Beginning in January 2013, some significant changes are expected to shake up the California landscape as it pertains to the already stringent smog check program. Due to evidence of unethical testing procedures across the state, the new STAR smog check program is scheduled to take effect at the start of the new year. The STAR program is the latest in a series of efforts over the last 15 years in California to meet the strict emissions standards of the EPA. Eligibility for this program has proven to be a challenge for a number of smog check stations that have failed to ...

When it comes to fun activities for both adults and children, pottery making is a lost art. In an era dominated by video games and computers, the simple concept of creating something out of clay has fallen by the wayside. Those who enjoy creating ceramic sculptures can attest to the soothing calmness one gets when painting your own pottery. And while pottery painting and sculpting is not as popular as it used to be, pottery studios certainly know how to make it fun, via art workshops and clay sculpting classes in Toronto. Unlike video games or social media, pottery ...

located at 506 Plain Street in Marshfield, will be participating in Marshfield Community Christmas as an official drop off location until December 20th. Marshfield Community Christmas was founded in 1979 as an effort to help members in the community by giving them new toys, small gifts and food certificates in the hopes of making Christmas a little more joyful. Gifts for children and teens are needed. Bear in mind that teens in particular are often in need of grooming items such as hair products, shaving items and manicure sets. For additional information contact ...

Agilis Software today announced a new release of their flagship Orion network licensing platform product that incorporates new capabilities to lower operations costs for complex license deployment scenarios, assist in proactive sales opportunity management and perform analytics for business intelligence. The new capabilities in Orion version 2.0.12 are primarily in the areas of deployability, manageability, administration and reporting. The corresponding business benefits are primarily reduced vendor operating costs, enhanced end customer administration experience, ...

South Florida is becoming an international destination for plastic surgery procedures thanks to Soluna MD, one of the world's premier cosmetic surgery centers, and the cosmetic surgical artistry of its eminent practitioner, Jonathan Fisher, MD. "Dr. Fisher has performed thousands of successful surgeries during his career and we are overjoyed to have him as a part of our staff," gushed Soluna MD's Medical Director Dr. John Chang. "It's no wonder that he has such a large and loyal following." Patients are streaming to South Florida from Europe, South ...

Science-fiction author Moses Solomon's new holiday ebook, "The Santamobile," introduces the world to a cast of new Christmas characters, including Scooter, an elf mechanic with dreams of becoming an engineer, and Haggen, the crusty old reindeer herdsman in danger of losing his role to a reindeer-less, rocket-powered sleigh. For the aged Santa, the challenges of adapting to the modern Christmas environment, and of flying a gadget-laden replacement sleigh, force him to contemplate a dreaded thought: retirement. As a succession of complications enter the new-sleigh ...

As the trees become bare and the seasons start to change, the one universal custom that best signifies the end of fall and beginning of winter even more than climate is the holidays. No matter where you reside, mid-November always marks the start of the compact holiday season, filled with family visits, lights, decorations, and an abundance of food. Unfortunately, along with all of the holiday celebrations and joy also come all of the unavoidable messes and clean-up. Chem-Dry, the world's largest carpet and upholstery cleaning service, has over 35 years of experience ...

The Smiles Foundation meets again on Tuesday, December 11th 2012, at the popular urban contemporary restaurant, Wynwood Kitchen & Bar from 6:00pm to 9:00 pm to celebrate A Night for Smiles. The Smiles Foundation's fourth annual event in Miami promises to raise funds for various foundations in Colombia and Bolivia. The funds collected on this night will be distributed to local organizations to implement effective projects thanks to the help of Conexion Colombia and Bolivia Smiles Foundation. The night's promise is to deliver gifts to thousands of children in December ...

Katie Quinn, CEO of Kona Tanning Company airbrush tanning studios and creator of the Kona Tanning sunless product line, was thrilled to lead for body makeup at the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show November 7th in New York City. Each year, Victoria's Secret hand selects their hair, makeup, and body makeup teams to make the Angels absolutely shine on the runway, in the Academy Awards of fashion shows, viewed worldwide. Katie has been spray tanning models for the annual runway show for the last four seasons, and this will mark her second season on the body makeup team. ...

