Sydney Window Cleaner Rescue & Chicago Crack

The cleaners were stranded on their small platform off the fifth floor of the building in Pitt Street.

Two window cleaners were rescued by a cherry picker after they were left dangling off a high-rise building in the Sydney CBD when a cable broke. The cleaners were stranded on their small platform off the fifth floor of the building in Pitt Street, about 15 metres off the ground, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said. Emergency services were called to the tower, on 130 Pitt Street and close to the Pitt Street Mall, about 10.20am on Friday.

A NSW Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said the operation took about 40 minutes. The platform has now been secured and WorkCover will investigate the incident. The two male cleaners were not injured.

A spokeswoman for Investa Office, which manages the building, said a section of the non-load bearing cable, that is usually fixed under the cleaner's platform, unspooled and fell to the ground. "As a precautionary measure, Investa's standard safety procedures were activated. Window cleaning works were stopped and emergency services called to assist with bringing cleaning staff to the ground," the spokeswoman said.

Sydney high-rise window cleaner Lincoln Wilson said it was "unheard of" for cables to break while working on the side of a building and, during his 10 years, he had never experienced any problems. "Cables should be maintained very regularly and checked over every six or 12 months by a qualified assessor. I know the cables are always out in the weather but they are made of high-tensile steel," Mr Wilson, who is the director of Mr Window Clean, said.

He said his staff always carried walkie-talkies and worked in teams while cleaning tall buildings, so they could help each other if there were any emergencies. One of four east-bound lanes on King Street at Pitt Street was closed while emergency services were on the scene and buses were diverted from area, a spokeswoman for the Transport Management Centre said.

Window cleaners at hanging five stories up on Pitt st, Sydney.

The two window cleaners are plucked from the work platform. A cable snapped leaving the men dangling.

Window cleaners trapped on platform in Sydney CBD after cable snaps: Two window cleaners have endured an hour of terror after a cable on their platform snapped five floors up. Emergency services were called to the tower, on the corner of Pitt Street and Lees Ct about 10.20am. In a 40 minute operation, Fire and Rescue NSW crews used a cherrypicker and a high-rise ladder to rescue the two men. The damaged platform was then secured and the matter will now be handed over to WorkCover. The incident saw one east-bound lane of traffic on King St closed. The two men were not injured. Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Kernin Lambert said the men were in good spirits. He said it was lucky no passers-by were hit by the falling cable.

A California family visiting the Willis Tower in Chicago said they heard the glass flooring on its 103rd floor Skydeck begin to crack Wednesday night while they were taking in views of the city. A spokesman from the building said the sound came from the coating on the glass and the family was never in danger.

Glass ledge cracks on 103rd floor: Officials at Chicago's Willis Tower say the popular tourist attraction is safe, even though a glass ledge jutting from the building's 103rd floor appeared to crack beneath the feet of a visiting family. The see-through glass bays are known as The Ledge and extend about 1.2 metres from the building, which was once called the Sears Tower. Officials say the family wasn't in danger when the cracks appeared on Wednesday on a glass enclosure. In a statement, Willis Tower says a protective coating covering the glass surface cracked, not the glass itself. They say the cracks don't affect the “structural integrity” of the ledge, which is designed to occasionally crack.

The ledges have proven to be a popular - if a frightening - experience since opening in 2009. Fox News reported that as the family walked out onto the Skydeck, they say they were reassured by staffers that the window flooring was unbreakable. "I had my palms on the floor and I could feel it cracking," Alejandro Garibay, 23, told The Chicago Tribune. "Honestly, I was in shock, in disbelief. I was scared." Mr Garibay was watching fireworks at the Navy Pier. "It was an awesome view. We were getting up and walking away and for some reason I thought it would be cool to get a picture of my cousins and brother ... Then we started getting off and, as we push ourselves off, I could feel it cracking," he said.

Evicting Spiders & Talking Windows

The top of the Hancock Tower is “like a haunted house,” says a facilities manager.

It’s a ‘spider fest’ atop Chicago skyscrapers: At this time of year, there’s no shortage of fake spider webs around town as people try to make their houses look haunted. But in the city’s highest reaches, there’s no need for the fake stuff. Skyscrapers are prime real estate for the creepy crawlers of the city — with the bugs often riding wind currents high into the sky.

