Technicolor Window Cleaning - A Glass Act

Technicolor videos & groovy sounds from "A Glass Act" in Spokane, WA.


Highrise Window Ninja on South Tower One with David the veteran.


The best of the best on the Chronicle Building with Mark R, Mark M, Micheal, Johnny, and David.


Highrise window washer on death's corner with Mark doing a 21 story corner drop.


Professional Window cleaning in Spokane Valley: 28 windows, with 7 anodized lower panels also, in just five minutes eight seconds... high detail.

How To Recharge DI Resin

How to Recharge DI resin by David Sanders: Before starting, I would like to mention that some information available on the web would have you believe that a full body hazmat suit is needed to safely use the two chemicals necessary to recharge de-ionizing resin (DI). If common sense is used, you'll be safe. Most homes have had these chemicals to some extent in the cupboards below the sink. Acids like muriatic or hydrochloride are used to remove scale from showers and toilets. Lye has been used to clear drains and cut grease for years. Your grandparent may have used lye soap also. The muriatic acid is stronger than packaged bathroom cleaners. I did get small amounts on my skin and it felt like a mosquito bite. When I realized that it was not, I washed my hands and all was good. Some chlorine gas comes out of the bottle and when it is mixed, so don't sniff the bottle. I mention this because those without common sense should not attempt this project.

A little more than a year ago I was poking around on the web, I found a few companies that regenerated DI resin. I began to look for a way to do it myself. I ran across an article on reefs.org that explained what I was looking for. Although their finished result was the same as what we do, their canister had a drain. The drain allows the resin to be regenerated in the canisters. Most canisters on the market do not have this drain, so another solution was needed.

First gather up the products needed. The chemicals can be found at Lowe's and the tools at Wal-Mart. The lye is found at Lowe's in the pluming section. It is used for clearing drains and made by a company called Roebic, and is 100% sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), listed as lye on the back of the bottle. The muriatic acid is found in the paint department. The mixing bottles must hold 16 oz. of fluid. I now use an old lye bottle; it is sturdy and holds up to the heat. The two containers used to separate the resins came from Wal-Mart and hold 64 oz. each. I also needed a large colander, window sheer as a filter, a stir stick, 5 oz. measuring cup (large shot glass), two 32 oz. tumblers, and two 5 gallon buckets. When I first did this process I used a turkey baster and coffee filters. The turkey baster was used to separate the resin, and the coffee filters where used to filter the resin. I will show both processes. Obviously, you need a decent amount of used DI resin. During the recharging process, a little bit of resin will be lost, so it is best to have a few cartridges of resin saved up. Read the full process with pictures here.

Use these instructions at your own risk.   The chemicals used in this procedure are very dangerous and must be used with a great deal of caution.  It is recommended that you wear protective gloves and goggles when performing the following procedure.

• 12 ounce can of Red Devil Pure Lye (good for 2-3 recharges) ~$2
• One gallon Muriatic acid (good for about 20 recharges) ~$3
• Turkey baster
• Plastic container, 1/2 gallon or so... a deep bowl will work
• Plastic bottle - needs to be fairly tough.  Use one that holds atleast  12 fluid ounces, marked measurements are a bonus
• Measuring cup, 24 fluid ounce or larger
• Glass or plastic stirring rod
• About 5 gallons DI water (tap water will suffice) for rinsing resins
• 5 gallon bucket
• Activated filter carbon
• Rubber gloves/goggles, just in case

How to Clean DI Resin: Deionized resin, or DI resin, is an essential component in the deionization process. The resin is able to bind to and filter out mineral salts, including sodium and copper, thus cleaning water. The filtration process is used anywhere people require high-purity water, including laboratories and fish aquariums. With use, the DI resin will eventually become exhausted and dirty. However, you can recharge and clean your DI resin with chemical baths.

