one-town world." In 1946, Fuller received a patent for another breakthrough invention: the Dymaxion Map, which depicted the entire planet on a single flat map without visible distortion of the relative shapes and sizes of the continents.

After 1947, the geodesic dome dominated Fuller's life and career. Lightweight, cost-effective and easy to assemble, geodesic domes enclose more space without intrusive supporting columns than any other structure, efficiently distribute stress, and can withstand extremely harsh conditions. Based on Fuller's "synergetic geometry," his lifelong exploration of nature's principles of design, the geodesic dome was the result of his revolutionary discoveries about balancing compression and tension forces in building. Fuller applied for a patent for the geodesic dome in 1951 and received it in 1954.

Beginning in the late 1960s, Fuller was especially involved in creating World Game, a large-scale simulation and series of workshops he designed that used a large-scale Dymaxion Map to help humanity better understand, benefit from, and more efficiently utilize the world's resources.

After being spurned early in his career by the architecture and construction establishments, Fuller was later recognized with many major architectural, scientific, industrial, and design awards, both in the United States and abroad, and he received 47 honorary doctorate degrees. In 1983, shortly before his death, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, with a citation acknowledging that his "contributions as a geometrician, educator and architect-designer are benchmarks of accomplishment in their fields."

R. Buckminster Fuller died in Los Angeles on July 1, 1983.

 To see the R. Buckminster Fuller stamp and other images from the 2004 Commemorative Stamp Program, visit the Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop and click on "Release Schedule" in the Collector's Corner.

 Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 1 800 STAMP-24. A wide selection of stamps and other philatelic items is also available at the Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop. Beautifully framed prints of original stamp art for delivery straight to the home or office are available at http://www.postalartgallery.com.

 Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency, the Postal Service makes deliveries to more than 141 million addresses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $68 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mail and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. Moreover, today's postage rates will remain stable until at least 2006. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume - some 202 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year - and serves seven million customers each day at its 38,000 retail locations nationwide.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Issue:                  R. Buckminster Fuller

Item Number:            456400

Denomination &

Type of Issue:         37-cent Commemorative

Format:                 Pane of 20 (1 design)

Series:                 N/A

Issue Date & City:      July 12, 2004, Stanford, CA 94305

Designer:               Carl T. Herrman, Carlsbad, CA

Engraver:               N/A

Art Director:           Carl T. Herrman, Carlsbad, CA

Typographer:            Carl T. Herrman, Carlsbad, CA

Existing Art by:        Boris Artzybasheff

Modeler:                Joseph Sheeran

Manufacturing Process: Offset/Microprint "USPS"

Printer:                Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)

Printed at:             Williamsville, NY

Press Type:             Stevens, Varisize Security Press

Stamps per Pane:        20

Print Quantity:         60 million stamps

Paper Type:             Prephosphored, Type II, 225 PMU

Adhesive Type:          Pressure-sensitive

Processed at:           Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.

Colors:                 Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS 7450 (Blue)

Stamp Orientation:      Vertical

Image Area (w x h):     1.085 x 1.42 in./27.559 x 36.068mm

Overall Size (w x h):  1.225 x 1.56 in./31.115 x 39.624 mm

Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 7.12 in./183.896 x 180.848mm

Plate Size:             120 stamps per revolution

Plate Numbers:          "P" followed by five (5) single digits

Marginal Markings:      (C) 2003 USPS * Plate numbers * Price * Plate

position diagram "Buckminster Fuller (TM)

Licensed by the Estate of Buckminster Fuller.

This license represented by The Roger Richman

Agency, Inc." * Descriptive text on back of stamp

* Four barcodes on back of pane

Catalog Item

Number(s):              456420 Block of 4 - $1.48

456430 Block of 10 - $3.70

456440 Full Pane of 20 - $7.40

456461 First Day Cover - $0.75

456493 Full Pane w/First Day Cover - $8.15

 HOW TO ORDER THE FIRST-DAY-OF-ISSUE POSTMARK

Customers have 30 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office(TM), by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

 R BUCKMINSTER FULLER COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

     POSTMASTER

     WHITE PLAZA

     STANFORD CA 94305-9991

 After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by August 11, 2004.

