Kansas City, Mo. (PRWEB) February 11, 2015

Hotel Phillips, a historic boutique hotel located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, unveiled its new guest room to the public, the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Room, at the Hello Art 5th Anniversary Celebration on February 6, 2015. Each night the room is reserved, Hotel Phillips will donate a portion of the proceeds to Hello Art, a local arts organization offering fun and informative events that bring together all those in the local community who appreciate and want to support the arts.

The inspiration and design behind the AIR Room came from current Artist-in-Residence, Madeline Gallucci. During the month of January, Gallucci transformed a junior guest room suite into a brilliant piece of work, now called the AIR Room. The room serves as an inspiration to those who appreciate the arts community and the city. The room encompasses the local Kansas City vibe and atmosphere, incorporating Kansas City landmarks and visuals that make the city a great place to live, work and play.

Gerald Rappaport, general manager of the Hotel Phillips, calls the room a unique experience and says, We have always had a strong passion for supporting the local Kansas City arts community, and the AIR Room gives us a chance to further tell that story and share our rich art culture with hotel guests. The Hotel Phillips plays a central role in connecting visitors with the local arts community and encourages them to take notice of this local movement that is such a vibrant part of Kansas City.

Gallucci said she was inspired by sights in Kansas City such as reflections of the iconic Kansas City Power & Light sign, the pastel January sunsets, and the commotion of the streets on a Friday night.

I wanted to bring these experiences into the interior space and context of a hotel guest room. Ive strived to detail these romantic urban observations within my painting, and let hotel guests temporarily experience and live in this transitory space, making their own observations about the city and the art.

The AIR Room is just one component of Hotel Phillips Artist-in-Residence program. Now in the fourth year of the program, the Hotel Phillips annually selects a new artist to showcase his or her work at a studio inside the hotel, as well as throughout the hotel and within its award-winning restaurant, 12 Baltimore.

This initiative is just one of many arts-focused programs the Hotel Phillips supports. In addition to supporting and partnering with Hello Art, Hotel Phillips is also hosting several art workshops throughout the month of February which are open to the public. To view the full list of events, please visit Hotel Phillips website at http://bit.ly/HotelPhillipsArt.

Located in the epicenter of the local arts community, Hotel Phillips is proud to support local artists, musicians and arts organizations within Kansas City, and play a part in continuing to build upon the citys reputation as a leading arts community.

To book your stay in Hotel Phillips new AIR Room today, please visit the website at http://www.hotelphillips.com or call (877) 704-5341.

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Hotel Phillips Unveils New Artist-In-Residence Room To Support Local Arts Organization, Hello Art

Editors Note: This article is the second in a three-part series chronicling the process of having a total knee replacement and the sequence of events through the operation and rehabilitation.

I talk with Dr. Jason Thackeray to try to understand what happens in the operating room during a total knee replacement. Im introduced to Mike Kurth, Orthopaedic Sales Consultant and part of the team who gives me a feel for the part he plays in this incredibly amazing surgery.

Dr. Thackeray compliments Roger Hall, CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital, for the outstanding operating room team the hospital provides for performing this procedure. I feel like a swirling dervish has blown through as names are tossed into place. Sacred Heart provides a dedicated Scrub Tech in addition to Second Surgical Assistant, operating room Circulating Nurse, and Anesthesiologist along with many others Im sure I have missed. Shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Thackeray in every surgery is Certified First Surgical Assistant Chad Lindley.

Dr. Thackeray is quick to tell me and often repeats the fact that the medical people who will gather in this operating room are all professionals and act not as individuals but as a team.

All are important to receive the remarkable outcomes we strive for.

For my husband Norms knee implant, Dr. Thackeray chooses the Sigma rotating platform knee offered by DePuy Synthes Joint Reconstruction. This is one of the only companies in America that offers this rotating platform technology.

This knee implant is designed to accommodate bending and rotation by as much as 15 degrees. It was the first knee available in the United States designed uniquely for this type of natural rotation. The DePuy knee has been implanted since 2000 with more than 1 million chosen by surgeons around the world.

