Behind the BBC’s warming fanaticism are a series of financially-driven motives. Richard Black, as readers of this site will know, is the BBC’s web environment correspondent. He – like many of his BBC colleagues – also makes a tidy income from chairing conferences. Back in 2008, for example, he was a lead facilitator at a Pew Symposium in Tokyo which considered the likely impact on whales of climate change (!), a role for which he is likely to have been paid several thousand pounds. The conference was funded and organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a US body which, like the BBC is an ardent believer in climate change. Their website leads its relevant section with this:
The world’s leading scientists agree that the planet is warming and that human activities—especially the burning of fossil fuels and the clearing of forests—are a big part of the cause.
Indeed, Pew is so focused on forcing the world to adopt carbon trading and the like that it has its own climate change centre.
Somebody else who works for Pew is a public relations consultant called Kate Moffat, whose employer is PR outfit Luther Pendragon, who say on their website that they specialise in the environment and also have on their books those with vested interests in the climate change scam. Ms Moffat handles the Pew Charitable Trusts account on behalf of Luther Pendragon, and in that role, she has just been appointed to the so-called independent committee that is looking into the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia. Bishop Hill notes today that the committee appears increasingly to be heading towards carefully-orchestrated conclusion through the guidance of Ms Moffat (and anbother PR sidekick).
So, Mr Black and Ms Moffat are both firmly within the paid orbit of Pew, one of the little-known but hugely influential bodies that pull the strings of the climate change debate. It shows yet again, in the world of climate science, the more you scatch the surface, the more there is evidence of strange linkages and vested interests at work; and that BBC employees are well and truly in bed with those shadowy forces.
The 2010 Urban River Restoration and Cities of the Future conferences will be held together March 7-10 at the Boston Marriot Cambridge.
The Urban River Restoration conference will focus on the role of “revitalized urban rivers and waterfronts within the context of two major trends: an increased focus on sustainable practices to benefit the environment, and a population shift back to cities, which leads to a renewed emphasis on a livable urban environment.”
Participating organizations include:
New England Water Environment Association
Water Environment Research Foundation
American Rivers
Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (EWRI)
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
The Urban River Restoration conference will also be held in conjunction with the Cities of the Future conference, enabling interdisciplinary networking across both conferences. The Cities of the Future conference will “bring together a diverse group of practitioners, researchers and policy-makers who share a vision of an improved urban landscape for future generations. The conference will host interdisciplinary discussion required to create sustainable urban infrastructure that will meet the challenges of the 21st century and the interdependent engineered and natural systems that will characterize Cities of the Future.”
Participating organizations include:
International Water Association
New England Water Environment Association
Water Environment Research Foundation
Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (EWRI)
National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
American Planning Association – Massachusetts Chapter
Keynote speakers for the joint conference include:
Paul Brown, AICP, Executive Vice President, Global Market Development, CDM. Technical Director, Neysadurai Centre for Integrated Water Resources and Urban Planning, Singapore
Michael Van Valkenburgh, FASLA, Principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design. Lead Principal, Lower Don Lands Urban Design Plan and Don River Park, Toronto
Image credit: 2008 ASLA Analysis and Planning Honor Award. Port Lands Estuary: Reinventing the Don River as an Agent of Urbanism, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects, New York, New York
We’ve certainly written plenty about Intellectual Ventures, the giant, incredibly secretive, patent hoarding operation that has convinced a bunch of companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in a sort of pyramid scheme protection racket, to avoid getting sued on any of the patents that it holds. But now it’s taken things a step further. Last year, we saw how at least one IV patent had shown up in a patent lawsuit, and now Zusha Elinson is reporting that Intellectual Ventures has effectively loaned out one of its patents to member company Verizon, with which it can sue TiVo, in response to a lawsuit TiVo filed against it.
Yes, effectively, Intellectual Ventures is becoming an arms dealer in patent nuclear war.
Think about this for a second. TiVo sued Verizon over patents. Traditionally in patent lawsuits between two big tech companies, the sued party then finds some of its own patents that the other company is infringing on and then counter-sues. But, in this case, apparently Verizon couldn’t find anything good, and IV dug through its own portfolio and transferred the rights over to Verizon so Verizon could pound back on TiVo. This must be what Verizon paid Intellectual Ventures $350 million for. The right to get handed patents that it has no intention of using or implementing, but over which it can sue others. I don’t think this is what Thomas Jefferson envisioned when he set up the patent system.
Amusingly, Intellectual Ventures tries to position this all as a good thing:
Don Merino, vice president of licensing at IV, said it’s an example of IV taking “a much more customer-centric approach.”
“We want to figure out how to get out of the, ‘I win, you lose’ to a much more collaborative, ‘We both win,’” said Merino.
Well, sure. Unless you’re TiVo. Or the general public who would prefer that these hundreds of millions of dollars getting tossed around went towards actual innovation instead of lawsuits.
The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change is proudly touting its 40-page brochure on climate change in cities.
Cities, we are told, are concentrations of vulnerability to the harmful impacts of climate change. They are also, directly and indirectly, responsible for the majority of the world’s emissions of greenhouse gasses. 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, a number that is set to increase to 60% by 2030. For all of these reasons, cities are on the front line in responding to the threats of climate change.
