A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan. This is according to the US geological survey.
Hopefully, nothing bad will come of it.
The earthquake is the big red dot seen below.
According to @breakingnews, there is a tsunami warning in effect.
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The Iowa Supreme Court today reversed a lower court judgment which had barred a challenge to the constitutionality of life imprisonment without parole imposed on a child of 14. The court granted review of EJI client Ruthann Veal’s case and today ruled that she is entitled to merits review.
There was some news a few days back about how people who use Pandora end up buying more music, while people who use Spotify do not. Of course, if you understand these two services, this should be completely obvious. After all, Pandora is like radio — with a bit of randomness, and no real way to just play what you want. Spotify, on the other hand, is designed to replicate your music collection — a cloud-based iTunes. Unfortunately, those who focus too narrowly on the idea that music sales is the music business may find this news as further support for moving away from services like Spotify. On top of that, I’ve heard from people who were at the conference where this “research” was announced, and it turns out that the guy presenting it never mentioned Spotify at all. It’s just that the press is assuming he meant Spotify.
However, either way, just looking narrowly at music sales is a mistake. As we’ve discussed, selling music is not a very good business any more, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t good music business models — it’s just that selling music probably isn’t one of them.
With that in mind, it’s worth taking a look at a recent report put out by Will Page, an economist for PRS in the UK — and the guy who put out that report last year showing that the music industry was actually growing, not shrinking, when you looked at all the component parts. In his latest report, Page takes on the question of “average revenue per user” (ARPU) when it comes to the music consumer out there — with a specific look at Spotify (and, unlike the NPD report that’s getting all this press, Page actually has real info about Spotify).
Around here, we’re used to hearing about ARPU in the context of telcos. It’s a stat that telco execs and Wall Street money folks obsess over. Five years back, we warned why the telcos obsessive focus on ARPU was dangerous, and could lead to bad long-term strategic decisions. Page’s report effectively suggests the same thing is true in the case of the music business. With the move to various music services, such as Spotify and Pandora, there is a sudden push to look at “ARPU” of music consumers as well — and if the average music buyer in the UK spends £63 on music, and Spotify can get them to sign up for a £120 plan, that seems like a pretty good thing. Right?
But, as Page notes, the real story is a hell of a lot more complicated than that. What if Spotify is picking off just the “top users” who were actually spending £150 per year? Or, what if it’s getting people who didn’t buy music at all to pay for subscriptions? Then, any direct revenue is incremental, and the pricing could really matter — since lower prices could bring in a lot more total revenue by bringing new “buyers” into the market. Furthermore, just focusing on the ARPU from direct payments for music (sales or subscriptions) misses a big part of the story. Live shows are a large and growing part of the market, but don’t make it into such calculations. Merchandise and other direct-to-fan offerings also probably aren’t included in many of those calculations. And, in fact, we’ve heard that Spotify is looking to enable those other business models as well — and isn’t just focused on the obsolete metric of “music sales.”
As such, services like Pandora and Spotify shouldn’t necessarily be judged on how much they contribute to plain old music sales, or even direct ARPU — but how much they drive people to spend money within the music ecosystem — and then figure out where that money goes, and whether or not it’s allocated in a way that benefits or harms the various players in the space. If Spotify helps make every other aspect of the music industry more valuable, but depresses the market for direct music sales, that shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing at all.
Once again, it reminds us of the necessity to not get too narrowly focused on a subsegment of the market when trying to figure out what’s happening — but to explore the larger ecosystem of how much money is being generated around music — and then we can look at where it goes and what it funds. That is, we shouldn’t be worried about how much people spend on horse carriages, but on transportation. So remember that whenever you hear numbers being thrown around about how much money is being made or “lost” in various industries. If you don’t look at the overall ecosystem, you often miss what’s happening.
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CHICAGO (STMW) — Police are asking for the public’s help in solving the murder of a 15-year-old Chicago Public Schools student, shot outside his Garfield Park home Thursday morning on the West Side.
Police responded at 11:32 a.m. to a call of shots fired and found a teenage boy — identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office as Nathaniel Maxon — unresponsive with a gunshot wound on the block where he lived.
Maxon, of the 4100 block of W. West End Ave., was pronounced dead 12:05 p.m. Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.
A Friday autopsy found Maxon died of a gunshot wound to the back and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond said Maxon was a student at Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School at 1100 S. Hamilton Ave.
Police said there was an “altercation” before the shooting and detectives are looking for two unknown people. Police also received a description of a white minivan that fled eastbound after the shooting.
