There's no mistaking the MyHandleBar party bikes, which have been turning heads in downtown Boulder and in Fort Collins for a few weeks now and officially open for business today. It's a people-powered roving happy hour, of sorts, that groups can book to tour downtown bars and breweries, for family reunions, to entertain out-of-town guests or to just cruise around on for a few hours. tiffany necklace white gold
It looks like a cross between a traveling bar top, several tandem bikes all smooshed together and something Rube Goldberg might have dreamed up had he been a bike designer. Actually it was two brothers in the Netherlands who sketched plans for the prototype on a cocktail napkin. The bike can carry 15-passengers plus a designated driver (provided by the company) who rides at the front and steers, works the brake and provides encouragement and commentary. There are 10 padded pedaling seats arranged around a handsome wooden counter with chains that drive a central mechanism. tiffany cufflinks
It takes at least six people to pedal the bike comfortably, and there's a passenger bench across the back. Patrons can plug their MP3 players into an integrated sound system and there's storage for bags and purses, a cooler full of snacks and non-alcoholic beverages or whatever else you may need to enjoy the ride. "People really have to see this thing to understand what it is," says Theresa Preston, 31, who founded the company based on an idea she read about in Entrepreneur magazine and contracted to have the bikes delivered from Holland. tiffany charms
"We've had a great response so far wherever we go -- lots of thumbs up, lots of honking and waving and a ton of questions." Drivers carry informational flyers to hand out, but mostly people want to know, "If I hop on can I get a free beer?" the driver tells me when I join a group taking the bike out for a spin. Unfortunately you can't actually drink alcohol on the bike, and no riders other than those in the group that rent the bike are allowed. There are two set routes for both Boulder and Fort Collins that stop at popular bars and breweries, however, or you can customize your own tour as long as it sticks to the downtown area and doesn't tackle a hill above a 6-percent grade. tiffany necklace silver
It didn't take long for our group of strangers and acquaintances to start talking when we took the bike for a test-ride during a recent launch party at the Lazy Dog. It takes a little effort to get the bike going (it weighs upwards of 1,500 pounds) but once up to speed it cruises easily and is a blast to ride. People on the street yelled and waved and more than a few pulled out their cell phones to take pictures. We even momentarily upstaged a juggler performing with flaming clubs on his unicycle as we cruised up 13th Street past the Pearl Street Mall. tiffany mens necklace
The bikes are currently available for private rentals, and Preston is working on plans for a singles mixer where people can book seats individually. "What a great ice-breaker," she says. "To all pedal around town together, share a few drinks at the bars and hopefully get to know some new people." One thing is for sure on the party bike: You'll never meet a stranger. cheap tiffany
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats are weighing a scaled-back U.S. budget deal that would avert a looming default but force Congress to tackle the politically toxic issue again before the 2012 elections, a Senate Democratic aide told Reuters on Thursday. The deal would cover the country's borrowing needs for seven months, the aide said. tiffany and co outlet
That would theoretically include budget savings of roughly $1 trillion to attract the Republican support needed to pass it through Congress. Congress must raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 to avoid a default that could push the United States back into recession and send financial markets plummeting. There has been no progress since talks collapsed last week over tax hikes. Democrats say spending cuts should not be the only component of a deficit-reduction package that would make it easier for lawmakers to sign off on further borrowing. tiffany rings
The White House believes a deal needs to be in place by July 22 to give Congress enough time to pass it, according to Democratic officials familiar with the talks. Bank regulator Sheila Bair said markets could be spooked well before August 2 if they see no signs of progress. "Why even go there? Why even flirt with it?" Bair, the outgoing chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., told the Senate Banking Committee. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid canceled a planned break during the week of the July 4 Independence Day holiday to keep the Senate in session at Obama's request. "We're working on a number of different proposals," he told reporters. tiffany earrings
"We discussed four of them with the president yesterday." A seven-month extension is one of those options, the aide said. With the country borrowing roughly $150 billion per month, that would require a debt-limit hike of roughly $1 trillion. Negotiators had tentatively agreed on at least that amount of spending cuts before talks collapsed. Other Democratic officials familiar with the talks threw cold water on the idea, saying it would be a "grave mistake" to opt for a short-term solution that could unnerve markets. They denied that the White House had seen such a plan. 'A STAY OF EXECUTION' A short-term deal could weaken the dollar and push up Treasury yields if investors and debt-rating agencies conclude that Washington does not have the stomach to confront its fiscal ills. tiffany bracelet
