Verizon angers customers with new $2 'convenience fee' for paying with a credit card

Verizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone company, is facing another swarm of angry customers after announcing today it will start charging $2 for credit card payments.

The company said this 'convenience fee' will be introduced January 15 and will be applied one-time payments subscribers make over the phone or online with plastic.

The fee won't apply to electronic check payments or to automatic credit card payments set up through Verizon's AutoPay system.

Paying by credit card in a Verizon store will also be free, as will mailing a check.

Each credit-card payment comes with fees that the companies can avoid by getting electronic checks instead. Automatic payments mean less trouble for companies in going after late payments.

A statement on the Verizon Wireless website posted today reads in part: 'The fee will help allow us to continue to support these single bill payment options in these channels and is designed to address costs incurred by us for only those customers who choose to make single bill payments in alternate payment channels (online,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, mobile, telephone).'

Verizon Wireless serves 91million phones and other devices on accounts that pay the company directly, and more who pay indirectly through other companies.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,

AT&T Inc offers a $10 gift card for those who set up AutoPay. Sprint Nextel Corp charges subscribers who have caps on the fees they can rack up each month. Those people are charged $5 monthly unless they set up automatic payments.

It's not uncommon for utilities, universities and even state tax departments to charge convenience fees for online payments.

The episode follows reports of a problem with the Verizon's high-speed network on Wednesday. The biggest U.S. mobile service provider said on Thursday that it had resolved that issue overnight.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air.

It did not give any details about the service problem but said phone call and text message services were not disrupted for high-speed fourth generation (4G) customers and that its older third generation (3G) service was operating normally.

But some customers complained that they were having 3G service problems, while others said their 4G service was being restored on Thursday morning. One person complained about the lack of a public announcement.

'At least acknowledge there is a problem, do you really expect your paying customers to not notice??' the person wrote on Verizon's online message board.Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen,

Earlier this month the company, which has long boasted that its service is 'most reliable,' faced two data service problems. On December 8 some Verizon customers were unable to access the Internet on their wireless devices for about 24 hours. The company had to fix another problem on December 21.

Verizon Communications Inc, the landline phone company that owns most of Verizon Wireless, also tried last year to introduce a $3.50 fee for people who paid their bill for FiOS TV or Internet service month-to-month by credit card. It backed off after complaints.This page contains information about molds,

Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc.

Inside the Projectionist's Booth

It's much more than flipping a switch. For Tom Letness, projectionist and owner of the Heights Theater on Central Avenue in Columbia Heights, film projection is a craft.

Every film Letness receives, he manually inspects "on the bench" -- the work table in the booth -- to make sure the film doesn't contain bad splices or damaged sprockets, and to ensure it has cue marks, those black dots that appear in the upper-right corner of a film frame to help projectionists start a new reel during reel-to-reel changeovers.

Letness then previews at least two reels of the film to make sure the aperture, focus and sound levels are properly set. "Time you spend checking the film saves a lot of grief during the presentation," he explains. "I believe that if people are going to come back on a regular basis, you have to have good presentation."

Inside the projection booth at the Heights are two Philips Norelco model AAII 35/70mm mechanical film projectors, both dating from the 1960s. "It's the greatest projector that was ever made, hands down," Letness says. "They are still running and they show a great image and I'm able to do so much with them."

Letness uses his Norelcos for many purposes: to screen new 35mm releases -- on this night, a print of Clint Eastwood's biopic J. Edgar is prepped and recumbent on an adjacent platter; to screen classic silent films and 1930s Hollywood fare; to project the Fifties' widescreen Cinemascope and Vista Vision films; and to show 70mm prints that became popular in the '60s and '70s and ended with 1997's megahit Titanic.

Having two projectors allows Letness to do reel-to-reel changes, a necessity for screenings of archival films, which are often from such sources as the Library of Congress, the UCLA Film and Television Archive and New York's Museum of Modern Art. Those archives enforce strict rules that prohibit projectionists from automating -- essentially, taping together -- film reels. "A lot of these classic films, it's the only print they have left," Letness explains.

Alongside the Norelco projectors, the cooling fans whirr on a DLP Cinema projector, which just completed a screening of The Nutcracker ballet. A hulking black block aimed out a porthole,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, the DLP slightly resembles a 19th-century naval cannon; as a digital projector, however, the DLP is strictly 21st-century technology. Next year, Letness plans to upgrade the eight-year-old DLP to Digital Cinema.

"Avatar was the big game-changer because it was making so much money," Letness says. "We want to be able to show any 3D if it comes out. In order to do that, we have to be digital because that's where the technology is going. ... For the average cinema, the average multiplex,This page contains information about molds, their film days are, if not done, almost done."

At the AMC Southdale 16 in Edina this week, Jason Reitman's Young Adult -- partially shot on location in Minnesota -- is being shown on film. But according to Ryan Noonan, director of public relations at AMC Theatres,Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen, film presentations are becoming less common for the cinema chain. "Approximately two-thirds of our auditoriums at AMC Theatres are digital as the conversion process is ongoing," Noonan explained via e-mail.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, "With a few exceptions, it's AMC's goal to be fully digital during the next few years."

In his recent book, The Good, The Bad and the Multiplex, BBC film critic Mark Kermode cautions about the rapid proliferation of digital cinema and what that means for projectionists. "The great profession of projection (in the traditional sense of the craft) is in the process of becoming obsolete," Kermode writes.

Letness, however, believes digital and film can peacefully coexist.

"Digital is not the enemy," Letness insists. "I think for a new release,An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. if your digital system is set up right, if you have a bright lamp house, if everything is the way it should be, I think it looks really great."

Letness says digital will enable him to start a showing at the Heights from vacation in Florida using his smartphone; he also says digital provides many more opportunities for contemporary alternative programming, such as operas, ballets, concerts and stage plays.

"I think for actual mainstream theaters, film will be gone forever," Letness says. "But for theaters like mine and other theaters that already specialize in film and archive screenings, film will continue."

Boca museum hosts 'American Treasures' exhibit

An exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art attempts to help viewers answer that question.

"American Treasures: Masterworks from the Butler Institute of American Art" is a selection of 36 paintings representing different artists,Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen, styles and sizes that are noted for being outstanding examples of their respective genre.

The pieces are organized in the main gallery into seven groups. Accompanying text panels are provocative, raising questions of what makes a great painting. They also prompt viewers to consider the elements that distinguish noteworthy paintings of different genres and styles.

One grouping features Joan Mitchell's small, abstract expressionistic "Untitled" piece from the 1950s, Charles Ephraim Burchfield's "September Wind and Rain," a watercolor on paper from approximately 1949, and Thomas Cole's 1839 large oil on canvas "Italian Landscape," an example of the Hudson River School style.

"Each painting speaks volumes about the spirit and style and concerns of its time," according to material prepared for the exhibition.

A different grouping contrasts Jackson Pollock's abstract 1950 oil on canvas "Silver and Black" and Albert Bierstadt's 1869 oil on canvas landscape portrayal in "The Oregon Trail."

Great paintings do not have to be instantly attractive, but they all have a visual resonance that creates an internal form of communication or dialogue, said museum senior curator Wendy M. Blazier, who led a recent exhibition tour.

"A pretty painting is easy to like. Much of art is not pretty," Blazier said.Muyoung mould specializes in manufacture Plastic molding, "The idea in this exhibition is to look at art in a new way."

The Butler in Youngstown, Ohio, was the nation's first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. The works chosen for this exhibition spotlight the period between 1840 and 1990, and the display explores the distinguishing characteristics of American art masterpieces throughout the nation's history.

"It is an American art show in that it tackles everything from Manifest Destiny all the way up to America's obsession with pop culture," said Boca museum director Steven Maklansky. The painters "were interested in not just their own artistic endeavors but also understanding for themselves what it meant to be American artists. That's what creates the sense of it being an American painting."

The exhibition also features Andrew Wyeth's 1988 watercolor on paper "Cow Birds," Childe Hassam's 1911 oil on canvas "Manhattan's Misty Sunset," and Edward Hopper's undated charcoal on paper "House in Charleston, S.This page contains information about molds,C."

Recent visitors who took the tour said the exhibition was enjoyable and thought-provoking.

"It's extremely well thought out,Online fine art gallery of quality original landscape oil paintings," said Clem Shugerman, a visitor from Washington, D.C.

"It's a very enjoyable show of beautiful art," said Vivian Bergman, a museum docent from Boynton Beach.If you wish to use a third party payment gateway with your ecommerce solution, "Art records history and it progresses with time, and you can see it with this show."

What constitutes a masterpiece depends on a combination of factors, and a critical consensus often develops years after a work is completed, Blazier said.

