Window Washer Threatens To Blow Man Away

 Cops say 79-year-old window washer threatened to blow man away with concealed gun because he parked too close to his car.

Window Washer Threatens To Blow Man Away: A 79-year-old window washer was arrested for threatening another man with a gun for parking too close to his car, reports said. The alleged fracas took place at a commercial office in the 4200 block of West 95th Street, where Oak Lawn police responded to a report of a man with a gun around 9:10 a.m. April 18.

The caller, a 43-year-old man, told officers that the elderly man, later identified as Victor Kasput, 79, of Crestwood, became verbally abusive after the younger man parked behind the Kasput’s car, reports said. While Kasput was washing the windows inside the officer, the younger man told Kasput he would move his vehicle. He changed his mind, however, after Kasput allegedly started flinging dirty water at him with the squeegee.

According to the report, Kasput lifted up his shirt, showing a gun on his hip, and told the younger man, “I’ve got something to blow you away with.” A woman in the office told officers she heard Kasput get into an argument with the younger man, then lift his shirt to show him the gun. Other witnesses also corroborated the younger man’s story, police said.

Kasput allegedly told officers that while working at the office washing windows, he saw the younger man park behind his vehicle on 95th Street. He and the younger man exchanged words because he though he parked too closely behind his vehicle.

Police said Kasput admitted to pulling up his shirt and showing him the gun because he felt “threatened” when the younger man called him an “old man.” He denied flinging water. Asked if the younger man made threats or approached him in a threatening manner, Kasput said he had not, reports said.

Police recovered Kasput’s .38-caliber Smith and Wesson, along with six rounds. A photo copy of Kasput’s conceal carry permit and a “clear and present danger” form was faxed to the Illinois State Police. Kasput was charged with battery and aggravated assault. He has a court hearing June 15 in Bridgeview.

UK Policemen Urged To Clean Windows

British policemen urged to clean windows as part of their fitness regime.

Met's advice for blobby bobbies: Try snowball fights and window cleaning! Health guru offers tips to unfit officers ahead of upcoming fitness tests Police officers have been told to lose weight by tobogganing, having snowball fights and even walking their children to school. Overweight officers are also being urged to move furniture around, build snowmen, wash windows or jump on a trampoline in the garden.

The advice comes from Scotland Yard’s new health guru Sean Burgess in an attempt to help police pass their upcoming fitness tests. A few years ago, a survey of Metropolitan officers and staff revealed that 64 per cent of those on the force’s payroll were overweight, obese or morbidly obese. As a result, mandatory fitness tests - known as ‘bleep tests’ - were introduced in September 2014.  A total of 807 were failed - 237 by men and 570 by women – before passing them became compulsory. Any staff who repeatedly fail them face the sack.

Mr Burgess, head of occupational health, gave his fitness advice to officers in the Met’s in-house magazine The Job. He began by writing, ‘Exercise? Who has time for it?’ before listing tips to help officers lose weight. ‘Have snowball fights, build a snowman or do some tobogganing,’ he writes. ‘Household jobs involve moving, stretching, lifting and carrying. Do some cleaning by moving furniture or washing the windows.’

Mr Burgess, a former nurse, says that getting into an exercise routine is hard and suggested finding sports that officers can do with their families like swimming, running for a charity, cycling or walking. He said: ‘Walk the kids to school, or walk the dog around the local park or countryside, if you can. Have a trampoline in the garden or a basketball net.’ Mr Burgess told officers that they should not ‘fear the bleeper’ if they followed his advice. ‘Turn your preparation into a regular habit,’ he added. ‘Training sessions will become easier to manage in terms of time and motivation.

‘If you can train with a partner it will assist in motivation and help develop an exercise habit.’

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has previously told how important it was that his officers were fit. ‘I think you’ve got a duty to your colleagues,’ he said recently. ‘If they shout for help, they want fit people to come. They don’t want somebody waddling down the road who’s never going to arrive, and when they get there they’re out of breath.’ Sir Bernard added: ‘It’s taken too long to get the annual test, but it will start to have an increasing impact. For me, the standard is too low, I think it should be higher. It’s relatively easy.’

The Met Commissioner went on to say that those who fail to make the grade should be given time to lose weight and get fitter. But he added: ‘If they don’t, then we haven’t got a job for them.’ Scotland Yard guidelines say those who fail at the first attempt should be put on a physical training programme for up to ten weeks before being told to retake the test. Officers who fail three further tests are recommended for dismissal.

There are so many overweight policemen in Britain that belts large enough for 56-inch waists are becoming hard to find. Emergency Service Supplies, a uniform supplier, had recently sold out of the XXXL version of the belt that carries heavy equipment as well as holds up trousers. The next size down was in short supply. Utility belts are an essential item for all officers because they are used to carry their handcuffs, baton and other tools. The company also offers outsized clothing for bulkier community support officers, supplying an XXXL high visibility vest alongside other duty wear in sizes up to a 56-inch chest.

Disgruntled Spitting Window Cleaner

The man was caught on CCTV repeatedly spitting on the Manchester shop's windows.

Fired window cleaner regularly spits on shop in act of revenge, claims store staff: Staff at the Manchester (UK) store claim the man is spitting on their shop - because they replaced him with another cleaner. A disgruntled window cleaner has taken revenge on his former employer for sacking him - by regularly spitting on their shop windows.

The man has been caught on CCTV camera spitting at the shop in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, at 15 minute intervals every other Thursday, police say. Shopkeepers believe the man is targeting their store in revenge after they fired him for another window cleaner.

