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.

Fast Window Cleaning Techniques # 6 - The Carpal Tunnel Elevator

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Diabetes, Global Prices & Other Window Cleaning Revelations

John Batterbee, of Lakenham, who has lost 8 stone and been able to stop treatment for his type 2 diabetes.

Major diabetes study launched in Norwich: The £2.2m research study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), will screen 10,000 people in Norfolk who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and then prescribe dedicated lifestyle education on diet and exercise that could prevent hundreds of people developing the condition. Diabetes is one of the biggest public health challenges facing the country and, if successful, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and University of East Anglia study could lead to mass screening and intervention programmes and substantial savings for the NHS.

In England it is estimated 2.4m people have the condition. About 80pc of those with diabetes in England have type 2 diabetes. In Norfolk there are about 30,000 people with diabetes and about 2,500 are newly diagnosed each year. Type 2 diabetes is most commonly diagnosed in adults over the age of 40, although increasingly it is appearing in young people and young adults. Glucose builds up in the blood, as in people with type 1 diabetes, but symptoms appear more gradually and the diabetes may not be diagnosed for some years.

John Batterbee before he lost 8 stone.

Study participants will undergo a simple blood test to check the level of glucose in their blood. Higher than normal glucose (known as Impaired Fasting Glucose or IFG) could mean they are in a “pre-diabetes” phase and are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. A group of those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes will then be given help to improve diet and exercise levels in order to see if preventative changes to their lifestyle can help reduce the risk of them developing the condition.

The research has been welcomed by Lakenham man John Batterbee, who now no longer needs treatment for type 2 diabetes after he lost eight stone. The 38-year-old, who used to take eight tablets and two insulin injections a day for his diabetes, said: “I was signed off from the hospital last month because my diabetes has completely gone. “My blood pressure is now perfect and my sugar levels are perfect.” Mr Batterbee, who has his own window cleaning business, had been due to have a gastric bypass, when one of his customers suggested he join her Slimming World Group in Poringland. In 28 weeks he lost 5st 3lb and went from 20st 5lb to 15st 2lb. Now, nearly eight months later, he has reached his target of shedding eight stone in total and has found that his sleep apnoea has also gone.

Mr Batterbee, who lives in Huxley Close, said: “I believe that many people don’t realise how big they have got - I didn’t until I saw a photograph of myself and couldn’t believe that was how I looked. “You just don’t believe it’s your weight that is the problem. “For me it was my high blood pressure that really got me thinking about making a change because my doctor scared me by telling me how it was a silent killer. “The help and support I have had from the Slimming World Group and the doctors at the hospital has been unbelievable - I couldn’t have done it without them. “Some scare tatics along with some support would really help. 

If they could show you a chart and say you are going to get diabetes then perhaps people will make a change. “People need to be told the reality. I’m annoyed I let myself get to that stage. “I don’t think people realise how awkward being diabetic is - you have to watch what you eat and it really is a pain.” Mr Batterbee, who is married to Sharon and has an 11-year-old son and two adult stepsons, said: “I believe a little bit more education is the key to helping people.” If you or a friend has diabetes & you would like a cure - go here or here.

Families find ways to combat rising grocery prices: With a wife and two teenagers, Rafael Andrade says he is doing all he can to combat the rising prices of food and other grocery store commodities. Experts forecast a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in the months ahead due to a spike in the costs of grain and gasoline. So what is Andrade, who owns a window cleaning business, doing to make sure he, his family and his bank account don’t look like they’re beginning to starve?

The jump in prices has caused shoppers to scour grocery store ads, flock to the warehouse and thrift bakery stores and ranch markets and cut back altogether. “I’ve noticed that the prices have gone up,” said Andrade, as his family loaded up bags of groceries in front of the Fry’s at 825 W. University Drive in Mesa. “So, I look at the sales ads from all of the grocery stores. Fry’s, Bashas’, Safeway, Albertson’s. I used to be able to buy orange juice for 99 cents, now it’s $1.19. Fruits and vegetables are going up, too. We’re starting to go to Sprout’s or a Ranch Market because the produce is cheaper and it’s just as fresh. We go to Costco to buy soap and toilet paper. We’re using coupons, too.”

