Abate of Florida

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Florida Expands Used Oil Recycling Opportunities

TALLAHASSEE – The Department and Southern Express Lubes, Inc. are joining forces to protect Florida’s environment. Southern Express Lubes, Inc. has registered all 48 of their Florida locations as Public Used Oil Collection Centers. With these additions, there are now over 1,100 do-it-yourself used oil recycling locations.

“Properly recycling used oil will protect Florida’s water and is an opportunity for citizens to practice personal responsibility,” said Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Energy Allan Bedwell. “We commend Southern Express Lubes, Inc. for being environmental stewards and partnering with DEP to provide more used oil recycling opportunities for Floridians.”

Nationwide, an estimated 200 million gallons of used oil are dumped on the ground or poured into storm drains every year. Improperly disposed oil can contaminate drinking water and harm aquatic animal and plant life. Just five gallons of motor oil can render one million gallons of water undrinkable. The oil can also create a film on top of rivers and lakes, depriving aquatic plant life of necessary sunlight and nutrients.

In 2003, Florida’s nationally recognized public used oil collection centers successfully recycled over 3 million gallons of used oil. Floridians can help prevent environmental damage by recycling used oil at one of the over 1,100 public used oil collection centers located throughout the State.

Southern Express Lubes, Inc. has been professionally serving the drivers of Florida since 1989. They are an automotive service company that operates throughout Florida with conveniently located Mobil Lube Express and Shell Rapid Lube 10-minute oil change centers and several Mobil and Shell full-service auto repair centers.

April is Earth Month, a month of efforts to increase environmental awareness and stewardship. Celebrate the 35th annual Earth Day on April 22 by participating in events in your area.

To find the nearest public used oil collection center call the DEP’s toll free number 1-800-741-4DEP (4337).

 Reuters has shut down its instant messaging system after suffering an onslaught from a new Kelvir worm, the company confirmed Thursday. 

The London-based international media company decided to take its Reuters Messaging system completely offline after noticing the attack on its network earlier on Thursday, a Reuters representative said. 

The new variant attempted to spread by sending fake instant messages to people in contact lists on infected systems, a technique used by earlier Kelvir strains. The messages, crafted to look exactly like legitimate IM correspondence, attempted to lure people to a Web site where their computers would be infected with Kelvir, the representative said. 

"In order to protect our customers and other users, and to prevent RM (Reuters Messaging) from being used to propagate this worm, Reuters has temporarily suspended the RM service and is working to resolve this matter," 
the company said in a statement. It has not reported any incidents of consumers being infected by the attack. 

Unlike the free IM software marketed by rivals America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo, Reuters Messaging was created as a corporate tool, closed off from public subscribers and for internal company use only. But in recent years, the company has moved to connect its consumers with those networks. In 2003, Reuters signed deals with both AOL and Microsoft's MSN unit to allow users of its IM software to link to those services. 

Technical workers at Reuters said they believe the new Kelvir attack could also target other IM systems. No other companies with messaging software had reported such a threat as of midday Thursday, however.

You may think that setting it up on the grass is a good and safe choice but grass can't absorb an impact well, so falling can be just as dangerous as on cement. So a good choice would be to install it over wood chips if possible. If not grass would be the next best thing. 

Q: What has two horns and goes, "Oom, Oom?" 
A: A cow walking backwards.

MILWAUKEE, Apr 13, 2005 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- Harley-Davidson Inc.
said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 11 per cent from last year, but the motorcycle manufacturer also cut its shipment and earnings forecasts for this year due to weak sales.

Harley Davidson, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle maker, reported first-quarter earnings of $227.2 million US, or 77 cents per share, compared with $204.6 million, or 68 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Revenue for the quarter rose 5 per cent to $1.24 billion from $1.17 billion a year ago.

Wall Street had pegged earnings at 76 cents per share, the average of 18 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

As a result of weaker than expected domestic retail sales, Harley-Davidson forecast 2005 earnings would rise between five and eight per cent, down from its prior target of mid-teens earnings growth.

It also said it would cut shipments to a target of 329,000 units, down from a prior target of 339,000 units. The new target represents growth of 3.4 per cent over 2004.

This is a printer friendly version of an article from muskogeephoenix.com 
Article published Apr 12, 2005 Evangelist jailed after drugs, more found By Donna Hales Phoenix Staff Writer Police and sheriff badges, drugs, a police scanner and surveillance equipment used in the commission of a felony are among items seized from a self-confessed "Outlaw for Christ."

Ronald Clinton "Ron" Hobbs, 59, billed himself as a former chapter and state president of Oklahoma Mongol Bikers, an offshoot of Bandito's and Hells Angels, and an ex-convict in a April 2 ad in the Phoenix. The ad promoted Hobbs' April 3 evangelistic debut at Hillcrest Christian Fellowship on North Country Club Road in Muskogee.

"My goodness, this is a shock - good night," the church's pastor, Richard Large, said Monday, adding a former Tahlequah policeman recommended Hobbs. "(The former policeman) will be surprised, too. We just had him (Hobbs) at our church. My goodness - wow."