For further details, you must contact Professor Jim Hall, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University. By some strange coincidence, that is exactly the same detail on a grant application to the Engineering and Physical Science Council (EPSRC), which just happens to have given him £124,385 for a project labelled SCORCHIO: “Sustainable Cities: Options for Responsing to Climate cHange Impacts and Outcomes”.
SCORCHIO, it turns out, is a bit of a bun fight for academics. Not only is Newcastle University a beneficiary, Professor GJ Levermore of the University of Manchester has also done rather well out of it. He as scooped the jackpot of £319,234 for his part in the project.
Click source to read FULL report from Richard North
Sometime in 2008, an avid passionate collector with a special taste for coach building was sitting in his Bentley Continental Flying Spur and wished it was a two-door hatchback/station wagon instead of a sedan. So he contacted the folks at Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera and this is what they came up with to show at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera says that the car, known as the Bentley Continental Flying Star, is a limited-production shooting brake inspired by Bentley’s latest Grand Tourers.
As described by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera:
The transformation of a 2-door coupé, by expanding the roof line and enlarging the interior dimensions, has led to a design concept baptised as shooting brake: a sports car featuring enough space to join a hunting party or a golf tournament with elegance and efficiency.
The Bentley Continental Flying Star is available with a 6.0L W12 making either 553-hp or 750-hp (Speed version). Power is sent to the wheels via a 6-speed automatic.
Touring will only make 20 units with prices starting at €590,000 ($805,570 USD). At that price we’ll be surprised if they sell one.
Bentley Continental Flying Star:
Press Release:
The origins of the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring
It takes an avid and passionate collector, with a taste for special coach building, to be at the basis of a project like the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring. Exactly such a person contacted Touring Superleggera in early 2008.
An interesting initial creative process emerged involving parameters for design, proportions, vehicle concepts and – last but not least- feasibility and technical factors.
Many steps from design to execution were shared with the customer, who contributed with his own ideas and taste to personalise the project and create a unique automobile.
A basic idea was formed by the desire to diversify Bentley’s very successful Continental model range, and to explore new concepts.
The transformation of a 2-door coupé, by expanding the roof line and enlarging the interior dimensions, has led to a design concept baptised as shooting brake: a sports car featuring enough space to join a hunting party or a golf tournament with elegance and efficiency. Touring Superleggera explored the same field back in 1966, resulting in the amazing Lamborghini Flying Star II prototype. It was a dramatic interpretation of a sports car based on a new 2-volume design, safeguarding the dynamic performance. The Flying Star reference is a Touring parameter of sportive elegance, applied to many famous cars since the companies’ start in 1926.
Flying Star in 2010 – the Bentley challenge
The Bentley Continental GT range set innovative and high standards for a new generation of very sophisticated Grand Tourers. As such, this model triggered the imagination of automotive designers and coach builders elsewhere. The GTC convertible, featuring a very rigid platform, proved to be a fully congruent basis to Touring Superleggera’s plans for the new Flying Star. The new project required the modification of a number of external dimensions starting from the car’s A-pillar backwards: extended roof line, a wider section including the doors, new aluminium door skins and a new all-aluminium, electrically operated tailgate. It also includes a completely new rear compartment with two foldable rear seats and a variable loading space.
This long list of modifications and transformations had to be paired with, and to remain fully compatible to the basic car’s technical layout and components. Given the sophistication of the basic car, a new challenge was laid out for Touring’s craftsmen and engineers. The final result proves that special coach building can live on well into the 21st. century working with respect to the original manufacturers.
Touring Superleggera is particularly proud of the fact that the complete productive cycle of the special coach building process was realized in their workshop near Milano. Modern body engineering went hand in hand with traditional handicraft skills, maintaining the highest quality directives for the final product.
Project Engineering
The body engineering processes at Carrozzeria Touring are aimed at safeguarding key parameters for quality, safety and feasibility, within the perspectives of low-volume automotive production. The project went through 1:4 and 1:1 modelling, based on the CAD and CATIA data from the basic vehicle. This digital basis resulted in a milled 1:1 master model and a number of 1:1 moulds for the manufacturing of the new external skin, and for important new body components.
The rear bodywork was reinforced with an integrated structure between the rear suspension domes, functioning both as roll bar, and as support for the new, extended roofline. All structural additions and modifications were thoroughly studied, using advanced simulation methods and FEM-analysis. As a parallel process, these data served for the homologation of the structural changes, including the new foldable rear seats. An important number of hard points from the basic car could be saved and carried-over. The engineering team at Carrozzeria Touring was particularly pleased with the quality assurance support from Bentley engineers.
Design
‘Variations on a theme’ not rarely implicate a larger design challenge, than starting-off with a white sheet of paper. The basic mission was to create a body incorporating the essence of Touring elegance and harmony, while clearly recognizable as a Bentley. This task was challenging because a fully new volume had to be added to the GTC basis. The proportions were totally new, but the overall design had to be kept consistent. That is why only the section in front of the car’s A-pillar, including the windshield has been maintained.