Police on Friday issued a flier asking for the public’s assistance. Anyone with information should call Harrison Area detectives at (312) 746-8252.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
Centennial Beach patrons will use the old bathhouse for one final summer before $5.5 million in improvements begin at the Naperville facility.
Park district planners gave commissioners one last chance to weigh in on proposed enhancements Thursday and hope to receive bids on the projects in March.
Work would begin after Labor Day and the renovated bathhouse should be ready for use by the 2011 beach season.
In store for the bathhouse are improved lockers and restrooms, including family changing rooms.
There also will be a new concessions building with both inside and outside access.
“What’s really nice about this concession area is it will not only serve patrons inside the bathhouse and beach area, it will also serve patrons at the skate facility walking along the walk leading up from the Riverwalk,” said Eric Shutes, director of planning.
Plans also call for a new entrance area as well as an improved drop-off area.
Shutes said site constraints made designing traffic flow one of the toughest tasks.
Commissioner Marie Todd said she was pleased with the results.
“I think this addresses that very nicely, especially the (handicapped access) and ability to get cars out of the driveway and into the parking lot without hindering things,” she said.
Commissioner Ron Ory said he still has some concerns about potential intersection hazards but Shutes assured him the layout was endorsed by city staff as well as traffic consultants. “This was the layout design we found that had the least amount of constraints,” Shutes said. “We know any kind of layout you’re going to have is not going to be perfect.”
Other accessibility enhancements include a platform lift to make it easier for people with disabilities to get from the bathhouse to the beach deck.
The bathhouse also will be getting new mechanical systems and other infrastructure upgrades.
The original limestone bathhouse was build in 1934. It underwent renovations in 2003 and 2004 that included concrete decks, a water circulation system and lighting.
The district initially hoped to start the renovation work in 2009 and have it ready for this year’s beach season but stormwater issues pushed the timeline back.
Centennial Beach has been recognized as one of the 150 greatest places in Illinois by the American Institute of Architects.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
Forrest David Laidley – the builder of a prominent Lincolnshire mall and former board member of a publicly traded company – has admitted fleecing investors and financial institutions.
Although federal prosecutors say Laidley fraudulently obtained more than $10 million, his attorney has filed documents contending the amount is overstated.
Laidley, 65, an attorney from Libertyville, is scheduled for sentencing June 29 in federal court in Chicago. He entered a blind guilty plea Thursday to one count each of mail and bank fraud before U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning.
Court documents state Laidley gained “well over” $10 million by selling limited partnerships and short-term, high-interest guaranteed promissory notes, sometimes called bridge loans, to more than 100 investors from 1999 to 2004.
Laidley’s lawyer, Kenneth Cunniff, could not be immediately reached for comment today.
Prosecutors said Laidley, individually and through his Forrest Properties Inc., offered returns of 10 percent to 40 percent to investors who provided him with cash toward purported retail and office projects in Lincolnshire, Round Lake and Glenview.
Laidley, who could not be immediately reached today, made “Ponzi-type” payments to investors, according to prosecutors. He’s accused of using the $10 million for personal expenses and on unrelated real-estate projects.
Problems related to Laidley’s investment opportunities were highlighted in a series of Daily Herald stories in 2004. In interviews at the time, he said he had a plan to take care of his investors.
About 20 civil lawsuits were filed in Lake, Cook and DuPage counties contending Laidley was not returning millions of dollars invested with him.
Laidley served on the board of Oakbrook Terrace-based Vasco Data Security International Inc. from 1997 to 2003. He also was on the board of directors at Libertyville’s Harris Bank branch and Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein.
Forrest Properties developed Lincolnshire’s upscale Village Green shopping, restaurant and office plaza at Route 22 and Milwaukee Avenue. Village Green landed in bankruptcy court in 2004, with new owners eventually taking over for Laidley.
Records show Laidley remains authorized to practice law in Illinois. The state granted him a 2010 law license.
Laidley faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on each count and a $1 million fine.
Read more in Saturday’s paper or dailyherald.com.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
Still looking to build your Rock Band archive? Coming next week to the online stores are tracks from Disturbed, Silversun, The Mother Hips, and TRUSTcompany.
ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld says its Shamu Believe show with killer whales will resume this weekend after a whale killed its trainer at the Orlando park.
SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison says trainers won’t get in the water with the killer whales for now until officials finish reviewing what happened to trainer Dawn Brancheau.
The veteran trainer was dragged into the water Wednesday by killer whale Tilikum. The medical examiner says she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.
Atchison says Tilikum will remain an “active, contributing member of the team” at SeaWorld.
Atchison says whale shows will resume Saturday. He says he’s not sure how long it will be before trainers are allowed to get back in the water with the animals.
