jimblr.com

By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
The accordion notes of a Tejano song rollick from a window through the breezeways and over the community pool. Around the corner, men grill corn and fajitas. An ice cream vendor rings his bell, and children come running. The residents of the Regal Villas apartments north of Bachman Lake go about their lives, unaware of the danger nearby.
Separated by only a ditch and a chain-link fence, workers at the Petra Chemical Co. drain chlorine from a 90-ton rail tanker to make bleach. The workers perform a perilous task. If the chlorine leaks, a yellowish-green fog could creep through the Regal Villas. It could burn eyes, blister skin and suffocate anyone in its path.
In the company’s worst-case scenario filed with the Environmental Protection Agency, particles of chlorine could spread 14 miles from the plant – as far away as Plano, Grapevine or Garland. About 2.3 million people could be in the danger zone. As many as 17,500 could die.
It’s a risk repeated throughout Dallas County, from ramshackle bungalows in South Dallas, to half-million-dollar homes in Richardson, to new lofts along the Trinity River.
Thousands of Dallas County residents are at risk of a toxic disaster because outdated and haphazard zoning has allowed homes, apartments and schools to be built within blocks – in some cases even across the street – from sites that use dangerous chemicals.
A Dallas Morning News investigation found dozens of sites that are more toxic and closer to residential neighborhoods than the acetylene gas plant that exploded near downtown last summer.
That blast produced massive fireballs and a column of black smoke. Flaming gas cylinders rained on morning traffic. One launched a quarter-mile, sailing over 12 lanes of the Mixmaster and leaving a basketball-size hole in the black glass of Reunion Arena. Buildings a mile away rumbled. Those fleeing felt the heat on their backs. No one died, but the blaze injured three people, including one who suffered third-degree burns.

dallasnews.com

One minute, blue skies were above me and Long Island lay below. The next, my world flipped.
The sky was where suburbia was supposed to be - and screams echoed through the cockpit of the plane. My screams.
“You like that?” asked Maj. John Klatt of the Air National Guard when we were right side up again.
“Yeah,” I told the sadist. “Wonderful.”
Klatt is a featured act in this weekend’s airshow over Jones Beach State Park, an aerial extravaganza that includes the U.S. Navy’s famous Blue Angels and runs from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. today and Sunday.
Klatt gave me a sneak preview of the 13-minute routine he will perform - and I got to see it from inside his two-seat Air Guard Extra 300.
Before we took off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, L.I., the Minnesota flyboy assured me he’d never crashed and confided that his insurance policy would make his wife an instant millionaire if he did.
That should have been my cue to run.
“Do you have a name for your routine?” I asked.
“Hard-core acrobatics,” he said.
The second cue to run.
Instead, I climbed aboard. And as soon as we were airborne, Klatt suggested we start off with a little upside down flying.
After the first 360-degree roll, my stomach told my head I had made a terrible mistake. “I’m going to be sick,” I said, reaching for the barf bag.
Klatt wasn’t done with me. As we rounded the Statue of Liberty Klatt promised “a smooth, easy routine” before we headed back.
Suddenly, the nose of the plane was pointed straight up and we were falling, and falling, and falling. And as we fell, the chicken cutlet sandwich I’d had for lunch rose in my throat - to my everlasting shame.

nydailynews.com

As President Bush has reached the lame duck portion of his presidency, he suddenly seems more concerned with his image.
Among other moves, he made a trip to Africa in February to talk about his $15 billion program to fight AIDS and picked up the pope at Andrews Air Force Base, the first time he picked up any visiting leader at the airport.
“Over the past seven excruciating years, I have come to terms with the president being incompetent,” said John Oliver from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” after Bush’s trip to Africa.
“The fact that we now know he’s been capable of doing good all along, and has simply chosen not to, that really burns.”
But before I go and do something irrational like giving Bush a little slack, I had to take a look at the New York Times and see what Bush is up to, and there it was in the April 20 edition of the newspaper. Bush has cared about what we think all along, but rather than change what he is doing, he would rather change the facts and who presents them.
The New York Times on Sunday revealed an elaborate propaganda scheme, explaining how military contractors hired retired military officers as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. These retired officers would then go on radio and television news as “military analysts” with the appearance of objective military experts.
After the Times sued the Pentagon to obtain 8,000 pages of documents, the newspaper put together the article. In it, David Barstow wrote:
“Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse - an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.”