Greater Manchester Police wrote on their Facebook page: “We have received a report stating that since October 2015 on every other Thursday a person has been spitting on the shop window in Cheetham Hill. “The male responsible has been captured on CCTV and identified as the prior window cleaner that used to provide the service to the store. The informant believes that this has been done in retaliation for using a different window cleaner. “The CCTV clearly shows the male walking up to the store window and spitting directly at it, then returning approximately 15 minutes later to repeat his habitual routine.”

The culprit's vile actions have been captured on CCTV - and it's claimed he is doing every other Thursday.

Disgruntled sacked window cleaner regularly spits on shop, claims storekeeper:  Staff at a Cheetham Hill store claim their former window cleaner is regularly spitting on their shop window because they employed someone else.

Greater Manchester Police say a man has been seen on CCTV clearly walking up to the window and spitting directly at it - then returning fifteen minutes later to repeat the action. The behaviour has been reported every other Thursday. Shopkeepers claim the man was doing this in retaliation after they employed an alternative cleaner.

“The male responsible has been captured on CCTV and identified as the prior window cleaner that used to provide the service to the store. The informant believes that this has been done in retaliation for using a different window cleaner. “The CCTV clearly shows the male walking up to the store window and spitting directly at it, then returning approximately 15 minutes later to repeat his habitual routine.”

Rogue Window Cleaners Reveal Public Perception Of Ladders

Window cleaners have been targeted on social media, but there have been no reports made to the police. 

No complaints over rogue window cleaners in Shepton, say police: Window cleaners in the Shepton Mallet area have been centre stage on social media this week, but for all the wrong reasons. There were a series of posts on Facebook warning of men posing as window cleaners in Shepton Mallet and Evercreech with a view to scoping out or breaking into houses, but police have confirmed that they have not been contacted in relation to these concerns.

Inspector Mark Nicholson, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We haven't had any reports of suspicious activity in relation to window cleaners in the Shepton Mallet area and we would ask people to be mindful, when posting on social media, of speculation and comment that could be harmful to legitimate businesses. "However, if you see something suspicious or you suspect a crime is in progress always call us on 999. "We encourage people to be good neighbours and look out for other people in their streets and communities and would certainly ask people to report suspicious activity to us."

A Wells-based window cleaner, who also operates in and around the Shepton area, took to Facebook to reassure his customers, emphasising that he always wears a branded T-shirt when working. Another recounted being treated badly while going about his work.

Suspicions were aroused by men knocking on doors asking residents if they would like their windows cleaned, with some of those approached commenting that the men do not appear fully equipped for the task, carrying only rags and bottles of water.

The men are said to have ladders with them, which some have taken as an indication that they are not legitimate, citing the belief that ladders are now illegal for window cleaners.

The men are said to have ladders with them, which some have taken as an indication that they are not legitimate, citing the belief that ladders are now illegal for window cleaners. However, the Health and Safety Executive simply recommend that ladders should only be used for low-risk, short duration work.

Scottish Window Cleaning License Clampdown

Licences are approved and issued by the council while Police Scotland conducts background checks on applicants.

West Fifers warned after four window cleaners are charged: West Fifers have been warned after four people were charged for operating as window cleaners without licences. Fife Council took enforcement action against the four after a complaint was made bout unlicensed window cleaners operating in the West Fife area.

Councillor Bob Young, chair of the regulation and licensing committee, explained, “We place a lot of trust in those we employ to carry out work at our homes. "They are often working while we are away so it’s very important that they are fully trustworthy. “Our enforcement officer recently took action against four individuals in West Fife who were charged by police for operating as window cleaners without licences.

We will continue to work closely with Police Scotland and other agencies in the coming months to ensure the public are protected from any unlicensed traders.” West Fifers are now being urged to be wary of unlicensed window cleaners operating across Fife. The council is highlighting the risks of employing people who are unlicensed and is encouraging householders and businesses to look at their window cleaner’s licence.

Licences are approved and issued by the council while Police Scotland conducts background checks on applicants. To protect householders and in case of accidents, it is a condition of holding a licence that window cleaners have adequate public liability insurance. They are also required to carry their licence ID at all times. A council spokeswoman said, “Window cleaners, as part of their application for a licence, must show that they have public liability insurance to cover them while operating. "When you are checking a licence it should have a photograph of the holder, the Fife Council logo and a hologram along with dates of its validity.”

Beware of unlicensed window cleaners: FIFE Council is asking people in the Cowdenbeath - Lochgelly area to be aware of any unlicensed window cleaners operating across the Kingdom. The Council is highlighting the risks of employing people who are unlicensed and is encouraging householders and businesses to look at their window cleaner’s licence. Licences are approved and issued by Fife Council and Police Scotland, conducts background checks on the applicants.

To protect householders and in case of accidents, it is a condition of holding a licence that window cleaners have adequate public liability insurance. They are also required to carry their licence ID at all times. Councillor Bob Young, chair of the Regulation and Licensing committee explained, “We place a lot of trust in those we employ to carry out work at our homes. “They are often working while we are away so it’s very important that they are fully trustworthy. Our enforcement officer recently took action against four individuals in West Fife who were charged by police for operating as window cleaners without licences. “We will continue to work closely with Police Scotland and other agencies in the coming months to ensure the public are protected from any unlicensed traders.”

Fife Council issues licences for a number of business sectors to keep the public safe and to make sure the right people are providing services safely to the public. These include Taxi Driver Licences, Street Traders, Second Hand Dealers, Skin Piercing and Tattooing and Charitable Collections.

