Alderman Donates Park Arch

The Park has become the perfect stop for those looking to take in nature and history while walking along the I&; — much of which is thanks to Ken and his .

About two weeks ago a new addition was added to the park on Illinois Avenue. A was put up over the to the replica the Heritage.

The Serenos had it made by Crown Concepts Corporation, a metal and . Because is a repeat customer and Crown Concepts is part of the community, the company cut a break on the cost, he said. The Serenos purchased it for about $4,500.

The arch features cut outs of squirrels, birds and other animal and plant life that is natural to the area. The top of the arch has a cut out that states “Canalport Park.”

“I spent 48 years working and didn’t donate much then so I thought it’s time to give back to the community,” said.

The Serenos are doing more than enough to make up for lost time. Just they had a of a horse pulling a buckboard full of barrels made and put in the park. It represents what would have been seen along the canal 100 years ago. It cost the Serenos about $5,300 and was also made by Crown Concepts.

In addition helped with the cost of the mural near the park on the Cal’s printing building at 123 Illinois Ave.

“It’s coming along beautifully down there with the , stone (entry) and the things from Ken and Joan,” said Mayor Dick Kopczick during the June 2 Morris City Council meeting.

Several other community members have also donated to the park including Warren Olson, who designed a in memory of his wife . The park was dedicated September 30, 2006.

The Tom Delockery family also donated the garden between the bank wall (put in by the city) and the landscaping stone (donated by Olson) against .

said the park holds the memories of the city’s history and he hopes visitors take time to think of Morris’ past while enjoying the park.

Although most would say he has done more than his share of donating, said he isn’t quite sure he’s done yet.

“The more we have here the more people will come down and look at the mural and the boat,” said.

said he is working on a project for Jim and Carol Baum’s new Community Center. The Baums recently purchased the old Coleman Hardware Company building on the west end of Illinois Avenue. They plan to remodel the building and divide it into condominiums for the area’s non-profit organizations.

The building’s old concrete chimney sits on the side of the building right now. said he’d like to incorporate it into a flag stand for the building. The original part of the building is about 135 years old so the chimney is historic, said, and should be preserved.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

FP Appliances fails to sell finance unit

F%26amp;P said today its board had decided to retain the finance unit after assessing interest from bidders who conducted due diligence.
%26quot;We said at the beginning of this process that Fisher %26amp; Paykel Appliances would only divest the finance business if value exceeded our internal valuation,%26quot; F%26amp;P chief executive John Bongard said. %26quot;This disciplined process has not resulted in a sale and is a decision that we are very comfortable with.%26quot;
The company put F %26amp; P Finance on the block , with analysts suggesting it could fetch between $250 million and $300 million with some cash likely to be returned to shareholders.
A spate of finance company collapses and the global credit crunch, however, had led to market scepticism about sale prospects.
Shares in F%26amp;P fell 8 cents, or 3 per cent, to $2.30.

Tags: , , ,
0

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Garden Landscaping No Comments

Input sought on education

How should Utah schools handle a teacher shortage mixed with 160,000 new students coming in the next 10 years?

The Utah Senate is taking your suggestions online and could have something to share Friday.

“We’ve asked all of our readers to help find ways we can make good on our commitment to education,” says “The Senate Site: Unofficial Voice of the Utah Senate Majority,” www.senatesite.com/blog/2008/01/coming-life-after-vouchers-part-i.html.

Proposals are expected to include some already debated bills, including paying for some teachers to teach all year to help maximize the work force and building use, and other ideas.

“If we’ve learned anything from Referendum 1, it’s that the public needs to buy into proposals for education reform,” Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said, referring to the vouchers defeat at the polls .

The three postings so far include more money for schools and a head tax.

Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, says she’s looking for suggestions, particularly from teachers and school leaders “other than give us more .”
Story continues below

Tags: , , ,
0

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Backyard Landscaping No Comments

Four teens charged in rape that was discussed on MySpace.com

Four teens have been charged with rape in the alleged assault of a Bellevue girl .

According to Bellevue police, the attack was described in messages on the Internet.

The youths were all 17 when the assault was reported. Hearings are scheduled next month to determine if they should be tried as adults. One defendant has turned 18 since the alleged attack.

According to court filings, the attack occurred Nov. 18, when four teens picked up the girl, 16, at her home in Bellevue and provided her with alcohol.