Solar power failures are adding up

Sooner or later, the laws of economics prevail, even in heavily subsidized industries like solar power. The latest evidence that government manipulation cannot overcome economic reality is the decision by BP PLC, the giant British energy company, to leave the solar power business.

BP has developed solar energy for 40 years and for more than a decade touted its "Beyond Petroleum" campaign. The Wall Street Journal suggested,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, however,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, that BP's solar experiment was more gimmick than serious investment. BP spent millions trying to go green, but simultaneously spent billions on its traditional gas and oil business.As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China,

International competitors, particularly China, turn out solar panels more cheaply, even as global demand has slowed. When supply outstrips demand, higher-cost providers suffer, as BP learned. Even government subsidies, without which solar manufacturers couldn't begin to compete with less-costly, conventional energy, couldn't keep BP competitive.

A similar lesson was learned this year by Solyndra, the bankrupted Northern California solar-panel maker that burned through $535 million in federal guaranteed loans. Last week, First Solar, the only pure-play solar-panel maker in the S&P 500 stock index, issued a profit warning for 2012, as profit fell to a four-year low, and the company said it will shift to large-scale utility projects rather than residential solar panels.

"[B]eyond the United States," the Journal reported, "there have been a rash of recent solar company failures in Germany as well.Information on useful yeasts and moulds," The failures come as China, which heavily subsidizes its solar manufacturers, flooded the market with less-expensive products, and as other governments ratcheted back their own tax-financed subsidies.

Solon became the first publicly traded solar company to file for bankruptcy in Germany,An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. unable to repay loans of 275 million euros. Since 1990 Germany has imposed mandates that utilities must pay higher-than-market prices for solar and other so-called renewable energy sources, driving retail costs 46 percent higher than conventional sources, Bloomberg New Energy Finance says.

So-called renewable energy is possible only if government demands those sources replace conventional energy, and subsidizes their manufacture, purchase or operation with tax dollars. Even then, there isn't enough subsidy — let alone demand — to make these systems cost-effective. Sooner or later, economic reality prevails.

The Growth of Mobile Money

Mobile payments, also referred to as m-commerce or mobile money, offerThe Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,s merchants an opportunity to accept a new method of payment. The Center for Retail Research released some interesting findings recently that clearly showed a rapid growth in the amount of customers making mobile payments. There are some estimates that mobile money will account for over 119 billion dollars of transactions in retail by the year 2015.

It is projected that 1 out of every 10 holiday shoppers will buy a present through a mobile transaction this season. This trend is likely to continue its upward growth as new technology emerges, customers become more acclimated to m-commerce and become more confident in the security of mobile money. In 2013, mobile money is expected to become more mainstream as mobile devices and m-commerce services become more affordable.

Some economic experts have projected that m-commerce will reach upwards of a trillion dollars by 2020.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Merchants may want to think about implementing ways to accept mobile money in order to capitalize on this booming trend.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. The steady move away from using cash has been happening at a rapid pace as credit and debit cards become easier, safer and more convenient to use. Small business owners who still do not accept plastic are virtually non-existent, and in a world that is more swipe happy than ever, the last remaining few will not succeed without accepting credit cards.

Top m-commerce merchants include E-bay and Amazon, but that does not mean a small business owner cannot cash in on this growth trend. There are countless benefits for a small business accepting mobile payments.Information on useful yeasts and moulds, Accepting mobile money increases profits, expands the customer base and creates new business opportunities.

If your small business does not accept mobile payments, now may be a good time to start.As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, Traditionally, merchants who accepted credit card transactions would have to go through a merchant services provider or a credit card processing company. They would also have to lease expensive swipe machines, terminals and enter into long-term contracts. With the advent of mobile device applications like Intuit’s GoPayment and Square, merchants can simply attach a small card reader to their mobile device and pay a per transaction fee each time a card is swiped.

There are also countless choices for merchants that would rather have a merchant services account. Some applications do require a mobile merchant account; primarily, this would a cheaper option for small businesses expecting a greater rate of mobile money than small businesses using m-commerce sporadically.

There are two basic methods for physically accepting a mobile payment. The first way allows for a credit or debit card to be swiped through a small reader attached to a mobile device and the second way calls for the credit card number to be entered into the application and then a stylus is used to capture the card owner’s signature.

M-commerce will continue its growing trend as it is accepted by merchants and consumers alike. In today’s competitive business industry, a small business may need to accept mobile payments in order to survive.

T Shield Ltd back working after Donna Bell betrayal

FAMILY firm T Shield Ventilation Ltd, which was sent into liquidation by greedy employee Donna Bell,This page contains information about molds, has bounced back.

Trusted Donna Bell forced her employers to collapse by stealing 20,000 from company accounts. A total of 24 staff had to be laid off.

The Chronicle reported in March how the cheating accounts manager forged a series of cheques to pilfer the money, which she wanted to pay for fertility treatment to help her have a sixth child.

But now after company’s owners feared losing everything, including their homes, they have rebuilt a new business called Pidra Ltd and taken back on nearly all of their old workers.

Neil Shield owns the Lemington-based company,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, that makes and installs ventilation systems, with partners David Hedges and Mark Berry.

And the married dad-of-four has told how the company is now going from strength to strength, just completing the ventilation works on the new Primark in the Metrocentre.

They have also opened an office on the south coast,Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen, and are currently in the process of opening another in Scotland.

Mr Shield, of Dumpling Hall, Newcastle,An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. said: “We proved that she took 20,000 but by the time we got the accountants in and sorted everything out, the total cost was around 70,000.

“We feared we were going to lose everything and had to lay off 24 staff.

“My father had started the business in 1982 and we were devastated to lose it.

“But we are all fighters and we were determined not to let her beat us.

“We’ve worked overtime,An offshore merchant account is the ideal solution for high , chased jobs up and down the country and everyone really pulled together.

“Now our turnover is approaching 2million and we expect it to double by 2014.”

Mr Shield is now taking no chances and has employed his daughter Brooke, 21, to help keep an eye on the accounts.

He said: “Donna had my complete trust and thought of her as a friend. We never expected anything like that to happen. It has definitely made us much more careful. We double and triple check everything.”

Newcastle Crown Court heard how 37-year-old Bell, who had a sixth baby after having the treatment, began forging boss Neil Shield’s signature in 2007.

Bridie Smurthwaite, prosecuting, told the court that Bell, of Prince Consort Road, Bensham, plundered 21,199 over the next two years, eventually forcing the company into liquidation.

Bell was sentenced to 16 months in jail for three counts of fraud. Her sentence was later slashed to nine months.

Solar energy subsidy raises questions

Recently, I was the swing vote on the Georgia Public Service Commission in blocking a solar subsidy that would have appeared on the electric bills of more than 2 million Georgia Power customers — for 20 years. Since that vote, many people have asked me to reconsider, and to support the measure. While it was very tempting, I just could not make peace with the decision to increase rates.

My initial vote against the solar subsidy surprised many, because I have solar energy at my home. Also, I organized the “Solar Express” train ride in South Georgia, and have tirelessly promoted Georgia solar companies and existing solar arrays. In fact, this summer,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, by a vote of 5-0, I joined the other four Public Service Commission members to create a 50-megawatt solar program — without a subsidy. I was fine with that. This program will deploy in 2015, boosting our total solar portfolio.

But when it came time for me to vote on modifying this plan and adding a subsidy on ratepayers’ bills in order to accelerate the solar deployment, the pledge I made to Georgians to keep their rates low, promote free-market systems, and keep government interference at a minimum kept echoing in my mind.

Those three guiding principles would be violated if I supported the subsidy.

The most tempting moment came when the solar development companies who won the bid promised to use Georgia panels instead of Chinese panels if I changed my vote. That offer caused me to lose some sleep. However, the guiding principles I outlined to voters kept coming back up.

First, I had to ask myself whether the ratepayer subsidy was right for Georgia consumers, not just the companies that would benefit. Based on information from the consumer groups that contacted me about this, it was not a good idea.

I also asked myself whether all other reasonable options have been exhausted.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, In this case, the bid process is just beginning, and other solar developers in the queue believe they should have a shot before we add a subsidy. So, we must be patient and let the bid process run its course, as Commissioners Stan Wise and Chuck Eaton have suggested.

Another issue is whether the subsidy could improve the business climate in Georgia. A solar subsidy might have some benefit on our “green” image and temporarily help a few companies, but the precedent set by raising rates without a hearing creates controversy regarding the integrity of the PSC’s rate hearing process.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,

A related question is whether the subsidy would mean more jobs for Georgia. Certainly it will, because the two solar developers have signed a document in front of me pledging to use Georgia companies. This almost won me over, but is it enough by itself?

