| Swampscott's Year in Review: 2006 |
[Jan. 8th, 2007|03:10 pm] |
Swampscott's Year in Review: 2006
By George Derringer/swampscott@cnc.com
Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Updated: 07:23 PM EST
The year 2006 was a mixed event for Swampscott. It featured a scare about a crime wave but also plenty of joyous events, anticipation of better things to come with a new high school, senior center and a building for which the town still has to find an optimum use.
Sadly, the year also included one tragedy most of the town will never forget: the loss of U.S. Army Specialist Jared J. Raymond, 20, to an “improvised explosive device” put in the road by terrorists in Balad, Iraq, in September. There were other losses, of course, for families and the community and other celebrations from book readings at the library through the Fourth of July parade and of sizes in between.
Through it all, the Swampscott Reporter has covered it in 52 print editions and often with stories between issues at its Web site as we transition from a weekly printed newspaper into a intensely local online destination. In coming weeks and months, we’ll be inviting our readers, print and electronic, to join us in the 21st century experiment we call electronic community. And your contributions, like ours, will be nearly immediate, not waiting for a weekly publication deadline.
Right now, however, let’s take a look back at just some of the highlights of the year in Swampscott:
January
The year did not start well in Swampscott. There was a brazen home invasion on Beach Avenue on Jan. 2, 2006, by men wielding a shotgun and a hammer. It was, sadly, a portent of other similar incidents to come later in the year.
But there were good people in town all along. Mary Powers, later to be highly honored for her career in teaching, and Joe Markarian, already honored by most for his tireless efforts as chairman of the (High) School Building Committee, returned from New Orleans, where they volunteered to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Firefighters closed the year with a total of 2,033 calls, a number which might (at this writing) actually decrease in 2006.
And there were, thankfully, yet more good intentions. The Swampscott Renewable Energy Committee asked for permission to pursue the possibility of generating wind energy here and got approval from the Board of Selectmen for four possible sites: the new high school on Essex Street, the current high school on Forest Avenue, the Stanley School and the former pumping station (known by some, but darn few, as the “Town Hall Annex”) next to the Bertram House on Humphrey Street.
That idea was to run into a problem later in the year: density. All four sites are too close to existing homes to meet current state standards.
Meanwhile, the more-than-annual discussion of the Aggregate Industries quarry on the Danvers Road erupted into a shouting match during a selectmen’s meeting, even though no public hearing had been scheduled. Quarry spokespeople said no trucks had left the quarry after 5:30 p.m. for months, just as had been promised in August 2005. Neighbors disagreed and suggested the selectmen had ignored their part of town but were finally gaveled down by Reid Cassidy, then-chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Elaine Fortin of Swampscott, another of the good people, organized a relief effort for victims of a major earthquake in Pakistan.
And local girl Sophie Lev, then 11, prepared to perform in a Boston Children’s Chorus performance on Channel 5 to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
An ongoing dispute about the teachers’ contract with the School Committee dragged on in January but had still not been filed for arbitration.
The Swampscott Board of Health, usually in the lead on environmental hazards, followed its passage of a ordinance requiring stores that sell certain kinds of fish to post warning about possible mercury contamination with a specific warning about canned tuna.
Crime rose to the top of everyone’s mind later in January when there was an armed standoff between police and a man accused of shooting his estranged wife, as well a burglary on Puritan Road at 3:30 a.m. — with the residents still at home. The police chief was asked to report back on whether there really a “crime wave” plaguing the town.
Three finalists were named for the Middle School principal’s job to take over from retiring Principal Ron Landman. Long story short: None of them was hired.
And on the football scene, Swampscott’s Dick Jauron was named head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, the Bills are in the same division as the New England Patriots.
February
The colder month started with good news for the town: a report in the Boston Globe that said state aid for school projects — like the new Swampscott High School — might be in jeopardy was dead wrong, said state Rep. Doug Petersen. He was proven quite right later in the year.
Local resident Marilyn Glazer Weisner was named as the education coordinator for the YouthBuild/Just A Start AmeriCorps “alternative education” program in Cambridge.
A fire in the town recycling area behind Swampscott Cemetery destroyed most of the gear used by 30-year Swampscott fisherman Mike Gambale during the Super Bowl telecast.
The athletic community, or at least a vocal part of it, was up in arms after 35-year high school baseball coach Frank DeFelice was not hired for a 36th year.
The Crime Wave is real but not entirely new, Police Chief Ron Madigan, told selectmen Feb. 6. He presented statistics that showed rapid increases in three years in drug-related arrests (22 to 72) and burglaries of both buildings and vehicles with only slighter smaller increases in violent crimes, larceny and vandalism. Still, the rate of crime is well below national averages, the chief said, nothing that the police force has not grown in 10 years, despite increased crime.
Local Democrats offered a glimpse of the future, sweeping all of the delegates to the state party convention for one candidate: future governor Deval Patrick. The other candidate, then-attorney general Tom Reilly, struck out here.
Parking meters briefly arose as a topic of conversation at selectmen’s meetings, then disappeared from the agenda yet again.
Concession stands at the new Forest Avenue fields will be run by the Swampscott Little League under a lease approved by selectmen.
Fifteen inches of snow fell Feb. 12 but it was generally light and fluffy.
Dr. Matt Malone, superintendent of schools, was the target of criticism at a School Committee meeting. It seems Paul Maguire, president of the Swampscott Education Association, invited “parents who asked what they could do to help” to the meeting to discuss the ongoing contract dispute, the non-hiring of former baseball coach Frank DeFelice and hiring of a new high school principal.
The League of Women Voters had a very successful second annual “Evening of Champagne et Chocolat,” highlighted by a power failure that reduced illumination to candlelight.
Police Lt. Peter Cassidy was suspended for five days in February after being charged with driving under the influence of liquor on Jan. 13 near Waterbury, Vt. Additional action would come later.
Reacting to criticism from union activists and parents, the School Committee responded publicly, asking for “respectful dialog” about concerns. Chairman Dan Yaeger said he had been “reluctant” to respond openly because of his own respect for the collective bargaining process. And the “crisis in Swampscott schools,” as some had named it, was resolved later in the year as well.
The town noted the 50th anniversary of The Great Swampscott Train Wreck on Feb. 28. A total of 13 people died in the wreck on the Boston & Maine Railroad tracks here during a snowstorm in 1956.
The Winter Olympics took place. Some people noticed, including those at Clarke School who staged their own opening ceremony. Fewer people remember where the games were held. (Answer later in this story.)
March
The last month of winter opened with good news: Selectmen and the School Committee agreed there would be no requests for an override of Proposition 2-1/2 this spring.
Which didn’t mean there would be no races on the town election ballot in April. Incumbent selectman Bill Hyde Sr. faced a political newcomer, Adam Forman, and a School Committee race between Dave Whelan and Richard Feinberg to replace Phil Rotner — who decided not to seek another term — topped the list.
Also, incumbent Veeder Nellis and challenger Bruce Paradise sought a seat on the Planning Board while incumbent Albert DiLisio faced opposition from Bill Sullivan for a spot on the Housing Authority.
The fun in one of those election outcomes was to come later.
Swampscott High School students and director James Pearse advanced in the state Drama Festival with their production of “A Slap in the Farce.”
A 16-year-old female student was arrested at Swampscott High School and charged with assaulting another girl in a classroom there.
Superintendent Matt Malone apologized for a comment he made, allegedly, “If you live near the train tracks, you know what I’m talking about.” He said the comment referred to young people who hang out near the train station, not to the residents of the area near the tracks.
And plans were laid for an all-day kindergarten in Swampscott.
A special Town Meeting voted to buy the former Temple Israel building for up to $3.75 million and appoint a committee to decide what to do with it.
Swampscott High School girls won the Division 3 North basketball championship.
The Fire Department battled two fires in two days, one on Allen Road and one on Andrew Road.
The Board of Health met with officials from Tedesco Country Club to discuss ways for the club to warn residents when it plans to use toxic chemicals. The club, according to Board of Health Chairwoman Dr. Martha Pitman , is the town’s largest applier of chemical pesticides.
State Rep. Doug Petersen announced his new Web site — dougpetersen.com, of course — but if he thought it might help his re-election campaign, it turned out to be unnecessary.
Folks were invited to help interview three finalists for the job as principal of Swampscott High School. Larry Murphy, then principal of the high school in Jaffrey, N.H., got the job.
Swampscott High School seniors Bailey Leonard and Adam Dexter won awards for their acting in the state Drama Festival but the Drama Club’s production was not chosen to advance from the semifinals to the finals this year.
Late in the month, it emerged that Rabbi Baruch HaLevi had been called to lead Congregation Shirat Hayam, the new Conservative Jewish congregation formed by consolidate of Temple Beth El and Temple Israel.
Selectmen began their campaign in favor of local adoption of the Community Preservation Act, which would have added a 2 percent surcharge to future property tax bills, amounting to about $100 a year right now. Money would be used for housing and preservation of historic resources and open space, under terms of the CPA state law.
The Swampscott High School debate team, led by coach Dr. Douglas Reeves, wrapped up a successful debut season.
April
Folks were already streaming out of Turin, Italy, long before April Fools Day. (Trivia answer alert!)
The School Committee approved its request for the $20.8 million budget for the 2006-2007 school year, a 2.85 percent increase over the previous year that will not require fund raising for sports or other extracurricular activities.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said an increase of about $40,000 a year in funding from the state lottery will “just about cover” an increase in the trash collection budget caused when the previous hauler decided to get out of the residential trash collection business.
Maylor announced that a preliminary agenda for meetings of the Board of Selectmen will henceforth be available at the town Web site: www.town.swampscott.ma.us. And it is.
Police Lt. Peter Cassidy got a hearing before the selectmen April 6 and heard the board vote unanimously to terminate his employment.
Fire Lt. Bruce Gordon and Jeff Vaughn, the town’s public health director, asked for volunteers to serve as helpers in case of a region-wide emergency such as an explosion, a bird flu epidemic or bioterrorism.
Larry Murphy was officially named the new principal of Swampscott High School, coming here from Jaffrey, N.H.
Selectmen agreed to discuss the possibility of gaining public access to the former railbed for use as a hiking and biking trail with the owner of the bulk of the property, National Grid (formerly Mass. Electric) yet again.
Town elections provided excitement on Election Night. Dave Whelan beat Richard Feinberg for a spot on the School Committee while Bruce Paradise won election to the Planning Board and Albert DiLisio was returned to the Housing Authority. The real excitement came as early returns showed incumbent selectmen Bill Hyde Sr. in a tie with challenger Adam Forman for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.
Hyde then won an apparent victory by exactly three votes and took the oath of office, pending a recount that came May 11 and reversed the outcome, giving Forman 1,474 votes and Hyde 1,473 votes. That left anyone who wondered if his or her voted “really counts” with nowhere to hide and no argument to present.
The town adopted a state law allowing patrons to take home partial bottles of wine from local restaurants, provided they are placed in tamper-proof bags.
The Rev. Joseph Sheehy, pastor of St. John’s Church here for 14 years until his retirement in August 2004, died in Boston.
May
Responding to citizen complaints, the School Committee voted to move “public comment” to the start of its meetings instead of waiting until the very end, at which time most people had gone home.