The Scottish Licensed Window Cleaners Network (SLWCN) was launched on the 1st March 2006. We are an independently run, self-funding, internet-based network. The SLWCN is dedicated to raising the profile and standard of the window cleaning industry in Scotland. 

Ladder Fall - R.I.P. Patrick Garrity

Patrick Garrity, window cleaner died from a ladder fall yesterday in Long Hill Rd, Dromore.

Shock as Dromore man dies after fall (Co Tyrone): The man has been named locally as Patrick Garrity, who was aged in his early 50s. It is understood the long established window cleaner fell off a ladder and was killed instantly as he worked at a house on the Long Hill Road, Dromore. 

Mr Garrity was a single man who had three brothers. Offering her sympathy to his family, local councillor Ann Quinn said the community was “devastated”. “Patrick was a real gentlemen, very quiet and reserved,” she said. “He cared for his sick mother until her death a few years ago. He had built up a good window cleaning round and was very well known and popular. 

I spoke to people in the town, and they cannot believe this has happened to Patrick. They are devastated. He was a lovely man and my sympathy goes out to his family.” A spokesperson for Health and Safety Executive confirmed, “We have been made aware of an incident and are investigating. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.” Police have also stated they are aware of Mr Garrity’s death and said it is not being treated as suspicious.

Viral Window Cleaning News

The Most Positive Man I Know: His name is Darron Mothersby and he is, by a long way, the most positive person I have met for some time. On August 31st 2012 he fell from his ladder while window cleaning and is now paralysed from his neck down. Despite this any visitor to his bedside goes away feeling much better than when they arrived. Yes he has issues with his health, he's desperate to get rid of his respirator for example, but Darron is full of encouragement and positivity. He hopes to go home at some point in the future. He has an indoor chair that he can operate with his chin, it's not great because as he moves and bumps into something it clouts him in the chin. What he really needs is a head operated outdoor chair. Sadly this is not in the budget for the local authority. At a cost of £15k it's also not in the range of Darron's pocket either. What is remarkable is that his many friends have started a collection doing Marathon runs and garden parties among other things and have so far raised £8.5k toward his much needed chair. So here's the thing, can I ask that if you have read this blog you do some if not all of the following things..

1. Go to Darron's facebook page and 'Like' that page.
2. Re-tweet/message/facebook this blog so that your friends can also share this message.
3. Send Darron a message, say hi or tell him Hull City will be relegated. He's a good sense of humour!
4. Finally, and only if you are able, see if you can donate a few £'s to his fund here. 

Darron is a wonderful man and is supported tirelessly by his family and friends, he's had a setback in life and yet is the most giving of individuals. I love the guy and don't see him nearly as often as I would like to. Can we as individuals, businesses and fellow window cleaners make his life just that little bit easier. If you can, please do. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please share. By Stuart (The short one with no hair in the picture).

Window Cleaners - Lets take this viral!  Like we did last time!

A window cleaner on zip line is seen as he cleans the glass of a glass pedestrian passage in Dubai's business district. 

This stunning building proposed for Sydney’s Darling Harbour precinct is being flagged as a possible future home for Google Australia. Meet The Ribbon.

This Beautiful, Twisting Glass Building Could Be Google Australia's Next HQ - This stunning building proposed for Sydney’s Darling Harbour precinct is being flagged as a possible future home for Google Australia. The concept for “The Ribbon” takes advantage of cutting-edge building technologies that allow for twisting glass facades — as seen in London’s The Shard — and is being marketed as a prestige home for a major company. It’s at the current location of Sydney’s IMAX theatre and is right next to Commonwealth Bank’s new complex at Darling Quarter, which houses over 6000 personnel. Australia’s largest private developer Grocon and property management company Markham announced they had submitted a development application for the project this week. They say they are aiming to create a landmark similar to The Shard or the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Grocon’s NSW general manager Chris Carolan told Business Insider the design drew on an emerging trend for “these innovative curved structures, all around the world, including in the Middle East and China. We want to bring it to this country.” Sydney’s corporate architecture is generally conservative, and statements tend to be matters of height or signage rather than creative design. The Ribbon sweeps upwards and outwards from the ground along its east-west axis, with an undulating facade made entirely from glass wrapping around the building.

Inside, the furthest you can get from a window is 12m. The windows have a particularly slick feature that will excite any desk jockey: they are triple glazed and contain a venetian shade sitting in a cavity between the glass panels to keep the sun out when needed. Oh, they’re computer-controlled, too. No cord-wrestling. This gets around one of the drawbacks of many modern offices which have large window areas but rely heavily on the use of overhanging ledges, fixed slats and other shading devices which, while keeping out the harsh summer sun, also block the view. “Our research has shown that some of what people see as internal comfort is the ability to see outside,” Carolan said. If the development is approved by authorities it would take around three years to build. Assuming it was ready to occupy around 2017, its first openings would line up closely with the expiry of Google’s current property commitments which expire the following year, in 2018.

Window-washers described a zone of cool air around the building on the hottest days, and curtains moved in the breezes even with the windows closed.

Two Icons Go Green: Long overdue upgrades make the Empire State Building and the U.N. Secretariat building relevant in the 21st Century. Two iconic Manhattan skyscrapers have emerged from major renovations with sharply reduced carbon footprints, making them beacons of New York's evolving "green skyline."

The 102-story Empire State Building, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and completed in 1931, was already scheduled for renovation in 2008 when the nonprofit Clinton Climate Initiative approached Anthony Malkin about ways to reduce its carbon footprint. (Malkin and his father lead the investors who own the building.) One of the goals of the renovation was "to prove the economic viability of a deep energy retrofit," says Schneider. She and her team began examining dozens of strategies; they eventually came up with a plan they projected would reduce energy use by 38 percent, paying for itself within three years.