Viewed from the rear, the new tailgate dives between the wide rear wings. The oval rear light chrome bezels are a reference to Bentley fastback cars of the ‘50. The side view features a low roof, prominent quarter panel shoulders and wide wheel arches, suggesting perfectly mastered energy.
The Touring Superleggera designers were challenged by the target to give the new interior equal elegance, whether the back of the rear seats are folded or not. The solution was to design an “S” shaped trim of the rear quarter panels linking the passenger area to the rear luggage area. The beige and dark green leather contrast also adds to this visual unity.
First time ever in this class and size, the twin individual rear seats fold completely to create a flat loading surface more than 2m long with 1200lt capacity. This is instrumental to fulfill the functional mission profile, which requires loading in full comfort a wide array of leisure equipment, including 4 full golfing bags with the rear seats up. An example of bespoke finish is the woven leather boot carpet offering superior endurance and coordinated with the special luggage set.
The overall result is perfectly in line with the Touring and Flying Star heritage: a timeless shape, a design statement combining elegance and sportiveness, with a strong and unmistakable own personality and individuality.
Manufacturing
When digital technologies are blended with traditional manufacturing skills, a fascinating process emerges that is typical for Touring Superleggera. A discriminating factor for traditional coach building was and is the vast amount of handwork that is involved in the creation of a new body. In this process, multiple practical solutions are also found for a wide variety of minor technical issues. This includes quick, practical solutions based on years-long experience, common sense and an expert eye.
The result is a final product entirely produced within the high quality parameters of today’s automotive industry. From the A-pillar backwards, new exterior body panels were hand shaped in steel – including the roof, new wider rear wings, and the internal reinforcements of the complete rear section of the car. Aluminium was used for the door skins, and for the complete rear bonnet including its structure. New, handmade brightwork was added according to the new exterior design.
The all new rear compartment required shaping of the foldable rear seats and a full set of interior panels, leather trimmed with meticulous care. Wide leather hides were selected with great attention to provide uniform finish to the vast continuous surfaces.
After inspection, the body in white was prepared and painted in the Touring state-of-the-art paint facilities. The final result underwent again a special final quality audit.
Performance
The Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring inherits the chassis of the Continental GTC. The 6-liter, W12 engine is available either in the 560HP version which delivers 650NM of torque at 1600rpm or the GTC Speed variant which delivers a massive 750Nm from 610HP. The car exhibited in Geneva Motor Show features the GCT Speed specifications.
Performance braking, cornering and traction functions mesh together to provide precise and immediate driving control under extreme or difficult conditions. Self-adjusting air springs and electronic dampers operate independently for each wheel. Allwheel drive promotes advanced traction.
Homologation
The model is CEE homologated according to the new low-volume production directive. For the first time since its introduction, the type approval was awarded without destructive test, using simulation and FEM-analysis.
Future Programme
Touring Superleggera undertakes a limited production run of up to 20 units of the Continental Flying Star. This series will be exclusively built to special order and customer specifications. The car is offered at a basic price of € 590.000 when based on a Continental GTC – 560 PS.
Other versions on request.
The car will be serviced at the Bentley dealers. Bentley Motors and Touring Superleggera have developed a special mutual warranty program, which safeguards warranty clauses for both the basic car, and the transformation by Touring.
Personalisation
The customers are actively involved in the early stage to choose the specifications of their own unique automobile, ranging from bespoke cabinetry and trim to a wide choice of dedicated options. The accessory collection includes the Touring designed luggage set coordinated with the boot trim, and the distinctive Borrani X-Ray spoke wheels.
Blending advanced technology with craftsmanship, Borrani 20” 9.5j X-Ray spoke wheels provide distinctive design, precision and comfort. Featuring monolithic spun aluminium rim and hand assembled steel spokes, they can be tailored to the car’s painting and finish.
Louis de Fabribeckers, Head of Design
Responsible for the design team of the Flying Star project is the 32 years young Belgian designer Louis de Fabribeckers. Graduated from the ISD of Valenciennes in France in Engineering Design, de Fabribeckers started to work with Touring in 2006 as project leader.
Under his hands, the Maserati based Bellagio and A8GCS Berlinetta projects materialized; the first one being a fastback, 5-door version of the Quattroporte model, and the second a magnificent concept for a light and compact, modern sports car. Both new projects were presented at the occasion of the 2008 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elégance. The A8GCS Berlinetta was granted the ‘Plus Belle Supercar de l’Année 2008’ award by the expert jury of the 24th. Festival Internationale de l’Automobile in Paris.
Louis de Fabribeckers lives and works in Milan.
Technical information
(where appropriate based on a Continental GTC Speed)
ENGINE
* Capacity 5998 cc W shaped 12 cyl.
* Max.Power 610 PS /449 kW @ 6000t/m
* Max. Torque 750 NM @ 1700-5600t/m
DRIVELINE AND TRANSMISSION * Continuous all-wheel drive
* 6-speed automatic transmission
PERFORMANCE
* Max. Speed 322 km/h (TBC)
* Acceleration 0-100km/h 4.8 seconds (TBC)
DIMENSIONS
* Overall length 4815mm
* Width 1943mm
* Overall Height 1395mm
* Min. Boot volume 400L
* Max. Boot volume 1200L
The Touring A8 GCS Berlinetta is now ready for one-off production
Geneva is the first public appearance of this prototype after the Concours d’Élegance previews. Touring Superleggera has completed the development stage and is now ready to produce a rolling concept for one of the passionate clients who showed their enthusiasm since the first debut.