Rabbi Edgar and Yvonne Weinsberg received honors as a committee announced plans for a May 19-21 weekend tribute, honoring their 20 years with Temple Beth El and now Congregation Shirat Hayam. The couple moved to Florida in the summer.
Ralph Watson, most recently principal of Andrews Middle School in Medford, was chosen as the next principal of Swampscott Middle School. He will succeed Dr. Ronald Landman, who served in that role for 17 years and was honored by establishment of a foundation to honor his late wife, Chris Landman.
Parents of Performing Students voted to buy sound equipment for local schools.
Town Meeting came around and with no budget controversy to discuss, members and townspeople turned their attention to two other issues: cameras to take pictures of the license plates of drivers entering intersections after the light had turned red (“red-light cameras”) and the proposed Rail Trail.
Swampscott was saddened by a murder-suicide on May 4. John Barclay, 55, shot his wife, Michelle, 53, at their Hampden Street and then shot himself after calling 911 to tell police his wife was dead and he would be dead before officers could get to the scene, only a few blocks from the police station.
The Swampscott Reporter and its parent, the Community Newspaper Company, announced they would be sold in early June from the Boston Herald to GateHouse Media, a company previously called the Liberty Group. GateHouse also purchased other Massachusetts newspaper publishers, including the daily papers in Quincy and Brockton. GateHouse, based in Rochester, N.Y., now owns close to 500 daily and weekly papers nationwide.
Rain, rain and more rain fell May 13 and 14, flooding many streets and basements. Police and Fire Departments received more than 200 distress calls during that weekend.
The “Rail Trail” won an overwhelming vote of confidence from Town Meeting as 82 percent of members voted to give time to the project and allow some spending of town funds to acquire an easement from owners for walking and biking along the former Boston & Maine Railroad railbed.
But red-light cameras — which would emerge again later in the year at a special Town Meeting — lost by a 71-68 count at the annual Town Meeting. The fact that the vote came at 11 p.m. after very short debate could have been a factor, supporters of the devices said, despite their arguments that a lot of Marbleheaders would likely be caught by the cameras as they rush through Swampscott on their way to Boston and environs.
Plans for an gala Opening Night celebration for the new Little League fields near the current high school were rained out May 12 — and again May 19. Little Leaguers played ball without benefit of such a celebration but had a good time anyway.
Four men suspected of being members of a Lynn-based gang were chased and then apprehended at the corner of Paradise Road and Norfolk Avenue.
Middle School teacher Bill Andrake and principal Ron Landman won recognition from the Massachusetts Marine Educators for their work in promoting marine education.
Results of town elections for Town Meeting members turned up a surprising truth: Since not enough people applied to get on the ballot, an amazing 23 percent of those elected were write-in candidates, Eight people won seats with just one (1) vote.
A hurricane relief team organized by First Church in Swampscott returned from Mississippi.
School lunch prices for the coming year were raised by 25 cents.
The Swampscott High School boys tennis team shared the Northeastern Conference title with, gasp, Marblehead, while the Big Blue baseball and softball teams advanced to the state tournament. Seven boys and four girls from the track teams competed in the state meet and the boys lacrosse team also advanced to states. It was a very good spring season at SHS.
The high school was back in the news, sadly, on May 31 as two 15-year-old students were charged with using the Internet to make a threat to commit a crime, specifically a bomb threat that evacuation of the school for 45 minutes.
June
The Swampscott Police Association dedicated a monument to the officers, past and present, who have served the town since the 1882 creation of the Police Department.
Swampscott High School graduated 179 students on a drizzly, damp Sunday afternoon at Blocksidge Field as valedictorian Patrick Looby and salutatorian Anne McNerney both delivered memorable speeches.
There was another public hearing on renewal of the earth removal permit for Aggregate Industries’ quarry June 6. Selectmen and quarry neighbors talked for 87 minutes before continuing the hearing until June 19.
School Committee members agreed to consider adding both Latin and Chinese classes, reaching down as low as the sixth grade.
The state tournament news was mixed: the baseball team won its first three games, the softball team was eliminated in the first round and the boys tennis team eliminated, hooray, Marblehead. But the boys lacrosse team also made an exit after the first round.
Fourth of July T-shirts went on sale with a straightforward message: “Celebrate Swampscott.”
It was June 19 and time for another public hearing on the quarry’s earth removal permit. The permit was granted but selectmen voted to install a video camera at Fiory’s Variety Market at the corner of Essex Street and Eastman Avenue to watch and see how many trucks left the quarry, if they were covered and when they left. Selectmen thought it would be easy to do, with Selectman Charlie Baker suggesting the view be streamed live over the Internet at the town’s Web site. Selectmen were wrong and there is still no camera in place, though Town Administrator Andrew Maylor says he’s still working on it and it will cost much more than expected.
ARTS, along with the Swampscott Public Library, the Swampscott Yacht Club and the Swampscott Rotary Club, planned Family Day at the (Fisherman’s) Beach on June 24. The Rotary Club didn’t win the annual Duct Tape Regatta; the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor did.
Martha Kelleher was rehired as assistant principal for instruction, athletics and operations at Swampscott High School.
High School junior Hannah Reardon went to the Centennial Girl Scout celebration inTaiwan.
State Rep. Doug Petersen announced that the state will repave Paradise Road, leveling it again between the shopping center. Soon, maybe soon, well, maybe not that soon, but money did come for repaving Essex Street and making other improvements there to accommodate the new Swampscott High School.
Swampscott student Nicole Poirier teamed with longtime theater professional and Marblehead resident Barbara Eyges of the Theater of Light to create a new summer theater camp.
Local Mike Cassetta found a way to get to California almost for free with a van that runs on used cooking oil. There was no word on whether the percentage of trans-fats in the fuel improves or hurts mileage.
Suzanne Mogel, a client of the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott, always wanted a rose garden. Nobody promised her one, but the staff provided one at the outside patio area of the Shapiro-Rudolph Adult Day Center, thanks to the donation of rose bushes by Dan Fallon of American Quality Property Services and its landscape foreman, Louis Mastromarino, who planted the bushes.
Little Leaguers, 11 and 12 years old, and their coach, Tim Cassidy, prepared for the District 16 tournament opener June 27, then beat Wyoma 3-2 in the first game.
Ah, but there was bad news too. Vandals, determined to mar as many good things in life as possible, put graffiti on the Little League fields, tennis courts and the Swampscott High School building itself on Forest Avenue.
July
The Fourth of July parade was spectacular (it was actually July 2) and the fireworks equally so the next day, but the celebration was especially sweet for one family. Firefighter Richard Blake and his officer, Lt. James Potts, stopped in the middle of the parade after Blake noticed a small boy in the crowd who was choking. Blake scampered up Humphrey Street to the boy. Together, with firefighter, James Snow, helped dislodge a piece of candy that had been blocking the boy’s windpipe.
New trash trucks trawled the town the first week in July as Hiltz Waste Disposal assumed the town’s contract for rubbish hauling.
Good weather helped a lot this year as crowds filled Phillips Park for the annual Public Safety Day.
Rain was back in the news again July 11, filling the usual spots and causing a big leak in the roof at Bertucci’s Restaurant in Swampscott Mall that caused water to come through the light fixtures. The problem was solved the next day there.
Demolition of an old structure next to the former pumping station (“Town Hall Annex”) caused a big problem when an unknown material, a purple powder, spilled on the ground July 10. It caught fire, prompting a call first the Fire Department and then the state district hazardous materials team. It turned out to be an alkaline “super drain cleaner” that had been used when the sewage pumping station was still in operation a decade or more ago.
The Phillips Park Study Committee presented its report, showing that usage of the park could quadruple if …. Well, if the fields are rearranged, artificial surfaces are put in place on some fields and lights are installed. They didn’t offer an estimated cost at first, but it turned out to be $5.5 million and the project could be done in stages, the committee suggested.
State Rep. Doug Petersen reported the town will get an additional $750,000 from the state, give or take a few thousands, for 2006-2007. Town officials smiled broadly and said they had hoped for more.
The Swampscott Sailing Program donated two sailboats to the town, gladly accepted by the Board of Selectmen.
Police officers expressed concern after they arrested a local man to answer charges on an outstanding warrant and found him carrying a pellet gun that looks almost exactly like a standard U.S. military issue pistol. While the law requires fake guns to have their barrels painted with an orange tip, it takes only a Magic Market to make the orange disappear. Officers publicly said they worry about being fooled, especially at night, by look-alike “replica” guns.
Swampscott and all of Essex County won first place in a rather dubious place: Forbes.com. The magazine-related Web site named Essex County the “most overpriced” real estate market in the United States.
Swampscott Little Leaguers fell to Saugus in the District 16 finals.
Rail Trail fans rejoiced, if briefly, when it appeared the town might already own an easement over the National Grid-owned railbed. It turned out a few weeks later that while Town Meeting voted in 1975 to get an easement, it was never actually done.
Off-duty Police Detective Sgt. Tim Cassidy was on his way home from the gym one morning when he noticed a couple of shady characters (our words, not his) on bikes looking in drives on Merrymount Drive. He grabbed his police radio and called in a report. Cassidy saw the men go into a garage, then saw the homeowner flee. Cassidy chased one man on foot while the other intruder jumped on his bike. Both men were arrested when other officers arrived at the scene.
Want to ban door-to-door salespeople? (Think hard: Verizon cable TV people are reportedly going door-to-door lately.) Police Chief Ron Madigan said a new town bylaw, passed by Town Meeting in May, allows residents to shoo salespeople away permanently if they post a “No Solicitors” sign on their door and register their address at the police station.
Sheila Scranton and Remo Zimbaldi were promoted to lieutenants’ posts at the Fire Department.
Can the news get better than this? Water and sewer rates went down. Down, I tell you, down.
August
Red-light cameras were put back on the warrant for a special Town Meeting by the Board of Selectmen on Aug. 7. Several companies offer the cameras, which take pictures of offenders’ license plates and then collect fines for offenses, which are then not reported to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Fines are shared, to varying degrees, by the companies and the town.
Bike riders and police officers met again Aug. 6, this time when a retired Somerville cop, Sean Canty, saw two bicyclists riding unusually slowly along Norfolk Avenue and alerted Swampscott police. Arriving officers were greeted with obscene gestures and the bicyclists suddenly increased their speed. The men were arrested and charged in connection with vehicle break-ins earlier that morning on Aspen Road.
Underage drinking, which emerged as a topic even at the Swampscott High School graduation ceremony in June, filled the front page after 31 people faced charges in connection with a party on Pleasant Street Aug. 9. Police said such parties, once held outdoors in the summer, are now usually held indoors but are just as illegal. One man, a Pleasant Street resident, was arrested three times in 10 days, including the last Aug. 15, for underage drinking.
Anna Booras was named best all-around sailor in the youth sailing program at a barbecue held by the Friends of Swampscott Sailing. Kevin Maxwell and Kevin McClung took the Francis P. Cassidy Award for best racer.
BOOM! A blasting operation gone wrong at the Aggregate Industries quarry sent rocks, some weighing more than pound, flying on Aug. 21. One rock went through the windshield of a car driven by a Beverly woman on Essex Street while others showered homes and vehicles as far away as the corner of Sunset and Summit View drives. Ten days later, Aggregate fired the blasting firm that had caused the problem.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor was given a new contract calling for pay hikes from a current $110,000 up to $130,00 in fiscal 2010.
