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Saturday, December 2, 2006

As families fled their homes in the early morning hours on Thursday October 26, there was no warning. The Esperanza Fire southeast of Los Angeles and West of Palm Springs, California, had ballooned under the influence of Santa Ana winds to more than 19,000 acres as of the morning of October 27. No time to get the animals, no time for crates or even a leash. Sadly, owners left behind not only their horses, lamas, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, but also their dogs and cats.

Many of the families who did manage to evacuate their pets found themselves in the parking lot at the Fellowship in the Pass Church Red Cross Shelter where a MuttShack Animal Rescue team caught up with them.

Pam Anderson, Director of the emergency Red Cross shelter said that many people with animals had come and left.

The air was thick with smoke, and ash was raining down on the parking lot where dog owners, not able to take their dogs into the shelter were camping out in pup tents and in their cars.

Those who could afford it checked themselves into pet friendly hotels in nearby towns.

Some were prepared. Jane Garner, a small dog breeder was able to get all her animals out, and had set up her puppy runs alongside her RV in the parking lot. Others were not doing too well, having left home without as much as a leash.

The same scenario played out at the Red Cross shelter at Hemet High School. Animals were being boarded in vans, trailers and cars and small travel crates.

When MuttShack Animal Rescue arrived, a small fracas had sent several dogs off in different directions, running out of the school parking lot down busy streets necessitating an instant rescue response.

The Incident Command for the Esperanza Animals, Ramona Humane Society in San Jacinto welcomed MuttShack‘s offer to help at the shelters.

Ramona Humane Society had recently published a notice in their Newsletter about the newly passed “PETS Act” and warned owners not wait until a major disaster such as an earthquake or fire to prepare. “Be proactive to ensure that your pet will be taken care of.”

MuttShack and PetSmart Charities set up ad hoc facilities for the animals at both shelters.

The Red Cross shelter, run by Madison Burtchaell of the Orange County Red Cross was very accommodating about allowing a small emergency pet shelter adjacent to the School.

Barbara A. Fought of PetSmart Charities, an organization that works with animal welfare organizations and provide assistance in disasters, provided crates and emergency supplies.

MuttShack and Red Cross volunteers, Martin St. John, Tom Hamilton, and Steve Meissner helped assemble the crates to secure a safe environment for evacuated pets.

It was a great relief for evacuees who had camped out in the parking lot to finally leave their vehicles and relax at the shelter, setting up their cots to grab some sorely needed rest.

Firefighters and residents reported loss of wildlife and animals. The Esperanza fire burned 34 homes, consumed 40,000 acres and cost five Firefighters their lives before it was contained four days later on October 30. Firefighting operations cost nearly $10 million.

MuttShack Animal Rescue is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization active in disasters and dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and care of lost or discarded dogs, cats and other animals.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

United States federal officials flushed billion of gallons of water into the Grand Canyon on Wednesday, in an experimental effort to distribute sediment throughout the river and restore the ecosystem to a more natural state.

The water was released from two pipes in the Glen Canyon Dam, which blocks the Colorado River and creates the artificial reservoir Lake Powell. At a rate of more than 300,000 gallons of water per second, the flood could fill up the 102-story Empire State Building in 20 minutes, said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

“This gives you a glimpse of what nature has been doing for millions of years, cutting through and creating this magnificent canyon,” Kempthorne said after pulling the lever that released the water. The flood will continue for 60 hours, during which time the flow of water from the dam is expected to increase by four or five times.

After the dam was built in 1963, the seasonal floods that would spread sediment throughout the river were halted. This sediment was necessary for creating sandbars and beaches, which served as wildlife habitats. As a result, two fish species have become extinct, and two others have become endangered, including the humpback chub. Although the water level will only rise a few feet after the flood, officials are hoping it will be enough to restore eroded sandbars downstream.

Scientists will be conducting studies on how the flooding affects the native species and their habitats. “Our ultimate purpose is to learn whether or not this is a viable strategy for creating sandbars and habitats for native fish,” said John Hamill, chief of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.

Similar experiments were conducted in 1996 and 2004, although Randall Peterson, an environmental manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, says, “Those conditions were markedly different.” He says that tributaries below the dam have released high volumes of sediment in recent years, making conditions more favorable.