The Berlinetta is based on a high-end production platform revised by Touring. It has been carefully selected to match the mission profile in power, torque, and handling.
Compact, light and powerful, the shape embodies the perfect high performance sports car in the Touring tradition. The A8 GCS Berlinetta is a strict two-seater with perfectly balanced volumes and frugal decoration.
“We wanted a strong project” – says the Belgian Head of Design of Touring Superleggera, Louis de Fabribeckers – “I drew from the stylistic heritage of Touring the work of surfaces and also this sinusoidal line across the side of the Berlinetta”. The car is 4,20 m. long and only 1,22 m. high on a 2,50 m. wheelbase. Engineers target a 1500kg weight for the finished car.
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera
Founded by Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni in 1926, the company started to produce custom built automotive bodywork with two distinctive features form the very beginning: sporting elegance and lightness. Early customers were reputed car makers as Isotta Fraschini and Alfa Romeo. It would mark the start of a flamboyant period, also culminating in the ‘Flying Star’ period with several spectacular spider coachworks.
Touring Superleggera also gradually researched the streamlining process. The marriage between this, and their Superleggera construction system using aluminium body panels over a light but rigid tubular steel frame, resulted in some extremely elegant masterpieces such as the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C2900 Touring spider, which today have become icons of automotive design and body construction. In 1945, the excellent Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni joined his father at the company, which soon started to receive its first orders from a motivated Modenese entrepreneur called Enzo Ferrari. The Tipo 166 Touring ‘Barchetta’ of 1950 formed a new milestone for light, elegant and effective design on a competition chassis.
Under Carlo Felice, Touring saw its industrial customer basis grow in the mainstream of the expanding automotive industry in Italy and Europe. A number of niche models were designed and built on Alfa Romeo 1900, Lancia Flaminia and Maserati 3500. Another new inspired car manufacturer from the Bologna area relied on Touring’s skills: Lamborghini. At the same time, Aston Martin produced their DB4, 5 and 6 models with a license for the Superleggera system.
The energy crises of the early seventies, and the increasing mass production methods in the car industry would regretfully force many specialist companies to close their doors. The last production car left Carrozzeria Touring in 1966, but the true Touring spirit was firmly consolidated in the company’s products, that found their ways to an international community of motoring enthusiasts and car collectors.
In 2006, the year of its 80th. Anniversary, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera of Milan restarted its activities, now part of Zeta Europe BV, a private company specializing in automotive highend products and brands.
Ruote Borrani presents a new wire wheel at 2010 Geneva show for the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring
For the discerning client who wishes to add a very special accent to his car, the prestigious wire wheel manufacturer from Milan took up the challenge to develop an innovative new tubeless wire wheel with the dimensions of 9,5J X 20”. This exciting new product finds its origins in Borrani’s new technological wire wheel generation, baptized Borrani X-Ray.
The new X-Ray program required an intensive development programme over several years, and a grueling test procedure. The wheels feature a high-quality, strong monolithic spun and polished aluminum rim, a forged alloy center hub and special stainless steel spokes to the highest quality standards.
Different other finishes like bespoke paintings can be specially ordered, offering possibilities to meet a wide variety of individual tastes.
The wheels were developed to offer maximum performance and safety.
Ruote Borrani, member of the same industrial group as Touring Superleggera, is currently expanding its new S-Ray, X-Ray and Bimetal ranges of new wheels for modern vehicles, thus reviving and developing the fascinating wire wheel heritage and know-how since 1922 into the 21st. century.
Doctors give a California man, Tom Parker, weeks to live. Tom has cancer. Upon his death, events will be set in motion that will fulfill a long-standing vow – a vow that involves the late Frank (better known as Chris) McCue of Springfield.
McCue was part of a nine-man crew that flew a B-17 bomber in World War II. Tom Parker, 89 years old, is the last man standing from that crew.
Their plane, Lady Luck, saw its luck run out on March 28, 1945. It was on a bombing run over Germany when it was hit by enemy fire. The plane crashed in France. The crew bailed out, and all nine were rescued by the American Advance Signal Corps and taken to Nance, France.
The Lady Luck was part of the 401st Bombardment Group. The guys McCue flew with always meant a lot to him. Even while on their honeymoon in 1949, he and his wife, Fran, visited two members of the crew.
Most of the nine kept in touch long after the war. They held their first postwar reunion in 1972.
Robert Kamper, who was the pilot, brought eight glass-bottomed drinking mugs to that first reunion. Each mug was engraved with the name of the crew member who would receive it.
The seven who were there that day (one had died, one was not in attendance) promised to drink from their mugs on only two occasions – with another Lady Luck crew member or on March 28, the day their B-17 had been shot down.
“We had that date circled on our calendar,” Fran says. “Every year we would get a call from Tom on that day.” Not that Chris needed to be reminded, but it was a good excuse for old friends to talk.
