A window washer washes a window in downtown Wausau. A new study found Wausau had the highest credit score of the largest American cities.
Mumbai Financial Hub Needs Homes to Meet Demand From Bankers: A window cleaner works on a building in the Bandra Kurla Complex of Mumbai. Demand for housing inside the 370-hectare (914-acres) development is rising as employees seek to cut commuting times of two hours or more in the city of 18 million people that spreads across 440 square kilometers (170 square miles).
Ken leaves his brain to scientists: A Bideford man who was committed to being an organ donor has donated his brain to the Alzheimer’s Society. Ken Lydon died last month at the age of 81, having spent the last two years of his life at the Sandhurst Residential Home in Bideford. His long-time partner Ruth Nugent told the Gazette: “Ken had no family of his own, having been brought up in an orphanage in Kent. We had been together for 44 years and I miss him so much, even though it seemed he died long ago. He knew me right to the end. If Ken’s story is publicised, maybe more donors will come forward to help in the prevention of this terrible disease or even in finding a cure. I feel that too little is being done and I am proud and pleased that he has been able to help in some small way.” Mr Lydon had spent much of his life in Kent, moving to Bideford seven years ago. His varied career included as a window cleaner and a wedding photographer. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease 10 years ago, but was generally fit and well until earlier this summer, when he was found to have an aggressive malignant tumour. He was well known locally at the Barnstaple and Torrington memory cafes.
Interserve, the international support services and construction group, has signed a three-year cleaning services contract, worth over £2 million with Midlands Co-operative Society – the UK’s largest independent retailer. Interserve will provide daily office and retail cleaning to their premises ranging from 690 to 34,900 sq ft. The contract will also include window cleaning, jet washing and floor strip and seals in all 86 Co-operative stores across the Midlands region. Tony Sanders, Managing Director - Commercial at Interserve commented, “We are committed to becoming the trusted partner to companies across the UK, so are looking forward to contributing towards the co-operative society’s ethos. One practical example of this will be the use of green cleaning processes.
MYTH: Eco-friendly products are more expensive. FACT: They can cut water and energy use by 20%, less solution means a reduction in product costs and their effectiveness means lowered labour costs Green is the new black in the FM world, with companies striving to implement environmentally friendly initiatives across the board. From microfiber technologies to molecular cleaning products, companies are starting to demonstrate an awareness of how they can cut down on their carbon footprint. Alkalis, acids and detergents are the most commonly found chemicals in cleaning products. But what harm do they actually cause? One of the biggest threats is that of the ecosystem, caused by the pouring of chemical based cleaners down the drain or toilet. The chemicals end up in treatment plants where they are further treated with chemicals to try and make them cleaner.
Cardigan businessman becomes entrepreneur champion: A Cardigan businessman has been selected as one of six people from across Wales to become an Entrepreneurship Champion to the Welsh Government. Ben Giles, of Ultima Cleaning has joined the team set up by business minister Edwina Hart. Ben, who left school at 15 to start a window-cleaning round, has since set up multiple successful and highly innovative businesses. He still retains his original window cleaning business, while he now also employs 70 people in his cleaning and training businesses. He and the rest of the Champions team will be providing guidance on entrepreneurship policy to the Welsh Government.
Edwina Hart said: “Entrepreneurs are essential for developing a strong economy, building companies and helping to spread prosperity and create jobs. “We want to encourage and support entrepreneurs in Wales and the Champions will advise on what support is needed to help start-up and small firms with real potential to thrive and grow and how the Welsh Government can embed an entrepreneurial culture in Wales. “I am grateful for the enthusiastic support of these individuals who have built up extremely successful businesses and are willing to give their time and energy to drive this important section of the economy forward.”
The Champions will form a voluntary network, meeting three times a year and speaking at several key events in Wales to promote entrepreneurship and inspire others to consider the entrepreneurship path into business. They were selected through an open procurement process via Sell2Wales and press advertisements that attracted 48 potential candidates.
Winners of our Good Neighbour Award hailed: They are the unsung heroes of their street who make the community proud. And this year competition was so fierce, the gong went to a whole street ... Kearsley Close in Seaton Delaval. Hot on the street’s heels were the two runners-up Brenda Copeland, of Ashvale Avenue, Kibblesworth, Gateshead, and Ray and Joan Hardcastle of Sanders Gardens, Birtley, Gateshead, who also take home a trophy and £250 each. Brenda, 81, is recovering from a hip replacement but is described as an “inspiration” by Tina Palmer, who nominated her for the award. The great gran pulls out wheelie bins, is a friend to her neighbours and always makes the window cleaners a cuppa and a sandwich.
Reaction to Karma’s nightclub closure has been mixed in the business community, with some traders celebrating while others say it is the final death knell for Chippenham town centre. Jane Baker, who owns The Flower Shop, opposite Karma, said she regularly comes in on Friday morning to find urine and vomit on her doorstep and has had her windows smashed on numerous occasions. She said: “I’m very pleased that it has closed. “There had been a few weeks recently where we had no trouble and I did think that maybe things had changed and improved. “But then I came in to work on the Friday before last and there was sick all across my front windows. “It is disgusting and I felt awful as my window cleaner was trying to clean it off.
