No Indian Boycott Over Dow Wrap

The Indian Olympics Association has backed down from a proposed boycott of the 2012 Games over chemical company Dow’s sponsorship of the stadium’s wrap. The sponsorship deal, announced earlier this year, caused some consternation over whether it tallied with the environmental and ethical message the Olympics was striving to maintain. The 1984 Union Carbide chemical leak in Bhopal was one of the world’s worst industrial disasters and although the company was only later acquired by Dow, their very visible inclusion in the list of Olympic sponsors has provoked anger amongst campaigners and politicians alike. Dave Hill’s London Blog examines the questions being raised over the bidding process in more detail. The Dow deal will have been a bitter pill for Indian athletes and politicians alike to swallow; the Indian government says that more than 15,000 people have died as a result of the chemical leak and ground water in the region remains contaminated.

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Wild weather: First storm of season causes problems

via Midland Daily News

The season’s first snow provided a scenic backdrop for Midland’s Courthouse Lighting ceremonyTuesday night, but later caused misfortune for some motorists and those who were left without power. Especially hard hit was the City of Midland and southern areas of the county, where a National Weather Service observer tallied 6.6 inches of snow between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday. Areas in northwestern Midland County barely received a dusting of flakes. Snowy and icy roadways led to a two-hour delay for Midland Public Schools, the Midland County ESA and St. John’s Lutheran, while closing Midland Christian School and the Midland Academy of Advanced and Creative Studies. Delta College did not to open until 10 a.m. and Saginaw Valley State University was closed until noon.

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Santa will be in Midland tonight!

Santa Claus will be the guest of honor at an annual event in Midland, MI tonight. Santa's arrival parade from the Tridge begins at 7 p.m. The Courthouse lighting ceremony will thrill those who turn out for the event. Then the jolly old elf will open his magical house on Main Street, where children can make their Christmas requests. The house has been the site of many Santa Colleges for St. Nick's helpers around the world. The event is a kickoff to the downtown Midland Holly Jolly days. Saturdays and Sundays - Dec. 3-4, and Dec. 10-11 - downtown Midland will provide a holiday atmosphere from noon until 4 p.m. with FREE horse-drawn carriage rides, strolling carolers, 25-cent hot cocoa and great holiday deals at participating stores.

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Midland Burger King shooting case bound to circuit court

via Midland Daily News

The case against a Sanford woman charged with open murder in the fatal shooting of a man outside a Midland Burger King in July has been bound to the circuit court. Rachel Marie Moore, 40, appeared before Midland County District Court Judge Stephen P. Carras for a preliminary hearing this afternoon. Carras found enough evidence was presented to show probable cause that a crime was committed and that it was committed by the defendant. Testifying was a Midland Police officer, along with Tom Carpenter and Jamie Moloy, who are the fathers of Moore’s two sons.

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Midland location among few Salvation Army sites accepting credit card payments

It’s a familiar sight during the holiday season — the Salvation Army bell ringers and their red kettles. Outside department stores, drug stores and your local grocer, you may see the familiar red donation bucket and a chilled volunteer, faithfully jingling a bell, silently requesting your contribution. But this year, those red buckets may be accompanied by something else: a credit card processing machine. At the Midland Mall and several other locations nationwide, the Salvation Army is collecting and processing credit card payments. The Midland Mall location collected as much as $90 on Black Friday, said Jim Heffel, a Freeland resident who was manning the red kettle for the Salvation Army on behalf of the Kiwassee Kiwanis.

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In Gloomy Economic Times, Santas Learn to Help by Curbing Expectations

Here, at the nation’s oldest, most celebrated, school for would-be Santa Clauses, much has stayed exactly the same over its nearly 75 years. A proper Claus ought to have pleasant breath, his beard curled just so and a hearty laugh that rumbles not from the throat but from deep below the diaphragm. Yet this year, from the holiday parades, to the cheery carols piping from Main Street loudspeakers, to the “this way to Santa” lines at shopping centers, something more sobering has cast its shadow: the economic slump. The result is a Christmas season in which Santas — including the 115 of them in this year’s graduating class of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School — must learn to swiftly size up families’ financial circumstances, gently scale back children’s Christmas gift requests and even how to answer the wish some say they have been hearing with more frequency — “Can you bring my parent a job?”

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Midland woman completes NYC Marathon, raises money for cancer research

via Midland Daily News

Just minutes into the New York City Marathon, Jennifer Suarez's iPod quit. Panic flooded her mind and she wondered how on earth she could finish a full marathon without music. Fortunately, the 2.5 million supporters who cheered all of the runners on during the 26.2-mile route through Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem and the Bronx, kept her spirits high. "The streets were just packed," said Suarez of Midland. "They had bands and singers lining the streets. There was just such a bustle of activity." In the months before the marathon, which took place earlier this month, Suarez was hard at work both training and raising money for Fred's Team. Fred Lebow, founder of the NYC Marathon, was diagnosed with brain cancer and died in 1994. He spent much of his time raising awareness as well as money for cancer research.

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