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It is still over a week and a half until Coldplay’s fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, is scheduled for release, but the album leaked online through a torrent Wednesday. The band’s first album in just over three years has already proved itself popular with a highly downloaded single and has become the highest pre-sale album ever in Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store, according to NME.
Prefix magazine speculates that the album’s leak has raised serious issues for the band’s label, privately-held EMI. Prefix reports that the albums second single, title track “Viva la Vida” has seen 510,000 downloads already, not as impressive as the two million its predecessor “Violet Hill” moved. The magazine also speculates that the leak will make it “unlikely that the album will be the rousing success that EMI had hoped.” This just seems to disregard the consumer base and the band’s large fanbase.
Arguably, the 510,000 downloads of “Viva la Vida” should be interpreted as that many presale downloads for the album, since the single and album pre-order are bundled together in iTunes. If that is the case, first week sales will be an impressive, rousing success. Coldplay and EMI have taken the next logical, and predictable, step to combat the online leak. NME reports that starting tonight the album will be available for streaming from the band’s MySpace page.
The business model for the music indrusty is changing. New models are cutting out the middle men. Edgar Bronfman talks about this at the financial times.
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bloggingstocks.com

Woodstock-area resident Rolf Pepper, far right, stands beside the director of Casa Hogar Vida Y Libertad in Honduras. The children who live in the home benefitted from the donations collected throughout Carleton County.
The efforts of Rolf Pepper and Carleton County residents, were recently recognized by Health Presidential Advisor Dr. Alfonso Diaz Pon, left, and his personal secretary, right. Due to Pepper's constant desire to bring needy children food, clothing and other welcomed supplies, important officials of the Presidential Palace requested to meet with him during visits to Honduras.
A villager of San Juan, Honduras, applauds the efforts of Rolf Pepper and the residents of Carleton County, who provided much-needed donations for children in need. The villager accepted the donations and took over distributing the goods to the proper families. He stands with Dr. Neno from the City of Tela.
The expression on this boy's face shows how thankful he was to accept the Carleton County donations. The San Juan, Honduras, resident removes a box of zapatos, shoes, from a pick-up truck.
If he could, the retired Woodstock-area businessman said, he’d return to Honduras tomorrow.
Instead, the generous local resident will return in November with plans of providing more welcomed supplies to the needy children of the impoverished Central American nation.
Last November, Pepper arrived in Honduras with 132 boxes filled with 2,300 pounds worth of items donated by Carleton County residents.
With help from Southern Carleton Elementary School, the goods were packaged and properly prepared for shipping.
Pepper is now putting out another call for help. He’s requesting medical equipment and supplies, clothing, shoes, toys, musical instruments and financial donations. School supplies are also needed, but, he noted, paper is too heavy to ship, so he requests lighter items.
Pepper has spent thousands of dollars out of his own pocket to pay for travel, shipping costs and to provide unfortunate children with simple pleasures, such as pizza parties.

bugleobserver.canadaeast.com

When the track and field season concludes next month, Westhill High School will close the book on one of its most successful periods in recent history.
The Vikings went 13-5 in dual meets this year, coming off a season in which they went 14-4. The Vikings have also won five consecutive city titles, and they swept the individual awards at last week’s meet against Stamford.
There will be a lot of people shedding tears during Westhill commencement exercises, and Vikings’ coach Todd Page will be one of them. He’s losing 15 seniors that have been the backbone of his team’s success.
“This core group of kids has been together since they were freshman,” Page said. “I taught a lot of them in world history, and I’ve watched them grow and get better each year. I remember watching a freshman meet and I remember thinking four years from now, we could be in a position to do something special. To be honest, I was hoping for better.”
It is difficult for any team to break through in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which has state power Danbury and Staples, a model of consistency that is always among the best teams in its Class S.
The best part for Page is that his Vikings still have an opportunity to do some outstanding things in the next few weeks. The postseason begins tomorrow with the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship meet at Danbury. The team then turns its attention to the Class championships on June 2 at Manchester
High School, and the State Open on June 9 at Willow Brook Park. Page is also hopeful he will have some athletes qualify for the New England Championships, scheduled for June 14 at Thornton Academy in Saco, Maine.
Westhill’s best opportunity to get to the New England meet might be with its 4 x 800 relay team of Pete Jankovsky, James Grebey, Andrew Erskine and Wildens Fils. The team set the freshmen record at Westhill and was eighth in the Class LL meet last year in 8:21.4.