A robber who vaulted over the tellers’ counter at Citizens Bank on Paradise Road Aug. 21 was being sought by police.
Selectmen named a committee to study “red-light cameras” and make a recommendation to a coming special Town Meeting.
All that acrimony and all those letters to the editor came to an end on a sunny Aug. 23 afternoon at the high school library as Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Malone and Swampscott Education Association President Paul Maguire settled their contract dispute in what both men called “a win-win situation.” The dispute, which centered on curriculum directors’ positions system-wide, was settled two weeks before the start of the new school term.
BAM! A Revere police officer’s car, parked in her Puritan Lane driveway, was struck by a vehicle driven by a neighbor’s visitor.
The new Swampscott High School, as pretty near anyone could see from Essex Street, was ahead of schedule for its planned September 2007 opening. Talk around town was whether the school should open in the spring of 2007 and whether the Council on Aging Senior Center might move to the new building first.
September
A Sunday morning fire destroyed a garage next to 1 Beaumont Terrace.
A Swampscott man was arrested at gunpoint outside a Middleton motel and charged with five counts of carrying a firearm without a license as well as assault following a fight outside the motel.
Another Swampscott man was indicted on 12 counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography with intent to disseminate.
Bob and Roger Baker announced that their 1935 Swampscott Fire Department pumper, which served 20 years at the old Phillips Beach fire station, is for sale.
Wild turkeys wandered the town, turning up almost every morning on Walker Road or its environs.
The town solemnly noted the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Primary election day here was not exactly a surprise. Deval Patrick won 48 percent of the vote for governor in the Democratic Party primary, leaving Chris Gabrieli with 33 percent and Tom Reilly only 19 percent. But local voters differed from their party friends in the race for the lieutenant governor’s race, giving Deborah Goldberg 47 percent of the local votes and Tim Murray just 31 percent. Murray won statewide and would become the lieutenant governor after the results of the November general election.
Mary Powers was chosen as Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in Wal-Mart’s 11th annual teacher of the year program, run by the Harvard Chapter of Phil Delta Kappa International. Previously named by the Swampscott Education Association as its teacher of the year in 2004, the third-grade teacher at Machon School was honored by a big group of officials and very proud Machon students at a special ceremony.
Well, oops, the news came out. Town Meeting voted to get an easement over the old railroad track area back in 1975 and acquired some of the land outright in 1977, but the easement was never actually recorded at the Registry of Deeds. The Rails to Trails Implementation Committee was back to square one.
The Great Shofar Blowout got 796 people to Phillips Beach to sound their shofars at the same time, setting a new Guinness Book of World Records mark and easily eclipsing the puny 400 people who sounded their horns in 2005. The Pennsylvania effort was to break the Swampscott record of 386 set Aug. 17, 2004. No word yet from Pennsylvania this time.
It’s not in Swampscott, not even in Marblehead, but the ground was broken for the new Marblehead-Swampscott YMCA off Leggs Hill Road in Salem. The new Y is supposed to be done in early 2008.
Tara Gallagher of the Renewable Energy Committee brought the news to selectmen: State law prohibits wind energy towers within 1,000 feet of a residence and none of the proposed locations in Swampscott comes close to that requirement, the town will have to rely on more traditional sources of electricity generation — at least for now.
U.S. Army Specialist Jared J. Raymond, 20, of Swampscott was killed in Balad, Iraq, Sept. 19 and the entire town mourned with his family as plans were made for a hero’s funeral Sept. 28. Schools were closed, streets quiet and decorated with hundreds of flags of every size, and St. John the Evangelist Church packed for Raymond’s funeral. Thousands lined the streets between the church and Swampscott Cemetery, where Raymond was laid to his final rest.
A Swampscott man was arrested by Danvers police and charged with a string of housebreaks in Boxford in September.
More Oops Department: A driver apparently wanted to back up but went forward instead, right into the ocean at Fisherman’s Beach. His car rolled over but there were no injuries.
October
Superintendent of Schools Matt Malone issued a memo to school staff to outline new steps to avoid the kind of violent incidents that had taken place elsewhere in the country in recent weeks and months.
Swampscott students averaged three points higher on SAT tests in 2006 than in 2005 and the percentage of graduates going to four-year colleges rose from 74.5 percent to 78.6 percent.
Selectmen urged voters to “just say no” to allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell wine, referring to a statewide referendum on the November ballot. Voters here and throughout the Bay State followed that advice.
Selectmen also approved naming the intersection of Burrill and Essex streets as Jared J. Raymond Square, honoring the soldier who gave his life in Iraq on Sept. 19. A dedicated ceremony was scheduled for Veterans Day.
A special Town Meeting was scheduled for Nov. 13 with red-light cameras and union contract settlements on the agenda. What was new? The location: the newly acquired former Temple Israel building on Humphrey Street with a (now blocked) entrance from Atlantic Avenue.
Oh, no! The new high school project will be about $600,000 short, said the School Building Committee.
At the behest of Congressman John Tierney, Swampscott and Marblehead agreed to square off in a challenge to see which town could save the most energy (and therefore greenhouse gases and other pollution created by electricity generation) by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Our Renewable Energy Committee led the charge and the town greatly exc eeded its state goal but the overall results, well, don’t ask.
A brazen armed robbery attempt at a Railroad Avenue home was thwarted when one of the homeowners picked up a chair and threatened to break it over the suspect’s head. The thief ran off but was captured by police after a brief foot chase.
Ah, those red-light cameras. The special committee appointed by selectmen to make a recommendation to Town Meeting agreed the cameras are a bad idea. Selectmen differed, arguing that the lights will improve both public safety and town revenue.
The School Building Committee pared its request for more money back to $525,000, gladly accepting $75,000 from the current School Committee budget for completion of the new high school in advance of a request for more money at the Nov. 13 Town Meeting.
Deanna Mazina of Swampscott and Clarke School, won the 2006 Miss Massachusetts Actress title in the pre-teen division.
Nearly 200 people showed up one night to share memories of the New Ocean House, which burned down in a spectacular blaze of faded glory on May 8, 1969. The Swampscott Historical Society sponsored the event.
A Lynn woman was arrested early one morning at Swampscott Mall after she apparently walked there from her apartment and called 911 to say she had stabbed a former boyfriend. Police found the man dead in her apartment.
Pumpkinfest, an annual event sponsored by ARTS (Arts Resources in the Town of Swampscott) and the League of Women Voters, was delayed a night by rain and then plagued by very strong winds that kept blowing out the candles. Those who braved the elements enjoyed it nonetheless.
November
Governor-elect Deval Patrick won 57.5 percent of the vote for governor in a four-way race Nov. 7 while his Democrat friends also swept every contest in the general election.
A quick-thinking resident helped police nab two suspects in a string of car thefts not far from the police station one Sunday morning. The man, who saw two men breaking into his car and then running away when they realized they were being seen, went to the police station to report the crime. While talking with an officer, he suddenly exclaimed, “There goes one of them now!” Two suspects were soon under arrest.
Two trucks, both owned by Dan Dandreo, in different locations, were ablaze at once in suspicious fires Nov. 1
Gail Anderson, who teaches at the Middle School, was named 2006 Educator of the Year by the Swampscott Education Association. She was previously a finalist for Massachusetts Teacher of the Year.
Takoda Blood, 6 years old, had a film accepted by the Northamption Independent Film Festival.
Swampscott’s first drive-by shooting took place Nov. 13 on Hillcrest Circle when two rounds were fired from a small vehicle toward a front window. The shooters missed and left holes in the walls. Nobody was injured.
Town Meeting rejected red-light cameras by a comfortable but not overwhelming margin, perhaps 60-40 in a show of hands. It also approved $525,000 more for the new high school without debate after hearing that all the funds needed to complete the $54 million project would come from reallocation of money already in town coffers.
Jared J. Raymond Square was dedicated the morning of Nov. 11 with about 200 local residents on hand to honor the memory of the fallen soldier and to honor his mother and family.
Town Administrator Andrew Maylor offered his annual “fiscal forecast” at the special Town Meeting, showing that the budget starts out about $1.27 million out of balance in the wrong direction. Maylor must submit a balanced budget to selectmen early in 2007, however, leaving selectmen to decide if they like that budget or want to ask voters for an override of Proposition 2-1/2 tax limitations.
Rehabilitation of Phillips Park, estimated to cost $5.5 million, can be done in stages, Town Meeting was told, and fund raising from a variety of sources will soon begin.
Verizon will offer cable TV service in town, thanks to approval of a contract between the town and the company. Verizon can now compete on an equal footing with Comcast for cable TV, Internet and telephone services.
Aggregate Industries was given permission for a few Saturday hours in the remainder of 2006.
Another piece of construction machinery owned by contractor Dan Dandreo was found ablaze Nov. 28 but two men nearby were quickly arrested and charged with arson.
A Richardson’s Ice Cream container with wires sticking out was left outside Sleepy’s mattress store in the Vinnin Square Mall late on the afternoon of the Friday after Thanksgiving, creating an instant bomb scare. Most of the mall was evacuated and the state police bomb squad called. It was a hoax, but clearly intended to look like a bomb.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, the Marblehead football team beat the Big Blue, denying Swampscott a clean sweep after a smashing victory by the local girls in the annual Powder Puff game.
And speaking of sports, the boys cross country team won the Division 2 state title.
December
The weather was still pretty warm as selectmen chose to again shift the maximum amount of property taxes over to commercial and industrial property, but that still meant a 7.9 percent increase in taxes for the median Swampscott home, now valued at $401,350. In dollars, that’s an increase of $378.
Realtor Phyllis Sagan and Selectman Marc Paster, who works for American Trust Mortage and is chairman of the selectmen and organizer of the Swampscott Business and Professional Association, were honored for their “Commitment to Swampscott” by the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce.
Allen Shapiro, founder of the Toys for Local Children charity in 1984 while he was teaching at Swampscott High School, challenged his former students to give money and toys this year to help more than 1,000 local children celebrate the holidays.
The Stanley School Chorus sang at Fanueil Hall in Boston on Dec. 2.
A school task force was named to investigate moving fifth-graders to the current high school building in the fall of 2007, when the current Middle School is closed and grades 6-8 moved to what is the current high school on Forest Avenue. Three “listening sessions” were scheduled and will culminate in a public forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, in the current high school’s Little Theater.
Again this year, Hospice of the North Shore lit the Town Hall pine tree with lights in a remembrance ceremony.
Swampscott Patrons of Performing Students organized a “Save Me a Seat” campaign to raise money to fully equip the new auditorium at the new high school. In return for gifts of certain amounts, people get their names on seats in the auditorium.
A caller with good intentions thought he saw a young person with a gun in his belt approaching Swampscott High School. Police locked down the school but found out that a cell phone had been mistaken for a gun.
It took an undercover police officer less than 60 seconds to buy drugs at a Swampscott gas station Dec. 15. The young man on duty at the station, the only person present, was arrested.
The Swampscott Yacht Club planned a cold trick for the New Year: a Polar Bear Plunge at noon Jan. 1.
A head-on crash at Paradise Road and Franklin Avenue Dec. 20 sent both drivers to the hospital.
