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Popular property highlights
DoubleTree by Hilton Boston - Downtown places you in Chinatown, within a leisurely stroll of popular sights such as Boston Public Garden and Boston Common. This 267 -room, 3.5-star hotel has a restaurant along with conveniences like a 24-hour fitness center and a 24-hour business center. Boston Opera House and Orpheum Theater are a short walk from the hotel, which is near the airport.
Enjoy a leisurely bite to eat at Wisteria, the hotel's onsite restaurant. Savor a meal from the privacy of your room with room service, or get a pick-me-up at the coffee shop/café. Start each morning off right with full breakfast served for a fee.
All 267 air-conditioned accommodations feature sitting areas. Flat-screen TVs come with cable channels, and guests can stay connected with WiFi. Bathrooms offer hair dryers and designer toiletries, and beds sport premium bedding. Coffee makers, phones, and ironing boards are other standard amenities.
Property features
At DoubleTree by Hilton Boston - Downtown, guests have access to a 24-hour fitness center, WiFi in public areas, and 2 meeting rooms. Valet parking is offered for USD 53.00 per day. Multilingual staff at the front desk are standing by 24/7 to help with dry cleaning/laundry, concierge services, and luggage storage. Additional amenities include a 24-hour business center, express check-out, and free newspapers.
- Walking distance to Boston Public Garden and Boston Common
- Onsite dining
- 24-hour fitness center
- 24-hour business center
DoubleTree by Hilton Boston - Downtown
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
The 5-story DoubleTree by Hilton Boston - Downtown features a restaurant/bar and room service (limited hours). The hotel features 4,000 square feet (372 square meters) of meeting facilities and 2 meeting and conference rooms with access to audiovisual equipment. A 24-hour self-service business center offers a computer and wired high-speed Internet access (surcharge). Limited parking is available for a fee.
- 24-hour front desk
- ATM/banking
- Free use of nearby fitness center
- Coffee shop or café
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Express check-out
- Multilingual staff
- Restaurant
- Total number of rooms - 267
- Number of floors - 6
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- 24-hour fitness facilities
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Luggage storage
- Elevator/lift
- Meeting rooms 2
- Valet parking (surcharge)
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Conference space size (feet) - 4000
- Conference space size (meters) - 372
- Number of meeting rooms - 2
- Smoke-free property
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- 24-hour business center
Available in all rooms: Wireless internet access ( USD 9.95 per 24-hour period )
Available in some public areas: Wireless internet access ( USD 9.95 per 24-hour period )
Valet parking (surcharge)
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Desk
- Hair dryer
- Premium bedding
- Iron/ironing board
- Daily housekeeping
- Separate sitting area
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Private bathroom
- Designer toiletries
- Shower/tub combination
- Cable TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Room service (limited hours)
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- WiFi (surcharge)
Where to Eat
Wisteria Restaurant and Bar - This hip restaurant features an ever-changing, classic French menu with an Asian flair. Complete with custom woodwork and glass screens, the décor is simple yet elegant.
Starbucks - Guests can enjoy their favorite Starbucks coffees, drinks and pastries right at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Downtown.
Room service is available daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 6:30 AM until 11 PM.
Nearby Things to Do
Guests of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston - Downtown receive complimentary access to an adjacent partner's property health club, featuring an aerobics area, Pilates classes, basketball court, racquetball/squash, running track/path, and fitness equipment. Hiking/biking trails are available nearby.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the hotel; fees may apply.
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Segway rental/tour nearby
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 21
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Up to 2 children 18 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Cribs (infant beds) are not available.
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Optional extras
- Breakfast fee: between USD 15.00 and USD 20.00 per person (approximately)
- Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 9.95 per 24-hour period (rates may vary)
- Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: USD 9.95 per 24-hour period (rates may vary)
- Valet parking fee: USD 53.00 per day (in/out privileges)
Hotel Name
- Boston Downtown DoubleTree
- Boston Downtown Hilton
- DoubleTree Boston Downtown
- DoubleTree Hilton Boston Downtown
- DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Boston Downtown
- Hilton DoubleTree Boston Downtown
- Doubletree Boston - Downtown Hotel Boston
- DoubleTree Hilton Boston Downtown Hotel
We should mention
Up to 2 children 18 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.
Smart Choice
Book a stay in a Smart Choice rate category and receive the following benefits:
- Free high-speed Internet
- Full breakfast
Must book a Smart Choice rate category to receive benefits. Breakfast may not include taxes and gratuities. Valid anytime, subject to availability. Other restrictions may apply.


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The result, "Fractured Fairy Tales: Election 2012, Snow White vs. Pinocchio," promises a landslide of laughs and, hopefully, enough donations to help the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre live happily ever after — at least until next year's event.
Colglazier and a cast of local celebrities and community leaders will present the parody during the Civic's Celebrities Act Up evening 6-10 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Arts United Center. The event is the Civic's only fundraiser of the year.
The play will be presented as a stage reading, with actors reading from scripts on stage and wearing only a semblance of a costume. But Colglazier said it still will be lots of fun.
"It's like a 'Carol Burnett' sketch," he said.
The plot finds Snow White thrown out by her Evil Stepmother, Colglazier said. She's looking for a job and place to live, so she decides to accept the offer to become the Dwarfocratic Party's candidate for president of Fairy Tale Land.
Hoping to "nose" her out in the election is Pinocchio, the Recycle-can Party candidate.
Fairy tales' storylines blur and cross over and finally arrive at a presidential debate.
Part of the fun comes from the inside jokes Colglazier playfully built into the script based on cast member's occupations or roles in the community.
Civic audience favorite Jessica Butler plays Snow White, and Steel Dynamics executive Ben Eisbart is Pinocchio.
Snow White's support team includes, who else, the Seven Dwarves, including Mayor Tom Henry as Dopey, Dr. Greg Johnson of Parkview Health as Doc and Fort Wayne City Councilman Geoff Paddock as Bashful. The mayor's wife, Cindy Henry, plays Mirror, Mirror; City Councilman Tom Didier is The Prince; and Fort Wayne Police Department Deputy Chief Dottie L. Davis plays the Evil Stepmother.
Pinocchio's advisers include Arts United Executive Director Jim Sparrow as Jiminy Cricket,; attorney F. John Rogers as Geppetto the Woodcarver; and DeBrand Fine Chocolates' Cathy Brand-Beere as the Chocolate Fairy. ; and City Councilman John Shoaff as Honest John.
To avoid taking too much of their time, the cast will get the script a short time before the event and will rehearse twice, Colglazier said.
But Colglazier doesn't anticipate any problems.
"When they came together for photos, you could tell they all will have a good time together," he said.
In addition to the performance, the evening will include dinner by Tony Ficaro's Splendid Fare, desserts by DeBrand Fine Chocolates and complimentary beverages from the Green Frog Inn. Silent and live auctions also will take place.
"This is one election that can be bought," Colglazier joked.
More Information
Election spoofWhat: The Fort Wayne Civic Theatre presents "Fractured Fairy Tales: Election 2012, Snow White vs. Pinocchio," a parody stage reading featuring local celebrities. The event is the Civic's only fundraiser of the year and features dinner and silent and live auctions.
When: 6-10 p.m. Oct. 13, with the show at 9 p.m.
Where: Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St.
Cost: $90 per person; reservations are due Friday. For tickets, call 422-8641, Ext. 226; buy online at www.fwcivic.org; or available at the ArtsTix box office noon-6 p.m. weekdays in the Arts United Center lobby.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Coast to coast hoops By Mitch Vingle November 12, 2012 Story Share Courtesy photo Guard Kevin Pangos led Gonzaga in scoring as a freshman last season at 13.6 points per game. Courtesy photo SPOKANE, Wash. -- West Virginia University's basketball team is scheduled to travel 31,128 miles this season, its first in the Big 12.To get to the regular season opener here against Gonzaga, the Mountaineers flew about 4,200 miles.WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins, however, did what he could to minimize the effects of travel. The Mountaineers left Morgantown early Saturday morning and arrived in Spokane around 1 p.m.They practiced Saturday night and Sunday afternoon before the midnight ET on Monday. That was a 9 p.m. tip here.After the game, however, WVU was on a red-eye schedule to return. The team had a 5:30 a.m. flight through Denver and into Pittsburgh before busing to Morgantown. nn Before the game, Huggins announced he'd be starting Boston College transfer Matt Humphrey instead of Keaton Miles, who started in the Glenville exhibition.The rest of the starting lineup was scheduled to be Juwan Staten, Jabarie Hinds, Deniz Kilicli and Aaric Murray. nn On Monday, WVU deputy athletic director Mike Parsons clarified the way WVU's game at Gonzaga was set up."It originated from ESPN, which was looking for a game to place in its [Tip-Off Marathon] of 24 hours of basketball," he said. "Our game tip [was] right after Monday Night Football, which is an ideal spot, especially since the [Pittsburgh] Steelers [were] playing."Last year, we played in the [Marathon] against Kent State on a Tuesday morning. Overall, it's a promotional thing by ESPN. They have 24 hours of consecutive basketball on ESPN or ESPN2. Some start at 6 a.m. But we got that ideal spot after Monday Night Football."Parsons said Gonzaga would play in Morgantown next season. "The game this year is also considered a preliminary game to the Old Spice Classic, which is in Orlando. It's not likely, but we could play Gonzaga again there. [Big 12 league partner] Oklahoma is also in it. We could end up playing [the Sooners] up to four times: twice in league play, once in Orlando and once in the Big 12 tournament."Parsons added that neither Gonzaga nor WVU would be paying money guarantees to the other. nn Gonzaga entered Monday's late game with a 104-7 home record inside the McCarthey Athletic Center, named for former newspaper publishing donors that owned the Salt Lake Tribune.Part of the reason for the success is the enthusiasm around the Zags' program. The Center only holds 6,000, but students were camping out in the snow on Sunday to get tickets. GU spokesman Oliver Pierce said students receive between 1,200 and 1,300 tickets per game and camp out in their Tent City to acquire them. The school provides generators for power. nn Monday's game might have provoked a provoking memory for WVU's Huggins. Back in 2003, while the coach at Cincinnati, Huggins was booted from an NCAA tournament game, courtesy of official Mike Kitts.Huggins, however, wasn't the only one ejected. In addition, Kitts kicked out UC radio announcer Chuck Machock.The opponent that night in Salt Lake City? Gonzaga.Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, email@example.com">firstname.lastname@example.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 2 Safety shutoff disabled prior to June coal-mining death, report says 3 Huggins, WVU tap South Florida hoops talent 4 Teen pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 5 WVU hopes to get injured defenders back for TCU Prep football scores, playoff pairings Previous Story With roster losses, GW basketball forges ahead Next Story


