<div class=Six vehicle pileup disrupts traffic on highway in British Columbia
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Six vehicle pileup disrupts traffic on highway in British Columbia

Saturday, March 7, 2009

A six vehicle pile up occurred on the John Hart Highway (British Columbia Highway 97), north of the John Hart Bridge in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada which disrupted traffic during the morning rush hour of March 5, 2009.

No serious injuries arose as a result of the accident, however traffic was reduced to a single lane. Traffic control was conducted by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who was at the scene at the time of the accident (7:45 a.m.). The RCMP cruiser was not one of the vehicles involved in the pile up. The crash was put under investigation by a traffic analyst.

The John Hart Highway connects Prince George,a city of 70,981 according to the 2006 census, with Dawson Creek over a length of approximately 250 miles (400 km). The Northwest Corridor Association saw a C$30 million twinning upgrade to the John Hart bridge which spans the Nechako River, a tributary of the Fraser River. The bridge is located 5.4 kilometres (3.4 miles) north of Prince George. In March there is a traffic volume of between 11,000 to 12,000 vehicles per day at the north end of the John Hart bridge according to the the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation Average Annual Daily Traffic AADT reports between 1994 and 2000.

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<div class=Ailing social networking website MySpace loses co-president after four months
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Ailing social networking website MySpace loses co-president after four months

Monday, June 21, 2010

News Corp., the parent company of MySpace, announced Friday that Co-President Jason Hirschhorn has decided to leave the social networking website because he wishes to return to his home city of New York. MySpace is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

MySpace was founded in 2003 by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe and purchased for $580 million by News Corps. at the height of its popularity in 2005. In recent years, however, MySpace has been losing out in monthly unique visitors to similar sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. According to comScore, an Internet marketing research company that tracks website traffic, Facebook attracted 519 million unique visitors in April of this year, and MySpace just 111 million visitors. In response, MySpace has been recently shifting its focus towards music, games, and videos, and plans to continue doing the same in the near future.

Meanwhile, another failing social network, Bebo, was sold for less than $10 million by AOL to hedge fund firm Criterion Capital Partners this week. AOL acquired Bebo for $850 million in 2008. MySpace’s reduced traffic and the departure of another executive have led industry insiders to draw comparisons between the two sites.

In April 2009, DeWolfe stepped down as MySpace’s Chief Executive Office (CEO). He was replaced by former Facebook Chief Revenue Officer Owen Van Natta, but Natta held on to that position for just nine months. In February 2010, Hirschhorn was promoted from his position as Chief Product Officer along with Chief Operating Officer Michael Jones to the position of co-president. The departure of Hurschhorn leaves Jones to continue on as sole president. MySpace have said they do not intend on replacing Hirschhorn.

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<div class=TV debate between German chancellor Schröder and opposition leader Merkel held
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TV debate between German chancellor Schröder and opposition leader Merkel held

Sunday, September 4, 2005

This article is part of the seriesGerman federal elections 2005
Complete Coverage
Prelude
  • Schröder loses motion of confidence
  • German president dissolves parliament; elections in September
  • German Constitutional Court green-lights early elections call
  • TV debate between German chancellor Schröder and opposition leader Merkel held
  • Death of candidate will delay final results for German federal election by weeks
  • One week before German federal election, the race is wide-open again
Election Day
  • Results
Aftermath
  • German Christian Democrats win by-election in Dresden
  • Schröder gives up German chancellorship ambitions, makes way for Merkel
  • German Social and Christian Democrats agree on new government
  • Angela Merkel elected new German chancellor
Background

German chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and the Chair of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Angela Merkel, faced each other on Sunday evening in the first and only debate between them in this election campaign.

The 90-minute long program, simulcasted on Germany’s four major TV stations, focused on employment, taxation and social reforms.

Merkel stated that she wants to reduce the taxation on gasoline to ease the high price Germans have to pay at the pump. Schröder responded that the VAT-increase that the CDU is planning would neutralize that effect and that his government hadn’t increased gasoline taxes since 2003.

