Window Cleaning Snippets

DESPERATE FOR JOBS: He came to Paris more than 30 years ago looking for a job. Now 55, he works as a window washer for 250 euros a week - a pittance by European standards. Yet the money buys a month's worth of food for his family left behind in Senegal."If I wasn't here my family couldn't live," Semba said. It's a common story. Most West Africans here work solely to support families in Africa, and many do it illegally. But with no visa and little education, opportunities are limited. From construction to sanitation, West Africans do the jobs no one else wants. "They'll take anything, and they'll work hard at it," Kendrick said. "These guys aren't here to integrate into French society. They're here for the survival of their family."When they're not working, West Africans gather in rundown apartment buildings called foyers. Built by the government, they provide immigrants with cheap housing out of the public eye. Hidden among the city's back alleys and side streets, foyers function as microcosms of West African society.

In this economy, everybody hurts. ATHENS, GA: Bruce Barker, owner of Athens Art and Frame and Cups Coffee Cafe, agreed with Brooks that the current economic recession is like nothing he's seen before. "I think some of what we're experiencing this time is a little different," Barker said.
Sales are down in his stores by about 6 percent, and Barker feels lucky that's all. Barker and his employees are cutting back where they can to save on expenses, he said. Barker's workers now wash store windows, rather than pay the small company Barker previously hired to do it. That helps Barker, but not the woman who owns the window-washing business, he said. Barker also has reduced his staff, at first by not replacing employees who left. Now, "things have gotten to the point where we did have to lay some people off," he said.

Tough times ahead for Hesperia schools, McKinney says 'It's not going to be pretty.' Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already called the legislature back in session to close the additional $11.2 billion deficit that has grown since the budget was signed. Schwarzenegger has said tax hikes will be necessary, but even if he gets all $4.4 billion in new taxes he wants, a $6.8 billion shortfall will remain. And, the governor has said, some of the cutting necessary to close the gap will be coming from education spending. "The right here, right now, is going to get worse," McKinney said. Cuts that do not require the school board's oversight are already underway. Some decisions were easy: The HUSD was paying a window washing company $1,200 a year to wash the district office's windows. The windows will remain dirty now.
And I’m tired of reading about Black Thursday, Oct. 24, 1929, the Great Crash, etc. – people jumping out of their windows and shooting themselves to death. I just learned the other day, according to an Internet account, that in the wake of the stock market crash in 1929, police dragged a man off the edge of a building and then discovered he was a window washer.Hmmm . . .If he were a journalist, they’d probably leave him there.

NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT: Lake County residents backing other candidates took Barack Obama's victory in stride. Jim Booras, a window washer from Lake Villa, didn't vote in Tuesday's election because his religion, Jehovah's Witness, discourages it, he said.
"I couldn't fathom voting for anybody," he said.

£20,000 fine over shopping mall accident: A company was yesterday ordered to pay the maximum fine possible after a court heard two of its workers could have been killed falling from unsafe scaffolding. One of the men had to take nearly a year off work after he was left dangling from a wooden gantry 40ft from the ground with a dislocated shoulder while firefighters were called to rescue him. Andrew Hawkins and co-worker John Page were working for PMA Systems repairing window cleaning equipment at The Mall Norwich. Dramatic video footage screened at Norwich Magistrates showed the two men climbing the shaky wooden gantry stair before it suddenly overturned. The maintenance manager on duty at The Mall that evening had noticed the men were not wearing safety harnesses so had asked for the CCTV cameras to be trained on them while he ordered a colleague to stop the work. But the pair toppled from the gantry before anyone could get to them. Mr Page climbed to safety but Mr Hawkins, hampered by the dislocated shoulder sustained in his efforts not to fall, was left hanging on to the overturned steps for 10 minutes until firefighters rescued him. Northampton-based PMA Systems pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching its general duty to employees following the incident on June 13 last year. Magistrates fined the company the maximum sum of £20,000 and ordered it to pay £10,275 costs as well as a £15 court surcharge after hearing that the men could have fallen to their deaths. David Lowens, prosecuting on behalf of Norwich City Council, said the men had not seen the written risk assessment and method statement drawn up by PMA Systems prior to the commencement of the work. Mr Lowens also told the court that there were no points to which safety harnesses could be attached in a way that the men could still move along the gantry, although the method statement dictated harnesses should be used, and that the suspension of the platform described in the statement was “inherently unstable”. He added that there was no emergency plan to rescue the employees if needed. “There was a dangerous misunderstanding of how this job was going to be done,” he said. John Williams, defending, said the two men were aware of the procedures laid out in the method statement and risk assessment, including the wearing of safety harnesses, even if they had not been given written copies. “Health and safety is a shared responsibility. If the men are right that there was a practical problem with wearing a harness on this job it really was their responsibility to tell the company that,” he said. Mr Williams said PMA Systems might now appeal the fine, describing it in court as “putting the future of the company in peril”.

MSN Europe buys two Disney online TV series: Disney's Stage 9 Digital Media has sold two short-form online comedy series, 'Squeegees' and 'Voicemail', to MSN Video, which will show them across Europe. The agreement, which is Disney-ABC-ESPN Television's first Europe-wide distribution deal for Stage 9 programming, will be available on MSN Video in the UK starting today October 13, with roll-outs in France, Germany, Spain and Sweden to follow shortly. 'Squeegees' follows four hapless window washers who squeegee New York high rise buildings. 'Voicemail' was inspired by one man's decade-long collection of phone messages, capturing "an insight into the life of a 20-something male slacker in pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of responsibility". Video here.