Bonnie Hanlon, originally from Swampscott, went on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” She wanted but she settled for $16,000 after correctly answering nine questions.
And while it’s not in Swampscott, the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore began a campaign that should give us all pause, trying to collect 6 million pennies — one for each of the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust — in giant containers at the JCC. Holocaust survivor Sonia Weitz helped launch the campaign.
Finally, a robber visited the liquor store on New Ocean Street by pulling a knife and making off with $1,030 in cash. A white male in his mid-20s is being sought.Amlodipine
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| Mining contaminants persist in wells, USGS finds |
[Jan. 2nd, 2007|10:20 am] |
Mining contaminants persist in wells, USGS finds
RESTON, VA ?A study recently released by the US Geological Survey (USGS) suggests that traces of mining-related contaminants persist in some private drinking water wells in reclaimed surface-coal-mining areas of the northern and central Appalachians, according to a press release issued by the USGS.
The study compared water from 58 privately owned wells in areas near reclaimed surface coal mines to water from 25 wells in unmined areas between the high-sulfur coal regions of western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia and the low-sulfur coal region of southern West Virginia, the release said.
Concentrations of iron and manganese, detected in conjunction with sulfate, aluminum, and five other constituents, were found to exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standards in water from wells in mined areas, the report noted.
These contaminants typically decreased to background levels at distances 1,000 feet or more from surface coal mines and in wells deeper than 150 feet, according to the release.
The USGS also found that radon concentrations in water were generally lower in mined areas, due in part to rock fracturing during surface mining that allows radon gas to escape, Mark Kozar, a USGS hydrologist, said in the release.
To read the full release, click here.
For related information on this story, click here.
For more of the latest news, click here.
To subscribe to Water Technology?/I> magazine, click here.
To discuss this topic with other water and wastewater industry professionals, click here. Amlodipine
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| Novartis says Exforge gets U.S. approval |
[Dec. 31st, 2006|06:13 am] |
Novartis says Exforge gets U.S. approval
By Sven Egenter
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.VX) said on Friday its Exforge medicine had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a new treatment for patients with high blood pressure.
The FDA issued a tentative approval because Exforge has met all the required standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing quality, Novartis said.
"Exforge is expected to be available to patients in the U.S. in late September 2007, pending the expiration of market exclusivity and patent protection for amlodipine besylate," the company said.
Exforge combines in one pill the two most commonly prescribed hypertension medicines in their categories -- Novartis' Diovan and Pfizer's (PFE.N) Norvasc (amlodipine besylate).
Novartis shares were down 0.2 percent at 70.35 Swiss francs by 0951 GMT, broadly in line with a largely unchanged DJ Stoxx index of European healthcare providers (.SXDP).
Analysts at Vontobel called the Exforge approval a "nice Christmas present" for Novartis.
"The most obvious market for Exforge are the over $4.5 billion of sales Pfizer makes with Norvasc, but it should also help to prolong the life cycle for Diovan," they said.
Exforge is seen as a key near-term sales driver, together with diabetes drug Galvus and blood pressure treatment Tekturna, though they are also the firm's major risks if there are any delays in their rollout. All three are expected to be launched in 2007.
In November, Exforge was granted a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the regulatory agency that reviews European Union submissions for new medicines, Novartis said.
"Novartis expects to receive approval from the European Commission and to make Exforge available in the EU during the first half of 2007," the company said.
The need for new antihypertensive medicines was urgent, as seven out of 10 patients are not at their target blood pressure, Novartis said.
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| Castro does not have cancer, says Spanish doctor |
[Dec. 26th, 2006|03:42 pm] |
Castro does not have cancer, says Spanish doctor
By Times Online and agencies
A recent picture of Fidel Castro: few details have emerged about his condition from a country where the President's health is a state secret
A leading Spanish surgeon who has just returned from treating Fidel Castro in Havana said today that the Cuban leader does not have cancer.
José Luis García Sabrido, chief surgeon at Madrid’s Gregorio Maranon hospital, flew to the Cuban capital on Thursday to examine the 80-year-old leader.
Today, he said that the President was suffering from a digestive condition, but was amazed at Mr Castro’s good spirits and health.
"He has his intellectual activity intact, I’d say fantastic given the recovery from the previous surgery," Dr García Sabrido said.
"He does not have cancer, he has a problem with his digestive system," the surgeon added. "His condition is stable. He is recovering from a very serious operation. It is not planned that he will undergo another operation for the moment."
Mr Castro, 80, has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July. Since then, there has been little information about his condition.
The President has placed his younger brother, Raúl, in charge of the Government. President Chávez of Venezuela, a close ally of the Cuban communist leader, recently denied reports that Mr Castro was suffering from cancer.
Dr García Sabrido has operated on important personalities in the past and is very prestigious in Spain and abroad. He is highly regarded by the Cuban Government and recently addressed a surgery conference on the Caribbean island.Amlodipine
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| CV Therapeutics Files Application for European Marketing Approval of Ranolazine for Treatment of Chr |
[Dec. 25th, 2006|02:39 am] |
CV Therapeutics Files Application for European Marketing Approval of Ranolazine for Treatment of Chronic Angina
20 Dec 2006
announced today that a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) seeking approval of ranolazine for the treatment of chronic angina has been filed with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
PALO ALTO, CA, USA | Dec 20, 2006 | CV Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVTX) announced today that a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) seeking approval of ranolazine for the treatment of chronic angina has been filed with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The MAA includes additional data and results from studies conducted after March 2004.
The MAA for ranolazine, a new chemical entity, has been filed for review under the EMEA centralized procedure by the company's European subsidiary, CV Therapeutics Europe, Ltd.
"A new anti-ischemic option like ranolazine could meet a significant unmet medical need in Europe," said Louis G. Lange, M.D., Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of CV Therapeutics. "With ranolazine now on the market in the U.S., we look forward to bringing the benefits of ranolazine to patients around the world."
Chronic angina is a serious and debilitating heart condition, usually associated with coronary artery disease and marked by repeated and sometimes unpredictable attacks of chest pain.
About CV Therapeutics
CV Therapeutics, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on applying molecular cardiology to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, small molecule drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
CV Therapeutics' approved product, Ranexa(R) (ranolazine extended-release tablets) is indicated for the treatment of chronic angina in patients who have not achieved an adequate response with other antianginal drugs, and should be used in combination with amlodipine, beta-blockers or nitrates.
CV Therapeutics also has other clinical and preclinical drug development candidates and programs, including regadenoson, which is being developed for potential use as a pharmacologic stress agent in myocardial perfusion imaging studies and CVT-6883, which is being developed as a potential treatment for asthma and other conditions. Regadenoson and CVT-6883 have not been determined by any regulatory authorities to be safe or effective in humans for any use.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including; the conduct and timing of studies; timing of regulatory submissions; timing of regulatory review and approval; commercialization of products; market acceptance of products; dependence on lead product; dependence on performance of commercialization partners; intellectual property protection and disputes; and other risks detailed from time to time in CV Therapeutics' SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. CV Therapeutics disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.louis vuitton
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| Next step for gay marriage |
[Dec. 21st, 2006|01:06 pm] |
Next step for gay marriage
STATE SUPREME COURT: AGREES TO WEIGH WHETHER BAN VIOLATES CIVIL RIGHTS
By Patrick May
Mercury News
Both sides in the legal battle over California's ban on same-sex marriage said Wednesday they hope the state Supreme Court's unanimous decision to review the issue will finally clarify whether preventing gays and lesbians from marrying is discriminatory.
Calling it ``perhaps the major civil rights issue of our time,'' San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said he hopes it brings a definitive ruling on marriage equality in the nation's most populous state.
``In seeking to end this systematic discrimination against gay and lesbian couples, we are not only asserting the rights of equality and privacy uniquely enshrined in our state Constitution,'' Herrera said, ``we are also asking the Supreme Court to do what the Court of Appeal did not -- to base its decision on constitutional principles rather than on its impressions of popular opinion.''
Attorneys arguing that the ban is constitutional said they also are looking forward to a full review by the state's high court in the hopes the matter will be resolved once and for all.
``We've believed all along that only the Supreme Court can provide Californians the clarity needed on this important issue,'' said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. The attorney general's argument is not based on opposition to same-sex marriage, but he has argued in defense of the current law, which he says provides same-sex couples virtually all the rights and benefits afforded married heterosexuals .
Randy Thomasson, spokesman for Voteyesmarriage.com, a group opposing same-sex marriage, said he was disappointed with the court's move.
``If the law ain't broke, don't fix it,'' he said. ``This is bad news for marriage and the voters of California who already passed a state law reaffirming that marriage is a natural and beautiful institution between a man and a woman.''
The justices are reviewing a decision this fall by the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal, which ruled 2-1 that California marriage laws do not discriminate because homosexual couples have most of the rights granted married couples.
An outcome is not likely until next year. Massachusetts remains the only state that allows same-sex marriage.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom put the debate in the national spotlight by allowing same-sex couples to marry at City Hall in 2004. California's justices halted the wedding ceremonies and voided 4,037 marriage licenses. Sidestepping the core constitutional question, they ruled that the mayor did not have authority to make marriage law. The justices, however, solicited arguments on whether banning same-sex marriage was discriminatory -- a challenge that reached the court Wednesday after meandering through trial and appellate courts.
Whether prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying violates their constitutional rights is the biggest question surrounding marriage the California Supreme Court has faced since 1948, when it ruled that laws banning mixed-race marriages were unconstitutional.
The same-sex marriage case was brought by about 20 couples and the city of San Francisco. Had the court not agreed to hear it, the lower court's decision would have stood.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and lead counsel on behalf of same-sex couples in Woo vs. Lockyer, said the high court's review will bring something his clients have long been waiting for -- clarity.
``This is very significant because it means the California Supreme Court is going to definitively determine for the entire state whether same-sex couples will be able to marry in California,'' he said. ``All sides in this have a great interest in clarity. Marriage for many same-sex couples, as well as for heterosexual people, is one of the most important life-defining issues. Some of the couples we represent are elderly, even in their 80s, and they very much want to marry before either one of them dies.
``Every day that goes by,'' he said, ``our couples are hurt in so many different ways by not being able to legally marry.''
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| New drug combination can significantly reduce risk of heart attack in about 90 days |
[Dec. 18th, 2006|01:59 am] |
New drug combination can significantly reduce risk of heart attack in about 90 days
Combining certain blood pressure lowering drugs with cholesterol reducing drugs in patients with moderate cardiac risk can reduce heart attacks by half - News Release
Date 05 Dec 2006
Category All
Contact Laura Gallagher
See also...
Faculty of Medicine
International Centre for Circulatory Health
External sites:
ASCOT study website
European Heart Journal
(Imperial College is not responsible for the content of these external internet sites)
Issued by MediNews on behalf of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT)
Under strict embargo for 08.01 GMT
Monday 4 December 2006
Combining certain blood pressure lowering drugs with cholesterol reducing drugs in patients with moderate cardiac risk can reduce heart attacks by half, according to new results from a large European study.
The study, published today in the European Heart Journal, shows that the risk of heart attack can be reduced by more than 50 percent by combining atorvastatin calcium, which reduces cholesterol, with amlodipine besylate, which lowers blood pressure. The benefits are evident as early as 90 days after the start of treatment.
