Russ McCutcheon

NEWARK — Angel Paws Delta Society Pet Partners evaluations for volunteers interested in helping others by sharing their pets love with those in need at local health care and educational facilities will be open for observation and meet and greet Sunday at Zerger Hall Senior Center in Newark.

All appropriate domestic pets, including cats, pocket pets, rabbits and miniature horses, are welcome. The 19-part Skills and Aptitude Tests for animals and handlers will be conducted by a trained and licensed Delta Society Pet Partners evaluator from 1 to 6:30 pm Advance preparation and appointment is required to be formally evaluated.

Pet owners interested in learning more about Angel Paws requirements and the evaluation process are invited to bring their pets for an informal meet and greet with an evaluator and dog trainers after the conclusion of formal evaluations. Formal evaluations are open for observation by humans only.

All interested pet owners may make an appointment for formal evaluations, observation or an informal meet and greet by calling (740) 364-0824.

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BY JOHN JANNARONE

With the clock ticking, eBay’s chances of a retail comeback are dwindling. Its response: Buy it now.

The e-commerce site once had high hopes of leading the boom in Internet retail. But as online shopping finally has gained traction, rival Amazon.com seems to be running away with the market.

The value of goods sold on eBay’s marketplace excluding vehicles rose 11% last year, while Amazon’s total sales rose 40%.

But with Monday’s $2.4 billion deal to acquire GSI Commerce, eBay has a chance to punch back at …

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Arts

Italy: Lets Share Naked Greek Athlete; Getty: Will Bronze Have More Fun?

Il presidente of Marche wants the statue on Italian soil, but if not, hell share. No thanks, Getty replies.

By
Dennis Wilen
|
Email the author
|

March 29, 2011

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The best of the best in womens college basketball hits the hardwood in Indianapolis this April when the city hosts the 2011 Womens Final Four.

While the games will feature top-notch talent and incredible games, the tournament is about more than three games (two national semifinal games on April 3 and the national championship game April 5).

Tourney Town

Designed to be the ultimate fan experience, Tourney Town Refreshed by Coca-Cola Zero is a three-day event (April 1-3) with plenty of hands-on free fun.

Center Stage will feature non-stop entertainment with a wide variety of local and national music groups throughout the weekend. The headliner concert will feature country musics Kellie Pickler of American Idol fame. It will take place 5:30 pm Saturday. Indianas own Casey Jamerson will be the opening act at 4:30 pm

Tourney Town is going to be a place to be during the Womens Final Four weekend and to be able to include a musical performance from Pickler in the full lineup of non-stop programming is very exciting, said Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president of Division I womens basketball.

The stage itself will be surrounded by basketball courts hosting everything from youth clinics to childrens entertainment, open play and DJ-hosted games with giveaways and merchandise.

Theres also an NCAA Womens Final Four Pep Rally and ATT Mascot Challenge, performances by skilled basketball entertainers, a talent show featuring local acts and celebrity judges, emcee-hosted fan contests for prizes and sponsor-based entertainment programming.

It all takes place in the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center just one block from Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the 2011 Womens Final Four games.

Hours of operation will be Friday, from 10 am-5 pm; Saturday, 10 am-7 pm and next Sunday, noon-6 pm

Motor Speedway

While in Indianapolis, take advantage of the opportunity to run or walk at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday by registering today for the 4Kay Run Hydrated by Powerade Zero. Proceeds from the event benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The first 1,500 runners receive a long sleeve T-shirt from Nike. The 4Kay Run begins at 8 am that morning with registration available online in advance or at the run.

Open practice and autograph sessions on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse serve up chances for fans to see how these great female role models prepare for the biggest game of their lives. After practice, fans can get autographs on complimentary posters. Then its time for Battle of the Bands, which pits the pep bands from each of the four competing schools against each other in friendly competition as they show off their school spirit.

After that, hard-core fans wont want to miss the best 16- to 18-year-olds from around the country in action in the WBCA High School All-America Game, also at Conseco Fieldhouse. All Super Saturday events are free.

Win a basketball

Downtown Indianapolis will come alive next Sunday with the sound of basketballs hitting the pavement in the Circle City Dribble event. Registration starts at 11:30 am for the event that begins outside Conseco Fieldhouse at 2:00 pm

The first 2,500 attendees 18 and under who sign in will receive a free T-shirt and basketball to dribble down the streets of Indianapolis. There will be entertainment, activities and lots of free fun.

For a full list of events and times, and for tickets to the Womens Final Four national semifinal games next Sunday and the national championship game Tuesday, April 5, visit www.ncaa.com/finalfour and follow them on Twitter at #NCAAWBKB and #NCAAWFF.

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AURORA | A chicken-loving city official and
some of her constituents want to hatch out a plan to allow hens in
the city for egg production.

Aurora City Councilwoman Melissa Miller is pushing for an
ordinance that allows hens for residents who are interested in
producing natural eggs in their own backyard.

“There are so many different reasons why I think urban chickens
make sense,” Miller said at a Neighborhood Services Committee
meeting on March 17.

Her request for backyard chickens comes in the wake of a failed
attempt to pass an urban chicken ordinance in Aurora in 2009.

