The 411 on Jolene Blalock

Source: Modesto Bee ()

last updated: December 25, 2007 01:45:41 AM

INSOMNIA NOT HIS PROBLEM: Modesto police arrested a 40-year-old Modesto man after an employee at a sleep disorder center found him burglarizing the business, officials said Monday. Several people then chased the man, identified as Robert Ernest Groves, tackled him and held him until police arrived to make the arrest, said Lt. Jolene Gonzales of the Modesto Police Department. Just before 3 p.m. Monday, an employee of the sleep disorder business at1208 Floyd Ave. came in to find Groves, who took off running, Gonzales said. Groves appeared to have gotten into the building through the roof, and police believe he might be connected to other commercial burglaries because of property they found in his vehicle, Gonzales said. Groves was booked at Stanislaus County Jail, with bail set at $20,000, on suspicion of commercial burglary, possessing stolen property and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

BODY IN HOME IDENTIFIED: Stanislaus County coroner’s officials identified the body of a man found in his rural Modesto home Thursday as Bill Foletta, 21, authorities said Monday. Foletta had been missing for at least three weeks, deputy Royjindar Singh said. Officials used forensic dentistry to identify Foletta. His body was found at his home in the 1500 block of West Keyes Road, near a large orchard between Crows Landing and South Carpenter roads. The man deputies arrested in connection with Foletta’s death, Teshaun Obadiah Sally, 20, remains in custody without bail. Sally, whom deputies believe was Foletta’s friend, also is being held for related auto theft and grand theft violations, Singh said. Sally has a Jan. 11 court date.

SONORA POLICE SEEK SUSPECT: The Sonora Police Department is looking for Patrick Bergen, right, in connection with spousal or cohabitant abuse injury, authorities said. There is a felony warrant for his arrest. Bergen is 50 years old, …

Source: Inquirer.net ()

CEBU CITY — An influential Cebuano businessman, who has connections with politicians, has been importing high-end cars from Europe for more than a year, an official of the broker’s association in Cebu alleged on Monday.

Ricky Gantuangco, external vice president of the Professional Brokers Association of the Philippines-Visayas, said he received reports from an insider at the Bureau of Customs that this businessman, whom he refused to name, could import luxury cars from Europe at least once a month.

Gangtuangco said the businessman has three congressman friends — two are from Mindanao and one from Cebu. The businessman’s friends in Congress have been helping him facilitate the entry of the luxury cars, said Gangtuangco.

The Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada) had complained about the alleged smuggling of cars in Cebu.

Gantuangco called for a congressional inquiry after Cada exposed that the number of vehicles sold in Cebu far exceeded the number of registered vehicles in the province.

He said he would ask for an executive session if called to testify during the House investigation on the alleged car smuggling in Cebu.

“I am willing to give the names of those, I learned, are involved in the smuggling activities during an executive session … What I am after is how to correct the system,” Gantuangco said.

He added that he was ready to present recommendations to curb or even stop the car smuggling.

He said the scanning of container vans at Customs could be improved and offered a demonstration to Cada, Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group, the brokers’ association and civil society.

“What is really important is to focus on how to improve the system [and] not to run against these persons who will just use all the excuses to absolve themselves of any crime,” Gantuangco said.

Jose Manuel Cuenco, president of said that some businessmen in Cebu who were importing the luxury vehicles had friends in “high …

Source: Inquirer.net ()

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The head of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas has ordered an audit of all transactions by its field offices in the region, particularly the registrations of imported vehicles.

Acting on reports that most of the 81 expensive European-made cars seized in a Makati City auto repair center last week came from Cebu, LTO 7 director Alex Leyson said he has tasked the LTO Regional Internal Audit Division, headed by Roger Balbon, to inventory all the transactions of the regional office.

Leyson said he wanted to know if indeed luxury cars imported from Europe were being given new registrations by his office.

Leyson, however, said he could not comment on the allegations that LTO officials were in cahoots with persons involved in the illegal importation and undervaluation of European luxury cars.