stamfordadvocate.com

3rd Annual Women’s Health Nursing Conference: Current Issues in Women’s Health
McNamara Alumni Center
University of Minnesota
200 Oak Street SE
The Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health, Department of OB/GYN and Women’s Health and the School of Nursing invites you to attend the 3rd Annual Women’s Health Nursing Conference on May 15, 2008 at the U of M McNamara Alumni Center.
This year’s conference topics include cervical cancer, diabetes, exercise, STIs, care for babies and women in disaster situations, women and alcohol, and peripheral artery disease. Please visit www.wmhealth.umn.edu for more information.
Breakfast and lunch provided
Continuing nursing education units available
$25 registration fee, free for students

events.tc.umn.edu

Tory MLAs are expected to debate a contentious proposal today to reduce Alberta’s nine health boards to as few as one.
But several leaders at embattled health regions — including two former cabinet ministers — insist that won’t help patients or save money.
As Premier Ed Stelmach said Wednesday that Albertans are questioning the size of current health regions and the number of “people walking around with pencils,” three prominent health board members argued a single board is the wrong move.
Marv Moore, former health minister and veteran Tory campaign manager said the “superboard” could actually create more bureaucracy, while the chair of another health authority said the change would hurt representation in rural areas.
“There’s really nothing, absolutely nothing, to be gained by having one board,” said Moore, now chairman of the Peace Country Health Region, which covers much of northwestern Alberta.
“You’re not going to solve the situation in Calgary by having a superboard out of Edmonton. Nothing is going to change in terms of the demand for health-care services,” Moore said in an interview.
“Really what it is is a step backwards.”
The comments come as Health Minister Ron Liepert is widely expected to bring forward a proposal to the Conservative caucus this morning to restructure the province’s health region boards.
The boards oversee hospitals and related services in their respective regions. Liepert is said to favour the idea of reducing the number of boards from nine to one.
The minister’s plan for health region governance is part of a broader move to overhaul Alberta’s $13-billion-a-year medical system.
Liepert has said the current system is not working, with patients facing bed shortages and emergency room waits, adding that spending additional money has not fixed the problem.
On Wednesday, Liepert refused to confirm he is proposing to reduce the number of regional boards at today’s caucus meeting.

canada.com

OAKLAND — Oakland police recovered $6,000, a cache of guns and arrested four people Tuesday after a takeover robbery at a Berkeley credit union, police said.
Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said four men entered the Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union at 2001 Ashby Ave. in Berkeley shortly before noon Tuesday. They were arrested later after their vehicle was spotted in Oakland.
Kusmiss said two of the men were armed, and all were wearing mesh surgical-like masks on their faces.
The men ordered the 20 employees and one customer to the ground and demanded employees hand over all the money, police said.
A female teller was punched in the back of the head, but her injury was not severe enough to be transported to a hospital. Police said she will make a full recovery. No other injuries were reported.
Money in hand, the four got into a gold Chrysler Infinity and fled eastbound on Ashby Avenue, police said. An employee wrote down the car’s license plate number.
Oakland police, including Officers Todd Bergeron and Bill Pappas, and Alameda County Probation Officer Ray Cardona, spotted the car on Edwards Avenue in Oakland and pursued it at speeds up to 50 mph, police said. The car crashed into a parked vehicle in the 6600 block of MacArthur Boulevard and three of the occupants were arrested.
Police arrested a fourth suspect at a nearby apartment complex. In the car, police found an assault pistol,
a shotgun and the money.
One of the men taken into custody is Christopher Roberson, 22, an Oakland parolee. He was charged with numerous felonies, including evading police, armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a weapon. Berkeley police were in the process of identifying the other suspects late Tuesday, Kusmiss said.