The research was conducted as part of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT), which involves over 19,000 patients in the UK, Ireland and the Nordic countries. This trial also showed that simultaneous initiation of atorvastatin and amlodipine is about three times more effective at preventing heart attacks than the usual treatment of adding atorvastatin, a statin, to one of the world's most widely used blood pressure-lowering drugs, a beta-blocker called atenolol.
The new drug combination reduced the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiac events by 53%. Adding atorvastatin to atenolol only achieved a non-significant 16% reduction by the end of the study.
These results have major implications for physicians and their patients worldwide, according to a principal ASCOT investigator, Professor Peter Sever of the International Centre for Circulatory Health at Imperial College London.
"ASCOT demonstrates that the risk of heart attacks can be more than halved in the many patients at moderate risk who doctors see every day. In addition, there is a reduction in strokes of more than 25 percent. This is achieved by combining two well known and widely-used drugs - amlodipine and atorvastatin," said Professor Sever.
"However, if we continue to use older blood pressure-lowering drugs, such as atenolol, and choose only to treat high blood pressure in isolation without giving a statin, we only confer a small part of this potential benefit. As a result, the risk of heart attacks and strokes remains unacceptably high in too many patients despite treatment to blood pressure targets," he added.
Results establish important hypothesis for future research
The differences in risk reduction between the two treatments may be explained by recent, ongoing laboratory studies. These suggest that amlodipine and atorvastatin may stabilize the fatty deposits in the walls of the arteries (atherosclerotic plaques) which can rupture to cause cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.
Professor Sever said: "The new data generate an important hypothesis that suggests a synergistic effect between atorvastatin calcium and amlodipine besylate, which goes beyond the effects of the individual drugs. This is an exciting possibility for future research, which we and other groups will be exploring."
The future of treatment
The ASCOT Study is resulting in a worldwide re-evaluation of the management of patients with a moderately increased risk of cardiac events. The importance of combining a contemporary blood pressure drug regimen based on a calcium channel blocker with a statin is gaining importance. Meanwhile, the use of beta blockers - except where they are specifically indicated - is being questioned.
"For the first time, these important data show that the selection of a blood pressure-lowering drug regimen combined with a statin may have significant clinical implications for preventing heart attacks. It is vital that we use the right combination from the start to maximise the reduction in cardiac risk," Professor Sever said.
-ends-
Note to editors
"Potential synergy between lipid-lowering and blood pressure-lowering in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial Lipid-Lowering Arm" European Heart Journal 2006, Volume 27; 24: 2982-2988
About cardiovascular risk
More that 330 million adults in Europe and North America suffer from high blood pressure, which also affects an additional 639 million men and women in the rest of the world. (The Lancet, January 2005)
About 80% of people with high blood pressure have additional uncontrolled cardiovascular risks. (World Health Organisation).
About ASCOT
ASCOT is the largest European study of people with high blood pressure and more than three additional common cardiac risk factors, e.g. history of smoking, age over 55 years, diabetes, lipid abnormalities, etc. It included more than 19,000 men and women with high blood pressure who were at a moderate risk of strokes and heart attacks and without previous history of heart disease. To control their blood pressure, they received either the newer drug - a calcium channel blocker, amlodipine besylate - or a beta-blocker, atenolol. Where necessary, the ACE inhibitor perindopril or the diuretic bendroflumethiazide were added to control the blood pressure. Additionally, 10,000 patients also were treated with the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin calcium or a placebo (dummy pill). This is the only major European study to date to combine these two treatment strategies.
The most commonly seen adverse events (AEs) in the amlodipine regimen were peripheral oedema and cough. The most commonly seen AEs in the atenolol regimen were dizziness and fatigue. No new, unexpected AEs were observed beyond those seen in previously published ASCOT resultslouis vuitton
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| 莱阳治理硫酸软骨素行业 |
[Dec. 15th, 2006|07:32 am] |
莱阳治理硫酸软骨素行业
33家企业通过验收，3家被关闭
张晓红 李华坤
本报讯 针对硫酸软骨素行业的结构性污染，山东省莱阳市环保局日前开展专项整治活动。通过整治，全市48家软骨素企业中，已有33家通过验收。
据悉，莱阳市此次专项整治活动从摸底排查和不间断抽查入手，抓住监察和验收不放松，依法打击企业违法排污行为。对不符合要求的企业或停产或关闭，依法严处，确保企业污水达标排放。此外，还拍摄制作了专题活动宣传片，为本次活动造势。
截至6月底，莱阳市有6家企业新上了污染治理设施；4家递交了试生产申请；1家企业因污染治理设施未经验收而停产；3家无环保审批手续的已全部关闭。 氨氯地平
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| Louis Vuitton opened first store in Kyiv |
[Dec. 15th, 2006|02:49 am] |
Louis Vuitton opened first store in Kyiv
11.12.2006 | 17:45
The new store is located on Kyiv’s centreal street Kreschatyk in Passage – which Kyiv authorities want into posh shopping area. Photo: Rynok.biz.
Louis Vuitton, world’s famous manufacturer of luxury products and accessories opened its first store in Kyiv yesterday.
This is a 366 store of Louis Vuitton worldwide and third in former USSR countries. Besides Kyiv, the company has two stores in Moscow.
“We are happy to welcome Louis Vuitton,” said Jean-Marc Gallot, president Europe for Louis Vuitton. “Ukraine is, of course, a very important market for our development. For the past several years an increasingly large number of Ukrainians began making purchases from our stores abroad.”
Photogallery from the opening
The new store is located on Kyiv’s centreal street Kreschatyk in Passage – which Kyiv authorities want into posh shopping area. Currently Helen Marlen Group Passage is finishing preparations for opening its store next door to Louis Vuitton’s.
Total retail area of the new store is 300 sq. meters. The company does not disclose total sum of investments.
Store’s interior is done in accordance with Louis Vuitton’s concept by own architecture department.
The store in Kyiv carries women’s bags, shoes, clothes, men’s and women’s accessories.
Absence of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection is explained by store’s primary target audience – women. Gallot, however, did not rule out that men’s products could appear in the store in the future.
Gallot also said that other famous world brands such as Christian Dior or Chanel will follow Louis Vuitton’ lead and appear in Kyiv within next two years.louis vuitton
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| Christmas trees are going back up at Sea-Tac airport |
[Dec. 12th, 2006|06:13 am] |
Christmas trees are going back up at Sea-Tac airport
By Janet I. Tu and Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporters
Related
Text of the Port of Seattle news release
Airport's trees stoking "war on Christmas"
The holiday trees that went away in the middle of the night are back.
Tonight, Port of Seattle staff began putting up the trees they had taken down Friday night after a local rabbi requested that a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed. Port officials said the rabbi's lawyer had threatened to imminently file a lawsuit, leaving them with insufficient time to consider all the issues.
A nationwide furor erupted over the weekend as news of the trees' removal spread, with a flood of calls to Port officials and harshly worded e-mails to Jewish organizations. Today, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said he would not file a lawsuit and the Port, in response, said it would put the trees back up.
"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis said in a statement. "The rabbi never asked us to remove the trees; it was the Port's decision based on what we knew at the time. We very much appreciate the rabbi's willingness to work with us as we move forward."
A menorah will not be displayed this year.
Port spokesman Bob Parker said "we look forward to sitting down after the first of the year with not only Rabbi Bogomilsky but others as well, and finding ways to make sure there's an appropriate winter holiday representation for all faiths. We want to find out a way to celebrate the winter holidays that is sensitive to all faiths."
Bogomilsky, who works with Chabad-Lubavitch, an Orthodox Jewish outreach organization, said, "Like people from all cultures and religions, we're thrilled the trees are going back up."
But he said he was disappointed that Port officials chose not to put up the menorah as well, pointing out there are still several days until the start of Hannukah. "I still hope that they'll consider putting the menorah up this year. But ultimately it's their decision."
He also said he hopes the Port will apologize for mischaracterizations that led people to believe he was against having the trees displayed.
"At the end of the day it's not about trees, but adding light to the holiday, not diminishing any light."
At the airport tonight, Matt Bachleda of Snohomish was playing cards while waiting for his daughter to arrive from Paris. He was surprised to see Port staff putting a tree back up in the baggage claim area.
"It looks like Christmas is back," he said.
The reaction to the trees' removal had been swift and vociferous. News outlets nationwide picked up the story.
"There's been such an outcry from the public — from people of all faiths — who believe that the trees should be reinstalled," Davis said. "I'm very thankful that we can return the trees and get back to running our airport during this very busy holiday season."
Port Commissioner John Creighton said he had been swamped with e-mails, 99.9 percent of which supported putting the trees put back up.
"I'm overjoyed as to the resolution," Creighton said. "I'm very happy we were able to reach an agreement that was acceptable to the rabbi and to us."
Creighton said he personally would've preferred the airport also put up a menorah this year. But "there's a fair amount of sensitvity at the airport. Whatever we do, we do after putting some thought into it."
The situation began rather quietly back in late October or early November when Mitchell Stein, a construction consultant for the Port, contacted a Port staffer saying he'd like to put up a large menorah near the Christmas tree at the international arrival hall.
Stein, who is Jewish and is friends with Bogomilsky, said he thought it would be a "great opportunity for the Port to show their joy and commitment to diversity."
Over the next several weeks, though, he said, he was referred to several different people on staff, who told him different things about whether a menorah would be allowed.
Stein said Harvey Grad, the rabbi's attorney, contacted the Port last week and sent officials there a legal brief as a way of spurring action, given that Hanukkah was coming up, and to let the Port know the legal precedents involved in the issue.
It was not intended to be threatening, Stein said. When Port commissioners "told us just before Shabbat that they were taking down all the Christmas trees, we were totally aghast."
But some Port commissioners said they first heard about a threatened lawsuit Thursday.
"From what we were made to understand, if we didn't accede to the group's demands," they would file a lawsuit by the next day, Creighton said. "At the time, it seemed to be a reasonable solution to remove the Christmas trees."
Not only the Port, but local Jewish organizations, felt the consequences of that decision.
Robert Jacobs, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said about 14 organizations or rabbis had reported receiving hate e-mail. On Monday, his organization was advising local Jewish institutions that have received significant numbers of hate e-mails to consider having security during Hannukah and other holiday season events.
This is not the first public clash over the traditional symbols of Christmas.
For years, judges — including those of the U.S. Supreme Court — have been sorting out disputes over how nativity scenes and Christmas trees can be displayed in the lobbies of public buildings, in downtown plazas and in parks.
The furor has been building for years. Last month, the Alliance Defense Fund, a religion-based legal aid group in Arizona, announced it had lined up an army of attorneys who were prepared to defend the tradition of Christmas in schools and on public property.
"Frankly, it's ridiculous that Americans have to think twice about whether it's okay to say 'Merry Christmas,'" the group's president Alan Sears said.
Federal law prohibits government entities from endorsing any religious symbols, proselytizing for religion or preferring any one religion over another, said John Strait, an associate professor of law at Seattle University.
He said the Christmas holiday has become so secular that many symbols associated with it, such as the Christmas tree, have simply become symbols of the holiday. But legal debates rage over just how religious some symbols, such as the nativity scene, actually are. Strait said the menorah has achieved about the same religious status as a nativity scene.
