ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment achieves ISSA certifications

I worked for Aramark Sports and Entertainmet back in 2007 so I am happy to report this story:

PHILADELPHIA — ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment, a leading provider of professional services at sports and entertainment facilities, convention centers and parks and other destinations, has received Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) and CIMS-Green Building (CIMS-GB) certification with Honors by ISSA, according to a press release.

This achievement recognizes ARAMARK's commitment to promoting cleaning operations that deliver consistent, quality services designed to meet customers' needs and expectations, the release stated.

"This prestigious honor is a testament to our facility services team's hardwork and devotion to developing cleaning programs and solutions that produce fresh and inviting environments for guests every time they attend an event at one of our venues," said Jack O'Brien, president of convention centers, facilities and culinary operations, ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment.

ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment partners with 19 clients to provide a wide variety of facility services, including maintenance, engineering, janitorial, custodial, landscaping, housekeeping, energy management and set-up and venue conversion, the release noted.

Click here to read the complete release.

Kimberly-Clark Health Care Launches "Not on My Watch"

The Department of Health & Human Services recently released its annual report on the quality of health care Americans receive. While there have been some improvements, hospitals still have work to do to put an end to the ongoing - but solvable - problem of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).

To help achieve this goal, Kimberly-Clark Health Care launched "Not on My Watch" (www.haiwatch.com), a website that provides tools and information to help facilities eliminate HAIs.

Kimberly-Clark will match all year-end gifts made by AORN members up to $20,000! The donation will be used to support the advancement of through education, research and patient safety initiatives. A few of these nurses’ programs include scholarships, educational tool kits, and webinars and conferences for professional development. Click on the link to make your donation today!

To find get more information please visit http://haiwatchnews.com

Inventor Drives Car 3,000 Miles on Nothing But Water

Many of you know I report on building, custodial, hospitals and the trend on green cleaning. I read this story on Before It's News and thought it would be good for me to share it:

The vehicle in the video below supposedly went on a 3,000 mile road trip running only on water.

...Inventor Frederick W. Wood, and his associate, David Seigler, from Future Energy Concepts, Inc., give a video tour of the pickup truck that they claim to have converted to run on nothing but hydroxy gas, electrolyzed on-board, and on-demand, via a super-efficient electrolysis (from water) method they have developed. Their system allegedly produces 55 liters per minute on 55 amps. They also say the truck recently completed a road trip of more than 3000 miles, running on this set-up...(youtube)

Supposedly the inventor is willing to give away the basic design. He is doing it for the planet and so "our children can stop dying."

Resurgent bedbugs don't spread disease

CHICAGO — Once relegated to third-world nations, grandparents' memories and old nursery rhymes, bedbugs have enjoyed a dramatic and surprising resurgence, according to the Daily Herald.

The United States is experiencing "an alarming resurgence in the population of bedbugs," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), because the pests have developed a resistance to pesticides and are able to spread so much faster due to increased international travel, the article stated.

The bugs don't spread malaria or other blood-borne diseases: Their beak-like mouths generally pierce the skin without causing enough pain to wake their victims, the article noted.

"They come out at 2 in the morning when you are least alert, feed on you for five minutes or so, and then go back into hiding," said Curt Colwell, entomologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"A high percentage of people don't react at all," Colwell added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Five Oklahoma tribes receive EPA monetary awards

OKLAHOMA CITY — Five American Indian tribes in Oklahoma have received monetary awards totaling $720,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to KTUL-TV.

The Miami, Modoc and Seneca-Cayuga tribes and the Wyandotte Nation each have received $120,000, the article noted.

The EPA says the tribes will use the money to help implement tribal-wide recycling programs, develop tribal indoor air and education and outreach programs, update environmental codes and ordinances and train staff on environmental protection issues, the article stated.

According to the article, the Seneca-Cayuga tribe also will use the money for implementing solid waste cleanup activities, conducting baseline monitoring for indoor air contaminants and developing emergency management plans.

Click here to read the complete article.

Cintas settles racial and sexual harassment claim

PHILADELPHIA — Cintas Corporation, which manufactures uniforms and provides specialized services to businesses, has agreed to pay $152,500 to settle a racial and sexual harassment lawsuit filed against it by the Equal Employment and Opportunities Commission (EEOC), according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The suit alleged that a supervisor in Cintas' fire-protection unit subjected a group of black employees "to egregious sexual and racial harassment," the article stated.

In a consent decree, Cintas also agreed provide training about the federal antidiscrimination laws to all employees at their Conshohocken plant, the article noted.

Click here to read the complete article.

Seattle is turning its rooftops green

SEATTLE — Seattle rooftops are starting to look more like parks as a new report shows half of all new commercial structures developed in the area are being built with green rooftops, according to My Northwest.

"Green roofs can lead directly to reduced utility rates for storm water, an increase in property values, energy efficiency benefits for buildings and opportunities for urban agriculture in existing 'food deserts,'" said City Councilmember Mike O'Brien, chair of the Council's Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods.

As of December 2009, Seattle had 62 structures with green roofs, with total rooftop green space amounting to 359,375 square feet, the article noted.

The Bastille restaurant in Ballard and McMahon Hall at the University of Washington, reportedly use vegetables and herbs grown on rooftop spaces for their food service, the article stated.

Other local apartment buildings report setting up community P-patch gardens atop their buildings, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.