SeaWorld has locations in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
<div class="entry"><div class="snap_preview">Humbug is quaint Americana for something false, phony or underhanded.
President Obama was his usual arrogant self as he demonstrated bi-partisanship to the seventeen Congressional Republicans who attended his health care extravaganza.
Repeatedly interrupting Republican speakers and refuting factual representations made to him, the Presidents idea of bi-partisanship comprised of one hundred and nineteen minutes of Obama-dominated campaign mode lecturing. The Washington Times stated he looked very professorial a title he never held.
Republicans were held to a mere one hundred and ten minutes while the twenty one Democrats attending the meeting were allowed one hundred and fourteen minutes, during which they dredged up story after story of constituents medical woes in support of their boss, some of which stretched the imaginations of those present. It was the usual Democrat hysteria-inducing sob-story tactic weve all heard so many times before. Youd think theyd wise up to the fact that were on to it.
For the Republicans part they pretty much stuck to what they said theyd do, which was to stipulate that the entire piece of legislation should be scrapped and started over from scratch.
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Eric Cantor with the 2,400 page Senate Health Care Bill. read more »
As a child, I remember the few snow storms big enough to allow a wonderland: a playground of perfect caves, igloos, sledding, and snow fights complemented nicely by hot chocolate and warm fires.* None of those winters compares to this one.
Every few days another storm barges through the region piling onto the record total snowfall and reminding everyone that global warming makes the world colder, and wetter.* Luckily, the EPA and the Global Summit on Climate Change havent been successful in banning that hot fire, so I can still warm my hands and feet after I finish shoveling, but I remain apprehensive with the knowledge that my fire is making the world warmer and thus colder: a deadly paradox that leads to more fires, more heat, more warming, and of course more cold winter nights.
I will persist in naming the latest exercise in fear mongering to steal our freedom global warming: climate change just doesnt exude the same level of stupidity and exists as part of a gradual tactical transition to brainwash the public into believing that any change is bad change.* Our world is defined by change.* At times in our past the Earth has been tens to hundreds of degrees warmer than now, even our precious ice caps and the Arctic Ocean used to be alive with green flora and fauna.* At other times our world has been locked in ice, terraforming entire continents.
But as you struggle to keep warm this winter and to heat your house without emptying your wallet for your energy bill, at least let your mind be eased by this: if you use a wood pellet stove, you are saving the world from global warming.* You heard me right. read more »
BMW will have a pretty huge presence at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show next month – adding to its already extensive lineup, which will feature the Concept 5-Series ActiveHybrid, BMW will show the new M Sports package on the X5.
Some of the features you can see with the addition of the M Sports package include, a sporty chassis set-up, 19-inch M light-alloy wheels (20-inch M wheels available), special tailpipes for the exhaust system, carbon black metallic exterior paint (with 5 other color choices), M door sills, electrically adjustable sport seats, M leather steering wheel, brushed aluminum interior trim elements and BMW Individual roof liner.
Click here for more info on the 2011 BMW X5.
Press Release:
Unbeatable dynamics from launch: M Sports package for the new BMW X5.
Munich. The new BMW X5 – set for launch in spring 2010 – now cuts an even more commanding figure with new, even more powerful engines and an extended selection of innovative driver assistance systems. All of which takes the characteristic driving pleasure of the Sports Activity Vehicle into a new dimension. This latest boost to its dynamic capability can be highlighted particularly vividly by the addition of the also new M Sports package, available for the new X5 from launch. A top-quality and perfectly judged combination of exterior, interior and chassis components gives you everything you need to experience the enhanced sports performance of the BMW X5 with even greater intensity – and to showcase it in suitable style.
All the components of the M Sports package for the new BMW X5 have been designed specifically for the Sports Activity Vehicle and are geared precisely to its outstanding dynamic potential. A high-speed setting and the sporty chassis set-up emphasise the high levels of driver involvement offered by the X5, as do the 19-inch M light-alloy wheels in V-spoke design. Available as an option are 20-inch M light-alloy wheels, whose bi-colour double-spoke design and high-sheen spokes lend a particularly exclusive touch. In both cases, the wheels come with mixed tyres at the front and rear, chosen specially for the X5.
The M Sports package also includes special tailpipes for the exhaust system. On the six-cylinder variants, they share the trapezoidal shape standard on the BMW X5 xDrive50i. Available for the new BMW X5 exclusively in conjunction with the M Sports package is the exterior paint shade Carbon Black metallic, which joins five other colour shades in the range.
