| Hawaii's values, traditions can inspire a nation
When I set out to achieve universal health care as first lady back in 1993, I knew I needed to learn from Hawaii's pioneering example. So I traveled to your state and met with health care professionals and community leaders to discuss how Hawaii's approach to health care could be a model for America. I was greatly impressed by what I saw. I was impressed by your passionate belief that health care is not a luxury -- but a fundamental right. I was impressed by this state's proud progressive tradition and firm commitment to caring for all its citizens. And I was impressed by Hawaii's rich cultural heritage and breathtaking natural beauty. But I know Hawaii also faces unique challenges -- from education to energy to the economy. And the people of Hawaii deserve a president who won't just talk about solutions to those problems -- but will actually deliver.
Puget Sound: the silent crisis
The new state agency created to restore and protect Puget Sound needs your help to return a beloved, complex body of water to robust health. Puget Sound Partnership is holding an opening series of workshops in nine communities to acquaint the public with the current condition of the Sound and identify the greatest threats to it.Information collected will be used to help develop an action agenda to be presented next fall to Gov. Christine Gregoire. A fundamental challenge for David Dicks, executive director of the Partnership, is convincing Puget Sound residents there is a problem. The scenic beauty of the Sound belies deeper, persistent problems. An updated report, State of the Sound 2007, describes the current condition "to be one of decline, with continuing harms to the clean water, abundant habitat and intact natural processes that are the foundations of a healthy environment." All of us have to better understand the problem before we see our own role in helping solve what the report portrays as a "silent crisis." Restoring Puget Sound means rethinking some of how we live, work and play along its shores and near the waterways that feed into it.
NY calorie rule applies to cocktails
Put down that margarita, and back away from the bar. A new city regulation that requires chain restaurants to display calorie information also covers cocktails, sodas and other beverages that appear on menus. "Drinks are almost the forgotten calories," said Cathy Nonas, director of physical activity and nutrition programs for the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "It's almost a side thought to the meal." The city Board of Health voted unanimously last month to approve the regulation, a new version of a law that had been struck down by a judge last year. The law, scheduled to go into effect on March 31, applies to restaurants with more than 15 outlets across the country. That includes fast-food places such as McDonald's and sit-down chains such as Olive Garden and T.G.I.
Toxic Cosmetics Getting Under the Skin of Concerned Investors
Health-conscious investors and consumers are starting to demand cosmetic companies report and ban toxic ingredients. SocialFunds.com -- As new studies expose the high number of toxic ingredients in personal care products and cosmetics, many consumers are asking just how safe are the products they use every day. Meanwhile, many investors are asking how safe from liability and market changes are the companies that manufacture and sell these products.
"The ground is shifting for manufacturers across all industries, including personal care," stated Noran Eid, an analyst at Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. "Investors should be aware of these issues when assessing long-term competitiveness and profitability."
Richard Liroff of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) agreed: "the safer cosmetics issue is part of larger safer chemicals policy issue.
Alpha Omega Jewelers
Peabody-based Analogic is a designer and manufacturer of advanced health and security systems and subsystems sold primarily to original equipment manufacturers. L-3 of New York is a prime system contractor in aircraft modernization and maintenance as well as in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and government services. Analogic's EXACT tomography system is the heart of the eXaminer 3DX Explosives Detection System, which was developed jointly by L-3 and Analogic and distributed exclusively by L-3 for screening checked baggage at airports, Analogic noted. According to Analogic, that system provides full 3-D images of all the contents of a bag, enabling automatic detection of explosives. (By Chris Reidy, Globe staff) Posted by globebusiness at 3:38 PM | Comments (0) Esplanade Association links with Boston Marathon The Esplanade Association announced that it has been chosen by the Boston Athletic Association as the only environmental charity selected for this years Boston Marathon.
Author reads into "Other People" stories
Zadie Smith might be best known as the audaciously skilled young author of "White Teeth" and "On Beauty," but she claims her gifts lie elsewhere. "I think I'm a pretty talented writer," she once told the poet Robert Hass, "but I'm a great reader." Judging by "The Book of Other People," an anthology of stories she edited to benefit 826, Dave Eggers' writing lab for kids, Smith might be on to something. Who else would put graphic novelist Chris Ware and Irish novelist Colm Toibin between the same pages of a short story anthology? Smith's instructions to them were simple: "Make somebody up." That permission seems to rub off on the work. "The Book of Other People" is full of writers taking chances. Some of the characters we meet here talk their way into existence, like Rhoda, the chatterbox grandmother in Jonathan Safran Foer's story.
O2 BARS SET FRENCH OFFICIALS SNIFFING
PARIS, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) - As oxygen bars begin to pop up across France, health authorities are beginning to question the merits or otherwise of sniffing O2.
Supposed to improve health and well-being, oxygen bars date back to the late 1990s, spreading from Canada to California and to Britain and Japan, in nightclubs, health clubs, airports or even trade fairs.
But Paris' first oxygen bar opened only last week.
Flagged as "a revolutionary anti-fatigue, anti-stress and anti-depression concept", the city's maiden O2 bar is housed in an up-market beauty institute owned by no less than the wife of top French publicist and political "kingmaker" Jacques Seguela.
Seguela has been very much in the news recently for bringing together President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife Carla Bruni around a dinner table, a coup that comes almost three decades after helping propel leftwing leader Francois Mitterrand to the country's highest public office.
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