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The Home Depot
The Home Depot corporate headquarters in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia
|Traded as
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
|Unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, 30339 United States
Number of locations
|2,274 (February 2016)[1]
Area served
|United States, Canada, Mexico
Key people
Craig Menear
(Chairman and CEO)
|Home appliances, tools, hardware, lumber, building materials, paint, plumbing, flooring, garden supplies & plants
|US$83.176 billion (2015)[2]
|US$10.469 billion (2015)[2]
|US$6.345 billion (2015)[2]
|Total assets
|US$39.946 billion (2015)[2]
|Total equity
|US$9.322 billion (2015)[2]
Number of employees
|371,000 (2015)[3]
|Interline Brands
The Home Depot is a home improvement supplies superstore that sells tools, construction products and services.
It operates many big-box format stores across the United States (including all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and Guam), all ten provinces of Canada, as well as Mexico. The company is headquartered at the Atlanta Store Support Center in Cobb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta.[4]
In terms of overall revenue reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, ahead of rival Lowe's. The store operates out of large warehouse-style buildings averaging 105,000 ft2 (9,755 m2) with megastores operating in larger facilities (the company's largest store, located in Vauxhall, New Jersey is 225,000 ft2).[5]
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ron Brill and Pat Farrah.[6] The Home Depot's proposition was to build home-improvement superstores, larger than any of their competitors' facilities. Investment banker Ken Langone helped Marcus and Blank to secure the necessary capital.
|Bernie and I founded The Home Depot with a special vision – to create a company that would keep alive the values that were important to us. Values like respect among all people, excellent customer service and giving back to communities and society[7]
|— Arthur Blank
In 1979, the first two stores, built in spaces leased from J. C. Penney that were originally Treasure Island "hypermarket" (discount department and grocery) stores, opened in metro Atlanta (in Doraville and on Memorial Drive in Decatur, both near I-285)[8] on June 21. Two more opened not long after, and all four shared the space under the "squiggly" zig-zag roof with Zayre on its right side. The initial public offering occurred in approximately September 1981 and the company became a New York Stock Exchange traded company on April 19, 1984.[9] The first headquarters was on Terrell Mill Road on the southeast side of Marietta, Georgia, just down from one of the stores at the corner of Cobb Parkway. (That store 33°54′23″N 84°29′14″W / 33.9065°N 84.4872°W, in the Marietta Plaza strip mall, became Value City, changing to Burlington Coat Factory in 2008; part was also a short-lived Little Bucks, in which Brill had a stake.)
Since the 1990s, its headquarters (33°51′54″N 84°28′55″W / 33.865°N 84.482°W) have been a complex of high-rise buildings on Paces Ferry Road, on the western edge of the Cumberland/Galleria edge city in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, across Interstate 285 from the town of Vinings, and served by mail from Atlanta. The tallest building is approximately 85 metres (279 ft) high, the fourth-tallest in the Vinings area.[10] The three buildings are marked B, C, and D—the "missing" building A is actually store #121 on Cumberland Parkway, which the complex overlooks immediately across I-285.
In 2000, after the retirement of Marcus and Blank, Robert Nardelli was appointed chairman, president, and CEO.
Nardelli had pushed hard to make the company more efficient, instituting many metrics and centralizing operations, while cutting jobs, benefits, and associate pay to meet quarterly earnings targets. While this initially doubled earnings and reduced expenses, it alienated many of the store managers and rank-and-file store associates, and by extension the customers.[11] Nardelli, who regarded home improvement store-by-store sales as less important due to market saturation from competition such as Lowe's, aimed to dominate the wholesale housing-supply business through building up HD Supply, a unit that his successor Frank Blake sold for $8.5 billion in August 2007 since it was not part of Home Depot's integrated business. In comparison to Nardelli, whose numbers-driven approach never appreciated the role of the store and its associates, Blake's strategy has revolved around reinvigorating the stores and its service culture (engaging employees, making products readily available and exciting to customers, improving the store environment, and dominating the professional contracting business, an area in which Home Depot's closest rivals trail far behind), as he recognized that employee morale is a more sensitive issue in retail compared to other industry sectors like manufacturing.[12]
Its 2005 sales totaled US$91.8 billion (US$77.0 billion in retail sales). Despite the 10% increase in revenue, it dropped three spots to No. 17 on the 2007 FORTUNE magazine's FORTUNE 500 list (it was No. 13 in 2005 and No. 14 in 2006). The Home Depot owned EXPO Design Center, a chain of home decorating and appliance stores, but closed the chain in 2009.[13]
In 2001, it acquired distributor Your Other Warehouse (YOW), which still operates as its own division. In 2006, the Home Depot acquired Hughes Supply which was assimilated into HD Supply serving contractors, which it sold in June 2007. In September 2005, Home Depot Direct launched its online home-furnishings store, 10 Crescent Lane, shortly followed by the launch of Paces Trading Company, its online lighting store. In mid 2006, the Home Depot acquired Home Decorators Collection, which was placed as an additional brand under its Home Depot Direct division. Home Depot Landscape Supply, with only a few stores each in metro Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth, was founded in 2002 and closed in late 2007.
On January 2, 2007, the Home Depot and Robert Nardelli mutually agreed on Nardelli's resignation as CEO after a six-year tenure. Nardelli resigned amid complaints over his heavy-handed management and whether his pay package of $123.7 million (excluding stock option grants) over the previous five years was excessive, considering the stock's poor performance versus its competitor Lowe's. His severance package of $210 million was criticized because when the stock went down, his pay went up.[14][15]
His successor, Frank Blake, previously served as the company's vice chairman of the board and executive vice president. Blake agreed to a much more conservative compensation package than Nardelli, that is very heavily dependent upon the success of the company. Although a longtime deputy to Nardelli at GE and Home Depot, Blake was said to lack Nardelli's hard edge and instead preferred to make decisions by consensus. Indeed, Blake repudiated many of his predecessor's strategies, and it has been reported that the two men have not spoken since Nardelli departed Home Depot.[14][16]
In 2007, the Home Depot sold its $13 billion revenue wholesale (trade) division, HD Supply, to a consortium of three private equity firms, The Carlyle Group, Bain Capital and Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (with each agreeing to buy a one-third stake in the division).[17] Home Depot sold their wholesale construction supply business to fund a stock repurchase estimated at $40 billion.[18]
In 2008 and 2009, with the downturn in the housing market, The Home Depot announced the layoff of several thousand associates, as well as the closing of 54 stores nationwide, including the entire EXPO Design Center chain.[19] Associates at EXPO were allowed to re-apply for Home Depot jobs after the layoffs, and did not lose any tenure if hired back. In the year of February 2009, sales totaled $71.288 billion, more than $20 billion down from the peak of two years earlier due to the sale of HD Supply and falling revenue at the retained business. In 2012, they proceeded to close the big-box style stores that they had in China, however smaller stores that specialized in custom products and focused on more intimate interactions between customers and associates remain open there.
In August 2014 it was announced that Frank Blake would step down as CEO and would be replaced by 57-year-old Craig Menear. The change occurred on November 1, 2014. Blake would continue with the company as Chairman. Menear joined The Home Depot in 1997, and served in various management and vice-presidential positions, until 2003, including Merchandising Vice President of Hardware, Merchandising Vice President of the Southwest Division, and Divisional Merchandise Manager of the Southwest Division. He subsequently served as Senior Vice President of Merchandising from August 2003 to April 2007. He then served as an Executive Vice President of Merchandising from April 2007 to February 2014. Until becoming CEO, Menear served as President of U.S. Retail from February 2014 to November 1, 2014.[20]
The company had a data breach in September 2014.[21] One major reason for the data breach was the practice of entering credit card numbers directly into computers at the service-desk and pro-desk, and in specialty departments including flooring, kitchen cabinets, appliances, and millwork, rather than using POS credit card terminals directly. The practice was stopped and Home Depot offered a year of free credit monitoring through AllClearID for any customers who requested it. There were also reports of credit card numbers being stolen when used to make purchases on Homedepot.com.
On July 22, 2015 Home Depot acquired Interline Brands from P2 Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs' private equity arm, and the management of Interline Brands for $1.6 billion.[22]
Home Depot stores average 105,000 ft2 (9,755 m2) in size and are organized warehouse-style, stocking a large range of supplies. Home Depot's two largest stores are located in Union, New Jersey, which encompasses 217,000 ft2 of space, and in Anaheim Hills, California where it encompasses 204,000 ft2.[23] The company color is a bright orange (PMS 165, CMYK 60M100Y, HEX FF6600), on signs, equipment and employee aprons. It was announced in August 2014 that Craig Menear will take over for Frank Blake as CEO while Blake will remain the chairman of the board.[24]
Board of directors
Current members of the board of directors of the Home Depot are: F. Duane Ackerman, David H. Batchelder, Frank Blake, Ari Bousbib, Gregory D. Brenneman, Albert P. Carey, Armando Codina, Bonnie G. Hill, and Karen Katen.[25] The Home Depot's board consists of 9 members, with 8 of them being independent directors.
The slogan "More saving. More doing." was introduced by The Home Depot in the March 18, 2009 circular, replacing "You can do it. We can help." which had been used since 2003. Other slogans used in the past 25 years include "The Home Depot, Low prices are just the beginning" in the early 1990s and "When you're at the Home Depot, You'll feel right at home" in the late 1990s and "The Home Depot: First In Home Improvement!" from 1999–2003.
