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BehrPro's new Behr Premium Deckover exterior coating is being sold as a solution for old weathered wood and concrete surfaces.
The exterior coating from BehrPro, the professional roducts and services group of Behr Process Corp., features advanced, 100% acrylic resin fused with ceramic microspheres. According to BehrPro, the coating creates a durable, mildew-resistant finish.
“From concealing splinters and cracks to a simple, spatter-resistant application, the Deckover product adds to BehrPro’s arsenal of products and services designed to help professionals build a better business,” said Colin Jaffe, senior VP of operations for professional products and services at Behr. “By offering the Deckover coating, professionals are not only extending the life of a surface and giving it a beautiful new look, they are saving customers from the inconvenient factors associated with replacing old wood and concrete surfaces.”
The BehrPro Experience Tour is giving away product demos in stops around the country this summer.
The solid color coating is available in a diverse pallet that offers professionals 54 custom color options, according to the company.


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The second round of the S.H.E Pitch Competition was just getting started when Helen Propheter, director of Frederick County’s Office of Economic Development, dropped to the polished wooden stage of Hood College’s Hodson Auditorium and tried for a push-up.
With no more gift bags to give away, Propheter was stalling for time before Allison Jachowski — co-owner of Frederick’s ODIN CrossFit — was ready to start her presentation. Though Propheter gave a noble effort, high-heeled shoes and all, she soon found herself lying flat on her belly as the audience whooped and cheered. Jachowski watched nearby, laughing.
“I can help you with that,” she said with a grin.
Jachowski went head-to-head with six other female business leaders on Thursday in a “Shark Tank”-style fight hosted on the second-to-last night of S.H.E. Week, an annual event developed by the county’s chamber of commerce to celebrate women in business.
In all, $10,000 was up for grabs. Three new businesses duked it out for the $4,500 “Idea Stage” prize, while three expanding businesses, including Jachowski’s gym, competed for the $5,000 “Growth Stage” prize. Audience members selected an additional winner of the “People’s Choice Award” and $500, while a panel of four judges — which included Hood College President Andrea Chapdelaine, Frederick County Chamber of Commerce President Rick Weldon and two local business owners — chose who would walk away with the first two prizes.
The competitors had to speak fast: They only had two minutes to set up their presentations, five minutes to pitch their businesses and three minutes to answer questions from the judges. Hodson Auditorium echoed with the sound of clicking high heels as the women paced around the stage, flicking through sleek slideshows.
One thing was for certain, Propheter said — she did not envy the judges for the decision they had to make. The businesses competing ranged from a newly created construction group to a company striving to make the delivery of medicine via needles safer and cheaper.
Each one did an “outstanding job,” Propheter said.
“You’ve represented Frederick County better than any of us could have,” she remarked. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have your entrepreneurial spirit here in our county.”
Ultimately, ODIN CrossFit came out on top in the Growth Stage competition and received the People’s Choice Award. The gym’s members had turned out in droves to support Jachowski — a small crowd exploded to their feet, shouting and applauding, when she was announced the winner. Her 6-year-old son scampered to the stage and hugged his mom around her legs.
During her presentation, Jachowski told the judges that she had run ODIN CrossFit with her husband for about six years. She had entered the competition with the hope of using the prize money to help with the gym’s upcoming move to a new 10,000-square-foot space on North Market Street — a significant upgrade from the company’s current 5,600-square-foot space.
The new location will allow the business to run more classes at once and give its members easy access to the shops and restaurants downtown Frederick has to offer, Jachowski said, but it is also in need of a “serious facelift.” On top of purchasing new gym equipment, Jachowski and her staff will be installing new plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems inside the facility. In the end, though, she said it will all be worth it to provide her gym family with an upgrade.
Sandy Dubay, one of the judges and the owner of Platinum PR, hit Jachowski with a tough final question: How long did she think it would take Propheter to be able to do a full push-up?
“If she comes to ODIN, I’d give her a couple weeks,” Jachowski replied to laughter and applause.
The judges chose Kara Kelley, co-owner of the budding cottage bakery, Ifey & Blue’s, as winner of the Idea Stage section of the competition. Kelley and her partner were looking for funds to purchase new kitchen equipment, which would allow them to generate more revenue, while saving up for a food truck and giving their “poor KitchenAid its absolute needed break.”
Though Ifey & Blue’s started by only pushing hot cocoa bombs when Kelley and her partner created the business last November, it has since expanded to selling custom cake and cupcakes, including cereal-inspired macarons. The duo may one day pursue opening a brick-and-mortar shop, Kelley said, but wanted to start with a food truck so they could build up their reputation and clientele in the community, while also maintaining flexibility to “rock our jobs as mom and dad.”
After Kelley finished her presentation, Dubey fired a series of questions at her, then followed up with a final zinger:
“And are the samples coming later?”
Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier
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LITTLE ROCK Our senior business writer Jack Weatherly has reported that the Little Rock Planning Commission this month will take up a site plan that involves tearing down of the 54-year-old, five-story Baker office building at West Markham Street and University Avenue to build a 2,262-square-foot Chipotle Mexican Grill. It’ll be right next door to the retro-tribute-modern McDonald’s that now occupies the site of the former Bennigan’s, and would take advantage of the new left-turn lane on the widened Markham Street, built to accommodate the McDonald’s traffic.
Weatherly reports that Ernie Peters, a Little Rock engineer who worked up the plan for the McDonald’s, has said the Chipotle site plan also would reshape the intersection’s southwest corner to make it “much more pedestrian friendly.” (The corner was best known for many years as being particularly vehicle unfriendly, especially to semi trucks trying to execute a right turn onto University, many of which ended up hanging over the guard rail.)
The area’s only other Chipotle is in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road Little Rock. We will keep you posted.
Our Fort Smith bureau chief, Dave Hughes, reported last week that owners of the popular restaurant Calico County, 2401 S. 56th St., Fort Smith, heavily damaged by fire a month ago, hope to reopen by June, and at the same location where it has been since 1984.
They and their insurance folks are in the process of deciding whether to renovate the existing building or to raze the structure and build a new one. The owners did salvage what they could from the restaurant’s dining room, which was filled with antiques, old signs and other displays that contributed toward the business’ old-time country atmosphere.
And a couple of recent top 100 lists of which to take note:
Little Rock’s Ashley’s at the Capital Hotel, West Markham and Louisiana streets, shows up on OpenTable’s recently released 2012 list of Top 100 American Fare Restaurants. OpenTable made the list from more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by diners who reserved a table through the site.
Check out the complete list at opentable.com/promo. aspx?ref=5743&pid=379. Ashley’s information and reviews are available at opentable.com/ashleys-restaurant-capital-hotel?ref=5743.
And three Northwest Arkansas restaurants - Fayetteville’s Green Submarine and Hammontree’s Grilled Cheese and Bentonville’s Pressroom- are on the list of Seattlebased Urbanspoon’s top 100 kid-friendly restaurants.
Urbanspoon, which bills itself as “the leading mobile restaurant discovery application and reservation management system,” based its list on “a rating algorithm that includes blog posts on Urbanspoon, diner voting behavior, consumer reviews, critic reviews and page views.” Whew.
The restaurants offer the best available “choices for a family night out, with a variety of menus and cuisines, spanning 26 states and 64 cities,” according to a news release, although just what makes them kid-friendly is left, apparently, to our imagination.
The website, urbanspoon.com/blog/124/America-s-Most-Popular-Kid-Friendly-Restaurants.html (where you can also find the complete list) offers this hint: “The key to a great kid-friendly restaurant is providing a comfortable environment and delicious menu for the entire family.” Has a restaurant opened - or closed - near you in the last week or so? Does your favorite eatery have a new menu? Is there a new chef in charge? Drop us a line. Call (501) 399-3667 or (501) 378-3513 , or send a note to Restaurants, Weekend Section, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Send e-mail to:
Weekend, Pages 34 on 01/03/2013
Print Headline: TRANSITIONS