Window cleaner jailed after drugs find: A SELF-employed window cleaner has been jailed for two years after police found a large stash of cocaine in a drugs bust. Martin Noble, 29, had 47.6 grams of the drug he used to supply friends with when police searched his home on June 17. A set of scales, plastic bags and two mobile phones were also found at the house in Flint Walk, Hartlepool, UK. One of the mobiles had 30 text messages about drug dealing, dating between the end of May and mid June. Teesside Crown Court heard how he bought the drugs with money he borrowed from his father and sold to close friends to fund his own cocaine habit. Robin Denny, mitigating, said Noble had since quit drugs and had attended local rehabilitation courses. Judge Peter Fox said: "I accept this was not a large scale commercial enterprise."

Cup of hope for Tandy: DROYLSDEN'S former City player Jamie Tandy (pictured) is determined to make headlines for all the right reasons when the non-League Bloods go for FA Cup giantkilling glory at Darlington. The 24-year-old has endured a torrid time since 2004 when he found fame he didn't want when he became the innocent victim of bad boy Joey Barton, who stubbed a lit cigar out in his face at an infamous City Christmas party. At that time Tandy was playing for the Blues reserves. But, feeling isolated after his clash with Barton, he first went on loan to a Danish club before suffering injury and sinking into a vicious spiral of drink and depression. He admits that culminated in an attempt to take his own life when he smashed his car into a lamppost back in February. But now, having survived after a long spell in hospital, things are finally looking up for Tandy - in more ways than one. He has been accepted into football's Sporting Chance rehabilitation clinic in Hampshire and has found a job as an industrial window cleaner, working on the high-rise buildings in Manchester city centre. He has also re-joined Droylsden, one of the clubs he played for after returning from Denmark - cut down his drinking and begun to work hard for Bloods boss Dave Pace. Tandy, from Whitefield, said: "I started to slip into depression after I came back from Denmark. I wasn't earning any money, it was difficult. I started drinking and being stupid.

Windex: The Drackett family invented a clear crystal blue cleaner that loosened soil easily, left no streaks and gave glass an unmistakable shine. They called it Windex. Grandson Roger Drackett, in 1933, went door to door in upstate New York introducing the new product. Despite The Depression, Windex became Drackett’s winning success. All you needed was Windex and a soft cloth. Spray on, wipe clean. Windows sparkled. Windex ads showed a happy housewife tossing bucket, rags and aprons, good-bye messy window washing. Today it is available in three streak-free formulas, blue ammonia-D, lemon fresh Windex and green vinegar Windex.

Detergent may etch windows:
Q: In attempting to eliminate box elder bugs from the south side of our home, my husband mixed Cascade dishwasher detergent in water and sprayed the house and windows. He left this solution on for many hours and then hosed it off. We now have windows with streaks that I cannot remove. I have tried vinegar, window cleaners, Jet Dry and various spray cleaners. Is there a solution that I have missed?
A: Take that cleaning bucket away from your husband. You never, ever put a cleaner on glass and let it dry, especially one with as much muscle as dishwasher detergent. It can ruin glass.
Dishwasher detergents typically contain high levels of phosphates. They're different from dishwashing detergents, such as Dawn. Dishwasher detergents are designed to be short-action cleaners - in contact for a short time and then thoroughly rinsed off. They can attack or "pick out" minerals such as lead from glass, altering the surface. Under a microscope, the etched surface appears as rough and cratered as the moon. Unfortunately, that's permanent unless you pay to have the glass professionally buffed to remove the scratches. But there is hope. It is possible that your windows are not etched, that instead you are seeing a film of the cleaner that's been baked onto the surface. To test this possibility, toss clear water on the glass. If the streaks disappear, only to appear again when dry, the glass is etched. If the streaks remain visible and there's no change in appearance, wet or dry, then it's probably a film. The challenge, then, is to remove the film. Call in a professional window cleaner who uses Crystal Clear cleaner, such as Squeegee Squad (763-780-0492) or Final Touch Services (651-641-1018). The product, unavailable to homeowners, might remove the film from your windows.

Cat uses up 1 of 9 lives, abandoned feline survives 17-floor plummet from Mississauga, Canada apartment windowsill. It takes the phrase "tree hugger" to a new level. "It's amazing it didn't die," added Ambaye, who found the cat abandoned in a top-floor unit. Ambaye, cleaning out the unit left vacant and strewn with garbage, found the cat Monday night and rummaged up some canned food for it. When he returned to the bedroom, he was terrified to find the feline had jumped up onto the open windowsill, just centimetres from the ledge. "I backed out of the room slowly," Ambaye said. "This cat didn't know me; I didn't want to startle it." Soon, though, the superintendent heard a "terrible, loud screeching noise" -- the cat was hurtling toward the ground. "I ran down to the ground and there it was, bleeding from the mouth and a little dazed," he said. Ambaye took the cat inside and cleaned its wounds as best he could. Even a half hour later, he said, the cat was still clutching the branches which had broken from the tree.
The next day, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rushed to pick up the cat. "It's still a bit tender and a bit sore," SPCA spokesperson Alison Cross said yesterday. "Unbelievably, though, we think it's going to be okay." The cat will be nursed to health until its owners are contacted. Cross said charges could be brought against the people who abandoned it.

And finally.....