Month: December 2015

Amazon has evolved by leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings as an online bookstore, and it is now helping small business owners who create handcrafted items to reach more customers. According to local Florida news affiliate WFLA, Amazon's Handmade, an online marketplace for crafts and trinkets, is helping many entrepreneurs to gain national brand exposure. Laura Glover of Tampa Bay, FL is the owner of Burlap and Boards, a shop that turns discarded wood pallets into masterpieces. She chose to list her shop on Handmade because of Amazon's built-in following and high domain authority. "You have the brand power of Amazon and also the great searchability," said Glover. "It's all about getting your name out there, I have neighbors that don't even know I do this in my driveway." ...

End-of-life care is a controversial issue that pits the hopeful wishes of patients against the realities put forth by doctors. While most see this care as a natural right for everyone, The Lund Report of Oregon states that researchers at Stanford University have found evidence indicating that the quality of end-of-life care can hinge on several factors. These include the patient's financial means, ability to communicate with health providers, and even family conflicts, as opposed to simply ethnic disparities, as the researchers had originally assumed. Their findings came as a result of a study of 300 white, Asian and African-American seniors throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The group included 38 African-Americans, 160 Asian-Americans and 117 Caucasians. The study’s lead auth...

As critics continue to scrutinize the NFL for their timid response to a growing concussion problem, a chiropractor has invented a protective collar that aims to prevent neck injuries and head trauma in players of all ages. According to Fox News, Patrick Kerr, a practicing chiropractor, recently introduced the Kerr Collar, a lightweight device placed inside a player's shoulder pads that drastically reduces the impact from devastating hits. The Kerr Collar shortens the gap between a player's pads and helmet, which means that the force from hits is more evenly distributed. Kerr noted that the emphasis being placed on helmet quality is not enough, and focusing on the neck's role in concussions is an important step in addressing this widespread problem. "I wanted to create a system where the...

After a fatal shooting in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, the city has voted on a crucial issue that could change the way police handle dangerous situations. The shooting took place near Third Street and Paul Avenue around 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The suspect, a man in his 20s, was involved in an earlier stabbing near the area and had not responded to demands to drop his weapon. Before shooting the suspect, police had fired a standard bean bag gun several times, according to police Chief Greg Suhr. "This suspect had already shown by committing a felony aggravated assault that he was a danger to others, so he could not be allowed to move away from the scene," Suhr told CBS San Francisco reporters. A bystander caught the shooting on a cell phone camera and uploaded t...

A spa in Franklin, WI, and a spa in Mount Joy, PA, have been closed this week on prostitution charges. The incidents are unrelated but draw attention to those working with home massage kits masquerading as businesses. Franklin's Shuying Ding has been charged with a felony, according to court papers, for disguising prostitution with a spa. The charge comes after several of Ding's neighbors reported unusual traffic at her King Sunshine Spa, which is located near 27th Street and Rawson Avenue. “We never saw any women going in there. It was always middle-aged men,” said Jennie Dingman, who works next door. Those living and working around the spa decided to move forward with complaints to the police after finding ads proclaiming that the spa offered "sexy relaxation." Following thes...

In a heartwarming tale out of Trenton, NJ, a group of elementary school students are learning firsthand the importance of giving back to their community. Five years ago, a non-profit called Christine's Hope for Kids partnered with the Trenton Catholic Academy Lower School for the Pajama Day program. Since then, it's become one of the non-profit's most popular programs and spread to other New Jersey elementary schools. To raise money, the kids and their families pay a small fee to be able to wear their pajamas to school. Christine's Hope for Kids then matches the funds the students raise dollar-for-dollar. Those funds are then used to buy pajamas, teddy bears, books, toothbrushes, and other toiletries for local homeless children. "Pajamas are fun clothing for kids, especially when ...