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Ravinia Festival's Customer Appreciation Day Offers 20 Percent Discount 5/22
Ravinia Festival celebrates its patrons with Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, May 22, during a day filled with discounts and the chance to purchase added seating to some sold-out pavilion concerts, as well as promotions and samples from some of Ravinia's supporters. This is the first day that the Ravinia Box Office is officially open for walk-up sales, and all in-person purchases will be discounted by 20 percent (discounts are not available for the July 31 Gala Benefit Evening, Aug. 4 Kelli O'Hara and Sept. 3 Nelly Furtado concerts, the June 26, Aug. 29 Carrie Underwood and Sept. 1 world's largest lawn parties and already discounted dining/ticket packages). The box office is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on May 22. Place in line numbers will be distributed starting at 8 a.m. Please note that based on past experience, customers may begin lining up prior to this time.
Tickets to the 2010 season will be sold throughout Customer Appreciation Day until 6 p.m. A limited number of additional, temporary seats will be added to the sides of the pavilion for some sold-out events, and tickets for those seats will be sold exclusively on
May 22 to in-person customers on a first-come, first-served basis (limited to four per ticket-buyer). Extra chairs will not be available for the sold-out June 20 Jethro Tull, July 17 and 18 Sting, June 13 Sheryl Crow, Aug. 22 Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Sept. 7 Hershey Felder concerts.
The opening-day festivities will be broadcast live on the grounds by 98.7 WFMT, the official classical music station of Ravinia Festival. The broadcast will feature glimpses of the complete Ravinia season and will include live interviews with artists appearing during the 2010 season as well as live performances by the Lincoln Trio; pianists Josephine Lee,
Marta Aznoovorian and Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman; and jazz singer Tony Andriacchi. Kauffman will join WFMT host Carl Grapentine on the air to discuss the summer season beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 1:30 p.m. in the Mirabelle Restaurant located inside Ravinia's Dining Pavilion.
Also in the Mirabelle will be an area filled with Ravinia's supporters and vendors distributing free souvenirs, food samplings and promotional items from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Patrons are also asked to donate a new or gently used children's or young adult book to Rock for Reading, which will have a table in the Mirabelle. Ravinia Gifts, located on the first floor of the Dining Pavilion, will feature Ravinia apparel, picnic accessories and gift items up to 50 percent off.
Families can also engage in an "instrument petting zoo" where kids can touch and play instruments and children 12 and under can sign up for the ever-popular free Ravinia Kids Club and participate in a coloring activity. Balloons and face painting will also be available for kids.
Ravinia's 2010 season presents a diverse lineup of more than 120 events from June 3 through Sept. 7, with over 50 artist debuts and the summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featuring Ravinia Festival Music Director James Conlon. Guest artists include Sting, Renée Fleming, Sheryl Crow, Nathan Gunn, Dave Brubeck, Joshua Bell, Train, Ramsey Lewis, Earth, Wind & Fire, Frederica von Stade, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Christoph Eschenbach, Nelly Furtado, Audra McDonald, Carrie Underwood and many others.
Tickets to Ravinia events are now available online, prior to Customer Appreciation Day, at www.ravinia.org. Orders are also being accepted now by fax at 847-266-0641 or through mail by sending a printable online order form and payment to Ravinia Festival, P.O. Box 896, Highland Park, IL 60035. Phone orders begin on May 23 at 847-266-5100 from
9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and during the season Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until end of performance and Sundays and holidays (closed July 4) 12 p.m. until end of performance.
Walk-up sales will be accepted beginning May 23 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and during the season Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until end of intermission, and Sundays and holidays (closed July 4) 1 p.m. until end of intermission.
Ravinia Festival is located at Lake Cook and Green Bay roads in Highland Park. For more information on Ravinia, please visit www.ravinia.org or follow, connect and interact online at backstage.ravinia.org, twitter.com/raviniafestival, myspace.com/raviniafestival and facebook.com, search "Ravinia Festival." Ravinia Festival is a not-for-profit organization.


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China wields new legal weapon to fight claims of intellectual property theft6 min read . Updated: 26 Sep 2021, 06:10 PM IST
- A Delaware firm preparing to sue a Chinese smartphone maker for patent infringement was beaten to the punch with anti-suit injunction
Chinese technology giants have seized on a new legal tactic to fight claims of intellectual property theft, raising concerns in the U.S. that Beijing’s promises to strictly enforce patent and copyright laws will be undermined by Chinese courts.
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Kristen Kirkpatrick said that a study in 2012 showed that three or more cups of coffee a day lowers the risk of death regardless of whether participants drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. 2. Makes your reproductive system happy d. Men would you like a drink that could lower your chances for prostate cancer? And ladies wouldn’t you like to lower your risk for endometrial cancer? e. Kirkpatrick also says that a 2011 study found that men consuming at least six or more cups a day reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 20 percent!
Another study published in the Journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention found that women who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer.
3. Lower risks of Type 2 diabetes f. A 2012 study found that a compound in coffee can actually help block a substance in the body called human islet amyloid polypeptide that may play a role in the development of diabetes.
Further studies have demonstrated that caffeinated coffee consumption is linked to decreased diabetes risk as well. 4.
Protects your brain g. When you wake up to the smell of coffee in the morning do you usually smile? h. Coffee drinkers are less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life according to a study done in 2009 i. The smell of coffee can help reduce stress that could be associated with loss of sleep 5. Good for skin j. Drinking coffee may help you to ward off basal cell carcinoma So, the next time you are wondering whether you should have that second cup of coffee to perk you up, relax. At least now you know how it could help you!


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The more time and money Jaireme Barrow spent to keep people from swiping packages off his front porch, the angrier he got.
As he grew more incensed, he realized he wanted more than identities or charges or even the stuff in the boxes.
He wanted revenge.
Then, the 34-year-old had an explosive idea.
“I was thinking, how could I scare them and make them drop my package and then never come to my front porch again,” Barrow told The Washington Post. “And I thought, ‘Getting shot at is scary. That’ll make them think twice.’ ”
With that, TheBlankBox was born.
Although Barrow has been tinkering with his device for nearly a year, interest has peaked this month, as Americans increasingly turn to the Internet to buy presents for the people they love but face the added worry that their gifts somehow won’t make it.
As The Post’s Danielle Paquette has noted, Americans are shopping online as often as they take out the trash. According to the National Retail Federation, about 58 million Americans shopped only online from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, while 51 million shopped only in stores. An additional 64 million did both.
And more than 750 retailers participated in Free Shipping Day earlier this month, which one CBS affiliate said was meant to give consumers “peace of mind knowing their order is guaranteed to be delivered by Christmas Eve.”
Unless, of course, those dreaded “porch pirates” interfere.
Barrow’s concept for alleviating that anxiety is both simple and devious — if that word can be used to describe getting back at someone trying to rip you off.
The nondescript dummy box is placed in plain sight. When an unsuspecting thief lifts it, a 12-gauge shotgun blank goes off.
A video surveillance system like Barrow’s — installed to shame thieves and capture their startled reactions for YouTube — is not included.
Cue the schadenfreude!
It’s very loud but technically harmless, Barrow said.
But a police spokeswoman in Tacoma, where Barrow lives, said the device as described to her by a reporter appears to be illegal. There are, however, no open cases against Barrow.
The earliest version of TheBlankBox was a Wile E. Coyote-ish fever dream involving bricks, fishing line, a wooden box, an “aluminum carrying vessel” and a small plate.
It had to be attached to a doorknob and was impractical for anyone who wanted to make regular use of a door without setting off a minor explosion.
Still, it gave Barrow two things his home security system had never been able to provide: a chuckle and solid evidence about the identity of the person pilfering his package.
“The very first guy I did it to, he was so scared he dropped his cellphone in my front yard,” Barrow told The Post. “I gave it to the cops. Turns out, he lived, like, three blocks away from me.” The man wasn’t charged, Barrow said.
Since then, the design has evolved. Now it’s a self-contained device, involves no external strings, and Barrow can use his front door without worrying about explosions. He’s trying to patent TheBlankBox and has built a website, cashing in his savings and going “all in.”
The cheapest version costs $60. He has also designed some slightly naughty T-shirts.
He says he has sold about 50 dummy boxes and had 477 preorders as of Monday. Barrow says he’s shipping them as fast as he can make them, capitalizing on an untapped market as more and more people are becoming reliant on having boxes delivered to their door.
Droves of consumers are forgoing long lines, annoyingly cheery holiday music and the occasional Christmastime mall brawl in favor of online shopping.
But the changing consumer behavior has sparked a new anxiety, especially for people who optimistically choose to have packages left at their front door: Once there, the packages are vulnerable.
Thieves who roam neighborhoods looking for defenseless parcels have even earned a name and an Urban Dictionary entry: porch pirates.
According to USA Today, nearly half of Americans say they know someone who has had a package stolen; 30 percent say it has happened to them.
On the expensive end, smart-lock technology may allow people to grant delivery drivers access to their homes, although that opens up another can of anxieties. And people can always play delivery tag with drivers, but that can erode the convenience that led to the online purchase in the first place.
Barrow acknowledges that potential buyers have brought up some practical considerations with the explosive device he makes in his garage.
Although gun blanks can hurt people, Barrow insists his contraption is “completely safe” — as long as the blanks are inside the box: They make a loud noise and nothing more.
And what of litigious would-be criminals tempted to sue after taking a stumble down porch stairs?
Barrow suggests tacking up a “no trespassing” sign and taping a note to the box that warns people to not move packages on the porch. That can inoculate a homeowner from lawsuits. Notifying delivery drivers doesn’t hurt, either.
Police in Tacoma say Washington state law forbids people from assembling or shipping explosive devices without a valid license.
“Even though it’s a blank, the way the device is made is actually illegal,” said Loretta Cool, a police spokeswoman. Barrow could also be held liable if someone gets hurt on his property during or after an explosion, she said.
“Even more than him crossing the line, I’m not sure if people realize that, even though this person is stealing something, he can’t intentionally set them up to be hurt,” Cool said.
She said police are not currently investigating Barrow because “nobody has reported this. We have to have a victim.”
Barrow, who says he has caught 20 would-be thieves in the act at his home, concedes that his not-quite-exploding box is an imperfect solution on a crowded porch of imperfect solutions.
But he says his device offers something others don’t: the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you’ve made a terrified thief sprint off your lawn.
On those rare instances when Barrow is at home during the day, he will hear a muffled explosion from his front porch — and smile.
“One girl, she screamed so loud — it was instant karma,” he said. “Someone is trying to commit a crime, and you’re able to get back at them instantly. It’s a satisfaction I can’t describe.”


