http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/ Max Power Dishes Out Mad Props en-us Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:42:38 GMT CakePHP http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/new-method-for-thwarting-bank-robbers/ What's the best way to make a bank robber turn around and walk out the door empty-handed? Try a handshake and a smile. Excessive friendliness is the key to the ''Safecatch'' system created by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr. The premise is that an overdose of courtesy will unnerve would-be robbers and get them to rethink the crime. ''If you're a legitimate customer, you think, 'This is the friendliest person I've met in my life.' If you're a bad guy, it scares the lights out of you,'' said Drew Ness, a vice president of Bellevue-based First Mutual Bank, who advocates the approach. Carr, who has taught the method to employees at 16 Washington banks over the past few years, credits the system in part for the drop in Seattle bank robberies from 80 in the first three months of 2006 to 44 during the same period this year. On Tuesday, he ran a training session for employees at a First Mutual branch in Seattle. The method is a sharp contrast to the traditional training for bank employees confronted with a suspicious person, which advises not approaching the person, and at most, activating an alarm or dropping an exploding dye pack into the cash. When a man walked into a First Mutual branch last year wearing garden gloves and sunglasses, manager Scott Taffera greeted him heartily, invited him to remove the glasses, and guided him to an equally friendly teller. The man eventually asked for a roll of quarters and left. Carr said he suspects the man was the ''Garden Glove Bandit,'' who robbed area banks between March 2004 and November 2006. Carr stressed that employees should never put themselves in danger, and they should comply with any demands made by an armed robber.FBI Special Agent Larry Carr... Good Lookin' Out Dawg. Wed, Apr 18th 2007, 13:25 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/zero-carbon-is-the-goal-for-woodstock/ Michael Esposito rides his bike all the time — from cold nights when leaving his old job at a natural food store to warm days while passing shops selling yoga clothes and soy drinks.So the 67-year-old is excited about a new plan to reduce this countercultural haven's net carbon dioxide emissions to zero within a decade, an ambitious attempt to erase the town's ''carbon footprint.''''It's more than important,'' Esposito said. ''It's a necessity.''The goal might sound as unlikely as stuffing smoke back into a smokestack. Even sympathetic experts call it challenging. It likely would require many of the town's roughly 6,200 people to install solar panels and geothermal hookups. But it's tough to find a resident who doesn't support the project.''So why not declare that within 10 years we're going to set a visionary goal?'' asked Randolph Horner, a renewable energy project developer who is a driving force behind the initiative.Woodstock is best known for the 1969 rock concert that borrowed its name and was held some 50 miles away in Bethel. But the old artists' colony is plugging firmly into the zeitgeist of 2007, a time when hybrid cars are hot and Al Gore's climate-change documentary, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' won two Oscars.As debate over the scope of global warming continues, local officials across the country have crafted their own policies. Austin, Texas, has a ''Climate Protection Plan'' that aims to make city buildings reliant on renewable energy by 2012. Portland, Ore., has an Office of Sustainable Development to coordinate and encourage the use of everything from green building to biofuels.Last month, the Woodstock town board approved a nonbinding resolution that called for ''implementing policies resulting in no net emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases'' by 2017.''Net'' means residents can keep their cars as long as they produce enough clean power to offset their emissions.The resolution lists ways to reach the zero carbon goal, including green building, bike paths, tree planting and biodiesel municipal fleets.Michael Esposito & Woodstock Residents... Good Lookin' Out Dawgs. Mon, Apr 9th 2007, 08:32 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/2-ontario-county-men-save-skaneateles-man/ Thanks to the help of an Ontario County Sheriff's deupty and a local firefighter, a Skaneateles man is alive today. Here's an excerpt from the story that ran in the Finger Lakes Times on Sunday...A Skaneateles man who drove into the path of a garbage truck Friday morning owes his life to the quick thinking of an Ontario County sheriff's deputy and a White Springs Road Fire Department volunteer.Deputy Scott Avedisian and firefighter Roy Kerfien, the first emergency personnel on scene, brought motorist James Van Nostrand back from the brink of death with a few cycles of CPR, said Lt. Bill Gallagher of the Ontario County Sheriff's Department.