 HOW TO ORDER FIRST-DAY COVERS

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first- day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly "USA Philatelic" catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

 INFORMATION FULFILLMENT

     DEPT 6270

     US POSTAL SERVICE

     PO BOX 219014

     KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service

 

CONTACT: Rita Peer, +1-202-268-2126, or Horace Hinshaw, +1-415-536-6492, both of the U.S. Postal Service

 

URL: http://www.prnewswire.com

 

LOAD-DATE: June 23, 2004

 

16 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 2002 The Washington Post

The Washington Post

 

December 26, 2002 Thursday 

Final Edition

 

SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A20

 

LENGTH: 885 words

 

HEADLINE: New Delhi's Thoroughly Modern Metro;

In Spite of Opening-Day Glitches, Subway Gets (Mostly) Rave Reviews

 

BYLINE: Rama Lakshmi, Special to The Washington Post

 

DATELINE: NEW DELHI Dec. 25

 

BODY:

 Commuters today got their first ride on New Delhi's new metro rail system, which officials hailed as a dream come true that would usher this traffic-clogged, polluted capital into the ranks of swank Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore and Taipei.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters braved the winter chill, some lining up at dawn, to ride the subway, India's largest urban transport project. Of the 155 miles envisioned for the completed system, just five are in place so far -- a segment that took four years and 15,000 workers to build. By 2005, 38 miles are projected to be operational, officials said, and the entire network is scheduled to be completed by 2021. 

The Delhi metro is India's second, after the 10-mile system in the eastern city of Calcutta. It provides a modern alternative for the desperate commuters in this teeming city of 13 million people, who have long had to rely on overcrowded buses, taxis charging exorbitant fares and three-wheeled automobile rickshaws. Built with the help of consultants from Japan, South Korea and United States, at a cost of $ 2 billion for the first 38 miles, the state-of-the-art system will be better than those of New York and Tokyo, officials said.

 "The people of Delhi have been dreaming of a metro for ages, and that has been realized today," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Tuesday, when he became the first passenger on the South Korean-made metro cars. 

 But the dream project had a bumpy start today, as the new system was overwhelmed by as many as 800,000 excited commuters, four times its capacity. Automatic gates broke down, the computerized fare collection system collapsed and managers ran out of tokens. City police had to resort to tough crowd control measures to manage the jostling crowds.

 "It's a new system, and the massive overcrowding led to some hitches," said Anuj Dayal, a spokesman for Delhi Metro Rail Corp. "But it proved to everybody how badly the city has been yearning for the metro."

 But those who did get to ride the gleaming cars, decorated with balloons and ribbons, could not stop gushing.

 "For a few minutes, I felt I was not in India anymore. It was world-class," Ashok Chatterji, a 49-year-old bank clerk, said as he came out of the train with his family. "It was air-conditioned, automatic, and clean. It is a national pride."

 "The city buses are a nightmare for women, with so much groping and pinching all the time. Metro will be a relief from all that," said Subhadra Chatterji, his wife, who said she wore her bright blue silk sari and gold jewelry specially for her first ride.

 New Delhi's roads are among the busiest in India, packed with 4 million vehicles. A fleet of slow, poorly maintained public buses makes up less than 1 percent of that number but handles nearly 50 percent of residents' transportation needs. For many, the choice was to be jammed into the buses like pickles in a jar or be fleeced by the auto-rickshaws and taxis. More and more have turned to personal cars and motorcycles, choking the streets further.

 About 70 percent of the city's air pollution is caused by vehicles, particularly the buses. Government and court orders requiring public transportation companies to switch to such eco-friendly fuels as compressed natural gas have been defied by transport unions and have often met with stiff resistance that has turned violent. Officials hope that the metro will reduce the city's pollution by half, handling the load of nearly 2,600 buses or 33 lanes of private cars.

 But some urban transportation analysts say that New Delhi's growth pattern was different from the growth patterns of Western cities and that metro may not be the best solution.

 New Delhi "is a city that has many centers, and it is built on a humane, low-rise scale. And 50 percent of the trips are less than five kilometers [three miles]," said Dinesh Mohan, a professor who heads the urban transportation department at the Indian Institute of Technology. "What the city needs is a better, more modern, high-tech bus system. It would be far cheaper for a low-income country like ours."

 The breathless countdown to the slick new city railway began months ago, as officials held out the metro as a panacea for all the city's woes. As crime against women increased, people were told that women would not be harassed on the metro, because trains and stations would be heavily guarded. New Delhi's customary summer power outages, officials said, would not affect either the metro's operations or its air conditioners. And in a city where most buildings and transportation are inaccessible to the physically disabled, the metro would be "disabled-friendly."

