MARQUETTE - Marquette native Justin Florek has been called up on an emergency basis to the NHL's Boston Bruins from the AHL's Providence Bruins and will be available for Boston's 1 p.m. game today against the Winnipeg Jets.

The move was announced by Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli on Saturday morning.

Florek, who will wear No. 57 for Boston, is a former Northern Michigan University captain and Marquette Electrician Midget AAA player. At 23 years old, this is his first NHL call up since turning professional in the spring of 2012.

Boston Bruins forward Justin Florek (57) races down the ice past Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, of Sweden, in the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in Baltimore. (AP File Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In 34 games with Providence this season, Florek has nine goals and 11 assist. His plus-11 rating is second on the AHL club. In 113 AHL games, he has 22 goals and 29 assists with a plus-26 rating.

Florek was selected in the fifth round, No. 135 overall, by the Bruins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

See the original post here:
Local Sports

VOL. 7 | NO. 2 | Saturday, January 04, 2014

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant capped a busy 2013 on the economic development front with a New Years Eve announcement of a $200 million silicon metal plant near Corinth.

The Mississippi Silicon plant will employ 200 when completed in the town of Burnsville, 100 miles southeast of Memphis. The metal made there will be used in chemical, aluminum and automotive plants.

Mississippi Silicon is a company formed by Investor Clean Tech I LLC and Rima Holdings USA Inc.

Mississippi is providing financing through a state revolving fund for building construction and workforce training. The state is also using new market tax credits. Additional incentives are being provided by Tishomingo County government and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Just before the Mississippi Silicon announcement, Bryants office tallied $1 billion in new investment in the state during 2013 and the creation of 6,265 new jobs.

That compares to $455.5 million in new investment in Mississippi in 2012 and the creation of 2,664 new jobs.

Announcements in 2013 included a $140-million Feuer Powertrain plant in Tunica that will create 300 new jobs; executives of the German-based company broke ground for the plant this past September.

In May, the Danish company Roxul Inc. broke ground on a $160-million plant near Byhalia in Marshall Countys Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park at the Tennessee state line. The Mississippi plant is the first U.S. plant by the company that makes rockwool insulation.

Earlier in December, Aluma-Form Inc., which makes overhead electric utility products, began construction of a $6.7 million plant in a Walnut industrial park. The new plant for the company, which was founded in Memphis in 1961, will create 125 new jobs.

Originally posted here:
Tenn. Prevailing Wage Law Rescinded as of Jan. 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) As of Jan. 1, most government building projects in Tennessee no longer have to pay the prevailing wage.

WPLN-FM reports (http://bit.ly/1bAW8I8) Tennessee's prevailing wage law was in place for nearly four decades before the General Assembly voted to repeal it last year. The idea behind the law was to make sure every electrician or plumber hired on a government-funded project got paid the going rate.

Sen. Jack Johnson, a Franklin Republican, sponsored the repeal. He said the law stifled competition and made building projects too expensive.

With the change, local governments can still choose to have contractors pay a wage that's roughly average, but they don't have to.

The prevailing wage still has to be paid on highway projects in order for the state to receive federal highway funds.

___

Information from: WPLN-FM, http://www.wpln.org/

2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Follow this link:
Prevailing wage law rescinded as of Jan. 1

FROM LANSING BOARD OF WATER AND LIGHT As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 31, the Board of Water & Light has 400 customer outages, down from 550 earlier this afternoon. The BWL projects that full restoration of power to its electric service territory will be operational by 11:59 p.m. today, Tuesday, December 31. Full restoration of power means that service is available to all customers, with the exception of customers whose homes require repairs before service can be reconnected by the BWL.

The BWL has 32 line crews making repairs in the field Tuesday. In addition, there are 13 tree trimming crews, 3 Electric Service Worker crews and 9 spotter crews in the field Tuesday.

