| Canada's Municipal Infrastructure 'Near Collapse'
The physical foundations of Canada's cities and communities are "near collapse," according to a report on the state of municipal infrastructure released Tuesday by Federation of Canadian Municipalities. "Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal Infrastructure" says that close to 80 per cent of Canada's infrastructure is past its service life and sets the price for eliminating the municipal infrastructure deficit at $123-billion. The FCM says the report provides a snapshot of what municipal governments identify as their infrastructure funding needs. It does not provide an exhaustive or complete account of the physical condition of municipal infrastructure. The $123-billion estimate in the study includes “sub-deficits" for key categories of municipal infrastructure: water and waste water systems ($31-billion), transportation ($21.7-billion), transit ($22.8-billion, solid-waste management ($7.7-billion) and community, recreational, cultural and social infrastructure ($40.2-billion).
Breaking the Grass Ceiling
She's a coach for an 0-8 team whose players seem to be losing faith in themselves. As quarterback Austin Smith shuffles off the field, Ms. Myers grabs his jersey and pulls him close until her nose is just a couple of inches from his facemask. Before the season, the Eagles had pointed to their next opponent, a small Catholic school in Irving, Texas, called The Highlands, as one they should beat. She wanted Mr. Smith to send a message to the team. "That's the game we've got to win," she shouted. "They've got to know that's the game." .
Analysts predict bonanza for mobile anti-malware
The worldwide mobile anti-malware market is expected to be worth $61.4m in 2007 and reach an estimated $2.17bn in 2014, according to new research. A report from Frost & Sullivan highlights the growing threat of mobile malware, which it claims is due primarily to the increased sophistication of mobile phones. But the analyst firm pointed out that mobile anti-malware vendors have not seen a high return on investment because of a lack of awareness in the market. Frost & Sullivan urged vendors to set up technology and distribution partnerships with other members in the industry "value chain" in order to be fully prepared when the market accelerates. "Mobile phones are becoming ever more sophisticated," said Katie Gotzen, an industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Radiohead Reveal Tour Plans -- Enigmatically; Plus Jordin Sparks ...
Her husband was arrested in the U.K. earlier this month and formally charged with one count of "attempting to pervert the court of justice," or the U.S. equivalent of obstruction of justice, in connection with an alleged $400,000 plot to fix a trial. ... Deerhunter, the Black Lips, Mastodon and more are featured in "We Fun: Atlanta, Ga.: Inside/Out," a new documentary that is acting as the companion piece to "Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out," which came out in 1987. The flick's MySpace page has much more info, including ways to help donate to the production. ... Rare silk-screened, autographed gig posters relating to the Arcade Fire, Spoon and Superchunk are being featured in Merge Records' new eBay auction benefiting Oxfam America and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
Guarding Your Social Security Number
Requests to provide our Social Security numbers have become so common that many people just assume they have no choice but to hand it over. That's actually not true, but having that knowledge is only half the battle. The real challenge is convincing the people who automatically request such information that you really don't have to give it to them. .
Kenya: Identity Fraudsters Are Watching You
Some months ago major supermarkets put out a notice warning its loyalty cardholders to watch out for devious operators with intentions of swindling them. Apparently some con artists masquerading as sales representatives were attempting to get bank account information from card holders by sending hoax text messages informing them of having won prizes from the supermarket chain. .
Theft suspect returns to store
A man who was caught on tape stealing a money bag at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, apparently returned to steal items from a game case in the same store. According to the report on file at the Forrest City Police Department, the unknown white male was observed on video camera between midnight and 7 a.m. on Tuesday, stealing a money bag that was at a cash register. The bag contained $541 in cash along with some Wal-Mart keys. According to the report, the same man returned later and used the keys to get into the game case, stealing some video games valued at $548. The suspect is being sought. Another alleged would-be thief was not as fortunate, at around 11:30 Tuesday night. The police department received a call that someone had jumped the fence at the Forrest City School District�s bus shop.
Tips for scam-free shopping on the Net
Online shopping is an easy way to shop for sales and avoid crowds at the mall. It is also an easy way to get ripped off. And because online shopping spikes during the holiday season, scammers enjoy a larger pool of potential victims. "They see it as an opportunity to defraud consumers," says Ron Teixeira, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, a nonprofit group that educates consumers and businesses. Online-security experts say consumers should stay alert on auction and classified-ad sites, where a lot of the fraudulent activity takes place. And phishing activity -- say, bogus email from charities that is used to fish for consumers' financial information -- tends to increase during the holiday season. Here are a few ways to shop safely: •Update your security software: The first thing you need to do before you even begin shopping is protect your computer.
|
