Thursday 29 December 2011

valentines flowers ideas 2012 - YEAR IN REVIEW: Air cargo dreams fly away with Pan Am executive’s arrest


It sounded too good to be true, and maybe it was.

In 2010 a company that would soon call itself Pan American Airways Inc. moved into the original 1930s Pan American Western Division headquarters building at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport.

Bob Hedrick, the new PAA’s former chief executive officer — now jailed and awaiting trial on child pornography charges — talked a big game. In 2011, for instance, PAA would begin 70 cargo flights a month between Brownsville and various Latin Ameri-can destinations, he said.

“We will be announcing the reopening of Pan American Airways,” Hedrick told The Herald in November 2010. “We will also be announcing the reopening of the gateway to Latin America, started by Pan American back in 1929. Then they’re going to rededicate this building at the same time.”

A rededication ceremony did in fact take place the same month, complete with mariachi band, vintage aircraft flyovers, box lunches, and local luminaries taking turns at the microphone to praise PAA and Hedrick’s vision.

Hedrick had identified the South American floral industry, which ships billions of dollars worth of valentines flowers ideas 2012 a year into the United States, as a natural market for a Brownsville-based air cargo operation. He reasoned that flowers and other perishables arriving by air could be trucked to central U.S. buyers from Brownsville faster than from Miami.

In 2011 Hedrick expanded his plans. He envisioned Brownsville as the future gateway for air cargo flowing into Latin America from China via Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in Missouri. Lambert officials had spent years attempting to nail down a deal with China Cargo Airlines to make the airport the U.S. hub for Chinese cargo flights.

Hedrick, with Brownsville officials in tow, traveled to St. Louis to meet with Lambert authorities and discuss a potential St. Louis-to-Brownsville link. He spoke of St. Louis-Brownsville as if it were practically a done deal, though Lambert officials stressed that everything was preliminary. St. Louis actually did get a China Cargo flight from Shanghai in September. It was supposedly the first of many to come, though China Cargo has canceled every scheduled weekly flight since then.

This is likely due in part to the Missouri Legislature killing a tax credit bill — dubbed “Aerotropolis” — that would have made the route financially competitive. A smaller volume of air cargo coming from China is another probable factor.

Hedrick said PAA wasn’t intended as a passenger service but that it probably would fly passengers at some point. He identified Monterrey and Mexico City as possible destinations. When Hedrick found out that then-Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. and some city commissioners were pushing financial incentives to lure another carrier for passenger air service to Mexico — dubbed “Fly Fron-tera” — Hedrick cried foul, insisting PAA and other carriers be allowed to submit proposals for Mexico air service, rather than sneaking Fly Frontera in the back door.

He submitted his own proposal and went so far as to register the name “Fly Frontera” to prevent the firms behind it, Public Char-ter Inc. and Charter Air Transport, from using it. Apparently the principals hadn’t thought to register the name themselves. The city commission, meanwhile, voted to slow down and take a closer look at the Fly Frontera deal. In April, a less than glowing due diligence report by the Brownsville Economic Development Council caused crucial political support to evaporate, which prompted Fly Frontera’s principals to withdraw their proposal.

Hedrick appeared to enjoy his public battles with former commissioner Charlie Atkinson, a vocal Fly Frontera proponent openly contemptuous of PAA’s capacity for flying anything anywhere. Hedrick’s response was that big things were in the offing for Brownsville, and Atkinson would see.

In May, Hedrick received a boost to his credibility when the governor’s office bestowed upon PAA and Hedrick’s other Brownsville-based firm, World-Wide Consolidated Logistics Inc., the coveted Texas Enterprise Zone project designation. The des-ignation was awarded on the strength of Hedrick’s plan to make Brownsville the air cargo gateway to Latin America and connect with St. Louis for Chinese cargo.