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Police: Lubbock beauty store employee bitten during robbery
Lubbock Police Department officers are in search of four suspects accused of robbing Beauty Ware on Oct. 17.
At around 1:37 p.m., officers responded to a report of a robbery at the store, located at 2835 34th St.
The four suspects were reported going into the store, and one suspect took a wig and placed it in a large handbag.
A store employee followed the suspects outside to a white Toyota Sequoia SUV and attempted to take the handbag from one of the robbers. That person bit the employee on the arm and fled the scene, according to Lubbock police.
Anyone with information on the suspects or the robbery case can call Crime Line at 741-1000.


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The Psychology of Stress
You’ve managed to keep your business afloat, but how are you managing the stress?
By Tiffany Meyers, April 2009
Author’s Note: At the height of the recession, business mags were full of tips for keeping small businesses healthy. But what about keeping a healthy mind? To find out how entrepreneurs were (or weren’t) dealing with the emotional stress, I checked in with psychologists and entrepreneurs. This article was more positively received than almost any I’ve written, with a letter to the editor published in the subsequent issue of Entrepreneur.
In the economic tailspin of the late 2000s, loss is part of life. Workers are losing their jobs, employers are losing their businesses, and as credit becomes more and more scarce, everyone is losing confidence. What’s more, entrepreneurs are grappling with a sense that they’ve lost control of critical factors that could determine their futures.
Those psychological hurdles are perhaps the biggest challenges facing today’s business owners; after all, it was probably that shining confidence and ability to innovate that got you started in the first place, right?
“So much of it has nothing to do with you,” says Tarek Tay, 36, co-owner and managing partner of Atlanta’s Zaya Restaurant, which launched strong in February 2008, boomed through the summer–and then saw business drop 30 percent in September. Although well-reviewed, it has operated in the red since, even with $1.2 million in 2008 sales. “If your food isn’t good, you can improve the quality,” he says. “If service is the problem, you can train your staff. But if the problem is that no one’s going out to eat because of the economy, what can you do?”
As he and his partners fund Zaya with profits from the New Orleans restaurants they also own, Tay works tirelessly on cost cutting and marketing. “It makes me feel like I’m not giving up,” he says. “When I’m out there working and I end up with a busy night, then I get to experience some sense of return. If you sit at home, your worries just fester in your mind.”
In other words, he takes control of what he can. In fact, studies have found that a sense of personal control–the belief that you set your destiny–is one of several characteristics shared by happy people. These days, gaining that sense of control might seem like a tall order. But even when the world is hurtling toward an uncertain future, there’s one thing that’s always and entirely up to you: your perspective on that world. And if you’re an entrepreneur in an economy on the brink, your perspective could be getting a little loopy.
Actually, it’s called cognitive distortion, says Edward Trieber, a clinical psychologist, an attorney and the managing director of Harris, Rothenberg International LLC, which provides integrated solutions, executive coaching, web development and more. Cognitive distortion can cause people under undue stress to discount positive events, seeing only the negative. They also might lose their long-term perspective, focusing exclusively on the immediate fires they’re called upon to douse, or perceive even minor events as major catastrophes. As of late, Trieber’s company has been helping businesses cope with the stress of economic uncertainty. According to the American Psychological Association, nearly half of Americans (47 percent) report that 2008 brought increased stress–with money and the economy topping worry lists–while 30 percent say their stress is extreme.
Your first stop on the cognitive thrill ride: a network of people to talk to, says Trieber–and not for the warm fuzzies. Friends and family can point out when your doomsday scenarios are getting a little too biblical for your own good; they’ll also remind you that you’re more than your work. “When people define themselves by their business,” says Trieber, “they might conclude, ‘If my business isn’t doing well, then I’m not doing well.'”
For every $1 invested in employee wellness programs, companies see a median ROI of $2 to $6.
That’s a precarious position in a volatile economy. But for husband and wife team Eric Haggard, 47, and Kimberly Rock, 42, whose home is security against their Torrington, Connecticut, business lines of credit, work and life really are one and the same. Rock recalls the period before she and Haggard launched their online retail business RealMemories.com as one of the most stressful times of her life.
Today, she realizes the danger of losing her home wasn’t as real as it felt then. “But fear isn’t always rational,” says Rock, whose site, which provides archival-quality custom framing for digital photography, launched with $225,000 and brought in $100,000 in 2008 sales. “For one week, I wallowed in the what-ifs. And it did me absolutely no good.”
Instead, she and Haggard wrote their way through the fear, synthesizing a long- and short-term plan of action. Relief was immediate. “When you put everything on paper,” Rock says, “it’s not floating around in your head as this nebulous, insurmountable set of fears.”
Writing slows your thoughts enough to clarify those that aren’t serving you, says Trieber, while a plan gives you perspective. “If you thought that for the rest of your life, you’d be working in this business environment, things would seem very grim,” he says. “But when you see how things could be in two or five years, it’s easier to tolerate what’s happening now.”
Haggard and Rock, who also own the million-dollar business PulpProducts.com, used to check sales figures daily–sometimes after particularly feverish economic newscasts. Nixing that nervous habit, they now look at sales monthly and quarterly. “With an online retail business, your mood can swing daily,” Haggard says. “When orders are up, you’re up. When orders are down, you’re down. We made a conscious effort to stay positive by looking at the big picture.”
At Seattle’s Hyde Evans Design, a small interior design firm with $1.5 million in annual billings, the phones practically forecast the Dow. “There’s a direct correlation between the amount of calls we get and news about the economy,” says founder Barbara Hyde Evans, 55. “When the markets drop, clients start calling to say, ‘Do you think we really need to do such and such? Maybe we could put that off.'”
As Hyde Evans’ high-end residential projects slowed through 2008, she had to lay off an employee and shift to what they’re calling “holiday hours.” Another employee left to become an in-house designer at Starbucks, which seemed to offer more stability. “The stress was getting to the point where I sometimes felt physically ill,” she says.
And she’s not alone. Three quarters of people experience symptoms like headaches or upset stomachs because of stress, according to the APA, which recommends exercise to manage it. For many, that’s tough. According to a national survey from Amway Global, 38 percent of Americans say getting enough exercise is their biggest challenge to healthy living. Not for Hyde Evans. Once weekly, she and her staff members arrive at the office early, move the conference table aside and take a yoga class led by an instructor. “Two of our clients want to join us,” she says. “It hasn’t happened yet, but we joke that we truly are a full-service design firm.”
She’s even found a silver lining around the dreary cloud of slow business: time for all the things–organizing the office, advertising aggressively–that she was too busy for in the past. “It’s an opportunity in that sense,” she says.
“Extreme inflection points always create opportunity,” Trieber says. “Yes, you may have lost something, but there could be something to gain. Look at your situation and say, ‘What positives, if any, are available to me now?'”
The Other Side
This past year, former advertising executive Tami Quinn, 43, and her Pulling Down The Moon co-founder and co-director Beth Heller, 41, watched the SBA’s lending volume drop nearly 30 percent. So this year, the founders of the integrative care for fertility center, which reports 2008 sales of $1.2 million, have had to shelve aspirations for opening a fifth location.
“We’ve had so many challenges that could have threatened our business,” says Quinn, whose center works with doctors to incorporate holistic modalities, like yoga, acupuncture, massage and stress management techniques, into medical fertility treatments. “Every time something like that happens, we turn to each other and say, ‘OK, what’s the opportunity here?'”
In this case, Quinn and Heller decided that if it’s not possible to open a fifth location, they would pour their energy into making sure their four locations were that much more extraordinary. “In yoga, we say you can only go so far into the forest before you start coming out of it,” she says. “Using that line of reasoning, you can see that this economy will only be bad for so long before it starts to get better.”
So keep moving forward. We’ll see you at the clearing up ahead.
Tiffany Meyers is a Chicago writer whose coverage of design, sustainability and business has appeared in venues such as Advertising Age, PINK, Metropolis, HOW, Communication Arts and The Chicago Tribune, among many more. Reach her at firstname.lastname@example.org.
This article was originally published in the April 2009 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: The Psychology of Stress.