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Individual post-mortem rebirth aside, sentient beings in general continue to be born. The process of birth, life and death continues, irrespective of whether it happens to any one individual once or multiple times. Judging by the news and simply observing one's personal experience, it is clear we are heavily affected by greed, hatred and delusion, for which Dhamma is an antidote. In the future, we may succeed in colonizing other parts of the universe, bringing with us our afflictions.
Again, putting aside this one question, is the course of sentient life aided by following the Buddha's teachings, or no? If everyone on the planet learned to practice anapanasati or satipatthana, or simply followed the five precepts, or contemplated impermanence and the ephemeral quality of "Self", would this be a net benefit, or would it make no difference?


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Home of the following open-source projects:
A client-server tool for managing virtual desktops and remote access easily.
A fork of the Xpra seamless virtual dekstop tool with many new enhacements.
User Mode Linux resources
Provides pre-built Linux kernels and information on using UML.
Linux Filesystems
Many pre-built Linux filesystems for virtualization solutions.
Pure Java generic metadata and database persistence framework. (no longer maintained)
TigerVNC debian repository
Repository with debian package of TigerVNC.
random code
This site archives old legacy code and random hacks, for reference only.


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The latest round of bank "stress tests" show the banking system has gotten "much stronger" since the financial crisis, says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In a speech before a conference this week in Stone Mountain, Ga., Bernanke touted the results of the latest Federal Reserve stress tests, which showed all but one of the major banks and bank holding companies with assets of more than $50 billion could withstand a serious economic downturn without becoming insolvent.
"The results of the most recent stress tests and capital planning evaluations continue to reflect improvement in banks' condition," Bernanke said in the speech. "Higher capital puts these firms in a much better position to absorb future losses while continuing to fulfill their vital role in the economy."
The country's 18 largest banks have doubled the amount of the highest-grade capital reserves they have on hand from 5.6 percent of their assets to 11.3 percent between 2008 and 2012, an increase of more than $400 billion, Bernanke said.
However, those assurances seem to be falling on deaf ears in the Senate. A draft of legislation being put together by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., which would put extra regulatory burdens on big banks, was leaked to Tim Fernholz of Quartz this week.
The draft calls for banks with more than $50 billion in assets to hold common equity that amounts to 10 percent of their assets, well beyond what's called for in the international banking standards known as Basel III. Banks with more than $400 billion in assets would be required to hold common equity that amounts to 15 percent of their assets, nearly double what's called for by Basel III.
Common equity is made up of retained earnings and common stock. In the event the bank runs into trouble and enters bankruptcy, it is common equity that is first siphoned off to satisfy the bank's debt obligations.
Generally speaking, when it comes to safety and soundness of banks, the larger that common equity buffer is, the better, because the next step after that buffer is used up is taking a bite out of bond holders and eventually, uninsured depositors, which can wreak economic havoc. Higher capital standards for banks that reach the thresholds specified in the legislation also may encourage banks to downsize or avoid excessive growth.
But those benefits don't come without a cost, says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.
Banks primarily make money by taking on debt, either by issuing bonds or accepting deposits, and lending that money to consumers and businesses. The more common equity that banks have to hold relative to the amount they borrow and lend, the less profit they can make, McBride says. The cost also will fall to borrowers, who will likely pay higher interest rates for loans if the legislation eventually becomes law, and deposit account holders, who could see lower interest rates and higher fees, he says.
The plan also seems to take it as a given that assigning an arbitrary number for common equity will cure all ills when it comes to instability in the banking system, but that's not necessarily the case, says Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, managing partner at MRV Associates.
"Why 10? Why not 20 or 30?" Rodriguez Valladares says. "People are too hung up on the numbers. It has to be about getting banks to improve their risk management overall."
What do you think? Is the banking sector stronger, as Bernanke says? Is the answer forcing big banks to carry a bigger capital buffer?
Follow me on Twitter: @ClaesBell.


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Prize Recipient
Dana Lewis
I am 19 years old and currently a sophomore at Louisiana State University. My area of concentration is Medical Physics. I have hopes of starting clinicals and doing cancer research to find a cure. I currently work as a technical assistant at LSU's Radiation Safety Office. My duties include doing radiation surveys in many labs around campus, analyzing samples from theses labs, and making sure all rules regarding radiation and its storage are followed by all lab technicians and supervisors. I'm very proud to say that I made the Dean's List both semesters of my freshman year, and I made the Chancellor's Honor Roll my second semester because of my 4.0 GPA. This year, I will begin my first year as a member of LSU's honor society Gamma Beta Phi. I will also be starting more of my concentrated physics classes such as modern physics and quantum mechanics, which is very exciting. I hope that next Summer I will be accepted into a research program that will give me the experience of what I have to look forward to after graduation.


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T Cell Function in Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria
The recruitment status of this study is unknown. The completion date has passed and the status has not been verified in more than two years.
Verified November 2012 by Meir Medical Center.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Meir Medical Center
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Meir Medical Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: August 28, 2011
Last updated: November 4, 2012
Last verified: November 2012
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a common form of chronic urticaria in which the cause is not detected after intensive clinical and laboratory investigation.In view of the current data, it was suggested that at least part of the patients with CIU have an autoimmune process.This study is designed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the regulation and activation of the immune cells in patients with CIU and corelate them with disease activity
|Chronic Urticaria
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Case-Only
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|T Cell Function in Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria
Resource links provided by NLM:
MedlinePlus related topics: HivesU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Meir Medical Center:
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
patients with chronic urticaria
Inclusion Criteria:
- age above 18
- chronic urticaria
Exclusion Criteria:
- age below 18
- pregnancy
- other severe chronic diseases
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01425593
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01425593
|Meir Medical Center
|Kfar Saba, Israel
|Contact: Ronit Cohen Konfino, MD 972-9-7472811 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Ronit Cohen Konfino, MD
Sponsors and Collaborators
Meir Medical Center
More Information
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Meir Medical Center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01425593 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|August 28, 2011
|Last Updated:
|November 4, 2012
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Skin Diseases, Vascular
Skin Diseases
Hypersensitivity, Immediate
Immune System Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Plans to shift a specialist dementia care ward from Airedale Hospital to Bradford have come under attack.
Bradford District Care Trust wants to move Ward 24 to Lynfield Mount Hospital, in Daisy Hill, Bradford.
The Reverend David Griffiths, chairman of the Ward 24 Carers Action Group, said: "The care trust is doing its job and trying to save money, but moving this to Bradford will mean people in the North of our catchment area having to catch five buses for a 65-mile round trip."
The move is also opposed by Bradford councillors Adrian Farley (Lab, Keighley West) and Doreen Lee (Lab, Keighley East).
Coun Lee said: "We're extremely concerned. This is our only elderly ward in the area for people with acute dementia. How will their relatives get to Lynfield?"
She said there would be a day of action outside Keighley Market Hall on March 1, where people will be asked to sign a petition against the re-location.
Nicola Lees, deputy chief executive at Bradford District Care Trust, said: "Moving Ward 24 to a purpose-built facility at Lynfield Mount Hospital by spring 2015 is part of our wider plan to transform older people's care.
"The new unit will provide 22 private bedrooms with some en-suite facilities and will offer a bespoke space for people living with this condition.
"This means we can provide higher quality care, in the best possible environment."
She emphasised the re-location was not about cutting costs.
"We estimate we will save around £300,000 in current leasing arrangements, and some of this money will be re-invested into improving staffing levels in both our in-patient wards and community services," she added.
"We understand that for some an in-patient stay is the only option.
"Where this is the case and re-location has an impact, we can confirm we will support carers and families to visit their loved ones."
Keighley MP Kris Hopkins said: "I'm afraid this has the feel of a negotiating position on the part of Bradford District Care Trust, although I hope I'm wrong.
"I've written to the trust chair to seek his views.
"I would certainly not wish to see my constituents having to travel into Bradford for access to this care."


text: OverviewBack to top Natural Eyes - Pinhole Glasses Full Frame Laser Blue Item# :75013UPC# :764096100043 Brand:Natural Eyes Ship Weight:0.06 Natural Eyes Vision Training Pin Hole Glasses is a safe and completely natural relaxation technique for your eyes. Contrary to what most people think, vision is more than just opening the eyes and seeing the world. In fact, vision comprises more than ten different functions, the most common being:1. Accommodation - the ability of the eyes to focus.2. Convergence - the ability to bring the eyes inward when looking at close objects.3. Divergence - the ability of the eyes to go outward when looking from far to near.4. Version - the ability of the eyes to look and follow objects in all directions.5. Steropsis - the ability to judge the relative distance of objects and to see in three dimension.6. Saccades - the ability to quickly look from one object to another.Along with the various functions involved with vision, we must also recognize that vision may be enhanced with practice. The ability to practice the various functions involved with vision is what vision training is all about.At last! An easy to follow vision program that takes only minutes a day. Try out the Pinhole Glasses from Natural Eyes and you too may see the difference!Other Available Colors: Brown, Kids Red, Black, Kids Blue, Green


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mettafuture wrote:bodom wrote:mettafuture wrote:Do any of those books give instructions on how to meditate on the 6 recollections - the original objects of meditation for the lay community, or on how to deal with hindrances and asavas as they arise?
Of course.
Lol. Which ones?
Off the top of my head, Khantipalo's Practical Advice for Meditators touches on the Six Recollections, Pandita's The State of Mind Called Beautiful gives instructions on the recollection of the Buddha and the Dhamma. Read the Visuddhimagga for the most detailed explanation of the recollections. As far as working with the hindrances and fetters, I have found both of Bhante G's books helpful as well as Pure and Simple by Upasika Nanayon, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond by Brahm, The Way of Mindfulness by Soma Thera,all of Chah's..I mean I could go on and list all the books I already recommended. Thats why I recommended them in the first place! Hope you find them as helpful as I did.


