Friday, March 10, 2006

Buffalo, New York — The Common Council of Buffalo voted on Tuesday to send the Elmwood Village Hotel proposal “to committee for further discussion”, after citing the need for more public involvement.

The Elmwood Village Hotel is a development proposal by the Savarino Construction Services Corporation, a project designed by the architect Karl Frizlen of The Frizlen Group. The hotel would be placed on the southeast corner of Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo.

To make way for the project, at least five buildings located at 1109 to 1121 Elmwood Ave would be demolished. At least two properties on Forest Avenue could also be demolished. The Elmwood properties, according to Eva Hassett, Vice President of Savarion Construction, are “under contract”, but it is unclear if Savarino Construction actually owns the Elmwood properties. Hans Mobius, a former mayorial candidate, is still believed to be the current owner the properties. Mobius also owns 607 Forest Avenue.

The properties 605 and 607 Forest Avenue could also be included in the proposal according to Hassett.

“We would use a Special Development Plan to rezone 1119-1121 Elmwood and 605 Forest to a C-2 zoning category,” stated Hassett. It is possible that Savarino Construction may try to obtain a variance for 605 Forest, which would allow them to enforce eminent domain, should the hotel be allowed to go forward.

The building at 607 Forest was also discussed to be rezoned, but it is unclear what the plans would be for that property. During the February 28 Common Council meeting, Hassett stated that the properties 605 and 607 were “now off the agenda”.

Pano Georgiadis, owner of Pano’s Restaurant at 1081 Elmwood, owns the property at 605 Forest and attended Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

“Having a hotel is a bright idea. We all love the idea of a hotel, but the way that it is presented, is wishful thinking. This hotel does not fit. It’s like putting two gallons of water in a gallon jug, it does not fit. At the last meeting, the architect admitted that they are planning to put the undergound parking lot and the hotel, right at the property line. If I open my window, I will be able to touch the wall, that goes fifty feet high”, said Georgiadis.

“There is a problem having a seventy-two room hotel and fifty-five parking spaces. That means that all the other cars will spill all over the neighborhood. The footprint is simply too small. If you have a bigger [parking] lot, and a smaller hotel, I will welcome a hotel. I have a parking lot at my own business, and I am chasing people all day long. Remember, the city says it has ‘zero tolerance [for illegal parking]’. Try telling that to the guy from Albany who came to see his kids, that are going to Buffalo State, who would get tickets totaling over a hundred dollars”, added Georgiadis.

The city’s Planning Board is scheduled to meet on March 14, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. about the proposal. Although a discussion will take place, no vote is expected to be taken.

At the moment, none of the properties are zoned for a hotel. Savarino Construction plans on asking for a C2 zoning permit. If that does not work, they plan to implement a new zoning plan called a “special development plan” which would allow for only a hotel on the site. That zone would not be able to be changed.

“This [project] justifies Mobius’s refusal to invest in any maitenance^[sic] or improvements”, on the properties said Clarence Carnahan, a local resident. “Where were the Council persons over the years? Where were the city inspectors over the years, to make sure that he maintained and improved his properties? The government was supposed to be protecting, not being preditorial. I see a predatorial issue here when it comes to this hotel. Over the years: Why has the local government been disfunctional when it came to Mobius’s properties? Refusal to invest in improvements, doesn’t that sound like a slumlord? Maybe I am missing a point here, but what kind of messages does this send to other slumlords that havn’t^[sic] been jailed or fined? It’s [the hotel] trying to be pushed through.”

Carnahan also presented signs for residents and or business owners who are opposed to the hotel, that could be placed in windows or on stakes in the yard. Some of the signs said, ‘No tell hotel’, ‘Hans off, no hotel’, ‘It takes more than a hotel to make a village’. and ‘Keep Elmwood free, no hotel’. Carnahan plans on making more signs for a protest to be held on Saturday March 18, at 2:00 p.m. (EST) on Elmwood and Forest. Some signs were given to individuals after the meeting.

“First things first, Hans is the problem, and I don’t think it has been addressed. Let’s roll back the clock on this project. What can we do with Hans? There is such thing as eminent domain, which could be of greater interest to the community, to seize the property at its lowest assessed value”, said Nancy Pollina, co-owner of Don Apparel with Patty Morris at 1119 Elmwood. “There are so many ideas that have not been explored and we are about to give this parcel away, to a big developer.”

Mobius has not returned any calls by Wikinews regarding the situation.

A freelance journalist writing for Wikinews has obtained a letter, exclusively, addressed to one of the five business owners from Hans Mobius stating:

There is a proposal to develop my property which you are currently renting. Because of opposition to this development, it does not look like it will happen. I will let you know if there any changes.