The chancellor went on to blast Merkel’s designate Finance minister Paul Kirchhof, a proponent of a flat tax on income. He said that Kirchhof’s suggestions would turn Germans into “guinea pigs”. But Merkel called Kirchhof a “visionary” and said her party would make taxation “easier and more just”.

Speaking of employment, Schröder stated that his reforms are beginning to work and that he is on the right track. Merkel referred to five million unemployed Germans and said that seven years of Schröder government were “bad years for Germany”.

Polls conducted by the ARD after the debate show that 49% of Germans believe that Schröder was “more convincing” while 33% think that Merkel was. The ZDF said that 48% of the population think Schröder performed better, while 28% say the same about Merkel.

However, overall polls conducted by the ARD as well, say that Schröder’s SPD can expect 32% in the upcoming federal election, his current coalition partner, the Greens, 7%. Merkel’s CDU, along with its bavarian sister party CSU, on the other hand is projected to get 43%, which would enable them to form a coalition government with the FDP, which stands at 6%. Their majority however is slim, because the newly formed Party of the Left can expect 9%.

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<div class=Fire kills eleven at oil worker housing in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia
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Fire kills eleven at oil worker housing in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia

Monday, August 31, 2015

A fire in the eastern Saudi city of Alkhobar tore through a housing complex for oil workers yesterday, killing eleven, according to civil officials.

The Radium complex is rented by oil firm Aramco for their employees. According to nearby resident Mohammed Siddique the fire broke out early in the morning. Siddique says the building contains locals, as well as Westerners and Asians. The cause is unclear but the civil defence ministry tweeted “Cars and furniture caught fire in the basement of one of the towers”.

Over 200 people were injured. Firefighters scaled the burning tower on ladders, and helicopters were on-scene. Other towers in the complex were evacuated. Thick smoke from the blaze complicated rescue efforts.

Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser said the firm is “deeply saddened to learn of the fatalities and injuries. We offer heartfelt condolences to the families. Our immediate priority is to provide full support to those affected by this tragic incident.” Aramco, which produces and exports more crude oil than any competitor worldwide, say the fire is under investigation.

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<div class=Alternative to controversial hotel proposed to Buffalo, N.Y. business owners and residents
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Alternative to controversial hotel proposed to Buffalo, N.Y. business owners and residents

Buffalo, N.Y. Hotel Proposal Controversy
Recent Developments
  • “120 year-old documents threaten development on site of Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal” — Wikinews, November 21, 2006
  • “Proposal for Buffalo, N.Y. hotel reportedly dead: parcels for sale “by owner”” — Wikinews, November 16, 2006
  • “Contract to buy properties on site of Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal extended” — Wikinews, October 2, 2006
  • “Court date “as needed” for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal” — Wikinews, August 14, 2006
  • “Preliminary hearing for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal rescheduled” — Wikinews, July 26, 2006
  • “Elmwood Village Hotel proposal in Buffalo, N.Y. withdrawn” — Wikinews, July 13, 2006
  • “Preliminary hearing against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal delayed” — Wikinews, June 2, 2006
Original Story
  • “Hotel development proposal could displace Buffalo, NY business owners” — Wikinews, February 17, 2006

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Buffalo, New York —

Residents and business owners in the Elmwood Avenue neighborhood and surrounding area in Buffalo heard a competing proposal for development in their neighborhood at the February 22 meeting held at the Burchfield-Penney Art Gallery, at Buffalo State College. The meeting, attended by at least 140, was originally to consider the Elmwood Village Hotel but also included a new revitalization proposal from Rocco Termini which would increase retail space, but involves less demolition and no hotel.

Rocco Termini, a Buffalo, New York developer wants to develop the corner of Elmwood and Forest, the same spot where Savarino Construction Services Corporation want to build the Elmwood Village Hotel.

Termini proposed that a similar revitalization take place on the intersection like one that incorporated 3 buildings on Aurburn and Elmwood just last year. Termini’s proposal will add more retail space than Savarino’s proposal with the possibility of including up to seven retail outlets.

