Fire damages vehicle building east of Vancouver
Fire crews knocked down a large blaze in a detached garage Wednesday morning at a home in the Proebstel area east of Vancouver.The fire was reported at 5:17 a.m. at 22601 N.E. 68th St.Crews from the Vancouver Fire Department were on scene for about an hour and received assistance from East County Fire & Rescue and Clark County Fire District 3, according to Vancouver Fire spokesman Kevin Stromberg.When firefighters arrived, they found a one-story detached garage fully engulfed in flames. A resident at the home said no one was inside the garage, Stromberg said.Crews then turned their attention to preventing the fire from spreading to the nearby house, Stromberg said, which is about 80 to 100 feet away from the garage.Photos from the scene show fire had destroyed a pickup in the garage. Stromberg said the garage and all of its contents are a total loss. The house was not damaged.
Posted: December 5, 2018 KUSI Newsroom Categories: Local San Diego News FacebookTwitter Some teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy sign petition to unionize December 5, 2018 00:00 00:00 spaceplay / pause qunload | stop ffullscreenshift + ←→slower / faster ↑↓volume mmute ←→seek . seek to previous 12… 6 seek to 10%, 20% … 60% XColor SettingsAaAaAaAaTextBackgroundOpacity SettingsTextOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundSemi-TransparentOpaqueTransparentFont SettingsSize||TypeSerif MonospaceSerifSans Serif MonospaceSans SerifCasualCursiveSmallCapsResetSave SettingsSAN DIEGO (KUSI)- Teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy are looking to unionize. The educators say they are dealing with unequal pay among staff, a long work year with little time-off and a lack of teacher voice in decision making.Two-thirds of the teaching staff signed a petition to unionize.Right now the petition is awaiting verification by Californi’s Public Emplyee Relations Board. That board will decide if a union can form at the school. KUSI Newsroom, 
Hyundai Motor India’s compact sedan Xcent has garnered 11,000 bookings and over 100,000 enquiries in the country within 30 days of its launch.The Xcent, a sub-4 metre compact sedan is pitted against the Honda Amaze, Maruti Swift Dzire and the upcoming Ford Figo Concept car in India and is offered in both petrol and diesel variants. According to the company, the car has created high interest among young families in metros and Tier II cities.”We appreciate and thank our customers for showing strong confidence in brand Hyundai and making Xcent a huge success in India. Xcent has created a benchmark in quality, features and technology offering higher value proposition in such a short span of time. We are committed and continuously working on the operational efficiencies to cater to the demand to reduce the waiting period,” said Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing- HMIL .The Xcent, which made its first appearance at the Delhi Auto Expo, is built on the Hyundai’s Grand i10 hatchback platform and shares similarities with its small car Grand i10. Under the hood, the petrol variant of the car comes with the same 1.2-litre kappa 2 motor, which powers the Grand i10 hatchback and the diesel model is powered by 1.1-litre diesel engine. These engines are mated to a 5 speed manual transmission.The second generation U2 CRDi diesel offers a fuel efficiency of 24.4 km per litre while the all-aluminium 1.2 litre Kappa petrol engine claims to deliver a mileage of 19.1 km per litre.While the Base trim petrol is priced at 4.66 lakh, the diesel comes with a price tag of 5.56 lakh. The S petrol costs 5.32 lakh and the S (O) petrol is priced at 5.57 lakh. The top SX petrol variant comes at a price point of 6.22 lakh and SX diesel costs 7.13 lakh .The SX (O) petrol variant is available at 6.47 lakh, while the diesel is priced at 7.38 lakh .(ED:VS)
(Credit: Aleksandra Suzi/Shutterstock)It’s an ironic fact of life that the symptoms of a cold or fever are actually our bodies’ attempts at a cure. Runny noses, high temperatures and vomiting are all strategies aimed at forcing dangerous microbes from our bodies so we can feel better again. But, how the elevated temperatures that so often accompany an infection help us recuperate has been something of a mystery.“In spite of the fact that they are important to us, there remains very little understanding of what it is that fevers do to improve survival,” said JianFeng Chen, a cell biologist at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in China.“Understanding this could be important for people to fight against infections, allergy, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer.”Now, Chen and colleagues have figured out how fevers unleash the immune system to fight off infections. The team’s work could mean new treatments that not only combat infection but also curb inflammation during allergic reactions.Febrile FighterFevers raise body temps anywhere from 2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Fever’s protective effects may be in part because ratcheting temps up is sometimes more uncomfortable for pathogens than it is for us. Poliovirus’ ability to multiply plummets in the face of a fever’s heat, for example. But some research has suggested the scorching conditions might also flush out infections by setting immune cells in action. Chen and colleagues wanted to find out how.Heat ShockedThe researchers isolated immune cells from mice and then put them in incubators set to a normal body temperature (about 98.6 degrees F) or a feverish temp of 104 degrees F. They found the immune cells that grew in the febrile environment produced a suite of molecules called heat shock proteins. One of these proteins, known as Hsp90, quickly set in motion a cascade of events that eventually directed the immune cells to the infection, Chen and team report today in the journal Immunity.“During infection, this mechanism can enhance the [movement of immune] cells to… sites of infection and facilitate the clearance of pathogens,” Chen said.“This pathway is critical for animal survival during infection,” he added. Indeed, disrupting the pathway with a mutation in Hsp90 impaired the ability of mice infected with Salmonella to fight off the infection, the researchers found.The discovery suggests that therapies to raise Hsp levels could help fight infections, while lowering them could help those with allergies or autoimmune diseases by slowing down inflammation, Chen said.It also points to some new advice for people with a fever.“People should avoid using fever-reducing drugs immediately once they have a fever,” Chen added. Instead he recommends taking a fever-reducing drug only after several hours with a high temperature. That way Hsp90 has had a chance to mobilize the immune system to clear the infection.
