August 13th, 2007
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The crew of the Endeavour space ship have some work ahead of them. They are awaiting the results of testing being done here on Earth to see if the gash in the bottom of the ship will casue harm during re-entry.
“A chunk of insulating foam ricocheted off a fuel tank and smacked the shuttle during liftoff last week, carving out the gouge.”
“The unevenly shaped gouge, which straddles two side-by-side heat shield tiles and the corner of a third, is 3.5 inches long and just over 2 inches wide. The inspection on Sunday showed that the damage went through the one-inch-thick thermal tiles, exposing the felt material sandwiched between the tiles and the shuttle’s aluminum frame.”
[read whole story]
August 13th, 2007
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God bless the miners trapped in Utah. It has been days since the collapse and not a sound has been heard from them, still a third hole is being dug in an attempt to find where they are located.
“No sign of human life has been detected by either a listening device or a camera that were lowered more than one-third of mile through two recently drilled holes in the mountain above the Crandall Canyon Mine’s cavity, said Richard E. Stickler, the head of the federal Mine Health and Safety Administration.”
“The two holes had cut through the ceiling near where the miners were last known to be working.”
“The good news, Mr. Stickler said, was that the tunnel, at more than five feet high at both hole locations, was large enough for the miners to survive in.”
[read whole story]
August 13th, 2007
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When iVillage showed up on the web it was quicly popular with women of all ages. Here was a forum where women could share questions all women had in common and find helpful suggestions to use. NBC stepped in and iVillage has gone on a long downward slide.
“Promotions on “Today” did not spike traffic to the Web site as expected. Veteran Web employees fled after a decision to move iVillage’s offices to New Jersey from Manhattan. Hearst, which had long featured content from Cosmopolitan and Redbook on the site, severed ties so it could bulk up its own Internet business.”
“Most embarrassing, an effort to increase traffic by introducing a syndicated television program, “iVillage Live,” resulted in a month-to-month drop in visitors to the iVillage Web site. Introduced last December, “iVillage Live,” carried on NBC-owned stations in 10 cities, was seen as a failure on its own, suffering from low ratings, poor production quality and a certain nagging cloying quality. It ceased production in June, but is still running in repeats and will return, after a full makeover, next month.”
[read whole story]
August 11th, 2007
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For Mitt Romney campaigning has become a family affair. REALLY a family affair. According to news reports as many as 96 of his aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews and grandchildren are in Iowa to bolster what is already a huge ground operation for Saturday’s Republican straw poll that far outstrips any other campaign for the party’s 2008 presidential nomination.
Leading the shock troops will be Mr. Romney’s five sons, who have come to occupy an increasingly prominent place in his campaign, giving speeches, being hosts at fund-raisers, blogging and even weighing in on strategy, all the while helping their father paint a not-so-subtle contrast to some of his leading rivals.
It is Mr. Romney’s family portrait that lends him credibility in his appeals to all-important social conservative voters here, many of whom are still grappling with whether to believe he is really one of them despite some of his past positions, like support of abortion rights.
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August 11th, 2007
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The next presidential election is over a year away. Between now and then just how many debates are you willing to listen to? Are you even interested? Debates used to be a real attention grabber, but not anymore. Just like anything else, too much of a good thing - isn’t.
“There was a time when running for president of the United States meant visiting with voters in New Hampshire living rooms, eating your way across the Iowa State Fair, delivering speeches and raising money.”
“These days, running for president has also become a marathon test of an altogether different skill: debating. This campaign has turned into a mind-numbing blur of 90- and 120-minute debates and forums that has consumed the Democratic candidates in particular. They are trudging from coast to coast at the beck and call of television networks, unions, state political parties and whoever else may want to throw them together on stage in front of a television camera and a blinking red and green light.”
[read whole story]
August 10th, 2007
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It was the favorite brand for thousands of kids. Peter Pan Peanut Butter is coming back to your local stores soon. The company is offering a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee to reassure consumers that ConAgra Foods has fixed the problems that allowed salmonella to contaminate the product.
According to one report more than 400 people were sickened by the peanut butter.