Stewart Jay, a law professor at the University of Washington, admits that the rules aren't always so clear. A holiday display, he said, is allowed as long as it mixes several holiday symbols and traditions.
The Port of Seattle, Strait and Jay agree, could have allowed the menorah along with its Christmas tree in such a way that it would not have been an endorsement of religion. "And that would have been the end of it," Strait said.
In fact, the Christmas trees on their own might have been problematic, Jay said. Adding a menorahmight have given the Port some legal cover.
Across Washington, holiday displays and celebrations reflect the diversity of ways public and private bodies have found to recognize the holidays.
Each year — for many years — Seattle City Hall has featured a Christmas tree, menorah and Kwanzaa display, the mayor's spokeswoman, Marianne Bichsel said. "We want to make sure that however people choose to celebrate this time of year, that it is honored," she said.
In many school districts across the state, including Seattle and Bellevue, any holiday program or decorations must be tied to curriculum, officials there said.
The city of Redmond celebrates the season with displays of evergreen branches with white lights, poinsettias and wreathes inside City Hall. Outside, an evergreen tree, part of the city's landscaping, is decorated with multi-colored lights.
King County opts for "giving trees" in the lobby of the court house and the county administrative building. The trees include the names and gift wishes of people in need during the holiday, spokeswoman Carolyn Dunkin said.
Last year, a Catholic lawmaker from Spokane and his supporters stirred up a hornets' nest when they sang Christmas carols in front of the giant holiday tree that dominates the Capitol rotunda in Olympia. Rep. John Ahern, a Republican, said the Washington-grown fir is a holiday tree, not a Christmas tree.
Next week, following a lighting ceremony, a menorah will accompany that tree in the rotunda, said Steve Valandra spokesman for department of general administration, which oversees the capitol grounds.
Staff writer Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report.
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| SKOL: Careful with noisy toys around kids ... especially banjos |
[Dec. 8th, 2006|02:13 am] |
SKOL: Careful with noisy toys around kids ... especially banjos
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By DAVE SKOLODA
.
Gretchen gave me a banjo when I turned 40 some 25 years ago. She gave it with the admonition that I should learn to play it by the time I was 80. This was in my Pete Seeger period, so I enthusiastically banged out all his great tunes on my beautiful new five-string, maple wood banjo.
It wasn’t long, though, before she informed me that she wasn’t keen on the sound of a banjo, which tended to discourage my banjo playing. Way too loud, she said.
So I’ve pretty much stuck with the guitar, although I bring out the banjo once in a while when I’m in a particularly raucous mood.
Such was the case recently when the grandchildren were visiting. We often get the guitar out and sing some songs with them. During a recent song session here, I was wondering what the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” would sound like with the banjo accompaniment, so I put the guitar down and fetched the banjo from the closet.
The first chord elicited a sharp, startled response from 2-year-old Allison. Her lower lip curled out and I thought for a minute she was going to cry. Way too loud seemed to be the message.
So I put the banjo away.
Now I learn that way too loud is more than a simple matter of preference.
Paul R. Kileny, directory of audiology and electrophysiology ad the University of Michigan Health System, said in a recent news release that parents (and grandparents as well) need to be careful that the Christmas toys they choose do not make sounds that are too loud. That’s because children’s hearing is particularly sensitive, he said.
“While the inner ear is completely developed at birth and has the complete complement of hair cells, the ear canal is much smaller, and sounds entering the ear canal become louder because they develop in a smaller space,” according to the Newswise release.
So with as much as a 20-decibel difference between adult and infant ears, a child’s ears can be damaged more easily.
Kileny has tested toys loud enough to cause “immediate and permanent hearing loss.”
Kileny says it’s best if toys do not exceed 80 to 85 decibels, compared with normal conversation of about 60 decibels, a chain saw at 100 decibels and rock concert at 115. Computer games often exceed 110 decibels and “musical instruments can peak at those levels as well,” he said.
So Grandpa Dave is going to be careful about choosing toys that make noise, and he’s going to lower the decibels on “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir,” as well.
I’ll wait a few years to get serious about banjo ?say about 78 ?when, in a group of my peers, we can turn down our hearing aids and enjoy it. louis vuitton
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| Homestead test notes 2006-12-05 |
[Dec. 6th, 2006|04:08 am] |
Homestead test notes 2006-12-05
Racing series GRANDAM
Date 2006-12-05
Homestead-Miami Speedway December Test Notebook -- Day 1
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (December 5, 2006) -- The Daytona Prototypes and GT machines of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Special Reserve descended upon Homestead-Miami Speedway Tuesday for the first laps of a two-day test session at the 2.3-mile, 11-turn road circuit in preparation for next month's Rolex 24 At Daytona and the upcoming season.
Canadian hotshoe Michael Valiante turned the day's fastest lap, a 1:14.151 (111.664 mph) in the No. 19 Finlay Motorsports Ford Crawford during the afternoon session. Valiante edged fellow countryman Patrick Carpentier, who turned a 1:14.162 (111.647 mph) in the No. 11 CITGO/SAMAX Pontiac Riley, and American Jon Fogarty, who clocked a 1:14.341 (111.379 mph) in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley. Times for the test are unofficial, as teams aren't required to pass technical inspection.
A total of 35 machines, including 20 Daytona Prototypes, turned laps Tuesday, and with many deals for next season still up in the air, the test session is giving many drivers the opportunity to solidify rides in 2007. The 45th Rolex 24 At Daytona is set to take the green flag in just 53 days, on January 27, 2007.
GAINSCO/BOB STALLINGS RACING LOOKS TO BIGGER THINGS IN 2007
Following an impressive first full season in the Rolex Series in 2006, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing is hoping for even bigger things in 2007. The team, which came close to earning its first victory on several different occasions throughout 2006, returns full-time drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty as well as engineer Kyle Brannan, and team owner Bob Stallings is expecting the continuity to bring strong results throughout the upcoming season.
"The guys are excited to be back," Stallings said. "We've done very little testing so far, and they were itching to get back. For a lot of reasons, this team has a lot of high expectations for 2007. I think we can win next season and we've definitely got a strong lineup to go for the championship with Alex and Jon. We're very excited."
Stallings noted that the team's full lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be announced shortly. He intends to heed the advice of Alex Gurney's legendary father, Dan Gurney, in the 2007 rendition of the Rolex 24, especially after finishing 13th in the Daytona Prototype class and 24th overall in the team's maiden 24-hour race at the beginning of the 2006 season.
"Dan Gurney sat down with Alex and me a year ago and he tried to impress upon us that the 24-hour is not a race in the way that we're used to racing," Stallings explained. "He tried to get through our heads that it's not a race, but as soon as we left the meeting, Alex and I were both thinking that times have changed and that we really had to hang it out. We learned that it really isn't a race like we're used to. It's an event where the idea is to keep the car on the track for as long as you can. If you do that, you can come away with really good points and have a chance to win, and I think that's what we'll focus on this year."
COMPUSA TEAM CONTINUES DRIVER SEARCH; DRAWS VISIT FROM MONTOYA
Current Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, a Miami resident, visited Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday, although no announcement has been made regarding the Colombian's long-rumored participation in the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
As for a co-driver to team with 2004 Daytona Prototype co-champion Scott Pruett full-time in the No. 01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley next season, a pair of Mexican pilots turned laps Monday at Homestead in hopes of being offered the seat. Pruett was joined by Memo Rojas, who turned his first laps in the Daytona Prototype today, as well as Carlos Pardo, who turned laps with the team last month at Daytona International Speedway.
"Today for me was pretty simple, set up the car for Carlos and Memo and help get them up to speed the best I can so we could determine a second driver for the team," said Pruett. "I ran a handful of laps first thing this morning and turned the car over to them. Our plan should be the same for tomorrow so we'll see how they run."
An announcement disclosing the driver lineups for Chip Ganassi Racing is expected in the upcoming weeks.
WALLACE TESTS TEAM HLM INFINITI G35
Rolex Series veteran Andy Wallace, a regular in the Daytona Prototype class for the past three seasons, spent the early portion of the Homestead-Miami Speedway test aboard the new No. 35 Team HLM Infiniti G35 GT machine in addition to turning laps in the No. 20 Howard Motorsports Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype. As the No. 35 machine was built by Crawford Race Cars, Wallace was a natural fit to aid the team in its preparations for the 2007 season, although he was the first to admit that his knowledge of GT cars was somewhat limited.
"I don't have much experience with GT cars," Wallace said. "Most of my experience has been in Daytona Prototypes or prototypes of other kinds over the years, but my first impressions of the car are really good. The car is very comfortable to drive and it's very quick, particularly through the oval portion of the track.
"The biggest difference right now is that I'm used to the Daytona Prototype car, where I can brake and turn at the same time. You can't do that with a GT car, you have to brake and then turn. That caused a few anxious moments this morning, and it's an adjustment, but it's lots of fun."
Wallace is also one of many associated with the series who is bullish about the future of the GT class in the Rolex Series. Many observers expect the GT class to experience considerable growth in 2007, an expectation that is shared by Rolex Series officials given the number of single-class races scheduled for the upcoming season.
"I think it's an excellent concept," Wallace said. "You can build a proper race car, but it looks like a street car, and you can do it much less expensively. The potential for the GT class is huge. The concept is great, and a few more cars will make single-class races really good."
TWO CARS FROM SAMAX MOTORSPORT TURN TESTING LAPS IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Homestead-Miami Speedway is easily the closest Rolex Series venue to the SAMAX Motorsport race shop in Pompano Beach, Fla. and the team is taking advantage of the two-day test session at their "home" track to prepare for a two-car program in 2007.
Team owner Peter Baron pointed out that the team--which announced earlier this fall that popular Canadian racer Patrick Carpentier will be one of its full-time drivers in 2007--will test several different drivers during the two-day workout. Among the drivers who tested today in either the team's No. 7 or No. 11 Pontiac Riley are Champ Car and IndyCar veteran Darren Manning, Scottish rising star Ryan Dalziel, Jeff Bucknum and Tom Kimber-Smith in addition to regular drivers Carpentier and Milka Duno.
"Basically, the lineup is set for the CITGO car for the Rolex 24, but we haven't announced that yet," Baron explained. "We just cycled people through that car and the No. 7 car today. For the No. 11 car, it's been about going fast, but being conservative at the same time. The drivers have driven good, fast laps, but nobody's put a wheel off or run up on the curbing, which is good. That's what the No. 11 car was all about today. Sitting P2, 1/100th of a second off the best time after the first day is pretty good."
Baron was particularly impressed with Kimber-Smith on the first day of testing. The 22-year-old British driver brings an impressive resume, including the 2003 British Formula Ford championship, and Baron is hopeful that the youngster will find a home with his team in the Rolex Series.
