Window Cleaning News

GUILTY: John Flynn admitted working with no licence as a window cleaner in Aberdeen.

Drunk Aberdeen window cleaner worked without licence: An illegal window cleaner who was often drunk while working has been warned he could face jail. John Flynn worked as an unlicensed window cleaner in the Rosemount area of Aberdeen for more than 18 months before being caught. Police inquiries uncovered that he had frequently worked drunkenly and at least one customer was forced to ask him to leave due to his inebriated state. Flynn, 56, whose address was given in court papers as 12c Rosemount Place, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to working without a licence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, and will be sentenced next month.

A video has emerged which appears to show a ghostly-looking figure resembling Princess Diana in a stained glass window. The video was shot by Chinese tourists in Scotland and has been described by paranormal writer Michael Cohen - who was sent the video - as one of the "clearest" paranormal images he has come across. It is understood the footage was taken inside a church in Glasgow, which some who have seen the video say might be significant, as the Princess of Wales' mother spent a lot her life in Scotland, passing away there in 2004. The video-takers did not notice Diana when they took the footage but saw the image when they played their holiday video back when they got home. Michael Cohen said: "The footage is currently being examined by myself and other researchers to ascertain if it is a genuine ghost capture. It might be a bizarre optical illusion, but then again, it could be a ghost - possibly Princess Diana's. "Ghosts often appear in places connected to their lives and families. Ghosts might appear to warn individuals, groups and even entire nations of possible impending danger." The footage is being used in an upcoming TV series on Paranormal mysteries.

Mr. Tightwad’s money-saving tip: Ditch that expensive window cleaner - If you haven’t already discovered the magic of microfiber cloths, here’s another reason you should be using them. Instead of using that expensive window cleaner, dip a microfiber cloth in warm water, wring it out and wipe down your window. Then, take a second microfiber cloth (which needs to be dry) and wipe the window until it’s dry. You’ll have a sparkling clean window and best of all, those cloths can be used over and over again.

Where there’s muck, there’s money for Alan: A mucky job led to a new business for Alan Brown, who has set up a bin cleaning company. Alan, 49, of Whitecross Lane, Shanklin, was cleaning inside a wheelie bin at the Fighting Cocks pub, where he used to work, when landlords Phil Mew and Micala White said they would be prepared to pay someone to do it on a regular basis. Alan did some research and it led to him setting up his family business, The Island Wide Bin Cleaning Company. Alan, who will donate a percentage of the profits to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, said: "I got absolutely covered in muck cleaning that bin and I thought not many people would want to do that. "When Micala mentioned about paying someone, I thought why don’t I go for it."

Alan bought a purpose-built vehicle, which lifts the bin into a wash position before it is disinfected and deodorised with high-pressure washers inside the van. Four hundred litres of water are stored on the van and Alan has a special licence to dispose of it safely. Customers can have their bins cleaned on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or period basis, timed around the days their refuse is collected. One-off cleans are also available.

Alan, whose wife, Clare, 51, three sons, Oli, 23, Harry, 17, and Ryan, 17, are involved in the business, compared it to a window cleaning service. He said: "The job only takes a few minutes but we hope it is something people find really valuable to them." Ten pence for every domestic wheelie bin and 20p for a commercial bin cleaned will be donated to the hospice and Alan has set a £2,000 target for the first year.

Teenage job-creators make their own opportunity: That’s exactly the lesson to draw from the responses to my letter last week, after which dozens of people wrote in with stories of young Americans who are learning early that hard work pays off. I enjoyed your story about that young entrepreneur - that is what this country needs.  Plus a government that will help not hinder him as he tries to make this into a successful business and brand. It reminds me of my own story...I started with a window cleaning company at 16 and now I am 35 and we have grown into a multi-million dollar home improvement company serving SE Michigan.