The M Aerodynamic package and M door sills combine with the BMW Individual Exterior Line side window frames in satin-finish aluminium and the BMW Individual roof rails in satin-finish chrome to create an unmistakable look. The designers took into account the position of the sensors and cameras used by the driver assistance systems when shaping the aerodynamically optimised front and rear aprons. This means that both Park Distance Control and the Side View system – making its debut on the BMW X5 – can be combined with the M Sport package.
Electrically adjustable sports seats for the driver and front passenger, the M leather steering wheel and the M driver’s footrest maximise the driving experience inside the new BMW X5. Brushed aluminium interior trim elements and a BMW Individual roof liner in anthracite add the finishing touches to the sporting ambience.
– By: Omar Rana
Calling him a “pariah on civilized society,” DuPage County prosecutors began making their case Friday for why a triple killer with a lifetime of violence deserves to be executed.
Beginning at 17, when he wasn’t behind bars, an often-armed Edward Tenney robbed businesses, burglarized homes, escaped from jails and terrorized folks with whom he crossed paths in Illinois and Florida, prosecutors said.
Tenney went to prison a half-dozen times but, prosecutors said, quickly returned to his life of “unlawful disorder” when free.
“He is a pariah on civilized society,” prosecutor David Bayer said. “For Mr. Tenney’s entire adult life, when he wasn’t in jail, he is out stealing, robbing, breaking into businesses, buildings and people’s homes. He batters people. He uses guns almost all the time and unfortunately, as you now know, he murders innocent people.”
Tenney, 50, is serving two life prison terms for the 1993 fatal shootings of 75-year-old Virginia Johannessen and dairy heiress Mary Jill Oberweis, killed 10 months apart in separate robberies in the same Aurora Township neighborhood.
Earlier this week, jurors convicted Tenney of a third murder for shooting Jerry Weber late on April 16, 1992, before robbing him of a wallet containing $6, as Weber tried to free his mired work van from a muddy Aurora field.
“All of these innocent people were killed for this man’s greed and penchant to pray on society,” Bayer said.
The six-man, six-woman jury also found Tenney eligible under the law for a death sentence.
At issue, though, is whether to impose the ultimate punishment.
The defense team, John Houlihan and Mark Kowalcyzk, is fighting in court to save Tenney’s life. His attorneys do not dispute the violent history. They are expected to present mental health experts who will testify that Tenney suffered severe emotional and physical abuse while growing up in a dysfunctional family that led him from an early age to take a “defensive protective stance for what he perceived to be a hostile world.”
They contend Tenney was operating under an extreme mental and emotional disturbance when he killed Weber and could not control his behavior.
“It’s not an excuse,” Houlihan said, “but is offered as an explanation for why these seemingly unfathomable things happened. If we look below the surface, it helps to put it into perspective; to better understand.”
The defendant’s cousin, Donald Lippert, 34, serving an 80-year prison term for his role in all three slayings, testified twice in the trial that he was Tenney’s teenage partner in crime. Lippert, who was too young to receive the death penalty in two of the three murders, is eligible for parole after serving half the prison term.
The cousins were arrested in 1995 for the three murders after police linked them to two guns used in the shootings and robbery proceeds. Lippert confessed, while Tenney still maintains his innocence.
The sentencing hearing, before DuPage Circuit Judge Daniel Guerin, is expected to last one week.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
Published Feb. 19, 2010
By Pratik Joshi, Tri-City Herald staff writer
PASCO — When Doug Gruba worked at Tri-Cities WorkSource he helped the unemployed find jobs. Now, he’s trying to peddle his skills to prospective employers after being laid off last year.
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| Sue Beitilich, an administrative office supervisor for the city of Kennewick, shows Doug Gruba of Kennewick the city’s online application system Thursday during Columbia Basin College’s annual Career Expo. Photo by Kai-Huei Yau of the Tri-City Herald |
And he’s keeping his options wide open. The Kennewick man, who has a master’s in clinical psychology, was among more than 500 job seekers Thursday at the 26th annual Career Expo at Columbia Basin College.
Gruba, 53, gave a one-minute pitch about himself to a group of employers at the job fair as part of a live resume program.
He has worked as a middle school teacher in California and as a food science technician at ConAgra in the Tri-Cities. He’s also teaching himself about financial investing.
“I hope age is not an impediment (to being hired),” he said.
Hunting for jobs can be challenging, but he remains optimistic, thanks to support from his wife, former boss and co-workers.
Daphne Lightfoot, director of student employment services at CBC, said, “The expo was a huge success.”
There were about 60 employers, including first-time participants the U.S. Census Bureau, Mission Support Alliance (at Hanford), Northwest Pilates and a new beauty salon.