Despite the letter, there have been no plans or decisions made to end the proposal.

To date, none of the business owners or residents of 1119-1121 Elmwood have received an eviction notice.

Business owners and residents gave an indication of what they would like to see happen at the corner; a project similar to one done locally last year. There, developers renovated two buildings on Auburn and Elmwood Avenues, merging the buildings into one thus allowing for more shop space. Among some of the shops to move in after the development were Cone Five Pottery, The Ruby Slipper, and Abraham’s Jewelers. Prior to the renovation work, the left building in the picture was boarded up for several years. Many of the concerned locals would like to see a similar development on Forest and Elmwood.

Rocco Termini, a developer in Buffalo, proposed a similar design at the February 28 community meeting

In an interview after the February 28 meeting, Termini stated, “I will be willing to take a look at this myself, or I would be more than happy to be partners with Sam, Sam Savarino”, who is President and Chief Executive Officer of Savarino Construction Services Corp.

So far Savarino Construction has no plans to team up with Termini.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Several weeks ago Netherlands based company Mittal Steel made a takeover bid for Arcelor, prompting legislation from Luxembourg (5.6% owners of Arcelor, the largest stockholders) and cries of discrimination from India.

Mittal is owned by the world’s fifth wealthiest man, Laskshmi Mittal, an Indian. After the takeover bid, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce attempted to introduce new rules that would stop companies with less than 25% of their shares in free float from making a cash and bid offer for a company whose location is in Luxembourg. India news reports then claimed that this was a discriminatory action because Laskshmi Mittal is an Indian.

Luxembourg officials have disputed this, stating that their actions were only due to the need to comply with EU legislation. The country’s minister for economy and foreign trade, Leannot Krecke, stated, “The government will have no role in impeding the bid. We intend to bring the takeover bill in May to put in the best international practices in our economy.” Krecke also stated that a similar bill will have to be brought to the national governments of each of the 25 EU member nations so that they complied with EU legislation.

Word of New Delhi’s displeasure with Luxembourg’s stance seems to have been translated to Luxembourg during a meeting that the finance ministers of both countries had in India.

Meanwhile, Mittal has announced that it is prepared to cut the cash portion of its buyout offer. Mittal will do so if Arcelor increases its dividend to shareholders above the 80 cent market consensus. A spokesman for Mittal stated: “If Arcelor decides to distribute extra cash to shareholders, we will consider that as an advance payment on our offer and adjust the cash component of our offer accordingly.”

Sunday, October 1, 2006

A video, which was made in 2000 and released by the Sunday Times shows September 11, 2001 hijackers Mohammed Atta and Ziad Jarrah attending a camp in Afghanistan. Mohammed Atta was on the American Airlines plane which hit The World Trade Center’s North Tower and Jarrah was on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers on the plane attempted to regain control after the highjackers took over the aircraft. The Times reports that they received the video from “a previously tested channel,” but it is not known what channel they are referring to.

The video is believed to have been recorded on January 18, 2000 and features the two men reading their martyrdoms and the Sunday Times reports that the two were at Osama bin Laden’s main headquarters located inside Afghanistan prior to the September 11 attacks. In the video, both hijackers appeared to be smiling and laughing. The video also shows Atta reading the will.

The video also showed Osama bin Laden speaking to a crowd of his followers in the city of Kandahar in Afghanistan. Ramzi Binalshibh can be seen in the crowd during the speech by bin Laden. A bodyguard, that has instructions to kill bin Laden if he were in any danger of being caught or killed, is also present in the video. Two other commanders of al-Qaeda, wanted by the U.S., Abu Faraj al Libi and Saif al Adl also appear in the video.

The video contains no sound and it is unknown what exactly the hijackers were saying. According to the Sunday Times, the United States attempted to use Arabic lip readers to find out what the hijackers were saying, but were unsuccessful.

MSNBC reports that the video was found by U.S. troops at a compound that had been controlled by al-Qaeda sometime in 2001.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Before the annual Earth Day on April 22, several environmental-related events were progressively promoted in Taiwan. For example, industrial and academical units promoted several energy-efficiency policies, parts and accessories, and products in three recently-closed trade shows (AutoTronics Taipei, Motorcycle Taiwan, and Taipei AMPA) respectively located at TWTC and TWTC Nangang with the international environmental laws and policies promoted in several nations including Taiwan. Taiwan Railway Administration promoted “Twin-rail Environmental Train” (in Chinese: ??????) for bicycle and mass transportation industries. And also, HBO Taiwan promoted the movement of “Decreasing chopsticks to save the earth” (in Chinese: ?????) to drive the public changing habits on common food habits when using environmental tablewares.