 Advertising campaigns ran for weeks to "educate" the city on how to use the metro. For Dayal, the system spokesman, it was almost like asking for a "change of culture."

 "People in New Delhi are rough, so I ran daily radio ads saying no pinching and elbowing in the metro," Dayal said. "No rooftop traveling allowed; you could get electrocuted. No drunkenness, no abusive language, no milk cans and pets allowed. No tampering with the switches and gadgets, and most importantly, no ticketless travel will be tolerated."

 He added: "I know I can't change people's ways. But I am telling them to behave better, at least while inside the metro."

 

LOAD-DATE: December 26, 2002

 

17 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, US, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

All Rights Reserved

 

Variety

 

March 18, 1996 - March 24, 1996

 

SECTION: FILM REVIEWS; Pg. 52

 

LENGTH: 449 words

 

HEADLINE: BUCKMINSTER FULLER: THINKING OUT LOUD

 

BYLINE: Joe Leydon

 

BODY:

(DOCU -- COLOR/B&W)

A Simon & Goodman Picture Co. production in association with the Buckminster Fuller Institute and American Masters.

Produced, directed by Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon. Executive producers, Jaime Snyder (Buckminster Fuller Institute), Susan Lacy (American Masters). Screenplay, Simon, Jan Hartman, Goodman. Camera (color), Buddy Squires, Terry Hopkins; editor, Sara Fishko; music, Brian Keane; sound, Grant Maxwell; associate producers, Nancy Graydon Roach, Molly O'Brien, Carol Wilson. Reviewed Jan. 26, 1966, at Sundance Film Festival (competing). Running time: 93 MIN.

Narrator: Morley Safer.

"Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud" is a long-winded but surface-level tribute to the visionary inventor and philosopher. Produced with the cooperation of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, it offers an affectionate and admiring portrait of the man known to some as a genius, to others as a crackpot. Unfortunately, pic isn't likely to excite audiences unfamiliar with its colorful subject. Television is the perfect medium for this message.

Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) comes across in interviews with friends, associates and former students as a maverick thinker who repeatedly insisted that science and technology could solve all the world's problems. From 1933, when he unveiled his design for a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled automobile, to the late 1960s, when he was embraced as a gray-haired superstar by the counterculture, Fuller encouraged people to think ecologically while preserving the natural resources of "Spaceship Earth." He offered innovative proposals for an inexpensive and easy-to-assemble Dymaxion house, which could be delivered by blimps, and his magnum opus, the Geodesic Dome, for which he is best remembered.

Filmmakers Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon have assembled an impressive cast of off-camera talents to read commentaries and news accounts from yesteryear: Philip Bosco, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Burton, Robert Sean Leonard, E.G. Marshall, Robert McNeil, Matthew Modine, Tony Roberts, Marian Seldes and Mike Wallace. (Spalding Gray reads selections from Fuller's writings.) John Cage, Arthur Penn and Merce Cunningham are among the Fuller associates who appear on camera in interviews, and Morley Safer narrates.

"Buckminster Fuller" is efficiently made, but it never springs to life as a full-bodied, well-rounded character study. Fuller himself seems animated and engaging in archival interviews, but doesn't say anything to suggest why he remains such a revered and influential figure. Overall, pic is a bit too awe-struck by its subject, and much too genteel to sustain interest during some repetitiously talky stretches.

 

LOAD-DATE: March 19, 1996

 

21 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1990 Sentinel Communications Co. 

Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

 

December 6, 1990 Thursday, 3 STAR

 

SECTION: TRANSPORTATION; Pg. G3

 

HEADLINE: PICTURE THIS

 

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: This unusual 3-wheeled automobile, yes automobile, recently was on display at the Motor-Show in Essen, Germany. The camera car, designed by Jay Ohrberg of Los Angeles, is powered by a 2-liter, 150-horsepower Opel engine and can reach a top speed of 75 mph. The wheels are left and right with a front wheel hidden under the lens.  ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

COLUMN: NUTS AND BOLTS

 

LOAD-DATE: May 24, 1993

 

22 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1990 Associated Press

All Rights Reserved

 

The Associated Press

 

September 17, 1990, Monday, BC cycle

 

SECTION: Domestic News

 

LENGTH: 585 words

 

HEADLINE: Cars: Historic Auto

 

BYLINE: By BILL VOGRIN, Associated Press Writer

 

DATELINE: PEORIA, Ill.