• Pour 11 oz. of reverse-osmosis deionized water into a 16 oz. glass bottle. Add 3 oz. of lye. Make sure to pour the water in the bottle first, before the lye, to avoid unwanted splashing of the chemical. Seal the bottle with its lid.
• Place the glass bottle holding the solution into a bucket of ice-cold water. Gently shake the glass bottle and its solution to ensure that the lye doesn't settle on the bottom. Mixing lye and water creates heat, so this step will ensure it's cool enough to work with. Leave the bottle in the ice water for 15 minutes.
• Put the dirty DI resin you wish to clean in a 64 oz. glass container. Pour the cooled lye solution into this container.
• Stir the resin and the lye solution together using a plastic or wooden stick. The lye should be evenly dispersed among the resin. Let the mixture sit for five minutes. The DI resins will separate, with the cleaned and charged resins floating to the top. The completely exhausted and dirty resin, which can no longer be used in this state, will sink to the bottom.
• Collect the cleaned and charged resin from the surface of the solution using a turkey baster.
• Put the cleaned resin into a coffee filter. Run RO/DI water over the resin to completely remove the lye solution. It is now ready for use. Store it in a secure glass container and put it aside.
• Separate the exhausted resin from the lye solution using a turkey baster. Place it in a coffee filter and thoroughly wash off any lye solution. Place the cleaned resin in a 64 oz. glass bottle.
• Mix 6 oz. of muriatic acid with 6 ounce of RO/DI water in a 16 oz. glass bottle.
• Pour the acid solution into the 64 oz. bottle holding the exhausted resin. Mix it with a stirring stick. Let the solution sit for one hour. The color of the DI resin should change to purple, meaning that it's recharged and clean.
• Collect the newly-cleaned DI resin from the bottle. Wash the resin with RO/DI water in a coffee filter to ensure you remove all of the acid solution. This resin is now clean and ready for use. Store it in a secure container until you're ready to use it.

Samsungs Smart Window: Part Window, Part Touch Screen

Samsung's Smart Window: Part-window, part-touch screen. Cue the Minority Report references. A “smart window” from Samsung took away the award for innovation at CES this year. What’s a smart window, and why do you need one right away?

There’s a bit of uncertainty around the term, it seems. When we introduced to you “smart windows” from Soladigm in August of 2010, we were referring to “tunable” windows that ran an electric current to adjust the amount of light that was let in. Here was a smart window like a smart meter, designed to save energy.

Samsung’s concept of a smart window is very different: basically, it would turn your window into something a lot more like an iPad. If windows and touchscreens had offspring, Samsung’s product would be it. The inevitable references to Minority Report abound.

The device is really a transparent touchscreen LCD that can be fitted to any window, so long as it’s no longer than some 46 inches. Resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, reportedly. During the day, illumination is provided from outside. At night, built-in lights kick in. A video from Samsung video gives a nice overview:

At first glance, the window, while cool, isn’t necessarily innovative: it just brings all the apps and widgets we’ve come to love to your window. But Samsung has included a few unique touches. My favorite is the “blinds” feature, where with the swipe of your finger, you can open and close virtual blinds that will actually blot out the light.

A video report from MobileNations says that mass production will begin “in the coming months.” Samsung has indicated an intention to put the thing out by the end of the year. No word on price yet.

Aren’t there privacy concerns, as windows become devices for browsing, tweeting, and watching TV? Samsung assures that your neighbors won’t be able to see what you’re doing; the glass works like a one-way mirror when viewed from the outside.

Here’s the main problem with Samsung’s “smart window” concept, though: touchscreens, as Steve Jobs said, “don’t want to be vertical”--holding your arm out to fiddle with them just plain doesn’t feel nice, as I addressed in a post earlier in the week. Does that mean the only suitable market for a Samsung smart window is a glass-bottom boat? Maybe the "smarter" windows are Soladigm's after all.

Fun With Interactive Back Seat Windows: When I was kid, back seat entertainment on long car rides consisted of this: watching rain drops drag race down the window and fogging up the glass with my breath so I could draw lightning bolts on it with my finger. We've come a long way since then. DVD players, video game consoles and LCD monitors embedded into the head rests are now considered the vanguard of automotive babysitting. Furrow-browed parents yelling, "Quiet down back there!" have all but evaporated into the past.