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Cauliflower Bisque with "Buttered" Breadcrumbs
The other night we had some friends over for dinner, and I thought I'd make a soup and salad type meal featuring this Cauliflower Bisque. I'm constantly saving recipes that I find online, but I often forget to go back and actually make them. I found this one in an old email I'd sent to [...]Read more


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I am of the Caltrain ilk, where everyone helps each other out, we share a bond formed through numerous Caltrain disasters that have forced us to finish our commutes like the Israelites heading out of Egypt, where we rely on each other. The cyclists form a paceline and head to Millbrae BART. Those without bikes gather 'round the twitter and call cabs to split to various destinations, or offer rides in their own cars when a loved one comes to the rescue. This all seems very natural.In his latest blog post, Tom Vanderbilt (author of Traffic), though, mentions old sociology studies that observe the "civil inattention" on subways -- the movie version of public transportation where your fellow riders are all strangers who don't talk with one another. We have nothing in common, so we avoid all social interaction.
One recent study conducted by officials at the Paris Metro—which looked at "missed connection" ads placed by urbanites looking for love in the city—found that the Metro "is without doubt the foremost producer of urban tales about falling in love." The seats closest to the door, it seemed, offered the best opportunities for falling in love with the proper stranger. "The Metro is not the emotional desert, the social vacuum, that we sometimes believe it to be," observed the chief of the Paris Metro.If you ride transit, what do you think? Do you avoid eye contact with the same group of strangers your ride with everyday? Or have you made friends among your fellow bus, train and subway passengers? Does it make a difference if you ride a bike or not?
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Baylor alums now heading 2 NBC shows with 'Chicago Fire,' 'Chicago P.D.'
About 18 months ago, in the fall of 2012, NBC debuted a new hourlong drama created by Baylor alumni Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. In its debut season, Chicago Fire's ratings ranked fourth among NBC's scripted shows, ahead of such favorites as Law & Order: SVU and 30 Rock.
In fact, the show did so well that it earned a spin-off before its first season was even complete. Last March, plans were announced for a sister show, Chicago P.D., that would take viewers inside the Chicago Police Department, much in the same way Chicago Fire shows life inside one of the city's fire stations.
Chicago P.D., also created and executive produced by Brandt and Haas, debuted in January and attracted more than 8 million viewers. The first five episodes aired before an extended break due to NBC's Olympic coverage; the show returns tonight (NBC, 9 p.m. CT) with a crossover episode featuring characters from SVU (both shows are produced by Dick Wolf).
The Chicago Tribune describes Chicago P.D. as "hearkening back to [cop] shows from an earlier era before forensics took over." The San Francisco Chronicle applauds the show's "good storytelling" and interesting characters. The New York Daily News called it "Dick Wolf's best-focused work since the original Law & Order."
The first five episodes of Chicago P.D. are available on Hulu and at NBC.com.
Sic 'em, Derek and Michael!
You might also like:
* Bears in Hollywood: What films and TV shows should be in a Bear's media library? (Sept. 2013)
* 'Chicago Fire,' created by pair of Baylor alums, debuts tonight on NBC (Oct. 2012)


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Salutations, 55ers!
Our next game in BLF may be the last we see of our Pacers for the 2011-2012 Season. Keep this in mind.
Let's conduct ourselves in this game with class. We want no incidents. No fights. No behavior that would in any way reflect badly on our patron and benefactor, Roy Hibbert or on our team, the Indiana Pacers. We represent Roy, Indianapolis and the State of Indiana. Let's show everyone watching the game that we are not like Miami. Let's not do anything that any of us might come to regret.
Be forewarned. I'm not saying this will be easy. The "Bandwagon Effect" is likely to be very present in our upcoming game. Lots of benighted Heat "fans" are likely to be in evidence. I say this with a degree of wonderment, as I find it hard to understand how anyone could be a Heat fan given the conduct of the Heat team in this series. But we all know they'll be there. Ignore them.
The order of the day is this: Do not jaw or interact with any Heat fans at the game. Blow off anything they might say or do. Keep your focus where it belongs – trying to elevate the noise level in BLF and giving our team – one that we can really be proud of -- all the help and encouragement we can.
As for how we handle the Miami Heat team Thursday, well, as far as I'm concerned, anything short of flaming bad taste, clamoring for actual injury to a Heat player, or the use and/or chanting of profanities will be perfectly OK.
Go to it. Give the Heat all kinds of hell. To my mind, the Heat's flagrant fouling in this series and their total lack of class merit well-deserved abuse from us. But, like I said, our main focus as Area 55ers should be on our guys – doing everything we can to lift them, enervate them, encourage them, and buoy them.
Beating Miami Thursday night will not be easy. But we all know it's possible. We've done it twice already. We can do it again. I can think of no more fitting time or venue for that to occur than Thursday night at BLF.
The Miami Heat - One Class Act. Why do I say the Heat lack class? Well, to me it's patently obvious. First there's this -- the first Flagrant One Foul called in the series. It came from Heat "Superstar" Dwayne Wade and was visited intentionally upon a totally defenseless Darren Collison. To me, this foul epitomizes the poutiness, the sense of entitlement, and the ongoing level of dirty play we've seen and now come to expect from Dwayne Wade and his teammates. To my mind, it was this blatant and totally unnecessary foul – one that could well have served to end Darren Collison's basketball playing career -- that inaugurated the ensuing nastiness that typifies Miami.
Here's Wade's foul. Anyone with a brain bigger than that of a nematode worm knows it was a Flagrant Two that should have made for Wade's immediate ejection and his suspension in the following game. As usual, the NBA did nothing. It seldom does to its cozened "Golden Boys".
Then there was Udonis Haslem's Flagrant Foul on Tuesday night against Tyler Hansbrough. This foul was also totally intentional and retaliatory in nature. It was committed with two hands and with no aim other than to expressly hit Hansbrough hard in the face. Haslem made no attempt at all to make contact with the ball. The foul was inflicted based on Haslem's perceived "need" to administer retribution on Hansbrough for an earlier foul that Hansbrough inflicted on Dwayne. However, in fouling Wade, Hansbrough clearly went for the ball and actually succeeded in getting it. However, on his follow-through, Hansbrough raked Dwayne's forehead and the demigod emerged with a cut over his eye. Although it was debatable, Hansbrough was then assessed a Flagrant One. Minutes later Haslem's foul, a clear Flagrant Two, followed.
In handling Haslem's attack, the referees, essentially ignored the rules and assessed only a Flagrant One. Not one NBA pundit that saw it agreed with the referees. Every one of them, to a man, agreed it was a Flagrant Two.
Here it is, judge for yourselves if Udonis was going for the ball:
Haslem's foul was then followed by something totally uncalled for and unquestionably worse. This was Dexter Pittman's flagrant foul on Lance Stephenson. Its timing was significant. It came in "garbage time" on Tuesday after both teams had their benches and the Heat had the game all sewn up. In fact, Pittman's foul occurred with only 19 seconds left on the clock.
It happened this way: A rebound was coming down, Lance came toward the hoop to go for it. See Lance approach, and totally ignoring the ball, Pittman then deliberately threw an elbow to Lance's throat clotheslining him. The foul had its intended effect. Lance was injured. He's questionable for Thursday's game as a result. For a time, there was speculation that Stephenson's collarbone was broken. X-rays fortunately proved negative.
Pittman, inexplicably, was given only a Flagrant One by the referees. The hit was administered intentionally and in patent retaliation for Stephenson's having made a "choke" sign in an earlier game. The choke sign came from the Pacer bench and was directed sarcastically by Stephenson at LeBron "The King" James after LeBron missed a technical free throw. LeBron claimed afterwards not to have seen Stephenson's sign and dismissed both it and Stephenson as irrelevancies, and not worth even thinking about. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. For some reason it seemed to have inordinately rankled other lesser lights on the Heat's bench.
After the choke sign was given, Juwon Howard, a Heat benchwarmer, confronted Stephenson about it after the game. He tried to invade a Pacers practice ostensibly to confront Stevenson about it again a few days later. He then jawed some more with Stephenson about it in the next game when the Pacers were warming up. Stephenson then publicly for giving the sign.
The apology was apparently not enough for LeBron or the Heat. Dexter Pittman, an inept and little used scrub, was apparently selected to serve as the Chosen One's ultimate agent for imposing retribution on Stephenson. See, you have to understand that LeBron, the Chosen One, is an invaluable piece in the Heat's game plan. Unlike Pittman, LeBron is a player that is not expendable. LeBron is too important to the Heat's winning chances to be allowed the luxury of commiting a little retaliatory dirty work of his own on a benchie like Lance. That might put him at risk of suspension. Thus, first Howard's and then Pittman's actions should be seen in this context. Both were LeBron's proxies. The King was apparently more miffed at Lance's choke gesture than he publicly admitted.
Anyway, here's the Pittman foul on Stephenson.
Pittman plainly reveled in the injury he inflicted on Stephenson. After administering the foul -- a shot on a par with Wade's earlier shove on Collison - he winked stealthily to a teammate – reportedly to Juwon Howard. The wink to conveyed an unspoken message: "Mission accomplished."
You can view Dexter's wink here:
LeBron and Dwayne took great pleasure in the Pittman foul tool. They thought it to be extremely funny. Their mutual delight and mirth is registered in the following series of stills taken immediately after the foul was committed:
Of course the Golden Boys afterwards denied having anything to do with what Pittman did to Stephenson. Post-game both of these coddled NBA heroes professed to never enjoying seeing another player intentionally fouled or hurt. However, and in this regard, it is worth mentioning that Danny Granger and David West were also both injured on Tuesday night. LeBron was involved in Granger's rolled ankle (although he did not appear to intentionally inflict it). And LeBron himself admitted to having laughed when a Heat player (probably Shane Battier) arguably intentionally rolled into David West's knee thereby causing West to be knocked to the ground. LeBron later said seeing West on the ground made him laugh and he claimed that this prompted West to try to take a retaliatory foul at him.
At any rate, the nature of the Heat's fouling was so blatant that the sleepy drones in the NBA's refereeing office found themselves under a great deal of pressure to actually do something about it. It wasn't much. As this Newsletter gets posted, Haslem and Pittman have been rightly suspended. Hansbrough's foul – probably by way of compensation – was for unexplained reasons upgraded to a Flagrant Two. Hansbrough was not suspended, however.
Wade's foul on Collison, per an earlier NBA "review," was inexplicably left as only a Flagrant One by the NBA. Nothing was done about Juwon Howard's role in everything and nothing was done about Wade and LeBron's suspicious laughter at Pittman's assault on Lance Stephenson.
As things stand, Wade and James' involvement as instigators of the Pittman foul remains an open and totally unanswered question. The Heat denied all media access to Pittman (presumably to eliminate any inquiries on this point), and the Golden Boys, of course, are denying all involvement. How much the Heat's coach, Eric Spoelstra, knew or was involved in the fouling also remains unclear. If he was innocent, he comes across as a total simp with no control over his team. If he was involved, no one is talking.
Anyway, the Miami Heat has now moved up to the top spot in my own personal list of hated NBA teams. Before this series started, the Chicago Bulls occupied this dubious position.
No longer.
For me, it will now always be the Miami Heat -- or any other NBA team or teams that the NBA's Siamese twins, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, may choose to join in the future. I merely disliked them before this series. Now I loathe and despise them. They have come to represent, in my opinion, virtually everything wrong with the star-emphasized, money driven, winner-take-all dictatorship that David Stern has made of the NBA.
Ah, but there's still more feeding my antipathy to the Heat. I haven't mentioned the Heat fans. Let's pause a moment to reflect on them.
On Tuesday night, Miami fans threw objects at the Pacers TV comcaster, Chris Denari. They spilled drinks on the Pacers as the Pacers left the court. They chanted "Pacers Suck" in the waning moments of the game.
Thank you South Beach. Class act. We'll remember.
I don't know about you, but to me nobody on the Miami Heat should be regarded any longer as a role model. Why any parent would encourage -- or even permit one of his kids -- to wear a Heat jersey is beyond me. Maybe the NBA thinks the LeBron, Dwayne, and their nondescript Heat teammates are just the thing to gin up more NBA revenue and sell custom gear. Maybe the referees will continue to coddle them and turn a blind eye to their behavior. My guess is they will. There used to be rules and "Jordan Rules" in the NBA. Now, I guess the same dichotomy applies to LeBron and Dwayne. Maybe the classless town of Miami can love and be proud of them. But I don't see why anyone else would.
But they're great basketball players, aren't they?
Well, in my book there's a lot more to life than being an NBA Superstar – putting up big numbers every night, being ubiquitous on Sports Center, and showing up to read a teleprompter in "NBA Cares" commercials. Ultimately, it's more important to be able to look yourself in a mirror in the morning and be able to say that you're a decent person and not an *******. And right now, there's virtually no one on the Miami Heat able to do that.
I'll end this rant thusly:
Part of me – the biggest part of me – wants to see the Pacers put an epic fail on the Heat on Thursday. I'm not saying it will happen. But it could. If we play Thursday the right way, the way we all know the Pacers can play, the way we did earlier in the series, it could happen. But if it doesn't, I promise I won't whine or be angry. I'll be thankful to Roy for the season. And I'll be very proud of Frank Vogel and my Pacers, and thankful for the fact that, unlike the members and coaching staff of the Miami Heat, I know none of them to be ********.
Let's come to Thursday's game early, 55ers. Be in your seats for everything. Let's go home hoarse. Bring signs. Be loud. Try to be in unison. Honor our team. Help them.
And when the game is over, whatever the final score may be, applaud our Pacers, and Roy, as they all leave the court. Stand up and thank them for the great season they have given us.