Finally, I had to consider whether the timing is right for this decision. With the solar market so volatile right now, and prices dropping rapidly, I hesitate to obligate residential ratepayers for 20 years with a subsidy.

So what can we do to bring more solar energy to Georgia? I believe we must continue to bring ideas to the table because of the fixed-cost nature of solar energy. It has no pollution, no spills, and uses no water.As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China,

So, can power companies utilize solar on their existing plant sites, avoiding costly construction for interconnecting and transmitting? Can we tweak our metering statutes and give power companies an incentive to allow bidirectional metering, thus producing more distributed generation? Can homeowners and businesses work with power companies and have solar systems installed and financed on their property such that both parties benefit? And, can Georgia Power promote its current “green energy” program aggressively and increase participation, triggering the building of more solar infrastructure in Georgia?

With increasing government regulations of coal, natural gas fracking and nuclear energy, we must figure out how to make solar energy work in our state as a hedge against government interference.Why does Plastic moulds grow in homes or buildings?

The Real Cost of Backyard Chickens

It sounded like a killer let loose in the chicken coop, so I jumped from the couch in hot pursuit. With my bare hands—and still nearly napping, though my feet were suddenly flying—I was apparently going to have to best a raccoon or a fox, though perhaps I’d get lucky and merely have to duel a vole. Point is, my wife loved those chickens and it was her birthday,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, for God’s sake. Gallantry was in order.

I had to outrun—then outfight—this demon.

For those new to this column, let me chronicle how I arrived at a surreal point when a nap was punctured by a flat-out sprint toward venal killers—and in my backyard, no less.

Earlier this year, Lori and I surprised friends, neighbors and probably even ourselves by deciding to raise chickens. Never mind that we already had 3 kids and 2 dogs and 2 cats. And forget that we hardly have a farm, barely even 1/5 of a suburban acre. Fact is, we’re not alone in feeling a pull toward chickens. Chickens were referred to in The New Yorker as the new “it” bird and Alice Walker just came out with a book called “Chicken Chronicles,” essays of her thoughts while gazing at her navel in her chicken coop. (Yes, I bought it for my wife.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, No, I won’t read it, even at gunpoint.)

But I digress. The point is that there was an apparent massacre in my midst—Helter Skelter meets hens--and, hold on, I’m getting there. But first let me just say that our decision to jump onto the feathery bandwagon was easier said than done. I suffer from a bad case of nonchalance about how hard new projects will be, but even Lori was taken aback about how much it cost to build a chicken run and small coop.

We stopped counting at $1,800. There goes the economic justification for raising your own livestock.

But life stretches beyond the ledger. And chickens are (and I apologize for this ahead of time) odd ducks. Their necks bob with comic regularity even as their habits—reliably going home to roost every night—add a certain gracious, timeless cycle to a suburban life, otherwise too far in the hold of school bus arrivals and departures, a violin lessons here,Why does Plastic moulds grow in homes or buildings? grocery shopping there.

Was it all over before it had barely started?

Luckily, no. Despite the battle cries emanating from the chicken run, my tussling services were not needed, nor were the skills of a forensic specialist. All the hens were totally fine. The only sight out of the ordinary was Loretta Sopressata, one of our five, who was simply activated like never before. Clucking loudly, something had given her a shot to the spirit. Inspecting the run and its perimeter, I found no trespasser, or even an attempt at a breach.

I went to their coop: also, all quiet. And that’s when I saw them: a pair of eggs. They were the first the hens had laid.As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, That we had effectively paid $1,000 for each could be brushed aside, at least for the moment. These were our first eggs. They came a month ahead of schedule and right on my wife’s birthday.

I stared at the perfect pair of brown eggs, one elegantly spotted, for a few minutes, posed them for photographs and as soon as my wife came home, we called up the neighbors, who came over to gawk.

Both timeless and an idea of the moment, only chickens can turn the production of two simple eggs into a collective revelation.

Last Raptor Rolls Off Lockheed Martin Line

With the final F-22 rolling off Lockheed Martin’s assembly line last week, the Marietta,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Ga., facility is now focusing its efforts on making its C-130J and C5M operations more efficient.

The Raptor business is not dead, though. A massive program, once estimated to cost as much as $8 billion to modify the twin-engine stealthy fighters, is under way and delivering through the next several years.

The $67 billion F-22 program was the Air Force’s most ambitious fighter project to date. While this led to the fielding of a revolutionary capability—craftily dubbed the “fifth-generation” fighter capability by Lockheed Martin’s marketing officials when it was eyed for termination over less-expensive legacy models—it also embodied an ethos in the Air Force to pursue high technology at all cost.

Civil and military onlookers suggest that this ambition took on a life of its own and eventually became a weakness. This came to head in June 2008 when then-USAF Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and then-USAF Secretary Michael Wynne were asked by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates to resign following multiple missteps, including unauthorized lobbying by the Air Force to buy more F-22s than approved by Gates.Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen,

After 20 years of design and production, what began as an effort to buy 650 fighters capable of evading former Soviet radar defenses to escort bombers to targets there came to an end with Raptor 195 rolling out of the final assembly facility Dec. 13—22 years after the Berlin Wall came down. The USAF has purchased 187 combat F35s with eight test models.

The F-22’s tooling, which once covered 250,000 sq. ft. of the plant and employed,Information on useful yeasts and moulds, at its peak, 900 people, will now be dismantled for storage; 150 workers remain dedicated to final checkout and testing of the last Raptor. Delivery to the Air Force, its only customer since the U.S. forbade international sales, is slated for next year.

Tooling from Lockheed’s F-22 work in Fort Worth and Boeing’s wing and aft-fuselage facility in Seattle has been categorized and put in storage at the Sierra Army Depot in California, says Jeff Babione, vice president and general manager of the F-22 program. The remainder of the tooling in Marietta will be sent to California by the end of next year.

In preparing the tooling for storage, Babione says Lockheed was able for the first time to use multimedia resources.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, The goal is that future workers who need to pull items out of storage to craft a part will have videos of today’s line workers’ methods for reference.

This has already been put to the test. An inlet part for a Block 20 aircraft at Tyndall AFB,An offshore merchant account is the ideal solution for high , Fla., needed to be replaced though there was no spare requirement for it. Parts were located in storage and electronic book references helped workers to craft the item, Babione says.

Once the F-22 tooling in Marietta is stored, the space will be dedicated to parts to support growing C-130J production—the rate has recently increased to 36 per year—as well as the C-5M retrofit line. “The current flow is not optimum for those two lines,” Babione says, adding that travel time for tasks on the production floor are expected to decrease once the new parts storage area is established.

DRPA considers reopening Depression-era Franklin Square station

Shuttered to all but vandals and vagrants longer than it has been open to train commuters, the Depression-era Franklin Square station along the PATCO High Speed Line has drawn renewed interest among politicians and civic leaders.

New development activity in the vicinity of Franklin Square — one of four public parks that date to when William Penn designed a “Green Countrie Towne” — is cited for renewed interest in reopening a train station that has been shuttered since 1979.

“It’s clearly something that would help (commuters) on both sides of the river,” offered Meryl Levitz, chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation — an agency that promotes leisure travel in the area.

Delaware River Port Authority Chief Executive Officer John Matheussen said his staff is preparing a resolution for presentment at the agency’s January Finance Committee meeting to authorize spending upwards of $3.5 million to study the prospects of reopening the station.

The prospects of reopening the station has been a part of the DRPA’s capital wish list for some time. Funds to study the station’s possible reopening were allocated under an economic development pool within the DRPA — but laid dormant for several years.

That pool was drained in early December as the agency’s commissioners — frequently criticized for veering funds away from its core operation of maintaining four Delaware River bridges and the PATCO line — eliminated its economic development fund.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner, a DRPA commissioner by virtue of his elected office, said he feared the money set aside for the Franklin Square study would be shuffled to a non-transportation project. He is pushing for the resolution that Matheussen is having DRPA staff draft for both Franklin Square and a bicycle access ramp for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge walkway on the Camden side. Assuming it passes the finance committee, the resolution would go to the full DRPA commission.

The cost of reopening Franklin Square is estimated at $14 million, Matheussen said. One issue that would have to be dealt with, he said, is complying for the Americans with Disabilities Act. An elevator from Race Street to the station below would be needed.

Despite being closed for going on 33 years, Matheussen sad the station itself “is not in bad shape.”

