Elvis, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Cookers

Source: Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck (Original Article)

New Minn. transportation chief saw job `as a calling’

ST. PAUL (AP) Last week, Governor Tim Pawlenty plucked Tom
Sorel (sohr-ELL’) from the Federal Highway Administration to be
Carol Molnau’s long-term replacement as state transportation
commissioner. He officially took over this week, taking on one of
the most pressure-cooker jobs in Minnesota government.

Corel says he views it as “something of a calling.” He says
he’s there to serve the governor, but he’s also there to serve the
citizens.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sorel didn’t make any
waves. He urged patience so he could study his agency before making
personnel decisions. He held back on any new policy pronouncements,
too.

Lawmakers who will deal regularly with Sorel say he hasn’t done
anything to put them on edge. But most haven’t had much face time
with him yet, either.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP 05-01-08 0611CDT

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Source: Sunday Mirror (Original Article)

THE AGENT SAYS: This four- bedroom, two-bathroom house in Florida is in mint condition. It has awnings, hurricane and plantation shutters, a bar and central cooling and heating systems. There is elegant wood flooring, a family room, custom-fitted kitchen and a beautiful tropical backyard.

UPS: A lot of space for the money.

DOWNS: It’s difficult to get permanent residency in the US.

Details: Mayfair International Realty, 020 7408 1400. THE BOYS SAY: Lights! Camera! Action! Oops, sorry, wrong Hollywood. Nope, we’re not heading to LA this week, in fact we’re off to Florida’s Hollywood, a destination which we have to report is a totally different kettle of, ahem, A-list fish.

You see Florida’s Hollywood is a holidaymaker’s mecca, with a massive range of property, a great tourist infrastructure but a much more limited chance of bumping into Brad or Angelina as you wander the neighbourhood. But take it from us, and we’ve been to both areas, all those glitzy parties in the Hollywood Hills can be just a little

taxing! You might actually prefer the more relaxed pace of life in Florida’s namesake. And as far as pounds per brick… blimey!

So it’s going to be pricey, huh? Well, actually, no. For the price of a wee studio in the wrong part of London – just £161,080 – you’ll get a truckload of property for your dosh in the Sunshine State.

But, remember, the sub-prime crisis in the US has still to settle, so house prices may yet continue to fall. Plus, if the pound gets weaker against the dollar, your property may lose its value. Anyway, let’s kick things off with four bedrooms. Yup, you heard us. Four. Next, add two modern bathrooms to the mix. And how about gorgeous – and very pricey – timber plantation shutters?

Also included is a central cooling and heating system, guaranteed Cheap Flights to keep you perfectly temperate… whatever …continue reading

Source: Easier (press release) (Original Article)

Lagan Homes launch at Wixams Village One

25 April 2008

Lagan Homes will launch a range of stylish two, three, four and five bedroom houses at Wixams Village One over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The developer is the first to start work on the site of the new community being developed just off the A6, three miles to the south of Bedford which will eventually have its own schools, employment, leisure and community facilities.

“The properties have been carefully designed by Lagan Homes for modern day family living with a selection of styles and sizes making clever use of interior space,” says Janet Pavely of selling agents Connells. “The first homes to be released for sale include something for everyone from first time buyer properties to large family houses.”

Whatever the size of the home, they are all finished to the same high standard. Fitted kitchens include a choice of door fronts and worktops as well as a built under electric oven, gas hob and cooker hood. Contemporary bathrooms feature white suites with chrome taps and a choice of ceramic wall tiles. Purchasers who reserve at this early stage will be offered, at an additional cost, a choice of upgrades and additional features to stamp their individuality on their home.

Wixams Village is perfectly situated for access to Bedford and the region’s major centres of Cambridge, Northampton and Milton Keynes, and is also ideally placed for those who want to explore the attractive surrounding countryside, either on foot or by cycle. Bedford station is just ten minutes drive away offering fast, frequent main line services to London St. Pancras from where you can board the Eurostar to continental Europe.


To find out more about availability and prices at Business Credit Cards Lagan @ Wixams Village visit the website at Lagan-homes.co.uk.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Original Article)

THE big residential developers, including Mirvac, Australand, Delfin Lend Lease and Stockland, will be pleased that Barry Goldman, principal of the real estate agency Portfolio Realty, has said that Sydney property has become a buyer’s market, especially as interest rates have probably peaked.

The news comes as brokers look to downgrade some of the listed stocks because of the weaker housing market outlook.

In a recent note UBS told clients that because of higher interest rates, the residential market had come under close scrutiny.

“In the short term, we see weakness (lower volumes and pressure on lot prices), with strength in the long term given supportive fundamentals,” UBS said.

“Several listed companies have exposure to the domestic residential market. We believe NSW remains weak, Queensland and Victoria remain moderately strong, and only Western Australia is uncertain.

“WA is difficult to gauge, with lower-priced developers stating they may be suffering from affordability challenges, while mid-tier developers are still seeing some strength and remain optimistic.”

