Labor issues could mean NYC school bus strike

The New York City schools chancellor on Sunday accused school bus drivers of “jerking our kids around” by threatening to strike and forcing more than 152,000 students to find alternative ways to get to class.

“A strike would affect our most vulnerable students,” Chancellor Dennis Walcott told a news conference at the Manhattan headquarters of the Department of Education.

The students who use the yellow school buses include 54,000 with disabilities, the chancellor said, and the “union should stop playing games, issuing threats of striking” — but not saying which day it might happen.

“The union has said, ‘Well, maybe on Monday, well maybe Wednesday, maybe we’ll do it, maybe we won’t do it.’ They’re jerking our kids around,” Walcott said. “We can’t allow that to happen.”

Officials of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union say they’re trying to avert a strike. But as Walcott spoke inside, thousands of drivers and their supporters packed City Hall Park for a boisterous rally.

The city is looking to cut transportation costs and has put bus contracts up for bid. The union is decrying the lack of employee protections in the bids, saying many current drivers could suddenly lose their jobs once their contracts are up in June.

A decision on the new bids is to be made in May, city officials said.

“They’re trying to replace us with inexperienced drivers working for new companies for minimum wage,” said Samuel Rivera, 38, who’s been driving for almost a dozen years.

In case of a strike, students will be given MetroCards to get to school. If they’re younger, a parent or guardian also would get a MetroCard to escort a child. And in the case of special needs children, families would get reimbursed for non-public transportation.

The union argues that child safety is at stake if less experienced drivers are hired for lower wages.

Walcott countered that bids include stringent safety requirements for the drivers — as well as savings that could be used for educational purposes. He said New York has not used significant competitive bidding for new yellow bus contracts since 1979, resulting in a $6,900 annual busing cost per child — compared with $3,124 in Los Angeles.

A strike would impact all students who use the buses, including parochial and private schools.

New York City has 1.1 million students in its school district.

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Billionaire Phillip Frost an ‘entrepreneur’s entrepreneur’

For that blind first date, a half-century ago, the young doctor, Phillip Frost, showed up at Patricia Orr’s family house in suburban New York, with an unusual gift: a miniature mushroom garden.

In the 50 years since, Frost, the son of a shoe store owner, has gone on to amass a fortune of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine, becoming the 188th wealthiest man in the United States by developing and selling pharmaceutical companies. Along the way, he and Patricia have become major philanthropists in Miami-Dade County and they’ve signed a pledge to give away at least $1 billion more.

“He’s a relentless guy,” says Miami banker Bill Allen, who’s know him for more than 40 years. “He’s not afraid to take risks. ... He knows the intimate details of the chemistry of products, and he’s the kind of guy who can examine 50 deals while eating a sandwich.”

CNBC’s Jim Cramer recently praised Frost’s “incredible track record” for developing companies, calling Frost’s latest endeavor, OPKO Health, a “very risky” investment while noting it could offer huge gains under Obamacare.

But back in 1962, Patricia’s first impression was that Phil Frost was a bit of a nerd, finishing his medical internship with a strong interest in research — including mushrooms. She figured an academic career loomed.

“My mother was very impressed,” recalls Patricia, not so much by the M.D. behind Frost’s name but by the gift, something more serious than the usual flowers or candy. Serious was fine with Patricia, who was living at home while working toward a master’s degree in education at Columbia University. For their first date, they listened to a classical music concert.

Frost’s rise to riches may seem highly distinctive, but in an odd coincidence he has much in common with another prominent Miamian. Frost, 76, and car dealer Norman Braman, 80, both frequently appear on the Forbes list of wealthiest Americans. Both grew up in Philadelphia — Frost the son of a man who sold shoes, Braman son of a barber. Both are Jewish, well-known art collectors and philanthropists.

“He’s an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur,” says Braman. “We have a lot in common, coming from very poor families. But he went to Central High (a public school for exceptional students) and I was not qualified to go there.”