The girl later told police she remembered going to a Redmond grocery, buying alcohol, and being in the back seat of a car, where she was repeatedly raped.

She was returned to her home about three hours after the teens picked her up. Her mother, alarmed at her appearance, took her to Overlake Hospital. An examination determined she had been raped, and police were called.

The girl then went to MySpace.com, found profiles for two of the teens and identified them as two of her assailants, according to a police affidavit.

Police got a search warrant for MySpace.com records and found descriptions of the attacks.

“The messages included details of the assault … and confirmed that four males were involved,” noted Detective Carl Kleinknecht.

In other messages, two suspects and other recipients exchanged ideas which included possibly killing the girl if she went to police, concocting a cover story and even boasting of the attack.

Police interviewed one of the teens, who identified three other suspects.

A car believed to be the one where the alleged assault took place was located and impounded.

The teens, from the Kent and Federal Way areas, were charged as juveniles last Wednesday. In addition, two of them face charges of unlawful possession of a firearm for having a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle on Jan. 24.

Tags:
0

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

Australia U.S. reach ‘open skies’ agreement on flights

SYDNEY, Australia Australia and the United States have reached a bilateral “open skies” aviation agreement, the countries announced Friday, clearing the way for increase competition on one of the world’s most lucrative and protected long-haul routes.

The bilateral agreement abolishes all restrictions on U.S. and Australian air services for carriers of both countries, ending a virtual duopoly on the route held by Qantas and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines. Qantas controls 75 percent of the market share on the Australia-U.S. route, from which it derives around 15 percent of its net profit.

The deal will allow Australian carrier Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. to begin flights to the United States by the end of the year but leaves Singapore Airlines Ltd., which has long coveted the route, still without access.

It would also “provide certainty” for Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. and its budget offshoot Jetstar, allowing them to widen the network of American cities they currently serve, Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

The agreement comes after three days of negotiations in Washington and will take effect once formal approval from the U.S. and Australian governments is granted.

“Airlines from both countries will be allowed to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand, without limitations on the number of U.S. or Australian carriers that can fly between the two countries or the number of flights they can operate,” a U.S. Department of Transport statement said.

“The agreement also removes restrictions on capacity and pricing, and provides opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including code-sharing, between U.S. and Australian carriers,” it said.

The agreement only applies to American and Australian carriers.

The Australian government last year denied Singapore Airlines’ request to start in the corridor on the grounds that opening up the route to the Asian carrier would bring only minor tourism benefits and could hurt the economy. The carrier had hoped a change in government in Australia would see a softening of opposition to its ambitions.

Singapore Airlines said that hope had been squelched by Friday’s agreement.

“The agreement to liberalise for Australian and American carriers on the U.S. route is long overdue,” Stephen Forshaw, Singapore Airlines’s vice president for public affairs said in a statement. “But it is only half a step.”

The company repeated its accusation that the Australian government was unfairly protecting Qantas from competition by denying Singapore Airlines access to the trans-Pacific route.

Tags: , , ,
0

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

House passes 13 million property tax cut

With little debate, the Utah House voted Thursday afternoon to give Utahns a $13 million property tax cut.

It is the first of what is hoped several property tax cuts this session, although the tax cut in HB69 may mean only a few dollars for each Utah homeowner.

Still, with new tax revenue estimates coming next week %26#151; and the fear that they may see little, if any, improvement in state tax take in fiscal 2008-2009 %26#151; HB69 may be the only significant tax cut given by legislators this year.

“This is Gov. Olene Walker’s legacy,” said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, speaking about the new reading program the former governor demanded from lawmakers in 2004, funded in part by a new local school district property tax. It is that local tax that is repealed under HB69 %26#151; with the state making up those lost revenues.

Walker threatened to veto the whole state budget if lawmakers didn’t provide $ for an early-grade elementary school special reading program. (It was a threat that ultimately changed the way that lawmakers adopt their yearly budgets to avoid such “blackmail” %26#151; as some lawmakers called her move %26#151; in the future.)

Angry GOP conservatives in the House and Senate stood against Walker. In the end, lawmakers agreed to pay for half of the new program (then around $15 million) and required school districts that wanted their share of that reading program funds to raise their own to pay for the rest of the new reading program.
Story continues below

When many Utah homeowners started screaming over higher %26#151; found in tax notices they were getting from county assessors %26#151; legislators started looking around for a way to cut .