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Richard Gray's District 27 Drug Task Force served a search warrant on Hobbs' home and Tahlequah business five days after Hobbs' debut at the Muskogee church.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Investigator Jason Chenault said Hobbs apparently has not been affiliated with the Mongols for about two years but still had his vest and patches and other Mongol biker gear.

Hobbs advertised he'd established a youth center in Tahlequah serving 500 youth ages 6 to 18 years from April 1 to Dec. 1, 2004. That's when a Tahlequah church pulled his financial backing for teen get-togethers, Chenault said.

"He had a stage and black lights in his business (where youngsters met)," Chenault said. "He (Hobbs) said about 
18 to 20 kids have been attending one night on the weekends."

A confidential informant went to Hobbs' business and purchased methamphetamine from Hobbs before the OSBI got a search warrant, and the illegal items were seized, Chenault said.

One of Hobbs' Mongol vests had an old Cherokee County Sheriff's badge (from when Andy Sellers was sheriff) that could be seen when the vest was opened to where a gun in it could be seen, Chenault said. Old police badges from Broken Arrow, Tahlequah and Wagoner also were seized.

The drugs seized were in amounts to warrant a charge of possession with intent to distribute, said First Assistant District Attorney Donovan Dobbs. Drug paraphernalia also was seized.

The surveillance cameras seized showed the highway coming up to his business and the front of his trailer house residence, Chenault said. Guns also were seized.

A frozen eagle seized from Hobbs' freezer probably will lead to a charge of possession of wildlife illegally, Dobbs said. Dobbs said he is awaiting a full report before saying what charges will be filed.

Large said Hobbs spoke very little on April 3 and brought a friend who spoke more, a man named in the April 2 advertisement as Shorty Medlock, who was also billed as a former Mongol biker member.

Associated Press Published April 12, 2005 RALEIGH, N.C. -— Harley-Davidson enthusiast Richard Woodworth has an unusual piece of art in his back yard, and it's causing him quite a headache with the city of Raleigh.

It's the gnarled metal of a wrecked motorcycle hanging in a tree.

In February, a city inspector walked on Woodworth's wooded property and decided the dangling metal fell under Raleigh's code definition of a nuisance motor vehicle. But even though Woodworth lives a mile outside the city limits and has posted no-trespassing signs, he falls under some city code enforcement.

For Woodworth, that meant receiving a city inspections letter telling him to pay a $100 administrative inspection fee and demanding that he remove the motorcycle.

Woodworth was among several residents last week who asked council members to rescind such fees.

For now, Woodworth is considering whether to put up a fence around his art or remove the bike's motor so it's no longer considered a motor vehicle.

"Just because it looks funny doesn't mean we ought to be telling people how to run their lives and what they ought to do on their own property,'' Regan said. "Just because it's hanging doesn't mean it's going to fall.''

Vermont's local lawmakers would have an easier time blocking motorcycle rides before they even start, under a bill introduced in the Vermont General Assembly. Introduced by state Reps. Richard Hube (R-Londonberry) and Richard Marek (D-Newfane), House Bill 421 would require leaders of an organized motor vehicle event to get a permit from the council or select board of any affected municipality. Failure to get the permission would result in a fine of up to $1,000 plus reasonable costs incurred by the town as a result of the violation." 

This proposal also would make it easier for towns to restrict the types of motor vehicles allowed on certain roads and trails because it would do away with the requirement that the town get approval from the state transportation director before restricting access to roads. 

AMA notes that this bill would make it easier for local politicians to stop recreational motorcycle events in places like Jamaica, which inappropriately stopped a dual-sport ride before it began last summer. 

Even though the Vermont Attorney Generals Office took issue with many of the steps taken by Jamaicas Board of Selectmen and local law enforcement officers to stop the Red Fox Turkey Run last year, HB 421 would give even greater discretion to local politicians. 

Also HB 421 defines an organized motor vehicle event so broadly that any group of seven or more motorcyclists (street or dual-purpose) would be required to get a permit to access town roads. 

If you live in Vermont and want to take action, go to the Statewatch section of http://www.amadirectlink.com/. 

Connecticut SB 721, An Act Requiring the Use of Helmets by All Motorcycle Operators and Passengers, has died on the Senate Transportation Committee calendar as of March 28, 2005.

SB721 was opposed by the Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association and the American Motorcyclist Association.

Germany Consular Information Sheet 
April 12, 2005 COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Germany is a modern and stable democracy. Tourist facilities are highly developed. 
In larger towns, many people can communicate in English. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Germany at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3997.htm for additional information. 

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A passport is required. A visa is not required for tourist/business stays up to 90 days within the Schengen Group of countries, which includes Germany. Further information on entry, visa and passport requirements may be obtained from the German Embassy at 4645 Reservoir Road N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007, telephone (202) 298-4000, or the German Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, or San Francisco

XM Satellite Radio is adding some zip to its drive to get into more cars. 
The company has signed a deal with Zipcar in which the car-sharing company will install XM receivers in its vehicles in the Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. The satellite radio service, which unlike AM and FM bands requires subscriptions, will be available to drivers of those cars at no charge.