by Claudine Zap

This week, whether it was heading across the country or across town, travel stories got the Buzz filled with wanderlust: An airline asks its customers to board themselves, a journey in jeans makes for a buzzy viral video, and New York subway riders will get Wi-Fi. All these stories and more in your Buzz Week in Review.

What's next — we serve ourselves drinks?
Just in time for the summer airport onslaught, Continental Airlines has decided to test what they call self-boarding, and what we call DIY air travel. Once travelers at Houston Intercontinental Airport swipe their ticket, a turnstile door will open to allow the passenger entry into the airplane. While automated boarding does not require the human touch, an attendant will be on hand to deal with the usual customer service problems.

And we can imagine plenty of problems. Does anarchy rule in this experiment? No longer will passengers be called by row or color-coded boarding pass. Instead, they'll be expected to make a dash through a turnstile. Amazingly, the TSA is onboard, as it were, with self-boarding. The practice is already in place at many international airlines, like Air France and Air New Zealand. You'll be glad to know that human pilots are still required to fly the plane. For now.

Go west, young man in Levi's
There's nothing more American than putting life on hold for a trip — on foot — across the country. Just you and your perfectly faded, worn-in pair of Levi's, that is. A viral video made by the denim company has started a fad on the Web. OK, truth in advertising: The young man who stars in this journey in jeans didn't really walk the whole way. But a crew did drive him across the country, and over 14 days, took countless photos to create the cool, photo-montage look of the video. The stop-motion photography takes us from the Brooklyn Bridge in New York to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, with many stops in between.

It certainly held viewers' attention: Searches on "journey in jeans" saw a rapid rise this week. The Daily Mail has a behind-the-scene look at the making of the video, which took 2,770 images to create. All that work appears to have paid off: The Levi's ad has been viewed over 600,000 times on Yahoo!. See it again here.

Calling all New York subway riders
The New York underground will no longer be a place to get away from it all — if it ever was. In between stops and on station platforms, riders will have a chance to keep their thumbs texting and their jaws moving. Where tunnels are wider and stations are closer together, stronger phone signals may even provide strap hangers with cell service for the entire trip. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority struck a deal with the company Transit Wireless to wire 6 test stations within two years — and in eight years to wire all 277 stations. So hey, if your iPad is stolen on the train, you'll be able to call the police to report the crime right away. That's a relief.

Also buzzing this week...
• The president of Iran has it in for Paul the Octopus.
• This guy is running for governor of Tennessee. The heck?
• Could J.Lo be the next "AI" judge?

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While federal Judge Susan Bolton’s injunction on 7/29/10 has blocked implementation of a few of the most Draconian and egregiously unconstitutional provisions of SB 1070, effectively putting them on hold until the relevant cases can work their way through the legal system, the state has already appealed that decision and will be working overtime* to salvage those provisions and to enforce the many parts of the law the judge did not block.  Moreover, many key provisions of SB 1070 were not enjoined and are now in effect, as of this morning.

The parts of the law that are now in full force create new categories of illegality and/or increase punishments not just for actual undocumented immigrants but for all Arizona residents or authorized visitors from elsewhere, for any of a very large number of things that were perfectly legal in Arizona yesterday and remain perfectly legal in most other US states.

So, for any of you folks out there who

1. are thinking that Judge Bolton has saved the day, or
2. don’t understand why anyone objects to such sensible immigration legislation and would like to see such laws implemented nationwide, or
   
3. are planning to visit here or even drive across our highways or stop at one of our airports on your way to California or Vegas, or
4. already live here

here’s what you need to know about SB 1070, in its current partially-enjoined condition.

(For those of you who have absolutely no intention of ever setting foot here, please note that, if you pay federal taxes or depend on the federal budget in any way, all of these laws affect you quite directly, because they both mandate active involvement from the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, and create more work for the already overburned Justice and Labor departments. So this should really matter to you, even if you care only about your own pocketbook and personal safety and absolutely nothing about the bill of rights or human decency or loving thy neighbor or any of that other wishy washy Pollyanna bleeding heart liberal radical socialist commie pinko crap.)

• It is now a state crime (ranging from class 1 misdemeanor to class 6 felony, depending on # of “aliens” involved) to “conceal, harbor or shield from detection,” “transport or move” or attempt to conceal, harbor, shield, or transport an “alien” if you “know or recklessly disregard the fact that the alien as come to, has entered or remains in the United States in violation of law.”  This places a significantly greater burden on US citizens and legal residents to uphold federal and state immigration and labor laws than any thing this nation has seen since the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which helped spark the Civil War by making white northern non-slaveholders individually and collectively responsible for enforcing the “property laws” of other states, regardless of their personal feelings or political opinions about those laws.  That is where we are today, folks.
• Judge Bolton did not enjoin any of the anti-day labor laws, which target all day laborers and persons who employ them, even if all parties involved are US citizens and/or have proper legal documentation to permit them to work in the US, and even if they follow the absolute letter of all federal employment, labor, and tax codes.
• Judge Bolton also failed to enjoin the provisions of SB 1070 allowing any Joe Schmoe in the state to file an expensive and time-consuming lawsuit against any state or local goverment agency that s/he feels is not enforcing state and local immigration laws aggressively enough.*

So, let’s break it down for any of you slow learners who still aren’t entirely sure you understand what “illegal” means in Arizona, as of today, shall we?

ANY US CITIZEN OR LEGAL RESIDENT OR AUTHORIZED VISITOR IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA IS NOW IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND SUBJECT TO PROSECUTION TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW (which can include both hefty fines and actual jail time, not to mention all the inconvenience and legal fees even if your case is later tossed out by a judge or you are judged to be innocent by a jury of your peers) IF THEY:

• allow a non-legal friend, neighbor, cousin, spouse, parent, acquaintance, or complete stranger to stay in their home or ride in their car or sleep in the basement of their church
• whisper into a restaurant kitchen or construction site that La Migra is pulling up in the front parking lot, just on the off chance that anyone wants to slip out the back door for a quick coffee or cigarette or ice water break or has already finished their work for the day and might find this a good time to mosey on home to the kids
• stop by the side of the road “to attempt to hire or hire and pick up passengers for work at a different location” IF they could conceivably be interpreted as “block[ing]] or imped[ing] the normal movement of traffic,” even if all parties involved are natural born US citizens or in possession of green cards.
  • This is a “crime” that half the homeowning white US citizens of the Phoenix metropolitan area commit at least 2-3 times per year, and which 99.9% of the contractors and subcontractors commit on a daily basis, especially in Maricopa County, where Sheriff Joe Arpaio has already done his very best to intimidate any private property owners or community organizations who allow people to seek work or hire day laborers into refusing to allow such activities on their presence, even if they know for certain that 99.9% of the day laborers there are natural born US citizens.
  • It is now also a crime to allow people to seek or hire day labor in your parking lot or vacant lot or church hall or front yard, in order to help them avoid impeding traffic. Unless you make a positive effort to verify the legal work status of every person there and send away anyone who cannot prove their right to work, you can, under SB 1070, be slapped with hefty fine if even a single undocumented person is looking for work on your property.  If 10 or more undocumented laborers slip under your radar, you may now be convicted of a class 6 felony and put in jail.
  • It is also now a state offense for anyone without legal work documents to apply for, solicit, or perform work as an employee or independent contractor anywhere in the state. Okay, so they came here knowing that, that’s their problem.  But the penalties for doing so in Arizona are now significantly higher than anything provided for under federal law.

It is still, however, as far as I can tell, NOT ILLEGAL for a US citizen to hire someone to do perform casual labor at their home or as part of the legal employer’s business without verifying their employment eligibility, except to whatever extent you are required to do under US employment, tax, or labor laws UNLESS  in doing so you are violating US employment or labor or tax laws, or the new “harboring, transporting, etc.” laws.  But I’m pretty sure if someone drops by your house or leaves a card in your screen door offering to trim your palm trees or mop your floors as an independent contractor, or if you pick up any legally authorized day laborer out in the Home Depot parking lot or anywhere else that is not blocking traffic and pay any taxes the law requires YOU to pay, you are fine.

Because if that were not the case no reasonably sane, self-interested gringo homeowner or contractor in the entire state would be supporting a bill that could land their own butts in jail or sock them with the kinds of fines people are now facing for many other equally peaceable and commonplace economic and social activities traditionally conducted by US citizens residing in Arizona and elsewhere in the nation.  Day labor (both legal and illegal) is one of the major engines that has driven this state’s economy(which depends heavily on things like agriculture, construction, and shiny clean tourist accomodations) for a very long time, and it is still one of the only things that keeps our entire civilization from drying up, crumbling to pieces, and blowing away across the Sonoran desert.  It also accounts for a goodly part of the low-priced food that is probably in your refrigerator right now, if you live anywhere in the US and like citrus or any of  our other specialities.

Then again, this is a state and county where federal and state “human trafficking” laws have been interpreted in such a way as to arrest and prosecute individuals for trafficking themselves, so don’t quote me on that.  I am not a lawyer and this primer is no substitute for consultation with a licensed attorney. In fact, Pollyanna strongly recommends that you put a good civil rights attorney on your speed dial if you have any intention of setting foot within Arizona’s borders in the foreseeable future.

The courts are still in the process of determining whether the other parts of the law can go forward under the consitution.  But for now, thanks to Judge Butler,

• it is still legal for all US citizens, legal residents, and properly visa-ed visitors to walk down the street without carrying a passport, Arizona drivers license, or other legal identification document issued by the US government or a state that requires immigration checks before issuing them.

However,  if Governor Brewer wins her appeal, or the subsequent court proceedings allow the currently enjoined provisions of SB 1070 to go into effect, here’s  what the law of this land in the Grand Canyon State will be:

• any US born citizen or legal resident or properly visa-ed international student or tourist will be legally required to present identification upon request to any law enforcement official who believes that s/he has “reasonable suspicion” that you are not in this country legally.  Since, according to Gov. Brewer, that doesn’t just mean brown-skinned people with Spanish accents, THIS MEANS YOU! (However, brown-skinned or dark-haired people, especially those of you with any kind of accent not normally used by white native-born US citizens residing in Arizona, or wearing any kind of clothing or having any other aspect of appearance sometimes associated with people from south of the US border, might want to be especially careful to keep your papers close at hand.

So, to all you residents of or properly authorized visitors to the Grand Canyon State, please make sure you keep your papers with you at all times. Especially if you happen to have kind of brown skin or dark hair, are speaking anything not immediately recognizable as standard American English without a Spanish or other foreign-sounding accent, are wearing huaraches, or are planning to do anything else “suspicious” looking.  Because if the nice officer asks to see your papers, you better have them on hand unless you want to spend the rest of the day proving that you have a right to be walking around the United States.