Line crews are working in the following areas Tuesday to restore power along circuits that are reflected by the following street intersections. These are general outage locations and crews move to other areas near and far once repairs are completed. Some areas require more than one line crew: Snyder/Durand Main/Butler MLK/Mt. Hope York Rd./Glassgow Grand River/Cynwood Cavanaugh/Pennsylvania Grace/W. Genesee Sunset/Marshall Hillcrest/Wainwright Saginaw/Iris Remy Dr./Grand River Waverly/Jolly Butterfield/Snyder (E. Lansing) Hagadorn/Haslett (E. Lansing) Hagadorn/River Terrace (E. Lansing) Hagadorn/Grand River (E. Lansing) Westview/Highland (E. Lansing) Gunson/Grand River (E. Lansing) Glenhaven /Saginaw (E. Lansing)

The current outage number does not include single service reconnection requests - customers who need electrical contractors to reattach masts, or customers whose electrical contractor has completed repairs and require permanent service reconnection by the BWL. The BWL has dedicated 10 crews to these service reconnection requests and are dispatching crews around the clock to complete.

The BWL Meter Department has expanded hours to accommodate electrical contractors and customers who need replacement parts, provided at no cost, to repair damage to meter boxes due to masts being pulled away from homes. The BWL Meter Department is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice, and is located in Building "G" at 1140 S. Pennsylvania.

The rest is here:
4PM Update: BWL Electricity Restoration

Markham Economist & Sun

Last weeks ice storm not only wreaked havoc for residents, who remained without power for days, but also proved challenging for PowerStream.

At the storms peak, when about 92,000 PowerStream customers were without power, the electrical distribution companys website crashed.

The website was built to accommodate general day-to-day operations, as well as severe storm events, affecting about 5,000 customers.

It was not built to accommodate some 92,000 hits simultaneously, company spokesperson John Olthuis said.

There was so much data pouring into the companys online system, from smart meters and phone calls, the server overloaded.

There was just so many hits simultaneously, the system couldnt handle it, Mr. Olthuis said. Thats how hackers attack websites by overwhelming it until it crashes.

After contacting their server supplier, PowerStream upped its data pipe on a permanent basis four-fold or 400 per cent. The site took several days to turn back on, Mr. Olthuis added.

Between Dec. 20 and 29, the company experienced more than 7 million hits, 5 million of which came during the peak of restoration work between Dec. 21 and 24.

The company, which provides power to customers in southern York Region, tracked more than 170,000 unique visitors and 952,000 page views during the same time period.

Link:
PowerStream to assess communications in storm's aftermath

A Tasman community has built a house that will be sold to raise money for a new family health centre.

Locals donated their time, money and services to build the house, which will go to auction next month.

For 18 months Golden Bay locals have been trying to raise $1 million by busking, holding dinners and auctions and by building a house.

"The fantastic thing about this project is that it will actually bring us to the completion of our fundraising activities," says health centre trustee Linda Sanders.

It's a grand way to finish and the house is expected to fetch at least $400,000.

"To get to a target like that we really needed to have something more significant to bring in these sorts of funds," says fundraising group chairman Matthew Toynbee.

And it was a real community effort.

"All of the contributions come from the donation of time and a lot of products that people have given," says Ms Sanders.

The result was a four-bedroom house in the Bay's prime holiday location, Pohara.

"There's an awful lot of people who have put some tremendous effort in here, right from the electrician to the concrete layers," says fundraising committee member Nick Hodgkinson.

Continued here:
Community effort raises money for health centre

The introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks in privately rented accommodation enabling safer conditions for tenants to live in safer homes is being championed by Bob Doris MSP.

Mr Doris, MSP for Glasgow, over the past few months has been working closely with the Electrical Safety Council (ESC). The charity has been instrumental in raising awareness of the issue and campaigning for improvements in safety standards in homes.

Bob Doris MSP said:

Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that their properties are safe for purpose for their tenants.

Most landlords are good landlords and ensure that their homes are fit for purpose and safe but good practice needs to be regulated to ensure it is universal across Scotland.

The proposal by the ESC for mandatory, five yearly checks, by a registered electrician, of both the electrical installation in a rented property and any electrical appliances supplied with it is both sensible and practical.

I intend to bring forward an amendment to the Housing Bill next year and am hopeful that the vital aspect will be underpinned in the legislation.

I have met with the Margaret Burgess, the Scottish Government Housing Minister, and I understand she is open-minded to this idea which will make thousands of Scotlands homes safer.

