After teasing some more additions to the roster of NetherRealms upcoming brawler earlier in the week, director Ed Boon has made good on his word with a new story trailer thats bursting with faces young and old. Making their MK debut are second-generation fighters Jacqueline Briggs (the daughter of Jax), Kung Jin (a descendant of Kung Lao) and Takeshi Takeda (the son of blind ninja Kenshi). They join fellow young upstart with famous parents candidate Cassie Cage (the daughter of Sonya and Johnny Cage, for all you lore lovers).

The trailer also features a few hints to some familiar faces making a return to bone-crunching halls of MK. Keep your eyes peeled for surly elder god Shinnok, Shao Kahns big haired (and big tempered) wife Sindel and a ninja that looks suspiciously like Rain. That brings the official roster to a total of 18 confirmed fighters (not including the pre-order-locked Goro) - heres hoping all those cameos turn to be more than fan-baiting teases.

So what about all those story deets? Well, the campaign is set to be the franchises grandest and most explosive yet, with Outworld forces preparing to invade Earth Realm and destroy it once and for all. Theres also a glimpse of Kitana-clone Mileena getting a beefier role, with the search for a powerful talisman that could turn the tide of the conflict. Its a very corny and classic, silly MK down to a tee - but hey, we wouldnt have it any other way.

Mortal Kombat is set to uppercut its way onto PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360 on 14 April.

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Mortal Kombat X sheds some fresh blood with new characters and story details

QUEENSTOWN Queen Annes County has been home to a number of notable people over the years, but how many of us know that a former first lady lived in the county for 11 years?

The house, known as the Bryan-Preston House at Parks Point overlooking the Wye River, was home to Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston and her second husband from 1929 to 1940, according to information provided by Exit Gold Realty, which is currently listing the house for sale for $1.9 million. Her first husband was former President Grover Cleveland, who died in 1908.

It is a four-story, single family home with five bedrooms, three full baths, two partial baths, multiple slip dock, swimming pool, 1,500 feet of waterfront, and other amenities on 7.88 acres, the listing states.

Frances Folsom was born in 1864 and was the only First Lady to be married at the White House and give birth there, according to Exit Gold Realtys information. When she married Cleveland in 1886 in the White House Blue Room, he was 49 and she was 21. He served two non-consecutive terms as president the only person to have done so, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

In an effort to seek more privacy, the Clevelands lived most of the time during the two terms at a home outside of Washington, and were the only first couple to do so. They returned to the White House only for official functions, the encyclopedia states.

After Cleveland left office in 1897, the couple lived in Princeton, N.J., until his death in 1908. She married manufacturer, classicist, archaeologist and art history professor Thomas J. Preston Jr. in 1913, and they continued living in Princeton.

The house at Parks Point originally belonged to Valentine Bryan as part of his 752-acre Russell Dale estate, according to Exit Gold Realty. It said George L. Bryan bought part of the estate and built a farmhouse on it in 1860 and the property continued to be used for agricultural purposes until the Prestons acquired it in 1929. The couple used it as a second home, the realty company said.

Additions by the Prestons tripled the size of the farmhouse and included a 2-1/2 story addition. Exit Gold Realtys information states that much that was original to the house has been retained, including wide plank floors, moldings and four panel doors.

The Prestons sold the property in 1940 and the former first lady died in 1947 in Baltimore. The property is listed as a Maryland Historical Trust site.

Exit Gold Realty has scheduled an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the property, 120 Parks Point.

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Former first lady's home in QA for sale

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Major League Soccer wanted to have a memorable night in the first game for its two new teams.

Thanks to a late goal by one of the leagues biggest offseason additions, it got it.

Orlando Citys Kaka scored in extra time to give the Lions a 1-1 tie with New York City FC in front of an announced crowd of 62,510 at Citrus Bowl Stadium. It was the second-highest attendance for an MLS inaugural game, second only to the L.A. Galaxys 69,255 in the Rose Bowl in 1996.

The result wasnt what we wanted, but everything that happened today was really incredible, Kaka said. We have a lot to improve on and were going to improve, but it was a really special day for everyone on this team.

Kaka, the former AC Milan star who signed as Orlandos first designated player and is making a league-high $7.2 million this year, injected energy into the league and the Lions preseason Twitter #FillTheBowl campaign and Sundays opener for the citys second major professional sports franchise.

It led to a turnout and atmosphere that MLS Commissioner Don Garber called unbelievable after the league avoided its first-ever work stoppage with the signing of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement last week. It will add two more teams in Atlanta and Los Angeles in 2017, and Garber said a new round of expansion should be announced within 45 days.

We knew that there was a lot of excitement building in this city, Garber said. This city has been painted purple for a week. Its a great way to kick off our 20th season. It really gives you a bounce in your step after so many years to see 62,000 people here.