• If you cannot provide such documentation immediately, upon any request from an authorized law enforcement official, you can be detained, arrested, and even jailed until such a time as your immigration status can be verified by federal authorities.
• In fact, if you are detained, state and local law enforcement officials are still legally obliged to hold you until the feds can show up and verify your status, even if your spouse or friend or lawyer is able to go home or to the hotel safe and or bank safety deposit box and bring back an entire state of documents.
• Please note also that if your only proof of eligibility to walk around in the United States is a drivers’ license from a state that does not require verification of immigration status, you can also be detained until the feds get around to showing up and sorting it all out.

So suck it, New Mexicans, Utahns, Hawaiians, Hoosiers, Michiganders, Washingtonians, Nebraskans, Texans, and all you other folks from places that don’t crack down on illegal aliens quite as hard as we do.  You elected those pansy-ass bleeding heart liberal governments with their wimpy girly laws, and you will have to pay the price.  The next time you want to drive through here to California or visit the Grand Canyon or have a layover at the PHX airport, better bring your passport, because you are entering a police state run (although by no means exclusively populated) by idiots (with ties to the KKK and neo-Nazi organizations) who do not know the first thing about drafting coherent legislation that actually addresses the public policy goals they are targeting or can pass constitutional muster, so you might as well get used to it, just like all us real Arizonans, passport-carrying tourists, and visitors from all of the other states that have the good sense to demand proof of eligibility to reside in the US before licensing you to drive a car or giving you some wimpy little plastic card that allows you to prove where you live so that you can cash checks or whatever.

And please don’t get too upset at the nice officers, okay?  They are only doing their job as required by law, because if they don’t, that dude over there in the “What part of ‘illegal’ don’t you understand?” t-shirt is going to sue them, and no matter how bogus the whole thing is, they are going to have to do a lot of paperwork and the department is going to have to start paying lawyers, and that really, really annoys their bosses.  Plus, they have to leave in 10 minutes to go on furlough, and there’s no money left in the budget for overtime.

But if you happen to get an officer who is less nice, or feeling kind of cranky that day, please for god’s sake do not start arguing about the Bill of Rights! And for the love of all that is good and holy, do not raise your hands or move too quickly while doing so, because even if you were doing absolutely nothing wrong before the officer stopped you, you may now be facing legally valid charges of disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, or assaulting an officer.  You might just find yourself flat up against the surface of a pavement you could fry eggs on, with a baton or a gun at your neck, being handcuffed and thrown into the back of a squad car.  If either you or the officer loses your cool, you could be beaten or shot or handcuffed to a chair or locked inside an inadequately ventilated space and not allowed to take your medication or get medical attention if you are ill or injured.  Those things happen here all the time, even before SB 1070, especially in Maricopa County. However, if the officer starts it, you may take comfort in the fact that your widow/er or children or your own permanently disabled self may at some point in the next five or ten years get a nice financial settlement funded by taxpayer dollars.

If you are an innocent bystander when such a situation is going down, please be aware that there are also laws against interfering with the police in the course of their duties, and you are likely to be facing the same range of possible consequences as that moron who left his passport in the hotel safe or his AZ driver’s license at home.

But please, please, whatever you do, do not cancel your plans to visit or move to our fine state, where the fine people of Arizona are slashing prices and rolling out red carpets in the hopes of salvaging the two most crucial industries in this state: tourism, and new residential growth.

¡Bienvenidos a Arizona!  Welcome to the Grand Canyon State! Have fun, and don’t forget to reapply sunscreen and drink about 4 times as much water as you normally would.

Is there any part of “illegal” that YOU still do not understand? If so, feel free to check the links below!

• ACLU’s analysis of SB 1070 and its impact on constitutional rights (5 pages)
• Lengthy document in which the brightest legal minds in the Arizona legal community try to puzzle out exactly what this law means, how it is likely to be enforced, and precisely how it impacts the targeted areas of law, when factored in with federal laws and existing legal precedents (giant PDF file with lots of big words)
• Reasonably concise and understandable newspaper version of the above analysis
• Full text of SB 1070, with conveniently highlighted and tagged explanatory notes, by Prof. Gabriel Chin of the University of Arizona Law School, one of the co-authors of the big PDF doc above.

Note to armchair liberals in other states: the next time you are cackling over some clip on the Daily Show or Colbert Report in which presumably intelligent state officials or lawyers turn into incoherent morons when trying to explain how this law can possibly be enforced to the degree they must enforce if it they don’t want to be sued, without violating any federal anti-discrimination or due process laws, please keep in mind that many of them are well-intentioned folks just trying to do their job under legal conditions that even the most brilliant legal minds in the state and nation cannot agree on how to interpret.  But feel free to go ahead and hate on Gov. Brewer and the legislature, because they’re the ones who wrote and passed this godawful unconstitutional incoherent unenforceable mess.  (But most of us didn’t vote for any of those people, and nobody in this state voted for Jan Brewer to do anything more complicated or political than administer the elections system, at which she was actually rather competent.)

By the way, if you do happen to care about any of that Pollyanna liberal radical socialist crap like the Bill of Rights and not tearing away parents from their weeping US citizen children and hauling them away in handcuffs (then handing the kids a teddy bear and handing them over to somebody from the child protective services department, assuming anyone is still over there to answer the phone, which is actually rather unlikely), please get your lazy liberal butt out of that armchair–or at least make sure you have your telephone or internet-enabled computer close at hand–and DO SOMETHING. Because there are a lot of really good people working their asses off here to fight this madness, and they could use your help.

*This is all going to be extra super fun for all the state and local agencies that are presently barely able to keep the A/C on, and their employees, most of whom have for the past 18 months and will well into the foreseeable future be getting laid off, taking pay cuts, being forced to take mandatory furlough days, or being kindly asked to provide their own pens and legal pads and post-it notes.  Not to mention how much fun it will be for all us AZ taxpayers who need to interact with all those agencies, which have already for over 2 years been cutting staff and hours and services.  Take it from a former state university employee who is about to start teaching in a public high school and sending her kid off to public kindergarten, and who as a taxpaying citizen has recently interacted with the deparment of motor vehicles, the unemployment insurance bureau, public libraries, and several other state and local agencies: this state is currently running on shoestrings, spit, and prayer.

NB for non-Arizonans: Since most of the provisions of SB 1070 involve state and local governments handing people over to ICE and other federal agencies, please note that your own federal tax dollars will be funding enforcement of these new laws as well.  Your tax dollars at work, mis amigos, courtesy of the great state of Arizona!  Aren’t you glad we’re out here keeping the border safe for you?  Oh, wait, sorry, I forgot, at least 30% of the border patrol officers are going to have to be recalled to Maricopa County, where they are needed to process those vicious criminals who want to trim my palm trees for the staggeringly low sum of $50 each. Whoops!  Sorry!  Come on, our legislators work only part time and earn only about $30k/year for doing their jobs, so they’ve all got day jobs, and aren’t exactly a brain trust of crack public policy or constitutional law experts.  But Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin and some other people on my TV said they are doing a much better job of protecting our nation than the US Congress or any other state, so ya’ll should really all go copy us now, okay?

Internap Extends Ability to Deliver Predictable Network Performance Through Interconnection Agreement with Lightower Fiber Networks

Regional fiber provider builds into Internap’s premium data center at 111 8th Avenue in New York City

PR Newswire — July 28, 2010

ATLANTA and BOXBOROUGH, Mass., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Internap Network Services Corporation (Nasdaq: INAP), a leading provider of end-to-end Internet business products and services, today announced its alliance with Lightower Fiber Networks, a leading metro fiber network and bandwidth service provider in the Northeast. Through the relationship, enterprises in buildings and data centers connected to Lightower’s all-fiber network can now optimize network performance and availability through the use of Internap’s Performance IP(TM). Businesses can also benefit from Internap’s Managed Hosting, CDN and Colocation services.

As a result of the agreement, Lightower has installed a point of presence in Internap’s Manhattan data center facility located at 111 8th Avenue. Lightower’s all-fiber network is strategically and diversely connected to financial exchanges, carrier hotels, data centers, commercial buildings, and other critical interconnection facilities throughout the Northeast – offering customers the best solutions at the best locations.

“Internap is now able to extend the reach of our 111 8th Avenue data center and all the solutions in that location well beyond metropolitan New York to serve additional markets and clients across Lightower’s impressive 1,750 lit building network. This will allow businesses to take advantage of Internap’s Performance IP routing technology to deliver optimized, reliable and predictable performance across their networks at competitive price levels,” said Scott Hrastar, Internap’s SVP of IP Services.

Performance IP, based on Internap’s Managed Internet Route Optimizer(TM) (MIRO) technology, routes information traffic over redundant, high-speed connections to all of the major Internet backbones in each market. As a result, MIRO provides intelligent, optimized and highly-reliable delivery of customer content, applications and communications throughout the world.

Performance IP and Internap’s suite of data center offerings are ideally suited for online financial firms, rich media companies, e-commerce and Internet-centric companies. These businesses and similar organizations are sensitive to the performance, availability and latency issues that hamper Internet performance and adversely impact financial results.

Lightower offers Internap customers a complete suite of low latency connectivity solutions up to 40G, including wavelengths and Ethernet. Lightower’s all-fiber network connects Internap customers at 111 8th Avenue to all of the major regional interconnection facilities in the New York metro area.

“Lightower’s relationship with Internap creates a very powerful combination of intelligent routing technology with the proven dependability and performance of the Lightower all-fiber network, which is especially valuable to those companies who depend on high-performance Internet service,” explained Doug Dalissandro, Lightower’s EVP of Sales.

About Lightower Fiber Networks

Lightower Fiber Networks is a leading fiber network and broadband service provider in the Northeast. Lightower offers over 4,500 fiber route miles with over 1,750 on-net buildings coupled with comprehensive transport and alternative access solutions. Lightower’s geographic footprint extends from Boston and southern New Hampshire, to eastern New York State, northern New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. Lightower uniquely offers customers geographically diverse routing and low latency network solutions on an all-fiber optic network. Lightower Fiber is headquartered in Boxborough, MA. For more information, visit www.lightower.com or call 888-LT-FIBER.

About Internap

Internap is a leading Internet products and services company that provides The Ultimate Online Experience� by managing, delivering and distributing applications and content with a 100% uptime reliability service level agreement. With a worldwide platform of data centers, managed Internet services and CDN, Internap frees its customers to innovate, improve service levels and lower the cost of IT operations. Thousands of companies across the globe trust Internap to help them achieve their Internet business goals. For more information, visit http://www.internap.com/.

