Miami foodies eagerly await Trader Joe’s in Pinecrest

Trader Joe’s grocery store’s whimsical ambiance charmed Kimberly Kurzweilt when she visited one in Los Angeles. Like a child in a candy store, she was attracted to the artisan cheese section, the “inexpensive wine,” and “the variety.” Now she can’t wait to have one close to home in Pinecrest.

If it all goes as planned, the new Trader Joe’s in Pinecrest will be swarming with employees wearing off-beat Hawaiian shirts sometime this year. Known for its specialty and organic foods at prices below those of other specialty grocers, Trader Joe’s has local foodies awaiting an opening date with cultish anticipation.

“The prices are always great,” Kurzweilt said. “The ambience is funky, ‘hippi-ish’ and retro in a good way.”

The California grocery chain is working with local officials to prepare for an opening this year at 9205 S. Dixie Hwy. Construction should begin early this year. There are no plans to demolish the 13,800 square feet building that used to house a Barnes & Noble bookstore, instead it will be remodeled, Pinecrest Planning Director Stephen Olmsted said.

“They submitted site plans in December and we already reviewed them,” Olmsted said. “Once the drawings are approved and building permits are issued construction will begin. I don’t anticipate any problems in the permitting process. It should be fairly soon.”

Jeannette Golindano can’t wait. When she moved to Miami in August from Charlotte, N.C., she missed the store, so she began to drive to the Trader Joe’s in Naples once a month to do her grocery shopping.

“It was during a friendly conversation with the cashier that we were told about Trader Joe’s opening in Miami in 2013,” Golindano said. “I can’t explain to you with words how we reacted to the news.”

Golindano began a petition on Facebook to get a Trader Joe’s in Miami. One of the Facebook fan pages she set up has more than 1,000 followers. Besides Naples, the chain also has stores in Gainesville and Sarasota, which opened last year, and another is planned for Tallahassee.

Fans usually flood in on opening day. The Naples Daily News reported that hours before the store’s opening last February, hundreds waited in a line that snaked around the entire back of the shopping center. Some people traveled from other cities and stood in line as early as 5:30 a.m.

Pinecrest officials believe parking won’t be an issue. The city requires the store to provide at least 56 parking spaces – and the store is planning to have 89, Olmsted said.

The store in Pinecrest is projected to generate about 70 jobs. The management team will come from existing stores around the country. As soon as the team is set, they will be hiring for “crew positions” to run registers, stock shelves, merchandise products, and chat with customers. The “Now Hiring” banner or sign will be placed outside of the store about one to two months before it opens.

According to the company website, the store will also have a food donation program coordinator. In 2010, Trader Joe’s donated more than 25 million pounds of food – that’s equal to almost 656 truckloads of food or 20 million meals, the company claims.

Bejamin Gutierrez, an architect who enjoys cooking for his family of five in Pinecrest, said he is looking forward to the opening. He said every one in the store in New York’s Upper West Side “was always friendly” and willing to offer samples of the food.

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“GameStick” Will Be the Size of a USB Memory Stick, Plug into Your TV

When the Ouya game console (scheduled to launch in April) made headlines last year, it was for three reasons. One, its size and price — the $ 99 box, which plugs into a TV, is the size of a Rubik’s cube. Two, its choice of operating system — it runs the same Android OS which powers smartphones and tablets. And three — its rise to fame on Kickstarter, where it shattered records and received millions of dollars in funding not from venture capitalists, but from gamers who wanted to see it made.

Now GameStick, “The Most Portable TV Games Console Ever Created,” is preparing to make a name for itself in exactly the same ways. Except that in some of them, it surpasses the Ouya.

Not even a set-top box

Up to this point, pretty much all home game consoles have been a box that sits on your shelf and plugs in to your TV. (Some PCs even do this these days.)

The GameStick, on the other hand, is about the size of a USB memory stick or a tube of lip balm. It plugs into a TV’s HDMI port, and connects to a wireless controller (or even a mouse and keyboard) via Bluetooth. It “works with any Bluetooth controller supporting HID,” and will come with its own small gamepad, which features twin analog sticks and a slot to put the GameStick itself inside when not in use.

Do we know if it works yet?

GameStick’s creators showed off pictures of a nonworking “Mark 1 Prototype Model,” and posted video of a “Reference Board” actually playing games while plugged into a television. This was a roughly USB-stick-sized circuit board, which lacked an outer case.

The reference unit had wires coming out of it, but the GameStick FAQ explains that on new, “MHL compliant TVs” it can draw power straight from the HDMI port, in much the same way that many USB devices are powered by a USB connection. A USB connector cable will be supplied with GameStick just in case, and “there will also be a power adapter.”

What about the games?

The GameStick reference unit was playing an Android game called Shadowgun, an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter which is considered technically demanding by Android device standards.

GameStick’s creators say “We have some great games lined up already,” and AFP Relax confirms that it has roughly the same internal specs as the Ouya, plus a lineup at launch of about a dozen games including several AAA Android titles.