More than a dozen bills, including several constitutional amendments, on were introduced in the 2008 Legislature.

And House Republicans voted in caucus in favor of a $100 million tax cut, with their Senate party colleagues saying they’d like to cut , too.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. did not include any tax cuts in this recommended budget. But he’s softened a bit since, saying that he’d consider some property tax relief %26#151; and even mentioned Rep. John Dougall’s HB69 as one way to do that.

Legislators don’t want to dump the reading program now. “It has really proven itself,” said Allen. Most districts used their new tax money %26#151; the state’s share and their own increased %26#151; to hire reading specialists.

The program “is very effective” in helping young children read, said Allen.

Dougall said legislators promised to cut back on the district’s reading property tax leeway when state revenues recovered from the early 2000s economic slow-down.

But even during record-revenue collections the last several years, lawmakers and Huntsman decided to cut a variety of other taxes, including the sales tax on food, the general sales tax, and the personal income tax, before even considering any property tax cuts.

Since the state itself levies no property tax, the only way for lawmakers to give a property tax cut, now that citizens are angry over higher home , was to force some other property-taxing to lower their tax rates.

HB69 proved an easy and just way to force school districts to lower their , legislators and Huntsman have said.

Should the Senate pass HB69 and Huntsman sign it, tax reductions will appear on property owners’ 2008 taxes, due next November.

Tags: , , , ,
0

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Backyard Landscaping No Comments

Pura Vida Coffee wins support of the House

Forget earmarks and political donations. Pura Vida Coffee, of Seattle, won the right to sell coffee at the U.S. House of Representatives through an old-fashioned taste test.

, about 40 House staffers chose Pura Vida over Fair Trade-certified coffees from Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Bluebird Artisanal Coffee Roasters.

“When we decided to switch to Fair Trade coffee, there was some nervousness about whether that coffee is as good as regular coffee, which is one reason we had the taste-off,” said Dan Beard, the House’s chief administrative officer. Pura Vida began supplying the House with coffee in December.

Fair Trade certification means that coffee farmers receive a fair price for their beans. Pura Vida’s coffee is also organic and shade-grown, which protects bird habitat and reduces clear-cutting.

Pura Vida is majority owned by F5 Networks co-founder Jeff Hussey. It was started by two Harvard MBAs in 1998 with the goal of improving the lives of children and families in coffee-growing countries.

A nickel of every pound it sells goes to a nonprofit, Pura Vida Partners, that shares space with the company in Fremont and distributes the money to organizations in coffee-growing countries. Over the years, the for-profit Pura Vida has contributed more than $2.5 million in cash and other support to the nonprofit.

Pura Vida is at the end of an effort to raise $3.5 million in capital to help grow the company, which is expected to become profitable for the first time this year, said President Jeff Angell. It has 17 employees; the nonprofit has two.

The company sells much of its coffee to hundreds of cafes on university campuses, Angell said. “They’re very discriminating consumers with high expectations for the quality of the product as well as the truth in what you say you’re doing.”

Pura Vida is served off campus as well, including at Washington Mutual’s headquarters in Seattle and at four Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington, D.C. The company hopes to expand more off-campus, Angell said.

Pura Vida’s coffee is roasted to its specifications by S%26amp;D Coffee in Concord, N.C.

The House of Representatives is its largest customer, sipping about 100 pounds of drip coffee a day.

Pura Vida doesn’t disclose sales. Its House contract is with the food-management giant Compass Group, which also sells Pura Vida coffee to some colleges and universities and recently began offering it to corporate, health care and other clients.

Tags: , , ,
0

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

Williams Paul renew rivalry

Their most-recent individual matchup was a dud.

Deron Williams had 12 points and seven assists, but because of foul trouble he played just 29 minutes in a Jazz blowout win over New Orleans .

Chris Paul %26#151; taken one spot behind Williams in the 2005 NBA Draft, at No. 4 overall %26#151; had 15 points and six assists, but shot only 5-of-12 from the field.

Next meeting of the league’s two hottest young point guards comes tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, and this installment has ratcheted stakes that could replace the fizzle with bona fide sizzle.

Paul deservedly was named a first-time NBA All-Star last Thursday, tapped by the Western Conference for one of seven reserve spots when the Feb. 17 showcase unfolds in the Hornet point’s very own New Orleans.