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Samsung sprung its new Galaxy Note9 today with a big 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display and a massive $1,000 price tag to match.
The device will be available for preorder starting Aug. 10, will ship on Aug. 24 and comes in new colors Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple. The smartphone also comes with the S Pen stylus, a 4000 mAh battery, 128 GB of storage (or 512 GB in the $1,2450 model), Bluetooth Low Energy support and a dual aperture lens camera.
“The Note has always been our showcase for premium technology and industry-defining innovation, and Galaxy Note9 is no exception. It’s designed for a level of performance, power and intelligence that today’s power users want and need,” said DJ Koh, president and CEO of Samsung’s IT and Mobile Communications Division, in a statement. “Note fans are Samsung’s most loyal; we know they want it all, to get the most out of work and play, and Galaxy Note9 is the only phone that can keep up with their busy lives.”
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Xfinity will all carry the 128 GB Galaxy Note9 in stores and online. And they’ve all cooked up deals to welcome the new device to their rosters.
“The Note9’s 4,000 mAh battery directly addresses a key consumer pain point – consumers buying a premium phone want to be able to use it all day long," said Avi Greengart, Research Director for Consumer Platforms and Devices at analyst firm GlobalData, in a statement. "However, the Note9’s improvements are iterative, and as consumers hold onto their phones longer, Samsung is having a hard time selling expensive phones that are not well differentiated from their predecessors. While some carriers are offering generous promotions at launch, the Note9 is certainly expensive, starting at $999 for the 128GB version."
AT&T is offering the Note9 online and in stores on Aug. 24 for $33.34 for 30 months on an AT&T Next installment plan. For a limited time, AT&T customers can get a Samsung Galaxy Note9, S9 or S9+ FREE when they buy a Samsung Galaxy Note9 from AT&T.
Sprint is offering the Note9 for 50% off with Sprint Flex Lease, which prices the device at $20.83 per month. The carrier is also offering Galaxy Forever so customers can upgrade to another Galaxy device after 12 Sprint Flex payments.
T-Mobile is offering two payment options for the 128 GB Note9: $280 down and $30 per month for 24 months, and $82 down and $40 per month for 18 months. The carrier also said that customers who preorder the device can get up to 50% off the cost of the 128 GB model when they trade in a qualifying device.
U.S. Cellular said anyone who purchases the Note9 on a new line of service will receive $150 back in bill credits.
Verizon is selling the device for $41.66 per month for 24 months and $52.08 per month on the same plan for the 512 GB model. The carrier is offering a free 128 GB Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9 or S9+ with the purchase of a 128 GB Note9 on the Verizon device payment plan with one new line of service.
Xfinity Mobile will also sell the Note9 and is offering a $300 prepaid card to customers who buy a Samsung phone, activate a new line and port their number to Xfinity Mobile.
Along with the Note9, Samsung today also announced the new Galaxy Watch with LTE connectivity. The company said the LTE version of the Watch will be available from AT&T, Samsung.com, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon, along with select major national retailers later in 2018.
Article updated Aug. 10 with commentary.


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Primo promotes exec team members, hires logistics veteran
Winston-Salem bottled water and beverage marketing firm Primo Water Corp. has promoted two members of its executive team and brought a transportation and logistics veteran on board.
Matt Sheehan, current chief operating officer at Primo, assumed the role of president and chief operating officer effective June 10. Prior to joining Primo (NASDAQ: PRMW), Sheehan was with Coinstar Inc., where he advised the company on long-term strategy, retail and distribution execution, and technology utilization and helped build the Redbox business. Redbox was acquired by Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) in 2009.
Primo has also promoted Richard “Rick” Belmont to senior vice president and general manager of consumer innovation and global sourcing. Belmont, formerly general manager of water dispensers for Primo, has also served as vice president of products and vice president of marketing. Prior to Primo, Belmont served in several roles at Blue Rhino Corp.
Primo has also named Mary Leonard as senior vice president and general manager of U.S. water. Leonard most recently served as chief performance officer for Coinstar. Prior to that, Leonard spent four years as senior vice president of operations at Redbox. She spent 25 years with FedEx Corp. and has also worked with RR Donnelly Logistics.
Primo last year reported a $111 million net loss, despite a 10.1 percent increase in sales, with CEO Billy Prim seeing compensation drop by 50 percent to $438,000. The company’s first-quarter sales were up 13 percent.
Catherine Carlock covers commercial and residential real estate, construction, economic development and retailing and restaurants. Contact her at 336-370-2918.
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Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Taiwan-based Alpha & Omega Semiconductor, Ltd. (AOS). Fairchild alleges that AOS power transistor products infringe at least four Fairchild U.S. patents, including Nos. 6,429,481; 6,521,497; 6,710,406; and 6,828,195. Fairchild seeks money damages as well as an injunction preventing AOS from selling or importing infringing AOS products into the United States.
Fairchild initiated discussions with AOS in 2005 and since then has attempted to negotiate a license to the Fairchild patents at issue.
In a press release dated May 18, AOS said it had filed a complaint alleging that Fairchild’s products infringed patents purchased by AOS. Fairchild has not been served with that complaint. Fairchild has reviewed the patents listed in the AOS press release and believes those patents are either invalid or not infringed by Fairchild’s products.
“AOS has chosen to take this dispute to the courts and we have no choice but to respond in kind,” said Izak Bencuya, executive vice president and general manager for Fairchild’s Functional Power Group. “We intend to enforce our intellectual property rights, preferably through negotiated license agreements, and if necessary through the courts.”
About Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) is the leading global supplier of high-performance power products critical to today’s leading electronic applications in the computing, communications, consumer, industrial and automotive segments. Fairchild, The Power Franchise(R), offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of power discrete and analog products that optimize system power as well as leading signal path components that complement them. In 2007, Fairchild celebrates its “50/10″ anniversary, commemorating 10 years as a new company and 50 years in the industry. Known as the “Father of Silicon Valley,” Fairchild developed the planar transistor in 1958 –– and with it a new industry. Today, Fairchild is an application-driven, solution-based product supplier providing online design tools and design centers worldwide as part of its comprehensive Global Power Resource(TM).


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UPDATE: Jamaica to package food as tourist attraction
The Ministry of Tourism wants to raise the profile of Devon House among food enthusiasts, while also creating a series of culinary tours across Jamaica in a bet that the country's gastronomic delights, and its rum, can draw additional business from visiting vacationers.
Minister Edmund Bartlett teased the prospect of a rum tour in Trelawny and jerk tour in Portland as he addressed the launch of the first food trail in coffee country on Sunday.
The first trial has the participation of at least 15 businesses, spanning coffee estates, eateries and attractions, all within the shadow of the Jamaica Blue Mountains.
"These are the elements that will bring people and expand the consumption side," said Bartlett, during formalities at Belcour estate, one of four stops incorporated in Sunday's test run of the coffee trail.
"Soon we will be launching Devon House as a gastronomy centre, bringing visitors to the historic site to experience the different culinary offerings through various package tours," the minister said.
Devon House was built in 1881 for George Stiebel, described as the island's first black millionaire. After Stiebel's death, the estate eventually became the property of the Government, which saved it from demolition in 1965, Gleaner archives indicate. After restoration, it reopened in 1968 and today, a number of shops and restaurants, led by the iconic Devon House i-Scream, operate on its grounds.
Under the Tourism Linkages Network (TLN), which was developed to open up markets for local producers in the largely import-dependent hospitality sector, a subgroup called the Gastronomy Tourism Network was appointed in September 2016 by Bartlett to promote Jamaican cuisine.
TLN is headed by Adam Stewart. The gastronomy sub-network is headed by Nicola Madden-Greig.
BEST CULINARY EXPERIENCES
"Given the vast potential, the gastronomy network is also engaged in mapping a comprehensive list of restaurants, food festivals, food tours and other culinary information, which will allow visitors to easily locate and get information on the island's best culinary experiences," Bartlett said.
The 2000 Cambridge World Atlas of Food listed Jamaica as offering 11 distinct foods bananas, cherry, ginger, hot pepper, sorrel, pimento and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee said Madden-Greig at Sunday's launch. This compares with 60 in China, 13 for Italy, and nine for France.
Currently, food ranks sixth among top reasons for more than two million tourists travelling by air and another one million by sea to experience Jamaica.
A TLN-commissioned study found that prior to visiting the island, only one in three visitors saw Jamaica as a food destination. But after the visits, perceptions changed somewhat, but not enough to get to a majority, according to Madden-Greig.
"Our aim is that the next time we conduct that survey, we will see the reverse of our initial findings, where the majority of visitors to the island will rank cuisine high in their reason to visit," she said.
The tourism agencies hope to plug the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Trail and the others that follow into the formal tour itinerary for attractions across Jamaica.
It's all part of the larger plan to grow Jamaica's tourism earnings to US$5 billion annually in five years and direct jobs to 125,000. Five pillars of growth underpin the policy new products, new markets, new investments, new partnerships, and renewal of human capital, according to Bartlett.
Currently, there are 55 listings for tours of the Blue Mountains among nearly 480 listings for Jamaica-based tours, according to popular tour site Viator, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor.
These tours range in price from US$60 to more than US$300 per person. And they are produced mostly by individuals offering travellers miscellaneous activities. Contrastingly, there are few official tour operators taking busloads of tourists from hotels to the region.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story reported incorrectly that Adam Stewart was replaced by Carey Wallace as head of the Tourism Linkages Network. Stewart remains head of the network. Wallace is head of the Tourism Enhancement Fund.