About Internap’s 111 8th Avenue Data Center Facility

Internap’s Manhattan data center is located at 111 8th Avenue, just 15 miles from Newark International Airport, 10 miles from La Guardia Airport and 19 miles from JFK International Airport. The SAS70 Type II compliant facility boasts 76,000 square feet. The site offers Colocation, Managed Hosting, CDN and Performance IP route optimization services. The site’s strategic location, in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, allows Internap to serve some of the areas largest financial, e-commerce and rich media companies. Internap also boasts a sister downtown New York City data center located at 75 Broad Street.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements related to the features, functionality and performance of our products and services and the benefits our customers are expected to receive from them, as well as the expected benefits of our third party alliances. Because such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the actual performance of our services and products as well as those of third parties with which we have alliances; our ability to respond successfully to technological change; the availability of services from Internet network service providers or network service providers providing network access loops and local loops on favorable terms, or at all; failure of third party suppliers to deliver their products and services on favorable terms, or at all; failures in our network operations centers, data centers, network access points or computer systems; our ability to provide or improve Internet infrastructure services to our customers; and our ability to protect our intellectual property, as well as other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. We undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify any forward-looking statement for any reason.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100205/CL49469 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100205/CL49469 )

Internap Contact: Lightower Contact Mariah Torpey Chris Knight Davies Murphy Group, Inc. cknight@lightower.com 781-418-2404 978-264-6000 internap@daviesmurphy.com www.lightower.com www.daviesmurphy.com

Investor Contact: Andrew McBath 404-302-9700 amcbath@internap.com

SOURCE Internap Network Services Corporation

Subject Codes: PC/t.100728083004125, PT/lang.en, PC/ticker, IN/NET, IN/CPR, IN/TLS, IN/TCS, IN/FIN, IN/ITE, SU/JVN, RE/Georgia, RE/New_York, RE/Massachusetts, PC/priority.r, PC/category.f, PC/class.1240, PC/WAVO_….c., PC/APT_….c, PC/trade_c, PC/wavo5_c, PC/class.1025, PC/WAVO_g….., PC/APT_g…., PC/state_g, PC/wavo1_g, PC/class.1278, PC/class.1256, PC/WAVO_….s., PC/APT_….s, PC/trade_s, PC/wavo5_s, PC/DataFeat_natl3, PC/port_32, PC/Billing_FC1, PC/Billing_GEO, PC/Billing_IRW, PC/Billing_RWB, PC/Billing_TNW, PC/1stAcc_144423, PC/bureau_CL, PC/port_01, PC/port_96, PC/port_31, PC/port_33, PC/port_19, PC/port_91, PC/contact, PC/website, PC/photo, PC/id_CL42027

Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:INAP, NASDAQ-NMS:INAP

The board that oversees Detroit Metropolitan Airport has mothballed its effort to selling naming rights at the facility.

Waist-high water receded today and sunny skies prevailed throughout the Chicago region as residents dried out their moldy basements and water-logged furniture.

Suburban streets were lined with torn-up carpets, damaged exercise equipment and an array of fish. Several cities and towns declared themselves disaster areas to receive additional help from the state.

At the height of the torrential downpour on Saturday, 43 Chicago viaducts were flooded. A 46-year-old man's body was found floating in a Southwest Side viaduct, although an autopsy was inconclusive as to whether he drowned, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Although the cleanup continued, the worst appeared to be over.

Commonwealth Edison officials said that crews had restored power to more than 98 percent of customers who lost service in storms Friday and Saturday.

As of about 5 p.m. there were about 1,200 customers who were still without power after a height of 170,000 customers, ComEd officials said.

In Chicago, there were only about 200 residents without poweer. Most of those still without power were in the north suburbs, where about 975 customers were still without power; the remainder of those without power were in the south and west suburbs, said Laura Miceli, a ComEd spokeswoman

Sunday was the perfect beach day for those who weren't consumed with clearing out their homes. But no one could get in the water because of possible contamination.

Westchester appeared to suffer the most damage. Water gushed through Donna Jacklin's home early Saturday in the 2900 block of Kensington Avenue. She and her family had about 45 minutes to grab things from the basement and move them to higher ground.

Yet both her basement and first floor flooded, leaving little to be saved.

"This is my whole life," said Jacklin, 59, who has lived in her home nearly 30 years, as she scanned the piles of furniture and ruined family pictures lying on her front lawn.

It looked like her neighbors were having a huge yard sale. Two houses down from Jacklin, piles of stuffed animals, boxes of record albums, and soggy books sat in John Griffith's driveway. He spent the day cleaning his basement, where water levels reached 4 feet.

Joe and Geri Ward jumped on a plane home from Boston when their son called and told them about the flooded basement. She cried all night.

Their son David Ward, 36, who also lives in the home, said the high water forced him to leave Saturday. Trying to stay and fight the flood turned into "a useless battle."

The near-record rainfall forced the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to discharge sewer water in Lake Michigan at the Chicago River locks and the Wilmette pumping station. The swimming ban at Chicago-area beaches is expected to remain in effect until at least Monday.
Terrence O'Brien, president of the district, said the average rainfall across Cook County was four-and-a-half inches, "equivalent to over 60 billion gallons of water."

The hardest-hit areas were the central parts of the county and Chicago, O'Brien said, and the highest recorded rainfall in the city during the storm was 7 inches, at a rain gauge on 39th Street in Chicago.

City officials awaited toxicology results to determine the cause of death for Martin Garcia, who was pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m. Saturday after his body was found floating in the water in the 2500 block of West 21st Street, officials said.

Garcia, whose home address was unknown, had evidence of head trauma. Police are investigating his death.

At the River City condominiums along the Chicago River, the garage and ground level accumulated more than 12 feet of water. Electricity and gas were cut off, leaving the 17-story building without elevators, air-conditioning or water. More than 700 residents were evacuated.

On Sunday residents were escorted to their units, where they had 5 minutes to collect up to 5 days worth of clothes and belongings. Some residents still weren't sure where they were going to go in the interim.

Meanwhile, flood warnings -- which mean that flooding has been reported or is expected -- are in effect for the following counties: Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Will and LaSalle, according to the National Weather Service and Chicago Weather Center. But most area rivers, while still high, had already crested and their levels were going down this afternoon, according to the weather service.

The weather service officially recorded 3.64 inches of precipitation at O'Hare International Airport on Saturday. The mark broke the previous record for July 24 -- 1.48 inches set in 1900. The one-day record is 6.64 inches, set Sept. 13, 2006, and the record for a 24-hour period is 17.1 inches, set in August 1987.

The next chance of thunderstorms Tuesday night and Wednesday, according to the weather service.

In Naperville, the DuPage River rose several feet, which led to some flooding along the Riverwalk. Residential areas no longer appeared to face an imminent threat from rising water, according to officials.

The Town of Cicero began taking damage estimates Sunday afternoon. In the first hour alone, more than 200 families filed reports, officials said. The town, which will continue taking reports Monday, said they will be used to help Cicero qualify for relief from Cook County, the State of Illinois and other agencies.

Cicero President Larry Dominick declared the suburb a disaster on Saturday. Maywood Mayor Henderson Yarborough also issued a declaration of disaster.

Along Fairbanks Road in Riverside, pumps furiously pushed water from clogged storm sewers back into the raging Des Plaines River on Sunday. Parts of First Avenue, which had been closed since Saturday when the river breached its banks, were still shut down.
Some residents spent the day packing up to leave -- at least temporarily.

Katie Waters and her two cats were headed to her mother's home in LaGrange Park. "I don't know how long I'll be there," she said.

Roy Lee Brown, 55, of Bellwood was still pumping water out of his basement Sunday morning. He estimates he had 4 feet of standing water, which damaged his furnace and hot water tank. To bathe he had to warm up water on the stove.

"It was like a little (Hurricane) Katrina," Brown said. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. It got up in the morning, looked out the window and saw nothing but water outside."

Bernard Morrison, 49, of Maywood will have to close his home day care for at least a week. Morrison estimates about several thousand dollars worth of damage to the basement. He will need to replace the ceramic tile, rugs and possibly his washer and dryer.

"It's a mess," he said. "I've never (seen) a disaster like this. The streets and most of the neighborhood was a giant swimming pool."

Carlos Sadovi, Joe Ruzich and Deb Kadin contributed to this report.

-- Kristen Mack and Jennifer Delgado

Click HERE for a CLTV report on this story.

If you're heading to the US for MGX (Microsoft Global eXchange - the Microsoft Sales & Services annual event), I've posted here a few hints along the lines of my notes from Surviving CES in Las Vegas, updated from my 2009 entry.  I will add to the page later as I have time.

• If you're heading to the US for MGX (Microsoft Global eXchange - the Microsoft Sales & Services annual event),  here are a few helpful hints from 2008 on Surviving MGX Atlanta along the lines of my notes from Surviving CES in Las Vegas. 
• Follow the discussion on Twitter here: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23mgx
• The weather is expected to be quite hospitable this year, in the low to mid 80s. That's a break from the oppressive heat I've found in past visits to this otherwise lovely city.

In response to several requests, I've re-posted the original post referenced above here, along with the latest updates. Have something to add? LMK.

Flight and Hotel: Given the event is invitation only, if you don't already have either of these, good luck.  You'll have a better chance of seeing a mid-day temperature under 85 degrees than finding either at this late date.  

Overall, stick to the plan: MGX is a well-run, professional event.  Remember to use the shuttle busses, go to the planned events and have fun.

Pack light.  Keep in mind that it is hot in Atlanta this time of year (high 80s, and lends to the given the nickname, Hotlanta), and the weather will be in the high 60s/ low 70s at night, and humid as all get out (up into the 30s at mid-day, and about 18-20 degrees for my friends outside the States).  Check the weather report for Atlanta here.  Standard dress includes light khaki pants or shorts and comfortable shirts: think Hawaii. 

Bring sunglasses, a hat that doesn't brand you a tourist, and wear great, comfortable shoes.  And don't bring the stylish shoes, go for comfort as you will be standing and walking.  A lot.  My pick: anything from Ecco, Rockport or New Balance. And see also a few travel recommendations from Colin Cowie on packing.    

Getting from the airport to anywhere: Remember, if you need to get a taxi cab at the airport, look to the departures area where people are exiting the taxi.  (Just a suggestion, not an endorsement.)  You'll receive a number of suggested modes of transportation, but always good to pair up (or three or four) with folks going to the same hotel and split the $30 taxi fare into town.

Getting around town: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (or MARTA) is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways around Atlanta and the surrounding area.  Taxis are readily available from most major hotels, and likely there are a number of places to see within a short walking distance from your downtown hotel. 

