More than four years ago, a number of gas stations in the U.S. started slapping stickers on gas pump credit card readers in an effort to cut down on illegal card skimmers that steal customers’ payment info. And almost immediately, these same gas stations showed they had no idea what to do with these stickers. A new report shows that not only do some companies not really care about these stickers, but that anyone can buy them.
NBC Los Angeles recently investigated a viewer’s complaint about a broken security sticker at a gas station in Burbank. The customer noticed that the sticker on her pump had been breached, causing the previously solid red background to read “VOID OPEN” in big white letters.
“When I went in to go tell the person who was working, I saw other stickers had been ripped off or said ‘Void’ on them as well,” she recalls. “I told him and he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.'”
The manager told NBC that it was just an oversight and one of his employees had forgotten to change some old stickers.
Reporters found similar broken, voided, and peeling stickers at other stations in the area.
This nonchalance about the stickers is cause for concern when you consider the widespread problem of card-skimming at gas stations.
When Florida regulators did a spot check of gas pumps in the state, they turned up 103 skimmers. Even though that’s a small percentage of all the pumps tested, if you think about the number of people who use a single gas pump in a day and then multiply that by 103, and then figure that on a national level, you see how big the problem could be.
Big chains like Shell, Chevron, and Texaco may use branded versions of these seals that are more difficult to copy, but that only matters if you know that these chains only use branded seals. If a skim-scammer were to crack open a Chevron-branded sticker, install his skimmer, then place a generic seal on top of it, most drivers would be none the wiser.
And, as explained in a statement by Chevron, only Chevron-owned stores get the branded stickers free of charge. Independently owned Chevron stations have to pay for theirs (but they get a discount).
The chains maintain that these stickers are only really for the customers’ benefit, and that the real security is the locks on the pumps. That may be true, but if you’re going to put on a show for your customers, at least put on one that doesn’t look like a crime scene.
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Imagine this: you’ve finally made it to the North Pole to visit the Big Guy himself. You walk slowly up to the door, snow crunching under your boots, and knock. This is it! You’ve made it all the way to Santa Claus’ house and now you get to unload your heart’s desires on the jolly fella. “That’ll be $35,” an elf pipes up.
Paying admission to visit Santa Claus might not be part of the average Christmas fantasy, but it’s the reality at one New Jersey mall: in order to enter the Adventure to Santa holiday display, visitors will pay anywhere from $35 to $50, depending on which package they choose. Those admission fees include a photo of your kid with Santa, or if you want to pay more, a video of the visit.
Though the elaborate display includes a lot more than just hanging out with St. Nick long enough to tell him you want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, no matter how you slice it, it’ll cost you to get to the Big Guy himself — or see him at all.
Santa’s headquarters doesn’t have any windows, meaning kids passing by can’t even sneak a peek of that snow-white beard without paying up.
The mall’s management says this display is extra special, however.
“Families who experienced this exciting amenity last year commented that it was nothing like any Santa visit they had ever had before, and parents were thrilled with not just the adventure but the quality of the photos as well,” Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust wrote in a statement Sunday night. Last year, that experience was free.
If you don’t want to pay, you can go to one of PREIT’s “more traditional Santa visits” at its six other malls near Philly, the group added.
Mall visitors have been complaining on social media, saying that the expensive admission could exclude children in lower-income households.
“I find it classist and it creates a divide between children during a holiday which is supposed to be about equality and giving and having everyone participate in the joy of Christmas,” one customer who complained on Facebook told the Inquirer.
Some say it’s one thing to charge parents for the right to take a photo of their progeny with Santa, but the lap visit at least should be free.
Flea Bombs or Foggers spray a continuous stream of pesticides designed to treat a large area all at once. When used properly, a flea bomb is an effective method of treating a flea infestation. In addition to being lethal to fleas, the chemicals in a flea bomb can also be hazardous to pets and humans. It is important to treat your entire house and not just one room as fleas can be highly invasive. Pets should also be treated separately when you use a flea bomb to prevent re-infestation. Precautions should be taken to ensure the safety of all members of your household during the treatment process.
Steps
Preparing the House
Calculate the square footage of the area you will be treating. Flea bombs come in a variety of sizes depending on the brand and chemicals they contain. In general you will need 1 bomb per room you are treating; however in some cases, 1 bomb in a hallway adjacent to open doors can treat multiple rooms. Read the label carefully to determine the size of the area the product treats.[1]
Purchase a quality brand flea bomb. Ask your veterinarian for his or her advice on which products they recommend. Check with friends and family for their opinions on the effectiveness of a flea bomb they might have used, or check online for feedback and reviews. Ask sales associates at your local home improvement or hardware store for any information they may have concerning flea bombs, but always back up what you're told by a retailer with your own quality research.
Read the package instructions completely. Most flea bombs operate in similar ways. Ensure that you have read the directions carefully and fully prior to setting off the flea bomb in your home.
Plan a time where everyone in the household including pets will be gone for several hours. The chemicals in the flea bomb are poisons which can easily cause illness to people and pets. Check the label on your flea bomb to ensure that your family is safe and can stay out of the house for the label's recommended time period.
Open doors and drawers. Open all doors to infested rooms so the chemicals from the flea bomb can kill the fleas. Open cabinet doors and drawers to kill fleas inside furniture.
Remove eating utensils, food, small appliances, and crockery. Remove such items from open cabinet doors or drawers to keep them away from the spray. Storing items away from the chemicals is much easier than cleaning them when the flea bomb is finished.
Cover your tabletops, countertops, special furniture and electronic equipment. The chemicals from the flea bomb can soil furniture, tables and countertops or damage electronic equipment. Cover these items with sheets or plastic tarps to prevent damage.[2]
Old sheets can be found easily at your local thrift store. Plastic painting tarps are available from hardware and auto stores.
Seal up or move your fish tank. Chemicals in a flea bomb are dangerous to fish. If you can't move your fish tank to another location, cover it up well and seal it tightly with plastic wrap.
Turn off all lights and other electrical devices. The chemicals and propellants in a flea bomb can be flammable. Turn off the heater or air conditioner and extinguish the pilot light. Cut the power to all fans.
Close all windows prior to treatment. Make sure that the flea bomb chemicals do not leak outside the house and have maximum effectiveness by closing all openings to the outside prior to treatment.
Treating the House
Vacuum and clean your house immediately prior to treatment. The vibrations from a vacuum cleaner cause flea larvae to emerge making your flea bomb treatment as effective as possible.[3]
Remove all dirty laundry from the house. Flea eggs and larvae may find shelter in piles of dirty clothes. Ensure that you have laundered all of your clothes, or bag the clothes and take to a laundry mat while you are bombing the house.[4]
Position the flea bombs on newspaper or plastic bags in the middle of the rooms you are treating. Placing a protective covering under the flea bomb will prevent the residues from the product from staining the floor directly around the flea bomb.