"For most owners, an energy project has to pay for itself within three or four years through reduced energy costs to be considered a good investment," says Schneider. The strategies included reconstructing each of the building's 6,514 double-hung windows, reusing the existing glass, sash and trim, and adding a low-emissivity (low-E) film suspended between the two panes of glass to more than double the original R-2.0 center-of-glass thermal value. The remanufacturing was carried out on-site, to avoid the costs, monetary and environmental, of shipping. In fact, Schneider says, the energy savings have exceeded the projected 38 percent in the first two years of post-renovation operation.

Rather than having to satisfy investors, the U.N. answers to 193 member states. But the Secretariat building was so dilapidated that virtually everyone could see the need for drastic measures. The building's original, 1/8-inch-thick glass provided practically no insulation. Window-washers described a zone of cool air around the building on the hottest days, and curtains moved in the breezes even with the windows closed. Over the years, the U.N. had added reflective film to the glass, to reduce heat absorption and glare, but the film just made the glass look dirty.

What is new in the Tirol for next season? Oh and if you are a window cleaner you may want to apply for a job at the restaurant below. Someone will have their work cut out at this futuristic new restaurant high above Solden. With many resorts and ski areas across the Alps seeing less visitors the Tirol has seen an increase. Last winter UK skiers and snowboarders were up 5% and the UK market is third behind Germany and the Netherlands. The resorts which saw the highest overall increase in arrivals were  Seefeld (+25.7%), Alpbach (+23.3%) and Wildschönau (17%), as a result of the new Ski Juwel combined area.

(Real) Technologies That Exist Today - Transparent Aluminum Armor: What starts as powder and suddenly becomes so powerful it can withstand bullets? Well, with a little bit (OK a lot) of heat and pressure: the latest in transparent armor. Lighter and even stronger than bulletproof glass, the Air Force has been testing aluminum oxynitride (ALON) in hopes of replacing windows in its aircraft. And judging by the fact that the clear ceramic material can stop a .50-caliber rifle’s bullet travelling 2,700 feet per second —normally powerful enough to slice through a lightly armored vehicle like butter — we’d say that’s a more-than-justified investment. Is this the next thing for window cleaners to clean?

They got their MBAs, but prefer paint clothes over suits - Eugenio and Jordan Fortino are painting nearly every square inch of the Witton Lofts condos. Baseboard, doors, ceilings, walls … they could draw the layout of the condos in their sleep. It is the second big, prestigious painting contract for Eugenio 31, and Jordan 27, who started Fortino Bros. Painting & Decorating in 2010. To say they climbed their way to the top with College Pro Painters and Action Window Cleaners (now College Pro) is an understatement. 

They started cleaning windows first, then customers would ask if they did painting. Next they jumped in with College Pro Painters, and quickly moved from workers to managers when they started to run their own franchise. The hustle needed to keep the franchise earning money was a fantastic learning experience according to Eugenio. "We were always looking for more work and setting jobs up. I remember one January skipping classes to go clean a customer's eaves."
Painting and cleaning paid off. Eugenio banked $70,000 to pay for school, and Jordan $55,000. Then they graduated with shiny MBAs and joined the suit and tie treadmill. Eugenio went to work for an insurance company, and Jordan for a bank. They both could have made a good living, but something was missing. "I had a mentor at the insurance company," Eugenio says. "He asked me if I was up till 3 a.m. reading insurance policies. That's what he did. He told me when I talked about the painting business my eyes lit up. He was telling me to do what I was passionate about." So Eugenio called Jordan, a meeting was set up - it was in a garage - over a few beers.

Ideas that Henry Ford taught a century ago about the advantages of continuous mass production are finding their way into the manufacture of one of the few remaining products still made batch-wise: the billions of tablets, capsules and other forms of medicine that people take each year. Continuous processing is used in most other large-scale manufacturing such as food production, petroleum refinement and water treatment. Some industries use an extreme version. Blast furnaces that produce iron from iron ore, for instance, may operate non-stop or with only brief pauses for 8-10 years. The machines that produce window glass run continuously for up to 18 years.

The Most Awesomely Eighties 1980s Music Videos - There was one easy way to make a video look artsy in the Eighties: strip the color. Try it: imagine adding color to "Every Breath You Take" by the Police and it's just a guy playing stand-up bass and another guy washing a window. Remove the hues, it's an intense, slightly creepy Video Music Award winner. Video here.

Drummer, Wurster, the window cleaner (second left).

Superchunk - the band with the window cleaner - McCaughan saw Wurster washing windows around Chapel Hill — including at 'Schoolkids', the record shop where he was working at the time — and asked the drummer to join the band after they'd parted ways with founding member Chuck "Chunk" Garrison. And so, to learn McCaughan's latest batch of songs, Wurster would listen to a cassette of Superchunk's sophomore full-length, 1991's No Pocky For Kitty, on headphones as he worked. His first album with the band, 1993's On the Mouth, was their last for Matador before releasing their records on Merge.

A window washer with dreams and, it seems, a direct link not only to the World Wide Web, but to the tech future. But not a squeegee in sight!

At the Signature Theatre, Regina Taylor’s ‘stop. reset.’ moves the techno theme a few decades closer to the present. Set in the Chicago headquarters of a black publishing company that’s been taken over by a conglomerate with the bottom line paramount, it’s a timely meditation on the gloomy outlook for books -- real ones, with pages and spines and ink -- in the digital age. Carl Lumbly is stirring as Alexander Ames, the aging, up-from-poverty patriarch. Even better is Ismael Cruz Cordova as “J,” a window washer with dreams and, it seems, a direct link not only to the World Wide Web, but to the tech future.