That excitement seemed to dimming for Orlandos fans late in the game.

New York appeared to be on its way to the victory in the 76th minute when Mix Diskerud took a pass from David Villa just outside 18-yard box, pushed it with one touch inside the box and rifled a curling shot that sneaked inside the far post.

But in the 91st minute, Orlando (playing 10 on 11 after defender Aurelien Collin was sent off for a red card) was awarded a free kick after Kevin Molino was fouled 10 yards outside the box. On the ensuing play, Kaka got it past Josh Saunders on a deflection off New Yorks wall.

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Kaka's late goal gives Orlando City 1-1 tie with NYCFC

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- At a downtown economic luncheon Wednesday, Wilmington Downtown Inc. leaders announced plans for a well-known Wrightsville Beach business to open a second location downtown.

The Redix Store plans to build the second store on Grace Street by the middle of May. Owner Daniel Reddick says the growing economy has created a whole new market for their store.

Wilmington Downtown Inc. CEO Ed Wolverton says those changes have already brought several new stores to Grace Street and they have big plans for the rest of the area.

"The influence of the hospitality industry and how that's changing the dynamic of not just this one street but all of downtown, and of course more hotels are on the way," Wolverton said. "So we're very excited about what that's going to mean for our continued progression in the retail offerings that we have."

Historic downtown Wilmington is a spot that native Joshua Jackson says brings the surrounding towns together.

"It's like a world in itself," Jackson said.

In the last 27 years, he's seen a lot of changes.

"They're always building something."

City leaders say 21 new businesses in 2014 alone.

Wilmington downtown incorporated CEO Ed Wolverton says with a new year and a growing economy that just means more.

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Redix store coming to downtown

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Miami, Fl (PRWEB) March 09, 2015

Express Glass (http://www.expressglassfl.com), a top Miami sliding glass door replacement service, is proud to announce the addition of a new section to their popular blog which is aimed at helping customers decide whether they need sliding glass door repair or sliding glass door replacement.

We receive hundreds of calls from people that have sliding glass doors that arent working properly, explained Yaniet Santos, general manager at Express Glass. Naturally they want to do the most economical thing without sacrificing quality and safety, but they dont have the proper information to help them decide which type of service they need. This blog provides them with the information they need to make the best choice.

To view the blog and to learn more about sliding glass door replacement, please visit http://www.expressglassfl.com/blog/category/sliding-glass-door-replacement/. Note that the section covers all of South Florida, not just Miami; however Miami residents are the company's most common website visitors. For Miami-specific information, please visit http://www.expressglassfl.com/miami-glass-window-repair/.

Sliding Glass Doors and the Replace vs. Repair Debate

Sliding glass doors can break, wear out, and require maintenance to keep them sliding perfectly. Its not always clear to a customer deciding which of the two services - repair or replace - they need for their sliding glass door because up until now they didnt have the information or tools to help them figure out which will be more cost efficient in the long run. In addition, many customers struggle with the issue of "do-it-yourself" vs. "hire a professional." In fact, it is not uncommon for someone to first try to do it by him or herself, and then give up, and call in the experts on glass replacement: Express Glass & Board Up. The updated blog section addresses that very issue and provides readers with the pertinent information needed in deciding to hire them either for sliding glass door repair, or for sliding glass replacement.

About Express Glass Repair and Board Up

Express Glass and Board Up Service Inc. is a family owned and operated glass repair business with more than 20 years of experience. Their professional technicians and the large variety of inventory make Express Glass the top glass repair service. If customers are looking for Miami glass repair or Ft. Lauderdale glass repair as well as glass repair in Delray Beach or West Palm Beach glass repair, please reach out to the company for a free estimate. If customers need a 24/7 Sliding Glass Door repair service in Ft. Lauderdale or Boca Raton or Miramar, technicians are standing by. The company specializes in sliding glass door repair and window glass repair; technicians will handle any glass replacement situation efficiently. Home or business glass repair is the company's main priority.

Express Glass Repair and Board up http://www.expressglassfl.com/

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Miamis Top Sliding Glass Door Replacement Experts, Express Glass, Announces New Blog Section

In 2012, William J. Moran, who was in town from Rhode Island, died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a South Charleston hotel because a swimming pool heater was improperly installed. Last year the Legislature passed a law requiring licenses for people who install heating, ventilating and cooling systems.

In 2014, an aboveground storage tank leaked about 10,000 gallons of a coal-cleaning chemical into the Elk River and contaminated the Kanawha Valleys water system. A few months later, the Legislature passed a law to regulate and inspect aboveground storage tanks.