“It would appear at this point that they brought him back,” Gallagher said. “It appears that he was in cardiac arrest at the scene, and he's alive now.”Van Nostrand, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse when Avedisian arrived on the scene. He and Kerfien soon began to administer CPR with the help of an automatic external defibrillator, which all deputies carry in their cars. After three cycles of chest compressions and artificial breathing, Van Nostrand began breathing on his own, Gallagher said.He remained unconscious and was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight. He was listed in guarded condition Saturday night.Scott Avedisian and Roy Kerfien... Good Lookin' Out Dawgs. Sun, Apr 1st 2007, 11:46 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/wolfgang-puck-fights-animal-cruelty/ Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is cooking up kinder, gentler menus. As part of a new initiative to fight animal cruelty, Puck said Thursday he will no longer serve foie gras, the fatty liver produced by overfeeding ducks and geese. His 14 fine-dining restaurants, more than 80 fast-casual eateries and 43 catering venues will use only eggs from hens that have lived cage-free; veal from roaming calves; and lobsters that have been removed from their ocean traps quickly to avoid crowded holding tanks. Puck said guests at his restaurants want to know their food is made with fresh, organic ingredients and that the animals were treated well. ''We want a better standard for living creatures. It's as simple as that,'' Puck said. The move came after three years of protests by Farm Sanctuary, an animal-rights group that launched wolfgangpuckcruelty.org — relabeled Wolfgang Puck Victory as of Thursday — and organized a leaflet campaign outside Puck's restaurants. Puck worked with the Humane Society of the United States on the new initiative. He said he wasn't responding to pressure from animal welfare advocates, but instead believes the best-tasting food comes from animals that have been treated humanely. ''We decided about three months ago to be really much more socially responsible,'' he said. ''We feel the quality of the food is better, and our conscience feels better.'' Chicken and turkey meat served at Puck's restaurants will come from farms that are compliant with progressive animal welfare standards, and menus will feature more vegetarian selections, he said. The venues also will only serve certified sustainable seafood. Puck's chefs will continue to kill lobsters by cutting them in half while they're still alive, rather than by using stun guns. And stingray-like skate and Russian caviar, both of which are on an ''avoid'' list compiled by Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, remain on his menus. His restaurants include Spago and Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Express. The Humane Society applauded the efforts. ''Wolfgang Puck's policies send a strong message to the agribusiness industry that it needs to start phasing out its most abusive practices,'' said Wayne Pacelle, the group's president and chief executive. Banning any food, especially luxury ingredients, has been a thorny issue for chefs, who generally defend their right to use whatever they want. Still, as Americans have had eating healthier food, many chefs at high-end restaurants, some smaller food-service chains and grocery chains like Whole Foods have refused to buy meat and eggs unless animals were raised under certain conditions. In 2000, McDonald's became the first major American food company to impose minimum animal-welfare standards such as increasing cage size on its egg producers. California has decided to ban the production and sale of foie gras starting in 2012. Chicago imposed a ban last year, and bans are being promoted in Illinois, New Jersey and New York.Wolfgang Puck... Good Lookin' Out, Dawg. Tue, Mar 27th 2007, 06:18 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/good-lookin-out/seneca-falls-5th-grader-wins-spelling-bee/ You might say Neetu Chandak has an affinity for spelling. When she was asked to spell “affinity” in round 11 of the 14th annual Scripps Howard Regional Spelling Bee Saturday, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School fifth-grader smiled with confidence.She stepped back from the microphone in Albright Auditorium at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and spelled the word quietly to herself. That strategy had worked 10 times before, bringing her to the championship face-off with Phelps-Clifton Springs eighth-grader Caitlyn Rogers.“A-f-f-i-n-i-t-y,” Chandak said with confidence.She smiled excitedly when she was told she was right.“If you correctly spell this next word, you are the champion,” pronouncer Susan Howard told Chandak.Chandak was less confident with “incredulous,” pronouncing the word aloud and then asking Howard for its part of speech.“Incredulous,” she repeated again. “I-n-c-r-e-d-u-l-o-u-s.”“Correct.” Chandak squealed with excitement as she jumped up and down on stage. She turned to Rogers and shook her hand before running to hug her parents in the front row.Chandak will be heading to the 80th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling bee in Washington, D.C. May 27, which means more spelling, phonics and word origin practice, said her father, Mahesh Chandak.“I'll have one week off and then my mom will start quizzing me,” Neetu said.Read the full story from the Finger Lakes TimesNeetu Chandak...Good Luck at the National Beeand Good Lookin' Out, Dawg. Mon, Mar 19th 2007, 10:50 GMT