Window Cleaning News With Falls & Con Men

Friends of Steve Zalopany plan 'fun' raiser for him (on Aug. 1): MOBILE, Ala. -- If a man’s wealth is measured in friends, Steve Zalopany is a very rich man. Zalopany, who owns a professional window washing company, was cleaning the façade of the Infirmary 65 building at Dauphin Street and I-65 when he fell, injuring his spine. His son, Stephen, was able to contact 911 and follow directions to keep his father alive until the ambulance arrived to take Zalopany to USA Trauma Center. Zalopany was then transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, accompanied by his wife, Terry.
Now, friends and neighbors have rallied together for a fundraiser in his honor. Money raised at the event will be used to make the family’s home handicapped-accessible to accommodate Zalopany’s wheelchair. The “fun” raiser is Aug. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Camp Grace. It includes food, swimming, inflatables and musical entertainment. Before the event begins, there will be a brief prayer service at 12:30 p.m., led by family friend Scott Vernon. Friends are welcome to attend. Many of Zalopany’s family members plan to attend the fundraiser, including his son, who is entering the University of Alabama this fall, and his daughter, Kelley, who will be a senior at Auburn University.
There is a $25 donation per person, but additional financial and in-kind donations are welcome, said coordinator Mary Beth Bradley. Checks can be made payable to the Steve Zalopany Benefit Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 82085, Mobile, AL 36689. “I’ve known them for years,” said Bradley. “When Terry called me in tears one day, I just knew I had to do something.” Many local businesses have already pitched in to help with the fundraiser. Pollman’s Bakery is donating cookies and brownies. Jim and Susie Sherman of Firehouse Subs on Grelot Road are donating 100 sandwiches and beverages. Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream Shoppe is providing sweet treats. Diane Codifer will be offering massages. Bob Omainsky of Wintzell’s Oyster House is donating 200 hamburgers and buns, with Dew Drop Inn providing hot dogs. And Camp Grace has donated use of the facility for the event.
Vernon, who owns Bowhunter Pro Shop, has donated a fully-rigged hunting bow as a raffle item. Only a limited number of tickets are available, and a good number have already been purchased. While tickets may be purchased at the door, reservations are requested by July 28; e-mail Bradley at mbbradley7@comcast.net. Tickets are also available July 27 and 28 at UMS-Wright Preparatory School from 4 to 6 p.m. at the columns near the football stadium, and at Automotive Painters Supply at 1000 East I-65 Service Road North between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., next to Budweiser-Busch Distributing.

Sheriff raids Phoenix cleaning company: Maricopa County sheriff's detectives raided Valley View Building Services in central Phoenix Tuesday morning, searching for 25 people suspected of identity theft and fraud. Five people were taken into custody, four of whom were in the United States illegally. "When we went in there, one of the ladies was hiding her Mexican I.D. in an enchilada,trying to conceal the identification," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Dozens of deputies, with a search warrant, and a sheriff's bus rolled up to the business, near 19th Street and Buckeye Road, about 6 a.m. The bus was backed up to the door. In a press release announcing the raid, the sheriff's office said, "A three-month investigation has revealed that the company has furnished, at a minimum, one employee who was working on the Fort Huachuca military base in Sierra Vista and was determined to be in the United States illegally."
Arpaio said the search was continuing for other illegal immigrants who might be working for the company. "We did serve another search warrant on the residence of the owner and, going through the papers, we're going to determine which work sites that the others may be working at."
Wednesday's raid was the 37th workplace raid the sheriff has conducted since Arizona's employers sanctions law went into effect in January 2009. More than 500 people have been arrested, most of those in the U.S. illegally. Valley View focuses on cleaning up new and remodeled commercial projects and larger residential projects and also provides window cleaning services, as well as specialized temporary cleaning labor.

Readers recommend songs about manual labour: "What's my line?/ I'm happy cleaning windows," sings Van Morrison, "I'm a working man in my prime." This is evinced by an impish charm, apparent as he bounces from job to lunch break to spots playing sax in "that down joint". The message of the song is simple – the window cleaner's happy in his work – and the lyrical vignettes combined with delicate, upbeat R&B (with Mark "That ain't working" Knopfler on guitar) convey that feeling wonderfully. Van's window cleaner is an auto-didact who reads Kerouac and disappears home to listen to Jimmie Rodgers. No doubt he's tuning in to Blue Yodel No 8, in which a man who loves to work can find but none and sets about berating (and yodelling at) the ungrateful employed.

