Business

A police officer in Idaho recently saved a great horned owl found tangled in plastic on a busy highway. In a Facebook post , Idaho State Police said that Sgt. Brandalyn Crapo responded to several calls from concerned motorists who spotted an owl sitting in the median on I-84. Despite the traffic, Crapo managed to find the owl, which was "obviously in some distress." Police said the owl's talons managed to get tangled in the plastic, but they did not clarify if the plastic was stuck to the roadway or if the plastic was heavy and therefore prevented the bird from flying. Newsweek reached out to Idaho State Police for further information but did not hear back in time for publication. To protect it from oncoming traffic, Crapo parked her patrol car near the owl and waited for the arrival of a volunteer with Animals in Distress — a non-profit organization in Idaho dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured or abandoned wildlife. The volunteer successfully … [Read more...] about Owl trapped in plastic on busy highway rescued by police officer

I’m proud to have owned and operated Abform Workwear out of Lafayette for 40 years. I love this city and the state of Louisiana — this is my home. However, one area where we need to improve is our complicated sales tax collection system. Small businesses like mine are falling behind because our state constitution requires Louisiana businesses to file sales taxes with more than 50 local tax collectors, while most states have just one. Out-of-state retailers like Wayfair have the benefit of filing sales taxes through one simple online portal, giving them a competitive advantage. Abform does business in all 64 parishes in Louisiana. In some towns across the state, there could be one tax rate for one side of the street and a different rate for the other. Abform currently operates with 12 employees — our team is not large enough to easily absorb the overhead it takes to track down the correct collectors and file a different set of paperwork for each one. In neighboring states like … [Read more...] about Letters: Small businesses desperately need a new system for sales tax collection

One of Queenstown’s most recognisable symbols, the coal-powered TSS Earnslaw, may turn green. Stephen England-Hall, chief executive of the Earnslaw’s operator RealNZ, said the company was exploring alternative ways to generate steam to fuel the 109-year-old steamship, one of the area’s most famous tourist attractions. First launched in 1912, the TSS Earnslaw is the oldest coal-fired passenger-carrying steamship in the Southern Hemisphere, he said. But it is thought to be responsible for one per cent of all transport emissions in the district. READ MORE: What happens to coal-mining towns in a coal-free future? Queenstown's TSS Earnslaw needs new coal to burn as Southland mine closes Life as a stoker on Queenstown’s iconic steamship World famous in New Zealand: TSS Earnslaw, Queenstown “As responsible kaitiaki we have to weigh up every inch of her heritage value with our ambition to protect and preserve the places where we operate.” The ship’s original boilers … [Read more...] about Coal-powered TSS Earnslaw steamship looks to go green

Food delivery drivers are part of the fabric of society, from ordering takeaways for a night in to bringing us a McDonald's breakfast when we're hungover. And they're not just limited to food now, as you can get your weekly shop, alcohol, desserts and even morning fuel, aka coffee, brought straight to your front door. But that literal interpretation threw a spanner in the works for one man, named Alex Bradshaw, after his delivery driver essentially trapped him inside his house by placing a full cup of coffee in front of the door. Bradshaw shared a clip of his predicament to TikTok account, @slopshaw, with the glass showing his cup placed just inches away from the door. And as his door opened outwards, he faced the near-impossible task of retrieving his drink, without tipping it over. "Thanks for the coffee Doordash," he captioned the clip, shared at the end of last month. The video, which can be seen here , amassed more than 945,000 views, and shows him opening the door a … [Read more...] about Baffled customer can’t open door after driver leaves full coffee outside

After Hurricane Katrina, RV dealers in Louisiana were incensed when the family of then-state Rep. Gary Smith Jr. landed a lucrative contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, worth more than $100 million, to deliver trailers around the state. The fix was in, other dealers groused - an argument bolstered by the fact that the Smith family business in question, a motorcycle shop, initially lacked the required license to sell trailers. Since then, legislators and two different governors have passed laws requiring disclosure of such dealings, and prohibiting some elected officials--if not their families--from cashing in on hurricane recovery. But the network of companies owned by the family of Smith, now a state senator, has secured deals with debris contractors picking up wreckage left by Hurricane Ida, and Smith’s family members have not reported them. Three different governmental entities -- the state Department of Transportation and Development, Jefferson Parish … [Read more...] about State senator’s family lands Hurricane Ida-related debris contracts for St. Charles property