“I just think it’s necessary to preserve the streetscape that we have. That’s the whole point of living and shopping on Elmwood,” said Termini. “You should be able to go into little shops, that have unique items, and that bring people to Elmwood. When you bring a big box on Elmwood Avenue, it takes something away from the urban-streetscape, just as suburban areas do not want a big box Wal-Mart. We don’t want a big box on Elmwood avenue and I think that’s just what this (the hotel) does, brings a big box to Elmwood,” said Termini.

When asked if there were any development companies currently interested in his proposal Termini said, “I will be willing to take a look at this myself,” said Termini. “Or I would be more than happy to be partners with Sam, Sam Savarino,” who is President and Chief Executive Officer of Savarino Construction Services Corp.

An unnamed source close to the project stated, “Rocco has serious concerns that the Mobius’s asking price could make his project infeasible.”

It is unknown if Savarino Construction or the city of Buffalo will consider Termini’s proposal.

Termini purchased and developed several buildings and areas including the Ellicott Lofts on Ellicott Street in Buffalo, which opened in 2003, The Oak School Lofts which used to be a Buffalo Alternative School, and ‘IS’ Lofts on Oak Street in Buffalo.

Eva Hassett, Vice President of Savarino Construction, and Karl Frizlen an architect from The Frizlen Group and designer of the hotel commented on the development proposal. Hassett said, “We’ve been thinking about it and trying to put it together for the last few months, and it was made public a couple of weeks ago.”

“There are lots of different areas you can look at. This is an Elmwood Avenue hotel. Putting it somewhere else makes a completely different kind of hotel. We wanted a hotel that people could walk to from the business on Elmwood. We wanted a hotel that people could walk to from the Albright Knox Art Gallery. This is really a location for this kind of hotel. Other locations end up being for other kinds of hotels,” said Hassett

“We are excited about the concept of a boutique hotel at this corner. We think it makes sense to the various businesses in the area or the galleries just down the street. We also believe that this is a way for the visitors of Buffalo to experience what the best of what Buffalo has to offer. We think it will be a great way for people from out of town, to get to know what we know about the city,” said Hassett.

Although Hassett had said that the proposal has only been around “for a few months”, Karl Frizlen said that he came up with the idea “three years ago when Hans Mobius,” former owner of the properties at risk, “came to me and asked what we could do with these properties.” Frizlen also said that he introduced Mobius to “four different developers, who after seeing the properties, did not want to tackle them, saying that they felt like it was too much for them to take on.”

Hans Mobius did not attend last nights meeting.

Frizlen is also designing the former telephone company building at 504 Elmwood which would be a “mixed use building with retail on the lowest level and lofts on the other two floors.”

After speeches from developers, residents and business owners were invited to present questions and comments.

Mark Freelend, a Buffalo resident, and local artist, said “I’m looking at my house in the picture, and I’m picturing all the houses on Granger street behind me, and I’m realizing that, if this is implemented (the hotel), we will get zero sunlight. The Sun is supposed to be free, for everyone. The people on Granger are going to have eighty windows looking at them and their children being raised, and playing in the backyard, guests looking in the windows of their houses twenty-four hours a day. A million people starring into their houses. No sunlight, and they are on permanent reality TV. Put a price on that!”

“I think this hotel is totally out of scale to the area and it does not conform to the style (of Elmwood) at all. It will totally obscure the gateway of Elmwood. The gateway now has open arms that allow for passage and view into the commercial corridor. This hotel stands as a brick wall as far as I can tell,” said Nancy Pollina one of the owners of Don Apparel at 1119 Elmwood. Pollina referenced to the recent ‘revitalization’ project on Auburn and Elmwood saying, “That building was boarded up for years, and that was beautiful a renovation. That building was not in any less need of repair than Hans Mobius’s properties.”

Both residents and business owners in the area are concerned that the proposal is moving too quickly and said that the developers should wait before having any city meetings and wait for a consensus from the community on the hotel.

Mrs. Pollina said, “I think people feel passionate about their neighborhood, and this is their neighborhood. I feel that what was most shocking is that the city’s planning board meeting and Common Council meeting, which are they need to push this through, is next week without almost no notice. This (the proposal) is being rushed.

However; Sam Savarino did say that “some people have gotten emotional about this project. And I want to let the community know that we will listen to what you have to say. We’re not forcing this down anybody’s throat. If this is not something this community wants, we do not want to have it here.”

