Belkin has announced several new sensors for its WeMo home automation line, including the Door and Window Sensor, the Keychain Sensor, and the Alarm Sensor, the last of which triggers if an existing security system goes off. Another addition is a new Room Motion Sensor, which can track heat signatures up to 30 feet away within a 90-degree arc. The unit should ignore pets, and (through the WeMo app) not only let people set alerts or links with other devices but check the last detected movement in a given room.

Something still in development is the Water Sensor. That device will attach to a plumbing system and track a house's overall water usage, as well as any pressure changes. The product is still in field testing however, and no release date is on the horizon; the other new WeMo sensors are scheduled to ship in the second half of the year.

In the meantime Belkin will be shipping a collection of mobile charging accessories, such as the Wireless Charging Pad -- which will should support any Qi-compatible phone or case -- and two battery packs, the Power Pack 2000 and the MIXIT Power Pack 400, rated at 2,000mAh and 4,000mAh, respectively. Other new MIXIT products will include home and car chargers and a variety of cables. The Wireless Charging Pad will arrive in April for $40, while the new Power Packs are due in June for $20 and $30. The remaining gear is expected in May at prices between $20 and $30.

By Electronista Staff

Continued here:
Belkin launches more WeMo sensors, mobile charging accessories

Kings Christian Collegiate Music Room Addition
Concept model.

By: Dickinson + Hicks Architects Inc.

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Kings Christian Collegiate Music Room Addition - Video

The difference between a hotel room at $75 a night and $750 a night is the view, the extra shampoo, the cost of the pillows, the fluff of the towels. Price is a measure of comfort and service. What must always be the same at every price is your security, your safety and cleanliness. Unfortunately, it's not. Across the country, hotels are skimping on key safety measures, and the consequences range from stolen laptops and Peeping Toms to sexual assaults and robbery at gunpoint. More than 125 property crimes are committed in hotels and motels every day in the United States, in addition to more than 21 violent crimes (excluding murders).

What's needed is a grading system that will alert potential guests to the quality of a hotel's security, guaranteeing that A-rated facilities have measures in place to assure guests' safety and the rooms' cleanliness. In New York City, Los Angeles and other cities, restaurants are graded based on government inspections, and those grades are posted so you can see them before you walk in the door. Hotels and motels also are entrusted with customers' health and safety, and they must be held equally accountable.

That accountability starts with basic security. For instance, many hotels fail to perform adequate background checks on job applicants before hiring them. In September 2011, a woman staying at a Best Western hotel in Arizona woke up in the middle of the night to find a man standing over her bed. She says the man raped her. He was a registered level-3 sex offender, according to news reports, but Best Western had hired him as a night clerk and given him a master key to guest rooms, allowing him unfettered access to turn any of its female guests into his next victims.

Unfortunately, this story isn't unusual. Best Western fired the sex offender, but a few months later, a Marriott hotel in the same town added him to their payroll. Soon after, a woman staying at that hotel said he raped her, too. Two Arizona state senators are pushing a bill to ban hotels from giving registered sex offenders access to room keys. That is a good step, but sexual assaults are not the only threat to hotel guests.

A few years ago, the Onity electronic hotel lock was found to be easily hackable, leading to a string of hotel room break-ins and endangering 4 million rooms worldwide. Even after the company said it fixed the problem, the break-ins continued.

Fire safety is a major issue, too. While filming an episode of my show, "Hotel Impossible," at the historic Gadsden Inn in Douglas, Arizona, I discovered that not only were all of the fire extinguishers out of date and would not have functioned properly had they been needed, but the entire alarm system had been turned off for 15 years. According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, there are about 3,900 hotel and motel fires per year, causing about 15 deaths. In nearly 60 percent of those fires, either there were no automatic extinguishing systems like sprinklers or they weren't working. In more than 25 percent of those fires, either there were no smoke alarms or firefighters couldn't determine if there were.