Andrade, who grocery shops with his family once a week, estimates they are saving $80 per week by scouring the ads to look for deals and using coupons. And, he still buys snacks — “if they’re on sale,” he said. According to the United Nations, global food prices hit a record high in February due to upward-spiraling gas prices and stockpiling by importers. These factors are hitting the already volatile cereal markets. Wheat, corn, sugar and edible oils have seen the sharpest price increases in the last six months, with a relatively smaller increase in rice. Produce has already skyrocketed, with prices expected to rise by roughly one-fourth to one-third in the next year. The rising costs of corn, wheat and other commodities, including gasoline, is causing increases in virtually everything we buy. Wheat is needed for loaves of bread while corn feeds cows, pigs and chickens for our meat. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices of fruits and vegetables already are up 3 percent, milk is up 10 percent and beef up 13 percent from a year ago.

Window washer looks forward to spring: Everyone looks up to Bing Mulder. That's because he spends a good deal his time at the top of a 24-foot ladder washing windows with a squeegee. The 54-year-old from St. Louis works for Sunshine Window Cleaning, and does windows for businesses throughout the metro-east. How did you get into the window washing business? "I was a welder till the recession in the '80s. There was no work. I looked around because I still had bills to pay. I started this in '84."

You wash windows all year long. Would you rather work at 0 degrees or 100? "I prefer the warm. At my age, these bones don't like the cold." It was a sunny 40 degrees on Friday morning, when Bing was working in a knit cap, flannel shirt jacket but no gloves. "We wash windows in ice and snow. Whatever it takes. At this time of year, oh yeah, I'm ready for spring." Did you wash windows Monday in the snow and rain? "Yes. Some customers have windows under awnings or overhangs."

Do you ever wash windows suspended from ropes on skyscrapers? "I used to. I was working at St. Louis Center. It was a calm day but the tall buildings catch the wind like a wind tunnel. Up there, a gentle breeze feels like 15-mph winds. All of a sudden, the wind lifted me up like a kite and slammed me into the wall. I never went back up. This ladder's high enough for me now."

Are you afraid of heights? "Heck, no. I go sky diving." Are you afraid of anything? "My wife (Barb)," he joked. Do most of the people walking on the sidewalk below you walk under the ladder or go around it? "Most people are OK walking under. You just have to make sure the person up above likes you," he said with a mischievous grin.

In praise of … window cleaners: The HMS Window Cleaner has been launched on the Calder to clean the panes of the Hepworth Gallery - Clarity and transparency are buzzwords nowadays, and honour for those who guarantee both in everyday life is overdue. Events last week at the Hepworth gallery, which opens in Wakefield in mid-May as a showcase for the Yorkshire sculptor and a new civic art gallery combined, provide an excuse. The riverside position of David Chipperfield's building means that land-based teams are not practicable: dangling from the multi-angled roofs would risk a dip. 

HMS Window Cleaner has thus been launched on the Calder, bobbing below the weir as her crew squeegee above. Their voyage is understandably a spectator sport, as window cleaning increasingly is, especially in cities. Cradles high on tower blocks are as awesome in their way as climbers on rock faces, from Yosemite's El Capitan to Kilnsey Crag. The teams on the wavy glass that encases the Guardian's own Kings Place building work like synchronised swimmers with their sweeping, soap-and-rinsing arcs. 

A modest new market for telescopic poles and other cunning gadgets has been created by houses whose basement areas, converted into separate flats, are no longer accessible for footing ladders. Arrangements on London's Shard are going to be well worth the wait. All this is welcome attention for a brave and skilled craft and also a satisfying complement to George Formby's twinky-twanky ukulele song. In his day it was what the window cleaner saw indoors that could be intriguing. Now the action outside promises just as much.

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Meet Two Very Different Window Cleaning Business Owners

Meet Michael Gaynor: The 2011 Australasian Safari looks to have more American participation and interest than in years past. One of the men putting his bike and body on the line for the seven-day rally race is Bass Lake, California’s Michael Gaynor. The 46-year-old is leading Team USA’s B-Team with a lifetime of motorcycle riding and BMX racing under his belt. Despite his considerable two-wheeled experience, Gaynor is relatively new to off-road racing. In 2008 he started competing in rally races with results that stretched from painful DNFs to overall victories. Next he took it to the desert and last year was his first full season of racing the Best in the Desert series as an ironman. The self-employed residential window cleaner has been using these events as preparation for his first Dakar Rally. But before he takes on the giant, Gaynor will try his hand at something that bridges the gap between a desert race and the world’s most grueling motorsports competition. This will be his first trip to the Aussie Safari held in Perth, Western Australia.