The city’s Planning Board is expected to meet on February 28, 2006 at 8:00am in room 901 on the 9th floor of City Hall. The city’s Legislative Committee meeting of Common Council is expected to take place on the same day at 2:00pm in Council Chambers on the 13th floor of City Hall.

It has just been confirmed from an unnamed source close to the project that “significant changes” will be made to the design of the Elmwood Village Hotel. “Its not being cancelled, just redesigned,” he said. The changes are not yet known, but they are could be released “tomorrow. He (Savarino) doesn’t want it released until he touches base with a few people today.”

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<div class=NASA: Series of errors led to loss of Mars Global Surveyor
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NASA: Series of errors led to loss of Mars Global Surveyor

Saturday, April 14, 2007

A complex series of events, including a five month-old computer error, was responsible for the battery failure that led to the loss of NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor last year, an internal review board says. Findings from a preliminary report released on Friday say that while NASA controllers followed procedures while operating the craft, the procedures did not cover the types of errors that occurred.

According to NASA, on November 2, 2006, the Global Surveyor was ordered to perform a routine adjustment of its solar panels. However, the Global Surveyor reoriented to an angle that exposed one of its two batteries to direct sunlight. The battery overheated, which led to the depletion of both batteries. An incorrect setting in antenna orientation prevented Global Surveyor from relaying its status to NASA controllers. Its preprogrammed systems did not take into account the need to maintain a thermally safe orientation.

That was the last communication that NASA controllers had with the spacecraft.

The Global Surveyor was the first US mission to Mars in twenty years, For ten years, the craft returned detailed information to NASA scientists providing new insights, including evidence that appeared to show the presence of water on Mars and identification of deposits of water-related minerals, which led to selection of a Mars rover landing site.

“The loss of the spacecraft was the result of a series of events linked to a computer error made five months before the likely battery failure,” said Dolly Perkins, board chairperson and deputy director-technical of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The board concluded that NASA controllers had followed procedures, but that the procedures did not adequately cover the type of errors that occurred. In its final report, the board will offer recommendations applicable to future missions.

“We are making an end-to-end review of all our missions to be sure that we apply the lessons learned from Mars Global Surveyor to all our ongoing missions,” said Fuk Li, Mars Exploration Program manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Global Surveyor was the longest operating spacecraft at Mars and had lasted four times longer than expected.

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<div class=Uber London to lose operator licence after September
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Uber London to lose operator licence after September

Monday, September 25, 2017

On Friday, Transport for London (TfL) announced US-based taxi booking application Uber would not get a renewed private hire operator license after their current permit expires at the end of the month. The regulatory body released an official statement on their website and stated Uber London Limited was “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license”.

TfL said Uber London “demonstrate[d] a lack of corporate responsibility” for reporting serious criminal offences, and for obtaining background of the drivers and medical certificates. In August, police said Uber allowed a driver despite allegations of sexually assaulting a passenger. The company has been accused of sexism and bullying. TfL in its statement also complained about possible use of “greyball” software to prevent officials from accessing the application for law enforcement duties.

According to Uber’s statistics, about 3.5 million people in London use Uber. There are some 40 thousand drivers tied with Uber within the British capital. Per the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, Uber can appeal against TfL’s decision within three weeks. Uber received an interim renewal for four months in May, and it is set to expire at the end of the month. To this announcement, Uber London’s General Manager Tom Elvidge said, “By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. To defend the livelihoods of all those drivers, and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners who use our app, we intend to immediately challenge this in the courts.” He also added, “This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers.”

TfL said Uber’s irresponsibility could compromise the safety and security of the public. In contrast, Uber’s response said their service enhances safety. London mayor Sadiq Khan, on Facebook, said, “[…]all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect — particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security. I fully support TfL’s decision — it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security. Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules.”

Uber has received criticism from traditional taxi drivers as well as government officials. Uber was banned from Bulgaria and Denmark, and faces regulatory issues in France, Italy, Hungary, and Spain. It also faced legal inquiry for use of greyball in the US to resist government regulation of the application. Regarding the complaint about improper use of use of Greyball, Elvidge cited an independent review and said it “found that ‘greyball’ has never been used or considered in the UK for the purposes cited by TfL”. Uber operates in over 40 cities and towns in the UK.