Upon each crew member’s death, his mug was to be sent to a fellow crew member, who would take a final drink from it, then break the glass bottom so that no one could ever use it again.
All eight men stayed true to their vow. Two years ago, when Chris died at the age of 88, Fran sent her husband’s mug to Tom at his home in California.
Now, only Tom remains. He has all eight of the mugs, seven of them with the bottoms broken out. The last mug will be broken soon.
After Tom’s death, per the bomber crew’s request, his wife, Joan, will ship all of the mugs to England. Waiting for them there is Graham Bratley, chairman of the 401st Bombardment Group Historical Society.
“When the time comes,” Joan says, “he will take them to the old runway, from which the crew used to take off on their missions. It is now a farmer’s field. Graham has agreed to bury them in the ground there.”
The old airfield is Deenethorpe, near Corby, England.
When Graham receives those mugs, only one of them will still be intact – Tom’s.
“He wants Graham to smash the glass bottom out of it before he puts it with the other mugs and buries it at the end of the runway in Deenethorpe,” says Joan.
By e-mail from England, Graham said he will be honored to perform the duties.
“There is not too much of the base left, as the land has been returned to agricultural use,” he wrote, “but the main runway together with the perimeter track remain. I would expect to have some form of ceremony when the mugs are finally committed to the ground on the old airfield, but I have not decided as yet.”
Whatever Graham does on that day sometime this spring, the saga of the crew of the Lucky Lady will end, just as they wanted it to end.
Everybody has a story. The problem is that some of them are boring. If yours is not, contact Dave Bakke at 788-1541 or [email protected]. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To read more, visit www.sj-r.com/bakke.
Darien police issued an alert to officials in Jasper, Fla., early Wednesday in search for a car possibly used in a home invasion that left three family members dead.
Hamilton County Sheriff Harrell Reid said his office was notified about 1 a.m. by Darien police in reference to an alert for a 1994 BMW with Illinois plates, which may have been driven by a suspect in the home invasion.
“This was mostly a safety check, and we were told if anyone came into contact with this person, to use extreme caution,” Reid said.
“We checked every road and every residence close to the area but we haven’t found anything,” Reid said.
He said the search continued until 7:30 a.m. to no avail.
A surviving daughter, Angela Kramer, called 911 just before 3 a.m. Tuesday from a closet in her parents’ home after a gunman killed her father, Jeffrey R. Kramer, 50; her mother, Lori L. Kramer, 48, and a brother, Michael J. Kramer, 20, police said.
Angela Kramer, 25, and her ex-boyfriend share custody of their 13-month-old son and have been locked in a visitation battle in DuPage County Circuit Court, records show.
Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times the ex-boyfriend called police Tuesday morning saying he saw news coverage of the killings on TV and wanted to know whether Angela was OK.
The ex-boyfriend was accompanied to the Darien police station by an attorney. Darien Deputy Police Chief John Cooper said the man was not a suspect.
The killings were the first in the western suburb since a murder-suicide in 1995, police said.
A 44-year-old Chicago Heights woman escaped to safety after fighting off an attacker who sprayed her with Mace and shot her with a stun gun in her home, police said.
Ken E. Chapman, 39, 4540 Farmington Road, Richton Park, was charged with home invasion, aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and residential burglary for his role in the attack last Saturday, police said. He’s being held without bail at Cook County Jail.
Police said Chapman knew the woman for about 10 years through a bowling league, and she had him over to fix two computers at her house in the 200 block of Sherry Lane.
About 11:30 a.m., she sat down at the computer in her son’s room and asked Chapman a question about the computer’s display, when he began choking her and sprayed her with Mace, acco rding to police.
Authoritites said that when she fought back, Chapman shocked her in the stomach and thigh with a stun gun.
Police said the woman overpowered Chapman, grabbed the stun gun out of his hands and tried to shock him with it but failed. She then ran from the house and called police from a neighbor’s home, police said.
They said Chapman fled from the house but was caught a short time later in the 400 block of Joe Orr Road. When he was arrested, he was carrying a laptop com puter, a roll of duct tape, sexual aids, a digital camera, a tripod and a hammer, according to police.
They said it’s the second time Chapman has been accused of a similar crime in less than two years, having been charged with home invasion in Chicago in March 2009.
Ridership on Orland Park’s Dial-A-Ride buses has dropped since the village reduced service and raised fares at the start of the new year.
To help close a budget shortfall for the 2010 fiscal year, the village made cuts to the Dial-A-Ride program, eliminating weekend service and changing the fare schedule to $4 for all riders unless they are disabled.
Disabled riders who show a reduced fare card from the Regional Transportation Authority or a disabled identity card from the Illinois secretary of state’s office pay $2.
The majority of the program’s riders are seniors or the disabled who must call 24 hours in advance to schedule a ride. Rides are scheduled on a first-come, first- served basis.
In January of 2009 there were 1,274 one-way weekday trips and 191 one-way Saturday trips recorded. Last month, 938 weekday one-way trips were recorded, a ridership decline of 36 percent.
Village manager Paul Grimes and Trustee Ed Schussler, finance chairman, said the decline is what officials anticipated.