 

BODY:

History buffs are running out of gas in their quest to buy a rare, 92-year-old three-wheeled automobile they view as a monument to two Peoria men they consider the fathers of the American automobile.

After two years of unsuccessful fund raising, the Bring Home the Duryea Committee has shifted gears in a desperate bid to prevent the 1898 Duryea Motor Trap from being sold to Japanese collectors.

The committee is trying to raffle off a new, $$56,000 Cadillac Allante to save the luxury car's vintage ancestor: the Duryea Trap, which was built in a Peoria barn nearly a century ago and originally sold for $$1,200.

The group is selling 100 chances, at $$1,000 each, for an Oct. 6 drawing.

"We've raised $$70,000, and we need $$125,000 by Nov. 1, or we're going to lose the car," said John Parks, a leader of the effort to save the Duryea Motor Trap, built in Peoria by Charles Edgar Duryea in 1898.

"It's frustrating because this car will be lost forever if we don't raise the money," Parks said. "People don't seem to be excited about it, maybe because we've paid so little attention to history in Peoria over the years."

The Trap was the brainchild of Duryea, who, with his brother, J. Frank Duryea, in 1893 built the first American gasoline-powered automobile, now in the Smithsonian Institution.

About 12 Traps were built in the Peoria area in 1898-90. Just two remain, and one is in the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village, Mich. The other is owned by L. Scott Bailey, founder of Automobile Quarterly Magazine.

Bailey has offered to sell the car to Peoria. But after two years of work, the committee is far short of its goal.

"Mr. Bailey has had offers of $$250,000 from Japanese collectors for the car, and I think he regrets agreeing to sell it to us," Parks said. "But he really believes it belongs back in Peoria.

"We do too, but it's been hard to get people interested in this project. It's not something that pulls at your heartstrings. Maybe we've been poor at approaching people."

Parks criticized the Peoria Historical Society for failing to assume leadership in the project.

"I'm disappointed that a lot of different organizations haven't been more active. Area car dealers have shown very little interest. I thought they'd be a natural group to help us," Parks said.

"And the Peoria Historical Society, as a group, has done nothing for us. We hoped some benevolent person in the community would want their name on this forever and step forward to become our major contributor. But that hasn't happened, either."

Dorothy Sinclair, who retired two months ago as the Historical Society's director, defended her group's role in the project.

"It would be most unfortunate if we lost it," said Mrs. Sinclair, a member of the Peoria City Council.

"But, in my opinion, it has not been a well-thought-out fund-raising campaign," she said. "I don't think they have approached the right people to get the money.

"It's not too late. I think it could still be done if the right people get involved."

Mrs. Sinclair said the society operates on a small budget and lacks the resources for the Duryea project.

Tom Leiter, the society's president, called the criticism "highly inappropriate." He said his group is "firmly behind the project."

"The problem raising money is that some people don't care about antiques," Leiter said. "Some view this as just an old car. They don't get very excited about it. It's not fair to criticize people because they have other priorities."

 

 

GRAPHIC: LaserPhoto NY706

 

23 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1989 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times

 All Rights Reserved 

Los Angeles Times

 

April 21, 1989, Friday, Home Edition

 

SECTION: Metro; Part 2; Page 2; Column 1; Metro Desk

 

LENGTH: 617 words

 

HEADLINE: ONLY IN L.A. / PEOPLE AND EVENTS

 

BYLINE: By STEVE HARVEY, From wire and staff reports

 

BODY:

"Someone called it the Law Wash," admitted Thomas White, a 44-year-old attorney who recently opened an office inside the Valencia Car Wash.

One advantage of the arrangement, White pointed out, is that "I have a low overhead" -- and he wasn't referring to the sprinklers.

His office is adjacent to the car wash operation, and is open to foot traffic only.

But White said that he has taken on clients "who happened to notice my sign while their cars were being washed."

And, he noted, "They can still watch the progress of their car from my office."

The idea for the novel setting came to him when he operated a limousine service and a friend remarked that "I spend so much time at the car wash, I ought to move into an office there." When he saw the space-for-lease sign at the place, it was too good to pass up.

White, who has two other offices in the Santa Clarita Valley, said he has heard the inevitable puns, too:

"Yes, people who've had a brush with the law come here. And my fellow lawyers ask if they can get some of the overflow."

The case of the Canoga Park transsexual with the three-wheeled automobile scheme may be coming to a close.