Currently, chickens are only allowed in agricultural areas within
the city.

Miller says she’s been approached by several constituents who are
interested in raising chickens for egg production in their
backyards.

Because of spiking food prices and the booming trends toward
sustainability and urban farming, Miller says it’s time to revisit
the chicken ordinance.

“I think if anything, it puts the city out there in trying to be
proactive in supporting the city’s residents,” Miller said at the
meeting.

If an ordinance were written to allow hens for egg production in
people’s backyards, it would allow at most six hens and prohibit
the slaughtering of hens.

If the owner wants to do away with a hen, hen owners would have the
choice of keeping them as pets, euthanizing them or delivering them
to a local slaughterhouse.

Miller said residents should be able to hone the common practice of
urban farming in their own backyards if they want.

“It’s America, it’s private property, you’re not asking for a whole
farm flock to be in someone’s backyard,” she said at the committee
meeting.

But she was met with some resistance.

Councilman Bob Roth said residents who are interested in farming
hens probably wouldn’t save money because of chicken upkeep
costs.

“If we’re looking at this as a cost savings for food purchase for a
family, I don’t see that with all the output they’d have to have to
set up their coop,” Roth said.

Pre-made chicken coops cost between $80 and $500 on various online
retailers.

Raising chickens in the third-largest city in Colorado isn’t
practical, said Councilman Bob Broom, who said he grew up in a
small farm town where “every fourth house” had chickens.

“It’s just not compatible with an urban area in my view,” Broom
said.

Roth, Broom and Councilman Brad Pierce, chairmen of the
Neighborhood Services Committee, opposed the issue.

But Miller isn’t chicken-hearted. She plans to bring the issue
before all city council members at a future study session
meeting.

Some of her constituents are so hopeful that Miller will get a
chicken ordinance passed, they’ve already begun taking hen-raising
classes.

Susana Kirk, who lives near old Aurora, says she completed classes
in Denver that taught her all about feeding and sheltering the
animals.

Kirk, who lives alone, uses 18 eggs per week primarily for baking,
so she says raising her own chickens would be a boon.

“You’re getting a better quality egg,” she said. “You know where
it’s coming from.”

She normally spends between $3 and $5 per carton on free-range
eggs. But she isn’t sure that she would save money raising her own
hens.

“I don’t know if it’s cheaper,” she said. “I think of it as an
investment in the chicken.”

She’s willing to spend more money for fresh eggs though, and she
hopes this year will be the year of the chicken ordinance.

“If we want chickens, we should be able to get them,” Kirk said.
“Not everybody’s going to want them; for other people, it’s a
hobby, and if you have space for it, I think it should be
OK.”

Backyard chickens have become a national trend.

In Denver, citizens in residential areas can keep chickens if they
get a permit from the city, which costs about $50 annually and must
be approved by the Zoning and Animal Control departments. In
Commerce City, city ordinances prohibit roosters, but there are no
restrictions on chickens. In Boulder, residents can own chickens,
but must follow the same rules as domestic pets in terms of a
proper shelter, clean living conditions and the provision of proper
food and water for the animals.

When chicken ordinance discussions came up in 2009, city staff
cited several drawbacks to raising hens.

They said German Shepherds are known to go after chickens so
barking problems would increase, the chickens would attract wild
animals, and more complaints would ensue from neighbors.

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Tenneco
Inc. is increasing its investment in technical training
for repair shop owners, technicians and parts professionals
through an expanded Tenneco Technology Tour (T3) and
Monroe Ride and Drive training experience.

The popular T3 and Monroe Ride and Drive programs are
expected to reach more than 9,000 participants in 34 major
North American markets in 2011.

The tour, which features an in-depth clinic and behind-the-
wheel training regarding the symptoms of worn ride
control components, attracted more than 8,000 aftermarket
professionals in 2010. This years tour also will include a
special educational seminar about the Monroe exclusive
OESpectrum shocks and struts, a revolutionary new shock
and strut design utilizing technologies first developed for
global OEMs. To illustrate the road profile and handling
capability of the new Monroe OESpectrum shocks and struts,
the Monroe Ride and Drive demo uses a pair of 2007 Mercedes
C280 passenger cars.

T3 and the Monroe Ride and Drive feature exciting, new
real-world educational elements to help technicians and
shop owners correctly diagnose ride control problems while gaining
the confidence to better educate their customers about the
need for shock and strut replacement, said Chuck Osgood,
manager of training and operations, North American
aftermarket, Tenneco.

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The idea to steal school tax revenue to subsidize a Bass Pro Shops-anchored retail center in North Little Rocks Dark Hollow swamp is moribund, if not totally dead. But meanwhile, Bass Pro continues to shake down other cities, from Memphis to New Orleans, for free money to build stores that cripple existing competitors in the name of tourism.

Memphis is running into unexpected cost runups in the idea of turning the Pyramid into a Bass Pro.