“We factored a 33 percent reduction in ridership as we are operating one-third less bus capacity,” Grimes said. “Moreover, with the fare increase, we budgeted for an additional 10 percent fall off in ridership. In sum, the January numbers are consistent with what we expected.”
Schussler said that while ridership is down, so is feedback.
A proposal to eliminate the service drew substantial opposition late last year.
“I’ve received no feedback, positive or negative,” Schussler said. “Things seem to be operating fine with the reduced schedule.”
Mayor Dan McLaughlin, who said he hasn’t received any phone calls on the service, agreed.
“I would consider it means the program is still providing service to people in need,” he said.
But Schussler said some riders, who are disabled, have grumbled because they need to show identification.
David Hutter whose 31-year-old disabled son takes the bus four days a week to a job at the Sportsplex, said they opted for the ID from the secretary of state’s office.
“It was the best way to go,” he said.
The RTA card required too much paperwork and it didn’t come in time, he said.
Hutter said the fare increase is a hardship on some riders who, like his son, do not make much money.
But aside from that he has no complaints.
The service provides his son and others with a sense of independence, a very important aspect of the program, he said.
Despite the reduction in service, Hutter said his son has had no trouble scheduling rides when he needs them.
“It’s been great,” Hutter said. “They pick him up at home and drop him off.”
While Orland Park’s ridership is down, the Orland Township Senior Transportation Program has seen a spike in the number of riders who sign up for free rides.
Betty Fugger, Orland Township’s senior transportation coordinator, said the township’s service accommodates seniors 55 and older. But it doesn’t have the capacity to help those seniors who use wheelchairs.
While medical appointments are the township’s main focus, rides to the bank, beauty parlor and senior luncheons are also given.
She said she sees more riders who used the village’s Dial-A-Ride program calling the township to schedule rides.
Last month, the township gave 991 one-way rides to seniors, up from 941 rides given in January 2009, Fugger said.
“They can get a better deal with us,” she said. “It’s all about the money.”
Parents in Oak-Lawn Hometown School District 123 strongly criticized board members Tuesday night during a special meeting to reconsider the closing of Brandt School.
Amid a standing-room-only crowd, several parents denounced the school board for making the decision last week to close the school without first seeking public input.
“These cuts are not an option,” said Marie Craven, reading a statement on behalf of her adult daughter, Karen Craven, who could not attend the meeting. “I believe the meeting this evening is redeeming. I hope this evening represents the start of a new chapter for School District 123.”
Karen Craven, who has a daughter in the district, has filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office, alleging the Feb. 22 school board meeting violated Illinois’ open meetings law.
Rob Loehr, the father of a fifth-grade student at Covington School, was highly critical of the board for failing to inform the community of plans to close Brandt, which houses the district’s science center and early childhood program.
“You showed contempt and utter disregard for the taxpayers,” Loehr told board members. “I hope in the future you’ll be more transparent. Everyone here works for us. We need to be included.”
Jean Attig, a parent at Sward School, said the board should have discussed publicly the proposal to close Brandt before voting on the issue.
“In my opinion, you have failed us,” Attig said.
The board had not voted on whether to reverse its decision on Brandt by the SouthtownStar deadline.
Elaine Barlos, president of the District 123 teachers union, commended the board for reconsidering the budget cuts, describing Tuesday night’s meeting as a “positive. They didn’t have to do this.”
The meeting was called after a week of mounting criticism from parents and teachers who said they were not given adequate notice of last week’s meeting or the plan to close the school.
Faced with a $1.5 million budget shortage, District 123 officials said the closing of Brandt, 8901 S. 52nd St., will save them from cutting more critical programs. Board members agreed that budget cuts are necessary for the district to avoid more drastic financial problems in a few years.
“We are well funded up until 2014,” board president Joe Sorrentino said.
“The need to cut is real, in my mind,” board member Richard Mason said. “This is not a one-year problem.”
The parents’ comments were followed by a lengthy discussion of the district’s finances, including other potential program cuts the board could consider in lieu of closing Brandt School.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― It’s no secret that the cost of prescription drugs can break the bank. One in every five Americans, who is uninsured or under insured, is forced to pay out of pocket. You definitely want to shop around to save money, because as CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker discovered, there’s a huge difference in prices, sometimes within the same chain.
CBS 2 checked prices for a month’s supply of 10 of the most popular drugs to treat heart disease, depression, asthma and heartburn.
We called 18 Walgreens’, 18 CVS’, four Wal-Marts and four Costcos in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
We didn’t just call once; we called each store twice, some even three times. What amazed us are the differences we found in the prices.
Sometimes a short walk across the street will you save you money.
For example, we walked from the Walgreens at Broadway and Belmont across the street to the CVS on the opposite corner, and found the prices for the prescription drugs we checked, $3 to $30 higher.
For the antidepressant Celexa, the Walgreens price was $149.99. At CVS, it was $119.99. Chicago’s only Wal-Mart was even lower, at $113.88. And Costco was the cheapest: $105.68.
For the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, Walgreens quoted us at $180.99, CVS: $172.99, Wal-Mart: $168.84. But, Costco was $101 — $80 less than Walgreens.
Why such a difference?