There are other differences. While Braman is voluble and highly visible in the causes he supports, Frost tends to be a reticent, almost shy speaker, given to careful pauses.

‘Lucky chances’

Told that a former colleague had called Frost “lucky,” Frost thought for a long moment. He could have cited many national business stories about his business acumen. Instead, he responded crisply: “I’ll be satisfied with lucky. I benefited from chance meetings.”

Frost spent his first years living above the shoe shop within an Italian market in South Philly. His two brothers were 15 and 16 years older. “I was an afterthought.”

The family was religiously observant, and Frost recalls his father singing him songs in Yiddish when he was small. He lived at home while attending the University of Pennsylvania, except for a year abroad in France. He took many science courses, but his major was French literature.

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Neighborhood near Fort Lauderdale evacuated following hazmat incident

Homes in a neighborhood near Fort Lauderdale were evacuated Saturday following a hazmat incident in the 250 block of Northwest 31 Avenue, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

At about 10 a.m. the sheriff’s office received a call from a resident , who noticed chlorine inside a steel tank he had purchased.

There was minor leakage from the tank discovered and some homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution due to the strong smell.

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue is currently on scene and has the situation under control, according to a media release.

In addition, both north and southbound traffic on Northwest 31 Avenue is being diverted between Broward Boulevard and Northwest Sixth Street.

No injuries have been reported.

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Ohio sheriff confronts protesters in football rape case

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) – A county sheriff under fire for how he has handled a high school rape investigation faced down a raucous crowd of protesters on Saturday and said no further suspects would be charged in a case that has rattled Ohio football country.

Ma’lik Richmond and Trenton Mays, both 16 and members of the Steubenville High School football team, are charged with raping a 16-year-old fellow student at a party last August, according to statements from their attorneys.

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla, accused of shielding the popular football program from a more rigorous investigation, told reporters no one else would be charged in the case, just moments after he addressed about 1,000 protesters gathered in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

“I’m not going to stand here and try to convince you that I’m not the bad guy,” he said to a chorus of boos. “You’ve already made your minds up.”

The “Occupy Steubenville” rally was organized by the online activist group Anonymous.

Abdalla declined to take the investigation over from Steubenville police, sparking more public outrage. Anonymous and community leaders say police are avoiding charging more of those involved to protect the school’s beloved football program.

The two students will be tried as juveniles in February in Steubenville, a close-knit city of 19,000 about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh.

The case shot to national prominence this week when Anonymous made public a picture of the purported rape victim being carried by her wrists and ankles by two young men. Anonymous also released a video that showed several other young men joking about an assault.

Abdalla, who said he first saw the video three days ago, said on Saturday that it provided no new evidence of any crimes.

“It’s a disgusting video,” he said. “It’s stupidity. But you can’t arrest somebody for being stupid.”

The protest’s masked leader, standing atop a set of stairs outside the courthouse doors, invited up to the makeshift stage anyone who was a victim of sexual assault. Protesters immediately flooded the platform, which was slightly smaller than a boxing ring.

Victims passed around a microphone, taking turns telling their stories. Some called for Abdalla and other local officials to step down from office for not charging more of the people and for what they called a cover-up by athletes, coaches and local officials.

Abdalla then climbed the stairs himself and addressed the protest over a microphone.

Abdalla said he had dedicated his 28-year career to combating sexual assault, overseeing the arrest of more than 200 suspects.

Clad in a teal ribbon symbolizing support for sexual assault victims, Abdalla later told Reuters that he stood by his decision to leave the investigation with local police. He would have had to question all 59 people that the Steubenville Police Department had already interviewed in its original investigation, he said.

“People have got their minds made up,” he said. “A case like this, who would want to cover any of it up?”

(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Eric Walsh)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Justin Bieber Weed Controversy Statement

After a photo of Justin Bieber allegedly holding a marijuana joint went viral on Friday, the singer took to Twitter in an attempt to clear the smoke.

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"Everyday growing and learning. Trying to be better. U get knocked down, u get up," he posted on January 5. "I see all of u. I hear all of u. I never want to let any of you down. I love u."