Note: want a quick ride from the airport to downtown? Ride the MARTA from the airport to Peachtree. Very fast.

When in Buckhead, ride the Buc: The Buc Shuttle is a free shuttle bus service that connects MARTA's Lenox and Buckhead stations to popular places in Buckhead, including hotels, restaurants, Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square. Important to note when visiting some of the clubs and restaurants noted below.)  According to the Buc info site, "the shuttle runs every 8-15 minutes between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday on a five-mile loop." So, for heading home from a late evening, take a cab to MARTA or back to the hotel.

If you arrive into town with other folks on the same flight, consider renting a limo or get together an impromptu set of people going to roughly the same hotel: that way you'll pay one limo fee.  Last, unless you plan on traveling out of town, don't rent a car (take a cab) unless you enjoy paying daily hotel parking rates akin to what you would pay for a flat in SoHo.

Say hello your new best friend: the hotel concierge.  I've said it before and I'll say it here, too: the concierge is your connection when you don't have connections in town.  When you arrive at the hotel with a concierge on staff, introduce yourself and hand them a business card.  That one move may come in hand later more than you know.  See 'dinner' and 'getting to the airport' for starters.  As Cowie notes, "ask your concierge to make some reservations for you now at top restaurants so you don't find that you can't get in when you arrive there in peak season. Tip the concierge the moment you arrive..."  See, you can learn helpful travel hints from a man that you thought only had great party design sense. ;)

Eating out: You'll no doubt have some free time one or two nights, and Atlanta is a wonderful place.

Best breakfasts: See these suggestions on sneakysunday.com and if you're game, check out my favourites...

Alon's, a great local bakery and breakfast joint, with brunch offered at their Dunwoody location on Saturday and Sundays. 1394 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306
Tel: (404) 872-6000

Java Jive, for the authentic Atlanta Southern breakfast, with homemade biscuits and traditional "big, American breakfasts" with eggs and bacon. It's a very busy place but worth the trouble.  790 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308, Tel: (404) 876-6161

There's also the Highland Bakery where you can sit down at the counter and have a civilized breakfast or take it with you. Excellent fare, opening at 7AM weekdays, 8AM on the weekend. 655 Highland Avenue, #10, Atlanta, Georgia 30312, Tel: (404) 586-0772.

Lunch and Dinner: Around town: Check out the local MSN City Guide for Atlanta here, as well as their restaurant guide.  Also, my favourite web spot for ratings and information is Zagat's, with links to a few of my favourites. You can also get good customer reviews from OpenTable book many of these restaurants for free via OpenTable.com:

• Bacchanalia - The food at Bacchanalia is still among the best in Atlanta. You can order a la carte or from a sampler menu (prix fixe), featuring local fare and excellent wine.  It's expensive, so don't pad the expense account... eat at the bar and get the same food as in the main restaurant.  1198 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318, (404) 365-0410
• Aria - this is one of my favourite restaurants in Atlanta.  (http://www.aria-atl.com/) and on many top restaurant lists, serving a great fare ranging from local fish (I see that Mountain Trout with crab smashed potatoes, haricots vert
  and pecan brown butter is on the menu this week), chicken, duck, and meats.
• Bone's Restaurant - When in Buckhead, one of the best place for steaks is Bone's, a nice local alternative to Ruth's Chris' or Morton's, with starters of excellent starters, steak and seafood. The restaurant has excellent service and a very good wine list.

Bar-B-Que:  (Added 072010)  You can not go to Atlanta and miss the chance to have some of the best bar-b-que in the South (save the best BBQ in Texas and the likes of The Joint in New Orleans, thank you very much). Just in time for MGX, Atlanta Magazine offers their picks for top bar-b-que. If you're local you may find a copy of the magazine in your hotel, or from your friendly concierge.  (You can find all sorts of great recommendations on the writer Bill Addison's blog, Covered Dish.) But if you can't wait, here are my top picks for BBQ:

Fat Matt's Rib Shack - Maybe 10-15 minutes from downtown Hotlanta (1811 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30324), Fat Matt's is known for their ribs and excellent side dishes. One of my personal favourites, given how often we'd travel to the Peachtree city for events and business meetings. Although this shack isn't at Gayot.com's top of the list, it makes sneakysunday.com's list (which I find is a great resource!) and worth the trip. Closest to the Lindberg Marta Station on Piedmont Rd. Tel: (404) 607-1622

Daddy D'z BBQ Joint – Do not let the appearance keep you out of Daddy D'z (264 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30312). This is one of the most authentic joints around, and their great food and atmosphere is the best of Atlanta. Great ribs, pulled pork, sides and cold drinks. Affordable, you'll eat like a king on a Microsoft per diem. Close to the downtown hotels and open daily 11AM to 10:30PM, Friday and Saturday 'til 12 midnite. Sunday: Noon to 9:30PM. Nice touch: they deliver, but go in person especially if they have live music (call ahead)! Tel: (404) 222-0206

Harold's BBQ – Another perfect example of what Southern BBQ in Atlanta (171 McDonough Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30315), Harold's has excellent pulled pork, beef ribs, grilled chicken and sides (especially Harold's corn bread). Close to town, an excellent meal. (404) 627-9268

In addition, there are a few tried and true spots in Atlanta, including these two high-end chains:

• Capital Grille - Atlanta.  Technically, it's in Buckhead, which has plenty of late-night fare and entertainment, and a classic steak house in the vein of The Palm, with plenty of lobster and seafood.  A very nice wine list, excellent service and a full menu in the bar if you are there for a simpler evening or can't get a table. Tel: (404) 262-1162
• Oceanaire Seafood Room.  Although the Seattle location closed (sniff), Oceanaire is still a great choice for fresh seafood from all over the world.  1100 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309 - Tel: (404) 475-2277.
• Craftbar. Again, if you're making your way out to Buckhead for events, then check out Tom Colicchio's (famed Top Chef judge and restauranteur) not only has a local fine-dining restaurant Craft (akin to the NYC experience) but also a more accessible Craftbar. (More info and reviews here at Yelp and OpenTable). 3376 Peachtree Road, Tel: 404-995-7580 (added 072009)
  

A note on booking tables... Consider booking your table through your hotel concierge as noted above: if you haven't called them in advance, ask for their help in booking a table (tip, please) and get their business card with their phone number after you check in... and give them a tip if they offer a direct dial number.  A good concierge may be able to score a reservation to a hard-to-book place: I have found that your best bet is a well-connected hotel concierge if a direct call to the restaurant doesn't pan out.  Also, look to your credit card company (many offer a concierge service) or try your hand (or mouse) booking a table at OpenTable.com. Many of the restaurants still show availability on OpenTable.com as of today, so book early.

Stuff to see: Always a good reference for the best restaurants, clubs and activities in Atlanta, see 10best.com, and visit MSN Travel Guide to Atlanta

(Added 072009) Thanks to Jeff for his suggestions on other cool sites in and around town (for any free time between events you may have...):

I'd also recommend that folks who have a few minutes to spare might enjoy the Georgia Aquarium and/or World Of Coca-Cola. If you have enough time, you can take a walk around Centennial Olympic Park (bonus points if you can find the nail imprints on the metal statue from the Olympic Park Bomb). News junkies may enjoy the CNN Tour.

Getting to the airport.  Finding a cab on the last day of MGX or any large event in the Peachtree capital is like finding a street in the City without a 'peach' in the title.  Arrange a car in advance through your concierge for more than one traveler.  Or that concierge you tipped earlier just may have arranged a shuttle for a small group that has an opening.

Ask your friends and followers on Twitter.  Follow the discussion about MGX on Twitter here via the #MGX hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23mgx

Have fun.

Tags: Microsoft, Atlanta, MGX, travel tips.

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Over the weekend Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas finally addressed the matter of the Canada geese that used to reside in her park, but were recently captured and brought to the gas chambers (the total body count was 290). According to the Brooklyn Paper, Thomas broke her silence on the issue via a statement addressed to “Friends of Prospect Park.” You can read it in full below; it says, in part:

"The recent culling of Canada Geese in Prospect Park is disturbing to many people, including staff at the Park. The Canada Geese were removed from the Park late last week and euthanized as part of a joint US Department of Agriculture, Port Authority and City of New York program to reduce the geese population near the flight paths of area airports. Prospect Park is one of a number of parks and locations chosen by the City of New York to be included in this program."

Thomas mentions being near flight paths, and in fact, the rule has been that geese within seven miles of major airports must be removed. However, former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern issued this statement on Friday, noting that a quick check of Google Earth shows that the distance from the Prospect Park Lake to JFK airport is over 9 miles, and the distance to LaGuardia is over 10 miles! Looks like the US Department of Agriculture has some explaining to do...

The recent culling of Canada Geese in Prospect Park is disturbing to many people, including staff at the Park. That people care so passionately about the Park and its natural environment and speak out in its defense is truly wonderful and very welcomed.

The Canada Geese were removed from the Park late last week and euthanized as part of a joint US Department of Agriculture, Port Authority and City of New York program to reduce the geese population near the flight paths of area airports. Prospect Park is one of a number of parks and locations chosen by the City of New York to be included in this program.

Prospect Park is a public, New York City park and is administered in accordance with City, State and Federal regulations and policies. However many Park users have contacted us in recent days about what can be done in the future to avoid this situation.

The staff at Prospect Park, both the Alliance and the Parks Department, recognize that we are the stewards of this amazing greenspace and public resource. Over the years we have undertaken extensive restoration of the Park’s natural areas and watercourse to provide wildlife with hundreds of acres of healthy habitat. We have a wonderful natural resources crew who work year round to keep the habitat healthy and a staff of naturalists at our Audubon Center who educate thousands of young people annually about the importance of wildlife.

To provide the best ongoing ecological care of our habitat, the Park will be forming a wildlife management taskforce comprised of experts in the field. This will strengthen the Alliance and Parks Department’s commitment to safeguarding both nature and people.

Prospect Park is one of many city, state and federally managed parks in the metropolitan area and holistic stewardship of the regional ecology is important. Prospect Park is our park - thankfully many of you consider it your park — and with your help, we can continue to work together to ensure Prospect Park remains healthy and beautiful.

Sincerely yours,

Tupper Thomas

Octane, Atlanta’s popular and trendy independent coffee shop, has a growing reputation as a piazza of caffeinated creative minds and a haven for innovators. Sometimes customers treat owner Tony Riffel like a business consultant, seeking his suggestions for a graphic designer or other skilled craftsperson.

"I can just look around the room and point out three or four people," Riffel said. "Atlanta’s kind of like a big small town. You run into people you know all the time. It doesn’t feel nearly as big as it actually is."