Perhaps a word or two of explanation is in order.

Geraldine Elizabeth Carmichael, known before her sex-change operation as Jerry Dean Carmichael, founded an Encino car company more than a decade ago.

She was later convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of various fraud charges in connection with the promotion of a three-wheeled roadster called the Dale, which was never produced. She disappeared in 1980 after being sentenced to 2 to 20 years in prison and fined $30,000.

But after she was profiled on a recent episode of the television series, "Unsolved Mysteries," tipsters alerted authorities to her whereabouts, who arrested her in Texas.

"She had been selling flowers on the streets and had crews of children doing the same thing," said Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Youngdahl.

The ex-promoter of the Dale was arrested in a suburb of Austin -- Dale, Tex.

You may recall that a Long Beach store unveiled the world's largest bed last week. Just the thing to snooze on after partaking of the world's largest tostada, which was assembled Thursday at Universal Studios.

The dish, featuring 162 pounds of beans, 600 heads of lettuce, 40 pounds of Mexican sausage and 40 pounds of grated cheese, was later donated to the Love Is Feeding Everyone food distribution organization.

Earlier, promoters had said that the tostada's contents would be blended in a cement mixer. A driver did show up in such a rig, but he seemed unaware of why he was summoned.

When asked by a reporter if the mixer was clean, he laughed and said: "Yeah, for making cement."

The tostada was put together by hand, not mixer.

If it were a movie, students asked to redesign their campus might start with a recommendation to replace the science building with a pizza parlor.

But not in real life at Dana Junior High in San Pedro. Advanced drafting students there are so serious about sprucing up their school that they've been chosen to participate in a program in which they will work with the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Teacher Frank Sele said his students are starting out with low-cost, "realizable" recommendations, such as improving the landscaping and adding murals. Naturally, a joke or two have been heard. "Someone cracked that the first thing we should do is level the school," said Sele.

For a moment it sounded like KMPC traffic reporter John McElhinney was reporting a sighting of quacking animals loose on the San Bernardino Freeway.

Then he added, "Those are air conditioning ducts."

 

GRAPHIC: Photo, Attorney Thomas White outside his office at Valencia Car Wash.  CON KEYES / Los Angeles Times; Photo, World's largest tostada in the making.  BORIS YARO / Los Angeles Times

 

25 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

COPYRIGHT 1984 PR Newswire Association, Inc.

 

PR Newswire

 

August 8, 1984, Wednesday

 

DISTRIBUTION: TO BUSINESS NEWS

 

LENGTH: 268 words

 

DATELINE: VAN NUYS, Calif., Aug. 8

 

BODY:

VAN NUYS, Calif., Aug. 8 /PRN/ -- PM Industries Inc.

(VSE: PMS; NASDAQ: PMIZ) announced that it intends to make a

pro-rata tender offer to Majorteck Industries Inc. (VSE: MJT)

to acquire at least 51 percent of the issued and outstanding

shares of Majorteck.

   PMI's offer to Majorteck shareholders to acquire Majorteck

shares will be made on the basis of one common share of PMI

as currently constituted for two common shares of Majorteck

as currently constituted.

   PMI intends the offer to be limited to residents in those

provinces, territories, or states whose laws permit the making

of the proposed offer.  PMI intends to qualify the issuance

of PMI shares in those jurisdictions in which the offer shall

be made.

   The offer and completion of the offer, and issuance of PMI shares

thereafter, are subject to the prior approval of applicable

securities regulatory bodies.

   PMI is primarily engaged in the distribution of Pezzaz

"greetings from the stars" and other forms of audio tapes.  It

proposes to change its name to Pezzaz Distributions Inc. at a

forthcoming shareholders' meeting.

   Majorteck is primarily engaged in the production of an urban

three-wheeled automobile known as the Rascal.  It has also recently

entered into agreements providing for the design, development, and

production of a comprehensive, optical memory computer system to

read and write information on an optical data storage card and an

optical data tape device with facilities located in California.

CONTACT -- Lawrence Pezim, director PM Industries at

213-786-9712

 

26 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

 

Copyright 1983 The Miami Herald

All Rights Reserved

The Miami Herald

 

July 13, 1983 Wednesday 

FINAL EDITION

 

SECTION: LOCAL; D; Pg. 1

 

LENGTH: 822 words

 

HEADLINE: CONVENTION CENTER TAX PLAN OKD LEGISLATORS STRIKE DEAL ON SCHOOLS

 

BYLINE: PAUL ANDERSON Herald Staff Writer

 

BODY:

As part of a deal to get Dade lawmakers to support a school- spending compromise, Gov. Bob Graham and the Legislature Tuesday agreed to a local-option hike in Dade's tax on hotel and motel rooms to expand convention facilities in Miami and Miami Beach.