Southern Ocean LodgeSouthern Ocean Lodge celebrates a decade’s contributionKangaroo Island’s multi award-winning luxury retreat Southern Ocean Lodge celebrates ten years of operations this month, offering a chance to reflect on the boost generated to the island and South Australian economies over the decade.The Baillie Lodges property envisioned by life and business partners James and Hayley Baillie was an ambitious project for its location on Kangaroo Island’s remote, pristine southwest coast, demanding some five years’ planning and approvals in the lead up to opening on March 29, 2008.Designed by Kangaroo Island-born architect Max Pritchard, Southern Ocean Lodge appears to float along its clifftop position and represents a new breed of luxury, where the wildly beautiful location is reflected indoors, and local artworks, sculptures and custom furnishings create a timeless appeal.Over the past ten years, Southern Ocean Lodge has welcomed more than 37,000 guests to stay from across 40 different countries, with international and domestic visitors arriving in roughly equal numbers. Southern Ocean Lodge has attracted its share of loyal fans, with almost 200 guests returning for ten or more stays at over this time.In 2017 tourism to Kangaroo Island (KI) brought $137m^ in visitor expenditure to the South Australian economy, on track for an expected $168m contribution by 2020. More than 130 tourism businesses support 500 jobs on the island. A comparison of data from the Survey of Tourist Accommodation* (STA) on Kangaroo Island shows accommodation revenue grew from $6.4m in FY2008 to $16.8m in FY2016, an increase of 163 per cent.Essential to the Southern Ocean Lodge concept is a ‘sense of place’, where guests are treated to a world-class menu created exclusively from local ingredients – from American River oysters and Southrock free-range lamb to sustainably produced marron and barramundi – enjoyed with a help-yourself bar of fine South Australian wine and small-batch beers and spirits.On average every month, Southern Ocean Lodge’ local produce orders include:1200 bottles of premium South Australian wine14 bottles of KI Spirits Wild Gin55 kg of live Kangaroo Island marron390 dozen or 4680 KI free range eggs85 fresh KI pheasants and 85 fresh KI partridges65 sustainably produced barramundi from KI’s Parndana School50 dozen South Australian oysters, from American River and Coffin Bay85 kg of KI Sheep’s milk yoghurt345 litres of Fleurieu Peninsula milk and cream.To mark the milestone, Hayley Baillie has compiled a journal-style book, A Celebration of Timeless Design, charting the journey of the lodge from planning through construction and its first ten years of operation. The book champions the local operators who have played an integral role in the project, including tour operators, food and wine producers, artists, furniture designers and sandstone workers.A new airport lounge accessible exclusively to Southern Ocean Lodge guests will also be unveiled mid-year, designed by architect Max Pritchard as part of the redevelopment of Kingscote Airport.South Australian Tourism Commission Chief Executive Rodney Harrex said the standards set by Southern Ocean Lodge over its ten-year tenure had been incredibly high and were a benchmark for high end luxury tourism experiences.“Congratulations to Southern Ocean Lodge on this incredible milestone. The team are doing great work in building the profile of the region, creating jobs and supporting local communities and industries – all while providing guests a world class experience,” Mr Harrex said.“The luxury retreat has a strong reputation globally and is a key economic driver for Kangaroo Island.”Luxury Lodges of Australia Executive Officer Penny Rafferty said Southern Ocean Lodge marked a new era in Australian luxury lodging, with a new breed of super high end, experience-focused lodges established around this time in remarkable destinations around the country.“Southern Ocean Lodge was an absolute catalyst and leader in the luxury lodge field. The magnitude and plain gutsiness of the project was unlike anything we’d seen previously in Australia,” Ms Rafferty said.“It gave quality tourism and hospitality operators the confidence to invest deeply in this style of high-end experiential product in incredible, often very remote Australian regions. It was a game changer for Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and Australia globally.”Baillie Lodges’ James Baillie said Southern Ocean Lodge had been an incredible achievement both professionally and personally for him and his wife Hayley.“We were really up against it from the start. Southern Ocean Lodge is in a remote, difficult location, where the next stop south is Antarctica. But we both really believed in the project and were determined to see it through,” Mr Baillie said.“To see Southern Ocean Lodge thriving a decade on, exceeding guest expectations and recognised as setting the bar in luxury lodgings makes Hayley and I feel proud and privileged for the opportunity.”Just released: a new, short video of Southern Ocean Lodge is available to view and download here: https://southernoceanlodge.com.au/video/^Source: South Australian Tourism Commission Value of Tourism on Kangaroo Island*Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) is a census of all in-scope accommodation establishments with 15 or more rooms Source = Baillie Lodges