Rare coins stolen in Caversham burglary
July 30, 2012
Antique coins including one from Yugoslavia made from 24-carat gold were stolen in a burglary in Caversham last week.
Thieves forced open the front door of a house in Upper Woodcote Road and carried out a thorough search between 1pm and 5pm on Monday, July 23.
A large amount of jewellery was taken along with a large rectangular silver jewellery box.
Among the items stolen are gold coins and watches. The coins are between 18 and 24-carat and one is a special edition 24-carat Yugoslavian coin with the former president Tito on it.
There are also coins engraved with the letters A and V which are of great sentimental value.
Police would like to speak to anyone who saw anything suspect in the area at the time.
Anyone with information can call police on 101 or the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Source: www.getreading.co.uk
Travelers to the Annual Adirondack Museum Antiques Show and Sale August 11-12 … - YAHOO!
Professional and casual antique collectors are heading to Blue Mountain Lake August 11 and 12 for the annual Adirondack Museum Antiques Show, featuring a litany of vintage and antique Americana, Native American art and artifacts and more. The two-day antiques show is expected to attract thousands of antiques lovers to the Adirondacks, many booking vacation accommodations through NYVacationRentals.com.
BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE, New York, (PRWEB) July 30, 2012
Dealers in high quality antiques and art from across the U.S. will be offering a wide range of antique Americana and Native American art and artifacts at the Annual Adirondack Museum Antiques Show in Blue Mountain Lake August 11 and 12. Travelers heading to the Adirondacks for the antiques show are booking vacation rentals in the Lake George area through NYVacationRentals.com.Dealers in quality antiques and art from will offer camp, cottage, and Mission furniture, historical fine art, militaria, folk art, vintage boats, taxidermy, quilts, oriental rugs, and Native American jewelry and artifacts. First buy opportunities will be available on Saturday from 8-10 a.m. for $30. Forty antique dealers and galleries will be represented at the Adirondack Museum’s Blue Mountain Lake venue, 50 miles west of Lake George.
Adirondacks visitors prefer staying in a private vacation rental near the antiques show venue, bypassing overpriced hotels and enjoying added amenities that Blue Mountain Lake area accommodations offer.
Liz Ernst of NYVacationRentals.com, says that more vacation rental properties are being listed in the scenic Adirondacks this summer, a favorite destination for summer vacations.
“An event like the Adirondack Museum Antiques Show will get people to come and spend a long weekend or a week in the Adirondacks, where the outdoor recreation opportunities are family friendly and abundant, and the scenery is always beautiful,” Ernst says.
By logging on to NYVacationRentals.com, travelers can search for a cabin, cottage or house in the Adirondacks that suits their needs. Whether visitors are staying for a night or two, or booking lodgings in the Adirondacks for the week, they’re discovering a growing number of area vacation home owners are making their private properties available to families and groups of friends to rent close to the antiques show venue.
Private vacation rentals in the Blue Mountain Lake area sleep up to 18 people or more, making it perfect for accommodating families and groups of friends. Travelers can stay together under one roof and enjoy the privacy and other benefits of a vacation rental, like a full kitchen and laundry.
Ernst says that more travelers are looking for lower-cost options to hotel rooms when they visit the Adirondacks or any of New York State’s popular vacation areas. NYVacationRentals.com properties are gaining momentum as travelers try to economize without sacrificing comfort.
“People love coming to the Adirondacks for summer weekend getaways, week-long family vacations, or for an extended vacation because of the region’s scenic beauty and local charm,” Ernst says. “Now that so many people have been renting private vacation properties for short visits in places all across New York State and other areas for years, it’s a trend that keeps gaining in appeal.
“Travelers opt for the convenience and value they find in a privately owned vacation rental condo or house, and they’re not going back to booking hotel rooms.”
For more information on vacation lodgings in the Adirondacks or anywhere in New York State, visit NYVacationRentals.com.
