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Greek anarchy hols bargains; EXCLUSIVE

0 Comments | People (London, England), The, May 9, 2010

Byline: Nick Dorman

GREECE is the word for holiday Brits because the state’s economic collapse is sending package tour prices tumbling.

Experts say a flood of bargain jaunts are on offer as hard-up Greeks scrabble for foreign visitors’ cash.

And the wave of violent protests sweeping the mainland in the wake of the collapse have not spread to holiday hotspots in the Greek islands.

Bookings are already up 11 per cent in a year – and they will swell with a rush of lastminute deals.

A seven-night all-in stay at a five-star resort in Crete this summer costs just pounds 406 – almost pounds 100 off last year’s price. The trip is cheaper than equivalents in Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh, Majorca or Gran Canaria. And there’s good news for self-catering breaks – bar and restaurant prices have been cut by up to 10 per cent even though the value of the euro will not be affected in the short term by the crisis.

Seven nights at a three-star resort in Faliraki on Rhodes is available at pounds 223 – more than pounds 30 cheaper than a similar trip to Majorca.

And a week’s five-star trip in July to Crete’s Hersonissos Palace Hotel with onthebeach.co.uk is available for pounds 371.

The Association of British Travel Agents said: “Holidaymakers can expect plenty of deals as the Greeks try to lure us over there to give them much-needed revenue.”

And Robin Sutherland – of price comparison site travelsupermarket.com – said: “In recent years we’ve seen breaks to Turkey and Egypt become popular because they’re outside the eurozone.

“But now is certainly a great time to go to Greece.”

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TERROR: Cop under fire

World war icon aims to reach for skies – again

0 Comments | Northern Echo, Jul 28, 2010 | by Dani Webb

THE world’s most authentic rebuilt Spitfire could soon be flying high again.

Engineers are refurbishing aircraft X4650, which crashed in the North-East 70 years ago, with the hope of getting it into the sky later this year.

Pilot Sergeant Howard Squire, of Birmingham, was flying the plane on a training mission when it crashed close to Yarm, near Stockton.

The wreckage was only discovered in 1976 when low river levels exposed the metal embedded in a clay riverbank on farmland nearby.

It had been there since December 28, 1940, after Sgt Squire, then 20, bailed out after colliding with X4276, flown by Al Deere, Flight Commander of 54 Squadron at RAF Catterick, in North Yorkshire.

Flt Cdr Deere was giving his junior a lesson in how to keep close to an enemy aircraft and told him: “Stick to me like glue, ” the title of a painting of the incident by aviation artist Alex Hamilton.

But Sgt Squire stuck too close and his plane hit Flt Cdr Deere’s, cutting off the tail plane with his propeller.

After escaping the wreckage, he could only watch from his parachute as it landed in field. Flt Lt Deere landed safely in a cesspit after his parachute failed to open properly.

The reconstruction of aircraft X4650 coincides with a public competition to design a permanent memorial to the aircraft’s designers.

The Mark I model has more original parts than any of the 50 Spitfires still flying.

Sgt Squire, now 89, was shot down over France in 1941 and became a prisoner of war.

He said: “The Spitfire was a beautiful aircraft, like a Tiger Moth, but with real power. A doddle to fly.

“We used to throw them about all over the place, as unfortunately I demonstrated.”

The aircraft has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to restore, but is now thought to be worth more than [pounds]2m and is expected to enter private ownership.

It is registered to Spitfire enthusiast Peter Monk, who is overseeing the project.

House candidate fends off foreclosure threat

0 Comments | New Haven Register, Jul 2, 2010 | by Mary E O’Leary

A Democratic candidate for the state’s 96th District seat has emerged successfully from a foreclosure threat against her home.

Debra Hauser Thursday said her East Rock home was used as collateral to cover a business loan totaling $500,000 tied to her husband’s medically supervised weight loss business, Connecticut Weight and Wellness, which had offices in Branford and Hamden.

Her husband, Dr. Jack Hauser, a cardiologist, got the business up and running in 2003-04. He closed it a year ago after a combination of factors: the tanking economy and medical insurance that doesn’t pay for preventive measures.

Hauser said she was a “big supporter” of her’s husband’s venture, but they got “slammed” by the recession and ended up being one of the hundred of thousands of small businesses that ultimately were pulled under.

“We didn’t anticipate the grave economic downturn, but we learned a great deal from it,” Hauser said. “We did our best and it still failed.” Starting in 2007, she became CEO of the company, which at one point saw 500 clients a week in its clinics. She had a private practice as a clinical psychologist for a decade before that. Her husband has returned to his cardiology practice.

Hauser is running in the Aug. 10 primary against New Haven Alderman Roland Lemar, D-9, the party’s endorsed candidate.

She said the claims against her home were resolved and withdrawn June 23, but it made for a stressful year for her and her family. “The economy got the best of us,” Hauser said.

“I have learned a great deal. I certainly have been humbled by the experience. I know firsthand what start-up businesses face and how the economy can devastate a family.

I have learned to be cautious in matters of money and to do due diligence,” Hauser said.

“When you are faced with a financial crisis, you never forget it, and you have a much greater appreciation for others problems,” she added, and for that reason it should make her a better legislator.

A pending foreclosure was recorded by NewAlliance Bank on the land records in Nov. 2009, after which Jack Hauser sought bankruptcy protection. According to the city’s website, the home is valued at $631, 890.

While the documents are available in court, she was suspicious it was pointed out to the press after her campaign literature went out and she was endorsed by former Hamden Mayor John Carusone. “I do not feel that this was a coincidence,” she said.

Alderman Michael Jones, D-1, who is Lemar’s campaign manager, said they did not leak the information
foreclosure prevention

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: A lesson to learn

Smart Business Cleveland, Jun 2010

Stella Moga Kennedy has a list of children waiting for a spot to open at her schools. She has mayors and economic development directors calling and asking her to build a center in their city. And she has venture capitalists knocking on her door seeking a franchise model.

Those situations don’t happen when you’re doing something wrong.

The quality of service that Moga Kennedy provides is what has taken Le Chaperon Rouge Childcare Centers and Schools from a day care center in the basement of a North Olmstead church to a child care center with eight locations and an additional private elementary school.

The service extends from the design of the school buildings and the convenience of their locations to the home-cooked meals and the innovative curriculum.

Moga Kennedy, founder, owner and president of Le Chaperon Rouge, remains involved in every aspect of the company and she realizes success is seen in consistency and attention to detail. In order to offer uniform service, Le Chaperon Rouge developed a training manual that provides a framework for the centers’ systems. The manual was created to take the best practices and standardize them so that each child and parent receives a great experience no matter the location.

Moga Kennedy assures the No. 1 reason Le Chaperon Rouge has maintained its level of success is because of the standards set and the promises kept by her and her staff. If a problem occurs, each director or instructor is empowered to handle the concern, allowing it to be dealt with immediately. All issues are brought to Moga Kennedy’s attention, and she follows up with parents to ensure they are satisfied with the outcome.

After all, it was an unhappy experience with her son’s day care center that put Moga Kennedy on the path to provide children a quality education
home care franchise

Reader Voices: Sailing through life’s storms

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 27, 2010 by Geanie M. Roake

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

— Louisa May Alcott

My children are entirely too dependent on their cell phones. The other day my 17-year-old daughter wandered into the kitchen with a glum look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Chris is going to be mad at me.”

Read the complete story on MormonTimes.com.