This is Part I of our tribute to legends of Bay Area TV news. I grew up enjoying most of these broadcasters. Then, when I moved away for college and work, I learned how good we really had it. The worst news team in San Francisco was twice as good as the best in Los Angeles. I’m focusing on television anchors and reporters who worked 1990 or earlier. DENNIS RICHMOND (May 1987): I never thought I'd see Richmond anywhere except acting completely serious in the anchor chair. He's working as a high-rise window washer here during a KTVU 5-part sweeps month series called "Risky Business."

GLOUCESTER CITY — NEST International is cleaning up. Rob Almond (pictured) is the chief operating officer of NEST International, which is headquartered in Gloucester City. The company swept up $42 million in 2011 maintaining stores for such retailers as Target, Walgreens and Petco, a 25 percent hike over 2010 revenues. That translated to a $4,000 bonus for every one of NEST’s growing roster of full-time employees, who are encouraged to contribute ideas on ways to boost profits or cut costs. Part-timers got $2,000. “Employees are very careful about how we spend money when the bottom line impacts them personally,” says Rob Almond, vice president of operations. “They come to us with ideas that are wow.” In the past year, NEST doubled its payroll, growing from 59 full-timers to 128. The company added space at its Klemm Avenue headquarters for 25 employees who work the phones, calling retailers daily to keep track of windows that need washing, carpets due for shampooing, walls that would benefit from touch up.

Clementi says handing the headaches to NEST and their network of vetted vendors is more efficient. “Like most businesses, we are looking for ways to do more with less,” she says. “Managing up to 15 vendors for various maintenance duties takes a tremendous amount of time, so we benefit from having NEST do that for us.” Last year, NEST was ranked 2,593 on Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing companies. A second office opened in Florida. Employees in Texas and California work from home. At the local office, NEST has run out of room. Visitors try to schedule appointments during the lunch hour in order to get a spot in the parking lot. “We are looking for more space, either a second building or a bigger building where we can continue to grow,” D’Andrea says.

NEST’s expansion strategy includes enhanced accessibility. The call center is open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. seven days a week. Remote workers field calls during off hours. There is no phone tree. Each call is answered live. “We used to be available from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a guy with a laptop and a BlackBerry filling in after that,” Almond says. “It was not enough.” Bob Almond, Rob’s dad, and Phil Dwyer founded the business in 1994. The elder Almond and Dwyer now work out of the Florida office. Showing appreciation for workers has been part of the corporate culture from the start. At the root of the company’s prosperity is a willingness to get down to the nitty gritty. When floods damaged 15 stores at King of Prussia Mall in October 2010, NEST had cleanup crews on the ground within hours. The company forecasts another healthy boost in profits this year as more retailers address deferred maintenance. “We know that a clean store enhances the shopping experience,” D’Andrea says. “We are here to solve problems — and we are ready for the next opportunity.”

Conman told victim was easy target: A callous conman targeted a vulnerable pensioner after being told by another cruel scamster he was an “easy target”. David Morris (pictured) was snared by a neighbour after fleecing his victim of £35 by claiming he was owed the cash for cleaning his windows. Remarkably, Norris, 30, who has 31 convictions for 50 offences, walked free from court despite magistrates being tole he went to his victim’s home after being tole he was easy prey. Today the victim’s family have revealed that 67-year-old has been repeatedly targeted by conmen who have fleeced him out of thousands of pounds. In one such con, bogus builders persuaded him to hand over almost £2,000 to have a garden wall at his home in Seaton Carew repaired - but the work was never done. He was targeted so many times, his family had to install CCTV cameras in his home.

But after this latest scam his family are now looking to rehouse the pensioner in sheltered accommodation to protect him. Hartlepool Magistrates’s Court heard how Morris, of Ilkley Grove, Hartlepool, was cornered when he tried to target the pensioner on December 29 last year by a suspicious neighbour who contacted relatives. He was still being detained when the victim’s brother-in-law arrived - and brazenly tried to front out his scam by telling them he was owed £35 for five weeks worth of window cleaning. But police were called and he was arrested. Lynne Dalton, prosecuting, told the court: “in police interview Morris said ‘I was told if you go to this address and ask for money for cleaning windows he pays you’. She added: “He visited a friend who informed him that the victim was an easy target and you could get money out of without any bother.”