“A lot of the tiles (the ceramic tiles along the walls) are in good shape,” he said. There is graffiti to be cleaned and evidence the shuttered station has been used by those who have been able to avoid the train line’s electric third rail in order to find shelter.Information on useful yeasts and moulds,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,

As for such obstacles as needing an elevator, Matheussen said there is “nothing that cannot be overcome” in reopening the station.”

Franklin Square dates to 1936 as a train stop. It debuted as one of the two Philadelphia train stops along the Camden Bridge Line that provided train service between Camden and Philadelphia. It closed after World War II due to lack of patronage. It was reopened in 1953, according to DRPA archives, but then closed shortly afterwards — again due to a lack of patronage.Buy oil paintings for sale online.

The DRPA — which debuted its PATCO line in 1968 — refurbished the station for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, On July 4, 1976,Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. some 23,000 people exited the station en route to bicentennial activities. Another 37,000 patrons used the station in the week to follow, according to the DRPA.

By 1979, patronage dropped to the point where the DRPA said it could save $46,000 by closing it and directing train patrons to the 8th and Market Street stop four blocks away.

Re-Tooling the Habs

To many hockey fans, when discussing their team, the term "rebuild" is almost a dirty word. It means admitting that your team just isn't good enough to compete, making the best course of action the dismissal of beloved veterans for assets that may only pay dividends in a few year's time. It usually means losing a lot of games in the short term which is tough to take for any sport fan.

Anyone who has watched the Montreal Canadiens play this season could be forgiven for thinking that a full-scale rebuild was in order. The truth is, though, that teams who actually need a good old-fashioned rebuild are generally in much worse shape than the Canadiens' organization today. Think the Ottawa Senators about two years back. Little depth at the NHL level and a prospect system needing a major revamping. But if we assume it will take 92 points to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference (and the cut-off may in fact be even higher than this), the Habs will need a 29-16-1 record in their remaining games (or a similar 59 point permutation). Possible, certainly, but given their play thus far, it would seem to be highly unrealistic.

What the Habs need, then, other than a new management team and a better collective work ethic, isn't a rebuild but a bit of a re-tooling. It seems that perhaps the leadership group in place has gotten too comfortable and complacent, so a shake-up is in order. This isn't a rebuild that will require 3-5 years to return the team to respectability, but a decided purging of some players who aren't pulling their weight while ushering in a new generation of younger players as the team's primary core.

The first step in the re-tooling will be to determine who is in charge of making the important decisions. It seems clear at this point that Pierre Gauthier is nearing his final days with the organization. Elliot Friedman suggested recently that Geoff Molson may be in talks with Bob Gainey about returning to the forefront, but given that Gainey remains Gauthier's "special advisor" at present, this strikes me more as a temporary or interim move if it is decided that Gauthier can't even remain in place until season's end. Some names to consider in the general manager search:

Jim Nill: Currently assistant general manager to Ken Holland in Detroit, having served with the Red Wings since 1994. He was in charge of amateur scouting for part of his tenure, during a time in which the Wings were notable for many late round steals. The downsides are that, first, he doesn't speak French, and second, he has been rumoured for nearly every GM opening since 2006, yet has opted to stay in the Motor City.

Marc Bergevin: A native Montrealer, Bergevin was promoted to assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks just last summer after serving in a number of capacities since 2004 which included pro scout, assistant coach, and director of player personnel. As a player, Bergevin played 1,191 games in the NHL over 19 seasons,Information on useful yeasts and moulds,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, though none were with his hometown Canadiens.

Pierre McGuire: Needing little introduction, McGuire has been a member of the hockey media since 1996 when he got his first gig as a colour commentator for Montreal Canadiens games on CJAD.Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. Prior to that, however, he won 2 Stanley Cups as a scout and assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and even spent nearly a full season as the team's head coach. McGuire also had a stint as an assistant coach and then assistant GM with the Hartford Whalers.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, There is no middle ground with McGuire; fans either love or hate his personality. But the man knows his hockey, and speaks enough French to appease those concerned with language.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,

Julien Brisebois: Brisebois served as assistant GM to Bob Gainey in Montreal, with is primary responsibility being as a "capologist" in charge of negotiating player salaries. He was criticized at times for overpaying (perhaps needlessly) on many deals, but performed admirably in his simultaneous role as general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs (while being the AHL's youngest GM). When Steve Yzerman took over in Tampa Bay, in addition to hiring Guy Boucher from Hamilton, he made Brisebois his assistant GM. Brisebois is experienced as a numbers guy, but there is little evidence of his player evaluation skills.

Life in the fast lane

There’s hardly any other city in the State that can boast of such a rich history, heritage and royalty than Mysore. The City, in fact, finds itself on the list of the very few elite cities that have not lost their identity in the mad race over something called ‘progress’, a process that at times doesn’t integrate too well with a city’s people and their heritage. It isn’t bad news yet, but in 2011, Mysore accepted a few signs of a ‘modern’ city.

Whether one wants to interpret this change as another side of the otherwise complacent Mysorean, or as an inevitable and gradual pace at which the City gave itself into the hands of powers that be; change there is.

The traditional, religious and quiet Jayalakshmipuram, which was once known to host the premier studio, Central Institute of Indian Languages and ‘Basapppa aaspatre’ for those who came from nearby villages, today boasts of Mysore’s first shopping mall with a supermarket, DRC Cinemas, a multiplex with four screens (yes, there’s 3D too) and the quintessential KFC.

Mysoreans have welcomed it without much hassle, and DRC has integrated well into their weekends, sometimes even dominating their to-do list. That the locals own DRC is something that gives a lot of relief to the people of the City.

Brands flaunt themselves big time at the Mall of Mysore, which has given Devaraj Urs Road, which for years was known as the MG road of Mysore, a run for its money. A rather huge protuberance named the Mall of Mysore, spread across 2,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,62,000 sq ft area on Race Course Road, has put the aspiring Mysorean on the fast lane to shopping. Luxury hotel Radissons has also come home to heritage city, threatening to edge out the famed Lalitha Mahal from being ‘the’ elite destination.

Lessons have been learnt from rich sibling Bangalore’s quick shift from being ‘Bendakaalooru’ to ‘baeing-aloh’ and back to ‘Bengalooru’ with great difficulty. Some groups staged a silent protest in front of the Mall of Mysore for ignoring Kannada. The City still breathes amidst panic attacks, while denizens are excited about theatres giving away to malls and multiplexes.

Apartments today come with a promise of “a breathtaking view of Mysore Palace and Chamundi hills.” Heritage still sells, at a price that can be afforded by the neo- rich and the elite alike. Locals watch ‘outsiders’ making city their home; in their stomach, the butterflies flutter.

As for visible infrastructure, Mysore’s ring road which was originally four lanes, has quickly made way to eight lanes. The city is literally on a fast lane now. Progress or peril? answers awaited.

The story is not very different for other cities and small towns in the State. Rewind to the Mangalore of the 1980s, for instance. Pristine beaches, sparkling blue waters, lush green paddy fields, mangroves, coconut groves, arecanut plantations,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, traditional industries that centre around beedies, cashew, tiles (popularly known as Mangalore tiles) and more importantly, hospitable people…Almost every household (with Mangalore-tiled roofs) was into one or the other occupations mentioned above.

At the same time, a number of people from the coastal region were working either in West Asia or Mumbai (and later on, Bangalore) in search of green pastures. Two decades later, most of the paddy fields and plantations were replaced by apartments or commercial buildings while a majority of Gen X did not show any interest in farm activities or traditional industries.

With fat salaries offered by many companies to youngsters and with the advent of big malls and of course, the marketing strategies adopted by realtors, young Mangaloreans started to dream big, thanks to credit cards and EMI facilities.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, From the only apartment in the 1980s to hundreds of apartments today , from not a single mall to a dozen malls,This page contains information about molds, from weekly (shandy) markets to super/hyper markets, from one or two industries to dozens of major industries and hundreds (or thousands?) of ancillary units, Mangalore has changed a lot and so has the lifestyle of its people.

It may not be a very rosy picture for real estate elsewhere because of high interest rates and inflation, but Mangalore is experiencing a boom, thanks to non-residential Indians (NRIs).

They are making a beeline for investments following the appreciation of foreign currencies against the Indian rupee. According to P M A Razak, the President of the Mangalore chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI),I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile. the falling rupee value has made investment in real estate an attractive proposition for NRIs, especially for those in the West Asia.In fact, around 5,000 apartments are in various stages of planning and implementation in and around Mangalore, noted Razak.

Backyard chickens enrich owners' lives

At first light the chickens at Irv and Sandra Beadles' have been up for several hours. That's because the flock of two roosters and a dozen hens between Waynesboro and Stuarts Draft have a special light in their sleeping quarters designed to prolong the dismally short days of mid-December.

