Hotel chain pays guests to forgo housekeeping services

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Further proof that many custodial operations are trying to "do more with less," one reputable hotel chain is offering perks to guests who opt out of housekeeping services being performed in their rooms, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As part of their "Make A Green Choice" program, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is offering guests at many of their Westin and Sheraton brand hotels a $5 credit at any of the hotel's restaurants or 500 Starpoints for each night they refuse housekeeping services, the story stated.

According to Bjorn Hanson, an associate professor at New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, a high-end or luxury hotel's estimated cost of cleaning a single hotel room is about $22 a day, including labor, laundering and wear and tear on linens.

Roughly 8 percent of guests at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts locations are taking advantage of the program, the story noted.

The "Make A Green Choice" program is valid for up to three consecutive nights and is poised to save significant amounts of money, the story added.

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Maintenance worker beating caught on tape

VALLEJO, CA — The severe beating of a Harold Cabral, a city maintenance worker, by dozens of teenagers was caught on tape by a passerby's cell phone and security cameras at a nearby corner store, according to WNCT-TV.

According to the story, a teenager threw a rock at the maintenance worker's vehicle, and when the worker got out of his vehicle to confront the teenager, he was swarmed by nearly 40 people, severely beaten and robbed.

The attack took place near Vallejo Senior High School — where students had just been let out of classes for the day — but police can't confirm that students were the attackers, although many were witnesses, the story stated.

Cabral suffered a fractured skull, fractured jaw, broken teeth and a fractured collarbone in the attack, according to the Oakland Tribune.

Kamal Sandhu, owner of the nearby corner store, said that he calls the police multiple times a day in an attempt to control the crowds of students, the story noted.

Police are reviewing the footage as part of the investigation into the attack, the story added.

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Courthouse 'cool roof' has solar panels, reflective membrane

KANSAS CITY, KA — The Robert J. Dole U.S. Courthouse has installed 200 solar panels and a 'cool roof' reflective membrane as part of a $4.6 million energy-efficiency renovations project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the Kansas City Star.

According to the story, the solar panels will provide the building with electricity and the reflective membrane will reduce energy costs by deflecting sunlight and keeping the building cool.

Mary Ruwwe, regional commissioner for the federal General Services Administration, said: "This solar roof is one of the first of its kind in the Kansas City area. It's a prime example of how we are driving the development of new, green jobs. Many of the roofers employed on the project learned new skills in advanced-technology solar panel installation."

The building is also planning to install a display in the lobby to monitor how much energy is being generated from the roof, the story added.

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School closes after suspected norovirus outbreak

MIDDLETOWN, RI — A private high school was forced to shut down for a week after 36 students and 11 staff members became sick in what appears to be a norovirus outbreak, according to the Associated Press.

According to the story, four students at St. George's School reported to the health center last week with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, and by Monday, dozens of students and faculty were ill.

The 365 students — most of whom live at the boarding school — were either sent home for the week or asked to spend the time with a host family, the story stated.

Head of School Eric Peterson said the week will be spent thoroughly disinfecting the school before the dormitories reopen Friday and classes resume Saturday, the story added.

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Students taught in trailers overrun with mold, feral cats

NEW YORK — Students at Public School 106 have moved back into the main school building after parents raised concerns about students taught in leaky trailers infested with mold and feral cats, according to the New York Daily News.

According to the story, inspectors, sent to the trailers — also called transitional classroom unites (TCUs) — after parents first expressed concerns last fall, found holes in the units, rampant mold and about 100 feral cats living under the TCUs.

One hundred sixty first- and fourth-graders returned to the TCUs after repairs and a cleanup occurred over winter break, but parents are still concerned that students are at risk of mold exposure and want a more permanent solution, the story stated.

Parents Association President Desiree McKay said: "[The return of the students to the main building] is only a small victory because we haven't heard anything concrete about the future. We still need a permanent solution."

City Education Department officials maintain that the TCUs were thoroughly remediated and safe for students, and that the students were moved into the main building in response to parent concern, the story noted.

Classes are temporarily being held in the science lab and the music room, and it is unclear if the TCUs will be used in the future, the story added.

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Finnish embassy first to earn LEED Gold certification

WASHINGTON — The Finnish Embassy has become the first embassy awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, according to The Cable.