Williams, though deserving in the eyes of some around the West, was not, losing out as a sub selection not only to Paul but also two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns.

“I’m disappointed because he didn’t make it,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

“But, you know, that’s the luck of the draw. Their (32-win) team is probably a little farther along. They were ahead of us two weeks ago,” added Sloan, whose 30-18 Jazz have won eight straight and lead the NBA’s Northwest Division. “That’s the way it works. You’re a victim of circumstances sometimes, and you can’t do anything about it.”
Story continues below

Except perhaps take out some frustration on the floor.

“That matchup’s a big matchup for him,” said Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer, who was selected as West reserve %26#151; as was Hornets power forward David West. “You know, he always thrives when he plays against Chris Paul %26#151; and Chris Paul obviously plays against D-Will.”

It may currently be, in fact, the NBA’s most scrutinized individual matchup.

After All-Star Game picks were named, TrueHoop/ESPN.com’s Henry Abbott boldly asserted that “magnificent as Williams is, he’s no Chris Paul.”

“Hopefully New Orleans and Utah can meet in the playoffs to figure out who has the better team,” Abbott wrote. “As individuals, however, Paul is making a strong case for MVP, Williams is not. This is the season when Williams suffers from bad PR merely because the two have long been compared.”

Similar banter was shared back in November, before they faced off for the first time this season. It’s continued throughout the All-Star selection process, as merits of the two have been bandied about by everyone and their brother.

%26#8226; “I think Deron Williams is better than Paul, but Paul is doing more with less,” wrote ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose, an ex-NBA player. “And since his Hornets host the All-Star Game, what better guy to usher in his NBA colleagues and the fans to the Big Easy?”

%26#8226; “Look, don’t get me wrong: I like Williams. He’s an All-Star-caliber player. … That said, the oft-echoed opinion that Williams is equal or superior to Paul is totally indefensible,” ESPNInsider.com statistical analyst John Hollinger wrote. “It’s not like Williams is better at some things and Paul is better at others. It’s more like Paul is better at everything. … Basically, the only items in Williams’ favor are that he has a slightly better true shooting percentage and, um, he’s bigger. Like I said, I like Williams as a player and don’t mean this as a rip on him. But because of the vast disparity in media coverage between the two over the past year, especially during Utah’s playoff run last spring, I don’t think people quite understand just how good Paul has been, or how wide the chasm is that separates these two.”

%26#8226; “I don’t know how you could pick one. Both are great point guards already,” Nash told ESPN.com earlier this season. “(Paul’s) not as accomplished a shooter as Deron, but he’s a terrific penetrator and passer and he’s able to get to the line from the backcourt. … And that kind of offsets Deron’s shooting advantage. (Paul) also seems to have a knack for getting steals. He gives his team a lot of confidence.”

Williams, though, has his share of diehards.

“He’s a great player, a fantastic player,” All-Star starter Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers said after a late-November game.

“He’s our John Stockton, so to speak,” Sloan said earlier this season.

That’s high praise, as is all that for Paul.

No wonder some refuse to buy into the notion that constantly comparing and contrasting the two is over the top.

“I’d love to say that it’s all the media’s fault, but I understand it,” Nash told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. “Everyone tries to compare players because it’s fun. It’s the natural thing to do to try to think of something that’s similar. … It’s just what we do in life, because we all want to relate to each other.”

Though Williams constantly downplays the chatter because Paul is a good friend %26#151; he even invited the Hornets point to his house on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl %26#151; Boozer fully understands it.

“I think it’s legit,” he said over the weekend. “The thing about it, they got drafted 3-4. … D-Will had a great year last year; they’re both having a great year this year, obviously. But Deron, he wants to prove to people he should have been the third pick. And the same thing for Chris.

“So, Boozer added, “that matchup’s gonna be great for not only now, but years to come.”

