by Martha Maurer/KTAR (May 30th, 2012 @ 4:30pm)

The Gumball Rally passed through northern Arizona today.

High-dollar sports cars, like Lamborghinis and Porches, were flying along Interstate 40 on their way to Las Vegas.

Carrick Cook with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said 10 drivers were pulled over and one was arrested.

"A driver who is from Holland and lives in Switzerland was traveling at over 120 mph on I-40," he said. "It's a dangerous event. I think these people don't keep in mind that there are innocent people driving along the road and this puts them in danger as well."

The I-40 has a speed limit of 75 mph.

"Reckless would be a good word to use with the driving behavior for them," said Cook. "We haven't seen any crashes or anything like that. Hopefully we don't, but the way these people are driving could seriously, seriously hurt somebody or themselves with the speeds that they're driving at."

The rally was traveling from New Mexico to Las Vegas as part of a 3,000-mile international race.

Excerpt from:
Gumball Rally zips through northern Arizona, DPS issues tickets, arrest

Home A&E Music-Theater-Dance Loading

Published: 5/31/2012

BY SALLY VALLONGO SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

This weekend's Old West End Festival will include lots of outdoor music along with home tours, garage sales, art shows, and the Wamba Parade. The Toledo Symphony's 5K Stampede will have live classical accompaniment from porches of houses along the run route. A variety of acts will keep the Main Stage at Parkwood and Woodruff avenues lively.

And, to cap off Saturday events, the Cathedral Concert Series will feature local jazz artists Mark Lemle and Eric Dickey in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. in Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd.

The performance will be a debut for the duo's new CD, "Wind, Stone and Ivory," with an eclectic mix of jazz standards, works by Keith Jarrett and Jay Ungar, and original pieces.

A free performance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Recital Hall of the University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts will represent Barbara Rondelli Perry's swan song as a professor of music. Now professor emerita from the department where she shaped dozens of up and coming singers, Rondelli Perry will be serenaded by 13 of those fledged students.

Singers will be Kevin Foos, Janet Brehm Ziegler, Jodi Jobuck, Scott Knueven, Michelle Perrine, Jo-Anne Chrysochoos, Ebone Waweru, Michele Marszalkowski, Sasha Noori, Joyce Rush, Sam Mason, Dusty Selman, and Anthony Ferrer.

On the program will be works from opera and oratorios as well as art songs by Mozart, Handel, Gounod, Puccini, Wagner, Rorem, Gershwin, Brahms, and more. Robert Ballinger and Phillip Clark will accompany the singers.

Link:
Jazz concert tops off weekend fest

CHATHAM Local residents were out seeking shade under trees or sitting in chairs on their porches or front lawns shortly before 11 a.m. Monday as firefighters and band members assembled on Woodbridge Avenue, all for Chathams annual Memorial Day parade.

Meghan Distin, 7, was sitting on the shady front lawn of a Kinderhook Street house with her great-grandmother, Jean Wadsworth, of Old Chatham, her great-aunt Benita Loyche and her cousin, Rebecca Loyche, as she does every year at this time. Marching in the parade were Meghans father, Chatham Fire Chief Matthew Distin, her brother, Andrew, 12, who was riding in a fire truck and her aunt, firefighter Kelly Distin.

Meghan said her favorite part is always seeing her father march by, carrying a flag or an ax.

Sitting on the porch were Danielle and Peter Palleschi.

And a glorious day to boot, added Peter.

Chatham Police Officer David Moon, directing traffic at Park Place and Kinderhook Street, said the parade was not as busy as last year, but a fine day to do it, especially since its not raining.

Jim and Anita Cartin of Kinderhook Street were standing with a large group of people in the shade of trees at the corner of Kinderhook Street and Park Place. Jim tried to remember when they first started coming to the event.

Ever since the kids were in band, he said. Son Matthew Cartin, here with his family from Atlanta, Ga., said he was in band in 1987. But daughter Bridget Lieberum of Thurman, Warren County, said the family had had marchers from the Girl Scouts in the parade from 1982 to 1997.

The master of ceremonies at the village gazebo was William Hogan of the Chatham American Legion. His wife, Post Commander Melissa Hogan, was the keynote speaker.

Freedom is our call, but it doesnt come free, Hogan said. The meaning of this day impacts the whole world. Tens of millions of veterans put their lives on hold to wear the uniform.

See the original post:
Parade honors lost soldiers

With my son playing Babe Ruth Baseball at Guy Smith Park, I have had several opportunities to drive past the location of the new Dream Park on Chestnut Street and would encourage others to drive through this blighted section of Greenville to see where your tax dollars are going. I have to agree with our city leaders that something needs to be done about this run-down area but I am not sure a Dream Park is the answer.

Judging from the large number of people just hanging out on front porches and in the area of the existing park, I would say that what they need help with is jobs.