“Sometimes it depends on what they pay for the medication from the pharmaceutical company,” said Glen Schumock, who studies the economics of pharmaceuticals at UIC. “They also have different labor costs, and they have to pay for the store and the personnel.”
But what about price fluctuations at the same store week to week? The first time we called about the asthma drug Singulair at the CVS in Hyde Park, we were quoted $138.99. The next time we called, the price rose to $148, while prices at competitors remained the same or dropped.
“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know how to explain that exactly,” Schumock said.
Something else Schumock found hard to explain: why prices were different at stores in the same neighborhood.
For example at the CVS on Clark Street, Celexa cost $136.99. But just one block away, at another CVS, it was $17 less.
If you discover different prices, turn to your pharmacist for help.
“Many pharmacies will match the prices that you see elsewhere,” said Schumock.
So how do the big drug chains explain the differences? We called Walgreens and CVS. After our inquiry, Walgreens lowered the prices of two of the 10 drugs we checked.
CVS explained that it raised its price on Singulair because the manufacturer’s price went up.
Both chains pointed out that competition, location and the cost of customer service factor into the price of prescriptions.
Both chains also offer discount programs that can help consumers save money.
WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. (AP) — A southwestern Illinois woman is accused of leaving her 3-year-old daughter to wander a motel alone while the mother worked at a strip club.
St. Clair County prosecutors have charged 28-year-old Patrice Johnson with endangering a child and illegally possessing drugs.
Workers at a Caseyville motel told police on Feb. 20 that a young girl was seen wandering around its hallways in just a T-shirt and panties for about 45 minutes.
Authorities say Johnson showed up about an hour later and said the child’s father was supposed to have been supervising the girl while the mother worked at a strip club.
Johnson couldn’t be reached for comment. She doesn’t have a listed telephone number, and it isn’t clear if she has an attorney.
CHICAGO (STMW) –The body of a man that was found floating off Montrose Beach Tuesday evening has been identified.
The body was discovered about 5 p.m. at Montrose Beach near West Leland Avenue and Lake Michigan, according to a police Marine Unit officer.
The dead man was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Richard Wieting, 53, of an unidentified address, who was dead on the scene floating in Lake Michigan near 4749 N. Marine Dr.
There’s no doubt you’ve seen the wild images of rioters in Athens.
They’re violently objecting to the painful budget measures officials are taking.
But officials don’t need to be scared of rioters: they need to be scared of normal clerical/office workers. You see, office workers vote.
And as this recent survey (via Waverly Advisors) done by the EU shows, nearly 80% are scared of losing their job, a number that nearly matches the worst level from the financial crisis in 2009. They, not the young anarchists in the street, hold the power. And if they’re freaked out, then politicians should be too.
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Oded Ran, head of consumer marketing, Windows Phone UK has once again confirmed Microsoft’s stance on upgrading Windows Mobile 6.5 devices to Windows Phone 7 series:
“We’ve received many questions about the upgradability of HTC HD2 and we currently do not have plans to update the HTC HD2 to Windows Phone 7 Series”, he said.
Clearly trying to placate owners of the premier handset, he notes that Windows Mobile 6.5 is not a mere compromise.
“We are proud of the Windows Phone experience we introduced with Windows Mobile 6.5 and we will continue to partner closely with mobile networks and phone manufacturers to support and invest in the platform". "Windows Mobile 6.5 represents a significant part of the portfolio family that is Windows Phones. With over 50 phones available around the world today, it offers customers the freedom to choose from among the widest selection of device form factors and price points”.
He goes on to note that, as we already know, new handsets will be released with Windows Mobile 6.5 over the coming months and of course these handsets, even if they fit the “Chassis” criteria will likely not be eligible for an update either.
“For Windows Phone 7 Series we are enforcing a strict set of hardware requirements to ensure a consistently great experience for end-users and developers…we cannot confirm that Windows Mobile 6.5 phones that satisfy those requirements will be upgradeable”.
If there is one consolation it is that Microsoft is in fact promising future upgrades to Windows Phone 7 devices, just not Windows Mobile ones.
"Every Windows Phone 7 Series device will be upgradeable with improvements and features we deliver with subsequent Windows Phone 7 Series releases" Ran ended.
Do you think HTC HD2’s are better of with Windows Mobile 6.5 than Windows Phone 7? Let us know below.
A new survey from Career Builder exposes what will be an increasingly common trend as America ages demographically — older workers are being forced to keep working and postpone retirement for financial reasons.
More than seven-in-ten (72 percent) workers over the age of 60 who said they are putting off their retirement are doing so because they can’t afford to retire financially, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder.
The good news is that many older workers are putting off retirement for positive reasons as well.
About 70% of workers delaying retirement said they are doing so partly because they enjoy their jobs according to CareerBuilder. Hence there are many Americans who are, yes, putting off retirement for financial reasons, but at the same time are pretty happy to do so since they enjoy working.
Such job satisfaction will become necessary for most young Americans, since fully supporting retirees from ~60 years onwards will be simply untenable as an increasing proportion of America becomes old due to demographic change and extended life expectancies. Already, in 2012 about 1 in 3 American workers will be over 50 years old according to The Economist.
