Trattoria Divina - Hilton Head Italian Delight

In recent years Hilton Head Island has seen its restaurant choices multiply with impressive growth among more sophisticated eateries.
Yes, you can still find plenty of sports bars and lots of wings, burgers, pizza and the ubiquitous seafood houses here.
But if you you want something more, you now have many additional choices.
Finer Italian restaurants have doubled and tripled in number and we've already noted some of them: Il Carpaccio, Michael Anthony's and Ombra, to name a few.
After last night, we are happy to add Trattoria Divina to the list.
Located in the Park Plaza Shopping Center near Sea Pines Circle, Trattoria Divina is tastefully decorated with Italian-inspired murals painted by students of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). They help create a warm and inviting atmosphere. 

Combined with a fine chef's desire to bring northern Italy to your table, along with a broad selection of fine (some cult) wines, served by a very friendly staff and you have the restaurant's vision.

Fresh linguine made daily, a complimentary Prosecco and the Chef's specialities combine to make this a wonderful treat -- especially if you take advantage of the $30 three-course dinner which offers soup or salad, entree and dessert.

The soup last night was lobster bisque and it was delicious -- just spicy enough with tasty bits of lobster.

Our entrees were veal picante with linguine and salmon with linguine. The veal was medium-thin and pan seared. The salmon was baked with the lightest dressing of cream sauce.

For dessert we enjoyed the homemade cheesecake AND the creme brûlée.

The cheesecake was light and absolutely divine. The creme brûlée was crackly across the top and then gloriously creamy but not too sweet -- just as it should be.

The entire experience was a delight - a wonderful addition to Hilton Head Island!

Do it!

The painted ceiling of Trattoria Divina in Hilton Head.

The pan-seared veal with linguine.

The baked salmon with linguine.

The cheesecake (top) and creme brûlée (bottom).

Vatican Announces Shakeup At Vatican Bank

A communique was issued in English by the Holy See Press Office late yesterday afternoon, the full text of which is given below:

“IOR-Director Comm. Paolo Cipriani and Deputy Director Dott. Massimo Tulli have offered their resignations from their current positions. After many years of service both have decided that this decision would be in the best interest of the Institute and the Holy See. The Oversight Council and the Commission of Cardinals have accepted their resignations and asked President Ernst von Freyberg to assume the functions of the General Director ad interim with immediate effect. The Vatican regulator AIF has been informed accordingly. The Special Commission appointed on June 26 2013 has acknowledged the decision.

“Ernst von Freyberg will be supported by Rolando Marranci as acting Deputy Director and Antonio Montaresi in the newly created position as acting Chief Risk Officer with the remit of overseeing compliance and special projects. Previously Rolando Marranci served as Chief Operating Officer at a leading Italian bank in London. Antonio Montaresi has served as Chief Risk and Chief Compliance Officer with various banks in the US.

“'In the name of the Oversight Council I thank Mr. Cipriani and Mr. Tulli for their personal dedication over the past years,' said President Ernst von Freyberg. 'I welcome Rolando Marranci and Antonio Montaresi as outstanding professionals,' he said. 'Since 2010 the IOR and its management have been working hard to bring structures and processes in line with international standards for anti-money laundering. While we are grateful for what has been achieved, it is clear today that we need new leadership to increase the pace of this transformation process. Our progress is in no small measure due to the continued support from the governing bodies of the Institute and its personnel.'

“The Oversight Council has also initiated a selection process with the aim of appointing a new General Director and Deputy Director in the near future.

“Elizabeth McCaul, Partner-in-charge of the New York Office and Chief Executive Officer of Promontory Europe and Raffaele Cosimo, Chief Operating Officer of Promontory Europe were mandated this past May by the President of the Oversight Council to strengthen the Institute’s anti-money laundering program in seven work streams including conducting a forensic review and screening its client relationships. Mr von Freyberg has also asked Elizabeth McCaul and Raffaele Cosimo to serve as Senior Advisors to support the management. Previously, Ms. McCaul served as New York Superintendent of Banks and is considered a leader in regulatory circles. Mr. Cosimo is an expert in bank governance and operations.”

Masterworks Of Photography At Delaware Art Museum

4th Of July Not REALLY America's Birthday!

The 4th of July isn't really America's birthday.
Instead, today is.
That's right: The 2nd of July is America's actual birthday.
So, America is really two days older than she says she is.
How could this be?
During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.
That's when America actually declared itself separate and apart from Great Britain.
The day was thought to be very momentous. Thus, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Of course, two days later the formal Declaration of Independence was finalized and promulgated and it contained the date, "July 4, 1776" and so that's the date that came to be celebrated.
But today is, technically, America's birthday.
And it all happened in Philadelphia -- the city that came to be known as the Cradle of Liberty.
And that reminds me that this also happens to be a very special birthday forPhiladelphia Bar Association executive director Ken Shear. Happy Birthday, Ken!
May all Philadelphia -- and all of America -- celebrate!

Christie Announces Nearly $30 Million In FEMA Grants

The Christie Administration today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded nearly $29.5 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding for the voluntary acquisition of 129 homes in Sayreville. These homes are part of the Administration’s plan to acquire approximately 1,000 homes impacted by Superstorm Sandy and another 300 repetitively flood-damaged homes in the Passaic River Basin.

