Window Cleaning New Year News

Francisco Gonzalez, bottom, and Eric Simpox of Cty Wide Window Cleaning erected a Happy New Year greeting Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 on the Kansas City Life Insurance Co., building, 3520 Broadway Street in Kansas City, Mo. 

Edgardo Gomez of Triple D Window Cleaning races along and tries to keep warm while cleaning store front windows at the Doylestown Shopping Center Thursday afternoon. Click to enlarge.

'Code Blue' weather advisory called for Montco: The Montgomery County Commissioners have declared a Code Blue cold weather emergency for overnight Tuesday based on temperature forecasts from the National Weather Service. The Code Blue has been issued starting at 9 p.m. Tuesday and continuing through 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Montgomery County Communications Director Frank Custer. Custer said a Code Blue Declaration is made in Montgomery County when “the combined air temperature and wind chill is predicted to be under 20 degrees Fahrenheit” based on 24-hour increments. “It’s recommended by our department of public safety and approved by our county commissioners. We take these Code Blues seriously,” Custer said. Since weather conditions during a Code Blue pose a threat to individuals without shelter, several warming shelters have been set up throughout the county. 

Veteran walking across U.S. prepares for next phase: Mac McQuown intends to walk 15,000 miles and visit each U.S. state capitol in an effort to help fellow veterans. McQuown, a former sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, started his ambitious Operation Walk America on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the terrorists attacks. He set out from his residence in Stafford, Va., wearing a desert camouflage uniform and bush cover, and pulling a four-wheeled cart with a tent, food, tools and first-aid supplies. “I figured I could stop and educate people about veterans' needs much better by walking at 3 mph than pulling a sign with a truck at 55 mph,” McQuown said. He walked to Ground Zero in New York, then headed south, ending up in Ocala around Christmas to visit his sister. 

On the first leg, McQuown covered 1,373 miles, wore out four pairs of combat boots and lost 35 pounds. He visited six capitols, including Tallahassee, where a crowd of about 50 officials and journalists met him. The next leg will begin Jan. 7, when McQuown leaves Ocala and heads west. McQuown, 51, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, while his father served in the U.S. Army. The family traveled extensively during McQuown's youth. Following service in the Army reserves, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1981 to 1988, first as a radioman and later as an embassy guard in Budapest, Moscow and Warsaw. After leaving the service, McQuown worked as a contractor, iron worker, bouncer and truck driver, and operated a window cleaning businesses.

Fury as State pays €50,000 to wash windows:  Taxpayers have footed an astonishing €50,000 bill to clean the space between double-glazed windows on a single government building. The cash was budgeted by the Department of Social Protection to carry out cleaning works on the windows of its headquarters in Dublin city. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the sum was used to hire contractors to clean the small recess between the double glazed windows. And the Herald understands that not all window aisles were cleaned as some of them cannot not be accessed by department officials. The Department claims that work of this nature has not been carried out for eight years and that the funding was found "following a realignment of window cleaning services and costs". Emerald Facility Services undertook the work after winning a competitive tender process to provide window cleaning services for the Department. However, the cost of the work has caused dismay among opposition TDs.

Fianna Fail public expenditure spokesperson Sean Fleming told the Herald: "I'm flabbergasted as to why such a significant amount of money would be spent on something like this. "It doesn't make sense at all and unless it is being done to improve the double glazing, well then it's hopeless. "You cannot blame the public for feeling furious when they come across spending like this." And Independent TD for Dublin North Central Finian McGrath labelled the costs "scandalous". "At a time when pensioners are being stripped to the bones, seeing these kinds of amounts being flung around on areas that will have little or no benefit to the public is scandalous. "Nothing seems to be past this Government in terms of pure wastage of public money. It's simply not acceptable." In a statement to the Herald, a department official said: "The work in question comprises the cleaning of the inner windows and the blinds and voids in the internal windows in this building. It is about eight years since these works were last carried out. "In addition, the windows themselves are old and the air-conditioning system impacts on the structure. "The possibility of carrying out these works had been deferred for some time, principally because of lack of funding," the statement added.