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Liz Ernst
Vacation Rental Organization
954-990-5539 1004
Email Information
Source: news.yahoo.com
Crucial California trial begins in Apple vs Samsung case - ZDNet
The trial kicking off today in federal court in San Jose, Calif., is a patent battle between Apple and Samsung Electronics -- and the stakes are high.
As two of the largest consumer electronics corporations, the high-profile court case will have the eyes of media, rival firms and customers upon them today -- as over a year of legal clashes comes to a head.
Jury selection is due to begin today, as the two technology giants butt heads over apparent patent violations and a struggle for supremacy in the rapidly-expanding mobile device market.
The fight began in 2011, when Apple took Samsung to a San Jose, California-based federal court, accusing it of copying the designs of the iPhone and iPad.
Samsung counter-sued.
While Apple will use Samsung documentation to try and prove that the rival firm knowingly impeded on Apple's intellectual property rights, Samsung argues that Apple is simply using the proceedings to impede competition and maintain "exorbitant" profit margins -- according to court filings.
Since this pivotal moment, the patent war has spread across courtrooms in nearly a dozen countries.
In a statement Friday, Samsung said Apple has been "free-riding" on its technology "while using excessive legal claims against our products in their attempt to limit consumer choice and discourage innovation."
Apple says Samsung violated four of its design patents, and in addition, the company also has infringed on three technology-based patents, including how a phone recognizes different scroll and touch gestures. In contrast, Samsung says that Apple has violated mobile communication system patents -- including how a phone takes a photo and emails it, and how a device copes with music.
Samsung is facing potential bans of its Galaxy smartphone and tablet devices in the United States, following a temporary sales ban on the products set in motion by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh. Sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was first to be placed on hold, and a pretrial ban on the Galaxy Nexus phone soon followed. Samsung appealed both rulings, and the ban on the Galaxy Nexus was stayed.
Both technology giants are seeking financial restitution from the other. Apple is seeking over $2.5 billion in damages.
The stakes for both companies are high; not only is an eye-watering amount of money at stake, but the definitions of patent-ownership across the globe may be re-drawn pending the outcome. Together, the companies account for over half of smartphone sales across the globe.
A jury of 10, coming from Silicon Valley, will hear evidence submitted by the rival firms over the course of a minimum of four weeks, and it must reach a unanimous decision if either company is to benefit by claims that have been made.
Reuters reports that in a last-moment scrabble to avoid a trial, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Samsung Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung participated in a mediation on July 16 -- but settlement was unlikely.
Kevin G. Rivette, a Silicon Valley patent consultant and former vice president for intellectual property strategy for IBM told the New York Times:
"Once you determine who is the genuine innovator, and in what technologies on the product, you reset the playing field, [but one side] must have strong patents, not incremental ones."
This is the much-debated issue in the smartphone industry, and one that this case -- as well as many others -- relies upon.
If it is decided that the Android-powered Samsung phones do infringe on Apple's patents, then not only could it affect other trials across the globe, but Google could face further repercussions and cases due to Android; something former co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs once branded a "stolen product."
In comparison, if the case swings in Samsung's favor, Apple may have to consider a future teeming with increased competition from rival firms.
Apple is represented by law firm Morrison & Foerster, which was involved in Oracle's patent battle against Google concerning its Android OS. Samsung is being represented by lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, who stand for Google and led Yahoo's lawsuit against Facebook earlier in the year.
Source: www.zdnet.com
California's Prop 32 on political funding is a bill of rights for billionaires - The Guardian
Californians are used to ballot initiatives that claim to do one thing, but in reality do exactly the opposite. However, even by the standards of misinformation now commonplace in our elections, November's most controversial ballot measure, Proposition 32 – which its supporters call "Stop Special Interest Money Now" – really "takes the giddy biscuit", as Bertie Wooster (or, for that matter, Mitt Romney) might say.
So what does Prop 32 say it would do, and what would it really do?
