Universities can have a hard time resisting the lure of luxury, which keeps room and board prices rising. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

Universities can have a hard time resisting the lure of luxury, which keeps room and board prices rising.

Valerie Inniss took out $11,500 in student loans this year to pay for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

None of it was for tuition.

The 21-year-old is on a four-year, full-tuition scholarship, won on the strength of her high school test scores. And she qualifies for the maximum federal Pell Grant $5,730 for low-income students.

But that and a campus job were still not enough to cover all her other costs and fees, from healthcare to books. The biggest expense? Nearly $11,000 for room and board, a charge that's risen 15 percent since she started college four years ago.

That breaks down to about $24 a day for food on the cheapest meal plan an amount that's twice what the government says the average American spends per day on food. To share a room will cost $786 a month, which isn't that far below the median monthly rent for an entire apartment or house in America $904 a month.

"I hate it. I absolutely hate it," Inniss says. "But there's nothing I can do about it because I value the education I'm getting here. It's a risk I'm taking."

In addition to steadily raising tuition, but with much less notice, public four-year universities have increased their charges for room and board by 9 percent above inflation in the past five years, according to the College Board. At private colleges, the price has gone up 6 percent above inflation.

Without the inflation adjustment, room and board fees at public colleges and universities have spiked by more than 20 percent since 2009. At private institutions, they're up 17 percent.

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Think Tuition Is Rising Fast? Try Room And Board

Are the cruise lines going the way of the airlines?

A la carte pricing is coming to cruising -- specifically, to some room service items on two major cruise lines. Carnival Cruise Lines will debut a pilot program next week on three of its ships where some room service items will incur a cost.

The announcement is the second of its kind. Norwegian Cruise Line, a Carnival competitor, recently began testing a $7.95 "convenience charge" for room service on the Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Breakaway. (The food items themselves are still free on NCL.)

On three Carnival ships -- Carnival Imagination, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Pride -- certain room service items will incur a charge as of April 12. Those items include chicken wings, fried shrimp, quesadillas, personal pizzas and sushi, the cruise line said. A wide range of items are still available at no charge, a cruise line representative told ABC News, "including seven different hot and cold sandwiches, three salad choices, three desserts and eight beverages, along with a Continental breakfast menu."

The charge for the items will be $4 to $7. The program may expand to other ships based on guest feedback.

Free room service has long been a favorite feature for cruisers, where food costs are generally considered to be part of the cost of sailing. Should potential cruisers be worried about more fees to come?

Over the years, weve certainly seen a number of new fees rolled out across some cruise lines and we do hear fears of nickel-and-diming from our avid cruisers who are used to the more traditional, more inclusive cruise fare model," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of CruiseCritic.com. "From a broader perspective, what were seeing, especially with big ship lines, is a closer alignment to more of a land resort model."

But she points out that the price of a cruise, while not all-inclusive, includes a lot. Accommodations, dining, kids clubs, entertainment and travel from place to place are all included in the price paid. These new fees, Brown said, are for offerings cruise lines may not have had in the past. And it's true that both NCL and Carnival Corp are adding more to the room service menus as they introduce fees.

"Weve seen that, for the most part, the addition of new fees is for either upgraded offerings or for features that simply hadnt been available before," Brown said, "rather than the lines unbundling fares and charging for what was previously included in the cost of a cruise.

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Ahoy Fees! Cruise Lines Test Room Service Charges

Twitter is tweaks its quote tweet button to add room for additional comments. Twitter

Twitter has revamped its "quote tweet" functionality to let users say more about the original message they are retweeting.

The overhaul will now embed the original tweet instead of displaying it as a text version, the company announced late Monday. The tweak will also allow Twitter users to add 116 characters of commentary in addition to the 140-character limit of the quoted tweet.

The update addresses a key complaint that Twitter users had with the quote tweet function, namely that it formerly left little or no room for other users to add commentary to retweets, defeating its purpose. The new functionality underscores Twitter's push to increase user engagement with the product -- something investors hope will translate into increased advertising revenue.

The social network announced a new feature in August that would surface tweets for users from accounts they don't follow -- a significant departure from its traditional practice of showing users only tweets from accounts they follow, as well as retweets and promoted tweets. With the same goal of increased engagement in mind, Twitter announced a new feature in January called Recap that recycles tweets deemed most relevant that were originally posted while users "were away" that they might not otherwise see.