“The Christie Administration is committed to moving willing sellers in flood-prone areas out of harm’s way,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin. “In the weeks and months after Sandy struck New Jersey, it became clear that some residents wanted the peace of mind buyouts offer. This process gives residents this option, and helps them start over again, free of the worry of flooding.”

The first offers to willing seller homeowners are expected to begin next week through the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Blue Acres Program, with the first closings completed within one year. The Christie Administration has targeted Sayreville and South River in Middlesex County and homes along Delaware Bay in Lawrence Township, Cumberland County, for the first phase of acquisitions under the $300 million buyout program. Acquisitions in Sayreville include 69 homes on Weber Avenue and 60 homes on MacArthur Avenue.

The state is targeting clusters of homes and entire neighborhoods for buyouts. These homes will be razed and the land will be maintained as open space that can handle future flood waters. The DEP has created a special team to work closely with sellers and process their applications as quickly as possible. Case managers are reaching out to individual homeowners personally and help guide them through the process.

This buyout program is a joint effort of the DEP, State Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and FEMA. DEP administers all Blue Acres purchases and OEM handles financing through FEMA.

The initial Blue Acres Program targeted purchase of lands in floodways in the Delaware, Passaic and Raritan rivers basins, but was later expanded to include all state waters. Eligible properties are those that have been storm damaged, that are prone to incurring storm damage, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such damage.

Homeowners interested in selling their homes through this process may contact the DEP’s Blue Acres Program at 609-984-0500.

For more information on the Blue Acres Program, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/blue_flood_ac.html.

For information on Sandy Recovery, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy/.

Christie: Why The Rut-Row Merger Needed To Get Done

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on why the Rutgers/Rowan merger (and the revamp of higher ed in the state) needed to finally get done.
Yes, he was flippant at times as he fought for the change. And there were some rather difficult and/or awkward moments.
But today Christie tried to explain why it was all so important -- and why he was so impatient and/or intemperate at times.

Great Hilton Head Early Bird Dining: HH Prime

We hoped on over to HH Prime in the Omni Hotel on Palmetto Dunes Planation in Hilton Head last night and enjoyed a scrumptious full course dinner for $25 per person. This special "Prime Time" dining runs from 5 to 6:30 pm each evening.

Since Omni took over what was once a Hilton, they've completely remodeled the hotel and have creating an up-to-the-minute, inviting atmosphere with a tropical village feel.

The HH Prime dining room is 1960s chic and sleek with big, gridded globe lamps, rich browns, windows overlooking the garden and pool areas and spacious booths. It also features a lively bar that opens into the outdoors.

Our waiter, Sean was from South Africa and he was very courteous and most attentive.

Each course of our three-course meal arrived fresh and beautifully prepared.

We started with the garden salad which was crispy, colorful and not overwhelmed with dressing -- just enough to whet out appetites.

We also enjoyed warm dinner rolls and sliced olive bread.

Then it was on to the entrees: Sautéed jumbo shrimp with rice and asparagus and a plump, lusciously crusted pan fried crab cake with broccolini, rice and dill mustard sauce. The entrees were served piping hot and they were as fragrant as they were tasty. Perfection!

Then the piece de resistance -- the dessert: Kentucky bourbon bread pudding with Maker's mark bourbon sauce, candied pecans, whipped cream and berries. And here's the thing: It was surprisingly light!

All in all, this was one of the best meals we've ever enjoyed in Hilton Head.

But, we know you want the actual pictures. Well, here they are:

Dinner at HH Prime - First Course.

Above and below, second course entrees.

The dessert! At HH Prime.

All photos copyright 2013 by Dan Cirucci.

