Lifestyle

A small city in Illinois, enacted a city ordinance designed to help landlords deal with problem tenants. Called the Crime Free Housing Ordinance, which passed Monday, July 15, 2014, gives landlords the ability to evict residents who have committed crimes on their rental property. However, the ordinance also gives the city the ability to discipline landlords who are seen as remiss in preventing crime on their properties. According to the new ordinance, landlords in the city of Pekin, Illinois are now required to attend a four-hour seminar to learn about the new ordinance, as well as receive tips on screening potential tenants, additional information on landlord-tenant laws in the state of Illinois, and other pertinent details. Following the seminar, each landlord must attach a copy of th...

Whats really bugging Detroit bus riders these days isn't the fact that the buses are old and beat, that they don't run on time, that the transit system is understaffed, but it is now the fact that they have to share their buses with other passengers -- bed bugs.These tiny bugs don't pay a single cent to ride the public buses in the city, but instead hitch free rides on unsuspecting victims via clothes, bags, and other accessories. Recently, the nation has been swept off its feet by an overwhelming amount of reported bed bug infestations, which are normally centered in urban areas because of a larger population size, apartment living, and increased access to get mobile. Detroit Councilwoman Brenda Jones was itching to address the situation during a recent meeting. She explained she had b...

Every couple wants their wedding pictures to be completely unique -- one of a kind -- with some even going so far as to have a Tyrannosaurus Rex photoshopped in. Now, Iowa-based Picture Perfect Portrait and Design has literally made the sky the limit for wedding photography by offering drone photography. The idea came to Dale Stierman, photographer and owner of Picture Perfect Portrait and Design when he saw drones being used for real estate. "I thought it was a great idea and just knew there was an angle for wedding photography," Stierman said to The Huffington Post. "There are endless possibilities for camera angles that no other photographer can get." However, it's not easy. Stierman says that he can't shoot an entire wedding with his drone, but he can use it for about 30 minut...

Forget smoothing forehead wrinkles, frown lines, and crow's feet, Botox is now a multi-purpose drug that is quickly helping patients with various health ailments. For Vivian Cooke, massage therapy, physical therapy, and aqua therapy just didn't make the cut when it came to solving her depression, yet Botox almost immediately relieved her of her symptoms. She receives an injection of the drug several times a year between her eyebrows. "This is an alternative for me that has proven to be, almost immediately, giving the result that I want, and that is to feel happier and not be depressed," Cooke said. From 2012 to 2013, the number of Botox procedures in the United States rose nearly 8%, mostly due to the fact that the procedure is relatively painless, has little to no side effects, a...

The New York Times reported recently that there's a significant increase in clothing donation bins being placed on city streetsacross the United States -- but the vast majority of those bins are actually illegal and not tied to charity. One New Yorker, Kyiesha Kelly, reported seeing employees of Narciso Recycling Company dump one of these bins onto a nearby sidewalk in front of a community late at night. When Kelly confronted the workers and told them to move the bin, they pretended to not understand her and left abruptly. It turns out that this was just one of thousands of these bins placed illegally and bearing a message that said, "Through Your Donations We Provide Money to Charities & Give Employees Occupation." But many of these companies, like Narciso Recycling, aren'...

A new study has found that saving up for your retirement may make you healthier in addition to wealthier. According to a July 13 USA Today article, the study, conducted by Lamar Pierce, an associate professor at Washington University, and doctoral candidate Timothy Gubler found that people who actively save money toward their retirement are also more likely to take care of themselves and their well-being. The reason behind this is a phenomena called time discounting, USA Today reports, which is an individual's affinity toward smaller, immediate rewards over long-term goals and desired results. Because people who allot money toward their retirement are the type of people to value long-term goals in the future, which means they are more likely to improve their health after receiving...

Although American Craft Beer Week ended last month (May), this doesn't mean craft breweries are off the radar until next year. Thanks to the outdoor industry, craft beer has found a new industry niche, and the feeling -- and taste -- is delightful. In May, Anchor Brewing Company announced that some of its proceeds from its California Lager will go to the National Parks Conservation Association as well as the California State Parks Foundation in an effort to promote environmental activism and protect the environment. The craft brew company also announced that it would expand its packaging from bottles to cans to improve outdoor versatility. According to Statista, the most popular outdoor activities in 2012 were hiking, biking, camping, and fishing -- and all of these recreational spor...

Bad news if you like rowdy beach parties: Officials in one town in the Hamptons, the area of New York state known for its mansions and cocktail parties, are looking to crack down on alcohol-fueled beach parties. Indian Wells Beach, once a family-friendly stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, is now being referred to by disgruntled residents as "Fratster Beach" for the past two summers after out-of-towners started holding spring break-style parties there. As a result, East Hampton lawmakers are close to passing a ban on alcohol at the beach. Residents and officials say that the worst offenders become publicly intoxicated, pulling such antics as stumbling drunkenly into the ocean, using sand dunes as toilets and exposing children and other beachgoers to "unseemly" acts. East Hampton is ...