Ensure all the flea bombs are in place prior to activating any of the bombs. Once a flea bomb is activated you should vacate the house immediately to prevent illness due to pesticide exposure.
Activate the flea bombs and vacate the house. Follow package directions to activate the flea bomb. If you are setting off multiple flea bombs, start in the room furthest from the exit and work your way out. Once a flea bomb has been activated do not reenter the room.
Stay out of the house. Avoid unnecessary exposure to the chemicals in a flea bomb by keeping all pets and people out of the house for 2 to 4 hours. Read the label carefully to determine the recommended time frame to be away from the house.
Treat your pet for fleas. While you are away from the home it is important to remove fleas from your pet so they do not bring them back into the home as soon as you return.
Ask your veterinarian about pills containing nitenpyram[5] to kill any adult fleas that are on your pet.
Bathe your pet with a flea controlling shampoo.
Take your pet to a groomer to get a professional flea treatment or dip.
Maintaining a Flea Free Household
Clean your house when you return. Dead fleas, chemical residue and a coating of dust are common things to find after a flea bomb treatment. Vacuum and mop floors thoroughly, clean tables and countertops, wash sheets and clothes, and wash all surfaces.
It's recommended that you wear gloves when cleaning, and dispose of the gloves after cleaning to avoid picking up chemical traces on your skin.
Open windows to ventilate the house and reduce odors. The smell of the pesticides may persist for several hours or days after treatment. Open doors and turn on any ceiling or ventilation fans to help remove the odors from the flea bomb from the house.[6]
Vacuum daily for 10-14 days. Daily vacuuming will remove any newly hatched adult fleas that may have survived the flea bomb.[7]
Be prepared for multiple treatments. Some products are not effective at killing flea eggs. Flea eggs and larvae may hatch days or weeks after your first treatment. Monitor your house and pets for several weeks following initial treatment to watch for signs of fleas.[8]
Monitor your pet for signs of re-infestation. Flea dirt or droppings appear as reddish brown specks on your pet. If your pet is scratching, use a flea comb to check under their fur for signs of flea dirt or adult fleas.[9]
Tips
Get flea medication from your veterinarian, who can also provide advice about any concerns you may have.
Groom your pets regularly (dispose of the hair in a sealed bag in the outside garbage to catch fleas and eggs). Your flea bomb may have reduced the number of fleas in your home, but your pet may re-infest your home if he/she is not treated properly in an ongoing and consistent way.
Sealed food items such as canned goods or tightly closed spice containers do not need to be discarded after treatment. It is recommended to wash the outside of food containers after a flea bomb is used in the home.
Warnings
Any fresh fruits or vegetables exposed to the pesticides should be discarded and not consumed.
Flea bombs contain neurotoxins. They are not to be used regularly, nor to be taken lightly as a solution to a flea infestation. You are far better off treating pets regularly, vacuuming regularly, and generally dealing with fleas the moment there are signs of them.
WASHINGTON — Say hello to Marshmallow, a large Argentine Dogo mix.
This 1-year-old boy has one of those faces you just can’t resist, with perpetually quizzical-looking eyes and the cutest gray freckles on his ears.
Marshmallow is a friendly, intelligent and energetic guy who is looking for a home where he will get guidance and plenty of exercise … as well as lots of love.
He’s a bit picky about his canine playmates and would prefer to skip the dog parks, but he’d love to take lots of long walks or play games with teen or adult companions in a fenced backyard.
If you love big dogs, stop by the Washington Animal Rescue League and meet Marshmallow today.
About WALL: Founded in 1914, the Washington Animal Rescue League is the oldest animal shelter in Washington D.C. Its mission includes rescuing, rehabilitating and finding homes for animals who have no where else to go. The League also supports animals through affordable veterinary care, community outreach and education. Learn more about the Washington Animal Rescue League at www.warl.org.
If you are thinking of adding a furry friend to your family, check out these other great shelters in the area:
Maryland
Humane Society of Charles County
(301) 645-8181
71 Industrial Park Dr. PO Box 1015 Waldorf, Md. 20604
Humane Society of Charles County offers a low cost spay/neuter program to the public. Please call or visit our website for more information. The shelter is also looking for more foster parents to help its animals.
Lab Rescue of L.R.C.P.
(301) 299-6756
4808 Moorland Ln, Rockville, MD 20850
Lab Rescue of the LRCP is a volunteer driven, nonprofit organization that rescues, fosters and places homeless, abused, and/or abandoned Labrador retrievers.
Prince George’s County Humane Society
(301) 262-5625
P.O. Box 925 Bowie, Md. 20718
Prince George’s County Humane Society is also looking for foster parents. For more information, contact the organization.
Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue
(202) 575-2210
Approved applicants may attend monthly adoption meets that are usually held at the house of a volunteer in either Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland.
Northern Virginia
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
(202) 741-5428
5159 Lee Highway Arlington, Va. 22207
Lucky Dog is a foster home organization and does not run a dedicated housing facility.
A Forever Home
(703) 961-8690
P.O. Box 222801 Chantilly, VA 20153-2801
A Forever-Home is a nonprofit dog rescue group that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area.
FOHA — Friends of Homeless Animals
(703) 385-0224
39710 Goodpuppy Ln, Aldie, Va. 20105
All visitors must speak to a Friends representative before receiving directions to their shelter location.
WASHINGTON — Bertrand Chemel didn’t always like vegetables.
The executive chef of Falls Church’s 2941 restaurant admits he wasn’t a fan of them growing up in central France — likely because he never had them properly prepared.
His mother worked and made the family meals ahead of time to reheat in the evening. While the approach was ideal for planning purposes, Chemel says it wasn’t always optimal for the greens, which were often soggy and overcooked.
“And I realized at my first job in the kitchen, when I saw spinach and cooked it for just one minute and it tasted so good — it’s so different,” he says.
But you’d never suspect Chemel’s early aversion to vegetables now. Every Monday night, he whips up eight courses of nothing but vegetables, prepared and presented in ways that are often new to diners — like fried Brussels sprouts with truffle aioli and Parmesan cheese, and shiitake dumplings served with a mushroom consommé.
Every Monday night, Bertrand Chemel whips up eight courses that highlight seasonal vegetables on 2941’s vegetarian tasting menu. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Chemel, who launched 2941’s weekly vegetarian tasting menu in October, says he decided to do so because a lot of his guests were asking for a vegetarian version of the traditional tasting menu.
“I realized that 30 to 35 percent of the guests actually [opted] for the vegetarian tasting menu while not necessarily being a vegetarian,” he says, adding that he always obliged these requests and served up spontaneous meatless menus.
An overall interest in vegetables is something the chef, formerly of New York’s acclaimed Daniel, has seen intensify in recent years. And he gives much of the credit to the uptick in farmers markets, which put fresh and seasonal ingredients at the fingertips of the everyday home cook.
