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Thursday, December 22, 2005
Electrical power generator Calpine Corporation declared bankruptcy on Tuesday. The San Jose, California based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Federal Court, to facilitate debt restructuring and to allow for normal operations to continue. Calpine has obtained secured debtor-in-possession financing from Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston totaling $2 billion. The company announced that some of its Canadian subsidiaries would also file for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Calpine and its subsidiaries operate natural gas and geothermal electricity generating plants in 21 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces.
The recent rise in natural gas prices due to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina has pushed Calpine’s cost significantly above the locked in selling price for its long-term contracts. Calpine has asked the court to void eight long term contracts, including a 20-year contract entered into with the State of California’s Department of Water Resources and Pacific Gas and Electric Company in 2001.
The company received permission on December 21 from the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to use $500 million of its financing to continue operating and to keep paying its employees’ salaries and benefits.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
A 62-year-old man was murdered in Ronanstown, Clondalkin, South Dublin on Thursday night. The victim has been named as Noel Kirwan.
The killing took place outside Kirwan’s girlfriend’s home as he sat in his Ford Mondeo car and was shot several times in the head. Kirwan was with his partner, who was unhurt at the time of the killing. A white burned out van believed to be involved in the murder was found at the nearby Neilstown Shopping Centre. A firearm was also found at the scene.
Kirwan, originally from North Inner City Dublin and later Kilbarrack, was a friend of Gerry Hutch and it is believed the killing is part of the ongoing Hutch/Kinahan fued, due to Kirwan’s association with the Hutch family. Gardaí (Irish police) had warned Kirwan of a threat to his life and as a result Kirwan had installed CCTV at his home.
Gardaí investigating the crime will be visiting houses near where the murder took place. Lucan Garda station Superintendent Dermot Mann said, “We can’t make any assumptions at this stage, but let me reassure the public and the community we will be putting a lot of resources into this to try and investigate it and move it forward.”
NAICU has created a list of colleges and universities accepting and/or offering assistance to displace faculty members. [1]Wednesday, September 7, 2005
This list is taken from Colleges offering admission to displaced New Orleans students, and is intended to make searching easier for faculty, graduate, and professional students.
In addition to the list below, the Association of American Law Schools has compiled a list of law schools offering assistance to displaced students. [2] As conditions vary by college, interested parties should contact the Office of Admissions at the school in question for specific requirements and up-to-date details.
The Association of American Medical Colleges is coordinating alternatives for medical students and residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. [3]
ResCross.net is acting as a central interactive hub for establishing research support in times of emergency. With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible. [4]
Physics undergraduates, grad students, faculty and high school teachers can be matched up with housing and jobs at universities, schools and industry. [5] From the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Society of Physics Students, the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society.
The following is a partial list, sorted by location.
Alabama |Alaska |Arizona |Arkansas |California |Colorado |Connecticut |Delaware |District of Columbia |Florida |Georgia |Hawaii |Idaho |Illinois |Indiana |Iowa |Kansas |Kentucky |Louisiana |Maine |Maryland |Massachusetts |Michigan |Minnesota |Mississippi |Missouri |Montana |Nebraska |Nevada |New Hampshire |New Jersey |New Mexico |New York |North Carolina |North Dakota |Ohio |Oklahoma |Oregon |Pennsylvania |Rhode Island |South Carolina |South Dakota |Tennessee |Texas |Utah |Vermont |Virginia |Washington |West Virginia |Wisconsin |Wyoming |Canada
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
A dock worker on the Panamanian cargo vessel Ma Altair was killed when a cable snapped and threw him through the air. Witnesses say that the 54 year old worker was struck on his right side by a 1-1/2 inch cable being used to unload steel products.
Authorities were notified at 8:10 am CDT (1310 UTC). The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Snapped cables are a significant occupational hazard, capable of maiming and dismembering people nearby. Equipment struck by cables snapping under load is often destroyed.
Monday, December 12, 2005
The smash hit “Demon Days” from cartoon concept band Gorillaz has been nominated for 5 Grammy Awards:
The other nominations for Record of the Year are “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” by Green Day, “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani, and “Gold Digger” by Kanye West.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Scientists have uncovered the largest Neolithic settlement in the United Kingdom at the Durrington Walls and believe that the village was inhabited by the people who built the Stonehenge monument.
Scientists say that the village was built around 2,600 B.C., roughly when Stonehenge was believed to have been constructed, and housed over 100 people.
Inside the areas which would have been the interior of houses at the time, scientists also found outlines of what they think were beds and cupboards or dressers. Pieces of pottery and “filthy” rubbish around the site. Animal bones, arrowheads, stone tools and other relics were also discovered.
“We’ve never seen such quantities of pottery and animal bone and flint. In what were houses, we have excavated the outlines on the floors of box beds and wooden dressers or cupboards,” said Sheffield University archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson.
So far, the dig has revealed at least 8 houses roughly 14-16 feet square, but scientists say that they think there may have been at least 25 altogether.
The site was likely to have been occupied only seasonally rather than year-round and evidence suggests that a lot of “partying” went on at the location.
“The animal bones are being thrown away half-eaten. It’s what we call a feasting assemblage. This is where they went to party – you could say it was the first free festival. The rubbish isn’t your average domestic debris. There’s a lack of craft-working equipment for cleaning animal hides and no evidence for crop-processing,” added Pearson.
The Durrington Walls are approximately 2 miles from the Stonehenge site.
Monday, January 31, 2005
New York, USA –UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has noted that the Iraqi people turned out in large numbers to vote in the January 30 ballot. Voters were deciding who to elect to the 275 seat Transitional National Assembly.
Sporadic violence saw the deaths of 22 people across the country during voting, but attacks by insurgents did not seem to deter voters from exercising their new democratic rights. Annan praised the courage of the people and congratulated the Independent Election Commission of Iraq (IECI) and UN officials for successfully running the poll.
The Secretary General went on to say that the success bodes well for the on-going transition process. The next step will be a referendum in October 2005 on the constitution the Transitional National Assembly will be tasked with drawing up.
In the Out-of-Country Voting Program, 93.6% of Iraqis eligible to vote, did so.