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<div class=Category:Featured article
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Category:Featured article

Shortcut:WN:FA

Featured articles are selected by the community to represent the best of Wikinews. See the Featured Article Candidates page for nominations and discussions of candidate articles for this page. Or, subscribe to the RSS feed!

[edit]

Pages in category “Featured article”

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Quick Interior Design Suggestions}

Quick Interior Design Suggestions}

Quick Interior Design Suggestions

by

FastSubmitArticles.com

All interior designers have their own concepts on designing the interiors of a house depending on the choice and taste of the people residing in that house.

With all the criteria that they have to consider, they can never complete a design for a house without wooden furniture. Such is the charm of wooden furniture. Here are some ideas for you on how to use wooden furniture in your house for a distinct and unique design.

Firstly, you should know your own personal taste. For example, some people prefer the royal antique look, whereas some prefer the classic look that only modern lightweight wooden furniture can achieve. Knowing your personal tastes will help you narrow down your choices.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuWg1G8yS4[/youtube]

If you have a taste for a royal look, you can look for aged cabinets that can be placed on either side of your room. If that is not possible, you can simply buy an antique chest and place in your room.

Alternatively, you can simply look for furniture that are made from parts of a tree. These parts, with finishing and polishing, are used as bases for large center tables. Often, there is a glass on top of the table. Your center table will become the center of attraction. A huge piece of furniture in the middle of the room brings a balanced feel to the design.

In order to create a design for your house that looks more artistic, you can use a carved wooden frame with some painting in it. Or for a more personal look, you can also put your picture or your family picture in the frame.

When considering the design for the master bedroom, a good Queen sized bed with drawers on both sides looks amazing. And you can match them with a wardrobe and a dressing table. A cheaper option is to buy an old bed from a second-hand shop, do some refurbishing work on it and use it as new. Even if you have a bed with a more modern look, you can still have a wooden wardrobe or a wooden cabinet for your television and other stuff.

To further enhance the modern look, you can create a sitting space in your bedroom with a wooden couch. This will attract the attention of anyone coming into the room as it looks very distinct. The guest room can be furnished with a sleek and simple wooden bed.

In addition to all the basic furniture, you can add wooden magazine racks, stylish wooden side tables or other wooden accessories available in the market to add a little bit of class here and there.

You can also use a good wooden frame to cover the exposed electrical casings in your home.

As you can see, there are many uses of wooden furniture. You can use them as base furniture, which are necessary in every home, or you can use them for aesthetic purposes.

To source for

wood furniture

, please visit our

wood furniture

website – wholesale prices available.

Article Source:

Quick Interior Design Suggestions

}

<div class=Former Texas nurse charged with murder for allegedly injecting bleach into patients
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Former Texas nurse charged with murder for allegedly injecting bleach into patients

Thursday, April 2, 2009

A former nurse from Texas is in jail after a grand jury in Angelina County indicted her over allegations she murdered patients by injecting bleach into them. Kimberly Saenz is suspected of killing five people at the DaVita Dialysis Center in Lufkin.

A sudden string of deaths caused the center to close on April 28, 2008. The center reopened that July. Saenz was fired in April, and arrested last May under suspicion of having caused harm to two patients. It is now believed by authorities she injected ten people with bleach, killing five.

Our patients and the caregivers have been outraged at how the alleged actions of one person have caused so much pain and trauma to so many

She is accused of killing Clara Strange, Thelma Metcalf, Garlin Kelley, Cora Bryant and Opal Few and of harming Marva Rhone, Carolyn Risinger, Debra Oates, Graciela Castenada and Marie Bradley. The 35-year-old is being held without bond after turning herself in.

DaVita’s regional vice president Larry Crisp said of the developments “The grand jury has issued an indictment for capital murder for the death of five patients and further, five additional indictments for aggravated assault. Our patients and the caregivers have been outraged at how the alleged actions of one person have caused so much pain and trauma to so many.”

Posted in Uncategorized