The new tasting menu at 2941 highlights and celebrates vegetables, but Chemel says “vegetarian” should not be mistaken for “light.”
“It’s not low-calorie. You’ll be full at the end of the meal. It’s not like having a tiny little [serving] of vegetables.”
Chef Bertrand Chemel is known for his homemade pastas. Often times, at least one type of pasta makes an appearance on 2941’s vegetarian tasting menu. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Over the years, Chemel’s mastered a thing or two when it comes to vegetables — and he has some tips on how to make them at home.
Butternut squash is one of the most popular varieties of produce this time of year, and it’s also one of the easiest to prepare. Chemel says you don’t even need a vegetable peeler or a giant knife.
To start, take the whole squash and cover it with olive oil. Poke a few holes in the vegetable with a knife, wrap it up in foil, and set it on top of a bed of salt on a baking sheet. Then, pop the squash in a 350 to 400 degree-oven for about 45 minutes.
Chemel says when the squash cooks whole, the flavors intensify as it heats up, and the natural liquids inside the butternut squash steam the vegetable.
“You’re going to get a great flavor. You can wrap it with some rosemary and sage, and then when it’s cooked, cut it in half and just scoop it out.”
At the restaurant, he likes to serve butternut squash in soup form, with apple cider compote and cardamom gelee. Chemel says this recipe (see below) is also simple enough to prepare at home — and perfect for Thanksgiving.
Bertrand Chemel cooks up his butternut squash soup with apple cider compote to celebrate all the flavors of fall. You can find the recipe below. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Chemel also likes to use kabocha squash this time of the year. Unlike the butternut squash, he cuts the vegetable in half, scoops out the seeds, brushes it with olive oil and roasts it until soft. Then, he purées the squash and adds it to sautéed mushrooms, Meyer lemon and pasta for a quick and flavorful weeknight meal.
Unlike butternut squash, which Bertrand Chemel roasts whole, he cuts kabocha squash in half and scoops out the seeds before roasting it in the oven. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)Chemel sautés mushrooms and herbs in olive oil, before adding the puréed kabocha squash. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)Bertrand Chemel makes his own pasta at the restaurant, but says for a weeknight meal, the squash and mushrooms will taste just fine when used with a box of pasta. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)Pasta tossed with sautéed mushrooms, puréed kabocha squash, Meyer lemon, fresh herbs and a few greens. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Another simple and savory favorite of Chemel’s is his caramelized eggplant and tomato pie with puff pastry crust and whipped rosemary goat cheese cream.
To start, caramelize a Japanese eggplant using olive oil. Chemel says to avoid the larger, American eggplants because they absorb too much oil.
Then, drain a small can of San Marzano tomatoes and squeeze out the excess juice from the tomatoes before adding them to the eggplant. (Give them a rough chop if the tomatoes are too large.) Add rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, and let the vegetables cook together “until it becomes a bit dense,” Chemel says.
Chemel caramelizes eggplant and cooks it down with San Marzano tomatoes, rosemary and thyme. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Coat an individual casserole dish or ramekin with butter or olive oil and fill it with the cooked eggplant and tomato mixture.
Using homemade or store-bought puff pastry dough, top the ramekin with a circular cutout from the dough and bake at 350 degrees until the pastry puffs up and is golden brown.
For a final touch, whip together goat cheese, a touch of cream and rosemary, and add a dollop to the top of the warm pastry.
These pies are tasty enough to be on the Thanksgiving table, or the star of your next Meatless Monday meal.
Individual eggplant and tomato pies with puff pastry and whipped rosemary and goat cheese. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
Recipe: Chef Chemel’s Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider Compote and Cardamom Gelee
Ingredients:
4 ounces butter (clarified)
7 ounces onion (sliced)
1 ounce ginger
7 cups butternut squash (cleaned and diced)
4.5 ounces lemongrass (chopped)
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ ounce butter
2 ½ quarts water
In a large sauce pot, melt 4 ounces of butter and sweat the onions and ginger for about five minutes. Add the butternut squash and sweat for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the water and heavy cream. In a small sauce pot, melt the clarified butter. Add the lemongrass and sauté for about four minutes, then add the curry powder and coconut milk. Cook for five minutes and process in a blender until everything is chopped very well. Pass through a sieve and keep the liquid.
Peel the apples and cut into 1-inch pieces. Sauté the apple in a medium saute pan at high heat, until light brown. Deglaze with the apple cider and cook slowly until the apples are very soft and dry.
Blend the apples in a food processor, to obtain a smooth purée. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water until soft. Bring ¼ cup of the apple cider to a boil. Add the gelatin and cook for about one minute to dissolve the gelatin correctly.
Mix the gelatin with the remaining apple cider, add the cardamom and set aside on ice. Emulsify the liquid with a hand blender for about six to 10 minutes. Set the gelée aside on ice.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police says he’s comfortable in his new role as security chief for one of the nation’s leading medical-marijuana growers.
The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1Suhkqg ) reports that after 46 years in law enforcement, Terrance Gainer now protects cannabis instead of confiscating it.
He heads security operations for Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, one of the companies vying for a license to grow medical marijuana in Maryland. The company has proposed a growing facility near the western Maryland city of Hagerstown.
“This wasn’t something I thought I’d be doing late in my career,” said Gainer, 68. “But I did my homework on medical marijuana, and I said, ‘If elected officials decided to legalize these (operations), then I know how to secure them.’
Gainer was director of the Illinois State Police before moving to Washington in 1998. He was second-in-command to the Metropolitan Police Department before becoming chief of the U.S. Capitol Police in 2002. He served as sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate from 2007 until last year.
Maryland passed a law in 2013 allowing medical cannabis, but a dispute over which entities could grow and sell it delayed the launch of operations until 2016. Regulations allow for 94 dispensaries, two per state Senate district, and 15 facilities to grow cannabis plants.
Regulators have received nearly 900 applications from prospective growers, processors and sellers of medical marijuana — including 102 requests to grow marijuana. A state commission is reviewing the applications and expects to start issuing licenses sometime in 2016.
Gainer lives in Annapolis, where he runs a security-consulting business. He said he heard about opportunities in cannabis security from old associates, including Robert White, a former D.C. deputy police chief who is now police chief in Denver, where recreational pot is legal.
Eventually, Gainer got a call from Mike McClain, an old college friend and former Illinois state legislator. McClain had helped Green Thumb launch in Chicago, and he suggested Gainer work with it to develop security measures.
“It became pretty clear to me that sophisticated people were involved with GTI and that they had a medical community behind them,” Gainer said.
Gainer said he has never used marijuana and doesn’t have a prescription for it, but he is comfortable with the concept.
“I think medical cannabis has some wonderful benefits,” he said. “And I’ve talked to family members where it has made a difference in their lives.”