Helping these residents find meaningful job opportunities is the only lasting solution to the economic plight of this neighborhood. I am afraid a new park will do little to raise the property values in the neighborhood, although I am sure the unemployed and homeless will enjoy having a new half-million dollar park to hang out in instead of the old one they currently enjoy.

I hope the budget for the new park includes money for a plaque recognizing our current mayor and City Council members who voted to spend tax dollars on the new park so we can remember them when we ride through the neighborhood in five years to see how much the area has improved around the Dream Park.

DAVID A. SNEED

Greenville

Read more here:
Letter: Park not what blighted area needs

Neighbors were shocked but had their suspicions after police found a bag of human bones buried in a nearby apartments backyard Friday morning in the 5800 block of 24th Street.

Jaime Tello and Lee DeVaughn watched from their porches across a West Lubbock apartment complex as investigators set up lights in preparation for continued digging and forensic examination through the night.

Nobody expected this around here, Tello said after maintenance workers conducting a routine welfare check of the sewage lines at Lubbock Chaparral Apartments dug up the bag.

Capt. Jon Caspell of the Lubbock Police Department confirmed investigators determined the bones are human, but knew little else by Friday afternoon.

Tello and DeVaughn said apartment residents believed the remains presence in the complex triggered memories of a murder two decades ago in the same block.

There are no identified suspects tied to the human remains, Caspell said, but their discovery could shed light on an old murder case.

We wont know exactly whose remains were found, but we have a pretty good idea of what direction this will lead us, Caspell said.

But Caspell would not confirm Friday afternoon if police suspected the remains were those of a 24-year-old Lubbock man missing from an apartment in the same block since 1991.

Lubbock County jurors in 1997 determined Robert Scott Dunn was bludgeoned to death some time after he was last seen on May 31 of 91, convicting his live-in girlfriend of murder despite investigators failing to locate a body, according to previous articles in The Avalanche-Journal.

Investigators found Dunns blood in the apartment and evidence much more had been cleaned up enough blood that they believed Dunn was dead.

Originally posted here:
Human remains found on 24th Street

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

Don't feed the bears, warn wildlife experts.

But not all Front Royal residents heed the warning or even know their actions attract bears into town.

"It's endemic of a urban environment in close proximity to a nature reserve such as the Shenandoah National Park," Town Manager Steven M. Burke said Thursday.

State wildlife experts and the town recommends residents remove any food sources from areas easily accessed by bears such as porches and patios. Residents who receive trash pickup from the town can ask the public works department to retrofit the garbage cans, Burke said.

Residents make sporadic bear sightings, but according to Burke the animals appear focused on certain neighborhoods in town that lie close to more rural areas. Bear sightings have been reported in the area of Ressie Jeffries Elementary School and around apartments on East Criser Road.

Burke noted apartment management, working with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, retrofitted the garbage containers, which appears to have helped keep bears away.

The town also recently helped residents in the Happy Creek area by retrofitting their trash cans as well as educating them about keeping bears away by taking away food sources, Burke said.

"We have had incidents where people arrive home and bears were rummaging through their garbage cans," Burke said. "Some people have kept them in areas that were close to their homes so that has resulting in some interaction between bears and residents and at that point we do encourage our citizens to contact our police department and we'll try and assist them to scare the bear off of the property."

Trapping and removing the bears has little effect on the overall problem, according to Fred Frenzel, of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, who spoke to Town Council about the issue Monday.

More here:
Bears encroaching Front Royal neighborhoods

CEBU, Philippines - Home owners are looking at the outdoors, the gardens and verandas, porches and decks asan extension of the house making ita wonderfulplace to gather,relax,dine and entertain.And manufacturers are eagerly responding.

Ensuring that outdoor seating is every bit as comfortable and stylish as its indoor counterparts, Heritage Muebles Mirabile recently unveiled its novelcompanylogo and presented their newfurniture collection.Guests of honor, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, style icon Rosebud Sala and Ruby Salutan, consultant of the Cebu furniture industry didthe ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Our entry into outdoor furniture will expand our portfolio of products, said Charles Lim. With the introduction of these stylish collections, Heritage iswell positioned to meet rising consumer demand for comfortable and inviting outdoor living environments.

The exceptionalrich designs andthesupremequality of Heritage furniturehas given elegance to the outdoorfurniture segment in the traditional as well as modern aspect.

As the eveningcame to a close, several unique and innovative accent pieces were raffled off. The lucky winners included Honorary Consul of Spain Jaime Picornell, interior designers Maybelline Teh and CristabelleMuertegui,lovely couple Paolo and Michelle Garciaand columnist Joe Recio. Restaurateurs Loreta dy Tian and Rosita Te went homecontented with theiruniquewall framesmade of inlaid stone and stone cuts in various shades and sizes.

Hard-working and driven couple Charles and Sunshine Lim were all smilesas they received warm felicitations from friends who were more than impressed with their latest furniture collection. (FREEMAN)

View original post here:
Heritage Muebles Mirabile

With new streets, fresh new homes with porches and a renovated community center, Eastons Neston Heights is open for renters and buyers across the socioeconomic spectrum.

