Archive for April, 2010

Cash For Clunkers may have some competition. A Brooklyn schoolteacher whose car was stolen three years ago has gotten it back — totally souped up and unrecognizable. Amanda Pogany’s 1996 Honda was returned to her drag-race ready, with a new V-8 engine, manual transmission, leather interior, tinted windows and oversize tires. In Alaska, when...
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1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War. 1847 – The last survivors of the Donner Party are out of the wilderness. 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal. 1861 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington,...
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1770 – Captain James Cook sights Australia. 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord. 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy....
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In the last days of the legislative session, a flurry of activity takes place. It’s always a fun time to pay attention to the goings-on at the State Capitol. I’m signed up for a few different email update services, watch Gavel to Gavel, and follow the reporting of legislative activity. While scanning through the...
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1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements. 1783 – Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began. 1848 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of...
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1862 – American Civil War: The Battle at Lee’s Mills in Virginia. 1862 – American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law. 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. 1917 – Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland....
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The Legislature today passed a bill that would make the deceased eligible for Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks. I can’t count the number of times when I’ve been outside and had someone say, “You’re from Alaska? Is it true they pay you to live there?” The answer is a guarded yes; I’d talk about...
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1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the Revolutionary War are ratified. 1865 – Abraham Lincoln dies without regaining consciousness after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed. 1912 – The British passenger liner, the RMS Titanic, sinks in the North Atlantic at...
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1775 – The first abolition society in North America is established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush. 1828 – Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary. 1846 – The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield,...
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The chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch is being paid $4m (£2.6m) to curb his personal use of the company plane. (BBC) Geez, must be tough being the boss of Abercrombie & Fitch. All this time, I’ve been happy just to work at a place that has free coffee.
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