At the top of the John Hancock Center, it’s a “spider fest,” says Mead Elliott, the building’s broadcast facilities manager. “They are crawling everywhere, they are coming down on their strings everywhere, there are a lot of dead carcasses around — it’s like a haunted house,” he said. “It’s really weird seeing so many. You scratch your head, literally and figuratively. “When I first started, there was a lot of night work and all of sudden you have three or four of them crawling in your hair. As time goes on, you become more aware of them and can brush them away.”

Elliott said workers have tried various methods to control the spiders in the past, but nothing really works — they always come back. “We often think of the top of the building as this sterile environment of steel and glass, but really it’s surrounded by insects,” said Steve Sullivan, curator of urban ecology at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Acting somewhat like mountains, skyscrapers can create drafts that suck air — and bugs — to the top of the structures. For spiders, that means there is plenty of food up there. “We have pumped these insects literally up the side of the building,” Sullivan said. “By this time of the year, [spiders] just build webs everywhere.”

So how do the spiders end up outside a window on the 95th floor? Sometimes they just crawl. Most spiders, though, will use a technique called ballooning, which allows them to “fly” for miles. “They let out a little bit of silk, catch an uplifting air current and then sail in the current, basically like flying a kite,” said Petra Sierwald, associate curator of insects at the Field Museum.

Many of these spiders are from the orb-weaver family, which includes a number of different species that range in size. Some young are as small as a punctuation mark while adults can grow to about an inch big. Once a spider is planted on the side of the building, its silk is so strong that it is barely affected by wind or rain — even if the little creature is hundreds of feet in the sky. “If there is any danger, there are an enormous number of crevices and cracks, and they will just go in there and squeeze in,” Sierwald said.

The Willis Tower runs a window washing system every day, weather permitting, which helps keep the spiders at bay, according to Gary Michon, general manager of U.S. Equities Asset Management, the managing agent for the property. “It’s more of a nuisance to the tenants,” Michon said of the spiders. “They are paying for great views; the last thing they want to do is look out their window and see a big web.”

Wildlife experts, however, urge people to take advantage of the opportunity to observe the spiders, which are harmless to humans. “Spiders are particularly cool because they are building architecture with one of the strongest, most resilient substances that we know of,” Sullivan said. “See how it works. It’s a cool way to get involved with nature even up on the 90th floor.”

Store windows whisper: South African teleco retailer 8ta uses 'whispering windows' with through-glass touch technology to allow customers to browse a store’s catalogue after hours. So-called whispering windows have been a growing favorite of advertisers and marketeers for a few years now, writes trend monitoring website Springwise.com. The windows are equipped with speakers and programmed to emit sounds or speech as passers by walk past the built in sensors.

Often they are designed to entice or create intrigue for those on the street, but the windows installed in South African 8ta stores are adding a new level of functionality to the technology by enabling customers to browse the store’s catalogue throughout the day and night. 8ta, a mobile brand subsidiary of South African Telkom, operates numerous stores selling the latest devices and services. Aiming to make a visit to their stores a sensory-rich experience for shoppers, the brand tapped One Digital Media for a variety of technological elements.

The stores’ whispering window technology “turns store windows into glass window speakers, creating a unique way to deliver messages throughout or around your store,” as One Digital Media explains. However, they differ from similar concepts seen recently with their innovative use of through-glass touch technology allows customers to browse through a store catalogue after hours, even requesting a callback when the store reopens.

Also included in 8ta stores are large video walls showcasing 8ta’s latest commercials and handset deals, as well as “pick ‘n watch” screens that allow customers to interact with and learn more about the different mobile phone models. Touch tables, meanwhile, are on hand to detail and compare all the handsets available. "Bricks and mortar may still play a key role in many product categories," observes Springwise.com. "But that doesn’t mean physical stores can’t borrow elements from the best of the online shopping experience - including the ability to deliver multimedia messages and product information 24-seven."

