Manager and sommelier Orlando Bagnara, from Assaggio Ristorante. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe Source: AdelaideNow

THE owners of Assaggio had two reasons to celebrate last night, with their stylish Italian restaurant and casual cafe both picking up major prizes.

Their awards came in the 2012 Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence.

Assaggio Ristorante in Hyde Park, a complete package of finely-honed cooking, elegant surrounds and seamless service, won the big prize - restaurant of the year.

Over the other side of town, in our Italian heartland, the more relaxed pizzas and pastas of Assaggio Cafe at Campbelltown took out the cafe prize.

Other big winners included Chung Jae Lee, from Mapo Korean Restaurant, who was named best chef, and Press Food & Wine, which took out both the popular choice and best new restaurant prizes.

The best Chinese category went to From Orient, best Indian to Dhaba at the Spice Kitchen and best steak to The Barn Steakhouse in Mount Gambier.

Three restaurants were also inducted into the Hall of Fame after three successive awards - Auge (Italian), Pipers of Penola (regional) and Blanc Bistro & Grill (seafood).

The individual hall of fame award was presented to Norberto Spagnolo, who opened Adelaide's first Argentinian restaurant, Gaucho's in Gouger St, and now runs Buenos Aires Brasserie.

Another industry veteran, Leo Schadegg from Alphutte, won the Lifetime Achiever Award. Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive Sally Neville said the awards had attracted a record 280 entries.

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Twin venues taste awards success

Calvin Zhu was a migrant success story - arriving in Australia with his family as a 10-year-old - a university education in finance, and then by the age of 30 holding the lofty title of executive vice-president with Hanlong Mining.

But once the Australian Securities and Investments Commission surveillance team detected suspect trading in Bannerman Resources and Sundance Resources, both takeover targets of Hanlong, Zhu lost his job, was unemployed and, in his own words, suffered "irreparable damage" to his professional reputation.

Zhu, who pleaded guilty this morning in the Downing Centre Local Court to serial inside trading since 2006, had outlined his personal situation to another judge in December, when he asked for permission to leave the country.

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Zhu had wanted to travel to China to speak to his father-in-law, a man to whom he owed not only $1 million but a cultural obligation to give an account of his predicament in person. The New South Wales Supreme Court was told that his wife would surrender her passport and remain in Australia with their child while he travelled, and that Mr Zhu was an Australian citizen who did not hold a People's Republic of China passport.

But as Justice Michael Slattery determined, the failure of Mr Zhu's friend and colleague, Steven Xiao, Hanlong's former managing director, to return to Australia under the court's previous restricted travel regime was a material change in circumstance. He banned Mr Zhu from leaving the country.

The judge also said that Mr Zhu had transferred $2.2 million from the Australian account of a company he controlled, Wingatta, to a Hong Kong account, and the whereabouts after that of the money was unknown. ASIC has alleged that $1 million of those funds were from Hanlong Metals, and were used to fund trades in Sundance contracts for difference (CFDs), which reaped a $1.2 million profit. ASIC says only $76,000 was returned to the company.

Zhu pleaded guilty to insider trading conduct while working as an executive at Caliburn, later as an associate at Credit Suisse, and as vice president, investments at Hanlong Mining.

The charges involved procuring others, including friends and his mother-in-law, and the company Wingatta, to acquire contracts for difference and securities ahead of public knowledge of a takeover bid.

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Unhappy end to a migrant success story

MARION, S.C. --

The Marion Boys and Girls club got a chance to dabble in their futures last week when a motivational speaker provided by Pee Dee Regional Education Centers Personal Pathways to Success Making Your Future Count program paid them a visit.

Al Duncan, an entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, spoke to several middle and high school club members about deciding their own futures and not letting their surroundings or their circumstances decide it for them.

It is up to you and you alone to decide what happens to your future, he said during his speech. Whos it up to?

Me, a club member responded.

With a simple nod, a smile and a thats right Duncan continued his speech where he indulged members with the story of his upbringing in Philadelphia and how at a young age he found out his father was on drugs. He shared how he became a successful musician, just to see that crumble away because of his lack of self restraint and spending habits.