However, environmentalists from the Grand Canyon Trust, which has often criticized the government’s management of the dam, say there is more that can be done. They assert that the floods must occur regularly if any real change is to be expected, and they accuse the government of conducting the experiment for show. “They’re trying to make it appear that they’re doing something beneficial when they’re just doing it for appearances,” said Nikolai Lash, senior program director for the Trust. “It’s being manipulated to be a ‘one and done,’ even though we know that doesn’t work.”

Grand Canyon National Park superintendent Steve Martin also raised concerns about the project. He said that not following up with more floods soon could actually destroy habitats rather than restoring them. Though the federal plan calls for smaller annual flows in autumn, Martin says these were timed to serve the interests of hydroelectric power producers.

“The best time to get the most money for your hydropower is during peak energy demands, which is generally daytime hours and generally in the summer,” Martin said. The U.S. Geological Survey acknowledged that the timing was partly designed in order to maximize electricity production during peak demand.

Meanwhile, others are simply unhappy with the arguing and indecision that have plagued the issue. Martha Hahn, science center director at the national park, said, “At some point we’re going to have to draw a line in the sand and say this is the best way to manage the dam and manage resources in the Grand Canyon. We can’t continue to go on and on just researching. We have to make a decision. We really are losing valuable resources.”

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A former accountant for Oral Roberts University (ORU) has filed a lawsuit against ORU and its Board of Regents claiming he was told by Richard Roberts and his wife Lindsay to “cook the books”, hiding financial wrongdoing from authorities and the public. Trent Huddleston, the accountant, has filed suit against the school and the Robertses claiming he “was improperly and unlawfully directed to perform functions and duties in violation of state and federal law in an effort by the defendants to ‘cook the books’ and hide from the appropriate authorities and the public the continued wrongdoing, improper and illegal conduct of the defendants, and in particular, of Richard and Lindsay Roberts.”

Huddleston said that nearly $123,000 in remodeling fees for their home was paid by Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Ministries. In addition the lawsuit alleges $4,000 was spent on a pool table for the Robertses. Previously the Roberts were accused of illegal political and financial wrongdoing, which forced the president to step down from his positison.

Last week at a meeting called by Oral Roberts, founder of the University and former faith healer, a majority of the faculty voted against allowing Richard to serve as president.

An ORU spokesman declined to comment on latest lawsuit and the faculty meeting.

In other news, Tulsa World released emails between Richard and his political adviser and sister-in-law, Stephanie Cantees. The emails given by an anonymous source, show the two plan to gain political influence using ORU students.

Friday, November 3, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 25). Three candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include John Blair, Robertson Boyle, Tony Dickins, Cliff Jenkins (incumbent), and Peter Kapsalis.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

The Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania opened for its 2007 season this morning, adding Abby Cadabby to its all-star lineup of characters that children can meet.

Described as a “sweet, inquisitive enthusiastic three-year-old fairy-in-training” who loves making new friends, the character stars in a musical show called Abby Cadabby’s Treasure Hunt. Featuring all of the stars of Sesame Street, the production joins Elmo’s World Live: Fishes.

Abby was not the first recurring female character to be introduced to Sesame Street since 1993, as press materials for season 37 of Sesame Street proclaimed; Phoebe and Googel from the short-lived Monster’s Clubhouse segment both hold that title. She is however the first new female character since 1993 to show any lasting power. Her performer, Leslie Carrara, says Abby will appear in “almost every episode next season”.

The Langhorne, Pennsylvania attraction was opened in 1980, sparking robust commercial development in the town. While similar parks have opened in Irving, Texas, Tokyo, Japan, Monterrey, Mexico and São Paulo, Brazil, none of them managed to strike the hearts and minds of tourists.

Roller coaster Super Grover’s Vapor Trail, the Sky Splash water ride, and the “Rock Around the Block” musical parade all return for the 2007 season, as do other rides, shows, and physical play activities.

The park is open Friday through Sunday until 25 May, when the park begins opening daily. After Labor Day, Sesame Place is open weekends only until 27 October 2007.

Friday, April 8, 2005

Las Vegas police searched the home of Anna Ayala on Wednesday, looking for evidence related to her claim that she found a finger in her chili at a San Jose, California Wendy’s outlet. A dozen officers conducted the search at Ayala’s home at Maryland Parkway and Serene Street at about 4 p.m. local time (23:00 UTC), according to witnesses at the scene.