"A temporary increase is just a stay of execution. They will have to make these difficult decisions at some point," said Ward McCarthy, a top economist at Jefferies & Co. Other ideas that Democrats are considering include a bigger deal that would extend U.S. borrowing authority through 2012, which would probably require more than $2 trillion in budget savings over 10 years. Another option would include longer-term spending cuts totaling $4 trillion. tiffany necklace
Democrats said they expected to hear soon from House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, over the general elements that would be possible in a deal. Boehner aides said there was no firm offer on the table. A short-term deal could divide Republicans. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell raised the possibility of a short-term deal several weeks ago, but the No. 2 Republican in the House, Eric Cantor, shot down the idea. 'BLUEGRASS BOONDOGGLE' Democrats have stepped up their attack in recent days, challenging Republicans to defend tax breaks for corporate jets, race horses and yachts that benefit the wealthy that they want to close as part of the deal. tiffany men's necklace
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley called the racehorse tax break the "bluegrass boondoggle" in a slap at McConnell, whose home state of Kentucky is famous for horse racing. "Giving Triple Crown treatment to millionaires while workers are put out to pasture, that's not right and it's not the American way," Merkley said, referring to thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown series of races. Democrats are also pushing job-creation measures like new construction spending that could complicate the budget talks by adding hundreds of billions of dollars to budget deficits. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said Republicans are blocking job-creation efforts in order to pin the sluggish economy on Obama in the November 2012 elections. tiffany necklace silver
"Republicans aren't just opposing the president any more," Schumer said at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. "They are opposing the economic recovery itself." Republicans said the tax hikes Democrats want would worsen the 9.1 percent jobless rate. "When the president talks about raising taxes, he's talking about killing jobs," said Republican Senator Jon Kyl. Budget deficits in recent years have hovered near their highest levels relative to the size of the economy since World War Two. The deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends September 30, is projected to hit $1.4 trillion. tiffany necklace white gold
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Television ads for junk food really do make children hungry for those treats, especially if they watch a lot of television, according to a study. The findings, published in Pediatrics, come amid growing calls to ban junk food advertisements aimed at children in order to combat obesity -- most recently from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which issued a policy statement on junk food ads on Monday. In tests with 6- to 13-year olds, researchers led by Emma Boyland of the University of Liverpool in the UK found that a DVD featuring commercials for fast food and junk food seemed to whet children's appetites for sweet and high-fat fare. tiffany necklace silver
"Exposure to television food commercials enhanced high television viewers' preferences for branded foods and increased reported preferences for all food items (branded and unbranded) relative to the low television viewers," she wrote. The children involved in the research reported a greater desire for sweet and fatty foods after viewing the junk-food ads compared to days when they watched commercials for toys. tiffany cufflinks
This was especially true for children who usually watched a lot of TV in their everyday lives, with "a lot" defined by the researchers as over 21 hours a week. On average, kids wanted more high-carb, high-fat foods after watching food commercials. But researchers said the effects of the food ads were modest, making only a small difference in the average number of food items the children said they wanted "right now." In real life, as well, a lot of other factors would be at work, including parents' willingness to buy those foods. "It will never be possible to demonstrate in an experimental study that food advertising contributes to obesity. tiffany necklace white gold
There are simply too many variables to take into account," Boyland wrote in an email to Reuters Health. On the other hand, a number of studies have no shown that children tend to want more, and eat more, tasty treats after seeing ads for them. With older children, who often make their own food choices, that could translate into more french fries and chocolate bars. Even young children have "pester power," with studies suggesting they are more likely to use that power if they see a lot of food commercials. tiffany charms
"This study confirms the cumulative, sustained effect of food marketing on TV: the more children watch TV, the more susceptible they are to advertising," said Lori Dorfman, who directs the Berkeley Media Studies Group in California and has studied food marketing to children. "This might not be so bad if food marketers put their best foods forward, but they don't," Dorfman, who did not take part in the study, told Reuters Health by email. Dorfman noted that children now watch TV on their computers and mobile gadgets as well as at home on TV, which can add up to a lot of hours. Dorfman said that parents should limit TV time, but added that they need help. "It's simply not fair to expect parents alone to counter the $2 billion food companies spend each year targeting their kids with fun, irresistible ads for sugary, high-fat, salty foods," she added. cheap tiffany