Green Thumb has applied for a license to build an indoor cultivation facility and grow marijuana on the site it purchased in Hagerstown, about 70 miles northwest of the nation’s capital. The company says it could build the 75,000-square-foot facility on the city’s rural outskirts and begin growing within six months of getting a license.
___
Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON — With major changes and new tolls planned for solo drivers on Interstate 66, the Virginia Department of Transportation is explaining to drivers and leaders from Loudoun to Arlington why simply enforcing existing High Occupancy Vehicle rules is not a feasible way to make congestion better.
Virginia Department of Transportation Special Projects Development Manager Amanda Baxter says Virginia State Police do not have the troopers to fully enforce the HOV rules, and that the enforcement that does take place only slows down traffic through rubbernecking delays.
Under a VDOT plan to bring tolls to I-66 inside the Capital Beltway at rush hour, troopers would only need to check the number of people in vehicles where E-ZPass Flex transponders are being used to make sure they have the minimum number of people required for a free ride.
Other drivers would either pay the variable toll using an E-ZPass or get a bill for the toll in the mail through a system that photographs the license plates of vehicles without E-ZPasses.
The change in 2017 is expected to eliminate exemptions for drivers headed to or from Dulles Airport.
The electronic system could make cheating the rules more difficult. Today, VDOT believes nearly half of drivers during the restricted rush hour period in the afternoon may be breaking the rules.
Baxter says Virginia State Police have issued “many” $1,000 tickets for HOV violators inside the Beltway under the current system, but that the toll system would instead be handled through civil processes.
Today, the tickets start at $250 for a first offense, before eventually rising to $1,000. All include points on a driver’s license. The fines from those tickets go to an education fund. The toll revenue will instead go to improve travel along the I-66 corridor.
Baxter’s explanation of how the new system would work came as Arlington County Board members became the latest to question why there isn’t more enforcement now.
“The current restrictions are just not enforced. It’s piecemeal. It’s sporadic. One day you see the cops on the entry ramps, and for every one day you see them, there’ll be four, five or ten days when you don’t see them,” said Arlington Board Member John Vihstadt.
In response to questions about whether thermal imaging technology could be used to confirm the number of people in vehicles, Baxter said she sees little benefit to more technology like this, given its cost.
She did say the technology is available to VDOT, if needed. Similar technology has been tested on the 95 Express Lanes.
Less than a month after Hyatt Hotels was reported to be in talks to buy rival Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, it was a different lodging industry giant that popped the $12.2 billion question.
Marriott International announced on Monday that it had agreed to buy Starwood – the operator of brands like Sheraton, St. Regis, W and Westin.
The newly combined company, which would create the world’s largest hotel business, would include more than 5,500 owned or franchised hotels with 1.1 million rooms in more than 100 countries around the world.
“The driving force behind this transaction is growth,” Arne Sorenson, the Marriott president and chief executive, said in a news release. “This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace.”
Starwood first announced in April that it had decided to explore a sale. Several months later the company had reached out to potential bidders such InterContinental Hotels Group Plc, Wyndham Worldwide Corp and sovereign wealth funds.
Back in late October it was reported that Hyatt Hotels was in talks to buy Starwood, but neither company would provide comment on the speculation.
During that same week, Starwood announced that it had sold its vacation ownership business to Interval Leisure Group for $1.5 billion.
If you’ve watched TV at all in the last six months, you’ve definitely seen ads for DraftKings and FanDuel, trotting out average-looking sports fans who have rung up hundreds of thousands — in some cases, millions — of dollars playing daily fantasy.
In the lead-up to the current NFL season, an ad for one of these sites popped up on national TV every 90 seconds.
“You only need to remind of something that often if your target audience is sports-loving goldfish,” said Oliver on Last Week Tonight.
These ads are particularly popular on the national broadcast and cable channels, because many of the biggest networks — NBC, Fox, ESPN, Time Warner — have some sort of investment stake or lucrative marketing deal with at least one of these sites.
“At this point there is almost no show that isn’t financially compromised by a relationship with daily fantasy,” pointed out Oliver. “In fact, HBO is a subsidiary of Time Warner, which means that this joke about being compromised is, in a sense, being brought to you by FanDuel… Thanks guys.”
These ads portray daily fantasy as a contest in which any Joe or Jane Schmoe can win big, but some reports have indicated that upwards of 85% of players don’t win. Instead, the largest slice of the pie has thus far tended to go to a very small group of dedicated players with complex systems for tracking and comparing players and teams.
“Fantasy sports are effectively dominated by numbers nerds with sophisticated algorithms,” explained Oliver. “Which is great news for anyone who wished Moneyball could be a bit more boring. But it’s not great news for a casual player, and it somewhat undercuts the key selling point in their ads.”
Some of those daily fantasy whales are engineers, some are former Wall Streeters, and then there are those who come from the world of professional poker.
“If it attracts the same people and requires the same sort of skills, it’s safe to say it’s somewhat similar,” said Oliver, who noted that daily fantasy execs have compared their tournaments to poker tournaments — and DraftKings was even a big sponsor of a recent World Series of Poker. “They’re basically saying, ‘If you love gambling, you’ll love DraftKings… for completely unrelated reasons.'”
Of course, playing high-stakes poker is illegal in many states, and the online poker industry was dealt a big blow by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the 2006 federal law that prohibits banks and other financial institutions from doing business with illegal online gambling operations, but which includes a carve-out specifically for fantasy sports.
At the time, no one really paid attention to the fantasy exemption because neither DraftKings nor FanDuel existed. Instead, the exception was reportedly included to let small groups of players continue playing their often low-stakes, season-long fantasy games.
DraftKings and FanDuel contend the UIGEA covers their operations and that they are substantially no different than season-long fantasy. Oliver took particular exception to this comparison, saying that season-long fantasy pools are the same as daily fantasy in much the same way that a “nice mug of tea is the same as a baggie of heroin — both give you a warm feeling; one’s a little more intense.”
The big catch for daily fantasy, according to Oliver, is that winning a DraftKings or FanDuel tournament indeed takes an incredible amount of skill, which helps the companies with their legal argument, but the more the public becomes aware of just how difficult it can be to win on one of these sites, “the less appealing they become to the average player.”
To address what he sees as a lack of transparency in daily fantasy ads, Oliver filmed his own ad featuring Seth Rogen, Mike Birbiglia, Jerrod Carmichael, Kathryn Hahn, and Martin Starr. We’ve cued it up for you:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign on Sunday defended her donations from Wall Street by saying she worked to help the financial sector rebuild after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and sought to address the abuses that led to an economic crisis.
During the second Democratic debate on Saturday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders put Clinton on the defensive when he said Wall Street had been the major contributor to her campaigns. “Now maybe they’re dumb and they don’t know what they’re going to get, but I don’t think so,” he said.
Clinton accused Sanders of trying to “impugn my integrity” and said that as a New York senator, she helped New York City’s financial hub rebuild. “That was good for New York and it was good for the economy and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country,” she said, her voice rising.
