Burlington Post

A Milton woman employed by a maid service is facing charges after items were reported missing and fraudulent cheques were cashed in connection with a Burlington client.

A Burlington couple used a home cleaning service for approximately one year, without incident, until last month.

They noticed fraudulent cheques had been cashed from their bank account and jewelry and cash had gone missing from their bedroom.

Halton police utilized bank video surveillance to identify the suspect. The home cleaning service co-operated with the police and assisted in identifying the suspect.

Arruda Torres, 21, of Milton is charged with theft, fraud, forgery and possession of property by crime (under $5,000).

Halton police reminds residents, particularly seniors, to be alert and vigilant when dealing with in-home services and to call the police if anything suspicious occurs.

"Our elderly community members are at a high risk for victimization and anytime we can take steps such as this to hold people accountable for preying on seniors we prevent future victimization," says Det.-Sgt, Ron Hansen of the Halton Police.

Anyone with information on any other crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at http://www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting Tip201 with your message to 274637 (crimes).

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Milton cleaning maid charged in connection with Burlington theft, fraud

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter February 11, 2014 8:47PM

Leena Suleiman wears a knit hat and scarf, which cover her hijab a head scarf worn by Muslim women on Tuesday. She found that non-Muslims were friendlier to her when they couldn't see the hijab. | Chandler West/For Sun-Times Media

storyidforme: 61955208 tmspicid: 22368044 fileheaderid: 10678287

Updated: February 12, 2014 2:22AM

A Muslim womans effort to deal with Chicagos brutal cold by covering her head with warm winter gear inadvertently concealing her hijab produced unanticipated and thought-provoking results.

Leena Suleimans online posting about her experience which included suddenly getting more friendly treatment from non-Muslims and getting the cold shoulder by members of her faith was among the top stories Monday morning on website Reddit.coms TrueReddit and Chicago Reddit.

I didnt understand what was happening at first, Suleiman, 25, who works as an architectural designer downtown, said in a post titled I Took Off My Hijab, on her blog, Facetruth, at http://bit.ly/1lza4tH.

Non-Muslim people started talking to me more. Women would speak to me like I knew them since forever. Men looked at me like I was actually approachable. And I was made to feel like I was actually from this planet, she wrote.

Meanwhile, Muslim taxi drivers, who previously typically greeted her warmly and on occasion wouldnt even let her pay, were far less friendly.

Im used to going in [taxis] with my hijab showing, and immediately theyre smiling and asking me where Im from . . . if Im single, she said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. If its an older man, hes very fatherly, very nice . . . we have like a full conversation.

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Muslim woman says people friendlier when hat, scarf cover hijab

Recently, Oakland Local sought out five people with long histories in Oakland and asked them to share their thoughts about downtown Oaklands planning challenges and opportunities. (Read the companion piece here.)

For our completely unscientific survey, we talked to a preservationist, an architect, a landscape architect, a developer and a planner. It is impossible to represent the immense diversity of Oaklands population or even of the possibilities for downtown in the space we have for this article, so please take this as a small piece of a much bigger conversation.

Even among the five people who generously took the time to share their ideas with us, the range of different perspectives was impressive and, at times, surprising. Here are five challenges that came out of these conversations.

Frank Ogawa Plaza

Frank Ogawa Plaza, with abundant seating. Photo by Chris Pattillo.

I dont think its terrible, but I think it raises issues, said Naomi Schiff, a member of the board of the Oakland Heritage Alliance and a local business owner who has lived in Oakland since 1974, of the plaza that sits at the heard of downtown and fronts City Hall.

Closing the street was seen as essential for attracting investment, said Matthew Taecker, chair of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) regional and urban design committee. The consequence of that was that downtown lost a lot of its connectivity.

Occupy people were the only people that ever used that space, Schiff said. The encampments presence in the plaza showed that, all the politics aside, its an inviting space.

Chris Pattillo, chair of the Oakland Planning Commission and president of PGA Design, was part of the initial design team that developed the master plan for Frank Ogawa Plaza. To be really successful, any urban space needs three things: good design, maintenance and programming, she said. I think the overall design of Ogawa Plaza is a good design.

To have vibrant urban spaces, you have to work at it, Pattillo noted. You cant sit back and wait for something magical to happen.

Continued here:
5 urban planning challenges for downtown Oakland

From Google Maps Pools dot the landscape in Los Altos Hills, as demonstrated in this aerial view. The town has issued 241 pool permits over the past 15 years.

California may be experiencing chronic drought conditions, but local homeowners continue to build and use their swimming pools with no signs of stopping.

