Air Lou: Cubs manager plans hot air balloon ride

PEORIA, Ariz.- The Cubs have an off-day on Wednesday in Arizona, so manager Lou Piniella and his wife, Anita, were considering their options.
Piniella said before Tuesday's game in Peoria they could either take a helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon and do some whitewater rafting down the Snake River, or go on a hot air balloon ride around the Valley.
"I think I'll settle for the hot air balloon," he said. "As long as they set me down before Juarez, I'm happy."
Piniella was in a great mood Tuesday, on the heels of the Cubs one-game win streak after losing eight of nine.
Rich Harden makes his Cactus League debut and is scheduled to go two innings. Piniella formally announced that Harden would start in Game 4 of the regular season, the opener of the Milwaukee series on April 10 at Miller Park.

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Hot Air Balloonist Knocks Out Power in Arlington

ARLINGTON, TN - Residents who lost power today in Arlington can thank a weekend hobbyist for the outage.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office tells myEyewitnessNews.com that 50 year-old Fred Dunham lost control of his hot air balloon near Memphis-Arlington Road around 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2009.

Dunham was releasing his balloon into the air when strong winds took control, pushing the balloon into nearby live power lines. Dunham ducked down in the basket as the balloon hit the wires and caused an explosion.

"I thought he was going to die," says his wife.

Dunham tells myEyewitnessNews.com that the accident happened quickly. "We were launching our balloon and the wind picked up and snapped the quick release and brought me right into the wires."

The balloon and basket came to rest in a nearby drainage ditch. No one was injured. An MLGW spokesperson says all power was restored by 10:00 p.m. Sunday night.

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Utility tax proposal is hot air balloon

The proposed utility tax is a hot-air balloon, constantly fueled by many rateplayers to preserve quality of life for those in the gondola.

Mantecans already pay high local utility rates, in part from regulatory requirements, and partly from our leaders’ generosity toward employees and themselves during our run of good times. Giving up most of one year’s salary increase is a paltry sacrifice - even for our city manager - in light of the economic hard landing we’re experiencing in the San Joaquin Valley.

While considering Mantecans’ quality of life, I hope Mr. Pinkerton and our city council also consider the effects of confiscating more money from those of us whose budgets are already strained, from residents whose income has been reduced, and from our significant population living on limited fixed incomes. For most of us, any new tax is a heavy lead balloon to carry.

We already pay high taxes and surcharges on our utility services, regardless of which jurisdictions grab the money, and we recently approved an added half-cent sales tax to help keep crime under control. Imagine the effect on utility rates and tax amounts if Manteca successfully transfers more personnel costs to city enterprise service accounts, which include local utilities.

But probably the worst aspect of any utility tax is its automatic tax compounding effect based on regular, virtually automatic utility fee increases. Cost and rate increases will magically increase taxes without debate. In effect, Mr. Pinkerton is proposing an automatically indexed tax which should be rejected.

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Anger over fire brigade's balloon

Avon Fire & Rescue Service has been criticised for spending £11,000 in one year on operating a hot air balloon promoting fire prevention.

The balloon, the only one being used by a fire service in the country, was on show on all three days of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta last year and was also airborne at school and community events in 2008.

The fire service, which spent £13,000 on the canopy in 2007, says it uses the balloon to spread messages about fire safety.

On Wednesday, the balloon was flown across Bristol bearing the message 'Working smoke alarms save lives'.

But Bristol city councillor Spud Murphy, who is a member of the Avon Fire Authority, believes the balloon is a waste of money.

He says that along with the service's hovercraft based in Weston-super-Mare and its rescue boat based in the Floating Harbour, the balloon is one of 'the toys for the boys'.

Conservative Coun Murphy said: "It's a waste of rate payers' money when you see that the fire service precept on the council tax has gone up four per cent.

"They didn't need to buy the balloon. It's just something they can use to take people up for a rides in. The things they do make me mad - no other fire service in the country has a balloon."

