text:
But how is that being monitored?
Last week, Jackson’s was granted an injunction in its case against Boston Properties, allowing the restaurant’s customers to park for free — without using the ParkRTC app — at all times. For other visitors to the Town Center, all daytime parking sessions (even those that are less than one hour, and therefore free) require registering through the app or at a kiosk.
The question that has been asked by many is: Just how exactly will they KNOW who is a Jackson’s customer and who isn’t? How can some people get away with not using the app in that garage while others still need to?
The answer, a week later: We still don’t really know.
Officials at Jackson’s have directed questions about the system to a corporate spokesperson, who has not yet been able to provide a firm answer. The following explanation was posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page Tuesday:
Our guests have been parking in the Orange garage without engaging the app or starting a session and have not had any issues today or yesterday. There has been some added signage from the landlord stating that parking is free for Jackson’s guests in the Orange garage. If you have any further questions, please contact Boston Properties directly at 703.579.6720!
Boston Properties has been similarly vague in responding to requests for clarification. Spokesperson Kathy Walsh, of the Fallston Group on behalf of BXP, said:
“As it always has been, parking in the Orange garage is free for customers of Jackson’s. The only change is that those customers now do not need to start a parking session.”
Boston Properties cannot comment further due to ongoing legal discussions.
(Parking was previously free at Jackson’s with a validation code through the app.)
So, readers, we’ll turn this over to you. Have you parked in the Orange Garage at RTC this week? What has your experience been? Let us know in the comments so we can all get to the bottom of this.
Starting today, parking in Reston Town Center is free for an hour before 5 p.m. and completely free all evening after 5 p.m. Patrons still have to pay a minimum of $2 for any time spent over an hour in the garages before 5 p.m.
In celebration of the new parking deal, at least two Reston Town Center restaurants are offering specials tonight.
Seafood restaurant PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive) is hosting a “Parking Repeal Party” tonight in their bar/lounge, according to post on their Twitter account.
— PassionFish Reston (@PassionFishRest) June 5, 2017
“PassionFish has always offered parking validation, but is pleased that its fellow businesses will have the same advantages and that guests can visit more easily,” said Simoneink senior accounting director Meg Malloy, who works with PassionFish.
In addition, according to a Facebook post by French bistro Mon Ami Gabi (11950 Democracy Drive), the restaurant will have a special dinner menu item this week “to celebrate the return of free parking.”
Expanded Free Parking Starts at RTC — As of today, garage parking at Reston Town Center is free for the first hour before 5 p.m., after which time it becomes free until 3:30 a.m. [Reston Now]
Mullins Memorial Details Released — A memorial service for former Fairfax County GOP chair and Republican Party of Virginia chair Pat Mullins, who died May 28, will be held June 21 at McLean Bible Church (8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna). [Bearing Drift]
Fire Station 39 Rescues Stuck Pup — A crew from the North Point Station (1117 Reston Ave.) responded to a residence in Great Falls recently, where they tracked down and rescued a 60-pound pet dog that had become trapped under the home. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Human Trafficking Awareness Walk Held — The Just Ask Prevention Project, which was created by detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department, hosted its first awareness event Saturday at the county government center. The nonprofit’s goal is to bring together county agencies, schools and community leaders to educate and raise awareness about human trafficking in Northern Virginia. [WTOP]
It's a start. It needs to be 2 hours. Still prevents commuter parking but allows lunch.
— Steve (@courageousrobot) May 31, 2017
— Deah Hester (@ACHSMavsLibrary) June 1, 2017
Too little too late. You are not, nor will ever be, the good guys.
— Tom Lastname (@12GaugeTom) June 1, 2017
Aaron Gordon, head of the Reston Merchants Association, says the changes — allowing for one hour of free parking before 5 p.m. and free parking afterward — are “a step in the right direction.” But he isn’t convinced it will be enough.
“We would like RTC to offer 3 hours free parking at all times, which would end the controversy entirely,” Gordon said. “Ultimately, our customers will decide if the recent concessions are enough. I’m very hopeful they are.”
Gordon, owner of Red Velvet Cupcakery (11939 Democracy Drive), organized the Reston Merchants Association earlier this year to bring together numerous business owners and managers whose bottom line was suffering under the 24-hour paid-parking format — many reporting double-digit drops in sales. Gordon said the system was “tearing the fabric of who we are, how we choose to live and what we do within Reston.”
Following a successful protest in March, the merchants announced that they were planning a town hall-style meeting and a second protest march. They also have flirted with legal action over the BXP initiative; one restaurant, Jackson’s, did file a lawsuit on its own. Many potential customers have publicly stated they have been boycotting visiting the Town Center due to the policy, choosing options elsewhere with free parking instead.
While Gordon said he is encouraged by Boston Properties’ recent announcement, he said the merchants’ efforts may not be over.
“The Reston Merchants see this as a victory for our group and our customers,” he said. “But, we will regroup in the next two weeks to discuss if we think [Boston Properties] is doing enough. Then, we’ll be able to determine our next steps.”
The new parking rules will go into effect at Reston Town Center on Monday.
Majority Say They’ll Go to RTC — With our story Wednesday about changes to parking fees at Reston Town Center, we posted a poll asking whether those changes will make readers more likely to visit the Town Center. With nearly 900 votes on the unscientific poll, about two-thirds of responders said they would. [Reston Now]
Herndon Festival Starts Tonight — The 37th annual festival will run tonight through Sunday in downtown Herndon. Several streets, including Elden Street, will be closed throughout the event. Free parking and shuttle buses will be provided to get to the festivities. [Herndon Festival]
Community Center Board Meets Monday — The Reston Community Center Board of Governors will continue the decision-making process regarding the budget outline for FY19, and possible timelines for capital projects including the proposed renovation of the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center, Monday at 8 p.m. at RCC (2310 Colts Neck Road). The annual public hearing for programs and budget is slated for Monday, June 19. [Reston Community Center]
Barton Hill Tennis Courts Closed — Reston Association says the courts are being resurfaced, and it is hoped they will be reopened by mid-June. [Reston Association/Twitter]
Halogen Lamp Starts Fire — A blaze earlier this week south of Reston caused about $125,000 in damages after a lamp in the basement ignited nearby combustibles. Two residents of the home have been displaced. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Nearly five months after instituting paid parking at Reston Town Center, Boston Properties is modifying the system to allow for more free parking.
According to a statement released Wednesday morning by BXP, changes will go into effect Monday that will rescind the pay requirement for users of Reston Town Center parking garages after 5 p.m., and it will also allow for one hour of free garage parking for sessions that begin before 5 p.m.
“As promised, Boston Properties has listened to community and retailer feedback and evaluated the paid parking initiative at Reston Town Center (RTC) over the first quarter of this year,” reads the statement.
Garage parking for the second hour will remain at $2, with subsequent hours charged based on the existing pay scale. No changes will be made to street parking, which is $3 an hour.
“Based on a study of traffic patterns and behaviors as well as retailer input, Boston Properties identified that one hour of free parking and free parking after 5 p.m. would address the primary concerns expressed by the community while still supporting the original goals of paid parking: protecting the parking rights of RTC tenants and visitors and augmenting revenue dedicated to community reinvestment.”
Free parking will be in effect each night from 5 p.m. until 3:30 a.m.
“This is necessary both to allow patrons and visitors to extend a session should they decide to stay longer than an hour, as well as for enforcement purposes,” she said.
Walsh said those parking after 5 p.m. will not need to take any action, just as with parking on weekends, holidays and during special events.
Free parking returned to Reston Town Center for a fleeting moment Wednesday afternoon.
Social media users reported earlier today that the ParkRTC app at Reston Town Center was not charging, but Boston Properties says the situation has been handled and everything is back to normal.
The app read “There is free parking at the Reston Town Center until further notice” when users attempted to begin their parking session. Angie Goff, news anchor for NBC Washington, first alerted us to the situation in a tweet she sent to her more than 54,000 followers at about 1:20 p.m.
PassionFish (11960 Democracy Drive) later tweeted a notice to alert potential customers to the situation.