Vertical Solar Farm Means High-Rise Window Cleaners With WFP's

Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), North America’s tallest building, is already an icon in the city. But it could soon be an icon for solar energy use in cities? A new project will take advantage of the tower’s vertical surface area by adding up to 2 MW of solar glass panels - equivalent to a 10 acre solar field - on the south side of the building’s 56th floor. This pilot project will use photovoltaic glass units developed by Pythagoras Solar. The new windows, dubbed high power density photovoltaic glass units (PVGU), are a clever hybrid technology that lays typical monocrystalline silicon solar cell horizontally between two layers of glass to form an individual tile. An internal plastic reflective prism directs angled sunlight onto the solar cells but allows diffuse daylight and horizontal light through. Think of it as a louvered shade which allows for views but cuts out the harsh direct sun.

If the project is successful, it could lead the way to other similar projects in cities. It’s a great way for cities to harvest energy without using up precious space in the city or limited rooftop space. The product is also a potential breakthrough in energy efficiency in glass towers, where solar heat gain is the bane of energy-efficient design.

Imagine cities full of power-generating skyscrapers!

Pythagoras Solves Solar Energy Equation at Sears Tower: A solar window that potentially turns any skyscraper into a into massive power producer has just installed a pilot test in Chicago, at the landmark Sears Tower, according to Jetson Green. If the pilot goes well, the Sears Tower could end with a 2 MW solar power station, distributed vertically among its many windows.

Israel’s revolutionary Pythagoras makes window-integrated solar that really is a game changer. Their product is a solar window that is virtually as transparent as a normal window – yet it produces power on a square foot basis, that matches that of a normal solar panel. By contrast, most BIPV (building integrated solar panels) are the very inefficient thin film panels that take twice the space to make the same power. Pythagoras uses traditional PV integrated into a glass unit (PVGU) in such a way that the window still lets light in, but it just has a linear texture created by the power producing strips.

Their PVGU is priced to deliver a 5-year return on investment – a calculation that includes both its solar power generation, and also the energy efficiency savings – it reduces building heating and cooling costs because it blocks direct solar radiation making it the ideal day-lighting option.

The south side of the 56th floor of the Willis Tower is being fitted with solar windows.

Chicago’s Willis Tower to get solar windows: Chicago's Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower, was the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998 and remains the tallest building in the U.S. to this day. Its 1451-foot (442 m) height adds up to enough window area to keep a window washer busy for life, or space for enough solar panels to be comparable to a 10 acre solar power plant. As part of a pilot project, the south facing windows of the 56th floor of the Willis Tower will be replaced with Pythagoras Solar's transparent solar windows which cut down on heat gain – and therefore cooling costs – as well as harnessing energy from the sun.

While the image that comes to mind when one thinks of solar power plants is probably one of rows upon rows of panels covering large areas of desert, replacing the windows of skyscrapers with solar windows gives cities with limited free space the opportunity to create vertical solar power plants. Pythagorus Solar's solar windows, which the company calls photovoltaic glass units (PGUs), are rectangular box-shaped units that allow diffused light to pass through, but use a prism to reflect sunlight down onto a horizontal PV cell along the bottom of the unit to generate the same amount of energy as standard rooftop-mounted solar cells.

"We are excited to launch this pilot with Pythagoras Solar's leading-edge solar window solutions as a test for not only the energy savings that can be achieved, but the potential they represent to actually generate power through the sun," said John Huston, Executive Vice President of American Landmark Properties, one of the ownership partners of Willis Tower.

If the pilot project proves successful, Pythagoras Solar's PGU's could be expanded beyond the 56th floor to cover enough surface area to provide over two megawatts of solar power.

Window Cleaning Pictures & News

Show us your squeegee, Luigi! Mainly it means you should shoot a lot of photos through glass. Window washers are a demographic we’re going after in a big way. Is there really an audience for this stuff? Sure. It must be huge, judging from the number of window-cleaning-through-glass shots on our photo file. I hate to get pushy this early in my career, but I don’t think I want to shoot this sort of material. What’s a polite way to tell my editor? Just say, “I don’t do windows.” Top combo: A worker cleans the glass roof of a tunnel linking a building to a subway station in Chongqing municipality, China, October 28, 2009. A worker cleans the window of an office building in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, October 25, 2009. Lower combo: Assorted window-washing shots. Click to enlarge.