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While Bieber didn't directly address the photo, he went on to comment on his constant critics. "2013 ... new challenges. new doubters...Im ready. We are ready. see u all tomorrow and everyday after that," he wrote.

This was a rocky end to an already rough week for Bieber as a paparazzi attempting to get a photo of him was killed by a passing car. "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," he said in a statement. "Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."

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Leukemia patient, family return to renovated LI home after Sandy

Wayne Carrington

The Heckman family sits for the first time together on the front enteranceway of their new restored home.

Home makeover, Sandy edition, came to Long Island yesterday.

Steven Heckman, a 6-year-old being treated for leukemia, returned from Disney World with his family to a home salvaged from the ravages of the late October superstorm.

“Wow — that’s nice!” Steven said when he saw his bedroom, redone with a mural of his favorite character, Indiana Jones.

His mom, 29-year-old Danielle Heckman, cried as she stepped out of a white stretch limousine and got her first look at their renovated house in Amityville.

Wayne Carrington

The Heckman family's restored home in Amityville.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house this beautiful before,” she said.

The ranch-style home took on up to five feet of water that ruined clothes and toys, wrecked the floors and wiring, and destroyed the plumbing.

Volunteers from the local chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry repaired the $150,000 worth of damage and added on a new bedroom for the family’s two girls, Alexa, 9, and Juliana, 3.

“I’m still in shock,” Steven’s dad, also named Steven, said. “All of the words that can describe, ‘This is great,’ is all I can say. This is unbelievable.”

The Heckmans were struggling to keep their heads above water even before the storm hit.

Danielle Heckman had to quit her job to care for him her son, and Steven Heckman is unemployed. They were focused on getting chemotherapy for their son, who needs two years of treatment.

The family had moved into the house, which was once a summer place for Steven’s paternal grandmother, three years before the storm hit. The home was not insured.

The Heckmans thought $8,000 they’d raised for repairs would be enough. But then they discovered that fixing the heating system alone would cost $6,000.

“We were at our wit’s end,” Danielle Heckman said.

The remodeling association’s volunteers – 50 of whom began work the first week of December – worked on eight to 10 houses in the area last year.

“This house had a child in need,” said Art Donnelly, president-elect of the group’s New York City/Long Island chapter.

He learned of the family’s plight through the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, DKMS, or DeleteBloodCancer.org, which is looking for a match for Steven.

“It was one of the many horror stories after Sandy, but different because Steven has such a severe form of cancer,” said Jack Kirkland, a donor recruitment coordinator with the group.

“They needed help to build this house to safeguard their son.”

The volunteers delivered a bigger living room with a 42-inch flat-screen TV over an electric fireplace. They also built a new eat-in kitchen with a marble counter top and a Sub-Zero refrigerator, repaired the patio, and replanted grass.

A surprise extra was new furniture throughout the house.

“The family had no clue,” Kirkland said.

The family had visited Disney World courtesy of the Make a Wish Foundation of Suffolk County. While there, Steven was invited to begin the theme park’s Indiana Jones show with “Lights, camera, action!”

Back home, the family is still in shock by the generosity shown them.

“I’ll never know how to repay them,” Danielle Heckman said.

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Needle reaches the inner groove for Spec’s

In the end, even the almighty Adele and Taylor Swift could not hold back the inevitable.

Spec’s, one of the last great record stores, will close its flagship location in Coral Gables on U.S.1, thus joining once-favored chains like Virgin, Tower and Peaches, locally and abroad, that have withered from Internet shopping.

With the closing, sometime in January after the merchandise is liquidated, 64 years of history becomes memory for countless people who discovered a love of music in the home Martin “Mike” Spector built in 1948 when U.S.1 was but a two-lane road.