Who would want to be the Prime Minister? Well, not me - I've been sat here trying to imagine being in David Cameron's shoes on that first morning sitting in the big chair at Number 10. I start by opening up the current account bank statement. A big fat zero! I gingerly turn to the overdraft and discover it now stands at over £150 billion quid. Crikey. I see that we are borrowing millions to pay off the interest on our borrowings. Blimey O'Reilly! I discover the previous occupant of this huge leather chair has signed up dozens of contracts for projects at zillions of pounds he must have known he could never pay for. Lo and behold, the poor old army boys are still waiting for those eight helicopters and the new boots promised five years ago. Ah – a chink of light! I've just found that we now have 4,000 new Government organisations looking into everything from "should child carers be allowed to wear bracelets" to "how many ladder rungs can a window cleaner climb up, carrying a bucket of water and a chamois leather".

Bolton Trading Standards is warning elderly and vulnerable residents to be on their guard against rogue traders selling overpriced insulation products. The warning has come after a salesman spent an hour trying to convince retired physics teacher Brian Liptrot, aged 70, that he needed a chemical spray to cover his eight widows, at a cost of £3,500. The man called at Mr Liptrot’s house in Winslow Road, Hunger Hill, after the pensioner had received a call from a spokesman of what he believed was the Government’s Warm Front team. The caller said Mr Liptrot could be eligible for grants to further insulate his home and asked if their representative could call to do an assessment. When the man came he filled in a tick sheet of improvements that had been carried out to insulate the house then asked if Mr Liptrot if he had “self-cleaning windows”.
When he said no, it became clear that the man was a salesman and he told Mr Liptrot that without a spray covering his windows he would not get an energy efficiency certificate which he would need if he ever wanted to sell his house. Mr Liptrot said: “Then he quickly told me I was eligible for a grant and the price dropped to £1,750. He was here for about an hour and I just couldn’t get rid of him. “He wanted me to sign up there and then but when I told him that I wanted to check a few facts he closed his briefcase and made a swift exit.” Mr Liptrot has since found a DIY spray on the internet to insulate his windows which can be bought for £5, per four windows. A spokesman for Bolton Trading Standards said they had had reports of salesmen in the Hunger Hill area attempting to sell energy efficient products like the window spray. He warned residents not to buy from cold callers. To report a rogue trader, call 01204 336 586.

Guilty thief gives back £160 he stole from a pensioner's purse... with interest: A crook who stole a pensioner's purse was so racked with guilt that he returned the cash, plus £40 extra, with a note of apology containing his name and phone number. Simon Crewe, 26, had posed as a window cleaner to steal from the 85-year-old widow's home in June, making off with £160. Sentencing him to two-and-a-half years in prison at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Sylvia De Bertodano said that by writing the letter he had in effect confessed. 'You paid the money back under cover of a letter, effectively turning yourself in,' the judge said.. 'I do accept that you were trying to make amends. Custody has to follow no matter how much remorse you feel.
'What makes this so bad is that someone elderly and vulnerable was targeted in their home.' Crewe was on license from a seven-year sentence when he carried out the burglary in June in the Knighton area of Leicester. Prosecuting Alan Murphy said he had been carrying a ladder when he called at the elderly victim's home. The woman, who has not been named, assumed he was her window cleaner and, while she left him outside to go upstairs on her stairlift, he made off with her purse. Mr Murphy continued: 'Eight days later he put a letter through the woman's door returning her money with an extra £40.
'Crewe said he was sorry and left a contact number. He later told the police he argued with his partner about money and went out looking for window cleaning work, but was tempted on seeing the purse. 'He said the victim was "a nice old lady". He immediately felt bad but was too scared to return it for several days, having burnt the the woman's purse and bus pass. 'The letter returning the money upset her even further and left her confused.' Sally Bamford, defending , said her client would have got away with it - if not for the letter. He had changed his behaviour since his last sentence, and become more sympathetic to victims of crime. 'It was an impulsive act and he did what he could to put the matter right,' she said. 'He handed himself in to the police and became emotional in interview. He takes full responsibility.' Crewe was convicted of four distraction burglaries in 2004, with 47 similar offences taken into consideration.

