| Italy's president dissolves parliament
President Giorgio Napolitano made the decision after Premier Romano Prodi's center-left government fell late last month and subsequent efforts to form an interim government to change voting rules failed. Prodi will continue as caretaker premier until the election, which must be held within 70 days of the dissolution of parliament. Italy was plunged into political crisis after Prodi's government collapsed January 24 after only 20 months in power. Watch as Berlusconi bounces back » The legislature was the second-shortest one in Italy's postwar history, according to Italian media. Early elections represent a victory for Silvio Berlusconi, the conservative leader who has repeatedly demanded a return to the polls since the fall of Prodi's government.
Roses ‘n’ Razzies (Feb. 22)
ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.We hereby deliver:* ROSES to our abundance of young local talent. We are continually impressed with the depth and variety of talent in our (sorta) little town. In the category of "early promise in the arts and sciences," we had much to applaud this week.We celebrate the expertise of the very young musicians who took part Tuesday in the Corvallis OSU Symphony's 2008 Children's Concert at the LaSells Stewart Center. They sang and played instruments with older international talent and made us proud.Then there is the high-wattage brilliance of the 175 Crescent Valley High School students who will participate today and Saturday in the Central Western Oregon Science Expo at Western Oregon University.Our best wishes and future hopes accompany them.
Sale of the century (again) at Fishs Eddy
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Need some dinner plates adorned with the Lexus car logo? Or unglazed porcelain hand molds (the five-finger kind once used to make plastic gloves)? Those are some of the more unusual items shoppers can expect to find at a sale later this month inside the Fishs Eddy storage warehouse on Front Street in Stapleton. For those who thought the Manhattan-based tableware retailer had disappeared completely from Staten Island when it closed its Bay Street retail shop in St. George in 2005, there is one last chance to get the bargain home goods in this borough. Never before open to the public, the storage warehouse at 450 Front St. will open for a close-out weekend sale starting Friday, Jan. 25. There the bulk of inventory, stacked high in dusty baskets and boxes, consists of thousands of pieces of surplus restaurant-grade tableware, glassware and silverware, including demitasse spoons, cocktail forks, shot glasses and whiskey jugs, according to Fishs Eddy owner Julie Gaines.
Waldegaard: Age is nothing but a number
Tears of joy epitomised Bjorn Waldegaards unquenched spirit for the Safari. Winning the Kenya Airways Safari Classic Rally with 31-year-old son, Matthias, was an utterly emotional feat at North Coasts Sarova Whitesands, yet the four-time WRC Safari Rally winner wants more of the unforgiving terrain he conquered in his heyday. Waldegaard won his first Safari Rally in 1977 in Ford Escort. He went on to win in 1984 with Hans Thorzelius in a Toyota Celica TCT, 1986 and in 1990 with Fred Gallagher in a Toyota Celica GT4. "Its in a Ford that I became famous in the Safari and it was great to win again in a Ford Escort Mark 1," the Historic Motor Sports driver said. Asked whether hell be back in Kenya to race, the mzee wa kazi of the old Safari quipped: "You know that I am an old man and Safari is a rough endurance race.
Flip Shelton: Don't sweat the scorpions
NI Hao. I'm back from the Kingdom of Bicycles and had a cracker of a holiday. It seems my pre-travel worries were unwarranted. (Dear reader: if you missed my last column I was caught in a Chinese conundrum and feared retribution from the god of travel, Hermes.) According to English pop songstress Katie Melua, there are "nine million bicycles in Beijing" and, given that the city is as flat as Ballarat, the topography is certainly conducive to cycling. To give you some perspective -- just over one million bikes were sold in the whole of Australia last year, while in Beijing nine million bikes exist in an area roughly twice the size of Melbourne. That's about 536 bikes a square kilometre! In bravery akin to a matador facing a rampaging bull, cyclists gather at intersections before building up enough strength in numbers to venture across.
Rowland predicts 2008 will offer retail growth
Cleveland City Mayor Tom Rowland predicted 2008 will be the citys year of retail explosion, transportation improvements, tourism growth and economic expansion during his annual State of the City address Thursday. Rowland Rowland told the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland a retail explosion is coming like a big boom. He said you can see it "at the new Walgreen center off Georgetown Road and Paul Huff Parkway. A few grocery stores have already opened and 12 to 15 other businesses are ready to open. Del Taco is going to open catty-cornered from the Cleveland Towne Center, which includes Target, Kohl's, Circuit City and many others. "That is so important for us to maintain our status as a retail shopping hub. The new businesses you're going to see are going to be quality places to eat and do business." The area has also had a "banner year" in tourism, Mayor Rowland said.
Passing with high grades
The announcement was made last night at Spice restaurant on North Street, where several key players in the laptop initiative gathered for the good news. Steering committee co-chairman Michael Supranowicz said the BWLI recently surpassed $1 million in private contributions, a mark that was crucial in making the three-year initiative solvent. "This shows that what we have going here is a community effort," Supranowicz said. Launched in January 2006, the initiative has supplied 2,305 Apple iBooks to teachers and students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Silvio O. Conte Middle School in North Adams and at the Reid, Herberg and St. Mark's middle schools in Pittsfield. The $5.3 million program is being used as a pilot program by the state, with funding generated from both state and private capital.
|