The original store, which sold cameras alongside 78-rpm records, was a few blocks south on the highway in South Miami and is now an Einstein’s bagel spot. The present location, opened in 1953 in Coral Gables, lived through the bobby sox era, Beatlemania, disco, punk, hip hop/rap, grunge, electronic dance music and all the format changes including 12-inch vinyl, 45-rpm, reel to reel, 8-track, cassette, compact disc and mp3.

After the first music industry recession in the late 1970s, Spec’s still managed to double in size by breaking through the walls of two restaurants in 1980 on its north side. The original room on the south side of the building would house, first, Spec’s’ VHS movie rentals and sales — Saturday Night at Spec’s! — and, later, one of the most expansive collections of classical music in town.

“It’s the soundtrack of our lives,” said store manager Lennie Rohrbacher, who spent 23 years of his life working at Spec’s, from Clearwater to Coral Gables

Music sales

At its peak, the Spec’s chain grew to some 80 stores in Florida and Puerto Rico. In 1993, annual sales exceeded $70 million. Spec’s went public in 1985 and, in 1998, the Spectors sold to Camelot Music Group, which was acquired by Trans World Entertainment Corp.

Trans World, which did not return several telephone messages, shrewdly kept the Spec’s name attached to the flagship store as goodwill even though, technically, it operated under the company’s retail subsidiary, F.Y.E. (For Your Entertainment).

But those are the cold, hard business facts.

Spec’s was “not like another Eckerd’s,” a drug store chain that also slipped into oblivion amid changing times, said Rohrbacher. “This was part of the community, part of my life. It’s not another store going under.”

Indeed, Spec’s was, first and foremost, a community gathering spot to share a love of music. In the ‘70s and ‘80s Spec’s resembled a makeshift camp site where people would sleep overnight in the parking lot to get the best shot at concert tickets in a pre-Internet world. Spec’s, a hop-skip from the University of Miami’s music school, served as its own music education outlet thanks to a knowledgeable sales staff.

Music education

“The proximity to the UM is prime real estate. Not to have it there will really be different. Even if they didn’t have what I was looking for, the staff was knowledgeable and you were sort of tapping into this knowledge base of people who could turn you on to new music. That’s what I’ll miss about it and the community around the store,” said Margot Winick, an employee at the Coral Gables Spec’s in the mid-1980s when she was a freshman at the UM.

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Miami foodies eagerly await Trader Joe’s in Pinecrest

Trader Joe’s grocery store’s whimsical ambiance charmed Kimberly Kurzweilt when she visited one in Los Angeles. Like a child in a candy store, she was attracted to the artisan cheese section, the “inexpensive wine,” and “the variety.” Now she can’t wait to have one close to home in Pinecrest.

If it all goes as planned, the new Trader Joe’s in Pinecrest will be swarming with employees wearing off-beat Hawaiian shirts sometime this year. Known for its specialty and organic foods at prices below those of other specialty grocers, Trader Joe’s has local foodies awaiting an opening date with cultish anticipation.

“The prices are always great,” Kurzweilt said. “The ambience is funky, ‘hippi-ish’ and retro in a good way.”

The California grocery chain is working with local officials to prepare for an opening this year at 9205 S. Dixie Hwy. Construction should begin early this year. There are no plans to demolish the 13,800 square feet building that used to house a Barnes & Noble bookstore, instead it will be remodeled, Pinecrest Planning Director Stephen Olmsted said.

“They submitted site plans in December and we already reviewed them,” Olmsted said. “Once the drawings are approved and building permits are issued construction will begin. I don’t anticipate any problems in the permitting process. It should be fairly soon.”

Jeannette Golindano can’t wait. When she moved to Miami in August from Charlotte, N.C., she missed the store, so she began to drive to the Trader Joe’s in Naples once a month to do her grocery shopping.

“It was during a friendly conversation with the cashier that we were told about Trader Joe’s opening in Miami in 2013,” Golindano said. “I can’t explain to you with words how we reacted to the news.”

Golindano began a petition on Facebook to get a Trader Joe’s in Miami. One of the Facebook fan pages she set up has more than 1,000 followers. Besides Naples, the chain also has stores in Gainesville and Sarasota, which opened last year, and another is planned for Tallahassee.