The Naturally Healthy Traveler: Effective Solutions for Common Ailments on the Road and at Home is a handy pocket-sized book that is packed with useful and well-organized information. The Naturally Healthy Traveler tells the reader how to locate and use remedies from health food stores, kitchens, groceries, online sites, the wilderness, and even your own backyard, to relieve common ailments and stresses so often experienced when traveling. It's packed with helpful information the reader will use again and again, and is the perfect companion for business, holiday, adventure ...

K2M, Inc., the largest privately held spinal device company in the world focused on developing innovative solutions for the treatment of complex spinal pathologies and minimally invasive procedures, today announced another significant advancement toward leadership in the global spine market with the Italian launch of the company's MESA Spinal Systems and SERENGETI Minimally Invasive Retractor Systems. The top-loading MESA Spinal Systems feature Zero-Torque Technology , applying zero torsional loads, or twisting forces, to the spine when locking the screw. Offering a ...

Direct Digital Controls is pleased to announce that they have been awarded the 2013 Alerton Platinum Dealer Award. The Platinum Dealer program is Alerton's prestigious recognition program aimed at driving peak performance and rewarding those dealers who go the extra mile. The owner of the company, Michael Day, who accepted the award in Texas last month says, "It is a great honor to be recognized as one of the top 15% among so many great companies". Platinum dealer status is scored throughout the year, by Alerton, and is based on outstanding performance in ...

Cash-N-Go LLC, Arizona's leading title loan lender, is announcing the launch of its newly optimized and custom designed website (www.AZCashNGo.com). The new responsive site embodies Cash-N-Go's vision to better connect with the needs of their ever-growing client base seeking title loans in the state of Arizona. Each page on the site welcomes visitors to a clean, sleek layout, attention-grabbing images and rotating testimonials with detailed information on the title loan lending process, as well as special Cash-N-Go incentives. Enhanced features offered on the new website ...

As part of their commitment to community service and good oral health, the Dakota Dental family dentists in Apple Valley, Minnesota, have opened their schedules to take appointments for free educational visits to schools and other children's organizations, including scouting troops and youth groups. Usually scheduled during Children's Dental Health Month in February, the family dentists, Dr. Bennett Isabella and Dr. Shelley Wakefield, present these age-appropriate educational programs throughout the south metro area of the Twin Cities. Each dental care presentation is ...

3-GIS President, Tom Counts and 3-GIS Program Director, Lee Nelson will also be presenting. 3-GIS increases access to GIS for telecommunication and utility companies with market driven software incorporating Esri's ArcGIS platform. 3-GIS will be exhibiting and demonstrating the 3-GIS Express Solution including Network Express, the 3-GIS web based solution; Field Express, the 3-GIS configurable mobile solution and a new 3-GIS mobile application for Android and iPad. In addition, being demonstrated in the booth will be the newest 3-GIS Solution, 3-GISLive. 3-GISLive focuses ...

The Continental Group (TCG), a FirstService Residential Management company, is partnering with The Moorings of Vero, one of the largest Homeowners Associations in Vero Beach. TCG employees and residents of The Moorings of Vero are working with a local charity, Military Moms Prayer Group, to provide some of our troops overseas with items they may need for the holidays. The group ships food and gift packages through gift drives known as "Holidays for Heroes" that generate a good deal of community support. Additionally, TCG's Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie offices ...

Science Academy Software , an educational publisher announced today the release of a new mini-eBook "Making Is So -- Manifesting Realities, Ritualistic Prayer, Spiritual and Practical Guidance" by Robert Cummings. Making It So: * from an observers point of view, exposes ritualistic practices of the secular and non-secular religious groups (i.e. Catholicism, Pentecostal, Self-Development, Buddhism, Santeria, etc.) * discusses prayer and ritual practice, manifestations, dimensions, and realities * discusses spirituality with respect to physical laws, ...

