| Pitching in
On a recent afternoon, two kids played basketball at the eastern end of North Harford Park, off Hamlet Avenue. At the other end, on Laurelton Avenue, two school buses slowed a stop and a dozen kids poured out. They milled around a nearby apartment complex for a while, teasing and chasing each other. Sitting between the two scenes is a pair of vacant baseball fields - or what used to be baseball fields. Or, if Stephen Johnson and Shane Scott are successful in their mission, what will soon be baseball fields again. .
Suburban Joy
Only 55 km along the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, the desert stops and Al-Solaimaneyah begins. A broad, commercial high street penetrates the middle of the villa area, where all the action takes place. It is alive with restaurants, shops, entertainment centers, public utilities, gardens, and a 200-m promenade platform even as the area continues to grow. This charming upscale community is carefully designed to ensure the privacy of villa owners. The architectural style is unique, both modern yet reflective of the demands of most Egyptian families. Recreation comes in the form of golf facilities, large, outdoor jogging areas around a lagoon, and mega-chess game at the Swan Café, in addition to football, tennis, swimming and volleyball. A large area is allocated to a language school that includes a nursery, kindergarten, primary, preparatory andsecondary schools.
Beltline donors unfazed by ruling on financing
Major donors to Atlanta's Beltline initiative remain steadfast behind the project despite a negative ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court this week that will impact the financing for the development. The court ruled that school property taxes could not be included as part of the tax allocation district, or TAD. That means the project will receive about half of the revenues that were projected to come from the TAD. .
U.S. Hwy. 199 to receive two upgrades by fall 2008
GASQUET The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced Tuesday that two upgrade projects on U.S. Hwy. 199 are slated to be completed by fall 2008. Both projects were initiated by Caltrans for safety measures. The Hardscrabble Creek Bridge, also known as the Viggo "Vic" Meedom Memorial, was built in 1929. Caltrans is currently replacing the bridge before it becomes a safety hazard. The project started over the summer and will cost an estimated $3 million. "We're replacing it before it does wear out," said Julie East, spokesperson for Caltrans. "Bridges only last so long. We can stave off problems." The new bridge will be wider with 8-foot shoulders to better accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The contractor, American Civil Constructors, is using a technique known as the "jack and slide" method to replace the bridge.
On Movies: Austin fete braces for the Philadelphians
Yo, it's a Phillywood moment. In a couple of weeks, indie filmmakers from Philadelphia will be out in force - and out and about in Austin, Texas - at the 15th annual South by Southwest Film Festival. Running March 7 through 15 in front of the storied SXSW Music Festival, this year's screen program boasts hundreds of features and shorts, and more than a few prominent entries from the buzzing Philly scene. Anyone who has ambled around South Street, down the streets of Queen Village and the back alleys of Bella Vista, knows the work of Isaiah Zagar: His mosaics - mirror shards, broken china, clay figurines, wine bottles, tiles and bicycle wheels - adorn the exteriors of scores of houses and businesses, and his studio, on the 1000 block of South, has become a tourist destination. Jeremiah Zagar, Isaiah's son, has made a deeply personal documentary, In a Dream, about his father, his father's art, and his father's marriage to Julia Zagar.
Kevin Federline
Most of you probably are already aware of this, but just in case, Britney Spears visited with her children for the first time on Saturday since January 3. Kevin Federline wanted Britney to have some time with the kids. After two days of tense negotiations, lawyers for each side hashed out a deal. E! News reports: Aside from Spears and a court-appointed monitor, there were several other key personnel on hand, including: Britney's father, Jamie Spears; a Federline security guard; and a lawyer from the Luce Forward law firm, which is handling Britney's conservatorship for Jamie Spears.
According to an insider, the 26-year-old pop star was not permitted to take the boys, ages two and one, into another room without the others watching. Also present was a blind chimp with a bazooka.
Who Needs Nuclear?
For developers, a no' in a reasonable time frame can be better than a yes' over three or four years." The SNP government has promised to boost the proportion of Scotland's electricity demand met by renewable sources to 31% by 2011 and 50% by 2020. Around 20% of Scotland's electricity is currently generated by renewables. But the huge backlog of wind farm applications is jeopardising progress, with dozens of major projects waiting up to five years for approval. Altogether there are 74 schemes for which planning applications have been submitted, 64 for which applications are being prepared, and 15 that are under appeal. According to the latest data from the renewables industry, projects which have been rejected by a public local inquiry and then go to the Scottish government take an average of 45 months to win approval.
Strength training of neck muscles relieves chronic pain
Neck pain has been steadily increasing over the past two decades and is now second to back pain, the most common musculoskeletal disorder. Women are more likely than men to suffer from persistent neck pain, in particular those who engage in repetitive tasks such as working at a computer keyboard. Previous studies have shown conflicting results as to whether or not exercise can effectively treat neck pain, but there has not been enough high-quality research in this area to draw firm conclusions. A new study on women with neck pain published in the January issue of Arthritis Care & Research (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritiscare) found that specific strength training exercises led to significant prolonged relief of neck muscle pain, while general fitness training resulted in only a small amount of pain reduction.
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