He discussed his low point when he had to sell his saxophone he had had since he was nine years old, just so he could return home and care for his brother who had been getting into trouble. Then, how at the age of 24, he moved to Atlanta with his brother to keep him out of trouble and worked his way up the food chain at Olive Garden to become a chief chef. All ending to where he is today; the author of five books (most notably My Success Journal) and CEO of Al Duncan Enterprises LLC.

He told his story to highlight the reason he was there; so the group of young people can decide their own future no matter where they come from or who tells them otherwise.

Making Your Future Count is a career prep workshop for middle and high school youth and their parents. Those who participate will hopefully understand the importance of defining long-term goals and how to achieve them, consider their strengths, interests and the future job market when choosing a career path and develop goals that are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.

The Pee DeeRegionalEducationCenterreceived a $7,500 College Access Challenge Grant from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education to fund the program, according to Pee Dee Regional Education Center Coordinator Cheryl H. Lewis. They then used the grant to get Monster.com involved and provide the speaker.

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Marion Boys and Girls Club members learn from motivational speaker

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Last summer, health care industry executives, with the support of government and military leaders, launched a new initiative called Hero Health HireSM, a program to employ, train and support veterans and, in particular, disabled veterans or Wounded Warriors who suffered physical and mental injuries as a result of their military service. One year later, the program has gained 34 health care industry partners, representing more than 750,000 employees across the country with 3,304 worksites covering every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As a nation we have a duty to honor the sacrifice of our military veterans by helping them make a smooth transition to the workforce, said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. By connecting veterans with dedicated partners in the health care industry, the Hero Health Hire program is helping train and support our talented soldiers as they take on new challenges in high-growth sectors. This all hands on deck response is a fitting tribute to the dedication and determination shown by our service members each and every day.

Weve been very pleased to see the continued momentum and support for the Hero Health Hire initiative, said Ren Lerer, M.D., chairman and CEO of Magellan Health Services and founder of the program. Our nations veterans bring a unique set of skills, discipline and determination to the work force, and its encouraging to see more organizations embracing these men and women and helping them develop their careers.

Hero Health Hire is unique in that it is an industry-specific initiative that is helping health care employers both small and large share best practices and key insights for hiring and supporting wounded veterans as they transition to civilian jobs, said retired Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, M.D., who joined Hero Health Hire as honorary chairman in November. In the past year, weve been successful in building a sizeable network of employers in the health care industry who work together with military leaders through Hero Health Hire to help facilitate the placement of these wounded veterans in positions that best suit their skills and interests.

Since its founding, Hero Health Hire has held bi-monthly workshops and webinars for partner companies to help them begin or improve their veteran and wounded warrior recruitment and support programs. Hero Health Hire representatives have served on various military branch-sponsored Wounded Warrior Employment Conference planning committees and have supplied workshop instructors to work with disabled veterans preparing for the transition to civilian employment. Hero Health Hire leaders have spoken at recent conferences such as the US Armys AW2 Employment Conference and the U.S. Navys Annual Wounded Warrior Hiring and Support Conference.

The newly established Hero Health Hire Advisory Board met this past June in Washington, D.C. The boards mission is to provide strategic guidance to help the organization expand the program and develop additional resources to support the partners hiring efforts.

As we continue to grow and welcome new employers into Hero Health Hire, we want to enhance the infrastructure of the coalition to provide even greater tools, educational programming, military community relationships and, in general, to assist our partners with making the most of their wounded warrior and veteran recruitment efforts, said Michele Deverich, executive director of the Hero Health Hire initiative. We look forward to expanding our reach and the opportunities to connect Hero Health Hire employers with the brave men and women who have served us so well through our advisory board of strong, dedicated leaders.

Members of the advisory board include: Ren Lerer, M.D., Magellan Health Services; Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, honorary chairman, Hero Health Hire; Lynne Broussard, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana; Barbara Delano, Bon Secours Health System; Nancy Evanko, CRC Health Group; Karen Ferrell, Apollo Health Street; Lorraine Field, TriWest Health Alliance; Donna Hoffmeier, HealthNet Federal Services; David James, Humana Government Business; Linda Jimenez, WellPoint Inc.; Zach Parker, Defense Logistics Health (DLH); Tracy South, HMS; and Greg Alleyne, representing the Veterans Administrations Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services (VR&E) as an honorary advisor.

