Press Releases: PR Newswire

June 15th, 2008 by missysly

Source: SunHerald.com (Original Article)

WASHINGTON, June 16 — On July Fourth, there’s no place like our nation’s capital for America’s biggest birthday party. Featuring the most spectacular fireworks display anywhere in the nation, the 28th annual broadcast of A Capitol Fourth airs live in high definition and commercial free from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Jimmy Smits, the star spangled party features special performances by Grammy Award-winning winning musicians Huey Lewis and the News, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame legend Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, classical superstar Hayley Westenra and American soprano Harolyn Blackwell in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Erich Kunzel. New this year will be extended coverage of the most dazzling display of fireworks in the nation. The skyline of the nation’s capital will come alive with vibrant and booming pyrotechnics, set against silhouettes of national landmarks the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. A Capitol Fourth will capture this stunning fireworks display from every vantage point with eighteen TV cameras stationed around the city — including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument and across the Potomac River. The multi-award winning event will be broadcast on PBS Friday, July 4, 2008 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings), simulcast on National Public Radio and around the world to our troops on the American Forces Network. Capping off the show will be a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army Presidential Salute Battery, an audience favorite and now A Capitol Fourth tradition.

“We heard from our viewers that they’d like to see more of the most amazing fireworks display in the nation. Frequent Flyer Card We are pleased to respond to …continue reading

Across the Region

June 14th, 2008 by missysly

Source: Charlotte Observer (Original Article)

County: Conserve

water during repair

Because of an emergency pipe repair, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities is asking customers to use water for only essential uses this weekend.

A 54-inch water pipe, which serves customers in the southern and eastern parts of Mecklenburg County, is undergoing repair on Providence Road near Briar Creek.

“We are asking everyone to not water their yards and to hold off on washing clothes for a couple of days. Conserving water now will help us continue to serve the county as we fix the pipe,” spokesman Cam Coley said in a statement.
Staff Reports

Meck briefs

Huntersville

Huntersville officials are trying to crack down on an unauthorized car lot in a lakefront neighborhood on N.C. 73 after neighbors complained to the town board.

Neighbors say the lot on N.C. 73 is an unofficial car lot on the weekends. No one lives in the house, and vehicles – in particular, hearses – show up.

They worry that the car lot is ruining their neighborhood on Pine Knoll Lane, in which nine of the 14 homes are lakefront.

Planning Director Jack Simoneau said his staff has been working on the issue for some time but is limited in how quickly they can move.

They haven’t been able to contact anyone who is responsible for the house through property records, and a lawyer they found hasn’t returned phone calls.

The town started issuing zoning violations last week, Simoneau said. If no one pays the fines or rectifies the situation, the fines mount exponentially.

Erica Beshears

Regional briefs

Cabarrus County
Concord

A $1 million banquet hall with a vintage auto theme is planned to open in Concord around Labor Day.

Vintage Motor Club will occupy about 15,000 square feet in Gibson Mill off McGill Avenue. The mill was a former Pillowtex plant that was redeveloped by four local businessmen, who also are the owners of …continue reading

Waukesha County Military Notes

June 14th, 2008 by missysly

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Original Article)

Navy Lt. Sean M. Driscoll, a 2000 graduate of Kettle Moraine High School, the son of Caroline C. and Michael J. Driscoll of Oconomowoc, recently graduated from the Patient Administration Course while assigned to Naval School of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. Driscoll is a 2004 graduate of U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., with a bachelor’s degree and a 2008 graduate of Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Md., with a master’s degree.

Navy Ensign Jacob M. Gerlach, the son of Jackie and Bryon Gerlach of Brookfield, recently graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. Gerlach is a 2004 graduate of Brookfield East High School.

Navy Ensign Jessica L. Troska, a 2004 graduate of Brookfield Central High School, recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Michael A. Glembocki, son of John A. and stepson of Jennifer L. Glembocki of Muskego, recently reported for duty with Marine Aviation Training Support Group 53, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, Low Interest Credit Cards Wash. Glembocki is a 2007 graduate of Muskego High School.