On Sunday, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon elaborated, saying in a statement that her work to help the financial industry rebuild after 9/11 “did not mean she ever hesitated to call out and seek to reform the abuses and excesses that led to the economic crisis. She did so early and often.”
Her debate response drew an incredulous reaction on social media sites like Twitter, and the debate’s moderators asked Clinton to respond to one Twitter user, who took issue with her mention of 9/11 to justify the contributions.
“Well, I’m sorry that whoever tweeted that had that impression because I worked closely with New Yorkers after 9/11 for my entire first term to rebuild,” Clinton said. “I had a lot of folks give me donations from all kinds of backgrounds say, ‘I don’t agree with you on everything. But I like what you do. I like how you stand up. I’m going to support you.’ And I think that is absolutely appropriate.”
The exchange highlighted one of Sanders’ main critiques of Clinton: That she has maintained close ties to Wall Street executives during her political career and would be less forceful in policing the risky behavior of financial firms that Sanders says led to the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009.
Both Sanders and ex-Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley support reinstating the Glass-Steagall law which once separated commercial and investment banking but was repealed in 1999 under her husband, President Bill Clinton. The former secretary of state says repealing Glass-Steagall wouldn’t go far enough to curb risks pushed by a shadow banking system.
When Clinton raised Wall Street donations along with 9/11, her Democratic rivals quickly pounced. In the post-debate “spin room,” former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told reporters, “I’ll let her answer that gaffe. I think it was one of the biggest ones of the night.”
Mark Longabaugh, a top Sanders’ adviser, said, “Do I think it’s a legitimate defense? No. I don’t see how you can make those two pieces go together.” He called the exchanges over Wall Street the “pivotal moments of the debate.”
Republicans said Clinton had hidden shamefully behind the 9/11 attacks to deflect attention from her ties to her wealthiest donors. And they signaled that the response would likely find its way into advertising if Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee.
“It’s an intersection between stupid and offensive, and I think that’s going to be a big problem as the campaign heads into the general election,” said Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s chief strategist.
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told reporters that Clinton’s “integrity was impugned and what she was saying was that she was proud to represent the state of New York, to help rebuild lower Manhattan.”
“When people attack her and call her quote-unquote the ‘senator from Wall Street,’ they ought to remember that she was instrumental in trying to rebuild an important part of the New York economy,” he said.
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On Twitter, follow Ken Thomas: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Behind a locked door in a far-flung wing of a labyrinthine school building, there is something wildly unexpected: a bustling animal laboratory for hundreds of creatures from many corners of the animal kingdom.
In neatly stacked cages and aquariums, there is a bilingual talking parakeet (he greets visitors with a Spanish “hola”), salamanders, sugar gliders and lots and lots of rodents: rats, mice, and gerbils. There are tarantulas, scorpions and snakes. And a grassy, fenced-in lot adjacent to the building is home to a pair of goats and to Snickers, an uncooperative, chocolate-colored minihorse. There are an estimated 250 specimens on site and 50 species, a veritable zoo in an era when schools typically have just a few animals — if any — for students to work with.
This is Arlington County’s animal science program, housed in the Arlington Career Center, where about 60 students come to prepare for careers involving animals. When Cindy Schall started teaching animal science in 1989, the program was small and focused on agricultural animals. But few students in suburban Arlington were interested in becoming farmers, so Schall updated the curriculum and started expanding the school system’s collection. As the program grew, so did the family of creatures living in the animal science wing because Schall wanted to ensure students had plenty of one-on-one time with a variety of species.
For some students, it’s a chance to solidify their aspirations to become veterinarians or veterinary technicians or to try for jobs at animal shelters and zoos.
For others, it’s a chance to earn a required science credit in a class where half of the academic program is spent handling animals. Students said it is a far more enjoyable and appealing way to learn.
Michelle Guzman, 16, a junior at Washington-Lee High School, said her chemistry class focuses on things that are difficult to see: atoms and compounds and chemical bonds. In animal science class, she’s hand-taming a tarantula. Last Tuesday, she let the creature settle in on her hand and crawl up her wrist — adorned with colorful bracelets — while other students gawked.
“I get to actually see and feel the animals, and we get to interact,” Michelle said. It has helped her to better understand the concepts she learned in biology.
For 15-year-old Rebekah Wilson, who aspires to be an ecologist, the class lessons are weighted with real-world responsibility. Fail to follow instructions or pay attention, and “I might kill an animal.”
“It makes it much more of a life-or-death situation,” Rebekah said as she handled a salamander.
In the classroom and the laboratory, students learn about the animal kingdom and genetics, and are schooled in the hard lessons of animal careers. They learn, for example, that being a veterinarian will probably involve euthanizing their animal patients and helping their owners through that experience.
The same year teacher Scott Lockhart had to put down his dog, he put students through a role-playing exercise, pretending they were veterinarians who had to talk to him about his dog being euthanized. It gave students a sense of the most difficult parts of a job.
“Can you have a dialogue with me and tell me how you can help me through this?” Lockhart recalled asking the students.
The class also is an opportunity for students to learn that they don’t want to work with animals, a lesson that can be just as important. The class, after all, involves a fair amount of less-than-pleasant chores.
On a busy Tuesday, one girl wrangled three ferrets as they lolled around on the ground, following closely with a napkin — they are not potty-trained. Other students cleaned out cages, aquariums and stalls or fed roaches to the reptiles. They also have to overcome their phobias of rodents and snakes, which they must handle while completing assignments.
And the animals are not always cooperative, so students have to learn patience. On Tuesday, a student was trying to coax a sleepy hedgehog out of its shelter; when she finally retrieved him, the hedgehog urinated on her.
A pair of students took turns working with Snickers, the minihorse, trying to get her to leap over a horizontal bar propped up a couple of feet off of the ground on two posts as part of an exercise routine. A pair of students tried unsuccessfully to persuade her to jump over the bar; she instead ran straight into it, knocking it over.
“She can be a pain sometimes,” said Rudy Henriquez, a 17-year-old senior at Wakefield High School.
For many students, the class reaffirms their love of working with animals. Students have gone on to jobs in veterinary clinics, at animal shelters and at the National Zoo in the District. Schall said she hopes more will go on to become veterinary technicians, a field that requires less training than a veterinarian but is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming decade.
Monica Madera, 25, took the class seven years ago when she was a senior at Washington-Lee, and she said it confirmed her dream of becoming a zoo veterinarian. It also made her much more comfortable handling squirming animals.
“When you do well in a class and you actually enjoy what you’re doing, I think that helps you figure out what you want to do,” Madera said.
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
When root vegetables are stored in an area that’s too damp, they can grow a pink slime that breaks down cell walls and is generally gross. The rot comes from a bacteria, called Clostridium puniceum, that normally only grows only in areas with no oxygen. Why would it grow in an environment where there’s plenty of oxygen? The answer is in the slime.
