Area Businesses Bank on Irene Clean-up: While some businesses on the North Fork are feeling the economic crunch of being forced to close during the few precious days left of the summer season, others are benefitting from cleanup after Tropical Storm Irene, which is taking place across the area. Evidence of Irene's stay is widespread. Thousands of area residents and businesses are still without electricity, and while overall property damage was minimal, yard damage was extensive. For many waterfront residents, the worst damage came in the form of a salty film that covered windows after Irene whipped up wind, rain and salt water for nearly 24 hours. As a result, Crystal Clear Window Cleaning, which services all of Long Island, has been busier than ever. “Normally this is one of the slower weeks of the year for us,” said owner Lisa Cifarelli. “The storm has given a big boost to our schedule and business.” This week last year, Crystal Clear Window Cleaning had 39 appointments scheduled for the week before Labor Day. This year, as a result of Irene, they’ve had 223. “Most of it is people doing the exterior of the windows to remove salt and tree debris,” Cifarelli explained. Some glass businesses bustling, others quiet, in Irene’s wake.
No suspects have been identified in a reported armed robbery of a window washer at a St. Louis Park restaurant. The incident in question occurred on July 25 at Mill Valley Kitchen. A 39-year-old man who was washing the restaurant’s windows after hours said a man came up behind him, stuck a gun in his back, and demanded money. The suspect allegedly forced the man inside and made him get down on the floor. The window washer gave the suspect his wallet—which contained $300—and his cell phone. The suspect then fled, but the window washer said he was scared and didn’t get up for about five minutes, so he didn’t see where the suspect went. The window washer also didn’t get a good look at the suspect and couldn’t make out his race, age or size. He did say the suspect was wearing a red and white horizontally striped shirt, baggy jeans and had something covering his face. Police recovered the alleged victim’s wallet near the scene, but weren’t able to dust for fingerprints because the wallet was too ragged and worn. K-9s also were unable to track the suspect. Surveillance cameras installed at the adjoining Ellipse Apartments did not catch the incident.
Spontaneous honouring of funeral corteges of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq became famous across the world. Wootton Bassett lowers flag for last time as repatriations move to Brize Norton. As always, the regulars started turning up many hours earlier than they needed to. Kevin Dunn took time off from his window-cleaning round to stake his place on Wootton Bassett high street, as he had scores of times before. In his bright beret, former paratrooper Dave Soane was easily spotted near the war memorial, greeting old comrades and friends. The town's councillors were out explaining patiently once again – and perhaps for the last time – how over the past four years this modest Wiltshire town has become such a focus for the nation's grief. Since 2007 Bassett, as it is known to the locals, has ground to a halt whenever the bodies of British service personnel are driven down the high street after being repatriated through nearby RAF Lyneham. Townspeople and, at the height of the conflict in Afghanistan, thousands of visitors have stood with bereaved families to watch corteges pass through en route to a hospital in Oxfordshire. Kevin Dunn, a window cleaner from Swindon, has only missed five of the 167 repatriations (comprising 345 men and women as many involved more than one body). He recalls in particular the return of a Fijian soldier's body. "His whole village was there by the town hall, it seemed. They sang from 9am to 5pm without stopping for a drink or food – amazing."
Dave Kalil grinds you down. The 47-year-old “King” of Worcester’s Lake Park public tennis complex beats seemingly more polished opponents with a diabolical blend of fitness, dink shots, lobs, bloopers and sheer competitive drive. It isn’t pretty, but it’s effective. Kalil’s unique brand of intensity and homemade shots were on display earlier this month at the Worcester County Open at the Worcester Tennis Club. Now here’s the kicker. After two matches that would leave most mortals exhausted, especially on a hot humid day like this one, Kalil drove to Manchester, N.H., to play what he thought was going to be a third singles match, as a member of his 4.5-level USTA club team. Instead, he ended up on the losing side of a doubles match. Most players would have been thankful for the doubles respite, but not Kalil. He was disappointed at not getting in another singles joust. “I can do that all day long,” said Kalil, a Worcester resident who owns a window washing business. “My game is based on speed and grinding away. I’m trying to get people’s legs out from under them.”