Tradie tumbles off Rudd's roof, Australia: A tradesman has been taken to hospital after tumbling from the roof of the prime minister's Brisbane home. The worker was cleaning gutters on the Kevin Rudd's Norman Park home on Monday when he fell. WorkCover Queensland is investigating the workplace accident and the tradesman is being treated at a Brisbane hospital. A spokesman for the prime minister told AAP the Rudd family are concerned for the injured worker. "This morning there was a terrible accident involving a tradesman cleaning the gutters at the Rudd family house in Brisbane," he said. "Following the accident an ambulance was called and the tradesman involved is now receiving medical treatment in a Brisbane hospital. "This was a serious accident and as is appropriate both the Queensland Police and WorkCover Queensland were immediately notified." WorkCover Queensland is now undertaking a full investigation into the accident.

Willis Tower looks to go green, from the rooftops on down: The building was completed as Sears Tower in 1973, the heyday of energy ignorance, which means the skyscraper has single-pane windows that leak around the edges and let in hot air in summer and cold in winter, lights everywhere and inefficient electric heating throughout. "Each old window is like a car driving around," Beardsley said. "And people don't think of it that way - it's just a window. But I think maybe we need to start thinking about it that way." When Beardsley visits Willis Tower, she sees structure, piping, interacting climates, the competition of forces. When she strolls onto the roof of the 90th floor, she doesn't talk about the view -- she talks about the elevator decking, the pressure of the wind, the movement of the joints, the grooves that allow the window-washing equipment to move up and down the facade. They expect to shore up Willis Tower's "skin" with new energy-efficient windows as soon as the last half of 2010.

Sanitation Strategies is pleased to announce it has been named an authorized distributor of the new Activeion Pro, the award-winning technology from Activeion Cleaning Solutions that transforms tap water into a powerful cleaner. Sanitation Strategies’ decision to distribute the Activeion Pro reflects its leadership position in the cleaning industry and its goal to help cleaning professionals ensure that their companies, their employees, and their customers have a safe, healthy option for cleaning—one that is free of harmful chemicals. A genuine breakthrough, the Activeion Pro is a versatile cleaner ideal for use on glass, stainless steel, wood, stone and marble as well as carpet and clothing. In fact, it can replace many general-purpose chemical cleaners commonly used for these types of surfaces. The unit, which retails for $299, can help professional cleaning companies save considerable money each year by eliminating the need to purchase a variety of general-purpose, window, glass and stainless steel cleaners. Also see here.

Austin News - Hormel Home new addition opens: Endres, who owns Endres Window Cleaning in Austin, said the expansion is "absolutely beautiful." He checked it out last week when he had a crew cleaning windows there, which his business has done for about the past five years. The addition dignifies the rest of the home, Endres said, and it gives another choice for hosting events.

FRIDAY 8:53 a.m., Jamestown — A man allegedly threw a rock through an elderly woman's window after his offer to sell gutter cleaning services was denied on Highway 108 at Golf Links Road.

Santa Rosa soccer coaches share Viking pedigree: Montgomery graduate Jon Schwan knows the feeling as the new Santa Rosa boys' soccer coach after two years leading the Vikings' junior varsity. The only blemish on his Panthers' league record is a tie with Montgomery. “It was a little weird being on the other sideline in the game at Montgomery. But I want to beat them bad when I go against them,” he said. “It gets to a point where you know you're ready for the challenge.” Santa Rosa's boys have been the biggest surprise, going undefeated in league and playing perhaps the best soccer in the North Coast Section. “It's all on the players,” Schwan said. “I was lucky enough to take this program over at the same time that a lot of players matured and developed.” But it was Schwan who sensed the need to challenge his players after the first practice to win the league championship and get back to the NCS playoffs — and they did convincingly. Schwan, owner of a window cleaning business, is a more low key coach who has a fiery side when needed.