In the first year, the following companies have joined the Hero Health Hire initiative: Magellan Health Services, AGIS Network, Ameritox, Apollo Health Street, APS Healthcare, the Bobby Dodd Institute, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Bon Secours Health System, Booz Allen Hamilton, CareCore National, Centene Corporation, Cigna, CHSi, CRC Health Group, DLH, Express Scripts, Florida Blue, Health Care Cost Recovery, Inc., HealthNet Federal Services, HMS, Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey, Inc., Humana Government Business, Independence Blue Cross, Logisticare, Loyola Recovery Foundation, Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield/Cambia Health, ResCare, SRA International, TriWest Health Alliance, UHS, UPMC, ValueOptions and WellPoint, Inc.

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Hero Health Hire Reaches First Anniversary of Helping Veterans Find Success in the Civilian Workforce

NEW YORK Coming off the worst start of his major league career, Baltimore Orioles rookie right-hander Miguel Gonzalezs next challenge was pitching against the division-leading New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

And the 28-year-old Gonzalez rebounded from his rocky outing last Wednesday by keeping the loaded Yankees lineup at bay as the Orioles continued their success in the Bronx this season.

Gonzalez, who has transformed from a minor league free agent to a key piece of the Orioles starting rotation, struck out a career-high eight batters and walked none Monday night, leading the Orioles to a 5-4 win. He gave up four runs and six hits in 62/ 3 innings.

The Orioles have won three of four games at Yankee Stadium this season they took two of three here from April 30 to May 2.

Gonzalez held the Yankees top five hitters to just one hit in 15 at-bats. He had allowed just two runs and four hits when he took the mound in the seventh inning using his change-up with precision before allowing back-to-back solo homers to left-handed hitters Eric Chavez and Ichiro Suzuki and leaving the game.

Good tempo, strike thrower, Manager Buck Showalter said of Gonzalez. You look at his walk totals and you watch him pitch, you dont think of him not having command, but when hes carrying his secondary stuff like that, hes got a chance to give us the outing that he did tonight.

His outing came after he gave up a career-high seven runs on seven hits and lasted just 22/ 3 innings in a 10-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start.

Gonzalez won despite allowing three homers Monday Raul Ibanez hit a solo shot in the fifth. In five major league starts, he has allowed nine homers.

The Orioles (54-49), who scored more than four runs in just three of their first 13 games following the all-star break, have now scored more than four runs in four of their last five.

The top two hitters in the Orioles lineup, Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy, were a combined 5 for 9 with three RBI and both drove in runs in the seventh inning, giving the Orioles a 5-2 lead.

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Orioles vs. Yankees: Baltimore continues its success in New York this season

LONDON (AP) -- What are they on? Or are they?

When Chinese swimmers started blowing rivals out of the water in London's Olympic pool, whispers quickly followed. Is China cheating the sport again, as it did in the 1990s, when drug-fueled, muscle-bound swimmers emerged from nowhere to beat the world? Alain Bernard, the 2008 Olympic freestyle champion from France, was among those who wondered.

"I'm for clean sport, without doping, and I truly hope the authorities in charge of this are doing their job in good conscience and really well," he said. "Unfortunately, I want to say that there is no smoke without fire. But today there is no proof to show that any Chinese has tested positive in this competition."

At a briefing Monday in London, reporters peppered Arne Ljungqvist, the International Olympic Committee's medical commission chairman, with questions about Ye Shiwen, China's 16-year-old swimming sensation. Ljungqvist said "it is very sad that an unexpected performance be surrounded by suspicions."

"Suspicion is halfway an accusation that something is wrong," Ljungqvist said. "I don't like that. I would rather have facts."

Unlike the 1990s, however, there are plausible explanations this time for why China is the swimming phenomenon of the 2012 Games.

For example, Ye's astounding world record in the 400 medley, when she swam the last 50 meters faster than American Ryan Lochte did in winning the equivalent men's race, isn't solely attributable to her large hands and feet. It also is at least partly because China, which has grown to become the world's second-largest economy, now throws big checks at some of swimming's sharpest minds. China has turned to foreign trainers to get their coaching programs, expertise and methods, not only to hone its swimming stars but to make them more rounded and relaxed, too. The idea is that happy swimmers are fast swimmers.

