Elvis, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and South Parks

Source: International Herald Tribune (Original Article)

EDINA, Minnesota: Former champion Laura Davies of Britain and American teenager Michelle Wie were among the cut casualties when the weather-delayed second round of the U.S. Women's Open was completed on Saturday.

Davies, who clinched her first LPGA victory at the 1987 U.S. Women's Open in an 18-hole playoff, missed out by one after carding an eight-over-par 81 at Interlachen Country Club.

The 44-year-old Englishwoman had been in title contention after opening with a 70 but a triple-bogey seven at the par-four 15th highlighted her struggles in the second round.

Wie, once one of the most trumpeted players in the game, effectively put paid to her own bid with a first-round 81 that featured an ugly nine at the tricky par-four ninth.

The 18-year-old Hawaiian had one hole remaining when play resumed under overcast skies on Saturday morning and she parred the nemesis ninth for a 75 to miss the cut by six strokes.

Although she had covered her first 12 holes in one under, Wie had too much ground to make up and bogeyed the fourth, fifth and eighth on her way to a 10-over total of 156.

The cut fell at four over with 74 players advancing to the third round.

Best of the late finishers on Saturday morning were Japan's Ai Miyazato and South Korean teenager Oh Ji-young who both parred the final hole to lie three strokes off the pace.

Miyazato returned a 72 and Oh, joint leader after the opening round, a 76.

Brazil's Angela Park, the 2007 LPGA rookie of the year who fired a sparkling six-under-par 67 in calm morning conditions on Friday, led the tournament by a shot at six-under 140.

Veteran Swede Helen Alfredsson (71), Finland's Minea Blomqvist (69) and South Korea's Park Inbee (69) were a stroke behind in a tie for second place.

Thirty-six players had to complete the second round early on Citibank Clear Credit Card Saturday, following a delay of just …continue reading

Source: Triangle Business Journal (Original Article)

Police in Florida are investigating the death of Steve Walsh, who was once an active apartment developer in Charlotte.

Walsh, 61, was found dead Wednesday at his home. Winter Park police say they were called to the $1.5 million home after a co-worker became concerned when he didn’t show up for work.

Police would not say whether his death is suspicious, but published reports say the home was ransacked, and that crime investigators were seen taking a gun from the home, according to the Orlando Business Journal.

During the 1980s, Walsh was a major force in Charlotte, both as a builder and as community leader. As head of the Greater Charlotte Economic Development Corp., he raised $3 million in six weeks to fund the city’s first national marketing campaign for the business community.

Skilled at fund-raising, he built war chests for Republican candidates in the area and served as U.S. Sen. Jesse Helm’s finance chairman for Mecklenburg County in 1984. Party leaders considered him material for elected office.

He also donated 100 acres off Pineville-Matthews Road that became home to the pink-colored, crown-shaped Calvary Church.

Walsh Corp. was the largest apartment-development firm in Charlotte. But a series of legal battles with former colleagues and lenders weakened the company. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 ended common tax shelters, further undermining his efforts.

Meanwhile, a failed investment in an Arizona commercial labeling-equipment maker added to his financial woes. By 1989, Walsh Corp. was bankrupt. A year later, so was he.

Yet the Arizona investment fueled the means of his return. In 1998, a jury in Arizona ruled the bank that arranged the investment misled Walsh. After two trials and two appeals, Walsh used his share of the settlement — $58.2 million — to reconcile his debts.

“I paid every creditor 100%, plus interest for a 10-year period, Amex Blue Sky Card on their claim,” Walsh told the …continue reading

Source: Sky News (Original Article)

It’s the one thing Euro 2008 has been lacking - a boozed-up England supporter running amok in a historic town centre, throwing patio furniture at the locals and singing songs about the war.

Not that I was about to conform to any of those (almost) outdated stereotypes, but as I walked the streets of Innsbruck on Thursday proudly displaying Three Lions on my shirt, there did appear to be an increased Polizei presence. Angry-looking men with batons jabbered into their walkie talkies in German and eyed me warily. Perhaps it was just my paranoia, but nevertheless I felt it was time to remind the rest of Europe that England did have a part to play at this tournament - the role of comedy cameo.