— PassionFish Reston (@PassionFishRest) May 24, 2017
Kathy Walsh, spokesperson on behalf of Boston Properties, told Reston Now just before 2 p.m., though, that the “technical issues” had been fixed.
“Apparently there were some technical issues with the parking system this afternoon that have since been resolved and normal parking rates are in effect,” Walsh said. “Parking actually was free while that message was displaying.”
In response to a question during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call Wednesday, Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas said the paid-parking situation at Reston Town Center will continue to be evaluated.
Thomas was asked about “an interesting article” about the situation and tenants’ concerns about business being down. In response, the CEO said:
“We did implement paid parking at Reston Town Center at the beginning of the year. As you know, Reston is an urban location, it has structure parking primarily, and there is going to be the arrival of mass transit to the region. It’s certainly not uncommon for areas with this kind of density to have paid parking. We are utilizing a state-of-the-art parking system that is being used in cities all over the U.S., and actually the use of these systems is growing around the U.S. In Reston specifically, the system has been adopted by 140,000 users so far. Now that being said, as you suggest, certainly not all of our customers — some, but certainly not all of our customers — have expressed some concerns about the system or simply having to pay for parking, and we are continuing to evaluate our execution and make adjustments to ensure that Reston remains a preeminent location for business and residents in Northern Virginia.”
Merchants in the Town Center have reported business to be down as much as 40 percent since paid parking went into effect Jan. 3, and an organized protest of the system in March drew hundreds of participants. Jackson’s restaurant has filed a lawsuit over the implementation, and other businesses have threatened the same; however, Boston Properties says it is confident it will prevail in any legal battles.
In a statement sent to media Wednesday afternoon, Boston Properties responded to recent developments in the ongoing saga regarding paid parking at Reston Town Center.
The statement comes after a lawsuit filed by Jackson’s restaurant, an announcement by Reston Merchants Association of continued declining sales, and a statement from the Reston Citizens Association denouncing BXP’s apparent unwillingness to compromise. Released through public relations firm Fallston Group, Boston Properties’ statement claims:
- There is “variability” in month-to-month performance of RTC merchants. Some have reported increases in sales in the past 90 days, some have reported flat or decreasing sales.
- Boston Properties continues to work with retailers to provide customer support, parking validations and other assistance regarding the paid parking implementation.
- Planned enhancements of the system include the addition of change machines to better accommodate cash customers, as well as improvements to payment kiosks.
- Car counts represent “high adoption rates” of the paid-parking policies. More than 112,000 downloads of the ParkRTC app have been made, including 22,000 in the past week.
- The $8 million of annual paid-parking revenue estimated by groups including the Reston Citizens Association is “outdated and inaccurate,” and true expectations are “significantly less.”
- Boston Properties is committed to reinvesting a comparable value to its profit from paid parking back into the Town Center and the Reston community through ongoing maintenance, capital improvements, community events and charitable donations.
- BXP is “very confident” it will prevail against all legal challenges related to paid parking.
The full text of the statement is below:
Boston Properties is prohibited by the terms of most of its leases from commenting on the specific sales results of its individual tenants. In any given year, Reston Town Center’s retail tenants see fluctuations in sales for a variety of reasons, from weather to seasonality to marketplace conditions. Additionally, monthly sales trends can vary widely among those tenants, depending on their business model, marketplace adaptation and sales tactics. Based on the information provided to date under the terms of our leases, we have seen variability in the month to month performance of the merchants at Reston Town Center prior to the introduction of paid parking. That trend has continued over the past 90 days, with some tenants reporting sales are up and others reporting flat or decreased sales.
Boston Properties has always been committed to working with its tenants for mutual success. Since paid parking was implemented, we have worked with our retailers to provide customer support, parking validations and other assistance as the Reston Town Center complex adjusts to paid parking. (As a reminder, parking in the garages is free on weekends and select holidays, and parking remains free at all times for retail employees.) Boston Properties continues to monitor paid parking adoption and will consider all appropriate policy and technology amendments as needed to ensure the long-term success of the Town Center. For instance, upcoming planned enhancements include the addition of change machines to better accommodate cash customers and improvements to the payment kiosks.
Additionally, Boston Properties’ car count continues to reflect high adoption rates of the new parking policies by the community. The ParkRTC app has been downloaded more than 112,000 times — with 22,000+ people signing up in the last week alone — and to date, nearly 85,000 individuals have utilized the app to pay for parking. Since paid parking was rolled out in January, garage usage by non-office tenants have steadily increased, week over week.
Regarding the $8 million annual revenue number that has been repeatedly referenced, the estimated figure was from 2011 and was based on very different operating assumptions. It is both outdated and inaccurate. While Boston Properties does not report property-specific performance, revenue expectations are significantly less, as the vast majority of visitors and tenants are either validated or do not pay for parking. Further, Boston Properties is committed to reinvesting a comparable value to its profit from paid parking back into the Town Center and the Reston community through ongoing maintenance, capital improvements, community events and charitable donations.
Finally, regarding recent legal action, Boston Properties is very confident it will prevail against any and all legal challenges related to paid parking.
Much of the information provided in the statement echoes previous statements from Boston Properties regarding the paid-parking initiative.
The Reston Citizens Association says it wants Boston Properties to give the money it is collecting from paid parking at Reston Town Center — a number the group projects to be $8 million annually — back to the community.
In a Tuesday statement, RCA says it has attempted to engage with Boston Properties for more than a year in the effort to “find a compromise that would allow the Town Center to retain its character while respecting [BXP]’s development rights.” Further, the Citizens Association challenged Boston Properties to — if paid parking is here for good — commit the revenue to “community betterments and activities that benefit Reston.”
“RCA makes this call because of the misinformation and untruths that [BXP] provided to RCA. From the very beginning, knowing how central the cellphone app would be for the paid parking experience, RCA asked many questions regarding how the App would work. Despite the assurances that were given to RCA that the ParkRTC App would provide a very user-friendly experience, today it is clear this is patently not true.”
In its statement, RCA says the paid-parking system is “confusing, contradictory and [the] subject of great frustration for users.” The citizens’ organization says it stands with merchants and others who are calling for the system to be scrapped or significantly overhauled.
Last week, Jackson’s restaurant filed a lawsuit against Boston Properties regarding the implementation of the paid-parking system. Other merchants within the Town Center say they are likely to do the same, and they continue to organize events to shed light on their displeasure.
The Citizens Association says it is willing to continue to work with Boston Properties on any mutually acceptable agreement that can be found.
“[BXP] has in the past been a good and generous manager of the Reston Town Center and can be this again. RCA stands ready to work with [BXP] to address its legitimate concerns about commuter parking while at the same time preserving the open and welcoming character of the Town Center that has made it such a centerpiece of our community and the greater region.”
The Reston Merchants Association is not backing down in its opposition to paid parking at Reston Town Center, which it says has drastically hurt business.
In an announcement Tuesday, the group’s organizers says they plan to hold a town hall-style meeting in May to discuss the issue. Merchants, community leaders, elected officials and more will be invited to speak and take questions from citizens. RTC owner Boston Properties, which implemented the paid-parking system in January, will also be invited to participate in the event, according to the announcement.
In addition, the Merchants Association says it plans to work with community organizers to hold a march and rally in June to protest the paid-parking system. A march earlier this month, organized by citizen group Reston United, saw hundreds of participants.
“The community has spoken and they are fed up with paid parking,” said Aaron Gordon, owner of Red Velvet Cupcakery and the head of the Merchants Association. “Not only is it expensive, but the app that people have to download to park is onerous, complicated and an invasion of their privacy. People don’t want to hand over their license plate number and credit card information to Boston Properties. As a result of all of this, we see that many of our best customers are boycotting RTC altogether and others have said they will never come back.”
Last week, one restaurant in the Town Center — Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge — filed a lawsuit against Boston Properties, arguing their lease agreement was violated by the paid-parking system and that it has been an impediment to conducting business. In Tuesday’s announcement, the Reston Merchants Association says its supports the suit and “is likely to seek similar legal action for similar reasons in the following month.”