"They need the longer light in order to keep laying,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services," Irv explained, and the extra hours are rewarded by a dozen or so eggs every two days: brown from the dominica and assorted red hens,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, a beautiful soft blue from the ameraucanas.

Irv marks each day's eggs with the date: "He's a retired accountant," Sandra explains. He raised chickens as a child, and the contented flock is part of a small backyard homestead that supplies the couple with vegetables and fruit as well as the eggs.

A few miles north in Waynesboro, the Klann chickens stir on their roosts, their pre-dawn clucking broadcasting inside the house via a baby monitor. The five fat black and ameraucana hens owned by Phil and Paula Klann also bask in a couple of hours of artificial light that keeps them productive and happy through the icy winter months. The Klanns became interested in establishing a flock after a chance meeting with a veteran chicken farmer and some classroom and informal instruction.

The Klanns and the Beadles are part of a growing national trend that brings the notion of "eating local" right into the back yard. The two couples have found it to be a rewarding enterprise, and have some advice for those wanting to establish a flock of their own:

Housing. The two flocks each have attractive, sturdy homes with ventilation, roosts and nesting boxes.

Beadles — who has been involved with volunteer construction projects for many years — used residential quality material,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, some of it from the Habitat store. Phil Klann, whose family business,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Klann Organ, builds and restores the housing for fine instruments, had his miniature cottage built on top of a flatbed trailer.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds, Both have design touches they agree are upscale in chicken terms.

"People tease me about it," Beadles said. The Klann flock has a welcome sign and, for Christmas, a wreath on the door.

"Chickens don't mind the cold, but they do need protection from drafts and damp," Beadles said. Both couples supply their chickens with far more space than strictly required, reasoning that this is bound to help prevent disease and aggression.

Predators are the biggest enemy of the backyard chicken, and both couples have had attacks.

Part of the Klanns' flock was decimated by a neighbor's dog; and the Beadles experienced a mysterious death of a hen by an unknown intruder. Electrified fences and careful blocking of any possible underground entry helps; still it's hard to completely protect them.

"Roosters are a big help in driving off predators," Beadles said, saying he's heard of roosters taking on hawks and foxes.

The Klanns, who don't have a rooster, listen to the noise in the hen house through a baby monitor.

UW chemistry students hope to change the future

Maybe, as the 26-year-old PhD student in chemical engineering toils in a lab on the second floor of the new five-story, $42-million dollar Engineering 6 building at the University of Waterloo, he’ll discover something to replace the use of plutonium in fuel cells.

Something a lot more abundant. Something a lot cheaper than thousands of dollars per gram. Something common and stable that would make reactions run quicker.

Something less hazardous. Something like, let’s say, molecules from banana-peels.

Imagine banana peels replacing pricey plutonium.

“If you could somehow replace plutonium with banana peels — that would be a home run,” says Higgins, a Waterloo grad from London. “That would be a grand slam.”

There is a plastic banana peel doorstop as Higgins walks into the lab wearing worn white sneakers.

But,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, on this day, the 6-foot-6 grad student shows off a tiny flask of fine black powder being tested to see how it will react in fuel cells. It’s called Graphine.

“It’s pretty hot right now in the scientific community,” Higgins said.

Chemical engineering is hot stuff at Waterloo these days too. Fifty-four years ago, it was one of the founding departments of the university, a breakaway shard from what is now Wilfrid Laurier University.

Much has changed over time for a program that began in a small farmhouse and now towers over a strip mall off Phillip Street.

Thanks to Engineering 6 and its 115-thousand square feet of labs and classes, the program is no longer housed entirely in the Douglas Wright Engineering Building, the first facility to go up on the Waterloo campus in 1958.

A handful of students has multiplied in this petri dish of Pollyannas and polymers.

The department now has 800 undergraduate students, 155 grad students, 35 faculty, 15 staff and more than 4,000 alumni. Research funding tops $5-million a year.

Some things haven’t changed with the program over time.

“What was exciting about the early days was that it was extremely dynamic,” said Tom Fahidy, a 77-year-old professor emeritus who came to the chemical engineering program in 1964. “We were always encouraged to do new things.”

And adapt with the times too.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,

In the 1950s,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, chemical engineering was the “economic darling” of its day. Waterloo’s department quickly began developing new processes for the petrochemical and rubber industries, then cornerstones of the region’s economy.

Today, the approach is different.

It’s not just about increasing efficiency in performance. It’s also about solving some of society’s pressing environmental issues in research facilities orbiting a huge ventilation shaft rising through the middle of the new Engineering 6 building.

Researchers are working on technology to recycle scrap tires. Higgins looks for new materials to make fuel cells more reliable for use in cars, buses and backup power systems. Environmental catalysis labs on the same floor as Higgins look for improved methods of cleaning up emissions from diesel engines.

If Higgins is successful in improving fuel cells, diesel engine research may be pointless.

“Your job is to put that other lab out of business,” chemical engineering department chair Tom Duever told Higgins.

Higgins was good at math and chemistry in high school. That’s why he got into chemical engineering. He graduated but came back to get his PhD.

“A lot of people in my program go to work for the oil companies,” said Higgins, now in his seventh year at Waterloo. “I wanted to steer off, do something more substantial.”

So he devotes his time to making better fuel cells for a better tomorrow.

One day, fuel cells may fade into insignificance too as new options emerge.

Even entire disciplines can fall out of favour in a program, just as Waterloo abandoned the study of metallurgy 20 years ago as student interest waned and faculty retired.

Environmental engineering, with a chemical specialization,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, was introduced to fill the void. Biochemical and biomedical engineering have also emerged.

Eric Blondeel, a 25-year-old grad student from Calgary, works with German exchange student Andreas Wagner in another lab at Engineering 6. Their mission is to take infected cells from the Fall Armyworm and attempt to produce influenza vaccine at a rapid pace. Currently, such a vaccine must be grown in chicken eggs, one egg at a time.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds,

A speedy response to the next global pandemic may depend on their work.

Meanwhile, third-year undergrad student Erin Matheson is just back from a co-op work term in Calgary with Canadian Natural Resources, one of the largest independent crude oil and natural gas producers in the world.

Maybe she’ll develop new ways for companies to get at oil without having to drill new holes — build a better straw, as it were.

Or maybe that oil will become insignificant and Matheson’s work will become unnecessary if Higgins finds a way to make fuel cells more stable, efficient and cheaper.

Cassia County artist creates portraits after optical tumor left her blind for 3 years

Claudette Bray presented students at Springdale School of Art with a large bag of rubber bands.

Their task: Create something, anything, with the elastics.

The recent creative exercise is one way Bray, who owns Springdale School of Art, pushes her students' boundaries.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, And it's the same way Bray stretches her own creative muscles for her colorful oil paintings.

Thirteen years ago, Bray had to retire from teaching after being diagnosed with an optic nerve tumor that took away her eyesight. She could see shadows and a few colors,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, but little else.

So Bray started hanging out with Burley artist June Carey, who taught Bray how to sculpt. Bray had an associate degree in art and had occasionally painted as a hobby, but never took art seriously before then.

But learning how to sculpt by feel ignited Bray's passion, and once she regained her eyesight, she threw herself into painting. A couple of years after that, she bought the shuttered Springdale School building outside of Burley and turned it into a studio, gallery and art school.

Bray's own art has matured in that time. She specializes in portraits and uses unique color values within her work. Examine a portrait of a little girl and you'll see a green streak in her cheek; a brown mountainside might have purple and teal.

Sounds weird? It works, and it works well. The reason: It's not the color that matters, Bray said.Why does Plastic moulds grow in homes or buildings? It's the value,An offshore merchant account is the ideal solution for high , or relative lightness and darkness. With the right value, you can paint an entire picture in blue, and the image will still be readable, she said.

While she prefers oil portraits in her personal work, teaching pottery, watercolors and sculpting to her students forces her to keep up on other skills. It helps keep her sharp and creative, she said. And lately, she's been painting more landscapes and animals to shake her out of portrait complacency.

"My art needs a kick.Wholesaler of different types of Ceramic tile for your kitchen, I need a kick," she said.

Even when she paints watercolors, she incorporates her signature color values into her work.

Her style is enough to impress other artists, like Burley painter Marilyn Miller.

"I really enjoy her painterly quality and the colors, her subject matter," Miller said. "And Claudette herself, she's great."

Thinking outside the typical color palette comes naturally to Bray now. So when her students struggled to create a project with the rubber bands, she reminded them that taking risks is necessary.