US Stores division
Long-time employee Marc Powers became the head of Home Depot's US stores division in 2014. He took the place of Marvin Ellison, who left to become the chief executive of J.C. Penney. In January, 2016 Home Depot announced the departure of Powers as division head, to be replaced by another veteran employee, Ann-Marie Campbell, one of Powers' deputies. The change in leadership is effective as of February 1, 2016. Ms. Campbell has been employed by Home Depot for over 30 years, beginning as a cashier in a branch in South Florida. Her most recent role was as president of Home Depot's northern and western divisions.[26]
Interline Brands
Interline Brands has over 90 distribution centers throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico that serves customer needs for MRO and janitorial supplies.[27]
The brands of Interline Brands includes:
- Wilmar Industries (MRO)
- Barnett (MRO, contractor supplies)
- SupplyWorks (janitorial, packaging, MRO)
- US Lock (keys, security devices)
- Hardware Express (hardware supplies)
- Maintenance USA (MRO)
- Leran Gas Products (propane accessories)
The domain homedepot.com attracted at least 120 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.[28] In the US HomeDepot.com has 5 Call centers located in Kennesaw, GA; Atlanta, GA; Marietta, GA; Ogden, Utah and Tempe, AZ.
Exclusive brands
The Home Depot exclusively carries several major brands, including:
- Chem-Dry (carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, tile and grout services)
- Behr paints
- Rheem (water heaters)
- Homelite (outdoor and power tools)
- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (outdoor furniture, indoor organization)
- Ryobi and Ridgid (power tools)
- American Woodmark cabinetry
- Thomasville Furniture Industries cabinetry
Additionally, the retailer has its own house brands:
- Husky (tools)
- Workforce (tools, shelving, storage cabinets, extension cords, worklights, tarps, paintbrushes)
- Glacier Bay (kitchen sinks, faucets, etc.)
- Hampton Bay (ceiling fans, lighting, outdoor furnishings, and outdoor shelters)
- Commercial Electric
- Home Decorators Collection
Fuel centers
In 2006, the Home Depot started testing fuel centers at some of its stores. The first such "Home Depot Fuel" convenience store (C-Store) was located in Brentwood, Tennessee followed a month later by a center about 20 miles (32 km) away in Hermitage, both suburbs of Nashville. Four additional prototype stores were built within the year at Acworth, Georgia; Smyrna, Tennessee; Greensboro, Georgia; and then Winchester, Tennessee in that order. The centers were expected to earn $5–$7 million per year, though the actual number was reported to be much higher. The fuel centers sell beer, hot food, and snacks along with providing diesel fuel and gas at a separate island. This allows contractors with large trucks to be able to fill their vehicles. The fuel centers offer car washes, which are large enough to accommodate full-size pickup trucks and other large commercial vehicles.[29]
The Home Depot Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the company created in 2002. It has contributed over $200 million in time, labor, money, and supplies to a number of causes, including Habitat for Humanity, California-based City of Hope National Medical Center, and playground construction organization KaBOOM![30] Home Depot supports the U.S. Military community with a 10% military discount.
The Home Depot has partnered with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's Ready Georgia campaign, leading both supplies and facility use to this statewide effort to increase emergency preparedness among Georgia's children.[31] The company also provided ready kits and other prizes for an art and essay contest for Georgia elementary school students.[32]
In 2005, The Home Depot was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.[33][34][35]
Environmental record
The Home Depot has stated on their website that they have a commitment "to the environment and pledge to continue to be an industry leader in looking for products and services that are respectful of our world". The Home Depot introduced a label on nearly 3,000 products in 2007. The label promotes energy conservation, sustainable forestry and clean water. Home Depot executives said that as the world's-largest buyer of construction material, their company had the power to persuade thousands of suppliers, homebuilders and consumers to follow its lead on environment sustainability. "Who in the world has a chance to have a bigger impact on this sector than Home Depot?" asked Ron Jarvis, vice president for environmental innovation at Home Depot.[36] This program is following The Home Depot's promise in the late 1990s to eliminate the number of sales of lumber from endangered forests in countries including Chile and Indonesia.[37] Home Depot has since worked with environmental groups to create a variety of green programs. For example, Home Depot planted thousands of trees at its headquarters in Atlanta to offset carbon emissions. In 2007, The Home Depot Foundation (the company's charitable foundation) committed to investing $100 million over the next decade to build over 100,000 green affordable homes and plant 3,000,000 trees.
Additionally, The Home Depot promotes compact fluorescent light bulbs in its stores. As part of this effort, the company created the largest recycling program in the United States for the bulbs.[38] In March 2013, Home Depot locations in Canada stopped accepting compact fluorescent light bulbs for recycling.[39]
Major sponsorships
Since 1991, the company has become a large supporter of athletics, sponsoring the United States and Canadian Olympic teams, and launching a program which offered employment to athletes that accommodates their training and competition schedules. The Home Depot ceased to be a sponsor of the Canadian Olympic Team in 2005.
Company co-founder Arthur Blank also purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise of the National Football League in February 2002, although Home Depot makes no association with the team.
In 2002, The Home Depot joined PBS as a sponsor of This Old House and Ask This Old House.
In 2003, The Home Depot became a sponsor for Trading Spaces.
Since 1999, The Home Depot has been a major sponsor for Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR. Their arrival into the series coincided with Tony Stewart leaving the Indy Racing League to join what is now the Sprint Cup Series. Stewart drove The Home Depot-sponsored #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing until 2008, winning 2 of his 3 series championships in the car, and was succeeded by Joey Logano, who took the car to victory lane twice. After Matt Kenseth joined the team, The Home Depot's status as the #20's primary sponsor was taken over by Dollar General, but the company still served as its most frequent secondary sponsor through its Husky Tools division. On June 23, 2014, the company announced it would end its NASCAR sponsorship after 2014.[40]
The Home Depot was the title sponsor of The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home to both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA of Major League Soccer, and Los Angeles Riptide (Major League Lacrosse), and many past major sporting events. The venue is now called StubHub Center.
In 2006, The Home Depot partnered with Duke University's Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering to create "The Home Depot Smart Home". The smart home is a live-in laboratory for ten upper-class engineering students that allows them to immerse themselves in the work. The goal of the project is to help provide innovative solutions for the home in areas such as security and home monitoring, communications, energy efficiency, entertainment, environment and health.[41]
In January 2007, The Home Depot became the official Home Improvement sponsor of ESPN's College Gameday.[42]
Seventy-three percent of The Home Depot's campaign contributions went to Republican candidates in the 2005–2006 US elections. "Home Depot's PAC gives money based on a candidate's voting record, committee assignment and leadership position," said company spokesman Jerry Shields.[43] The CEO in this period was Bob Nardelli, a friend of U.S. President George W. Bush.[44] Nardelli hosted a garden reception/fundraiser for Bush at his Atlanta home on May 20, 2004.[45]
Home Depot Canada is the Canadian unit of the Home Depot and one of Canada's top home improvement retailers. The Canadian operation consists of 182 stores and employs over 28,000 people in Canada. Home Depot Canada has stores in all ten Canadian provinces and serves territorial Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon through electronic means (Online Sales). The Canadian head office is located in Toronto.
The Canadian unit was created with the purchase of Aikenhead's Hardware. Home Depot management has an ambitious plan to overtake its biggest competitor, RONA, which has about four times as many stores. However, some of RONA's stores are smaller than the typical Home Depot store. In terms of big box stores, the Home Depot has more stores than RONA, (not including other Rona banners such as Réno Dépôt or Cashway). As of 2007, RONA pulled ahead of The Home Depot in total retail sales, due to aggressive consolidation efforts by RONA, combined with the loss of The Home Depot's industrial supply division, HD Supply, in July 2007. The Home Depot now faces competition from Lowe's as they have moved into the Canadian market effective the end of 2007; Lowe's now has 35 outlets in Canada.
The Home Depot banner in Quebec, where it has 22 stores, reads "Home Depot" without the definite article "the" in order to ensure a more cross-compatible proper name (that does not read like an English sentence) between both the French and English languages. However, Home Depot is still in English and not in French, which would be Entrepôt de la maison.
The Home Depot operates 106 stores in Mexico[46] and has become one of the largest retailers in Mexico since it entered the market in 2001. The Home Depot increased its presence in Mexico in 2004, with the acquisition of Home Mart, the second largest Mexican home improvement retailer.
The Home Depot Mexico employs more than 11,000 associates throughout the country and has an annual growth rate of 10 percent.[47]
In December 2006, the Home Depot announced its acquisition of the Chinese home improvement retailer The Home Way.[48] The acquisition gave the Home Depot an immediate presence in China, with 12 stores in six cities.
Beginning of April, 2011, Home Depot recently shut its last Beijing store, the fifth Home Depot to close in China in the past two years. In September 2012, The Home Depot announced it was closing all big box stores in China. The Home Depot retains two specialty stores in China, a Home Decorators Collection Store and a paint and flooring store.[49]
As of September 16, 2012 all seven of the box stores in China had been shut down.[50] The Home Depot has no immediate plans to further expand its specialty stores in China. The company is taking a "wait-and-see" attitude towards the Chinese market, but does not want to completely pull out because re-entry into the market would be very costly.
The Home Depot's lack of success in China has been attributed to the disconnect between The Home Depot's do-it-yourself ethos and Chinese culture. In 2012, the Home Depot conceded that it misread the country's appetite for do-it-yourself products. As a spokeswoman for the company said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, "The market trend says this is more of a do-it-for-me culture".[49] Culturally, manual labor is seen as an activity for lower-class citizens, and some have speculated that The Home Depot could have capitalized on this by offering a do-it-for-me model to Chinese consumers. Chinese consumers prefer to see a finished product, such as a renovated room, rather than light bulbs and lumber.[51] Ironically, the same issue does not exist outside of China, especially in Canada where Chinese Home Depot advertisements and store signage can be found in areas with large Chinese demographics.