Caller steals man's wallet from house in Leicester: Police are appealing for public help after a 79-year-old man had money stolen from his home in Leicester. A man, who regularly cleans the victim's windows, called at the house at around 1610 BST on Monday. After a short while he left, then returned minutes later saying he needed to go into the house to collect something he had forgotten. The housholder realising his wallet was missing, but the window cleaner drove off in a red car. The man police would like to speak to is described as white, about 30, around 5ft 10in, of medium build with blond, curly hair combed back. He spoke with a local accent. Pc Louise Gibson said: "This man cleans the victim's windows about once a month so we are very hopeful that someone in the area will know him and be able to help us with our inquiries. "We would also like to appeal to other window cleaners who think they may know who the man is."


David Noton was first inspired to become a photographer by taking pictures of Scotland's landscapes. Now he is back to exhibit his art. While he took to the world of photography with all the relish of a youngster, Noton could point to an esoteric CV even before he picked up a camera. In what he now describes as his "wilderness years," he served stints as a window cleaner, a glue factory worker, and a dispatch rider, before signing up with the Merchant Navy.

REMEMBER!! - “One of the most common home accidents is the mixing of products containing chlorine bleach with those containing ammonia,” says WTC. The combination creates chloramine gas, which is highly irritating to the lungs. Since many cleaning products contain ammonia, the inadvertent mixing must be avoided. Mixing bleach and acids results in the release of chlorine gas, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, exposure to which can cause coughing and breathing problems, burning eyes and, at high levels, vomiting, pneumonia and even death. Products containing acids include vinegar, some glass and window cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, drain cleaners and rust removers. An “incompatibility chart” listing many chemicals that will react with bleach is available at the Chlorine Institute’s cl2.com website.

Man falls through glass roof: A man is being treated for very serious injuries after an incident in Bedford town centre on Saturday afternoon. The man is believed to have fallen through a glass roof to the rear of premises in Halls Court, off Harpur Street. He was taken to A&E at Bedford Hospital with what have been decribed as very serious injuries. There is no description of the man at present, who was not carrying any ID. The incident was reported to police at 3.45pm on Saturday, July 24.

'Thief's' 45ft plunge next to shoppers: A man being chased by a security guard fell 45ft to his death through the glass roof of a busy shopping centre. Dean Macauley, 25, died after hitting a flagstone floor on Saturday, just missing a mother with a pram. He had allegedly stolen from a nearby Marks & Spencer store when he took to the roof in Bedford. The glass shattered and Macauley, a local, sustained severe head and chest injuries as he hit the floor. At least 200 witnesses heard a "loud bang". Ambulance crews found him dead at the scene. Jan Page, owner of Arcadia sweet shop, said: "There were a lot of young children around. It was horrific. He was a complete mess." Macauley's inquest has been adjourned.

Closed head injuries are tricky to cope with: Question: My child was just beginning to ride a bike when he hit a parked car, was thrown up in the air, landed and was unconscious for the rest of the day. Though he is physically healed from the accident, he seems changed in some way, often forgetful or puzzled, more easily frustrated and even full of rage. We are trying to sort out what to do next.
Answer: Whether a person is a 70-year-old who tumbles off a ladder washing a second-story window or a toddler who falls off a riding lawn mower when his dad loses control, closed-head brain injuries can be the result. They are sneaky rascals because although our loved one seems physically just the same, something has happened in the brain's wiring causing changes in the people we care about.
Within one and a half years of sustaining a potential brain injury, a survivor should be assessed by a neuro-psychologist to learn of the type and severity of differences in thinking, language, concentration, abstract reasoning skills, planning and following through. Other symptoms should also be carefully noted, Markides writes, such as "lack of insight, reduced concentration, memory deficits, slowed response time, irritability, socially inappropriate behavior, communication problems, headaches, depression, visual and hearing problems." Currently, 5.3 million survivors need long or lifetime support, the website reports. Long-term health effects can include epilepsy, more predisposition to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.

