Wednesday, May 15
Heavy Rains and Flooding Wreak Havoc on Unsuspecting Michigan Communities
Local

Heavy Rains and Flooding Wreak Havoc on Unsuspecting Michigan Communities

Clean up crews are working around the clock to clear debris from parts of Michigan that were devastated by recent heavy rains and flooding. In many neighborhoods, piles of water-damaged furniture, carpets and other house hold items that could not be salvaged line the streets. As trucks attempt to clear the tons of garbage left in front of homes, many reinforcements have been called in. The city of Warren has already spent $100,000 in overtime costs to deal with the damage left by the storm. Many basements experienced severe flood damage, with some that had water up to the ceiling. As a place that doesn't typically receive this kind of rain or flooding, many residents were not prepared for the amount of water that invaded their homes, and many are facing thousands of dollars in repair...
Closed Captioning of SEO Video Content Could Boost Views, Engagement
Business

Closed Captioning of SEO Video Content Could Boost Views, Engagement

Recent studies have discovered something surprising about the use of closed captioning for video content created for search engine optimization (SEO): it's surprisingly effective. According to a July 29 Business2Community article, adding closed captioning and transcripts to a video can increase "traffic, page views, search rank, and engagement." In a Discovery Digital Networks study that measured the impact of captioning on web videos, videos with closed captioning saw a 13.48% growth in views and a lifetime increase of views by 7.32%, according to Business2Community. In addition to causing an increase in the number of views a video gets, closed captioning can also help a video move up the ranks in search engine results faster, which is what every SEO strategy tries to attain. ...
Buses in Florida Lack Air Conditioning; Some Students Suffer Heat Stroke
Local

Buses in Florida Lack Air Conditioning; Some Students Suffer Heat Stroke

Education has often been a hot topic, whether it's in regard to the latest budget cuts, the newest testing requirements, or the confusing nature of the Common Core. One issue that is often under-addressed, though, is the problem of buses not having any air conditioning, especially in Southern states where temperatures can soar to head indexes above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In Lake County School District -- near Orlando, Florida -- several buses in the district still lack air conditioning. Now that school is starting back up, many students are stuck sitting for up to an hour in hot temperatures. According to the district's spokesman, Chris Patton, 47 out of 330 buses lack air conditioning in the district. The issue is that, while new buses have air conditioning, older ones don't -- and th...
California Considers Mandatory Drug Testing for Doctors
Business

California Considers Mandatory Drug Testing for Doctors

Job seekers and current employees alike are usually pretty familiar with random drug testing, and the majority of people have either had to take a random drug test for a job or expect to do so in the near future. Jobs that directly affect the health and safety of others -- and especially those jobs which have the potential to be very high-profile, such as police work and firefighting -- are nearly expected to mandate drug tests for employees. But one group of workers have remained untouched by random drug tests, despite being directly responsible for the health of others: doctors. But if the state of California has anything to say about it, this may change soon. This coming November, a mandate, called Proposition 46, requiring that all doctors be subject to random drug and alcohol tests...
California Lemon Grower Has Suggestion for Getting Through Drought
Business

California Lemon Grower Has Suggestion for Getting Through Drought

California is still caught in the grips of a severe drought that has everyone worried about what the future holds for residents, farms, and rivers alike. According to the latest released records, the state's reservoirs are still "dangerously low."The drought has caused a series of repercussions that there is no quick relief from anytime soon. Residents have been asked to drastically cut back on their water intake. Consequently, the sale of pools has fallen dramatically in a state often known for its excessive homes and gardens. Landscaping has had an impact, as many residents choose to stop watering their lawns every day. Almond farmers are battling local tribes, who rely on salmon in the Klamath River, for reservoir water.In San Diego, Bruce Henderson was worried about his lemon groves, w...
Think You’re a Diehard Fan? Seattle Seahawks Fan Gets Team Logo on Prosthetic Eye
Sport

Think You’re a Diehard Fan? Seattle Seahawks Fan Gets Team Logo on Prosthetic Eye