United Kingdom
There were reports that the Home Depot was interested in acquiring B&Q, the largest DIY retailer in the United Kingdom, Ireland and China. Speculation of a takeover began in 1999 when the retailer Asda was purchased by Walmart. The Home Depot would have to acquire Kingfisher plc, B&Q's parent company, to acquire B&Q. Kingfisher consists of several European DIY chains, however the Home Depot was only interested in B&Q operations and says that it would dispose of the Castorama chain which operates in France, Italy, Poland and Russia. Talks ending in 2005 did not result in any takeover deal.[52][53][54][55]
South America
In 1997, Home Depot entered the Chilean and Argentine markets. While the venture was viewed with great optimism by founders Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank,[56] it eventually proved unprofitable. In October 2001, Chilean partners Falabella bought out Home Depot's share of the five Chilean Home Center stores and rebranded them Home Store. In 2003, after merging with Sodimac, all stores adopted that brand. The company has since expanded across Latin America very profitably and successfully. It's currently the N°1 Home Improvement company in South America. In 2002,Argentina's Home Depots were bought out by Chilean company Cencosud and rebranded Easy stores, a company that has also expanded across South America. It's currently the N°2 Home Improvement company in South America.
Labor union policies
In 2004, Home Depot workers at a suburban Detroit store in Harper Woods, Michigan, rejected a bid to be represented by a labor union, voting 115 to 42 against joining the United Food and Commercial Workers. If the union had won, the Michigan store would have been the first Home Depot to have union representation.[57]
In October 2008 co-founder and ex-CEO Bernard Marcus called the Employee Free Choice Act "the demise of a civilization".[58]
Whistleblower case
The Home Depot was embroiled in whistleblower litigation brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) law. In July 2005, former employee Michael Davis, represented by attorney Mark D. Schwartz filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Home Depot, alleging that his discharge was in retaliation for refusing to make unwarranted backcharges against vendors. Davis alleges that the Home Depot forced its employees to meet a set quota of backcharges to cover damaged or defective merchandise, forcing employees to make chargebacks to vendors for merchandise that was undamaged and not defective. The Home Depot alleges that it fired Davis for repeatedly failing to show up for work.
The trial initially was concluded in June 2006, but in April 2007, U.S. Department of Labor Judge Pamela Lakes Wood ordered the case reopened after the Home Depot's law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld revealed that the retail giant's in-house counsel had told them that two Home Depot employees who testified at the trial had lied. Akin Gump sent Wood a letter on September 29, 2006, in which the law firm requested that the testimony be stricken. In response to Akin Gump's revelation, Davis' attorney Mark D. Schwartz asked for the case to be reopened to permit further questioning of the witnesses. On April 6, 2007, Wood ordered the case to be reopened.
Schwartz was quoted by the New York Post as saying, "I have reason to believe these witnesses were intimidated into giving false testimony." The Home Depot called Schwartz's allegations "meritless".[59]
Home Depot has settled the dispute in a stipulation of settlement dated March 28, 2008. In the settlement, Home Depot changed some of its corporate governance provisions. Home Depot also agreed to pay the plaintiff's counsel $6 million in cash and $8.5 million in common stock.[60]
Patent law controversy
Powell v. Home Depot USA, Inc. (2008cv61862) (2011) was a decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida concerning patent infringement on a "safe hands" device that Michael Powell, an independent contractor for Home Depot, created in response to injuries to the hands of associates using in-store radial arm saws. The District Court jury returned a verdict in favor of Powell.
In 2011, Home Depot appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, challenging the district court's denial of its renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on the issues of infringement, willfulness, and damages.[61][62] They also challenged the district court's claim construction, inequitable conduct, and attorney fees determinations. The appellate court found no inequitable conduct and insufficiently egregious misconduct on the part of Powell's attorney.[63]
Tilt up construction design of stores
In the wake of the 2011 Joplin tornado in which the walls of a Home Depot collapsed in Joplin after being hit by an EF5 tornado, The Kansas City Star citing engineers criticized Home Depot's practice of using tilt up construction in hundreds of its big box stores (other nearby big box stores in Joplin including a Walmart and Academy Sports which had a different concrete block construction lost their roofs but the walls remained intact). In tilt up construction the concrete is poured on site and lifted into place and then attached to the roof. The engineers told the Star that the practice while normally safe and efficient is dangerous in major storms because once the roof is lifted (as happened in Joplin) the walls collapse in a domino effect. Seven people were killed in the front of the store when the 100,000 pound walls collapsed on them while 28 people in the back of the store survived when those walls collapsed outward. Only two of the slab walls in the Home Depot survived. In contrast 3 people died in the Walmart but 200 survived. Engineers noted that when concrete blocks construction fail, it breaks in pieces and usually not in huge slabs. Home Depot said it fundamentally disagreed with the Star engineers and said it would use tilt up construction when it rebuilds the Joplin store.[64]
Home Depot payment system breach
On September 2, 2014, security news reporter Brian Krebs reported that he was seeing evidence of credit card numbers linked to Home Depot purchases being sold online, which he concluded to suggest that The Home Depot's payment systems were breached by hackers.[65] On September 8, 2014 Home Depot confirmed that their payment systems were compromised. According to their press release, this breach affected any customers who made purchases at any Home Depot store from April 2014 to September 2014. Home Depot offered their affected customers free one-year credit monitoring service from AllClear ID. Also in their press release, they made sure to emphasize that there was no evidence to suggest that online customers were affected by the breach. On September 18, 2014, Home Depot released a statement saying that the hackers obtained a total of 56 million credit card numbers as a result of the breach. Since the breach, Home Depot has rolled out new encryption technology for their cash registers and self-checkout systems to protect customers. A class action lawsuit was filed against the company.
In March 2016 Home Depot agreed to pay at least $19.5 million to compensate the more than 50 million consumers affected. The settlement terms included a $13 million fund to reimburse shoppers and a $6.5 million million fund for cardholder identity protection services.[66]
EEOC disability discrimination suit
In September 2012, Home Depot, agreed to pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit[67] filed by the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for the alleged failure to provide a reasonable accommodation for a cashier with cancer at its Towson, Maryland, store and then for purportedly firing her because of her condition.[68]
See also
- Lowe's, another American home improvement and construction product services, which competes with The Home Depot in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
- Home improvement
- ↑ "The Home Depot, Inc. - News Release".
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Home Depot Inc 2015 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. February 5, 2016.
- ↑ "#37 Home Depot". Forbes. May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Vinings CDP, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
- ↑ [myapron.homedepot.com "Store Listing"] Check
|url=value (help). The Home Depot. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
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- ↑ Roush, Chris. Inside Home Depot. McGraw Hill.
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- ↑ "Investor FAQ". The Home Depot, Inc. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Home Depot Support Center, Vinings". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Why "Good Jobs" Are Good for Retailers". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ↑ Reingold, Jennifer (September 19, 2008). "Home Depot's Total Rehab". CNN.
- ↑ Kavilanz, Parija B. (January 26, 2009). "Home Depot Cutting 7,000 Jobs". CNN.
- 1 2 "Robert Nardelli Resigns as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Home Depot and Is Succeeded by Frank Blake". News Releases. The Home Depot. January 3, 2007.
- ↑ "Home Depot's Surprising Choice for CEO". BusinessWeek. January 4, 2007.
- ↑ Gogoi, Pallavi (January 4, 2007). "Home Depot's Surprising Choice for CEO". BusinessWeek. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ Alden, William (April 12, 2013). "HD Supply, Backed by Carlyle and Bain, Files for I.P.O.". DealBook. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Ann (June 20, 2007). "Home Depot Boosts Buyback, Sets Unit Sale". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ↑ Meg Marco (2009-01-26). "Bid Adieu To Home Depot's Expo Stores – Consumerist". Consumerist.com. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
- ↑ "Executive Profile Craig A. Menear". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Connecticut, Illinois, California lead probe into Home Depot data breach". Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ↑ Bray, Chad (July 22, 2015). "Home Depot to Buy Interline Brands for $1.6 Billion in Cash". New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "The Home Depot opens its first Superstore in the West". The Orange County Register. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
- ↑ Sharf, Samantha. "Home Depot Announces New CEO, Frank Blake To Stay On As Chairman". Forbes. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ↑ "Board of Directors". Corporate Governance. The Home Depot. May 21, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
- ↑ Ziobro, Paul (19 January 2016). "Home Depot Replaces Head of U.S. Stores Business". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ "Home Depot to acquire Interline Brands". Industrial Supply. July 22, 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ↑ "homedepot.com UVs for March 2012". Compete. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "The Home Depot Opens First Home Depot Fuel Location in Georgia". PR Newswire. September 25, 2006.
- ↑ Bailey,M. "Business & Industry: The Home Depot". Georgia College and State University.
- ↑ "The Home Depot Partners with GEMA's Ready Georgia to Teach Thousands of Kids about Emergency Preparedness". The Fayette Front Page. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011.
- ↑ Congratulations to Our 'Get Ready Georgia' Art and Essay Contest Winners!, Ready Georgia
- ↑ Drinkard, Jim (January 17, 2005). "Donors Get Good Seats, Great Access This Week". USA Today. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Staff (January 16, 2005). "Financing the Inauguration". USA Today. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Staff (January 14, 2005). "Some Question Inaugural's Multi-Million Price Tag". Associated Press (via USA Today). Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Barbaro, Michael (April 17, 2007). "Home Depot to Display an Environmental Label". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ↑ "Home Depot adopts new wood purchasing policy". Planet ARK. January 6, 2003.
- ↑ Rosenbloom, Stephanie (June 24, 2008). "Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Bulbs". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ↑ "Home Depot quietly ends light-bulb-recycling program". Cbc.ca.
- ↑ Pennell, Jay (June 23, 2014). "Report: Home Depot ending NASCAR sponsorship after 2014". Foxsports.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Duke Announces Construction of 'The Home Depot Smart Home'". Duke University. October 24, 2006.
- ↑ "The Home Depot Becomes an Official NFL Sponsor". The Home Depot. January 9, 2007.