It meant Hedrick would be eligible to apply for $2,500 per qualified job he created, based on PAA’s projections of 426 jobs created and $95.5 million in capital investment over five years. The Brownsville Economic Development Council had gone to bat in a big way helping PAA apply for the TEZ designation.

And then it was over: Federal agents arrested Hedrick at his Brownsville home on July 18. The arrest was on a federal complaint alleging that he shared multiple child pornography images over a three-month period with undercover investigators from Louisiana and Wisconsin. Hedrick is still in custody awaiting trial.

For BEDC officials and others who dared to believe Brownsville was actually on the verge of launching its own air cargo indus-try, under the venerable Pan American name no less, Hedrick’s unmasking and downfall must have seemed close to a betrayal. The city’s recent history is marked by more than one episode in which officials have thrown their support behind business ventures only to be left holding the bag. Taylorcraft and Titan Tire come to mind. The PAA debacle provided a new twist to Brownsville’s catalog of disappointments.

That said, 2011 was a good year for economic development in other ways. Among the highlights, according to BEDC: the North Brownsville Industrial Park christening; CK Technologies’ $20 million investment in its Brownsville truck part plant; AeroMexico’s inauguration of Brownsville-Monterrey passenger air service; and groundbreaking on new road projects and the West Rail Bridge, which will provide infrastructure for future commercial and industrial growth.

Also, Brownsville was designated a “Competitive Ready” city by the site selection/economic develop firm CR Group; and the Port of Brownsville advanced to third place — only behind Houston and New Orleans — in steel importing and exporting.

Salinas said the recession gave the BEDC time to step back, assess its goals and work toward them, with the result that 2012 should bring more good news.

“Our pipeline is full right now with projects from South America and Asia,” he said. “We’re very hopeful we’re going to be mak-ing an announcement in the next few weeks. 2012 is going to be banner year for Brownsville. I usually don’t like to say such a thing, but I think all the work we’ve done in 2010 and 2011 is going to pay off in 2012.”

As for PAA, Salinas said BEDC has heard little from Richard Alaniz (formerly Hedrick’s number two and now head of PAA), though he believes Alaniz is trying to secure Latin American cargo contracts. Hedrick was eager for media attention when he was running PAA. The same can’t be said for Alaniz, who has ignored multiple requests from The Herald for comment concerning the company’s future.

Salinas said that whatever happens to PAA, Hedrick’s observation that Brownsville is ideally situated geographically to take ad-vantage of the U.S.-Latin American cargo market holds true valentines flowers ideas 2012.

“He figured out that if Pan American Airways had its Latin American headquarters in Brownsville 50 years ago, it was for a rea-son,” Salinas said. “Now that we’ve been made aware of that, we’re going to do everything we can as a business community to pick up where he left off. We should have been doing this 30 or 40 years ago. Why were we not doing what Miami was doing? We’re really playing catch up with that one. Hopefully (PAA) will continue with the plan they had set in place. If not, there’s an opportunity for somebody else to do exactly that.”

Wednesday 28 December 2011

valentines flowers ideas 2012 - Orange County Celebrity Interior Designer Predicts Top 2012 Interior Design Trends


(1888PressRelease) Celebrity interior designer Kelli Ellis as seen on HGTV, TLC and Bravo offers her predictions for the top interior design trends of valentines flowers ideas 2012. The trends include greater use of color, changes in lighting schemes, use of texture and more for the new year.

According to celebrity interior designer Kelli Ellis, it's going to be a very happy new year for many people who are redesigning their homes or updating rooms and spaces. In her predictions for the top interior design trends for 2012, Ellis focuses on both fun and function.

Even better, she says that most of next year's trends are cost-conscious and budget-friendly with a focus on the basics as well as a few emerging products that can create the "wow" factor.