Twitter said in February that 288 million people now actively use the service every month, up from the 284 million it reported in the third quarter. While Wall Street had looked for 295 monthly active users, investors welcomed the news, sending shares up more than 23 percent in the past two months.

Twitter began rolling out the update to Web and iPhone users on Monday, according to Mike Davidson, vice president of design at Twitter. An Android version is promised to be "coming soon."

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Twitter tweaks 'quote tweet' feature to add more text

It's time for the best -- and most misleading -- part of the NFL offseason.

Players for three clubs are now working out with their new teammates and after a few hours, they collectively get that feeling that their grouping of talent is far superior to any other grouping of talent in the NFL.

Go, Percy Harvin!

How about you, Rex Ryan?

And why not. Let's get some positive vibes from EJ Manuel, too.

We're not suggesting these bold predictions won't come true, it's just that this is the product of an offseason workout schedule and one practice. One. Practice.

We're also not suggesting the Bills will be the only team sounding like this at the start of voluntary offseason workouts. After all, everyone is a Super Bowl contender in April.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast welcomes back Colleen Wolfe to the show and breaks down team needs heading into the draft. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

Continue reading here:
Percy Harvin: World has yet to see me 'really explode'

Pottsville, Schuylkill County - The paper on the front door of the Schuylkill YMCA is a sign that big changes are coming to the facility on Centre Street in Pottsville.

"We have a lot, of just positive, things going on at the (YMCA)," Bob Oravitz, the CEO of the Schuylkill YMCA, said.

Oravitz told Eyewitness News that thanks a recent fundraising campaign and a local grant the Schuylkill YMCA has more than 100-thousand dollars for renovations.

Work has started on the woman's locker room.

"We took what was a locker room facility that could be best described as a latrine and we've changed that into an accommodating experience for our female members," Oravitz said. Oravitz also said they're adding new shower facilities along with an updated cooling system.

The men's locker room is also scheduled for a similar upgrade.

On the main floor the basketball floor will be replaced.

On the top floor the teen room is also getting a makeover.

"Upstairs in our teen center we're going to be constructing and building a state-of-the-art teen tutoring center and computer lab," Oravitz said.

Oravitz told Eyewitness News the upgrades to the teen center includes bringing in new computers.

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Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Renovations Coming To YMCA

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Its impossible to have one perfect template for set up, since we all teach different subjects and grades, and have different personal styles. But there are some things to remember when organizing the physical classroom. Spatial design can have a huge impact on how well a classroom runs.

One thing I have learned is that students love an organized teacher but balk at over regimentation. Keep the classroom seamless in function. You dont need to draw arrows on the floor or number desks to get results.

Other aspects of classroom organization are saved for other posts.

Classroom on a Grid

Stand in the center of your room and survey the whole classroom. Think of your space as a grid in your minds eye. Notice your critical work areas (art station, books, student computers). Identify defined storage spaces for tools, supplies and filing. Are your spaces orderly and neat, and do all tools (computers, staplers) function? Can human traffic flow in and out smoothly? It can be fun to work with graph paper to organize your set up. If youre a real geek you can cut out models for desks and shelves (cut at the correct ratio) and put them on graph paper to play with the placement.

Efficiency Expert

Be your own efficiency expert. Consider how you move around the room to do your job and how the students need to move. Arrange to accommodate traffic flow and efficiency of movement. Keep the student computers, out of room tasks such as copying, and even discipline steps in mind. You dont have to be a traffic engineer to get it right for your room.

Student Seating

Last year I tried the reverse fan, forum, groups of two, four and six, inner and outer circles and traditional rows, just to name a few. I surveyed the students to discover their preferences (groups, of course). Mike the custodian quickly answered, rows when I asked him what was easiest to clean. The fact is there is no perfect seating arrangement. Age, class size and goals all dictate which way to seat your students. I personally ended up going back to traditional rows (because of easy student access) and occasionally forming temporary groups as needed.

Know Yourself

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The Teacher's Go-To Page | Information, Products, Opinions

Saturday morning two wanted felons barricaded themselves inside their hotel room at MCM Elegante Suites Hotel.

When police tried to get them to open their door the pair turned on the fire sprinkler, flooding the room.

Colorado Springs police were waiting on a warrant to force their way inside the room when this all happened - But the flooding caused safety concerns, so springs police forced their way into the room.

26-year-old Alexis Celona and 24-year-old Michael Muehlbauer had warrants out for them on drug charges.