MotoUSA: So Michael, you have been tearing it up in some local desert races, but this Australasian Safari is a totally different beast. What made you want to take this thing on?

MG: That is exactly why I have been doing races like the Best in the Desert series - Parker 250, Vegas to Reno and Silver State 300, plus a few others. I have been preparing for this for the last five or six years with long-distance ironman desert racing, competing in single day stage rallies with RallyMoto, and on top of all that I am riding dirt bikes weekly here in the Sierra’s near Yosemite. Since I returned to riding this has been my goal - to compete and complete a multi-day marathon rally. Plus, I’m too old to start Supercross (laughs)!

MotoUSA: What do you plan on doing to prepare for the full seven days of racing? Is there something special or do you think it will just be all about time on the bike?

MG: On top of some big desert races and my usual 100+ mile weekly rides around our family’s cabin, I plan on some high altitude road and mountain biking along with my very aerobic job in my business of high rise and residential window cleaning. I also hope to do some navigation training during the summer as well.

MotoUSA: As captain of the USA's "B Team" what do you think you will have to offer or what do you see your role as being while you are Down Under?

MG: Being a small business owner I have found that personality, preparation and persistence is key in succeeding. At the same time, you also need to know how to navigate red tape, overcome personal conflicts and put people at ease in any situation. All of these things that I have had to deal with in my business life will also come into play in Australia in September, and hopefully preparation and persistence will pay off. Really if you really think about it, life is a giant rally.

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Meet Neal Zucker: You see the photos, too many to count. Beautifully framed photos line every horizontal surface; digital displays change faces every few minutes. This is the office of Neal Zucker, a 45-year-old businessman and philanthropist who has hundreds, if not thousands, of friends, and at first glance it seems the room might hold a picture of everyone he knows. Some of the faces are immediately recognizable: Michelle Obama, Richard and Maggie Daley, Desirée Rogers, Valerie Jarrett. And some of the pictures tell a story: a summer party at the 230-acre Wisconsin horse farm of the venture capitalists M. K. and J. B. Pritzker; a dinner at the Palm Springs winter home of Johnson Publishing’s chairwoman, Linda Johnson Rice; the British-style wedding of the Chicago printing heiress Shawn Donnelley to the English author Christopher Kelly. “I know, there are a lot of pictures,” Zucker says in his signature slightly overcaffeinated style. “But what can I do? People keep giving me photos.” And it just wouldn’t be friendly not to display them.

The room is homey, anyway, more like a man’s study or a parlor in a traditional English country house than an office. It is a tailored and tweedy place, where tattersall wool chesterfield sofas flank the big-screen TV, the leather is burnished, and the floor-to-ceiling drapes are tied back by golden ropes with oversize tassels. No shabby, all chic. This is where Zucker works as president and CEO of Corporate Cleaning Services, Chicago’s largest all-union window-washing company.

Zucker started the business in 1994, when he opened a small first-floor office on Elm Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Now the company commands the whole building, including the warehouse section in back. Trucks and crews venture out from there to wash the windows of some of the finest residential and commercial properties in the city: the John Hancock Center, the Willis Tower, the Four Seasons, the United Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, most of the condo buildings along Lake Shore Drive—1,200 buildings in all.

He built this business himself (along with a partner for the first ten years), although he does get support from his friends. And while the photographic images are stunning, all the details—and Zucker is totally about details - can be found on his Microsoft Outlook calendar. “I refused to give up my Filofax until about a year ago,” he says, moving to a large computer monitor. “I just didn’t think I wanted to go electronic, you know what I mean? But now I can keep track of everything.” When he says “everything,” he means it. A knife-thin man overflowing with energy, he brings up a color-coded screen of weeks, with every day action packed and coordinated down to the minute. It is the hyperannotated calendar of a dashing bachelor about town who has never been married, eats 21 meals a week at restaurants, attends almost every party, remembers everyone’s birthday (and mails a card), and always picks out the perfect hostess gift.

