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by Edythe Jensen - Mar. 4, 2012 09:28 PM The Republic | azcentral.com

A Chandler mother's crusade against unsanitary restaurant playgrounds has prompted proposed changes to Maricopa County's health code.

"This is a giant step in the right direction," said Erin Carr-Jordan, 37, a mother of four with a Ph.D. in developmental psychology.

She has been working with Supervisor Fulton Brock and other county officials on the wording of the potential regulations, which would expand the county's oversight of restaurant-cleanliness inspections to include play areas. They also would require sanitized cleaning of those areas after every shift, detailed cleaning protocols, permanent signs encouraging children's hand washing before meals and immediate closure of the play areas "when vomiting and/or fecal accidents occur."

Woman fighting bacteria banned from McDonald's

But getting those changes into law isn't a sure thing. The approval process takes months, Brock is leaving office at the end of the year and a candidate for another supervisor's seat is president of the Arizona Restaurant Association.

Carr-Jordan is getting support from the county's public-health director, Dr. Robert England.

"It's just common sense. You don't want to facilitate something that's going to make kids' hands filthy dirty right before they handle food," he said. "But we also don't want to do anything that discourages physical activity. For some, this is the best playground equipment available."

England said he hasn't read the proposed health-code changes but would support "reasonable" play-equipment-cleanliness requirements.

The mother's outrage started about a year ago when she took her then-3-year-old son to a Tempe McDonald's. He asked to go on the slide and Carr-Jordan followed him.

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Restaurant play-area health rules could loom

Wealth and style ... inside Leslie Walford's Double Bay house.

Leslie Walford, 1927-2012

For 50 years Leslie Walford lit up the interiors of Sydney, and from the 1960s to the early 1980s he shone a light on the life of the city's beau monde in the pages of The Sun-Herald.

His death marks another end of an era in the history of old Sydney. Today, many might be bemused by a life that celebrated the wealthy and well-born and enhanced their exalted environments, but there was more to Walford than that.

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''Go and decorate Sydney'' ... Leslie Walford, a highly civilised, cultivated, liberal humanitarian, at his 85th birthday party. He had a particular genius for lighting and his favourite watermelon pink became a trademark.

Leslie Nicholl Walford was the only son of Leslie Walford and his wife, Dora Nicholl (nee Alexander), and a fifth generation Australian, the first Walford having been transported to Norfolk Island for stealing a bolt of fabric. On release, Walford's great-great-grandfather acquired land in Tasmania and prospered. By his grandfather's time, the Walfords were gentlemen.

Leslie snr, a cricketer, ladies man and chairman of the Australian Jockey Club, died before his son was two. He had wanted to call him Napoleon.

As an adult, Leslie jnr had in his office a huge copy, by a Chinese artist, of Jacques Louis David's portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte crossing the Alps. He told the Herald's Susan Wyndham: ''He is looking down at me and saying, 'Leslie, go and decorate Sydney'."

Walford in 1987.

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Fortune shone on decorator

What We Learnt From Barcelona

Never in the field of F1 testing can so little be drawn from so much (data). Winter testing came to an end in Barcelona on Sunday with everyone's favourites, Red Bull Racing, limping out of the garage in the last fifteen minutes to complete just 22 laps in the day and ending up slowest - further muddying the water.

The general consensus has been that Red Bull and McLaren are probably (but not definitely) the fastest, trailed by Mercedes and Lotus with Ferrari maybe as far back as fifth. At the back HRT and Marussia haven't run and Caterham look to have joined the midfield - but after that it's crystal ball gazing.

The BBC's technical expert, former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson, has been speaking to his former colleagues up and down the pitlane and they all agree that so many of the top cars are evenly matched that this is going to be the closest season for years - one small mistake in qualifying could cost 10 places on the grid.

This means it could be a bumper season for the F1 neutrals and a difficult time for the F1 bookmakers who need to set odds based on more than the usual smoke and mirrors and headline grabbing glory runs.

So what concrete facts did we learn from the final four days of Barcelona:

Red Bull's desire to have a quiet time on Monday with just themselves, Ferrari, HRT and Lotus at the track were dashed by the FIA earlier in the week when they ruled that all running must cease on Sunday. It became apparent on Saturday why they had this sudden shyness when they revealed 'the real RB8' a different car to the one they'd been testing on Thursday and Friday. And proceeded to throw bodies in front of it, put umbrellas round it and screen off the garage whenever it had to be wheeled into or out of the garage.