Now, GM is developing a way to kids looking out the window again. Or at least, at it. The automaker basically handed over the reins to some researchers and students from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to design applications that would run on back passenger seat windows. The "Windows of Opportunity" project (WOO takes advantage of electrically charged "smart glass" technology, which can reflect projected images but is still transparent.

The students produced a fully functional, full-scaled prototype on which they demoed their apps. Eye Click's motion and optical sensors equipped the window with multi-touch and gesture-sensing capabilities. Ironically, some of the ideas students came up with were quite similar to the pre-tech back seat window games of yore. For example, the Foofu app. It's essentially identical to fogging up the window with your breath and finger drawing, only with colored "condensation."

The Otto app also nods to an old favorite I remember achieving while holding a Superman action figure up to the window. The app features an animated character that is projected over passing scenery on the window, giving users the impression that the character is flying over the horizon as it responds in real time to the car's speed, weather and landscape.

Occupational Safety & Sleep

High-rise window cleaner Alan Chavez with his 11-month-old daughter Luanna.

Exhausted new fathers face greater safety risk at work: Alan Chavez usually thinks nothing of abseiling down a 30-storey building to clean the windows. But after his daughter Luanna was born 11 months ago, the ''rope access technician'' became a bit concerned.

The trouble was fatigue caused by too little sleep. After a broken night, he had to get up at 5am to go to work. ''It's potentially dangerous work but if you do things in a good way and concentrate you'll be fine,'' he said. ''That's pretty hard to do when you're really tired.'' A lot of fathers of infants are suffering fatigue, a new study shows, and it can have ramifications for workplace safety, especially for men who are doing physically demanding work or handling machinery.

The study's lead author, Gary Mellor, a senior lecturer in the school of health and human sciences at Southern Cross University, has called for employers to be more aware of and sympathetic to the fatigue experienced by men during early fatherhood and do what they can to help. ''This is secret men's business,'' he said. ''They usually keep it to themselves.'' Dr Mellor has also asked fathers to consider negotiating different ways of taking leave - a week or two taken straight after the birth is not necessarily the best option because fatigue worsens over time.

The study of 241 fathers was taken at two points during their babies' first three months and found the more fatigued they were, the less they complied with safety practices. Fathers who reported fatigue were 36 per cent more likely to have ''near misses'' at work. The vast majority experienced broken sleep when their babies were six weeks old. On average, they were woken two to three times a night and slept 5½ hours. 

At 12 weeks, the fathers managed a bit more sleep yet, paradoxically, were likely to feel worse. By then, three-quarters suffered from fatigue at least ''some of the time'' compared with 65 per cent at the six-week period. This is a dramatically higher rate than for the general population, where fatigue is a problem for 20 to 30 per cent of people, the study says. Dr Mellor said fatigue accumulated because the men were never able to recover. ''Fathers might benefit from using leave by working fewer days a week, having later start or earlier finish times, or long weekends,'' he said.

If mothers are rolling their eyes in mock sympathy at this tale, Dr Mellor reminds them the men in the study - not a randomised sample - were working, on average, 49 hours a week. This is more than the national average of 43 hours but indicative of the long work hours of fathers facing greater financial needs. A high proportion worked at physically demanding jobs, especially in trade construction and manufacturing. As for notorious short sleepers, such as Kevin Rudd or Margaret Thatcher, who ran a country on much less than six hours, Dr Mellor says they are helped by an entourage and can delegate.

The findings, part of a larger study, are published in the American Journal of Men's Health. Mr Chavez said the most difficult time was a few months after his daughter's birth, but he had not made any mistakes at work. ''I felt like going back home to bed but the bills come first,'' he said. ''I'm not the only one in the world to go through this.''

Window Cleaning News

GUILTY: John Flynn admitted working with no licence as a window cleaner in Aberdeen.

Drunk Aberdeen window cleaner worked without licence: An illegal window cleaner who was often drunk while working has been warned he could face jail. John Flynn worked as an unlicensed window cleaner in the Rosemount area of Aberdeen for more than 18 months before being caught. Police inquiries uncovered that he had frequently worked drunkenly and at least one customer was forced to ask him to leave due to his inebriated state. Flynn, 56, whose address was given in court papers as 12c Rosemount Place, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to working without a licence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, and will be sentenced next month.