But he admitted that some officials of Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) coordinated with his office in September to ask for documents covering the importation and registration of some brand new vehicles.

Leyson said PASG officials were trying to verify the Certificate of Payments (CPs) of importation tax for brand new and high-end cars suspected to be either undervalued or fake.

“It’s possible that the CP could be fake but LTO officials could not really ascertain if these were undervalued because it is the customs officials who issue these documents. As long as the applicant for registration has complied with all the necessary requirements, it is ministerial on our part to grant the registration,” he said.

Leyson said the audit would also address the claim of Cebu Auto Dealers Association that smuggling of luxury cars has become rampant in Cebu as evidenced by the almost 20,000 difference between the number of vehicles registered by the LTO in the region in 2006 against number of cars sold by legitimate dealers over the same year.

Cebu customs district collector Ricardo Belmonte …

Source: Guardian Unlimited ()

Avril Monaghan, 30, Co Tyrone. Heavily pregnant with twin girls. Her daughter and mother were also killed. They had been in the SD Kells clothes shop, which bore the brunt of the explosion.Maura Monaghan, 18 months, Co Tyrone. One of Monaghan’s four children. Her body was found under her mother’s. She was known as “Mossie” by her family.Mary Grimes, 66, Co Tyrone. Avril Monaghan’s mother was celebrating her birthday with her daughter and granddaughter.Breda Devine, 20 months, Co Tyrone. Had been born three months prematurely. Her mother, Tracey, was the last victim to return home from hospital. Tracey Devine was in a coma for six weeks and on waking had to be told that her daughter had been killed.Lorraine Wilson, 15, Omagh. Hoped to become a flight attendant. She had been evacuated from Oxfam, where she worked as a volunteer, after inaccurate warnings as to the location of the bomb.Samantha McFarland, 17, Omagh. Friend of Lorraine and fellow volunteer at Oxfam.Gareth Conway, 18, Co Tyrone. Student who lived with his family. He had just been accepted for an engineering course at the University of Ulster and was awaiting his exam results.Julie Hughes, 21, Omagh. The 21-year-old accountancy student was home from Dundee University ahead of returning to complete her final year. She had a summer job working in Image Xpress, a photographic shop, and was evacuated due to the inaccurate warnings.Brenda Logue, 17, Carrickmore. Sixth-year pupil at St Theresa’s high school who played for the school’s Gaelic football team. Her GCSE exam results arrived a few days after her death.Elizabeth Rush, 57, Omagh. Was serving customers in her Market Street shop, Pine Emporium, opposite the centre of the explosion, when she was killed.Rocio Abad-Amos, 23, Madrid. Teacher supervising a group of Spanish and Irish schoolchildren on a day out. The party was in Ireland on an exchange holiday, based Co Donegal. It was her fifth trip to Ireland.Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, Madrid. One of the …

Source: Inquirer.net ()

CEBU CITY—The Visayas Ombudsman has created a panel of investigators to look into the alleged stray projects that got funding from the budget for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit held in Cebu early this year.

Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol said the panel’s task is to find out if there was an irregularity committed in the implementation of the road rehabilitation projects, which were intended for the Asean summit preparation.

Apostol said the antigraft office is coordinating with the Commission on Audit (COA) in conducting the fact-finding inquiry over alleged anomalous transactions involving Asean-related projects.

Assistant deputy Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago will head the panel, he said.

“We will look into it but we won’t comment if the transaction was regular or irregular because it will be preempting our inquiry. We will consider the findings of the COA on whether there is a need to elevate our inquiry to formal charges,” Pelagio said.

The COA found that almost P200 million of the P2 billion budget given to the Department of Public Works and Highways for Asean-related projects was used by DPWH for road projects in areas that did not host the summit, including one in the island province of Siquijor.