Marc Saunders is relishing the prospect of taking on arguably the toughest job in local football - a little earlier than he expected. Saunders has been confirmed as the new manager of troubled ChromaSport & Trophies Peterborough League Premier Division club Oundle Town after the departure of previous boss Dan Dobson. Oundle are anchored at the bottom of the top-flight table after losing all nine league games to date and there is also a big divide between a struggling first team and a successful reserve side that have won every game this season in the Combination League. But Saunders is confident both things will change for the better. Saunders is something of a local legend have spent 14 years with the club. Saunders spent four years with Bristol City as a teenager and also played international football for Wales Under 15s. He moved to the Oundle area after buying a pub and now runs a window-cleaning business.

Entrepreneur Ben Giles, who turned a weekend window cleaning round into a successful business employing nearly sixty people, is now targeting police forces around the UK offering a unique crime scene cleaning service. But crime scene cleaning is providing Ben with a niche market opportunity enabling him to expand the business considerably after winning contracts from police authorities around the UK. This service can range from clearing up after road traffic accidents or murder scenes, to extensive cleaning and sanitising operations following natural deaths when the body may have decomposed.
The demand for this service, which requires extensive expertise in a range of areas, has been so considerable that Ben has established The National Academy of Crime Scene Cleaners to develop UK wide standards and accreditation. He explained: “The Academy provides training for cleaning companies throughout the UK to ensure their staff have the necessary expertise and ability to undertake this highly specialised work. To date 140 companies in the UK have been trained and Ben is tendering for contracts from forces around the country including Northern Ireland. News about the Academy has reached as far as South Africa and Ben now has his eye on extending it to Europe. “There’s nothing like this training available in Europe and if I don’t take advantage of this opportunity then someone else will.
Ben set up Ultima Cleaning after leaving school at sixteen when he decided to turn what was a Saturday window-cleaning round into a thriving business and attributed the success of his company to his `fantastic staff – from the humblest cleaner to my dynamic managers’ whom he thanks. He still maintains his domestic window cleaning contracts with more than 2000 homes in the area using his services.

As Kenny Campbell works at First Christian Church in Joplin, he is on familiar ground. Or rather, high above it on 30-foot scaffolding, restoring the luster of a large rose window on the church's south side. Thirty-two years ago, Campbell worked on these same windows. He has a deep respect for the historic stained glass, with its vivid daffodils and roses, flowing vines and the flying dove in the center. Campbell proudly notes that the original glass in the church came from the Wissmach factory in West Virginia, where Louis Tiffany bought much of his glass. "It was the first church I had ever done," remembers Campbell. "You build a little stained glass window, it's no problem. A 10-foot or a 29-foot-across window, now that's a little different animal."
Campbell started repairing and releading the large stained glass on his own. The storm had blown out and broken several of the panels. Plus, there was a lot of restoration to be done on the historic windows, which had been around since the church was built in 1901. It was a lot for one man to do, and at one point Campbell enlisted his wife to help him refire and paint the glass. She even traveled to Kansas City to take classes in the art of stained glass restoration. "I wouldn't have had any career in church restoration if it hadn't been for that job," Campbell said. "It gave me the experience to continue." The work launched Campbell's career in church restoration.
However, around 1994 Campbell was forced to retire. He had contracted ocular histoplasmosis, which robbed him of most his center-field vision and depth perception. Campbell was told he got the disease from pigeon droppings, which were plentiful in the eaves and bell towers of churches. He settled into a new career selling linens to nursing homes and assumed he wouldn't take a restoration job again. Read more..

‘Babe Ruth of bank robbers’ Willie Sutton dies at age 79: On this day, Nov. 2, in 1980, Willie Sutton, the “Babe Ruth of bank robbers,” died at age 79. Sutton is best known for saying he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” But in his memoir, Sutton dismissed the story, claiming that the reporter ginned up the quote to make better copy. Sutton said he robbed banks because he loved it. “I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life,” he said. During bank heists, Sutton donned disguises, playing a window washer, police officer or postman. He had a flair for the dramatic, and the banks were his stage. Some gangsters claimed that Sutton made Jesse James and John Dillinger look like amateurs.

