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California HOAs Clash with Residents Over Anti-Drought Measures

15Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Local

California HOAs Clash with Residents Over Anti-Drought Measures

The drought in California is hitting everyone on the east coast hard, but are homeowners associations doing enough to help their residents save water? A resident of the San Ramon neighborhood in Twin Creeks is locked in a battle with her HOA for a surprising reason, given the current situation. The association is objecting to her installation of a drought-resistant yard. Fran Paxton was met with resistance when she replaced her sod lawn with a type of mint that requires much less water to stay green and healthy. She claims she's just trying to be a good citizen. Her HOA claims that she's damaging the appearance of the neighborhood. The local water district was so pleased with the landscaping job that they gave her a rebate on the lawn makeover, but the Twin Creeks Homeowners Assoc...

Baltimore Conservation Group Receives $52.8 Million for Energy Efficiency Programs

15Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

Baltimore Conservation Group Receives $52.8 Million for Energy Efficiency Programs

Anyone who has been paying attention to news regarding energy efficiency in the past decade has probably noted a recent lag in discussions pertaining to energy conservation; as one reporter notes, the everyday discussion about energy tends to be less exciting than a discussion about solar power or wind power. Perhaps the fact that eco-friendly products are so easy to find these days is another reason why interest in everyday energy-efficient products appears to be decreasing; it isn't hard to find energy-efficient light bulbs at any hardware store, or a coffeeshop that has ditched Styrofoam sleeves in favor of tree-friendly recycled cardboard sleeves. Quite simply, the opportunity to be energy efficient is everywhere, and it's lost much of its novelty. But as one Baltimore conservation ...

Could Frozen Collagen Meat Popsicles be the Newest Beauty Secret?

15Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

Could Frozen Collagen Meat Popsicles be the Newest Beauty Secret?

A cool summer treat that can help your skin look younger sounds like a dream come true, but when you find out it's a frozen collagen meat popsicle, does that still sound appealing? Tokyo eatery Zenyaren has begun serving a line of frozen collagen meat pops, and they are all the rage in Japan. Chefs prepare traditional skewers of chicken, known as yakitori, but then slowly freeze them in collagen blocks so they keep their freshly barbecued taste. The resulting treat can be licked or crunched, just like a popsicle. Collagen is the most prevalent protein in the human body, and is responsible for our skin's strength and elasticity. But as we age, collagen production slows down, and the preexisting collagen is absorbed into the skin, resulting in fine lines and wrinkles, and sagging sk...

11Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Business

Is Dutch Glow Amish Wood Milk a Scam?

Dutch Glow is the newest "As Seen on TV" hit, offering what promoters call "a pure and simple furniture polish from a pure and simple people." But does this miracle "Amish Wood Milk" really perform as advertised? The infomercials are tantalizing, showing intrepid cleaners spritzing Dutch Glow on wooden furniture and removing years of wax buildup and residue with one swipe of a soft cloth. And the results really do glow on TV, especially when you consider that the product is priced at about $10. Woods look brighter, warmer, and cleaner in seconds.But does Dutch Glow really bring your furniture back to life? And what exactly is "Amish Wood Milk?"No one seems to know. Ingredients aren't listed on the website, and through promoters shill a "100 year formula," there's no definitive connection t...

10Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Local

Roof Collapses on Top of Firefighters

This past Labor Day, a Sacramento family escaped the fire consuming their house. Fire rescue crews were still inside when the inferno, whose flames shot 50 feet into the air, caused the roof to collapse. Around one o'clock in the morning, Jesse Chan heard a noise from outside. He opened the front door to find a small fire on the porch. Chan immediately ran to tell his parents, who were asleep. “My dad ran through the front door while the flames were still small," said Chan. "He ran through the front door and grabbed the hose. I went through the garage and opened the garage door." As Chan's father tried to use the hose to douse the flames, neighbors look on in disbelief. “We felt the heat from our balcony, just standing up there”, said Jocelynn Tupou. “It was scary, especially f...