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Maple Grove Community Organization host Maple Grove Days community festival July 10-14. As Maple Grove grows so does the festival, with new businesses coming into the area seeking to promote themselves and increase public awareness Maple Grove Days offers the perfect opportunity. The festival offers three opportunities for businesses, churches and organization to join the festivities — the Business Expo, Silent Auction or sidewalk sales around Maple Grove.
The Business Expo is the perfect setting to meet the citizens of Maple Grove and surrounding communities as well as share information, flyers, samples all promoting a business. The Expo has a wide variety of vendors — store front, health, banking, building, home-based, church, political, community organizations and more. The Business Expo is set for Saturday, July 13, at the Maple Grove Community Center from 1000 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last year over 8,000 patrons visited more than 130 booths. Each vendor is requested to provide freebies for the children. Music echoes through the halls as the "Medicine Show" entertains both visitors and vendors. Applications may be requested at 763-494-5985 or at mgco.org/contact.php.
MGCO would like to promote our wonderful community by adding the participation of local businesses to the festival with a Citywide Maple Grove Days Sidewalk Sales Friday, July 12. There is no fee to participate in the Maple Grove Days Sidewalk Sales, no application form to submit. However, if businesses plan to participate, they should abide by all guidelines established by any individual management companies; state and local health permits, Maple Grove City Code (Sec. 36-482 1C, available at maplegrovemn.gov click on community profile) and the American Disability Act (Chapter 1341.Minnesota Accessibility Code; 1341.0422, Subpart 3, Item B.) a minimum clear width for an exterior accessible route shall be 48 inches (four feet) walk way access on any public walkway.
The Maple Grove Days "Showcase" silent auction offers one more way to join the community festival. The auction offers an inexpensive and relatively simple way for a business to support Maple Grove Days as well as promoting the business. Donors and items will be listed on the "Showcase" page of the website as well as at the community center prior to the festival. Auction booth will be available for bids Saturday, July 13. To become a donor of the auction or for more information contact Todd at [email protected]
Auction and other events will be promoted in the Maple Grove Days guide (30,000 copies distributed) as well as all other publications promoting the festival, encouraging patrons to visit the web site maplegrovedays.org for more information.


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American Society of Interior Designers Awards Patron's Prize to Design Excellence Program
April 21, 2010
Contact: MaryAnne Beatty, 202-501-1231
WASHINGTON – The American Society of Interior Designers has given GSA one of its top honors. The Patron's Prize is awarded to entities committed to excellence in interior design and that are firm proponents of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles.
"Thoughtful interior design is an integral component of a sustainable, high-quality, productive federal workplace," said GSA Chief Architect Leslie Shepherd. "We're honored that the American Society of Interior Designers has recognized GSA's commitment to forging this critical link between workplace design and federal work force productivity."
Founded in 2003, the Patron Prize is awarded to individuals and organizations exemplifying the highest sustainable practices.
Under the purview of GSA's Design Excellence Program, improving interior design has taken on a new focus. The agency is challenging its designers to consider sustainable practices such as increasing the use of daylight, which decreases demands for energy; looking for opportunities to reuse or refurbish existing furnishings; and creatively thinking about the way space can be used for maximum utility. To learn more about GSA's Design Excellence Program, visit www.gsa.gov/designexcellence.
The American Society of Interior Designers is made up of designers, industry representatives, educators, and students committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building, and outreach, its more than 36,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.


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Operation Baking Gals – Round 25 is Open for Registration
I've been an OBG slacker recently. Life got busy over the summer so I took a break. I'm gearing up to have teams lined up for all of 2011 though, so be ready for that! If you know someone who is deployed and would like for me to sponsor them, please email me.
If you've never heard of Operation Baking Gals, check out the website. Basically, a team of bakers get together to send goodies to soldiers stationed overseas. Even non-bakers sign up in the fun to send care packages. Then the soldier being sponsored by a team shares all their goodies with his/her buddies. The shipping dates for Round 19 are November 1-12.
This round, Team Beantown Baker will be sponsoring Ryan. Ryan is originally from Gorham, Maine who has two sisters. Ryan enjoys watching sports with friends, outdoor activieis, golf and travel. He has golfed at St Andrews in Scotland when he was stationed over in London.
Ryan is currently deployed until April of 2011. Ryan's birthday is in November, so be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday in your care package!
Please consider joining Team Beantown Baker to send goodies to Ryan in Afghanistan. I will be doing a roundup at the end of the round, so be sure to send me any info/pics that you want included in the roundup. Email me if you have any questions.
If you'd like to join my team,
1) go to http://www.bakinggals.com/ and Log In or Create a New Account
2) go to Join a Round 25 Team
3) join Team Beantown Baker to bake for Ryan (if the team is full at 20 people signed up, please consider signing up for another team)
4) wait for an email with the shipping address
If you have any questions, check out the Operation Baking Gals FAQ page.
Also check this out.
You can get a special flat rate box from the US Post Office. The boxes are FREE and you can ship the box with anything in it for a flat rate of $11.95. They are specifically for APO/FPO addresses and say "America Supports You" on them. How cool is that!
7 Responses to "Operation Baking Gals – Round 25 is Open for Registration"
My kids and I are going to join you! This is really cool!
I joined a few weeks ago after reading one of your old posts about this. Your team wasn't formed yet so I picked a different one. Maybe next month! I am so excited for this! GREAT idea!
I LOVE this idea. I'm going to look into this!
I am seriously impressed with how much time you give to others and share your love of baking with those who need it most!
YAY! I'm glad you're back to doing teams…but I wish I had known earlier 🙁 already picked! Next time I'll wait it out for you.
I joined 🙂
We finally got our package done! Here's a link to what I wrote about it: My 8 year old did the whole thing.