Calendar boys help out brave cancer sufferer Ruby Owen: A window cleaner, a barber and a plumber are among a group of men who have stripped off for a fund-raising calendar. Organisers behind The Seven Shades Calendar are hoping the venture will help raise thousands for five-year-old cancer sufferer Ruby Owen and the Donna Louise Children's Hospice. The calendar's seven willing volunteers are photographed in various locations across Ruby's home town of Kidsgrove including a launderette and a fish and chip shop. The amateur models, who are all from Kidsgrove, are no strangers to baring all for charity after previously helping raise around £5,000 by taking part in their version of The Full Monty this year. Organiser Joanna Leighton, aged 38, of Kidsgrove, said: "After the lads did the strip we were talking in the pub and someone just mentioned for a joke that they should do a calendar next."
Two hundred and fifty calendars have been printed with the majority already sold. Each month features all seven lads baring all with their modesty left intact thanks to a series of carefully placed objects. Joanna, who organises fund-raising events alongside Jemma Chadwick and Dave Waterhouse, added: "It is all tastefully done and is just a bit cheeky really. "It's a male version of the Calendar Girls." The 2013 calendars were launched during a black tie event, which organisers hoped would help them achieve a £5,000 target. "It will be a fantasy for the women and a dartboard for the men," said barber Scott Donaldson, one of the models. Window cleaner Chris Donnelly (far right), aged 24, of Liverpool Road, said: "It took a small amount of time to do it all and hopefully we can raise a lot of money for some good causes. "We did one photograph in a gym which my boss owns and so that was a bit embarrassing as there will be plenty of mickey-taking." In April, a strip show held by the men raised roughly £4,500 for Ruby. The brave youngster is at the Trentham-based Donna Louise where she is being cared for after all efforts to treat her tumours failed.

Major repairs on the horizon for the State Capitol building: When legislators enter Alaska’s capitol building soon for the session, they won’t have to be concerned about falling debris. “It’s our capitol, for crying out loud,” Senator Dennis Egan says. Next summer’s repair of the front entry way can’t come soon enough. He says he’s been documenting areas of deterioration since at least 2006, after a window washer noticed loose pieces of sandstone on exterior ledges. “This needs to happen as soon as possible,” says Don Johnston, State Capitol Building Manager. “We would cordon off the area down below and he would remove those pieces for us,” Johnston says. He says the entrance is the most critical area. “If we’re talking life safety issues, there is no worse area,” Johnston says.

Ski bum by birth and right: Katrina DeVore has spent almost all of her 25 years living in Aspen, and much of that time has been on skis. Born at Aspen Valley Hospital, DeVore’s parents had her on sticks before she was 2 years old, guiding her down the mountain between their legs. She was enrolled in the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club as soon as she was old enough. Other than heading off to college in the East, DeVore has never really ventured out of her mountain hamlet other than for freestyle competitions and two stints living abroad when she was little. Sporting bright colored Strafe Outerwear ski gear, one of her sponsors, DeVore can usually be found on either Ajax or Aspen Highlands tearing down the hill. Easy to smile with a big dimple on her left cheek, she is well known both on and off the mountain. As with most ski bums trying to scrape by, DeVore holds down three different jobs — working as a ski instructor at Buttermilk during peak season, checking coats at Belly Up and working as a window washer. She credits her rock climbing skills to the latter job, saying she never truly understood the phrase “getting gripped” until working high above the ground while cleaning glass.

Local traditions for New Year's Eve: Cynthia Toothman and her daughter Stephanie spend New Year's Eve making thin cookies called Pizzelles. It's just one thing on the family's to-do list. "We make sure we that we clean the house from top to bottom to get all the old energy out for the New Year,” Toothman says. And while they're cleaning, the Toothman's leave coins on every single window sill. “For prosperity, we make sure we put coins on our window sills that way you always have a little something coming in rather than going out,” she says. “We didn't take any chances this year, we put paper with our coins because of the fiscal cliff." It's a tradition the Toothman family has done for years.

Christmas Day surprise for our wedding winners: A couple who had their dream wedding day thanks to The Post celebrated the birth of their second child on Christmas Day. Charlotte and Pete Oliver, who live in Birch Road, Yate, tied the knot in April after winning our Win a Wedding competition. The lucky pair scooped everything they needed to make their big day special. But their happiness was not to end there, as just a few days after getting married, Charlotte realised she was pregnant. And although the baby was not due until January 4, she surprised Charlotte and Peter by arriving on Christmas Day. The couple had opened their presents and eaten lunch with their four-year-old son Ryan when Charlotte's contractions began. They went to Southmead Hospital, where Mallie May Oliver was born at 11.31pm, weighing 7lbs 11oz.

The family could not be happier about their special arrival. Charlotte, a personal assistant, and Pete, a window cleaner, met more than four years ago through a mutual friend and it was not long before their son Ryan came along. They were already saving up for their wedding, after Pete proposed on Christmas Eve 2010. But with a young child and a mortgage to pay it wasn't easy for the pair and they did not know when they would be able to get married. Then in 2011 Charlotte's sister, Joanne Faulkner, saw what a struggle saving money was for the couple and decided to enter them into The Post's Win a Wedding competition, which included a £12,000 package.