Boy falls 16 floors and lives: A teenager miraculously survived with minor injuries after falling 16 storeys from his family's Manukau City apartment through a carpark roof on to a concrete floor. The 15-year-old was in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital this morning, four days after the 40m- to 50m-plunge from the top floor of the Proximity Apartments in Amersham Way, near the Westfield Manukau mall. He is believed to have suffered only a broken wrist, a broken rib, a gouged leg and internal injuries. Medical experts are amazed he was not killed. The building manager, Jason Epps-Eades, said the carpark roof broke the boy's fall and probably saved his life. "He's going to be okay. It's just incredible that he survived." The cause of the fall is not yet known and Counties-Manukau police are investigating. Witnesses said the boy might have been playing on the balcony.
One tenant was smoking on his apartment balcony at 9.30pm on Thursday when the teenager fell in front of him. The tenant raised the alarm immediately. "The sound [of his impact] was probably heard by everyone on that side of the building," said a Proximity Apartments staffer.
"People thought it was a car crash, but when they looked out their windows and saw the body, there was screaming, just screaming, and a whole lot of people coming downstairs." Housekeeper Kaa Wehi was working on the other side of the apartment complex and dismissed the large crash as the sound of a car misfiring. She thought nothing of it until she saw the teen's family rushing past her. "The boy's mum ran out of the elevator on the ground floor, shouting, 'Is it my boy? Is it my boy?' God must have been with him. He's got an angel looking after him, that's for sure."
Ms Wehi said the mother had been in bed, leaving the boy to finish his homework on his laptop. "[His parents] are dumb-founded about the whole thing. I saw the family every day - he was a good boy." The teenager - believed to be an old boy of De La Salle College in Mangere East - crashed through the carpark's steel roof, insulation and metal webbing, which saved him from directly hitting the concrete floor. He was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition, but has since stabilised. He is expected to leave hospital this week. His family were too upset to speak publicly yesterday. Mr Epps-Eades said the apartment balconies were "very safe", with railings that were chest-high to a tall person.
An intensive care medicine expert said yesterday that it was rare for someone to live if they plunged from more than five storeys, and "freakish" if they survived a fall from 16 storeys. The boy did not have head injuries, which was the most common cause of death after falling from a height. The specialist had dealt with one case where a man had fallen eight storeys and survived on "sheer luck". The key to the Manukau teenager's survival may have been that he avoided falling head-first. An American study of 200 falls showed a person is just as likely to survive a five-storey fall landing feet-first as they are a one-storey fall headfirst. A New York doctor who had dealt with a high number of falls said in 2008 that the death rate from a three-storey fall was about 50 per cent, but people who had fallen more than 10 storeys almost never survived.

SURVIVING GREAT FALLS

• December 2007: Window cleaner Alcides Moreno, 37, survives a 47-storey fall from a Manhattan skyscraper. His scaffolding broke free and he was able to use that as a form of protection as he fell.
• May 2008: A 22-year-old Ohio State University student survives after falling about six storeys from a 10th floor balcony of a Hilton hotel in Florida. He lands safely on a conference centre roof after another balcony helps break his fall.
• June 2010: 4-year-old Joey Williams falls six storeys from a Miami apartment building after chasing a balloon over a balcony. He lands in a palm tree.

Abu Dhabi feels Dubai chill as Emirate accepts money is scarcer: Times have changed for the Alimad Engineering and Contracting Company in Abu Dhabi. Two years ago, the developer was building everything from 20-story glass towers to luxury villas. It's now shelving projects, the latest a $US12 million contract with a client who has $US2 million and the banks won't give him any more money, said Ziad Ali, whose father founded the company 20 years ago. "When investors don't get funding, we don't get their business," Ali, 24, said by telephone from his office.
If the palm-shaped islands and skyscrapers of Dubai came to symbolize the excesses of the economic boom in the Gulf, the less glitzy Abu Dhabi represented the sobriety. Yet after Abu Dhabi, home to more than 7 per cent of the world's oil supply, spent $US20 billion bailing out its desert neighbor, it too is having to accept the financial crisis is catching up. Abu Dhabi, the largest of the United Arab Emirates and home of the capital and central bank, forecast a second consecutive budget deficit this year, according to statistics included in a government-guaranteed bond prospectus released last week. Spending will exceed revenue by 84.9 billion dirhams ($US23.1 billion) this year after 126.5 billion dirhams in 2009.