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As MSI is greatly hampered by administrative restrictions (like disallowing installations into a custom directory, if at all), it would be great if you kept simple .zip-file distributions/installations in mind. Many Windows builds of open source programs are distributed .msi-only , which makes them unsuitable when the central distribution mechanism is too slow and too expensive for quick installation and tryout.
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Harper, Moore get extra practice near outfield wall
WASHINGTON -- On Friday afternoon, first-base/outfield coach Tony Tarasco was seen teaching Tyler Moore and Bryce Harper how to play the outfield wall better. The session happened in part because Harper crashed into the right-field wall on May 13 and misplayed a ball in the ninth against the Giants this past Tuesday. The catchable ball went over Harper's head, and he thought he was close to the wall.
"I was giving them a feel for the track, feel for the speed they are running," Tarasco said. "There is only one way do that, and that is repetition. There are no secret tricks to it. … You have accidents sometimes. Sometimes, we fall off the bike, and the most important thing is to get back up and we make adjustments."
Center fielder Denard Span participated in the drill. His job was to tell Harper and Moore how close they were to the wall.
"T-Mo and Bryce haven't been playing the outfield too long," Span said. "I really didn't say much, but I wanted to show them by example. They are going to get more comfortable and realize where they are on the field at all times."
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashinNats. Tom Schad is an associate reporter for MLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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BRUSSELS, Belgium — Sometimes, a mere glimpse of a product's silhouette is enough to tell which designer or fashion house created it: the Chanel No 5 perfume bottle, the toe of a Berluti shoe, the unique shape of the Fendi baguette. Today, there is renewed interest in these kinds of classic products as shape and design have made a return in making a product desirable, especially now when consumers don't want their products to scream with logos and bling.
As they look for unbranded products that are recognisable for their design, this also raises the question of whether there is adequate legal protection for these more subtle indications of provenance. This will almost certainly reignite a debate for strong design right protection, but it might also mean that the shape of a product is worthy of trademark protection in and of itself.
The fashion industry is currently fighting two battles on the intellectual property front. The first is against counterfeiters exploiting trademarks and logos. The second, more complicated battle is against those not-so-imaginative designers from within the industry who are simply aping the designs of their peers. This second fight is the one that is most harmful to creativity, investment and reputation. The main weapon against knockoffs is design right protection, but this is not an option if the design isn't new. So, timeless products without obvious trademarks but which are instantly recognisable — think the classic Hermès Kelly bag — are in a sort-of legal limbo.
In the EU, it is in principle possible to protect a (three-dimensional) shape as a trademark. In practice, however, it has proven extremely difficult to convince courts that a shape has a sufficiently "distinctive character" to be registered. For many years, European courts have been of the opinion that consumers are not in the habit of making assumptions about the origin of products based on their shape. They argue that consumers need a sign or word element to make that connection.
Last week, an EU court restated this long-standing position in a case concerning the shape of the Bounty chocolate bar. The court's view is basically that the shape of a product must be more than a variant of a common shape of the type of product in question. Only then can it fulfill the function of a trademark indicating origin. Assessing whether that is the case should be done from the point of view of "the relevant public", described as the "average consumers of the products or services in question, who are reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect."
Still, a closer look at this general reasoning makes one wonder if we haven't actually arrived at a point where at least some consumer groups make the connection between a shape and a product's origin. While the shape of the Bounty bar might not be sufficiently distinctive for a trademark, the case of luxury products is fundamentally different. These are sophisticated products whose design is born of an intellectual process, tells a message and (if all goes well) transcends generations. What's more, the very essence of luxury products arguably creates a consumer group that is well above average when it comes to being informed, observant and circumspect about details, other brands and look-alikes.
If luxury consumers are willing to pay for quality in design and shape, shouldn't it be possible to protect the required and underlying investment and creativity?
Hanne Melin is a competition and IP lawyer based in Brussels


