A few years ago, I planned a vacation to the Jersey Shore to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday at a small bed and breakfast a few blocks from the beach. Shortly before we left, we had one of those decadent days where you do nothing but relax, enjoy each other’s company, and gorge on reality television. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Burlington, Vt., is a long way from New York and the Jersey Shore, but when Joan Shannon read about the storm ravaged victims of Hurricane Sandy and their struggles to care for their pets she knew she had to get involved.
“I thought that there was probably a need for temporary shelter for the dogs,” she said, explaining her efforts were aimed as much at pet owners who found themselves in an unimaginable situation.
Hundreds of families were left homeless, and unable to take their dogs with them were forced to leave their beloved pets behind in the unheated remnants of their houses.
Shannon founded Sandy Dog Nannies, an organization of volunteers willing to temporarily foster dogs affected by the storm. Dog owners in need are asked to provide a profile of their hound which is then shared with approved foster families that have been vetted by the organization. The dog’s owner then reviews the applications and reports on the potential foster homes and selects the most appropriate offer.
Sandy Dog Nannies couldn’t have come at a better time for Debbie Blair. Like so many, she lost almost everything in the storm. Her home in Breezy Point was battered by flood waters and high winds — and while she fared better than some of her neighbors she was struggling to look after her 11-year-old Cairn terrier, Jessie.
“There’s such a peace of mind that I have that I know my dog is safe and being well taken care of,” said Blair. “Dogs pick up on all our stress as well, so she was removed from all the craziness that was going on in my house. It’s just a blessing.”
The initial idea of Sandy Dog Nannies was to transport the dogs to the green mountains of Vermont, placing them with willing families. However, Shannon quickly discovered that while storm victims were crying out for help they wanted their faithful hounds in close proximity so they could visit. Debbie Blair‘s terrier was placed with Kerry Madden in Manhattan. “I was guaranteeing them that this dog would be well taken care of and I wanted them to take care of their needs,” said Madden. Little Jessie now enjoys thrice daily walks along the sidewalk with Madden’s two other dogs and Blair can concentrate on rebuilding her home knowing her dog is safe.
It will be months, and in some cases years before some of the neighborhoods impacted by Sandy are rebuilt.
“Nobody anticipates being in the position that these folks are in where there are just no good options,” said Shannon. “If we have given somebody an option, we’ve been successful.”
It’s an example of people helping people, and man’s best friend — at perhaps their greatest time of need.
Click for more from Sandy Dog Nannies.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/mo-aC8gLVNI/
By The Huffington Post News Editors
We wouldn’t recommend taking advice from Snooki when it comes to, well, most things. But when the erstwhile “Jersey Shore” star decided to offer up some words of wisdom to Kim Kardashian, we were more than willing to eavesdrop — out of sheer curiosity, of course.
Addressing the pregnant star in her capacity as Celebrity Baby Correspondent for Celebuzz (looks like she’s found a second career?), Snooki dishes about “how to look glam during labor — because it’s a bitch.”
“If your face isn’t already made up when your water breaks,” new mom Snooki says in the Celebuzz video, “you have plenty of time to do it in the hospital when you’re waiting to dilate.” Yippee! Just make sure to choose your color palette wisely, she says, seeing as hospital lighting and decor is totally drab.
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More on The Kardashians
By Zach Bowman
Filed under: Aftermarket, Videos, Motorcycle
We wouldn’t blame you if you recoiled from every video about motorcycle builders you saw. After all, American Choppers has effectively conditioned each and every one of us to think stitching together custom bikes involves more drama than your average episode of Jersey Shore. But, as Jared Johnson of Holiday Customs so eloquently illustrates, real life building as all about crafting something that isn’t “just a bolt on situation.” Even better, the shop focuses on crafting accessible bikes for the masses instead of $25,000 bits of unobtanium. It’s clear Johnson wants his bikes to be ridden, not sheltered in someone’s forsaken garage.
Sunglasses maker Shwood Eyewear turned its attention to Holiday Customs for the latest in the company’s Experiment With Nature video series. The clip succinctly sums up what we love about bikes, wrenching and, fittingly enough, wrenching on bikes. You can check out the video below, and be sure to head over to the Holiday Customs site for daily dose of drool-worthy metal.
Continue reading Portland’s Holiday Customs is your American Chopper antidote
Portland’s Holiday Customs is your American Chopper antidote originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
The brutal cold snap affecting much of the country is taking a devastating toll on victims of superstorm Sandy, many of whom are camped out in tent cities or living in homes without power, heat or running water.
Hundreds of people in New York’s Staten Island and along the Jersey Shore are still without basic necessities nearly three months after the devastating storm struck.
“Many families in Union Beach are using space heaters to warm upstairs,” said Jeanette Van Houten, a resident from the small New Jersey town that was among the hardest-hit communities. “There’s people with no heat, no electric, but they are staying in the house because it’s better than having to deal with FEMA and having to leave hotels every two weeks.
“There are families who have chosen to stay in their homes just to have some sort of normalcy,” she added.
The cold wave has brought single-digit temperatures to the Northeast, some 10 to 15 degrees below normal for the time of year.
Residents of the New Dorp Beach section of Staten Island have taken shelter in tents set up by aid workers with only small propane heaters, sleeping bags and blankets to stave off the bone-chilling cold, according to reports.
In the Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point, one of the most storm-ravaged areas of the region, residents lined up at the local recovery center this week to pick up donated ceramic space heaters. Many of the suffering residents in the five boroughs of New York City say their homes still are barely habitable, despite the city’s so-called Rapid Repairs program that was supposed to make their homes livable quickly.
According to the city, construction teams for the Rapid Repairs program have restored heat, hot water and power to more than 12,000 city residents, with work still to be completed in another 1,900 buildings.
Van Houten, whose house in Union Beach was destroyed by Sandy, has since stayed with relatives further down the coast in South Toms River. She said she feels that her and her family are fortunate.
“Things are far from better, but I’m one of the lucky ones,” she said.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
AP Photo/Mike Groll
Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL
The iconic boardwalk where generations of families and teens got their first taste of the Jersey Shore and where the reality show of the same name was filmed is being rebuilt following its destruction in Superstorm Sandy.
Seaside Heights on Wednesday awarded a $3.6 million contract to have the boardwalk rebuilt in time for Memorial Day weekend.
The Seaside Heights walkway was one of the most popular and heavily used boardwalks at the shore. It was featured in the MTV reality show made famous by Snooki and The Situation. It was destroyed in the October storm. Officials say it’s the centerpiece of the borough’s tourist industry, which funds 75 percent of its budget.
The work should be done by May 10.
Seaside Heights is the second major boardwalk to begin rebuilding. Belmar started work on its walkway last week.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