thespartandaily.com

7:00 (CBS) The Early Show: Laura and Jenna Bush discuss their new children’s book, “Read All About It.” (N)
7:00 (NBC) Today: Maria Shriver; chef Mark Bittman; an Essence magazine fashion show. (N)
9:00 (ABC) Live With Regis & Kelly: Actress Helen Hunt; actor Eric Mabius. (N)
9:00 (CBS) Montel Williams: A soldier starts a foundation to help people fill the void of missing loved ones. (N)
10:00 (CBS) The Martha Stewart Show: Heart-healthy Asian recipes with tofu from Yashuhiro Honma; lamps and home lighting; peonies from Martha’s garden. (N)
10:00 (CW) The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet: Actor Kelsey Grammer; the issue of women freezing their eggs. (N)
10:00 (FOX) Maury: A man tells his wife that he has been sleeping with her niece. (N)
11:00 (ABC) The View: California first lady Maria Shriver; “Date My House” host Bob Guiney. (N)
11:00 (MY) The Tyra Banks Show: Tyra honors women who have done great services for their community. (N)
1 p.m. (FOX) Rachael Ray: IndyCar racer Danica Patrick teaches Rachael how to drive a stick shift; pork tenderloin. (N)
1:00 (MY) The Steve Wilkos Show: A woman loses custody of her children for leaving them at home while she partied. (N)
2:00 (MY) Jerry Springer: A woman begins dating her co-worker, unaware that he is gay. (N)
3:00 (NBC) Dr. Phil: Boys forced to leave the polygamous Texas cult share their feelings. (N)
4:00 (ABC) The Oprah Winfrey Show: Hidden-camera footage of real people reacting to public bullying, discrimination and abuse. (N)
4:00 (NBC) The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Actor Neil Patrick Harris. (N)
11:00 (COM) The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: Author Howard Fineman. (N)
11:35 (CBS) Late Show With David Letterman: Actress Tina Fey; actor Russell Brand. (N)
11:35 (NBC) The Tonight Show With Jay Leno: Actor Patrick Dempsey; actor Ed Begley Jr. (N)

courier-journal.com

Over the last decade, Turner has emerged as one of the most savvy and aggressive Emmy players, so it’s big news when its campaign box hits at the doorsteps of TV academy members.
Stop presses. It arrived last week.
Inside the gray box are three small binders, one devoted to each of its TV properties: TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies.
TNT BINDER CONTENTS
"Saving Grace" — Drama series episodes: "Pilot," "Everything’s Got a Shelf Life," "A Language of Angels," "Is There a Scarlet Letter on My Breast?" "Tacos, Tulips, Duck and Spices." Lead actress: Holly Hunter. Supporting actor: Leon Rippy, Kenneth Johnson, Bailey Chase, Bokeem Woodbine, Gregory Cruz. Supporting actress: Laura San Giacomo, Lorraine Toussaint.
"The Closer" — Drama series episodes: "Homewrecker," "Ruby," "Manhunt," "Blindsided," "’Til Death Do Us Part." Lead actress: Kyra Sedgwick. Supporting actor: J.K. Simmons, Jon Tenney, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz.
"The Company" — Miniseries. Lead actor: Chris O’Donnell. Supporting actor: Michael Keaton, Alfred Molina, Alessandro Nivola, Rory Cochrane, Tom Hollander, Raoul Bova. Supporting actress: Natascha McElhone, Alexandra Maria Lara.
TBS BINDER CONTENTS
"My Boys" — Comedy series episodes: "Dirty Little Secrets," "Douchebag in the City," "110% Solution," "Rome, If You Want to." Lead actress: Jordana Spiro. Supporting actor: Jim Gaffigan, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler. Supporting actress: Kellee Stewart.
"The Bill Engvall Show" — Comedy series episodes: "Good People," "Aloha, Raffles," "How Bill Met Susan," "Feel Free to Say No," "Jealous Guy." Lead actor: Bill Engvall. Supporting actor: Tim Meadows, Steve Hytner, Graham Patrick Martin, Skyler Gisondo. Supporting actress: Nancy Travis, Jennifer Lawrence.
"Frank TV" — Variety/music series episodes: "Thanksgiving," "Money in the Frank," "Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give a Frank," "Ballpark Frank," "Frankincense and Myrrh."
"10 Items or Less" — Comedy series episodes: "Dollar Day Afternoon," "Forever Young," "To Heir Is Human," "First Time," "The Bromance," "Amy Strikes Back," "Illegal Alien," "The Ren Fair." Lead actor: John Lehr. Supporting actor: Bob Clendenin, Greg Davis Jr., Chris Payne Gilbert, Christopher Liam Moore. Supporting actress: Jennifer Elise Cox, Kirsten Gronfield, Roberta Valderrama.

goldderby.latimes.com

The Pilots and crews are getting ready for the big show.
Major John Klatt with the Air National Guard took News 25’s Emily West for a spin today… showing her a few of his moves.
Klatt returns to Peoria hoping to impress the crowds with some new maneuvers.
He said, “We’ve got a couple of maneuvers we’re going to incorporate into the air show. A knife edge spin up and knife edge spin down is new. We have a center fuse maneuver we’ve been working hard to improve the quality of the air show itself.”
Klatt has recently served in Iraq and will return again later this year.
The 2008 Prairie Air Show is at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport this Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets for Adults are 12 dollars and seven for Children.
We heard the Blue Angel WILL NOT fly on Sunday. Yipes! That was our day to go…please say this isn’t so.
You can go to prairieair.org to get the tickets. I went there a week ago and got mine!
Love those Blue Angels (and all the talented pilots at the Peoria Air Show). One of the great highlights of the year! Welcome Prairie Air Show!!!!
Your news caster said we could go to WEEK web site and find out where to buy avanced tickets to the air show. Can’t find location. Can you help. Thank you.
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week.com