The Scrub Tech and Circulating Nurse along with Mike Kurth of DePuy Synthes are the first people to enter the operating room to begin preparations for my husbands total knee replacement. When Mike enters the room it is quiet and a bit on the chilly side. The smell is clean with a touch of crispness in the air. All of the arriving instruments were developed by DePuy for this operation. Mike brings in five or six instrument trays, each piece to be washed and sterilized. The Surgical Tech lays each instrument out on the table with extreme exactness. He works with the precision of a diamond cutter.

Each one pound knee replacement requires a femoral component, rotating platform insert, tibial component and patella (knee cap). Mike says, I have to be ready for anything the surgeon asks me for. I usually bring seven sizes of component parts to be positive I will always have the perfect match needed for each patient.

Lights come up in the room and the sounds from the arriving surgical team begins to drift around the room like quietly falling snow as each prepares his position.

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HALL: Dr. Jason Thackeray: Into the operating room

Looking like a deathtrap in a movie, this room at one of the ESA's test centers plays a critical role in satellite building.

They might look mean, but all those blue spikes are actually made from foam to help absorb sound in the chamber. (Click to enlarge.) ESA/Guus Schoonewille

Just as vacuum chambers and swimming pools are used to test space suits, special environments can be necessary to make sure that satellites built on Earth can function in space.

That's exactly what you see in this photo released Thursday by the European Space Agency. It shows the interior of a room with 30-foot-high walls called the Maxwell Test Chamber. It's located in the ESA's facility in the Dutch city of Noordwijk at the largest satellite-testing facility in Europe.

The room has metal walls that convert it into a Faraday cage, a structure that shields the inside from any external electromagnetic signals. In addition, the walls are coated in hundreds of foam pyramids that absorb sound as well as any other signals produced inside the room, "mimicking the infinite void of space," according to the ESA.

This creates an environment in which researchers can test a satellite to see if its equipment all works together or if there's any internal interference.

Faraday cages are named for electrically minded scientist Michael Faraday, who invented and tested out the idea in the early 1800s. They work on the principle that an electromagnetic discharge will travel along the outside of a conductive cage, keeping the inside free from the current.

Airplanes act as Faraday cages, protecting passengers when the plane is struck by lightning. An artist even created a wearable dress that saved her from a million volts. You can build your own cage with some cardboard and aluminum foil (and a few other things), or you can just use a trash can as a makeshift way to protect your electronic devices if your neighborhood ever gets hit with an electromagnetic pulse device.

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This 30-foot-tall spiked Faraday cage helps satellites thrive

14 Suffolk Street, Pembroke, MA
Meticulously maintained Gambrel Cape w/large family room addition with vaulted ceiling, skylights, and wood ceiling. Sliders to large 3 season room w/hot tub, ceramic tile floor and sliders...

By: Larry Meredith Hunt, The Hunt Team

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14 Suffolk Street, Pembroke, MA - Video

Niceville residents J.V.O. and Sharon Weaver stroll down the boardwalk at Turkey Creek Nature Trail on Monday. The boardwalk follows the creek from a pavilion next to John Sims Park-way 3/4 of a mile north.

NICEVILLE Fans of the Turkey Creek Nature Trail boardwalk will soon have even more room to roam.

Beginning in late February/early March, construction will begin on an addition that will connect two separate sections of walkway.

Currently, the section of the park with its entrance on John Sims Parkway has approximately of a mile of boardwalk that is enjoyed by walkers, joggers and swimmers headed for a dip in the creek. The other section of the park, whose entrance is located off of College Boulevard, includes approximately 900 feet of boardwalk. Both sections feature pavilions and picnic tables.

It will take about 320 feet of new boardwalk to connect the two sections, giving park visitors nearly a full mile of walking and jogging space. The addition is expected to take about three months.

If all goes well, we hope to get started soon, and have the addition finished by summer, said Willie Hines, the citys repair and maintenance foreman.

Visitors to the park on Monday were happy to hear that work on the addition will begin soon.