How much will it cost, and when will it be out?

GameStick is available for preorder now from its Kickstarter page for $ 79. (The price includes the controller as well.) It has an estimated delivery date of April if the project is fully funded — and with 28 days to go, it had more than reached its $ 100,000 goal.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Mistresses First Look Exclusive Photo

This summer, Alyssa Milano returns to television with Mistresses, a complex ABC drama about four best friends and the controversial choices their hearts force them to confront.

RELATED - 2012's 12 Best TV Shows

Featured in ETonline's exclusive first look photo are Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan as the rest of Milano's foursome and Brett Tucker, Jason George and Erik Stocklin as the main men in their lives.

Inspired by the hit British drama, Mistresses promises to be titillating and thought-provoking in equal measure. Check out a sneak peek below!

Mistresses premieres this summer on ABC.

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'Hardhat bandit' gets 7 1/2 years for bank robberies

The “hardhat bandit” is headed back to prison.

A Brooklyn man with a long history of robbing banks while dressed as a construction worker was sentenced today to 7 ½ years in prison.

Bertrand Burchard, 41, was caught in 2003 and charged with sticking up 12 banks in Brooklyn and Queens for about $45,000, all while wearing a dust mask, orange reflective vest, and work boots – and keeping a revolver underneath his red construction helmet.

He served nine years and was released in 2011.

“He just got out of prison, he was out about eight months, and he started committing bank robberies,” Judge Leo Glasser said in Brooklyn federal court today.

Burchard was caught for the two recent robberies in January. The note he passed a teller in the first heist read, “DON’T LET ME USE THIS $100’s + $50’s NO DYE PACKS I’m hungry $20,000.00 Don’t be a hero go home safe.”

Burchard was hit with 6 ½ years for the two newest robberies and another year for violating his supervised release – plus $19,033 in restitution.

jsaul@nypost.com

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Franchise show comes to Miami Beach

Entrepreneurs looking to start off a new business in 2013 might find some ideas at Franchise Expo South.

One of the largest franchise shows in the country kicks off Jan. 11 at the Miami Beach Convention Center and runs until Jan. 13. Hundreds of top brands from food to retail concepts will try to attract prospective franchisees for Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. Businesses looking to expand in South Florida, include Burger 21, McAlister’s Deli, Kiddie Academy, Sign-A-Rama, Cinnabon, EmbroidMe, and Wireless Zone.

This year for the first time, the show will focus on the trend toward mobile franchise businesses. The “GoMobilePavilion” will highlight dozens of mobile franchise concepts, which typically come with lower initial investment and decreased labor costs. Educational sessions will also discuss how to convert a traditional business to a mobile one.

Registration fees vary, but start as low as $5 in advance or $10 on-site. For more information about the show, which is sponsored by the International Franchise Association, visit www.franchiseexposouth.com

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SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Watch three masked men rob Pompano Beach Radio Shack

Broward Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released gripping surveillance video showing three masked men as they robbed a Pompano Beach Radio Shack last Sunday.

The high-quality video clearly shows customers and employees being surprised as three, armed masked men storm into the store at 167 S. Pompano Pkwy. around 6:30 p.m. on the night before New Year’s Eve.

One of the men waves an automatic weapon as he orders employees and customers to first get on the ground and then leads them at gunpoint into the store’s storage room.

Customers are seen led away at gunpoint.

Once everyone is corralled, the three suspects fill a large bag with cell phones and flee through the stockroom door.

BSO said all three men wore dark clothing and masks over their faces.

The armed man also wore a dark grey letterman jacket with the letter “M” on the left side.

A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information about this robbery or the identity of the suspects is asked to contact BSO Robbery Detective Vince Coldwell at 954-321-4270 or Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or www.browardcrimestoppers.org.

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Samsung and Apple are still the only winners in the mobile market

The duopoly of the U.S. mobile market intensified dramatically in 2012. Despite increased efforts from Motorola, LG (066570), HTC (2498), Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT) to gain market share, Samsung (005930) and Apple (AAPL) continue to steal customers away from every other company. During a three-month period ending in November, comScore found that Samsung’s lead in the U.S. smartphone market increased 1.2 percentage points for a controlling 26.9% share. Apple’s smartphone market share grew from 17.1% to 18.5%, gaining 1.4 points following the launch of the iPhone 5. Rounding out the top-five were LG, Motorola and HTC, all of which saw their market shares decrease from August. LG fell 0.7 points to 17.5%, Motorola dropped 0.8 points to 10.4% and HTC’s market share decreased from 6.3% to 5.9%.

[More from BGR: Samsung confirms plan to begin inching away from Android]

[More from BGR: ‘iPhone 5S’ to reportedly launch by June with multiple color options and two different display sizes]

The research firm found that 123.3 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the period, an increase of 6% since August. A majority of devices, 53.7%, were powered by Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, which saw growth of 1.1 percentage points. Apple’s iOS market share increased 0.7 percentage points to 35%.