March 26 (Bloomberg) — With U.S. consumer confidence at its lowest level in more than 30 years, the Armory Show art fair opens today in New York to VIPs and the press, as wary collectors wait in the wings.
“Everybody is nervous,'' said Katelijne De Backer, the fair's director, though, she added, it would be “healthy'' for the art market if it “slows down a bit.''
Contemporary art prices have more than quadrupled over the past 11 years, according to index-maker Art Market Research.
Hedge-fund manager Adam Sender, founder of Exis Capital Management Inc., said he'll attend, as did Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France cycling championship, encountered yesterday at an art party in New York.
“I am definitely more cautious, but value American and especially L.A. artists highly, hence am always interested to come and discover new artists and new works,'' U.K.-based collector Amir Shariat, managing partner of London's Auctor Capital Partners Ltd., said in an e-mail.
More than 150 galleries, including PaceWildenstein, Tanya Bonakdar and Lehmann Maupin, will be exhibiting at the fair, which runs through March 30 on Pier 94 along the Hudson River waterfront. The Armory Show is owned by a unit of Vornado Realty Trust, the third-largest U.S. real estate investment trust.
Works by American painter and sculptor Sol LeWitt and Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who will build a series of four waterfalls on the East River in lower Manhattan this summer, will be for sale.
The Armory Show had sales of more than $85 million last year, up 37 percent from about $62 million in 2006, its organizers said. Specializing in newer art, the fair will be a test of the market for works below the level of modern icons like Andy Warhol and Mark Rothko.
As the credit crisis continues to hobble financial markets, collectors are taking a bit longer as they weigh purchases of works by newer artists who've gained fame in the past five years, dealer David Maupin said.

bloomberg.com

Country music artist, Aaron Tippin, will perform a free concert at this year’s Tyndall Air Force Base’s Gulf Coast Salute Open House and Air Show March 29.
The United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the premier Air Force aerial demonstration team, will headline the one-day,joint-service show, with a line-up to include performers and demonstration teams from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.
The Golden Knights, an elite Army parachute demonstration team, will also perform.
Admission and parking are free. For additional information, visit online at www.tyndall.af.mil.

nightlife.emeraldcoast.com

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint — while living like an English lord? That might be a contradiction in real life, but not at the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show, where luxury and sustainability can comfortably coexist.
Two celebrity headliners are bringing a green focus to this year’s show. Minneapolis designer Joshua Foss, a former contestant on HGTV’s "Design Star," will lead daily seminars on how to make your home eco-friendly, while ’70s supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, who recently conducted a green audit on her home, will share her green-living tips Friday.
Lee Snijders of HGTV’s "Design on a Dime" will round out the celebrity troika with presentations March 1 and 2 on breaking the rules of design.
If practicality isn’t your style, this year’s show also features an "authentic English manor," complete with conservatory, plus boutiques to help you mimic the British country lifestyle at home. For the "& garden," part of the show, there will be "10 Royal Gardens" and a slideshow of the massive, private garden of Wally Marx, a self-taught gardener who’s surrounded his Medina home with a 3-acre formal English garden.
The Minneapolis Home & Garden Show runs through March 2 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S. Admission is $10 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-12, and free for kids 5 and under. For discounted adult tickets and a complete schedule of events, visit www.homeandgarden.com or call 1-800-466-7469.

startribune.com

] announced Monday that boxing great Floyd Mayweather will fight Paul “Big Show” Wight during Wrestlemania XXIV. Is there a trade here?
Linda McMahon, World Wresting Entertainment CEO joins the panel for this conversation. Following is a summary of her main points.
How’s it going?
”We came off a really good quarter and strong year. Our revenues were at their highest levels ever,” says McMahon. “And I think that momentum is carrying into the first quarter. In addition, we recently announced an increase in our dividends for our shareholders that are not part of the McMahon family. It’s interesting to note that it’s a split dividend in the sense that the McMahon family is not increasing its dividend. It’s only to the outside shareholders.”
How do you get WWE to the next level?
”I think the dividend is one step,” replies McMahon. “Showing that we have confidence in our company but that we want to take care of investors. And we want long term investors. People who want to participate in the growth and the value. We return 8.3% yield. I think we’re doing incredibly well.”
“And we are growing,” adds McMahon. “We have an international community. I opened a Shanghai office last July. And last quarter we opened in Sydney, Australia. And we’re also opening in Sao Paolo. So we are expanding around the globe. And we just came off a live event in Latin America that did incredibly well.
Would you put someone from Ultimate Fighting into Wrestlemania?
“We’re putting Floyd Mayweather in,” answers McMahon. He’s from the boxing community. If it made sense, if I thought it was a good match, we would do that.
Traders, what do you think of the stock?
All the traders seem to agree, it’s intriguing.

cnbc.com