The 'line' from the team was that there were so many add-ons to the new version that rather than bolt them on at the track, they'd ship out a new chassis with them all pre-installed. Christian Horner and Mark Webber both tried to persuade the press that these were just a few minor additions and it was pretty much the same as before. To which the press went 'yeah, right'.

The latest Red Bull front wing looks like it was designed as an exercise in fabrication complexity with "more planes than the Farnborough Air Show".

The new McLaren aero package has Red Bull-style air deflectors hanging down from the underside of the chassis. "Immediately when we put them on the car felt much better," Jenson said on Saturday. His race simulation was hampered by a hydraulic problem on Saturday afternoon andhe tweeted that he was going to have to do quite a bit of work on Friday in Melbourne.

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What We Learnt From Barcelona

Kiefer Specialty Flooring, Inc. today announced it has been selected to provide all athletic surfacing to the new Student Life Center Sports Complex at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

The 168,000 square foot facilitys centerpiece is a new fieldhouse that includes a new 8-lane, 200-meter track. The university chose Mondotrack for use on the new track. Mondotrack is the same surface that will be used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

"We extensively researched all available options for use in our new Student Life Center Sports Complex. At the end of the day nothing compared to Kiefer and Mondo. We are excited to open our new facility with what we believe is the finest and most reputable sports surface on the market today, says Mike McDowell, track and field coach at Olivet Nazarene University.

Brion Rittenberry, President and CEO at Kiefer Specialty Flooring added, Naturally, we are humbled by our selection to be involved in this magnificent facility. Our inclusion in the project confirms our status as a leader in the supply and installation of Mondo surfaces in the United States.

About Olivet Nazarene University

With roots back to 1907, Olivet Nazarene University is a liberal arts university offering 67 academic majors. The ONU Tigers compete in NAIA Division 1 athletics in a variety of sports including track and field, baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis. Considered to be one of the premier Christian colleges in the United States, Olivet Nazarene University is a nationally accredited school that teaches over 4,600 students in a variety of fields of studies.

About Kiefer Specialty Flooring, Inc.

Founded in 1977 and based in Lindenhurst, IL, Kiefer is an award-winning, athletic surface design and installation company. Kiefers long list of sport surface installations include the University of Kentucky, Ohio State University, Notre Dame University, University of Nebraska, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, Penn State University, and Purdue University. Kiefer offers design and installation for track and field, multi-purpose facilities, artificial turf, weight rooms, locker rooms, and fitness facilities.

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Olivet Nazarene University Chooses Kiefer Specialty Flooring for New Student Life Center Sports Complex

By Butch Bacaoco

Cane Points

Monday, March 5, 2012

FORTUNATELY for Ceneco general manager Sulpicio Lagarde, Jr., he was in the United States on official travel when the daring hold-up at Ceneco main office occurred at around 9:15 in the morning last Friday, March 2.

Eight men, armed not only with short, high-powered firearms but also with detailed information on Cenecos physical lay-out and operating procedures, swooped down on the cashiers area and, in a matter of two to three minutes, disarmed the five security guards, picked up the P3.6-million cash collection and casually fled on board motorcycles.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Indeed, Lagarde is lucky to be in the US when the heist occurred. The warning shot by one of the robbers pierced the office glass window and landed smack on the window of the Ford Everest service vehicle assigned to him.

If Lagarde was here, who knows what would have happened? He might have been inside the SUV and would have been hit by the errant bullet. Lucky you, GM!

Unfortunately for Lagarde, the Ceneco board headed by Atty. Arnel Lapore has prepared a 15-day suspension red carpet welcome for him when he sets foot in Bacolod.

Thats what you get for delaying the installation of the CCTV cameras which would have deterred or, at least, helped identify the robbers, the board seems to be telling the GM.

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Bacaoco: It’s more fun in Ceneco

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has sold part of his "Sunflower Seeds" installation to Britain's Tate Gallery, it said on Monday.

The London gallery has bought around eight million of the 100 million porcelain seeds, which covered the floor of the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2010, for an undisclosed figure.

The public was initially able to walk over the 1,000 square metre (10,700 square feet) carpet of seeds when they went on show, but the work was later cordoned off when dust created by the porcelain raised health fears.