Saturday Window Cleaning News

Witnesses Share Stories of Terror, Heroism From Scene of the Blasts: Former race car driver Alex Asmasubrata, who lives near the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, was jogging in the area when he heard the first explosion. “It was quite loud and I was so shocked that I immediately hit the ground,” Alex said. He saw staff members from the JW Marriott carrying the bodies of four Westerners out of the hotel. Ambulances arrived at the scene an hour later.
The hotel required all department heads and supervisors to stay behind, but instructed staff members to go home. Some had just started their shifts and had put their personal belongings such as motorcycle keys and wallets inside their lockers, but they could not retrieve these because the hotel had been blocked off by police.
Singgih, a doorman at the Ritz-Carlton, saw white smoke coming from inside the restaurant, where most of the people who were having breakfast were foreign nationals. “I went in to help the waiters and people were rushing out of the kitchen,” Singgih said. Soleman said the explosion from the Marriott was so loud that it caused shockwaves. Five minutes later, he heard the second explosion from the Ritz-Carlton. “I saw the glass from the windows at the Ritz-Carlton shatter and come crashing down,” Soleman said. “[The guests and I] were scheduled to go to Pulogadung this morning,” Soleman said.
Zainul Supriyanto, 28, a window cleaner at the JW Marriott, said he was taking a break in the basement when he heard the explosion. He immediately ran upstairs and saw three bodies amid the devastated interior of the hotel.

Replica hawk keeps seagulls in Newcastle away: Birds of a feather no longer flock together in a street once plagued by aggressive pests, thanks to the arrival of a deadly foe. And the hawk who has successfully scared away the pigeons and seagulls has done so without moving an inch … it is made of stone. The mini bird of prey was adopted by Jason Stuart and Clare Mullin to scare away determined seagulls and pigeons from the window sills of their second floor home in Phoenix House, on Queen Street, in Newcastle. Dad-of-two Jason came up with the cunning plan after seeing one on a nature programme, and bought a stone replica hawk online to try it out for himself. The 41-year-old car salesman was fed up of feathered pests dive-bombing him and fouling the windows of the home he shares with partner Clare and their two children, Joshua, 18 months, and Lucy, six months.
Clare said: “All the sea gulls lay their eggs directly above the building. Before we had double glazing we could hear them all the time. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking it is the children crying, but it is always the birds. “Buying the hawk was an environmentally-friendly way of keeping the property clean and deterring the seagulls from coming near us. We don’t have a window cleaner and Jason said he used to be attacked all the time by them.”
As well as keeping the birds at bay, the stone hawk has become something of a celebrity with visitors and residents. Clare said: “We always see people glancing up wondering whether it is a real life hawk. “It is quite a novelty around here. We have heard a few people getting into their cars talking about it. We find it hilarious.” After the breeding season in April and May, each pair of seagulls can lay up to 20 eggs. They become naturally aggressive to defend their young. Newsagent owner Anoop Bedi, who works nearby, said there had been a problem with seagulls and the mess they create for many years around the Tyne Bridge. He said: “People always stop and stare at the hawk. He is definitely an attraction in the area. I think visitors to the quayside think he is real. But after five minutes they usually realise it is fake. “I know they are protected birds but the mess they make is disgusting.”

Police are called after Bradshaw window cleaner sees mass of flies in house: A pensioner lived in the same house as his dead sister for four months. The 66-year-old man went about his daily business as his sister’s corpse lay in a bed upstairs. Police were called to the semi-detached house in Danesbury Road, Bradshaw, on Thursday morning after a window cleaner noticed an infestation of flies in an upstairs bedroom. The man let the police in and they discovered the body of a woman in a badly decomposed state in bed in a room upstairs. Police think the woman died some time in March and has been in the house ever since. The man — who is the dead woman’s brother — is believed to have a mental illness and was in the care of his sister before she died. He has been spoken to by detectives. It is believed he simply could not come to terms with the death of his sister. The man is now in the care of Bolton Social Services.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “Police attended following a concern for welfare report. “Officers went into the house and found the body of a woman in her 60s in bed. Inquiries are ongoing.” A post mortem examination was due to take place last night but initial inquiries suggest there are no suspicious circumstances. Neighbours in Danesbury Road expressed shock yesterday.
One woman who spoke to the window cleaner — known only to her as Steve — said he told her he had been cleaning the windows at the house two weeks ago when he noticed the flies. On that occasion he thought nothing of it and carried on with his work. But when he went back to the house on Thursday, he told her he could not see through the bedroom window because of flies and noticed a stench coming from the house. He spoke to another resident and they raised the alarm. Another neighbour, who has been living in the street for 50 years, said the sister gave up her job some years ago to come back and look after her brother and that the house had previously belonged to their parents. “They kept themselves to themselves and were very quiet. It’s awful,” she added.