Boston Properties has so far not backed down from the system, which charges $2/hour in parking garages Monday through Friday and $3/hour for on-street parking Monday through Saturday. It has said the impact of the system on Reston Town Center business has been “far less” than claimed.
The Reston Merchants Association, however, says retailers and restaurateurs have seen “sinking sales figures” and a “precipitous drop-off in foot traffic” in 2017. They say that is directly related to Boston Properties’ paid-parking initiative.
Figures reported Tuesday by the Merchants Association, which they say were provided with consent from companies’ owners or corporate officials, include:
- Red Velvet Cupcakery reports March sales are down 19 percent. It projects a yearly drop of 25%.
- Big Bowl reports sales down 26 percent in March. Sales were down 15 percent in February, and it is down 4,500 customers over last year.
- Busara reports March sales are down 18 percent.
- The Counter Burger reports March sales are down approximately 24 perent.
- Dawn Price Baby reports February sales were down 18 percent, while its other locations were up an average of 20 percent for the same month.
- The Eyewear Gallery reports February sales were down 29 percent.
- Potomac River Running reports March sales are down 37 percent, while its seven other locations sales are higher.
- Edibles Incredible Desserts reports February sales were down 28 percent.
- Ted’s Bulletin reports sales are down significantly on the year, while other locations have even or higher sales compared to last year.
“Paid parking is simply killing business, ruining our reputation and destroying the sense of community that has always been the pride of Reston,” Gordon said. “The merchants are suffering across the board from the greedy money-grab of one company and many of us are being driven out of business.”
(Updated 11:35 a.m. with more information from lawsuit and link to view document; updated 4:30 p.m. with statement on behalf of Boston Properties)
The first lawsuit regarding Boston Properties’ paid parking system at Reston Town Center has been filed.
In a press release Thursday morning, Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food and Lucky Lounge (11927 Democracy Drive) announced the suit, which includes a motion for a temporary injunction over the “cumbersome paid parking system [Boston Properties] implemented in January 2017.”
Representatives of Town Center businesses have been meeting among themselves to discuss their options since paid parking began, and the threat of potential legal action was first made public in early February.
The suit by Jackson’s (view) was filed Wednesday afternoon in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. In addition to the injunction, the restaurant seeks “an award of damages of $500,000 or other specific amount to be established at trial.”
According to the lawsuit, Jackson’s says it negotiated lease terms preventing Boston Properties from implementing parking controls that “unduly impede” guests and requiring Boston Properties to assure that any paid parking system must allow Jackson’s to validate parking — at no expense to the restaurant — for guests and employees. The lawsuit claims the validation system imposed by BXP violates the restaurant’s lease rights and the requirements it sought.
“Our team has been inundated with complaints from guests who tell us that the process to use the validation system is cumbersome and confusing,” said Orson Williams, managing partner at Jackson’s, in the announcement. “On top of that, Boston Properties’ parking attendants often give incorrect and misleading instructions when our guests seek help in getting unlimited free parking.”
Jackson’s, operated by Great American Restaurants, opened in the Town Center in 2008.
Restaurants and other businesses within the Town Center have claimed major decreases in business since the paid parking system went into place. An organized protest that took place earlier this month saw hundreds of participants from throughout the community.
Boston Properties has said the impact of paid parking on Town Center business has been “far less” than claimed.
“We did not want to have to sue and we tried to work with Boston Properties to address our concerns and our rights under the lease to give our customers free and hassle-free parking, both before and after Boston Properties implemented this parking system. But they were uncompromising and appeared disinterested in working with us to provide our guests a better experience at Reston Town Center,” said Jon Norton, CEO of Great American Restaurants, in the announcement. “It appears to us that they are focused on maximizing revenue instead of honoring the spirit and terms of our lease, and seem unconcerned with the impact their system has had on the Town Center. It is disappointing that they have spent so much time bolstering a PR campaign rather than working with us to fulfill their lease obligations.”
Spokesperson Kathy Walsh of the Fallston Group, speaking on behalf of Boston Properties, said it “would be inappropriate to discuss pending litigation, particularly as there is a confidentiality provision that prevents either party from discussing many of the lease terms.”
More Speak Out Against Paid Parking — The owner of Obi Sushi says sales are down about a third since Boston Properties initiated paid parking at Reston Town Center. Meanwhile, the president of the Reston Citizens Association says it’s just one more sore spot to a community battling an increasing cost of living. [Washington Post]
Retired Detective’s Story Gains Attention — As we reported, retired Fairfax County Police Department detective Bruce Wiley took care of a 17-year-old intruder at his Beaver Circle home last week using no more than a flashlight and a baton. Since, he has shared further details about the incident with Washington television stations. “I was lucky that he didn’t have a gun,” he told one. [Fox 5 DC/WJLA]
Nominations Still Open for Reston Volunteer Awards — Candidates for Reston Association’s Volunteer Service Awards can still be nominated until Friday. The awards recognize individuals, families, groups and businesses that make a significant contribution to the community through volunteer service. [Reston Association]
SLHS Baseball Star Continues His Success — Jared Abelson, a 2015 South Lakes High School graduate, picked up two hits for Macalester College in a game over the weekend against Marian University in the Tucson Invitational. The sophomore is batting .478 through six games this season. [Macalester College Athletics]
The following open letter by Aaron Gordon of the Reston Merchants Association is offered in response to the open letter penned by Boston Properties that appeared on Reston Now on March 3.
Dear Fellow Community Members,
Reston is a unique place. Besides living, working and playing here, we are a close-knit group, brought together by the desire to know each other and to be part of a distinct community. Boston Properties’ implementation of a paid parking system is tearing the fabric of who we are, how we choose to live and what we do within Reston.
For 26 years, we have enjoyed the ability to park in Reston Town Center, meet friends or be alone, go to work, walk around, shop (or not), dine and take advantage of the entertainment opportunities. The Town Center has been a formal and informal gathering place, a place that often costs nothing to use, but provides much enjoyment.
Sadly, Boston Properties’ decision to install paid parking has turned a once vibrant community into just another mall.
Boston Properties has given many excuses over the past year for its decision to institute paid parking. Excuses like parking convenience and combatting Metro commuters. Don’t let them fool you … the truth is there is only one reason to charge for parking — profit.
Ray Ritchie, Executive Vice President of Boston Properties, set out his case back in 2011, when in a shareholders call, he laid out just how much money the company would make by charging us for parking. Ritchie outlined that the paid parking plan would make Boston Properties $8 million per year and would be worth $130 million of additional value to the company.
On March 3, 2017, Boston Properties, in an open letter to the community published in Reston Now, stated that their three primary goals for activating paid parking include protecting parking rights for the RTC tenants and visitors, enhancing the parking experience of tenants, visitors and patron and augmenting revenues dedicated to reinvestment in the Reston community.
In the same letter, Boston Properties listed a series of reasons attempting to validate their paid parking program. We find many of these justifications to be inaccurate and offensive and underscores Boston Properties’ overreach.
Paid parking will help manage unwarranted commuter parking.
Commuter parking was never the issue. It is easily solvable by instituting 3-4 hours free parking and charging commuters. Also, Boston Properties lumps overnight and out-of-town parking into this category. This is different from commuter parking. Boston Properties’ paid parking plan is an overreach designed to add revenue for the company.
Boston Properties is committed to assisting retailers during this period.
There is not “regular communication” and “open and honest dialogue.” Rather, Boston Properties gives the same automated answer to everyone, which is to say that it will take months to analyze the situation and right now it is too early to formulate any conclusions.
Paid parking is not having the adverse impact that has been reported.
Why would merchants be so upset if their numbers were not down dramatically?
Boston Properties’ statement is not accurate. Of course paid parking and the onerous parking system has had, and is having, an adverse effect. Most of the retailers have indicated that paid parking has been a disaster for business and projected sales are down dramatically. We are losing long-time customers who may never return. If this continues, many merchants have indicated that they will not be in business long.
Each retailer chooses whether or where to validate parking.
We find it galling that Boston Properties is actually attempting to muddy the waters and place the parking fiasco on the merchants of Town Center!