- ↑ "Republican Candidates Increase Share of Business PAC Donations". Bloomberg. August 8, 2006.
- ↑ Weber, Harry R. (January 3, 2007). "Nardelli resigns abruptly as CEO of Home Depot, leaves with $210M". AP.com.
- ↑ Harris, Paul (May 23, 2004). "Bush's Super Fundraisers Join the Queue for Favours". The Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ↑ "Acerca de" (in Spanish). The Home Depot. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "The Home Depot – Home". Corporate.homedepot.com. June 22, 1979. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "The Home Depot acquires The Home Way". Prnewswire.com. December 13, 2006.
- 1 2 Burkitt, Laurie (14 September 2012). "Home Depot Learns Chinese Prefer 'Do-It-for-Me'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ Staff (September 16, 2012). "Home Depot closes China stores, denies 'moving out'". China Times. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ↑ Tulshyan, Ruchika. "Home Depot's failure in China: Ignoring women". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ "Bid Talk Lifts Kingfisher Shares". BBC News. January 5, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ↑ Teena Lyons (May 8, 2005). "US giant targets B&Q DIY chain". This is Money. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ Published on Monday May 9, 2005 01:29 (May 9, 2005). "The Scotsman". The Scotsman. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Kingfisher profit down 33% as B&Q unit takes a hammering". Abcmoney.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
- ↑ Marcus, Bernie; Blank, Arthur; Andelman, Bob (1999). Built from Scratch. New York: Random House. pp. 300–302. ISBN 0-8129-3058-4.
- ↑ "Home Depot Workers Reject Bid to Unionize". Floordaily.net.
- ↑ "Headlines for January 28, 2009". Democracy Now!. January 28, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ Kapner, Suzanne (April 12, 2007). "Home Depot Case Revived". New York Post.
- ↑ "Home Depot Settlement". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 28, 2008.
- ↑ Michael S. Powell. "United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit" (PDF). Patent4Life.
- ↑ "Powell v. Home Depot – False Petition Not "Egregious Misconduct"". The National Law Review. Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A. November 16, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ↑ "Post-Therasense: Inequitable Conduct Really Is a Higher Standard". McDermott Will & Emery. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
- ↑ McGraw, Mike (June 25, 2011). "Experts Challenge Home Depot Building Design, Codes After Joplin Tornado". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ↑ "Banks: Credit Card Breach at Home Depot". Krebs on Security. September 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Home Depot settles consumer lawsuit over big 2014 data breach". Reuters. March 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Complaint,U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Home Depot USA Inc." (PDF). PacerMonitor. PacerMonitor. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ↑ "Home Depot to Pay $100,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit". The National Law Review. U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2012-09-10. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Home Depot.
- Home Depot, Inc. (Corporate website)
- Home Depot Canada (English and French website)
- Home Depot Mexico (Spanish)
- Home Depot USA (English website)
- Home Depot USA (Spanish website)
- Business data for The Home Depot: Google Finance
- Yahoo! Finance
- Reuters
- SEC filings


text:
ST. PAUL, MN -- Life Time Fitness is closing group exercises classes at its club in downtown St. Paul, MN, as a result of declining membership and club usage.
The information came in an internal memo sent to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As a result of the decline, according to the memo, Life Time is looking to reduce its downtown square footage and convert it to an express club next year as well as reduce massage and personal training services there, the newspaper reported.
Jason Thunstrom, Life Time spokesperson, told the newspaper that Life Time's lease in downtown St. Paul's University Club expires next summer. He did not provide details as to what the Chanhassen, MN-based company seeks in lease negotiations with the building's owner.
"It's fair to say we'd like to continue serving members in and around the St. Paul area as we do today, but it's too early for me to say whether we'll reside at that location or not," Thunstrom told the newspaper. "I think we need to continue to have these negotiations take place."
In its third quarter earnings report announced last month, Life Time said memberships increased 6 percent to 590,716 as of Sept. 30, from 557,164 at the same time last year. However, Life Time lost about 18,000 members from the previous quarter.
Life Time opened the downtown club in 1997 after renovating space in the former St. Paul Athletic Club for an estimated $1.5 million, according to the newspaper, which also reported that Life Time received loans from the city of St. Paul for a portion of the financing that included $700,000 worth of equipment.
Ironically, Life Time is holding a grand opening ceremony Friday night at its Highland Park club in St. Paul. The club has undergone a $1 million renovation and a 15,000-square-foot expansion, including new cycle, yoga and Pilates studios, a new advanced training area, new men's and women's locker rooms, and a new expanded child activity center.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
PowerMarketing needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 49 designs submitted by 4 freelance designers.
Lucrative Love: The Insider's Secrets to Marrying Millions
Need a fully coded hip and sassy wordpress site for a high profile book targeting women who want to marry for money. Our site has already hit 4000 people in just one month and we need a site that can be ready for prime time. We've only promoted the book locally so far and are getting ready to go on national TV with our press tour. Create an outstanding site and you will gain major visibility.
We have recently published the book Lucrative Love: The Insider's Secrets to Marrying Millions. The book has taken off locally but we need to prepare for our PR firm's National Press Tour. We need our Lucrativelove.com site to be up to par for our national release. It needs to promote our book Lucrative Love, our other services, as well as be a portal for our Lucrative Love community and fans.
The author is a marketing guru who has written this book as a tongue and cheek guide to help others market themselves in the efforts of finding money, love, and happiness.
The best words to describe the look and feel of the site we want is humourous and sassy but with a clean navigation. We would love for the designer to incorporate wacky buttons and graphics. We really want it to portray the Lucrative Love brand which is money, sassiness, extravagant, and hip.
Our target audience is primarily women 20 to 50, but it also needs to be appealing to guys. Our target audience is on our site because they want to find out more on our book, how to date the author, or to follow a wacky idea by a lead marketing strategist. The book is for those wanting to catch their millionaire, pickup a quick read, or get some great laughs in-while learning how to market themselves when it comes to love.
*WANT: Fully Coded Wordpress Theme that is more dynamic and has a 3 dimensional feel.
* Download our full res files here http://www.lucrativelove.com/images/, The lucrative love girl is part of our brand so use her whenever possible.
*Create an outstanding header with the quote " A tongue and cheek guide for finding love, money and happiness!"
*Try to limit header banner height to less than 150 pixels - we are flexible
*Navigation bar below the header that can display at least these pages
Date Tom
* We want a right dynamic sidebar with ability to add widgets on social media, buy book, join newsletter
These are the components that need to be included in the design:
Home page:
Header: needs a header with the book somewhere in the top right corner and large but also keep it 3 dimensional maybe make it overlap the navigation bar
Sider Bar:
- Large "Buy Now on Amazon Page" in a distinguishing color like red, magenta, pinks, yellows
- Widget to Join the Lucrative Love club
- widget with Buy on Barnes & Noble & Amazon.com & either Connect with Lucrative Love social media in a separate widget or included in this one
Rest of Pages:
Header to include: Lucrative Love title font; Insider's Secrets; and girl and guy image but on top right
- Lucrative Love Book
- Large "Buy Now on Amazon Page" in a distinguishing color like red, magenta, pinks, yellows
- Widget to Join the Lucrative Love club
- widget with Buy on Barnes & Noble & Amazon.com & either Connect with Lucrative Love social media in a separate widget or included in this one
- clear and organized parts or blocking, sidebar nears to clearly be distinguishable from the body and widgets need to clearly be separated neatly but not distractingly from each other
- the site needs to feel 3 dimensional on top of the background meaning shadings or glows
A first time viewer of site should first see 1. Insider's Secrets to Marrying Millions, 2. The Lucrative Love Book, and then 3. Buy Now on Amazon
Twinkle stars, pinks, reds, blue, purple, the lucrative love font, Black text on yellow, the city skyline, the girl and guy image, the book - these are all things that should be used
* Images created with text should be submitted in full layered photoshop or illustrator files, as well as jpegs, gifs, or pngs
*Please look at the current website http://www.lucrativelove.com to get an idea of the content we want but be more extravagant with the design
*A design that is too chaotic that people don't get the idea that we are mainly selling a book
*A front page that opens up to the wordpress site, we want our site to be similar to the navigational structure of http://www.alongwaygone.com.


text:
Brazilian club Cruzeiro powers past Revs on the strength of Wellington Paulista's hat trick; Steve Ralston injured in his return to Foxborough
VIDEO: Revolution postgame >>
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Cruzeiro forward Wellington Paulista stole the headlines on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, scoring three times to lead the visiting Brazilians to a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution in an international friendly.
Paulista scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 24th minute, then added additional strikes after the halftime break in the 49th and 83rd minutes to round out the scoring. Jonathan, Roger and Thiago Ribeiro each provided an assist, with Ribeiro looking particularly dangerous throughout the match.
Despite the identical score line, the Revolution's performance against Cruzeiro was much improved from the one put forth last weekend in a 3-0 loss to Seattle, but the evening was marred by an injury to Steve Ralston just seconds after making his triumphant return to Gillette Stadium. Ralston – who re-signed with the Revs earlier this week after spending eight seasons (2002-09) in New England – entered the match in the 72nd minute to a standing ovation, but he was replaced just two minutes later after falling in the box and suffering a dislocated left elbow.
Ralston's injury overshadowed another return for the Revolution, as goalkeeper Matt Reis made his first appearance of 2010 after recovering from offseason shoulder and knee surgeries. Reis made two saves and allowed one goal before being replaced by Bobby Shuttleworth at halftime.
Both team's goalkeepers were called into action in the opening 15 minutes and each came up big to keep the game scoreless. Cruzeiro netminder Rafael sprawled to his left to deny Khano Smith's seventh-minute drive, while Reis made his first save of the season in the 14th minute, getting down well to his left to snatch Gil's low blast.