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Foodbuzz 24-24-24: Boston Cupcake Crawl
Since most of my friends are aware of my love of all things cupcake (check out all the cupcakes I've made in the past two years), I often get asked for recommendations on cupcake bakeries in the Boston area. I always feel a bit ashamed to have to admit I've only ever eaten one bakery bought cupcake in Boston.
So yesterday I set out to try some more cupcakes here in Boston. On the Boston Cupcake Crawl, some friends and I visited 5 cupcake bakeries in Boston that are accessible via the T. I even made an interactive Google Map to map out where we were going.
View Boston Cupcake Crawl in a larger map
Each person on the Cupcake Crawl filled out a scorecard for each bakery. Everyone rated the bakeries based on cupcake flavor, frosting flavor, cupcake the frosting ratio and other key cupcake parameters.
I packed goodie bags for everyone on the cupcake crawl. The bags included our scorecard booklets, a pen to fill the scorecards out with, a bottle of water, and a salty snack.
We started at 1:00 in the afternoon on one of the first hot summer days of the year. (Although they had been forecasting rain, so we were all glad it wasn't raining). I decided we'd start at Party Favors mostly because Hubby and I live near there, so it'd be easier for us to get there on time (if you know us in real life, you know we're rarely on time…) Once the cupcake crawlers arrived, I explained how the day would work and we headed inside.
Party Favors has that distinct "I just walked into a bakery" smell, aka you get hit with the smell of sugar from the second you open the door. This place is part bakery, part candy store, part party store, and part baking supply store. I have to admit that I've taken quite a few trips to the basement where the have their bakery supplies. It's one of my happy places. The bakery display cases showcase a variety of cupcakes, cakes, candies, and cookies.
Party Favors has a variety of cupcake sizes including mini, regular, jumbo, and grande. Although if you want anything other than vanilla or chocolate, you'll need to be getting a grande cupcake. The grande cupcakes are large enough to split and in fact, that's exactly what Hubby and I did for my birthday a couple years ago. That grande cupcake (I think it was chocolate and raspberry) was the only bakery cupcake I had ever had in Boston prior to the Cupcake Crawl. There is no indoor seating at Party Favors, so once we got the cupcakes, we went across the street to a little park area where we could sit in the shade.
Here are the stats on Party Favors –
1356 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446, (617) 566-3330 www.partyfavorsbrookline.com
Hours: M-F 9:30am-7pm, Sat 9:30am-5pm, Closed Sun
Prices Cupcakes range from $0.85 for a mini to $4.25 for a grande.
Cupcakes tasted: Grande Carrot Cake, Grande Oreo, Grande Key Lime, Regular Chocolate-chocolate, Chocolate-vanilla, Vanilla-vanilla
Based on the scorecards, most of us thought the frosting was too sweet. It had a very sugary aftertaste. If you like carrot cake, the Party Favors carrot cake had a perfect amount of spice/carrot flavor. The bakery was very crowded while we were there, but the staff was very informative and helpful. Some of the cupcake crawlers thought the cake was too cold and it might have been better at room temperature. Party Favors had some creatively decorated cupcakes (and cakes) in the chocolate and vanilla regular sized cupcakes. The best cupcake we ate there was the Key Lime Cupcake. A quote from the scorecards "Sugar buzz already starting!"
Once we had made a decent dent in the cupcakes, we headed over to the Coolidge Corner T stop to head off to Sweet. Since most of us had sticky fingers from eating cupcakes with our hands, Hubby made a pitstop in a drug store to grab some wetnaps. I had planned ahead enough to make the goodie bags, pack sunscreen and TUMS, but I forgot about the post-cupcake-eating-sticky-finger phenomenom. That pitstop turned out to be a great decision for the day. We got out of the T at the Hynes Convention Center stop and headed up Mass Ave towards Sweet.
When we got there, we were gushing over the cuteness of the cupcake bakery. If you go to Sweet, you know you're going to get a cupcake. The bakery was small with just one big display case full of cupcakes and a nice banquette seating area in front near the huge window. I didn't even see the menu posted on the wall, I just scanned the flavors seen in the display case (flavors vary depending on the day). Sweet also has a few mini cupcake flavors and frosting shots for true frosting lovers. Before any of us could realize what was happening, the place filled up. The people who came in behind us were smart and snagged up all the seating. We got our cupcakes and headed out to the Comm Ave mall to eat them on some park benches. We were sitting next to a couple who was very intrigued by what we were doing.
Here are the stats on Sweet –
49 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115, (617) 247-2253 www.sweetcupcakes.com
Hours: M-T 11am-7pm, W-Sat 11am-9pm, Sun 12pm-7pm
Price: $1.95 for a mini cupcake, $3.25 for a regular cupcake, with discounts when you buy as few as 4 in a pack.
Cupcakes tasted: Caramel Macchiatto, Pink Lemonade, Boston Creme Pie, Strawberry Shortcake, Dark Chocolate Chocolate, Red Velvet
Based on the scorecards, most of the cupcake crawlers thought these cupcakes had too much frosting on them. The chocolate cake itself was good, but the chocolate frosting was a bit underwhelming. Everyone agreed that the selection was great but that some (but not all) of the cupcakes were a bit dry. The Boston Creme Pie cupcake was the best of all the Boston Creme Pie cupcakes we tasted yesterday and the favorite from Sweet. A quote from the scorecards "Need to grab tables before customers behind you in line do".
Once we finished up, we decided to take a detour to Johnny Cupcakes. We figured it was fitting. In case you don't know, Johnny Cupcakes doesn't sell cupcakes, they sell tshirts. Very cute ones at that. All of the clothing is displayed in bakery display cases. While we were casually shopping around, Hubby pointed out the time. We needed to hit the road ASAP to make it to Babycakes in Quincy before they closed. We headed out before anyone had a chance to buy anything (and before I had a chance to snap any photos) and headed over to the Copley T stop. We met up with two more cupcake crawlers as well, so our group had grown to 9. While we were walking to the T, I called Babycakes and explained that a group of 10 of us were coming (another crawler was meeting us there) to see if we'd have enough time to get there. It was about 3:10 at the time. The employee I spoke to on the phone was very nice and said we would be fine. She also asked if I wanted her to set aside some cupcakes for us. I asked her to set aside 6 of her most highly recommended favorites for us.
If you know anything about taking the T in Boston, you know that it's always hard to predict how long it's going to take you to get somewhere. Especially if you have to change lines. We made it to Park St in great time, but that's where we had to wait for a Red line train. This took about 20+ minutes. So of course we were all a bit panicked that we wouldn't make it in time. Once we got above ground, I called Babycakes again to let them know we were still coming and that we'd be there a few minutes late. Luckily the tenth cupcake crawler got there ahead of us.
We got off the T at the Wollaston stop and headed (in the wrong direction at first) up the street towards Babycakes. We knew from the minute we got off the T that we weren't in Boston anymore. The hustle and bustle of the city was no where to be found. Babycakes was a few blocks down and we could see the flag flying outside long before we reached the bakery.
Once we got there, it was almost 4:10. The owner/baker was very kind and told us about the cupcakes they had set aside for us. We felt bad for coming so late and the owner/baker kept saying she had a wedding cake to deliver, so we got the hint that there wasn't much time for chit-chat. The bakery itself was very cute and I have no idea if they sell anything other than cupcakes because everything was cleaned up for closing. All they had out was a tray of the cupcakes. In all honesty, I can't even remember if they had any indoor seating because we were rushing to get out of their hair. Apparently there is a beach back down the road past the T stop where you could enjoy an afternoon of cupcake eating. We opted to head back into Boston and eat our cupcakes in the Common (got off at the Park St stop).
Here are the stats on Babycakes –
163 Beale Street, Quincy, MA 02269, (617) 773-4458 www.babycakesshop.net
Hours: T-F 10am-6pm, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun pickup Only, Closed Mon
Price: Cupcakes range from $1.75-$2.25
Cupcakes tasted: Boston Creme Pie, Snowball, Strawberry Shortcake, German Chocolate, Babycakes signature cupcake, Chocolate Raspberry, (and not pictured) Red Velvet, and Lemon Coconut
Based on the scorecards, everyone loved the chocolate cupcakes here. The majority of the cupcakes we had were filled which is always a fun surprise. We all agreed that this bakery is off the beaten path, but worth the effort. If you like chocolate, the chocolate cake and ganache here are amazing. If you're a German chocolate cake purest, you'll probably think the cake in that cupcake is too dark. The lemon coconut cupcake (filled with lemon curd and topped with coconut frosting) was a favorite of the entire day. A quote from the scorecards "Strawberry shortcake was amazing. Tasted just like real strawberry shortcake".
Once we finished up, we could have jumped back on the T to head over to the North End, but we all agreed that a nice walk was in order. Being 3 bakeries in, we were all feeling the sugar. We took our time, so the walk over took about 15 minutes. It was a great opportunity to get to know the various cupcake crawlers. We had a pretty random collection of people on the crawl. There was Hubby and I (obviously). Then there was a friend of mine who I met online but haven't been in touch with in a while. She brought her Hubby and baby girl (who was an angel and adorable). A coworker of mine (a fellow baking enthusist) and a friend of hers also joined us. Another couple who Hubby and I hang out with regularly came along. We just had homemade pasta, tomato sauce, and ice cream at their house on Thursday night. It was awesome! Then there was a friend's wife's friend who was the only cupcake crawl veteran of the day. Last but not least, we had a cupcake celebrity join us who happened to be in town for the weekend. I love that cupcakes brought this random group of people together.
Anyways, back to the cupcakes. We arrived in the North End and headed to Lyndell's. It's in the location that used to be called Lulu's. When I was organizing this cupcake crawl, I couldn't find a website for Lulu's, so I called to get their hours. The girl on the phone explained that Lulu's had gone under and Lyndell's decided to expand to the North End (they have a location in Cambridge). She also explained that they had kept many of the bakers and some of the recipes from when it was Lulu's.
Like most places in the North End, Lyndell's is pretty small inside and felt a bit crowded with all of us in there. They sell a variety of baked goods and only a few cupcakes. I think we ended up getting one of each of their flavor offerings. We grabbed our cupcakes and again since there was no indoor seating, headed outside. At this point it was about 5:00 so the day was starting to cool off. We headed over to the Rose Kennedy Greenway to enjoy our cupcakes. It's always so fun to watch all the little kids playing in the fountains there. We joked about Hubby stripping down to his underwear to run through the fountain like a little 4 year old boy had done. A couple of the cupcake crawlers grabbed some non-cupcake food at this point too. That was probably a really good idea that Hubby and I didn't partake in…
Here are the stats on Lyndell's Bakery –
227 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113, (617) 720-2200 www.lyndells.com
Hours: M-Th 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 10am-11pm
Price: Cupcakes range from $1.75-$2.25
Cupcakes tasted: Vanilla-chocolate, Vanilla-vanilla, Lyndell's signature cupcakes, Chocolate-chocolate, Creamsicle, Oreo, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter
Based on the scorecards, these cupcakes were a bit dry, but everyone enjoyed the size of the cupcake. Again, if you're a chocolate fan, the chocolate frosting here is very chocolatey and smooth. We loved that these cupcakes were an inexepensive dessert option in the North End. The favorite cupcake here was the creamsicle mostly due to the flavor in the frosting. A quote from the scorecards "Hands down the best chocolate frosting ever".
The group of 10 headed over to the Haymarket T stop to make our way to our last bakery. I'm not sure where the time went, but it was already 7:00. We were all shocked at how late it was, but we kept going. The train ride to Davis square takes a bit of time. We caught the Orange line and again had to change over to the Red line. Once we arrived in Davis Square, the day had started turning into a pleasant summer evening in Boston. Davis Square has a lot going on, especially on a Saturday night, so there were people all over the place.
We headed the couple blocks over to KickAss Cupcakes. This is another bakery where you know you're going to be eating cupcakes. They have all their cupcakes on baking racks behind plastic. It's great because you can see all the cupcakes right there in front of you. Behind the baking racks, there was a girl decorating some cupcakes and answering questions for us. We were all a little burnt out from eating cupcakes all day, but we wanted to be fair to KickAss so we kept right on eating cupcakes.
While the bakery itself didn't have any indoor seating, there was a bench and some tables outside. KickAss has a large variety of flavors including some of the most creative flavors we saw all day (and some alcholic beverage inspired cupcakes!) KickAss also had one vegan and gluten free cupcake on the menu. Being lactose intolerant, it was refreshing to see this! I asked about those specialty diet cupcakes and they said they have one each day, flavors vary from day to day.
Here are the stats on KickAss Cupcakes –
378 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02144, (617) 628-2877 http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/
Hours: M-W 11am-7pm, Th 11am-8pm, Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Price: Cupcakes are $2.75
Cupcakes tasted: Vanilla-vanilla, Chocolate-chocolate, Vegan Ginger Peach Bellini, Margarita, Mojito, Green Monster
Based on the scorecards, everyone appreciated the variety and creativity of the flavors here. The cupcake crawlers agreed that the mojito cupcake didn't have much of a mint flavor. KickAss puts almost the perfect amount of frosting on their cupcakes, most of the crawlers rated their cupcake to frosting ratio as good. The Vegan Ginger Peach Bellini cupcake was the favorite cupcake we tasted here. A quote from
the scorards one of the cupcake crawlers "It [the Green Monster cupcake] is like having a really good chocolate cupcake in an alley behind Fenway park after a game".
The group hung out outside KickAss for quite some time enjoying the great Boston evening, popping TUMS to counter the sugary stomach aches, and recounting the day of cupcake eating.
We all had a great time eating cupcakes all day and in the end, you can't go wrong with any of these bakeries in Boston. The overall consensus was that if you had the time to make it to Quincy, head to Babycakes, especially if you love chocolate cake. If you can't make it to Quincy, or if you need to grab cupcakes while you're out doing other things, head to KickAss Cupcakes in Somerville. The variety and creativity of flavors there is unmatched in Boston.
If you'd like to know the actual scores from the day, I averaged everyone's ratings. I just averaged all the categories together into one final score. As a reminder, the categories for scoring were Overall Flavor, Moistness, Cupcake to Frosting Ratio, and Frosting Flavor. Everyone scored each bakery on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. With that, here are the results:
BabyCakes – 4.6
KickAss – 4.4
Sweet – 3.6
Lyndell's – 3.5
Party Favors – 3.2
Be sure to check out my Flickr collection for all of the photos I took yesterday.
I would like to thank our sponsor, Foodbuzz for making this event possible. Be sure to check out the other 24-24-24 events from this month.
33 Responses to "Foodbuzz 24-24-24: Boston Cupcake Crawl"
What a great and yummy idea! I wish I lived closer and could have joined. I need to research the bakeries in Phoenix and find some delicious cupcakes.
What an amazing idea and post, awesome.
what a great post and a fun idea!
You did SUCH a great job with this. I'm so happy it went well for you! And no rain? Double bonus!!!
How neat, all the cupcakes look yummy to me!
Very cool! Your group must have been exhausted at the end of the day. I am from Boston but now live in PA, your post made me want to head home for a visit. 🙂
Thanks everyone. We definitely lucked out with the weather. It was a bit hot, but not unbearable.
It was an exhausting day. I think we left the last bakery around 8:30. Hubby and I grabbed some dinner and got home around 11:00. We were exhausted!
I am jealous! This is right up my alley. I need to get myself out to Babycakes ASAP!
I used to live in Quincy and a stop into Babycakes was mandatory at least once a week for DH and me.
i live in the north end and have been wondering about the new lyndell's!! great info for a fellow bostoner!!
What a great crawl! Glad to see you had fun and I hope to make a stop to check these out when I'll be visiting in a few months! I've been on a slight commenting hiatus with my busy schedule lately… but it's great to catch up and see what's cooking in your kitchen!
Such a fantastic idea – I love Boston… and cupcakes.
What a great idea! I am in Boston and I am amazed at all of the cupcake shops that keep popping up. And another one: I just read that Todd English is opening "Curly Cupcakes" on Charles street!
fabulous idea for 24,24,24! i'm hungry for cupcakes now….
Great post! I can't wait to try some of these places out the next time I'm in Boston.
Love this idea! Great post and pictures. The straw in the Pink Lemonade cupcake at Sweet is so cute!!
Thank you SO much for this! Although, I wish I had all of this info on Friday when we were wandering around town just for fun! I am SO going to have to try some of these places!
I love the fact that you did this crawl – I wanted to do the same thing after reading a Boston.com article a few months ago but never got off my lazy butt to do it. You've inspired me to start visiting some of these places.
From a wedding standpoint, I love all the pictures of the cupcakes – this is because I want them as a part of my wedding reception and need to find the right bakery to get them from.
As always, great post!
You forgot to try the the only cupcake store that would have scored a 5.0. Sensational cupcakes in saugus just 10 mins from boston. You really should try them they are simply sensational. http://Www.sensationalcupcake.com
Thanks for the note about Curly Cupcakes, I'll have to check that out too.
As mentioned in the post, we were only trying cupcake bakeries that were accessable via the T. We wanted to be able to rate bakeries that anyone could get to in the city. There are quite a few other bakeries that don't meet that criteria. I'll definitely have to try Sensational Cupcakes next time I'm in the Saugus area though.
you should have gone to Lyndell's – the *real* Lyndell's – in ball square close to Davis. their cupcakes are great. there is also an adorable cupcake-related story about Lyndell's: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/homepage/x418534015/Groom-to-be-My-love-is-like-a-Lyndell-s-cupcake
I agree with everyone that this was a great idea and I love reading the reviews. I also second the idea of going to the real Lyndell's in Somerville, it is the same place, but the original store. However in my opinion the best thing at Lyndells is their black and white cookies. They are like flat cupcakes more than cookies and the frosting on them is at least an inch thick. Their chocolate frosting is A-MA-ZING!!!
I have to give a nod to Lyndell's in Somerville.I ended up with a ton of goods from them at The taste of Somerville.
If you're out on the T again you have to check out Sweet Tooth in South Boston just up Broadway from the Broadway T stop. Their cupcakes are enormous and are the absolute best I've ever had.
They are also available at Lamberts in downtown Boston.
I love the idea of the Boston Cupcake Crawl. All the cupcakes look amazing and makes me want a cupcake!
VERY cool! I haven't been to a bakery for cupcakes (anything, really) here in FL.
Have you come down off your sugar high yet? 🙂
It sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for the recommendations and ratings – it's always good to get another perspective (other than yelp)!
that's the cutest idea ever!!!
i really enjoyed one of kickass cupcakes vegan pumpkin spice cupcakes once, and I hear that sweet has vegan offerings on Mondays! I can't wait to check it out!
How fun! Man I wish we were neighbors. I'd love to cupcake crawl with you! I totally have to jank this idea for my hood. Complete with your cute little scorecards and goodie bags. J'dorable!
Please come see me as part of your next cupcake crawl, Sugar Bakery… I am the cupcake lady ask for me. Always loooking to know if people enjoy my cupcakes:)
Please come by sugar bakery ask for me, I would love to be part of your next adventure. Always looking to see what people think of my cupcakes 🙂
What a great 24,24,24 theme!!
I just got selected for this month and am very excited!
I also just got back from Boston where I did a great walking tour of the North End Market area:
(and the two posts that follow it!)
What a brilliant idea! I think I'll try and organise a cupcake crawl now! Loving the little bags you made 🙂
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Police: Three women report seeing strange man enter their bedrooms
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The Corvallis Police Department is looking for a man who unlawfully entered two residences in Corvallis early Wednesday morning.
Police received a call from a woman living in the 2200 block of NW Harrison Blvd., reporting that she awoke at around 1:45 a.m. to find a strange man inside her bedroom.
The victim told police that the man fled once he noticed she was awake.
The man is described as white, about 6 feet tall with a thin build. At the time of the incident he was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark shorts. The victim said that he had the hood pulled over his head.
Police said that another of the victim's roommates, who was not at home during the break-in, reported that her under garments were taken from her dresser and moved underneath her bed.
Officers investigating the incident received similar reports from a neighbor. She told police that she was asleep when at sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. Wednesday she awoke to the sound of her bedroom door opening.
The woman reported seeing a man matching the initial suspect description standing in her doorway. When she spoke to him, he ran.
UPDATE: Shortly after this story ran Thursday afternoon, police received a report from another victim stating that she too had a man come into her bedroom.
The third witness, who lives a block a block west on Harrison Blvd., told police that she awoke when a man touched her foot. As soon as she awoke the man ran from the residence.
The woman's roommate said that a a few items of clothing had been moved around her room, yet nothing was missing.
Residents describe the community as a safe, college neighborhood. Some are alarmed by the recent break-ins.
"You would think something like that would never happen here so," said Charlie Seager, a resident who lives nearby. "That would be really scary even for a guy if someone was just in your bedroom when you woke up. It's pretty serious."
No one was injured and no property was stolen in any of the three incidents, police said.
Anyone with information to assist the investigation into the incident is asked to call Detective Brett Roach at 541-766-6924.
A statement from Corvallis PD:
The Corvallis Police Department would like to remind everyone to close, and lock, all doors and windows at night, and when away from your residence.
Walk with other people at night and walk with confidence.
Be constantly aware of your surrounding and report all suspicious and out of place persons to the police.