Atlanta is one of the fastest growing cities in the South, and for much of the last decade was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the whole country as its population sprouted 20 percent between 2000 and 2006. It stands out from neighboring states as a technology hub full of university and private-sector incubators, along with a strong civic pride in the city that’s become the face of the New South.

Business owners and experts tick off the reasons they consider the city a rising star in the business world: the climate, the accessibility to the world’s busiest airport and fewer regulatory restrictions than other places such as New York or California.

But it’s not without its share of challenges. The sprawling metro area and lack of public transit can make traffic a crippling factor. The city has been forced to recreate the urban feel in digital spaces and hubs like Riffel’s coffee shop.
Atlantans frequently use the phrase “bootstrapping” to talk about self-reliance, but only because they’ve become used to a dearth of outside investment. While local restaurant and arts scenes are booming, several high-profile technology companies have picked up and left town for what they consider more nurturing environments on the West Coast or elsewhere.

For those who like Atlanta’s lower level of intensity compared to other cities, the future, they say, is promising enough to make the nickname "Hotlanta" apply to more than just the weather.


Starting a Business in Atlanta: Why Atlanta?

Ask someone why to do business in Atlanta, and the answer is almost invariably the same: it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.
A person earning $40,000 a year in San Francisco, for example, only has to earn a little more than $23,000 for the same standard of living in Atlanta, according to cost of living calculators.

“It is a confluence of great climate and a relatively low cost of living,” said Michael Blake, an entrepreneur who co-founded StartupLounge, a non-profit that aims to foster the startup community. “You still find many of the amenities you’d find in most metropolitan areas.”

Atlanta is home to a high concentration of Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS and Detla Air Lines, a fact that contributes to the nurturing business atmosphere.

“If it’s a business-to-business type company, you’ve got a lot of really good potential clients in the backyard,” said Greg Foster, an Atlanta businessman who was a partner with Atlanta venture capital firm Noro-Moseley Partners and formerly ran corporate development for Turner Broadcasting, which is also based in Atlanta.

Hartsfield-Jackson International, the world’s busiest airport, makes business travel easy, and attracts international clients, said Gail Margolies Reid, an Atlanta CPA and business consultant who this year wrote the book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Low-Cost Startups.” Add onto that the two large Georgia ports out of Savannah and Brunswick, in addition to a train system, and the city becomes very attractive to large corporations, she said.

“It all makes it much easier to move goods in and out of Atlanta,” she said. “Atlanta is very commonly a distribution center.”

Dig deeper: The Top Ten Metro Areas


Starting a Business in Atlanta: Sprawling Options for Location

With only a small downtown area that doesn’t hold much residential housing, the sprawl of the city creates challenges. The city of Atlanta comprises 131 square miles, but the greater metropolitan area extends much farther. Consider that Boston, a city with similar population size, is only 48 square miles.

Is foot traffic important? If so, the hip, walkable neighborhoods of Virginia Highlands, Little Five Points, and West Midtown are probably your only location options. If space is a more pressing factor, new office construction has popped up out toward the suburbs at a rapid pace.

The stock of office space in Atlanta is at an all-time high, said Richard Bowers, president of Richard Bowers & Co., an Atlanta commercial real estate firm. “You’ve got some world-class trophy buildings that have been around Atlanta for almost 20 years,” he said. “You can make a great deal right now because of the office market and the economy.”

When Bowers first started in Atlanta, the city had just 30 million square feet of office space; in the last three decades, it’s increased to 50 million square feet in the urban area and 90 million square feet in the suburban corridors. Two-thirds of all growth right now is in the suburbs, he said.

Some of those suburbs that were once part of Atlanta have broken off and formed their own municipalities. Reid advises new business owners to pay attention to which borders they’re crossing: some governments are easier to deal with and more business-friendly than the old bureaucracy of Atlanta proper, she said.

Many large companies prefer the suburban areas such as Alpharetta to be closer to the housing markets, Bowers said.

Dig Deeper: Here Comes the Neighborhood

Starting a Business in Atlanta: Scouting Space

George Frangos lucked out when he found a location for FarmBurger, his farm-to-table grass-fed beef burger joint.
The reason he lucked out? The struggling economy.

He found a site on a main thoroughfare of Atlanta-adjacent Decatur that once held a bakery, with pre-installed restaurant infrastructure.

“There are a lot of opportunities given the economy,” Frangos said. “We got in really cheap. We bought a lot of used equipment, did a lot of the work ourselves. We didn’t have to have the huge backing of mega bucks to get going.”
He feels bad for feeding off other business’s failings, but his plan so far has been a hit: Farm Burger has been receiving rave reviews for its sustainable beef burgers from its farm in Athens, Georgia, since it opened in April.

While Atlanta’s economy has wobbled recently, office space remains at a relative steal compared to other metropolitan markets.

In the up-and-coming area of Buckhead, office space can be found for as little as $15 per square foot per year, said David Cummings, CEO and co-founder of Pardot, a provider of interactive marketing solutions, which was named Atlanta’s fasted growing technology company at the 2010 Atlanta Business Chronicle Pacesetter Awards.

“If you want to go to the suburbs, it’s wildly cheaper than New York or San Francisco,” he said. Commercial space occupancy was well above 90 percent in the 1990s; in the last decade, it dropped to 80 percent, Bowers said.

When chef Kevin Rathbun was looking for a place to open his first restaurant in 2004, he scoured all neighborhoods of the city looking for an affordable location. He eventually had a good feeling about an old potbelly stove works facility in the Inman Park neighborhood. The area was unimpressive at the time: only about two or three restaurants and defunct industrial spaces. Now it contains more than a dozen eateries, and Rathbun’s has been lauded as the best restaurant in town by Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, in addition to receiving national acclaim from Zagat, Travel & Leisrue and a host of other publications.

“I think this area was up-and-coming. I hit it perfectly,” Rathbun said. “It was an area that was going to re-gentrify and become the cool area of Atlanta. A whole lot of people have seen the growth and they just keep coming. It’s a cute neighborhood, it’s got a history.”

Frangos estimates he saved $150,000 alone just by finding his pre-used location. “Other people’s losses might be your opportunity,” he said. “The barriers to entry dollar wise were a lot lower given this economy.”

Dig Deeper: 7 Recession Stress-Busters


Starting a Business in Atlanta: Traffic Issues

Ask someone to name the biggest problem with doing business in Atlanta, and they don’t hesitate: traffic.

“For a lot of people, that is a huge challenge for attracting talent,” said Mike Landman, president of Entrepreneurs’ Organization Atlanta and CEO of Ripple, an IT company. “We’re in many ways envious of a New York City or Boston or places where there are legitimate pubic transportation systems.”

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority runs trains and busses through the city, linking the airport with outlying areas such as Sandy Spring, but the system is far from comprehensive enough to replace automobiles, Atlanta experts say.

“It can make it prohibitive for people to see face to face,” said Blake, of StartupLounge.

New businesses have to take things like parking and nighttime safety into account. While in other cities a coffee shop may be able to survive on foot traffic, RIffel said Octane has to balance business from students and nearby offices during the week and draw crowds by acting as a bar at night.

“Atlanta is just such a driving city, there aren’t many walkable areas,” he said.

Rathbun and other high-end restaurants say offering valet parking is a must: "It’s not like New York where you get in a cab and go somewhere."

Some companies try a different approach to work around accessibility issues. Landman’s Ripple is one of the companies that adopted a “results-only” work environment, allowing employees flexible schedules so they can work from home or avoid rush hours. “Here in Atlanta that’s a huge benefit because the whole driving to work thing is a big deal for people,” he said

Dig Deeper: Beyond Flextime


Starting a Business in Atlanta: Recreating Urban Community

Meetups, peer groups and social networking circles have boomed in Atlanta, as business owners have tried to compress the physical sprawl and recreate the dense collegiality of bigger cities. Co-working spaces and shared office arrangements are popular.

Mike Schinkel had early success with Xtras, a mail-order software company he founded in the 90s. But even with $12 million in revenue and 30 employees, he felt isolated in the Atlanta tech scene. So, in 2007, he founded Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs, a group working through the site Meetup.com where people talk about new products and share advice.
“I kind of put myself out there to help others with what I had learned,” he said. “I felt like I wasn’t getting much help from anybody.”

As of this spring, Atlanta was the fifth most active city in the world on Twitter, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Only London, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York were more active.

“Eight years ago, when I moved here, (the technology scene) was pretty non-existent,” said Cummings, of Pardot. “It’s amazing how the advent of social media has enabled a lot of people who didn’t connect before to connect in a more passive way. Those passive connections turned into more active connections with meetups and other things.”
Groups such as StartupLounge, Startup Riot, Youth Entrepreneurs of Atlanta and StartupChicks connect like-minded people and share ideas. Meetup.com groups have evolved from broad categories to specific business topics over the past five years, said Foster, the venture capitalist.

“If you’re a startup, you really want to get invited to that, get in the door,” he said.

“It kind of fosters that ever more with the lack of urban normal density. It’s the equivalent of kind of bumping into someone, which might happen in New York, but wouldn’t happen here. “

Dig Deeper: Going Beyond Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter

Starting a Business in Atlanta: Lack of Venture Capital

Jeff Haynie was a rising superstar in the Atlanta startup scene, having co-founded or worked on several successful ventures over the years including Vocalocity, a voice-data communications firm, and Appcelerator, his current mobile-application development platform.

His decision two years ago to pick up his family and company to move to Silicone Valley created a huge stir — some called him traitorous for leaving his hometown; some were jealous. His main criticisms were the lack of local venture capital funding in Atlanta, and the absence of reinvestment in the community from companies who’ve had breakout success.

“After living through the previous kind of crazy trend and sort of the bust after that, and trying to run a company so far away from where the action is, I should’ve moved earlier,” he said.

Haynie assumed he’d move to the Bay Area to get his business going and eventually return to Atlanta. Now, even though he lives in a smaller house and faces a cost of living 10-15 percent higher than Atlanta, he can’t ever picture leaving the collaborative atmosphere of California.

“If you want to be an actor, you go to Hollywood. If you want to be a technologist and change the world, you go to the valley,” he said. “A lot of people say Atlanta is a two-Cadillacs-and-boat kind of town. When you get money, you can live comfortably. There’s not this insatiable desire to keep creating and contributing to the community.”

Even those sticking it out in Atlanta share Haynie’s concerns. The city is lacking in success stories, Foster said. The total investment dollars-per-capita is far lower than that of Boston, Washington, D.C., or Dallas, he said.