In its survey to the end of March, the Australian Property Institute says respondents remain downcast about the year ahead. The latest survey, of valuers, fund managers, property analysts and property financiers, released last week, found interest rates of more than 9 per cent would have a serious effect on lower socio-economic areas and would start to affect middle- and top-tier markets.

The institute’s NSW president, Chris Egan, said Sydney’s property market was thought to be at the bottom end of its cycle, with good prospects for long-term growth, but it would not become apparent until 2010.

But for those with cash, it is now one of the best buyer’s markets for 40 years.

Mr Goldman said that while prices in some outer areas of Sydney would continue to fall in the next 12 months, across the Sydney metropolitan ANZ Credit Card area they would grow 10 per …continue reading

Source: Easier (press release) (Original Article)

Doors now open at Millhouses, Sheffield

23 April 2008

The doors to the view home at Charles Church’s Rycroft Court development in Millhouses are now open, and everyone is invited to come and take a peek at what’s on offer.

This will be the first time that purchasers will have been given the chance to walk around a finished home at Rycroft Court, and will give them the opportunity to see for themselves the reasons why Charles Church is the name on the finest homes.

The Loxwood view home is a traditionally designed detached family home. Offering four bedrooms over two storeys, the home has been fitted with carpets, light fittings and curtains. The ground floor of this spacious home offers a living room, dining room, family room and open plan kitchen/breakfast area with utility room. It also has an integrated double garage, which can be accessed through the utility room. Upstairs, purchasers will find three bedrooms, a family bathroom and the impressive master bedroom with en-suite facilities and generous dressing area.

Rycroft Court is an intimate development offering a selection of four and five bedroom homes in a secluded wooded cul-de-sac location. All homes at the exclusive development benefit from a high specification and the finishing touches throughout are second to none. The kitchens feature granite work surfaces, stainless steel range cooker and chimney hood and integrated appliances as standard. Bathrooms are equipped with Sottini ‘Swirl’ sanitary ware, Ideal Standard ‘Cone’ taps and chrome towel rails. Elsewhere, homes have flush chrome downlighters to the hall, landing, kitchen, bathroom and en-suites, softwood staircases, strings, newels, balustrades and handrails and a burglar alarm.

Whereas in the past you may have worried about the stress and costs involved in moving and affording a new home, you can now relax with a helping hand from Charles Church. With Amex Credit Cards Part Exchange, Charles Church can save …continue reading

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Original Article)

Big Brother’s new hosts plan to shake up the fading franchise,
writes Michael Idato.

They will quake. They will tremble. With radio’s enfant terrible
Kyle Sandilands cracking the ringmaster’s whip, the 14 housemates
ushered into the Big Brother house next Monday night probably won’t
know what’s hit them.

Sandilands and his radio co-host, Jackie O, promise to inject
some fire into the format, which is good news on all fronts - for
Ten, conscious of the format’s age and structural fatigue; and for
the audience, whose frustration with the show’s lack of reinvention
has gone from a whisper to a roar.

“We need to shake it up a little bit but we don’t want to change
the thread of why people like to watch this too much,” Sandilands
says.

Big Brother is now eight years old. Its audience has been in
steady, albeit slow, decline and, despite an annual promise to
deliver a diverse and original cast, Ten and producer Southern Star
Endemol continue to attract criticism for superficial, “blonde”
casting.

When the subject is raised, Sandilands doesn’t mince his words.
“It needs to be less ‘frat house’, more real suburban streets, so a
few more real issues can come out. [In the past] there was romance
and a little bit of drama but there were no really meaty issues
being discussed in the house.”

The decision to revamp the show was made in the middle of last
year, although it was not until September that Sandilands and
Jackie O were approached, and October before the show’s
long-standing host, Gretel Killeen was told her services were no
longer required.

Sandilands and Jackie O acknowledge it was time for change,
though neither is critical of Killeen.

“I’ve always admired her,” Jackie O says. “It’s a tough job. She
sometimes let her emotions show but it’s a tough job and she
handled it solo for seven years and she remained very calm under
pressure.”

The immediate advantage for Ten is that NUMB3RS dvd the show naturally locks
into the …continue reading

Source: Belleville News Democrat (Original Article)

As soon as shower planners learned Amber Habermehl and fiance Matthew Allaria will honeymoon at Riviera Maya, they had a theme: Mexican fiesta.

Saturday afternoon, palm trees, sombreros and paper lanterns decorated a Collinsville Area Recreation District meeting room. Outside, cold winds blew. Inside, guests sat on beach towels to watch Amber open gifts.

About the couple: Amber, 30, is a 1995 Collinsville Christian Academy graduate. She works as a receptionist for Drs. Greeling and Mohsin in Maryville. She is the daughter of Ron and Debi Habermehl, pastors of Alpha & Omega Christian Fellowship. Matthew, 26, a 1999 graduate of Edwardsville High School, is now a full-time minister. He holds services Thursday nights at Alpha and Omega Church and other churches. He is the son of Rhonda and Vince Allaria, of Edwardsville.

