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Adam Hegge, a 31-year-old graphic designer, became tired of, in his words, "making money for someone else." So, a few years later Hegge quit his job designing signs in San Diego and opened his very own digital printing business. Sun Prairie, Washington local newspaper The Sun reports that Hegge, a 2007 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh graduate, opened Madison Graphics in 2012. The sole owner and employee of the company, Madison Graphics specializes in producing high-resolution graphics inside a mini-mall storefront in Fall River, near Olympia. Hegge single-handedly takes care of design, sales, marketing, and other business tasks from his home in Sun Prairie. "I've always been a fan of crazy, cool graphics," Hegge said. "So I thought I would put my own spin on them." Madison Graphics focuses...

Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are working together in order to gain cheaper renewable energy for their taxpayers. The West Hartford News reports that the three New England states have agreed to work together by issuing a joint request for proposals (RFP) for clean energy projects. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman Dennis Schain said that the states released a draft for the RFP on Wednesday, March 4th. The draft will be reviewed until March 26th and a final draft will be released later in the spring. Schain mentioned diversifying New England's fuel mix and improving winter compatibility systems as other key priorities for the RFP. Issuing an RFP is "the way we can make the most efficient use of our resources to attract new clean energy pr...

A surveillance video was released on March 6 and shows footage to the public for the first time of an alleged police brutality incident in the Carmel, NY town hall. The video depicts an interaction between bank robbery suspect Kenneth DeFreitas and former Senior Investigator Patrick Castaldo of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Taken in the Carmel Town Hall lobby, the video shows Chief Investigator Gerald Schramek and Castaldo bringing DeFreitas into the building for a court date on July 3 at 6:04 p.m. The two officers take DeFreitas into a side room before the trial. Castaldo makes three trips to the lobby afterward and is seen standing by the entry doors on the phone. At 6:34, Schramek and DeFreitas are seen on the video coming out of the side room. Schramek stands by the doors and ...

Subaru cars have always been well-regarded for their longevity (among other things) and now, they are getting a prestigious affirmation. Consumer Affairs reports that the Subaru has been awarded the 2015 Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own Award for economy (non-luxury) cars. Granted by Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the leading automotive consumer report publication in the United States, the award goes out to new car brands which have the projected lowest cost of ownership during the first five years of ownership. The award is divided into two categories: brand cars and luxury brand cars. The luxury brand winner this year, Lincoln, is also projected to have the lowest cost of ownership through 2020. "New car shoppers usually pay a lot of attention to how much a car will cost upfront," said Da...

This week, the Defense Information Systems Agency released the Department of Defense's new Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide, which is meant to help cloud service providers looking to be included in the Department of Defense Cloud Service Catalog. It also defines policies, requirements, and architecture for Department of Defense cloud usage, and provides a basis the department can use to assess cloud providers' security posture. A draft of the Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG) was released back in December, but acting Department of Defense (DoD) CIO Terry Halvorsen then later changed a rule allowing the department to procure commercial cloud services without having to go through the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). "The [Cloud Computing Security Requir...

Following a particularly rough winter in many parts of the United States, many homeowners are likely familiar with the process of handling roof damage. However, now that temperatures are beginning to rise, some unexpected areas are reportedly learning about repairing a roof after a harsh winter: reports show that ice dams are forming as far south as Tennessee, causing significant problems for homeowners unused to this typically northern problem. While winter temperatures in Tennessee normally hover somewhere between 28 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit, this past season has been unusually harsh. In mid-February, for example, an estimated 30 people in the state died from weather-related causes, like hypothermia, after a severe storm sent the area into a Level II State of Emergency. The weather has...

Drinking between three and five cups of coffee each day may lead to cleaner arteries, a new study from South Korea has found. This is significant because clogged arteries are a known sign of heart disease. For the study, researchers assessed routine medical scans taken at workplaces for more than 25,000 employees, both male and female. The researchers looked specifically for calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, which supply the heart. These deposits are an early sign of coronary heart disease. Although none of the study’s subjects showed outward signs of heart disease, more than 10% had calcium deposits in the arteries. When these results were compared with the employees’ daily coffee consumption (which was self-reported), the researchers found that those who drank a few cups of c...

Brands hoping to reach Hispanic audiences -- the second-largest and fastest-growing segment of the American market -- must have specific digital media strategies, a newly released study suggests. “It will be increasingly meaningful for marketers to consider Hispanic users as they develop online and app-centric calls to action,” said Marla Skiko, executive vice president and director of digital innovation for SMG Multicultural, a brand communications organization. The research was performed by Millward Brown Digital through behavioral observation and surveys, and was commissioned by SMG Multicultural and Specific Media. The researchers found that Hispanic Americans outpace other groups in their time spent online, use of mobile devices, and receptiveness to advertising. Hispanic Americans...

A couple in Northern Kentucky are lucky to be alive after a sudden explosion flattened their house February 22nd. Keith and Barbara Farley were both at home around 11 p.m. when their house exploded, collapsing around them and superficially damaging the neighbors' homes. Both Keith and Barbara were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, along with a neighbor, who required anxiety treatment. Neighbor Andrew Koenig told WCPO that Farley had spent a lot of time repairing the roof and renovating the interior of the house prior to the explosion, and that work may have contributed to Farley's survival. In an interview, Farley agreed with his neighbor. He had been in the shower during the explosion, and believes the heavy tiles used in the recent bathroom remodeling constructio...

What do oyster farmers and high end, professional skin care products have in common? A lot, actually. Working on the water can easily be considered an occupational hazard, wreaking havoc on the skin of fisherman, lobsterman, and oyster farmers like 45-year-old Abigail Carroll, owner of Nonesuch Oysters in Portland, Maine. Between sun exposure, whipping winds, and drying salt water, Carroll's hands look like any other fisherman's: dry, cracked, and rough. “I wanted to work hard like a lobsterman but not look like one,” Carroll said. Carroll decided to do something about it after nearly five years of planting and harvesting oysters in the Scarborough River. Years of exposure to the elements caused her skin to suffer. Turning to the sea for inspiration, Carroll began using a ...