Its supporters claim that Prop 32 is a balanced measure that limits corporate and union influence on state elections, to the extent allowed by federal election law. Indeed, pro-Prop 32 ads focus on spending in Sacramento by AT&T and PG&E, rather than on spending by labour unions.
In reality, "Stop Special Interest Money Now" would do nothing of the sort. Though AT&T and PG&E (both unionised firms) are undoubtedly peeved at being singled out, Prop 32 would have almost no impact on the ability of corporate executives to contribute unlimited money to candidates or campaigns, but would have a devastating impact on the ability of unions to participate in state politics. Its restrictions on unions are so sweeping that it would prevent them from communicating with their own members on political issues. Worse still, Prop 32 would enhance the ability of super political action committees (PACs), and other wealthy groups that are exempt from the measure, to dominate elections.
This is not genuine campaign finance reform but a bill of rights for billionaires, which would be a game-changer in California politics. California voters have twice before rejected rightwing initiatives to destroy labour's political voice, in 1998 and 2005. Unable to win by honest means, conservative groups decided to come up with something more deceptive this time round.
To appreciate just how misleading this measure is, one has to understand who supports and opposes it, and why. Prop 32's principal backer, the Lincoln Club of Orange County, co-produced Hillary: The Movie, which was at the heart of the 2012 landmark supreme court decision Citizens United and which led to a flood of special interest spending. The Lincoln Club boasted it was "instrumental" in pushing Citizens United, and celebrated the decision as a victory for political free speech. Since its founding in 1962, the Lincoln Club has consistently sought to weaken rules that stop big money from dominating elections, and Prop 32 would go a long way to achieving that goal.
Other backers of Prop 32 include Orange County anti-union activists and rightwing billionaires (often one and the same), and the usual suspects among Republican activists. And if the polls are tight come November, we will likely see an influx of pro-Prop 32 money from the same 0.1% currently funding conservative super PACs at the federal level. Opposed to Prop 32 are the nation's leading good-government groups – Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and others. Common Cause California has accused the measure's conservative backers of "trying to use our anger and mistrust to change the rules for their own benefit" and of "laughable" deception, while the League of Women Voters says that Prop 32 is "not what it seems, and it will hurt everyday Californians". Sacramento Bee senior editor Dan Morain, meanwhile, says the initiative "wears a soiled white hat" and is "dripping with cynicism".
If Prop 32 passes in November, rightwing activists will promote a tsunami of ballot initiatives designed to drive down working conditions in both the public and private sectors. California's workers could soon face the weakest labour standards in the country.
So what is the likelihood of Prop 32 winning? If the election were held next month, Prop 32 would almost certainly pass, largely because of its disingenuous framing and advertising. But come November, California voters should see through the deception behind the initiative –the labour movement and its progressive allies are much better at defeating measures they oppose than winning measures they support.
Let's be perfectly clear: Prop 32 is not a good starting point or an imperfect but well-meaning effort to limit the influence of special interests in Sacramento. It is a highly deceptive measure that would greatly enhance the political influence of billionaires, super PACs and conservative business interests, and undermine the ability of working Californians to have a voice in state elections. Given the misinformation being put out by the Yes campaign, however, it will take a huge effort to defeat it – the election may turn out to be a squeaker.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
California roller coaster strands 12 riders for 2 hours - USA Today
The Superman Ultimate Flight roller coaster stopped at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the top of the ride, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom spokeswoman Nancy Chan told the Vallejo Times-Herald.
Vallejo firefighters arrived at about 3 p.m. A theme park crane equipped with a large personnel bucket was prepared to reach the riders.
Two firefighters and a park mechanic were lifted up in the bucket and gave water bottles to the riders.
A park mechanic eventually restarted the ride, which then went backward and lowered the riders safely to the ground.
Fire Battalion Chief Ray Jackson said firefighters were prepared to take riders down in the bucket if the coaster couldn't be restarted.