“The problem is that once a business gets to that point where there is a need for instant capital, there are just not enough firms that have enough money under management to do enough deals,” he said. “We get a ton of outside investors. That is never going to solve that fundamental resource problem We need more venture capital guys in the city.”

But things could be changing for the better. A state law passed in June gives a tax credit up to $50,000 for angel investors who give money to small startup companies. Georgia’s agrarian history made it a very land-based economy, said Blake of StartupLounge. Real estate crowded out potential venture capital dollars. But since the real estate market crashed, people are looking for alternative investments.

Just in the past six months, Blake has seen more investment deals than in the past three years combined.

Dig Deeper: An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Financing


Starting a Business in Atlanta: Resources and Staffing

Atlanta benefits most from being an urban magnet that draws young professionals and students who don’t want to leave the Southeast. “They literally just moves to Atlanta because that’s the hub or that’s where their friend lives and then look for a job,” said Cummings, of Pardot.

Atlanta is home to Emory University, Spellman College, Georgia State University and other schools. But it’s also the home of the Georgia Institute of Technology and that school’s Advanced Technology Development Center, a start-up accelerator and business incubator that Atlantans treat like a business oracle. The city is home to a handful of small business development centers based out of schools and the local government. The site Atlanta Startup Entrepreneurs provides links to info about startups, investment funds, mentoring programs and other resources. The Atlanta Entrepreneurs’ Organization is one of the largest in the world.

The city’s evolution has spurred a music culture, a growing restaurant and bar scene and the conversion of old industrial spaces into loft apartments.

But sometimes success boils down to picking the right area and rolling the dice. Rathbun opened his first restaurant in 2004, not sure whether customers would join him. Within six months, he had purchased another location nearby to create Krog Bar, a Spanish tapas and wine bar. By 2007, he had opened another restaurant, Kevin Rathbun Steak, just a block and a half away. He expected to pay off his investors in four years; he did it instead in seven months.
The success came from networking with people around town and having a product that overcame the physical challenges of Atlanta.

"All the marketing in the world gets you there, but it’s nice that you know some people and you have a core base," he said. "Be true to your area and the area will be true to you."

Dig Deeper: The Idea Factories

A large electrical outage at Reagan National Airport -- the second such outage in the last nine days --- is causing some problems with air traffic this afternoon. The Associated Press reports that power was lost in Terminals A and C, as well as the airports authority headquarters building, around 11:45 this morning. (We have heard that Terminal B was also without power; a call placed to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority to confirm has yet to be returned.) Power has reportedly been restored, but lines at security checkpoints are experiencing residual delays. Passengers heading to National this afternoon should also call their carriers and check for potential cancellations and delays.

We know that several of you have an aversion -- whether for political or other curmudgeonly reasons -- to calling the airport in Arlington by its full, proper name. But you might not be able to escape the Reagan-ocity of DCA, come 2011. The Associated Press reports that the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has come to an agreement with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to install a bronze statue of The Gipper right in front of Terminal A. The Foundation hopes to have the statue up by fall 2011. In other news, this editor's compromise to rename the airport "Rappin' Ronnie Reagan National Airport" sits there, unused.

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Best Itinerary-Planning Site: TripIt
Best Air Travel App: FlightTrack Pro
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Best Service for Swapping Miles: Global Points Exchange
Best Car Rental App: CarRentals.com

Best First Class: Emirates
Best Business Class: United Airlines
Best In-Flight WiFi: Delta Air Lines
Best Airport WiFi: Denver International Airport
Best Airport Lounge: The Wing Lounge, Hong Kong International Airport
Best In-Flight Entertainment: Virgin America RED
Best Airport Cuisine: JetBlue Terminal 5 at JFK

Best Noise-Canceling Headphones: Sennheiser PXC250
Best Travel Speaker: Tunebug Portable iPod Speaker
Best Portable Massager: T Spheres
Best Tablet Computer: iPad
Best Store for TSA-Friendly Toiletries: 3floz.com
Best Bag for Traveling Light: HEYS USA Crown Edition XX Carry-on Spinner
Best TSA-Friendly Laptop Bag: Speck Products CorePack Fly Messenger Bag
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Best Airplane Blanket: PoshAir Premium Cashmere JetElite
Best iPad Sleeve: Rickshaw Bagworks
Best Toiletry Case: F1 Flight Dopp Kit
Best Travel Watch: Casio Pathfinder Solar Watch PAG110C-3

Best Hi-Tech Hotel: Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
Best Executive Club Floors: Ritz Carlton
Best Extended Stay Chain: AKA
Best Alternative to the Hotel Treadmill: Westin Hotels Guided Running Tours
Best Business Retreat: Four Seasons, Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica
Best Green Hotel: Orchard Hotel, San Francisco
Best Hotel for Fitness: Topaz, Washington, D.C.
Best Boutique Hotel: Joie de Vivre Hotels in California

Best Spa for Businessmen: Truefitt & Hill
Great for a Caffeine Jolt: Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea
Best Rooftop Getaway: Garden Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Great for a Quick Bite: Bread Line, Washington, D.C.
Great for a Business Lunch: Maialino, New York City
Great for a Business Dinner: BLT Steak

Best Rugged Laptop: Panasonic Toughbook 31
Best Travel Charger: Targus Premium Laptop Charger
Best Portable Projetor: HP Notebook Projection Companion
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Best Travel Charging Mat: Powermat Portable Charging Mat
Best Mobile Phone Booster: 5Barz Road Warrior
Best Portable Hard Drive: Iomega eGo
Best Car Speakerphone: Iogear Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit
Best Portable Scanner: Doxie
Best Low-Cost Videoconferencing: Skype 5.0

A power outage at Reagan National Airport had been affecting some flights this morning, as airliners couldn't refuel and jetways could not be pulled back. We can now confirm that power to the entire airport has been restored. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority told DCist that electricity went out in some terminals around 10 a.m. this morning, but that "power was restored within an hour." Some of the pre-security lines were affected by the outage, so anyone heading to National this morning may want to prepare for a little bit longer of a wait than usual as lines work through delays. Most departures appear to be unaffected by the power outage at this time.

Source: CNN (7-5-10)

An extradition hearing for former Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic started Monday, the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court confirmed.

London Metropolitan Police arrested Ganic at Heathrow Airport in March at Serbia's request. He is wanted in Serbia for conspiracy to murder in breach of the Geneva Conventions, a spokesman at Britain's Foreign Office said in March.

Ganic's lawyer, Stephen Gentle, denied Ganic had any role in the 1992 killings in question and in April, Gentle told CNN that "the extradition request is politically motivated. It is legally flawed and he has nothing to hide."

Ganic was the vice president of Bosnia during the civil war there between 1992 and 1995 and was twice president of the Bosnian-Croat Federation in the years following the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. Many independent commentators at the time regarded Ganic as a relative moderate in the wartime Bosnian leadership....

Over at The Big Money’s mothership, Slate, Tom Vanderbilt has initiated another installment of the “Hive” series, in which a crowdsourced band of wise, Web-empowered pundits are attempting to offer transportation solutions for the great new dawning age of the most glorious global megacity. Here we go:

Welcome to "Nimble Cities," the second in Slate's Hive series, a project designed to harvest the world's collective wisdom to solve the world's most pressing problems. We are asking you, essentially, to become transportation hackers (and we're talking not simply cars but the whole of urban and interurban movement). We are looking for your best ideas. They may be your own wild brainstorms, or they may be examples, whether grand or mundane, of things you've experienced in your own city or while traveling. But we want your best proposals for solving an increasingly relevant problem: how to move the most people around and between cities in the most efficient, safe, and perhaps even pleasurable manner. And then we want you to vote on which of those submissions you think are best. 

“...we’re not talking simply about cars...” Nonsense. Of course we are. Vanderbilt, who wrote an entire book about traffic without really ever engaging the question of why people might want to drive cars in the first place, finds the automobile to be strange and disturbing. Like many early 21st-century quasi-academic theorists, he senses that the car must be a problem because it’s a ubiquitous vestige of a 20th century. Cars work for him in as much as they can be viewed as a problem for technology to solve. But as an icon of freedom and a means to an end for developing economies that hope to emulate the successes of the U.S. and others, they are the stuff of nightmares. 

So we’re not talking simply about cars but rather about how we can get rid of the things:

As practical and desirable as the car may be for an individual trip, as cities grow more crowded, the role of the car must change: what it costs to drive one, perhaps even its shape. At a dinner not long ago, Timothy Harpst, the transportation director of Salt Lake City (which like many Western cities developed with a strong automobile orientation), told me he now spends two-thirds of his time working on noncar projects like extending the city's light-rail network to its increasingly busy airport, building a trolley system in the Sugar House neighborhood, and developing a bike station downtown, among other things.

One wonders, if Timothy Harpst is actually doing his, you know, job, if he’s putting most of his time into non-car projects. Light rail, trolleys, bikes—all enchanting, but it’s ultimately highly questionable whether Salt Lake City can continue to function without a viable support system for its core mode of transportation, the car.

I salute T.V. for undertaking this experiment, but it’s no secret that the premise troubles me. There’s a mashup currently at work between a new breed of New Urbanists and the anti-car crowd. Many of these folks live in places like New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Portland. They’re solipsistically preoccupied with the manifold wonders of their metropolitan lives and consider the city to be not just a nexus of steel, concrete, garbage, and great restaurants all crammed together in a compact geography, but a Grand Idea, a template for progress and goodness and enlightenment. The suburbs make them want to puke. They're the kind of people who might take you aside and say, "Look, I know you've had fun driving an all that, but the way we see things, you're probably going to have to give up your car. Sorry. Also, the suburbs are for losers." After all, the role of the car must change!

The distopianism of this framework never seems to occur to them. There are people who like a teeming megalopolis, but there are many, many people who categorically do not. For the latter, the city will never be nimble.

So at base what we have here is not a car problem but a city problem. And there’s a battle brewing, largely undiscussed. Car people and city people both have access to technology. Technology plus cars actually means an accelerated American population of non-urban areas, because wifi plus a four-bedroom, three-bath house in the ’burbs means you don’t necessarily need to congregate uncomfortably with all the people you used to have to go to a city to be around. Whole businesses can be run in the cloud. And you get to keep your car. 

There is a school of thought that figures we don’t have to engage in all these New Urbanist citified transportation projects. Rather, we should focus on the most important form of global mobility, the automobile, and dedicate ourselves to perfecting it and the matrix of movement it has fostered. The ginormous city may have to take a back seat to that.

BROOMFIELD, Colo.

--

An air tanker fighting one of several wildfires burning in Colorado has crashed outside of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on Saturday afternoon.