But the full renovation wont be complete without homeowners, Easton Housing Authority Executive Director Gene Pambianchi said at the grand opening today of the Neston Heights model home.

Rising at the former Delaware Terrace public housing development, Neston Heights offers family rentals, a senior living area and, now officially, customizable homes for ownership.

The South Side always had the feeling of being on the wrong side of the tracks, said Mayor Sal Panto Jr., who grew up in that section of the city. "But changing neighborhoods changes society."

The look and feel of Delaware Terrace and the Delaware Terrace Annex, with its rundown barracks-style homes, did little to inspire pride among residents, said Panto and Mark Dambly, president of Neston Heights property manager Pennrose Properties. They were home to a perception and, repeatedly, reality of crime.

Rental properties in Neston Heights have not been crime-free, but Panto said the one little incident of Dashawn Cosme, a 19-year-old who allegedly shot and injured two men March 25, was blown way out of proportion. Cosme is still at large, police said today.

In addition to all-new housing, Neston Heights has new infrastructure, a clean-lined community center to replace the old Boys and Girls Club building, and includes elements such as a Neighborhood Networks Computer Center.

Delaware Terrace was built in 1953. Throughout the 1950s, public and low-income housing designers tended toward Bauhaus-style high-rise buildings free of embellishments, but this created the feeling that public housing was punishment, Dambly said.

The Neston Heights properties follow the tenets of New Urbanism, a way of mixing renters and property owners and low-income and high-income housing to create a sort of ready-made community spirit, Dambly said.

For more than 40 years, the Delaware Terrace property was under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes system, meaning it represented very little tax value for the city. While the city is attempting to create a tax-incentive zone for home-buyers in the area, "these properties will be fully on the tax rolls, so this is a benefit to the city," said City Administrator Glenn Steckman.

Read the original post:
Neston Heights model home in Easton opens its doors

Zoning for the Princeton hospital site is headed back to the Princeton Regional Planning Board after the developer gave up a requested increase in density and met affordable housing requirements.

AvalonBay was seeking to build 324 units, 44 more than the 280 approved in current zoning for the site. The Iselin-based builder gave up the extra 44 units after pressure from the community and to move the project forward.

Were doing the 20 percent (affordable housing), were reducing to 280 and everything weve heard from the public for the last month, six weeks, weve conceded to and complied with, said Ron Ladell, senior vice president, AvalonBay Communities, at the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday. Except for LEED, which youve already determined by the town attorney you cant mandate.

In previous meetings, the developer had said the 44 extra units would add another nine to the affordable housing component and additional profits on the project.

A new ordinance was introduced on Tuesday night that included provisions for signs, changes to the uses for the site to include a leasing office child care and an arts and crafts studio, said Lee Solow, planning director.

Borough Council members expressed support for porches in the design of the apartment buildings as attractive additions that promote a feeling of community and neighborhood.

Porches got most of the attention on Tuesday night because the Planning Board did not recommend adoption of stoops, patios, porches, balconies, bay windows and other design features to extend into the building setback area.

Mr. Ladell assured council that the porches and stoops do not intrude into the setbacks and stoops and porches make the development look more like one and two family homes, which matches the neighborhood.

Council president Barbara Trelstad said the apartment complex would have some private spaces for residents, and not a gated community. She used an analogy of a private backyard, which is open space, but not open to the public.

Original post:
PRINCETON: Hospital developer concedes; reduces the number of units

Anyway that you want to leave it on your porches, postal workers will collect food items for the needy on Saturday, May 12.

We will be providing bags, or they can use their own bags, said postal worker KaSandra Erwin. They can also just set the cans down on the porch. People also do just that.

The food collection is a combined effort of the National Association of Letter Carriers and U.S. Postal Service.

Last year. Branch 1 (Detroit, Southfield, Livonia, and Garden City) of NALC collected 283,300 pounds of food, Erwin said. Nationwide, 210,000 letter carriers collect food on the largest food drive day in the world.

She advised residents to simply place their nonperishables canned soup, canned meats and fish, canned vegetables fruits and juices, boxed goods such as cereal, pasta, and rice near their mailboxes on the morning of May 12.

We will make certain it gets picked up, rain or shine, Erwin said. Most Garden City residents should expect a post card in their mail during the week leading up to the drive with a bag attached for food donations, but they can always use their own bags and boxes, if needed.

Food can also be dropped off in the lobby of the Garden City post office located at Merriman and Cherry Hill.

This is the 20th anniversary and we have collected over one billion pounds of food since beginning in 1993, Erwin said. The need is greater than ever with 46 percent of households reporting having to choose between paying a utility bill or buying food, according to Feeding America, Erwin said. Nearly 49 million Americans are hungry, 16 million being children.

sbuck@hometownlife.com (313) 222-2249

Link:
Postal workers hold annual food drive