CEMENCO Erects US$20M New Plant Answers Vision 2030 Delegates' Pollution Concerns

Without the slightest idea that Vision 2030 delegates, concerned about the health hazard CEMENCO brings, would call for its relocation from Monrovia to Bensonville, the local cement giant disclosed yesterday evening that it was erecting a new US$20 million "state-of-the-art" cement manufacturing plant.

The new plant, according to Counselor James Doe Gibson, is due to be completed and ready for operations by December this year.  It will answer all the pollution concerns anybody in the area may have about cement fumes polluting the densely populated surrounding areas, including Jamaica Road, New Georgia, Freeport community, etc.

The Daily Observer personnel had just left the closing session of a two-day National Visioning Consultation in New Georgia, in Montserrado County's  District 13, where delegates had raised the alarm about the cement fumes emitting hourly from CEMENCO's plant, causing a great health hazard to the people of the surrounding  area.  The delegates called for CEMENCO's immediate re-location to some distant place within Montserrado.  They named Bensonville, ancestral home of the Tolbert and other Montserrado families.

The delegates complained that the cement fumes were affecting the eyes of many local residents, and causing people to contract cataracts.  The delegates said the best solution was the relocation of the plant to a place where there would be enough space and not too many people, and Bensonville or some other rural community in Montserrado would be best suited for the move.

One delegate, addressing the Consultation in the Gabriel Kpoleh Public School in New Georgia, cautioned his colleagues that CEMENCO provided a lot of jobs and income for the community and a re-location of the company could lead to economic disaster for the area.

Another delegate wondered whether an alternative solution could not be found, so that the plant would remain in its present location, but with the pollution "minimized."

Delegates said if that were possible, then that could be a solution to the problem.

En route from the Consultation, Daily Observer personnel called CEMENCO's Accounts Manager, Ms. Waito Davis, a  Tigress from the Booker Washington Institute (BWI), and informed her of the Vision 2030 delegates' concerns about the company's pollution problem.

It was at that point that Mrs. Davis quickly informed the Daily Observer that there was absolutely no need to worry.  She then disclosed that the company was erecting the brand new plant that would definitely take care of the pollution problem.

"We ourselves who work here are at risk, and the company knows that," she told the Daily Observer.  "So the company is building this new plant that will take care of all the pollution problems," she added.  She then suggested the newspaper contact the company's Administrative Manager, Counselor James Doe Gibson, for further clarification.

It was Cllr. Gibson that told the newspaper of the cost of the new factory, US$20 million, which he described as a "state of the art" plant.  It would, he said, "eliminate all the pollution we currently experience from the old plant currently in use."  That plant, he told the newspaper, "is over 40 years old and causing us a lot of money.  The fumes you see in the air during operations, is nothing else but cement.  Each speck of the fumes is cement that we are losing.  The new plant would cut out those losses completely, save us money and maintain a clean environment," Counselor Gibson asserted.

He added, the new plant is being constructed very near our cafeteria.  If it were not pollution-free we would not be placing it there," he said.

As to the Vision 2030 delegate's suggestion that the plant be re-located to Bensonville, Cllr. Gibson such a move would make a bag of cement "very costly.  You're talking about a price escalation of over US$25 per bag," he said.  "That would be too costly for anybody."

Counselor Gibson then told the newspaper that cement factories throughout West Africa are situated around ports.  The reason: it is far cheaper to move your clinker and other materials from a nearby port than from elsewhere.

"It costs us US$33 per truck to transport our clinker, the main ingredient for cement manufacture, from the Free Port of Monrovia.  If we had to bring it from Brewerville, the cost per bag of cement would be US$20.  That would be prohibitive.  It would be even costlier transporting it to a further distance, such as Bensonville," he added.

Counselor Gibson assured the Vision 2030 delegates and the entire Liberian public that CEMENCO is well aware of the pollution problem, a problem which, he emphasized, would soon be a thing of the past.

The Vision 2030 District 13 delegates had one more major pollution concern.  The Daily Observer will bring this and other concerns to the public in subsequent stories beginning tomorrow.