A man has been jailed for attacking two Jehovah’s Witnesses on a street in Kirkby. A jury convicted Michael Nimmo (35), of Diamond Avenue, Kirkby, of religiously aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm and common assault. He admitted the assaults but denied any of it was fuelled by religious hostility. Victim Gerald Thorburn, a self-employed window cleaner, was off work for several weeks after suffering a broken wrist in the daytime assault on Clumber Street on 15th September last year. Judge Andrew Hamilton, jailing Nimmo for 18 months, told him: “This was a completely unprovoked assault on innocent members of the public who happened to be Jehovah’s Witnesses calling at people’s homes. “Jehovah’s Witnesses are entitled to walk the street and knock on people’s doors. “You decided you didn’t like them. You called them ‘Johvos’, were abusive to them and spat at them.” The jury was told Nimmo ‘got into the faces’ of the two men, asking, ‘what are your views on weed?’ When Mr Thorburn took a photo of Nimmo on his mobile phone, Nimmo grabbed him round the neck and tried to take the phone from him. Nimmo, in his defence, claimed that when Mr Thorburn spoke to him some spittle accidentally came out, so he spat back. The court was told that Nimmo spat and hit the second man David Wass. The judge said Nimmo had committed numerous offences in the past and was on prison licence at the time. The sentence would have been longer but Nimmo had found work and had the support of his partner.

An Angus man who tricked elderly residents into paying him money for window cleaning work he had not carried out has been warned he could face jail. Kenneth Tough, 25, of Burnett Drive in Arbroath appeared at the town’s sheriff court on Tuesday, where he admitted defrauding four pensioners at Andy Stewart Court on Cliffburn Road on August 4. Tough had his sentenced deferred for the preparation of reports. The accused pleaded guilty to convincing the residents, aged 85, 84, 76 and 60, to pay him money for cleaning their windows when he attended at their addresses on the day in question.

Tough also admitted he stole £20 from a coin counter at another address at Andy Stewart Court on the same day. He claimed he was a window cleaner and told residents he was collecting money. Sheriff Peter Paterson confirmed none of the money taken by Tough was returned by the accused. The sheriff told the accused: “Given the nature of the charge a custodial sentence must be in my mind.”

Conman swindled Buttershaw widow, 83, of cash: A bogus odd job man who “shamelessly and despicably” ripped off an 83-year-old widow has been jailed for four years. Gavin Windle fleeced his vulnerable victim numerous times, turning up at her Buttershaw home drunk and threatening to pull the wires out of her TV set if she did not give him £45, Bradford Crown Court heard. He demanded £20 after pretending he was washing windows for charity and another £20 to cancel the arrangement. Windle, 34, of Orleans Street, Buttershaw, had spent eight of the past ten years behind bars, including serving a three-year stretch for house breaking and five and a half years for robbery. He was arrested on May 16 after being challenged by the widow’s worried neighbours who saw him staggering about with screwdrivers and kept an eye on him until the police arrived.

Windle was held in custody until yesterday’s hearing. He pleaded guilty to three offences of fraud, reflecting numerous occasions when he swindled the elderly woman over almost a year. Prosecutor Andrew Stranex said Windle’s victim, who lived alone, had a very poor memory and it was impossible to work out exactly how much he had taken. Although the sums were not very large, they meant a lot to her. He had been to her home many times, posing as a window cleaner and a Sky box repair man. Windle had a string of convictions for dishonesty and two for possession of heroin.

A dad of two had part of his tongue bitten off by a burly businessman in a drunken pub brawl. David Greaves was told by a judge that his attack on 33-year-old Kevin Dufton in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was “truly horrific”. The 49-year-old grandad, the boss of a window cleaning firm dodged jail for what Judge Gillian Matthews, QC, said was “probably a unique” case.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Greaves started the trouble inside The Falcon in Chester-le-Street by head-butting and punching Mr Dufton on May 25. The shaven-headed attacker was invited outside for a fight and when the “younger and fitter” man got the better of him, he tried to gouge out his eyes. Prosecutor Peter Sabiston told the court that Greaves somehow latched onto Mr Dufton’s tongue as they grappled on the ground and bit off a 3cm chunk. Unaware of the scale of his injuries after his attacker fled, Mr Dufton chased him and gave him a “comprehensive beating” before going to hospital.

Greaves was repeatedly punched and kicked as he was wedged against a car, and suffered two black eyes and a detached retina, the court heard. Christopher Knox, mitigating, told Judge Matthews: “There was a certain poetic justice meted out by this complainant to this defendant afterwards. “He may be smaller than Mr Greaves, but he is younger and much fitter. He was on top. In the tussle, I’m afraid quite a bit of his tongue was bitten off.” In an impact statement, Mr Dufton said his children were “scared and confused” by his injury, and he is now conscious of his speech defect.

Greaves, of Brackenbends Close, Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was given a two-year suspended jail term. Judge Matthews also ordered him to pay £2,000 in compensation and imposed a two-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim. She told Greaves: “This is a truly horrific offence. In defending yourself, you went far too far and caused him permanent injury. “The circumstances are unusual if not unique. The complainant exacted some degree of revenge and subjected you to a comprehensive beating. “No matter how he behaved to you in advance did not justify your disgraceful conduct, which must have been a truly horrendous thing.”