ConAgra believes a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler head were causing bacteria to grow where the raw peanuts were stored.
ConAgra says it is renovating the plant. In the meantime, another factory has been contracted to make Peter Pan Peanut Butter.
David Palfenier, president of ConAgra’s grocery division, said all the consumers who contacted ConAgra during the recall, including those who became ill after eating Peter Pan, will receiver coupons for a free jar of the peanut butter. All other consumers will be offered $1 off coupons.
The company also plans to settle the numerous lawsuits spawned by the recall.
August 10th, 2007
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MARLETTE ~ The New Leadership We Need
• GUY’S PICNIC ON THE ISLAND •
Island Park - Large Pavilion
(Behind Amherst Town Hall) 5583 Main St.,
Williamsville, NY
Friday, August 10, 2007
5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
August 10th, 2007
Local News
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The Amherst Drug Court & Therapeutic Foundation announced today that the Board of Directors approved a request from the Amherst Drug Treatment Court for funding of substance abuse testing kits. “The testing kits that will be used to provide a safe and secure method of screening participants of the program” said Guy Marlette, Foundation President. “The results are virtually instantaneous and will allow the court to better monitor the participants, said Marlette.”
“The individuals that have been allowed to participate in Drug Court are given strict guidelines for inclusion in Drug Treatment Court, said Amherst Judge Mark Farrell.”
The continued success of Drug Court and the success of the participant is adherence to these guidelines. The random testing of individuals ensure that these guidelines and conditions are maintained, as well as sending a message to all participants of our zero tolerance policy of continued substance abuse, continued Farrell.
In the eleven years since it’s inception the Amherst Drug Treatment court has graduated over 1,400 participants, with over 80 percent have proven successful by not relapsing into drug or alcohol use, thus becoming productive members of our community.
“The passion and dedication of Judge Farrell and the entire Drug Court personnel, is what allows us to continue our mission to help and serve the individual, the community, and the town” said Marlette.
Drug Treatment Court has been a win-win situation, which has resulted in huge economic savings in terms of reduced incarceration, more effective treatment, and stopping the cycle of repeated offenses. The most important dividend has been the human factor, which is represented by countless stories of personal triumph and lives that have been saved. The Amherst Drug Treatment Court is one of the largest and most effective in the state of New York.
Amherst Drug Treatment Court receives little, if any, public funding and has relied upon grant funding over the last ten years of its existence. Due to the lack of grant funding, the current economic situation requires the Court to turn to private subsidy to maintain its successful operation.
August 10th, 2007
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One hundred years ago there was a run on the banks and many failed because they couldn’t raise the cash that the depositors were demanding. Safeguards were put in place and that seemed to be over and done with until recently, but it’s not banks and cash flow, it’s securities that are the cause of some panic.
“For a long time, that all seemed to be safely relegated to the past. But now the runs are back — and this time the targets are not banks but the securities that have replaced them as the prime generators of credit in the new financial system.”
““Our current system of levered finance and its related structures may be critically flawed,” said William H. Gross, the chief investment officer of Pimco, a mutual fund company. “Nothing within it allows for the hedging of liquidity risk, and that is the problem at the moment.””
“This problem has plagued the United States at regular intervals. The Panic of 1907 was halted only when the banker J. P. Morgan persuaded banks to stand together and halt the string of closings by lending money to threatened institutions. That led to the creation of the Federal Reserve, as Congress recoiled from the notion that the country’s financial health had relied on the wealth and wisdom of one private citizen.”
[read whole story]
August 9th, 2007
Local News
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Democrat James Keane will be in the Primary September18, 2007. His opponent will be Paul Clark. Amherst, as well as Williamsville, has an ordinance which clearly states that no political signs may be placed anywhere in the Village of Williamsville or the Town of Amherst until one month prior to any Primary or election. The ordinance carries a fine if signs put up early are not removed.
James Keane‘s signs are popping up all over Williamsville and Amherst. It appears Mr. Keane needs every advantage he can garner to win this Primary. His supporters, or Keane himself, may not put signs up in Williamsville or the Town of Amherst until August 18th. Today is August 9, 2007.