Left to right: Mayor Daley, Zucker, Desirée Rogers, and Marko Iglendza at Steppenwolf’s 2010 gala.

Zucker has become a go-to guy in Chicago’s social and business worlds, a highly praised entrepreneur as well as a sought-after dinner party guest or travel companion. He is best friends with a number of prominent women in town, including two who have spent a lot of time recently at the Obama White House. In the local philanthropic world, he is a quiet leader, particularly when it comes to mobilizing the talents and the wallets of the 40-something crowd. He has fashioned a life for himself that is almost a throwback to another time, a time when everyone had polished manners, dashed off handwritten notes on real stationery, and imbued the simplest acts of bonhomie with a certain elegance.

His own story is often lost in the klieg-light glow of those around him. But the answers to who he is and why he is so popular can be discovered. It helps that there are less than six degrees between Zucker and everyone else. The most popular words used to describe Zucker by those who know him are “loyal” and “discreet.” Often he is called “the best listener.” He also has an engaging way of talking, ending his sentences with the questions “right?” or “don’t you think?”—thus throwing the conversational ball back to someone else. “I can’t think of anyone in town who is better connected who isn’t an elected politician,” says Bill Zwecker.

He was on the prowl for an enterprise he could call his own. One day in the nineties, Zucker looked out of his high-rise apartment and thought, Wouldn’t this be much nicer if the windows were cleaned regularly? “From then on, everywhere I looked, I saw windows. I mean, every place has windows: hotels, hospitals, condo buildings.” With research, Zucker discovered that the window-washing business was complicated: It was dangerous; it needed a constant inflow of money for newer, safer equipment; and there was a workers’ union to deal with. Nonetheless, he approached his friend Elizabeth Alkon, whom he had first met in college, about starting the business. With backing from Alkon’s boyfriend at the time, the Lakeshore Entertainment producer Tom Rosenberg, Zucker and Alkon created Corporate Cleaning Services in 1994. Rosenberg owned several condo buildings, so the two partners started with a small but ready-made customer base. They both had connections and organizational minds, and, slowly, they built a business. In 2004, when Alkon and Rosenberg - by then married - moved to Beverly Hills, Zucker bought out Alkon’s share. (The two remain friends.)

Since then, Zucker has concentrated on promoting the latest safety techniques for his crews while achieving a clockwork precision in the management of the business. “Basically, it’s a service business, and he gives very, very good service,” says one real-estate insider. If you want a dead bird off your 36th-floor windowsill or remedial caulking around your 15th-level window frame, Corporate Cleaning will do it. They put methanol in the water so they can clean windows even in winter; they are also the only Chicago window-cleaning company certified by the state for spider abatement. “You don’t want to hear the stories I know about monster spiders around some of these buildings,” Zucker says. His company once washed all 54 stories at Harbor Point Tower in one day, so residents could enjoy clear views of the Fourth of July fireworks.

He has turned down offers to expand the business into other areas. “I’d rather stick with what we know,” he says. Still, he has these thoughts running through his head: How can we grow? What can I do better? and—the big one—What’s the right thing to do? The questions race through his mind so frequently that they form a rhythm to his days and nights until, like yoga poses, they sync up with his breathing.

Window Cleaning Pictures & News

Jon Herseth, of J's Windows, uses a large squeegee to clean off the the glass doors of Rose Fashion Optical on a mild Wednesday morning in St. Louis Park. Credit Andy Blenkush. Cleaning windows used to be a full-time endeavor for Jon Herseth, owner of J's Windows. Now he does it only a few hours a week for a little fun money, Herseth said. On a warm Wednesday morning, he picked up a few of those hours.

Estrada at helm of Fish Window Cleaning franchise: El Monte - David Estrada wants to brighten your world - and when his Fish Window Cleaning crew arrives at your home or business, that's exactly what happens. Estrada opened his Fish Window Cleaning franchise last month in El Monte and he's already secured more than 20 customers. The business provides window cleaning services to commercial and residential customers in San Gabriel, El Monte, Monrovia, Rosemead, Temple City, Duarte, Baldwin Park, Azusa and Alhambra. "I launched the franchise in the beginning of February," Estrada said. "Right now we're doing all commercial. But we're going into residential areas in time for spring cleaning."