"The 10 tonnes of seeds can be displayed in the form of a one-and-a-half metre (five feet) high conical sculpture, stretching five metres in diameter, or as a 10 centimetre-deep square or rectangle," the Tate said in a statement.

The Tate Modern displayed the eight million seeds in the cone shape from June until last month.

Ai, whose activism has made him a thorn in the side of China's communist authorities, was held in custody for 81 days last year as police rounded up dissidents amid online calls for Arab Spring-style protests in China.

Upon his release in June, the 54-year-old was charged with tax evasion, charges he maintains are politically motivated attempts to silence him.

The gallery said the seeds, which were individually hand-made by artisans in Jingdezhen, eastern China, carried associations of the Cultural Revolution, the chaotic period of Chinese politics between 1966 and 1976.

"Propaganda images depicted Chairman Mao as the sun with the mass of people as sunflowers turning towards him," the Tate said.

Sunflower seeds are a popular street snack in China, while porcelain has traditionally been one of the country's most prized exports.

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Tate buys some of Ai Weiwei's 'Sunflower Seeds'

EliteFixtures.com participates to support an eco-friendly environment.

Green Brook, NJ (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

EliteFixtures is proud to participate in the upcoming Earth Month with Varaluz Lighting. Varaluz is known for its fresh, design driven products, using Eco Friendly and Sustainable Materials. To help support Earth Month, a 1% donation of all Varaluz sales will be made during the month of April to the American Forests organization.

EliteFixtures.com provides a wide range of high quality lighting and lighting accessories, including indoor and outdoor lighting, residential and commercial fixtures, lamps, fans, and more. EliteFixtures.com features over one hundred thousand products in all styles, finishes and sizes. Brands names include Kichler Lighting, Sea Gull Lighting, Murray Feiss, Maxim Lighting, Quoizel and more!

About EliteFixtures.com: EliteFixtures is a full service lighting distribution and wholesale company offering more than 100,000 products. EliteFixtures.com has over 25+ years of comprised experience, and has been offering the latest brands and styles online since 2004! Visit http://www.EliteFixtures.com for more.

Steven Annese

732.733.2203 Email Information

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Spring is in the air at EliteFixtures.com

Cooper products receive the most company awards in the lighting categories with four lighting products and two controls products.

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga., Feb. 16, 2012 - Cooper Lighting, an industry leader committed to delivering innovative products and driving transformational technology in the lighting industry, announces that six products have been recognized for ingenuity in Architectural Products 2011 Product Innovation Awards (PIA). Honored with the most company awards in the interior, exterior and controls lighting categories, Cooper Lighting received four product awards and Cooper Controls, a business unit of Cooper Lighting, was honored with two awards.

The inaugural Architectural Products PIA competition is designed to give recognition of product ingenuity in the built environment. By identifying the most innovative products in 18 major categories, the competition hopes to bring awareness to specifiers dealing with diverse components when designing a building. The judges included 42 top industry experts in their fields.

The winning products include the following architectural solutions:

o Cooper Lighting's Ametrix Arrowlinear LED Luminaires provide a smooth gradient of asymmetric illumination, free from striations and hot spots, for vertical and horizontal architectural surfaces. o Cooper Lighting's Neo-Ray Straight and Narrow Series 22 LED Luminaires create slender lines of continuous, uniform illumination for recessed, suspended, surface- and wall-mounted applications. o Cooper Lighting's RSA Continuous Channel system creates a single, streamlined channel for all ceiling-based lighting and utilities, including the integration of fire suppression, HVAC events, sensors and securities. o Cooper Lighting's io Koi Series integrates a variety of different io luminaires to create elegant wood bollards available in a variety of styles, sizes and finishes. o Cooper Controls NeoSwitch Wall Switch Occupancy Sensor packs multiple functions into a single wall switch, including motion and daylight sensing, and provides an EcoMeter indicator light to reinforce energy-saving behavior. o Cooper Controls Venergy Advanced Metering System, which is a code-compliant energy-saving solution that monitors energy consumption while being easy to use, specify and scalable across any enterprise.

"We are honored that so many of our architectural lighting products and control solutions are being recognized for ingenuity by such a prestigious panel of judges," said Mark Eubanks, President, Cooper Lighting. "Our continued commitment to providing industry-leading solutions gives specifiers unique, high-performing products to satisfy demanding market needs."