A video has emerged which appears to show a ghostly-looking figure resembling Princess Diana in a stained glass window. The video was shot by Chinese tourists in Scotland and has been described by paranormal writer Michael Cohen - who was sent the video - as one of the "clearest" paranormal images he has come across. It is understood the footage was taken inside a church in Glasgow, which some who have seen the video say might be significant, as the Princess of Wales' mother spent a lot her life in Scotland, passing away there in 2004. The video-takers did not notice Diana when they took the footage but saw the image when they played their holiday video back when they got home. Michael Cohen said: "The footage is currently being examined by myself and other researchers to ascertain if it is a genuine ghost capture. It might be a bizarre optical illusion, but then again, it could be a ghost - possibly Princess Diana's. "Ghosts often appear in places connected to their lives and families. Ghosts might appear to warn individuals, groups and even entire nations of possible impending danger." The footage is being used in an upcoming TV series on Paranormal mysteries.

Mr. Tightwad’s money-saving tip: Ditch that expensive window cleaner - If you haven’t already discovered the magic of microfiber cloths, here’s another reason you should be using them. Instead of using that expensive window cleaner, dip a microfiber cloth in warm water, wring it out and wipe down your window. Then, take a second microfiber cloth (which needs to be dry) and wipe the window until it’s dry. You’ll have a sparkling clean window and best of all, those cloths can be used over and over again.

Where there’s muck, there’s money for Alan: A mucky job led to a new business for Alan Brown, who has set up a bin cleaning company. Alan, 49, of Whitecross Lane, Shanklin, was cleaning inside a wheelie bin at the Fighting Cocks pub, where he used to work, when landlords Phil Mew and Micala White said they would be prepared to pay someone to do it on a regular basis. Alan did some research and it led to him setting up his family business, The Island Wide Bin Cleaning Company. Alan, who will donate a percentage of the profits to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, said: "I got absolutely covered in muck cleaning that bin and I thought not many people would want to do that. "When Micala mentioned about paying someone, I thought why don’t I go for it."

Alan bought a purpose-built vehicle, which lifts the bin into a wash position before it is disinfected and deodorised with high-pressure washers inside the van. Four hundred litres of water are stored on the van and Alan has a special licence to dispose of it safely. Customers can have their bins cleaned on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or period basis, timed around the days their refuse is collected. One-off cleans are also available.

Alan, whose wife, Clare, 51, three sons, Oli, 23, Harry, 17, and Ryan, 17, are involved in the business, compared it to a window cleaning service. He said: "The job only takes a few minutes but we hope it is something people find really valuable to them." Ten pence for every domestic wheelie bin and 20p for a commercial bin cleaned will be donated to the hospice and Alan has set a £2,000 target for the first year.

Teenage job-creators make their own opportunity: That’s exactly the lesson to draw from the responses to my letter last week, after which dozens of people wrote in with stories of young Americans who are learning early that hard work pays off. I enjoyed your story about that young entrepreneur - that is what this country needs.  Plus a government that will help not hinder him as he tries to make this into a successful business and brand. It reminds me of my own story...I started with a window cleaning company at 16 and now I am 35 and we have grown into a multi-million dollar home improvement company serving SE Michigan.

This is Part I of our tribute to legends of Bay Area TV news. I grew up enjoying most of these broadcasters. Then, when I moved away for college and work, I learned how good we really had it. The worst news team in San Francisco was twice as good as the best in Los Angeles. I’m focusing on television anchors and reporters who worked 1990 or earlier. DENNIS RICHMOND (May 1987): I never thought I'd see Richmond anywhere except acting completely serious in the anchor chair. He's working as a high-rise window washer here during a KTVU 5-part sweeps month series called "Risky Business."