"How could it be wrong to create something with a bag of rubber bands?" she said.

Over 700,000 in funding assigned to boost Castlebar and Ballina

Christmas has arrived with a good news story for two towns in Mayo with the news this week that a third round of funding for the regeneration of Castlebar and Ballina has been processed, with Castlebar receiving 444,0000 and Ballina receiving 300,000 towards enhancing both towns.

The funds were issued for administration to Mayo County Council by the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Regional Assembly, which is directly managing the allocation of a 17.1m European Regional Development Funding available to five Gateway and five Hub Towns in the BMW Region

The funding towards the Castlebar Town Centre Regeneration Project has been tipped to boost business in the heart of Mayo’s county town, with Mayo county councillor Cyril Burke, chairman of the BMW Regional Assembly, stating: “I hope that the project, which is designed to significantly improve Castlebar’s Main Street, Castle Street and Linenhall Street, will encourage new businesses to open and make the area a more people-friendly environment in which to do business and engage in recreation.Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles.”

In relation to the 300,000 funding for Ballina, Cllr Burke added: “This project represents a significant strategic investment in Ballina and should give the town an economic and confidence boost. I would like to congratulate all those who were involved in the project.”

The Castlebar regeneration project is focused upon revitalising Mayo’s county town thDimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,rough a programme of town centre regeneration and streetscape refurbishment along with the development of the river walk as an amenity corridor.

A total of 1.1m has been provided by the Assembly towards the Castlebar project to date.

Director of the BMW Assembly Gerry Finn said: “We are delighted to have been in a position to provide financial support towards this strategic project in Castlebar. This project has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the sustainable economic development of Castlebar and we congratulate all those involved in this important project.”

The payment of 300,000 towards the Ballina Town Centre Regeneration Project brings the total paid to the town to date under the fund to 737,000. Funding has been provided for the refurbishment of Pearse Street along with improvements to the former provincial bank on Pearse Street to house the Jackie Clarke Library and Archives.

Mr Finn said the project would enhance Ballina town centre and encourage greater economic and social activity in the area.

He added: “Funding is provided by the Assembly from the BMW Regional Operational Programme under its Gateway and Hub Development Programme. This programme represents a strategic investment by the BMW Regional Assembly in the region’s Gateways and Hubs as identified in the National Spatial Strategy.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. In these constrained economic times it is vital that the development of the identified drivers of economic growth in our region continue to receive as much financial and strategic support as possible”.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,

The BMW Regional Operational Programme 2007-13 - part of Ireland’s EU Structural Funds Programme co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union -prioritises sustainable urban development in both the NSS Gateways and Hub towns. The objective of the ERDF co-financed Grants Scheme managed by the BMW Regional Assembly is to contribute to enhancing the attractiveness of the Gateways and Hub Towns as places to live, work and invest in, and to improving their development potential through enhancement of the economic, social and environmental conditions of the growth centre in support of both the Lisbon competitiveness objectives and the need to promote greater intra-regional balance in the interests of internal cohesion.Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists.

Local Authorities receiving support are required to provide 40 per cent non-borrowed match funding from their own resources.

Projects under the regeneration programme are targeted at urban development, transport, arts and infrastructure projects.

St. Tammany Parish saves energy through use of solar panels

St. Tammany Parish has begun an experiment in solar power that already is generating savings. The parish recently installed solar panels on the roof of the pavilion at the Tammany Trace Trailhead at Koop Drive near Mandeville, as well as on the roof of the caretaker's cottage at Camp Salmen Nature Park near Slidell.

Both installations will result in savings to the residents, as the parish will be able to reduce the amount of energy it consumes,Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. said Gina Campo, the parish's director of departments.

Since installing the panels in early November, the parish has reduced carbon dioxide emissions in a way that is equal to planting 1.66 trees and saving 1.45 barrels of oil, Campo said.Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists.

The parish began the process of implementing the savings after receiving a grant last year from the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal of the grant is to reduce total energy usage and improve energy efficiency in buildings and transportation, she said.

In addition to providing funding for the solar panels, the grant has allowed the parish to retrofit some of its buildings to further improve energy efficiency, Campo said.

The work to replace heating and air conditioning systems with high-efficiency units and install light sensors in the administration building and in the engineering department, as well as to upgrade the system and controls in the state office building on Koop Drive, has brought the largest savings to date, she said.

The improvements will result in annual electricity savings of $37,000 for the administration building, $32,000 for the state office building,An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. and $2,000 for the engineering department, according to the parish's website.

Officials also are working to better charge residents on the eastern side of the parish who now pay a flat fee for unlimited water usage. The grant is paying for energy efficient water meters in Alton, the Ben Thomas Road area and Cross Gates subdivision, Campo said.

The plan is to notify residents who will be receiving the meters, and then to show them how much water is being consumed and what their bills would look like,Muyoung mould specializes in manufacture Plastic molding, she said. Within a matter of months, those residents then will be required to start paying for their actual water usage, she said.

Further, the parish is making improvements to its permits and inspections program in an effort to cut down on energy usage.

The idea is that residents won't need to visit the administration building again after filing an application for a permit, Campo said.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, Rather, people will be able to continue the rest of the process minus any of the paper, and without having to keep driving back and forth, she said.

For example, the parish can send a text once it has completed its inspection of a property to let a resident know that he has passed, Campo said. Then, the resident can set up the next inspection via his smart phone, she said.

My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent

Be merry,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. be bright

Christmas, be it green or white, is always wrapped in dark ribbon, a day of fleeting light.

Late December, the sun in slivers. Mornings are not “greeted”; we crawl from the night instead, waking in blackness, leaving behind dusky houses, coming home in the day’s gloam.

It is the month when night swallows us, Jonah come to shore. The 21st allowed only 8 hours, 43 minutes of daylight — and not even good light, but a pale excuse, dropping cold rain from a clogged, grey ceiling. So, we are smothered. We feel our way along, half-blind; slick with ice, slowed.

So, where are we going? What is this thing, Christmas, in this tremulous age?

We know the obvious response. And so we add a thought. It is a day that asks you to consider little things, like gifts or goodies, and big things, like God and redemption.

And it seeks an answer. Believing in nothing is not an option at Christmas. Cynics will just have to sit it out, or fake it, or turn into someone else.

Be hopeful.Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. This is good. Be optimistic, even better; the day calls for it, the day is made of it. Worry not about merry. It will come. Or not. But more likely for the trying.

At a time when bishops are in jail and churches are lonely, it is a miracle there is anything meaningful left in the Christian holiday.

But there is, which even the godless know. It is us, drawn together to the light — out in the big world, inside our little ones, inside ourselves.

Light, literally. On Christmas trees, on outdoor railings and bushes, on city streets, on Parliament Hill, on wax candles lit by loving hands, in stories told about wise men following bright stars in the sky, on Rudolph’s nose.

And light, the idea; light, the good; light, the season’s comfort.

Christmas is us coming in from the dark and cold of December, into a place that is lit and warm. And that place is home or, for those without one, a big table laden with food and shelter for an afternoon, or a crowded church with a full choir, or an embrace that welcomes or reunites or forgives, or a cozy manger, from long,Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists. long ago.

And thus did Charlie Brown’s Linus begin a most famous Biblical recitation with two words, “lights please,” before giving us a lispy slice of Luke 2.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

A night, an angel, a shining. There it is again.

If we did not have Christmas, we would have to invent it. The dark season must be broken with celebration; something to look forward to, feverishly, something to cast us forward, to a time of longer light. Even by Jan. 25, we will have gained almost an hour of light. Small mercies.

In this way, too, do we miss our snow.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. It is not just the skiing or sledding or skating. We miss the white, the layer that covers autumn’s decay; the layer that leaves the city clean, pure.

But, especially, the layer that reflects the light, even the moon.

In this sense, Ottawa is the perfect Christmas city. December is cold and dark here, always.

And we do not surrender, whether on Taffy Lane in Orléans, or on bare trees turned violet or blue or white or pink on Wellington Street, or on porches or roofs or lawns everywhere, or on little artificial trees or big pine whoppers, or stubby candles anywhere, or in hearts, on fire.

So it shall be dark, as long as Earth is so.

And marshal, we will, at the light; bright,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, warm, holy if it must be, even made of love, that which may vanquish the things we fear.

Southport FC manager Liam Watson piles pressure

LIAM WATSON has turned up the heat on rivals Fleetwood Town ahead of their Boxing Day clash – but played down talk of him taking the Preston North End job.Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles.

Southport go to the Highbury Stadium on Monday (3pm) with Watson saying the Cod Army must secure promotion as a return for their sizeable financial investment.