I think its wonderful, said Niceville resident Michelle Tew, who walks the length of the boardwalk and back at least once a day and sometimes twice. This is such a beautiful place to walk, and Ive been looking forward to the new section.

Crestview residents Debbie and Burl Olson are also frequent visitors.

Im happy to hear that, Burl said. We try to walk about two miles a day, so the addition will put the length right in our wheelhouse.

Excerpt from:
Turkey Creek to see improvements

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Following "Coyotes" and "Lampshades on Fire," Modest Mouse have a new track out titled "The Best Room." Showcasing Isaac Brock's signature choppy vocals, the penultimate track on the forthcoming Strangers to Ourselves decries the deteriorating state of Western civilization, crowing, "The lessons unlearned, oh this meeting it's adjourned! / These western concerns, 'Hold my place in line while I take your turn.'"

In addition to the new song, the guys announced plans to push the release of their album back to March 17, which is a bummer, but to help make up for things they released the album's track list, which you can see below. Hear "The Best Room" above.

Modest Mouse, Strangers to Ourselves track list: 1. "Strangers To Ourselves" 2. "Lampshades On Fire" 3. "Shit In Your Cut" 4. "Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)" 5. "Ansel" 6. "The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box" 7. "Coyotes" 8. "Pups To Dust" 9. "Sugar Boat" 10. "Wicked Campaign" 11. "Be Brave" 12. "God Is An Indian And Youre An Asshole" 13. "The Tortoise And The Tourist" 14. "The Best Room" 15. "Of Course We Know"

spin

The Lists The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s

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Stream Modest Mouse's Political New Track, 'The Best Room'

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Robert Griffin III reportedly has some personal issues with his teammates.

By Larry Brown

The NFL season has finally ended, which means its time for NFL writers to do what they do best: criticize easy targets. Its no surprise that the columns about Robert Griffin III have already started.

The Washington Posts Jason Reidchecked in with a column Mondayabout RG3s personality. The crux is that the quarterback isnt one of the boys and that hurts his ability to be a leader.

Heres what Reid wrote:

(Tim) Brown said publicly what some of Washingtons coaches and players have shared with me privately: Griffins aloofness has been an issue in the locker room. Combine that with Griffins poor performance the past two seasons and a Super Bowl-sized ego that tripped him up after his magical rookie year, and its clear Griffin isnt close to becoming the player the Redskins need him to be.

Reids writing was inspired mostly by comments Tim Brown, who was on the radio Thursday to promote his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Brown has interacted with Griffin during Heisman Trophy gatherings andshared some insight on Griffins character.

But I know RGIII well enough to know that hes a little different, Brown said on ESPN 980 last week. I mean, I know he is maybe not the brother that youre gonna be hanging out in the locker room with. And from that standpoint, thats something that he has to work on. If hes going to be a leader, he has to be a leader of everybody in the locker room, and not just one or two guys in the locker room.

Brown also said that Griffin has a hard time joking around with the other Heisman winners, which leads him to be an outcast. Brown suggests Griffin should loosen up in order to relate better to his teammates.

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RG3's 'aloofness' in locker room an issue for Redskins?

Leo Krizan, Bell Captain, at The Oxford Hotel, waits for guest to arrives, February 02, 2015. Colorado's hotel sector is improving fast since its dip during the recession. Room rates and occupancy levels are at record highs. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

There's still room at the inn, but less of it than ever before in Colorado's hotels.

A resurgent economy brought a record number of guests to the state's hotels in 2014. Along with healthy occupancy levels came the highest room rates ever recorded in Colorado.

Analysts say the industry is hitting on each of its three main cylinders: business travel, convention bookings and vacationing visitors.

2014 marked the fifth consecutive year of improvement for hotel operators since the market faltered during the recession of 2008-09.

Rising fundamentals also are helping bring the industry out of years of dormancy in which few new hotels were built. An estimated 1,700 rooms will be added in metro Denver in 2015. That 3.8 percent gain in inventory is the fastest growth spurt in 15 years.