Having within seconds noticed my weedy frame and lack of tattoos, most Austrians quickly assessed that I posed no threat and raised a smile which carried the underlying message: ‘Haha - his team is rubbish!’ Those wearing Deutschland tops would usually stop to say ‘ah… England!’ and then laugh. Fortunately, with ‘Gerrard 4′ on my back, the odd Liverpool-friendly fan would give me a half-hearted thumbs-up, which helped to boost my now-fragile confidence.

Hysterics

Innsbruck’s Fan Zone is located at the foot of the Bergisel Ski Jump, to the south of the city centre. Having trudged up the steep hill to reach the entrance, fans are quickly ushered towards the ‘bier and wurst’ and an array of sponsors’ stalls. You can have your photo taken with Pierluigi Collina; shoot footballs into a giant tyre; or try to defeat a child in a game of keepy-uppy. I came close, but the eight-year-old girl I was up against was really quite talented. If she doesn’t lift the Women’s World Cup in 2020, something’s gone seriously wrong in Austria.

We were then treated to an impressive demonstration of ski jumping, an activity which makes you realise just how insane Eddie ‘The cheapairlinesnews Eagle’ Edwards really was. Launching yourself …continue reading

Source: International Herald Tribune (Original Article)

BASEL, Switzerland: The assumption was that whoever faced the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the European Championship would be considered a sacrificial lamb. Russia coach Guus Hiddink has a long track record that he is anything but.

“If a team proves it can play great football you must absolutely not be afraid, you must embrace that,” Hiddink said, reflecting on Russia's 2-0 win over Sweden on Wednesday.

The main plot of Saturday's match was supposed to be the Dutch facing off with one of the greatest Dutch coaches — Hiddink.

Human tragedy struck though, and now all eyes will be on Netherlands defender Khalid Boulahrouz, who lost his prematurely born daughter days ahead of the quarterfinal match. He already told coach Marco van Basten he is available for the match despite the pain.

“You can count on me,” Boulahrouz said.

Van Basten said his team had dealt with the issue and would give its full focus to making its second semifinal appearance in as many European tournaments.

“We have one goal and Khalid has said that he is going for it. He has shown his strongest side,” captain and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said.

If anything, it will further bond the Dutch players. They have already made traditional Dutch bickering a thing of the past and all will be willing to give it their best for the defender.

In three games so far, they have proved to be one of the great oranje sides for the ages. Within one glowing week, it beat world champion Italy 3-0 and dismissed the other World Cup finalist, France, 4-1. And all in a style reminiscent of the halcyon days of the 1970s, when it produced its famed “clockwork orange.”

With its “B” team, it even handily beat Romania 2-0 when top-status in Group C was already assured and a win would have put Romania in the quarterfinals.

Russia, meanwhile, has already gone bankwest lite credit card through an epic struggle just to …continue reading

Source: San Diego Union Tribune (Original Article)

SAN DIEGO: Former residents at a home in the South Park neighborhood accidentally caught the patio and basement on fire as they were burning trash in a barbecue grill yesterday, officials said.

The Metro Arson Strike Team is going to submit a case to the City Attorney's Office for possible prosecution for starting an unlawful fire, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque said.

The house is on a dead-end section of Grape Street east of Felton Street, on the edge of a canyon. Investigators were told that in the past few days, the former residents had returned to clean up and burn items rather than haul them away, Luque said.

Yesterday, the residents reportedly made a bonfire of wood, phone books and other items in the grill, then left it unattended. Flames caught the wood patio deck on fire and spread into the house's basement. About two dozen firefighters called to the scene at 5:19 p.m. had the blaze out in about 20 minutes, Luque said.

He said it appeared reckless to start an open fire on a wood deck at a home near a canyon on a hot day.

“It's not what you want to be doing this time of year,” Luque said.

The fire did not spread upward into the house. Damage was estimated at $40,000 to the structure and House And Garden Article 6661 $1,000 to personal contents. No one was injured. –P.R.