Boston Properties, which already charges some of the highest rent in the area, now wants its merchants to pay them for validation as well. Validation is extremely costly for every merchant and not workable for stores whose standard items are low value like coffee, baked goods or ice cream. Many merchants simply don’t make enough revenue to pay additional fees for parking. Additionally, it is absurd to expect guests and shoppers to have to figure out which retailer participates in the validation program and where, if the store participates, they may park.
No retailers have closed as a result of paid parking.
Two stores, Origins and BGR Burger, have recently closed and one said that the new paid parking was the “nail in the coffin.” At least one other store has indicated that it will leave when its lease is up in a year. And, new merchants are already shying away from RTC due to the disastrous impact of paid parking.
Boston Properties has already made a number of changes based on customer feedback, including offering: free parking in garages on weekends, holidays and special event days; doubling the number of parking ambassadors, primarily at night to assist retail shoppers; installing additional onsite educational signage; adding a list of validating retailers to the ParkRTC app; regularly updating FAQs on the website.
There is much confusion about this. As it turns out, free parking does not include street parking. It was also not free on MLK Day. And “special event” means any day that Boston Properties deems special, usually an event they are running to benefit their brand.
The “parking ambassadors” are unfriendly and not helpful, and seem to be on hand mostly to warn you that you must pay. They are not knowledgeable about the system and generally can’t help guests figure it out.
Educational signage? The signage is not succinct and/or user-friendly. One customer — an astronaut! — was having trouble figuring it all out in a timely fashion, and complained to the proprietor of the store she was in.
Stop adding things to the app. Treat all retailers the same. Give everyone the same advantage in attracting shoppers. We want everyone to succeed.
As for updating the app, you can update it every day and people still won’t care. People want free and safe parking.
The ParkRTC app is secure to use, and most daily parkers are paying using the app.
The app gets a terrible 1 1/2 stars out of 5 on its reviews from the app store. Users say they don’t trust it, and many wonder why Boston Properties needs all this information about RTC patrons.
Boston Properties remains dedicated to nonprofit fundraising.
Yes, Boston Properties scheduled its last nonprofit fundraiser to coincide with the rally residents and merchants organized against paid parking at the same time on the same day. They did everything they could to limit the protest, including restricting the group from rallying on Reston Town Center property.
Boston Properties remains committed to this paid parking model which they believe meets the objective above.
The longer this situation goes on, and with no negotiating with Boston Properties, the more people will go elsewhere, the harder it will be to bring them back and the community as a whole will become less desirable.
Boston Properties will continue to support our community’s strategic plan.
If the plan is to destroy Reston Town Center, this is the path to take. If the plan is beyond making more revenue, providing conveniences, services, and a gathering place for people to live, work and play, Boston Properties must reconsider the parking program they have implemented.
Reston Merchants Association
Hundreds of displeased residents braved chilly temperatures Saturday to participate in a march to protest paid parking at Reston Town Center.
“We believe it’s a huge success, despite the cold weather,” organizer Guarang Shah said. “Final numbers are 450-plus.”
Reston Town Center patrons and business owners have been making their displeasure known since RTC owners Boston Properties announced last year their plan to institute paid parking. The initiative went into effect Jan. 3, after which businesses have said their customer base has dwindled.
Reston Town Center paid parking protest https://t.co/Fgbvs74YXf
— Dave Emke (@emkedave) March 4, 2017
The throng of protesters began their afternoon march in the parking lot of Winwood Children’s Center on New Dominion Parkway. Aaron Gordon, owner of Red Velvet Cupcakery at RTC, stood among the protesters in the parking lot and said the support shown by local residents means a lot to merchants affected by the decision by RTC owners Boston Properties.
“It feels like we’re not the only ones in this battle; it feels like everyone has the same anger,” Gordon said. “We’ve been making the argument that we’re down in sales and customers are no longer coming, and this proves our point.”
The protesters were not given permission by Boston Properties to march within Reston Town Center; however, the marchers’ path did cut through — under the close eye of security — as they worked their way back to New Dominion Parkway. After looping around Not Your Average Joe’s, the protesters lined up along the parkway and were greeted by a large amount of honked support from passing motorists.
Marchers were encouraged to document the event on social media with the hashtag #parkfreertc.
— #Resist (@KevinPrecht) March 4, 2017
— EJay (@AvenueFoche) March 4, 2017
Boston Properties has said that the paid parking initiative is “here to stay” and that the distress claimed by businesses is being overblown. Gordon, who is organizing a group of merchants considering legal action against Boston Properties, said he is hopeful that the company will eventually see business in the Town Center is down “disastrously” and will have a change of heart.
“If there are 500 people out here, that represents 50,000 people that feel the exact same way,” Gordon said. “Just as Boston Properties is saying they’re never going to take away paid parking, we’re never going to go away.”
Wendy Warren, of Herndon, was one of the former Town Center patrons who came out Saturday to support the cause. She said she and her family visited RTC two or three times a week prior to paid parking. Now, they go to the Mosaic District or One Loudoun instead.
“There are no other suburban shopping areas around here that have paid parking, or such a poorly designed app,” she said, citing concerns that have been raised by a number of people who’ve spoken out against the system’s ParkRTC app. Boston Properties insists the app is secure.
Wendy’s husband, William, said Boston Properties should consider a different approach to its paid-parking initiative.
“Three hours of free parking, so that you could come here for something like dinner,” he said. “They state they want it to guard against commuter parking, but they could easily accommodate for people who want to come use the amenities here at the Town Center.”
Shah said if Boston Properties didn’t take notice of Saturday’s protest, there will be more to come.
“If they don’t change their mind, there will be another march,” he said. “We are already planning another march that will take place in summertime.”


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Developed by Silicon Studio, who are more known for their middleware work in Japan, Bravely Default was a love letter of sorts to classic role-playing games of old and with lovely character designs by Akihiko Yoshida, the game even looked the part.
Bravely Second hopes to build on this and since its release in Japan last year, fans have been looking forward to its eventual Western release.
While Bravely Second had more subdued sales in Japan compared to the first game, it will be interesting to see how Western fans will respond.
The previous game managed to shift over a million copies globally and it performed generally better in the West. In that sense, I think Bravely Second could still do quite well come its eventual release in the next few months.
What’s more, while this is technically being called a demo, in reality it is actually an adventure not contained within the main game and it also seems you can transfer save data from it once the full game is released.
The latter will impart bonuses in the full game, which is also a very nice touch.
Normally, as demos go, you tend to play an early section of the game. However, it seems that Silicon Studio has really gone out of its way to build on the game’s world setting and narrative even further.
The demo, called The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers, will be released March 10th in the US, with the full game coming out on April 15th.
Like the previous game, Bravely Second will also be a 3DS exclusive.
Read my Forbes blog here.

domain: news


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India’s surging middle class is projected to spend as much as $144 billion a year on international travel by 2030. And hotels, airlines and cities are spending millions to land them.
By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff
Last week, hundreds of global travel professionals gathered in Delhi for the inaugural Skift India Summit and the opportunity to glean valuable insights from the CEOs of major travel brands, including The Oberoi Group, OYO, Agoda and the country’s flag carrier, Air India. “India is having a moment,” explains Brian Quinn, head of event programming at Skift, “with the India outbound traveler poised to become the biggest global force in coming years.”
A decade ago, you could have said the same about Chinese tourists. Back in 2014, some 117 million Chinese tourists traveled internationally, which was a 20% increase from the previous year. But 10 years and one pandemic later, Chinese outbound travel still hasn’t rebounded to its pre-Covid heights, while the energy and focus of the global tourism machine has shifted southeast—to India.
With more than 1.4 billion people, India now has the world’s largest population and the fifth-largest economy. Outbound travel from India is growing much faster than from any other country, which has led to a flurry of predictions that have travel brands salivating.
“There’s such huge potential,” says Caroline Bremner, head of travel and tourism research at Euromonitor International, which projects 47 million Indian outbound travelers by 2030. “That’s more than doubling from 2019. And then on the spending side, it’s even better, going from $35 billion in 2019 to $84 billion in 2030,” she says. “Essentially, India is jumping up the ranks and will be the sixth-largest outbound source market globally by 2030, after China, the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France.”
