| A moldy, costly mess
The lawsuit, filed in June 2006, wasn't settled until November of last year. It generated 385 legal filings sprawled across 6,470 pages. Attorneys for Garvey Schubert Barer, the Seattle firm that represented the Housing Authority, rang up more than $1 million in legal fees – almost three times the amount Cochran, the tenants' attorney, collected from the settlement. The two sides didn't get along. Battles over admissible evidence got testy. Both sides traded accusations of misconduct. They fought about the proper conduct of apartment inspections. They fought about deadlines. They fought about who was missing more of them. They fought over how to search the Housing Authority computers: "Mold" was an acceptable search term. "Sued" was not. The Housing Authority's defense began to crumble in April 2007, after 10 months of litigation.
Cold, wind can't deter early shoppers
This is a lot more than last year," Wal-Mart Manager Theresa Eisenhuth said as she scanned the sea of people just after 5:30.She estimated there were "a good 3,000 people" in the store, jamming lines at all 23 checkouts.Shoppers do like to eat. At 2:45, 10 people were waiting for an empty table so they could be seated at Denny's Restaurant across from Richland Town Centre. Between bites, customers could be overheard making their plan of attack for shopping.Christmas shoppers in the Johnstown area will have several new stores to shop at in The Galleria this holiday season.Steve & Barry's has opened and Hollister's is scheduled to open on Dec. 6. Both are clothing stores.There is some concern, however, that Value City may be closing early next year. Pavic would not comment.Wish listsAccording to the National Retail Federation, favorites for Christmas are:Adults High-def TVs Diamond necklaces, sterling silver jewelry Digital photo frames Hand mixers ClothingGirls Barbie Bratz Generic dolls Dora the Explorer Disney PrincessBoys Transformers Video games Nintendo Wii Generic cars Spider-Man - Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
Delhi-Gurgaon expressway opened for traffic
NEW DELHI: More than three weeks after its formal date of completion, the Rs 1,000 crore 27 km-long Delhi-Gurgaon expressway was on Wednesday opened to public.
The expressway, inaugurated by the Union Minister for road transport and highways TR Baalu along with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is expected to cut short the travelling time between Gurgaon and Dhaula Kuan by at least an hour.
But vehicle-users have to pay a toll for travelling through the stretch, which would be collected at three toll plazas located in Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi-Gurgaon border and 42nd milestone.
"We have received the official clearance from the consulting body RITES for collecting toll, and the process will start soon," Chairman, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), N Gokulram said.
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