Friday, May 11, 2007

Firefighters battle US blazes coast to coast

MSN News

US firefighters have battled huge blazes, including one that burned homes and forced residents and visitors on Santa Catalina Island to flee the resort off the southern California coast.

Dozens of fire engines arrived through the night aboard giant military hovercraft from the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton. The high-speed hovercraft can carry 60 tons over land or water and are often used by the military on humanitarian missions.

The blaze broke out on Thursday afternoon on the island more than 20 miles off the coast.
Flames threatened the city limits of Avalon, where hundreds of people lined up at the harbour to board ferries back to the mainland. Many covered their faces with towels and bandanas as ashes fell.

A few homes burned but firefighters were protecting other properties late into the night, Avalon Fire Chief Steven Hoefs said. About 1,200 homes were under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders.

In Georgia, a second wildfire in Okefenokee Swamp has burned more than 100,000 acres, rivalling in just five days the vast record-setting fire that has scorched south-east Georgia for more than three weeks, firefighters said.

The rapidly growing fire, fed by fast-burning swamp grasses, was ignited ON Saturday by a lightning strike in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Georgia and Florida have been battling wildfires for weeks, with nearly 300 square miles charred as a drought has left the land tinder-dry.

Smoke-filled air created a burning smell and a dusting of ashes that coated cars and buildings through much of Florida and south-eastern Georgia. The haze over Florida forced the closure of several highways.

Health officials warned the elderly, small children and people with breathing problems to stay indoors, although some areas were not as smoky. No one has died in the fires and just one firefighter had minor injuries.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook

From
Communicators Press Books

At last, the very best recipes culled from the kitchens of the award-winning Soul Vegetarian restaurant chain. Good eating has married good health in this collection of fresh and exciting main dishes, entrees, appetizers and desserts that highlight the very best of healthy, delicious and easy to prepare, vegetarian cuisine. The step-by-step instructions are exact, and easy-to-follow, with an accompanying guide for weights and measures, and a handy list of natural supplements and vitamins.

To place your order click on: Communicators Press Online: The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook

Yahweh Ben Yahweh dies at 71

BY AMY DRISCOLL
adriscoll@MiamiHerald.com

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, who founded a Liberty City temple in Florida that transformed the neighborhood in the 1980s, is dead at 71.

Yahweh Ben Yahweh, died Monday in Miami. Yahweh, 71, died of prostate cancer in his sleep, his lawyers said.

KNN - Yahweh Ben Yahweh has no affiliation with the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

L.A. fire forces evacuation of homes, landmarks

A sad night for Los Angeles
MSNBC News Service

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters made progress early Wednesday against a wildfire blazing over Dante’s View in the brush-covered hills behind the city’s iconic Griffith Observatory. Animals at the nearby Los Angeles Zoo were moved indoors, and dozens of homes were evacuated.

The 600-acre blaze in sprawling Griffith Park was just one firefighters were battling across the nation. A wildfire in northern Minnesota has already destroyed 40 homes and buildings, and brush fires in Georgia and northern Florida have charred more than 200 square miles.

Overnight, five helicopters flew dangerous water-dropping missions in Los Angeles, helping fire crews get the blaze about 40 percent contained. Griffith Park is a mix of wilderness, cultural sites, horse and hiking trails and recreational facilities set on more than 4,000 acres in the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. SEE: Progress made in L.A. fire

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Too many babies are teeny couch potatoes

Study finds 90 percent of kids under age 2 watch TV and DVDs
Reuters News Service

About 90 percent of U.S. children under age 2 and as many as 40 percent of infants under three months are regular watchers of television, DVDs and videos, researchers said on Monday.

They said the number of young kids watching TV is much greater than expected.

A second study suggested excessive TV viewing can lead to attention and learning problems down the road.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that children in the United States watch about four hours of television every day. They recommend that children under age 2 should not watch any and older children should watch no more than 2 hours a day of quality programming.

In a separate survey of 1,051 parents published in the journal Pediatrics, 75 percent of children aged 0 to 6 were found to watch TV every day, often in their own bedrooms.

A second study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that teens who watch three to four hours of television a day are more likely to have attention or learning problems and are less likely to get a college degree.

“Even watching more than an hour of TV per day had some adverse consequences, but three hours was much worse than one hour, and two was worse than one,” Jeffrey Johnson of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute said in a telephone interview. See: Too many babies are TV watchers

Monday, May 07, 2007

Softball: Dimona steals win from Tigers

By JPOST.COM STAFF

A straight steal of home gave Dimona a 2-1 win over the Tigers in an Israel Softball Association game last week.

On Monday, Yigahl Ben Israel took off for home plate on a throw back to Tigers pitcher Goose Gillett to break the 1-1 deadlock in a scintillating pitching duel between Gillett and Yarone Ben Israel (12 strikeouts, four hits allowed).