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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators said on Thursday they may take action against online and electronic retailers restricting cross-border sales within the bloc but only on a case-by-case basis.
Following a year-long investigation into the sector, the European Commission preliminary report showed that geoblocking, where retailers prevent online shoppers in some countries buying cheaper products or services abroad, is widespread, due in part to agreements between retailers and content providers.
The so-called e-commerce sector inquiry is part of the European Commission's campaign to overhaul the 28-country bloc's digital market in a bid to boost growth and catch up with the United States and Asia.
The EU executive also found manufacturers increasingly use selective distribution and contractual sales restrictions, such as price restrictions and curbs on online sales, to better control their products.
"These practices can prevent European consumers from reaping the full benefits of e-commerce in terms of greater choice and lower prices," Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The initial findings by the EU antitrust enforcer could lay the groundwork for cases against some retailers. A final report is due in the first quarter of 2017.
EU antitrust scrutiny of the pharmaceutical, energy and financial services industries over the past decade prompted investigations into companies in all three sectors.
While about half of EU consumers shopped online in 2014, only 15 percent of them bought a product from another EU country because of language barriers, different laws as well as anti-competitive behavior, according to Commission data.
(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Jan Strupczewski)


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- Category: Economic
- Published Monday, January 25, 2016
- CTV News
TORONTO - Licensed marijuana producer Bedrocan is slashing the price of all six of its medical cannabis strains to $5 a gram, citing a desire to make medicine more affordable for patients.
The company's products previously cost $7.50 a gram.
Bedrocan Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corp. (TSXV:CGC), a combined company formed when Bedrocan merged with Tweed Marijuana Inc.
Bedrocan president Marc Wayne says the company will still be able to turn a profit, even after price cuts that amount to roughly 33 per cent because of improved production efficiencies.


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In the news
Apple’s take on the augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) headset is here, and it’s got people reconsidering the metaverse.
As Apple has done in the past, it allowed other tech firms—Meta, in this case—to act as the pathfinder in an emerging category. Then, once the Quest AR/VR headsets rolled out, Meta appeared taken aback, by some observers, when the tech world’s focus (pun intended) turned to generative artificial intelligence. (Meta insists its metaverse and approach goals have never wavered.)
Many observers believe the arrival of Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro will validate the field of metaverse headsets as it’s got some intriguing features that appear to distinguish it from Quest and other competitors. For example, while most AR/VR headsets cocoon users in a fully rendered world, Apple is hinting that Vision Pro users can wear it around the house while performing everyday tasks. A dial will even allow them to change the balance between virtual and augmented reality.
We wondered about Vision Pro’s impact on the metaverse, especially in the professional sphere. Is the device “magic,” as some early users have declared, or “searching for a purpose,” as others maintain?
The Cognizant take
Duncan Roberts, thought leader and futurist at Cognizant, believes the Vision Pro rollout itself—both what Apple did and did not highlight about the product—speaks volumes about the company’s intentions.
Consider that Apple didn’t use the term ”VR,” nor did it demo VR games, Roberts points out. The reason, he believes, is that Apple is going after its existing user base rather than AR/VR enthusiasts.
“Apple is stressing that Vision Pro is non-isolating and feels natural. As Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed out, you look through it, not at it.” The device also provides immediate access to the entire familiar Apple ecosystem—apps, music, movies and so on—which also differentiates it from Meta’s devices.
While some have criticized Vision Pro’s price point, others argue that the $3,499 buys unmatched functionality and quality. “The resolution, the comfort, the quality of the pass-through—it’s all superior,” Roberts says. “It’s got a lidar scanner. It’s got 12 cameras as opposed to six.” Where buyers of Quest and other devices often bolster the device’s abilities by connecting it to a computer, the Vision Pro headset genuinely offers sufficient power as a self-contained unit.
It all adds up to a price tag that’s “not outrageous for the quality it will provide.” He says it’s noteworthy that this is the minimum viable product Apple is willing to ship—and this is what it costs. Moreover, as with virtually all tech, the price will come down as time passes.
Roberts, like others, believes Apple’s entry into the market is a turning point for the metaverse. “This is what Apple does,” he says. “They take something everybody’s been doing—in this case Google, Microsoft and Meta—and they polish it and make it lovely. They’ve made it seamless, with an easy user interface. Apple has validated all the work Meta’s been doing.”


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Fans of the Elder Scrolls franchise will soon be able to trudge through Tamriel in a sweeping new MMO, according to a recent report.
Target and Kindle are parting ways. What's behind the split?
Black Ops 2, set for launch this fall, will take place partially in 2025, in an America overrun by deadly drones. Can Black Ops 2 continue Call of Duty's record-breaking streak?
Facebook now lets you announce whether you're an organ donor. It's not a substitute for registering in your state, but donor advocacy groups hope more people will become donors once they see their Facebook friends doing it.
The Kindle Fire, the new Amazon tablet, is responsible for more than half of all Android activations, according to a new study.
Google this week unveiled a new 'Zerg rush' easter egg, a tribute to the video game Starcraft.
The Apple iPad dominates the tablet market – and not just among casual users, either.
Google Drive goes live this week. Should users be wary of how their information will be used? Google says no.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a conference call this week that hybrid laptop/tablets would not please anyone.
Apple earnings report had some impressive sales numbers: a 94 percent profit increase over last year, and huge profits on iPad and iPhone sales. A lot of the growth is coming from Asian markets, and Apple earnings are expected to expand there in months to come.
Google Drive, the new cloud storage system from Google, launches this week.


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Even though The Legend of Zelda for Wii U and Nintendo NX will now see release next year, 2016 marks the 30 year anniversary since Link first dared to go it alone on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
That isn’t to say that they won’t be celebrating, with the Nintendo NY store sharing that they will be selling an exclusive The Legend of Zelda limited edition t-shirt and art cel collection this week.
This will be the first in a series of six designs, which will come with a certificate of authenticity and a The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword art cel.
The Legend of Zelda for Wii U and Nintendo NX will see release in 2017.
— Nintendo NY (@NintendoNYC) June 9, 2016


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Lifestyle retailer Fat Face has suffered another blow to its ecommerce arm with the resignation of ecommerce and communications director Dan Miles, less than four months after taking the role.
Miles, who originally joined Fat Face as marketing director, took on the ecommerce role when home shopping director Kristine Kirby left in May.
Fat Face chairman Alan Giles said: “Dan’s background is in marketing and we asked him to take on ecommerce as well when Kristine left. He’s given it a go but decided the ecommerce side is not for him.”
He added: “Ecommerce is a very important part of our business because it covers home shopping and telephone orders as well as web so we will take our time to replace Dan.”
Fat Face chief executive Anthony Thompson will cover the role until a replacement is recruited.
Fat Face restructured its finances in March and is due to make 18 redundancies in early September. Giles admitted business had been through a “difficult period”.
He declined to give a like-for-like sales figure but said speculation that the company was trading 30% down on last year was “wildly overestimated”.


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LONDON, Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Next week, over 500 global stakeholders in the payment card industry (PCI) will attend the sixth annual PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) European Community Meeting. Ground Labs, a prominent developer of cardholder data discovery software for the payment card industry, will sponsor this year's event in Dublin, Ireland and participate in the Vendor Showcase.
The PCI SSC Community Meetings provide an opportunity for SSC members to learn from each other's experiences implementing the PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Participants also have opportunities to make suggestions for future versions of the Standards and learn about best practices for protecting cardholder data as they interact with other industry stakeholders.
With offices located across 3 continents, Ground Labs is one of the international sponsors of the upcoming Community Meeting. The company's flagship products, Card Recon and Enterprise Recon, identify data storage risks on thousands of computer systems worldwide, helping companies prevent security breaches that result in the theft of customers' credit and debit card numbers.
"Finding and protecting cardholder data embodies the spirit of the PCI Data Security Standard. Making sure all the parties involved work towards the same goal in keeping cardholder data safe is what the community meeting aims to achieve," said Mohamed Zouine, EMEA Director of Corporate Development for Ground Labs. "The European Community Meeting offers us a unique opportunity to interact with many of our partners and enterprise merchant customers within the region to gain invaluable feedback that leads to further product improvements which the entire industry can benefit from."
Card Recon and Enterprise Recon assist organisations in thoroughly identifying rogue cardholder data in all types of data storage, including emails, databases, documents and various other locations. This process is becoming a critical step toward achieving compliance with the PCI DSS standard.
The Vendor Showcase will present an opportunity for participants to interact with a broad variety of vendors servicing the payment card industry and learn about their important work in the field of cardholder data security. As a participant in the Vendor Showcase, Ground Labs will provide live demonstrations of its Card Recon software for PCI Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) and of its Enterprise Recon software for large merchant organisations.
The 2012 European Community Meeting will be held October 22-24 at the RDS in Dublin, Ireland. A similar Community Meeting was held back on September 23-23 in Orlando, Florida where Ground Labs was also a sponsor. Additional information about the 2012 PCI SCC Community Meetings is available online at www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2012/
About Ground Labs
Ground Labs is a global leader in the development of cardholder data discovery software for the payment card industry. Its flagship products, Card Recon and Enterprise Recon, identify data storage risks on thousands of computer systems worldwide, helping companies prevent security breaches that result in the theft of customers' credit and debit card numbers. For more information and product demos, visit www.groundlabs.com.
For more information, please contact:
SOURCE Ground Labs Pty Limited