Reis could do nothing to stop Paulista from giving the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute, however, as the Cruzeiro forward opened the scoring with a piece of individual skill inside the box. After Jonathan's long pass slipped through a pair of Revolution defenders and drew Reis off his line, Paulista used his first touch to push the ball around the New England keeper before finishing from an acute angle.
Cruzeiro so nearly doubled its advantage before the half, but Ribeiro's 30-yard blast hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced straight down before an offside call on the follow-up ended the threat.
It didn't take long for the visitors to find their second goal following the halftime break, however, as Paulista struck for his second in the 49th minute to make it 2-0. A corner kick swung into the near post caused problems for the Revs, and when the ball popped free a few yards from goal, Paulista was on hand to pound the ball into the net past Shuttleworth.
The Revs almost pulled a goal back in the 56th minute when Kenny Mansally – who replaced Smith in the 30th minute after Smith suffered a sprained right ankle – latched onto Shalrie Joseph's cutting pass from the right wing and chipped a delicate shot over the charging goalkeeper. Mansally wheeled away to celebrate as the ball appeared to be crossing the line, but Gil tracked back and cleared the ball to safety at the decisive moment to keep New England off the board.
Defender Emmanuel Osei finally did put the ball across the line for the Revolution in the 79th minute, but the goal was waved off for offside. Chris Tierney's curling corner kick was headed toward goal by Joseph, and Mansally cut across the keeper to get a touch but was deemed to be in an offside position. Osei subsequently blasted the rebound into the net, but the whistle had already blown.
Shortly after the Revs almost cut the lead in half, Cruzeiro extended its lead to 3-0 as Paulista completed his hat trick in the 83rd minute. A clever piece of work from Ribeiro on the right wing opened up space for the cross, and his service found Paulista unmarked six yards from goal for a powerful header to conclude the scoring.
For the first time since the 2010 Major League Soccer season kicked off in late March, the Revs will be off next weekend as they take part in the league-wide break for the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They'll return to league action on Sunday, June 27, when they welcome the archrival Chicago Fire to Gillette Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
International Friendly
Cruzeiro at New England Revolution
June 13, 2010 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Scoring Summary:
CRU – Welington Paulista (Jonathan) 24
CRU – Welington Paulista (Roger) 49
CRU – Welington Paulista (Thiago Ribeiro) 83
New England Revolution: Matt Reis (Bobby Shuttleworth 46), Seth Sinovic, Cory Gibbs, Emmanuel Osei, Kevin Alston, Khano Smith (Kenny Mansally 30), Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Zak Boggs (Nico Colaluca 80), Marko Perovi? (Steve Ralston 72, Chris Tierney 74), Zack Schilawski (Kheli Dube 46)
Substitutes Not Used: Tim Murray, Michael Videira, Joseph Niouky
STATS: Shots: 15; Shots on Goal: 8; Saves: 2; Corner Kicks: 6; Offside: 2; Fouls Committed: 13
Cruzeiro: Rafael (Flavio 88),, Capaca, Diego Renan (Hyago 46), Gil, Jonathan (Marquinho Paiana 32), Henrique (Fabinho 89), Robert (Elicarlos 58), Fabricio (Pedro Ken 70), Roger (Eber 80), Thiago Ribeiro (Eliandro 87), Welington Paulista (Keiza 86)
Substitutes Not Used: None
STATS: Shots: 14; Shots on Goal: 5; Saves: 7; Corner Kicks: 5; Offside: 3; Fouls Committed: 7
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Emmanuel Osei (caution) 13
CRU – Henrique (caution) 37
NE – Kenny Mansally (caution) 56
NE – Pat Phelan (caution) 64
Referee: Chris Penso
Referee's Assistants: Claudio Badea (SAR), Jan Halaska (JAR)
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzalez
Weather: Cloudy, 63 degrees
Attendance: 12,160


text:
3. Amitabh Bachchan in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)
This one's actually more classy than most give it credit for. It is scary, not because of Amitabh but because of the film he was in!
2. Hrithik Roshan in Krrish (2006), or a Filmfare Award
Krrish is Bollywood's very own superhero, and the list would be incomplete without him. And a Filmfare Award because in 2006, when Hrithik Roshan collected the Best Actor Filmfare Award for Dhoom 2, he said, "I wish I'd won for dad's production." Scary.
1. Let's agree this spot deserves to go to someone who can defeat Spider-Man, who, as I learn every Halloween, is still very popular in the party circuit (he's always going to be). It has long been known that the way to defeat this superhero is to get him to where there aren't any tall buildings or light poles (and few strong trees). That would take away his swing, and render him mostly powerless. Agreed?
Okay, well, then let's try putting him in Champaner of 1893, folks. Bhuvan (from Lagaan) would win without a cricket bat! :P
Which are your favorites from this decade? Who would dress as if you went to a Bollywood-themed Halloween party?
PS: Did you really think #1 was going to be someone else? ;) Oh, and in case you haven't yet seen this Tata Sky ad (which is scary in its own right) featuring Aamir the henpecked husband and Gul Panag, here it is =) I was pleasantly surprised to see it on CNBC World a couple of nights ago.
You're setting a tough (but constructive) benchmark in the first three quarters of the ad, Aamir. This could well be the poor married Akash from Dil Chahta Hai (2001), na? Preparing breakfast, washing the dishes, buying the groceries, all to watch a cricket match?! You might recall the first in the series was rather shocking with this.
Happy Halloween, everyone! November's almost here, we'll be discussing the new releases soon.


text:
photo 1 of 41
UFC Live Cruz vs Johnson Open Workouts
September 28, 2011
41 Photos
UFC Live Cruz vs Johnson Open Workouts at the Warrior Gym on September 28, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Getty Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or clip. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for: actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or clip, and, where appropriate, the costs of collection and/or statutory damages up to $150,000 (USD).


text:
Alabama has won its third Bowl Championship Series title in four years, overwhelming top-ranked Notre Dame, 42-14, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Coach Nick Saban's teams have won four national championships. He won his first as coach at Louisiana State.
Former Alabama Coach Bear Bryant won six national titles.
Notre Dame came into the game unbeaten but still a nine-point underdog. And it was a far bigger mismatch than that.
Alabama dominated from the start Monday night, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions against a Notre Dame defense that was giving up a national-best 10.3 yards per game.
AJ McCarron, who became the first quarterback in the BCS era to win back-to-back national titles as a starter, completed 20 of 28 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was freshman Amari Cooper, who had six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.


text:
Difference between revisions of "Prague"
Revision as of 02:58, 21 July 2006
Prague has fifteen numbered districts: Praha 1 through to Praha 15. Praha 1 is the oldest part of the city, and has by far the densest number of attractions. It can be further subdivided into these quarters:
The outer areas of Prague can be divided as follows:
Regarded by many as one of the world's most beautiful cities, Prague has arguably become the most popular travel destination in Central Europe. Millions of tourists visit the city every year.
Prague was founded in the later 9th century, and soon became the seat of Bohemian kings, some of whom ruled as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. The city thrived under the rule of Charles IV, who ordered the building of the New Town in the 14th century - many of the city's most important attractions date back to that age. The city also went under Habsburg rule and became the capital of a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1918, after World War I, the city became the capital of Czechoslovakia. After 1989 many foreigners, especially young people, moved to Prague. In 1992, its historic centre was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries and Prague became capital city of the new Czech Republic.
The Vltava river runs through Prague, which is home to about 1.2 million people. The capital may be beautiful, but pollution often hovers over the city thanks to its location in the Vltava River basin. Prague customer service is great, with sensitive treatment towards the tourists. Learning a little of the language may receive a smile or two.
Many Praguers have a small cottage (which can range from a shack barely large enough for garden utensils to an elaborate, multi-storey dwelling) outside the city. There they can escape for some fresh air and country pursuits such as mushroom hunting and gardening. These cottages, called chatas, are treasured both as getaways and ongoing projects. Each reflects its owners' character, as most of them were built by unorthodox methods. There were no Home Depots under communism. Chata owners used the typically Czech "it's who you know" chain of supply to scrounge materials and services. This barter system worked extremely well, and still does today. Chaty (pl. of chata) are also sometimes used as primary residences by Czechs who rent out their city-center apartments for enormous profit to foreigners who can afford to pay inflated rent.
Local foreign language newspapers:
Tourist Information Office
Get in
By plane
The international airport Ruzyně (IATA: PRG phone +420 220 111 111, +420 296 661 111) is in the west of Prague. In the last years the traffic grew enormously and the airport was significantly expanded. Today there is a brand new Schengen terminal but contruction is still not completed. There are many cheap direct flights operated by easyJet, Ryanair and BMIbaby from UK, by SmartWings from Continental Europe, Turkey and Dublin, by SkyEurope from assorted destinations and by Sterling from Scandinavia.
Getting into the city from the airport
The airport is located about 20 kilometers outside the city center. It generally takes 30 to 50 minutes to get there.
By train
Prague has two international train stations: Hlavní nádraží (central station, abbreviated Praha hl.n., subway connection by metro C); and Praha Holešovice (Holešovice station, subway connection by metro C).
Eurocity trains connect Prague to Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. It is a very comfortable way of travel, but not as quick as used in other countries - Eurocity has average speed about 120kmph only, because Czech railroad network is not suitable for higher speeds. From Berlin, a train reaches Prague in 5 1/2 hours, from Wien (Vienna) in 4 1/2 hours and from Budapest in 6 1/2 hours. The trainline from Berlin to Prague passes through the Erzgebirge mountains, and for a couple of hours the passengers are treated to a series of beautiful alpine river valleys, surrounded by rocky escarpments and mountains.
