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Atlanta knows how to save a buck or two, according to a new study from Coupons.com. In a survey released today identifying the most frugal cities in the United States, the Big Peach is the best at not spending a lot.

These are complicated economic times and people are looking for whatever break they can get when it comes to parting ways with their hard-earned money. “Across the country, more Americans than ever before are turning to digital coupons to help them save their hard-earned cash,” said Jeanette Pavini, Coupons.com household savings expert. “The South and Midwest dominate the list of most frugal U.S. cities, out-saving other regions including the West and Northeast.”

Joining Atlanta in some good old southern frugality were Tampa (#2), Raleigh (#4), and Nashville (#10). However, the distinction of the most frugal region in the country belongs to the Midwest, where nine cities rank among the top 25 most frugal cities.

See below for the full list of the most frugal cities in the country. Oddly, what’s going on east of the Mississippi that’s got everybody couponing so much?

You may have noticed that Ohio has three cities in that list, two of which are in the top ten. Those three coupon-clipping cities have given Ohio the distinction of most frugal state in the United States.

People in Atlanta aren’t just printing off coupons and zipping out to stores, either. The city was the most “on-the-go” frugal city, as well, due to the high number of people using their mobile devices in order to cash in their coupons.

Anybody in these cities (or beyond) an unabashed couponer? What’s your favorite way to save? Share with the rest of us below in the comments.

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Digital Coupons Help Atlanta Become Most Frugal City In U.S.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f04473/digital_health_now) has announced the addition of the "Digital Health NOW Spotlight Report: Cool Technologies in Healthcare ICT" report to their offering.

As challenges facing Canadian healthcare intensify, the focus on leveraging technology for greater efficiencies in healthcare has intensified. As a result, innovation in healthcare technologies continues to remain cutting edge with several new technologies being introduced into the market on a regular basis. Branham defines a "cool technology" as one that is innovative, is recent in its application and expected to find increased application in coming years.

Undoubtedly the hottest trend in digital Health, borne out by the breadth of its adoption over the past two years, is the move towards wireless and mobile infrastructure and applications. The digital health market is evolving rapidly. Once characterised by small scale, single applications, it is increasingly dominated by larger multi-functional systems. The type of organisation that is building and hosting eHealth services is also changing, with incumbent healthcare providers ceding market share to the next generation of providers or changing themselves to offer next generation solutions. This evolution, in part, is being driven by the growing use of both local and wide area wireless networking and mobile applications. The value of wireless technology is seen in improving service productivity, efficiency and profitability. Though healthcare organisations in Canada and elsewhere have been slow to embrace wireless technology, more and more organisations are finding that they can save time and money and improve care with this technology and as it eliminates the need for wired connections, it increases mobility of their patients and healthcare professionals and ultimately improves treatment outcomes.

Key Topics Covered:

Global Healthcare Expenditures

How Does Canada Compare

Healthcare Expenditures Resources in the Health Sector Health Status and Risk Factors

The Role of Information and Communications Technology

Country Briefs

Vendor Happenings in the EU

Final Thoughts

Countries covered in this report:

Denmark Germany France Netherlands Sweden

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f04473/digital_health_now

See original here:
Research and Markets: Cool Technologies in Healthcare ICT - Digital Health NOW Spotlight Report

It was the Nick Emery and TJ Haws show Tuesday night in Highland as Lone Peak (18-3, 9-1) dispatched Bingham (8-13, 0-0) with a late barrage of 3-point baskets to win decisively, 70-43.

While not quite as notorious, Emery and Haws are every bit as intimidating to opposing teams as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Haws typically plays the role of Sundance, but his school-record-tying eight 3-point baskets and career-high 31 points earned "The Kid" top billing on senior night.

The two teams started out thuggish, combing for eight fouls in the first eight minutes as they were locked in a 3-3 stalemate halfway through the first quarter. Emery and Haws connected on three treys and accounted for all of the Knights' 11 points. Senior Brody Berry was the first player not named Nick or TJ to record a basket, nearly four minutes into the second period.

After playing tough at the outset, the Miners failed to capitalize on poor shooting and turnovers for Lone Peak and that is something no team can afford when playing a club the caliber of the Knights. Lone Peak took advantage of a chance to catch a second wind and came out firing in the second quarter as the Knights used a mini Emery burst to fuel a 14-2 run, pushing the lead to 25-8.