Corri McFadden On House Of Consignment Episode 9: Warehouse Sales And Ta Ta's Closet

Episode nine featured the warehouse sale for charity, I wish this episode was longer because I could have watched this forever, it was so fun to see how fast-paced that day was.

I know, that episode needed to be like three hours. Actually, it could have been forty-five minutes long because that's how long it took to sell out.

How did that even come to be?

We get a lot of items that either didn't sell or people say "Just donate it for me," and we started getting a lot. So I got a warehouse and we would just box it all up with the intention of doing some kind of sale, but we didn't know what. I had been saving all these items for a year, and when the show came about, I thought it was perfect. We'll pull it all out, we'll do a charity sale, and my boyfriend had just built the Greek Hellenic Museum, it hadn't even opened yet when we had the sale, and it was the perfect venue for it. I wanted to do a bag sale because I didn't want people shopping for items, I just wanted the stuff gone and we just wanted to raise money for charity. There were 15,000-plus pieces and I was like, what are we going to do with all the leftovers after the sale? The last thing I want to do is box it all up again and move it back into storage. At the end, there was one single glove left on a table at the end. We did a morning news piece the day before the sale and they showed off what we had, Armani, Chanel, just things that didn't sell, and the next owning I got a call from the police at about 7:30 to tell me I had a line over the freeway.

How many people actually got in?

I would say probably about seven hundred. We raised over $12,000 in forty five minutes. That money went to the Primo Center, which is a group that benefits underprivileged women and children in the city. The day before the sale, a group of women came in and we styled them and outfitted them with new wardrobes, so that in itself was rewarding, those women were glowing. It was awesome.

Do you wish you raised the price so you could have earned more money?

No, I don't think so. At the end of the day it was about raising what we could and clearing out merchandise that had no home. We're going to make it an annual event now.

Let's talk about Nicole, because things start to get a little tense with her this week.

She was negative the whole time we were planning the event. She was convinced it was going to be a failure, she thought we'd have to truck people in and that no one would come to the sale.

Did you know she felt that way and was saying things behind your back?

I didn't. She wasn't voicing any of that to me. I had several complaints that she wasn't helping and that I should send her home, we were all working hard, but she was off doing her own thing. The only time anything clicked for me what the one time I put on the headphones and was listening to her film a scene that day, that was the only time I ever did this all season, and I heard her tell Jena "We need to clean up that table…You know how Corri is," and I was like, Oh my God, you're undermining me and you don't even believe in this event. You need to be on board!

Let's talk about LaToiya's closet clean.

LaToiya lived in a very small house and she has stuff from high school — HIGH SCHOOL — she had so much stuff. And she had her alter ego Ta Ta. She was so much fun. She was great, we confirmed for her that some handbags that an ex had given her were fake.

What's the general reaction when someone finds out their stuff is fake, does that happen a lot?

It's a mixed bag. For instance, yesterday we did a closet clean in someone's home and all the bags were fake. But when the client called, they told us they had all this Gucci and Louis and we got there and it was all fake. And we don't want to offend anyone but you have to explain this to the client. And we also don't want them taking it to another outlet to get rid of it. It shouldn't be sold. And she's claiming Neiman Marcus ripped her off. I'm like, what Neiman Marcus are you going to? So you get a lot of that, and then you get people who had no idea. When your husband gives you something, you're not running off with a diamond tester, you assume it's real, so no one wants to hear that their items are fake, but a lot of people know. If you knew the back end of counterfeiting, it's really dirty, but luckily the government is taking a harder stance on it. But we have to check every single piece that comes through. Authenticity is something we harp on and are working on every day.

Gucci Returns to Shanghai with Fashion Show and New Campaign

Gucci's Creative Director, Frida Giannini, is taking the iconic fashion house back to China on April 21 with three exclusive events.

In the morning, Giannini will host a cocktail reception at the Wai Tan Yuan, during which Gucci's new campaign—starring Li Bing Bing—will be revealed. The campaign is dedicated to the brand's handbags, jewelry and watches, and features both classic accessories as well as new styles.