A fracking protester from Birmingham has told how she was kept in jail for 26 hours after supergluing herself to a window – allegedly causing just £4 of damage. Kara Moses, 29, was arrested at the London offices of Bell Pottinger, the PR company who represent fracking firm Cuadrilla. She has been charged with causing £4 of criminal damage and banned from carrying glue as part of her bail conditions. Kara was one of six women arrested after spending five hours glued to the entrance of the PR office. Their protest took place at the same time as demonstrations at Cuadrilla’s Lichfield HQ and in the village of Balcombe in West Sussex.

Window Cleaner Makes $3,600 In 5 Minutes

Taco Bell - Giving away money.

Trio returns $3,600 mistakenly handed out at drive through: A recent West Ottawa High School graduate got more than she ordered at a drive-through window at Taco Bell in Kentwood last weekend. Instead of the fast food, Kennidi Rue, her boyfriend and friend received what could have been some fast cash — $3,600  — in their order on Saturday night. “I didn’t get any food. Just money,” Kennidi Rue of Holland said Monday. The money, including a big roll of 20s, was in three bags.
 

Rue, her boyfriend Grant Kruse of Holland and driver Luke Postma pulled over and counted the cash. After a brief discussion about what to do, they called police. They met the officer at the restaurant and returned the money to the Taco Bell employee who was in tears and grateful for the trio’s honesty.
 

“As soon as you see all that money, stuff runs through your mind about what to do with it,” said Kruse after finishing work Monday at Shine Window Cleaning in Zeeland (website). Kruse is a 2011 Holland Christian High School graduate who recently returned from nine months on the ground in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard.
 

They all agreed that the only option was to return the cash. “It felt like the right thing,” said Kruse. Keeping it would have been wrong, Rue added. “It’s not the right thing to do,” the 2013 West Ottawa graduate said about taking the cash. “It’s not the way we were raised.”
 

Rue will head to Davenport University in the fall to study nursing. This isn't the first time that a Taco Bell employee mistakenly gave a customer thousands of dollars, according to jobs.aol.com. A manager of a Taco Bell in Ohio said it's store policy to keep bank deposits in the same bags that are used for takeout orders, which reportedly is why a drive-through worker in May 2010 confusedly handed a customer $2,000. That customer, who appeared in surveillance video to be a “young woman in her 20s,”  and the money were never heard from again.

Taco Bell customers find and return $3600 received in order: Three hungry customers pulled into the Kentwood, Michigan Taco Bell drive-thru expecting meals, so they were surprised when they found thousands of dollars in cash in their bag instead of food. As reported by WZZM 13 On Your Side, Kennidi Rue, Luke Postma and Grant Kruse didn’t even realize the fast food restaurant’s mistake until they had driven miles away. Kennidi said, “I opened my bag to get my food and it ended up being three bags of money, a lot of money, and then another wad of like a ton of 20s. We added it up and it was like…” “It was like $3600,” the men added.

The trio had a decision to make: return the money or keep the cash. The friends admitted that there was a brief moment where they were tempted. “Of course, initially you want to keep it,” Kennidi conceded. “But then you’re like, ‘No someone’s going to lose their job. Let’s bring this back,’” said Luke. Grant added, “It obviously wasn’t ours. It’s not like we were losing anything by giving it back. So we just thought we’d bring it back and I don’t know, just do it the right way I guess.”

Luke explained what happened when they returned the money. “We went in and the lady, we met her, and she had just a stone cold look on her face. And we brought it in and she just started like, on the spot, just like losing it. She was crying. She was I guess, pretty happy.” The three customers were also happy. They said the best part of their good deed, was that they finally got their food from Taco Bell.

Window Cleaning News

The Saturday Evening Post was a US magazine published weekly. It ran from 1821 to 1969. The publisher claimed the Post was descended from The Pennsylvania Gazette founded in 1728 by Benjamin Franklin even when the magazine's first issue was published over three decades after Ben Franklin's death. The Post was also host to the rise to fame of cover illustrator Norman Rockwell.

Earthpawz Cleans Up the Official GRAMMY Gift Bags: Presenters and performers and their pets will be going green when they receive Earthpawz® pet friendly cleaning products in their official gift bag at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards®. Included in this year's gift bags will be Earthpawz Doggie Slobber Window & Glass Cleaner, as well as Earthpawz Dirty Dog Floor Cleaner & Mud Remover. Earthpawz is a Canadian-based company, founded by Taren de St. Croix, focused on providing healthy and safe cleaning products. After Taren's dog became ill from the cleaners she was using in her home, she decided to meet with a chemist and formulate safe products that were completely toxic free. The products worked so well, she decided to found Earthpawz and make them available to everyone that wants to use safe and 100% natural products around their pets and homes.

Betterclean Services launches its franchise opportunity: New commercial cleaning franchise opportunity Betterclean Services is offering entrepreneurs the chance to become involved in an industry, which generated £4.6 billion in 2009 within the UK. Founded in 1995, Betterclean Services is involved in the commercial cleaning of premises such as theatres, dental surgeries, office premises, holiday parks, doctors' surgeries and car showrooms – and holds contracts with organisations including the Dartmoor National Parks Authority. The business now predominantly exists as a commercial contract cleaning operation, with 90 per cent of the turnover associated with this field of expertise. The remaining 10 per cent is attributed to cleaning windows (sub-contracted), carpets, ad hoc cleaning such as house lets, seasonal cleaning work within the holiday industry, hard floor cleaning and small consumable products that they supply, such as sanitary provisions to existing clients.