Bill VandenBush has been a diehard Seahawks fan ever since it was announced back in the '70s that Seattle was getting a football team. Little did he know that his wife would surprise him for their anniversary on July 23 with a gift that would allow him to show off just how much he loves his favorite team: a customized prosthetic eye. I had mentioned it to my wife," he says, "She wasn't a big Seahawks fan. I said it'd be cool to have Seahawks logo right there in my eye." VandenBush lost his right eye and vocal cords as the result of being caught in an explosion when he was trying to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter in Vietnam in 1969. Every six years he has to be fitted for a new prosthetic eye, and this year, following the Seahawks' Super Bowl championship run, his wife w...
After Buying a Pug Pup, UK Mom Sees Her Custom Dog Bandana Enterprise Grow
Business

After Buying a Pug Pup, UK Mom Sees Her Custom Dog Bandana Enterprise Grow

Louise Smith, a retail manager from Riverside in Tamworth, England, was looking for a fun accessory for her first dog almost two years ago. Despite an allergy to dogs, 26-year-old Smith, a mother to six-year-old Jake, ended up buying her pug George when she fell in love with his "character, charm and crazy personality." Yet when Smith went to find a fun accessory to fit her "baby's" personality, she and George were unhappy with the choice of doggie t-shirt. She decided that a simple bandana would do the trick instead, but she came up empty after trying to find a suitable one online. A few weeks later, however, Smith discovered a fabric stall in her local market and decided to try making her own doggie accessories. "I bought a few meters of different fabrics, dusted off my se...
Plastic Surgery Billboard Gets Taste of its Own Medicine When Vandals Give it a Makeover
Local

Plastic Surgery Billboard Gets Taste of its Own Medicine When Vandals Give it a Makeover

This month, a plastic surgeon may have learned to think twice about how he advertises his services after his billboard was vandalized in Jackson, Michigan.Earlier this summer, a billboard sign went up for Ann Arbor Plastic Surgery. The billboard showed two muffins wearing jeans and read, "Friends don't let friends muffin top" -- muffin top is a phrase describing when a person's belly overhangs their pants waistband.As it happened, though, many people in the local area took offense to the sign, which they saw as being critical of women's bodies and relying on shame to promote plastic surgery. As a result, someone spray-painted smiley faces onto the muffins, added a giant "X" over the slogan, and wrote "You're beautiful!" at the top. Dr. Pramit Malhorta, the clinic's director, reported be...
What China has that the United States Doesn’t
Business, World

What China has that the United States Doesn’t

It is 1980 and Shenzhen, a Chinese city less than an hour's drive north of Hong Kong, is an unpaved, rutted network of roads filled with homeless people and small farmers slaughtering chickens along the side of the road. Now the city is the reason why the United States will never need to manufacture electronics. From making cheap consumer goods to manufacturing the world's (i.e. Silicon Valley's) latest and greatest electronics, Shenzhen is now a large bustling modern city that rivals that of Shanghai and Hong Kong. What many Americans don't understand is that Silicon Valley doesn't need to manufacture their own products; outsourcing to a foreign country is more cost effective. Electronic design and manufacturing don't always occur under one roof. Shenzhen is to making the product...
Americans are Moving Inland to Cities Like Oklahoma City That Promise More Affordable Living
Local

Americans are Moving Inland to Cities Like Oklahoma City That Promise More Affordable Living

Every year, about 36 million Americans pack their worldly possessions into the back of a car or a u-haul and make their trek to a new home. What many people studying the migration paths of Americans notice, though, is that moving is hardly a state of equilibrium. More people are moving to certain areas than others -- and collectively, these moving paths can have a big influence on the fate of city economies.Right now, there is an overall shift taking place from coastal cities to inland cities. As difficulties with securing mortgages and high property costs persist in states like California and New York -- among others -- more people are moving inward, toward urban centers that promise an easier and more affordable lifestyle. Oklahoma City is an example of a city that is benefiting from ...