The pilot reported that the plane was having mechanical issues before attempting an emergency landing, at 12:27 p.m. A spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Authority said the plane experienced hydraulic failure during the landing.

• Flying Display (Subject to Change)
• Red arrows From biggin hill
• Static Park Update

• Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1 AR213 
• RAF Eurofighter Typhoon

The 1/4-mile-long MTA tag on the LA River (Photo by Nuno_Oliveira via the LAist Featured Photos pool) on Flickr

In a groundbreaking move, the City Attorney's office is seeking an injunction against the members of a tagging crew thought to be responsible for about 500 pieces of graffiti all over the city, according to the Daily News. One such piece is the massive "MTA" tag on a quarter-mile-long section of the L.A. River near Downtown "that cost nearly $4 million to remove."

Their "MTA" tag stands for "Metro Transit Assassins," who leave their mark "on highway signs, sound walls, billboards, bridges, buses, passenger trains, freight train cars, trucks, homes and commercial buildings." The L.A. River piece was positioned strategically so as to be seen from not only freeway traffic, but from planes going in and out of Bob Hope Airport and LAX.

The injunction "seeks to ban the 10 known adult members of the crew from associating with one another or from possessing weapons or graffiti tools." Additionally it "would impose an overnight curfew and would prohibit the suspected vandals from being on foot on freeways, near the L.A. River or on any property owned by" the real MTA, as in the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It also names 50 "John Does" to give officers latitude to arrest associates of the crew. A hearing is scheduled for August 31 to discuss the injunction.

It's budget day on Tuesday – Gaby Hinsliff gets a head start on austerity by seeing how much fun she and her son can have for as little money as possible

'This is not a babyccino, Mummy!' My son, Freddie, connoisseur of ludicrously overmarketed hot milk that he is, peers aghast into his cup. Delivered after puzzled consultation between waitresses in this not so metropolitan cafe, his order turns out to contain weak coffee. Presumably, the kitchen thinks only a madwoman would pay £1.50 for caffeine-free froth.

Obviously, they are right. Like many middle-class parents, I am grateful but appalled that my three-year-old enjoys a far swankier lifestyle than I did growing up in the 1970s (swankier than mine is now: at least he has a social life). The babyccino is just one of too many adult luxuries pitched at nappy-clad consumers for very adult reasons: it's an Australian marketing wheeze invented to make mothers spend more in cafes, not a charming Italian tradition.

So modern toddlers are whisked on long-haul family holidays where their parents once shivered on British beaches and are chauffeured between thrilling activities instead of shooed into the garden to play. Middle-class mothers routinely cook foods for babies – sweet potato, pesto, gnocchi – that they never tasted till adulthood.

No wonder 70% of respondents in a recent survey said that quality family time costs money: no wonder our children are easily bored.

Well, no more. After years of inexorable rises, living standards are threatened: Tuesday's budget heralds years of pay freezes and spending cuts, with so-called "middle-class welfare" such as child tax credits squarely in the government's sights. It's time to rethink the family budget.

Low-income parents already living frugally will shed few tears for the middle-class nouveaux pauvres forced to drop junior's regular table at Pizza Express. But it's possible that it could ease the pressure on all families to compete, and bring wider benefits too.

For frugal parenting isn't just about money. It's about bringing up children for whom material goods aren't everything, who aren't so hyperstimulated that adult life proves a letdown. It's about treading lightly on the planet, not driving toddlers to gym classes where they pay to run about.

My family life isn't as lavish as some, but neither is it as low maintenance as my own childhood. I usually work three days a week, and the rest is the standard whirl of playdates, Tumble Tots, day trips, and scribbling on walls in indelible pen if left unsupervised.

So just for a week, I wanted to attempt the sort of childhood I remember – one where boredom was a rite of passage, franchised classes like Monkey Music a bad dream and children didn't eat in cafes (in 1970s Essex there were no cafes). The challenge? To entertain my son on £10 a week.

Day one

We awake to drizzle, a stark reminder of why in many childhood photographs I'm wearing a cagoule and a scowl: indoor entertainment costs money. Fortunately, the church playgroup is only £1 for a morning. Singing about Jesus at the end seems a small price to pay for free biscuits.

The rain lifts slightly after lunch, and the dog needs walking, so I cunningly package this as a trip to see the ruins of a nearby Roman villa I've always meant to explore. With no idea what a Roman villa is, Freddie agrees.

My attempt to explain who the Romans were goes predictably well ("Mummeeee! You're not very interesting") but jumping off what is left of the walls proves popular – as does the small, padlocked hut containing remains from the site. Or, more precisely, climbing on the low-pitched tin roof and pretending to be a builder. My apologies to our fellow visitors, whose pained expressions suggested a passion for archaeology.

Drained by all this culture, he sleeps for two hours. After that we build a Lego airport and, hurrah, it's teatime.

Total spent: £1. Bargain extra: some wild garlic picked on the walk, which makes a surprisingly passable pasta sauce and a vile green soup.

Day two

Surprisingly, Freddie wakes up demanding to go back to the ruins, making me wonder whether the constant novelty with which I bombard him is really for his benefit or mine. Children are natural conservatives, keen on the comfort of repetition: he wants to hunt for ladybirds again at exactly the bend in the track where we found some yesterday, and stop at the same place to stroke horses over the fence.

After lunch, feeling guilty, I suggest he "help" (ie hinder) me in a job I would normally only attempt in his absence, cementing loose bricks back into the patio wall. The result would horrify a stonemason and within days the bricks are wobbly again, but he is thrilled to be allowed to join in. Only now do I remember the comforting feeling, as a child, of mooching around while my parents did reassuringly dull chores around the house.

Emboldened, I clean the windows for possibly the first time since he was born, while he happily sloshes cloths around in the dirty water. A friend and her daughter drop round in the afternoon.

Total spent: a satisfying nil.

Day three

We normally go swimming on a Wednesday, one of the few organised toddler activities that also existed when I was growing up, so it survives the new regime – though I cycle, rather than drive to the pool, to save petrol.

The session costs £3.80, but of all the supposedly improving activities we've dutifully attended over the years (the baby singing classes he loathed: the baby massage classes he howled through) swimming is probably the only one we both like.

Freddie loves having lunch in the cafe overlooking the swimmers but, as two sandwiches and a carton of juice would blow the budget, I break the news that it's not happening today. I claim that this is because there are too many exciting things to do at home, hoping he won't ask what as I haven't yet thought of any. Luckily, he's happy with a homemade ice lolly (orange juice plus some overripe strawberries blended up the day before, then frozen in moulds). And it's sunny, so afterwards we retire to the sandpit.

Freddie used to have a collection of digging tools that would shame a plant-hire company, most of which have been left on beaches or savaged by the puppy: but we rescue yoghurt pots from the recycling instead and use them to make sandcastles. After a short nap, he helps me plant beans and repot the tomatoes. As gardening to him mostly means throwing dirt about, this is wildly popular.

Total spent: an extravagant £3.80.

Day four

Running out of ideas, I am saved by a couple of hours' worth of a (free) SureStart playgroup, wondering gloomily whether this perk will survive the spending cuts.

Freddie is hungry afterwards, and the apple I've brought for a snack barely touches the sides. There is a lovely cafe opposite, and I would normally succumb to the babyccino: but I get a fruit scone from the baker, which Freddie eats on the back of my bike, posting crumbs thoughtfully down the back of my neck.

This was also meant to be a working day and I have an optician's appointment. This is not an ideal place for three-year-olds: but I was dragged on such errands as a child, so why not? Freddie complains loudly and distractingly throughout my eye test, possibly explaining why the prescription needs reviewing a week later.

In the afternoon we do some painting and sticking, plus a supermarket shop – again something I'd normally do without him. But each activity is discarded quite quickly, and I'm frankly relieved when bedtime comes.

Total spent: 55p on a scone.

Day five

We would normally go to Tumble Tots this morning: but what self-respecting 70s parent pays £5 a time for toddlers to climb a few ladders and attempt a roly-poly? Instead we go to the playground and enjoy the near-death experience of going on the biggest climbing frame, for which he is slightly too small. He loves it, but it's noticeably harder work for me: no standing around while someone else does creative things with a hula-hoop.

It's another sunny day, so after lunch we walk the dog and then hang out in the garden. We draw on the patio with coloured chalk, and he fills the paddling pool incredibly slowly and inaccurately with the hose: I realise we are learning how to spin things out rather than hurrying from one activity to the next and also talking to each other more than usual.

Total spent: nil.

Day six

The weekend. My creative reserves are exhausted, and I would normally throw money at the problem. But a trip to our lovely local wildlife park is an eyewatering £31 for all of us, ice creams not included.

I Google for free family activities we haven't already done to death. There is a museum a few miles north, but I'm not confident that the history of the blanket industry will appeal and nearly everything else costs money.

So we go to the library in the pouring rain and read as many of the books as possible. The afternoon at home, trapped inside by the weather, is distinctly tetchy. My husband eventually nips out for eggs to make a cake with: thankfully, a friend then arrives for dinner, providing a handy distraction.

Total spent: £1.20 on eggs.

Day seven

A long walk by the river in the morning, and then there's a barbecue to go to. Within seconds, my son disappears into a rolling pack of small children, who collide noisily on the trampoline while the adults drink irresponsibly. This is the kind of benign neglect I remember and it makes me think about whether my generation separate our social lives from our children's too much. I realise how often we grit our teeth and do child-centred things as a family, then exclude Freddie from adult downtime: it might be easier and cheaper to combine the two.

We round off the day by taking him to the river on his scooter. Like many toys, this was much loved when he got it and neglected when new things came along: but simply varying the scooting route revives its popularity. I resolve to sort through unloved toys and reinvent them.

Total spent: Freddie's share of barbecue supplies is £3.30, making a weekly total of £9.85.

Conclusion

The first lesson of the week is that the 1976 heatwave probably helped parents in the 70s no end: it's much harder not to spend money when it's raining. The second is never to leave home without copious snacks.

But the hardest lesson was that frugal parenting demands much more time, energy and imagination, as anyone who criticises low-income parents would do well to remember. There's no subcontracting out the job of entertainer when you're tired.

A true 70s child would perhaps have been expected to play by itself more – a skill our miniature experience junkies often lack. But while we regard modern parenting as more child-centred, I'm left wondering how much of mine is actually adult-centred, seeking out stimulation for my own sanity as much as his.

So will we carry on like this? Not entirely. I do think the occasional day trip is worth it, though I'll space them out a lot more. I'm wavering on a reprieve for Tumble Tots (if only to keep us out of the rain), but I'll worry much less in future about repetition or roping him into my chores for entertainment.