In particular, Ellis predicts:
The basics get bolder: "Over the last year, we've seen wood finishes getting lighter, rougher and unfinished. As a result, upholstered furniture is fighting back from beige!" she said. "We are seeing a slow trend towards bright, colorful and bold patterned sofas and chairs." Ellis adds that it's not "grandma's floral," but rather rich velvets, silks and chintz with bold patterns and contrast. For clients on a budget, she suggests reupholstering a favorite accent chair or changing one or two pieces of furniture to keep rooms fresh.

Let there be light: Aside from paint, Ellis encourages clients to update their lighting for a simple way to update a room. "What I change my clients' lighting, I almost always increase the size - think bigger for a big impact," she added. "The trend is to blend styles. Iron and crystal combinations, drum pendants and blown-glass, and colored crystal and organic shapes will instantly add some 'wow.'"

Fun function and form: A huge fan of texture, Ellis suggests the use of dimension to freshen a room's look and feel: "I L-O-V-E texture. I cannot get enough of tile and seemingly solid glass tiles add a subtle shine and shimmer to any room." In addition, Ellis recommends dimensional wallpaper and wall vases with fresh flowers as fun focal points.

Based in Orange County, Ellis' valentines flowers ideas 2012 About Kelli Ellis
Award-winning celebrity interior designer and design psychology expert Kelli Ellis is owner and lead designer of Kelli Ellis Interiors, Inc. Ellis has a bachelor's degree in Communications from Cal State Fullerton, a law school background and a certification from the Interior Design Institute. She has appeared on TLC's "Clean Sweep," HGTV's "Takeover My Makeover" and Bravo's "Real Housewives of Orange County," where she helped fan-favorite Jeana Keough turn her house in her dream haven. She is also spokesperson for the Society of American Florists. For more information, please visit www.kellisellis.com

Tuesday 27 December 2011

valentines flowers ideas 2012-We've got some big things planned for 2012

With the Christmas holiday behind us, it's time to look ahead to 2012. Aside from my own personal goal of being organized, and getting family and friends' birthday cards out on time (I have an excellent plan for this, by the way), we've been busy setting goals for projects across the Bakersfield.com Network of sites.

Our new online registration system will be appearing soon. Developers and designers are now untangling the wires on the staging server so we can test it and try our best to break it before making it live.

That will kick off a series of changes, including redesigned and enhanced news, sports and entertainment sections.

In my own cubicle here on the third floor at The Californian , I'm making copious notes and bookmarking dozens of sites as I look ahead to revamping and enhancing BakersfieldMom.com in 2012. I'll be asking for your input over the next month or so, but if you have the time now, email your ideas for what you'd like to see on the site -- content, community ... it's all open right now.

I'm also hoping to offer more contests and incentives for our Facebook fans and Twitter followers in the coming year.

We've got lots of great ideas and a lot of irons in the fire, but first we've got to get the online registration launched.

Cross your fingers for a smooth test and launch, and keep an eye here and on bakersfield.com/blogs for details as we roll out the changes.

Ready or not 2012, here we come!

Battle for ads

Back in the days of MySpace, users used to download and install custom themes to their profiles.

Pages would be adorned with sports logos, flowers, glitter and any number of things. Many of these page took forever to load, too.

When Facebook came along, that option wasn't available. While I thought I'd miss being able to customize my profile page, I really haven't.

Today, several companies are banking on people still wanting to add a little bling to their profiles.

But a recent story in The Wall Street Journal notes that Facebook has started legal action against some of those companies, including Sambreel Holdings LLC valentines flowers ideas 2012

When you download and install the software in question, you'll get extras such as a profile page that displays more about you and enhanced Web searches. But you're also agreeing to see more advertising on the page. These new ads push the Facebook ads further down the page and overlay Google ads that appear with search results.



The legal ground is described as murky and it looks like it's headed to court.

Last week Facebook employees were posting links to a page built to explain that Facebook makes money through ads (facebook.com/about/ads/).

Related? Not sure, but my guess is yes.