"Tom was P8 on his first time in the car and that was pretty good," Baron said. "I know he's looking at a few different options right now, but I'd like to have him in our car for the Rolex 24 and the whole season. The No. 7 car was basically the one we ran for (Brian) Tuttle earlier this year and it pretty much just sat in the shop until the day after Thanksgiving. We did a complete rebuild on the car and this was the first time out with it. The car ran great all day. We'll cycle a few more drivers through it tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure that car will be fast as well." louis vuitton
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| Iowa Medical Suppliers Call on Sen. Grassley to Fight Medicare Cuts to Power Wheelchairs |
[Oct. 25th, 2006|09:24 am] |
Iowa Medical Suppliers Call on Sen. Grassley to Fight Medicare Cuts to Power Wheelchairs
Contact: Michael K. Frisby, 202-625-4328 or Mike@FrisbyAssociates.com, for the SCOOTER Store
DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Iowa medical equipment suppliers have asked Sen. Chuck Grassley to fight Medicare cuts that will restrict access to power wheelchairs for senior citizens and people living with disabilities, while negatively impacting on many small businesses across the state.
A new fee schedule that takes effect next month will cut Medicare reimbursements for power wheelchairs 21 percent - 41 percent, forcing many suppliers to either go out of business or no longer offer power wheelchairs. Suppliers say the Medicare reimbursements will be too low to cover the cost of acquiring the equipment, fitting the patient, servicing the wheelchairs and completing the extensive paperwork required by the government.
"These cuts are a huge problem," said Melissa Plew, Rehab Customer Service Manager for Hammer Medical in Des Moines. "We're worried about what's going to happen to these patients -- many will be confined to their beds. We would like to see clients get the equipment that they need to sustain their quality of life."
Terry Flatt, one of the principle owners of Hammer Medical, said suppliers in the state are urging Sen. Grassley, who is chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, to intervene with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and convince them to postpone the price cuts until a more equitable system is established to set prices.
"Now is the time for our Senators and Congressmen to step forward and protect their constituents," said Flatt, whose company has been in business since 1872. "If these cuts are implemented, there are going to be businesses closing, people losing their jobs, and seniors and people with disabilities needlessly forced to be confined to their beds, chairs and homes. Our company is constantly asked to provide a high level of service to Medicare beneficiaries, but we are repeatedly asked to take cuts for the services we provide, as the expenses continue to rise."
The underlying problem is that as the American society ages, the demand for power wheelchairs and scooters has increased significantly for a population that wants to remain as independent and as mobile as possible. CMS has reported a 2,700 percent increase in utilization over the past eight years. However, over the last three years CMS has responded to the increased demand for mobility equipment with a series of policy, rule and pricing changes that appear to be aimed at restricting beneficiary access to mobility equipment, crippling the industry that supplies it and restraining costs.
"The cuts will put some suppliers out of business, and it means we will have to expand our services into other product lines because we won't be able to continue providing power wheelchairs to Medicare recipients," said Jeff Bozarth, of Keokuk Area Medical Equipment, which has been in business since 1984.
Bozarth is particularly concerned about people diagnosed with ALS, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries and severe brain injuries who need the most sophisticated wheelchairs to increase their mobility. Tragically, CMS has put the largest price cuts on the chairs with the most technological advancements, the ones used by beneficiaries with the most severe physical impairments.
"Keokuk is in one of the poorest counties in Iowa, and a lot of elderly and people with disabilities are going to be suffering," Bozarth said. "This is all unnecessary. CMS just needs to come up with a fair pricing system and we can keep providing mobility equipment to those who need it. Hopefully, Sen. Grassley can fix this situation."
Moreover, Mary Sims, manager of The SCOOTER Store in Urbandale, said that seniors and people living with disabilities deserve better treatment from Medicare.
"By restricting access to this sophisticated mobility equipment, Medicare will be sentencing patients to live in institutions or require them to have caretakers in their home because they won't be able to feed themselves, or go to the bathroom," Sims said. "These costs will quickly outweigh the cost of Medicare providing a power wheelchair."
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| Elegance, style going too far outside the house |
[Sep. 22nd, 2006|11:04 pm] |
Elegance, style going too far outside the house
Sunday, September 17, 2006
LEE STRATTON
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The Shadea-lier from Olympia Lighting is a weatherproof, shaded chandelier designed for outdoor use. The molded resin fixture is available in 11 finishes, and the shades can be ordered in all Sunbrella acrylic fabrics.
We are taking this outdoor room thing a little too far.
First, it was the outdoor kitchen outfitted with a built-in grill and oven, a refrigerator and a sink with hot and cold running water. There are even dishwashers for outdoor kitchens.
The kitchen was followed by the outdoor living room with sofas, easy chairs, coffee tables, lamps and roomsize rugs — all with the look and feel of indoor furnishings.
Then came the notice from the American Home Furnishings Alliance that Americans are clamoring for outdoor breakfast rooms.
I recently received promotional materials for outdoor great rooms, including chandeliers, formal dining tables, big-screen televisions and wet bars.
Kitchens, living rooms, breakfast rooms and great rooms. Pretty soon, we’ll have moved the whole house outdoors. It gives new meaning to the term "patio home."
A survey by the Furnishings Alliance, an industry trade group, found that 42 percent of homeowners think of their outdoor space as an outdoor room.
The basic backyard patio has blossomed into a fully finished living space that’s an extension of a home’s family room, said Leslie Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association in Arlington, Va.
"The trend toward more casual living and entertaining is what has driven this move to the outdoor rooms," she said.
A survey by her group and the National Association of Home Builders found that patios and porches are among the top three features wanted by new-home buyers, Wheeler said.
Almost half of all new houses (46 percent) include patios and 53 percent have porches, the U.S. Census Bureau reported earlier this year. Those areas are being converted into outdoor rooms and are being furnished and decorated to the hilt.
Outdoor decor has taken on the flowery descriptions once reserved for formal living rooms.
"The look is pure elegance, pure tranquility, pure harmony," said Richard Frinier, a Century Leisure furniture designer.
Wheeler agreed that outdoor furnishings have a new touch of class.
"It’s not cheesy stuff the way it used to be. Throw pillows, for instance: Who would have thought we’d see throw pillows on porch furniture? "
People also are buying basic fire pits or full-fledged built-in fireplaces for the same reason they have an indoor fireplace.
"It’s for the ambience," she said.
Creating an outdoor room with the look of pure elegance can be costly.
Wheeler’s group notes that some people are spending as much as $50,000 to create and equip their outdoor rooms. I once bought a four-bedroom, two-story house in Clintonville for less than that.
More than a third of the homeowners surveyed by the Furnishings Alliance said they were not satisfied with their home’s outdoor living space.
My guess is that the dissatisfaction was sparked by the proliferation of fire pits, fireplaces and patio heaters to warm an outdoor space on crisp autumn nights. People with heated outdoor rooms probably want outdoor air conditioning, too.
Baby boomers, in particular, are spending more time and money on their patios, Wheeler noted.
"This is definitely a trend we are going to see for a while," she said.
I predict this trend of moving more rooms outdoors will end with the bathroom.
I used to spend time on a farm with outdoor bathrooms. People who want outdoor chandeliers and throw pillows aren’t ready for outhouses — especially on a hot summer day with no air conditioning.
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| Importers and Gadget-Lovers Find Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Portable DVD Players and More at Whol |
[Sep. 8th, 2006|04:15 pm] |
Importers and Gadget-Lovers Find Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Portable DVD Players and More at Wholesale Prices at Chinavasion.com
China-Based Site Ships Internationally, Has No Minimum-Order Policy
SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 17, 2006 -- Chinavasion Ltd. today announced the official launch - a discount marketplace of wholesale consumer electronics made by Chinese manufacturers - and the release of a complimentary newsletter featuring tips on how to import electronics from China.
China is home to many consumer-electronic manufacturers that don't have direct access to American retailers or that have limited international distribution agreements, said Rose Li, Public Relations Director at Chinavasion. Chinavasion, she said, is the online conduit for American importers to reach those Chinese manufacturers.
Chinavasion offers a wide assortment of electronics, ranging from cell phones and digital cameras to computer accessories and portable DVD players. The site includes a picture and description of each product - including specs - which make it easy for international buyers to review products and select their favorite electronic devices.
"There are plenty of businesses out there who want to buy low-cost electronics from China, but they don't know where to look, or, of course, they aren't familiar with the ins and outs of importing goods," Li said. "Our company gives clients a simple and reliable way to buy the electronics they want - without paying huge name-brand markups."
The site's recently debuted blog, "China Business News," contains new product reviews, frequently asked questions, details on international commerce, and a general list of products that can be imported from China. The site's new opt-in newsletter also features information on how to find products and suppliers in China, details on shipping and import taxes, tips on dealing with Chinese suppliers and advice on how to profit from a Chinese business relationship.
"We carefully explain everything in our newsletter, from drop-shipping to the current status of the global marketplace, so users know exactly what they're buying and what we're all about," Li said.
Li added that Chinavasion strives to offer the most competitive prices on all its products. For instance, a 1 GB MP3 Player costs $43.64 for a sample and a car-portable, region-free DVD player with two 7-inch TFT monitors costs $227.70. If a made-in-China consumer electronics product is not listed on the site, Chinavasion will help locate wholesale sources for it, as well as beat any competitor's price. The company accepts all major credit cards, PayPal payments and bank transfers.
Orders in the online shop are shipped by express courier internationally, and its shipping costs are based on the current rates of standard carriers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL. Chinavasion can also ship large wholesale orders using a consumer's preferred air or ocean freight service. Most products can be ready to ship in one or two business days, and all goods receive extra quality inspection before dispatch from a dedicated QA team.
For more information about Chinavasion and registration for a wholesale buyer account,
About Chinavasion Ltd.
Chinavasion is a Chinese-owned general trading and wholesale company. It buys exclusively from Chinese manufacturers that produce consumer electronics, notebook computers and computer parts. Chinavasion offers a wide selection of consumer electronic products on its Website, including popular, cutting-edge products and hard-to-find specialty products.
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| A woman's guide to male grooming |
[Aug. 21st, 2006|09:01 am] |
A woman's guide to male grooming
LEE RANDALL
EVERYONE got a bit giggly and nervous with the arrival of Metrosexual man, as if attentiveness to one's appearance predicated an instant dip in testosterone levels and the eradication of the important gender differences that were keeping heterosexuals in business. In truth, this trend, like so many, is merely another example of senseless branding. Evidence from prehistoric bodies discovered in Ireland proved that even Iron Age man wore hair gel (albeit made from plant oil and pine resin, not polymers) and kept his fingernails trim.
Anyone with a head for history will have no trouble recalling that powdered wigs were once all the rage, and that men in the court of the Sun King wore elaborate make-up and high heels. In Ming-dynasty China, androgynous, face-painting men were the norm. Meanwhile, those of a more scientific bent know it's the male of the species who bears the most astonishing plumage - from the peacock's tail to the lion's mane - preening and fluffing in the most flagrant manner when mating season arrives.
So let us rejoice, rather than recoil, at a new report in the Grocer magazine indicating that British men are really pulling out the stops - and their wallets - when it comes to looking good. Sales of skincare products rose by 26.7 per cent last year, to £63 million, while fragrance sales rose 10.4 per cent, to £124 million. The total men's toiletries market, excluding razor blades, is worth about £571 million, and exhibiting robust year-on-year growth at a rate of around 7.8 per cent. Another source, www.beauty-visions.com estimates that spending on men's grooming will hit £1.5 billion by 2008. That's a lot of moisturiser... and shaving cream, body wash, shampoo, teeth whitener, cologne and mud masks.