A 2023 report by Nangia Andersen, the Indian arm of Andersen Global, forecasts that Indian outbound travel will grow at an 11.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2032—which roughly aligns with Euromonitor’s prediction for tourist volume. If these projections bear out, then another, wilder prediction may not be so implausible after all: organizers of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), an industry conference to be held in Dubai in May, have touted that India’s outbound market will be worth $144 billion a year by the end of this decade.
And a recent report from McKinsey is similarly bullish on the longer-term prospects for Indian tourism. “India’s outbound travel has the potential to grow from 13 million trips in 2022 to over 80 million in 2040,” the authors write. “If India follows China’s outbound travel trajectory (which it could, due to similarity in population size and per capita income trajectory), then Indian tourists could make 80 million to 90 million trips a year by 2040.”
Given all the hype, travel brands have, naturally, begun heavily courting Indian tourists, often by tapping celebrities as influencers. Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan promotes Dubai and Katrina Kaif, a British actress who makes Hindi-language films, professes her loyalty to Accor. Actor Ranveer Singh appears in ads for Abu Dhabi, while his wife, Deepika Padukone, is the global brand ambassador of Qatar Airways. Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and world champion in javelin, has been enlisted to promote Switzerland’s spectacular alpine landscapes.
Yet before India’s outbound travel can reach its full potential, industry experts say, the volume of flights in and out of the country—a number mutually decided by the two respective governments—must increase dramatically. There were roughly 14% more flight routes by city pairs to and from India last year compared to 2019, according to data from FlightAware. Right now, airlines are operating just 18 scheduled passenger flights each week from India to the United States—up from 14 in 2019.
Some destinations have made policy tweaks to boost capacity. In late 2022, Canada lifted the cap on the number of flights from India from 35 per week to “unlimited” and gave Indian airlines access to six hubs, including Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver. South Africa Tourism, meanwhile, has teamed up with Ethiopian Airlines to provide faster links between India and Africa. Even Bhutan’s prime minister has emphasized the need to strengthen air connectivity between India and the tiny Buddhist kingdom.
Airlines are taking note of India’s growing importance as well. Most notably, Singapore Airlines inked a deal in late 2022 with Tata Group, paying a reported $250 million for a 25% stake in Air India. Last November, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong told Forbes Asia of his plans to make India a new hub. “You can just tell how much potential there is,” Goh said. “India is growing but it’s significantly underserved.”
Hotel CEOs are also being seduced by the dizzying economic forecasts. “We just are blessed by the increase of demography in the world and blessed by the increase of households that want to travel,” Sébastien Bazin, CEO of the French hospitality giant Accor, told investors on the company’s most recent earnings call in February. He offered a short lesson on global economics, noting that the world’s emerging middle-class population exploded by one billion over the last 10 years. “Half of those are from India,” he emphasized. “We probably can wisely say that for the next 10 years, demand will no longer grow 3% to 5%, but probably 4% to 6%. You very well could be looking at a 3x demand over supply. And a lot of it, again, has to do with India alone, which is [expected to add] 500 million [to its] emerging middle class.”
“India is definitely an economic bright light,” echoes Bremner, noting that the country’s current 8% economic growth rate is stronger than China’s. Moreover, it shows no signs of slowing down.
Last year, 1.7 million Indian tourists visited the United States, making India the country’s fourth-largest travel source after Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The average Indian tourist also spends money when traveling internationally—roughly $5,252 per trip, according to the last six months of data collected by the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO), the agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that tracks tourism statistics. Comparatively, the typical visitor from the United Kingdom and Brazil spends $2,656 and $3,344, respectively, while the average Japanese tourist spends $3,672. In other words, it takes two British tourists to spend as much as one Indian traveler.
If the United States wants to attract more Indian tourists in the future, experts say it needs to make entering the country much easier. “I am a firm believer that less friction will lead to more travel,” says Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda, the largest online travel agency in Asia. “Friction can be removed by adding direct flights, as well as by the introduction of visa waivers or by being able to book accommodation, flights and activities on one app.”
Currently, 62 countries permit Indian travelers to visit without first obtaining a visa—that’s 10 more than in 2016, the year that the Henley & Partners Passport Index launched. But the United States neither grants visa-free entry to Indian tourists nor does it make procuring a visa fast and easy.
While the U.S. is approving more visas for Indians today than in pre-pandemic years, the average visa wait time is still about 10 months, according to the U.S. State Department website. Before a leisure trip to America, an Indian citizen must wait for a visa interview, which can take anywhere from 197 days at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi to 423 days at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. In comparison, Indian tourists can get a visa for Canada in just 23 days or the United Kingdom in roughly three weeks.
U.S. officials readily acknowledge that visa wait times are a big problem. Speaking at the Skift India Summit on Tuesday, Eric Garcetti, the U.S. Ambassador to India, told conference-goers that President Joe Biden specifically asked him to tackle the backlog. “I bet it’s the only time the United States president has told the ambassador, ‘Please work on visa issues,’” Garcetti said.
Visa waivers have a proven track record and give nations a competitive edge, insists Agoda CEO Morgenstern. After Azerbaijan introduced the ASAN system, which processes electronic visas within three working days of submitting an application, interest from Indian tourists skyrocketed and arrivals increased fivefold in two years. “Thailand and Malaysia both introduced visa waivers for tourists from India late last year, and that led to an immediate increase in searches from India to both markets,” Morgenshtern says, noting that searches for Thailand grow by 46% even though Thailand was already the top searched destination by Indians. “In the two months after the visa waiver came into effect, Bangkok overtook Dubai as the most-booked city destinations for Indians.” Yet the emirate was not to be outmaneuvered. In February, Dubai introduced a five-year multiple-entry visa for inbound Indian travelers.
Another reason why India is such an attractive source market is its youthful population. Only 7% of India’s population is 65 years and older, compared with 14% in China and 18% in the U.S., according to data from a recent report from the Pew Research Center. People under the age of 25 account for more than 40% of India’s population. “In fact, there are so many Indians in this age group that roughly one-in-five people globally who are under the age of 25 live in India,” notes the Pew report. “Looking at India’s age distribution another way, the country’s median age is 28. By comparison, the median age is 38 in the United States and 39 in China.”
“It’s an extremely well-educated populace, very digitally savvy,” says Bremner, adding that more than 75% of Indian millennials and Gen Xers traveled in 2023, according to Euromonitor data.
“Indian travelers are more engaged with ecotourism and sustainability than their global counterparts. They are open to all kinds of experiences, from luxury to eco-adventure,” Bremner continues. “And, of course, they are high spending. I’m not at all surprised that destinations from Asia to the Middle East and Europe and U.S. are chasing them.”


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Smart bottles make use of printed sensor tags
Samsung ditches plastic design, adds mobile pay in new phone
Samsung, locked in a tight race with Apple to be the world's biggest smartphone maker, has unveiled an important new phone that ditches its signature plastic design for more stylish metal and glass.
Companies increasingly turn to tech to keep drones out of no-fly zones
Low-cost hobby drones are making the power of flight accessible to anyone with a few hundred bucks to spare. But a combination of technology and safety laws could take the controls out of users' hands.
Review: Apple-centric 'Modern Family' goes beyond gimmicks
(AP)—When "Modern Family" producers revealed that they recorded this week's episode entirely with the iPhone and other Apple products, I was skeptical. I've seen too many good shows decline in quality over ...
Huawei puts premium styling in watch entry, thinks Classic
Ikea launches furniture with inbuilt wireless chargers
Lost that charger again for your cellphone or tablet? Hate sorting heaps of wires to charge various devices?
Wrist action: phone firms bet on 'year of smartwatch'
Defying scepticism and geek-stigma, mobile phone firms are determined this year to sell you a wristwatch wirelessly connected to your mobile phone.
First Look: Samsung gets a lot right with new S6 phones
Samsung's new Galaxy smartphones improve in two major areas: design and picture quality.