Mitigating, Neil Taylor said: “This is a fairly unhappy case all round - without a shadow of a doubt this gentleman has been targeted.” He said Morris had been “encouraged” to go to the address. Mr Taylor added: “It won’t come as a surprise, probably to the court but certainly to the police, that my client has gone round and done it at the behest or certainly of another the person.” He added there was no confrontation with the victim, the money was recovered and Morris had shown remorse. Recovering heroin addict Morris, who had a £10-a-day habit, amazingly walked free from court after admitting fraud.

Hartlepool magistrates sentenced him to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, with an 18-month community order and 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement after conceding his involvement was a single incident. Chairman of the magistrates’ bench Keith Kitching said: “This gentleman was targeted by yourself and, we begin to understand, by others, so much so that his family have had to install CCTV to his house. “He was targeted by yourself and he was a vulnerable victim.” Speaking after the hearing, one of the victim’s family slammed the sentence. He said; “This person is the lowest of the low. To target vulnerable people like this, he should have gone to prison. “He is 67-year-old, he lives on his own and he is vulnerable. He is very trusting and believes what people say to him. “He has obviously been seen as an easy touch by these people who have targeted him. “As a family, we cannot keep an eye on him 24/7, but we feel there is no other option but to get him into sheltered accommodation where he will be safer. “But to have to take his independence away from him is shocking, it really is.”

Tuition rebate excludes those who need it most: I am no longer eligible for student loans that lead to years and years of payments and deprivation - and I no longer want them. They are toxic to anyone starting out in life. However, those who make the rules bring about a promise to help and then discriminate against those who behold this glorious gift. I bet the households with a combined $160,000 income had presents under their tree. It sickens me that I make six times less than the criteria income and I am deemed ineligible for the tuition grant given to those who I consider wealthy. If anyone has extra work around their homes - painting, window washing - I will be trying to earn money for the rest of my schooling since the government thinks I already have enough to get by and pay our province's tuition fees.

Willmar, Minn., police requests to the council’s Labor Relations Committee: Also, the committee approved a request from Stevens to seek proposals from private companies to assist the current two custodians with cleaning the community center, the old wastewater treatment plant, new wastewater treatment plant, the Public Works garage, airport and fire department. The service is being requested after the council Dec. 19 defeated a motion to hire a third custodian to clean city buildings. Also, Stevens will seek requests from companies to clean carpets and floors from four times per year to once a year and requests for proposals to perform exterior window cleaning twice a year.

Smart Window pushes your home into the future: A new device at CES 2012 will really brighten some technophile homes. Samsung's "Smart Window" technology uses an OLED display and a touchscreen to turn a normal window into a computer.  The Smart Window can do anything a current tablet can do, all while seeing what's going on in the neighborhood. At night, special lights allow for the screen to be used despite the lack of natural backlighting. Another great function of the Smart Window is that it is on one-way glass, so neighbors won't be able to check out what you are watching.

I receive a lot of questions about foggy windows in the winter. Apparently, I'm not the only one. "We often get calls from homeowners who are concerned that their windows are 'sweating' or leaking either inside or outside the home because they see moisture on the glass," said Christopher Burk, technical product manager at Simonton Windows in Columbus, Ohio. That's simply not the case. "While condensation may collect on the interior or exterior of energy-efficient windows, the units are really doing their job by helping serve as a barrier in the home," Burk said. Windows don't cause condensation. They just prevent the moisture in the home from escaping to the outside. "If the inside glass surface on double- or triple-glazed windows show excessive moisture, you can be reasonably sure that the moisture is also collecting on your walls and ceilings," Burk said. "This means you should take steps to reduce the humidity level in your home by using exhaust fans and dehumidifiers." To help control the condensation in the home, experts at Simonton Windows recommend these tips:

♦ Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans.

♦ If you have a humidifier, set it to the correct outside temperature.

♦ If your home is overly humid, or if you have a damp basement, use a dehumidifier.