The tallest residential building in central London is also unique for being the first skyscraper in the world that has wind turbines integrated directly into its building fabric. Although the building is officially called the Strata Tower, it has been nicknamed the Razor. An apt enough nickname for the silver and black building that stands 147 meters (485 ft.) tall. Designed by BFLS, who were earlier known as Hamiltons, the Razor is already a distinct and recognizable profile on London’s skyline. The Strata tower, which has just been completed recently, is topped with three building-integrated wind turbines that will provide eight percent of electricity needs that will be required by the building – which will cover the mechanical and electrical services in the building including three express elevators and automated window cleaning rigs. Special design has been integrated into the turbines to ensure that minimal noise is generated, in order to not cause a disturbance to the penthouse residents, who will be living right below the turbines.
In addition to this, there are several green building strategies that have been implemented in the structure that is sure to make it the clarion call for regeneration in the Elephant and Castle area, where it is located. Natural daylight and natural ventilation has been incorporated as far as possible, even in the apartments that are high up. A quarter of the development has been designed to function as affordable housing – targeted at people who earn less than £60,000 a year. This means that the second floor to the tenth are affordable housing and the rest of the 43 floors have luxury condos, ending at the penthouse. The building offers residents a good view right into the heart of downtown; and floor to ceiling windows in each apartment ensure spectacular views from each one.

Five fearless volunteers are preparing to walk barefoot over 20ft of broken glass this week to raise more than £1200 for the Barnardo's Caern Project and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). The JCI Edinburgh team will be taking part in the Glasswalk Challenge at Edinburgh Zoo on Friday. They have each raised at least £150 in sponsorship.

Sunday Window Cleaning News-Watch

Two rescued after ninth-floor scaffolding breaks: A crowd gathered along the street and workers peered from their office windows Friday morning as two construction workers hung from the side of a nine-story building. The workers were pressure washing the exterior of one of Mutual of Omaha's buildings at 33rd and Farnam Streets when the platform holding them broke apart. Rescuers pulled one worker up and off the platform about 11:30 a.m. The second man was rescued about 11:40 a.m. A co-worker identified the men as Dan Gibbons and Nick Grimit. From the time the ordeal began shortly before 11 a.m. until the second man was rescued, onlookers gathered along the street. Office workers could be seen looking out nearly every window in the buildings along both sides of Farnam. Another employee of the construction company said the platform the men were using was brand new. It was still near the top of the building and had not descended very far when the platform broke. The platform is constructed in three sections, and the right-hand third of the platform broke loose shortly after the men began descending the building. Rescuers and the two workers secured the platform with ropes before the men were removed. Battalion Chief Steve Ausdemore said a passerby saw the scaffolding hanging broken on the side of the building and called 911. "Our speciality rescue team trains for this type of event every week in order to be prepared for a real- world high-angle rescue. This rescue went like clockwork," he said.

Doctors at Coventry’s University Hospital began crying as they told the 66-year-old he had less than two months to live. But the grandfather of three was in for an even bigger shock. After planning his own funeral and wake, Mr McCann was called back to the hospital and told the doctors had made a mistake – he could live for years. Mr McCann and his wife Elizabeth, of Castle Croft, Cheylesmore, were given the “devastating” news in September 2007. He’s decided to speak out now after reading about other NHS mistakes in the Telegraph. “The doctor’s eyes started filling up with tears as he told us,” said the former window cleaner. “He said he needed to get a glass of water – I thought it was for me and I said thank you but he sat down and drank it himself. “We were crying all the way home, we didn’t know what to do.” During the following days Mr McCann began counting down to his “imminent death” and making preparations. He contacted the Co-op to start paying off his funeral plan and arrange the service, and he booked a room at the Cheylesmore Social Club for his wake. His two younger sisters even borrowed money to fly over from Belfast to support him during his final weeks. Then on October 2, Mr McCann was called back into hospital and told the diagnosis had been a mistake. Doctors also sent him a letter of apology, assuring him the tumour behind his eye would not kill him any time soon. “When we went to the hospital they couldn’t apologise enough,” said Mr McCann, who has lived in Coventry for more than 40 years. “But at the same time they asked my wife and me whether we really wanted to know what the cancer was going to do to me, because if it were them they wouldn’t want to know. “I was terrified.” Mr McCann, who needs oxygen 16 hours a day and takes more than 20 tablets including morphine, contacted the Coventry Telegraph to share his story after reading about other mistakes made by the hospital.