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Is LeAnn Rimes too skinny?
Hubby Eddie Cibrian doesn't think so! The 38-year-old actor told Extra that in his eyes, Rimes, 28, has a "perfect" body.
"I think she looks wonderful," the Playboy Club actor gushed. "She is very healthy, and to me -- perfect."
In May, Rimes tweeted an extremely skinny photo of herself in a two-piece bathing suit, then defended her tiny frame. "This is my body, and I can promise you I'm a healthy girl," she said. "I'm just lean. Thanks for your concern, but no need to be."
Two months later, the country star showed off her new "curves" in a black-and-white bikini. "[Curves] are there. LOL," she said, announcing a few hours later that she was chowing down on "drumsticks!"
Cibrian -- who recently starred shirtless in Charisma's home campaign -- said that he and Rimes work out together. "We go to the gym together," he said. "She really loves to work out."
Tell Us: Do you think LeAnn is too thin?


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Chopped Greek-Style Salad with Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Pepper
(Chopped Greek-Style Salad Recipe with Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Pepper was updated with better photos and instructions July 2011.)
I chopped the red, yellow, and orange bell pepper into bite-sized pieces.
I'm not a big fan of raw onion in a salad, so I used 1 inch lengths of sliced green onions.
More Greek-Inspired or Authentically Greek Salads You Might Like:
Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Israeli Couscous Greek Salad ~ Healthy Green Kitchen
Greek Salad with Marinated Onions and Oregano ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Chunky Greek Salad Topped with Sardines ~ Clean and Delicious
Greek Salad Spaghetti Squash Bowl ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Chopped Greek-Style Salad with Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Pepper
(Makes 3-4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)
Salad Ingredients:
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise (or use diced fresh garden tomatoes)
1 European cucumber (or 2-3 small regular or Persian cucumbers)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 orange bell pepper
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, cut in half (I use pitted olives)
1/4 cup chopped red onion or sliced green onion (optional)
1/2 cup diced Feta cheese (or more)
Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing
(or your favorite dressing, for South Beach Diet use dressing with less than 3 grams sugar per serving)
1 tsp. dried oregano
Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, or dice garden tomatoes. Peel cucumber in strips, leaving some green stripes lengthwise. (For small garden cucumbers or Persian cucumbers you may not need to peel.) Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise, then in slices. Remove seeds from peppers and dice peppers in 3/4 inch square pieces.
Dice red onion or cut green onion into 1 inch long pieces. Drain olives and cut in half lengthwise. Cut Feta into cubes about 1/2 inch square.
Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and olives and toss with desired amount of salad dressing. (You may not need all the dressing.) Stir feta cubes into salad and season with fresh-ground black pepper. The salad can be served immediately, but I like it best when the ingredients marinate for an hour or two.
This salad keeps surprisingly well in the refrigerator for a few days.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Nutritional Information?


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Partner with the Knight!
DK was founded in London in 1974 and is now the world's leading illustrated reference publisher and part of Penguin Random House, formed on July 1, 2013. DK publishes highly visual, photographic non-fiction for adults and children. DK produces content for consumers in over 87 countries and 62 languages, with offices in Delhi, London, Melbourne, Munich, New York and Toronto.