Scariest Ways To Earn A Living: The Window Washer - Janitorial services may have more than their fair share of negative aspects. There's not much fun in emptying stinky trash cans, but you don't think of a janitor as a big risk-taker. That is, until you see the guy who has to wash the windows on the skyscraper or the surfaces of other enormous structures. From Big Ben to the Space Needle to Mount Rushmore, men and women have braved the extreme height to do a little scrubbing. The workers are either secured by harnesses and straps, on scaffolding or both. Accidents happen, and often those accidents are fatal. Window washers do earn some of the highest salaries in janitorial services, around $50,000 a year with good medical coverage for occupational accidents. It's a good paycheck, but is it worth it? It depends on how much you like a clean window.
When you walk into a darkened room, usually you flip on the lights or open the shades. But soon you could opt instead to let the sunshine in by hitting a switch to send an electrical current coursing through your windows. Smart window technology, thermally insulating fenestration that changes color at the flip of a switch, is the next wave in windows. Smart glass’ most visible application right now is in the auto-dimming rearview mirrors in high-end cars. But the technology is poised to move out of the Mercedes and into homes and businesses, where it could potentially save one-eighth of all the energy used by buildings in the U.S. if it replaced all the conventional windows in the country, according to researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. That’s about 5 percent of the nation’s entire energy budget.
Smart, or dynamic, window technology can turn glass from transparent to translucent (usually blue or blue-gray in color) and back again when it is briefly exposed to low voltage that is fed to it via a simple circuit to the building current, thus controlling the transmission of visible and near-infrared light. The technology is not new; color-changing glass has been available for more than two decades. But it has always been a premium product that, at $50 to $100 per square foot, has been too costly for most commercial and residential construction projects.
The Ankeny City Council, Iowa, voted to remove planned security upgrades for its council chambers from a remodeling plan during a meeting on Monday. The original plan called for more than $200,000 to be spent on security and technology upgrades to the City Council chamber as well as other remodeling that officials said was needed at City Hall. The council chose to remove the security and technology changes from the proposal, some two-thirds of the cost of the plan, and just moved forward with exterior building upgrades and converting one large office into two smaller offices. City officials said the security and technology changes may be reconsidered at some point in the future, but were unsure when those proposed changes might come up again for consideration. Plans call for the large picture window to shrink in size and be reinforced with bulletproof glass. The desk where the City Council sits will be longer and have some bulletproof material built into it, and the doors to the council chambers will be changed. "I don't know. What are they scared of? Are they really scared of the people? What are they doing? I don't think it is necessary," said resident Tony Smith.
We here at the alligatorSports Brand Picks Column appreciate fine art. Elitists place sportswriters at the bottom of the creative totem pole, but trust us: We’re cultured. Nobody enjoys the spots and squiggles of abstract paintings, the soundtracks and subtitles of foreign films, the beeps and boops of jazz music more than us. And we can spot a phony from a mile away. That’s why we are glad to see the end of “Crossing Paths” — or, as it is better known in the artistic community, “That super sucky program for which UF paid like $40,000 to put creepy statues everywhere.” Good riddance, scary window washer outside Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Window cleaners 'to have best view of Olympic site' - Window cleaners who are deployed to two high rise buildings in Ilford will have some of the best views of London's Olympic sites. Sheffield-based manufacturer Rostek-UK has installed two monorails and two cradles on the towers at Pioneer Point at a cost of £200,000. The systems have been designed to accommodate window cleaners on the 91 and 113-metre-high properties. Those with a head for heights have been told by the designers that they will have one of the finest vantage points for viewing famous landmarks such as Canary Wharf, as well as the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.
Rostek-UK was given the contract by London and Regent Construction, with the brief of enabling cleaning companies to reach all external parts of the towers. Sales and marketing director at the Yorkshire enterprise John Hepworth said the venture has helped raise the firm's profile. "[It's] great to be recommended in the first place and then to hear such fabulous comments on completion of the project," he remarked. Cleaning specialists could be required to spruce up the houses of London residents ahead of the 2012 Olympics, as many will rent out their abodes to visitors, the Ealing Gazette reported.
Window-cleaning robot launched in Taiwan: A window-cleaning robot that won a gold medal at the 2010 iENA Nuremberg International Trade Fair was launched in Taiwan Thursday. Dubbed the "Winbot," the robot is a creation of local inventor Chao Chih-mo. It uses magnets to attach to windows up to 10 mm thick. K.E. & Kingstone Co. and Hobot Technology, which introduced the product, expect to cash in on yearend promotions in major department stores, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. The robot is priced at under NT$10,000 (US$330), and can operate at least five times more quickly that human window cleaners, the company said. It is also able to detect the cleaning area on its own using automatic navigation technology and infrared sensors, the company added.