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The coffee scene in Melbourne, Australia is much different than that of SoCal. There, it’s much more geared towards specialty coffee, with almost no large chains, and many, many more independent coffee shops and boutique roasters. “A lot less laptops and more table service,” Common Room Roasters founder and head roaster Ed Moffatt explains.
A coffee aficionado since high school, the Australian brewer teamed up with friend, fellow Aussie, and CRR co-owner Jeremy Creighton to bring a bit of that Aussie coffee taste and charm — not to mention, flat-whites — a hemisphere away, to Newport Beach, California.
The name, Common Room Roasters, which officially opened in March of 2017, borrows from the term “the common room” in school where students could hang out and have a communal space to enjoy — free of teachers and rules. And while we can’t be certain there are no teachers enjoying a cup of joe at CRR (we kid — teachers are more than welcome), it has definitely become a popular spot for locals to come meet, work, hang out, and of course, get their coffee fix — easy on the rules.
Moffatt, who has been working in the specialty coffee industry for almost 20 years, and who owned a successful cafe and brewery in Melbourne, moved his life and family to Orange County roughly two years ago to take on this new venture, focusing on specialty coffee with design, real hospitality and customer service.
Today, he takes great pride in the signature blend he’s created. Named after Melbourne’s most iconic coffee suburb, Brunswick, the beans are sourced from small farms and farming cooperatives around the world, carefully selected and roasted using expertise and state-of-the-art equipment. “Specialty coffee,” says Moffatt, “is the result of flawless execution at every stage of the process.”
He goes on, “We buy the highest quality green bean on the market and roast each bean delicately and deliberately. Our coffees are seasonal and maybe roasted a little lighter than some of the American roasters — but blended in a way that perfectly suits espresso drinks. We test each and every batch to make sure it’s right. That’s what you get with a good boutique roaster.”
Not here to start a competition, but more to create a movement to get specialty coffee shops in the mainstream (and Starbucks’ in yesterday’s news), CRR is happy to branch out and help other cafes with similar mindsets, expanding their wholesale portfolio in the meantime. The brand has made available their unique blend and has wholesale accounts all across Southern California, including hotspots like Venice Beach’s Gjusta and Costa Mesa’s Sidecar Doughnuts. In just a little less than a year they’ve become the cool kids on the scene, and not just for their location (600 yards from the ocean) and Aussie accents.
Much more than just another American coffee shop, Moffatt has created his cafe to be multi-faceted — equipped with a barista training lab, retail shop and cupping room used to test roasting profiles and bean quality. Additionally, inspired by Melbourne’s vibrant music scene, they’ve even rolled out a music night, #beansandbeats, to better engage with their community. Every Saturday, a local DJ from a surrounding record label will come in to spin live vinyl for customers. The sessions are recorded and then loaded on the CRR website so everyone (even mates across the globe) can enjoy. “We truly believe that good music makes coffee taste better,” laughs Moffatt.
It gets people off their laptops, too.


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Jeff Goldblum, who may reprise his role the sequel of 'Independence Day', has said that script for the sequel is "brewing".
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on his plans for bringing his 'Everything Store' to India
Jeff Daniels has been roped in for Ridley Scott's high-profile sci-fi movie 'The Martian', it has been revealed.
Jeff Taylor of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets was arrested and charged Thursday on domestic assault allegations, just the latest unsavory incident to tarnish the reputation of US sports.
The space race to end America's reliance on Russia escalated this week with a NASA award for SpaceX's Elon Musk and a joint venture for Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos.
If there's anything that energizes Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, it's his trademark loud laugh.
Amazon has very high expectations from its Indian operations, chief executive officer Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday.
Amazon, which offers cloud services under Amazon Web Services (AWS), is looking to aggressively expand its foothold in the Indian market.


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FROM Christopher Stewart
iPhones in Tehran, Are Sanctions Working? America's embargo on goods to Iran was imposed in 1987, although it's been tightened since. But other countries don't observe the same restrictions. That means billions of dollars to American business. Last year, the US shipped almost $12 billion worth of goods to the United Arab Emirates, the bulk of which went to Dubai. Between 30 and 40 percent of those goods are then exported, and Iran has become Dubai's number one trading partner. That raises some interesting questions, and Christopher Stewart, contributing editor to CondeNast's Portfolio magazine, went looking for answers.
After Syria strike a new Trump doctrine emerges The President who promised an end to entanglements in the Middle East and snuggled up to Vladimir Putin has now outraged Russia with surprise missile attacks on Syria. That's raised questions about who's running the White House? We hear a variety of answers.
Why Don't Facts Matter? "Fake News" may have a long history, but social media and 21st Century politics have brought it front and center. One reason for its appeal and its power is the tendency of so many people to cling to their beliefs — even when confronted with contradictory evidence. Today, another look at the Emotional States of America.
Mixed Messages from US diplomats on the new hard line on Syria Since President Trump's surprise retaliation against Syria's use of chemical weapons, Bashar al-Assad has used the same airport to launch conventional attacks on his own people. It's not clear what the US, its allies — or Vladimir Putin's Russia -- plan to do now.


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Sands China Ltd has launched a new “Sands SafeStay” initiative throughout its Macau integrated resorts, aimed at better protecting guests and staff through a variety of stringent new health and safety protocols.
In consultation with the Macau government and the Health Bureau, Sands SafeStay introduces enhanced sanitization, prevention and contactless services in all areas of its Macau properties – The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Cotai Central, The Plaza and Sands Macao.
The new measures include “360-degree sanitization” by using hospital grade disinfectant from Ecolab and Diversey in all public spaces and communal areas, including restrooms, meeting and convention spaces, casinos, restaurants, bars, shopping malls and recreational facilities. Sands said its 12,500 hotel rooms will be a major focus with cleaning and disinfecting protocols radically upgraded plus sterilization of key cards prior to check-in.
Social distancing measures have been enhanced with the company revealing it has rearranged restaurant tables, slot machines and gaming tables to ensure appropriate space between guests. Venue capacity for recreational facilities such as the Eiffel Tower, Qube, gondola rides and swimming pools, along with meeting and convention spaces, has been reduced.
Sands has also increased its contactless service options to minimize contact with shared devices such as credit card processors and checkout counters. The company says it is encouraging the use of contactless digital payment systems such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and MPay at more than 650 outlets at shopping malls, restaurants, box offices and hotels across its resorts.
Express check-ins via the Sands Resorts Macao website and smartphone app are available, as is eTicketing to most attractions and facilities.
“The health and wellbeing of guests and team members is our absolute priority,” said Sands China President, Dr Wilfred Wong. “Sands Resorts Macao is doing everything in its power to safeguard their health and comfort when they stay, shop or dine at any of our hotels in Macao. We are confident in the measures we have taken and look forward to again welcoming customers when they return. When guests are ready, we are ready.”


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Tags: equipment rental
Manufacturer news: Flexco names new senior product manager, Caterpillar invests in peer-to-peer equipment rental platform, DCS Dredge wins award at Gulf Coast Trade Alliance World Trade Conference
Flexco named Aaron Rosso as the the company's new senior product manager of worldwide heavy duty mechanical belt fastener program. In his position, Rosso will be responsible for the program vision and strategy, product development plan, product line portfolio, promotion PR ...
The late William (Bill) F. Berry and Gunnar Glifberg will be formally inducted into the Rental Hall of Fame during a ceremony at The Rental Show in New Orleans on Feb. 6. Berry spent his entire life in the equipment rental ...
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Ford finally retires the Crown Victoria
After more than 30 years, Ford has finally retired its Crown Victoria sedan, the last traditional rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered, body-on-frame American sedan. Best known through its Police Interceptor variant, which comprises more than 70% of America’s police fleets today, the Crown Victoria offers old domestic mainstays like a soft suspension, front bench seat, and steering column gear shifter. The Panther platform it’s built on dates back to 1979 and also lies under the Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car, which are being retired as well.
Ford stopped consumer sales of the Crown Vic in 2008, but sales to police department and taxi fleets have remained strong. Ford has new police offerings in the works, based on the Taurus sedan and Explorer SUV, but many police departments believe the Crown Vic is still the best option and have driven up sales by stockpiling cars over the last few months. Yet the same sturdy, easy-to-repair body-on-frame construction that makes the Crown Vic the highway patrol’s car of choice also makes it heavy and inefficient (16 mpg city), which Ford can hardly afford in an era of increasingly tight fuel economy requirements (manufacturers must average 35.5 mpg by 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025).
The Crown Vic was introduced for police duty in 1983 and became the dominant patrol car in 1996, when its main competitor, the Chevy Caprice, was discontinued. Today, Chevy has a new Caprice (based on an Australian Holden sedan) for the police, and Dodge offers a police-spec Charger sedan. Both are rear-wheel-drive, unlike Ford’s new police offering, the FWD/AWD Taurus. All offer better performance and fuel efficiency than the Crown Vic, but police fleets remain skeptical.
Despite its dominance in the police and taxi markets, the Crown Vic has seen its share of controversy in the last few years. Its vertically-mounted steel gas tank is located between the rear axle and trunk, making it susceptible to puncture in a rear crash and leading to strong and instantaneous fires. Ford faces dozens of lawsuits in the early 2000s following a number of deaths linked to the tank design. The carmaker eventually settled the cases and in 2003 began to install protecting the gas tank from rear-end puncture.
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As long suspected, Microsoft is discontinuing its dedicated Zune music players, instead focusing on the Zune music service that runs on Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox. Microsoft will continue to honor warranties on the Zune HD and other models. An update on the Zune site says, ”Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music More >
Major news in Cupertino this evening– Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple, citing health reasons. He will remain Chairman, while COO Tim Cook will take over CEO duty. The company’s press release states “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable More >
Just a year after it bought Palm for $1.2 billion, HP has given up and is discontinuing all webOS phones and tablets, including the Pre and TouchPad devices. The strategic turnaround is mentioned in the “other announcements” section of a press release saying HP may spin off its whole Personal Systems Group (PCs, mobile More >
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Golden Gate City has lost its last domestic car dealer. Since San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury closed last week, the city lacks a single Ford/Lincoln, GM/Chevy/Buick/Cadillac, or Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer in its 47.6 square mile territory. The dealer’s original owner returned its franchise three years ago to Ford, which More >
Nokia’s new CEO Stephen Elop, formerly of Microsoft, just sent out a fairly devastating internal memo to all Nokia employees. It’s a brutally honest portrayal of the mess the company is in and an interesting example of how to kickstart a company that on the surface appears to be doing fine (positive growth, still the More >
In a shocking move, Bigfoot – the most famous monster truck – has switched from Ford to Chevy. After 35 years in the blue oval camp, the big truck now wears a Chevy Silverado-style skin and has a new GM engine. Apparently Ford stopped sponsoring the team in 2007, leaving Firestone as the primary sponsor. More >
Microsoft has killed its Kin social phone line just a few weeks after it launched. Gizmodo reports that the company has merged the whole Kin team into the Windows Phone 7 team. Rumors suggest that a mere 500 Kins have been sold to date, and while the figure’s probably higher than that, it might explain such More >