Pandora Charms for braceletsWildlife enforcement troopers at Dillingham reported this past week citing 13 individuals for violations in sport angler fisheries. Except as otherwise noted, bail was set at $100 and all were scheduled for arraignment in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Daniel P. Wiard, 51, of Dillingham was cited on June 20 for failure to record a king salmon taken in the Nushagak River immediately upon landing as required. Justin Orr, 32, of Anchorage AK was cited on June 19 for failure to record a king salmon taken in the Nushagak River immediately upon landing as required. Kent D. Anderson, 42, of Welches OR. was cited June 18 for failure to complete sport fish guide log book as required while sport fish guiding on the Nushagak River. Pandora Necklace
Bail was set at $200 and arraignment scheduled in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Tyler C. Novak, 33, of Boulder, CO, was cited on June 22 for aiding his clients in committing a violation while engaged as a sport fish guide on the Nushagak River. Arraignment is scheduled in Dillingham District Court on July 13. Richard W. Brown, 61, of Sekiu WA, was cited June 25 for sport fishing with more than one line on the Nushagak River. Pandora Necklace Silver
David Carson, 40, of Charlotte, NC was cited June 22 for fishing for king salmon on the Nushagak River without a valid king salmon stamp in his possession. Bail was set at $200, with arraignment in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Bruce Pendleton, 71, of Reno, NV, was cited June 25 for failing to record a king salmon taken on the Nushagak River immediately upon landing as required. Richard Carson, 42, of New Mexico was cited June 22 for fishing for king salmon on the Nushagak River without a valid king salmon stamp in his possession.
Pandora Charms BraceletsBail was set at $200.00, with arraignment in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Felicia A. Bill, 21, Goleta, CA was cited June 17 for failing to record a king salmon taken on the Nushagak River immediately upon landing as required. Peter M. Digrazia, 71, of Reno, NV was cited June 25 for taking an over limit of king salmon and failing to record a king salmon taken on the Nushagak River immediately upon landing as required. One king salmon was seized during the investigation and donated to charity. Cheap Pandora Jewelry
Bail was set at $350, with arraignment in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Jason A. Jaime, 33, of Soldotna, was cited June 25 for aiding his clients in committing a violation while engaged in sport fish guiding on the Nushagak River. Arraignment set for Dillingham District Court on July 28. Dallas Countryman, 24, of Wenatchee, WA., was cited June 25 for failing to complete his sport fish guide log book as required while sport fish guiding on the Nushagak River. Bail for the offense is $200 and arraignment was set for Dillingham District Court within 20 days.
Jeffrey H. Wilson, 56, of Huron, OH, was cited June 26 for failing to complete his sport fish guide log book as required while conducting sport fish guiding services on the Nushagak River. Bail was set at $200, with arraignment in Dillingham District Court within 20 days. Pandora Jewelry
Every handbag carries its own story Dunedin artist Kerry Mackay admits she got a bit carried away with her latest exhibition. Ms Mackay's self-described "handbag fetish" became the inspiration for her master's degree in fine arts four years ago and the contents were revealed at this week's opening in the Dunedin School of Art Gallery. "Every bag has a story. Pandora Charms Bracelets
They're all like picture-book stories for me," she said. "Carried Away - 101 handbags make an exhibition of themselves" took four years to complete while Ms Mackay worked full-time as senior lecturer in visual arts at the Dunedin College of Education. "I found them all in secondhand shops and re-skinned them; gave a new surface to an old thing," she said. Some of the bags border on the bizarre; like a cat taking a pheasant on a walk.
Cheap Pandora JewelryAnother is covered in eyes and the piece de resistance is a handbag mirror ball. A crucifix has been formed with bags carrying icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. "They were called 'So Obviously Rex' bags and in New Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s they were considered a good bag to give for 21sts and wedding gifts and things," she said. "I remember sitting in church with my mother when she had one of those. Pandora Bracelet Charms
It was about the age I first started noticing handbags. I talked to a lot of my mother's generation about them and even tracked down some women who used to work in the factory in Christchurch. "They were all serial numbered and were originally made of leather until the '60s, when vinyl was seen as fashionable. Pandora Jewelry
" Handbags only became a common accessory in the 1880s, Ms Mackay said, when women began to travel more regularly. "The handbag designers soon started getting more experimental. "The more exotic they were, the more gorgeous women thought they were," Ms Mackay said. "There were lots made of exotic leather and fur, like alligator and armadillo, after the war with all the rationing of materials like leather.