The bacteria produces the slime, which in turn keeps the bacteria alive. It contains two proteins that allow them to live in an environment full of oxygen. When the researchers engineered bacteria that couldn’t produce one of the proteins and infected a potato with it, the bacteria couldn’t grow without its protective slime.
This matters because slime is gross, because potatoes are an important crop and it’s unhealthy when they rot, and because those proteins in the slime also have antibiotic properties that makes them kill competing bacteria, including the “superbug” methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) that should frighten you if it doesn’t already.
Pizza Pizza is a chain restaurant that some readers outside of Canada might remember faintly from a line in a Moxy Fruvous song. No? All you need to know is that it’s a pizza chain, it delivers, and it has a 40-minute guarantee. If your pizza arrives in 41 minutes, it’s free. Simple enough: unless the driver gets mad about it.
Two sisters in Toronto ordered a pizza earlier this week, and they were regulars at the local Pizza Pizza. Normally, they would receive their delivery within twenty minutes, so after 40 minutes had passed, they called customer service. When the driver arrived shortly afterward, they handed him the phone so he would know that they didn’t owe any money. Pizza transaction complete, right? No. That’s when the texts started, the sister who went to the door explained to the Toronto Sun.
The driver claimed to have called multiple times before knocking on the door, and that the sisters didn’t answer.
Here’s a partial transcript, with rage-texting errors lightly corrected.
U know.. maybe u should use all that spare energy and time in strategizing on how to get a free pizza out of people and use it towards learning how to pick up ur cell phone…
Its not a healthy state of mind trying to cheat small hardworking business owners who make an honest living out of their money
U know I called three times before 1237am due time but it is really funny how u kept such a straight poker face when accepting the free pizza
I don’t know how you can enjoy eating a cheated pizza with a straight conscience… if I were u I know I couldn’t..
Then the driver remembered that not only was he mad at the woman, but food was involved, so he called her fat.
Ultimately, this wasn’t about paying for the pizza: it was about the driver altering the terms of the deal. If Pizza Pizza wants to offer a “40 minutes and it’s free, but the driver will berate you” guarantee, they could advertise that. That’s not why you give your cell phone number to a pizza place.
Eventually, they contacted a regional manager, who explained that the driver “didn’t understand the protocol” for what happens when a customer gets a free pizza, and had been fired.
Now the sister who received the pizza and spoke to the media says that she’s fearful for her safety: the driver doesn’t like her, and now she got him fired, while he has her sister’s cell number and knows where she lives.
Pizza Pizza gave her a courtesy credit for a future delivery, but she says that she doesn’t plan to use it.
In your office, there might be an ancient, dusty computer lurking in a corner that no one remembers to take to the electronics recycling place. Maybe it runs some scary-old operating system like Windows 95, and you wouldn’t use it for a mission-critical function. Would you? At Orly airport outside of Paris, France, the breakdown of a program that provides weather and visibility updates to pilots grounded dozens of planes. The problem: that program only runs on Windows 3.1.
The computer, Vice News explains, has an important use in the business of getting planes out the door: air traffic control uses it to send weather information to pilots. That was crucial on the day of the weather computer breakdown, since there was heavy fog around the airport, and the computer runs a program called DECOR, which tells pilots how far down the runway they can see at the moment. That’s useful when it’s foggy.
“The tools used by Aéroports de Paris controllers run on four different operating systems, that are all between 10 and 20 years old,” a representative of the Paris air traffic controllers’ union explained to Vice News. There are some Unix systems, and some fresh and new computers running Windows XP. Orly, the city’s smaller airport, handles flights within France and within Europe, but Roissy-Charles De Gaulle, one of the busiest airports on the planet, uses the same systems.
When there are so few computers out there still running these operating systems, there aren’t as many people around capable of troubleshooting and maintenance. There are three technicians in all of Paris for DECOR, the program that malfunctioned, and one of them is getting ready to retire. Windows 3.1 is not a hot topic in French IT training, as far as I know.
Planes trying to land at Orly were redirected to other airports, and everything ended happily here. Just try not to think about how many important systems run on ancient software that no one remembers how to troubleshoot.
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WASHINGTON – He’s known to prosecutors as the “neighbor from hell” and Friday, a Montgomery County judge sentenced the Silver Spring man to serve jail time.
Last year, Socrates Kondilis was convicted of harassing his neighbor, George Buckmland, and sentenced to mandatory anger management classes. When the court found out he lied about taking them, Kondilis was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Now, a judge has sentenced him to five years in prison, but suspended all but eight months and added three years probation. He’ll serve his time in jail.
“Judge Rupp was good in court today by sending the message that peace needs to be re-established in that Silver Spring neighborhood,” says Ramon Korionoff with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office.
Kondilis has pending charges from other neighbors, including destruction of property, court records indicate.
Buckland’s attorney says his client has security footage of Kondilis knocking down his neighbors’ fences and blocking their driveways. Buckland also accused Kondilis of pouring motor oil into his pool.
Kondilis will go back in front of a judge to face a violation of probation charge on Dec. 17. Kondilis could face additional jail time for that charge.
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Firefighting is a dangerous occupation, but for many, the most dangerous part of the job is going to and from an emergency call.
Accidents are the second-biggest killer of firefighters, accounting for 20 percent of all deaths over the past decade nationwide, according to the National Fire Protection Association — more than smoke, flames or building collapses and trailing only heart attacks from overexertion.
Locally, it’s a big concern for Montgomery County officials. County fire trucks and ambulances last year were involved in accidents at a rate of 21.4 accidents per 10,000 calls, according to The Washington Post. In neighboring Prince George’s County, there were only 12.6 accidents per 10,000 involving fire and rescue equipment.
None of these accidents was fatal.
Experts say there are several reasons for these accidents. Some include risky driving practices, a culture that values speeding to the scene and very low seat belt use.
But Montgomery County fire union officials tell The Post that firefighters do use caution when going out to calls.
Department officials, including Fire Chief Steve Goldstein, say they are addressing the high number of collisions by revamping accident investigations and driver training, as well as mandating seat belt use.
Firefighters say there would be fewer crashes if more drivers would clear the roadway when they see or hear emergency equipment coming.
MOUNT AIRY, Md. (AP) — Maryland State Police have charged a woman and her two sons with assaulting a trooper in a department store bathroom following a road rage encounter.
Authorities say Trooper Johnathan Horner was investigating a road rage incident when 42-year-old Traci Conners attacked a bystander recording the encounter.
Police say when Horner tried to stop the attack, Conners’ 17-year-old son, Jacob Conners, attacked him and ran into a store.
Troopers say Horner found Jacob Conners in a restroom trying to flush brass knuckles and a knife down a toilet. Authorities say that as Horner restrained him, Traci Conners and her other son, 19-year-old Steven Conners, attacked the trooper.