A quick glance at last weeks Los Altos Hills Planning Commission agenda revealed that each of the five development permit applicants request swimming pools onsite. If the permits are approved, the applicants will join 241 other homeowners in Los Altos Hills granted swimming-pool permits over the past 15 years, according to town records.

With no indication from the town or the Purissima Hills Water District that restrictions on filling new pools or draining existing pools will trickle down, Los Altos Hills residents are enjoying a luxury denied to some of the states more water-deprived districts.

Communities with limited access to external water sources are feeling the pinch as mandatory water conservation becomes reality. The Santa Cruz Water Department has implemented Stage 1 water restrictions that limit the hours for irrigation, have restaurants serve water on request only, require the immediate repair of leaks and prohibit the filling, draining or refilling of swimming pools and other water features. Violators are issued citations, with fees of $100 to $500 added after the first transgression.

We would never do that unless we saw a persistent problem, said Patrick Walter, general manager of the Purissima Hills Water District, of levying pool restrictions.

Following a mandate from the California Department of Water Resources, the town of Los Altos Hills added a water-efficient landscaping ordinance to its Municipal Code in 2010. According to Planning Director Debbie Pedro, the ordinance requires new development permit applicants to include a water-consumption estimate that meets the towns parcel water budget a figure determined via a complex formula that weighs parcel slope, evapotranspiration and conservation factors.

Water features are considered a high-water-use element in landscaping, she said. The water-efficient landscape ordinance restricts you, and you have to give elsewhere.

Pedro noted that new landscaping often requires more water than established landscaping, and the ordinance is designed to ensure that homeowners dont exceed their water allotment.

The town has not implemented swimming-pool permit restrictions during previous droughts, but Pedro said water conservation efforts generally originate from the Los Altos Hills City Council, the Water Conservation Committee or water suppliers.

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Despite drought, LAH still swimming with pools

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2bqqb7/hepatitis_c) has announced the addition of the "Hepatitis C Therapeutics in Major Developed Markets to 2019 - Outstanding Recent Approvals and Late-Stage Pipeline to Transform Clinical and Commercial Landscape" report to their offering.

Due to a large untreated patient pool and the recent approval of new treatments, the hepatitis C market will more than treble from $5.7 billion in 2012 to $18.6 billion by 2019, at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.5%

The company's new report* states that the hepatitis C market will receive this major boost with the 2013 approval of Sovaldi, which has the potential to transform the treatment algorithm for hepatitis C. Due to the clinical potential of the drug, Sovaldi will be very expensive, reaching a cost of $86,000 annually and setting a high price benchmark for future drugs.

Dominic Trewartha, report analyst, says: Sovaldi boasts excellent tolerability and a Sustained Virologic Response rate approaching 100%, without specificity to any genotype 1. In genotypes 2 and 3, Sovaldi is administered with ribavirin alone, alleviating the need for Pegasys or Pegintron and therefore reducing the rate of adverse events associated with these two therapies. As a result, many patients who have previously deferred treatment are expected to re-enter the market and use Sovaldi.

Additional drugs, such as Olysio, which was also approved in 2013, and daclatasvir are anticipated to compete with Sovaldi, although they are not proven to be as effective and can only be used in genotype 1 infections.

According to the authors, Sovaldi-ledipasvir and ABT-450 triple therapy will further advance the hepatitis C market and displace older drugs from 2015 onwards. This is due to the fact that these therapies can be used without peginterferon and have demonstrated 100% efficacy in genotype 1, with strong tolerability and low dosing.

The late-stage pipeline for hepatitis C is exceptionally promising, and we expect new products to completely transform the clinical and commercial landscape during the forecast period, Trewartha concludes.

This report provides in-depth analysis of the major antiviral drugs used in the treatment of hepatitis C, including analyses of their safety, efficacy, treatment patterns and strengths/weaknesses. It also gives a market forecast between 2012 and 2019.

This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by a team of industry experts.

Key Topics Covered:

Link:
Research and Markets: Hepatitis C Therapeutics - Promising New Therapies to Boost Global Hepatitis C Market by 2019

On Feb. 7, I delivered the mayor's State of the City address to the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce, highlighting some of the city's accomplishments.

I share some excerpts here.

"We all know Pleasant Hill is a great place to live, work, raise a family, conduct business and play. Our citizens are highly educated and we have fantastic schools from preschool through college all right here in Pleasant Hill.

We have excellent parks, thanks to our Rec & Park District. Our city is walkable, it's bikeable and we have wonderful commercial areas from our northern border on Contra Costa Boulevard to the downtown and all the neighborhood commercial areas in between.

I believe that if we conducted a survey of the citizens of Pleasant Hill we would find that they love their city and they are extremely happy to be here.

The Pleasant Hill Library is one of the most highly utilized library facilities in the county, despite being open five days per week for 35 hours, which is below average for the county. It is an aging facility that needs to be replaced.