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Source: Trading Markets (press release) ()

Fushi International, Inc. (FSIN) CEO and Chairman to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell

Tuesday, December 18, 2007; Posted: 10:21 AM

ADVISORY, Dec 18, 2007 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX) — NDAQ | charts | news | PowerRating — style=’font-size:11px;’>
What: Mr. Li Fu, CEO and Chairman of Fushi International, Inc. (FSIN), will preside over the opening bell.
Where: NASDAQ MarketSite - 4 Times Square - 43rd and Broadway - Broadcast Studio
When: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. ET
Contacts: Chris Wang; chris.wang@fushiinternational.com Nathan Anderson; nathan.anderson@fushiinternational.com; 931-652-2433
NASDAQ MarketSite: Jolene Libretto; 646.441.5220; mobile - 347.219.9539 Jolene.Libretto@NASDAQ.com
Feed Information: The opening bell is available from 9:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. on Galaxy 26 - uplink IA6 C band / transponder 24, downlink frequency 4180 horizontal. The feed can also be found on Waterfront fiber 1623. If you have any questions, please contact Jolene Libretto at (646) 441-5220. Radio Feed: An audio transmission of the opening bell is also available from 9:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. on uplink IA6 C band / transponder 24, downlink frequency 4180 horizontal. The feed can be found on Waterfront fiber 1623 as well. Webcast: A live webcast of the NASDAQ Opening Bell will be available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_about.stm. Photos: To obtain a hi-resolution photograph of the Market Open, please go to http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_events.stm and click on the market open of your choice. About Fushi International, Inc. (FSIN): This news release was distributed by PrimeNewswire, www.primenewswire.com SOURCE: The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Fushi International, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Fushi International (Dalian) Bimetallic Cable Co. Ltd. Copperweld Bimetallics, LLC, manufactures bimetallic composite wire products, principally copper-clad aluminum (”CCA̶ and copper-clad steel (”CCS̶ …

Source: Trading Markets (press release) ()

Wind River Systems (WIND) Chief Executive Officer to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell

Monday, December 17, 2007; Posted: 10:30 AM

ADVISORY, Dec 17, 2007 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX) — WIND | charts | news | PowerRating — style=’font-size:11px;’>
What: Ken Klein, Chief Executive Officer of Wind River Systems (WIND), will preside over the opening bell.
Where: NASDAQ MarketSite - 4 Times Square - 43rd & Broadway - Broadcast Studio
When: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. ET
Contacts: Anne Marie McCauley; (510) 749-2551; mobile - (510) 637-8478 annemarie.mccauley@windriver.com
NASDAQ MarketSite: Jolene Libretto; 646.441.5220; mobile - 347.219.9539 Jolene.Libretto@NASDAQ.com
Feed Information: The opening bell is available from 9:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. on Galaxy 26 - uplink IA6 C band / transponder 24, downlink frequency 4180 horizontal. The feed can also be found on Waterfront fiber 1623. If you have any questions, please contact Jolene Libretto at (646) 441-5220. Radio Feed: An audio transmission of the opening bell is also available from 9:20 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. on uplink IA6 C band / transponder 24, downlink frequency 4180 horizontal. The feed can be found on Waterfront fiber 1623 as well. Webcast: A live webcast of the NASDAQ Opening Bell will be available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_about.stm. Photos: To obtain a hi-resolution photograph of the Market Open, please go to http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_events.stm and click on the market open of your choice. About Wind River: Wind River is the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO). Wind River enables companies to develop, run and manage device software faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably. Wind River platforms are pre-integrated, fully standardized, enterprise-wide development solutions. They reduce effort, cost and and optimize quality and reliability at all phases of the device software development process, from concept …

Source: Irish Independent ()

‘IN ADDITION to my other numerous acquaintances,” the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard once remarked, “I have one more intimate confidant. My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known — no wonder, then, that I return the love.” Dolly Parton had the same faithful mistress in the early Eighties. After she made The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas movie in 1982, she sank into a long and seemingly — at the time — bottomless depression.

‘IN ADDITION to my other numerous acquaintances,” the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard once remarked, “I have one more intimate confidant. My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known — no wonder, then, that I return the love.” Dolly Parton had the same faithful mistress in the early Eighties. After she made The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas movie in 1982, she sank into a long and seemingly — at the time — bottomless depression.