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Last Call Trivia is a live hosted show where teams compete for prizes by answering trivia questions. Our trivia game is designed to be a spirited competition, NOT a school exam! Each show at Playhouse Square lasts 1 hour and is filled with excitement, entertainment, and your favorite music between questions. Last Call games also incorporate a distinctive point wagering system, giving teams the ability to choose their own strategy which ensures every team has an equal chance to compete. Mondays
Playhouse Square


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Points are sort of like a special currency. They can be obtained through Donator Packs, Voting, and special events. They can be used to purchase various rewards at the Points Building. The amount of points you have can be seen on the Sidebar, between your Energy and Level.
They can be donated to your Faction, which requires them for some upgrades. The faction can also give points out to members, however points cannot to traded directly between players. The Points Market is a special market just for buying/selling points.
Points can also be gained by trading in certain Collectibles at the Museum.
Points Building
This is where you spend you points. Here are the following things you can spend points on:
|Stock Ticker (This can only be bought once)
|20 Points
|Refill Energy Bar
|25 Points
|25 Points
|Upgrade maximum loan (by $100,000)
|100 Points
|Display Cabinet (This can only be bought once)
|100 Points
|Donator Pack
|100 Points
|Gas Can
|100 Points
|Bazaar (This can only be bought once)
|250 Points
|One Merit
|500 Points
Points Market
This is where you buy and sell points. The Points Market has a cap of $50,000 per point so most points sell at, or just under, this amount. Points can also be sold to the Pawn Shop for $39,000 but cannot be bought here.
Articles Relating to City Locations
|West Side
|North side
|Red-Light District
|City Center
|East Side


text: DEP reaches another pollution deal with Marshall plant By Ken Ward Jr. February 22, 2013 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Marshall County chemical plant has agreed to pay $450,000 for water quality violations that have continued even after West Virginia regulators entered into a pollution settlement with the operation nearly three years ago, state officials said this week.The state Department of Environmental Protection said the former PPG Industries facility at Natrium already has paid $200,000 of the penalties and proposed a change in the July 2010 deal to include $250,000 more in fines, according to court records.The DEP proposed the settlement just three months after the West Virginia Rivers Coalition threatened to sue the company, citing Clean Water Act violations that included excess discharges of pesticide contaminated groundwater, mercury, iron and several volatile organic compounds into the Ohio River.In a court filing, DEP lawyers said the operation has "undertaken significant steps" to reduce its pollution, but "has experienced difficulty ensuring consistent compliance" with limits for certain toxic organic chloride chemicals.Built in 1957, the former PPG plant is along the Ohio River just north of New Martinsville. Pittsburgh-based PPG sold the facility last year to Atlanta-based Georgia Gulf Corp., and it now operates under the name Eagle Natrium LLC.For years, the facility has drawn strong criticism from environmental groups because it continues to use what those groups say is an outdated process to make chlorine by pumping salt water through vats of pure mercury. Most of the industry -- representing about 95 percent of U.S.-produced chlorine -- now uses a newer process that does not result in large mercury emissions into the air and nearby water supplies.The new settlement focuses on groundwater contaminated by three forms of the chemical benzene hexachloride, BHC-alpha, BHC-beta, all constituents of the pesticide lindane. Federal regulators began phasing out lindane in the 1970s, and banned it altogether in 2002 because of concerns over its impacts on human health and the environment.Lindane has not been manufactured at the Natrium facility since 1961, but groundwater at the site remains contaminated and the pollution is believed to be infiltrating sewer lines and causing water-discharge permit violations, court records show. The DEP's proposed settlement document indicates the company has spent nearly $1.5 million since 2009 on efforts to deal with the problem, but that violations continued as recently as December 2012. The document says the company has hired the national consulting firm CH2M Hill to "evaluate the issues" and "develop recommendations" to end the violations. The proposal gives the facility until Dec. 31, 2015, to come into compliance.The settlement is the latest in a long series of actions by state officials to help give PPG more time to end environmental violations, including four instances over the past two decades when state officials backed off tougher water pollution limits for mercury emissions from the Northern Panhandle plant, which employs about 500 workers.State officials sued the plant in May 2009, only after the Rivers Coalition and another environmental group, Oceana, filed a formal notice of intent to sue PPG to try to force it to stop repeated mercury violations. PPG officials had suggested the DEP file suit, a move that helped the company head off any potentially stronger sanctions or deadlines the citizen groups might have sought in their own lawsuit.In its deal with the DEP, PPG resolved the agency lawsuit by paying $1 million in fines and agreeing to spend $350,000 on a "supplemental environmental project" to collect household hazardous waste, such as electronics, from the community. That settlement did not include language specifying when PPG had to end its water quality violations.Mercury is extremely toxic. Depending on the dose, human health effects from exposure can include subtle loss of sensory of cognitive ability, tremors, inability to walk and death. Of particular concern is the fact that mercury becomes more concentrated as it passes from a mother to her fetus. Children with exposure are at risk of having to struggle to keep up in school or needing remedial classes or special education.After Maryland threatened to sue PPG in 2009 over mercury air pollution, the company agreed to cut those emissions by nearly 88 percent. PPG also agreed to install any "economically and technologically feasible method or equipment that will allow further reductions in mercury air emissions" after Dec. 31, 2013. At least three other PPG facilities, in Louisiana, Canada and Taiwan, have converted to newer technology that does not emit mercury into the environment, according to Oceana.In October, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, or ORSCANO, gave the Natrium facility a water quality variance that allowed it to avoid having to more quickly make larger reductions in its mercury emissions to the river. Reach Ken Ward Jr. at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-1702. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Police seek car driven by woman found dead in Kanawha River 2 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 3 Teen pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 4 Man allegedly cuts father in Rand over argument about sandwich 5 Rhode Island bank claims Justice companies owe $4.2M on helicopter loan Things to do Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 Previous Story W.Va. to get $56 million for mine reclamation Next Story


text:
Marietta, GA
JAN. 13, 2014 – Although its work is just beginning, the Expanded Consolidation Implementation Committee (ECIC) of Southern Polytechnic State University and Kennesaw State University already is focusing on the creation of 13 individual colleges that will comprise the academic units of the new university.
The recently expanded 46-member committee – made up of administrators, faculty, staff and students from SPSU and KSU – held its first meeting to begin defining how the new integrated university would be organized. At their initial meeting, the ECIC's members also discussed the development of vision and mission statements for the consolidated university, and deliberated a proposed academic structure that might consist of 13 colleges, including:
• Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology • College of Architecture and Construction Management
• College of Computing and Software Engineering
• Leland and Clarice C. Bagwell College of Education,
• Michael J. Coles College of Business
• WellStar College of Health and Human Services
• College of the Arts
• College of Continuing and Professional Education
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Science and Mathematics
• Graduate College
• Honors College
• University College
"The committee had an excellent discussion of the direction we might take with academic colleges," said Kennesaw State University President Daniel S. Papp. "We are definitely mindful of SPSU's history and outstanding reputation, which will contribute to enhancing the new university's prestige as a nationally recognized institution. Naming one of the colleges the 'Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology' is an excellent way to carry the rich tradition and heritage of SPSU forward."
Southern Polytechnic President Lisa Rossbacher concurred, noting that the preliminary draft proposal of a college structure for the consolidated university included four named colleges and the prospect of nine additional naming opportunities. "The Expanded CIC is off to a good start," Rossbacher observed, "and I expect that we will move forward rapidly with both the structure and vision and mission statements for the consolidated university."
The planners will continue to meet in coming weeks to shape their proposal. Once the vision and mission statements and the organizational structure for the consolidated university are agreed upon by the ECIC, Papp and Rossbacher will forward the proposal to University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby. The vision and mission statement will then be presented to the Board of Regents for its consideration. The Chancellor will review the new organizational structure.
For more information regarding the consolidation process and timeline, please visit: http://www.ksuspsuconsolidation.com/
NEW College of Architecture and Construction Management Announced!
Papp says the SPSU campus will not be a subordinate satellite of KSU's. Rather, there will be two core campuses, he said. The SPSU campus will be called "the Marietta campus" and will be home to at least three of the combined schools' colleges: the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, the College of Architecture and Construction Management and the College of Computing and Software Engineering.
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text:
This game was classified by the community with the following category scores - Violence=3/3, Sex=3/3, Mature Content=3/3. In a desolate future world ruled by a military dictatorship known as the Alliance, a team of mercenaries become unlikely heroes when they are marked for death... Take on the role of Alpha Squad: Clint, Jin, Lynx and their disposable sidekick Lackey, as they fight their way across the world searching for who put the price on their heads.
Buy Xbox content on Xbox.com. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically download the content next time you turn it on and connect to Xbox Live.Learn More


text:
|Product Description
Car bodies are machined to precise specifications, then honed to an exceptional finish before being treated and anodised for maximum corrosion protection. Minimum distance from mast to mainsail luff enhance efficiency.
• Low profile.
• Lightweight alloy car bodies.
• Alloy car bodies.
• Torlon® ball bearings.
Monohulls to 12 m (40 ft) or sail area 38 m2 (409 ft2).
Multihulls to 9 m (30 ft) or sail area 30 m2 (323 ft2).
Part Number: RC11466


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DOZENS of people were evacuated from a Winchester building this morning after a false fire alarm.
Hampshire Fire & Resuce were called to the Winchester Centre in St Georges Street after a fire alarm was set off in a kitchen.
A woman understood to work at the building also received ambulance treatment after falling over after leaving the building.
Crew manager Richard North said: "It was a lot of fuss over nothing really. Someone burnt their breakfast this morning and set off the alarm. Because the different parts of the centre are interlinked the alarms went off in all rooms and everyone had to leave.
"There is no fire and everything has been switched off so it will be over with very quickly."