GLOUCESTER CITY — NEST International is cleaning up. Rob Almond (pictured) is the chief operating officer of NEST International, which is headquartered in Gloucester City. The company swept up $42 million in 2011 maintaining stores for such retailers as Target, Walgreens and Petco, a 25 percent hike over 2010 revenues. That translated to a $4,000 bonus for every one of NEST’s growing roster of full-time employees, who are encouraged to contribute ideas on ways to boost profits or cut costs. Part-timers got $2,000. “Employees are very careful about how we spend money when the bottom line impacts them personally,” says Rob Almond, vice president of operations. “They come to us with ideas that are wow.” In the past year, NEST doubled its payroll, growing from 59 full-timers to 128. The company added space at its Klemm Avenue headquarters for 25 employees who work the phones, calling retailers daily to keep track of windows that need washing, carpets due for shampooing, walls that would benefit from touch up.

Clementi says handing the headaches to NEST and their network of vetted vendors is more efficient. “Like most businesses, we are looking for ways to do more with less,” she says. “Managing up to 15 vendors for various maintenance duties takes a tremendous amount of time, so we benefit from having NEST do that for us.” Last year, NEST was ranked 2,593 on Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing companies. A second office opened in Florida. Employees in Texas and California work from home. At the local office, NEST has run out of room. Visitors try to schedule appointments during the lunch hour in order to get a spot in the parking lot. “We are looking for more space, either a second building or a bigger building where we can continue to grow,” D’Andrea says.

NEST’s expansion strategy includes enhanced accessibility. The call center is open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. seven days a week. Remote workers field calls during off hours. There is no phone tree. Each call is answered live. “We used to be available from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a guy with a laptop and a BlackBerry filling in after that,” Almond says. “It was not enough.” Bob Almond, Rob’s dad, and Phil Dwyer founded the business in 1994. The elder Almond and Dwyer now work out of the Florida office. Showing appreciation for workers has been part of the corporate culture from the start. At the root of the company’s prosperity is a willingness to get down to the nitty gritty. When floods damaged 15 stores at King of Prussia Mall in October 2010, NEST had cleanup crews on the ground within hours. The company forecasts another healthy boost in profits this year as more retailers address deferred maintenance. “We know that a clean store enhances the shopping experience,” D’Andrea says. “We are here to solve problems — and we are ready for the next opportunity.”

Conman told victim was easy target: A callous conman targeted a vulnerable pensioner after being told by another cruel scamster he was an “easy target”. David Morris (pictured) was snared by a neighbour after fleecing his victim of £35 by claiming he was owed the cash for cleaning his windows. Remarkably, Norris, 30, who has 31 convictions for 50 offences, walked free from court despite magistrates being tole he went to his victim’s home after being tole he was easy prey. Today the victim’s family have revealed that 67-year-old has been repeatedly targeted by conmen who have fleeced him out of thousands of pounds. In one such con, bogus builders persuaded him to hand over almost £2,000 to have a garden wall at his home in Seaton Carew repaired - but the work was never done. He was targeted so many times, his family had to install CCTV cameras in his home.

But after this latest scam his family are now looking to rehouse the pensioner in sheltered accommodation to protect him. Hartlepool Magistrates’s Court heard how Morris, of Ilkley Grove, Hartlepool, was cornered when he tried to target the pensioner on December 29 last year by a suspicious neighbour who contacted relatives. He was still being detained when the victim’s brother-in-law arrived - and brazenly tried to front out his scam by telling them he was owed £35 for five weeks worth of window cleaning. But police were called and he was arrested. Lynne Dalton, prosecuting, told the court: “in police interview Morris said ‘I was told if you go to this address and ask for money for cleaning windows he pays you’. She added: “He visited a friend who informed him that the victim was an easy target and you could get money out of without any bother.”

Mitigating, Neil Taylor said: “This is a fairly unhappy case all round - without a shadow of a doubt this gentleman has been targeted.” He said Morris had been “encouraged” to go to the address. Mr Taylor added: “It won’t come as a surprise, probably to the court but certainly to the police, that my client has gone round and done it at the behest or certainly of another the person.” He added there was no confrontation with the victim, the money was recovered and Morris had shown remorse. Recovering heroin addict Morris, who had a £10-a-day habit, amazingly walked free from court after admitting fraud.