“I got overweight,” she tells me over breakfast in London’s Dorchester Hotel.

“I was going through some hormonal changes, some female things, and I got really depressed for about 15, 18 months. During that dark spot, I could really see how people could commit suicide or get to drinking or do drugs. I never did any of that, but I tell you, I saw how you can go.”

It is refreshing to hear that the most bubbly blonde on Earth suffers from the same dark nights of the soul as the rest of us. Still, it is hard to believe that the manifestly vivacious woman behind Jolene and I Will Always Love You gets down, not least when you see her on stage belting it out in all her spangly rhinestone regalia.

“Sure, I get my moments,” she says. “I get my moments of depression. I’m a human being. But I’m not only a human being, I’m a song-writer that writes very emotional songs. I can’t close my feelings off. If I’ve had a broken heart I can’t not love again. I can’t not feel again, because then I be able to write the songs I want to. So I refuse. I have all kinds …

Source: Inquirer.net ()

CEBU CITY, Cebu — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants government officials who benefited from alleged irregular transactions in projects related to the January hosting here of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit be held accountable.

Arroyo wanted all those involved in alleged anomalies in the implementation of the multi-billion-peso Asean summit projects be prosecuted and punished, Presidential Management Staff head Cerge Remonde said here Friday.

“As the President promised, let the chips fall where (they) may…that is why those who are charged must face the full brunt of the law. There must be no cover-ups,” Remonde said.

Remonde accompanied Arroyo in Cebu Friday where she distributed bags of goods to some 1,000 indigents in Cebu City and graced the launching of the coffeetable book “Cebu Pride of Place.”

Remonde said the President hoped the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas would finish its investigation soon and indict those officials who might be involved in irregular transactions.

Remonde however declined to comment on a Commission on Audit (COA) finding which showed that almost P200 million of the budget for Asean-related projects was used by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for road projects in areas like Siquijor that did not host the summit.

Remonde said he would rather wait for the outcome of the investigation by the Ombudsman.

At least 16 maintenance projects for national roads that were nowhere near the venues for the international event were included in the 36 items that were approved by the DPWH as projects related to the Asean summit, records obtained from the legal department of the DPWH Central Visayas showed.

Visayas Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol said he had already ordered the creation of a committee, by Assistant Deputy Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago, to look into the implementation of all the Asean-related projects.

Santiago …

Source: Inquirer.net ()

ALEGRIA, Cebu –Marvelous formations of stalactites and stalagmites in various sizes and designs inside the caves of Alegria town in the southwestern tip of Cebu are attracting spelunkers, mountaineers and cave enthusiasts.

Once a sleepy town, Alegria, a fourth-class municipality (annual income: P13 million-P21 million) 115 kilometers from Cebu City, is gearing up to become a top eco-tourism destination in Central Visayas, offering a wide variety of attractions, such as beautiful caves that are home to insect bats and other endemic creatures, magnificent waterfalls and lake.

The coastal town, known as Tubod in the 1800s for its flowing crystalline waters, faces the Tañon Strait, which separates Cebu and Negros islands. It is a perfect spot for divers because of a lush marine ecosystem where sting-rays, giant clams, green and table corals, and dolphins and other cetaceans abound, plus two underwater caves yet unexplored.

The municipal government, with the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is opening to the public two of the town’s 58 caves, Silay and Kantayong.

Mayor Raul Guisadio promises a fun and awesome adventure for those who want to explore the caves, both in Barangay Valencia. The caves, he said, had already attracted local and foreign tourists.

Guided tours
The local government has trained 25 local spelunkers to guide cave enthusiasts, Guisadio said.

“We will make Alegria known for its beautiful spots and eventually be a center for ecotourism destination in the next few years. We are glad to let everyone see our beautiful caves, waterfalls, lake and seas,” he said.

The town is allocating funds for the exploration of at least three more caves in the first quarter of next year and will soon ask help from the Department of Tourism for promotion.

Of the 58 caves, only a few been explored and two were initially approved by the DENR as ecotourism destinations because of guaranteed …