In the evening, Wai Tan Yuan will play host to Giannini's first fashion show in China. She will present the Fall/Winter 2012-2012 collection to 600 specially invited guests. Notable attendees will include Hilary Swank, Lapo Elkann, Bryan Ferry, Li Bing Bing, Yang Mi, Huo Si Yan, Chen Kun, Feng Shao Feng, Peng Yu Yan and Wu Zun.

Following the fashion show will be a private party at a location designed exclusively for the event. The Gucci Club will span three floors and feature Gucci Premiere evening gowns from the Florentine archive, including the couture dress Hilary Swank wore to the 2011 Oscars. Bryan Ferry will take the stage for an exclusive performance, followed by a DJ set by Isaac Ferry.

D11 Responds To Gang, Gun Rumors Out of Wasson High School

Wasson High School officials conducted a random bag check after a school fight caused rumors about gang violence and weapons at school.

The fight happened Thursday, and district officials said only a small number of students were involved.

Some parents told KRDO Newschannel13 they were upset about the checks and not being informed about the possible gang and weapons activity.

District 11 officials say the bag checks were done at random, and that after Wasson's investigations the rumors were determined to have no validity.

"It is not our intention to cause any kind of uncomfortable atmosphere. We wanted students, parents and staff to feel safe," said Devra Ashby, the district's spokesperson.

Students were also gathered in an assembly and reminded by administration that there is a "no tolerance" policy for weapons in school.

Also, district officials said that each school has the right to conduct random bag check of students is safety is deemed to be an issue.

Takashi Murakami on Junk Food, Warhol, Napping

Takashi Murakami does things in a big way.

For an exhibition in Doha, Qatar, he designed a Gulliver-sized inflatable replica of himself, its giant, calloused hand extended to greet entering museumgoers.

"Children, adults, families — I want to bring everyone into my world," Mr. Murakami says.

For the last 24 years, he has strived for that. The 50-year-old artist and entrepreneur draws freely from Japanese pop culture to create work that is both critically and commercially successful. His handbag designs for Louis Vuitton resulted in a now-ubiquitous best-seller. For Kanye West's 2007 album "Graduation," he designed an anime-inspired cover. His work has shown at Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art, France's Chateau de Versailles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

His Doha show, "Murakami-Ego," revisits many of his best-known themes, including otaku, or geek, culture, and his own "Superflat" aesthetic that merges high and low culture. Kaikai and Kiki, two cartoonish, grinning characters that are well-known to Murakami fans, make an appearance, but one highlight is new: a 100-meter panel with Buddhist monks, drawn in the traditional nihonga style Mr. Murakami was trained in.

"Murakami-Ego" also critiques Japan's response to last year's nuclear crisis and what Mr. Murakami considers the country's sour mood. "Right now, Japanese people are very low," he says.

Thailand hosts the world's biggest water-fight - the Songkran Festival

On April 13, 14 and 15 each year, Thailand celebrates its New Year with Songkran, a traditional festival that falls in the hottest time of the year and involves the throwing of water.

Unlike many of the most prominent supposedly religious traditions celebrated in western society, (Easter eggs evolved from a Pagan ritual to become the hallmark of a Christian celebration and Father Christmas is modeled on a character in an old Coca Cola commercial) Songkran has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years and has always involved the throwing of water.

It's a much-loved local tradition, and all of Thailand's 60 million inhabitants get involved, plus a few million "farangs" who fly in for the fun. If you've neglected nurturing your inner child, there's nothing quite like a water fight to bring junior to the fore.

Believe it or not, these images were captured in one of the less crazy parts of Songkran in Bangkok - they were taken from the safety of the Australia Bar in Soi 11 Sukhumvit and I didn't stray much outside the bar for fear of what would happen to my gear.

Ice cold water is an entirely different matter though, and you will remember getting doused with close-to-freezing water.

The action gets going around midday, though it's entirely possible to find yourself on the wrong end of a bucket of water at any time during the three days of the festival, regardless of the hour of day.

I was amazed that my cameras didn't get soaked, but as I became more immersed in the spirit of the festival and a little braver, I realized that some sanity actually does prevail and from time-to-time, when someone caught me outside the confines of my safe haven, they were quite considerate about the cameras - though there was no mercy for the body or my clothes.