The House Designers Pick Top 10 Home Building Products from 2012: When it came to windows, a clear choice for new construction was the Integrity® Wood-Ultrex® series which combines a real wood pine interior with a highly durable fiberglass exterior. A great feature about the double-hung windows is that the top and bottom sashes tilt and remove easily for hassle-free cleaning and are now available in custom sizes.

Ralph Chirico, Sr., age 91, of Corning passed away peacefully at home after a long illness surrounded by his loving family on Thursday, December 27, 2012. Ralph was born May 4, 1921 in Castel Saint Giorgio, Italy to Giro and Anna (Sarno) Chirico and came to the United States with his parents and settled in Yonkers, NY and on February 2, 1946, he married Philomena DiTore in Yonkers. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II with the 3rd Marine Division in the South Pacific. He saw action on the islands of Bougainville, Guam, and earned the Purple Heart on Iwo Jima. He owned and operated Corning Window Cleaning Company for many years. Family gatherings with his wife, children, and grandchildren were everything to him. He loved taking photographs, especially of his family. Three things were important to him: faith, family, and work. 

Vicious pitbull attack: A man whose stomach was savaged by a suspected pitbull as he tried to visit a village shop has today spoken of his horrific ordeal. John Hulls, 48, from Ingol, Preston, was viciously attacked as he visited the shop on his way home from work. The incident comes as new figures from Preston Council show more than 1,800 escaped, dumped and suspected out-of-control dogs have been seized by enforcement officers in the city in the past six years. Mr Hulls was attacked by an animal that had been left tied up outside the Nisa convenience store, in Village Green Lane, Ingol, at the door and as Mr Hulls walked in the dog attacked him without being provoked. He managed to pull away and was left with a number of injuries, but believes the attack would have been much worse if the dog had not been tied up.

It was the third dog bite attack outside the same set of shops in the last few weeks. Members of the public were so concerned at the reports of dog bites in the area that they raised the issue as a priority at the PaCT meeting for Ingol and Tanteron. The Evening Post joined a team of six officers as they seized a dog from a terraced home on Tag Croft, Ingol. It is believed to belong to a window cleaner who lives at the address with other family members. Two children watched from the window as the dog was led into a plastic crate and put into a waiting police van. Neighbours came out of their homes to watch and one man gave verbal abuse to police officers. A short time later the dog’s owner returned home. He will be interviewed by police at a later date.

Community Futures (CF) Sunrise has revealed the winners in the 2012 edition of the YouthBiz competition. Nearly 249 students registered for this year's contest. A total of $2,400 in prize money was awarded to students in southeast Saskatchewan for creating their business ideas and developing their business plans. "2012 marks the seventh year this youth business competition has been offered by CF Sunrise," said Verna O'Neill of CF Sunrise. "Each year the number of students participating, which I think reflects the entrepreneurial mindset we have in the southeast. YouthBiz aims to assist young people in experiencing what it's like to be a business owner. "Students plan out all facets of their imagined business idea and describe their business set-up process. Some students have commented that they plan to implement their ideas and make money in the summer or after graduating." Achievement awards were also given to students whose entries displayed what CF described as outstanding qualities. Dylan Aeichele from Spruce Ridge School in Estevan won an award for his start-up/ready entry, Dylan's Window Washing. YouthBiz achievement award winner Dylan Aeichele and his teacher, Graeme Summers, pose with Aeichele's plaque.

Self-Cleaning Window Markets Report 2013 (Single User $1,995.00): Summary - The key objective of this report is to identify and quantify the market for self-cleaning windows worldwide. With regard to quantifying the self-cleaning windows market, we include a detailed eight-year forecast in volume and value terms. The methodology for these projections is to be found in Chapter Three of this report. Since the market for self-cleaning windows is one with relatively few participants at the present time, an appraisal of the current self-cleaning windows products on the market and a critical review of some of the latest R&D in this space is presented here.

Finally, we note that the subject of this report is primarily restricted to self-cleaning windows.  We acknowledge that this is part of bigger trends and we discuss these trends to some extent in what follows. For example, we take a look at how the self-cleaning windows trend fits into more general R&D work targeting self-cleaning surfaces as a whole. We also examine how self-cleaning capabilities may be incorporated into conventional insulated glazing units (IGUs) and smart windows.  And we have something to say about self-cleaning capabilities in the solar panel space, a market where there are some overlapping drivers, markets and potentially product integrations with the self-cleaning windows.