The city has been creative in finding money to support library services but more needs to be done. The City Council has adopted as one of its goals this year to organize a task force to look into the need and feasibility of a new library facility in Pleasant Hill.

It has been 10 years since the city last took an in-depth review of this issue.

Economic conditions and lack of community support at that time caused the concept to fallow. There appears to be a resurgence of interest and the purpose of the task force would be to dive into the community to reassess the situation.

Of course, the cost of a new library will take overwhelming community support in favor of financing what would be an important addition to our community.

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ViewPoints by Timothy M. Flaherty: Pleasant Hill expects budget surplus, first in four years

JAKARTA, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- At least three flight schedules were delayed in Riau of Sumatra due to poor feasibility incurred by haze from land clearing and the satellite observation shows a steep rise in the number of hot spots on Sumatra and Borneo islands, Xinhua news agency reported officials as saying here on Wednesday.

Several of the hot spots are located in forest conservation areas on the Sumatra island, including in the provinces of Riau, North Sumatra, Aceh, Jambi, and South Sumatra, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the national disaster agency, said.

"The feasibility in Riau was less than 500 meters so that the flight witnessed disruption.

Yesterday (Tuesday) three flight schedules of Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and Air Asia were delayed, " he told Xinhua via phone.

According to a satellite observation, the hot spots scaled up and more than doubled to 470 on Tuesday on Sumatra and Borneo islands from 187 a day earlier, said Sutopo.

Indonesia has been battered by fires resulting from land clearing for new plantations since the 1990s, with haze caused enveloping neighboring ASEAN countries that hampered business spheres and incurred multi-billion US dollars of financial loss.

Indonesian authorities would take comprehensive measures, including using water bombs, modifying weather and enforcing law, to extinguish ongoing fires on Sumatra and Borneo islands in an effort to prevent a repeat of haze enveloping neighboring countries like years ago from happening, Sutopo said.

The condition of the dry season this year, which is forecast to be drier than in previous years, and weak El Nino, are threatening to exacerbate the spread of fire, he said.

-- BERNAMA

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Haze Disturbs Flights In Indonesia, More Hot Spots Found

Tridel #39;s West Village Etobicoke Designer Model Suites
Take a sneak peak at Tridel #39;s West Village Etobicoke designer Model Suites with our Senior Interior Designer, Stella Salvador.

By: Tridel Condos

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Tridel's West Village Etobicoke Designer Model Suites - Video

Interior Design Reveal for TV and Magazine Photography - Behind the Scenes
See interior designer Lisa K. Tharp and company prepare for national TV and international magazine photography of her Coastal Loft project in this video slid...

By: K. Tharp Design

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Interior Design Reveal for TV and Magazine Photography - Behind the Scenes - Video

(PRWEB) February 11, 2014

Stacey Cohen Interiors knows Its not a surprise when designers are asked to design a room within a room, one that could be hidden away and yet, easily accessed. It gives a new twist to the phase Love Shack, hence, the new Hollywood must have: a Love Shackle

Los Angels offers the luxury of designing homes with vast views of the city lights and the endless horizon of the Pacific ocean. It is a fact, LA is Sexy. Sexy is everywhere, from private patios to the body-bearing beaches, to the nooks of neighborhoods and the joints in-between. While the most sexy may start with coveted addresses and finish at the high-rolling view, there is a lot that must go into the interiors of these homes to live up to their desirability.

Invited guests to these homes can not argue, the interior design of the home are as flawless as the home owners. A city built on success and fame keep the interiors popping and the level of art, furnishing and interior entertainment must be kept in line with it. Home design influences on the coast run wild. Sparked by passion for a life in the sun and paid for by dedication to a honed craft, the limits of decor in LA are endless.

While Los Angelenos are known for reinvention, these five frisky trends have been around for centuries.

1. While the British gave us wrought iron personal peg-boards, today, custom designed headboards can be outfitted for exact size for partners proportions.

2. Mirrored Ceilings - Louis XIV was onto this idea with the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Another reason the French are really so sexy.

3 & 4. Feng Shui + Kama Sutra - The ancient Chinese say to keep the space sparse, decorate in reds, pinks, and warm tones, and keep the chandelier clear of the bed. Perhaps the last is to not interfere with the Kama Sutra creative play.

5. Mr. Moore, as in Benjamin, knows a few things when it comes to setting the mood with color such as Black Satin, Bittersweet Chocolate, Gulf-stream, Drift-scape Tan, Dorset Cream and Gunmetal.

STACEY COHEN is a Los Angeles-based Interior Architect and Designer.

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Love Shackle: Interior Design for Valentine's Day