"The market is strong and I think we'll continue to see demand (for rooms) continue to increase in 2015," said Bob Benton of Robert S. Benton & Associates, co-author of the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

Colorado hotels reached an average occupancy rate in 2014 of 68.3 percent, according to the lodging report. The statewide average room rate was $135, an increase of 6 percent from 2013.

Metro Denver's room rates grew even faster, rising 8 percent to an average of $124.

The metro average rate belies an extremely healthy luxury hotel market in downtown Denver where it's not unusual to see rates as high as $400 a night during peak weekday business travel periods.

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Demand fuels record room rates, occupancies in Denver and Colorado hotels

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401(k) plans can be a powerful tool in promoting financial security in retirement. They are a valuable option for businesses considering a retirement plan, providing benefits to employees and their employers.

Employers start a 401(k) plan for many reasons:

This publication highlights some of a 401(k) plans advantages, some of your options and responsibilities as an employer operating a 401(k) plan, and the differences among the types of 401(k) plans. For more information, a list of resources for you and for 401(k) plan participants is included at the end of this booklet.

When you establish a 401(k) plan, you must take certain basic actions. One of your first decisions will be whether to set up the plan yourself or to consult a professional or financial institutionsuch as a bank, mutual fund provider, or insurance companyto help with establishing and maintaining the plan. In addition, there are four initial steps for setting up a 401(k) plan:

Adopt a written plan documentPlans begin with a written document that serves as the foundation for day-to-day plan operations. If you have hired someone to help with your plan, that person likely will provide the document. If not, consider obtaining assistance from a financial institution or retirement plan professional. In either case, you will be bound by the terms of the plan document.

Once you have decided on a 401(k) plan, you will need to choose the type of 401(k) plan that is best for youa traditional 401(k) plan, a safe harbor 401(k) plan, or an automatic enrollment 401(k) plan. In all of these plans, participants can make contributions through salary deductions.

A traditional 401(k) plan offers the maximum flexibility among the three types of plans. Employers have discretion over whether to make contributions for all participants, to match employees deferrals, to do both, or to do neither. These contributions can be subject to a vesting schedule (which provides that an employees right to employer contributions becomes nonforfeitable only after a period of time). Annual testing ensures that benefits for rank-and-file employees are proportional to benefits for owners/managers.

There are several kinds of 401(k) plans that aren't subject to the annual contributions testing required with traditional 401(k) plans. These are known as safe harbor 401(k) plans and, in exchange for avoiding the annual testing, employees in these plans must receive a certain level of employer contributions. Under the most popular safe harbor 401(k) plan (discussed in this publication), mandatory employer contributions must be fully vested when made.

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401(k) Plans For Small Businesses - U.S. Department of Labor

HOPEDALE An emergency department nurse who has worked at Hopedale Hospital for 21 years, Leah Warrick showed off an emergency department procedure room one of three larger replacement rooms with new equipment.

"It's private," Warrick said of each suite. "In the old ER, patients would share a room.

"It's easily accessible, we have a new heated ambulance bay, we have more space and it's going to be more efficient for the staff," Warrick said during a tour Friday.

The replacement emergency department is part of an $8.5 million renovation and expansion project to the hospital, which is the heart of Hopedale Medical Complex in this Tazewell County town of 850 people.

The medical complex has 330 full- and part-time employees and three will be added when the addition and renovation is complete, said Chief Operating Officer Mark Rossi.

The project is a 10,000-square-foot addition and 20,000-square-foot renovation to the hospital, which opened in 1955.

"The old building was pretty outdated," Warrick said. "But this is top-of-the-line equipment.

"We're a tiny hospital. This is pretty swanky for us," she said with a smile.

"It has an ultra-modern feel," Rossi said. "With all the natural light, people (employees) just feel better walking into the building."

Opening Friday afternoon were the replacement emergency department with three patient suites, nurses' station and on-call doctor's overnight room; five larger private inpatient rooms; six outpatient surgery suites; an outpatient surgery entrance and lobby; a main hospital lobby with an adjoining patient conference room; and a replacement helipad.

The rest is here:
Hospital opens expanded, renovated areas