In 2010, Wilbert Ray Starcher was killed in a Greenbrier County coal mine when he was run over by a shuttle car. The driver couldnt see him because his view was blocked by metal sideboards, which had been added to the car in violation of West Virginia law.

The 2015 Republican-controlled Legislature has attempted to roll back or repeal all of these laws, as deregulation has become a broader theme of the legislative session. The changes to the aboveground storage tank law had overwhelming bipartisan support, and the changes to mine safety had limited Democratic support.

A cornerstone of the Republican Party is allowing the free market to control, and free businesses and citizens up from unnecessary and burdensome regulations, said state Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas, adding that reasonable people would disagree on what is unnecessary and burdensome.

Regulations, as a generic concept, are never popular. A 2014 Gallup poll found that about half of Americans said there is too much regulation of business, while less than a quarter said there is too little.

But every individual regulation was once put into place for a reason: be it poor HVAC work proving deadly, a water contamination affecting 300,000 or the preventable death of a coal miner.

The question legislators are tackling now is whether the regulations on the books remain reasonable. Im pretty speechless, however we need to speak about it because I have never seen anything like it, said state Democratic Party Chairwoman Belinda Biafore of the legislative agenda. I think its a sad day in West Virginia, especially for working-class families.

Some of the Legislatures deregulatory push has been in the cause of enhancing personal freedom, potentially at the expense of public health and safety. The Legislature has moved to roll back or repeal smoking bans in casinos and video-slot parlors, regulations on the sale of raw milk and regulations on who can carry a concealed weapon in West Virginia.

Some of the deregulation has come with (highly debated) promises that it will lead to job growth.

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Deregulation a theme of this legislative session

By John R. Delaney

The folks at Trane have been in the heating and cooling business for more than 80 years, designing and manufacturing HVAC products for both residential and business use. Their XL824 Connected Control ($333.95) joins an impressive roster of digital home thermostats that allow you to control your heating and cooling system using a smartphone or a PC. This model offers a 4.3-inch full-color touch screen, numerous scheduling options, and both wired and wireless network connectivity. It also features a built-in Nexia Home Intelligence bridge that lets you connect to scores of Z-Wave home automation devices. However, it's a bit more expensive than other smart thermostats we've seen, including the Honeywell Lyric and our Editors' Choice, the Ecobee3.

Design and Features TheXL824 has a built-in Wi-Fi b/g/n radio for wireless communication with your router. It also has an RJ-45 jack for wired Ethernet, and embedded Nexia bridge circuitry that allows the thermostat to control Z-Wave devices. The detachable wall plate contains 19 wiring terminals for heating and cooling, fans, remote sensors, and auxiliary devices such as humidifiers and dehumidifiers.

The XL824 is similar in appearance to the Honeywell Prestige that we reviewed back in 2013. It's a rectangular thermostat measuring 3.3 by 5.4 by 1.2 inches (HWD) and has two-tone silver bezels that frame the 4.3-inch color touch screen. The indoor temperature is displayed on the left side of the screen, and right below that you can see the system status (idle, heating, cooling) and which schedule is active (Home, Away, Sleep). Tapping this area opens the temperature control panel where you can adjust high and low set points and create schedules.

To the right of the temperature readout is an area that displays the current outdoor temperature and the low and high temperatures for the day. Tap this area to view your local five-day weather forecast and receive weather alerts. Below the weather is an indoor humidity reading.

A bar along the top of the screen displays the date, time, and network status (in bars), while the bar along the bottom contains Menu, System Mode, Circulate (Fan Mode), and Air Cleaner buttons. You can choose one of three air cleaner cycles (Auto, Quick, Allergy), one of three fan modes (Auto, On, Circulate), and one of five system modes (Auto, Heating, Cooling, Off, Emergency Heat). On the far right you can view and change heating and cooling set points and enable a 1-Touch Preset. The 1-Touch Preset feature allows you to create heating and cooling set points for Home, Away, and Sleep time periods when regular scheduling is disabled.

In the main Menu screen you can create schedules, view your heating system information, display your HVAC contractor information, and adjust settings. Scheduling options are plentiful; each day of the week can have up to six scheduled programs, called periods, with differing temperature targets (set points). You can create schedules for when you are home, while you are away, and when you are sleeping. To override a schedule simply press the indoor temperature area, adjust the temperature set point, and press the Hold Perm button. The XL824 also offers a Guided Schedule Tool that will help you set up a heating and cooling schedule based on your answers to a series of questions such as what time you wake up, leave the house, and return, and what temperature you would like during these times. There's also a Nexia menu for configuring the XL824 as a Nexia hub and enrolling Z-Wave devices.