Maxton native Steve Coleman has worn many hats in his professional life. His journey has taken him from working at a computer store in Laurinburg to the position of plant engineer for Vanity Fair Corporation in Texas and now brings him closer to home. Coleman is now the owner of a window-cleaning franchise in Greensboro. He was recently awarded for his success in turning the franchise, which he purchased as a struggling business, into a profitable enterprise. After being laid off at the nadir of the economic downturn, Coleman found himself unemployed and overqualified for most available jobs. “I really just wanted to work,” Coleman said. “I would have swept floors at Walmart, but I was overqualified. Finally I told my wife that we had to do something, so we moved back to Maxton, we moved in with my mother.” With some urging from his sister, Betty Kay Coleman, a waitress at General McArthur’s, Coleman found a way out of his predicament. “She asked me if I’d put my faith in God to help me. I went to bed thinking about what my sister said, and I woke up the next day feeling like a new man.”
That day, Coleman found a Fish Window Cleaning franchise available for purchase in Greensboro. His newest opportunity had arrived, and he moved to Greensboro in January 2010. “I had to make my own job, so I prayed and the Lord delivered a franchise – window cleaning,” Coleman said. “It turned out that I loved it.” “I’m a hard worker and I’ve applied all of the business experience I gained while working for Vanity Fair Corporation,” said Coleman. At a recent Fish Window Cleaning national convention, Coleman was recognized for the success of his business. Coleman received a Soaring Eagle award for buying a floundering franchise and turning it into a success, as well as a Pinnacle Award for increasing revenue production, and a Navigator award for his work with prospective franchises. “My business is booming,” Coleman said. “I’ve got contracts with Elon and High Point Universities. If you get out and hustle, you can make it.”
Lewton calls his 60-by-100-foot work “The Airshaft Mural.” It’s a trompe l’oeil design that looks as if the concrete pylon is pierced by windows through which the U.S Capitol peeps. “I sort of wanted to emphasize the concrete,” Lewton said. “I thought if it looked like it had been penetrated, it would make it look even more solid than it was.” Lewton painted a one-third scale mock-up of his design on foam core panels in his studio, carefully matching the concrete’s color. When it was time to paint the beast, Lewton hired a window-washing company in lieu of building a scaffold so the painters could go up and down the face of the shaft freely.
In one of the city’s most unique fundraising events, 64 brave souls scaled the exterior of the 23-story i-bank Tower (formerly White Station Tower) in East Memphis Friday, Aug. 26, and Saturday, Aug. 27, for Over the Edge, a high-thrills fundraiser for Special Olympics of Greater Memphis. Participants were guided by experts from Over the Edge, a Canadian-based special events company that produces rappelling event for charities across the U.S. and Canada. The company, whose staff members train firefighters, SWAT teams, window washers and recreational climbers, handles all technical aspects of the event, from professional staff to equipment to insurance and the enforcement of federal and state safety laws. For many participants, including Special Olympics of Greater Memphis executive director Lisa Taylor, the rappel was their first ever. “Over the Edge is great at what they do, and I think they love working with the individuals who are afraid of heights, and they can watch us conquer our fears,” Taylor said. “They’re just fantastic.” After suiting up in full harnesses, helmets and gloves and undergoing numerous safety checks and a one-story practice rappel, Memphians with a taste for adventure embarked on the once-in-a-lifetime journey 225 feet down the tower.
23 OFWs repatriated from Bahrain - BAHRAIN – Twenty-three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were finally repatriated to Manila after 3 months of waiting at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) shelter in Bahrain. The 23 repatriates were composed of 18 undocumented workers and 5 OFWs who were detained on various charges. The group was temporarily housed at the OWWA shelter at the Philippine Embassy. According to Ambassador Maria Corazon Yap-Bahjin, the government of Bahrain played a big role in the repatriation of OFWs, as it waived fines for those who lack the proper documents to stay in the country. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) shouldered the cost of the plane tickets of the 20 workers while the remaining 3 were paid for by the workers’ agencies and employers.
Naga City native Gina Mallo, who had been staying at the OWWA shelter for about 4 months, said she was happy to be among the group of repatriates. Mallo said her employer did not pay her salary for 3 months. Because of her undocumented status, her employer did not bring her to a hospital after she suffered injuries when a window she was cleaning accidentally shattered. Worse, her employer even charged her the cost of the broken window. With this bad experience, she urged Filipinos to seriously think about working abroad to prevent them from going through a similar ordeal.