But the big fat cocoa-sprinkled myth that is the babyccino is definitely busted. No more pretend frothy coffee – at least until he's old enough to have coffee in it.

Next morning the weather looks passable on my iPod Touch, but there is such a paucity of reporting stations, or civilization of any description, around the north shore of Lake Superior that we can't be certain. And I know the GFA is based on the same kind of interpolation I have to do. I know what the weather was like half an hour ago at three five mile circles scattered around the north of the lake, so from that I try to interpolate the suitability for flight between them. While the PIC is in the shower, I pick up the phone and call an expert for a briefing. He starts describing the moisture content, stability and direction of travel of air masses, then interrupts himself. "Did you say Brampton?"

"Yes. I'm in Brampton now; it's clear skies."

"Someone just yelled a NOTAM for Brampton across the room, 'All runways closed."

He isn't able to elucidate the reason for a sudden airport closure, or suggest when they may reopen. In my experience, airports have closed for resurfacing, drag racing, severe weather, special security events, or major accidents. I'm guessing the last, and we decide to drive out to the airport anyway, hoping that everyone is okay and the wreckage is cleared before we want to depart.

As we pull into the parking lot we can see police cars and police officers on the airfield. This is weird, but hey, they are allowed to be there, and the NOTAM says the runways are closed, not the apron. My new guess is that there is some kind of drug bust going on. I live in a country where one is not obliged to cower in terror at the mere presence of law enforcement officials, so while the other pilot makes a few last minute decisions about what to take and what to lock in the trunk, I walk through the unlocked front gate from the car parking lot and into the aircraft parking area.

I'm immediately approached by a young man in a reflective vest. "Where are you going?" he asks.

"Thunder Bay," I reply.

I love to watch the moment of adjustment a person goes through when you give a valid answer to a question, but it is not the same order of magnitude as they were expecting. He asks if I am renting a flying school plane and I tell him, no, a private aircraft, and give the call sign.

Then it's his turn to watch someone react to the unexpected, "Make sure you do a very thorough preflight." He doesn't know if our little one-fifty was one of the victims, but there was extensive vandalism on the field last night, and a number of aircraft were damaged. As I walk further I can see a flying school light twin with all the windows bashed in and a fire extinguisher lying beside it on the apron. Detritus such as engine plugs, aircraft covers and seat cushions are strewn on the grass. A Katana has been pushed up against a hangar. There are footprints on the horizontal stabilizer of an older Skyhawk. The perpetrators have also left broken beer bottles and what looks like a corsage. Evidence suggests that some high school students have chosen to celebrate their putative entry into adulthood by getting drunk and committing a federal crime against thousands of dollars worth of other people's property.

The airplane tied tail-to-tail with ours has been hit, but ours looks good. It's tied down, the doors are still locked, and the only exterior damage is what looks like a long-ago mend to a rear window, probably broken by an unsecured object in turbulence. Not the first one I've seen like that. There are tiedown rings inside and I secure all our cargo as I calculated it should go, with the light objects like our jackets and the engine cover at the back and the snacks and water on top right behind the seats.

I've never seen this kind of vandalism at an airfield before. I call back flight services to update them on the situation. The briefer says he's never seen it before either. I ask if they have an UNTIL time on that NOTAM. It's midnight zulu, which is eight pm here, but "midnight zulu" is a default kind of time, not something with a real reason behind it. The weather forecast suggests we can get at least to Thunder Bay today, so only this NOTAM is stopping us. After a bit of waiting around I decide I don't like this NOTAM.

A police officer in blue latex gloves is dusting the rear window of the airplane behind us for fingerprints. I ask whether it is the police or airport management who has imposed or has power to change the NOTAM. Reflective-vest guy is there, and says that it's his responsibility, and that he will change it right now. He picks up his phone and does so. In the time it takes me to call Flight Services to file our flight plan, they have received and propagated the cancelling NOTAM. Excellent. This, right here, is an example of why pilots are so infuriated by incompetent security. Aviation has a lot of rules, a lot of procedures, a lot of things forbidden from time to time. But they are for a reason and in the vast majority of cases when you have a reason that is more reasonable than their reason, you find the right person, you explain your reason, and you go do what you have to do. You may have to prove it is safe, and it may cost money, but it's easier than getting thirty millilitres of shampoo through security in a 110 mL bottle.

We fuel, taxi out and she starts the take-off roll. My flight instructor instinct kicks in and I advise, "Rotate normally and wait. The airplane will take off slowly." I know she's been bombing around solo in this airplane, but we're now close to max weight, and it's worth being tagged as a back seat driver not to be in the plane during a departure stall. She follows my advice, and the airplane rolls along the runway on its rear wheels for a bit before it lifts off and slowly climbs. If a pilot isn't used to this behaviour in a loaded airplane, she may pull back harder on the control column, trying to get it to fly. It may become airborne in ground effect and then stall, crashing back down on the runway.

I have the local airspace on the VTA and displayed on a handheld GPS receiver so I navigate while she flies. We call Toronto Terminal for flight following and they laugh right on the radio as they radar identify us "grounding fifty knots." A voice in the background of the transmission says "... only has four hours of fuel." I have a picture of a crowd of people gathered around a radar scope laughing at our slow-moving blip. Freaking headwinds.

We gain a little speed as we level out at 4500' so we're mostly keeping ahead of traffic on the highway. Mostly. Metropolitan Toronto thins out behind us and Wiarton, where Canada's most famous groundhog lives, slowly comes up ahead. We pass it and continue up the peninsula and then across the water to Manitoulin Island. It's a short over-water stretch, but the briefer said that many pilots choose to go the long way around to avoid it. We're not even out of gliding distance of land, and the beach that we would end up on in the case of engine failure looks more hospitable to me than something we might find between North Bay and Sudbury. But everyone has different risk tolerances.

Manitoulin Island is pretty, with lots of little inlets. I wonder if someday there will be a bridge, making this shortcut available to car drivers, too. Our first stop will be Gore Bay. It's easy to find, and we land and taxi in, parking next to the fuel pumps. There is a white building on uphill next to the apron and I walk up there in search of a phone and washroom. They have both, and sell us the fuel we need.

I'm writing this blog entry tired, and while that's not dangerous like flying tired, it's in danger of being boring, so I'll leave off here and continue the story after we depart, with full tanks and empty bladders.

• The Ryan PT-22
• The Hamilton Flies!
• Nurses Get Pinned
• Motor Pool Madness
• A Trip to Honor
• Dance Day!
• Blog Update - 01May to 11June

Don Parsons' Blog: Sunset Departure from Antique Airfield News

Larry E. Kozub

Larry Kozub, a retired Sacramento County airports official who led the early transformation of Mather Field from deteriorating military base to bustling air cargo hub, died Sunday of cancer, his family said. He was 62.

Mr. Kozub spent 30 years as a Sacramento County employee. He joined the Department of Airports as a consultant in 1977 and became a senior planner for Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.

He was named manager of the newly created Mather Airport, which was turned over to the county after Mather Air Force Base was decommissioned in 1995. With giant hangars and massive runways built for huge B-52 bombers, the Rancho Cordova field was envisioned as a base for air-cargo operators.

Mr. Kozub led efforts to upgrade infrastructure that had been neglected by the military, including taxiway lights, roads and utilities. He pushed for millions of dollars in federal grants for improvements that were essential to get economic development at Mather off the ground.

"Larry never accepted mediocrity or the status quo," said Hardy Acree, head of the Sacramento County Airport System. "He challenged everyone who worked with him to do better. That quality about him really helped to begin the transformation of Mather."

Larry Edward Kozub was born in 1947 in Fresno and reared in the Bay Area. He earned an aeronautical engineering degree at San Jose State University and worked at NASA's Ames Research Center and a Burlingame airport planning firm before joining Sacramento County.

He earned a pilot license by age 20. He joined the Air Force but was honorably discharged after several weeks, when the end of the Vietnam War eliminated the need for pilots, his family said.

He married Arlene Peters in 1971 and had two children. He retired from Sacramento County in 2007 and lived in Roseville.

Mr. Kozub was a caring man with a fun sense of humor, his family and colleagues said. He took up square dancing with his wife and hiking with family and friends at national parks in the West.

His favorite destinations included the Grand Canyon, where he made five trips. He hiked to Phantom Ranch at the base and spent eight days camping and rafting down the Colorado River.

"He loved the scenery outdoors," said his son Eddie. "He was a huge fan of Westerns. Pick out any place behind the action in a movie, and he wanted to go there."

Larry E. Kozub

Larry Kozub, a retired Sacramento County airports official who led the early transformation of Mather Field from deteriorating military base to bustling air cargo hub, died Sunday of cancer, his family said. He was 62.

Mr. Kozub spent 30 years as a Sacramento County employee. He joined the Department of Airports as a consultant in 1977 and became a senior planner for Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.

He was named manager of the newly created Mather Airport, which was turned over to the county after Mather Air Force Base was decommissioned in 1995. With giant hangars and massive runways built for huge B-52 bombers, the Rancho Cordova field was envisioned as a base for air-cargo operators.

Mr. Kozub led efforts to upgrade infrastructure that had been neglected by the military, including taxiway lights, roads and utilities. He pushed for millions of dollars in federal grants for improvements that were essential to get economic development at Mather off the ground.

"Larry never accepted mediocrity or the status quo," said Hardy Acree, head of the Sacramento County Airport System. "He challenged everyone who worked with him to do better. That quality about him really helped to begin the transformation of Mather."

Larry Edward Kozub was born in 1947 in Fresno and reared in the Bay Area. He earned an aeronautical engineering degree at San Jose State University and worked at NASA's Ames Research Center and a Burlingame airport planning firm before joining Sacramento County.

He earned a pilot license by age 20. He joined the Air Force but was honorably discharged after several weeks, when the end of the Vietnam War eliminated the need for pilots, his family said.

He married Arlene Peters in 1971 and had two children. He retired from Sacramento County in 2007 and lived in Roseville.

Mr. Kozub was a caring man with a fun sense of humor, his family and colleagues said. He took up square dancing with his wife and hiking with family and friends at national parks in the West.

His favorite destinations included the Grand Canyon, where he made five trips. He hiked to Phantom Ranch at the base and spent eight days camping and rafting down the Colorado River.

"He loved the scenery outdoors," said his son Eddie. "He was a huge fan of Westerns. Pick out any place behind the action in a movie, and he wanted to go there."

The main runway at Reagan National Airport was closed Tuesday morning after an accident involving the landing of a vintage World War II aircraft. Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said the accident occurred just after 10 a.m. “The other two runways are open, but we are expecting delays,” she said. Mickalonis said two people [...]