Phil Buckle, Director General of the ESC added:

We are delighted that Bob Doris is supporting our proposal. With the majority of domestic fires in Scotland caused by electricity, we believe regular electrical safety checks - undertaken by a suitably qualified person - is particularly important for raising standards in the Private Rented Sector.

Originally posted here:
Together we can make Scotland better.

By Tessa R. Salazar Philippine Daily Inquirer

Samiana

MANILA, Philippines Robert Dazo Samiana, 40, who had been pulling double duty as a barangay tanod (watchman) and electrician on-call to support his live-in partner and their five kids, suffered a stroke when he arrived home from work on August 14.

He was rushed to Las Pias General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center at Pulang Lupa, Las Pias where he was confined for a few weeks.

Samianawho resides on Bignay Street, Golden Acres, Talon 5, Las Pias Citycan no longer stand nor fend for himself, let alone work because half of his body is paralyzed. He is now being cared for at home by his live-in partner wife Bernadita who also has to look after their five children, the eldest just aged 14 and the youngest just a year old.

Samiana needs intensive physical therapy and a combination of medicines for his complete recovery. With no means of livelihood, his health remains at risk while the children are in danger of dropping out of school.

Those who wish to help him can get in touch with Bernadita at 0907-9589859 or 0949-9190527. Donations can be deposited in the familys BDO account (1009-0510-0062463 with account name Bernadita Andrade Ygot).

Follow Us

Recent Stories:

Tags: assistance , Children , Family , Health , Philippines , stroke

Follow this link:
Stroke patient with 5 children needs help

On Monday morning Sheri Hebdons power came back, restored by Toronto Hydro after the ice storm left power lines strewn across the lawn of the familys east-end home.

Hebdon, her wife, their three young children and their dog joyfully returned home.

But the next day, Christmas Eve, the power line was disconnected by Toronto Hydro because it was unsafe due to a damaged electrical mast attaching the wires to their house.

They would have to pay for a licensed electrician to come out and fix it before a hydro crew could reconnect them.

So, once again, just as the Star reported Sunday , the Maatta-Hebdon family packed a suitcase and moved to a friends place, just in time for Christmas.

On Boxing Day, an electrician came by and repaired the mast at a cost of $2,000 but by the end of the week, power still had not been switched on.

I dont mind waiting a week, I dont even mind waiting a month, says Hebdon. What she does mind is that she has no idea when Toronto Hydro is going to reconnect her home, leaving her exhausted family in limbo. All she has been told is that she is on a list.

You can only live with uncertainty for so long, she says.

On a Leslieville street, the area around 87-year-old Con ONeills home was blocked off by caution tape Friday morning. The power line to his house snaked from a pole across the street and through snow drifts and branches to the mast hanging precariously off his house.

Its been like that since the storm, when tree branches came crashing down around 4 a.m., taking the wire with it.

The rest is here:
Ice storm aftermath: The dark spot in a power-restored neighbourhood

28 December 2013| last updated at 10:57PM

TNB senior general manager Kamaliah Abdul Kadir had said much about it in a newspaper column recently and as a consumer advocate, I appreciate her advice.

She said all electrical installations must be carried out by competent individuals who have the knowledge, skill and experience.

TNB has advised consumers not to carry out electrical wiring themselves as it is not only dangerous, but can be fatal, too. It wants consumers to get a TNB-registered wiring contractor as it is not a do-it-yourself job.

I was also informed of a consumer who nearly got electrocuted when working with some wires. This must be avoided.

If you know nothing about electricity, keep away. Let the qualified handle it. It can be dangerous and fatal, too. So beware.

Much care and caution must be exercised here or else things can get out of hand. Some of the things to take heed are:

WHEN installing approved receptacles in the bathroom, kitchen or outside, make sure only normal plugs are used;

DON'T use any extension cord or appliance cord that is cut or frayed. Don't allow electrical cords to come in contact with water;

HAVE a qualified electrician regularly check the household's electrical systems, extension leads and appliances, particularly, electric blankets and those appliances with metal cases;

Follow this link:
ELECTRICITY CARE: Take heed of life-saving tips