Podcast

Be sure to check out the Dec. 21 podcast of "Californian Radio." In the second half of the hourlong show, I talked with Debra Jackson, a professor of critical thinking and philosophy at California State University, Bakersfield.

Jackson talked about the most effective and ineffective ways to argue in an online forum.

She said a common mistake seen in a lot of online forum -- and BakersfieldTalks.com is no exception -- is that people misunderstand a person's point and end up arguing something completely different. Her recommendation: Make sure you're clear on the person's intended argument before firing back.

It was an excellent conversation, and you can download the podcast at www.bakersfield.com/CalifornianRadio.

Along these same lines, I've also posted an excellent piece on online comments on my Facebook page (facebook.com/jamiebutow2). The article appeared in The Guardian last summer and looks at the "pack mentality" that online comments and forums propagate, and highlights why deleting and blocking users isn't as cut-and-dried as you may think.

Best of Kern

Make sure you nominate your favorite business for our annual Best of Kern contest at www.bestofkern.com. The contest dates are new this year and nominations are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 2.

I repeat, nominations are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 2 and must be made online at www.bestofkern.com.

Voting on finalists in dozens of categories will begin mid-January.


Facebook affects your credit?

Well, this is kinda scary.

An article in PC World noted how online banks -- growing in popularity -- are increasingly requiring access to social media sites from applicants. Not only do they want to see your friends list (so they can drum up business), but they want access to your account (i.e. your log-in information) as well valentines flowers ideas 2012.

Huh?

In its FAQ section online, Hong Kong-based lender Lenddo notes: "As long as you don't fall behind on any Lenddo loan installments, you have complete control over your privacy settings and your information will only be shared with your permission. IF YOU FAIL TO REPAY, Lenddo MAINTAINS THE RIGHT TO NOTIFY YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY."

Can you just see the Facebook comments on that post?

Be careful what you agree to.

Friday 23 December 2011

Valentines Flowers Ideas 2012 - Tickled pink with Deutzia offer


This week’s online offer is a Deutzia Strawberry Fields for just £2.49 – that’s half price.

It’s a compact Deutzia with deep crimson buds opening to a beautiful white flushed pink.

It will grow to two metres, but can be pruned to half that to make it suitable for containers. valentines flowers ideas 2012 appear between May and July.

Advertisement >>
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Mirrorgarden.co.uk has more than 1,200 plants and bulbs available to order online, all at great prices. So why not browse our newly updated range?

And remember to look out for plenty of great money-saving deals in the special offers section.

Order any items from www.mirrorgarden.co.uk and get eight Giant Oriental Lilies worth £9.99. Orders over £40 will also receive a free collection of three Hemerocallis, worth £9.98. A charge of £3.99 P&P will be added to all orders.

Edible Garden Show offer

Looking for the ­perfect ­festive gift for green-fingered family and friends? Then why not serve up a couple of tickets to the UK’s biggest grow-your-own show?

It’s the season of goodwill and ­organisers of The Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh Park in ­Warwickshire have slashed ticket prices to next year’s event by a third – from £15 to £10 – to give Christmas shoppers an inspired gift option for loved ones with a passion to become more self-sufficient.

After its hugely successful debut in March 2011, The Edible Garden Show – recently named as the Most Popular Garden Event of the Year in a Horticultural Channel poll – returns in 2012. ­Scheduled for the start of the ­growing ­season, the show is crammed full of ­money-saving ideas.

And it also includes a mix of ­celebrity ­gardeners, chefs, ­livestock experts, growers, unique products, cookery ­demonstrations and fun-filled ­interactive events for the whole of the ­family.

Tickets to the valentines flowers ideas 2012 show will give the gardener in your life the ultimate grow-your-own experience.

But time is of the essence as this special offer, for adult tickets only, is for a limited period.

Bookings can be made today until ­midnight by quoting the code XMAS05 via the ticket ­hotline 0844 3388 001 or online at www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk

SEE WEBSITE FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS.