August 2015 - Page 3 of 4

18Aug

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Local

NYC Welcomes New Rooftop Oasis

According to a recent report from CBS News, the Jacob Javits Center in New York City has installed a rooftop green oasis the size of nearly five football fields. The 17-story building, which was once one of the leading causes of bird deaths in NYC due to its windows, is now home to one of the largest rooftop sanctuaries in the city -- and bird deaths are down nearly 90%. By replacing the blacktop roof, which would absorb 85-95% of the heat and energy from the sun, with a roof made of soil, grass and shrubs, the building has saved 25% on heating and cooling costs. Susan Elbin, head of the New York City Audubon Society, said, "When I am walking around up here, like right now even, I have a hard time believing I am on a roof in New York City. I feel like I am in a meadow somewhere." Javits...

Even Some One-Percenters Have Trouble Affording Elite Private School Educations for Their Kids

18Aug

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Lifestyle

Even Some One-Percenters Have Trouble Affording Elite Private School Educations for Their Kids

Although 20% of children live in poverty throughout the United States, there's a new group that's beginning to feel left out of the private education sector: the "mildly rich." The Los Angeles Times reported on some of the most opulent upgrades to L.A.'s private schools, including a $100 million expansion at the Archer School for Girls. The school, located in Brentwood, has battled for four years with neighbors because it needs area residents to move out to complete the construction. Meanwhile, schools like the Buckley School and the Marlborough School have state-of-the-art facilities -- including high-tech academic buildings, Olympic-sized pools, and rooftop athletic fields -- planned for the near future. All of this is in a bid to keep parents, who are shelling out $38,000 per year or...

Buffalo, NY’s School-Bus-Sized Snow Piles Finally Melt

17Aug

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Local

Buffalo, NY’s School-Bus-Sized Snow Piles Finally Melt

A full eight months after last year's infamous "Snowvember" storm, snow still remains in Buffalo, NY -- in the form of two massive snow piles. The 10-foot piles, located in an abandoned lot near Central Terminal, don't really look like snow anymore; nearly one foot of soil covers the piles due to the long, slow melting process, which has actually insulated the snow even more. The only evidence of melting snow is the swampy soil that surrounds the piles. "It's not unprecedented, but it is weird when you think about it," said WGRZ Meteorologist Patrick Hammer. Last November, a freak lake-effect snow storm dropped seven feet of snow onto the Buffalo area. Snow removal crews had nowhere else to put all this snow, so the lot at Central Terminal became the dumping ground for 10,000 to 11,000 ...

Could Your Air Conditioner Be Making You Sick?

14Aug

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Lifestyle

Could Your Air Conditioner Be Making You Sick?

Many can't imagine life without air conditioning during the hot summer months. But what if the very thing that's keeping you cool is also making you sick? This question is not a new one. In fact, people have been questioning air conditioned air quality since it became popular in the United States, in the years following World War II. For many people, air conditioning is not just a luxury -- it's actually life saving, as it helps mitigate the effects of chronic ailments such as allergies, asthma, and bronchitis by filtering out pollen, pollutants, and other irritants from the air. Many forget that air conditioning isn't just a cooling system; rather, air conditions literally condition the air, acting as a means of filtration. Not only do air conditioners remove pollutants from the air, b...

Colored Fun Run or Potential Powder Keg?

13Aug

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Sport

Colored Fun Run or Potential Powder Keg?

You may not think combustible dust is something to worry about, but it's more prevalent a cause for concern than you might suspect. Between 2009 and 2013, 57 combustible dust incidents caused 26 people to die, and another 129 to be injured. Now, after a fireball engulfed a crowd of patrons in Taiwan, authorities in the U.S. are issuing warnings about powders used in Color Run events. The incident in Taiwan, which injured and burned hundreds of people, was caused by the ignition of colored powders that were sprayed over the crowd. "That was corn starch, which is a combustible powder, an organic powder," said Wichita Fire Department Fire Prevention's Chief Stuart Bevis. "It'd be just like flour or something like that." If the powder is made out of something combustible, and there's ...