Phoney tradesmen told to stay away from Portsmouth: Police have warned rogue traders to stay out of Portsmouth after an operation targeting dodgy workers. Trading Standards joined police officers to carry out spot checks on the likes of builders, window cleaners and gardeners to make sure they were not ripping people off. PC Neil Lancaster said the aim of the operation was to target those who coerce elderly people into paying for unnecessary work as well as distraction burglars. PC Lancaster said: 'Obviously there's a lot of good workers out there and it's the minority that are causing problems for the majority. 'The day was about distraction burglaries and people being taken advantage of. These sort of things obviously have a devastating affect on people.' No arrests were made on the day and all those who the authorities spoke to were bona fide workers. But Trading Standards officer Dave Taylor said it had been a worthwhile operation.
'Unfortunately we didn't find anybody who was a rogue trader as such,' he said. 'But rogue traders should see this as a warning that we are looking for them and we will be out again looking for them. 'We want these people to keep out of Portsmouth and anything we can do to disrupt their activities will help to protect everybody, particularly the elderly and vulnerable who are reluctant to say "no" when people knock at their door.'

A grieving husband has paid tribute to the woman he married twice, after she lost her brave battle with a rare illness. George Black said his wife, Terri, managed to keep her “bubbly and jovial” personality despite her painful muscle and tendon condition. The mother of four suffered from fibromyalgia, which often left her exhausted and in agony after only slight exertion. Mr Black, 54, of Murray Place, Portsoy, said: “Even though she was suffering, she tried to make the best of every hour. “The last couple of years were very hard for her but she always tried to keep up her spirits.” He said his 37-year-old wife had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia two years ago and took medication to combat the condition. Sufferers can experience chronic pain and fatigue in muscles and tendons and an increased sensitivity to pain. Mr Black and his London-born wife met through their membership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious movement. He said: “We were both members of the congregation at Portsoy and got married in 1996. At that time, we stayed at Portknockie for a while and then moved to a farmhouse in the Bogmuchals area. “Unfortunately, I became ill and that caused a strain, and we split up and got divorced in 2003.
“We kept up with each other as friends and I came to stay in Portsoy. “A couple of years ago, Terri also came to Portsoy and we were living not far from each other. “My health problems had improved and we decided to get married again.” Mr Black, who formerly worked as a landscape gardener and window cleaner, said: “Terri always made a great impression on everybody and was well liked.”

Don says "So, what happens when it just pours all week? You may not ever have that problem, but if you live in a tropical climate like I do, this can be an issue. Not only is it hard to clean windows in a downpour, but it suppresses interest in those who might be your customers. Check out this 3 minute video!"

Students find recession tough - More are opting to start their own companies. A difficult economy means students are having a hard time finding work this summer. When Andrew Graham started recruiting for his summer window-cleaning business, he got more than 50 résumés, twice as many as a year earlier. The 21-year-old Carleton engineering student hired six students, twice as many as he had in his first year. "There are definitely more people looking for summer jobs." The recession is putting a squeeze on the job market, including summer employment opportunities. The result is some young people like Graham are turning to alternatives like starting a business. Governments are pumping more money into job placement programs, including providing wage subsidies to encourage hiring. Almost 25,000 jobs have disappeared in the last five months in Ottawa-Gatineau, lifting the unemployment rate to 5.5 per cent in April - well below the national unemployment rate of eight per cent. Unemployment of workers between the ages of 15 to 24 was 10.9 per cent in April in Ottawa-Gatineau, up from 10.5 per cent a year earlier. That is more than twice the 4.4-per-cent unemployment rate of people 25 and over.

'No-cold-callers zone' to fight conmen: A Scheme to warn doorstep callers and cowboy businessman to stay away from an elderly residential area has been set up in town. The 'No-Cold Calling Zone' has been set up in Manners Street in a joint effort between the police and trading standards. The area was chosen after reports from a number of people living in the area of conmen going door-to-door. PC Tony Gallagher, community beat manager for the town centre, said: "We have been plagued by a number of cold-callers and distraction type burglaries in this area. "We have had cases of people posing as gas workers, window cleaners, even people calling themselves police officers. "We are hoping this scheme will help give the residents the confidence to say 'no' by giving them the information to be able to contact us quickly." PC Gallagher and PCSO Alfie Kent went door-to-door in Manners Street on Tuesday to talk to people about the problems, offer advice and provide an information pack on how to react to doorstep sellers. A number of signs have been put up around people's homes by the police warning possible cold-callers not to go door-to-door in the area. Dave Callan of Trading Standards said: "We want to discourage rogue traders from coming to this area. "We get people charging exorbitant amounts for doing very little work, people distracting the person at the front door while someone else gets into the house and even people being taken to the bank to withdraw money. The problem in the Manners Street area has becoming worse in recent months, with residents raising the issue at residents' meetings. Barrie Cox, a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator, regularly attends such meetings. "I think the zone is an excellent idea. "We have had quite a few distraction burglaries up here. They always come in the evening and we tell people not to open their doors to anybody but some still do and this has resulted in people being robbed. "Putting the signs up should deter people from going door-to-door."