Ye has trained in Australia with two well-recognized coaches, Ken Wood and Denis Cotterell. Wood has had a contract with the Chinese Swimming Association since 2008, and 15 of China's swimmers in London, plus five of its relay swimmers, have trained at his academy north of Brisbane, rotating through in groups for a couple of months at a time, he told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

"I get paid per month, per swimmer four times more than I do with my home swimmers," Wood said from Australia after Ye qualified comfortably fastest Monday in the 200 medley heats. China pays him bonuses for Olympic gold and for swimmers' personal bests, and he also got a bonus for Ye's 200 medley world championship win in 2011.

"China is putting a lot of money into its program and I am only too happy to work with them," he said. "The whole Chinese philosophy is that they want to be the best they can."

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Column: What's up with China's swimming success?

At Stan Blum Boat Ramp in Fort Pierce Wednesday morning, D.J. Fisher of Vero Beach shows off a nice lobster - his boat's only lobster - caught the first hour of mini-season. ED KILLER TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS

Photo by Sam Wolfe

A catch of lobster swims Wednesday in the live well aboard Little Adam fishing charters with Capt. Richard Hunt. Lobster divers enjoyed two days of good diving conditions even if the lobster pickings were a bit slim.

Spiny lobster mini-season 2012 was calm, safe and by most accounts, a thoroughly enjoyed sportsman's holiday.

As for the personal take of highly prized crustaceans, Treasure Coast reports indicate that it was "so-so" for some and "great" for others.

The annual two-day dash by recreational divers in Florida waters came to a close Thursday with no fatalities for the first time since 2003.

Beginning Aug. 6, recreational divers and commercial fishers can begin the regular season for lobster that continues until March 31, 2013. The daily bag limit statewide for recreational divers will be six lobsters per person instead of the 12 it was during the sport season.

Brandon Dolan of Kirk's Dive and Surf in Port St. Lucie said the feedback from his customers was that diving for lobsters seemed to be a little better off Fort Pierce and St. Lucie inlets in 50 to 70 feet of water than it was closer to shore.

"It sounded like visibility was minimal and the water was colder closer to the beach in Fort Pierce and that many divers did not find their limits," Dolan said. "We had several customers come in who did get their limits, including one boat with four divers that had 48 including three larger than 10 pounds, and several grouper, too."

Tim Russell of Dive Odyssea in Fort Pierce was part of a group that limited out easily early Wednesday morning.

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Lobster mini-season 2012: Success was hit and miss, safety was priority

DENVER, Colo., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- InternetReputation.com is proud to announce that their Jailbase.com Removal Program is a successful solution for removing embarrassing, potentially damaging information from search engines. InternetReputation.com reputation management experts have spent over a year developing their Jailbase Removal Program and can now offer a quick, cost-effective solution for having these listings removed from the public eye in a matter of days.

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InternetReputation.com uses reputation management techniques to quickly and effectively bury jailbase.com listings to prevent people from finding this harmful information. "The process we use has proven to be quick and effective, because of the resources involved the program requires a significantly higher price point than other solutions we offer, but often times you can't put a price on your reputation." A public relations representative for the company.

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InternetReputation.com is a highly-respected internet reputation form that speclizes in providing services such as online crisis management, removing negative information about persons that is easily searchable on the internet, protecting against future slights on client reputations. We can solve a variety of different problems quickly and easily, as our technicians have the training necessary to identify and remove negative information from the internet efficiently. We always guarentee our clients complete confidentiality during the process so that reputation repair and management is done most effectively. We will also assist you in creating positive reputation assets online so that not only are negative items fixed, positive items are added to reputations to better the standing of the client in the future.

Media Contact: Gary B, InternetReputation.com, 1-800-758-9012, info@internetreputation.com

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Advanced Jailbase.com Removal Program a Huge Success

(CNN) Following weeks of questions over Mitt Romney's personal wealth, the presumptive GOP nominee said Thursday that criticism of the nation's wealthy, including his family, would lead to economic demise.