High-Tech Plumbing Comes to Small-Town America

12Aug

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Local

High-Tech Plumbing Comes to Small-Town America

People don’t tend to think of plumbing repairs as being particularly high-tech. But the use of “trenchless” sewer and pipe rehabilitation is slowly starting to revolutionize the plumbing industry. In the beginning of August, that paid off for the town of Adrian, MI, where a trenchless repair of a stormwater sewer averted what could have been an emergency in the small city, located about an hour outside of Ann Arbor. “We had a collapse on this line just over a month ago and found this concrete pipe to have significant deterioration,” City Administrator Shane Horn told the Adrian City Commission Aug. 3, highlighting the need for an immediate solution. To fix the line, a special liner was inserted into about 1,000-foot length of the pipe, which runs beneath Michigan Avenue. The pipe thickn...

U.S. Teens Start School Too Early, and Need to Get More Sleep

12Aug

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Lifestyle

U.S. Teens Start School Too Early, and Need to Get More Sleep

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that most U.S. teenagers start school too early, which prevents them from getting the sleep they need to be able to properly concentrate and stay healthy. "Getting enough sleep is important for students' health, safety, and academic performance," lead author Anne Wheaton said. "Early school start times, however, are preventing many adolescents from getting the sleep they need." Adolescents are biologically programmed to stay asleep longer than adults, according to research from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). They may also suffer from sleep problems, further preventing them from getting the rest they need to do well. For example, obstructive sleep apnea can cause sufferers to stop breathing while th...

America Seems to Be Divorcing the Idea of Las Vegas Weddings

12Aug

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Lifestyle

America Seems to Be Divorcing the Idea of Las Vegas Weddings

According to surveys, approximately 40% of couples about to tie the knot report that their choice of wedding venue should reflect their personality. Apparently, couples haven't been feeling particularly spontaneous lately. A recent article in the Washington Post reports that Las Vegas weddings have seen a major plummet in the last 10 years, from 128,000 in 2004 to just 81,000 in 2014. Las Vegas, the Nevada city famous for its gambling, its endless buffets, and its popular tagline "what happens here, stays here," was once one of the top destinations for couples to tie the knot. The craze can be attributed to the late great Elvis Presley. In 1967, the King of Rock and Roll wed Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel. The whole affair took no longer than eight minutes; it was so low-key t...

Say Goodbye to Newsfeed Clutter With Facebook’s New Application Tool

11Aug

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Business

Say Goodbye to Newsfeed Clutter With Facebook’s New Application Tool

When it comes to clutter, 80% of people think that it stops productivity right in its tracks --but what about clutter on your social networking sites? Anyone with a Facebook account knows how this story goes: You're scrolling down your newsfeed, looking for updates from friends and family, and suddenly you see a photo of a baby. You look to see which "friend" posted it and realize it's that girl you went to camp with for one week back when you were 12. Sure, it's cute, but you don't know this kid. It's downright irrelevant, and quite frankly, cluttering your Facebook newsfeed. According to the Journal Gazette there is, apparently, a reason to Facebook's seemingly senseless newsfeed rhyme; the social networking giant employs a software that compiles information based on a range of infor...

The Jewel Thief That Almost Cost JC Penney a Pretty Penny

9Aug

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Business

The Jewel Thief That Almost Cost JC Penney a Pretty Penny

They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend. But what about $160,000 worth of stolen jewelry? On July 13th, Marie Anne Khanh Hodang, a JC Penney employee, was caught with $160,382 worth of jewelry from the store located in Jackson, Florida. Hodang stole the jewelry from the Avenue Mall department store over the period of a month, strategically paying for some items in-between with her employee discount. According to First Coast News, Jackson County Police Department was contacted after the store's loss prevention officer calculated that over $100,000 worth of merchandise had gone missing over the past month. Upon this realization, the store manager was alerted and kept an eyeful watch on his employees. The manager checked the security camera tapes and saw Hodang leaving the JC Penn...