Legion of Angels News Archive

Judging by the plethora of new products unveiled at the Superzoo Pet Expo held in Las Vegas earlier this month, the spotlight was undoubtedly safety, rather than frivolous luxury goods and gadgetry for pets on the go.

For instance, fashion took on a different look when the Sherpa Pet Group, renowned for their airline-friendly carriers, launched a new range of clothing and accessories featuring Lunabrite light technology which offers excellent reflective light to make pets visible at night.

This new patented technology is powered by ambient room light or direct sunlight and can glow brightly for up to 12 hours without having to be recharged.

The line features stylish black jackets with the technology built in to the trim. There are collars, leashes, harnesses and special click-and-go safety rings to put around your dog’s neck during an evening walk.

“It’s much safer that removing his regular collar and ID to replace it with a glow in the dark collar,” says Sherpa’s Nicola Plevin. It’s perfect for pet owners to wear around their necks too.”

And to initiate games and exercise after dark, the latest toys also glow and change color. Dogs at the expo were enjoying the Niteize’s new Meteorlight ball, which puts a lot of bounce into canine fun.

A must-have for the traveler is The Fur Fighter. It does a better job than a lint roller at removing stubborn fur from car upholstery and clothing — and remove traces of furry hotel guests.

For travelers with older or arthritic pets that have difficulty getting in and out of vehicles, comes help with the Otto Step, which can be fitted permanently to the back of your truck or SUV and can support pets up to 200 pounds. It’s easily removable and can be stored in the vehicle when not in use.

For dogs that enjoy the great outdoors, there’s a variety of new gear from Jeep, including a well-designed doggie backpack that gives a whole new meaning to the doggie bag.

Available in very trendy camouflage or hot pink, it features two deep zippered pockets, perfect for storing dog treats and toys, is well lined to promote comfort for the wearer, and comes with easily adjustable web straps.

Their latest carrier style known as the Urban Sling is being touted as the perfect mode of transport for little dogs that can’t keep up with the pace. Worn like a stylish messenger bag, pets can sit comfortably and enjoy the surroundings from the look-out opening or zip up the mesh frontage to keep bugs at bay. … And leave it to a car company to design a booster car set for smaller pets with a built-in seat warmer for when the weather turns cold.

Fido hungry? Petzen introduced the Dog-to-Go the portable Chowpal — a elevated eating platform that can be set up anywhere. Its self-contained doggie kitchen is complete with two stainless steel bowls, a water bottle, and lots of space for food and supplies — it even comes with a dinner mat and features an adjustable shoulder strap for easy carrying.

Canine heatstroke can be a big problem for many traveling pets, and veterinarians are endorsing the patented jacket called the Chillybuddy, which can reduce body temperatures by 30 percent — or protect pets with thin hair from sunburn.

Similarly, to keep pets warm, the Doggy Back Jacket from Warm Wiskers is a snug coat with a small toy that secures onto the jacket. It can be removed and warmed in the microwave to provide additional soothing heat for pets that suffer from painful stiff joins and muscles, and can be frozen to provide for cold therapy.

Numerous new companies are also climbing on the bandwagon offering pet passports to help owners keep track of their pet’s medical history, vaccination records and microchip information.

“Health and ID tag records can be invaluable in preparing for the unexpected, as well as giving pet owners peace of mind knowing they are prepared for any emergency,” says Roger Hoyt, CEO of My Documents Inc. His company also sells key chain tags to alert people that if the pet owner is in an accident that they have pets at home that need attention.

The latest leash designs also focused on providing additional safety features. Take the Seat Belt Leash, which attaches to a dog’s harness and has a universal latch that buckles directly into the car’s seat belt to keep pets restrained. Its padded handle provides extra comfort, a zippered pocket keeps money or keys safe, and a reflective stripe aids for night visibility.