By the way, he also commented on the upcoming event of “Taiwan Bicycle Day” and “Project of Light-weighted Electronic Vehicle” by ITRI and said:

Monday, November 22, 2010 Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2010 Ford 400 held yesterday at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Jimmie Johnson claimed the championship after finishing second — his fifth championship in a row. Throughout the course of the race there were 10 cautions and 25 lead changes among 9 different drivers.

Afterward, Edwards commented, “To finish like this is unreal. It’s just these guys didn’t give up. It’s just a great way to end the season.”

Kevin Harvick came in third for Richard Childress Racing, and Aric Almirola finished fourth, after starting 24th. Almirola’s teammate A. J. Allmendinger finished 5th in front of Kasey Kahne. Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart finished behind Kahne in 7th and 8th. Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top ten finishers in the race.

In the Drivers’ championship, Johnson claimed his fifth consecutive championship, after being in second prior to the race. Denny Hamlin followed, 39 behind Johnson, and three ahead of Harvick in third. Edwards was scored fourth, Kenseth took fifth , Biffle was sixth, and Stewart was seventh, after finishing eighth. Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer was ninth and tenth.

Showing his excitement, Johnson said, “I can’t believe this! It’s unbelievable. You guys are the best. I can’t thank you enough,” on his radio. Chevrolet won the Maunfacturers’ championship with 261 points, while Toyota followed with 217.

Afterward, Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus commented, “I think finally, finally after pulling this off Jimmie will get the respect that he deserves. Knowing what we had to do — come down here and beat them — and we beat them.”

“I’m disappointed,” Hamlin said afterward. “Our car was lightning fast until that last wreck. When we hit the 16 (Biffle) that knocked the toe-in out. It wasn’t as fast after that. It’s just circumstances but we had a great year. We won the most races (8) and we contended like we have never contended before but circumstances took us out of this one. I don’t think the 48 (Johnson) showed the strength this year like they did in the past and that opened the door for the rest of us.”

Next, third place finisher, Harvick commented, “We went down swinging and that is what we came here to do. Those guys outran us on that last restart there. All in all I’m proud of all my guys. We did everything we wanted to do today but win the race. This is a great spot to start building for consistent championship runs next year. We had a top three car but they got by us on the restarts. All in all, it was a good day. What can you do?”

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wikinews reporter Nicholas Moreau contacted professional photographer David Fore of Lloyd David Photography to go to the recent Christy Carlson Romano concert at Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Romano, perhaps best known for her breakout role in Even Stevens opposite Shia LaBoeuf, is presumably working towards a new album, regularly posting new singles to her MySpace profile. She is listed as “indie” on her profile, having originally been signed to Disney Records.

Romano has performed Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, as well as voice acting in the television series Kim Possible and video game Kingdom Hearts.

Sesame Place recently opened for the season, adding Abby Cadabby to its cast of life-size Muppets. The park offers a variety of wet and dry rides, as well as stage attractions. Christy performed at the park four times over last weekend, as well as riding in its daily Rock Around the Block Parade.

• Sesame Place theme park

Sunday, August 13, 2006

The Australian federal government has announced that it will be introducing an electronic system for Medicare rebates within the next twelve months. Under the new system, patients will be able to receive their Medicare rebates electronically without having to visit a Medicare office.

During an interview in Sydney today, Prime Minister John Howard, along with his human services minister Joe Hockey and health minister Tony Abbott, announced that patients who pay for the services of a doctor using their credit cards will be able to receive their rebates electronically within 24 hours. Under the current system patients must visit a Medicare office to receive their rebates.

John Howard said the 80,000 people per day who queue at Medicare offices will no longer need to spend their lunch break in line at Medicare.

According to the government, doctors who bulk-bill their patients through Medicare will benefit through faster payments and reduced paperwork. “If it’s a bulk bill transaction; all they do is hand over their Medicare card,” said Mr Hockey.

“The Medicare card is swiped in the EFTPOS device, all is done.”

“Doctors will be rebated within 24 hours.”

“Currently doctors are rebated up to 14 days for bulk bill claims.”

The government claims that electronic rebates will be less expensive to process—costing only a few cents, compared to an estimated AUD $3.50 for an over-the-counter transaction. Despite this, patients who still wish to visit a Medicare office to receive their rebates will still be able to do so.

The minister for human services was quick to assure Australians that Medicare offices would remain open saying that over the past twelve months they have taken on an “expanded role” with the Family Assistance Office’s services being provided in Medicare offices.