Pandora Charms "I've got photos of women walking around in the 1940s carrying handbags that look like taxidermy," she said. "I do sometimes wonder if my art is taxidermy or upholstery." A recent survey in England revealed the average 30-year-old woman owned 21 handbags and bought a new one every three months. The exhibition is on until June 30. Pandora Charms On Sale
War at the Jersey shore over who rules the beaches LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP, N.J. – New Jerseyans have to put up with taxes, tolls, toxic waste and, occasionally, Snooki. So an occasional trip to the beach is all that keeps some folks here sane. Now officials in the nation's most densely populated state are rewriting public beach access rules that could make it easier for well-to-do towns to keep out-of-towners off their beaches — and a sandstorm is brewing. tiffany charms
The state says it had to act and give more local control over access after a court decision struck down more stringent rules that spelled out uniform standards for each shore town. The state feels it can accomplish more by working with shore towns and giving them flexibility rather than dictating a "one-size-fits-all" access policy to them. But many beachgoers fear the new rules, if adopted, would reward the very people who have made it so hard for outsiders to reach the beach for decades.
tiffany accessoriesJoe Woerner, an official with the Jersey Shore Surfrider Foundation, said he was handcuffed as a teenager 20 years ago as he came out of the ocean with his surfboard. He was taken to a police holding cell in Sea Girt. Crossing a hundred yards or so of sand without a beach badge. "I was a 15-year-old boy arrested for using the ocean," he said. "These are the kind of people who will be making our rules." Most New Jersey beach towns require surfers to buy and wear beach badges costing anywhere from $5 to $12 a day, regardless of how long they are on the sand or in the water. tiffany pendants
Woerner's charges were eventually dropped, but not before "a bunch of people who own places on the beach gave me grief about being on the beach without a badge and how surfers were what's wrong with our town." Oceanfront homeowners like Dorothy Jedziniak of Ship Bottom feel there's already more than enough access to beaches in her corner of Long Beach Island. "We are being attacked with tourism, business and inundation," she said at a public hearing on the plan, appealing that state officials stand firm and implement the new rules, which she feels would lessen the influx of visitors. cheap tiffany
"We have a beautiful island," she said. "I ask you, please: hang onto it." New Jersey is one of a tiny handful of places in the United States that makes people pay for the privilege of dipping their toes in the surf or spreading a blanket on the sand. Under a legal doctrine dating back to the Roman Empire, the ocean, bay and river shorelines are to be open forever to the public. In practice, though, it doesn't always work out that way. cheap tiffany and co
Well-to-do oceanfront homeowners fear an invasion of tourist hordes, with their noise, litter, loud colors and louder radios. Inland residents resent having to pay with their tax dollars to maintain beaches that officials in some shore towns make it hard for the public to use. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found 48 percent of New Jerseyans feel shore towns make it too hard for the public to use beaches, while 43 percent said the current level of access is OK. They also overwhelmingly said they want the state to mandate bathrooms near the beach — something the new rules don't require. cheap tiffany and co jewelry
Beach access advocates note that almost all of New Jersey's progress over the last 50 years in ensuring outsiders' beach rights has come through costly, draw-out litigation — often driven by the state itself. That's why many are so upset that the state is relinquishing the stick in favor of the carrot. Tourism is a $35.5 billion industry in New Jersey; 67.8 million people visited the state last year, many of them flocking to its beaches. Most shore towns realize they're dependent on tourism to keep restaurants, grocery and liquor stores, gas stations and other businesses afloat, and to hold down permanent residents' property taxes. Shore tourism and higher sales tax receipts also benefit the state. tiffany uk
But some shore towns seem to be just fine with mostly locals on their sand, and disagreements over who can and should use the beach sometimes take on elements of class warfare. Mantoloking, about 50 miles north of Atlantic City, is one of the wealthiest towns in New Jersey — a quarter of its 423 permanent residents list their occupation as "corporate executive" and more than 50 homes there are worth $2 million or more. The town was about to spend $900,000 in 2007 to buy property for beachgoers' parking and a public bathroom but residents persuaded the borough council to back down. One property owner dismissively mentioned how Mantoloking might become like other, less-tony resort communities if it encouraged more of the public to come, adding, "when you sleep with dogs, you pick up fleas. tiffany uk shop