Fans usually flood in on opening day. The Naples Daily News reported that hours before the store’s opening last February, hundreds waited in a line that snaked around the entire back of the shopping center. Some people traveled from other cities and stood in line as early as 5:30 a.m.

Pinecrest officials believe parking won’t be an issue. The city requires the store to provide at least 56 parking spaces – and the store is planning to have 89, Olmsted said.

The store in Pinecrest is projected to generate about 70 jobs. The management team will come from existing stores around the country. As soon as the team is set, they will be hiring for “crew positions” to run registers, stock shelves, merchandise products, and chat with customers. The “Now Hiring” banner or sign will be placed outside of the store about one to two months before it opens.

According to the company website, the store will also have a food donation program coordinator. In 2010, Trader Joe’s donated more than 25 million pounds of food – that’s equal to almost 656 truckloads of food or 20 million meals, the company claims.

Bejamin Gutierrez, an architect who enjoys cooking for his family of five in Pinecrest, said he is looking forward to the opening. He said every one in the store in New York’s Upper West Side “was always friendly” and willing to offer samples of the food.

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“GameStick” Will Be the Size of a USB Memory Stick, Plug into Your TV

When the Ouya game console (scheduled to launch in April) made headlines last year, it was for three reasons. One, its size and price — the $ 99 box, which plugs into a TV, is the size of a Rubik’s cube. Two, its choice of operating system — it runs the same Android OS which powers smartphones and tablets. And three — its rise to fame on Kickstarter, where it shattered records and received millions of dollars in funding not from venture capitalists, but from gamers who wanted to see it made.

Now GameStick, “The Most Portable TV Games Console Ever Created,” is preparing to make a name for itself in exactly the same ways. Except that in some of them, it surpasses the Ouya.

Not even a set-top box

Up to this point, pretty much all home game consoles have been a box that sits on your shelf and plugs in to your TV. (Some PCs even do this these days.)

The GameStick, on the other hand, is about the size of a USB memory stick or a tube of lip balm. It plugs into a TV’s HDMI port, and connects to a wireless controller (or even a mouse and keyboard) via Bluetooth. It “works with any Bluetooth controller supporting HID,” and will come with its own small gamepad, which features twin analog sticks and a slot to put the GameStick itself inside when not in use.

Do we know if it works yet?

GameStick’s creators showed off pictures of a nonworking “Mark 1 Prototype Model,” and posted video of a “Reference Board” actually playing games while plugged into a television. This was a roughly USB-stick-sized circuit board, which lacked an outer case.

The reference unit had wires coming out of it, but the GameStick FAQ explains that on new, “MHL compliant TVs” it can draw power straight from the HDMI port, in much the same way that many USB devices are powered by a USB connection. A USB connector cable will be supplied with GameStick just in case, and “there will also be a power adapter.”

What about the games?

The GameStick reference unit was playing an Android game called Shadowgun, an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter which is considered technically demanding by Android device standards.

GameStick’s creators say “We have some great games lined up already,” and AFP Relax confirms that it has roughly the same internal specs as the Ouya, plus a lineup at launch of about a dozen games including several AAA Android titles.

How much will it cost, and when will it be out?

GameStick is available for preorder now from its Kickstarter page for $ 79. (The price includes the controller as well.) It has an estimated delivery date of April if the project is fully funded — and with 28 days to go, it had more than reached its $ 100,000 goal.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Mistresses First Look Exclusive Photo

This summer, Alyssa Milano returns to television with Mistresses, a complex ABC drama about four best friends and the controversial choices their hearts force them to confront.

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Featured in ETonline's exclusive first look photo are Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan as the rest of Milano's foursome and Brett Tucker, Jason George and Erik Stocklin as the main men in their lives.

Inspired by the hit British drama, Mistresses promises to be titillating and thought-provoking in equal measure. Check out a sneak peek below!

Mistresses premieres this summer on ABC.

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