The Miners chipped away at the lead taking advantage of the Knights' aggressive play and getting to the line as they used a 9-0 run of their own to keep things close. They were able to keep within 10 points and striking distance but it was Sundance to the rescue for Lone Peak as Haws drained a 3 to end the quarter and extend the lead to 30-17.

Twelve of Lone Peak's 19 points in the third came off 3-point baskets by Emery and Haws. None were more impressive than Emery's buzzer-beater that gave the Knights a 49-32 lead. After a missed shot, Berry jumped over the baseline and saved the possession by tossing the ball well beyond the arc and Emery connected from way downtown on a fade-away 3-point basket with a hand in his face.

Haws took over in the fourth scoring three quick 3-pointers, taking a steal coast-to-coast finishing with a strong one handed dunk and knifing through the defense for another lay-up. Haws' 13-point fourth quarter sparked a 17-4 run that would end any and all hope for Bingham (8-13, 4-6), as he and the Knights would ride off into the sunset with a 27 point win.

Next up for Lone Peak (18-3, 9-1) is a trip to the state 5A tournament next week. The Knights tied American Fork for the top spot in Region 4, but the Knights lost the coin flip with the Cavemen and will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the region. They will play at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday against the third-place team from Region 2.

BINGHAM (43): Morely 2, McKee 2, Benson 11, Williams 7, Schultz 3, Miles 4, Hannay 5, Bagley 2, Sandquist 2, Sanders 2, Turner 3. Totals 13 14-19 43.

LONE PEAK (70): Berry 4, Hansen 2, Toolson 7, Buck 4, Squires 2, Emery 20, Haws 31. Totals 26 9-10 70.

Bingham 6 11 15 11 -- 43

Lone Peak 11 19 19 21 -- 70

3-point goals: Bingham 3 (Benson 2, Turner), Lone Peak 13 (Toolson, Emery 4, Haws 8).

• American Fork 60, Pleasant Grove 49: At Pleasant Grove, Zac Hunter had 13 points to lead a balanced American Fork attack as the Cavemen (18-2, 9-1) ended the regular season tied for first in Region 4 after a win over Pleasant Grove (4-17, 1-9).

Quincy Bair added 12 points and Danny Beddes and Marcel Davis added 11 points apiece.

Alan Hamson led Pleasant Grove with 17 points.

The Cavement won the coin flip with Lone Peak and will enter the Class 5A tournament as the No. 1 seed from Region 4. They will play at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday at the Maverick Center against the No. 4 team from Region 2.

AMERICAN FORK (60): Beddes 11, Davis 11, Waddoups 9, Bair 12, Hunter 13, Andrus 4. Totals 20 17-25 60.

PLEASANT GROVE (49): Court 1, Anderson 2, Bischoff 5, S.Pincock 5, Jensen 6, F.Pincock 2, Banks 2, Hamson 17, Sampson 9. Totals 17 12-22 49.

American Fork 15 11 18 16 -- 60

Pleasant Grove 10 8 10 21 -- 49

3-point goals: American Fork 3 (Waddoups, Bair, Hunter), Pleasant Grove 3 (Jensen 2, Bischoff).

• Riverton 64, Lehi 43: At Riverton, the Silverwolves jumped out to a 20-10 lead and then went on a 17-10 run in the third quarter and Lehi never recovered as Riverton (11-10, 4-6) topped the Pioneers (11-10, 3-7) in Region 4.

Colton Colledge led Lehi with 12 points.

LEHI (43): Cleveringa 7, McGregor 6, Nerdin 4, Colledge 12, christofferson 3, Pittard 8, Christensen 3. Totals 15 10-14 43.

RIVERTON (64): Stone 9, McCleary 18, Worsham 18, Holm 12, Loamanu 5, Rindlisbacher 2. Totals 17 22-24 64.

Lehi 10 10 10 13 -- 43

Riverton 20 7 17 20 -- 64

3-point goals: Lehi 1 (Christensen), Riverton 2 (Stone, Loamanu).

Read more:
Lone Peak boys beat Bingham

At around 7 a.m. on Friday in the conference room of an Indianapolis hotel, an NFL representative will flip a specially minted coin with a Carolina Panthers logo on one side and a Miami Dolphins logo on the other.

The winner of that coin flip will pick No.8 in April’s NFL draft. The loser will pick No.9. No matter what happens, both teams will have a chance to get a very good player.

