| Elevate Cycles opens new showroom
The owners of Elevate Cycles Inc. of Saratoga Springs have opened a second bicycle showroom and repair shop on Route 9 in Clifton Park. Husband and wife team Chris and Suzanne Pitts opened the Clifton Park store on Oct. 15 to fill a void in the market after a previous bike shop closed. The new location at 1570 Route 9 in Clifton Park has a 1,200-square-foot showroom and about 1,500 square feet of storage and repair shop space. Elevate sells bicycles, cross country skis and carries a variety of product lines including Cannondale, Fuji, Jamis, Scott and Eastern BMX. Chris Pitts, 37, opened his Saratoga Springs shop at 35 Van Dam St. 13 years ago under the name All Outdoors, but later changed the name to Elevate Cycles. Pitts and his wife will operate the two stores in conjunction with part time help, including three to four employees in Clifton Park.
Anti-obesity campaign in Britain goes big
The British government last month outlined a new strategy, including a £75 million, or $145 million, three-year advertising campaign, to try to get Britons to slim down. Almost two-thirds of adults and about a third of children in Britain are overweight or obese, health officials say. Some people in the advertising industry are calling for the campaign to resemble the recent anti-poverty initiative that went under the name "ONE" in the United States and "Make Poverty History" in other countries. Millions of people bought white wristbands to signal their commitment to the movement. To be effective, advertising executives say, the anti-obesity initiative needs to be similarly broad-based. "We're saying, if you just run some advertising and then forget about it, it's going to have zero effect," said Hamish Pringle, director general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, which represents British advertising agencies.
Archbishop faces calls to quit over Sharia row
It has come as the Synod prepares to meet at Westminster on Monday; on the agenda will be the crisis over homosexuality and the pending schism between liberals and conservatives. Insiders are wondering if Dr Williams’s moral authority has now been damaged beyond repair. .
U.S. pulls Chinese toy containing 'date rape' drug
Last week, the government announced an export ban on more than 700 toy factories in the region because of shoddy products.The company said the product is distributed in 40 countries.The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics.The Food and Drug Administration in 1999 declared the chemical a Class I Health Hazard, meaning it can cause life-threatening harm.Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in Australia.The two U.S.
Company leaders face complex problems
The good news? Salem has a number of factors working in its favor and can ultimately come out on top of this issue. Initiatives like NO Meth -- Not in MY Neighborhood and the Salem and Keizer chambers' Ready to Learn -- Ready to Work partnership with Salem-Keizer School District are just two examples of creative solutions that can have a long-term payoff for our community. Shifting demographics It is true that we face a shrinking population due to lower birth rates in the U.S. and across the globe, resulting in fewer future workers. This demographic trend is exacerbated in the U.S. by the looming retirement of the baby boomers. In fact, many employers in manufacturing, utilities, health care and the public sector indicate that as many as 40 percent of their workers will be eligible for retirement by 2010.
Pre-NADA Workshop to Bust Used-Car Myths
In fact, quite frankly, many new-car dealers gave up a lot of that business to the independents," Lescota said. "Well, guess what? The market is shifting, and it appears new-car sales may not break 16 million this year. And with profit margins as slim as they are today, dealers and used-car managers can't afford to make mistakes. Too much is at stake," he continued. So for dealers to be profitable in 2008, they basically have a couple of choices, Lescota said. "Either shore up their service department or get into the used-car business. By getting into the used-car business, they can certainly improve their fixed coverage because they go hand in hand. Chip and I will help dealers and used-car managers not only grasp the importance of this new reality but also how to come up with practical solutions they can implement," he further explained. At the same time, Lescota said he hopes dealers will look at the used-car department as an additional franchise, and not as a separate department. "Many dealers who are thinking 2008 will be a tough year are considering adding a new franchise to supplement their existing franchise.
He did laps at 110 km/h to prove turban held tight
BRAMPTON, Ont. A devout Sikh all his life, Baljinder Badesha never imagined that his religious devotion would compel him to race a motorcycle around an Ontario speedway to test whether turbans unravel at high speeds. The bizarre image of Mr. Badesha's experiment last year - conducted under the auspices of the Ontario Human Rights Commission - was evoked during a constitutional challenge to a law that forces motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. .
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