Other designs featured add-ons that went around the wearer’s waist, allowing them to walk hands-free, as well as designs for several dogs at a time. The emphasis is on allowing your dog a bit of leeway without pulling and causing neck strain — and for arthritic pet owners who struggle to attach a leash to a collar or harness, the latest magnetic attachments will prove very comfortable to use.

Finally, one product that caused a lot of buzz was actually for the house-bound pet with no travel plans. The DogTread motorized exercise treadmill is available in three sizes, can be programmed for distance and speeds up to five miles an hour, and even has a space for doggy treats and a water bowl to spur your pooch on during his workout.

A Jack Russell terrier named Jack was only too keen to demonstrate. His owner said, “since he started exercising on the treadmill he’s lost his couch potato bulges and is looking quite buff.”

That may very well have been the case, but to on-lookers it looked as if he was only working out for treats.

Source — MSNBC

NEWARK, New Jersey - A United Airlines jetliner was coming in for a landing at the Las Vegas airport in 2006 when the tower radioed that a smaller plane was still crossing the runway.

So the United pilot executed a “go-around,” a routine maneuver in which an incoming plane pulls up at the last minute and circles around. But the jet suddenly found itself on a collision course with an American Airlines plane taking off from an intersecting runway.

The United crew took a hard right turn, the American flight veered off in the other direction, and disaster was averted. But the near-collision offered a frightening vision of what can happen during a go-round at the nation’s congested airports.

An Associated Press review of tower logs and summaries from eight of the nation’s busiest airports, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, found more than 1,500 go-arounds during the last six months of 2007 alone.

Go-arounds haven’t been blamed for any crashes or midair collisions involving commercial airliners over the past three decades, according to a review of National Transportation Safety Board records. Still, there have been some close calls, and controllers worry that without more safeguards, a deadly accident is going to happen.

“We can go 99 percent of the time and not have a problem. But it only takes one,” said John Wallin, president of the air traffic controllers union at Memphis.

In a small number of cases, go-arounds are prompted by “runway incursions” — instances in which taxiing planes or ground vehicles blunder onto a runway in use. However, the vast majority of go-arounds are the result of congestion at major airports, where planes often land and depart every two minutes during peak times.

“We’re trained in that maneuver, so it’s not a tense situation,” said Ralph Paduano, a commercial pilot for more than 20 years who now flies for Continental. “But you have to really be on the ball; you can’t be complacent about it.”

Some controllers want the Federal Aviation Administration to take extra precautions such as staggering arriving flights and not using crisscross runways simultaneously.

The FAA said that it is looking at its procedures on a case-by-case basis — and has altered or abandoned some practices — but that the public is in no immediate danger.

In recent months, federal authorities have investigated go-around procedures at three of the nation’s busiest hubs:

* Newark Liberty International Airport, where three runways intersect at the northeast corner of the airport and planes often have to be sent around when two of them approach intersecting runways at the same time;
* Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, where a go-around procedure was discontinued this spring after air traffic controllers warned it was putting planes directly into the path of planes taking off from another runway;
* Memphis International Airport, where changes were made last year after an arriving Northwest Airlines DC-9 flew close to a commuter plane that had been forced to go around because of a mechanical problem.

At Memphis, east-west Runway 27 runs perpendicular to north-south runways 18L, 18C and 18R and is used during peak periods. After the close call in February 2007, the FAA ordered the airport to stop using all four runways simultaneously.

The practice has since resumed, though Memphis controllers now use software called Converging Runway Display Aid that employs a computer-generated “ghost target” to project where the flight paths will cross.

That didn’t prevent an incident on June 11 in which a commuter jet executed a go-around on Runway 27 and was forced to stay low while an incoming jet landing on Runway 18R — a north-south runway not covered by the CRDA — passed overhead, Wallin said. Wallin said the planes were about 800 feet apart — not a violation of FAA rules, but scary.

The Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that handles whistleblower complaints, said it is reviewing a report on the Memphis runway procedure. In an e-mail to The Associated Press, the FAA said it is satisfied with the changes it made last year and has “found no safety issues” with the procedure.