mercurynews.com

Published May 1st, 2008
By Dale M. King
Delray Beach police have arrested two brothers on charges of robbing a local bank while in Boca Raton, a suspect has been charged with robbing a man in his apartment.
Jeff Messer, public information officer for Delray Beach police said Donald Ammons Jr. and Charles Ammons held up the Sun Trust Bank at Linton Boulevard and South Federal Highway just before 3 p.m. April 28.
Messer said that while Charles Ammons allegedly at in the father’s pick-up truck Donald Ammons Jr. allegedly entered the bank and presented the teller with an incomplete withdrawal slip. Messer said the teller returned the slip and directed the suspect to fill the slip out completely. The suspect replied that this was a robbery and that he had a gun.
The suspect took cash and fled in the truck, police said. Officers followed the truck onto I-95 where they arrested the brothers.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Delray Beach Police Detective Paul Weber at (561) 243-7871.
On the same day, Boca Raton police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Casa Del Rio Apartments on NW 20th Street. The victim said a man entered his apartment, pointed a gun at him and demanded pills and money.
Police said the victim gave the suspect several prescription drugs and $150 in cash.
According to a report, police searched the area and saw a man fitting the description getting into a taxi. Officers stopped and questioned the man, police said, and then arrested him. He was identified as Francisco Javier Baca, 23, of NW 22nd Street, Boca Raton.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Detective John Moran at (561) 338-1315.

bocaratonnews.com

The FINANCIAL — MasterCard Worldwide on April 17 announced the company is donating $10,000 to Rebuilding Together – St. Louis, a nonprofit that revitalizes neighborhoods in partnership with the community by rehabilitating the houses of low-income homeowners.
On April 19, National Rebuilding Together Day, more than 200 MasterCard St. Louis employees will volunteer to repair seven homes for low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners in the inner city. This is the thirteenth year that MasterCard volunteers have participated in National Rebuilding Together Day.
"National Rebuilding Together Day is an opportunity for our employees to give back to the community and assist families that cannot make essential home repairs," said Rob Reeg, chief technology officer and interim president, Global Technology and Operations, MasterCard Worldwide. "At MasterCard , we believe it is important to not just financially support local organizations, but also offer our time and talent."
During National Rebuilding Together Day, 110 local homeowners will receive assistance. Repairs to these homes help improve neighborhoods and alleviate the burden of costs on elderly or disabled homeowners who may already struggle with their finances. Repairs often result in fewer falls for the homeowner, increased safety and security, and a sense of pride in one’s home.
"MasterCard is proud to help extend the efforts of Rebuilding Together. This is the 13th year that MasterCard employees have volunteered with friends, family and colleagues during National Rebuilding Together Day, making this our longest-running volunteer project in St. Louis," added Reeg. "It is terrific evidence of our volunteers’ dedication to raising the quality of life for families across the region."

finchannel.com

Most economists agree landing fees for airliners, which vary based on traffic levels, are a good way to trigger market forces to solve congestion. Even The Department of Transportation agrees.
But now, The Associated Press reports the airline industry is threatening to sue DOT, saying it lacks the authority to give airports the green light to implement congestion pricing.
In his letter to US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Air Transport Association James May wrote “These actions are legally indefensible.”
A DOT spokesman on Tuesday refuted that claim… but ATA spokesman David Castelveter added “We will pursue all of our options” to keep DOT from implementing the kind of user fees that, well, airlines want to see imposed on general aviation pilots.
The DOT’s proposed policy, dubbed congestion pricing, is meant to push airlines to spread flights more evenly through the day and get congested airports to use landing fee revenue toward the costs of expansions to handle added traffic.
As ANN reported, the airport fee proposal was scheduled to start last month, but the airlines opposed the plan, and were granted a 30-day extension to comment.

aero-news.net

"Cops enforcing parking laws," an article in the MetroWest Daily News on March 6, is very timely because of the upcoming election in Framingham. The revenue received from violators is important to the taxpayers in this town.
There is one source of revenue that is extremely lacking because there is little or no enforcement. As candidates for selectmen have recently called me asking for support, I’ve asked this person: "Why isn’t the personal property tax enforced for payment? I was not believed when I asked that. Therefore, to prove there was such a tax, I directed her to the "2005 Annual Report of Framingham," on page 51. It states: "Personal Property Tax Assessed: $6,590,374.82." I then pointed out in the 2006 "Annual Report of Framingham," page 42. It states: "Personal Property Tax Assessed - $6,590,374.82"
Obviously there was an accidental mistake by the Board of Assessors. It will be interesting in the new annual report how this mistake will figure in with revenue received this year from personal property tax revenue.
A new business has come into Framingham, and as of Oct. 15, 2007, that business paid $63,258.53 in personal property tax. All non-profit businesses including offices for, i.e., lawyers, doctors dentists, restaurants, etc., should be paying personal property taxes. One dentist pays $1,377.32. One lawyer pays $94.01. One lawyer received a bill for 2 cents, which I personally paid at the Treasurer’s office. I put the two pennies into the steel tray.

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