mimblr.com

(05-26) 19:08 PDT Corralitos — Some residents who had been forced to evacuate from their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains last week were allowed to move back in Monday as moist weather and calmed winds helped firefighters contain 80 percent of a wildfire that has scorched 4,270 acres.
Fire officials hope to have all the evacuees back in their homes by Thursday, said Henry Dekruyff, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They expect to fully contain the blaze by today and have it under control by Friday.
The fire, which started Thursday, has destroyed 36 residences and 18 outbuildings such as sheds and barns. A hundred homes remained threatened as of Monday night.
People had voluntarily evacuated 1,400 homes and authorities mandated the evacuation of 450 more, said Chris Morgan, a Cal Fire prevention specialist.
On Monday afternoon, fire officials allowed an unidentified number of people to return to their homes, which were mostly in Santa Cruz County. Those allowed to return include people with homes along Eureka Canyon Road and Rider Road to Ormsby Road; Hazel Dell Road; Buzzard Lagoon Road; Browns Valley Road; and Croy Road in Santa Clara County. People had been allowed back on Saturday on guided tours with fire officials but weren’t allowed to stay.
Holly Waddle, who lives on Mount Madonna Road, said the three-bedroom home she built 33 years ago was spared even though it sits roughly 100 feet from where the blaze started. Living in a fire-prone area where winds can get as high as 125 mph, Waddle keeps a plastic container with old photos and papers handy in case she needs to flee. She grabbed those as well as her father’s ashes and sped down her road after her husband spotted the blaze early Thursday morning. She said she stopped at neighbors’ houses and leaned on her horn, screaming for them to leave. One of those houses ended up burning to the ground. She is grateful she can eventually return to hers.

sfgate.com

Whether you’re walking a tightrope or scribbling in your checkbook, balance is a good thing. And, one of the best ways to evaluate a company is to glance at its balance sheet to see what it owns with what it owes.
The balance sheet is a paragon of simplicity and is made up of three components: assets (the stuff it owns), liabilities (the money it owes), and shareholders’ equity (the company’s value to its shareholders).
Assets take two forms: short-term (or current) assets and long-term assets. Under short-term, there¿s good ol’ hard cash. Then, there¿s something called “cash equivalents,” which are assets like short-term bonds that can be sold so quickly, they might as well be cash. There you factor in inventory, which (if you’re a reasonably competent business owner) you can sell to customers in return for–you guessed it–cash. (The raw materials a company owns to make that inventory also falls under this category.)
Long-term assets are things that are harder to convert into cash. (Think real estate and equipment.) Long-term assets depreciate, meaning they lose some value over time. Also under the long-term category are what’s called intangible assets: things like patents and brands, that are important, but hard to quantify. Accountants earn their stripes figuring out the real overall value of these assets.
Once you know your assets, it’s time for liabilities. As with assets, liabilities are separated into short-term or current, and long-term. Current liabilities are what a company owes in that year: Things like payments to employees or accounts payable to suppliers. Long-term liabilities are debts paid over several years.
Shareholders’ equity is determined by subtracting the liabilities from the assets. That number represents the value of the company after all its bills are paid.
Obviously, investors should pay close attention to balance sheets. Spikes in the amount of debt carried, or a reduction in shareholders’ equity, are usually red flags.

foxbusiness.com

UTICA, N.Y. – The president of F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica said most of the plant’s operations will continue as normal after a massive fire there.
Crews continue to put out hotspots at the brewery. The fire started in the second floor bottling room around 5:00 p.m. Thursday.
All of the brewery employees made it out safely, but two were treated for smoke inhalation.
The president said that 110 employees work at the plant, and that most will continue to work as soon as Friday.
The president of F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica said most of the plant’s operations will continue as normal after a massive fire there. Our Iris St. Meran has more details.
The president of the F.X. Matt Brewery talks to the media about Thursday’s fire at the Utica landmark.
There’s still no word on what caused the fire.
Utica police tell us several streets have closed while firefighters are on the scene. Court Street between Sunset Avenue and Saratoga Street is closed. Varick Street between Sunset Avenue and Court Street is closed. And Schuyler Street from Columbia Street to Warren Street is also closed.

news10now.com

Authorities were investigating a fire in the Ellicott area late Tuesday and suspect it was intentionally set, authorities said.
No one was hurt and no buildings were damaged, said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.
Maketa didn’t know how the size of the fire. He said an initial report indicated it stretched over a mile and was moving fast.
The blaze was brought under control late Tuesday. Firefighters from agencies in the area including Peyton and Calhan were mopping up hot spots.
Ellicott is an unincorporated community 24 miles east of Colorado Springs on Colorado Highway 94.
A wildfire near Carbondale, in the mountains about 237 miles from Colorado Springs, blackened about 1,000 acres and injured one resident.
Garfield County sheriff’s spokeswoman Tanny McGinnis said she had no information on the extent or nature of the injuries.
A school and a horse farm were evacuated. Authorities had said they were preparing to evacuate a subdivision with an unknown number of homes, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether anyone had left.
Red Cross spokeswoman B.J. Coyle said the agency had been told to prepare for up to 1,000 evacuees from the Carbondale fire.
We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate Ideas that foster stronger communities. We built this for you. Please take care of it. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing.
Search for new & pre-owned cars. Research before you purchase.
Browse through cars, couches, drum sets and treadmills. Or sell your own.

gazette.com

AMATO, Mary . The Chicken of the Family . illus. by Delphine Durand. unpaged. CIP. Putnam . 2008. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-24196-3 . LC 2006003606.
K-Gr 3—The dynamics of sibling relationships are played for laughs with enormous success in this picture book about three sisters. Henrietta is usually the brunt of her older sisters’ teasing. When they trick her into believing that she is a chicken by planting an egg and two feathers in her bedroom, she runs away to a nearby farm to find her real family. Accepted by the farmer and the fowl as one of their own, Henrietta makes her sisters squirm when they are sent by their parents to bring her home. The wacky plot is made all the more comical by the straightforward, almost deadpan, delivery. Durand’s colorful cartoon illustrations add to the silliness with the antics of the farmyard residents and the girls’ expressions (the egglike appearance of their wide eyes continues the chicken theme). When using this book as a read-aloud, be sure to share Amato’s dedication, which notes her inspiration for the story.—Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA
ANDERSON, Peggy Perry . Chuck’s Band . illus. by author. 32p. CIP. Houghton/Walter Lorraine Bks. Apr. 2008. RTE $16. ISBN 978-0-618-96506-9 . LC 2007021728.
PreS-K—A simple rhyming tale of latent musical talent let loose. Each barnyard animal—except a green cat—finds its instrument and joins the hoedown. A large red hound strums a guitar as a small white Terrier blows on a harmonica. A duck pecks on a washboard, and a donkey taps on a bucket. Drawn in bright crayon, the characters are complemented by the green grass, a blue acrylic sky, and the outline of the yellow farmhouse. One page reads, "Tuck plays the guitar—/strum, strum,/strum! Nip plays harmonica—hum,/hum, hum!" To the right of the spread a spotted cow and pink pig seem to be repressing a jig ("The big cow Lou and the/little sow Sue wanted to/make some/music, too"). Emerging readers will find the large print accessible as well as the mirroring relationship between text and illustration. Preschoolers will delight in this read-aloud that has much potential for participation—spoons, knee slapping, and clapping. One caution: the foot-stompin’ rhythm may leave some adults with a fiddle sound reeling through their heads.—Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA

schoollibraryjournal.com