Ryan Christopher McElwee: Ryan Christopher McElwee, formerly of Mount Laurel, passed away suddenly and has joined his Lord on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011. He was 30. Ryan resided in West Milford, N.J., where he was employed as a landscaper. He was a graduate of Lenape High School and worked at Sonshine Window Washing company while he was a resident of Mount Laurel. Ryan will always be remembered by his engaging personality and his warm and sincere smile. No task was too much for Ryan. He took on every endeavor as a challenge and had a very professional work ethic that made him a pleasure to be with. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends alike.
KASABIAN will play a poignant gig in New York — on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. And the timing of the show has made the Leicester lads think about how their lives have changed since that horrendous day in 2001. Frontman Tom Meighan (2nd left) says: "It will be strange for us playing in the city on such a big weekend for New York people. It will be emotional. "I was at work and remember hearing 9/11 unfold on the radio. I remember going home and being in absolute shock. My mum had it on the news. It was f***ing awful." You are just as likely to find these boys in a curry house in Leicester as you are in some swanky London hotel bar. And they still look our for their nearest and dearest. Tom says: "I buy tickets for me, my dad, my brother and my dad's mate Rod. I just look after them. My mum and dad are in a better place. My dad is still a window cleaner and my mum is still a nurse but they're part-time, which is nice. "We had done a deal with Mercedes to give music to their adverts and they looked after us. "I don't drive, so I just gave the Mercedes to my old man. He was buzzing. It's great, this big car outside their bungalow. It's nice, man.
In English city, cleaning windows becomes a tourist draw: YORK, ENGLAND—Helen Brower is a window cleaner and people pay five pounds ($7.25) an hour to watch her work. Brower is one of a half dozen glaziers hired to clean and restore the world’s largest collection of medieval stained-glass windows. They festoon York Minster, one of Europe’s largest cathedrals and they need to be cleaned every 125 years. More than 43 kilometres of scaffolding was erected to remove the world’s largest stained-glass window — called the Great East Window — in an end wall of the massive cathedral in the heart of this historic city in northern England. Artist John Thornton was paid 56 pounds to create the window, which is the size of a tennis court, 650 years ago in 1361. Today it’ll cost 19 million pounds just to clean and restore it. On Wednesday and Friday afternoons, tours — with a maximum of 10 people — are conducted into the bowels of the cathedral to watch glaziers work on the medieval window panes. While down there visitors can also see remains of the Roman fortress that once stood on this site before the cathedral was built between 1220 and 1472. Yes, it took 252 years.
Glass Falls from Downtown AT&T Building, INDIANAPOLIS: Police shut down Ohio Street downtown between Meridian and Illinois Streets Wednesday afternoon after glass fell from a 19th floor window of the AT&T building. The exact cause for the break in the window but AT&T's building manager tells our partners at Fox59 they've ruled out a person, bird or projectile as the cause. However, heat could possibly be the cause. Mark Eads with Capitol City Class tells Fox59 that heat can cause glass to shatter, especially if it's spandrel or tempered safety glass. Eads says a small amount of dirt in the glass with the right amount of head on one side combined with cooling on the other can make the glass vulnerable and possibly break. Several people were on the sidewalk when the glass fell but no one was injured.
More Falling Glass From a Hotel, This Time at The Four Seasons Seattle - Just when we thought the falling glass trend was behind us, some windows have shattered again, this time at the Four Seasons Seattle on Sunday. And much like what happened with the W Austin the loose window panes were actually from the residences that are attached to the hotel. But what's worse here is that this is the third time windows have fallen from the building since July. Needless to say the hotel has finally gotten the idea that all 300 of the tempered-glass windows need to be replaced. The hotel's GM told the Seattle Times "Our only priority here is the safety of everybody involved, either residents or people passing by," said the hotel's general manager, Ben Trodd. "We've taken a very proactive step now. The general contractor is now removing all of the remaining panels that are on the building." The balconies, all on the condo levels between the 11th and 21st floors, will be closed until new panels or a new railing system are installed."
Woman and children hurt by falling glass in Hounslow: Ambulances rushed to Hounslow High Street on Thursday after shards of glass fell on pedestrians. Paramedics were called to the town centre at around 1.56pm, following reports that glass had fallen onto people during a busy time of day outside the former HMV shop. Police cordoned off the part of the High Street affected and the surrounding area. The glass fell from a window above the old HMV premises. Duty officer Colin Passey said: "We treated three patients, a 40-year-old woman who had cuts to her face and arms, a nine-year-old boy with a cut to his head, and an eight-year-old girl with cuts to her left forearm and to her left eye. "They were all conscious and breathing and none of the injuries are serious. All three were taken to West Middlesex Hospital."
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