Since 11 December 2005 fast trains Super City Pendolino operate between Ostrava (3 1/2 hours) , Olomouc (2 1/4 hours) and Prague (station Praha - Holešovice). Reservation is necessary on these trains. If you come to Prague by SC Pendolino, you can use Airport Express to Prague Airport without any additonal fee. These buses operate every 30 minutes (5:15 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.). Without SC Pendolino ticket you shall pay 45 CZK to the driver.
Train connection from western countries (France, England) is complicated because of an inconvenient layout of German railroads (they lead mainly from north to south, with no direct connections from east to west) - you have to change frequently, for example to Paris you have to change at least two or three times and it takes more than 13 hours.
By car
Prague has highway connections from five major directions. Unfortunately, the highway network in the Czech Republic is quite incomplete and some highways are old and in poor condition. Thus, the highway connection from Prague to the border of the Czech Republic is available only in two directions - southeast and southwest. Southwestern highway (number D5, international E50) leads through Pilsen (Plzeň) to Germany. There is still a small incomplete part on the German side of the border, but it is only about 20 km. Not counting this small part, the D5 highway is connected to the German highway network. Riding from the state border to Prague takes about an hour and a half (only 160 km). Southeastern highway (number D1) is the Czech Republic's oldest and most used highway yet it is in good condition. It leads through Brno to Bratislava in Slovakia. It offers a good connection to Vienna, Budapest and all traffic from the east. You have to count on more than two hours as it is more than 250 km. To the northwest you can take highway D8 (E55), but it is not complete to the German border. It ends now at Lovosice (about 60 km from Prague). From northern Germany (Dresden, Berlin, Leipzig), you have to take state road E55, which is sometimes quite overcrowded. To the northeast you can take highway R10 (E65). It is strictly speaking a motorway, not a highway, but it has four lanes and differs little from a highway. It leads from Liberec through Turnov. I don't think it is an important access direction because there are no major cities in this direction (Zittau in Germany, some cities in Poland), but it offers a good connection to the Czech mountains Jizerské hory and Krkonoše (Riesengebirge) with the best Czech skiing resorts. To the east you can take D11 (E67), which is only 40 km long and is in poor condition. It leads to Poland.
Czech highways are under development (D8 and D11 are being prolonged, the city by-pass of Pilsen is nearly finished on D5) so things may get better. There are only seldom traffic jams on Czech highways, with the exception of D1 near Prague (and near Brno, too) - not counting road construction work.
When you get to Prague, things get worse. Prague suffers from heavy traffic and on working days the main streets are one big traffic jam. Moreover, Prague still doesn't have a complete highway outer circuit. It is a really good idea to use the P+R (park and ride) parking places, where you can park your car for a very small fee and use public transport. The P+Rs are situated near all highways and are well marked.
By bus
The main bus station for international busses in Prague is Florenc, Křižíkova (metro lines B and C). It is located east of the city center.
Eurolines connects Prague to major European cities, some of them depart from Nádraží Holešovice (metro C) but the majority leave from the main bus terminal at Florence (also metro C).
By boat
Get around
Public transportation is very convenient in most of the areas visitors are likely to frequent. There are three main subway lines (Czech: metro), and numerous bus and tram (streetcar) lines. Purchase 75 minutes transfer for 20 CZK ticket at any tobacco shop or 24-hours, 3-days or 7-days tickets at ticket offices in some metro stations; date stamp this the first time you ride. Tickets are not checked upon boarding, but undercover inspectors frequently make the rounds asking to see your ticket. Even though freeriding seems easy in Prague, you should invest in the cheap ticket; staying more than two days in Prague will guarantee that you will be checked.
Public transport continues at night in a convenient way. Night trams or night buses (00:00 to 5:00 AM) usually come every 30 minutes. Every 15 minutes some night trams leave the central exchange station in the centre of Prague called Lazarská. You can also easily change tram lines here.
One valuable tourist purchase may be the Prague Card (http://www.praguecard.biz/) which for 740Kc (less for children/students; correct July 2006) gives a four day travel card, a guidebook, free entry to more than 50 attractions, and other discounts. The card can be bought from various locations in Prague. For more information see http://www.praguecard.biz/
Prague Public Transit (also http://www.dpp.cz)
Try to avoid getting taxi on the street and if you have to, try to negotiate price in advance. Its advisable to call one of the major Prague Taxi services:
Old Town
New Town
Lesser Town
Currently being cleaned and repaired until early 2006.
Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge (Czech: Karlův most) stretches across the Vltava River between the Lesser Town and the edge of Old Town's central shopping district. The current incarnation of the bridge was built by Charles IV's imperial architect Petr Parler, who is also known for his work on St Vitus Cathedral. It replaced previous Judith Bridge, destroyed by a flood.
Charles Bridge has outlived floods, disasters and heavy traffic for 600 years. It even allowed car traffic earlier in the 20th century! It's a mystery how the bridge has survived so long - one ongoing myth says eggs were mixed into the mortar when it was built. If you believe in supernatural protection, maybe the sword of Bruncvik explains the bridge's miraculous strength. Like the English Arthurian legends, it is said Bruncvik's sword (supposedly hidden inside the bridge) will make itself available in the country's darkest hour, rising to its defense.
From an artistic perspective, the most notable feature of the bridge is the groups of statuary lining either side. Scenes from Bible and popular saints are included, such as St Jan Nepomuk and St Luitgard. Nepomuk has two legends associated with him: first, if you place five fingers in the gilded stars at the Charles Bridge statue's base and make a wish, not only will your wish come true, but you are guaranteed to return to Prague. Second, you may wonder why you see a small picture of a tongue in association with Nepomuk. Supposedly, acting as the queen's religious confessor, Nepomuk refused to repeat something she had told him in confidence to King Wenceslas IV, her husband. The unfortunate prelate was tortured, beaten and thrown from the bridge with hands tied. Some time later, during a severe drought, the river level went down enough to find Nepomuk's body. It was decomposed, as one would expect, but with one exception: his tongue was perfectly preserved, symbolizing his refusal to break the seal of the confessional.
Warning: This is a pick-pocket zone due to the high-foot traffic on the bridge from tourists and Prague natives using the bridge. They are especially active when the bridge is most crowded. Take standard precautions to protect your wallet.
Museums and Galleries
There are many tour companies in Prague. Leaflets for these and their tours can be found in the airport, and the various tourist information centres in Prague. Tours vary from short walking tours, to allday tours of the city. Tours can also be in large tourist groups, or booked for private tours. Most tours tend to start from the Old Town Square.
Popular pastimes
Ice hockey is hugely popular in Prague, thanks to the amazing Czech national team. During communism, hockey was closely related to politics. When the Czechs beat the Russians in the 1971 for the world title, it was national fest. Many Czech hockey and tennis players have gone on to international fame.
Drinking beer is practically a sport among men. Mushroom hunting is very common during the fall, and some great dishes show up on menus across the country as a result. Renovating the family chata (see Did You Know? below) and growing vegetables on its surrounding land is a popular summer pastime.
Sports tours can also be organised in Prague; "Fun in Prague" (http://www.funinprague.com/) can organise water rafting, paintballing and go-karting amongst other activities, as well as other tours.
River Cruises
River Cruises are on the list of popluar activities of visitors in Prague. They vary from one hour cruises to long evening cruises with dinner or music.
Prague has a lot of theatres and jazz clubs:
Lunch is traditionally the main meal. If you try the typical Czech food, the main course will usually consist of pork or beef. Fish is not so popular, yet it can be found it in most restaurants by now. Side dishes are e. g. fries or dumplings. Typical desserts are fruit dumplings, crêpes or ice cream.
It is important to either make a reservation or decide to eat earlier when restaurants are not so crowded.
The tip should be about 10 to 15% - in cheaper restaurants or pubs it will do to simply round up the bill or leave a few extra coins if you are cheap. If not leave at least 20 to 40 Kc or 1 to 2 Euro, that is customary.
Taxes are always included in the price (by law).
If you're on the look out for fast food, you won't be able to move without tripping over street vendors serving Czech style hot dogs and mulled wine in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square (New Town). If you're after western-style fast food, the major chains also have a large presence in Wenceslas Square and the area immediately around it.
The Old Town Square also has a lot of sit down restaurants that let you sit outside in the square.
El Centro
An excellent little restaurant located near the famous Charles Bridge, but tucked behind a couple of other buildings. It's a typical spanish restaurant, has a very friendly atmosphere, good prices and isn't crowded. Also, it doesn't have any hidden charges such as service taxes which are present in close to all other restaurants. http://www.czrb.cz/detail.asp?code=824#
U Jednoho Pokoje
'U Jednoho Pokoje' is Czech for 'At the one room' which is a summary of what this restaurant is. The restaurant was started by a French chef in a semi-abandoned apartment in the vicinity of I.P. Pavlova. With a little painting, scrubbing and mopping the room was fixed up. All of the furnishing for the restaurant (tables, chairs, etc.) are items that have been salvaged and restored. To complete the decorations, friends and supporters lent their art to UJednohoPokoje. Dinners are by appointment only, everything is done by the owner himself (greeting, cooking, pouring and serving). The food is superb, the prices are a bit more than average (250kc) by Prague standards but for a three course meal it's nothing unreasonable. If you want more info check out http://www.ujednohopokoje.cz
Radost FX
One of the best restaurants in town! Near the IP Pavlova stop on the Red Metro line or the 22/23 tram...Great vegetarian food, great prices. Radost is also a lounge and has a club in the basement...a favorite for expats... http://www.radostfx.cz/
The streets around Old Town are full of gift shops geared towards tourists, selling Bohemian crystal, soccer shirts and other mass produced memorabilia. If you are looking for some decent souvenirs, try to get off the beaten path. Street vendors can have some unexpected treasures and there are plenty in the Charles Bridge area. Prints of paintings and good quality photos are very popular, and a really good way to remember Prague.
In December the sqaures host Christmas Markets selling a mix of arts, craft, food, drink and Prague memorabilia. The markets are an attraction in their own right and a great place to pick up a more unique memento of the city.