A strict reading of Ashland's business license law says that any adult engaged in an activity with an intent to make a profit needs a license. "If someone is strumming a banjo on the sidewalk, are they performing for a profit? I don't know," said Ashland Finance and Administrative Services Director Lee Tuneberg. Ashland has no threshold for the amount of money a person has to make, or even a requirement that the person actually realize a profit. Tuneberg said city staff are awaiting more direction from the Ashland City Council about business license rules. The council is considering requiring vendors that rent booth space to buy a license, too. A public hearing is planned in February but no date has been set yet. Tuneberg's staff members send out about a dozen notices a year to people who are operating businesses in town without a license. Tuneberg said the notices are generally sent out after the city receives complaints, or if an unlicensed business activity comes to the attention of city staff.

Tuneberg himself turned in information about a roving window-washer who came to his house offering cleaning services, but who didn't have a business license. As evidence that a person is engaged in unlicensed business activity, city staff will look for TV, radio and newspaper ads, door hangers, ads on the side of a car, signs and other forms of advertising. They haven't gone to the level of checking out all the fliers people post on bulletin boards around town offering goods and services, Tuneberg said. People are allowed to sell their own personal household items, as long as the sales method — such as a garage sale — lasts less than four days a year.

Twenty two years ago he was “a Tyneside window cleaner with a passion for painting”, according to one newspaper article of the time. Alexander Millar has come a long way since then. Firmly established at the commercial end of the art spectrum, his prints and original paintings hang in the homes of celebrities and ordinary people around the world. Sting, Cheryl Cole and Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant own examples of his work but it strikes a chord with many people who see, in Alexander’s jovial working class figures, echoes of their roots in the industrial north.

Fall in UK police officer numbers; The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by more than 2,500 last year, the first significant fall for at least six years, figures showed today. There were 142,363 officers on September 30, a drop of 1.7% compared with the previous year, the Home Office figures showed.

In the comments section: My local newspaper today carries a front page report on how large numbers of police officers (starting salary, £23,000 per year - not too bad) are moonlighting. No wonder they continually feel the need to tell transparent lies about falling crime figures. It doesn't look good, I suppose, when a member of the public is burgled and there's no police officer available because they're all out driving taxis and window-cleaning.

On Jan. 21, 1993, D.C. Council members condemned a move by then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly that prevented them from viewing the presidential inauguration parade from the District Building, today known as the John A. Wilson Building. While Kelly had been inserting herself in photo ops with newly-inaugurated President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, she had left the Wilson Building’s windows unwashed, and changed the locks so council members couldn’t use the building to watch the inaugural parade. (The mayor had earlier dragged her feet on allowing the council to use her official reviewing platform.)

As Washington City Paper wrote in its Jan. 29 issue: The council thought it had found a way to get around its exclusion from the mayor’s reviewing stand by having the windows washed on the District Building so council-members and their staff could watch from the offices... but the mayor’s Department of Administrative Services said it did not have the money in its budget to clean the windows.

Then, the Friday before the Inauguration, the mayor had the locks changed on her old offices at the District Building because the council had a key to get into the prime parade-viewing space. By that time, the Apartment and Office Building Association (AOBA) an organization of downtown landlords eager to curry favor with the council, had a found a Virginia firm willing to clean the windows for free. So the council had the locks changed the following Monday to let the window cleaners in. The next day, the mayor had them changed again. This is the way your elected officials really behave when their egos are swollen. Click picture to enlarge.

Micky Flanagan's brilliantly observed 2007 Edinburgh Fringe show about his rise from working-class Herbert to middle-class ponce, finally and deservedly made the comic red hot property on the comedy circuit. The show brought him acclaim from critics and audiences alike, as well as a Best Newcomer nomination at the if.comedy awards (now renamed the Edinburgh Comedy Awards). Since then, the animated Cockney has become a sought-after act, not only on the live circuit, but also on the small screen. He is now in the unique position of selling out 60 nights at some of the largest and most prestigious theatres around the country. Not bad for a former Billingsgate Market fish packer and window cleaner from Bethnal Green. "No, not bad at all really," agrees Micky, with comic understatement. See Micky here.

Motorists could soon be forced to pay up to £1.40 an hour for on-street parking. Under plans set out by Surrey County Council, ten streets in Mole Valley will see pay and display machines installed by November. Around 3,500 short-term spaces have been identified across the county, including a total of 170 in Dorking, Leatherhead, Ashtead and Bookham. Opponents claim the charges would hit motorists and traders at an unstable economic time. "There will be additional costs to retailers for window cleaners and other tradespeople carrying out necessary work to their premises."

Move into security helps firm to clean up: A County Armagh cleaning and security firm has defied the recession with £3m worth of growth. Robinson Services, best known for its cleaning work, has diversified into a number of different areas in recent years. Mr Huxley said this creative approach to their business model has been crucial to thriving in the recession. "We are continually looking at new services we can offer. Last year, we began to provide gritting services," he said. "In November we bought two gritters and then had one of the worst winters in living memory. So it's all about a combination of good business acumen and a bit of luck." Robinson Services began life in 1968 as a window cleaning venture, started by James Robinson. Today, son David Robinson is at the helm and the company employs over 1,200 staff.

On the outside of Capitol Dome: When Aulson Sr. returned in 2002 to clean and paint the dome, he found that security had become  “a lot more intense” since the terror attacks of 2001, and contractors could no longer build scaffolding from the ground to reach the outside of the dome. “From a contractor’s point of view, we were horrified that we had no access from the ground,” said Aulson, Sr. Security at the U.S. Capitol includes numerous barricades, checkpoints and security details, and the entire area can be quickly shut down if needed, according to project foreman Chad Lampert.

