‘Hotel Impossible’ Host Eyes Return Visit To Ocean City Next Month

OCEAN CITY — At its annual trade event next month, the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA) will feature a lecture by Anthony Melchiorri, host of “Hotel Impossible.”

Melchiorri brings his 20-plus years of experience in the business as the “hotel turnaround expert” and host of Travel Channel’s original series “Hotel Impossible,” which premiered its fifth season in October 2014. In this weekly one-hour program, he helps turn around the business of a hotel not living up to its potential or struggling to survive. After assessing each property, he works closely with the owners and staff to determine its biggest problems. Melchiorri has mere days to formulate a plan, revamp the hotel and re-motivate its staff in order to save these properties from going under.

The 41st Annual Ocean City Spring Trade Expo will not be his first visit to Ocean City. In the summer of 2013, Melchiorri was in Ocean City and filmed an episode at The Lankford Hotel on 8thStreet and the Boardwalk.

“I am elated to bring Mr. Melchiorri to our Expo. His no-nonsense approach will challenge our attendees to evaluate their own businesses so they’ll be able to deliver guest experience to make customers return,” said OCHMRA Executive Director Susan L. Jones.

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'Laverne and Shirley' Cast Set the Record Straight About Discord on Set

ET's Brooke Anderson caught up with the Laverne and Shirley cast as they shared their memories (good and bad) working on the sitcom, which ran on ABC for 8 seasons from 1976-83. Cindy Williams sets the record straight on whether there was turmoil between her and fellow co-star Penny Marshall.

"It's like an Italian family at a dinner table on Sunday and somebody doesn't pass the celery properly," Cindy joked. "There’s always going to be arguments." Despite any on-set disagreements, Cindy insisted that it didn't hinder the cast and crew's dedication to making people laugh. "It was a show about happiness and in the end that was everyone's goal."

The gang reunited for The Hollywood Show, a quarterly celebrity autograph and pop culture expo held in Los Angeles. And while Penny, 71, showed up for the fans at the event, she declined our interview. Even so, Cindy, 67, explained that they are still good friends.

"I go to Penny's house I get in bed with her and we watch TV," Cindy revealed. "She's like my sister."

The first time we met Laverne and Shirley was when Penny's brother Garry Marshall cast them on Happy Days.

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Important Animal Cruelty Legislation Today

As you know, chained (or otherwise tethered) dogs are constantly at risk of attacks by other animals and cruel people. Chained dogs often fall prey to weather extremes, and reports of dogs who injured themselves or choked to death on their own tethers are common. Enacting a ban on the chaining of dogs helps to ensure the safety of the community and its animals alike!

Maryland's state legislature has introduced two important bills, Senate Bill 0026 and House Bill 0153 , which, if passed, would ban chaining during severe weather. It's vital that the Senate and House hear from you immediately! Please call or write Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and your state senator in support of Senate Bill 0026 and Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch and your representative in support of House Bill 0153.

Also, Senate Bill 0026 will be discussed at the Maryland General Assembly (90 State Cir., Annapolis, MD 21401 ) on Wednesday, February 4, at 2 p.m. 

Commuter train smashes into SUV on tracks, killing 7 people

VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) — A packed commuter train slammed into a sport utility vehicle on the tracks at a crossing on Tuesday night, killing seven people, injuring several others and sending hundreds of passengers scrambling to get to safety as the front of the train and the SUV burst into flames. The impact was so forceful the electrified third rail came up and pierced the train, authorities said.

Among those killed was the SUV’s driver, who authorities said had gotten out of her vehicle momentarily after the crossing’s safety gates came down around her. She then got back in and was trying to drive forward when she was hit, they said.

“You have seven people who started out today to go about their business and aren’t going to be making it home tonight,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the crash site in Valhalla, 20 miles north of New York City.

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Wishing upon a star

Plane carrying 53 people crashes in Taiwan, state media report

Taiwanese state media report that a TransAsia Airways plane has crashed in the country's capital, Taipei. The number of casualties was not immediately reported.

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Charity Poker at the Pocomoke American Legion

Valentine's Weekend Reservations

Valentine's Day is almost here!  Call Public House for your weekend reservations!  Order from a special a la carte menu and a variety of Chef David's featured special dishes!  Live music Friday and Saturday nights!  Enjoy happy hour all day on Sunday and discounted Chef's Specials!  Your sweetie will love you for it! www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com

Evolution Craft Brewing Company Public House  201 East Vine Street  Salisbury, MD  21804  Phone:  443-260-2337      www.opentable.com/evolution-public-house

Paris Unity

Oliver North was asked why he thought Obama, Biden, Kerry or Holder didn't attend the unity rally in Paris .

He said, because it was for world leaders.

African American Annual Heritage Celebration

WICOMICO COUNTY NAACP BRANCH 7028

Date: Saturday, February 7th

Time: 3:00 PM

Place:Chipman Cultural Center

325 Broad Street, Salisbury 

Admissions free.

Public invited.

Keynote speaker: Tyler J. Jones
Mr. Jones is a minister and was licensed on April 10, 2014. Also,
he is a student in the Wicomico County School System.

Entertainment by Jehiel, Musician; New Dimensions Church Praise Dancer, and the American Spiritual Ensemble.

Light refreshments following the program.

Contact: Mary Ashanti, President, 410-430-1896

Coastal Kids Consignment Returns to the WY&CC March 5-7

Salisbury’s Biggest Discount Shopping Event

One Weekend Only – March 5-7, 2015

Salisbury, MD – Spring is in the air at the semi-annual Coastal Kids Consignment event which brings together hundreds of local families hoping to sell, shop and save on kids items and also support multiple charities by donating items at the end of the event. This year, financial and in-kind donations will be distributed to Life Crisis of Salisbury, MD; the Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center of Salisbury, MD and several other churches and local shelters.