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News - Volkswagen
Volkswagen aims for sales growth with SUV expansion
T-Cross to outsell more premium T-Roc as Volkswagen grows Australian SUV volume
22 Feb 2019
VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) says it has a “significant volume opportunity” with its just-confirmed T-Cross and T-Roc small SUVs that will enter the fastest-growing new-vehicle segment when they go on sale early next year.
Speaking to journalists this week at a media event in Brisbane, VGA product marketing manager Jeff Shafer stressed the importance of the two new models, considering that small SUVs were the fourth most popular type of vehicle last year, with their sales up a market-leading 18.4 per cent over 2017.
“They’re going to be two big pillars to growth for the Volkswagen brand in Australia,” he said. “The small-SUV segment’s been one of the stronger-growing segments over the last two, three years.”
Mr Shafer said the T-Cross will be the “mainstream seller”, with its “pretty sharp” pricing expected to kick off “right in the heart of the small-SUV market”, at less than $30,000.
“What we’re saying today is that it will start with a two – that doesn’t necessarily mean $29,990,” he said.
“(But) it’s never been our target to be the cheapest in any segment. We want to offer the best product and the best value.”
Conversely, Mr Shafer said the T-Roc is “the more premium” of the two, with this positioning reflected by its targeted starting price of sub-$40,000.
“T-Roc, I think it’ll be a bit more exclusive than T-Cross, so not as high of a volume,” he said. “It’s not there to sell, 10,000, 20,000 … but it’s still going to do a reasonable volume for us.”
When asked if the T-Cross will eventually surpass the Golf small car’s volume and become VGA’s best-selling model, Mr Shafer said: “Golf’s in a league of its own.
“We’re selling … 18,000, 19,000 a year, so we won’t be seeing that in the SUV range in the short term.
“Over time, I’d expect (T-Cross) volume to grow, but it’ll be another tier below (Golf).”
While unprecedented overseas demand led to a delayed Australian launch for the T-Roc, Mr Shafer was unsure if the T-Cross will be subject to the same supply constraints when it launches in Europe in April.
“Until (it goes on sale), it’s hard to judge capacity versus demand, but I think it’ll certainly be a volume-seller within our range,” he said.
“I’m not going to speculate on exactly what the number’s going to be, but certainly in the hierarchy of products, this will be lower than Tiguan in the short term.”
In 2018, the Tiguan mid-size SUV (9146 units, -4.9%) outsold the Tiguan Allspace seven-seater (2454) and Touareg large SUV (939, -41.7%) in VGA’s SUV range.
All up, VW sold 14,195 SUVs last year, up 5.6 per cent on 2017 but not enough to cover its 6.0 per cent fall in passenger car sales and still only representing 25 per cent of its total volume.
Across the industry, SUVs last year accounted for 43 per cent of all new-vehicle sales in Australia, and are continuing to rise.
Given that the T-Cross and T-Roc will be late to market, VGA has to work on educating new-vehicle buyers about its broader SUV range, according to Mr Shafer.
“Golf’s always been known as a benchmark in its segment, and we think we can be the benchmark small SUV, building off those Volkswagen characteristics,” he said.
Meanwhile, the third-generation Touareg large SUV will arrive before the T-Cross and T-Roc when its 190TDI Launch Edition variant heads Down Under in May this year, with full-time 170TDI and 210TDI variants expected locally before 2020.
While the Touareg is capable off-road, a more specialised model based on Ford Australia’s next-generation Everest seven-seater could join VGA’s SUV line-up if Volkswagen Group’s recently announced alliance with Ford Motor Company ends up covering such product.
Mr Shafer said he would give such a model “its due diligence, in terms of analysing whether or not there’s a segment there”.
“If there was an opportunity, we’d have a look at it … (but) it would have to fit within our range,” he said.
“We’d have to be confident about the pricing and that there’s enough customers there to justify that.”
As reported, the Atlas upper-large SUV currently available in left-hand-drive markets, including North America, could head Down Under in second-generation form in the first half of the next decade if it becomes available with right-hand drive and diesel engines.
More variants of the Tiguan will be introduced this year, including the entry-level 110TSI that will return to sale at the end of the third quarter, as well as specials after the “massive success” of the 162TSI Wolfsburg Edition launched in November 2018.
While the Mexican-sourced Tiguan Allspace only entered showrooms six months ago, it was subject to unannounced price adjustments in January this year after the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s free-trade agreement kicked in on December 30, 2018.
“That’s been a product we’ve been really happy with,” Mr Shafer said. “It’s building momentum month by month. It takes a little bit of time for people to get their heads around what it means and what it is.”
As a result, the Tiguan Allspace decreased in cost between $840 and $1340, meaning it now attracts a $1500 premium over its five-seat counterpart, as opposed to the $3000 to $4000 price difference it launched with.
The Road to Recovery podcast series
21st of February 2019
Volkswagen confirms Touareg 190TDI Launch Edition
All-new Volkswagen Touareg to enter showrooms with 190TDI Launch Edition in May
21st of February 2019
Volkswagen locks in T-Cross, T-Roc for early 2020
T-Cross, T-Roc small SUVs to enter Volkswagen showrooms in just over 12 months
26th of October 2018
WLTP delays Volkswagen T-Cross launch in Australia
Volkswagen Group Australia changes T-Cross plans due to WLTP homologation
9th of August 2018
Next Volkswagen Atlas may head to Aus
Australia must wait until about 2023 for the next-gen Volkswagen Atlas SUV
2nd of August 2018
Volkswagen Tiguan 110TSI suspended until 2019
Base front-drive Volkswagen Tiguan 110TSI production halted due to WLTP test backlog
26th of March 2018
Beijing show: VW reveals tech-laden third-gen Touareg
New Volkwagen Touareg to be a big step up over existing model, arriving in Q2 2019
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Motor industry news


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Displaying items 25-36 of 730 » View OrlandoSentinel.com items only< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11-61 Next >
When Tesla Motors reports its first-ever profit Wednesday, much of the money will come courtesy of the state of California. In its zeal to push electric cars into the market, the state has created a system in which Tesla can make as much as $35,000...
South Florida's sprawling development and limited public transportation make owning a car pretty much a necessity. But a growing number of services are popping up in South Florida giving people quick, cheap access to cars whether they're lacking one...
Autoblog.comFiled under: Technology, Toyota While the cost of building a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle continues to go down over time, reports over the last few years have steadily maintained that the first Toyota hydrogen-powered vehicles for customers should ring up...
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit was king in April, with demand for its big pickups helping to boost U.S. auto sales and offset a soft month for Toyota. Ford, GM and Chrysler sold a total of 144,042 full-size pickups, up 29 percent from last April, driven...
The auto garage at Miramar High School looks similar to one you'd take your car to for repairs, but the mechanics are students. Tucked away in a corner of the campus, the garage is home to both the auto service class and the electric vehicle team....
Lower gas prices and a rebounding economy are pulling more auto buyers into crossover SUVs and boosting pickup truck sales, April auto sales data indicate. Honda, Nissan and Subaru reported monthly sales Wednesday, showing increases from April 2012 to...
ReutersMay 1 (Reuters) - The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. through April of 2013 as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units. Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in April RANK VEHICLE APRIL LAST YR % CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 59,...
Cars.comThe Acura ZDX's wild looks draw stares from young and old, but the flash can't cover up the fact that this SUV is impractical and, worse yet, not that fun to drive. These unfortunate attributes are likely the reason the ZDX has failed to sell well since...
Tags: Car Engine Repair, Passenger Cars, Infiniti, BMW, Subaru
The Manila Times, PhilippinesTHAT annual driving gig/parlor game fest/mega party that is the Toyota Road Trek has in its ninth edition raised the fun (or fear) factor level a notch up by taking to the racetrack. Where the previous editions called for daylong drives, white-water...
KickingTiresAccording to new data from Experian, hybrid vehicles still make up only a small percentage of all cars on the road today, but they're gaining market share. The data company's study showed that hybrid car market share went from 2.2%......
Tags: Passenger Cars, Kia, Fuel-efficient Vehicles, Chevrolet, Lexus
A showdown is brewing over electric cars. In March, the two main trade organizations representing international automakers filed a petition with the EPA complaining about California's zero emission vehicle mandates. The rules are indeed tough. They...
Star TribuneWondering if the potholes you're driving into or veering around each day will ever get fixed? Blame the weather. Part of the delay in the normal patching this time of year is the unusual yo-yoing between snow and normal April weather, say pothole...
May 5, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
May 6, 2013 |Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 3, 2013 |Blog| Autoblog.com
May 3, 2013 |Story| Petoskey News
May 3, 2013 |Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 1, 2013 |Story| Los Angeles Times
May 1, 2013 |Story| Reuters
Apr 24, 2013 |Story| Cars.com
Apr 29, 2013 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Apr 23, 2013 |Blog| Cars.com
Apr 24, 2013 |Story| WTXX-LTV
Apr 24, 2013 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Original site for Prius topic gallery.