Traci, Jacob and Steven Conners were charged with assaulting a police officer. Jacob was charged as an adult.
WASHINGTON — A Secret Service officer assigned to the White House has been arrested in an underage sexting sting.
Lee Robert Moore, 37, of Church Hill, Maryland, is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and nude pictures of himself to what he assumed was a 14-year-old girl earlier this year. In reality, he was sending pictures to an undercover Delaware State Police detective.
Moore faces state charges of sexual solicitation of a child under 18 and providing obscene material to a person under 18. He’s also facing federal charges of attempting to transmit obscene material to a minor. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
On Friday, Moore waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday morning without appearing in court in Delaware on the state charges. Defense attorney John Barber waived the hearing and declined to comment. Moore’s parents spoke with Barber before and after the hearing but declined to comment to The Associated Press.
According to federal authorities, Moore reached out in August to an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl on the social media application Meet24. They subsequently agreed to communicate using the social media app Kik, which allows the exchange of images and videos.
According to court records the correspondence between the two continued for three months. Some of the chats allegedly took place while Moore was on duty at the White House, once asking the undercover officer who he thought was a girl to send him something “exciting” on a day when he was checking IDs for a building entrance and complained that “work sucks today.”
In addition to sending graphic texts and images, Moore is also accused of trying to set up a meeting between the two. “Moore soon moved the chats sexual,” Detective Kevin McKay wrote in an affidavit. “He stated he wanted to travel to Delaware and meet in person for sex. Moore made it clear that he knew I was a 14 yr old girl.”
Police identified Moore using the pictures that were sent and information gathered from the services he’s accused of using to keep the conversation going.
On Nov. 6, the Secret Service was notified, and Moore was forced to turn in his gun, badge and security card and was placed on administrative leave.
“The Secret Service takes allegations of potential criminal activity extremely seriously,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
On Nov. 9, Moore turned himself into Maryland State Police.
The court records allege that during an interview at the MSP barracks, he admitted to sending the messages and taking the obscene photographs.
Moore’s arrest brings new scrutiny to a federal agency already reeling from a series of scandals stretching back to 2012, when more than a dozen agents and officers were implicated in a South American prostitution scandal. Since then, multiple agents and officers have been accused of wrongdoing.
Former agency director Julia Pierson was ousted last year after the disclosure of two security breaches, including an incident in which a man armed with a knife was able to scale a White House fence and run deep into the executive mansion.
Meet Evan TheCat, this week’s Reston Pet of the Week. Evan is a new Reston resident as he was adopted as an adult earlier this year. Here is what owner Meggie has to say about him:
Evan was adopted earlier this year as an adult cat. His adoption profile described him as a “chunky lover boy.”
His previous owners named him ‘Evan,’ which coincidentally is the same name of his one of his new pet parents. He has been renamed “Evan TheCat” to alleviate some of the confusion but still keeps friends guessing which Evan ate the giant spider in the basement!
Evan TheCat loves being held and has never met a stranger. He watches over his pet parents at night by sleeping on their pillows and even sitting on the shower mat in the morning. After his night watch duties, he monitors the neighborhood through his second-floor window perch. When he sees his pet parents park their car, he zooms to the front door to greet them.
His new parents are very grateful that they were given the chance to adopt this lover boy as he has brought so much joy to their lives. They are working hard to remove ‘chunky’ from his description.
Congrats to Evan TheCat and Meggie, who win $100 in Becky’s Bucks, plus some treats, from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care.
Want your pet to be considered for the Reston Pet of the Week?
Email news@Restonnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.
Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks.
Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Reston and Northern Virginia.
WARSAW, Va. (AP) — A luxury resort proposed for a Rappahannock River site where hundreds of bald eagles gather has taken one step forward.
The Richmond County Board of Supervisors has approved a zoning change for the $330 million development on Fones Cliff.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1Y6Wzob) reports that the vote Thursday is one step in a years-long process.
The development proposed by Diatomite Corporation of America involves nearly 1,000 acres. It would include a lodge and hundreds of homes.
The resort has been opposed by some who fear the development would spook hundreds of bald eagles that gather along the Rappahannock. The birds are drawn to the river by the fish and fowl that abound there.
Nearly 500 pairs of nesting eagles are found along the James and Rappahannock rivers.
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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — Four young men got more than a meal when they killed and grilled a timber rattlesnake in western Maryland — they were hit with fines of $200 each in court.
Online court records show the men from Glen Burnie pleaded guilty Tuesday in district court in Cumberland to possessing or destroying the rattlesnake. It’s a state-protected species.
Each was fined $500, with $300 suspended. All received probation before judgment, meaning their convictions can be expunged after probationary periods ranging from 14 to 28 months.
Maryland Natural Resources Police say the men were camping in the Green Ridge State Forest in August when they killed the snake with a BB gun and grilled it.
The defendants are 18-year-olds Austin Golas and Travis Luedtke and 19-year-olds Paul Lafon and Erick Reffitt.
A fifth defendant, 19-year-old Jared Holt, is scheduled for trial Dec. 8.
WASHINGTON — The cost of raising a family is high and getting higher, but a state-by-state ranking of the most and least expensive places to do it may uncover a surprise.
The list issued by the website GoBankingRates.com says that Virginia ranks as the fourth-cheapest place to raise a family, factoring in paid family leave, median state incomes and the costs of housing, food and child care.
It may not seem that way in Fairfax County or other areas in the northern part of the state, and it’s true that the study says Virginia pays more for housing than most Americans, with a median rent of $1,504 a month.
On the other hand, the study finds, the median income is the fourth-highest in the country, while food costs are lower than the national average.
Maryland ranked as the 22nd most expensive state. The most expensive was Hawaii; the least expensive, Tennessee.
No one expects to add more fresh fruit and vegetables to their diet and end up with a stomach bug, a serious illness, or dead. Yet that’s beginning to happen, with multi-state outbreaks of food-borne illness, especially in items like fruit and salad greens that are generally eaten without cooking, and apparently not washed sufficiently. The Food and Drug Administration wants to change that.
In the announcement of the program, the FDA cites outbreaks in the last decade or so of E. coli in spinach in 2006, and salmonella in peanut butter in 2007, 2008, and 2012. Pathogens are invisible to farmers and cooks, but are potentially deadly. When the government is constantly pushing Americans to eat more fruit and vegetables, how can they also keep current food policy when outbreaks in foods like this can hurt people? Here’s a wacky idea: inspect before something goes wrong.
The new rules mean more obligations and inspections for farmers, including testing the water they use for irrigation, training workers on sanitation (namely: please do not poop on or near the cilantro) and look out for wild animals that could also contaminate food items by, um, doing the same thing.
The regulations on a crop depend on how it’s grown and what it’s generally used for. The more restrictive rules, which also apply to farms abroad that supply U.S. markets, would apply only to foods that will most likely eaten raw, like salad ingredients or strawberries.