"There are people who are trying to attack success and are trying to attack our success; that's not going to be successful," Romney said in an interview to air Thursday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." "When you attack success you have less of it, and that's what we've seen in our economy over the last few years." Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

The 2012 presidential campaign has centered on debate over Romney's wealth this summer, with President Barack Obama's team raising concerns about the Republican's decision to hold offshore investments and calling on Romney to release tax documents to answer any lingering queries about his financial portfolio.

The White House hopeful has firmly stated he would not release anything further than the two years worth of tax documents that he has already released and annual financial disclosure forms separately required by federal election law.

Romney, whose wealth is worth up to $256 million, has also been railed against over his tenure at the private equity firm he co-founded, Bain Capital. Democrats argue he has been misleading about when exactly he left his position as CEO at the company, saying he stayed on three years longer than he's previously admitted-a time window, Democrats say, in which he would have overseen a period in which the company is now being criticized for encouraging the practice of outsourcing.

Along with defending his personal wealth, Romney and Republicans have strongly stood against Obama's recent proposal to raise taxes on households making more than $250,000 per year, arguing such a move would have a negative impact on the economy and discourage growth.

"Dividing America based on who has money and who hasn't who is successful and who is less successful That is not the American way," Romney said.

Obama, defending his tax proposal, has frequently said his policies are not aimed as an attack on the wealthy.

"This has nothing to do with me wanting to punish success. We love folks getting rich. I do want to make sure that everybody else gets that chance as well." Obama said at a campaign stop in Iowa earlier this month. "For us to give a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks to folks who don't need it and aren't even asking for it, that doesn't make sense."

Romney made his comments during a sit-down interview in London, with his wife Ann by his side. The former Massachusetts governor, who headed the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, is in town to attend Friday's opening ceremony for this year's Olympic Games. The stop in London marks the first leg of a three-country trip, which also takes him to Israel and Poland over the next week.

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Romney in Piers Morgan interview: Stop attacking success

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Technology continues to play a critical role in K-12 education. Not surprisingly, 100 percent of the 43 participants interviewed by CompassLearning at the recent 2012 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference say that technology plays some role in the education of students at their school or school district. However, 37 percent say that professional development for teachers to help them embrace and properly use the vast array of technology options currently available is critical to the success of technology integration in the classroom. On the flipside, 30 percent of those interviewed believe technology presents a tremendous opportunity for students and teachers by giving them access to virtually unlimited resources across the Internet.

It is clear that the future success of our students, teachers and districts will be incumbent upon the successful use of technology to create 21st century learning environments, said Fred Waugh, vice president of marketing for Compass Learning. The attendees at ISTE overwhelmingly embrace the need to implement technology. However, selecting technology that supports strong academic outcomes, as well as training teachers to use technology to engage students that are digital natives, can be a challenge. Thats one of the reasons weve made it a priority to support our personal learning solutions with the most comprehensive professional development program in the industry. We want to help teachers fully embrace the technology available to them so that they are empowered to engage students in learning anytime, anywhere.

Key Findings from the Interviews:

Forty-three attendees of the 2012 ISTE conference were interviewed, responding to four questions about technology use in the classroom, the biggest challenge facing education and the biggest opportunity for education. While not statistically valid, the direction of the answers is enlightening. For video compilation of the interviews, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fJIjA6wVSU.

About Compass Learning

Compass Learning provides K-12 educational software that empowers teachers to unlock every students potential for academic success and personal growth. Compass Learning takes a student-centered approach by providing comprehensive solutions that address the needs of every student and student-type to create personalized learning and differentiation programs that reach, engage, and inspire students to succeed. Teachers and administrators can more efficiently and effectively manage and measure progress, freeing time to focus on delivering academic results. Both of the companys software solutions, CompassLearning Odyssey and the Renzulli Learning System deliver academic rigor that is based on more than 40 years of research into how students learn and are aligned to state and Common Core Standards to support classroom and district accountability. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Compass Learning serves more than 7,800 schools across the United States.

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ISTE 2012 Attendees Say Professional Development is Crucial to Technology Success in Classroom, According to ...