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It’s not every day that a rare 1990 Ferrari F40 pops up for sale but one has recently been listed for sale in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia courtesy of Seven Car Lounge and it has to be one of the most driven F40s ever to roll out of Maranello.
As a matter of fact, it has travelled as incredible 54000 km! That is particularly noteworthy when you consider than there are numerous F40s out there which have travelled less than 1000 km. While no pricing details about this F40 have been released, its high mileage will inevitably bump down the asking price quite significantly.
Despite the high mileage, it appears to be in excellent visual condition with the interior looking exceptionally clean and the red leather racing seats free of any obvious cracks.


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5 pizzeria owners to pay $970K in wage probes
New York's attorney general says four owners of 29 Domino's Pizza franchises and the former owner of six stores across the state will pay $970,000 to settle investigations into wage violations.
The pizzerias are located in Monroe, Genesee, Erie, Cortland, Dutchess, Nassau, New York, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.
Authorities say the owners admitted violations of minimum wage, overtime or other labor law protections.
Following similar settlements last year with the owners of 26 other Domino's stores in New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says Domino's Pizza corporation and chief executive Patrick Doyle should increase oversight of franchisee pay practices.
The investigation covered 2008 through 2014.


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Many people walking past the Sue Ryder charity shop in Falmouth on Saturday looked twice at the window display, not quite sure whether their eyes were playing tricks or not.
Staff at the shop had decided to recruit “live mannequins” for the day to raise the profile of the shop and the charity and raise some extra money at the same time.
Shop manager Jane Brooks told the Packet: “There have been quite a few surprised people, and double takes. You can see people asking themselves, are they real? There have also been quite a few kisses blown.
“It is all good fun. I would like to thank the models who have given up their time to help us raise funds for Sue Ryder.”
The models, who were volunteers from the shop supplemented by a couple who answered the shop’s appeal, wore clothing and jewellery from the store, with one even posing in the window in bridal wear.
It is not yet known how much was raised as the “mannequins” have yet to collect all their sponsor money.


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Remember the Truck Trike?
It was almost 10 years ago when we first introduced you to this Portland-made, Portland-desinged, bike lane legal, electric-assisted bicycle that can haul up to 600 pounds of cargo. Bill Stites (Stites Design) has evolved his product considerably since then. When we last heard from him a year ago his trikes were being tested by UPS in a last-mile delivery pilot project up in Seattle.
The Truck Trike was a pioneer in what is now a very hot market of zero-emission urban delivery services. Since he started the project in 2010, e-bikes have skyrocketed in popularity, battery technology has gotten better and cheaper, and businesses worldwide have begun to adopt smaller, pedal-assist vehicles for urban freight.
Now Stites is seeking a new business partner to take his trikes to the next level. “We are interested in licensing our proven design to a capable manufacturer and distributor,” he shared in a recent email. With e-commerce becoming the new normal, last-mile delivery has exploded in the last few years. Unfortunately, too much of it is still done with oversized fossil-fuel burning vehicles. Stites sees his Truck Trike — now in its third generation of design — as the perfect solution.
Stites says the key to success is a manufacturer that could reap the benefits of mass-producing the trikes to keep costs down. Beyond a business opportunity, Stites says this is about fighting back against the climate crisis. “We must continue to work on zero-emission solutions and reduce the number of trucks on the streets.” All he needs is someone to make them.
Check out TruckTrike.com for more information.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and firstname.lastname@example.org
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so quick question…if successful, bike lanes could presumably be taken over by cargo trikes? how does that look?
that’s absolutely likely to happen. And that looks interesting. But hopefully bike lanes will look a lot different (as in, bigger and better) by the time it occurs.
Bike lanes plus bike passing lanes on every street that’s busy enough to need a bike lane. And ignore the howls and gnashing of teeth when that leaves room for only one car lane in each direction.
Agreed! That’s pretty much what Copenhagen does (some bike lanes are wide enough to allow for 4 riders abreast) and it feels amazing.
Regarding bike lane size, a large group from PBOT came to the Truck Trike shop to review and understand the trikes and how they will fit in as time goes forward. This was around the time that the new Flanders and Sullivan’s Gulch [7th ave.] car-free bridges were being designed.
I definitely appreciated their forward thinking, because yes, the bike lanes could get crowded with cargo bikes and trikes. Fortunately, these trikes and similar vehicles, can also take the lane as bonafide vehicular transport on our public streets.
What became of the UPS test?
from what I hear, they’re still testing and some of the trikes are actively being used up in Seattle. They are looking at several types of delivery trikes, not just the Truck Trike. And I happened to have just visited the local factory building trikes for them this week. working on the story now and will share friday or monday. stay tuned.
He may want to try someone like Silver Eagle Manufacturing. I thought they make truck trailers mainly, but I think they also fabricate other products.
He’s worked with them already. It wasn’t a perfect fit.
Yes, our AASHTO, MUTCD and NACTO guides (especially the latter) should have an upscaled facility width (and height) recommendation for bHGVs so our cities can be ready for them…it would be a shame to spend billions on a generation of protected bikeways without considering bike freight. Unless the Cities just calm the main arterials to allow them to operate in the “motorized” vehicle lanes.
Prepare for pissed-off drivers. I once passed a truck-type vehicle that was going 5 mph in the bike lane, up a gentle incline. A driver (in a Prius, of all things) caught up to me and slowed as he passed me and yelled out the pax-side window, “How DARE you go into MY lane?!”
I had no idea how to respond and was left wondering if there is some rule that says a bike can never leave a bike lane. Doesn’t seem like that’s true, but the driver of the Prius certainly thought it was.
There is no law. You would of course need to yield to vehicles present in the vehicle lane, but if you pull out with enough room, they need to then yield to you. This, of course, doesn’t matter to entitled drivers like the one you encountered.
That’s why when it looks like someone in a car is about to say something, I pre-emptively yell “GET OFF THE ROAD!”
OK no that’s never actually happened.
Anyway, you’re allowed the full lane in Oregon.
Edit: So it’s actually YOUR lane. Given that you’re a citizen, and were there first.
The best is getting yelled at to get out of the lane on a Neighborhood Greenway, while riding over a sharrow marking. Oh and as always cars that take wide turns into my lane going the opposite direction and when I make a “scoot over” hand motion they reply with a hearty, “fv¢k you b3t¢#,” (virtually 100% of the time this has happened to me, it’s been a whyt person FYI).