The business represents a radical departure for Estrada, who said he was ready for a change. He previously taught American and world history and worked as an assistant principal and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Phoenix, Southern California campus. "I just had to figure out what I was doing ... I had to take that leap of faith," he said. "I wanted to do something different and this is as different as you can get. I did a complete 180."

David Estrada, owner of Fish Window Cleaning, poses at his El Monte office. His business provides window cleaning services to commercial and residential customers throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

Before launching his business, Estrada completed four weeks of pre-training and an eight-day training program at the Fish Window headquarters in St. Louis. "It was very intense - and very comprehensive," the 52-year-old Temple City resident said. "I learned about the business, the marketing, branding, personnel ... everything you need to know. The history of Fish was presented to us and we learned that it's been very successful. So I just need to follow the plan."

And marketing? Estrada does it the old-fashioned way. "We go door-to-door, knocking up and down the boulevards," he said. "That's the only way to do it. I present my card and let people know what we're all about. Many businesses haven't had someone approach them for window cleaning. They may already be using someone, but we remind them that we'll show up and be there."

Tri-State Employment in El Monte is one of Estrada's customers. Johnette Aguilar, branch manager for that location, said Fish Window has been a pleasure to work with. "They have done a really good job," she said. "They come by every other week, they're always on time and they are pretty much perfectionists. He tries different liquids to get rid of the water stains and they've even come on their own time to redo it if they thought it didn't look right." The company offers interior and exterior window cleaning as well as cleaning of gutters, chandeliers, mirrors, ceiling fans, construction areas, skylights, screens and window sills. Fish Window Cleaning has 239 locations in the United States and is the largest window cleaning company in the country.

Moving up in the business world: Window washers clean the narrow windows on a high-rise office building Wednesday in Phoenix.

When opportunity knocks: A young Blenheim man has taken a job redundancy and turned it into an opportunity, starting his own business just two months later. Brook Millar, 24, had for three years been trying to get into the marine mechanic business after a move to Havelock. He was eventually lucky and landed a job, but just before last Christmas was let go. "It was pretty rough at the time," said the former Marlborough Boys' College student. "I tried looking for jobs but of course no-one wants to employ anyone over Christmas." He toyed with a few ideas, including pursuing his passion for mechanics, in which he is self taught. However, he soon decided to use his experience in a business he had worked in for three years from the age of 16.

"I worked in forestry and tree-felling and I had a few tools so I decided to start my own property maintenance business," said Brook. "Now I do lawn-mowing, tree-trimming, tree-felling, water-blasting, gutter cleaning, window cleaning – whatever anybody wants done." "I can do lawnmower repairs and I can use my metal detector to find things for people like lost rings in gardens," he said. "I've already found two rings in Nelson." Getting started wasn't cheap and Brook was forced to sell his pride and joy – a Mazda RX7 – in order to raise money to buy the tools he needed to get his business off the ground. "I had it for about four years. I built it from the ground up," he said. "I just had to sell it to get some money behind me."

Brook operates under the name Havelock Property Maintenance, but stresses that he works much farther afield.  "I go from Havelock down the Kenepuru Sounds, Picton, Blenheim. I jumped into it without knowing and took a big risk, but it's going really well. The community have been really supportive. I always wanted to run my own business. I had enough of working for people who can let you go, so I'm doing it."

A window washer lowers himself from a high-rise office builbing on a sunny day in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke).

3. Canvasing. This is a common practice among groups and Greek organizations in college. Build a guerrilla PR team and start canvasing, helping to market yourself both online and offline. This could be in the form of offering free window washing services in the downtown area for executives or flash mobs at public areas, or events if you are a creative. Online your PR team can promote you by recommending you on LinkedIn, commenting and promoting your blog, and singing your praises. Divide and conquer is an great strategy that will provide fantastic results in half the time.

Siding and windows: Use a power washer and start at the highest point to avoid washing dirt down onto clean areas. Pressure washers also make window cleaning easier. But be careful using them on wooden areas such as decks and window frames. The force of the spray often damages the surface of porous materials like wood. Screens and filters: The best way to clean window screens is to lay them flat on a cloth or soft surface outdoors to keep the frames from getting scratched. Then, hose them down and scrub gently with an all-purpose cleaner. Finally, rinse the screens again and tap off any excess water.