According to the story, the 15-year-old embassy was retrofitted with occupancy sensors, recycling capabilities were increased, traditional cleaning supplies were replaced with green products, a non-smoking policy was introduced and garage space was redesigned to encourage alternative transportation among staff.

The building is now carbon-neutral, the story stated.

Finnish Ambassador Pekka Lintu said: "We are extremely proud to be the first embassy in the U.S. to achieve this recognition. Retrofitting our embassy building demonstrates that we Finns strive to be active but energy efficient members of our neighborhood and the greater D.C. community. We hope that our adaptation of green principles and our commitment to the well-being of people and the environment will inspire other foreign missions to view their opportunities in this field."

The Finnish embassy says that the have fundamentally changed the way they approach energy use, the story added.

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Proposed EPA budget dedicates millions to chemical safety

WASHINGTON - The Obama Administration today proposed a budget of $10 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This budget heeds the president’s call to streamline and find efficiencies in the agency’s operations while supporting the seven priority areas EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson outlined to guide EPA’s work.

The $10 billion Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget proposed yesterday by the Obama Administration includes nearly $100 million for chemical assessment and risk review, lead poisoning elimination and the reduction of exposure to mercury and asbestos, according to a press release.

According to the release, along with improving air quality, cleaning up communities and a number of other areas of concern, the budget will focus on chemical safety, with the goal of ensuring that no unreasonable risks are posed by new or existing chemicals.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said: "The president's budget is focused on creating the conditions that help American families, communities and small businesses thrive. Clean air, clear water and green jobs are rebuilding the foundations for prosperity in communities across the country."

The budget comes after a number of EPA measures and proposed resolutions to increase chemical safety, including increased diligence under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the release added.

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Univ of New Hampsher had extensive cleaning for anthrax

DURHAM, NH — The Waysmeet Center at the United Campus Ministry for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) will undergo extensive cleaning after a woman was exposed to anthrax spores during a December 4 drum circle event, according to the Foster's Daily Democrat.

According to the story, the woman is doing much better and continues to recover from the exposure as state health officials prepare to decontaminate the building.

The cleaning plan includes the use of bleach and vacuuming to decontaminate five common areas that tested for low levels of anthrax, the story stated.

Deputy State Epidemiologist Jodie Dionne-Odom said the state will use one of the companies on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended list experienced with anthrax cleaning, but it will be the responsibility of the ministry to hire and pay a company, the story noted.

Dionne-Odom said: "It will be a period of a few weeks because several rooms need to be cleaned from top to bottom."

The quarantine of the Waysmeet Center, which began last month, will be lifted once the building has been cleaned, the story added.

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Woman sues cleaning crew over slippery hospital floors

GALVESTON, TX — A woman who slipped on a reportedly wet floor mat has filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the cleaning company for the University of Texas Medical Branch Harborside Trauma Center, according to the Southeast Texas Record.

According to the story, Leticia Thompson, in her suit against Sodexo and Sodexo Inc., claimed the cleaning company allowed the floor mat to become "slippery and dangerous," resulting in her fall on January 17, 2008.

The suit filed states: "The defendants' agents, servants and/or employees knew of or, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known of the existence of the dangerous condition of the water under the mat."

Thompson claims a member of the cleaning staff was power washing in the area and water was allowed to collect under the mat, resulting it in slipping out from under her, the story stated.

The hospital was not named as a defendant in the suit, the story added.

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Student files lawsuit over coed bathrooms

POULTNEY, VT — Green Mountain College (GMC) freshman Jennifer Weiler has filed a lawsuit against the Vermont Department of Public Safety (DPS) claiming that coed bathrooms in the dormitory where she lives are in violation of state plumbing and building codes adopted in 2003, according to the Daily Orange.

According to the story, the codes require that separate facilities be provided for each gender where restroom facilities are required in public buildings, but the DPS said the codes are only applied to bathrooms in existence before the codes were in place if the plumbing has been changed or altered.

Kevin Coburn, the director of communications at GMC, declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said that students uncomfortable with the coed bathrooms could work with residential life staff to find a more suitable living situation, the story stated.

Weilers attorney, Pamela Moreau, said: "[…] A dorm is such an intimate place, and people disrobe to get in the shower. There is not at all the same kind of intimacy in most other public buildings, yet coed bathrooms are not allowed."

Moreau also added that it is uncommon to find coed bathrooms in public buildings, the story added.

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