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Narrow your search
Apple's iTunes Store heads into its second decade on top -- and facing threats like it's never had before.
The top few may be easy to name, but how would you round out the field? Read our picks and then decide for yourself.
High court says an antitrust suit against major record companies can go forward. Consumer group says labels conspired to set Web music sales in early 2000s.
At the Gamescom 2010 conference in Germany, Microsoft outlines the first Xbox Live titles that will be available when Windows Phone launches this holiday season.
Groklaw uncovers a couple of e-mails from Bill Gates and then-Windows leader Jim Allchin revealing that Microsoft was worried about iTunes when it first launched.
The company's been around for years, but a recent change in strategy means any Web site can easily offer a huge catalog of tracks for streaming and playback, with no up-front fee. Get ready for music everywhere.
Here comes MySpace Music. Execs say some advertisers paid eight-figure sums to ally with service expected to launch this week. Can the service challenge iTunes?
In an interview with "Wired Magazine," Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris claims that the record industry didn't know what to do about the burgeoning digital music explosion. But the historical record suggests otherwise.
New & Noteworthy: Philips on copy-protected CDs; PressPlay to support Macs; WSJ on iMac; MS on security
Troubleshooting iTunes Music Store: Songs not available if you leave the country


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Outer Brain Studios has just announced that the new release date for their survival horror title “Organ Quarter” will be 19th October on Steam! The folks behind the game has released the following new trailer as well.
Originally scheduled for release last month, the game was delayed… Read the rest
Upcoming survival horror VR title “Organ Quarter” from Outer Brain Studios was scheduled for release this month on PC, but the plan has just changed.
According to the latest update on its Kickstarter page, this title has been delayed due to an approaching apocalyptic hurricane. Here’s the full … Read the rest
VR survival horror title “Organ Quarter” has been crowdfunded successfully on Kickstarter, amassing more than $6500 since it went live and with 3 more days to deadline. A Pre-Alpha Demo is also available on Steam, if you wants to have a try before pledging for the stretch goal.… Read the rest


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Electric Motorcycle News
The North American debut of the 2012 Zero Motorcycles model line will take place at the New York International Motorcycle Show on Jan. 20-22, 2012.
Hitting dealer showrooms in February, Zero Motorcycles’ new lineup includes the world’s first production electric motorcycles capable of exceeding 100 miles on a single charge.
The New York show represents the first time U.S. customers will be able to actually see the revolutionary new motorcycles that they could own in as little as a month. During the show, Zero will be facilitating customer pre-orders with their local dealer as well as helping them sign up for demo rides.
Marking the significance of the North American debut, Zero will be holding a press conference where they will officially introduce the new models and answer questions. Following the New York event, Zero will be showcasing the new models to the public at select International Motorcycle Shows across the country including: Cleveland, Minneapolis, Chicago and Charlotte.
Scot Harden (Vice President, Global Marketing for Zero Motorcycles) says: "The Progressive International Motorcycle Shows tour provides Zero a great showcase to display our ground breaking new 2012 model motorcycles. We selected New York because it’s one of the largest IMS Shows in 2012 and it gives us an official press conference platform to highlight our all-new products.
"We look forward to visiting with enthusiasts at each of the other cities on our stops and sharing with them the amazing new two-wheeled technology Zero has developed."
The all-new Zero S, a street fighter, and the Zero DS, a dual sport, are both available in a 6 or 9 kWh configuration. As measured by the EPA UDDS, the Zero S is capable of respectively achieving 76 or 114 miles per charge. Both motorcycles offer a higher top speed over the 2011 models, with the Zero DS hitting 80 mph and the Zero S reaching 88 mph. Both motorcycles offer a broad torque band and stealthy acceleration from 0 rpm that makes them incredibly fun to ride.
In addition, all the street models, including the Zero XU, feature new brushless motors and regenerative braking that allow riders to recoup energy during deceleration. The Zero XU, a motorcycle designed for inner city riding, now uses the same maintenance-free belt drive system as the Zero S and Zero DS. Brushless air-cooled motors, life of motorcycle power packs and belt drive systems make Zero’s lineup of street model motorcycles just about the world’s easiest to own form of transportation.
New York City International Motorcycle Show Event Details
Date: January 20-22, 2012
Location: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
About Zero Motorcycles
Zero Motorcycles is the next step in motorcycle evolution and represents the ultimate electric motorcycle technology. Unencumbered by conventional thinking about how they design, manufacture and sell high performance electric motorcycles, they are on a mission to turn heads and revolutionize their industry by combining the best aspects of a traditional motorcycle with today’s most advanced technology. The result is an electric motorcycle line that’s insanely fast and environmentally friendly.
For more information on Zero Motorcycles or to learn more about its complete motorcycle line including the Zero S, Zero DS, Zero MX, Zero X and Zero XU motorcycles, visit zeromotorcycles.com.


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While other segments of the frozen seafood category are drowning all around it, the frozen shrimp segment is managing to swim along at a nice pace.
The most recent scanning sales records available show increased sales of frozen breaded shrimp at supermarkets.
According to Nielsen North America, Northbrook, Ill., unit sales of frozen breaded shrimp were up 12.2% and dollar volume up 15.5% for the 52 weeks ended June 11, the latest period analyzed. Unbreaded shrimp, while suffering an 8.4% decline in unit sales, managed a 5% jump in dollar volume.
These gains in dollar volume come in spite of fierce competition from fresh food departments and minimal advertising on the part of the category's manufacturers.
With the holiday season in full swing, retailers may expect more of the same. They told SN, however, that suppliers must increase their promotional activity to keep the shrimp segment afloat.
Major chunks of the frozen seafood business overall are suffering. The breaded fish segment, for example, was down 8.5% in unit volume and 8.6% in dollar volume during the same span in which breaded shrimp was posting its double-digit gains. The breaded fish segment accounts for more than $400 million in dollar volume -- more than half of the entire seafood category.
Louis Scaduto Jr., frozen food buyer for Food Circus Supermarkets, Middletown, N.J., summed up retailers' views of the frozen seafood category.
"Shrimp doesn't seem to be a problem. Other than that, the whole frozen seafood category is really dead," he said.
"Our breaded shrimp is doing okay," said a buyer with a North Carolina chain. "The cheaper lines are the ones that are doing better for us. We sort of use Fisher Boy as our private label. That's doing a lot more volume than the Gorton's, Mrs. Paul's or Van de Kamp's are doing." He said the lack of fresh fish departments in his stores has helped frozen seafood sales.
A buyer from a Mid-Atlantic retailer is thankful the same scenario exists in her stores.
"We don't have fresh fish departments in our stores, so the competition within the store isn't there. That's probably helped us somewhat," she said. In spite of that, seafood sales are flat in her stores, with the exception of shrimp.
"Our shrimp sales are up just about 10%. It's really helping to keep the category alive. Shrimp is the only area that's doing anything today, although we have some breaded crab that's doing pretty good lately," she said.
Things are the same in the Midwest, where a frozen food buyer wondered where the seafood category would be without shrimp.
"Seafood is down overall and would be down a great deal if it wasn't for shrimp," he said. "We're down about 5% overall in fish. Without shrimp, which is up by over 10%, we'd easily be down almost 10%.
"I think shrimp is one of the leading gainers on the fresh side, too," he added. "I don't know if it's a fad or what, but shrimp just seems to be one of the 'in' things today," he said when asked about category's popularity.
All the retailers interviewed cited fresh fish departments as a thorn in the side of the frozen fish category.
"[Frozen] fish has really been declining for us," said Marlin Larson, manager of grocery, dairy and frozen for the northern California division of Albertson's, Boise, Idaho. "What's happened is that many supermarkets today have put in fresh fish sections. It's over-the-counter service. It's all on ice and it looks nice. It gives a different presentation."
He said Albertson's is cutting back the size of its frozen fish sections, something other grocers said they were doing as well. "Fish does real well in what we call the 'butcher blocks' in our company; where they're on ice and there's service. But when you get to just the traditional boxed frozen, there's not much activity because they're all going over to the fresh fish counter," Larson said.
New product activity might help spur sales of frozen product; however, there's not been much done on that front lately, merchandisers said.
"There have been some entries, but nothing really outstanding; nothing we're redoing our sections for," said Pat Redmond, frozen food buyer for Rosauers Supermarkets, Spokane, Wash. Sales of frozen seafood overall have declined in his stores, but not enough to result in a reduction of the space devoted to the category, Redmond said.
Fred Krahl, a buyer with Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co., Akron, Ohio, said seafood is not an important part of frozen departments in his chain.
"It's absolutely croaking," he said of the category. "Our seafood departments are taking that business. We just handle a few items for the convenience of the customer who wants to use it some other time."
"The whole frozen fish category as a whole is just a dead issue," said Scaduto of Food Circus. "It's just been losing steam. It will pick up a little bit when we swing into Lent, but that's about it.
"Our supplier, Twin County [Grocers, Edison, N.J.], has just cut out 11 or 12 items that were only showing about 20 cases a week moving out of the warehouse," he added. "That's pretty poor."
More advertising could go a long way toward keeping shoppers in frozen seafood departments and away from fresh fish counters, retailers told SN.
"We need some help from the manufacturers to help us get some people into our fish departments," said the Mid-Atlantic buyer. "Even in stores like ours, without fresh fish departments, shoppers have to be reminded about the availability of frozen fish."
"There's some, but not a whole lot," said the North Carolina buyer when asked about manufacturer support. "Most of the volume through Fisher Boy is done through aggressive pricing, and not necessarily ads."
The Midwest buyer was optimistic on the category's growth potential, but said promotional efforts must grow as well.
"Maybe things will improve as people continue to eat more fish," he said. "With today's emphasis on health, more and more people are turning to fish. We have to make sure some of that growth comes our way."
Jack Kilgore, senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing for Rich-Seapak, St. Simons Island, Ga., the leading manufacturer for breaded shrimp in the category, based on agreed.
"Nobody's doing anything to any great degree to bring the consumer into the category and demonstrate there's real value in the products, as compared to other center-of-the-plate items or other protein sources," he said.
"Brands have to take the initiative to inform the consumer. That's not being done in the category. There's a little bit of consumer marketing from Gorton's, Van de Kamp and ourselves, and that's about it. It's common knowledge that Mrs. Paul's is for sale. So they're not doing anything to invest in the brand there."
The category's makeup leads to such a problem, Kilgore added. "We're a fairly fragmented category, unlike some of the other categories where you've got a half-dozen players."