Hartlepool magistrates sentenced him to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, with an 18-month community order and 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement after conceding his involvement was a single incident. Chairman of the magistrates’ bench Keith Kitching said: “This gentleman was targeted by yourself and, we begin to understand, by others, so much so that his family have had to install CCTV to his house. “He was targeted by yourself and he was a vulnerable victim.” Speaking after the hearing, one of the victim’s family slammed the sentence. He said; “This person is the lowest of the low. To target vulnerable people like this, he should have gone to prison. “He is 67-year-old, he lives on his own and he is vulnerable. He is very trusting and believes what people say to him. “He has obviously been seen as an easy touch by these people who have targeted him. “As a family, we cannot keep an eye on him 24/7, but we feel there is no other option but to get him into sheltered accommodation where he will be safer. “But to have to take his independence away from him is shocking, it really is.”

Tuition rebate excludes those who need it most: I am no longer eligible for student loans that lead to years and years of payments and deprivation - and I no longer want them. They are toxic to anyone starting out in life. However, those who make the rules bring about a promise to help and then discriminate against those who behold this glorious gift. I bet the households with a combined $160,000 income had presents under their tree. It sickens me that I make six times less than the criteria income and I am deemed ineligible for the tuition grant given to those who I consider wealthy. If anyone has extra work around their homes - painting, window washing - I will be trying to earn money for the rest of my schooling since the government thinks I already have enough to get by and pay our province's tuition fees.

Willmar, Minn., police requests to the council’s Labor Relations Committee: Also, the committee approved a request from Stevens to seek proposals from private companies to assist the current two custodians with cleaning the community center, the old wastewater treatment plant, new wastewater treatment plant, the Public Works garage, airport and fire department. The service is being requested after the council Dec. 19 defeated a motion to hire a third custodian to clean city buildings. Also, Stevens will seek requests from companies to clean carpets and floors from four times per year to once a year and requests for proposals to perform exterior window cleaning twice a year.

Smart Window pushes your home into the future: A new device at CES 2012 will really brighten some technophile homes. Samsung's "Smart Window" technology uses an OLED display and a touchscreen to turn a normal window into a computer.  The Smart Window can do anything a current tablet can do, all while seeing what's going on in the neighborhood. At night, special lights allow for the screen to be used despite the lack of natural backlighting. Another great function of the Smart Window is that it is on one-way glass, so neighbors won't be able to check out what you are watching.

I receive a lot of questions about foggy windows in the winter. Apparently, I'm not the only one. "We often get calls from homeowners who are concerned that their windows are 'sweating' or leaking either inside or outside the home because they see moisture on the glass," said Christopher Burk, technical product manager at Simonton Windows in Columbus, Ohio. That's simply not the case. "While condensation may collect on the interior or exterior of energy-efficient windows, the units are really doing their job by helping serve as a barrier in the home," Burk said. Windows don't cause condensation. They just prevent the moisture in the home from escaping to the outside. "If the inside glass surface on double- or triple-glazed windows show excessive moisture, you can be reasonably sure that the moisture is also collecting on your walls and ceilings," Burk said. "This means you should take steps to reduce the humidity level in your home by using exhaust fans and dehumidifiers." To help control the condensation in the home, experts at Simonton Windows recommend these tips:

♦ Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans.

♦ If you have a humidifier, set it to the correct outside temperature.

♦ If your home is overly humid, or if you have a damp basement, use a dehumidifier.

♦ Properly vent clothes dryers, gas appliances and stoves.

♦ Open a window in the bathroom.

♦ Make sure your attic, basement and crawl spaces are well-ventilated and free from obstructions.

♦ Store firewood outside. Even well-seasoned firewood generally has a 20 percent to 25 percent moisture content.

♦ Open curtains and blinds to allow more air circulation around your windows.

Burk also recommends knowing the difference between condensation on the glass and between the glass panes of the window.

"If you see moisture, fogging or cloudiness between the panes of glass in your window, this indicates that the seal of your window has failed and it's time to get a new window," Burk said.