Pubs abound throughout Prague, and indeed are an important part of local culture. A green sign hanging outside an establishment indicates excellent Czech beer is to be had inside. Most pubs serve only a small selection of beers. Locals seldom pay more than 25Kč for a half liter glass, while tourist traps often charge 50Kč or more.
In Prague it is customary, especially at beer halls, to sit with a group of people if there are no free tables, so go ahead and ask if you can join.
See important Czech beer-related information at the Czech Republic page.
Prague has a wealth of accommodation options, many of them within walking distance of the town centre. Peak season generally runs from April to October and a major influx of visitors can be expected during New Year as well. Prices for accommodation can be up to twice as high in the peak season and reservations are advised. Otherwise, the main train station, Hlavní nádraží, has a accommodation booking service for hotels and hostels upstairs. Normally, tax and breakfast are included in the room rate. Check the district pages linked above for individual listings.
Even during peak season, dorm rooms in hostels close to the city centre can be had for around 350Kč per person per night. Prague has its share of rough and ready youth hostels with a party vibe, but there are many with a more relaxed atmosphere and some housed in beaufully restored buildings as fancy as any hotel. Many hostels also offer private rooms, with or without shared bathrooms, for much cheaper than a pension or hotel room. Around Hlavni Nadrazi, the main train station, there are many touts offering cheap accomodation. Many are Czech residents renting part of their apartment for extra cash. Prices don't vary much between them, but some may not be trustworthy so be cautious.
Pensions and cheap hotels are easy to find throughout Praha 1, particularly in Old Town, New Town and the Jewish Quarter. For those looking for something a little different, a 'botel' (boat hotel) may be an appealing option. Most are moored on the south of the river in Praha 4 and 5.
Another great solution is to rent an apartment. Many companies, including Old Town Apartments [17] and Mary's Agency [18], offer high quality apartments in various locations around Prague. These are great for families, as a four person apartment will run you 1700Kč - 2800Kč and while it may not be cheaper than a hostel, it's a lot cosier. Be sure to check the map before making a reservation, as some apartments are not in the city center.
Prague is the business hub of the Czech Republic and hosts the Central European headquarters of many international companies, so there are many luxury hotels catering to business travellers.
Many hostels and hotels offer free internet on shared computers or over a wireless network, so ask before you shell out extra at one of Prague's many internet cafes.
Stay safe
Be careful with taxi drivers, particularly from the train station. Insist on the use of the meter and make sure it doesn't stop it on the way. Some of them tend to overcharge tourists, so insist on a receipt. Otherwise you have the right to refuse payment. On the receipt the name and number of the driver is written. Usually it's better to call a radio-cab.
Be also aware of your belongings when using crowded street-cars in the centre because of the pickpocket gangs. Especially dangerous in this aspect are lines 22 and 23.
Prague is a very safe town, just be sensible and alert!
Get out
Many people who come to Prague and the Czech Republic never take advantage of the country's excellent inter-city bus and train network. Buses and trains are frequent and quite inexpensive and can get you to even the smallest village.
How to get out
All information for buses and trains is available on the web (in English and German) at www.vlak-bus.cz. Don't be initimdated about buying tickets even if you don't know the language, most bus and train terminal employees can speak a few phrases in English. Be sure and there is a wealth of things to see.
Buses Almost all buses leave from either the city's main bus terminal at the Florenc metro stop (red and yellow metro lines C and B) or from Anděl metro stop (yellow metro line B), the station is 200 meters south of the metro stop.
Trains Almost all trains leave from either Nádraží Holešovice, Hlavní nádraží (both red metro line C stops). If you are going to Karlstejn you will have to take a train
Practically every major European city on the continent can be reached by bus or train from Prague.
Where to go
For just a small selection of places off the beaten path:
Tourist websites


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The first reminder that the Scarecrow Fest is upon us came when there was a spotting of Jeff Hunt waving his arms as if to wave away a bunch of birds. It turns out that the talented and dedicated director of the St. Charles Singers was merely rehearsing himself for the next of so many rehearsals of their upcoming concert. (Forgive me, Jeff, I needed a lead.)
We are so fortunate to live in this valley where the hills are continuously alive with the sound of music.
The St. Charles Singers are among the most acclaimed and will soon present "Mozart V: Magnificent Mozart." Look for their local performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Baker Memorial Church in St. Charles.
To add to the cultural delight, a Wheaton college professor, Dr. Jonathan Sayer, will lecture one hour before the choral music begins.
Meanwhile, back to those other scarecrows. To begin, stop the rain dances. Think sunshine. Probably you know that the use of fearsome representations to deter pesky birds from crops is a pretty old tradition.
There are reports from the Eighth Century of "kakashi" figures in pre-feudal Japan, presenting both a menacing and smelly guardian for the rice fields.
The classical Greeks, of course, used marble figures with perhaps scowling faces in the more sophisticated approach to bird control. Our civilization used chemical pest control and pretty much missed the ecological mark.
We did come up with the endearing figure of Ray Bolger who brought Dorothy's scarecrow buddy to join her as they went off to see the Wizard.
Scarecrows have become a symbol of the fall season and harvest although these stuffed creatures probably are needed just as much in the Spring to guard the newly planted seeds.
On your next trip out to see Dexter Norton at their farmstand west of St. Charles, visitors will find pumpkins and apples now, and a wonderful play area for kids as well as a wealth of information about our rural heritage.
Scarecrows take their posts in downtown St. Charles on Friday, October 5.
Despite the growing popularity as a regional family festival there are many chances to be in touch with local traditions and local vendors.
For example, take the trail behind City Hall to visit the Freedom Walk exhibits. Look for Ekwabet, the statue representing our Native American predecessors and perhaps give a thought to that iconic rendering of "Injun Summer" that the Chicago Tribune customarily offered at this time of year.
As the sad extension of tales we tell our young people, stop and talk to the volunteers from the Juvenile Drug Court. They have some delightful raffle items such as hand painted mailboxes and other crafts and, usually, some tasty treats.
By the way, much deserving of treats, a big thanks to the pediatric unit staff at Delnor who have been taking care of Granddaughter Olivia all week.
She is getting better now and hopes to join her twin sister, Leia, to celebrate their third birthday on Sunday, and then hit the streets next week for their favorite festival.
Then, get ready for that incessant cry of "trick or treat" as we, so soon, experience October.
Oh, sorry – tricks and treats end in November. It's called the Election.
The upcoming Scarecrow Fest means fall is upon us
The first reminder that the Scarecrow Fest is upon us came when there was a spotting of Jeff Hunt waving his arms as if to wave away a bunch of birds. It turns out that the talented and dedicated director of the St. Charles Singers was merely rehearsing himself for the next of so many rehearsals of their upcoming concert. (Forgive me, Jeff, I needed a lead.)


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Used Car - 2008 Mercury Milan I4 in Hamilton, Oh
Please Call For Price
About This 2008 Mercury Milan I4
Vehicle Location:
Hamilton, Oh
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Fuel Economy Estimates
City MPG
Highway MPG
Combined MPG: 24
Estimated Monthly Fuel Cost: $92.71*
*Based on $1.78 per gallon and 15k miles per year.
Actual costs may vary.
Actual costs may vary.
Send This Vehicle To Your Smartphone
Seller's Description and Comments:
Located at Major Performance in Hamilton, Oh. Call Major Performance today at 513-887-7832 for more information about this vehicle.
Vehicle Options:
- Abs Brakes
- Air Conditioning
- Am/fm Radio
- Cd Player
- Child Safety Door Locks
- Cruise Control
- Driver Airbag
- Driver Multi-adjustable Power Seat
- Front Air Dam
- Heated Exterior Mirror
- Interval Wipers
- Keyless Entry
- Passenger Airbag
- Power Adjustable Exterior Mirror
- Power Door Locks
- Power Windows
- Rear Window Defogger
- Second Row Folding Seat
- Side Head Curtain Airbag
- Steel Wheels
- Steering Wheel Mounted Controls
- Tachometer
- Telescopic Steering Column
- Tilt Steering
- Tilt Steering Column
- Tire Pressure Monitor
- Trip Computer
- Trunk Anti-trap Device
- Vehicle Anti-theft
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2008 Mercury Milan ReviewThis car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale.
A classy midsize sedan.
The Mercury Milan is a good choice among a superb selection of midsize sedans. Designed to compete with the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the Milan is based on the superb Mazda 6 platform. It is smaller than the Sable, and is Mercury's entry-level car. It shares much in common with the new Ford Fusion.
This is one of the most stylish, contemporary Mercury sedans since the first one showed up in 1939, and it just looks right. While it's not as adventurous in design as the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser with its cantilevered roof and power rear window, it is good looking and modern.
The Milan accommodates five adults, with more interior room by most measures than some very expensive cars. The interior is inviting and comfortable, the materials are very good, and the detailing is better than average. We like the contrast stitching in the seats, and the fold-down rear seats add an extra measure of space and utility. Most important, it's easy to operate and use.
It's available with four-cylinder and V6 engines. Both engines are adequate but are not as powerful as engines offered by several competitors. The V6 gets an EPA-rated 26 mpg on the highway and comes with a six-speed automatic transmission, a rarity in this class that gives both better acceleration and better fuel economy than a five-speed automatic.
Ride quality is smooth, even on the roughest of big-city streets, making the Milan a good choice for Detroit, New York and other places with imperfect infrastructures. The Milan is very stable at high speeds and the brakes are very good. Order the optional all-wheel drive and you get excellent handling and stability on slippery surfaces, such as rain, snow and ice, further enhancing safety.
For 2008, the Milan gets new features and options. A tire-pressure monitor and keyless entry keypad are now standard, while rear obstacle detection becomes an option. Mercury's Sync communications and entertainment system and ambient lighting are offered for the first time, and the available navigation system adds voice activation.