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Studio director will end his decades-long run with the company after next week's QuakeCon
Articles by Brendan Sinclair
Brendan Sinclair, North American Editor
Brendan joined GamesIndustry International in 2012. Based in Toronto, Ontario, he was previously senior news editor at CBS-owned GameSpot in the US.
Recent articles by Brendan Sinclair
A look back at the Supreme Court's 2011 ruling on video game violence suggests the First Amendment defense may not play out the same way a second time
Riot Games' hit accounted for almost 40% of hours played last month as Path of Exile made a strong first impression
Biggest battle royale games all show declines but Epic's hit remains most watched title on streaming platforms
Country's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission is considering bans on a half dozen titles, cites unknown WHO study as basis for ban
Creative director Chandana Ekanayake talks about the course corrections that helped Outer Loop's debut game take flight
Syndication company behind Betty Boop and Popeye helping adapt vintage cartoon-styled game that has now sold more than 4 million
Platform says employee approached 10 sites to run undisclosed sponsored post, says it was unauthorized, "absolutely unacceptable"
10 Years Ago This Month: Valve buddies up with GameStop, BioWare talks industry maturity, and the expensive peripheral trend cools off
Neil Young talks about the line between engaging and addictive, and how Tetris 99 stole some thunder from his mobile Tetris Royale
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 employees and contractors describe unfair treatment, disregard for contractor work force
Former Sledgehammer and Visceral head launches Striking Distance for "an original narrative in the PUBG universe"
Even in games that ship with subtitles off by default, publisher sees more than half of players turn them on
Executives talk about current industry trends, why Phantasy Star Online 2 isn't announced for Europe, and say the retro market cannot be saturated
Sonderlust's Lyndsey Gallant explains how the remote working studio's all-day video conferences have helped the team
Dota Underlords is company's take on Dota Auto Chess, will also be available on PC, Mac, and Linux
ID@Xbox director Chris Charla talks about independent developers' concerns around subscription plans and streaming services
Engineer who worked on Metroid Prime trilogy, Shadow of the Colossus remake was 47 years old
CEO Strauss Zelnick talks about release planning, working with third-party studios, next-gen, unions, and E3
Episodes temporarily selling for $99.99 each to give existing owners a window to download the game while discouraging new sales
On-demand tech is everywhere at E3, but there are still more questions than answers
Robert Duffy and James Altman discuss the details of the company's new engine optimization SDK that works with any streaming service
VP of editorial Tommy Francois talks about publisher's stance on politics in games, says "Nothing is simple in life"
Online giant still owns nearly 15% of mobile publisher after unloading about 5% for more than $56 million
Specialty retailer trading at lowest price since 2003 after reporting sinking sales and halting shareholder dividends


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One of the main novelties that came from the hand of Android 10 has been the dark mode, a mode that finally allows you to take advantage of OLED screens, yes, for now this option it can only be activated and deactivated manually incomprehensibly and without any logic.
The dark mode is already available through other manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei, which can be activated and deactivated by setting a specific schedule. Although in Android 10 it is possible to set a schedule, you have to resort to other methods that require connecting the device to a computer.
With Android 11 that will change and Users can configure the operation of the dark mode at will, establishing a specific schedule. In the Google Issue Tracker, one of the threads called Night mode programming in Android Q, has been marked as corrected by a Googler, which has also added the comment “The problem reported here has been corrected and will be available in a future version of Android "
It is noteworthy that now this problem is checked, since during the first betas, if a button was present that allowed to program the operation in this dark way. As the company said when this function disappeared, when changing the themes, applications have to redesign their interfaces, which can cause them to lose their position of movement and even the text introduced in some cases.
In addition, he also stated that the Reliable detection of sunrise and sunset is complicated. None of the two excuses that Google argued to eliminate this function are believed by anyone. The only change in the interface is the background color of the application and the letters shown. Regarding the time to detect the sunrise and sunset is complicated … no comments.


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The homeless of Santa Monica have been holding one fine string of pizza parties this summer, some right there on the City Hall lawn.
The host, the city’s Pied Piper of Pizza, is Ron Taylor, a self-styled “dumpster diver” who ekes out a living scavenging through other people’s discards. Thus did he discover how the rich folks often threw out Domino’s delivery boxes that still contained coupons good for free pizzas, part of a summer promotion by the chain.
Then he decided to spread the wealth.
Collecting the discarded boxes from around Santa Monica and beyond, he began holding impromptu parties for his fellow homeless travelers: on street corners, in parks and on the City Hall lawn, where many camped out to protest a park closure law.
He ordered pizzas, as well, for some reclusive homeless women who shun food lines and normally dine on garbage from the dumpsters.
“I want to show there doesn’t have to be a city or county government to help,” said Taylor, a former Bakersfield truck driver whose luck turned sour after a 1985 accident. “We can all do it.”
For a while it looked as if the party was over, however, when a local Domino’s began balking at giving away a lot of free pizza to people who weren’t, well, paying customers.
But this being Santa Monica, the city attorney’s office was soon on the case, insisting that the homeless not be denied their free lunch, threatening lawsuits and even confronting Domino’s with a precedent from pop culture--how its pizza was delivered to a sewer grate in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
It all began early in the summer, when Domino’s started putting “Value Dots” on its pizza boxes, redeemable for a freebie the next time: Five dots got you a free medium pizza, seven dots a large pizza.
While tearing off and stockpiling the dots may have seemed too much trouble for the yuppie crowd, Taylor saw the potential right away. The trash from a single pizza party in Brentwood yielded 28 Value Dots.
“If they didn’t choose to use them,” he said, “I don’t see why I can’t.”
Soon he had 100, he said, then--as the summer stretched on--as many as 500.
In the beginning, he had no trouble cashing in the dots he salvaged from other people’s greasy pizza boxes. He usually went right into the Domino’s at Lincoln and Pico boulevards and ordered his freebie.
Then Domino’s balked. Taylor was told the Value Dots were only good for pizzas that were delivered.
No problem, Taylor figured. He and his friends started calling and asking that the goodies be delivered to the City Hall lawn, to phone booths and to street corners.
Domino’s balked again. A store manager said company policy forbids delivery to such places because they pose a security risk for the drivers, many of whom have been set up for robberies. (The homeless were understandably not the best tippers, either.)
As Taylor saw it, the message was clear--that the slogan “Domino’s delivers” applied only to those who have roofs over their heads.
In many towns, the story might have ended there. How could a few homeless men and women take on a major corporation, much less during the short life of a fast-food promotion?
But in Santa Monica, the city attorney’s consumer protection section takes a complaint from a homeless person as seriously as a complaint from anyone else.
So when another homeless man, Earl Newman, couldn’t get a delivery to the City Hall lawn with the free coupons, Taylor sent him up to the third floor offices.
Consumer protection attorney Kimery A. Shelton and her boss, Martin Tachiki, took up the cause. They told Domino’s it was illegal to discriminate against a class of people, or to change the rules of a promotion in midstream merely because some unlikely consumers have the ingenuity--and need--to take advantage of it.
Tachiki, who saw the Ninja Turtle movie with his children, also reminded Domino’s officials how they had come through in the popular film. Nevertheless, the local manager was initially resistant. “He felt it was unfair for him to have to give away free pizzas,” Tachiki said.
But with a little more thought, Domino’s capitulated, agreeing to deliver the pizzas to City Hall and to again allow homeless coupon-holders to pick up their freebies at the store. Deliveries to phone booths were still out, though.
“They’re getting their pizza now,” Domino’s manager Kozo Nakagawa said one afternoon this week, before disappearing into the back of the store.
Later, officials at Domino’s regional headquarters said they were sorry the Santa Monica coupon-holders had been denied their payoff for a while.
“Somewhere along the line, we dropped the ball,” company official Jay Trimble said. “We had a chance to have excellent good will in Santa Monica. . . . I hope we can salvage it.”
And what does he think of all those pizzas providing sustenance to the needy? “That’s great,” Trimble said.
As for Taylor, he’s feverishly mining the dumpsters before the promotion expires at the end of the month. Last weekend alone, he got 60 Value Dots.