Al Sarabasa Jr. He pounces on the slack: Al Sarabasa Jr. has seen a few economic slumps during his almost 24 years as owner of D&A Building Services Inc. in Longwood. Which is why he now uses downturns to take up market slack left by out-of-business competitors and expand his company's service offerings. "If we come out strong enough at the end of this, we will be in the position to expand and pick up more markets," he said. From humble beginnings as a window-washing business with one employee, D&A has grown to become one of Florida's biggest Hispanic-owned businesses, with annual revenue of $19 million, according to California-based Hispanic Business magazine. The company's main line of business is built around janitorial services, facility maintenance, window cleaning, waterproofing, construction cleanup and communications networks.
Already this year, Sarabasa has lost some contracts and had to reduce his work force by 25 percent through layoffs and attrition. But he has also added lawn-and-ornamental treatment services to his landscape-maintenance unit. And he has expanded geographically, adding a fifth state last year with the opening of a Dallas office. "It's not about affordability; it's about the possibilities once we get out of the recession," he said of the expansion and added services. "It's tight, but we make it work."

Soap Wars, Drinking Window Cleaner & Other News

Another installment from Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us a few more unbiased reviews of products in the window cleaners workplace. This time his opinion on window cleaners soap, bravely done in this weeks edition of "Tool Talk." All information on Titan labs GG4 & other window cleaning products can be found here.

"Glass Gleam-4 is a state-of-the art liquid additive to water, designed for cleaning glass using a squeegee. Extensive field testing and customer feedback has proven that GG-4 cleans visibly better with less wipe-up time. It was developed by professional chemists specifically for glass. Titan Laboratories is a recognized leader in window cleaning and restoration chemicals.
GG-4 contains a new detergent system allowing improved cleaning and degreasing of the glass. The squeegee drag reduction (slip) is excellent. Other features include low fragrance, optimized foam level, kind to your hands, and a blue color indicator to reveal that it has been added to the bucket or spray bottle. High-tech polymeric water softeners condition the water to greatly reduce dirt redeposition. This feature alone makes GG-4 highly desirable in areas of hard water. (See comments below on water hardness)."


Keeping up appearances: Following comment by the public on the condition of the hand-painted signs at the five entrances to the town, Romsey Town Council were keen (in the words of Hyacinth Bucket) to be seen to be keeping up appearances.
However, with a limited budget and not wishing to trust the work of local artist, Rob Johnson, to less caring hands, Councillor Ian Richards, a window cleaner, has again proved himself a practical member of the council by cleaning them himself.

'Rogue' trader turns out to be genuine: A window cleaner who featured in a police “rogue trader” warning after a house was given an unwanted washdown and a bill posted through the door has stepped forward to say “it was an honest mistake.” Police issued a press release highlighting the incident at Overstrand near Cromer and spelling out the standard warnings on doorstep traders. But after a small item appeared in the press David Rose of North Walsham-based Easyreach Ladderless Window Cleaning said: “It was a genuine mistake. A new cleaner went to the wrong address - the right number but on Cromer Road rather than Mundesley Road which join into one. “We are a fully-insured legal company covering East Anglia” he assured people in the area. Norfolk police said: “We have to take all reports of suspected rogue traders seriously at the time they are reported to us.”

Legal & General - DIY approach leaves home help out of work: Legal & General has published research which reveals that many UK households are adopting a DIY approach to domestic tasks such as window cleaning which could leave many home help professionals out of work. The pension and insurance provider's survey found that demand for odd jobs people has dropped by 86 per cent, while demand for window cleaners has fallen by 48 per cent. Legal & General also found that 29 per cent of homeowners who previously employed a domestic cleaner claim they will stop paying for one. Overall, 45 per cent of the households which employed some help last year are cutting back. Garry Skelton, marketing director at Legal & General's general insurance business, said: "A significant number of people will be rolling up their sleeves and doing more work around the house in the next few months." Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that nearly two million people in the UK are now unemployed. Also here.