Asian firms challenge Apple with snazzy new smartphones
Several big Asian phone companies launched new high-end smartphones and other wireless gizmos on Sunday, hoping to challenge US giant Apple in a big year for wireless gadgets.
Don't let looks deceive: HTC One improves the camera inside
(AP)—From the outside, the new HTC One smartphone looks and feels like last year's model. But there's a huge difference inside—the camera.
Fashionable or geeky—the modern watch dilemma
It's Milan fashion week, you've got tickets to the catwalk shows and an outfit to die for, but which watch to wear? A chunky smartwatch or chic ticker that can't tell the time?
Pebble smartwatch nears Kickstarter record
The latest version of the Pebble smartwatch neared a record funding amount on Kickstarter on Friday amid growing interest in wearable tech and ahead of the highly anticipated Apple Watch launch.
Mystery Apple event planned for March 9, likely on Watch
Apple sent invitations Thursday for a mystery event due to take place March 9, amid speculation about an imminent launch of its much anticipated Apple Watch.
Motorola aims new phone at first-time smartphone buyers
(AP)—Motorola is updating its low-cost smartphone, the Moto E, as it targets first-time smartphone buyers worldwide.


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According to the travels of Brian Blum, America has changed since the pandemic: Anti-vaxxers are everywhere, there are meat-free burgers, and the political vitriol has gotten worse.
Distinctive delivery hamburgers from Agadir/Cafe Nelson and Burger King.
While the McPlant line has been announced, McDonald's refuses to do the same with regard to its plant-based foods supplier - although many indications hint that it will be Beyond Meat.
Scientists have been working on ways to reduce methane emissions, by either breeding animals that burp less, adjusting their diets so they produce less methane and planting trees in pastures.
"The beauty of no artificial preservatives," the tagline read.
At the bottom of the ad, in lettering and grammar meant to resemble a biblical verse, are the words, "And may the house be filled with the smell of turkey bacon."
The action at its restaurants across Britain will save an estimated 320 tonnes of single use plastic every year, the fast food giant said.


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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced North American HVACR average distributor sales for June 2011 were up 6.8 percent from the same month last year, nearly identical to May’s results. June, however, marked the fourth out of the last five months in which the annual distributor growth rate declined. HARDI’s Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (TRENDS) report showed growth in six of seven U.S. regions, two of which experienced double-digit improvement compared to June 2010. Canada failed to maintain momentum from last month’s strong rebound with June delivering essentially flat performance.
Inventory levels were up in every North American region for the second consecutive month. Days Sales Outstanding continued its fifth consecutive month of increases with June up a whopping 10 percent over last month. One of the most positive figures was a 30 percent increase in distributor productivity reflected by sales per employee, as consistently high temperatures drove business in June for much of North America without significant staffing increases this season.
“The HVACR distributor market is transitioning into slower annual growth, in tandem with the U.S. economic landscape. Average member sales over the past 12 months were positive, up 8.9 percent from last year at this time, but the growth is slower than the 10.0 percent plus annual growth rates recorded in the winter months,” said HARDI economist Andrew Duguay of the Institute for Trend Research (ITR).
“June’s numbers reinforce what we heard in our annual Mid-Season HVAC Distributor Survey, and what we’ve seen in all of the publicly-traded quarterly reports,” said HARDI executive vice president and COO Talbot Gee. “The residential market is softer than expected despite the heat, and our forecast for significant slides in high-efficiency sales is playing out to an even greater degree.” This is in contrast to commercial markets outperforming expectations fueled primarily by repairs and replacements rather than new construction.
“June’s unitary sales data is hinting that we may have underestimated the impact of R-22 units,” said Gee. “And we appear to have been overly optimistic that we’d see fewer homeowners choosing to repair rather than replace units this year.”
Publication date: 08/15/2011
June Distributor Sales Growth Slowing
August 15, 2011


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No external storage add-on for Nintendo Wii
Nintendo has no plans to launch an external hard drive for its Wii games console. It was thought that with the launch of the WIiWare games download service, Nintendo would launch a new storage peripheral. Not so, say Nintendo
Blu-ray plans cheeky disc sales coup
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is continuing its aggressive attack on the high definition player market. It plans to give away five Blu-ray Disc (BD) movies with every Blu-ray player and PS3 console sold in the US
When Tech Attacks: killer car gadgets exposed
In-car gadgets can become dangerous missiles if they are not held in their mountings properly. A study in Germany has shown that items such as in-car DVD players, satnav and mobile phones can become treacherous hazards during rear-end collisions
Sony upgrades PS3 software for better HD TV
UK PlayStation 3 owners might want to allocate a little extra time before getting stuck into Resistance this morning for Sony's latest firmware update to download and install itself.
PlayStation 3 won't help Blu-ray in HD war
Sony's PlayStation 3 console will not have any effect on the final outcome of the high definition disc battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Of the 80 per cent of US households which own a games console, only 13 per cent actually use it to watch movies
Sony PS3 winning console war in Australia
The Sony PlayStation 3 games console is outselling both the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox 360 in Australia. That's according to Michael Ephraim, MD of Sony Computer Entertainment Down Under, who cited market research figures
Blu-ray HD DVD hybrid Total HD discs delayed
Warner Home Video's new HD DVD Blu-ray hybrid discs will not make it onto the shelves until 2008 at the earliest. The two-sided discs were expected to make an appearance in the second half of 2007, but now Warner says it's in "no rush".


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The European Union has set out its road map for lifting the current COVID-19 restrictions across Europe and progressively reopening certain sectors.
IRU welcomes the road map’s call for a coordinated approach in lifting the current containment measures and its recognition of the importance of cross-border transport systems to enabling the free movement of people, goods and services. This stance is vital given the lack of Member States’ coordination has been a fundamental difficulty in setting up and managing restrictions and border control so far.
The road map’s recognition of the fact that “in the transition phase, the efforts to maintain an unobstructed flow of goods and to secure supply chains should be reinforced” is also a particularly welcome move. However, the way Member States will implement and achieve this remains unclear.
“The road map is a first but still very general step, and we need to see more pragmatic guidelines, to restore transport services, connectivity and movement of people and goods. Governments have failed to coordinate their strategies and actions so far and we have to avoid that this happens again during the recovery phase,” said Raluca Marian, IRU General Delegate.
More specifically, IRU outlines the priority matters as follows:
- Green lanes
Green lanes are still not a reality everywhere, even with trucks representing the predominant type of cross-border traffic. Long waiting hours continue to pose the biggest challenge for logistics. Once the de-confinement process commences, more and more traffic, including private passenger cars, will overwhelm the newly created borders.
Continuity of logistics chains will therefore be seriously harmed unless green lanes for commercial vehicles become a reality and result in a policy that prevents systematic stopping of trucks at intra-EU borders.
Some Member States form convoys of trucks at borders, in order for the vehicles to cross their territory escorted by police. This is contrary to the concept of green lanes and what’s more, it is unsafe.
- Collective passenger transport
The EU’s encouragement to use private cars is a disappointment. Collective transport has been a consistent EU and national focus as the most efficient tool for decarbonisation and decongestion. Rather than abandoning a long lasting promoted mode of transport, IRU calls on the EU to focus on putting immediate protective measures in place, so that collective passenger transport can resume. Many European citizens depend on collective means of transport and don’t have access to a car.
- Health measures: massive testing, protection of drivers and disinfection of vehicles
Drivers should be defined as a priority category subject to preventive testing. They should also be given priority access to protective and disinfection equipment.
As a social partner at the EU level, IRU welcomes the Commission’s invitation to contribute to the upcoming “rapid alert system to identify supply and value chain disruptions.”
“The EU’s road map marks the first step towards a post COVID-19 recovery,” said Ms Marian. “It must therefore be carefully thought through in order to enable passenger and freight transport, as the backbone of the economy, to resume needed operations safely and effectively as quickly as possible.”


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The National Farmers Union (NFU) has announced the launch of its “Great British Beef” recipe campaign to celebrate delicious and nutritious British beef. Fronted by beloved celebrity and “OXO mum” Lynda Bellingham, in conjunction with The Ladies in Beef, the campaign features a variety of mouth-watering recipes alongside a series of cook-along videos as well as top competitions and expert advice on choosing cuts of beef.