While the large balloon carries the fire service's logo in red, a white stripe below it will feature changeable messages. The messages reflect trends in fires the brigade attends.

Funding for the balloon, which was made by Bristol-based Cameron Balloons, comes from the brigade's own community safety budget.

It costs £1,000 a day to fly, which pays for a pilot, basket and gas to inflate and fly it.

When the balloon was first launched in 2007, deputy chief fire officer Jerry O'Brien said to buy the balloon and then fly it would cost less than attending four car fires – which the brigade often does in a day.

A spokeswoman for Avon Fire & Rescue Service said: "Hot air balloons are a proven marketing tool used to raise awareness of organisations and their messages to thousands of viewers.

"It is a cost effective way of getting safety messages out to large numbers of members of the public who travel into the city centre every day.

"Using the hot air balloon to reach out to the local community offers a cheaper alternative to advertising in local newspapers, as it attracts a great deal of attention and is very visible, potentially being seen by hundreds of thousands of people during its short flight."

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Inaugural hot air balloon fiesta

F motorists travelling to Putrajaya early last month were caught by surprise at the sight of two colourful hot air balloons slowly floating over several ministries in Precinct 2, then watch out next week when 15 more will fill the sky for four days from March 19 to March 22.
Their appearance will be in conjunction with the inaugural Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009.
A publicity stunt was held at the Palace of Golden Horses Hotel in Seri Kembangan where reporters were invited to take a static ride in two balloons.

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Sponsored balloon ride in memory of relatives

TWO pensioners from Wootton Bassett are taking to the skies in memory of late relatives.

Frank Ashton, 87, and 81-year-old Maureen Best have organised a sponsored hot air balloon flight to raise money for Prospect Hospice.

The flight will take place on May 2, just a few days before what would have been the 61st birthday of Maureen’s daughter Ann, who lost her battle with cancer last year. Frank also lost his second wife, Mary, to the disease in 2006.

The pair met at a Christmas event at which they were the only two people able to ballroom dance, and their friendship has grown from there, aided by their shared interest in fundraising.

Frank said: “My aim is to raise as much money as possible for the hospice.”

Frank and Maureen will be joined in the basket by friends and family, including Maureen’s two daughters and her grandson, and Frank’s two grandsons and daughter-in-law.

Maureen said: “We’ll have a doctor with us as well, which could come in handy. I’ve never been in a hot air balloon before but I’m not really nervous. I’m more concerned about getting in the basket.

“The going up doesn’t bother me, but I am a bit more concerned about where we land. I think Ann would have liked this way of raising money and I think it’s a good way of remembering her.

“They were fantastic at the hospice. The nurses were absolutely wonderful, especially Michelle. Prospect helped to set up the house so she could come home, but unfortunately she was never able to.”

Maureen’s daughter, Hilary, who will also be along for the ride said: “The amount of good that they do for the families is probably not really understood. They really take the strain and I don’t think we could have got through it without them.”

Frank, who was involved with setting up a hospice in Lancashire before he moved to Wootton Bassett seven years ago, has previously received a Westlea Good Neighbour Community Award.

In 2007 Frank organised a sponsored walk in aid of Prospect, which raised about £2,000.

He said: “I’m very happy to support the hospice and I’m looking forward to the flight. I hope lots of people will sponsor us.”

To sponsor Frank and Maureen call Prospect on 01793 813355 or drop into any of the hospice’s shops. Details can also be found at www.prospect-hospice.net.

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What's new at Legoland for 2009

“You’re only as good as your last thrill ride” is a mantra that theme park owners must curse. They know they constantly have to innovate or face a drop-off in visitors tempted away by other parks offering the world’s highest this or the world’s scariest that.

Legoland in Windsor is only too aware of that. Not satisfied with having launched a whole new "land" last year – the Land of the Vikings – the park is spending £3 million this year on its new Kingdom of the Pharaohs. KOTP is based on Lego’s mini character Johnny Thunder, an archeologist-adventurer with more than a passing resemblance to Indiana Jones, even down to the fedora and khaki shirt.