Resumes are a must for today's professionals, particularly given the extremely competitive work environment that has emerged in the wake of the recession; however, many people are unsure of how to present their work history. While the actual written content is, arguably, the most important component of any resume, it is true that documents lacking a readable and professional format will most often be overlooked no matter how polished their content may be. A recent article in The Huffington Post sheds light on the fact that resumes need to be written for both computer and ...

Splick-it, Inc. today announced Wallace "Wally" B. Doolin, former president and CEO of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and TGI Friday's and former president of Applebee's, has accepted an invitation to join its board of directors. Splick-it is an online and mobile ordering platform that allows customers to easily order and pay either via web browser or on any Android or iOS smartphone. In addition to ordering, Splick-it provides restaurants with an array of customer relationship management (CRM) tools to both build and maintain relationships. "Wally ...

On Wednesday, December 12th 6-7pm CT Alice McCall will be facilitating a special meditative event to recognize the importance of the 12-12-2012 date. Attendees will be gain a deeper understanding of this transformational period, experiencing the uplifted energy of this day. "For those following and studying the ascension process for earth and humanity, this is an important date. It enables the earth to vibrate in a higher dimension, bringing a special spiritual activation to you personally," states McCall. "Using a meditation state," shares McCall, ...

TextbookVideos announced the release of three Video Study Guides for Microeconomics that can now be accessed via the web or as enhanced e-books for the Apple iPad. The three titles, Consumer Behavior, Producer Behavior and Market Structures are the first economics e-books to combine video, notes, image galleries and interactive quizzes - making it easier for students to prepare for classes, tests and exams. Students can subscribe to the Video Study Guides on the TextbookVideos web-site or purchase them from iTunes. Educational institutions can also license the content ...

The Dana Point Turkey Trot, a Southern California family tradition, has officially wrapped its 2012 Thanksgiving Day run, providing Orange County runners with one of the most successful races to date in its 35-year history. The Dana Point Turkey Trot hosted more than 10,000 runners on race day, as well as thousands more volunteers, families and spectators in the Dana Point Harbor. In addition, the Dana Point Turkey Trot donated $25,000 to this year's race beneficiary, the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group. With the success of the 2012 race, the Dana Point Turkey ...

Author Helen Downing announced the launch of her debut novel "Awake In Hell" this month. The book, described as "funny, heartwarming, and just a bit foul" is currently available on Amazon.com as a paperback and a Kindle e-book. "Meet Louise Patterson. She is dead. She has been dead for a while. And she is in Hell. Join our foul-mouthed hero as she embarks on a Hellatious adventure; Filled with demons, ghosts, dreams, magic, temp jobs, wardrobe malfunctions, and quite possibly redemption." Says the book description on Amazon.com. There ...

EventNow, the leading online marketplace bridging the gap between customers which are planning parties and first-rate vendors, launches its second video, "Fifty Shades of Grey Party" as part of its YouTube series, Party Crashers on EventNow's YouTube channel. The video features interviews with passerby's on the streets of New York City, during "Book Night Out" - EventNow's twist on NYC's famous Fashion Night Out. Interviewees are asked questions such as whom they would invite and what entertainment they would feature if they were to host a Fifty Shades ...

Sigma Web Marketing, a HubSpot Partner Agency and inbound marketing firm, helps businesses generate qualified leads using the latest inbound marketing strategies. Today Sigma announced a free webinar, "Rapid-Start Inbound Marketing for 2013." This 45-minute webinar will show participants the key steps to driving more traffic to their website and converting site visitors to highly qualified leads. The free webinar will take place on Thursday, December 13 at 11:00 AM EST (GMT-05:00). Those interested can learn more by visiting: http://offers.sigmawebmarketing.com/free-webinar-rapid-start-inbound-marketing-for-2013 Larry ...