Lynda Bellingham said: “I’m delighted to be launching the Great British Beef campaign. Being a farmer’s daughter, I have first-hand experience of the great work our farmers do to produce quality food. I’ve always been aware of the importance of a nutritious home cooked meal and love cooking with beef for my family – it’s exceptionally versatile and easy to prepare, providing a wealth of options to shake up the weekly dinner routine.”
Alistair Mackintosh, Chairman of NFU Livestock Board and Cumbrian beef farmer said: “I’m tremendously proud of the high quality beef we produce in this country. We want shoppers to look for the Red Tractor logo to ensure that their beef meets high standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection and the flag gives shoppers the assurance about the country of origin. By buying British beef, consumers are helping to support the UK’s rural economy and contributing to a beautiful farmed countryside.”
Minette Batters from Ladies in Beef said: “We are proud to support this initiative as we’re passionate about British beef. Our aim is to share with people the quality and versatility of British beef by raising awareness through our country-wide network of dynamic lady beef ‘champions’. British farmers really care about producing a great product and you can buy home-reared beef at the supermarket or at your local butcher. Beef is the perfect staple for any occasion whether you’re having a large gathering with family and friends or looking for a quick, simple and low cost meal option at home.”
To view the full range of scrumptious, easy to prepare beef recipes visit www.greatbritishbeef.co.uk. As well as a multitude of classic favourites such as beef casserole, steaks and joint recipes, the site features new and exciting recipes certain to inject some pizazz into mealtimes. Leading butcher, John Mettrick, gives his expert advice on choosing and getting the most value from beef cuts and wine connoisseur, Ewan Lacey, gives his top tips on pairing beef with wine. All of the winter warming recipes found on the website are relatively easy to prepare and are certain to put a smile on your loved one’s faces after a hard day at work or a challenging game on the pitch!
Leading retailers Morrisons and Asda are backing the campaign and have agreed to throw the power of their social media networks behind the effort to ensure millions of consumers are encouraged to cook with beef and look out for the Red Tractor logo when shopping.
The campaign has its own Facebook page - Great British Beef - and all the latest news will be tweeted through @NFUTtweets and #britishbeef.
For more information, or to arrange an interview with Lynda Bellingham or a spokesperson from the NFU, please contact Ashley Dow or Kat Simon on 020 8960 8950 or email firstname.lastname@example.org or email@example.com.


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PHOENIX, AZ (WHDH) — A farm owner teamed up with a yoga instructor to create a new workout trend that is taking Arizona by storm—goat yoga.
The goats join in on the exercise; they even climb on the back of participants.
The classes started in October. It was slow to catch on, but they are now selling out classes.
The farm offers the classes for just $10 for an hour.
Copyright 2020 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Next digital screen could fold like paper
Scientists tinker with displays for books, clothing, and military gadgets that are as thin as newsprint and as durable as fabric.
(Page 2 of 2)
Researchers at Xerox Corp.'s Palo Alto Research Center recently devised a technique to "print" plastic transistors similar to the type used to control today's flat-panel displays. The new process uses semiconductor ink and a modified ink-jet printer. The transistors can be used to produce electronic displays that roll up.Skip to next paragraph
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The potential value of flexible displays isn't lost on the military. The US Army Research Lab plans to spend $43.6 million over five years on a flexible-display center at a US university to be identified early this year, says Bob Pinnel, chief technology officer at the US Display Consortium in San Jose, Calif. Other branches of the military also are interested.
"DARPA [the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] is looking at 'immersive imaging,' where the entire interior of a tent will have displays that can simulate conditions for battle preparation, or remote cockpit and field training," Dr. Pinnel says.
Future soldiers will access more information than now, says David Morton, a physicist and manager for the Army Research Lab in Adelphi, Md. Their uniform sleeve, for example, could be a display showing a map or a manual to repair equipment in the field. "Flexible displays will be pervasive in the Army," Dr. Morton says.
One hurdle being worked on is the heat generated during display manufacturing, he says. It can damage the plastic display components. Color displays are in the early stages of development, and could be used as cloth for a digital camouflage suit, but they must be able to withstand wear and tear and washing. An even bigger challenge is to devise a reliable manufacturing system.
"Our goal in 10 to 15 years is to go to a flexible substrate [display backing material] that can be printed roll-to-roll like newspapers, then cut to size," Morton says.
In the private sector, "there already is a great interest in having flexible displays in fashions, including jewelry that can change colors as it is worn," says Kent State's West. Also, wallpaper in homes could become a giant flexible display that changes color or images.
Nearer term, e-book companies will face more traditional challenges, such as working out intellectual property, royalties, and other content issues with publishers.
An even more basic question remains: Can consumers wean themselves away from paper and embrace the gee-whiz display technologies?
As display technologies march forward, so, too, do those for "smart" paper. One type can be electronically erased and rewritten thousands of times by feeding it through a special companion paper. Japan's Ricoh Co., Ltd. has developed several types of "smart" paper that will be sold this year. Two other Japanese companies, Shinsho Corp. and Majima Laboratory Inc., have developed experimental rewritable paper they say is the first to use color. It also needs its own printer.
T-Ink Inc. of New York is taking a different approach with an electrically conductive ink that can make sounds or light up. It already is being used by McDonald's Australia in Happy Meals. The Happy Meal toy lights up as it interacts with ink printed on the meal box or tray liner. Likewise, children using Super Color educational products hear feedback if they write a correct answer to math or spelling questions. The marker they write with activates the conductive ink on the paper.
"The ink is printed on regular, disposable paper," says Andrew Ferber of T-Ink. He says the ink can be printed onto almost anything, including garments, wallpaper, automobiles, and devices like cellphones - and it will be washable. "There's no industry we can't go into."


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It's finally here - the first Amazon Black Friday price drop for Echo gadgets.
The online shop selling pretty much everything has now started its Black Friday some 10 days early.
And the first big discount is on its voice-activated home devices.
Bargain lovers will see that the Echo Dot third generation - the older version of the Alexa-powered devices - is now just less than £19 - down from £39.99.
The major discount brings the Dot to the lowest price it has been for all of 2021.
But there is more, with some savvy shoppers able to get even more off the price and bag the Echo Dot for just £3.99 by using a second online deal.
Through TopCashback, new customers can get £15 back in real money when they spend £15 or more on Black Friday deals.
Historically Black Friday takes place on Friday, November 26.
But in recent years deals start weeks in advance as sellers compete to clear as much stock as possible in the Christmas period.
Another mega saving right now is the M&S snow globe Christmas gin available for just £5 using the TopCashback deal. So choose wisely!
Have you got news for us? Contact our newsdesk on email@example.com.
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CHOLESTRAC OTC CHOLESTEROL TEST LAUNCH PLANNED FOR U.S.
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
CHOLESTRAC OTC CHOLESTEROL TEST LAUNCH PLANNED FOR U.S. at mid-year, according to American Home Products subsidiary Whitehall Labs, which has marketing rights to the test. On March 2, CholesTrac became the first over-the-counter cholesterol test to obtain FDA marketing clearance. CholesTrac was developed by its manufacturer, diagnostics firm ChemTrak. Whitehall has not yet announced the consumer price for the cholesterol test, but has been selling the test overseas since 1991 for prices ranging between $ 10-$ 15. Whitehall overseas distribution arrangements include agreements with Boots the Chemists in England and with A. Menarini in Italy; the device also is being sold in Singapore, Korea and the Middle East. Whitehall's existing U.S. line of OTC diagnostics includes the Clearblue Easy pregnancy test and the Clearplan Easy ovulation predictor kit. CholesTrac is essentially the same test as the AccuMeter, which ChemTrak has been marketing for professional use since May 1991. Provided as a palm-sized disposable cassette test, CholesTrac measures total cholesterol levels within 15 minutes. Approximately two minutes after a drop of blood is placed in the cassette, plasma is separated from the blood sample. The user then pulls a tab that initiates chemical reactions with the plasma and results in a colorband that can be read much like a thermometer. The user compares the length of the resulting colorband to a cholesterol level conversion chart included with the OTC device. Several published studies have indicated that ChemTrak's tests are 96%-99% as accurate as the Abell-Kendall test, the standard total cholesterol testing method used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an HHS announcement on the clearance of the OTC test, FDA Commissioner David Kessler underscored that "accuracy is crucial. It is also important, as the study [submitted by ChemTrak] showed, that participants were able to read and understand the instructions and perform the test without assistance." HHS Secretary Donna Shalala added that "this test can help give consumers greater opportunity to monitor their health and take steps to prevent disease." ChemTrak said that it is developing other formats for use with the patented cassette technology, including tests to measure high- and low-density lipoproteins. ChemTrak believes the technology also has potential application for AIDS and hepatitis testing, and heart enzyme level monitoring.
