Window Cleaner Rescue, Swine Flu + Window Cleaning News

Firefighters Rescue Window Washer After Lines Jam (BALTIMORE) : A window washer got stuck 12 stories in the air at a Baltimore high rise Tuesday. Weijia Jiang reports the man was in the 800-block of Lancaster Street in Harbor East working several stories up when his lines jammed, affecting his ability to maneuver around. "The mechanism that allows him to go up and down to wash windows is powered by a motor, which malfunctioned," said Kevin Cartwright with the Baltimore City Fire Department. Fire department members were able to secure the man with a rope and safely get him inside the building. Witnesses say the man stayed calm while he was hanging in the air. "That's the thing about it, you can't think about it because if you think about it, you can't do what we do. It takes a lot of courage to do what we do. We're out here in the snow, the rain, the sun," said foreman Roland Boyer. "This is what we do. This is our job." The window washer was not hurt. He has not been identified.

Cowtown Cracks Down on Signs - Popular hamburger joint ordered to remove name from window: As part of a crackdown on signs, city inspectors on Tuesday ordered Kincaid’s Hamburgers on Camp Bowie Boulevard to scrape its name off its front window or face fines of $500 per day. An ordinance passed two years ago forbids businesses from having signs or lettering that block more than 10 percent of a window. The law, aimed at cleaning up clutter, also limits the use of temporary and permanent signs. The owner of the iconic hamburger joint, which opened in 1946, said he is puzzled by the order to remove the sign. "We don't consider it offensive,” said Kincaid’s owner Ron Gentry. “There's nothing about it that would upset anyone. Obviously, the city is upset about it."
At least two other businesses near Kincaid’s also received similar orders. The owner of a salon was given two days to remove a sign from her window, which advertises the services she sells, such as manicures and facials. "And I'm like, ‘OK, so you're telling me I have to take it off?’” the owner of Salon One recalled asking the inspector. “And he said, ‘You have to take it off except for three lines.’” Next door, a small business that sells cupcakes was ordered to remove a temporary sign with two helium-filled balloons out front. City managers said the inspector was just doing his job, enforcing a law designed to make the city look better. "We're not trying to negatively impact anyone's business,” said David Hall, assistant manager of Fort Worth’s planning department. “The ultimate goal is compliance with the law, and we'll give people enough time to come into compliance." He noted that businesses can appeal the orders to the city’s Board of Adjustment. The owner of Kincaid’s said city leaders should rethink the entire ordinance. "That signage is very important for these small independent businesses,” Gentry said. “There aren't a lot of chains up and down Camp Bowie… and we need our signage so people can see us." Several customers echoed his comments and said the advertising is harmless. “I love the sign, I love the burger, and I see no reason for the sign to go,” said one man. Hall said the city is enforcing the sign ordinance all over the city, not just along Camp Bowie.

H1N1 Flu Is a False Pandemic, Health Expert Claims: A leading health expert said the swine flu scare was a "false pandemic" led by drug companies that stood to make billions from vaccines, The Sun reported Monday. Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, claimed major firms organized a "campaign of panic" to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic. He believes it is "one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century," and he has called for an inquiry. An emergency debate on the issue will be held by the Council of Europe later this month. The Council of Europe covers 47 European countries and seeks to develop common and democratic principles between the nations.
Wodarg said, "It's just a normal kind of flu. It does not cause a tenth of deaths caused by the classic seasonal flu. "The great campaign of panic we have seen provided a golden opportunity for representatives from labs who knew they would hit the jackpot in the case of a pandemic being declared. "We want to clarify everything that brought about this massive operation of disinformation. We want to know who made decisions, on the basis of what evidence, and precisely how the influence of the pharmaceutical industry came to bear on the decision-making." He added: "A group of people in the WHO is associated very closely with the pharmaceutical industry." The WHO recently reaffirmed its stance that the pandemic is not over. However, the number of swine flu deaths is dramatically lower than expected.
In an interview with France's L'Humanite Sunday, Wodarg also raised concerns about swine flu vaccines. "The vaccines were developed too quickly. Some ingredients were insufficiently tested," he said. "But there is worse to come. The vaccine developed by Novartis was produced in a bioreactor from cancerous cells, a technique that had never been used until now. "This was not necessary. It has also led to a considerable mismanagement of public money. "The time has come at last for us to make demands on governments. The purpose of the inquiry is to prevent more false alarms of this type in the future." "We must make sure people can rely on the analysis and the expertise of national and international public institutions. The latter are now discredited, because millions of people have been vaccinated with products with inherent possible health risks." Also see here.

Joy Braband of Glencoe and Justin Richter of Brooklyn Park announce their engagement and plans to marry on Feb. 27 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie. Parents of the couple are Jon and Jodi Braband of Glencoe, Maureen Hanley of Fargo, N.D., and Kurt Richter of Oak Grove. Braband is a 2008 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter and is a second-year student in phsyical therapy at the Mayo School of Health Sciences in Rochester. Richter owns Richter Window Cleaning Service and is a student at the University of Minnesota, Rochester campus, majoring in nursing.

More states are requiring schools and government buildings to use environmentally friendly cleaning products, raising debate about their costs and benefits. In New York, schools that responded to a state survey said their costs went up 10 percent, on average, in the first year they complied with a 2005 cleaning law. But New York's Office of General Services said successful programs reduce levels of cleaning chemicals, mold and dust that cause asthma attacks, a top reason students miss school.

Owners' plea for return of precious puppy Lola: Despairing Lisa and John Creaghan are offering "a generous reward" after a thief took their English bull terrier from John's van while he was window cleaning at a house in the hamlet of Highbrook, near Ardingly. The five-month-old red and white puppy called Lola is microchipped and John and Lisa think an "opportunist thief" may have taken her after expecting to find tools or other valuables in John's van. Lisa, of Bolnore Village, said: "She means so much to us. She is my life." Anyone who knows of Lola's whereabouts should ring Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.