Death-fall maid's employer fined: A businessman whose maid fell to her death while cleaning the windows of his flat has been fined the maximum of $5,000 for not ensuring her safety while at work. Selvam Packirisamy, 39, is the first employer to be prosecuted under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, in a case in which the maid died. Earlier this month, he was found guilty of failing to ensure that Ms Mariyappan Revathi, 23, performed her window-cleaning chores in a manner which did not endanger her life. EMPLOYERS' RESPONSIBILITY 'It is in the public interest to ensure that employers protect the well-being and safety of their domestic helpers.' MR R. MANOJ, Ministry of Manpower prosecutor.

Russia's Artisanal Moonshine Boom: It is a far cry from what most Russians think of moonshine, a time-dishonored pastime in a country where alcohol poisoning has helped lead to a population decline. In January, The Moscow Times reported that the reason for so many deaths is that 300 million liters of substances never intended for human consumption are drunk annually — these include perfume, aftershave, and cleaning liquids. Many shops sell contraband vodka which is made from a combination of those liquids and water. Good quality samogon, however, is unlikely to do anything for Russia's epidemic of alcoholism. Says Poluetkov, "If people want to drink window cleaner and aftershave, and sniff glue, nothing will stop them. Because window cleaner, aftershave and glue will always be on sale. An addiction is a psychological problem, not just a financial one."
There are 2.5 million alcoholics in the country according to Russia's chief epidemiologist Gennadi Onishchenko. Just last year 19,000 people died of alcohol poisoning; and while this number is less than previous years, alcoholism is still a large factor in Russia's declining population and is responsible for the large gender gap in the mortality rates. To cut down on deaths from poisonous substances, the Russian Government plans to introduce a set minimum price for vodka, which will be 100 rubles ($3) for half a liter.

Window Genie of Akron-Canton selected as dealer of the year: Window Genie is a local service company that has been in operation since 1998. Started primarily as a window cleaning and pressure washing company, Window Genie turned its focus to the area of Window Film in the year 2000 and hasn’t looked back since. The trend today is to build beautiful homes and commercial buildings with a tremendous amount of glass. Most people enjoy the natural light and the view; therefore, do not cover the windows with treatments. However, a large amount of unprotected glass can cause issues such as heat build-up, fading, and annoying glare. Window Genie entered the Window Film Industry because the company is passionate about helping its clients protect their prized possessions, save on energy costs, and just be more comfortable in their homes or offices. “We had a great understanding of these issues even before we got involved with window film, because, as window cleaners, we were in front of our clients’ glass all day, every day” says Dave Manderine, one of the company’s two owner/operators. Manderine’s partner, Mario Kotik believes “that partnering with Huper Optik gave us that competitive advantage we needed. And we believe in these products so much, we added Automotive Window Film to our list of services last year.” Manderine adds “By attending the Huper Optik Dealer Meetings the last three years, our eyes were opened to the “Green Movement” and the push for conserving our energy resources”. Huper Optik USA (HOUSA) is a window film manufacturer/distributor based in Houston, Texas that has established distributors and dealers across the world. HOUSA owns the patent on a German Window Film Technology with incredible clarity and extremely low reflectivity. As the exclusive Huper Dealer in the Akron/Canton Area, Window Genie offers a wide selection of window films with the best warranties in the industry.

8 Companies Rewarded for Composite Innovations: This year, eight companies and their partners will receive JEC Innovation Awards awards at the JEC Composites Show from March 24-26, 2009. The programme was created in 1998 with the goal of promoting innovation. Each year, a jury of renowned international experts chooses the best composite innovations, based on their technical interest, market potential, partnership, financial impact and originality. This year, the winners were selected from the following categories: Raw Materials, Process, Automation, Aeronautics, Building & Construction, Transportation and Environment & Energy. The decision to give prominence to these projects was based on their atypical nature and various noteworthy aspects.
Joint Winner: A façade with an innovative modular system that makes an extensive use of sandwich composites to support both glass and marble elements by Skandinaviska Glassystem AB (Sweden) Partner: Diab Group AB (Sweden) This façade for a six-storey office block in Copenhagen presents two entirely different aspects, depending on the viewpoint of the observer. Viewed from one side, the building would appear to have a façade that is basically a glass wall. Viewed from the opposite side, it would appear to be completely finished in marble. The same effect was required for all four sides of the building. The total area to be covered by the facade is approximately 4,000 square metres.