The Dade delegation kept its part of the bargain, voting overwhelmingly early in the day for an education package that Dade school officials have said would barely meet the county's needs.

Lawmakers -- after overcoming a last-minute snafu in the House -- reciprocated by approving the convention centers' financing plan.

The convention-center measure was sponsored by Sen. Jack Gordon (D., Miami Beach) and the Dade delegation chairman, Rep. Ron Silver (D., North Miami Beach).

They were chief critics of Graham's education-funding plan, contending that it didn't do enough for Dade's schools. Had the delegation's 28 members voted against the compromise, it almost certainly would have failed.

But after a late night of political haggling, Dade leaders struck a bargain with the governor and House and Senate leaders. They would support a compromise in exchange for:

* Budget amendments giving Dade schools up to $3.6 million more in direct state aid, plus the ability for the School Board to divert up to $13 million from local property-tax funds now going to school construction and use it for daily operating costs. That's enough to give Dade's teachers a 5 per cent pay raise.

* Legislative authority for the Metro Commission to hike the county's resort tax to 5 per cent from 2 per cent, with the revenue going to convention centers.

* Restoration of a $500,000 appropriation to buy bleachers for Miami Grand Prix promoter Ralph Sanchez, which Graham previously had vetoed.

Graham included the convention-center tax in his agenda for issues to be considered during the special two-day session -- but only after the education plan passed the Senate late in the afternoon and Dade's seven senators had voted in favor of the governor's tax plan.

"Let's just say we had a lot of heavy-duty discussion about it," said Graham's press secretary, Steve Hull, when asked whether the convention tax and Dade support for the education plan had been swapped.

The convention-center funding proposal passed the Senate 39-0 at 5:25 p.m.

It passed the House 90-21 at about 10:35 p.m., but only after that chamber's Republicans and a group of conservative Democrats abandoned a parliamentary battle that had stalled a final vote for more than three hours.

Under the plan, the Metro Commission can hike the county's tax on the cost of renting a hotel or motel room from its current 2 per cent to 5 per cent.

The additional 3 per cent levy would generate an estimated $10 million to $11 million a year, two-thirds of which would go to Miami Beach and one-third to the city of Miami, according to city of Miami lobbyist Eric Sisser said.

The cities' shares could be pledged against revenue bonds to raise about $60 million for the expansion of the aging Miami Beach Convention Center and $30 million for the construction of an exhibition hall next to the James L. Knight International Center in downtown Miami.

After those two facilities are built, tax revenues could be spent to renovate or construct other tourism-related facilities, including sports stadiums, coliseums, arenas or exhibition halls anywhere in the county.

The tax would not require voter approval.

The proposal died during the regular legislative session earlier this year because of reluctance on the part of hotel owners in Bal Harbour and Surfside, who claim they will not benefit from the new convention facilities, and Metro commissioners, who passed a resolution opposing the tax.

To overcome the objections from Bal Harbour and Surfside, Sisser said the bill was changed to allow those two cities to exempt themselves from the tax increase. But if they do, he said, they cannot share in any future tax revenues.

The county's concerns remain.

Metro Commissioner James Redford, chairman of the commission's Finance Committee, said he has doubts the proposed tax can adequately fund the proposed convention facilities, particularly because resort-tax revenues have been dropping in the last year.

He also said he doesn't want to consider a tax increase until a city-county consultant who is studying the need and possible locations for more convention space has submitted his report -- which won't be final until after Labor Day.

"They can push this all they want, but they might just find the county commission is going out of business on this one, and then they'll be stuck," Redford said of the city officials.

But Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre has maintained that the tax is necessary.

"We can't attract the big conventions there without exhibition space," Ferre said. "It's like a three-wheeled automobile. We've got everything but the exhibition space that's needed."

Herald Capital Bureau correspondent Michael Ollove contributed to this report.