Skelmersdale band Element all set to release their second album: Adam is a graphic designer, Alex works in a paint shop, Andy works for a telecommunications company and Rob is a window cleaner. And the group, who have supported the likes of Diamond Head, Panic Cell, Evile, and underground signed acts such as Strain, RSJ, I-Remain and Speed Theory are now hoping they will soon be able to rely on their music as their main source of income. Having released their first album by themselves, they now feel ready to work with a label.

Three years ago, a window washer survived a 47-story fall in Manhattan. Schaberger fell 9 feet and was pronounced dead on arrival at Lutheran Medical Center. Doctors said he had suffered a broken neck. They added that relatively short tumbles can be deadly because you do not have time to break your fall. Villanueva exploded into a blind fury as the police sought to handcuff him. The sudden, unreasoning violence of the moment proved anew that a domestic violence call, like a bomb disposal call is never really routine. Witnesses say that Villanueva pushed Police Officer Alain Schaberger with both hands. Schaberger went over the 21-inch railing and pitched from the low stone stoop into an exterior stairwell that is as narrow as a grave. In the late morning, cops hung the black and purple bunting over the Gold St. stationhouse to signal that the 84th Precinct was in mourning.

Manila, Philippines - Just a thought: Undertake something that is difficult. It will do you good. Unless you try something beyond what you have mastered, you will never grow. The jobs you'll hate: Excavating then siphoning wastes is the most detestable of all jobs but most challenging is being a window cleaner for a day. Comedian turned reality TV host Pekto (real name Mike Nacua), a marine engineer by educational training, adds that paddling a boat (bangkero) in Pangasinan is, by far, the most physically tiring of all professions. Pekto says so with the first hand knowledge and experience of someone who has seen it all – been there, done that. Barral, a harmless-looking woman, insists on pushing her two hosts to conquer their fears. Aware that both Carmina and Pekto are fearful of heights, she sent them on an errand recently to play window cleaners in one episode. Pekto managed to climb up to the 10th floor of the GMA Building along EDSA to wipe its windows clean. Carmina settled for the third floor only. Both hosts came down to earth with horror stories about hanging in there and almost throwing up on the great EDSA while crying their hearts out.

Miraculous tales of survival filled the 13th day of the inquest into the west Cumbrian shootings yesterday. As the net closed in on killer taxi driver Derrick Bird, he tore through the Eskdale Valley, shooting indiscriminately at walkers and bystanders. He shot and injured three people en route with rifle blasts to the face, the inquest heard, and shot at but missed many more. Those who were injured – Jacqueline Lewis (pictured), Fiona Moretta and Nathan Jones – told the hearing that they were recovering well since the traumatic events of June 2. Yesterday’s evidence picked up with Bird, 52, travelling out of Seascale, where he had shot dead three people and injured another, and into Drigg. On Old Shore Road, he shot 70-year-old Jacqueline Lewis once in the face and left her for dead in a grassy verge at the side of the road. She still has part of the .22 bullet lodged in her brain, the inquest heard. “I have no recollection of it whatsoever,” said Mrs Lewis, who was walking into Drigg to visit her daughter and run some errands when she was hit. “I woke up, flat on my face, on the ground. I did not know I had been shot until a week later when I woke up in Newcastle Hospital.” Two passing window cleaners, David Crowe and Carl Walnsley, spotted Mrs Lewis injured at the roadside and attended to her until the emergency services arrived.

Here is a sample of the stories I have been told in my quake-stricken home city of Christchurch: A friend gave mouth-to-mouth to a fallen man, through blood and bone and crushed teeth. The man died. Another, racing down the hill in his car to get to his young son at school, being blocked by rockfall, getting on a bike, arriving marginally further, ditching the bike, running, rounding the corner, seeing the collapsed cliff that had buried the back half of the school. The son is alive. A third, trapped on the first floor of a building with 25 students, being rescued by a nameless window cleaner who smashed the window and accompanied every person down his ladder, guiding their every step until everyone came out safe.