Job seekers represented a range of education and experience, said Brent Howard, division manager at Sun Pacific Energy, a wholesale and retail gas business that owns, among others, Sun Mart convenience stores.
Some were looking for a career and others for a job, Howard said. “People are exploring all options and their horizons are widening.” They realize old jobs aren’t coming back and that they need to be prepared for different types of jobs in the future when the national economy turns around, he said.
Job seeker Joe Chapman, who also participated in the live resume program, said, “There may be fewer positions. (But) the employers are looking for people.” Chapman, 35, a former newspaper reporter is now a full-time computer science student at CBC. He was impressed by the turnout and the quality of presentations.
CBC student Sharon Groff, 60, wants to be a medical office assistant. The West Richland woman has been unemployed since August after a Hanford subcontractor she worked for lost the service contract.
Groff talked with representatives from area hospitals and the federal prison system for possible job leads after she graduates in about six months.
Health care is a growing industry in the Tri-Cities. “I’m confident about finding a job,” she said.
WorkSource is a state-funded agency that helps businesses find workers and helps the unemployed get short-term training.
Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.
PRESS RELEASE
February 26, 2010 Dawn Alford, 509-542-5524
Today, 250 sixth-grade students from Park Middle School will experience a day in college courtesy of Im Going to College (IGTC) and Columbia Basin College. At 9 a.m. students will arrive on the CBC campus, be divided into groups, and attend classes designed just for them.
College Bound, Vocational, and College 101courses provide insight to the programs CBC and other colleges offer, explain why and how to attend college, and moreover what to expect once enrolled.
For most sixth-graders, this will be their first time on a college campus. To complement the experience, IGTC also provides food, t-shirts, and backpacks for all students. Prior to today, the sixth-graders worked with their middle school teachers to complete a Northwest Educational Loan Association (NELA) donated IGTC activity book where they explored different types of colleges, financial aid programs, and career choices.
If you love massive spans of desert and slaughtering military personnel, then be glad to know that the demo for Just Cause 2 will be going live next week.
Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop told CNET correspondent Ina Fried that recent rumours of Microsoft abandoning the enterprise mobility market were unfounded.
While he admitted the new interface was designed to appeal to consumers more than other versions of Windows Mobile, he assured Fried his unit is investing more in software for Windows phones than ever before.
"The business division is more involved than ever before," he said.
Emphasising that those reading Microsoft’s move with Windows Phone 7 Series as a move away from the enterprise were misunderstanding the situation, he refused to comment on rumours of Microsoft making a version of Office for the iPhone or iPad.
While the reassurance is welcome, Microsoft has been incredibly low-key about their support for the full range of enterprise requirements, including support for legacy software and multi-tasking, preferring to leave all questions to be answered at upcoming events in March.
Are our business-focussed readers reassured? Let us know below.
Yoshimi Inaba, CEO of ToMoCo North America has admitted to the company’s being deficient in communicating news of known defects outside the geographic regions in which they are discovered. Particularly, it had taken years for ToMoCo officials to let American regulators know about major instances of unintended acceleration that had taken place in Europe.
“We should have done a better job of sharing” information, Inaba told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday. “When you go into a certain database, you can find it. But it is not positively shared.”
Central to Akio Toyoda’s new plan for the company, is more effective communication, and that entails the formation of a committee – which he will chair – to address safety-defect issues around the globe. The committee, whose first meeting is set for March 30, will have a representative from the U.S.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
In the wake of the collapsed bidding process by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery to acquire Hummer, GM is examining prior bids with a fresh look. In a situation reminiscent of that with Saab, the company however will begin the winding down process while examining bids. Hummers chances of resurrection however, are significantly lower than that of Saab.
Hummers sales took the biggest hit in the injury as they showed a 67% decline last year.
Having been sold to civilians since 1992, the Hummer was selling between 800 and 1,000 civilian units in 1999, when GM brought the brand, and after the inception of the H2, civilian U.S. sales peaked at 71,524 units in 2006. After a steep incline in gas prices, sales dwindled last year to an astronomically low 9,046 units last year.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
WASHINGTON — A White House aide says Desiree Rogers is resigning her post as social secretary, effective sometime next month.
Rogers recently came under criticism for her handling of the administration’s first state dinner. A celebrity-seeking couple from northern Virginia got into the exclusive Nov. 24 affair on the South Lawn without a formal invitation, despite heavy White House security.
Rogers later acknowledged not having staff from her office at security checkpoints to help identify guests. Lawmakers had demanded that she testify to Congress about her handling of the event. The White House would not allow it.
The White House aide spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not been made.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services