It's not just flammable curtains and faulty electrical systems that can kill you. Last year, three guests at a Best Western in North Carolina died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty pool water heater. Reacting to those deaths, the Best Western chain announced in September that carbon monoxide detectors would be placed in every guest room throughout the country.

Pool accidents are another leading cause of accidental death in hotels. At a Quality Inn & Suites in Seattle last year, it took hotel staff and rescuers nearly three hours to find a man who had drowned in the pool because the water was so murky. A series of problems had led inspectors to close the pool about a month earlier, including improper chlorine levels and loose handrails. Guests should know whether their hotel doesn't take basic pool safety precautions, like making life preservers and rescue hooks readily available.

Hotels vary dramatically in their level of cleanliness, too. I've found absurdly disgusting stains on sheets, pillowcases, blankets and floors that aren't visible without a blue light so guests would never know. I've also found heroin needles in drawers and diarrhea on the bathroom floor. In one hotel, The Empress in New Orleans, I found housekeepers using the same unwashed rags to clean bathrooms and bedrooms because the owner thought that washing rags was a waste of water.

In the absence of a hotel rating system, here's what guests can do help ensure their own safety:

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The case for giving hotels the same health grades as restaurants

Program lets incarcerated moms read books to kids

By By Keri Lunt Stevens, Associated Press

January 3rd, 2015 @ 9:27am

Ian Maule/AP Photo/The Daily Herald

PROVO (AP) In the middle of the room, Rainey Bridges' face brightens as she suppresses a laugh. On her right, Sasha Foltz reads a story about a farmer whose animals go on strike.

Dressed in maroon jumpsuits, the women take turns reading books about the adventures of a brown rabbit, a family of Berenstain Bears and a pig that eats a pancake. For 45 minutes, they read and giggle, feeding off each other's energy.

The two are best friends, both recording their voices reading books to boys they love. Underneath their laughter, though, they each carry a weight. In addition to missing the big things, being in prison means they're missing out on the little things like reading bedtime stories to the ones they love.

"Moms who are in prison still, like any mom, want to have a connection with their child," said Katie Hoshino, senior adviser of community relations at United Way of Utah County. "That bond that is created when you read; your child is missing that when mom is in prison."

That is why United Way has partnered with the Timpanogos Women's Correctional Facility to host a monthly Bedtime Stories Program, a program designed to connect inmates with their families.

"When you meet the inmates and see them tear up and cry while reading these stories, you see they are just normal people," said Stephanie Anderson, a coordinator at United Way. "Yes, they are paying their debts to society and they should be but their kids shouldn't be."

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Program lets incarcerated moms read books to kids

Fourth in a series

Previously in this series, weve seen that Charles J. Kapps (1866-1958) built the Langham in Kaslo in 1896-97 and operated a bottling works out of a now-demolished addition on the building.

In 1902, he sold his business to employee Joseph J. Storms and Arthur W. Goodenough of the Kaslo Brewery. The bottling works was still listed in the civic directory as of 1905, but folded sometime before 1910.

Kapps held on to the Langham until August 26, 1910 when, according to tax records, Alfred John Curle and Arthur R. Heyland acquired it.

Heyland was a surveyor and civil engineer, responsible for laying out the Poplar and Gerrard townsites as well as additions to Sandon and Kuskonook.

Curle was born in Maidstone, Kent, England in 1867 and came to Kaslo around 1904, where he was a member of the office staff of the Kaslo and Slocan Railway. He was also a land agent, fruit growers association secretary, an alderman in 1916-17, and a well-loved local character.

He was president of the local prospectors association and had many mining claims in the area, including several manganese properties on the east side of the Kaslo River, seven kilometers northwest of town. Although he discovered them in 1907, he didnt stake them until 1917. He shipped ore for three years, but the material proved to be of low quality.