The 2008 Mercury Milan comes in two trim levels, base and Premier, each offered with a four-cylinder or a V6. Front-wheel drive is standard; V6 models are offered with all-wheel drive. The base powertrain is a 2.3-liter, 160-horsepower four-cylinder with a five-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic is optional ($1045) and it adds aluminum wheels as well. The V6 is a 221-hp 3.0-liter that is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Milan four-cylinder ($18,725) and V6 ($21,975) models come standard with air conditioning, six-speaker audio system with AM/FM/CD/MP3 player and auxiliary input jack, analog clock, overhead console with sunglasses holder, power locks, power windows, heated power outside mirrors, antitheft system, six-way power driver's seat with manual lumbar adjustment, four-way manually adjustable front passenger seat that folds flat, 60/40 split folding rear seat, cruise control, tilt and telescoping steering wheel with secondary audio controls, remote keyless entry, keyless entry keypad, and P205/60R16 tires on steel wheels. The V6 is also offered with all-wheel drive ($23,825).
Options for base models start with a Moon and Tune Package ($795) with a power moonroof, AM/FM stereo with six-disc CD player and Sirius satellite radio. Sirius ($195) and the AM/FM stereo with six-disc CD player ($195) are available separately. A rear spoiler ($295) is offered. Ambient lighting ($295), which illuminates the front cupholders and front and rear footwells with a choice of seven different colors, is available late in the model year. An Appearance Package ($545) is offered for V6 models. It includes blue Alcantara seat and door trim inserts, blue interior stitching, fog lamps, rear spoiler, and P225/50R17 tires on aluminum wheels with painted pockets.
The four-cylinder Premier ($20,420) and V6 Premier ($23,295) add leather upholstery, automatic headlights, automatic climate control, auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass, leather-wrapped steering wheel, premium audio with six-disc CD player, fog lights, the Sync entertainment and communications system (late in the model year), fog lights, and P225/50R17 tires on aluminum wheels. The V6 Premier is available with all-wheel drive ($25,145).
Options for Premier above those of base models include a DVD-based navigation system ($1895) that adds voice activation for 2008; the Moon and Tune Elite Package ($895) that has a power moonroof, Sirius satellite radio and an eight-speaker Audiophile AM/FM stereo with six-disc CD changer; heated seats ($295); and the Audiophile stereo ($425) by itself. Late-2008 models offer an Amenities Package ($595) with rear park assist, universal garage door opener and ambient lighting.
Safety equipment on all models includes dual-stage front airbags; seat-mounted, torso-protecting front side airbags; side curtain airbags for head protection in both rows; tire-pressure monitor; LATCH child-seat anchors; rear-door child-safety locks; and antilock brakes with brake assist and electronic brake force distribution. Traction control is standard on V6 models. Rear obstacle detection is optional ($295).
The Mercury Milan looks as crisp and new as a $100 bill. It looks like it belongs to a completely different family of cars than the Ford Fusion, thanks to major changes to the roof, side glass, headlamps, grille and tail lights. The doors are the only shared body panels between the Milan, Fusion, Mazda 6, and Lincoln MKZ, all of which share its basic structure.
The Milan has a traditional Mercury waterfall grille, as opposed to the Ford Fusion three-bar grille. It is surrounded by much more conventional-looking headlight units versus the Ford Fusion's trapezoidal headlights.
In back, the high decklid is framed by a pair of bright LED tail lights. Large and nicely integrated, the tail lights look like they came from a Japanese or German car. The side view is pumped up several notches on the Premier version with its 14-spoke, 17-inch alloy wheels and relatively fat 225/50R17 tires.
On our silver Premier, the interior was black leather with contrasting white stitching on the seats and steering wheel. The switchgear and gauges were black with white letters, the gauges had chrome rings, and there were lots of satin-finish metal panels to set off the black and white theme. Very tasty. And if you don't like the satin and patterned aluminum trim, Mercury offers a Wales Mahogany interior trim option at no charge.
The deeply bucketed front seats are especially cozy. Passenger sit in them more than on them. The rear seat folds down in 60/40 fashion, enabled by an easy-pull latch on each side to eliminate leaning over the decklid opening and fumbling for seatback latches.
The trunk offers 15.8 cubic feet. With the rear seats folded down, you get another 46 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats, making it into a once-in-a-while station wagon. The front passenger seat also folds flat to further increase storage room and allow loading of long items, such as a ladder.
The interior is roomy enough for a 6-foot, 4-inch passenger to sit behind a 6-foot, 4-inch driver, with real headroom. The rear door panels are scooped out for more elbow room. The rear armrest packs two cup holders, for a total of six.
Storage cubbyholes are all over the place, two in the console, one quite large one at the top center of the dash with a latching lid, two more in each front door pocket hollowed out to take a Big Gulp cup, and one in the bottom center of the dashboard, all of which add up to convenience and ease. The quality of design and materials for a car in this price class is generally high, satisfying to touch, and pleasing to look at.
The premium eight-speaker sound system played our favorite compilation CDs exactly as they sound at home on our high-end equipment, minus a bit of bass.
The Sync communications and entertainment system has a USB interface to connect with iPods and other MP3 players. Steering wheel and voice commands are used to control it. You can even tell Sync to play a specific artist, album or track stored on your MP3 player. The system can recognize Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, access their phonebooks, and play calls and read text messages through the speakers.
We had only minor complaints with the cabin. We thought there was too much glare off the main instrument cover, likewise with the radio face and the otherwise lovely analog clock.
Driving Impression
The Mercury Milan's 221-hp V6 engine and Japanese Aisin six-speed automatic transmission give the driver the kind of power we all like when it comes to getting across the intersection or getting out of a tight spot. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of reserve after that, and there's not a lot of satisfaction in driving it hard.
The engine feels a bit choked and a bit underpowered, and doesn't sound like a powerful engine when prodded. A full-throttle kickdown maneuver causes the front end to pitch up a bit too high for our taste, leaving the front tires scrambling for traction and direction for an annoying split second. While this engine is adequate, the V6s offered by Honda, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota are more modern and have more power.
Fuel economy for the V6 is EPA rated at 26 mpg Highway and 18 mpg City. Those numbers drop to 17/25 mpg with all-wheel drive. The four-cylinder engine is rated at 20/29 mpg with the manual and 20/28 mpg with the automatic.
The four-cylinder engine has decent power but is not as strong as the four-cylinders offered by Honda, Nissan and Toyota. It requires planning and space to make a pass on a two-lane road. The standard five-speed manual transmission has numb, rubbery throws that are anything but sporty.
We found the steering to have a fairly hefty feel and effort at the wheel, but it was a bit too disconnected from the road surface for our taste. Aggressive cornering revealed the Milan to be predictable, with a slight bias toward understeer, which is the default handling characteristic for family cars. Handling was a bit sharper with the available 17-inch wheels and tires versus the base model's 16-inch tires. Stability at speed was impressive.
Ride quality, which we tested on the awful streets of Detroit, was quite good with either the 16- or 17-inch wheels. The Milan has lots of compliance to soak up bumps, doesn't exhibit much body roll, and is generally quiet and smooth in operation.
The brakes also proved to be strong and direct, without a lot of wasted pedal travel before deceleration starts to happen. It takes little effort to get the Milan to stop.
The Mercury Milan is a nice family car. From the waterfall grille up front to the brushed metallic trim inside, this is a Ford platform upgraded to Mercury status, with more standard equipment and more soul. Milan doesn't have the engines to compete with the best in the class, but it is comfortable, classy, and attractively priced. It rides nice on rough roads and is highly stable on the highway. All-wheel drive greatly enhances its safety and handling in slippery conditions.
NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent Jim McCraw filed the original report from Dearborn, Michigan. Correspondent Kirk Bell contributed from Chicago.
Model Lineup
Mercury Milan ($18,725), Premier ($20,420); Milan V6 ($21,975), AWD V6 ($23,825), Premier V6 ($23,295), Premier AWD V6 ($25,145).
Assembled In
Hermosillo, Mexico.
Options As Tested
heated seats ($295), eight-speaker Audiophile sound system with six-disc CD changer and auxiliary input jack ($425).
Model Tested
Mercury Milan Premier V6 ($23,295).The Mercury Milan is a midsize sedan that shares much in common with the Ford Fusion and was based off the Mazda6 platform. It is Mercury's entry-level car. The Milan comes in two versions, either a front-wheel drive, or an all-wheel drive system offered in regular or Premier trims. The standard front-wheel drive powertrain is a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 160-hp that is mated to a five-speed manual or optional five-speed automatic transmission. A 3.0-liter V6 engine that produces 221-hp mated to a six-speed automatic transmission is also available with the front-wheel drive, and is standard on the all-wheel drive model. The Milan Premier comes equipped with 17-inch machined aluminum wheels, leather seating surfaces, and the premium six-disc CD changer with MP3 and six speakers. All trims are standard with anti-lock brakes, dual-front, side-impact and side-curtain airbags. For 2008, the Mercury Milan comes with more color choices and a keyless entry keypad.
3111 Dixie Highway
Hamilton, Oh. 45015
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A woman was arrested after police say she assaulted a man in a fight over chicken.
Just before 4 p.m. Feb. 10 Oklahoma City police were called to the Wyatt F. Jeltz Senior Center, 1225 N. Kate Avenue, in regards to an assault. Arriving officers found the male victim with a laceration to his upper lip and swelling and a separate laceration on his right jaw.
The victim told police that 69-year-old Shirley Freeman had come to his residence. The man offered Freeman a piece of chicken but she allegedly wanted all three pieces that he had. When he wouldn't give her all three pieces, Freeman allegedly hit the man in the head with a coffee mug.
Freeman was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on a complaint of assault and battery.