Cooper Lighting has made a significant investment in people, resources and technology to ensure the company provides first-class solutions to its customers' lighting challenges. The Company offers a range of indoor and outdoor LED lighting products and controls, all of which are specifically designed to maximize energy and cost savings. For additional information on Cooper's LED product offering, click here, or for information on Cooper Controls solutions, click here.

About Cooper Lighting Cooper Lighting, a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), is the leading provider of world-class lighting fixtures and controls to commercial, industrial, retail, institutional, residential and utility markets. As lighting technologies have advanced over the years, Cooper Lighting has been at the forefront of the industry in helping businesses and communities leverage the latest technologies to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enrich the quality of the environment. For more information, visit http://www.cooperlighting.com.

About Cooper Controls Cooper Controls, a business unit of Cooper Lighting, is a market leader in energy management, architectural, and entertainment lighting controls. A subsidiary of global manufacturer Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), it was formed by its acquisition of Novitas Inc. in November 2005, Polaron plc in March 2007, PCI Lighting Control Systems in August 2007, and ALC Lighting Controls in November 2010. Cooper Controls includes leading brands such as iLight (International), iLumin (North America), Greengate, and Zero 88. For more information, visit http://www.coopercontrol.com.

About Cooper Industries Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) is a global electrical products manufacturer with 2011 revenues of $5.4 billion. Founded in 1833 Cooper's sustained success is attributable to a constant focus on innovation and evolving business practices, while maintaining the highest ethical standards and meeting customer needs. The Company has seven operating divisions with leading market positions and world-class products and brands, including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG explosion-proof electrical equipment; Halo and Metalux lighting fixtures; and Kyle and McGraw-Edison power systems products. With this broad range of products, Cooper is uniquely positioned for several long-term growth trends including the global infrastructure build-out, the need to improve the reliability and productivity of the electric grid, the demand for higher energy-efficient products and the need for improved electrical safety. In 2011 fifty-nine percent of total sales were to customers in the industrial and utility end-markets and forty percent of total sales were to customers outside the United States. Cooper has manufacturing facilities in 23 countries as of 2011. For more information, visit the website at http://www.cooperindustries.com.

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Six Cooper Lighting and Cooper Controls Products Honored in Architectural Products Inaugural ...

Nimbus II by Berndnaut Smilde, created using a smoke machine and closely controlling the atmospheric and lighting conditions in the room (Photo: Berndnaut Smilde)

Artist Berndnaut Smilde may use simple smoke machines to create his indoor cloudworks, but to achieve such dramatic results requires meticulous experimentation with both lighting and interior atmospheric conditions.

"I wanted to make the image of a typical Dutch raincloud inside a space," Smilde told Gizmag. "I'm interested in the ephemeral aspect of the work. It's there for a brief moment and then the cloud falls apart. The work only exists as a photograph."

The dramatic effect is achieved by backlighting the cloud which creates shadows within, Smilde explained. It's these shadows that lend the cloud the forbidding aspect of a raincloud.

Combined with the empty, almost austere interiors selected by Smilde, as well as the sheer oddity of the sight of a cloud suspended indoors, the clouds give the photographs an unsettling (almost ghostly) yet simultaneously serene, ethereal quality.

But how does Smilde get the cloud to hang around long enough to hide the smoke machine and compose the shot? "By moistening the air you can shape and keep the cloud from falling apart directly as the moist sticks to it making the smoke heavier," Smilde explains. "Also when the space is really cold it prevents the smoke from rising too quickly. Basically that's it, and of course a lot of practice."

Source: Berndnaut Smilde via Architizer

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Artist creates stunning indoor clouds

CHARLIE GATES

The life's work of two of New Zealand's most important architects has been largely destroyed in the Canterbury earthquakes.

Modernist architect Sir Miles Warren says the destruction of his built legacy is "dismal", while Peter Beaven is "shattered" by the loss.

Christchurch is renowned for developing a distinctive form of modernist architecture in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Warren and Beaven were two of the leading exponents of what became known as the Christchurch School, designing many groundbreaking buildings that have now been lost.

Beaven lost the SBS building and the Holiday Inn building in central Christchurch, among others.

Warren'smajor developments in the city included the Canterbury Savings Bank and the Crowne Plaza buildings.

Beaven lost his central-cityoffice in the February quake and has moved to Blenheim.

"I feel shattered really. It is just a huge, shattering loss," he said.

"I have moved to Blenheim. We couldn't cope with Christchurch.

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Architects 'shattered' by Christchurch's loss