" Some shore towns use tactics like eliminating or severely restricting parking, not providing rest rooms, and banning food and drink from the beach. That places some beaches off-limits to anyone but locals who can walk to the beach, then back home to eat or answer nature's call. For decades, Bay Head's beaches were legally off-limits to anyone but residents, until a court forced them to admit anyone who buys a badge. In Mantoloking, beachgoers can only park their cars on public streets for two hours. In parts of Long Beach Island like the Loveladies and North Beach sections of Long Beach Township, many pathways to the shoreline are lined with signs warning, "Private drive. No public beach access. tiffany necklace
" In Sea Bright, there's little if any on-street parking along much of the sea wall taking up a good chunk of the oceanfront. Rows of privately owned beach clubs have posted signs on the sand seeking to keep non-members out — even though they signed a legal settlement in 2009 with the state attorney general's office over beach access, calling for the public to be able to use 60 percent of those beaches, up to 150 feet from the shoreline. The state had sued, saying the clubs were benefiting from taxpayer-paid sand for beach restoration, yet wrongfully excluding the public from all but a 15-foot-wide strip at the water's edge. tiffany mens necklace
Bob Martin, New Jersey's environmental protection commissioner, says the state had to change the rules because an appeals court in 2008 struck down rules requiring public access points every quarter-mile along the shore, parking and bathrooms. The south Jersey beach town of Avalon sued, saying the state overstepped its bounds by requiring too much public access, and unreasonable requirements like 24-hour access to beaches and marinas. Martin said the administration of Gov. tiffany necklace silver
Chris Christie "believes that public access is a fundamental right for the people of New Jersey. What we're trying to do with these regulations is enhance public access. In the state of New Jersey, 95 to 98 percent of our 127 miles of oceanfront is accessible to the public. We've counted over 1,000 access points to the shore. We seem to focus on two or three towns we have problems with. We need to look at the big picture. tiffany necklace white gold
" Martin said he plans to "tweak" the proposed rules to more clearly spell out after-hours access rights for two of the groups who complained the loudest: surfers and anglers. "If you're talking about keeping the teenage parties off the beach at 3 a.m., that's one thing," he said. "Keeping fishermen off the beach just before dawn is quite another." James Hill, a suburban Philadelphia resident, says he spends 95 percent of his free time fishing at the Jersey shore. "These beaches rejuvenate and bring life to the people who love them," he said. tiffany bracelet
"To lose access to that would be devastating." Mayors of several shore towns, including Long Beach Township, Avalon and Stone Harbor, praised the new approach, and indicated a willingness to work cooperatively with the DEP in drafting local access plans. But officials acknowledge there is only so far they can push shore towns, noting that things like on-street parking ordinances, and rules on what can and can't be brought onto the beach remain under the control of local officials. DEP officials said they have begun working with towns that have long been the source of complaints, including Mantoloking, Sea Bright and Long Beach, to try to negotiate improvements instead of insisting on them. The effort is bearing mixed fruit. tiffany earrings
Long Beach Township is adding about 135 new public parking spaces — but all but 15 or 20 are in the more densely populated southern part of town, and not in the much less crowded Loveladies or North Beach sections. That's where scores of signs warn outsiders to stay away, proclaiming "Private Drive, No Public Beach Access." Long Beach Township, about 60 miles east of Philadelphia, constitutes 10 percent of New Jersey's coast, and has 168 public access points.
tiffany charms Mayor Joseph Mancini says his town is doing more than its share of making the coast accessible to visitors, but says he doubts many will want to use Loveladies beaches because there are no public bathrooms or places to buy food or drinks. During emotional public hearings on the plan, that sort of suggestion — these beaches over here are better for most people, while those over there are more suited for others — drew comparisons to segregation-era separate-but-equal policies involving segregated drinking fountains, schools and buses. Lance Carsillo drove 150 miles round-trip from the Philadelphia suburbs and waited three hours to speak at the final public hearing, to ask New Jersey officials to reconsider their plan to give shore towns more power over public access. tiffany cufflinks
"One-size-fits all is not a solution, but at least it's a guarantee for people like me who will probably never be able to afford an oceanfront home," he said. "Access is for people who can afford it, not people like me who drive and hour and a half to come fish." Martin, the DEP commissioner, said the new rules are an attempt to apply "common sense" to a rulemaking system that always imposed a one-size fits all approach on a diverse shoreline. tiffany pendants
"I'd much rather have a cooperative group of mayors than force them to do something," he said. And that's what worries people like Woerner, the 36-year-old Asbury Park man who ran afoul of authorities as a 15-year-old surfer. "We hear about `flexibility' and `common sense,'" he said. "You know where we heard a lot about that? When we deregulated the banks. How did that work out for America?"