The new land has five new rides between Lego City and the Land of the Vikings in an area that used to house a circus tent.

In Laser Riders, visitors sit in one of ten specially constructed Jeeps and pass through various scenes, including a spider’s lair and a laboratory, using laser guns to shoot as many targets as possible

The Scarab-bouncers ride is a small shot and drop tower, similar to the Berry Bouncers ride at Chessington world of Adventures, which bounces riders 15 foot into the air. It is designed for kids, with a minimum height of 0.9 metres, and only one grown-up can go on it at any time.

The other three rides are new takes on traditional theme park favourites. Aero Nomad is a big wheel with “hot-air balloon” capsules and views right over the park while Desert Chase is a themed carousel and Thunder Blazer is a swinging chair attraction.

The centrepiece of the new kingdom is a six-metre high pharaoh, made from 200,000 Lego bricks.

The park’s investment plans don’t stop there either. A company spokeswoman told Times Online Travel it plans to spend more than £30 million over the next five to 10 years. The money will be spent on more new rides, a sealife centre and an on-site hotel, if planning permission is forthcoming.

Legoland opened in 1996 on the site of the old Windsor Safari Park. The setting is spectacular – 150 tree-lined acres, great views of Windsor Castle and enough planes flying overhead from Heathrow to keep any young aviation enthusiast absorbed for hours. Legoland is essentially a theme park in the style of Alton Towers or Chessington World of Adventures but with lots of brightly plastic bricks thrown in for good measure.

Anyone who hasn’t visited Legoland will certainly be reassured to learn that it isn’t the rollercoasters themselves that are made of Lego. There are life-size people, animals and vehicles built from the stuff with plenty more made to look as though they are made from the stuff but underneath the plastic, it is the same as any other theme park.

Overall, there are more than 50 thrill rides plus shows including, Bob the Builder in 4D, which is new for 2009.

Anyone who didn’t visit last year will also be able to explore Land of the Vikings, a nod to Lego’s home in Denmark. The Longboat Invader ride is a Viking ship that rocks back and forth and spins round and round, getting everyone giddy. Just next door is the Viking River Splash, where you head down a river in a circular boat, getting splashed and sprayed by water on the way round.

Rollercoaster fiends should head straight for the Jungle Coaster, which reaches up to 60km/h on parts of its 400 metre long track. There’s also a stomach-churning drop of 16 metres.

Driving School is one of the park’s most popular attractions. Kids aged from 6 to 13 can, after watching a safety video, jump in a Lego car and zoom round a realistic road course, including traffic lights and roundabouts. Afterwards, kids get their own Lego driving licence. Don’t forget to bring a proof of age for them to avoid the disappointment of not getting on.

Fire Academy is another family magnet. The parents pump the handle to get a fire engine moving and the water flowing while the kids aim heir hoses at the “burning” buildings. Worth it just to get a bit of a workout to work off the fast food you’ll inevitably eat.

It’s also worth throwing the kids’ swimming costumes in your bag too if it’s a warm, sunny day. The Waterworks area has fountains and jets and plenty of opportunity to get drenched.

Many theme parks are not suitable for pre-school kids but there is plenty to do at Legoland although it is well worth waiting until your child is at least 90cm tall before visiting. Many rides don’t allow children smaller than this on, even if they are accompanied by a grown-up. The hysterical children I saw standing by the entrances to some of the attractions, screaming as their taller siblings enjoyed themselves was testament to this.

One refreshing feature for parents under pressure is that the commercial side of Legoland is not thrust in your face. Yes, there are places to buy photos and keyrings of terrified kids on rollercoasters but you are not forced to walk past them in the way you are at Disney, for example.

One Disney import that is relatively new is the idea of a fast track way of getting onto the most popular rides: Q-bot. Groups of up to six people (which includes everyone in the group even toddlers) can rent this electronic gizmo for £10 and then throughout the day can reserve a particular time for a ride. At the allotted time, you go to the ride and enter via a special Q-bot entrance, cutting down dramatically on queueing.

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