Ro Sakhuja, Tesco's senior buying manager for toiletries, health and beauty, says: "Men are demanding more for themselves and women are demanding more from their men... It is now officially cool for men to use wax strips, face masks, cleansers, scrubbers and balms."
Be that as it may, it's still a fact that the largest increases were in sales of good old shampoo and shower gel. Soap, by any other name. Nevertheless, at Sainsbury's, they're introducing a "men's zone" to capitalise on this new market. Grooming products formulated especially for men will be ghettoised, rather than displayed with their generic or female-specific counterparts.
I think we can all agree that a basic level of hygiene is not only acceptable, it's mandatory. But how much grooming is too much? Doesn't it depend? Russell Brand, Marilyn Manson and Keith Richards are all fans of the paintbox. They wear mascara, employ nail varnish, and sport hairstyles more elaborate than most women's. As stars of the business called show, they look terrific, iconic and utterly appropriate.
But transfer those same special effects to an accountant's office or your local loading dock, and they'd look clownish. So another rule of good grooming is that presentation must be matched to lifestyle as well as keeping pace with the times. Were a man to revive the facial fuzz that was so acceptable in the 1970s, he'd invariably resemble a porn star. Not a good look in any field of endeavour (except porn). And indeed nowadays when I see someone sporting a splend idly erect Mohawk hairstyle, I find myself cooing: "How quaint!"
Having discovered that one in five East Anglian men admit to regularly cultivating a fake tan and/or waxing their body hair, I thought I'd ask my own resident heterosexual (a man who likes his women womanly and his men manly, but who also has a healthy collection of colognes), where he draws the line on grooming, and whether he uses tweezers or eyeliner to do so.
It turns out men aren't so very different after all. Most of my husband's activities, he reveals, centre on the removal of extraneous hair from the nose, neck, eyebrows (when they threaten to merge), nipples, and even under his arms. Oh, not a full-scale shave, just a trim, since longer hair collects armpit perspiration and nasty smells repel him.
At 37, he's noticed the scary proof that between ages 30 and 50, male skin loses 25 per cent of its firmness and is further damaged by repeated shaving. He visits a dentist regularly for a cleansing scale and polish, moisturises, and washes his face twice daily to help keep his skin clear. He's never knowingly exfoliated, but after I explained what occurs during a facial, said he'd happily have one if he received it as a gift, but wouldn't seek it out.
Overall, his bathroom shelves are slightly less cluttered than mine, and with mainly generic (not man-specific) products (the odd can of Lynx appears, but I turn a blind eye). He has been known to sample my treasure troves if caught short on holiday, but isn't suckered by faddish potions, such as the cellulite creams this fool here keeps acquiring then throwing away.
During our marriage I've discovered that my husband grows restive when separated from his nail clippers. Now I know why. "Teeth, nails and shoes are the fundamental signs of breeding," he told me. "If you have horrible teeth it means your family didn't have the intelligence, concern or money to address the problem. If you have crap shoes, it means you have no personal style or class. And if you have bad fingernails, then you have no self-discipline. Dirty or bitten nails are the most horrendous things you can have."
While some studies suggest men are propelled into good grooming by demanding women, my guy's a self-starter, keen to look his best when he sets forth into the world. That, I think, reveals the real secret behind good grooming: it's about having enough self-esteem to wish to present yourself in the best possible light. And what on earth's wrong with that?
Trying too hard...
Cleanliness may be next to Godliness, but move too far in the other direction and your misdemeanour could become a crime against nature.
1 Unless you are a competitive bodybuilder or bona fide drag artiste, there is no need to depilate every square inch of your body. While ladies are unpredictable about their preferred amount of chest hair - some are gorilla-loving Gail Sheridans, others are Jordans, favouring the freshly-waxed look - I think we all agree that a man who removes all his arm and leg hair is like one of those hairless cats: vaguely frightening and vulnerable, but not in a good way. NB: If you are a "Tommy", avoid topiary effects. When your shirt comes off, no woman wants to see a team logo carved on to those pectorals. Or anywhere else, for that matter. There are other ways to get our attention.
2 Manicures are fine. A bit of clear nail varnish, iffy, though I've known a few CEOs who got away with it, since points gained for power more than compensated, testosterone-wise, for those sacrificed in the salon. But a French polish? That's so far over the top you're halfway to the Antipodes.
3 No highlights. No wigs. No way. There is no room to manoeuvre on this one.
4 Scent is always a nice added extra, but keep it subtle. I want an excuse to lean in for a satisfying sniff, not a reason to cover my nose and run for the door.
5 Be careful with that bronzer. You may think you look like a Greek god, but we're thinking Great Pumpkin. Especially worrisome for golden-haired blokes, since nothing's worse than a man whose skin and hair are indistinguishable.
6 Your shelves may boast three varieties of hairspray; your credit card may be maxed out on potions and product, but please don't tell me about it in a bid to bond. Your grooming rituals should remain part of your mysterious allure.
Many male grooming crimes are sins of omission rather than commission. Whether your goal is success in the boardroom or bedroom, do master a few basics.
...or not hard enough?
1 Soap is not an optional extra. A daily bath or shower is the least you can do. Pimples should be eradicated, with a dermatologist's help if necessary, and body odour kept at bay with regular applications of antiperspirant and deodorant.
2 Summer of '89 and all the boys looked like George Michael - but we've grown up since then, and the clean-shaven look is ideal for the vast majority of men. Whether you're a fan of electrics or badger-hair brushes, figure out which gels, foams or lotions suit your skin type and get rid of all that flotsam and jetsam obscuring your strong jaw and rugged cheekbones. Ditch all novelty hair.
Nothing's more repellent than a vaguely pubic strip loitering beneath your bottom lip, and as for silly sideburns, all I can say is it's lucky for Noddy Holder he has got a good personality.
3 Bad breath guarantees you won't even get the kiss of death. Dentists aren't alone in advocating frequent brushing of teeth and tongue - so do all the ladies who lunge.
4 Bill Bailey breaks every grooming rule and somehow looks adorable, but if your hair up top is thinning or long departed, don't grow what's left halfway down your back. Keep it cropped, since the shorter the hair, the less obvious the loss. By some weird and wonderful optical trick, you'll look younger, too.
5 Women think all feet are ugly, but if your toenails evoke thoughts of the great horned toad, have them seen to. By a professional.
6 Unless you're a guitarist, take a tip from the lesbians and keep your fingernails short, shapely and smooth.
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| Sand recharge woe for water sports operator |
[Aug. 19th, 2006|11:08 am] |
Sand recharge woe for water sports operator
CONCERN: Dick Woodford of Ocean Bay Watersports at Swanage
THE tourists may love the sweeping expanses of new sand on Swanage beach, but for one business the recharge scheme is proving a serious threat.
Ocean Bay Water sports , at the north end of the bay, has been launching boats and jet skis into the water for the past 15 years.
It has been so successful that owners Dick and Brenda Woodford have not had to advertise in four years.
But this summer there is an extra 20 to 30 metres of sand from the end of the launch ramp to the sea as a result of the council's beach recharge scheme, and that has changed everything.
continued...
Dick said: "You used to be able to push jet skis and small boats into the water because it was only a few feet. But now it's a serious struggle getting them in even with a 4x4."
Dick is keen not to criticise the recharge scheme and says he loves the extra sand it has brought to his stretch of beach.
But he says he is losing customers and has to use his trailer constantly and charge half-price into the bargain to keep those he has happy.
"I warned the council about this a year ago.
"I came very close to not signing the agreement to allow the recharge," he said.
"But I didn't want to be a nuisance and stop the whole thing happening.
"The council promised I would not get a significant amount of sand, but when I returned here in the spring, I found a huge mountain of it in my section."
The only solution now is for the council to provide artificial slipways across the new sand, but negotiations are dragging and the tourist season is well under way.
"I've already had to cut my prices and we're losing customers. It feels like the council would prefer us to go away," he added.
Mike Goater, district engineer at Purbeck District Council, said talks were under way to resolve the situation.
"The natural forces of the sea will put the sand at a certain level regardless, so we are currently in the process of finding a solution that works with nature rather than against it," he said.
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| Five-stroke lead nets golf classic for Choi |
[Aug. 14th, 2006|12:07 pm] |
Five-stroke lead nets golf classic for Choi
Melbourne's Jerry Uszynski tees of in the Shipwreck Coast Golf Classic as Paul Robinson (Kyneton) and Andrew Janiak (Listerfield) watch his style.
VICTORIAN Golf Association team member Michael Choi took out the Shipwreck Coast Golf Classic yesterday after shooting to a five-stroke lead over the two-day event.
Choi, 22, was joint leader with Matthew Griffin after the first 18 holes (68), but won the scratch event convincingly after a round of 70 yesterday.
The winner finished off six under par.
Committee member Vince Gleeson said the day was successful. ``We had probably 200 entrants this year,'' Gleeson said.
``That's up about 15 per cent on last year.''
The two-day, 36-hole event saw the four grades playing 18 holes on the Warrnambool and Port Fairy golf courseS.
Former Timboon man Quinton Howe took out the A-grade event with 143 strokes.
Greg Duguid came out on top in the B-grade event hitting 151 over the two days.
Michael Veljovic, who was an entrant in the D-grade section, took out the Chittick Cup handicap event.
Veljovic had an overall score of 167, but won with 135 strokes with a handicap of 16.
Andrew McQuinn won the C-grade scratch event with 165 strokes.
Barry Brown took out the D-grade scratch event, hitting 175 strokes over the 36 holes.
Meanwhile, 24 contenders participated in the women's section which was held on Friday.
Warrnambool's Maida Gilbert took out the stableford with 36.
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| Dish TV set to create niche channels to beat the competition |
[Aug. 9th, 2006|02:43 pm] |
Dish TV set to create niche channels to beat the competition
Indiantelevision.com Team
(7 August 2006 4:25 pm)
NEW DELHI: With a second player in the DTH arena round the corner in the form of Tata Sky, Dish TV is finalizing creation of new channels for its subscribers.
According to Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna, work has started on new niche channels to be introduced on the DTH platform over the next 12-24 months.
Pointing out that the target is to have a between 190-200 channels on Dish TV, Khanna said, "Some of the new channels would be created within the Zee group, while few may be brought in as part of third party distribution."
The reason behind creating niche channels instead of importing products from outside India is that not all niche channels available are suited for Indian viewers.
For example, Khanna said, if Dish wants to introduce a premium gardening channel, there was no use getting one from outside as the weather conditions and local environment is different in India.
“To give an instance, if we have a gardening channel, then it’s best to create it in India and in-house. This way we would also be able to study the feasibility of such niche channels, which may have limited, but loyal viewership that would be ready to pay even a premium,” Khanna said.
Dish TV, country’s first pay TV platform, is managed by the Subhash Chandra-controlled ASC Enterprises that is the DTH licence holder. Another Chandra company, Zee Network, has a programme supply agreement with ASC.
Dish TV, which is pumping up the noise around the usefulness of subscribing to a DTH service, is also increasing its investment in the project.
“We have spent around Rs 3.5 billion in the DTH project till now, out of which a major part has been spent on customer acquisition,” Khanna said.
He added that investment would be upped “as needed from time to time to expand operations and offerings.”TV Set
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