| Living the Green Life | | Posted Sunday, February 04, 2007 2:56:33 PM by Blog57 Team | | As a child growing up on a farm in Osage, Iowa, Karen Stitt dreamed of living in a house in the woods with a river running behind it."And I've got the woods with a lake behind it," she said of her 5-month-old home in Rogers overlooking Beaver Lake.Karen and husband David took every step in construction to preserve and protect those woods, that lake and the Earth as a whole. And they hope to pass on an environmentally conscious lifestyle to their two young daughters, Josie, 5, and Lily, 3."Living in an energy-efficient and resource-efficient home -- a 'green' home -- is a different way of living," David Stitt wrote in a description of his house. "(It is) a lifestyle that involves conscious choices about how to live your life on a daily basis, about how to teach your children that recycling and turning off lights concerns more than saving money, and about doing the right thing for the future of the planet."Location, Location, LocationThe Stitts used more than just low-flow toilets, fluorescent lightbulbs and energy-efficient appliances to make their home "green." .... | |
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| | | World news in brief | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 1:01:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | An Australian bank has apologized for issuing a credit card to a cat after its owner decided to test the bank's identity security system. The Bank of Queensland issued a credit card to Messiah the cat when his owner Katherine Campbell applied for a secondary card on her account under its name. The bank said the cat's card had been cancelled. - SADDAM STATUE Libya will raise a statue of Saddam Hussein alongside that of a national hero hanged in 1931 for leading the Libyan resistance against Italian occupation, the government said yesterday. - OUT OF SIGHT Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar has added to the mystery over Osama bin Laden, saying he hasn't seen his ally and fellow fugitive since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001.... | |
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| | | Wyandotte unveils updated rec center | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 3:00:19 AM by Blog57 Team | | WYANDOTTE -- Yack Arena is back in business. The city's recreation center had been closed for four months while work crews performed a $3.4 million face-lift. It reopened Nov. 2 with a flourish -- color-coded locker rooms, new glass for the ice rink, a game and warming room and more. "It is amazing; now it makes me want to learn how to skate," said resident Toby Buschnell, 36. "The Red Wings are a big thing, so it's good to get kids interested in the sport." The recreation center, which is mainly an ice rink, was built in 1968 for $1 million, said Recreation Superintendent James Knopp. One of the region's first indoor rec centers, Yack Arena hosted large sporting events, concerts and cultural happenings in its prime. That prime passed a while ago, though, and wear and tear prompted the arena to lose out to newer venues in neighboring communities.... | |
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| | | Condo buyers take developers to court over promises | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 3:14:23 AM by Blog57 Team | | With once-hot condominium markets across the country in sharp decline and many real-estate professionals predicting a further weakening, some developers are facing more than a glut of unsold inventory. Angry condo buyers from Boca Raton, Fla., to San Diego are taking them to court, alleging everything from breach of contract to fraud. Some of the lawsuits claim that the amenities featured in glossy marketing brochures and model apartments never made it into the final product. Others involve much-hyped projects that went bust, leaving hundreds of buyers with contracts for condos that will never materialize. In Florida, 2,557 individual complaints against developers were filed in fiscal year 2006, ended June 30, up from 1,825 two years ago, according to the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation.... | |
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| | | Taming of the Flu: How You Can Minimize Risk | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:05:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | With cold and flu season just around the corner, millions of Americans are scrambling to find ways to avoid acquiring the dreaded beast - the common flu. "While there are no guarantees, there are a series of relatively simple steps in addition to receiving the flu vaccine that families, workers, and students can take to help ward off the flu virus," says Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D, a biology professor and co-director of the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in Boston. Scott is also a scientific board member of the International Scientific Forum on the Home and Hygiene. Scott recommends everyone to eat a diet during flu season that will boost the immune system, including plant foods, whole grains, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, orange juice, and foods rich in vitamins A, C and E.... | |
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| | | The mechanics of recycling | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 1:03:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | STRATHAM -- The image of mechanics as grease monkeys may soon need to be revisited if more dealerships and service centers go as green as the Honda Barn and Nissan of Stratham. Roland Kostiew, service manager, gave a tour recently of the environmentally friendly recycling methods used by his mechanical technicians when they service cars. Everything that can be is recycled, even the water used to wash cars, a system of which Kostiew is very proud. He said he knows other service centers also recycle a lot now, but he thinks there are only a few that use the water system. "When cars are washed, it's done in just one area," Kostiew said. "The water goes into a holding tank. We have these "gray" faucets along the wall, meaning it's not potable water." .... | |
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| | | REAL ESTATE Q&A: Even a new house can benefit from a check by a licensed home inspector | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 7:00:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Question: I am buying a new house. Do I still need a home inspection?. Answer: Lets face it: All contractors are not created equal. Some are good, conscientious, and thorough builders who turn out a superior house. Then there are the rest who make the first ones look good. In addition, with all due respect to the job they do, municipal building department inspectors simply do not have the time necessary to do a thorough go-through of a property. They are focused on code violations and do an excellent job at that. Licensed home inspectors are trained to uncover problems (or conditions that could develop into problems) that are not necessarily within the scope of code enforcement. .... | |
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| | | Recall roundup | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 11:13:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | Look for the latest products re called in the Recall Roundup every Wednesday in the Business section. Visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov for additional recalls. Item: Universal MultiChoice Valves. Purchased from: Commercial plumbers and building subcontractors nationwide. Company: Delta Faucet Co. Problem: Valve that regulates temperature of water can disengage, which may cause consumers to come into contact with water that is hotter than expected. Remedy: Exercise caution when adjusting temperature on faucets. Test water before entering shower or tub. Delta Faucet is contacting affected consumers. Contact: Call 800-336-6696 or visit www.deltafaucet.com. --- Item: Time RXS Titan Carbon, RXS Carbon, RXS and RXE bicycle pedals.... | |
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| | | Fortune Brands Profit Rises on Spirits, Home Goods (Update6) | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 7:06:21 PM by Blog57 Team | | Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Fortune Brands Inc., the maker of Titleist golf balls, Moen faucets and Jim Beam bourbon, said third-quarter profit increased 64 percent on rising liquor sales and growth in the home and hardware unit. Net income was $151.3 million, or 98 cents a share, up from $92.2 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. Revenue advanced 23 percent to $2.22 billon, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. Fortune benefited from last year's purchase of more than 20 Allied Domecq Plc brands. Sales of spirits, the most profitable unit, jumped 46 percent. Revenue from home goods such as Aristokraft cabinets rose 18 percent for the biggest gain in almost two years, overcoming a U.S. housing slump. ``Results were pretty good in an environment where people were looking for disastrous,'' said Don Gher, chief investment officer at Coldstream Capital Management in Bellevue, Washington.... | |
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| | | Michael Graves turns to textiles | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 11:04:39 AM by Blog57 Team | | For more than four decades, architect Michael Graves has designed such homey objects as teapots, corkscrews and faucets, and such eye-catching structures as a Life magazine "dream house," Disney resort hotels, and the scaffolding that sheathed the Washington Monument during its restoration. Now, he has created a collection of commercial textiles based on his photos and drawings from the 1960s in Italy, while he studied at the American Academy in Rome. These upholstery fabrics include his take on toile as well as depictions of Italian hills and trees, cityscapes and landscapes. Some are light green and blue; many are drab earth tones. It is heartening to see that at 72, he is still taking on new challenges. At $85 a yard, the sturdy polyester can be ordered online from www.cryptonfabric.com.... | |
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