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Boise, Idaho – Scams are everywhere! They come in every shape and form possible and continue to be a concern for everyone. A great New Years’ resolution for 2023 is to make sure you’re not getting scammed. Scams that seem to be gaining traction and getting a lot of attention are Catfish and Romance scams.
According to the Idaho Department of Finance, press release “In 2021 alone consumers reported losing a staggering $547 million to romance scams” that number comes from 2022 data that was published by the Federal Trade Commission.
The press release describes the “Perpetrators of romance scams set online traps and use technology and social media platforms to target potential victims. The online trap is often a fake user profile created by a scammer after researching their target’s interests, relationships, and established contacts, to appear credible and trustworthy. Once a relationship begins, it may grow increasingly serious and even progress over a long period of time before red flags appear. Ultimately the scammer will attempt to extract money from the victim or utilize the victim to carry out further financial harm, etc.“
We see it happen over and over again. We saw it with the Netflix documentary the “Tinder Swindler” based on con man Simon Leviev who was able to con his matches out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The press release from the Idaho Department of Finance continues with “Be careful when you meet new people online, especially when you are looking for romance. Seeking a romantic partner is a complex and emotional experience at the best of times – so it’s a good idea not to mix business with romance. Don’t get swept away – make sure you are in a relationship with a real person who cares about you before even considering sharing financial information, making an investment, or loaning a person money.”
LOOK: The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them
2023 Idaho Laws You Need To Know
Okay, well… some of these laws may not affect you but there are a few laws that we’ll all notice right away. Let’s take a look…
New Study Reveals 10 Appealing States People Moved to Instead of Idaho
For the first time since 2013, Idaho did not appear on in the top 10 states people are moving to in the annual United Van Lines National Movers Study. These were the 10 states people chose over Idaho in 2022.


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E –toll users are being faced with the possibility of being blacklisted if one fails to respond to demand letters and court summonses over unpaid E-toll bills. Now this has caused much distress amongst South Africans as people are coming out with huge amounts of E-toll bills that they have to owe. The Electronic Toll Collection CEO, Coenie Vermaak joins CNBC Africa for more.
By Kennedy Mubita, Africa Head, SC Ventures. Imagine a bank whose customers can tap on a wearable device to...
By Kariuki Ngari, CEO & Managing Director, Standard Chartered, Kenya & East Africa COVID-19 has upended the social and...
Acknowledged as the world’s largest Africa-focused digital infrastructure and emerging tech event, the Africa Tech Festival has always attracted a stellar line-up of critical thinkers, analysts, futurists, keynote and inspirational speakers. 2020 will more than deliver on that reputation, with a stimulating array of visionary industry presenters, raconteurs and even some sporting greats.
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New York, NY (prfree.org) January 11, 2021 - If you’ve ever wondered, “Is paying someone to take my online classes a good idea?” you may be surprised to know that online class takers are becoming more popular in this age of remote education. Online Class Helpers, one of the most reliable online class help experts, has announced a 100% money-back policy, and this is to further satisfy their clients and ensure they deliver high-quality results consistently.
“We know that students don’t have a lot of money, and therefore paying someone to take their online classes can be a big decision. We ensure students get the best possible results in their online courses. Our team of highly qualified online tutors helps students get As and Bs. In the rare cases where students don’t get ideal scores, we provide full money-back guarantees to clients.” This coming from a spokesperson at Online Class Helpers.
With online fraud becoming rampant, innocent students are losing their money when they hire fake online tutors. The money-back-guarantee provided by Online Class Helpers is expected to instill trust in hopeful students who’re seeking legitimate online class help.
“All our online tutors hold graduate degrees, and they’ve gained extensive knowledge in their respective fields by completing several courses over the years. Moreover, we do background checks before hiring our experts, and this is to ensure we’re delivering risk-free services to our customers.” This coming from an expert at Online Class Helpers.
The prices for reliable online class help can vary, for they largely depend on work scope and complexity. In the end though, students can get first-rate help with assignments, quizzes, essays, research papers, projects, tests, and discussion boards.
About Online Class Helpers
Online Class Helpers is a well-known online class taker, one that helps students who’re struggling with balancing work and academics. Ensuring 100% original work and great grades, they always offer affordable and reliable online class help. Their experts can complete single assignments or entire courses. To learn more, visit https://www.onlineclasshelpers.com/.


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Believe it or not, it's only been a few weeks since the Geneva Motor Show didn't happen and car companies were forced to reveal their important models in new and innovative ways. BMW's big story was the i4 concept Gran Coupé; but since then not only have things moved on unimaginably in the 'real world', in the world of BMW things have progressed too.
Whilst the German brand is pursuing battery electric cars first and foremost, it has been one of the few brands to maintain faith in hydrogen technology as part of a future fuel mix. Like other proponents of hydrogen, BMW believes that its approach is all about offering its customers choice, which it calls its Power of Choice strategy.
The powertrain itself is destined for the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT – effectively the hydrogen version of the forthcoming i NEXT battery electric car. Like equivalent fuel cell powertrains from brands such as Hyundai and Honda, the system uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in ambient air to generate electricity. This electricity runs through a converter to adapt to the voltages of the electric drive, and a 'peak power' battery – more of which in a minute.
Hydrogen is stored in a pair of tanks, arranged in a T shape within the wheelbase, which are pressurised at 700 bar and hold a combined six kilos of gas. Going off what we know from the likes of the Hyundai NEXO FCEV which holds 6.3kg of hydrogen, the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT should have a real-world driving range of more than 350 miles, and quite possibly closer to 400.
The bottom-line constant power of the i Hydrogen NEXT isn't exactly mind blowing at 168bhp, which is delivered by its fifth-generation eDrive unit. But BMW being, well, BMW, they have injected some dynamism in the form of a 'peak power battery' located above the electric motor. This can serve up additional poke – lots of additional poke – to give the powertrain a total output of 369bhp during heavy acceleration and overtaking instances.
BMW continues to work closely with Toyota on its hydrogen fuel cell endeavours, as it has done since 2013. Don't go thinking that it will be launching an X5 FCEV that you can buy from a showroom any time soon, though; the company acknowledges that cost remains prohibitively high for mass market adoption. Until it is close to price parity with battery electric vehicles, it says that applications that cannot be directly electrified – such as “long-distance heavy duty transport” remain the primary application.
Have a read of our feature about how hydrogen will contribute to our future mobility.
Announced during BMW's annual general meeting by Group CEO, Oliver Zipse, it is confirmed that the next-generation 7 Series will get an all-electric powertrain. For the first time, it will be available also in petrol, diesel and hybrid form using the CLAR platform upon which the current car is based. Zipse also suggested that the electric version would be the most powerful of the range.
Trumping the current range-topping V12 7 Series, which packs 601bhp, won't be too hard with the fifth-generation eDrive. Back in the middle of last year the brand showed off its 5 Series-based Power BEV demonstrator which, by dint of having three eDrive units, came with 711bhp and 7375lb-ft of torque (that isn't a typo).
We approached BMW for comment on the 7 Series, but it's still too early in the development cycle for them to provide more info than is already out there, so we'll have to watch this space. A sensible guess, however, is that the car will come along in 2022. What we do know for definite is that the next EV to be officially unveiled will be the iX3 – and it will be the first car to bring that all-important fifth-gen eDrive unit to the road.
Chris Overall, Media Relations Manager at BMW UK told us: The iX3 will be revealed later in 2020 and will debut BMW Group’s fifth generation electric drivetrain. Following iX3, the next all-electric models in the pipeline are BMW iNEXT and BMW i4. Both will come to market in 2021. By 2023, the BMW Group will already have 25 electrified models on the roads – more than half of them all-electric.”
One unknown at the moment, not only for BMW but also for every other EV maker investing so heavily in R&D, is how the current situation will impact these timelines. We hope that the effects are minimal – not just for our own output of news and comment, but also because of the impact on people involved and furthering of BMW's green aspirations.
As mentioned in our recent opinion piece, the uncertainty of the impact of Coronavirus on EV development is the most difficult thing for everyone involved at the moment. Large manufacturers like BMW are as equally affected as anyone else.
It's interesting to see BMW's approach to hydrogen fuel cell technology in comparison to other major protagonists like Hyundai, Honda and even its partner in technology, Toyota. BMW sees hydrogen as a potential 'fourth pillar' of its future powertrains, but is being much slower – or possibly much more pragmatic – when it comes to rolling it out. Its argument that the fuel makes more sense for powering heavy vehicles holds a lot of water given the research we have done into the topic.
We're massive fans of BMWs here at Discover EV, so an electric 7 Series is very tantalising, especially given how much we enjoyed the current 745LE PHEV. With Jaguar developing an all-electric XJ and Mercedes inevitably heading in that direction with the S-Class, it's exciting to see these traditional rivals once again heading for battle!
After just two years Genesis has successfully established itself in EuropeRead news
MINI Countryman Electric on its way as production starts this yearRead news
Almost all Nissan sales in Europe to be full EV or hybrid by 2026Read news