The Settings menu is where you go to select a temperature scale (Celsius or Fahrenheit), set the date and time, configure network settings, and modify screen properties (brightness, background colors, screensaver, and backlight timer). Here you can also set up system maintenance and service reminders, upgrade the firmware, and initiate the User Setup wizard.

In order to control the XL824 remotely from a smartphone, tablet, or PC, you'll have to create a Nexia account, which is free and can be used to control up to four thermostats. However, if you want to use the XL824's built-in Nexia hub to control Z-Wave devices such as sensors, locks, and security cameras, you'll have to pay $9.99 per month for a subscription.

The XL824 uses the same Nexia iOS, Android, and browser apps as the Nexia Bridge. The apps offer the same basic functionality as the thermostat interface with one major omissionthey don't allow you to create and edit schedules. Additionally, the XL824 doesn't offer a heating and cooling usage report like you get with the Ecobee3. Trane will be rolling out a Diagnostic Technology offering in a couple of months that will give service contractors the ability to view system performance and run diagnostics remotely, but there's no quick and easy way for a homeowner to view usage history at this point.

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Trane XL824 Connected Control

Fish says enough already being done to keep tabs on spending

An independent investigation into cost overruns at the Bureau of Environmental Services office building includes 11 recommendations to make sure it doesnt happen again.

Commissioner Nick Fish, who is in charge of BES, thinks he already has done enough to keep future construction projects under control, however. Jim Blackwood, a policy director in Fishs office, notes the commissioner has directed BES to appear before the City Council any time a project is projected to increase more than $500,000. Fish issued the same directive to the Water Bureau, which he also oversees.

Blackwood says Fish is prepared to do more if recommended by the City Auditors Office, however. The auditor is close to completing a comprehensive audit on all of the citys procurement policies that will likely recommend many changes in the way the city spends money on goods and services.

We are looking forward to what the procurement audit has to say, Blackwood says.

The City Attorneys Office retained the Barran Liebman law firm to investigate cost overruns at a BES office building at the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building in North Portland. It started as a personnel investigation into how the costs increased under BES Director Dean Marriott. But when Marriott resigned after the investigation started, it was changed to look at lessons learned from the widely publicized episode.

Fish placed Marriott on paid administrative leave last October, just before the investigation began. Marriott resigned in early January in exchange for nearly $200,000 in severance pay and $49,000 in legal costs. He was protected by the citys civil service system and was preparing to fight any disciplinary actions.

The law firms report was released last Wednesday. Much of it confirmed an October 2014 city audit on the project that found costs increased in large part because BES officials decided the building should be an environmental showcase after work had already begun.

The report agrees with the audit that oversight on the project was lacking, and it faults project staff for routing a $95,581 payment to the architect through the construction firm after Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who was in charge of BES at the time, said he would not approve any more cost increases. The report says this was inappropriate, but not illegal.

However, the report differs from the audit on the estimated starting cost of the project, which reduces the size of the increase.

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Audit urges closer look at future BES projects

Fish says enough already being done to keep tabs on spending

An independent investigation into cost overruns at the Bureau of Environmental Services office building includes 11 recommendations to make sure it doesnt happen again.

Commissioner Nick Fish, who is in charge of BES, thinks he already has done enough to keep future construction projects under control, however. Jim Blackwood, a policy director in Fishs office, notes the commissioner has directed BES to appear before the City Council any time a project is projected to increase more than $500,000. Fish issued the same directive to the Water Bureau, which he also oversees.

Blackwood says Fish is prepared to do more if recommended by the City Auditors Office, however. The auditor is close to completing a comprehensive audit on all of the citys procurement policies that will likely recommend many changes in the way the city spends money on goods and services.

We are looking forward to what the procurement audit has to say, Blackwood says.

The City Attorneys Office retained the Barran Liebman law firm to investigate cost overruns at a BES office building at the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building in North Portland. It started as a personnel investigation into how the costs increased under BES Director Dean Marriott. But when Marriott resigned after the investigation started, it was changed to look at lessons learned from the widely publicized episode.

Fish placed Marriott on paid administrative leave last October, just before the investigation began. Marriott resigned in early January in exchange for nearly $200,000 in severance pay and $49,000 in legal costs. He was protected by the citys civil service system and was preparing to fight any disciplinary actions.

The law firms report was released last Wednesday. Much of it confirmed an October 2014 city audit on the project that found costs increased in large part because BES officials decided the building should be an environmental showcase after work had already begun.

The report agrees with the audit that oversight on the project was lacking, and it faults project staff for routing a $95,581 payment to the architect through the construction firm after Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who was in charge of BES at the time, said he would not approve any more cost increases. The report says this was inappropriate, but not illegal.

However, the report differs from the audit on the estimated starting cost of the project, which reduces the size of the increase.

Read more here:
Report urges closer look at future BES projects