In such circumstance, it's best to just hold the cameras above your head and "cop it." If you look through the images you'll see women holding their Gucci handbags above their head while they are drenched.

I saw several people spared a thorough dousing during the three days - one was on crutches with a leg in plaster, one was an elderly woman, and another was in a wheelchair.
With the sudden rise in popularity of smartphones over the last two years, many of the casualties of last year's Songkran apparently involved dead Android and iOS devices. I came prepared with a spacial bag I'd purchased in a camping store overseas - it cost me US$50.

Entrepreneurialism is alive and well and living in any Asian country though, and this year there were dozens of vendors walking the street selling high quality (with ziplock and fold) plastic bags which were very similar to the one I'd brought with me, though at 30 baht (US$1.00), somewhat cheaper.

Ron Dzwonkowski: Helping hands never leave shopping trips empty-handed

"So," he says, the planned yard work washed out by weather, "you want me to go grocery shopping with you?"

She rolls her eyes, not having budgeted for this. But knowing he will carry the bags and return the bottles, she says, "Sure."

Decades ago, when first they met, he worked in a grocery store and, while conventional suitors brought candy and flowers, he would often surprise her with frozen shrimp or jumbo eggs. But in the years since, she has wisely assumed responsibility for food and preparation of same, sending him to the store only in emergencies -- and with a specific list.

This trip, her concern begins when he parks at the north end of the lot, meaning they will enter the north door of the big-box store and must traverse acres of hardware, auto parts and team apparel to get to the groceries at the south end, where she always starts -- and finishes.

Not a frequent shopper, he notices for the first time that every item no longer has a price.

"You," she says, "wrote a column that it was OK for Snyder to sign that bill."

He drops a multi-head socket wrench with a built-in flashlight into the cart. And batteries.

"You're always going to need these," he says.

In fact, for him, this store is full of such things -- batteries of all sizes, paper towels, light bulbs, candles, tarpaulins and Spam -- that will be essential in the event of nuclear war and "might as well get while we're here."

She is "here" every week and knows that "here" is 10 minutes from home and open 24/7.

Filling up the cart

And so begins the dance -- he flips things into the cart, she waits until he is distracted by yet another shiny object and takes things out. He is especially enamored of paper towels, for they have strong manly names -- Bounty, Brawny -- and can be thrown like a football, two steps right, pump fake to Mr. Clean, then zip it into the cart for the game-winner in the Ty-D-Bol! As he raises his hands to signal six points, she slips the pickled okra back onto the shelf.

With little concept of the resources required to actually prepare the meals he consumes, he is drawn to food that looks new and interesting, or that he can't remember not liking.

She remembers, and in between selecting what's needed for her careful, balanced meal plan, she murmurs, "You tried that and didn't finish it. ... You swore you'd never eat that again" as he surveys varieties of sardines, obscure foreign delicacies and pickled anything. The ice cream freezer, which she cannot avoid passing on the way to frozen peas, is for him a land of wonderment.

"When did they start making this flavor? That's a Michigan brand; we have to support the state. ... What about for company? There's room in the freezer," and, finally, "It doesn't go bad."

At least she knows that the ordeal is almost over, for ice cream melts and must be hastened home. He pushes the cart behind her on the way to the checkout, adding creamed herring, a few kiwis and newfangled potato snacks of sea-salt/mustard flavor. He also recaptures the pickled okra and adds pickled Brussels sprouts.
The clandestine goods

At the cashier, he occupies her with sleazy magazine covers as the clandestine goods move along the conveyor. As she pays the bill, a good $40 more than usual, he is already headed briskly to the north exit, for it is at least a mile walk to the car.

Back at the home front, he does indeed unload the bags. But he cannot be much help with the putting away, for he has no idea where most of it goes. He takes the paper towels to the basement, where eight other rolls fill a shelf next to batteries of all sizes. "Hah!" he thinks, "Let the Russians come!"

Upstairs, she struggles to close the freezer door, blocked by a brick of cherry vanilla. And with a sigh she puts the pickled okra in the pantry, next to the jar he bought the last time she let him come along.