None of the stranded riders were injured, Jackson said.
The new ride opened June 30 at the Vallejo theme park, holds two cars with six riders each and can travel at up to 62 mph. It ride will be closed for a "thorough safety inspection," Chan said.
It was unclear what caused the two-car train to stop.
"If (a ride) stops, it usually detects something and it stops for safety reasons," Chan said.
Source: www.usatoday.com
California's newest city withering on fiscal vine - Los Angeles Times
Jurupa Valley may be broke in a year, even though the city is so new that it has no permanent employees, no generous employee pension plan and runs City Hall out of a leased strip-mall storefront next to the Lucky Wok Chinese restaurant.
Without a financial rescue, the city will have to shut its doors, sending the mishmash of Jurupa Valley communities back into the ether of unincorporated Riverside County.
Unlike San Bernardino, Stockton and Mammoth Lakes, California cities that have all reached the brink of insolvency in recent weeks, Jurupa Valley's money troubles are not of its own making. They are Sacramento's fault.
PHOTOS: California cities in bankruptcy
With California teetering on financial ruination, the state Legislature in 2011 raided the pot of money collected from statewide vehicle license fees, the so-called car tax, which for years provided California's newly incorporated cities an extra dose of cash they needed until they were able to toddle along on their own.
The loss of funding has devastated California's four newest municipalities, which all happen to be in fast-growing Riverside County: Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, Menifee and Wildomar. The money grab also squeezed existing cities that recently annexed large swaths of territory, including Santa Clarita, San Jose and Temecula, since they also counted on additional car-tax money.
Jurupa Valley has been hit the hardest. The city lost $6.8 million. That's a pittance in Sacramento. For Jurupa Valley, it amounted to 47% of its yearly $14.6-million budget.
"Our survival is at stake," said Mayor Laura Roughton. "We have to get the money restored."
It would be hard to a find a city that's more tight-fisted. Every employee is a hired contractor, from the city manager to the clerks at the front desk. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department was hired to police the city, and the state fire agency, the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, runs the fire stations.
Instead of building a new city hall complex from scratch, the city may move into the shuttered Sam's Western Wear store in Pedley, whose facade was built to resemble buildings in an Old West frontier town. But even those plans are on hold.
"You hear about San Bernardino going bankrupt, Stockton going bankrupt. They've been around for a long time," said Don Davies, who helped lead the Jurupa Valley cityhood effort. "Shoot, we haven't even had a chance to get started."
Jurupa Valley is an amalgam of suburban neighborhoods, warehouses and small weathered towns just north of Riverside, stretching from Interstate 15 east to Colton.
The city is home to nearly 100,000 residents and includes a slice of the Jurupa Mountains, where the 340-ton boulder that became the "Levitated Mass" exhibit at the L.A. County Museum of Art was found. One of Jurupa Valley's few landmarks is a giant iron mammoth peering down from a hillside on commuters along the Pomona Freeway and marking the gateway to the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center.
"There aren't too many attractions around here so, to me, it's one of the main symbols of the city. Like the Hollywood sign," said Mark Yeager, director of a museum that more than 10,000 schoolchildren and Boy Scouts visit each year.
A cityhood movement was in the works for years, fueled in part by residents who grew wary of the county turning the area into a prime locale for affordable housing and welfare offices.
"Some people felt they were treating us like the armpit of Riverside County," Davies said. "We thought it's time we have control over what comes into our community."
Davies said organizers delayed the Jurupa Valley incorporation effort until they were sure that the state vehicle license fee money would be available and the city was financially viable. Then, two days before Jurupa Valley became California's newest city, officials received some troubling news.
Desperate for cash, state lawmakers had slipped in a last-minute bill to divert funds raised by the vehicle license fees, $153 million at the time. The money was funneled into a grant program for local law enforcement, which previously had been supported by state general funds. Not a single hearing was held on the legislation.
Source: www.latimes.com
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