SMALL BIZ DISCUSSES BURDENSOME FEDERAL REGS: Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations, a coalition created by the National Federation of Independent Business, holds a news conference to talk about federal regulations the group says stifle small business growth in Florida. NFIB Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle and two small business owners, Jay Lunt, president of Folkers Window Company in Pensacola, and Don Curtis, president of The Forestry Company in Perry, will speak. (Wednesday, 1:30 p.m., Florida Press Center, 336 E. College Ave., Tallahassee.)
ALLEN PARK — The City Council meeting Sept. 27 lasted close to five hours as the council discussed and adopted several resolutions. An application from Michael Alt to solicit window cleaning services door to door was approved 6-0.
Tilehurst man evades jail despite using 'outrageous violence' - A Tilehurst man avoided a jail term despite a “disgraceful display of outrageous violence” during a drunken street brawl. James Buckthorpe, of Lyndhurst Road, was given a 30-week suspended sentence at Reading Crown Court after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and threatening violence. The 38-year-old was spared immediate imprisonment because of his previous good character and early guilty plea but he will have to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work. The court heard on Friday how Buckthorpe had attacked Colin Stevens in St Mary’s Butts in the early hours of Sunday, February 6. The court heard Buckthorpe, a window cleaner, had last been convicted of a violent offence in 1996 and this had been linked with alcohol.
Drink-driving ban for ex-pro Bullock: A former professional footballer from Worcester has been banned from the roads for drink-driving without insurance or an MOT certificate. Darren Bullock commanded more than £650,000 in transfer fees during the 1990s and enjoyed successful spells at Huddersfield Town, Swindon Town and Bury. The 42-year-old, of Lilac Avenue, Tolladine, finished his professional playing career at Worcester City in 2002 and has since represented local sides Archdales 73 and AFC Heenans. Last season Bullock was assistant manager at Malvern Town, where he began his playing career. Appearing at Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday, Bullock pleaded guilty to drink-driving, driving with no insurance and no MoT.
Bullock, who now works as a self-employed window cleaner, said he had bought the S-reg Vauxhall Vectra three months ago and had not been driving it because he didn’t have enough money to pay for insurance. For drink-driving, Bullock was disqualified for 18 months and fined £180. He was offered the drink-driving course which, if he completes it by October 2012, will reduce the ban by four months. For having no insurance Bullock was fined £180 but no separate penalty was imposed for the car not having an MoT certificate. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge. Bullock offered to pay the fines at £30 a week.
Vets happy for a hand up at Stand Down in Dixon: Up went the tents and in came the vets, as hundreds of former military personnel from all branches and eras flocked to the Dixon May Fair grounds on Tuesday for the 10th annual North Bay Stand Down. During the three-day event that saw rows of tents pop up across the grounds, veterans were encouraged to take advantage of the many services that range from haircuts and showers to counseling sessions and legal consultation -- all aimed at helping them get back on their feet. Also experiencing the Stand Down for the first time was Santa Rosa resident John Capps.
According to Capps, he came to the event in order to have a better idea about what is available to veterans in terms of benefits. The former Army sergeant spent 12 years in the military before being discharged in 1998, but was virtually unaware of any of his veteran benefits until 2007. "So far I'm finding that the Stand Down is a pretty big deal because pretty much everything's here," he said. "So it's pretty much so far, so good."
Since leaving the military, Capps took over the window washing business of his father -- also a veteran. "A lot of veterans ... believe that nobody's really there to help them out, but people just need to look, they need to get busy," he said. "I'm finding you have to look very hard to see something like this." Where once veterans were left feeling "abandoned" with the "You're done. Have a nice day. Thanks for the memories." mentality once they leave the military, Capps said he has seen a number of efforts to find housing for those who find themselves homeless.
Temporary metal barricades will remain in place indefinitely around half the perimeter of a building on University St. at Cathcart St. until engineers can fully evaluate a possible problem with the structure. A situation came to light on Thursday after window washers noticed a block - weighing 600 kilograms - was sticking out an inch, and might possibly come loose. After a preliminary inspection of the building on Friday, the examining engineer hired by the Ville Marie borough ordered that an area 4.8 metres wide and 12 metres long be fenced off from pedestrians.
Montreal fire department chief of operations Richard Laporte hypothesized on Thursday that weather and water infiltration or the vibrations of a large construction project across University could have played a role in loosening the large blocks. Pedestrians on University stared up Friday afternoon, but could see nothing with the naked eye from street level to 10 storeys up. Tumbling structures have made people jittery in recent years. A huge concrete slab slid off a Peel St. building and killed a woman in July 2009, a construction worker was killed on April 8, 2011 when a wall collapsed in Plateau Mont Royal and four workers were injured when bricks peeled off the wall of a Ville Émard school on Aug. 11, 2011.