The Sandgrounders – still a part-time outfit in the Conference – operate on a tight budget, yet Watson has guided them to third in the table, just six points behind Fleetwood.

Such is Watson’s ever-growing stock that the bookmakers have this week made him second favourite to be appointed the new boss at League One side Preston following the sacking of Phil Brown last Wednesday.

Former Everton player David Unsworth – currently in joint-caretaker charge at Deepdale – and Fleetwood manager Micky Mellon are also being linked with the role.

However Watson, who played for North End in the 1990s, says there has been no formal approach and that such speculation is par for the course with Port doing so well.

“I don’t know where it has come from,” said Watson of the Preston link.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air.

“I wasn’t on the odds listings before and now, all of a sudden, I’m 5/2 second favourite. Such speculation comes with the territory. Some of our lads have been linked with Football League clubs and there have been tentative enquiries but nothing more.

“There have been no formal offers for them, as there has been no formal offers for me. People start talking when you are doing well and a job becomes available, but it is purely speculation. The first person to know about any offer from Preston would be the chairman and given our relationship, I think he would be extremely comfortable with the situation.

“Put it this way, the chairman will not be having any sleepless nights.”

Southport have found life tough at Fleetwood in their two previous visits, losing 2-0 in December and 4-0 on New Year’s Day 2010.

Haig Avenue, however, has given Port some of their most satisfying results against Mellon’s men in recent times – yet Watson insists his side head to the Fylde coast without fear.

Fleetwood went joint-top with Tuesday night’s 3-1 win at Hayes & Yeading, with Watson saying: “Fleetwood are playing remarkably well and got another win on Tuesday night to go joint-top. They have as much firepower as has probably ever been seen at this level, so it will be a really,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, really tough game for us.

“But we have nothing to fear because we’ve been everywhere this season and got a lot of good results.

“Gateshead were up there when we went and beat them and we are in a position now where if we win a game,Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists. then lose a game until the end of the season then we will be in the play-offs. The pressure is off us.

“I don’t see Fleetwood changing their team – especially on New Year’s Day – with the FA Cup tie against Blackpool in mind. That game is already in the bag and if they lose, they lose.Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market! These two games against us are far more important for them because the amount of money they have pumped into the club means they have to go up.”

Believing in Santa

The mood at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve 1982 was very dismal. Eighteen days earlier a man who had just lost his job, sat in a Sandstone bar drinking for hours and then got in to his car to head home.

That same day in Duluth my brother, Danny, piled his three small children, his wife and our paternal grandmother into his car, put $300 in his pocket and headed to Minneapolis to buy a dishwasher from a relative. Danny had the misfortune of being on a narrow bridge the same time as the drunk Sandstone man. The inebriated driver was speeding across the bridge in the wrong lane as his car plowed head on into my brother’s car. The drunken driver and my grandmother were killed instantly. Danny made it to the hospital, asked if his kids were OK and then he also died.

As the family gathered that Christmas, no one was in much of a holiday spirit. Where there should have been laughter and holiday songs,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, tears filled the house as we were all still mourning our double loss. My parents had seven children and 21 grandchildren so the house was filled with the sound of lots of kids who were still excited because, after all, it was Christmas Eve. Wrapped presents were under the tree, the table was overflowing with food and Christmas songs floated through the house but it all seemed pointless. How could we celebrate when two chairs would be empty this year?

I saw Danny’s five-year old-daughter, Annie, sitting on the couch. She had witnessed the tragedy and lived through it just a short time ago and now it was Christmas. I plopped down next to her. We sat there silently next to each other for a while and then she looked up at me and said, “I don’t think Santa is coming this year.”

“Well, why do you think that?” I asked.

“Because my mom told me that,” she said.This page contains information about molds,

My heart sank as I realized that after the funerals,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, I had been so busy cooking, shopping and wrapping presents for my own two children I had not thought that my brother’s widow might not have been up to doing the same. And since I lived 100 miles away, it made it harder to help out.Hand-painted Chinese porcelain tiles on the floor of a Jewish synagogue in Cochin,

I hugged her and said, “Sure he will. You just wait and see.”

“But how will he know what I want? I never sent Santa a letter. My dad always helped me with it and now he’s in heaven. I kept asking my mom to help me write it and she said we would get to it but we never did.”

Tears were now forming in both of our eyes as I said, “Well, it’s not too late. Let’s write it right now and I will run right out and mail it. Santa has his own post office and the letters can get there in a matter of minutes using Christmas magic stamps.”

Annie sat staring at the floor for a while thinking this over then slowly turned to look up at me as a smile crept across her face and she said “OK”.

So we sat on the couch writing out her last minute Christmas wish list when I got a sinking feeling. It was Christmas Eve. Too late to go shopping. What was I thinking getting her hopes up like this? With each item she added I thought of how poorly I had handled this situation.

We finished the letter, folded it in three and wrote “SANTA NORTH POLE” on the outside attaching the “magic” stamp that I handmade by drawing a picture of Santa. I waved to Annie as I went out the front door to head to Santa’s Post Office and came back five minutes later proclaiming how the letter had disappeared as it went in to the mail box and would reappear instantly in Santa’s hands.

As I laid in bed that night I worried what would happen in the morning. I had asked Annie’s mom, who was in arm casts and still recovering from injuries herself, if Santa was coming and she said she had not planned anything. Great. Now what? After a sleepless night, my husband and I took our infant daughter and two-year-old son to the living room to see what Santa had brought for everyone. Piles of wrapped gifts were around the room on every chair, couch and open space on the floor. Each was topped with a stocking embossed with the child’s name proclaiming the owner of the treasures underneath.

We found our children’s gifts and, as my two-year-old sat in his dad’s lap and was starting to unwrap his Santa gifts I wandered around the room holding my infant daughter looking for a stocking with Annie’s and her siblings’ names. I did not see any. Great.

Well, I would just tell Annie that Santa must have something very special in mind for her and so her presents would probably come in a day or two. No. What kid would be OK with waiting for Santa gifts for a few days while every one else was getting gifts? No.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, I would tell her that Santa delivered her gifts to my house then I would go buy items on her list.

Marcelo Garcia 'Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques'

When is an instructional book for a highly physical activity worth your money? Pretty pictures and legendary names are nice, but we need to know that there is tons of actual content to sink our mental teeth into before cracking open our wallets for that hard-earned money. Rest assured that Marcelo Garcia, one of the most dominant figures in Brazilian jiu jitsu since the early 2000s, has delivered a massive dose of grappling brain candy in his most recent book, Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques.

Marcelo is a five time Mundials champion, four time ADCC gold medalist and perhaps one of the three or four most dominant figures ever in elite submission grappling competition.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, Many highlight clips show Marcelo's preferred strategy of constant offense, single leg takedowns, slick guillotines and tight back control.This page contains information about molds, His 2010 and 2011 competition seasons ended with zero defeats and his opponents rarely scoring any points on him.

To get good at submission grappling requires an enormous bit of time on the mats in both drilling and live sparring situations. Drilling moves over and over under the watchful eyes of an instructor allows the grappler to embed the movements and timing into the lizard brain and and to get accustomed to doing this in that situation. Sparring gives us the opportunity to encounter live situations in which we progress through a series of actions and reactions until time is called. Often the live rolls end in submission or with one person having been in a dominant position for longer.

The body can be trained through hours and hours of mat time, instruction and physical training outside of the gym. However, it is the mind that is more important than the body. We need to see and recognize situations and tell our bodies to act accordingly. That is where videos, DVDs and books claim to help us improve.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Ideally, a grappler wants to attack in a way that opens up a ton of options.

This book is 320+ pages long, which is slightly smaller than the classic Jiu Jitsu University, which is 360+ pages in size. The biggest Advanced Techniques sections are on arm drags, back control, breaking guard and submissions. Back control, one of the highlights of his game, is covered in 68 pages. Breaking guard, perhaps the skill most in demand on the competition circuit, is covered in 63 pages. The 67 page long submissions section skips the usual armbars, triangles and leglocks.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, A separate 26 page section is devoted entirely to submissions from back control. Arm drags, one of Marcelo's staples, get 44 pages at the beginning of the book.

The breakdown of techniques follows the same exact format that Victory belt uses for all instructional manuals. There are multiple camera angles so the reader can get a feel for the body's placement instead of making an assumption. The book does focus on the gi but many of the techniques can easily translate to no-gi grappling scenarios.

Possibly the best thing about this book is that they understand that grappling matches begin standing. The 44 pages at the front of the book devoted to arm drags and single legs is a step away from the norm with Victory Belt. Other books they've published have just illustrated ground techniques without any discussion on how to get the fight there.Hand-painted Chinese porcelain tiles on the floor of a Jewish synagogue in Cochin, It's a great change that hopefully continues in future books.