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Things have been shaking up a bit around American lately, especially after the midterms elections were over. The one shocker people are also still reeling in from is Jeff Sessions recent resignation. Sessions is no longer the Attorney General and the position now goes to his former Chief of Staff Matthew Whitaker. He claimed that, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana” and yet the cannabis community scored another win, with Michigan becoming the 10th state to legalize cannabis. Michigan makes that now 1/20, or better yet, 4/20th of the United States where recreational cannabis is legal (Cannabis math pun, I went there!).
Meanwhile our upstairs neighbor, Canada, has been too busy celebrating their victory of legalizing cannabis all across the country. LEGALIZED CANNABIS… ALL. ACROSS. THE NATION. The policy took effect back in October 17th and Canadians have already been taking advantage of this event nationwide.
But it isn’t just recreational cannabis businesses that are already open – Canada’s recent political PR miracle opens the door for many specialty businesses. Events such as Puff and Paint night or Cannabis Yoga have been springing up, but Canada has an even bigger surprise. Located within Vancouver, British Columbia is a special gem that combines social cannabis consumption and retro video games. Allow me to introduce… High Score Lounge.
High Score Lounge features 80’s/90’s video game console games, arcade games, and even pinball games. Choose from such consoles as the NES, Sega Genesis, Atari 5200, and the SNES; the console games feature over 200 titles to choose from. If you get tired of gaming after a while, you can kick back to watch 80s movies and cartoons that stream all day. Enjoy those nostalgic 80s titles with some retro candies and sodas to snack on.
The best part about High Score Lounge? It is COMPLETELY 4/20 friendly. This arcade is combined with services such as a dab bar, cannabis vapor lounge, and even a dispensary. You can even bring your own cannabis with you to the place as well.
Seriously folks, it comes with its OWN DISPENSARY to purchase cannabis at. You can get whatever cannabis products you need to get into your gaming groove. Grab a good joint before hitting the pinball machine or take a quick dab before destroying your friends on Mario Kart!
This is one of those marketing tactics that is simple, yet GENIUS. You combine the social aspect of cannabis thrown in with some entertainment (console, arcade, and pinball games) to get one incredible establishment to check out. It’s the 4/20 subculture mixing in with the gaming subculture (as well as the subcultures within that community!) in under one roof. This is pretty much a gamer stoner’s wet dream here.
Canada is certainly celebrating their recent victory with places like High Score Lounge in full operation. High Score Lounge is a unique specialty business that will set high standards for Vancouver as well as Canada. Retro barcades are the hottest thing around America now, but nothing yet has come close to something like High Score Lounge.
At this point, High Score Lounge is one of many up-and-coming spots to look out for in the future. This unique idea of combining recreational cannabis use with arcade games is definitely something that will reach America very shortly. Who knows what 4/20-friendly city will claim their title as having the first barcade/cannabis lounge. Will San Francisco reign supreme yet again? Or will Boston come out and surprise us?
In the end, High Score Lounge shows how far we have come, with both the cannabis and gaming culture. Both of these subcultures are now being pushed out into the public, attracting more demographics every year.


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Fairhope Brewing, the first and only brewery in the Mobile, Ala. area, is celebrating its first anniversary in early February. Head brewer Dan Murphy identifies the brewery as focused on the Gulf Coast instead of just Alabama, and it draws some Louisiana tourists to visit the brewery.
Owners Brian and Michele Kane, Jim Foley, Gabe Harris and Murphy built Fairhope to celebrate beer, music and community. The connections and collaborations they’ve pursued reflect that mission — for example, their first “brewsician” collaboration is with musician Grayson Capps, who wrote the song “Drinka Little Poison 4 U Die.” Capps’ manager was discussing the possibility of playing at the Fairhope taproom when the idea to do a collaboration came up.
Murphy’s wife Amy says, “I threw out the idea of doing a beer based on one of his songs and his manager loved the idea. Dan thought ‘Little Poison’ worked best because the chorus is, ‘Before you die, before you die, drink a lil poison 'fore you die,’ and Grayson's favorite style of beer is a brown ale, hence L'il Poison Brown Ale.”
The test batch sold out in 90 minutes, and Fairhope is brewing a full batch to release as its Mardi Gras seasonal beer.
Last week, Fairhope unveiled a beer it created with Druid City Brewing Company out of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Son of a Peacherman is a dark saison brewed with local peaches. “It came down to a couple of old friends from college who have a similar brewing philosophy and wanted to get together and brew beer,” Murphy says. “We're like kids in a candy shop, and experimenting with something neither of us had tried before was a lot of fun.”
— Nora McGunnigle is a freelance writer and blogger. Follow her beer writing at www.nolabeerblog.com.


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IDP Consulting, an IT management firm, did not disclose the amount it paid in purchasing all of the assets of the Iron Key Group, including its employees.
The Jericho firm plans to retain Iron Key’s team in its entirety, including all professional services, managed services and related operational functions.
Other merger and acquisition stories
- Pall shareholders vote for sale to Danaher
- Heinz buys Kraft to build $28 billion food giant
- Macerich rebuffs $16B hostile bid from Simon Property
The acquisition is expected to help IDP Consulting create a broader and more diversified solutions and services portfolio. IDP leaders said the acquisition will play a pivotal role as the foundation to roll out a public cloud offering to its customer base.
“We have witnessed unprecedented change and growing complexity in the technology landscape these past few years,” said Paul Sperry, president and CEO of IDP Consulting. “Yet with our internal investments and acquisitions like this, we have never been more confident in our ability to assist customers in tackling their most complex challenges – from the desktop to leveraging private and public cloud infrastructure.”
Ken Morris, CEO of Iron Key Group, said the Smithtown firm had been highly selective in finding an organization to partner with going forward, eventually settling on IDP Consulting after reviewing the company’s credentials.
More breaking news
- Q&A with Emerald Brand
- Brookhaven approves $7.5M IDA package for Bristal facility
- State greenlights med marijuana sites
- Invenergy files documents for solar project
- Wayback Burgers to open in West Hempstead
- Wage hike for fast-food workers may face legal challenge
- Tesla opening pop-up store in Southampton
- New media market emerges with business opportunities
- New York-area construction sizzling this summer
- To B or not to B


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Models, including Mary Peden, of White River Junction, Vt., foreground, walk the runway at the conclusion of a fashion show held at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vt., on April 4, 2015. The show featured the work of four local designers. (Valley News – Geoff Hansen)
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 27th Jun 2012 20:27 UTC
So yeah, Google totally just won the conference showdown by easily beating both Apple and Microsoft. Not only did Google announce Android 4.1 with some really cool new features, a cheap but non-crippled tablet, and a new Android device called the Nexus Q, but they also opened up pre-orders for Google Glass. So yeah.
"In the first episode of Microsoft's new film series 'On the Whiteboard', Editor Pamela Woon chats with two-time Oscar winner Randy Thom about the (often underestimated) importance of sound in human-technology interactions. Thom, the lead sound designer at Skywalker Ranch who worked on films such as The Incredibles, Castaway and Forrest Gump, says that people rarely consider the significance of those signature sounds that come from their trusty devices, whether it be a cell phone, a computer or a tablet."
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