SIOUX CITY – Travis Netten, a college senior who loves listening to country singer Jason Aldean and hanging out with his friends, may not look like an entrepreneur. But the Northwestern College business administration major is ready to take on the corporate world, one paint stroke at a time. Netten is a franchise manager for College Pro Painters, a company that gives college students a chance to pay for their schooling by running their own painting and window-cleaning business. Operating in 28 states and seven Canadian provinces, College Pro encourages its franchise managers to hire other local college students as house painters and window contractors as a way to help with their schooling. “College Pro is giving me a terrific opportunity to succeed at run my own business. I look forward to passing along that opportunity to the next young entrepreneur.”

Intruder bitten by elderly woman in south Manchester: A 70-year-old woman has fought off two intruders who attacked her in her south Manchester home. The woman bit the arm of one of the men as they tried to remove bangles from her wrists after forcing their way into her home on Southlea Road, Withington. The men had posed as window cleaners and pushed through the victim's door when she refused them entry at about 1500 GMT on 3 March. They ran off empty-handed after the struggle. Both men are described as white and in their 20s. One had short hair and wore a blue T-shirt. The second was wearing a check-style shirt. Pc Andy Willetts said: "These men tried to prey on the vulnerability of an elderly woman but thankfully she wasn't hurt and they didn't take anything.  "I would urge residents to stop and think before they open a door and, if possible, look out of the window or spy hole to check whether you know the caller.

240 Twin Cities janitorial workers to lose jobs after ICE audit - ST. PAUL - Harvard Maintenance is the latest employer in the Twin Cities to fire workers amid scrutiny from immigration officials. The janitorial service is firing 240 undocumented workers who clean office buildings in the Twin Cities - about half its local work force - after Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a workplace audit, said Service Employees International Union Local 26, the union that represents the workers. The government audit found many of the company's workers lacked the documentation needed to work legally in the U.S.

The dismissals at Harvard, expected to take place in the next week or so. Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26, which represents some 5,000 Twin Cities janitors and window cleaners, said in a statement: "Our community is traumatized. "Almost systematically, the federal government has become an employment agency for the worst employers, pushing hardworking people into the underground economy where they face exploitation by bad-actor corporations."

Getting funny to raise money: The county turned into a sea of red yesterday as thousands of people got ‘Funny for Money’. From schools and playgroups to gyms, shops and dentists, everyone seemed to be doing their bit for this year’s Red Nose Day. And special mention goes to window cleaner Duncan Wileman, who had 36 piercings in his back to raise £100. The 29-year-old from Carterton said: “To be honest, it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. I was more painful when she was taking them out.” The piercings were made into the shape of a red nose and red cotton was threaded through them, in a two-hour process. Mr Wileman added: “A couple of people were watching in the shop, but turned away, saying I was a brave man. But it’s all been worth it.” See previous blog here.

Window cleaner Kevin Pearson, who in the past has completed a 24-hour ‘window cleanathon’ to raise funds for Haiti, will this year be strumming his way to a target of £1000 by busking in Wells High Street this Saturday. He can also be contacted on 07914 641643 for donations.

Window Washing Magician Makes Jewelry Disappear

Mark Tonelli, of the Magic Window Washing Co., a suspect in more thefts: A Washington Township man charged in a theft spree across three towns, including Haddonfield, is a suspect in two more heists here.

A woman who believes she may have been a victim of Mark Tonelli, of the Magic Window Washing Co., filed a complaint this month after reading a report about him on Haddonfield Patch, police said.

The woman, a resident in the 600 block of Edge Park Drive, said $2,100 in jewelry was missing from her home after Tonelli washed windows there on Nov. 19.  She filed a police report on March 7. The woman said the day after Tonelli was at her home, she noticed a pair of diamond earrings, a pendant and a gold chain were missing.  She said she didn’t immediately report Tonelli because she didn’t want to falsely accuse him.  She said she left Tonelli alone for a short time in her home that day.

The next day, on March 8, a resident in the 200 block of Summit Avenue reported a pair of gold earrings, with pearl and ruby inset, a pearl bracelet and an emerald and gold necklace and a ruby and gold necklace were missing from her home after Tonelli cleaned her windows on Oct. 19.  The report did not say why she decided to come forward now.