Curle was interested in sports of all kinds. He provided scholarships and money for athletic equipment, donated swings and slides for the park playground, and put up a school trophy called the Curle Cup. Hes also credited as the founder of the Kaslo Golf Club and was reportedly the first to own golf clubs in Kaslo.

In the late 1990s, some of Curles effects turned up, including a box of tarnished silver trophy cups, which are now in the Kootenay Lake archives. With his motorboat Red Wing, he won races in 1912 and 1913.

Mary Johnson, whose family came to Kaslo in 1934, said recently that her most vivid memory of Curle is as a boy scout leader. She also recalls he had a cabin about a mile and a half south of town with a slough behind it. It wasnt very big, but we used to go skating there, she said. He made sure we had a fire to sit beside as we changed into our skates. He was very good with young people.

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Rowdy days for the Langham Boys

By SCOTT SMITH January 1

FRESNO, Calif. The new year is expected to bring rising chicken egg prices across the United States as California starts requiring farmers to house hens in cages with enough space to move around and stretch their wings.

The new standard backed by animal rights advocates has drawn ire nationwide because farmers in Iowa, Ohio and other states who sell eggs in California have to abide by the same requirements.

To comply, farmers have to put fewer hens into each cage or invest in revamped henhouses, passing along the expense to consumers shopping at grocery stores. California is the nations largest consumer of eggs and imports about one-third of its supply.

Jim Dean, president and chief executive of Centrum Valley Farms in Iowa and Ohio, said one of his buildings that holds 1.5million hens is about half full to meet Californias standards, and another building may have to be completely overhauled.

Farmers such as Dean in cold climates will have to install heaters to replace warmth formerly generated by the chickens living close together. Dean said thats something people in sunny California didnt consider.

Youre talking about millions upon millions of dollars, he said. Its not anything thats cheap or that can be modified easily, not in the Midwest.

California voters in 2008 approved the law backed by animal rights advocates to get egg-laying hens out of cramped cages and put them by Jan. 1, 2015, in larger enclosures that give them room to stretch, turn around and flap their wings.

State legislators followed with the companion piece in 2010 requiring the out-of-state compliance.

In anticipation, egg prices have risen already, said Dave Heylen of the California Grocers Association, adding that the holiday season, cold weather across the country and increased exports to Mexico and Canada also contributed to a year-end price spike. He said he expected that supplies would remain adequate to meet demand.

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More room for chickens in California could mean costlier eggs

Greg Swiercz

A crane lifts a roof truss into place Tuesday, December 30, 2014, at the site of the new Hiler Hall Lower School on the campus of Stanley Clark School in South Bend. Construction began in October. SBT Photo/GREG SWIERCZ

Posted: Friday, January 2, 2015 6:00 am

Stanley Clark addition

A crane lifts a roof truss into place Tuesday on the new Hiler Hall that will link the two main buildings at Stanley Clark School in South Bend. Its part of an overall renovation of the school. Hiler Hall, named after the local Hiler family, will house third- and fourth-grade classrooms, a new art room, office, admissions, nurses office and administrative offices.

SBT Photo/GREG SWIERCZ

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Stanley Clark addition

DAYTONA BEACH A man who claimed he was locked in a closet for two days after being chased by unknown subjects was actually holed up in a janitors room at Daytona State College with a 25-year-old woman, police said.

When John Arwood and Amber Campbell were found on Tuesday afternoon in room 169 at the school a janitors closet in brown building 420 officers also discovered a Chore Boy scouring pad commonly used to smoke crack cocaine, police said, but no drugs were found inside the small room.

The 31-year-old Arwood of Daytona Beach initially claimed he was being held against his will in a closet.

According to the reports and the Volusia County Sheriffs Office, Arwood called his father in Osceola County on Tuesday and told him he was being held captive in a closet, Volusia sheriffs spokesman Andrew Gant said. When the father called the Osceola County Sheriffs Office to report his son was in trouble, Osceola sheriffs deputies then called Arwood on his cellphone and were able to track his location by the phones signal, Gant said. They discovered Arwood was somewhere on the college campus; in addition Arwood told them he could see a white boat outside the room where he was being held, reports state.