In the course of reporting that the other day, the Commercial Appeal mentioned a new study that should be sent out to every legislator inclined to support Sen. Jake Files constitutional amendment to allow development districts in which retail stores would get to keep their own sales taxes as corporate welfare payments. Hes talked of the Bass Pro model in touting his development amendment. The notion that such giveaways create new prosperity has always been badly flawed.

Now heres further evidence, a study by the Public Accountability Initiative, that blows up the notion that giving away money to Bass Pro is good for anyone but Bass Pro. Its called Fishing for Taxpayer Cash: Bass Pros record of big league subsidies, failed promises and the consequences for cities across America.

The report says Bass Pro has received $500 million in subsidies nationwide. It has built stores that have attracted shoppers, but rarely created the tourist attractions that they were envisioned as being. (Remember, transferring fishing lure buyers from one store to another is not added value.) Bass Pro shopping centers in many cities are struggling. Older shopping centers were cannibalized. Bass Pro has gone on a growth spree that has produced stores closer together than originally thought, diminishing the drawing power of each store. The report, done to discourage a $35 million public outlay in Buffalo, concludes:

Rather than leveraging taxpayer dollars, Bass Pro-anchored projects can multiply costs associated with development projects. By failing to attract additional tenants, these projects leave cities dealing with lower-than expected tax revenues, as well as vacancy and blight that may not have existed before. High levels of public debt associated with financing the projects leave towns struggling to deal with negative fiscal situations, as has been the case in Garland, TX. And because Bass Pro tends to offer poor wages, taxpayers are likely forced to reckon with hidden social safety net costs.

Bass Pro itself continues to fare well in part, no doubt, due to its success in winning subsidies but taxpayers are sometimes left holding the bag when promised benefits of development, tourism, and increased tax revenue fail to materialize.

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WOLLONDILLY shire residents have been warned to keep their domestic pets away from the Nattai Reserves until the beginning of December.

Feral animal baiting, undertaken by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, could be fatal for domestic pets allowed to roam the reserves.

The service will be targeting wild dogs, foxes and feral cats in Nattai National Park until December 7.

Service area manager Adrian Johnstone said the program was being carried out in identified problem areas and would include trapping and baiting using pesticide 1080.

We are committed to ensuring that national parks and reserves provide a refuge for native animals, he said.

The program will aim to control and reduce the impact of these pest species on native plants and animals within our parks.

Because of their impact on native wildlife, cats, dogs and other domestic pets are prohibited from national parks and other areas managed by the service.

Mr Johnstone said residents could face fines of up to $300 if caught allowing their pet to stray into a national park.

For more information on the control programs, phone the services Nattai Area Office on 4677 0859.

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Are you looking for baseball card shops in Skagit County or just memorabilia? Either way, the shops listed below are great spots for baseball fans to buy baseball loot. As we get closer to the start of this season, the time is right to begin building up your baseball card collection.

Stamp and Coin Place
(360) 336-9717: Open Tuesday-Saturday

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LONDON (Reuters) – Coffee and sandwich chain Pret a Manger said sales of hot food such as porridge were helping it to thrive in tough consumer environment as it posted a 37 percent rise in 2010 core earnings.

The chain, majority owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint BRDG.UL, said on Tuesday it planned to open more than 30 shops this year as it becomes increasingly confident about its expansion in the United States and debuts in France.

We havent seen a particular slowdown since then (the fourth quarter of 2010), Chief Executive Clive Schlee told Reuters, contrasting with a string of retailers which have reported tougher trading in recent weeks as inflation rises and government cutbacks bite.

Pret a Manger, which runs 265 outlets in Britain, the United States and Hong Kong, said sales at shops open over a year rose 9.8 percent last year.

Double-digit percentage growth in the first part of the year slowed to about 5 percent by the fourth quarter and had stayed around that level since, Schlee said in a telephone interview.

The chain was seeing particularly strong demand for budget ranges like filter coffer for 99 pence and an egg mayonnaise sandwich for 1.50 pounds. But other items were also selling well, with customers snapping up around 50,000 bowls of porridge a week, making it the firms top-selling new product, he said.

Schlee said Pret a Manger planned to open at least 10 shops in London and 10 more elsewhere in Britain this year, plus 10-12 in the United States, creating around 700 jobs in total.

The chain was comfortable with its pace of expansion and had plenty of funding, he said, adding there were no plans for an initial public offering and it was too early to say when and how Bridgepoint might exit the business.

Bridgepoint, whose retail portfolio also includes Fat Face and Hobbycraft in Britain, Limoni in Italy and Histoire dOr in France, bought its stake in 2008 in a deal that valued the chain at 345 million pounds ($553 million), including debt.

Pret a Manger, which makes its sandwiches on site using preservative-free ingredients, was founded in 1986 by college friends Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham. They, along with senior management, own about 33 percent of the business, while Goldman Sachs (GS.N) also has a small stake.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped to 46.1 million pounds ($74 million) last year on a 17 percent rise in turnover to 327.5 million.

Schlee was relaxed about competition from supermarkets like J Sainsbury (SBRY.L), which is testing a new food-to-go format called Fresh Kitchen.

Weve been doing this for 25 years. Thats a lot of learning on our side, he said.

(Editing by Dan Lalor and Louise Heavens)

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