| 2008 new-car preview: The ones to watch
Redesigned versions of the Honda Accord and Chevrolet Malibu aim squarely at the Toyota Camry, the most popular passenger car in the U.S., and Focus is revamped to rekindle interest in what has become Ford's best-selling car largely by default.
For Chrysler, the big news is the redesigned Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans, and General Motors gets its first full-fledged hybrids, which it turns out the industry's first truck-based hybrids.
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Guide promoting tourism is here
The 2008 Custer Country Vacation Guide to Southeast Montana's tourism region was released last month. The guide is available locally at the Laurel Chamber of Commerce located in the Log Cabin Building in Fireman's Park, the Laurel Outlook, or at tourist related businesses in the area.Outlook Publishing of Laurel, publisher of the Laurel Outlook, provided the creative services and production of the guide. Publication Printers of Denver printed the magazine-style productThe Custer Country Guide includes information about scenic and historic points of interest, rodeos, fairs, accommodations and services in the tourism region. The regional calendar of events and list of area chamber of commerce offices provide visitors to the area a valuable vacation resource."Besides being the largest guide published by any of the state's tourism regions, we try to improve it each year, providing new information about attractions in the region and other available publications," said Custer Country Executive Director Jim Schaefer of Forsyth.The 128-page guide has been enthusiastically received by the traveling public from coast to coast and several foreign countries.
Thomas Elias: In the end, early primary accomplished a lot
And so, in the end it turns out moving California's presidential primary up into early February was a good thing for the state. With turnout way up from the March primary of four years ago, Californians more than anyone else made Sen. John McCain the prohibitive favorite for the Republican nomination and kept Sen. Hillary Clinton in a narrow lead on the Democratic side, even if Clinton remained far from clinching anything. Not only that, but all the presidential prospects were thoroughly exposed to California, something not likely to happen this fall, when most analysts expect this state to be solidly Democratic and thus not a battleground. Yes, they traveled to the monied precincts of West Los Angeles and San Francisco's Nob Hill, where presidential hopefuls always go to raise money, but also the Central Valley and the Inland Empire areas around San Bernardino and Riverside and to East Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County and San Diego.
Follow the Reader 2007: The rest of the world, from Bali to Scottish ...
We've rented cottages four times in Devon, England's southwestern county noted for clotted cream, gorgeous countryside, famous seafarers such as Drake and Raleigh, and now local organic foods. One cottage was a thatched, 13th century granite farmhouse on the edge of Dartmoor National Park; two were in Chagford, a village surrounded by wonderful hiking country and small shops supplying high-quality foods. Our most recent stay in April was in an 18th century thatched cottage in Budleigh Salterton, a small seaside town on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage site. All the cottages have gardens and are well equipped and comfortable. Chagford is a lively village with a 14th century church. Most traffic is on foot, and you're as likely to hear horses clopping down the street as automobiles.
Open Thread
What about all those people who say they're against inter-racial marriage? These are people who are so vile that they oppose OTHER people marrying outside their race! Nevertheless, where Madison Ave puts it's dough is where the culture currently IS, perhaps that's not where we'd like it to be but that's the "reality on the ground". Before you call me a race hustler please just examine the argument, okay? List all of the advertising campaigns that feature inter-racial couples of the black and white variety. As an owner of a production company in California I can tell you that it hasn't happened. Notice that I separated the "commercial" aspect from the "production" aspect. There are a few interracial couples on a few t.v shows in minor story lines, this is different from direct ad dollars in an advertising campaign.
More passengers need to fly JetBlue and ExpressJet to keep service
The odds of finding the seat next to you empty on a flight leaving Tucson were better in January than they were six months ago. Maybe too good.JetBlue’s flights to New York took off from Tucson with just 53 percent of seats filled last month. Its flights coming in from the East were more full, averaging 66 percent of seats occupied. ExpressJet, which flies to nine cities, filled exactly half of all of its available seats in both directions. .
Her apology wasn't enough for enraged driver
Muelken advised drivers in a situation with an angry, honking motorist to call for help on a cell phone and not to stop except in a public area with people around. "You don't know what to expect, unfortunately," he said. Boulden was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon. She said she was amazed by the dozen or so motorists who stopped to help before rescue workers arrived. She asked some of them to call her husband and mother. Jessica Uitermarkt and her father of LeSueur were among those who stopped as they drove by at about 5:30 p.m. "I saw her flying into the middle of the road and the truck sped off," said Jessica Uitermarkt, 23. They parked between Boulden, lying in the outside lane, and oncoming traffic. Phil Uitermarkt lifted Boulden and laid her on the shoulder, and then in her car.