2012 was a transitional year for Research in Motion (RIMM) and Microsoft. Both companies spent most of the year preparing new operating systems. RIM will unveil its BlackBerry 10 operating system later this month and devices powered by Windows Phone 8 launched this past November. As a result, both companies saw lost share toward the end of 2012; RIM’s BlackBerry platform ranked third with a 7.3% share, down from 8.3% in August, and Microsoft’s operating system dropped 0.6 percentage points to a 3% share of the market.

This article was originally published by BGR

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Dallas DVD Season One Exclusive Clip 2013

Fans and critics were skeptical of TNT's decision to launch a reboot of the seminal 70's series, Dallas, when it was announced back in 2010.

VIDEO - Linda Gray Pays Tribute To The Late Larry Hagman

But naysayers were quickly won over once the sensational continuation of life on Southfork begun airing in June 2012. A turn of events star Jesse Metcalfe chalks up to the "The marriage between the old cast members and the new cast members." That's what, he says, makes Dallas "magic."

RELATED - Dallas Plans Funeral For J.R.

ETonline scored an exclusive sneak peek off the Dallas: The Complete First Season DVD, featuring Metcalfe, Brenda Strong, Linda Gray and other cast members explaining why the next chapter in Dallas' story is one worth telling ... and watching!

Dallas: The Complete First Season hits DVD on January 8, click here to pre-order!

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Anonymous donor gives $500K to help repair Sandy-damaged South Street Seaport Museum

An anonymous donor has sailed to the rescue of the South Street Seaport Museum with a $500,000 check to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The donation made up the bulk of $750,000 in contributions meant to help the museum recover from the storm.

Sandy didn’t damage any of the museum’s ships. But the storm’s floodwater walloped heating, electrical and communications equipment in several of its buildings.

Museum brass expect it’ll cost $22 million to fix and replace equipment and permanently move building systems to higher floors.

The museum reopened last month, and besides its ships it features several new seafaring-related art exhibits.

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Google strikes deal with FTC to end antitrust probe

LOS ANGELES — Google reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to make voluntary changes to its search practices to put an end to a 19-month antitrust probe, the FTC announced Thursday.

Google also has settled an investigation into its handling of mobile technology patents that it acquired when it bought Motorola Mobility.

The settlement brings to a close one of the FTC's most closely watched investigations. Google still faces antitrust investigations by European regulators and some U.S. state attorneys general. Google is expected to offer concessions to resolve the European Union probe later this month.

Google agreed to give marketers more control over their ads. It also agreed to limit its use of snippets or reviews and other content from rivals, a practice that it had already moved away from.

It also resolved a separate antitrust case involving Google's use of patents to attempt to keep competitors from using mobile technology.

“The changes Google has agreed to make will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of competition in the online marketplace and in the market for innovative wireless devices they enjoy,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “This was an incredibly thorough and careful investigation by the commission, and the outcome is a strong and enforceable set of agreements.”

But competitors don't see it that way. That the Internet search giant is emerging largely unscathed from the antitrust probe frustrated competitors, including software giant Microsoft, which had its own years-long battle with antitrust regulators in the late 1990s and 2000s just as Google began its rise to dominance in online search.

Microsoft, which runs the Bing search engine, has accused Google of abusing that dominance, harming consumers and competitors. It has railed against the FTC for doing nothing to rein in Google's growing monopoly on the Web.

Google handles about two-thirds of all U.S. Web searches, according to research firm ComScore Inc. It handles more than 80 percent in much of Europe. The software giant has mounted campaigns to condemn Google's business practices. Smaller competitors have also complained that Google search results unfairly promote links to its own business listings, Google+ social network and other online services.

Google has maintained that it has done nothing wrong.

“The evidence the FTC uncovered through this intensive investigation prompted us to require significant changes in Google's business practices. However, regarding the specific allegations that the company biased its search results to hurt competition, the evidence collected to date did not justify legal action by the Commission,” Beth Wilkinson, outside counsel to the FTC, said in a written statement. “Undoubtedly, Google took aggressive actions to gain advantage over rival search providers. However, the FTC's mission is to protect competition, and not individual competitors. The evidence did not demonstrate that Google's actions in this area stifled competition in violation of U.S. law.”

“The conclusion is clear: Google's services are good for users and good for competition,” David Drummond, Google's senior vice president and chief legal officer, said in a blog post.

The settlement with the FTC and the search giant was nearly done before the Christmas holiday, but concern that the deal was too weak from rivals and state attorneys general delayed a vote from the commission.

David Balto, a former policy director of the FTC's bureau of competition, who also has done some paid work for Google, said the decision was a “win-win” for consumers.

“Consumers benefit because Google will not be hobbled by unnecessary regulation or denied the opportunity to try to win consumer loyalty through aggressive competition,” Balto said. “The FTC's mission is protect consumers and as today's statement makes clear, there is no consumer harm.”

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