101 Uses For Your Credit Card: Winter is upon us and this often means cold and frosty starts and sessions outside in the morning clearing the car windows. It seems that motorists in the UK are coming up with many and varied ways to do this, not all of which are to be recommended. A recent poll by a leading car cleaning products supplier has revealed the country’s guilty secrets about how they clear ice from windscreens. Apparently, the trusty ice scrapper, built for purpose, is not as popular as it perhaps once was with drivers using credit cards, spatulas, boiling water and their hands to remove frost from car windows all of which could scrap the window surface impairing the visibility. Some ill-advised drivers even pour a spot of their favourite tipple on the windscreen to clear the view. Boiling water was used by around 15% of motorists; however, this is not recommend as it can cause the windscreen to crack or even shatter because of the extreme change in temperature. And those using alcohol are probably not aware that it can damage the rubber seals around the windows. The best way to clear the frost off your car is a good old fashioned ice scrapper, a bit of elbow grease and if you feel you need it a good quality de-icer that won’t spoil the seals.

Sheriff's Crime Log - Petty theft, 23000 block Lakeview Drive. RP had tools and equipment stolen out of vehicle. Taken was a plastic tub containing window-washing equipment. Taken from truck bed sometime Sunday or Monday of prior week. Equipment valued at $600.

City council to use cherry-picker in bid to cut £1m repair bill: Housing workers are to use an industrial cherry-picker for repairs at council houses – to help cut an annual bill of almost £1 million for scaffolding. Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Kier have agreed to invest in the 'mobile platform' to allow contractors to carry out work on security lights and roofs without forking out for scaffolds. Health and safety officials banned ladders after a worker was seriously injured in a fall. Scaffolding is now used for repairs at heights, which led to a £957,000 bill for the cash-strapped city council last year. The firm, which repairs and maintains council houses and public buildings, said the cherry-picker would reduce the use of scaffolding by up to 50 per cent for 'certain types of repair' – as well as speeding up jobs. Council tenant Jim Gibson, chairman of Chell Health Residents' Association, said: "In a lot of cases a couple of steps would be enough to do the job but they're not allowed. It's one thing to protect workers, but this is health and safety gone stupid. "If there's only going to be one cherry-picker dealing with all of the repairs I don't think it will really solve the problem. "At the moment they tell us they can do the work but we'll have to wait for the scaffolding. Now it'll be the same but we'll just have to wait until the cherry-picker is available."
Councillor Dave Conway, leader of the opposition City Independents and a former cabinet member for housing, said: "My house is very tall, especially at the back as there is a drop, but the window cleaner doesn't put up scaffolding or use a cherry-picker – and imagine what it would cost if he did. I also live on a walk, like a lot of people do, and there's no chance they'll be getting a cherry-picker down here. "It's health and safety crackers and, like a lot of things they come up, with there are many pitfalls." A Kier spokesman said: "The mobile elevated work platform enables staff to carry out maintenance and repairs at a height of up to 17 metres, including roof and chimney repairs. "Depending on how it's used it is forecast the introduction of the platform may reduce the use of scaffolds by up to 50 per cent for certain types of repair – as well as providing an enhanced customer service by getting the job done more quickly and safely." A city council spokesman said the cherry-picker will provide 'greater value for money'.

The mega-trend at work in the workplace is that in developed economies, people are increasingly not at work. The algorithms used by the search engines in the travel sites are now so sophisticated that even a good travel agent cannot compete, whether on price, richness of offer (how many alternatives) or technical factors, such as accessibility (going online at midnight), speed and efficiency. The result is that human travel agents have been rendered expensive and inefficient, so that, in the travel business at least, the process of technological change has reached passed the point where humans are no longer necessary. Physical travel agencies employing human agents are on the way to extinction. The same is true for a large range of professions, jobs and places of work. Brokers and intermediaries are the most vulnerable – travel, insurance and other agents – but much larger swathes of the labor force are affected. The travel agencies that don’t exist anymore don’t employ cleaning ladies, window cleaners or even computer technicians, and their staff don’t buy lunch at the nearby eateries – and so on.

When daredevil Dan Goodwin tried to climb the World Trade Center's north tower in 1983, NYPD cop George Toth (pictured) braved the heights and threw him a lifeline. The Staten Islander died on Monday at the age of 85. George Toth, a decorated NYPD emergency services cop honored for saving a thrill seeker climbing the World Trade Center’s north tower in 1983, died Monday of complications stemming from a kidney tumor. He was 85. The life-long Staten Islander and his partner Richie Seaberg received an award for bravery after they lowered themselves down the 110-story tower to coax daredevil Dan Goodwin into forgoing his climb of the once-iconic building. “The police helicopters were flying below us, that’s how high up we were,” remembered Seaberg, who is retired and living in Pennsylvania. “But I trusted George with my life.” Goodwin snubbed the officers, but the cops ended up saving his life by throwing him a safety line when the window-washing tracks ripped away from the building. “If he wasn’t up there, that climber would have fallen,” recalled Toth’s son Stephen, who followed the 34-year veteran into the Emergency Services Unit and later worked with him.