Court Divide Centers on Roberts/Kennedy Split

Most of the justices on the United States Supreme Court have been Republican appointees -- elevated to the Court by GOP Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
These include Justices, Kennedy, Alito, Scalia, Thomas and Chief Justice Roberts. In fact most of the justices appointed over the last several decades have been Republican appointees. So, we can add the late Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor and Justice Souter to that last.
And yet, the Court remains divided and we we see a stream of 5-4 decisions, some with a conservative majority and some with a liberal majority.
Why is this so?
It's because the Republican appointees to the Court don't always vote along conservative lines. They stray.
Meanwhile, the Democrat appointees to the Court almost always vote as a block. They vote the liberal line. They don't stray.
It's funny then that conservatives are depicted as doctrinaire while liberal are shown as open-minded. This simply is not so.
Of particular interest within the Roberts court is the split between Roberts and the mercurial Justice Anthony Kennedy, appointed by President Reagan after two previous choices (Bork and Douglas Ginsburg) were rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
It's no secret that Justice Kennedy longed to be Chief Justice upon the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist.  But that was not to be as Kennedy was not a reliable conservative vote.
So, President Bush (in an effort to make a lasting impression on the Court) elevated the young[er] John Roberts to the Court and he was confirmed as Chief Justice.
In the beginning, Roberts and Kennedy seemed to get along, even though Kennedy must have been less than thrilled about being passed over for Roberts.
But in the last couple of years, Roberts and Kennedy have been at odds on some very important decisions.
Last year, Kennedy voted to strike down Obamacare while Roberts (in a squeamish move that few could comprehend) chose at the last minute to basically uphold the law.
This year, in the two important gay rights decisions Kennedy and Roberts split again on striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) with Kennedy joining the liberals and then on the California Proposition 8 case. The Proposition 8 case brought about a very unusual split. Chief Justice Roberts  wrote the majority opinion, and he was joined by Justices Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer and Kagan. Roberts said the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the case and so Proposition 8 was effectively nullified, though not declared unconstitutional. The four dissenters were Kennedy, Thomas, Alito and Sotomayor — who all aid they would have decided whether Proposition 8 was constitutional. But they did not say how they would have voted.
It's almost as if Kennedy has now gone out of his way (especially on big, important cases) to take a course opposite that of the Chief Justice.
Or is it the other way around?
Whatever's going on, it's not good for the conservative cause.
Some people say that Kennedy is simply more a libertarian and less a conservative.
But we're not buying that.
As we see it, Kennedy is more a contrarian while Roberts is someone who has not proven to be the leader and consensus-builder that many had hoped for. Roberts seems to be just another Justice rather than the Chief Justice that America expected and the Court deserves. And he often chooses to decide cases on what appear to be narrow and/or technical grounds. That's the mark of a hair-splitter, not the mark of a leader.
It's time for the Chief to take charge of his own Court.
We hope (and we admit we are optimists) we hope it's not too late!

Pope Francis: Jesus Was Not 'Remote Controlled'

Jesus' steadfast decision to set out on the path to Jerusalem, his final destination and the place where He fulfilled His mission of salvation, and His freedom of conscience were the themes of the Pope's final Angelus in the month of June, prayed with tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

“From that time forth after His steadfast decision, Jesus aims straight for the finish line, and even to the people he meets and who ask to follow Him, He clearly states the conditions: not having a permanent abode; knowing how to detach oneself from familiar affections; not succumbing to nostalgia for the past. But Jesus also said to his disciples, charged with preceding Him on the way to Jerusalem to announce His coming, not to impose anything: if they do not find willing welcome, they are simply to continue, to move on. Jesus never imposes” Pope Francis emphasized. “Jesus is humble. Jesus extends invitations: 'If you want, come'. The humility of Jesus is like this: He always invites us. He does not impose”.

“All this makes us think … of the importance, even for Jesus, of conscience: listening in his heart to the Father's voice, and following it. Jesus, in his earthly life, was not, so to speak, 'remote-controlled': He was the Word made flesh, the Son of God made man, and at one point he made a firm decision to go up to Jerusalem for the last time - a decision taken in His conscience, but not on His own: ??with the Father, in full union with Him! ... For this reason, then, the decision was steadfast: because it was taken together with the Father. In the Father, then, Jesus found the strength and the light for His journey. Jesus was free. His decision was a free one. Jesus wants us Christians to be free as he is: with that liberty, which comes from this dialogue with the Father ... Jesus wants neither selfish Christians, who follow their egos and do not speak with God, nor weak Christians, without will: 'remote-controlled' Christians, incapable of creativity, who seek always to connect with the will of another ... Jesus wants us free, and this freedom – where is it found? It is to be found in the inner dialogue with God in conscience. If a Christian … does not know how to listen to God, in his own conscience, then he is not free – he is not free”.

“So we also must learn to listen more to our conscience. Be careful, however: this does not mean we ought to follow our ego, do whatever interests us, whatever suits us, whatever pleases us. That is not conscience. Conscience is the interior space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. It is the inner place of our relationship with Him, who speaks to our heart and helps us to discern, to understand the path we ought to take, and once the decision is made, to move forward, to remain faithful”.

Pope Francis highlighted a wonderful example of how this relationship with God in one's own conscience may be: Pope Benedict XVI, “when the Lord showed him in prayer the step he had to take, followed his conscience with a great sense of discernment and courage; that is, he followed the will of God that spoke to his heart”. This example “is of benefit to all of us, as an example to follow”.

“May Mary help us to become more and more men and women of conscience, free in our conscience … able to hear the voice of God and follow it with decision” concluded the Pope.

After the Angelus, the Holy Father remarked that today in Italy we celebrate the Day of charity of the Pope, and he thanked the bishops and all the parishes, especially the poorest, for the prayers and offerings that support the many pastoral initiatives and charitable activities of the Successor of Peter in every part of the world.

Top Ten Reasons To Love Hilton Head

Here there are, in no particular order:
1) The island's lush vegetation, creating a tropical allure.
2) Wide beaches with calm, warm seas. 
3) Dreamy blue skies.
4) Endless trails for walking, cycling, rollerblading, etc.
5) The island's natural wildlife (including the gators) and its respect for nature.
6) Southern hospitality and low country living.
7) The island's all-American spirit.
8) Every imaginable convenience without compromising open space and privacy.
9) Sunrise over the ocean (pictured above) and sunset over the marshlands.
10) And did we mention dining, golf and tennis?
Photo copyright 2010 by Dan Cirucci