Source: Albany Times Union (Original Article)

Here are two inspired proposals from readers who were thinking along the same lines:

Q : The Thruway’s New Baltimore service area looks like it was built to be a park-and-ride lot. Does the Thruway have any plans to run a shuttle bus from there to downtown Albany?It would save about 40 miles round trip per day. People in Kinderhook could just drive over the Berkshire Spur bridge and go south a half mile to New Baltimore. I have co-workers who drive from Kingston who could use it, too. It would save everyone gas. Even if the Thruway charged more than it currently charges in tolls for the 40-mile trip, people would still save money.– Carol Huges, Kinderhook Q: Back in the late 1970s the New Baltimore service area was set up to be accessible to both northbound and southbound traffic, so it could be used as a park-and-ride lot. The gas crunch ended and the idea was dropped, but New Baltimore still serves both directions of travel.Now, with gas prices exceeding $4, does the Thruway plan to use New Baltimore as a park-and-ride lot to Albany? Once in downtown Albany, people could take CDTA buses to other areas as well. This would be great for people in Coxsackie. The Thruway could even permit people to pay for the bus with E-ZPass.– William Y. Johnson, Coxsackie A: Great minds do think alike! You’ve both come up with ideas that sound like terrific ones to explore.Unfortunately, the Thruway Authority probably won’t be the one exploring them.”The New Baltimore Travel Plaza was not built with the intention to be used as a commuter park-and-ride lot,” said authority spokeswoman Kimberly Chupa. “It was built with the intention that motorists traveling in both directions could access it.”She added: “The authority does not have any plans in its current multi-year capital program to expand the New Baltimore Travel Plaza to include a park-and-ride lot or a bus shuttle to downtown Albany, but That 70s Show dvd the authority does have 13 commuter …continue reading

Source: Orlando Sentinel (Original Article)

Jay Hamburg just filed this report

In an effort to rebuff critics of commuter rail, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, released a national study today that shows the proposed liability agreement is in line with about 20 other similar freight-and-commuter arrangements around the nation.

"It will debunk some of the myths relating to commuter rail liability," Mica said of the study done by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit and Railroads Subcommittees.

Some opponents of the $1.2 billion Central Florida commuter rail project have attacked the proposed no-fault liability arrangement between the state and CSX. Both sides were to carry $200 million liability insurance for the 61-mile system to run from DeLand to Orlando to Poinciana.

The state legislature failed to approve that liability agreement even though it mirrored the one already in place on the Tri-Rail system in South Florida. Supporters hope to win approval next session and Mica plans to send the study to every member of the Legislature.

The study shows that of 23 commuter railroad agencies in the nation, only two have liability protections that exceed $200 million.

Mica planned to announce his findings at a commuter American Express Card rail rally in Orlando hosted by The Central Florida Partnership.

Source: Reuters UK (Original Article)

AMMAN, June 7 (Reuters) - South Korea maintained their slender group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Jordan.

Park Chu-young’s 22nd-minute penalty was enough to secure all three points for the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists, who are ahead of foes North Korea in Group 3 on goal difference.

South Korea’s win made amends for their 2-2 draw with the unfancied Jordanians in Seoul on Monday. They are bidding for a place at their seventh successive World Cup finals.

North Korea beat Turkmenistan 1-0 in Pyongyang in an earlier Aussie MasterCard Credit Card match. The top two teams progress to round four.

Source: The Press Association (Original Article)

Warren Gatland

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BankWest Credit Cards

Source: Sun-Sentinel.com (Original Article)

Plan for offshore gas port stirs fear in Broward
Offshore gas firm calls fears of plan ‘myths’

BY KEN KAYE |
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:39 PM EDT, May 27, 2008

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They fear the ocean could become a sea of fire. They fear their view of the horizon might be spoiled by giant tankers. And they fear terrorists might see an opportunity to attack.

These concerns and others have prompted residents and officials to intensify their opposition to a proposed gasworks off Fort Lauderdale that would allow liquefied natural gas to be transferred from tankers to South Florida power plants via a pipeline.

Fort Lauderdale commissioners last week passed a resolution against the project. Oakland Park and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea are considering doing the same. And residents living in Galt Ocean Mile are signing petitions.

“There are too many things that concern me,” Oakland Park Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue said Tuesday. “If there’s some sort of accident, what would that fireball do to the environment?”

Hoping to allay such fears, Suez Energy North America, the Houston-based company proposing the $400 million project, will hold an open house starting at 7:30 p.m. today at the International Game Fish Association, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach.

Dan McGinnis, Suez vice president and project manager, called the concerns “myths more than anything.” He said U.S. Coast Guard officials will be on hand to act as an unbiased authority. So far, the Coast Guard has found Suez’s project would have little impact on the environment.

Still in need of federal environmental approvals, the deep water port would entail two underwater terminals anchored to the sea floor, one 7.7 miles and the other 10.3 miles northeast of Port Everglades. They would allow giant Citibank Credit Cards tankers to deliver about 400 million …continue reading