Osceola officials notified Daytona Beach police, but also warned officers that Arwood has a history with law enforcement that includes armed burglary and theft of firearms, the reports show.

Familiar with the Daytona State College campus, Daytona Beach Officer Daniel Matero knew that the only boat at the college was the one near the brown building. Officers obtained a key to the building from a security guard and began searching for Arwood. They reached room 169 and positioned themselves tactically, based on Arwoods criminal history and the potential for an ambush, the reports state.

Officers announced themselves and Arwood responded and offered a knock from inside the closet, the report states. Police opened the door and discovered their man was not alone. Campbell, who sports a dollar sign tattoo on her throat, as well as vampire bite tattoos, was with him, reports state. The 25-year-old is on probation for escape and resisting an officer with violence in 2013, police said.

The disheveled pair told officers they had been in the closet for two days because they were locked inside. Police said a green garden hose had been wrapped around the door handle to prevent anyone from opening the door from the outside. Arwood and Campbell could have opened the door from the inside whenever they wanted, police said.

Arwood, who has been arrested 10 times between 2005 and 2014 and has a handful of felony and misdemeanor convictions for drug and traffic violations, was charged with trespassing on school property. Campbell was charged with that as well, and violation of probation. They are both in custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $250 bail and no bail, respectively.

Originally posted here:
Police: Couple spent 2 days in Daytona State College closet

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Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at 10:40 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at 3:33 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH A man who claimed he was locked in a closet for two days after being chased by unknown subjects was actually holed up in a janitors room at Daytona State College with a 25-year-old woman, police said.

When John Arwood and Amber Campbell were found on Tuesday afternoon in room 169 at the school a janitors closet in brown building 420 officers also discovered a Chore Boy scouring pad commonly used to smoke crack cocaine, police said, but no drugs were found inside the small room.

The 31-year-old Arwood of Daytona Beach initially claimed he was being held against his will in a closet.

According to the reports and the Volusia County Sheriffs Office, Arwood called his father in Osceola County on Tuesday and told him he was being held captive in a closet, Volusia sheriffs spokesman Andrew Gant said. When the father called the Osceola County Sheriffs Office to report his son was in trouble, Osceola sheriffs deputies then called Arwood on his cellphone and were able to track his location by the phones signal, Gant said. They discovered Arwood was somewhere on the college campus; in addition Arwood told them he could see a white boat outside the room where he was being held, reports state.

Osceola officials notified Daytona Beach police, but also warned officers that Arwood has a history with law enforcement that includes armed burglary and theft of firearms, the reports show.

Familiar with the Daytona State College campus, Daytona Beach Officer Daniel Matero knew that the only boat at the college was the one near the brown building. Officers obtained a key to the building from a security guard and began searching for Arwood. They reached room 169 and positioned themselves tactically, based on Arwoods criminal history and the potential for an ambush, the reports state.

Officers announced themselves and Arwood responded and offered a knock from inside the closet, the report states. Police opened the door and discovered their man was not alone. Campbell, who sports a dollar sign tattoo on her throat, as well as vampire bite tattoos, was with him, reports state. The 25-year-old is on probation for escape and resisting an officer with violence in 2013, police said.

The disheveled pair told officers they had been in the closet for two days because they were locked inside. Police said a green garden hose had been wrapped around the door handle to prevent anyone from opening the door from the outside. Arwood and Campbell could have opened the door from the inside whenever they wanted, police said.

Arwood, who has been arrested 10 times between 2005 and 2014 and has a handful of felony and misdemeanor convictions for drug and traffic violations, was charged with trespassing on school property. Campbell was charged with that as well, and violation of probation. They are both in custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $250 bail and no bail, respectively.

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Man, woman spent 2 days in Daytona State College closet, police say