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Today’s kids are aware of the smorgasbord of other (read: unhealthy) options, and a new study has found they couldn’t identify vegetables such as beetroot and leek.
What’s this all about?
It’s a tale as old as time, and one most parents are painfully familiar with: it doesn’t matter how much coaxing, bribing or stealthy hiding you’ve done, your kids just won’t eat their vegetables.
And while we all know the precise point of desperation that drives a parent to finally give in and settle for spag bol or mac and cheese for dinner (yet again), it appears that this veggie rejection is hitting a new point of concerning.
Like what you see? Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this.
A recent study by Woolworths has found that the number of Australian kids who can recognise common vegetables has declined by 16 per cent over the past seven years.
The study of kids aged 6-14 showed that 55 per cent of children had never visited a farm with plants and crops, and only half recognised veggies such as beetroot and leek.
But does that actually matter?
According to the experts, yes. “Only 6 per cent of children are eating the recommended amount of vegetables per day,” a spokesperson for the Healthy Kids Association (HKA) tells Body+Soul.
And from their unrivalled nutritional value to helping maintain a healthy weight, the benefits of eating vegetables are wide-ranging and they’re something we all (yes, that means adults, too!) should ensure are a major part of a daily diet, explains ACT-based dietitian Georgia Houston.
“Vegetables provide our bodies with an abundance of vitamins and minerals that help keep us healthy and function properly,” she says.
They’re also full of fibre, which supports a healthy gut and regular bowel movements, as well as keeping us feeling fuller for longer.”
So how did things get so bad?
Alice Zaslavsky, a broadcaster, cookbook writer and author of In Praise Of Veg, believes it’s a reflection of Australian society as a whole and a “sign of a broader disconnection from the food system”.
In 2021, children have significantly less overlap with the actual growing and production side of food than previous generations, and for the majority of children, unless they’ve got a vegetable patch at home or school, they probably haven’t seen a wonky carrot getting pulled out of the dirt.
“The main reason why this isn’t ideal is that kids need to be familiar and comfortable with a food before they feel ready to try it,” Zaslavsky tells Body+Soul. “So if they’ve never seen it before, or have no frame of reference, they’re less likely to be willing to give it a go.”
And an understanding of and appreciation for where food comes from, and how it reaches our plate, will also raise children to make more sustainable, healthy decisions that will be better for themselves – and the planet.
Is parental burnout a factor?
Absolutely. Do you ever approach the end of a work day and wonder how on Earth you’ll be able to muster up the energy to cook a wholesome meal for your family? You’re not alone.
Blame it on lockdown or working from home, but recent research from Roy Morgan found that more than 5.5 million Australians used meal-delivery services in 2020, a number that rose considerably from the previous year (3.9 million).
“Usually there’s a relationship between a high intake of takeaway food and less vegetable consumption,” the HKA spokesperson points out.
“[Food chains] play a large part in our culture. When highly processed meals at cheap prices are readily available, it can become challenging to choose foods that are better for us. Fresh foods require education, time and sometimes more money to prepare in a way that tastes great.”
Where do our schools fit in?
Education is definitely a large factor, but the experts argue that ultimately, we’re all responsible. “The onus is not only on the parent,” the HKA spokesperson says.
“There needs to be a joint effort between families, schools, early childcare settings and community programs.” Zaslavsky agrees, adding that more engagement opportunities, farm excursions and schools growing their own produce, as well as “involving kids in the process of planning, shopping, growing and cooking, will pique their curiosity and normalise these aspects of life”.
Any products featured in this article are selected by our editors, who don’t play favourites. If you buy something, we may get a cut of the sale. Learn more.


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This week’s links:
- Innovation in India: from the New York Times. “Many Indians are disappointed that the country has not quickly moved up to more ambitious and lucrative work from answering phones or writing software. Why, they worry, hasn’t India produced a Google or an Apple?”
- How do Innovators think: from Harvard Business Review (via Atanu). “We’ve found that 15% of executives are deeply innovative, meaning they’ve invented a new product or started an innovative venture. But the problem is that even the most creative people are often careful about asking questions for fear of looking stupid, or because they know the organization won’t value it.”
- The Price of Gold: by Egon von Greyerz (via Keith Hudson). “Gold is not going up. Instead gold is doing what it has always done, namely maintaining its value and purchasing power. What we are seeing currently is the total annihilation of paper money whether it is Dollars, Pounds or Euros etc.”
- Apple’s Game Changer: from the NewYork Times. On Apps. “Thanks in large part to the iPhone, introduced in 2007, and the App Store, which opened its doors last year, smartphones have become the Swiss Army knives of the digital age.”
- The Rise and Fall of MySpace: from Financial Times. A fascinating account.


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Are $100 power lunches with prospective buyers going to be the newest way to sell automobiles?
``Lunch could be an accepted (advertising) form in the coming decade,``
said Chris Whittle, chairman of Whittle Communications. ``Think about it. Ad agencies could actually script them,`` Whittle said, only half in jest.
``You laugh, but it is a form of pitch which could be very entertaining for the customer and extremely powerful in the market.`` Whittle, regarded by some as a media maverick, spoke at the 1990 national conference of the American Advertising Federation in mid-June. Whittle is credited with turning around the fortunes of Esquire magazine.
He and other speakers at the conference, which drew more than 700 ad executives, predicted entirely new advertising forms will evolve. ``There will be seminars and educational meetings that will have brief commercial breaks,`` Whittle said. ``The door-to-door salesman may return as a medium as well.``
Whittle believes that many companies will focus their ads narrowly.
``Advertisers are going to understand they can`t be everywhere all the time,`` Whittle said. To concentrate its advertising impact, he said, a company might become the sole sponsor of an entire national or international event, like the Olympics.
Television advertising will change dramatically. ``The biggest single thing that will occur in the next 10 years is `place-based` television,``
Whittle said in an interview. ``These are new networks that don`t go to homes, they go to places. They will rely primarily on satellite direct broadcasting.``
Whittle owns one such network, Channel 1, which broadcasts special news shows to several thousand high schools. The network is controversial, because many educators object to the two minutes of commercials in each 12-minute newscast.
Print advertising will change even more radically.
``In the next 20 years, print will start to be delivered `off the page`
. . . in disc form,`` Whittle predicted. The discs would be read on book-size computers. ``It is a far more efficient way for us to deliver the printed word. It will replace a lot of magazines, a lot of books and newspapers.``
But instead of going out of business, publishers will move into this new technology, Whittle said.
``The printing press is just a delivery system for the printed word,``
Whittle said. ``We`re going to change the delivery system, and paper is not going to be part of it.``
In the short term, the public will see major changes as well.
Bob Garfield, editor-at-large for Advertising Age magazine, sees a creative renaissance. ``Everybody in the industry seems to think creativity is headed down the sewer,`` Garfield said. ``I think the opposite is true.``
Garfield said industry insiders believe that creativity has been stifled by ``megamergers`` of huge New York agencies and a strict bottom-line mentality. ``In part, that is true,`` Garfield said. ``But everywhere else in the country, out in the provinces . . . there is a second creative revolution going on that far eclipses anything that happened in the 1960s.
``What I`m talking about is engaging, arresting, amusing, entertaining advertising that gets people`s attention without whacking them up against the side of the head and still manages to sell the product.``
In his speech to the conference, Garfield drew a humorous parallel between the democratic revolution sweeping Eastern Europe and the revolt against the ``abrasive hard sell and relentless pounding of brand identity``
common to American advertising. ``Glasnost is all well and good. But it is nothing next to ad-nost,`` Garfield said. ``Yes, at long last, overseas and in your living room: freedom from party tyranny. Mind control is out and mind stimulation is in,`` Garfield said.
``Cult of personality is all but over. Stalin and Mr. Whipple are has-beens.`` Garfield added, ``Today`s TV advertising must adhere to the three I`s of ad-nost: intelligence, ingenuity and involvement-while, of course, selling its brains out.``


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Hamburg-based fashion e-tailer About You has announced its intention to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as of Q2 of this year. With the listing, About You will also file an accompanying private placement reserved for institutional investors with which it intends to raise at least €600 million in gross proceeds. The majority of this raise is slated to be used to scale operations internationally, beef up its SaaS offering, and in infrastructure and distribution centre upgrades.
Founded in 2014 by Sebastian Betz and Tarek Müller, the Otto Group sub-organisation unicorn About You is a fashion e-commerce platform with a heavy mobile shopping experience emphasis. The company is active in 23 markets and reports approximately €1.17 billion in revenues in the 2020/21 financial year, thus achieving group profitability (measured as adjusted EBITDA).
“Today’s announcement marks an exciting step toward realizing our vision of becoming the leading global fashion platform. We have gone from strength to strength since founding ABOUT YOU seven years ago, having established one of the largest European fashion offerings for Generation Y&Z. But this is just the beginning,” comments Müller. “Fashion e-commerce will become even more digital, mobile, personalized and inspirational in the years to come, and we are in a strong position to lead this transformation. The planned stock market listing will help us seize this unique opportunity by building on our best-in-class technology and software solutions aimed at digitizing the offline shopping stroll.”


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(MENAFN) Pure Gold Chairman, Firoz Merchant, stated that in 2013, the jewelry retailer will spend USD75 million to expand investments in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, India and Maldives, reported Arabian Business.
Merchant said that the Dubai-based retailer, which has presence in 10 markets, will see the number of its outlets exceed 130 globally, following the expansion move.
He added that Pure Gold, which has more than 100 stores in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and India, will open 30 new stores in Jordan, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and Saudi Arabia in 2013.
In August 2012, the firm announced that it was mulling expanding into Turkey, Morocco and Lebanon.
It is worth noting that the jeweler, which has 2 factories in India and one in China, posted an annual growth of 18 percent in 2012.


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Digital TV in 73% of U.K. homes
EmptyLONDON -- Almost three out of four U.K. homes had at least one digital television set by the end of September, media watchdog Ofcom reported Wednesday.
The research found that 73.3% of the U.K.'s 25 million homes viewed digital television on their main set, an increase of 800,000 households over the three months through the end of September.
Some 9.3 million homes are watching television on Freeview or another digital terrestrial platform, 8.5 million are watching digital satellite television from BSkyB and 3.3 million are watching cable television supplied by NTL.
Growth was primarily driven by a 600,000 household increase in the number of viewers watching digital terrestrial television.
Sales of digital terrestrial television equipment approached 1.4 million, comprised of 835,000 set-top boxes and 556,000 televisions with integrated digital tuners. It marked the fifth consecutive quarter with sales over the million mark.
The continued growth of DTT viewing comes as more and more households look to upgrade their second and third television sets to digital, in addition to the main household television.
As of September, Ofcom said that almost eight million second sets were connected to some form of digital reception device (either a set-top box or an integrated digital tuner), up from four million in the same period last year.