 

LOAD-DATE: October 23, 2009

27 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1979 The Washington Post 

The Washington Post

 

October 14, 1979, Sunday, Final Edition

 

SECTION: Book World; Pg. 4

 

LENGTH: 1192 words

 

HEADLINE: The Erotic And The Despotic;

THE PASSION ARTIST.  By John Hawkes, Harper & Row. 185 pp. $9.95

 

BYLINE: By WEBSTER SCHOTT; WEBSTER SCHOTT is a businessman and literary journalist.

 

BODY:

READING A NOVEL by John Hawkes is like wandering through a hothouse.  Everything grows or crawls.  Life rises out of festering earth.  Closeness is offset by exhilaration.  The fever is a green one.

In the Passion Artist the fever takes place in an imaginary European country that looks like East Germany and sounds like a lunatic asylum managed by storm troopers.  The psychological dislocation that wrenches this totalitarian state of "tin trolley cars and small gray three-wheeled automobiles" appears to be sexual.  Political oppression seems to have bred erotic despair.  However, some of this sexual despondency may be only in the air, or in my fancy.  Hawkes' settings drift into atmosphere, and we're supposed to help him read the weather.  It's Hawkes' way of breaking down disbelief.  Participatory fiction.

The hero of the Passion Artist is a middle-aged druggist with "all the hallmarks of the born pedant wedded to those of the petty genius of the police state." He reflects on the joy of regimentation.  Konrad Vost looks like an undertaker in a 1935 movie -- gold-rimmed spectacles, black serge suit, lacquered hair, and a "single steel canine in his mouthful of teeth." At times he feels "like some military personage striding with feigned complacency down a broad avenue awash with urine."

Vost thinks Jean-Paul Sartre thougghts and wonders why with "hand so suited to gripping the truncheon," he should have succumbed to the tyranny of a bizarre domesticity.  His life has been dogged by three women: his faithless dead wife; his daughter, who has become a teenaged whore; and his mother, who is nearby in prison for murder.  She drenched Vost's father in kerosene and set him afire.

Konrad Vost passes time contemplating "the lessons of devastation." Totalitarianism soothes him.  "The irony of order existing only in desolation and discomfort was a satisfaction beyond imagining." He makes his daughter's bed and meals.  With flowers wrapped in newspaper he visits weekly the graveside of the wife who "regularly had naked fleshly relations with a man . . . whom she had met in a bakery." Again and again, he sits at the cafe' across from La Violaine prison, which holds only women, watching for some hint of recognition in the faces of those being discharged.  He has not seen his mother since childhood.  But nothing happens except Vost's integration into routine -- "the rancid smell of burning cigarettes, the progress of a blinded fly, the scraping of one of the outdoor chairs."

Suddenly Konrad Vost's arid world of torn posters, intimidating uniforms and public odors explodes with sexuality.  Fatigue turns erotic.  Everything is disordered and, as usually happens in a Hawkes novel, senseless events in a senseless environment yield lavish suffering and joy.  Vost discovers "the sum of his own secrets." He knows "at last the transports of that singular experience which makes every man an artist: the experience, that is, of the willed erotic union."

This erotic-esthetic metamorphosis begins when Vost accidentally is introduced to fellatio by a girl friend of his daughter on the day the women of La Violaine revolt and take command of their jail.  It approaches conclusion with Vost's capture by the rebels, and his imprisonment a La Violaine because he volunteered to help put down their riot.  For three days and nights he is subjected to the most exquisite torture.  Under the supervision of Vost's mother (she tried to abort him at birth) the freed women of La Violaine raise Vost's desire to a pitch near madness and then leave him writhing in his cell.  Vost's final transport to "his bed of stars . . . his bed of hot coals" occurs in an act of anal-oral sex that serves as Hawkes' all-purpose metaphor for the yins and yangs of his novel -- pleasure and pain, man and woman, love and hate, pornography and art.

Probably not among John Hawkes' most important works, except for what Konrad Vost says on his behalf about Hawkes' philosophy of beauty in blackness, the Passion Artist is an odd bundle of diamonds and junk.

The language sparkles.  It also collapses under its weight of adverbs and adjectives.  If a Latin-root word is available to thicken the mood, Hawkes chooses it.  He reduces movement to a crawl by nearly forbidding dialogue.  Emotional truths well up from an incredible X-rated plot devoid of coherence.  Stunning episodes of reality are sandwiched between sinister fakes.

The most convincing scenes in the novel -- the tiny Konrad Vost stealing into his mother's bed to lie beside his sleeping father, his sexual initiation by the notorious Eva Laubenstein, "matron of the farm for disordered children," -- bear little relationship in style or tone to that of the Passion Artist as a whole.