Comparing point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul, both in their third NBA seasons:

THIS SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

SCORING

Paul: 20.7 pts, leads team

Williams: 18.8 pts, 2nd on team

ASSISTS

Paul: 10.9 per game

Williams: 9.6 per game

SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

Williams: 51.1 percent

Paul: 48 percent

STEALS

Paul: 2.5 per game

Williams: 1.1 per game

HONORS

Paul: All-Star

Williams: Not

TEAM

Paul: 32-14

Williams: 30-18

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

SCORING

Paul: 17.6 per game in 186 games

Williams: 14.7 per game in 208 games

ASSISTS

Paul: 8.9 per game

Williams 7.5 per game

SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

Williams: 45.9 percent

Paul: 44.7 percent

STEALS

Paul: 2.2 per game

Williams: 0.9 per game

TEAM

Williams: One Western Conference finals appearance

Paul: No postseason play

Tags: , , ,
0

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Backyard Landscaping No Comments

Sharukh takes a dig at Cricket board hopes he can see matches

MUMBAI:

After a run in with the Indian Cricket Board , Bollywood star

Sharukh Khan took a swipe at the body saying there should not be any objections

if he now watched cricket matches.

“No one should have objection

if I watch a match now,” said Sharukh after he won a bid on Friday to own Mumbai

team in the high profile Indian Premium League.

The actor was at the receiving

end of an outburst on November 20 by senior BCCI official Ratnakar Shetty who

alluded that cricket matches were being used by stars to promote films. The

remark, which saw the actor in the centre of a controversy, was in the context

of veiled suggestions that his attendance at cricket matches including the T-20

final was an attempt to promote his film “Om Shanti Om”.

“The

one thing I hope that does not happen is that people think I am watching a

cricket match to promote my film. I will be supporting my team,” Sharukh said

taking a potshot at the BCCI on Thursday.

Reacting to Shetty’s

remarks, Sharukh had said he does not have to depend on other’s platform to push

his films.

Sharukh had said he

was sad and disappointed over the remarks by Shetty that use of platform of

cricket by stars for promoting films is “slightly debatable.” The new film had

also echoed in the commentary box during Sharukh’s chat with TV commentator

Rameez Raja at the Jaipur ODI cricket match between India and Pakistan.

BCCI Vice President Rajiv

Shukla had defused the controversy when he said the Cricket Board has no

objection to Sharukh or any other film personality coming to watch international

cricket matches involving the national side.

Sharukh had also said he was

not going to watch cricket matches in future if it has not gone well with the

BCCI.

But now that the star is

the owner of a cricket team the tale may well turn out to be “Chak de Sharukh”.

Tags: ,
0

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Yard Landscaping No Comments

Judith Regan lawsuit settled is settled

NEW YORK –The war is over: Judith Regan, the publisher fired in the wake of her efforts to release O.J. Simpson’s hypothetical “confession,” has settled her $100 million lawsuit with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

“The parties are pleased that they have reached an equitable, confidential settlement, with no admission of liability by any party,” according to a joint statement issued Friday.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with so many gifted people and am looking forward to my next venture,” Regan, who filed a $100 million defamation suit , said in a statement.

Regan’s ReganBooks imprint at HarperCollins published a long list of racy best sellers, including Jose Canseco’s “Juiced” and Jenna Jameson’s “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star.” But she was fired in December 2006, less than a month after Murdoch canceled her plans to publish O.J. Simpson’s allegedly fictional murder confession, “If I Did It.” The book and a companion Fox television interview were greeted with widespread public outrage.

“Ms. Regan is a talented publisher who created many award-winning and best-selling books during her twelve and a half years at the company,” the company said in a statement. “News Corp. thanks Ms. Regan for her outstanding contributions and wishes her continued success.”

At the time of her firing, when she still had more than two years on her contract, News Corp. alleged that Regan made anti-Semitic comments to a company lawyer during an angry telephone conversation.

“This charge was completely fabricated,” according to Regan’s lawsuit.

“After carefully considering the matter, we accept Ms. Regan’s position that she did not say anything that was anti-Semitic in nature, and further believe that Ms. Regan is not anti-Semitic,” News Corp. said Friday.

Regan had also accused her former employers of asking her to lie to federal investigators about Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who was once her lover, and had tried to smear her.

Regan said the smear campaign stems from her past intimate relationship with Kerik, who was police commissioner under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and from the political agenda of News Corp.

Giuliani, a Republican, appointed Kerik police commissioner and recommended him to President Bush for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik had to withdraw his nomination after it was revealed he had not reported the wages he paid to a nanny. He was indicted , days before Regan filed her lawsuit, on counts including accusations of lying to the White House and filing false income tax returns. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Tags: ,
0

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

Previous Entries

website counter