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- No inflation Friday: 42.4% increase in the price of being… poor? (Sovereign Man, May 23, 2014):
One of the most intellectually disingenuous statements made by western policymakers is that inflation is tame… nonexistent.
For example, the minutes released this week from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting said that the Fed saw NO inflation risk in ‘fueling job growth’ [i.e. printing money].
So by their own admission, the Fed thinks they can conjure hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air without any consequences whatsoever. Zero risk.
Every time I hear something like this it just makes my skin crawl… and I always think, “go get on a plane.”
Inflation is out there in the rest of the world. To deny its existence is massively arrogant, insensitive, and just plain wrong. Continue reading »
The London Silver Market Fixing Limited (the ‘Company’) announces that it will cease to administer the London Silver Fixing with effect from close of business on 14 August 2014.
- Report: Food Prices Skyrocket: “We’re Going to Have a Major Problem Coming Into the Fall” (SHFTplan, May 15, 2014):
While government statisticians claim robust growth, recent data points suggest otherwise. Consumers are quickly running out of money, home sales have collapsed and hit their biggest drop in three years, there are more Americans out of the labor force than ever before, and one third of adults under the age of 35 are living with their parents because they can no longer afford to pay their own mortgage.
By all accounts, the reality is that we are now factually in a recession, a point further emphasized by the recent revelation that American companies are experiencing near zero percent earnings growth. Continue reading »
- Meet ‘lowflation': Deflation’s scary pal (RT, April 7, 2014):
In recent years a good part of the monetary debate has become a simple war of words, with much of the conflict focused on the definition for the word “inflation.”
Whereas economists up until the 1960’s or 1970’s mostly defined inflation as an expansion of the money supply, the vast majority now see it as simply rising prices. Since then the “experts” have gone further and devised variations on the word “inflation” (such as “deflation,” “disinflation,” and “stagflation”). And while past central banking policy usually focused on “inflation fighting,” now bankers talk about “inflation ceilings” and more recently “inflation targets”. The latest front in this campaign came this week when Bloomberg News unveiled a brand new word: “lowflation” which it defines as a situation where prices are rising, but not fast enough to offer the economic benefits that are apparently delivered by higher inflation. Although the article was printed on April Fool’s Day, sadly I do not believe it was meant as a joke.
- The Real Inflation Fear – US Food Prices Are Up 19% In 2014 (ZeroHedge, March 26, 2014):
We are sure the weather is to blame but what happens when pent-up demand (from a frosty east coast emerging from its hibernation) bumps up against a drought-stricken west coast unable to plant to meet that demand? The spot price (not futures speculation-driven) of US Foodstuffs is the best performing asset in 2014 – up a staggering 19%…
h/t Bloomberg’s Chase van der Rhoer
And it will only get much, much worse.
And 2008 will seem like a walk in the park.
Quantitative easing = printing money = creating money out of thin air = increasing the money supply = inflation = hidden tax on monetary assets = theft!
When a country embarks on deficit financing (Obamanomics) and inflationism (Quantitative easing) you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.
- Ron Paul
“Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.”
- Ron Paul
The Consumer Price Index does (intentionally) not include food and energy.
- Food prices soar as incomes stand still (CBS News, Feb 16, 2014):
NEW YORK – Writer Jen Singer, the mother of two teenage boys, wrestles with her grocery list every week to keep the household budget from getting away from her.
“I’d like the government to stop by my house, come food shopping with me and see where the real costs are,” she said.
The adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is impossible thanks to apple prices, she said.
- IRA confiscation: it’s happening (Sovereign Man, Jan 29, 2014):
I have an old acquaintance named Sam who has a hell of a deal for you.
Sam is actually a pretty famous guy with a big reputation. Unfortunately he has been a bit down and out on his luck lately… but he’s trying to make a comeback. And Sam is prepared to float you a really great investment opportunity.
Here’s the deal he’s offering: you give Sam your hard-earned retirement savings. Sam will invest your funds, and pay you a rate of return.
Granted, the rate of return he’s promising doesn’t quite keep up with inflation. So you will be losing some money. But don’t dwell on that too much.
- Marc Faber Warns “Insiders Are Selling Like Crazy… Short US Stocks, Buy Treasuries & Gold” (ZeroHedge, Jan 28, 2014):
Beginning by disavowing Mario Gabelli of any belief that rising stock prices help ‘most’ people (“Fed data suggests half the US population has seen a 40% drop in wealth since 2007“), Marc Faber discusses his increasingly imminent fears of the markets in this recent Barron’s interview.
Quoting Hussman as a caveat, “The problem with bubbles is that they force one to decide whether to look like an idiot before the peak, or an idiot after the peak. There’s no calling the top,” Faber warns there are a lot of questions about the quality of earnings (from buybacks to unfunded pensions) but “statistics show that company insiders are selling their shares like crazy.”
His first recommendation – short the Russell 2000, buy 10-year US Treasuries (“there will be no magnificent US recovery”), and miners and adds “own physical gold because the old system will implode. Those who own paper assets are doomed.”
- No inflation Friday: the dollar has lost 97% of its value against stamps (Sovereign Man, Jan 24, 2014):
One of the greatest lies of the modern financial system (and that’s really saying something) is about inflation.
The puppet masters who control the system have managed to convince people that deflation = bad, and inflation = necessary evil.
Perhaps the even bigger lie is that of the actual inflation statistics. They tell us that there’s no inflation… or minimal inflation.
- Peter Schiff Destroys The “Deflation Is An Ogre” Myth (ZeroHedge, Jan 22, 2014):
Submitted by Peter Schiff via Euro Pacific Capital,
Dedicated readers of The Wall Street Journal have recently been offered many dire warnings about a clear and present danger that is stalking the global economy. They are not referring to a possible looming stock or real estate bubble (which you can find more on in my latest newsletter). Nor are they talking about other usual suspects such as global warming, peak oil, the Arab Spring, sovereign defaults, the breakup of the euro, Miley Cyrus, a nuclear Iran, or Obamacare. Instead they are warning about the horror that could result from falling prices, otherwise known as deflation. Get the kids into the basement Mom… they just marked down Cheerios! Continue reading »
- We Will Be Told Hyperinflation is Necessary, Proper, Patriotic, and Ethical (Ludwig von Mises Institute, Jan 13, 2014):
Hyperinflation leads to the complete breakdown in the demand for a currency, which means simply that no one wishes to hold it. Everyone wants to get rid of that kind of money as fast as possible. Prices, denominated in the hyper-inflated currency, suddenly and dramatically go through the roof. The most famous examples, although there are many others, are Germany in the early 1920s and Zimbabwe just a few years ago. German Reichsmarks and Zim dollars were printed in million and even trillion unit denominations.
- Four key lessons from 2013 (Sovereign Man, Jan 2, 2014):
1) Politicians believe there are no consequences for destroying our liberty…
Stimulus and response. That’s the easiest way of summing this up. When politicians steal, and there are no consequences, they’re going to keep stealing.
Cyprus proved this point handily. The government froze bank accounts for everyone in the country (of course, the big bosses got their money out in time). And yet, there was no violent revolution in the streets. People just accepted it.
Poland nationalized pensions. Argentina imposed severe capital controls. The French are taxing everything under the sun. The US government was caught red-handed spying on… everyone.
- What If There’s A Recession in 2014? (Gonzalo Lira, Dec 16, 2013):
If policymakers were gunfighters, they’d be out of bullets: They have run out of effective policy tools to improve the economy.
So the question is simple: If there is a recession in 2014, and policymakers are out of bullets, how will it play out across the American economy?
Recently, Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid very astutely pointed out that the current “expansion” of the U.S. economy is on its fifth year—the seventh longest in history.
We are due for a recession.
Tags: Banking, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Bush administration, Collapse, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Government, Henry Paulson, Inflation, Obama administration, Politics, Quantitative Easing, Recession, Timothy Geithner, U.S.
- Inflation Watch 2013; Price Of Christmas Surges 7.7% (ZeroHedge, Dec 2, 2013):
Over the past 30 years, the rise in the price of Christmas according to PNC’s annual 12-days-of-Christmas price index has matched the CPI at around 2.9% YoY. However, in recent years, the reality is considerably worse than the well-managed inflation data the government profers. The price of Christmas in 2013 is up a stunning 7.7% over 2012 – the biggest jump since 2010′ 9.2% rise. The biggest driver of the increase were the dancing ladies (must be the minimum wage decree?) though 8 items saw modest increases also. Once again, it seems the government’s benign inflation data is fictionalized by reality’s rising price of everything.
- Inflation, Shortages, and Social Democracy in Venezuela (Ludwig von Mises Institute, Nov 29, 2013):
The economic turmoil in Venezuela has received increasing international media attention over the past few months. In September, the toilet paper shortage (which followed food shortages and electricity blackouts) resulted in the “temporary occupation” of the Paper Manufacturing Company, as armed troops were sent to ensure the “fair distribution” of available stocks. Similar action occurred a few days ago against electronics stores: President Nicolás Maduro accused electronics vendors of price-gouging, and jailed them with the warning that “this is just the start of what I’m going to do to protect the Venezuelan people.”
Earlier this month, in another attempt to ensure “happiness for all people,” Maduro began to hand out Christmas bonuses, in preparation for the coming elections in December. But political campaigning is not the only reason for the government’s open-handedness. The annual inflation rate in Venezuela has been rapidly rising in recent months, and has now reached a staggering 54 percent (not accounting for possible under-estimations). Although not yet officially in hyperinflation, monetary expansion is pushing Venezuela toward the brink.
In such an environment, paychecks need to be distributed quickly, before prices have time to rise; hence, early bonuses. This kind of policy is nothing new in economic history: Venezuela’s hyperinflationary episode is unfolding in much the same way Germany’s did nearly a century ago.
- Inflation is Raging – If You Know Where to Look (Dollar Collapse Blog, Nov 24, 2013):
Most people – certainly most governments and economists – define inflation as a general rise in prices. But this is wrong. Inflation is an increase in the money supply, of which a rising general price level is just one possible result – and not the most common one.
More often, excessive money creation shows up as asset bubbles, where the new money, instead of flowing equally to all the products that are for sale at a given time, flow disproportionately into the ‘hottest’ asset classes. Readers who were paying attention in the 1990s might recall that the consumer price index was well-behaved while huge amounts of money flowed into financial assets, producing the dot-com bubble.
The same thing happened in the 2000s, when excess currency flowed into housing and equities. In each case, mainstream economists and government officials pointed to modest consumer price inflation as a sign that things were fine. And in each case they were simply looking in the wrong place and completely missing the destabilizing effects of an inflating money supply. Continue reading »
- Fake Employment Numbers – And 5 More Massive Economic Lies The Government Is Telling You (Economc Collapse, Nov 19, 2013):
According to a whistleblower that has recently come forward, Census employees have been faking and manipulating U.S. employment numbers for years. In fact, it is being alleged that this manipulation was a significant reason for why the official unemployment rate dipped sharply just before the last presidential election. What you are about to read is incredibly disturbing. The numbers that the American people depend upon to make important decisions are being faked. But should we be surprised by this? After all, Barack Obama has been caught telling dozens of major lies over the past five years. At this point it is incredible that there are any Americans that still trust anything that comes out of his mouth. And of course it is not just Obama that has been lying to us. Corruption and deception are rampant throughout the entire federal government, and this has been the case for years. Now that some light is being shed on this, hopefully the American people will respond with overwhelming outrage and disgust.
The whistleblower that I mentioned above has been speaking to John Crudele of the New York Post. In his new article entitled “Census ‘faked’ 2012 election jobs report“, he says that the huge decline in the unemployment rate in September 2012 was “manipulated”… Continue reading »
YouTube Added: Nov 10, 2013
- Ron Paul Exposes The Fed-Driven Erosion Of US Living Standards (ZeroHedge, Nov 11, 2013):
Submitted by Ron Paul via The Free Foundation,
One of the least discussed, but potentially most significant, provisions in President Obama’s budget is the use of the “chained consumer price index” (chained CPI), to measure the effect of inflation on people’s standard of living. Chained CPI is an effort to alter the perceived impact of inflation via the gimmick of “full substitution.” This is the assumption that when the price of one consumer product increases, consumers will simply substitute a similar, lower-cost product with no adverse effect. Thus, the government decides your standard of living is not affected if you can no longer afford to eat steak, as long as you can afford to eat hamburger. Continue reading »
- Don’t Worry – The Government Says That The Inflation You See Is Just Your Imagination (Economic Collapse, Oct 29, 2013):
If you believe that there is high inflation in the United States, you are just imagining things. That is the message that the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve would have us to believe. You might have noticed that the government announced on Wednesday that the cost of living increase for Social Security beneficiaries will only be 1.5 percent next year. This is one of the smallest cost of living increases that we have ever seen. The federal government is able to get away with this because the official numbers say that there is hardly any inflation in the U.S. right now. Of course anyone that shops for groceries or that pays bills regularly knows what a load of nonsense the official inflation rate is. The U.S. government has changed the way that inflation is calculated numerous times since 1978, and each time it has been changed the goal has been to make inflation appear to be even lower. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if the inflation rate was still calculated the same way that it was back when Jimmy Carter was president, the official rate of inflation would be somewhere between 8 and 10 percent today. But if the mainstream news actually reported such a number, everyone would be screaming and yelling about getting inflation under control. Instead, the super low number that gets put out to the public makes it look like the Federal Reserve has plenty of room to do even more reckless money printing. It is a giant scam, but most Americans are falling for it.
Meanwhile, the prices of the things that most Americans buy on a regular basis just keep going up. The following are just a few examples of price inflation that we have seen lately: Continue reading »


