| Milroy conversion gets OK from city council
At least one city councillor said it was the hardest decision they've made as a group. Faced by several rows of worried senior citizens in the public gallery, a majority of city councillors nevertheless agreed Monday night to approve a local developer's application to convert the Milroy Apartments, a downtown highrise, into condominiums. "It's caused me some sleepless nights," Coun. Gord Wyant said before voting to approve the application. Four councillors - Charlie Clark, Bob Pringle, Pat Lorje and Darren Hill - voted to turn it down. .
Central Florida Winter Park owes its ambience to wealthy Midwesterners
The tour boat glides past lavish lakefront homes as the guide recites the names of notable past and present occupants: Walgreen as in drugstores, Sinclair as in oil, Horace Grant as in the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic. We might have been cruising past the genteel mansions of Lake Geneva, Wis., if it weren't for the Spanish moss hanging from the cypress trees and the alligators lurking in the reeds. The simple pontoon boat ride seemed typical of a Midwestern lake resort. If you think of Central Florida as all theme parks and tourist attractions with little history and culture, Winter Park will surprise you. Though only 30-40 minutes up I-4 from Walt Disney World, this city of 28,000 seems a world apart, a world with several Chicago connections. In the early 1900s wealthy Northerners came to Winter Park by train to escape the harsh winters back home, just as they escaped to Lake Geneva to flee the summer heat of Chicago.
StudioCanal completes acquisition of Germany's Kinowelt
StudioCanal has announced the completion of its 100% acquisition of German distributor Kinowelt. Speculation on the move had reached fever pitch last week when a Leipzig-based daily reported that the long-rumoured deal was imminent. StudioCanal signed the acquisition contract on Wednesday with Michael and Rainer Kolmel, owners of Kinowelt. In a press release, StudioCanal said the deal "marks another significant step in the growth of StudioCanal's European distribution network." The company acquired UK distributor Optimum Releasing in May 2006. Although the Leipzig paper cited a sale price of $102m (Euros 70m), StudioCanal chairman Olivier Courson told ScreenDaily.com that because the actual fee is based in part on future performance, he could not specify what StudioCanal is paying.
In Highlander, function, not flash
The redesigned Toyota Highlander needs to transport and entertain youngsters, swallow cargo, and conquer snow. It needs to be safe, comfortable, and luxurious, and it needs to do all these things without breaking the bank - in car payments or at the pump. A tall order, but the leading midsize SUV competitors really have gotten that good. The Highlander makes the grade on all counts, though it doesn't excel in any one area. Provided it can maintain its outstanding resale value and reliability, it should prove a smart - if not particularly captivating - choice for years to come. Base, Sport, and Limited trim levels come with front- or four-wheel drive. Toyota's California design studios sculpted the exterior, which is bigger in all major dimensions than the old Highlander.
|