Gearing up for warm weather activities while finding quality brand and designer label kids and baby items can put a crunch on any family’s budget. Coastal Kids Consignment has brought together thousands of ways to get what you need at a fraction of the price. The one stop opportunity to find spring and summer season items at 60-90% off retail is a not to miss event!

Shoppers will find high quality, gently used items for infants to juniors and maternity including clothing, shoes, toys, baby gear, strollers, pack and plays, bounce chairs, outdoor play items and much more! Bigger than a consignment store, Coastal Kids is three-day consignment event. Over 20,000 items were available at last year’s event. Laid out like a retail store, shopping is easy with items sorted by size and gender as well as similar item groupings that allow shoppers to find what they need quickly with minimal hunting.

What shoppers need to know:

Thursday, March 5 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Friday, March 6 from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. (many items 25% off from 5 – 7 p.m.)

Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (many items 50% off all day)

Wicomico Civic Center, 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21804
Located in the Midway Room.
Free admission! Cash, Visa/MC/Discover accepted.

For complete details visit us on the web at www.coastal-kids.com orwww.facebook.com/CoastalKidsConsignmentSales.

What's Your Excuse?

Colorado moves to curb dangers of edible pot products

Commercially produced edibles, which make up 45 percent of Colorado's cannabis market, were developed for medical marijuana users who wanted the effects of pot, like easing pain or nausea, without having to smoke it. But problems quickly arose when pot became legal for recreational use and some overdosed on the product -- accidents blamed on improper labeling. Now, new rules requiring warnings about the effects of edible marijuana are in place in Colorado, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

Denver Relief manager Jeff Botkins makes sure to explain the changes in edible packaging for recreational marijuana buyers. Packages must now contain products with individual doses of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and must be child proof.

Manufactures scrambled to change products like candy bars. Each square now shows the legally allowed maximum dose of 10 milligrams.

"This is a positive step forward," Denver Relief co-owner Ean Seeb said.

He said it could help prevent incidents of kids overdosing on edibles that look like candy.

"Putting (them) into child resistant containers (is) one measure we can take as an industry to try to prevent that from happening," Seeb said.

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Britain votes to allow world's first 'three-parent' IVF babies

Britain voted on Tuesday to become the first country to allow a "three-parent" IVF technique which doctors say will prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics see as a step towards creating designer babies.

The treatment is known as "three-parent" in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor.

It is designed to help families with mitochondrial diseases, incurable conditions passed down the maternal line that affect around one in 6,500 children worldwide.

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D.C. Loses Out on More Than $55 Million in Unpaid Tickets

The District of Columbia lost more than $55 million in outstanding traffic and parking tickets in fiscal year 2014.

That's according to figures released Monday by AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The agency says most of the lost revenue comes from 278,000 unpaid parking tickets totaling nearly $31 million. More than $18 million went unpaid from photo enforcement tickets, and nearly $6 million was lost from traffic violations.

While high, the figures represent a decrease from the previous fiscal year in 2013, when AAA says 574,000 citations totaling $72 million went unpaid.

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Saudi Historian: Our Women Should Not Be Allowed to Drive Lest They Get Raped

Pro-Gun Group: ‘This Is the Ad the NFL Did Not Want You to See’

The U.S. Concealed Carry Association is claiming that its repeated attempts to place a paid print advertisement in the official Super Bowl program were rejected by the NFL.

Kevin Michalowski, editor of Concealed Carry Magazine, says the pro-gun group’s ad was ultimately rejected “without comment.” Here’s the ad:

In the latest episode of “Into the Fray,” Michalowski explains why he feels the NFL is guilty of censorship.

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Beer Hops Might Help Prevent Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease that seems to strike innocent people out of nowhere. Any news of something that can help prevent it is good news, especially if the new preventative is something people want to consume anyway, like beer.

According to Foodbeast, a new study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that a compound commonly found in hops has an antioxidant property that can help protect brain cells. Oxidation causes damage to brain cells, which can contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

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Funds pour in for Detroit man walks 21 miles to, from work

DETROIT (AP) — Hundreds of people have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to help a Detroit man who says he typically walks 21 miles to get to and from work.

The Detroit Free Press (http://on.freep.com/1yujefU ) reports that James Robertson rides buses part of the way to and from his factory job in suburban Rochester Hills, but because they don’t cover the whole route, he ends up walking about 8 miles before his shift starts at 2 p.m. and 13 more when it’s over at 10. Lately, he’s been getting occasional rides from a banker who passed him walking every day and finally asked what he was doing.

After the newspaper wrote about the 56-year-old’s situation over the weekend, multiple people started crowdfunding efforts to help him buy a car and pay for insurance. Some have offered to drive him for free and others have offered to buy or give him cars.

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http://www.gofundme.com/l7girc 

SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY SCREEN STUDENTS FOR DEPRESSION, ANXIETY IN CLASSROOM

"...idea is to get students to talk about something they may hide from their parents or not even understand what is happening"

Minnesota’s largest school district is discussing screening high school students for depression and anxiety in the classroom.

As part of a state grant to improve mental health services, Anoka-Hennepin schools could offer a screening as soon as next fall.

Dr. Nita Kumar, a mental health consultant for the district, said Friday that the idea is to get students to talk about something they may hide from their parents or not even understand what is happening.

Some students and adults in the area shared their thoughts.

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