“I think anytime you’re in a coin flip or any kind of competitive situation, you’d rather come up first than second,” Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. “But if you lose the coin flip, I don’t think there’s a lot of disappointment or panic or anything like that.”

The Panthers and Dolphins must do this because they both finished with the same 6-10 record and their strength of schedule also turned out to be exactly equal. But there’s no guarantee that the No.8 pick will turn out better than the No.9.

Two quick examples: In 2000, Plaxico Burress was picked No.8. Brian Urlacher was No.9. Both have had fine NFL careers. But Urlacher’s has been better even if you discount the fact that Urlacher never shot himself and served jail time on a gun charge, as Burress did.

In 1996, the Panthers picked running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka No.8 and Oakland picked tight end Rickey Dudley at No.9. Dudley ultimately lasted three more years in the league and scored 19 more TDs than the injury-plagued Biakabutuka.

Now it is true that winning the flip will give the Panthers a bit more leverage at No.8 if they ultimately trade the pick away. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King writes: “The difference in one spot on the draft trade value chart – the chart most teams use to divine value when making draft-day trades – between picks that high is 50 points. That’s roughly the equivalent of a mid- to low-fourth-round pick on the chart.”

This got me thinking about coin flips through the years. The Panthers won a big one with Jacksonville back in 1994 to obtain the No.1 pick in the 1995 NFL draft (which they later traded away, choosing Kerry Collins at No.5 overall).

There have been many more important coin flips through the years, in and out of sports. Here are five of my favorites.

5. Hakeem the dream: In 1984, the NBA conducted a coin flip between Houston and Portland to decide which team got the No.1 overall pick. Houston won and picked Hakeem Olajuwon. Portland lost and picked Sam Bowie. But Chicago, who wasn’t involved in the flip at all, really won by picking Michael Jordan at No.3.

4. That’s not quite what I meant: Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck once correctly called an overtime coin flip in a playoff game, then brashly declared, “We want the ball and we’re going to score!” Hasselbeck then threw an interception that Green Bay returned for a touchdown.

3. Heads-Tails: On Thanksgiving Day in 1998, Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis called “heads-tails” while the coin was in the air to decide whether the Steelers or Detroit would get the ball in overtime. The coin landed on “tails,” referee Phil Luckett declared Bettis had called “heads” and a controversy ensued. Detroit won the game. That flip led to the NFL rewriting its coin-flip rule – you now have to call the flip before the coin is tossed.

2. Tail of two cities: In 1851, two men founded a large city in Oregon together. One was from Maine and wanted to name it “Portland.” The other was from Massachusetts and wanted to name it “Boston.” A coin flip decided “Portland” as the winner.

1. The Wright stuff: In December 1903, the Wright brothers were oh-so-close to flying. Their aircraft had room for only the pilot, so Orville and Wilbur conducted a coin flip.

Wilbur won. But his attempt on Dec.14, 1903, stalled out, lasted barely over three seconds and wasn’t successful. Orville, the coin-flip loser, ended up going for 12 seconds and 120 feet in Kitty Hawk, N.C., three days later to begin the aviation era with the historic “first flight.”

Whether the Panthers win or lose the coin flip Friday, it won’t matter much. Because as Wilbur Wright could have told you, fate can be as fickle as a flying machine.

See the original post here:
The tail end of coin flips

by Department of Education and Children

The Department of Education and Children recognises the need to create a dynamic and cost-effective Educational system which meets the needs of its students, the community and the developing economic needs of the Isle of Man.

To this end, the Department will be making changes to its provision in order to meet current financial requirements and rationalise its services going into the future.

We have considered all aspects of our expenditure line by line and item by item. We have sought ways to protect and further develop our core responsibility of providing schooling to young people and meeting the needs of the population of the Isle of Man for both Further and Higher Education.
Wherever possible, we have protected core services and those services which are only available through our provision and we have looked for opportunities where alternative provision or providers can meet the need.
However, it must be noted that schools have had no increase in budget again this year and this contributes significantly to Department savings.

Preschool Education

The Department fully understands the educational and social value of Pre-school Education both for the children concerned and for their families.  We have worked tirelessly for many years to improve the quality of Pre-school Education across all sectors.

• The Department currently provides Pre-school Education for between 50 and 60% of children whose families wish to
receive it.  It is not compulsory and not part of the statutory provision nor is it available everywhere on the Island.