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Plenty of people on social media today refer to heavily-used sites, such as Instagram or Facebook, and spot someone wearing an outfit they have interest in, but have no way to go about locating where they can get their own.
“Like Us” and enter on Facebook for a chance to win a brand new Audi A3!
Facebook has unveiled new “enforcement efforts” related to the sale of “regulated items,” including guns, on its site.
A post on Facebook has cost a Miami teenager’s father an $80,000 legal settlement.
Memorials are set for Briana Vega, the 12-year-old girl who bravely battled Leukemia for two years before losing that battle Monday.
A Miami Beach Senior High School graduate had long given up hope of seeing his class ring ever again after it was lost in Italy more than two decades ago. But John C. Sims high school graduation ring is finally heading home thanks to social media.
WhatsApp, the popular messaging service for smartphones that’s being acquired by Facebook, will soon be offering a voice service.
Looking for a travel deal for the Spring or Summer? If so, you may want to check out Twitter and Facebook.
Facebook is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for up to $19 billion in cash and stock, by far the company’s largest acquisition.
A well-known Miami DJ batting a mysterious infection has died.


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Publishers declaring a “pivot to video” has become so cliche to be a joke. The reasoning is trotted out anytime a publisher refocuses its business — and cuts editorial staff. In the past 18 months, the following digital media companies have announced a variance on the pivot to video:
- April 2016: Mashable cuts staff to focus on video
- February 2017: Bleacher Report cuts 50, says focus is on video
- April 2017: ESPN cuts writers, focus returns to video
- June 2017: Vocativ eliminates its edit staff to focus on video
- June 2017: Fox Sports cuts writers, emphasizes video
- June 2017: MTV News overhauls digital strategy to center on video
As has been pointed out ad nauseam, video will not save any publisher. The reasons for these shifts vary. (Many TV-based media companies are obviously video experts anyway.) The market for display advertising isn’t coming back anytime soon. The hopes for native rescuing text content RPMs haven’t materialized. The one thing advertisers love — and Facebook, let’s not forget — is video.
But that will not be enough. As our senior reporter for video Sahil Patel likes to note, there’s video and then there’s video. Many of those who are claiming to do video aren’t doing real video. The Awl pointed out the ridiculousness of much of digital video being glorified PowerPoint presentations. And pretty much anyone can stitch together clips and slap text on top. The real test will be whether publishers can become programmers. Here’s Sahil’s take:
“Programming requires a real investment. Publishers have to make upfront commitments to doing shows for their own platforms and channels. It means thinking about scheduling — where your audience knows that on a particular day at a particular time, they can expect a new episode of a recurring series. This is how top digital video publishers, by taking a page out of TV’s playbook, are building repeatable audiences for their programming. It’s how they can comfortably guarantee audiences to advertisers. And it’s what will separate video companies built to survive the constant changes in media and those that are just chasing lucrative ad dollars that may never come.”
Refinery29’s Amy Emmerich, a veteran of Vice and Scripps, mentioned to me that she doesn’t think of Refinery29 as a publisher but as a media company. These are often used interchangeably, but there are differences. Media companies think of programming, not pages. The current crop of over-the-top services has provided publishers with a narrow opportunity to make this leap from publishers to programmers. Amazon is buying shows, as are Facebook and many others. The struggle will be publishers making programming a part of their DNA.
The Amazon effect
Amazon has always left a giant shadow on retail, but that shadow is lengthening to encompass just about every industry. It was telling for us in the Digiday Media newsroom recently that all three of our publications — Digiday, Glossy and Tearsheet — had pieces about the Amazon effect in media, fashion and banking. Sign of the times.
‘Hit a wall’: Why TV advertising’s measurement currency change won’t happen in this year’s upfront cycle
TV ad buyers and sellers have waded deeper and deeper into the present discord of the various measurement providers contending to be adopted as currencies.
‘On everybody’s mind’: Flexibility will be a focal point again in this year’s upfront negotiations
This year the flexibility conversation will center around to what extent the loosened cancelation options that ad buyers and sellers agreed to in the 2020 upfront and retained in the 2021 upfront will remain in tact in their 2022-23 upfront deals.
Future of TV Briefing: How macroeconomic uncertainty is factoring into this year’s TV upfront market
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how macroeconomic factors like higher inflation and supply chain challenges will play a role in this year's annual TV advertising upfront negotiations.
SponsoredHow marketers and retailers are unlocking the true value of retail media
Ben Kneen, senior director of product management, Xandr It’s a challenging time for retailers in the advertising industry. As they cope with supply chain woes and inflation-related pressures, they seek high-margin revenue streams amid evolving privacy regulations and massive shifts in identity solutions — including IDFA, the deprecation of third-party cookies and more. In light […]
A Q&A with Google’s Tim Craycroft about YouTube’s upfront pitch and ad product plans
Google’s vp of product for YouTube, display, video and app ads Tim Craycroft fielded questions about the digital video platform’s CTV ad pitch, YouTube Shorts ad test, measurement efforts and shoppable video plans.
WTF is the TV upfront?
For as archaic as the upfront would appear to be — having originated in the era of black-and-white TV — the annual TV advertising negotiation cycle has become, if anything, even more vital.


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The CEO Water Mandate Secretariat welcomes Reckitt Benckiser Group as its latest endorsing company! Via its endorsement of the Mandate in August 2021, Reckitt joins a diverse, global community of over 190 companies that have made a commitment to advancing water stewardship.
Based in the UK, Reckitt sells a variety of health, hygiene and nutrition products. With operations in 60 countries and selling to markets in over 200, Reckitt’s brands have an extensive global reach. Annual revenue exceeds £13.9 billion and Reckitt employs over 43,000 workers worldwide.
Reckitt has several initiatives to improve water stewardship in their product supply-chain. The company has set a goal to reduce water use in operations 30% by 2025 and reduce total water footprint 50% by 2040. Across 20 water stressed sites Reckitt also aims to become water positive by 2030. Since 2012 the company has reduced water use by 13% per product dose and 39% by product unit.
To learn more about endorsing the CEO Water Mandate, click here.


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A selection of beauty and fragrance brands join in the effort to help the earthquake victims of Haiti
The Estee Lauder Corporation has both short- and long-term initiatives for Haitian aid. In the coming weeks, it will be sending the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army 30,000 kits containing products including shampoo, body washes and lotions. A substantial cash donation will also be made to one of the local Haitian children’s charities. Long-term, the company promises to assist in the rebuilding of schools and other community centers throughout the affected region.
Since its inception in 1994, the MAC AIDS Fund has contributed 100 percent of the proceeds of its Viva Glam Lipstick and Lip Glass to countries with high rates of AIDS infection, including Haiti. In response to the earthquake, the MAC AIDS Fund has split a donation of $500,000 among Partners in Health, The Clinton Initiative and Gheisko, a Haitian charity that fights AIDS.
The 250-year-old fragrance house CREED is sending 5 percent of all proceeds from sales on its Web site, creedboutique.com directly to ADRA. The group’s Haitian initiatives at this time include emergency medical services for those in need and water purification efforts.
Anthony Logistics for Men is giving 10 percent of the proceeds of the brand’s ACTION products—including deep cleansing face scrubs and rich shave creams—to Haitian relief through Partners in Health.
New York–based unisex fragrance brand Bond No. 9 is doing its part by donating 10 percent of all sales of “The Scent of Peace” until February 14 to the American Red Cross . The company says this musky lily of the valley and grapefruit blend was developed in 2006 to honor the importance of mutual tolerance among New Yorkers.