City Chase teammates thrilled by adventure

June 7th, 2008 by missysly

Source: San Diego Union Tribune (Original Article)

SAN DIEGO – Chris Koerner and three friends were stretching and strategizing at Embarcadero Marina Park yesterday morning, preparing for a race that would test their endurance, their smarts and their sense of adventure.

Online: For information on City Chase USA, go to citychase.com

Strangely enough, the foursome didn't know what they'd have to do to win the race. Still, they paid a $190 entry fee and showed up at the harbor-side park to compete against 230 teams of two in City Chase USA, a timed competition that's part scavenger hunt, part obstacle course.

Armed with a list of clues, a trolley pass and a camera phone lent to teams by Palm, a City Chase sponsor, the teams would be expected to complete a range of tasks, which turned out to range from solving word puzzles and walking on stilts to smooching a stranger and knocking out push-ups at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

“I think the one thing I don't want to do is I don't want to get naked,” Koerner, 24, said before the race's 10 a.m. kickoff near Seaport Village. “I mean, I will.”

Koerner and his teammate, Mike Gonzales, 24, were there with Koerner's girlfriend, Kara Shoemaker, 22, and her teammate, Carissa Felix, 21. Part of the fun, the foursome agreed, was in not knowing exactly what they'd have to do to complete tasks at 10 “ChasePoints” set up around downtown San Diego.

“I don't want to eat any bugs,” Shoemaker said.

“I would for sure eat bugs,” Felix said.

City Chase, a contest that debuted in Canada in 2003, is modeled after the popular television reality shows “The Amazing Race” and “Fear Factor,” but is set in urban neighborhoods and isn't televised. City Chase is in eight U.S. cities. Races have been held in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Next up: San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Chicago St George No Annual Fee Credit Card and New York.

The winning teams …continue reading

US Marines imprisoned for beating taxi driver in Okinawa

June 5th, 2008 by missysly

Source: AFP (Original Article)

Students hold banners during a major rally against Aussie Credit Cards the US military at a park in Okinawa

Other Stories

Those scarred by 9/11 hope trials bring justice

June 3rd, 2008 by missysly

Source: MiamiHerald.com (Original Article)

WASHINGTON — Sally Regenhard still sobs at the thought of the price her son Christian, a New York firefighter, paid trying to save those inside the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

”I feel that the 9/11 families have had no justice, no accountability, no responsibility from anyone — from either terrorists or local people in New York City who failed this city to national governmental agencies that failed the American people,” she says.

On Thursday, a new chapter opens for Regenhard and other family members of 9/11 victims who have been seeking justice for their love ones: Alleged al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others will formally be arraigned as co-conspirators at a military commission in distant Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

”There’s no closure for parents. Ever. At least we’ll get an idea of what a modicum of justice looks likes, seems like, tastes like,” Regenhard said from her home in the Bronx. “There’s a thirst for justice.”

No homogenous group, the families left scarred by Sept. 11 include the tens of thousands of spouses, orphans and parents of the 2,973 adults and children killed that day.

Add the survivors, those who escaped injured, both physically and emotionally, and their number is too vast to quantify.

They include people like Alice Hoagland, whose son Mark Bingham fought the hijackers of United 93, bringing it down in a Pennsylvania field rather than perhaps on Pennsylvania Avenue.

She welcomes the trial at Guantánamo of Mohammed, who allegedly confessed in CIA custody, ”and I do hope that he is found guilty,” she said. “I’d like to see him justly punished . . . for his ugly crimes every day of his life.”

And they include the children whose parents perished at the World Trade Center and who are still grieving, says Candy Cucharo, director of programs at Tuesday’s Children, a nonprofit family service organization founded by ANZ First Credit Card family and friends of 9/11 victims.

This …continue reading

Home from Iraq, wary Marine fatally wounded

June 1st, 2008 by missysly

Source: The Associated Press (Original Article)

The body of Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield lays in Sacrificial Missionary Baptist Church with a Marine honor guard, before his funeral service, in Cleveland, Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Crutchfield, 21, died May 18th of the injuries he suffered after being shot by two men who robbed him on January 5th, in Cleveland, while he was home on Christmas leave from the Marine Corps. Frequent Flyer after 14 months of service in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak)

National Guard pilot is 'Top Gun' winner

May 30th, 2008 by missysly

Source: Albany Times Union (Original Article)

State Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Brian Bradke of Troy, formerly of Latham, received more than Silver Pilot Wings upon graduation from Specialized Under-.graduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.