The Facebook Diet: Deleting Fat, Not Pictures

10Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

The Facebook Diet: Deleting Fat, Not Pictures

The Facebook Diet is the new fad weight loss routine that's taking New York city by storm. Instead of deleting or untagging themselves from unflattering photos, people are heading to the gym, using the pictures as motivation to work out, get healthier, and lose weight. “Sometimes looking in the mirror just isn't enough,” says Lisa young, an expert in health and nutrition. “You’re seeing what you look like and not hearing it from somebody else.” Part of the reason why Facebook pictures have provided dieters with such great motivation is because of the constant comparing people do with their friends and followers. “It’s a measuring stick for people socially to say, ‘How do I stack up with my friends?’ " says Kevin Audley, a life coach. It's no secret that social media has an affe...

Free App Aims to Dissuade New Yorkers from Driving Drunk

10Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

Free App Aims to Dissuade New Yorkers from Driving Drunk

Drivers in New York have a new way to stay off the road when they're drunk, and it's as simple as opening an app on their smartphones. The "Have a Plan" app was designed to reduce impaired driving by providing drivers with resources to test their sobriety, report drunk drivers, and look into other ways to get home. "The most common punishment for a DUI conviction is custody with local law enforcement in the form of public work service," says George Gedulin, Attorney at Law at Gedulin and Greany Criminal Defense Attorneys. "Essentially this is an eight hour period of physical labor in the custody of a Sheriff. Public works are often a 5-15 day sentence. For multiple DUI convictions custody can be enforced with actual time in jail or home detention. It is not uncommon to see individuals s...

Construction Companies Seek Changes to New York City Safety Regulations

10Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Business

Construction Companies Seek Changes to New York City Safety Regulations

In New York City, members of the construction industry are petitioning the city to loosen safety regulations they claim have halted hundreds of jobs. Currently, construction sites are required to pass a safety inspection that ensures that the safety equipment they use is up to standards. However, shortages of trained safety inspectors are reportedly causing jobs to be put on hold for months as they wait for a requisite inspection. According to the Department of Buildings, there are only about 500 active inspectors working in the city. This is especially problematic as construction in the city has entered a boom cycle, putting a number of multi-million dollar projects on hold as inspectors work through several months worth of examinations. This has had a number of consequences for the co...

WNBA Pushes Forward Despite Lack of Network Support

9Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Sport

WNBA Pushes Forward Despite Lack of Network Support

As of this year, the WNBA -- women's pro basketball league -- will be celebrating its 18th birthday. Over the past two decades, the league has matured from a questionable proposition -- many thought it would quickly fold, as earlier attempts had -- into an organization in its own right. Still, the league often struggles to get the same media coverage as men's sports teams, and it has a much smaller fanbase overall. Although many people are quick to point to smaller, niche audiences for women's sports, many in the industry say it's more about a lack of coverage than anything else. The WNBA has its season during the summer, when the NBA is off-season. Even during this time, the NBA receives more coverage than the WNBA does. Similarly, even though the WNBA games score higher TV rates than ...

New Physical Therapy Practices Show the Unmeasured Potential of Rehabilitation Therapy

9Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Sport

New Physical Therapy Practices Show the Unmeasured Potential of Rehabilitation Therapy

Physical therapy is often associated with illness, injury, or surgery -- patients tend to only think about the importance of physical therapy after something serious occurs. But new studies show that physical therapy has benefits beyond what we have seen before. A local Newark news source recently profiled a physical therapist who helps young children -- some younger than three years old -- who need extra help with mobility and coordination skills. As therapist Tara Parsley explains, pediatric physical therapy can be a very different process from our "normal" conception of treatment because kids "don't always see the medical side of it, that we're doing this to make them better." Small exercises that we tend to take for granted -- jumping on a trampoline, for instance, or rolling acr...