At Newark, almost half of the nearly 300 go-arounds between last August and January arose from runway “ties,” in which two planes approach intersecting runways at the same time.

Controllers at Newark have been pushing the FAA to change its procedures so that arrivals for those runways are sent at staggered intervals by the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, center on Long Island, which guides Newark-bound planes down to an altitude of 3,000 feet before turning them over to the Newark tower.

Staggering planes relieves pressure on controllers to keep the aircraft out of each other’s way, said Ray Adams, vice president of the controllers union at the airport.

“You have about eight miles, or about two minutes, to figure it out and make it work” after TRACON hands off the arrivals, Adams said. “It comes down to how busy you are and what your skill level is. You have to make some serious moves pretty early to get the sequence to work out.”

The FAA said it is examining the safety of the runway configuration at the request of the Transportation Department’s inspector general. But it said it has not “found evidence of excessive risk that would call for us to stop using the operation.”

In Detroit, two east-west runways form a latticework with four runways that run diagonally northeast to southwest. When one of the four was closed for repairs last year, controllers were instructed to land more planes on east-west Runway 27L.

The problem was, when a plane had to execute a go-around on 27L, it would be heading directly toward the takeoff corridor for planes departing on Runway 22L.

“It puts two aircraft in harm’s way, and that’s unacceptable,” said Vince Sugent, head of the air traffic controllers union at the airport.

The FAA said the practice has been discontinued based on the recommendations made by its Air Traffic Safety Office.

Source — MSNBC

Pamela Anderson has let her beloved car go to the dogs. Or, in this particular case, the reptiles.

The Pam: Girl on the Loose star’s 2000 Dodge Viper was auctioned off in Las Vegas last weekend for $65,000 to benefit her—pardon the pun—pet cause, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

A PETA spokesman said that Anderson’s contribution will be used to raise awareness about the cruel methods used to skin reptiles for shoes, belts, bags and other fashionable accessories.

“I just realized I have too many things,” Anderson exclusively told E! News when asked why she decided to part with her favorite ride.

“I’ve had [my car] since my VIP days and barely drive it…and it would go to much better use if PETA would benefit, so, in the spirit of giving everything away…and helping others.”

Among her Viper’s amenities were a “soft-top convertible roof, front spoiler, racing pinstriping and a luxurious leather interior.”

According to Kelley Blue Book, the current resale value of a 2000 RT/10 Roadster similar to Anderson’s (although probably not as tricked out as hers) is about $41,635.

The former Baywatch babe, who along with her two children has reportedly reshacked up with ex-hubby Tommy Lee, also held an estate sale in May, divesting herself of clothes, jewelry, artwork and an electric car and her Malibu home of roomfuls of furniture.

Proceeds from that sale also went to PETA, according to Anderson.

“While I’m almost finished building my new home in an ecofriendly development back home in Canada, Vancouver Island, I’m between houses and just realized I don’t need all these things,” she told E!

“I’m very happy with my kids, traveling and camping out with family and friends. It’s very freeing and exciting. It just feels good!”

Source — E! News

Jazz duo Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams will be named to Team USA for the Beijing Olympics, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo wouldn’t confirm the report when talking to the newspaper.

“They are two highly thought-of candidates to be on the team,” Colangelo said. “We’ve said that all along, but we’re not pre-announcing anything.”

Both have experience with Team USA. Williams played last summer in Las Vegas at the Olympic qualifying tournament. While Boozer sat out that tourney, he did play on the ‘04 Olympics team which took bronze.

The duo led the Jazz past the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs this season, winning the series 4-2. Utah lost by the same result to the Western Conference champion Lakers in the second round.

Boozer averaged 21.1 points and 10.4 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent from the field during the season, and Williams contributed 18.8 points and 10.5 assists per game.

So far, the Team USA roster is rumored to include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince and Chris Paul.

Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups took themselves out of consideration, with Stoudemire sitting out to rest a repaired knee and Billups withdrawing for personal reasons.

Source — Fox Sports