| City nets razing costs
SCHENECTADY Threats of jail time persuaded a local landlord to reimburse the city for the cost of demolishing his fire-damaged house, Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said. Scott McLaughlin, of Troy, made his final payment to the city on Tuesday, paying off the $60,000 cost of removing his rental property at 1851-1853 Van Vranken Ave. When McLaughlin agreed to pay off the bill last October, Van Norden announced it as the first success in the city's new policy of getting arrest warrants to force owners to pay for demolition of their derelict property. Since then, the city has gotten a handful of warrants, Van Norden said, but none has led to a similar agreement. McLaughlin turned himself in when his warrant was issued, but no one else has responded.
Flight Plan: NWA-Delta merger talks
Get the latest merger information from the newspaper that covers Delta and its headquarters. NWA: Oil price a 'budget breaker'
Record high fuel prices increase the pressure for a Delta-Northwest merger. The deal awaits a combined pilot seniority list. Is Delta-Northwest merger a route to global survival?
A Delta-Northwest merger would be designed to build a network that could withstand high oil prices and intense competition. Pilots in a position to make or break deal
Despite the immense challenge, a solution could still be found to resolve the seniority conflict between the Northwest and Delta pilots that's blocking a merger announcement. Pilot talks in holding pattern for one week
Northwest Airlines pilot leaders say they will not trade seniority rankings in exchange for pay raises in any merger.
Michael Bay's best selling high-def movie is on HD DVD
Michael Bay says "I told you so" to all HD DVD faithful Michael Bay's high-definition preference is no secret. It seems that the flashy action director finds every opportunity possible to make it known that he is a strong believer in Blu-ray Disc. This week, Netflix and Best Buy both expressed their intentions to favor Blu-ray Disc as their high-definition format of choice. Bay commented on the latest industry shift at the Visual Effects Society's sixth annual award show, where he said, "Blu-ray's better, and I told everyone ... I was very vocal about it. I knew HD [DVD] was not going to make it." Oddly enough, Bay's best selling high-definition title to date, bring Transformers, is available only on HD DVD – a format that he is vehemently betting against. "Am I thrilled? It really wasn't my fight, but remember what I said in the press? I was kind of saying HD [DVD]'s going to lose," he said.
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