Home Office sends man 300 miles to change toilet seat: Heard the one about the handyman who was paid £500 of taxpayers' money for driving 300 miles just to change a loo seat? It would be funny... except it happens all the time. The problem is that probation service staff are banned from ordering repairs locally. Instead maintenance men routinely drive hundreds of miles because the Home Office contracts work to a firm which has regional "hubs". That's why the plumber went from Birmingham to Norwich and back to replace the loo seat. And why an electrician drove 200 miles from Newmarket to Birmingham to mend a switch at a cost of at least £250. Window cleaners are also criss-crossing the country, staying overnight in hotels.

Chicago's iconic Sears Tower now the Big Willie? Sears Tower -- the tallest building in the United States -- now go by the Big Willie? Why not, says the head of the British insurance group which was granted naming rights to the building on Thursday. "People should have fun," said Joe Plumeri, chief executive officer of Willis Group Holdings. "This is a town of neighbors, a town of ethnicities, a town of nicknames," said Plumeri, who said embarrassing monikers were a sign of affection in the New Jersey town where he grew up. "They can call it the Big Willie as far as I'm concerned," he told AFP. The official name - the Willis Tower - has not proven popular with residents of the Windy City since the name change was announced in March. An online petition protesting the change has garnered more than 36,000 signatures and a Chicago Tribune columnist bemoaned "would New York let this happen to the Empire State and Chrysler buildings?"
Willis won the naming rights after negotiating to lease several floors of the 110-story black tower which dominates the city's skyline. The naming right has been up for grabs for years after retailer Sears, Roebuck and Co. moved out in 1993. First opened in 1973, the Sears Tower held the record for the world's tallest building for 25 years until the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were built in 1998.
The new name caps off a series of significant changes. A series of glass bays that extend out from the building were added to the Skydeck -- a major tourist attraction -- offering visitors an unobstructed view of the city some 1,353 feet (412 meters) down. Dubbed the "Ledge," the bays reach out 4.3 feet (1.3 meters) from the 103th floor and are retractable so as not to interfere with the window washing equipment. The building management has also recently announced a 350 million dollar sustainability plan to increase the building's energy efficiency and build and eco-friendly luxury hotel.

Matthew Stanton hopes his window cleaning and lawn maintenance business will earn $25,000 in profit this summer. The Katimavik man used his $1,500 grant from the Summer Company program to buy a ladder, a lawn mower, uniforms and advertising for his business, Student Window Cleaning and Lawn Maintenance. Stanton, a business major who is headed into his fourth year at Trent University, said he will use this summer’s profit to pay for next year’s tuition and living expenses. Three per cent of all profits from the business will go to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, he said, where he has volunteered his time as a fundraiser for the past three years. Stanton has some simple advice for prospective student entrepreneurs.
“Do enough research to know what you’re getting into,” he said. “Try to go through your personal lifestyle to make sure it’s what you want to do.” Running your own business is time consuming, Stanton said. “There’s lots of little details that you wouldn’t think of – such as customer service and organizing schedules,” he said. Stanton has been working a steady 50 hours-plus a week this summer, but said he loves his job. “I’m doing very well actually, it’s still extraordinarily busy,” said Stanton. “I plan to do it next summer.”
Entrepreneurs like Stanton, are developing business skills that will last them a lifetime, said Stephen Daze, executive director of entrepreneurship and innovation at OCRI. “Whether these students choose to keep their businesses going or pick it up again after finishing school, we are confident that their experience this summer will give them a solid base from which to launch their next big idea.”