Police have fined more Victorians (Australia) for pedestrian offences than they have nabbed for serious crimes such as stealing cars. More than 5800 fines worth $357,313 were issued to pedestrians by Victoria Police in the 2010/11 financial year.  They include Institute of Public Affairs review editor James Paterson, who slammed the police for fining jaywalkers, saying it was a waste of the authorities' resources and time. "I think this is crazy. As an individual if you cross when the little green man is not flashing you hold the responsibility and pay the cost," Mr Paterson said. "We should be deploying police to solve rapes and robberies, not to fine people for walking across a road. "This is a complete waste of police resources." The most common offence that resulted in a fine was failing to obey traffic lights and signs. Other charges included meandering on the road and walking on bike paths. 298 hitchhikers and window cleaners were fined worth $17,880.

SmarterShade proprietary smart glass technology is 50% more cost effective than current solutions and will disrupt the $5 billion market.   Its smart glass allows varying levels of light to enter through a window based on user controls. SmarterShade received the $100,000 Kleiner Perkins Clean Tech Prize at the 2011 Rice University Business Plan Competition.

Snowmass Village needs a chamber of commerce: Snowmass Village's challenges go beyond the mere commercial and into the heart of community. A true chamber of commerce could provide an energetic gathering place for many constituencies ranging from the new window-washing company to the school district. As a safe and informal idea exchange, consider the creative problem-solving potential of a chamber of commerce. Contrast the dynamic of a lively “business after hours” event with a public hearing.

Parents’ heartache after baby dies from meningitis: When one-week-old William would not feed and had trouble breathing, parents Amy Bevis and Richard Fraser instinctively knew something was wrong. The engaged couple from Sarisbury Green were distraught after William Fraser died at 19 days old from pneumococcal meningitis – an aggressive form of the brain bug. Richard, a window cleaner, said: “We want something good to come from his life and draw as many positives from it as we can.” Now Amy, 28, and Richard, 25, are backing Meningitis UK’s Trust Your Instincts campaign and will be fundraising in the Western Wards for the cause.

SACRAMENTO— A piece of glass has fallen from at least eight stories up at a building downtown Sacramento, smashing on the sidewalk and reminding employees of prior incidents. The decorative piece of glass fell Wednesday morning from the Board of Equalization Building along N & 5th Streets. It shattered on the sidewalk along 5th Street, at a location where employees tell FOX40 some usually take their smoke breaks. As FOX40's crew was at the building, another piece of glass fell to the ground, startling employees and other gawkers. No one was hurt, and drivers are being moved over a lane to allow crews to clean up the glass. This didn’t surprise many, who remember a streak of falling glass back in 2005 from the same building. Over the summer of 2005, there were repeated incidents of glass falling or becoming dangerously cracked at the 24-story Board of Equalization Building. At the time, forensic architects looked at the building and said the heatwave of that year created stress on the windows, causing them to break.

SALEM — Local small business owners and vendors were given a chance to meet and mingle with representatives for some of Salem County’s heavy-hitters in business during an event held here Wednesday. Bill Morgan, owner of Natural Windows, a window cleaning service based in Pedricktown, said any savvy business owner should jump at such an opportunity. “As a small business, who’d want to miss an opportunity to meet with Mannington or PSEG? It’s a place to jump start right into a larger customer base,” said Morgan. “It’s a terrific advantage for small business owners, and it’s also a good networking event to meet other small business owners. You never know what something like this might lead in to.”

High Rise Window Cleaner Stabbed & Murdered In San Francisco

The first San Francisco homicide victim of the year had just moved to the Bay Area hoping for a better life after being portrayed as the villain in a 2010 reality TV show about drug addiction. Joseph Minozzi, 30, who appeared in the tenth season of A&E’s “Intervention,” was found lying near the corner of Sixth and Stevenson streets just south of Market Street about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. He died about an hour later at the hospital, police said. Minozzi grappled with drug addiction. He had recently moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles and earned a job as a high-rise window washer. “He had a rough life, but he was a very good person,” said Tiffany Johnson, a receptionist at WWC Services Inc., the company that employed him for about two months. “He just wanted to do better and improve his life.”