Tonelli, 48, of 109 Fomalhaut Ave. in the Sewell section of Washington Township, was arrested and charged last month with the theft of nearly $4,500 in jewelry from a Haddonfield residence in the unit block of Wedgewood Lane in November. He was linked to the stolen goods from a pawn shop receipt that included his driver’s license and photo ID.

Tonelli was listed in police reports as the owner of  Magic Window Cleaning Co.  The charges allege he stole jewelry from the Wedgewood Lane home on Nov. 25 while working there. The resident reported a gold bracelet, a diamond tennis bracelet and a diamond, heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain missing after Tonelli and two assistants cleaned the windows at her home.

Borough police said Tonelli’s arrest was the result of a joint investigation between Haddonfield, Harrison and Medford. He was charged with similar burglaries in all three towns.  Tonelli was remanded to Haddonfield municipal court, where a $7,500 full, cash bail was set and then sent to Camden County jail. It was not immediately reported if he was still there or when new charges might be filed.

Window washer steals from two more in borough: Two more theft victims of a window washing company out of Sewell filed reports with the Haddonfield Police Department, claiming that the owner of the company stole jewelry from their homes while washing windows. The owner of the company was charged with theft in late February after a Wedgewood Lane resident reported that after the suspect’s window washing service cleaned her windows, she noticed that she was missed $4,500 worth of jewelry.
Officers had a pawnshop receipt that matched the victim’s jewelry and the suspect’s photo identification. Harrison Township police officers arrested the suspect at his home, several warrants had been placed for his arrest out of Haddonfield and Harrison Township. On March 7, a S. Edge Park Drive resident reported to police at 4 p.m. that the suspect’s company was washing her windows on Nov. 19. After the work was finished she noticed that one pair of diamond earring, a diamond pendant, and a gold omega chain had been stolen from her home. She reported that the last time she saw the items was in August. The items were valued at a total of $2,100.
On March 8, a W. Summit resident reported to police and said the window washing company was at her home on Oct. 19. S She said that after the work was completed she noticed that two pairs of gold earrings, a pearl bracelet, an emerald and gold necklace, and a ruby and gold necklace were stolen. The value of the items was not reported.

Guess who after all these years? December 03, 1993 - A window washer who was trusted to roam unsupervised through two houses has been accused by police of cleaning out his customers, too. Mark L. Tonelli, 31, of the first block of Sunset Drive, Gloucester Township, has been charged with two counts of theft. Authorities said yesterday that Tonelli was accused of stealing a total of $18,800 in jewelry last month from two homes near the Ramblewood Country Club. They also said he worked for the Magic Window Cleaning Co.

"When you think about it, it's a perfect cover," said Saunder Weinstein, the director of public safety in Mount Laurel. Township police said authorities in another county had discovered that some of the jewelry had been sold to a local store. That, in turn, led to the suspect, they said. Tonelli was arrested while cleaning windows at a house in Cherry Hill on Wednesday and released after having posted 10 percent of $5,000 bail. Records show that Mark Tonelli and Albert Tonelli registered Magic Window Cleaning in 1990. The Tonellis are brothers, said a woman who identified herself as their mother in a telephone interview yesterday.

She and a man whom she identified as Albert both denied that Mark was a co- owner of the business and called him only an employee. Mark Tonelli was not available for comment. The police investigation started Nov. 4 after jewelry valued at $4,800 was reported stolen from a home in the 300 block of Saint Clair Court. A block away, in the 300 block of Saint David Drive, another home reported the loss of $14,000 worth of jewelry Nov. 20. The residents of both homes had used Magic Window Cleaning.

Weinstein said Mark Tonelli was arrested after someone at a jewelry store outside Burlington County identified him as the man who sold the store part of the missing jewelry, including a $3,000 diamond ring missing from the Saint David Drive home. Weinstein would not reveal where the store was, but he said police there came upon the jewelry while investigating other jewelry thefts. At the same jewelry store, they also found the entire booty of rings and other jewelry missing from the Saint Clair Court home. Some of the remaining jewelry "was disposed of in Philadelphia, probably on the street," Weinstein said.

He said the thief had in some cases removed precious stones from their settings so that he could sell them more easily. Weinstein said that catching the suspect resulted from "the luck that Tonelli took it to a store instead of passing it off on the streets of Philadelphia, which frequently happens." Weinstein told residents to "at minimum . . . seek references" when hiring help.