♦ Properly vent clothes dryers, gas appliances and stoves.

♦ Open a window in the bathroom.

♦ Make sure your attic, basement and crawl spaces are well-ventilated and free from obstructions.

♦ Store firewood outside. Even well-seasoned firewood generally has a 20 percent to 25 percent moisture content.

♦ Open curtains and blinds to allow more air circulation around your windows.

Burk also recommends knowing the difference between condensation on the glass and between the glass panes of the window.

"If you see moisture, fogging or cloudiness between the panes of glass in your window, this indicates that the seal of your window has failed and it's time to get a new window," Burk said.

Police have fined more Victorians (Australia) for pedestrian offences than they have nabbed for serious crimes such as stealing cars. More than 5800 fines worth $357,313 were issued to pedestrians by Victoria Police in the 2010/11 financial year.  They include Institute of Public Affairs review editor James Paterson, who slammed the police for fining jaywalkers, saying it was a waste of the authorities' resources and time. "I think this is crazy. As an individual if you cross when the little green man is not flashing you hold the responsibility and pay the cost," Mr Paterson said. "We should be deploying police to solve rapes and robberies, not to fine people for walking across a road. "This is a complete waste of police resources." The most common offence that resulted in a fine was failing to obey traffic lights and signs. Other charges included meandering on the road and walking on bike paths. 298 hitchhikers and window cleaners were fined worth $17,880.

SmarterShade proprietary smart glass technology is 50% more cost effective than current solutions and will disrupt the $5 billion market.   Its smart glass allows varying levels of light to enter through a window based on user controls. SmarterShade received the $100,000 Kleiner Perkins Clean Tech Prize at the 2011 Rice University Business Plan Competition.

Snowmass Village needs a chamber of commerce: Snowmass Village's challenges go beyond the mere commercial and into the heart of community. A true chamber of commerce could provide an energetic gathering place for many constituencies ranging from the new window-washing company to the school district. As a safe and informal idea exchange, consider the creative problem-solving potential of a chamber of commerce. Contrast the dynamic of a lively “business after hours” event with a public hearing.

Parents’ heartache after baby dies from meningitis: When one-week-old William would not feed and had trouble breathing, parents Amy Bevis and Richard Fraser instinctively knew something was wrong. The engaged couple from Sarisbury Green were distraught after William Fraser died at 19 days old from pneumococcal meningitis – an aggressive form of the brain bug. Richard, a window cleaner, said: “We want something good to come from his life and draw as many positives from it as we can.” Now Amy, 28, and Richard, 25, are backing Meningitis UK’s Trust Your Instincts campaign and will be fundraising in the Western Wards for the cause.

SACRAMENTO— A piece of glass has fallen from at least eight stories up at a building downtown Sacramento, smashing on the sidewalk and reminding employees of prior incidents. The decorative piece of glass fell Wednesday morning from the Board of Equalization Building along N & 5th Streets. It shattered on the sidewalk along 5th Street, at a location where employees tell FOX40 some usually take their smoke breaks. As FOX40's crew was at the building, another piece of glass fell to the ground, startling employees and other gawkers. No one was hurt, and drivers are being moved over a lane to allow crews to clean up the glass. This didn’t surprise many, who remember a streak of falling glass back in 2005 from the same building. Over the summer of 2005, there were repeated incidents of glass falling or becoming dangerously cracked at the 24-story Board of Equalization Building. At the time, forensic architects looked at the building and said the heatwave of that year created stress on the windows, causing them to break.

SALEM — Local small business owners and vendors were given a chance to meet and mingle with representatives for some of Salem County’s heavy-hitters in business during an event held here Wednesday. Bill Morgan, owner of Natural Windows, a window cleaning service based in Pedricktown, said any savvy business owner should jump at such an opportunity. “As a small business, who’d want to miss an opportunity to meet with Mannington or PSEG? It’s a place to jump start right into a larger customer base,” said Morgan. “It’s a terrific advantage for small business owners, and it’s also a good networking event to meet other small business owners. You never know what something like this might lead in to.”