The area where his body was found is plagued with violence, thefts, gang activity and drug dealing, and it has been targeted by The City for an economic overhaul. San Francisco police said Minozzi had been stabbed in the torso. No arrests have been made in the homicide case and cops are hoping witnesses will come forward with information, police Office Albie Esparza said. Minozzi’s struggles with drugs were displayed nationwide when he appeared on an episode of “Intervention.”

The episode focused on Minozzi’s 21-year-old former girlfriend Rachel Coccio, who lived as a junkie panhandler in New York. Minozzi was portrayed in the show as an abusive boyfriend and drug-addicted criminal who tried to talk Coccio out of entering rehab. After Coccio finally accepted rehab, Minozzi served five months in prison on an assault charge before also checking into a drug facility, according to the show.

Those who knew him in San Francisco described his character as “completely different” from how he appeared on the show, Johnson said. Attempts to reach Coccio before press time Tuesday were not successful. But a late Thursday post on Coccio’s Facebook page paid tribute to Minozzi: “i love you babyboy. always and forever. NO MATTER WHAT.”

Joseph Minozzi's body was found on the corner of Sixth and Stevenson Streets in San Francisco.

Window Cleaning Company Move To Dry Land

The offices of S&G Cleaning Services were submerged under 12 feet of flood water.

S&G Cleaning Services Makes New Home in Hillsborough: Flood-ravaged S&G Cleaning Services, forced to move out of Manville following the aftermath of Hurricane Irene back in August, has found a new home in Hillsborough. The business, owned and operated by Shirley Perlinsky and her husband, Gary, seems to be doing better than ever after a post-Irene transition that saw the business operate out of the couple’s Somerville home before moving into town in December.

“When we heard we were going to get hit hard by Irene, we just got our computers and took to my house in Somerville,” said Perlinsky. “I set up my office temporarily in there, and we took the cars out of Manville—most of them—so we could continue working the next day. On Monday, we were already servicing customers from my house.”

S&G Cleaning Services currently boasts a fleet of 18 workers and eight cars that travel anywhere from Short Hills to Frenchtown to provide carpet and window cleaning, post-construction and maid services to customers. In addition, the aftermath of Irene was useful in one way, as it helped the business add water damage restoration and mold remediation to its repertoire of services.

“We were basically forced to lean about water damage restoration after all the floods that we had in Manville to help ourselves and to help some other clients that need help with the damage,” said Perlinsky. “We are getting a certification on mold remediation, which is another thing that happens when you get dirty water in your house.” Besides giving us an opportunity to move to Hillsborough, one other good thing came with Irene, says Perlinsky. It inspired us to become certified in water damage cleanup

Clearly, the business has come a long way from the cleaning lady service begun by Perlinsky’s mother in 1987. Since buying the business in 2000, Perlinsky and her employees have become one of the most well-known and trusted cleaning services in the state. “We provide (our employees) with company cars, uniforms, insurance and everything that they need, all the supplies and everything, to clean people’s homes,” said Perlinsky. “They are all background checks. They’re family, too; we hired people that we really trust and have recommendations.”

Shirley Perlinsky, owner of S&G Cleaning Services. Perlinsky operated from her home for four months while awaiting assistance from FEMA.

In addition, all S&G Cleaning Services employees are trained in all aspects of the business with books and classes from the House Cleaning Association to ensure that they are knowledgeable about all aspects of their craft. “Even for window cleaning, I send people out to get trained,” said Perlinsky. “I care about the customers, and I care about their safety as well.”

Its own sense of community helps S&G Cleaning Services become involved in the surrounding community, as well. Perlinsky told Patch that the business has involved itself in many charitable causes, including local school fundraisers, Habitat for Humanity Fundraisers and Cleaning for a Reason, which offers free cleaning services to women affected by cancer. “(Community service) is a big deal for us; we love to do that,” said Perlinsky.

S&G Cleaning Services also offers discounts to seniors, while showing the courtesy and care that Perlinsky aims to continually establish as the calling card of her business. “We treat them like they are our grandfather and grandmother,” said Perlinsky. Due to all of these factors, Perlinsky hopes that S&G Cleaning Services is here to stay in Hillsborough. “It’s all about excitement,” said Perlinsky. “We should be able to work more professionally and more organized, and be able to serve the new demand that we have here.”