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Tech Nation has selected two Scottish companies as part of only 20 businesses that will join its first early stage fintech programme this autumn.
They are Edinburgh-based Sustainably - founded by Loral Quinn who is one of this year’s Insider Twenty Women to Watch - which is a micro-payments platform for charity donations. It rounds up customers’ cashless transactions and donates their spare change to causes they care about.
Float, which is also based in Edinburgh, provides cashflow forecasts to businesses using Xero, Quickbooks Onine of FreeAgent. It aims to give businesses a ‘real picture’ of where they are gong in the short term.
As part of the programme the companies will receive access to seasoned fintech entrepreneurs, experienced investors and company executives.
There will also be coaching sessions in Edinburgh aimed at boosting the ‘regional fintech ecosystem.’
The five-month programme will culminate in a trip to the US to help companies establish a network of potential investors and partners.
The Tech Nation Fintech programme is targeted at rapidly growing early stage companies and was one of the key measures announced by HM Treasury in its Fintech Sector Strategy earlier in the year, to support the development sector at a national level.
Louise Smith, fintech envoy for Scotland and head of design in personal and business banking at RBS, said: “I’m thrilled to see two Edinburgh startups have been chosen to join the first ever Tech Nation Fintech Programme.
“After London, Scotland turns out the most fintech related graduates in the UK - 12% of the annual pool of 97,000 graduates.
“Fast-growing fintech startups like Float and Sustainably will make sure that Edinburgh continues to be a thriving financial centre for decades to come.”
Colin Hewitt, CEO of Float, said: “There is always so much value to be had from peer learning, and building relationships with other founders that will last. Adding into that the mentorship, and experience from industry leaders, made the programme difficult to resist!”
John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said: “Our vibrant fintech sector continues to go from strength to strength, and it’s no wonder that UK fintech has received more investment so far this year than US fintech.
“I’m thrilled to see Tech Nation’s fintech programme launch with such a strong cohort of dynamic young companies - I have no doubt they’re destined for amazing things.”
Eileen Burbidge, Chair of Tech Nation, HM Treasury’s Special Envoy for Fintech, Chair of the Fintech Delivery Panel and Partner at Passion Capital, who was one of the judges for the programme, said: “The UK is an acknowledged world leader in fintech but having this programme, endorsed by HM Treasury, will help the UK to further accelerate the development of the sector.
“The calibre of applications for the Tech Nation Fintech programme was incredibly impressive with a wide breadth of business models. The companies chosen have already demonstrated that they are winners and will certainly have many more successes to come.”


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Abra will offer crypto rewards on the Amex network card
Abra, the digital asset financial services company, has announced a new crypto rewards card for transacting in US dollars, offering crypto return, a press release announced Friday, June 10.
The card, called Abra Crypto Card, has the ability to do this for any category and purchase amount.
The release says cardholders will be able to use the Abra Crypto Card with no annual or foreign transaction fees. It will also offer certain American Express benefits, such as Amex offers for shopping, travel, dining, entertainment and more.
It also comes as Abra announced a new, fully integrated way to buy and sell NFTs, which the company says will help take the risk out of DeFi wallets.
This will help the company with what it said its goal is an “open global financial system” that will be accessible to everyone.
“We’ve made it super easy for anyone to trade crypto, earn interest, and borrow against crypto holdings in one integrated app,” said Bill Barhydt, Founder and CEO of Abra. “Our partnership with American Express will now make it even easier to access and collect crypto. The news also represents another step towards Abra’s goal of eventually offering an instant line of credit directly at the point of sale. This is the future of payments.
See also: Mastercard partners with NFT marketplaces for ‘easier and safer’ purchases
There have been many efforts to facilitate the use of new digital assets, including Mastercard’s recent work in conjunction with NFT marketplaces to enable payment for digital artwork, PYMNTS wrote.
Mastercard is working with Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Mintable, Spring, Nifty Gateway and Web3 infrastructure provider MoonPay on this initiative, allowing people to buy NFTs using marketplaces for their crypto services.
NFT markets make up a large part of the NFT sphere, having generated over $25 billion in sales last year.


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Seventy-seven percent of Hong Kong consumers are spending the same on necessities while 54% continue to spend on luxury items despite the economic downturn, according to a global survey by leading market research firm Synovate.
Interestingly, when asked whether they are worried about the economy, 58% of consumers say they are, but they just can't stop spending.
Synovate surveyed more than 17,300 people across 26 markets and found that people are regaining their positive outlook on the economy, becoming more optimistic for themselves and their country's economy.
Spending as usual
This latest survey shows that, while not many people are spending more in the downturn, the majority is maintaining their usual habits. Hong Kong consumers are spending the same on categories such as staple food items (86%), hot beverages like coffee and tea (68%), dairy products (66%), cosmetics (58%), and healthcare products (53%).
Brendan Shair, Managing Director of Synovate in Hong Kong comments:
"The economic climate is surely not as good as last year. However, on any regular day when you go to the markets and some of the shops, it is still buzzing with people. This reflects in the high percentage of people saying they have maintained the same spending levels when it comes to necessities (77%) and luxuries (54%). This is good news for many companies."
Hong Kong consumers' overall monetary habits have not changed much either.
"After SARS and the previous Asian financial crisis, people in Hong Kong understand the importance of saving for a rainy day. It is not a surprise to see that across the 26 markets surveyed, people in Hong Kong are one of the highest groups (60%) to indicate their saving patterns did not change.
"And likely because of their habits of saving and still having money in their pockets, consumers also admit they are checking prices of food items less often. Over half of those surveyed said they are behaving in the same way as they were six months ago."
It's not as bad as we think
What is the impact of the economic downturn to Hong Kong consumers? Findings show it is not as bad as we think. Hong Kong fared better compared to its closer neighbours in the region.
Sixty-eight percent of people in Hong Kong say they are earning the same amount as six months ago, with 24% indicating they are earning less.
Earning levels in Korea (54% earn the same, 30% earn less), Japan (44% earn the same, 44% earn less), and Taiwan (40% earn the same, 43% earn less) seem to be more affected by the downturn.
When asked about impulse buying, 55% of Hong Kong consumers say they are shopping as usual.
Furthermore, 61% say they have not changed a major life decision, such as getting married, having a child, or changing jobs, due to the current economic situation.
View on Hong Kong's economy
Many projections have been made on whether Hong Kong's economy is starting to improve or will continue to go down.
We asked respondents their view on this, and 48% believe the economy is going downhill and will get worse before it gets better, with more females (49%) agreeing to this than males (45%).
Thirty-three percent believe the economy is in a bad patch but will quickly get better.
In November 2008, 25% of people across the globe said that they find the economy boring and don't pay much attention.
In May 2009, it was up to 29%.
The highest agreement came from Hong Kong.
"Fifty-four percent of people in Hong Kong find the economy boring and don't pay much attention. This really shows that people in the city are bombarded with news on the economy, and negative ones, every day and they are getting tired of it. Over time, people would wonder whether the economy is really as bad as it is projected. From the low of the Hang Seng Index at 10,676 points, to its peak at 23,369, we currently stand at around 20,000 points. Are we still in a financial crisis which echoes in the news everyday?" says Shair.
Recommendations for companies in the downturn
This survey finds Hong Kong consumers are very brand loyal. In addition to spending money as usual, consumers have not switched brands to get more for the same amount of money in the current economic situation.
A high majority indicate they will continue to use the same brand for staple food items (85%), hot beverages (82%), laundry and cleaning products (82%), dairy products (81%), soft drinks (79%), canned goods (78%), bottled water (75%), cosmetics (73%), healthcare products (72%), and alcoholic beverages (68%).
"These numbers reinforce the idea that companies should continue to invest in building and maintaining their brands despite the downturn. A brand is one of the most important aspects that connect to consumers. By continuing with customer experience improvement and understanding which brand attributes appeal most to consumers, sales will keep rolling in."
About the Synovate Economy and Prices May 2009 survey
The latest Synovate survey on economy and prices was conducted in May 2009 across 26 markets and over 17,300 respondents.
The markets covered were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the USA.
For more information on this study, visit www.synovate.com/insights/infact .
Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions.
The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs over 6,700 staff across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com .
Hong Kong - 10 August 2009