 

Bradke also received a “Top Gun” honor and an Air Force Association Award for scoring high on academic, flight training and other tests. The lieutenant is now undergoing specialized F-16 flight training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Upon graduation, he will be assigned to the 174th Fighter Wing out of Hancock Field, Syracuse. After graduation from flight training, he will major in bioengineering in a doctorate program at RPI. He graduated from Shaker High School, Latham, in 1999. Bradke earned a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and a master’s degree from Sanford University, Stanford, Calif. He is married to the former Tiffany Miller, formerly of Troy. He is the son of Cathy and Bill Bradke of Cohoes.Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Jim A. Nicholson of Voorheesville also graduated from the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training. Nicholson graduated in 2000 from Clayton A. Bouton High School, Voorheesville, and received a bachelor’s degree in 2005 from the State University at Farmingdale. He is the son of Leah and Jim Nicholson of Voorheesville. Navy Lt. Jeremy R. Arnott of Guilderland and Lt. James Light of Burnt Hills have been designated naval aviators while serving and training at the Naval Air Station, Kingsville, Texas.Arnott and Light received their Wings of Gold during a ceremony. The wings mark the successful culmination of months of flight training. Their training included landings and takeoffs aboard an aircraft carrier.Arnott is a Guilderland High School graduate. Light is graduate of Burnt Hills Ballston Lake High School, Burnt Hills. Training to be a pilot Daniel Godfrey of Raymertown has been commissioned a second lieutenant Instant Approval Credit Cards upon graduation from the Air National …continue reading

URS wins Navy environmental cleanup contract

May 27th, 2008 by missysly

Source: Bizjournals.com (Original Article)

URS Corp. will clean up contaminated sites for the U.S. Navy under a contract worth up to $100 million over five years.

San Francisco-based URS (NYSE: URS) will work in Navy and U.S. Marine Corps bases in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. It's an "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contract, which means the Navy will give URS work orders as it needs things done.

The URS division of the company, led by President Gary Jandegian, will do this work. URS has three divisions — the EG&G division and the Washington division, formerly Boise-based Washington Group International, are the ANZ Credit Cards other two.

Martin Koffel is CEO of URS.

Gas prices may knock a big hole in Georgians' boating

May 25th, 2008 by missysly

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution (Original Article)

Even as water levels have risen enough to allow for safer boating on lakes Lanier and Allatoona this summer, soaring gas prices threaten to keep more people on land this Memorial Day weekend and beyond.

It’s a cruel twist for those whose livelihoods depend on an active boating season.

“Coverage of the drought has been overblown, and that’s hurting us,” said Rick Seelbinder, a boat salesman for MarineMax in Cumming. While Lanier is down more than 10 feet from Memorial Day 2007 — and about 13 feet below full pool — it’s deep in the main channels where most boaters travel. “When people actually see the lake, they’re pleasantly surprised,” Seelbinder said.

But then they see how much a full tank of gas costs — and concerns about lake levels become secondary. That also tends to negate what could have been a competitive edge for Lake Allatoona, which is near full pool.

Leisure activities always take a hit during a downturn, and rising gas prices aren’t helping.

A sampling taken Saturday of about a dozen marinas on Lake Lanier found regular gas going for $4.39 to $5 per gallon.

Marina managers say their prices are higher than at gas stations on land because their sales are seasonal, and they have to employ dock hands and pay for extra equipment and environmental insurance to protect against spills.

Prices like these guarantee boaters a tab for each fill-up well into triple digits, sometimes topping $1,000.

Frank Chick says he’s spending about $800 to fuel his craft, roughly the cost of a round-trip airline ticket to San Francisco.

“They rake you over the coals up here,” said Chick, of Roswell, who keeps his boat docked at Bald Ridge Marina on the southwest side of Lanier. He said the high cost of fuel won’t keep him off the lake.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expected the usual crowds this holiday weekend, spokeswoman Lisa Frequent Flyer Credit Cards Coghlan said.

Changing course
Boaters are adjusting …continue reading