In order to gain access to their work area whenever it was on the cupola part of the dome, they rode in controlled-descent devices, grabbing a rope when they wanted to stop.  The ropes lowered them to their worksite on Bosun’s chairs, which are similar to window washer’s platforms, according to Lampert. Then they would climb back up to the top on a permanently mounted ladder and descend to another work area on bosun’s chairs. They also wore separate safety harnesses connected to a rope system that would stop them if they fell.

One of the 16 little-known private villas at the Trump National Golf Club-Westchester in Briarcliff Manor is now on the market for $1.95 million. This three-story townhome at 14 Shadow Tree Lane Westchester features three bedrooms, four and a half baths and 5,200 square feet of luxurious details — from a remote-controlled marble steam room to a 720-bottle wine cellar. And let's not forget the four fireplaces, the whole-house audio system, the surround-sound home theater and the top-of-the-line Bilotta kitchen with granite countertops, a six-burner stove and three ovens.

The prestigious location with an expansive view overlooking the 17th hole also entitles the homeowner to privileges at the elite golf club, including exclusive clubhouse events, the tennis pavilion, pool house, and rubbing shoulders with high-profile golf club members such as former President Bill Clinton, former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, actor/director Clint Eastwood, sportscaster Bob Costas, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and, of course, Donald Trump himself. And the services are sublime — window washing, changing light bulbs in the hard-to-reach cathedral ceilings, snow removal, personalized security and forwarding mail to owners when they're in other locations.

Town Hall chiefs in Sheffield will today decide on plans to spend £53,700 extending a scheme they say ‘animates’ run-down and vacant shops by putting art in empty city centre store windows. The Sheffield Showcase scheme was dreamt up in July 2009 after the ambitious Sevenstone retail development was put on hold because of the recession. The £600 million retail scheme was meant to turn rundown streets between Barker’s Pool, The Moor and Pinstone Street into a shoppers’ paradise – but when developers Hammerson postponed the project council bosses decided to put public money into keeping the area tidy until the scheme could go ahead.

In the last 18 months the council has spent £188,000 on the “outdoor gallery” which they say helps boost footfall. The scheme – managed by The Source training organisation but funded by the council – gives artists and designers a public display platform and gives retailers free advertising space. But it does not come cheap. Costs include employing a visual merchandising manager, administrative assistant and apprentices, as well as paying for electricity bills, window cleaning and legal fees. Now officers want to spend £53,708 to keep the project running until the end of 2011. That figure does not include staffing costs – which need to be found from additional grants. Also here.

Stormy's Furcast is a winter-long series testing the weather predictions of the good-natured folks at the nearly 200-year-old Farmers' Almanac against an equally good-natured fox that lives at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray. The almanac is based on science and secret formulas. This week's prediction: What's one of the best days to wash windows this month? The choices:  1) Jan. 15     2) Jan. 20     3) Jan. 29

The Farmers' Almanac says: Jan. 29 (Contradiction alert: The almanac's weather section calls for snow on that day, but its astrology section says it's a good day for window washing. Almanac Philom. Peter Geiger explained in a phone call that no one says it won't be a good day for indoor window washing. Hmmm ...).

The Avengers: The Complete Series 6 - Throughout the 1960s The Avengers bestrode the televisual world like a colossus. Twisted, kinky and confident, the flamboyant spy series echoed precisely the pop-cultural moods of that tumultuous decade. The latest volume in Optimum’s re-mastered and extras-stuffed reissue programme covers over eight discs the era of John Steed (Patrick McNee) and Tara King (Linda Thorson), when proceedings began to go a bit prog and the shirt collars could take your eye out. Even so, series six, from 1968, contained some of the show’s finest, furthest-out episodes - Fog, for example, where a reincarnation of Jack the Ripper stalks Soviet peace delegates through the streets of Whitechapel, or The Super Secret Cypher Snatch in which evil window-cleaners (no, really) brainwash operatives of the intelligence services. Like Sherlock Holmes going on the Magical Mystery Tour or The X-Files rewritten by PG Wodehouse, The Avengers was hip and smart as a whip, set in a fevered Home Counties fantasia where thought control, killer super-computers and mind-transference were just mildly irksome facts of life. Minimal extras.

Trollull/Oscar Weil has been a manufacturer of steel wool products for more than 100 years. The history of the company is marked by a long series of new products that have shaped the steel wool market. Due to unsurpassed premium quality, strong products and customer-oriented service, satisfied customers in the UK and many European countries trust Trollull Premium Quality steel wool. New attraction shown on the TotallyDIY is the Trollull GlassCleaner. The Trollull GlassCleaner is a scratch-free sponge which easily removes paint and dirt from window glass and tiles – soft and safe! The working side is made of extra fine stainless steel wool. This unique product can be applied several times either dry or in combination with chemicals, e.g. solvents. PDF download here.

Allstate and American Family Insurance are taking different approaches to their marketing targeting Hispanic consumers. A spin-off of its national general market advertising campaign, "Mayhem," Allstate is introducing an effort with the antagonist "Mala Suerte (bad luck)," who represents unfortunate circumstances. The word "mayhem" has no literal translation in the Spanish language, which led Allstate to create "Mala Suerte" to resonate more directly with Hispanics.

"Mala Suerte" is introduced as a polished and confident-looking man. However, his mere presence creates a series of misfortunes that are intended to remind people of what can go wrong and the protection Allstate can provide when it does. He startles a window-washer, which causes a bucket to fall several stories and land on the hood of a car. The ad closes with the voiceover, "Dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like Allstate."