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Israel and Denmark already have Better Place’s battery exchange network installed and operational, and moving to focus on these countries should preserve funding as the company struggles to keep itself afloat.
Better Place started deliveries of Renault Fluence Z.E. electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark and said last summer that its electric vehicles had exceeded one million kilometers (625,000 miles) using battery-swapping stations in these two countries.
In a statement on Better Place’s Web site, Mr. Cohen, the new chief executive, said the company would focus in the short term on its operations in Israel and Denmark. “At the same time,” he said, “we had to make some difficult decisions on actions to be taken elsewhere in the world.”
Better Place, which has lost more than $500 million since its inception, has struggled to sign up customers and in late September the board of directors ousted Agassi and installed Evan Thornley, who ran Better Place’s Australian operations.
Thornley lasted fewer than three months and in January Better Place chairman and Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer took over some of the CEO duties. Ofer’s Israel Corp. has invested nearly $300 million into Better Place and is the company’s largest shareholder.
Late last month, Better Place named Dan Cohen, an executive in charge of the company’s strategic initiatives, as interim chief executive.


text: Wyoming, USA state lawmakers decided to table a bill that could have made hemp product regulations more strict. The draft bill would have banned possession and sale of hemp for smoking. It also would have forbidden CBD from being added to any alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and food products without the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When a bill is tabled, it may or may not come up for another vote. The Joint Agriculture Committee discussed introducing a new bill that would only prohibit smoking hemp in public, and require purchasers of CBD to be 21 years of age.


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In a welcome move for commuters, the Delhi government has announced that all app-based taxi services will need to get digital meters as opposed to their current GPS-based ones, The Times Of India has reported.
The change in policy comes after major consumer complaints over surge pricing employed by taxi aggregator companies such as Ola, Uber and others. A draft policy has already been signed and will most likely be in effect within a month.
Transport Minister Satyendra Jain said:
“To regulate the app-based cab services, we have prepared a policy. Cab operators will be able to give discounts to customers, but they cannot charge more than the fares prescribed by the transport department. All app-based taxi services will be regulated through this policy,”
The digital meters, like the ones already used in auto and some cabs, will include GPS and the upper limit of the fares will be decided by the government. The move is aimed at increasing transparency in fare calculation by taxi aggregators.
Other rules included in the draft policy include:
- Only taxis can ply, private cars will not be allowed to offer taxi services.
- Commercial vehicles plying under taxi aggregators will have to separately register.
- Aggregators will need to maintain transparency when it comes to fares and pricing, and cannot charge surge prices as the upper limit will be set by the government.
Companies are still allowed to offer discounts or ply at cheaper rates.
Though the idea of doing away with surge pricing is a useful one to check aggregator apps from rampantly charging riders with exorbitant fares during even slightly peak traffic hours, the addition of the digital meter to the GPS-based meter might cause problems too. Since the GPS is also used for mapping, and locating routes by both the customers and by the drivers, doing away with GPS meters to keep a lid on pricing might affect other useful aspects of these apps.
Recently, the Delhi High Court ordered the government to look into aggregator cab policies. The announcement comes after auto strikes in the capital against Uber and Ola last month.
(Feature Image Source: PTI)


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This week, we tested the future with the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS electric sedan that will eventually succeed the S-Class. Gas engines didn’t get ignored, yet, anyway. The Kia Stinger still has it, and the redesigned Subaru WRX promises a rally good time. Here’s a look at what else moved us.
2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS review
The spiritual successor to the S-Class flagship sedan, the EQS electric car earns a high TCC Rating of 8.0 out of 10.
2022 Subaru WRX preview
The redesigned rally sedan gets a larger turbo-4 engine, a revised CVT with quicker shifts, a new GT model with adaptive dampers, and more standard convenience and safety features.
2022 Kia Stinger review
The refreshed 2022 Kia Stinger performance sedan comes with a more potent base engine, more standard driver-assist features, and a standard 10.3-inch touchscreen for a TCC Rating of 7.7 out of 10.
2022 Honda Civic review
The redesigned 2022 Honda Civic comes as a sedan or hatchback, with excellent safety gear and space. We give it a TCC Rating of 6.8 out of 10.
2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class review
The small SUV’s attractive design, good feature set, and balance of power with efficiency earn it an above average TCC Rating of 6.8 out of 10.
2022 Porsche Macan review
The refreshed 2022 Porsche Macan is still the bets luxury compact crossover to drive, but makes compromises on passenger and cargo room. It gets a TCC Rating of 6.8 out of 10.
2022 Nissan Altima review
With a TCC Rating of 6.8 out of 10, the 2022 Nissan Altima emerges as a safety star.
2022 GMC Yukon review
The full-size SUV taps big V-8 power and near-luxury fittings on its way to a TCC Rating of 6.7 out of 10.
2022 Mercedes-Benz A-Class review
The entry-level sedan reflects well on the German luxury brand with alluring style, a good ride, and a loaded feature set for a TCC Rating of 6.6 out of 10.
2022 Nissan Maxima review
Nissan’s premium sedan carries over with good handling, a strong V-6, and great safety ratings to earn a TCC Rating of 6.5 out of 10.
Source: Read Full Article


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COLUMBUS — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has sued the owners of an optical store in Toledo, alleging multiple violations of Ohio consumer law.
According to the attorney general’s office, 78 complaints have been filed against the three Stanton Optical locations in Ohio. In addition to Toledo store, two are in suburban Dayton.
The suit, filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, accused Stanton Optical of shoddy work, failure to deliver, and misuse of the word “free” in advertising. The suit seeks restitution for consumers and civil penalties.
Two Florida companies own the Stanton Optical locations.