Now in addition to their original warrants, they'll also be charged with criminal mischief.

The flooding was so bad, the fire department had to remove the toilet in that room and try to force some of the water into its drain to alleviate the flooding.

Colorado Springs Fire Department estimates the couple caused more than $100,000 in damages to the hotel.

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Wanted Felons Flood Hotel Room While Springs Police Wait for Warrant

With upgraded design platforms, optical manufacturing expertise, and advanced testing and metrology, RMI launches its new Opto-Mech Program.

Lafayette, Colorado Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. (RMI) has launched its new Opto-Mech Program featuring design services in Zemax and SolidWorks, Class 100 clean room manufacturing, and advanced testing and metrology, e.g. active optical alignment, transmitted wavefront testing, and MTF/image quality testing.

Decades of precision optics manufacturing experience and significant capital investment in assembly and testing equipment have transformed RMI headquarters into a high-tech hub for manufacturing simple to complex opto-mechanical assemblies.

This new opto-mech program focuses on engineering, precision assembly techniques, adhesives, mechanical retention methods, and stringent tolerance standards to ensure that peak performance is achieved for every product assembled. In addition, RMIs enhanced in-house machine shop allows for faster prototyping and tooling for customer review and approval.

Product categories include lens objectives, prism assemblies, optical transmitter/receiver assemblies, and advanced optical fixtures. With full integration of optics and coatings capabilities, all IR, VIS and UV components are fabricated, coated and tested at RMI headquarters. All parts and assemblies are built and further tested to meet customer specifications, as well as applicable Mil-Spec standards and ITAR or RoHS compliance.

Visit rmico.com for more information about this new program as well as RMI's other products.

Contact: Linda Klicker Phone: (303) 664-5000 Email: lklicker@rmico.com

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Opto-Mechanical Services create simple to complex assemblies.

Magic Light Pictures, the BAFTA award winning, brand building and production company, announces the launch of Room on the Broom: Flying, the second interactive games app based on the much-loved classic picture book Room on the Broom, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Specifically designed for 3 7 year olds, the new Room on the Broom: Flying app is priced at 79p and is available to download exclusively via the App Store here for iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone and iPod Touch.

The game lets children take control of Witchs magical broomstick and zoom through the sky, collecting as many stars as possible. With room on the broom for everyone, they can also pick up all of the friends along the way - Dog, Bird and Frog. However, players will have to beware the Dragon, whos looking for Witch and chips and breathing fire behind them. Using simple and intuitive mechanics, the user is able to soar over the moors and mountains from the beautiful picture book. As well as catching stars, children can pick up letters and to spell phonic friendly words.

The app will be available to buy alongside the BAFTA nominated Room on the Broom: Games,Gruffalo: Games and Gruffalo: Photo apps, all published by Magic Light Pictures.

Martin Pope, co-founder, Magic Light Pictures said, Magic Light Pictures is dedicated to creating imaginative and high quality products which engage children and families. Were delighted to be creating a second Room on the Broom app with this Flying game, building on what we learned with our first, BAFTA nominated app. This game gives fans of the story an opportunity to immerse themselves even further in the wonderful world which Julia and Axel created. Room on the Broom: Flying is a fun and educational game which were looking forward to children enjoying.

The Room on the Broom animated film premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day 2012 in the UK garnering 7.6m viewers. This success has been replicated internationally. To date Magic Lights distribution arm has sold the BAFTA winning film to over 30 broadcasters and it has aired in over 167 countries worldwide. Territories include: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey with many countries translating the film into their native language to date it is available in 16 languages.

Magic Light Pictures has rolled out the first phase of its merchandising programme with plush and puzzles. The DVD successfully launched in the UK in March 2013 with over 100,000 units sold to date, and over 110,000 units shipped in the USA since release in August. Internationally, the Room on the Broom DVD is also being distributed in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong and Scandinavia.

The Room on the Broom book, which was first published in 2001 by Macmillan, continues to be a huge success with over two million copies sold worldwide. In the USA, the book has just claimed the #1 spot in the Childrens Picture Book Category for the week ending September 15, according to Publishers Weekly.

In addition to winning a BAFTA, the Room on the Broom film has also won an international Emmy Kids Award, the RTS Award for Best Childrens Programme and received an OSCAR nomination.

Source: Magic Light Pictures

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Magic Light Pictures Takes Flight With New Room On The Broom App