The best of the novel, a longing for innocence and a deep sorrow over the suffering that life inflicts, seems to come from another place or time in Hawkes's career.  The worst is conjured up as a grotesquely serio-comic background upon which Hawkes projects middle-aged thoughts about the benefits of an aggressive sexuality.

Yet Hawkes, even here at less than his best (Second Skin or The Lime Twig ), continues to be one of the three or four most interesting writers of fiction in the United States, and The Passion Artist shows why.

His point of view can always be predicted.  Of Konrad Vost he says, "The poles of his most general theory of the psychological function were these: that the interior life of the man is a bed of stars, that the interior life of the man is a pit of putrescence.  Of course the two poles could be easily reconciled by discerning in putrescence its natural radiance.  But he . . . recognized the danger of such a reconciliation, which all too easily became the sleight of hand of the optimist, who employs light to blind us to the fact of darkness."

However, the expression of this view, which experience often confirms, cannot be predicted.  The Passion Artist is Hawkes and sex with a new motor.  We read John Hawkes for the privilege of running alongside his imagination.  The Passion Artist is sad, funny, tedious, absurd, lascivious and as fresh as rain, even though the water is black.

It's probably Hawkes' fate to go on writing his novels that push contemporary fiction on beyong Joyce and Faulkner without ever finding the massive audience one would wish for his work.  He continues to be difficult.  His sensuality usually turns intellectual.  He doesn't like plot and character.  He likes scenes and temperaments.  He has had heavy influence, however, as a model for a generation of forthcoming writers.

As in The Passion Artist , what can be imagined for Hawkes takes priority over what may exist.  "I'm not interested in 'life,'" he told students at a fiction festival in Cincinnati last year.  "Fiction that insists on created actuality is its own reality . . . .  And I want fiction always to situate us in the psychic and literal spot where life is most difficult, most dangerous, most beautiful." In this regard The Passion Artist is an unqualified success.

 

GRAPHIC: Picture, Jacket DESIGN BY FRED MARCELLINO FROM "THE PASSION ARTIST"

 

28 of 31 DOCUMENTS

 

Copyright 1977 Associated Press

All Rights Reserved

 

The Associated Press

 

April 8, 1977, AM cycle

 

LENGTH: 372 words

 

BYLINE: By PETER J. BOYER, Associated Press Writer

 

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

 

BODY:

Geraldine Elizabeth Carmichael, convicted of fraud in promoting a three-wheeled car, was sentenced to state prison Friday.

But Ms. Carmichael's attorneys said they would appeal the sentence because their client, a self-described transsexual, would not be safe in either a men's prison or a women's prison.

"She would be raped" in a men's prison, argued attorney Joseph Shemaria, and "She'd be attacked in a women's prison probably worse than in men's prison.  There is no place to send Elizabeth Carmichael except home."

Shermaria said that under California's new fixed-term sentencing law, his client would spend about six years in prison.

But prosecutors said she would be eligible for parole in about 20 months.

"Cruel and unusual punishment may be one of the grounds for appeal," said Shemaria's partner, Joe Walsh.

"Because if she's sentenced to either a male or female prison, they'll have to put her in solitary confinement because she's a transsexual."

Ms. Carmichael was formerly known as Jerry Dean Michael.  She was convicted of grand theft, conspiracy and fraud Jan. 21 along with three officers of her firm, 20th Century Motor Car corp.

Superior Court Judge Harry Ackerman sentenced her to state prison and fined her 30,000.  Her three aides were each sentenced to one year in County Jail and fined $10,000.

Ms. Carmichael was freed on 50,000 bail, her attorney said.

It was not clear whether Ackerman meant for Ms. Carmichael to serve time in a men's or women's state prison.  The judge was not available for comment after the sentencing.

"The judge just said state prison, whether that means," said Jim Ferarro, a court bailiff in the case.

Ms. Carmichael said she would prefer being sentenced to a woman's prison, delcaring, "I am a women."

Her company produced Dale cars, three-wheeled automobiles that Ms. Carmichael claimed would cost less than $2,000 and could get 70 miles to a gallon of gas.

Afer sentencing, she said "the sentence is appropriate, the judge had no alternative." But she lambasted Deputy District Attorney Robert Youngdahl for his prosecution of the case, calling him an "unethical, lying, slimy individual who has taken a personal interest of vindictiveness toward me."

108B8C

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