Residents of Lexington, KY now have another option along with searching through their couch cushions to come up with payment for parking tickets: the city will allow motorists to pay for their citations with canned goods throughout the month of November.
The campaign is part of the city parking authority’s annual food drive, reports WKYT. LexPark tried the donation program last year for the first time, letting residents pay off parking meter tickets with food.
The “Food for Fines” program brought in more than 6,200 cans for more than 600 meter citations last year. This time around, the city is will also accept cans for other citations as well.
“We hope by opening the program up to all types of citations, we’ll see those numbers increase this season,” said Parking Authority Executive Director Gary Means.
From Nov. 16 through Dec. 18, motorists who donate 10 canned food items will get a $15 credit per citation. Past-due parking citations will also be eligible for the program.
LexPark suggests bringing large cans of vegetables and proteins, and won’t accept any out-of-date, damaged or open canned goods. All donations will be given to a local food bank.
Facebook is reportedly trying a totally new, completely novel, never-before-seen kind of message — oh, hang on a second, Snapchat has been doing self-destructing photos and videos for a while now. But anyway, Facebook apparently wants to do that kind of thing, too.
For all those missive you’d rather disappear instead of having them linger in your friend’s or loved one’s (or, honestly, your nemesis’) inbox, Facebook is trying out a feature that allows users to set their messages to self-destruct an hour after they’re sent, using the Messenger app.
Messenger users can turn on the disappearing option by tapping an hourglass icon included in the app. Tap it again, and the feature is disabled.
The option is only being tested in France for now, but could expand to other countries if it proves popular.
“We’re excited to announce the latest in an engaging line of optional product features geared towards making Messenger the best way to communicate with the people that matter most,” Facebook said in a statement (h/t Buzzfeed News). “Starting today, we’re conducting a small test in France of a feature that allows people to send messages that disappear an hour after they’re sent. Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback as they give it a try.”
According to a lawsuit [PDF] filed in a Clark County, NV, district court, the pilot had just taken off from St. Petersburg, FL, en route to Hagerstown, MD, on June 8, 2015, when the cabin crew reported that “acrid smoke or chemical fumes” were coming from an undetectable source toward the back of the cabin. The complaint notes that both crew and passengers noticed the smell.
Citing his “regulatory duty” and “common law obligation to provide a high degree of care for the safety of his passengers,” the pilot declared an emergency and landed back in St. Petersburg.
Back at the airport, Fire Rescue officers noticed some smoke in one engine and told the pilot to shut it down. The “acrid burning smell” persisted, so the pilot instructed cabin crew and air traffic control to prepare to evacuate the plane.
That’s when an unidentified man — who was neither the pilot nor the controller — declared over the air traffic control frequency to “hold off on your evacuation.” The controller and the pilot told the man to identify himself and what authority he had to make such a call, but the mystery man only repeated “I’m telling you not to evacuate yet.”
And so the pilot moved forward with evacuating the flight. As he checked on the plane’s cabin, he says he noticed a passenger who was unable to walk. The pilot claims that he and a flight attendant then carried this passenger to the exit.
Following the evacuation, Allegiant opened an investigation into the pilot’s actions and determined that he “failed to exhibit” the necessary behaviors of an “on-scene commander.”
Per the July 23 dismissal notice [included as Exhibit 2 in the complaint], in addition to being a good pilot, these behaviors include “striving to preserve the Company’s assets, aircraft, ground equipment, fuel and the personal time of our employees and customers.”
The dismissal explanation criticizes the pilot for continuing to insist that he made a “good decision to evacuate the aircraft” and that he’d do it again “if faced with a similar situation.”
In a statement, the pilot defends his decision.
“Smoke in the cabin is obviously a major safety concern and there is no responsibility I take more seriously than protecting my passengers and crew,” he explains. “All I’m asking for is a recognition that evacuating the plane was the only safe course of action and a commitment from Allegiant to put safety first so my colleagues never have to worry that doing the right – and safe – thing could cost them their jobs.”
When Walmart stores across the country open their doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving day there will be a Black Friday staple missing: hourly doorbuster deals.
The retailer announced Thursday that it would ditch its tradition of rolling out hourly deals on products in an attempt to make the hectic holiday shopping day easier for customers, USA Today reports.
This year, the company says it plans to make all the deals – both in store and online – available at the same time. Online deals will start at 12:01 a.m. PST on Thanksgiving, while in-store deals will be available when the doors open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
“Our plan is fundamentally, make shopping easier for our customers,” Steve Bratspies, Walmart’s chief merchandising officer, says. “It’s about deals, it’s about availability and it’s about simplicity.”
Bratspies says the new system was put in place, in part, to help avoid confusion for some shoppers. In previous years when the retailer fanned out its deals throughout the evening, customers had to spend time strategizing when to stop by the stores in order to grab their desired item before it sold out.
As to the availability of deals on the big shopping day, Walmart says it’s aiming to bulk up its stock on best-selling items, like electronics and toys, to ensure customers aren’t left high and dry.
Walmart is also bringing back its one-hour guarantee, which promises special deals on five products — an iPad Air 2, Beats headphones, an Xbox One, an HP Touch laptop and a 55-inch LG TV — to anyone lined up in a designated spot in stores between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, USA Today reports.
While the retailer is working to ensure things go smoothly in stores, it’s also gearing up for a big online sales day.
The company expects 75% of its holiday traffic to come from its mobile app this year. The app allows shoppers to make purchases directly through the Black Friday circular, or if you’re in-store, the app will provide maps to see where deals are located.
“We’re going to make it easier when you get to the store to find what you want and hopefully get through it a little quicker,” Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran said.
These days, just about anything — candy, DVDs, a new phone — can be purchased through a vending machine. And if you live in Nashville, you can now help yourself to a used car.
Online auto retailer Caravana created the five-story, automated vending machine that aims to make the car-buying process fun, easy, and less costly, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The Nashville vending machine took years to develop and holds 20 vehicles.
Like Caravana’s online process, shoppers looking for used cars at the vending machine first browse and select a vehicle online via high-res photos and 360-degree virtual tours.
To use the actual machine, customers schedule a day and time to pick up their pre-selected car.
When they enter the lobby, they’re given an oversized coin that can illuminate the tower and cue music when placed into the machine. The coin also triggers an automated process where the machine spins, grabs a vehicle and brings it to a track that delivers it to one of three bays, the Free Press reports.
“I think what we’re trying to create is a fun way to pick up your car that is also metaphorically representative of what we are as a brand. … It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s automated, and the customer is in control,” co-founder Ernie Garcia said.
The company says that while the upfront cost of the vending machine was hefty, the savings from labor and real estate to house the cars is significant, reducing the cost for customers by $1,500 to $2,000 per vehicle.
Even if you don’t use Google+, you’ve probably entered a bunch of information into your Google profile from various places. Now you can manage it all in one spot in Google’s AboutMe section.