Specials for You and Your Valentine
Each of the five-day themed packages includes a visit to Olympic sites such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube -- nicknames for two of Beijing's more eye-catching athletic venues. From there, visitors may choose from among four themes: "Art and Sport," "History and Architecture," "Wine and Dine," and "Sight and Shop." "Art and Sport" includes a tour of the Peking Opera School, the Beijing Sport School and the 798 Art District, while "Wine and Dine" includes cooking lessons and a tour of the Lotus Market. Packages range from 18,500 yuan ($2,554) to 25,500 yuan, depending on the hotel. Downhill Deals Ski.com is offering $12 lift tickets at certain resorts during periods of heavy snowfall. When any of four resorts -- Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Vail -- receives at least 12 inches of snow, skiers and snowboarders have 12 hours (from 9 a.m.
Renters near UA in tight spot
About a dozen boarders in two rental homes are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place as the University of Akron buys homes to clear the way for a new stadium and student housing. Many say they do not have the money for a security deposit and first month's rent for new lodging. So they must stay where they are until UA gives them a promised moving allowance of $1,500 each. Yet UA won't turn over the money until the sales close. So the boarders — adults all — may end up on the streets just days before Christmas. ''It gets more confusing by the minute,'' said Jim Watkins, 45, who does siding and roofing work. ''We don't know anything and don't have any answers.'' UA is purchasing many properties on a 12-acre footprint southeast of campus to make way for a $32.5 million residence hall and a stadium which has a price tag that has risen from $55 million to $61.5 million because additional options have been added.
Going places: San Diego more than just animal attractions
San Diego has the famous San Diego Zoo, Shamu pirouetting at SeaWorld, and the Wild Animal Park, where giraffes and rhinos roam freely. But the city has something other Orlando-style fun zones don't: natural beauty. Add a come-hither climate and distinct neighborhoods to the city's seaside good looks and you've got reason to get packing. The trendy Gaslamp Quarter, once the stomping ground of gunslinger Wyatt Earp, is now the 16-block sanitized epicenter of the city. Its meticulously restored Victorian buildings house an array of lively restaurants and shops. A rental car can land you at San Diego's surfer beaches and picture-postcard seascapes including the views from atop the emerald cliffs in tony La Jolla. Shift gears in dusty Old Town State Park, the authentic birthplace of California, where Mexican heritage is celebrated with margaritas, hand-patted tortillas and historical re-enactments without too much schmaltz.
The week in review
Workers trained to control oil spills are watching closely as Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. negotiates a new contract with the company they work for. Alyeska has been streamlining operations throughout the state, and the spill responders are wondering if their jobs are on the line. TUESDAY Trekkers head to Aleutians to complete 4,000-mile trip While most of Anchorage was hunkered down waiting out the meanest cold snap in years, Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman were scouting for a way to paddle their packrafts through the shifting pack ice of Knik Arm. They're in the middle of a 4,000 mile human-powered journey that started in Seattle and has taken them up the wild North Pacific coastline. Polar cap may shrink to new record, surpassing '07 losses New data on Arctic winds and currents indicates that next summer's ice loss at the North Pole may be even greater than 2007's record-shattering shrinkage.
Japan Foreign Reserves To $1 Trillion
3/6/2008 7:08:09 PM Japan's reserves of foreign currencies, gold and International Monetary Fund special drawing rights increased by US$11.94 billion in February over the month before, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Finance.
Reserves totaled $1.01 trillion, marking the first time Japan's reserves passed the $1 trillion mark. Japan joins China as the only other country with foreign reserves of more than $1 trillion.
The increase in February reserves was the ninth consecutive month of gains, and followed an increase of $22.68 billion in January.
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The Legend of Richard Scruggs: More Myth Than Fact?
He filed a class action RICO suit in October 1999 on behalf of up to 46 million patients who were members of six health maintenance organizations. He accused the defendents of falsely telling members that decisions about their treatment and coverage were based on medical necessity, when in fact cost-cutting guided these decisions. This litigation, he claimed, had "the power to dramatically improve the quality of health care throughout the nation." Scruggs outlined a multipronged attack: He expected institutional investors and Congress (where his brother-in-law Trent Lott was a senator) to fall in line and pressure HMOs to make sweeping changes. "We understand how to play this game now in ways that haven't been played before," he announced to Newsweek in 1999. Scruggs enlisted some of his co-counsel from the tobacco crusade and hooked up with another famous lawyer, David Boies of Armonk, N.Y.-based Boies, Schiller & Flexner.
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