As far as the title, personal perspective is that nothing about this book really screams "advanced" in that everything showcased can be used by a competitor of any level. While some are more difficult than others, Garcia's grappling style is simple enough that there isn't a need to have certain physical traits such as when using the rubber guard.

Design work on Carpenter projects is a go

Audience members applauded after Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 board members gave architect Fanning Howey the OK to start the design work for summer-2012 projects.

The project with the highest priority is mechanical work at Carpenter School, which includes replacing old boilers and installing a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system,An offshore merchant account is the ideal solution for high , which includes dehumidification.

The estimated cost of this top-priority project is $2.4 million for construction, then additional project costs, such as those related to design,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, insurance and contingencies.

The design work is expected to cost between 9 percent and 11 percent of the construction costs.

Board members also gave their approval for Fanning Howey to start design work on underground stormwater detention and site-drainage improvements at Carpenter School. Construction costs for this project are estimated at more than $1.6 million.

“We would like to ultimately go out to bid in March,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,” said Keri VanSant, of Fanning Howey.

VanSant said the firm will need board approval for different phases and to move forward with the bidding process.

In addition to those two projects the board told the architects that the next two projects requiring design work are the boilers at Franklin and Lincoln schools. Board members made it clear that the Top 2 projects should take priority over the other less-costly projects and should not be completed if they will jeopardize the other two projects. The architects said the schedule may be tight if they do the design work for all four projects.

“I think it would be foolish of us not to add the air-conditioning component,Information on useful yeasts and moulds,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,” board member Scott Zimmerman said.

Other board members felt the stormwater-detention problem at Carpenter is a higher priority than fixing the air conditioning at Carpenter because it impacts the safety of the children and would also benefit the community.

With the dehumidification component of the project the board chose as the first priority, students reportedly will experience the greatest level of comfort.

The architects said there will likely be asbestos-removal costs, but it was unclear to what extent.

Mechanical work at Field School is also high on the board’s radar as far as future projects go.

Emerton recovers to face Reds, but Carle loss means midfield reshuffle

JUST as Brett Emerton put his hand up to play in tomorrow night's clash against Adelaide United, fellow marquee man Nicky Carle went over to the coaching staff and delivered the news they did not want to hear.

Both players picked up minor hamstring injuries in the 2-1 win over Newcastle last weekend but as Emerton's was detected before Carle's, the medical staff were able to intervene and take the Socceroos star off at half-time.

While that has meant he is fit to start against Adelaide, Carle tried to play through the strain he suffered late in the game after Sydney had made all three of their substitutions. That left him too sore to train fully this week and rather than push him to play against the Reds, the coaching staff have decided to let him rest.

''Unfortunately we lose Nicky, because he had a problem in the last part of the game in Newcastle and this week we must be smart,'' coach Vitezslav Lavicka said yesterday.

''He's an important player for us and he needs time to get 100 per cent ready. So we're missing him for this game and we'll see how quick he [recovers]. He is doing the maximum [recovery] and the Sydney FC medical staff is doing all they can to get him ready, but his body needs more time than a couple of days.Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injection mould & toolmaking specialists.''

Emerton has pulled up well and was yesterday cleared by the medical staff to start tomorrow's game.

''We just erred on the side of caution in the second half, but hopefully I'll be fit and raring to go for Thursday night,'' Emerton said.

''I could have played on [against Newcastle] but wasn't feeling 100 per cent. Especially in the hamstring area, it's not worth taking any risk and with an important run of games over the Christmas period … I want to be involved in all of them.

''The [medical staff's] view was that if I came off on half-time, I'd be a good chance to play on Thursday, and that seems to be the case. I think it's [the] right decision.''

Asked if he would ''experiment'' to cover the loss of Carle, Lavicka said it was no time to throw caution to the wind, especially with the Sky Blues just two points from a much-coveted top-two position.

''We're playing for important points, so this is no time for trying things,'' he said. ''But we have to fix it, definitely, to replace his spot. We have a couple of options and ideas about how to do it.''

The most likely option would see the return of Mark Bridge, who has completed every training session this week after missing the past three matches with a back injury.

''There is good competition because Mark Bridge is coming back after his injury,'' Lavicka said. ''He joined us for the full training a few days ago, so he is fully fit and ready.''

Another option is Terry Antonis, who has also been declared available after missing the past few weeks, though his coach is worried he is not match-hardened.

''Terry is working hard, he's been having problems with his Achilles, but now he's started full training and the only problem is that he didn't play the game for a long period last week.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, He needs some more practice in the training,'' Lavicka said.

''He might be [on the bench] but we'll make the final decision tomorrow after training.''

Lavicka is under no illusions about what to expect from the Reds, who sacked coach Rini Coolen on Sunday and appointed the man Lavicka replaced at Sydney, John Kosmina.

''The new coach will bring new ideas and new energy. It's going to be a tough game for us,'' Lavicka said.

''Obviously John Kosmina worked for Sydney FC, so I think it makes it an interesting game. They played the last game in a certain system and we are expecting some changes.We are passionate about polished tiles.''

Emerton said he expected the visiting players to lift for a new coach. ''I think they're a better team than what their results suggest and now they're getting a new manager, so I'm sure players will want to go out there and perform for him,'' he said.

The 32-year-old switched early in the match against the Jets from the left of midfield to his more natural right, though he is not sure where he will find himself tomorrow night.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,

''I'm comfortable on the left or right,Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists.'' Emerton said. ''So it doesn't matter to me.''

European crisis and Turkey's bumpy accession process

The European Union is going through the most difficult days in its history. The economic crisis and unwillingness to take bold actions to save the union is due to the national domestic agendas of the union's big boys.Omega Plastics are leading plastic injection moulding and injection mould tooling specialists. Turkey, on the other hand, enjoys a comparatively resilient economy with very high growth despite vulnerabilities in current account deficit (CAD) and inflation. In this quite unpredictable environment, the EU and Turkey should not sacrifice the long-term strategic benefits of the accession process for short-term rhetoric.

The US and many European capitals see the EU accession process as leverage to implement domestic reforms in Turkey. That is why many scholars in those capitals are concerned about the reform process due to the stalled accession process. And the rhetoric of the European leaders and the Turkish response to these critiques are fueling this dilemma and creating tensions among nations and people, as well as considerably affecting public opinion. We have to admit that the EU is in an economic depression mode where it is very hard to prioritize subsidiary issues like enlargement before the EU decides on its own future. This will take time and during this decisive moment, it is not a good idea to change the game plan or make regrettable mistakes during this period of depression.

Secondly, the EU has much less leverage on the Turkish domestic agenda than the international players think it has. Turkey's domestic dynamics are the main driver of the country's reforms agenda and EU support on this agenda only makes it a little easier to pursue, and that's all.

The legitimate question would then be from where the leverage will arise. I think Turkey's domestic dynamics are more important than the pressure from international groups. Anatolia is rising, with a new merchant class emerging in different areas, and these new elites will be the main driver of the reforms process in Turkey. If you follow the domestic agenda and look at the players who are pushing for the new constitutional reforms agenda, you will see this firsthand. The constitutional amendments that aim to reform the judicial system as well are another example of this.

In Turkey today, we have 22 cities with an international trade volume of more than $1 billion; a decade ago,Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injection mould & toolmaking specialists. it was only six cities. Fifteen of these cities also have an exports volume of more than $1 billion, which makes many of these cities the industrial hubs of and new centers of gravity in Anatolia. Turkish exporters increased fourfold in Anatolia in the last decade,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, indicating how strongly they have engaged world markets. They want more freedom and equal rights for all citizens, and they don't want to compete with state-sponsored entities that are the main obstacles to a more advanced democracy and a free market economy.

Turkey's economic developments in the last two decades are partly the result of the customs union,We are passionate about polished tiles. despite unfavorable terms like free-trade agreements with third parties. This is just the first step, and Turkey's share in European trade is very limited for several reasons.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, I am sure you are saying half of Turkey's trade is with Europe, and 80 percent of the foreign direct investment (FDI) coming into Turkey is from Europe. But this is still a small chunk of European trade. A 50 percent change on this front would be enough to make Turkey one of the world's top 10 economies.

Turkey's integration with the EU will bring a lot to Turkey, but some people think it does not bring the desire for reform. The EU as well has a lot to gain from Turkish membership. My job is not to convince European leaders that Turkey is successful, but all fact-checked arguments are out there. However, energy, immigration and funding the social security system are just some of the items on the agenda.