Thus the financial crisis may have delivered an unwanted wake-up call. Americans will need to quickly learn how to work longer into their silver years.
Luckily, as the satisfaction rates in the survey above show, this situation might not be as bad as you’d expect. Let’s hope.
Check it out: US Airways (LCC) shares tanked this morning at the open, and then at 10:00 the airline announced that hero pilot Capt. Sullenberger would be retiring.
Where is the SEC?
Oh, we suppose it’s possible that the real reason it’s falling is that it announced a $30M hit from the storm and revenue passenger miles in February that were down 4.7% from last year. Yeah, that’s probably it.
Dick Bove cut his estimates for Goldman Sachs yesterday, explaining that trading activity had dried up as the Greek debt crisis unfolded.
The Rochdale Securities Analyst told CNBC’s Fast Money last night that Goldman looked like it was going to have a very strong quarter until fears steming from Greece arose.
“All of a sudden, when the Greece situation developed toward the end of January … then basically, trading just dried up. Sector by sector you saw a significant decline in trading activity,” Bove said.
Bove cut his first quarter estimates on Goldman to $3.99 from $4.88. He maintains his buy rating at a $200 price target.
“For the year I’m at $18.04 now and that’s simply because I did not cut estimates for the second, third and fourth quarter and I didn’t cut the estimates for next year and the year after,” Bove said. “In terms of what a multiple should be on Goldman Sachs, you should at least expect a 10 multiple, which would be a price of somewhere around $180.”
YouTube is to online video what Google is to search, not surprisingly, perhaps, since the video site is owned by Google. As such, it’s not lacking in competition, despite its very solid position. One such competitor is Vimeo, which, although is aiming at a slightly different audience, is targeting some of the same content creators. Vimeo has just gotten a new weapon in its arsenal, an Advanced Statistics tool to rival and, in some cases, outdo YouTube’s.
Illinois’ Democratic voters picked a pawnbroker as their candidate for lieutenant governor, and that didn’t exactly end well. So perhaps they won’t mind if the next candidate doesn’t have a job. Or is still in school. Or isn’t actually a Democrat.
At least that’s what some applicants for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket seem to be hoping. The Democratic Party of Illinois received nearly 50 applications for the slot Tuesday, the first day it began accepting them on its Web site. Applicants included a former senior adviser to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and an out-of-work technician who answered the question “Why are you a Democrat?” with “Who said I was?”
Democrats are looking for a replacement for Chicago pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen, who left the race less than a week after winning the primary election amid allegations that he abused his ex-wife and held a knife to the throat of an ex-girlfriend who was later arrested for prostitution. Cohen has denied the allegations, and charges stemming from his arrest were dropped when the girlfriend didn’t show up in court.
Cohen’s exit left Gov. Pat Quinn without a running mate and gave members of the state central committee a unique opportunity to pick a candidate. Committee members — two from each of the state’s 19 congressional districts — will decide which of the applicants will address them at a later meeting. Party officials haven’t set a schedule for the selection process, said Steve Brown, a spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is chairman of the state Democratic party.
Brown said committee members are hoping everyone interested in the position will apply online, including the five Democrats who lost to Cohen in the primary. None of them applied on the first day, creating a field made up almost entirely of political newcomers. The few noteworthy exceptions include the former mayors of several Chicago suburbs and Bob Arya, a longtime journalist who left the industry to work for Blagojevich in 2006, only to leave in 2008 because of what he described as the former governor’s ineptitude.
A handful of the hopefuls identified themselves as Republicans or independents on the five-question application form, and several said they’re currently unemployed. A surprising number are educators, lawyers and people younger than 30. Almost all are from the Chicago area.
Given their lack of political experience, applicants were creative in describing what strengths they would add to the Democratic ticket. One suburban Chicago man listed his “Jamaican wife and three kids” among his strengths, while a self-professed independent listed his “ability to create an organization of farmers, hunters and wizards that will zoom with innovative solutions.”
Wizards?
Many made clear that their lack of political backing and connections should be seen as a benefit, and one young man listed among his endorsements “My wife and my upstairs neighbor.”
Cohen was also a political novice, as is the Republican candidate, Jason Plummer, a 27-year-old southern Illinois businessman. It was Cohen’s fiery departure that helped to thrust what is typically a low-profile race into the spotlight. Lieutenant governors have few statutory responsibilities, and Quinn was the first lieutenant governor in more than 30 years to ascend to the governor’s office. One former lieutenant governor got so bored with the job that he resigned. And Madigan has even pressed for the position to be abolished altogether.
The Democrats’ approach to the candidate selection process is unprecedented in Illinois, according to political analysts. The closest the state has come in recent history is in 2004, when Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan left the race and the party’s central committee replaced him with Alan Keyes, a conservative who didn’t live in Illinois at the time, said Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Keyes went on to lose to President Barack Obama.
Unlike the situation with Keyes, Democrats will have to choose an Illinois resident as their candidate. And with the online applications, Democrats are making their selection process much more transparent, Redfield said.
“Strange things can happen when small groups get together,” Redfield said of the central committee.
Oded Ran, head of consumer marketing, Windows Phone UK has once again confirmed Microsoft’s stance on upgrading 