Wedding date: May 17, 2008

Where they’ll live: CollinsvilleHow Amber and Matthew met: “My sister-in-law and his aunt work together,” said Amber. “I went to a (church) meeting at a church he was pastoring at that time. We met on a Thursday night and went out on that Saturday. We went to TGIF’s for dinner. The next thing we knew, it was 10:30.

“We got engaged October 4. Right then, I started planning for the wedding. Our wedding day is the one-year anniversary of the day we met.”

Who gave the shower? Her six bridesmaids. Junior bridesmaid Brittni Futrell, 12, and flower girl Jadyn Row, 7, shared the head table with Amber at the shower. For the wedding, bridesmaids will wear black dresses trimmed in hot pink. Flower girl Jadyn will wear the reverse, and toss hot pink rose petals. Brittni is a sixth-grader at Dorris Middle School; Jadyn is a first-grader at Maryville Christian School.Maid of honor: “I’ve know (Amber) since before birth,” said Pam Walters. “Me and her have been best friends since she was 12. She was the same age as my son. She was always like my daughter, the daughter I Airline Miles Credit Cards never had. It was very touching …continue reading

Source: Modesto Bee (Original Article)

last updated: April 18, 2008 02:53:15 AM

The article “Won’t be sent up a creek” (April 6, Page B-1) really sums up the efforts of the Stanislaus County law enforcement mentality. We are ranked near the top nationally in auto theft and almost No. 1 in California in property crimes, yet the Modesto Police Department chooses to arrest five homeless men for sleeping in a public park and then the district attorney’s office goes all out to prosecute them (one took a plea deal).

The article says that a number of officers were involved in the arrest (”when they were woken at 4:40 a.m. by police officers who had them surrounded”). This really is an excellent use of an understaffed and underfinanced police department. It also speaks to the philosophy of the DA’s office as opposed to the concern about everybody loves raymond dvd crime by the overburdened taxpayers of this county.

DOUGLAS C. SMITH

Modesto

Source: MLive.com (Original Article)

Lots of rhubarb recipes have come my way lately, hopefully
a sign of spring.

This week’s column also includes a recipe just right
for sipping during a break on a warm spring day. Carol
Oyster of West Branch sent in a little something called
Strawberry Blonde.

And, last, but not least, Kathy Cull of Bangor Township
sent in another recipe for fall off the bone ribs.

She says this is a recipe she uses all the time. The recipe
is easy to make, but she warns it takes all day. But in the
end, it’s worth it.

Rhubarb Muffins

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dash salt

1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

3/4 cup chopped nuts

Topping:

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk. Add
flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Fold in rhubarb and
nuts.

Divide batter into greased muffin tins; sprinkle with
topping. Bake in preheated 350-degree F oven 20-25 minutes.

Makes 22-24 muffins.

- Harriet Trisch, Caro

Strawberry Blonde

3-4 tablespoons strawberry syrup or to taste

1 cup well-chilled ginger ale

2 scoops honey vanilla ice cream

In an ice cream soda glass, combine syrup and ginger ale.
Float the ice cream on top.

Makes 1 serving.

- Carol Oyster, West Branch

Rhubarb Surprise Cake

3 cups rhubarb, cut up

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 package (3-ounce) strawberry gelatin

1 package white or yellow cake mix

3 cups mini marshmallows

Bring rhubarb, water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat.
Add gelatin. Mix well; set aside.

Grease bottom of 9 Frequent Flyer Credit Cards x 13-inch pan. Cover with marshmallows. …continue reading

Source: Providence Journal (Original Article)

CUMBERLAND — In a major turn of events, the police chief said this afternoon that the deaths of a husband and wife whose bodies were found after a house fire yesterday were a murder-suicide.

Cumberland Police Chief John Desmarais said at an afternoon news conference that Norman Langelier, 61, shot his wife, Beatrice Langelier, 60, and then in some fashion set off an explosion or explosions in their 3,300-square-foot home at 500 Nate Whipple Highway.

The precise manner in which explosions were set off remains under investigation, but Desmarais acknowledged that it was not accidental. The cause of the fire has also not been determined.

Police said this afternoon that about six propane tanks were spread throughout the house, where police also found and removed some 40 guns.

The police chief also said that a note left on the property saved the lives of firefighters and police officers responding to the scene.

The note, propped up on a propane tank in the back of a pickup truck parked outside the house, said, according to the chief, "Firemen, please do not enter. Explosives, ammunition, gunpowder inside the house."

Norman Langelier made his own ammunition, Capt. James. P. Coyne said yesterday. The process of packing bullet casings with gun powder and primer is cheaper than buying bullets, Coyne said. As a result, there was potentially unstable material on the scene.

Earlier this afternoon, the state medical examiners office officially identified the two and gave their causes of death.

The medical examiners office said in its statement that Beatrice Langalier died from "skull fractures and brain injuries due to perforating gunshot wound to head," while her husband died from multiple blunt force injuries.

At the police news conference, Desmarais said Norman Langelier’s injuries were consistent with explosions in the house.

FLIGHT 29 DOWN dvd This morning, officials brought a device …continue reading