• This lack of availability in some areas has been severely criticised by groups and individuals and the Department has long recognised the need to address this issue.

• We are therefore seeking to make very significant changes to Pre-school Education while supporting the quality of that which is provided.

• The Department’s aim, first stated more than 10 years ago, ‘to expand provision when resources and opportunities are available’, will not to be achieved in the foreseeable future and in the current financial climate.  It is therefore necessary to look at alternative methods of delivery.

• To address the issue of equity ability, i.e. to broaden availability, we intend to transfer the provision of the Pre-school year to private and voluntary providers of group care and Education. To this end, the Department will cease to provide pre-school places in its schools from 31 August 2012.

• Part of the funding released from doing this will be used to implement a system which will offer parents a degree of financial support in accessing Nursery Education for their children.  It was agreed by the Council of Ministers that a working group would be established to consider, as a matter of urgency, proposals which would provide a more effective alternative.

• This Pre-school Education will be able to be obtained from any provider which is registered from group care and Education to the age range 3 to 4 years.

• Given that currently our nurseries only take children for a 2 ½ hour slot in the morning or the afternoon, which is often not helpful to working parents, we do not foresee any negative economic impact from this measure. Indeed, the new flexibility will mean that working parents could top up the provision they can obtain through the new system so that their child can be in nursery provision for a full half day enabling them to work part-time.

• Schools will no longer be providing Pre-school Education, areas of the school, formerly pre-school classrooms, will be available for leasing to interested providers. Details will be published in the near future.

Primary Modern Languages

Significant changes were made in 2010/11 to this service and I wish to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their work in attempting to develop a new model.

Unfortunately, at the current time, it is not possible for the Department to support this aspect of learning in the manner which it is currently delivered.  From 1 September 2012, we will cease peripatetic teaching of French in primary schools. However, the Department does keep abreast of current research and development and recognises the important role of additional language experience in brain development and thinking strategies.  We will therefore be supporting our primary schools in offering language experience to children in-house.

Music

The Music Service has a long established role in supporting schools and individuals through instrumental tuition and support for primary schools in developing high-quality music teaching.  We will continue to support fully, the teaching which improves music publishing to all students.  Within the current restraints, it is now necessary to introduce charging for individual and small group instrumental tuition. We are working with the Music Service to develop an appropriate system and scale of charges.

Library and Mobile Library Services

These are two well-established features of provision which it is no longer possible to support through Department of Education and Children funding.  We are, however, hoping to negotiate with local authorities and other bodies to maintain some of this provision. This change is in an early stage of negotiation. However, the provision will cease in its current form at the end of August 2012.  We fully recognise and regret the loss of these services which bring huge social benefits to many, including those living in rural areas of our community.

Student Awards

There are a number of changes to Student Award Regulations which will be placed before Tynwald shortly.  Primarily, these changes, if approved, will maintain Student Awards within the current budget allocation.  This will be achieved by introducing a charge for postgraduate studies, and the fourth and subsequent years of study of undergraduate degrees. In addition, we will be raising the academic bar for students to be eligible for Higher Education award in 2013 from 160 points to 200 (including one grade C).
We will continue to fund three-year undergraduate degrees for all students.
The changes to undergraduate degrees will commence in August 2013 and will not affect any students who have already started their courses.

Bride School

Bride Infant School is earmarked for closure from September 2012. The school has just three pupils of primary school age, two of whom have already indicated their intention to transfer to Andreas Primary School this summer.

Predicted pupil numbers from September 2012 are three pupils in the Reception class (one of whom would be coming from outside the catchment area) and one in Year one. There will be no pupils in Year two.

If the school closes, the children will instead go to Andreas Primary School with which the school was merged in 2005.

Although my Department realises that the envisaged changes will not be popular, we have to play our part in maintaining high quality whilst working to ever tighter budgets. That is the simple reality of the situation.

We need to work more closely with private and voluntary providers, look at the leanest methods of delivery and prioritise services we are statutorily bound to deliver above those we have been able to provide when times were easier
We believe that these savings will help us towards our target budget even though most of them will only affect seven months of the next financial year.  One of the issues we face in Education, is working to the academic year which means that changes made have only 7/12 effects in the first year. Also some savings, most notably Student Awards, will not be fully realised for some years.

-ENDS-

In Other Isle of Man News

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Original post:
Department of Education and Children - Budget Speech