“They put guns to us and handcuffed us and threw us to the ground in front of all my neighbors,” Ayala told the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday evening. “They treated us like trash, like terrorists. It’s the worst nightmare,” Ayala said.

“I’ve been dragged through the mud. We’ve been treated like animals. I’ve been through too much,” Ayala told the San Jose Mercury News on Thursday evening.

Although police have not named Ayala as a suspect in the case, San Francisco ABC 7 is reporting that the search warrant may be related to Ayala’s dead aunt. Ayala disputed the ABC 7 report.

“I would like to know who she is and why I wasn’t invited to her funeral,” Ayala told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Ayala stated that she does not have a dead aunt. She also denied reports that a cooler had been seized from her home during the search. Ayala also said that her teenage daughter, Genesis Reyes, had torn shoulder ligaments as a result of the search. The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a photo of Reyes wearing a sling in their Friday edition.

However, Ken Bono, a friend of the Ayala family, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that police had taken a cooler during the search.

“Basically they kicked the door open. They pulled everything out of the closet,” her roommate told a Las Vegas news crew, in a report aired on NBC11 News.

In San Jose, police spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten confirmed to reporters that investigators had served the warrant in cooperation with Las Vegas police on Wednesday, but she refused to reveal specific details about the warrant.

“We’re going to conduct a thorough investigation into this case and our investigators are talking to everybody involved, and that includes customers at Wendy’s at the time as well as the finder of the finger,” Tepoorten said.

Wendy’s is offering a US$50,000 reward for information leading to the source of the finger.

“It’s very important to our company to find out the truth in this incident,” Tom Mueller, Wendy’s president and chief operating officer told Associated Press. “We believe someone knows exactly what happened, and hopefully the reward will encourage this person to come forward.”

Wendy’s claims that their internal investigation shows that the finger did not end up in Ayala’s chili through any of the ingredients in their supply chain.

“With all the facts we have, we find no credible evidence to indicate that Wendy’s was the source of the foreign object,” Mueller said.

Business has fallen off dramatically at Wendy’s outlets in Northern California since the finger was discovered on March 22.

“This has been an ordeal for all of us. Hopefully there will be a resolution soon,” Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini said.

The Wendy’s outlet where the finger was found, located at 1405 Monterey Highway, just south of downtown San Jose, is owned by Fresno-based Jern Management.

Saturday, March 5, 2005 Simply massaging low birth weight babies with sunflower seed oil can protect them from potentially fatal infections.

Infections and complications from preterm birth cause more than half of all neonatal deaths, and very low birth weight babies are particularly vulnerable.

Preterm babies have immature skin that lacks a protective film called vernix that has antimicrobial properties.

In some countries, such as India, newborns are routinely massaged with mustard oil.

But mustard oil, says Gary Darmstadt of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, can delay recovery of the skin barrier and have a toxic effect on skin.

Seeking an alternative low-cost product, Darmstadt and colleagues experimented with sunflower oil and an ointment called Aquaphor that comprises petrolatum, mineral oil, mineral wax and lanolin.

The researchers tested the treatments on 497 newborns (72 hours old or less) and preterm babies (less than 33 weeks gestation) between 1998 and 2003 in Bangladesh.

They applied the treatments to the entire body besides the scalp and face three times daily for the first 14 days and then twice daily until discharge.

Babies treated with sunflower oil were found 41% less likely to develop infections than controls.

“Evidence is emerging that the skin is much more important as a barrier to infection than previously recognized, particularly in preterm infants whose skin is underdeveloped,” says Darmstadt. “The good news is that treatment is available to strengthen the function of the skin as a barrier in these vulnerable newborns.”

Friday, September 9, 2005

Italian-based Fiat Auto SPA and US-based Ford Motor Co. announced they signed an agreement to cooperate in designing two small car models. This came only seven months after General Motors severed their relationship with Fiat.

Both companies plan to work together on a new version of the popular Fiat Cinquecento and on a replacement for the Ford Ka, both to be based on the Fiat Panda platform.

The cooperation can help reduce the companies’ small car production costs and ease financial difficulties they are facing. Ford is struggling with high labor and health care costs, while Fiat suffers from its unprofitable Italian plants.

After the deal was announced, shares of Fiat rose $0.06 to $9.44, while Ford gained $0.06 to $9.95 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).