You can laugh about it now, though. Your parents' rules made you into a pretty good person and ]]> If you’re like most adults today, you heard that about once a month when you were a teenager. You were grounded more times th’an a broken-down airplane: grounded for missing curfew (10 o’clock; nine on a school night), for not keeping your room clean (it was your room, right?), and grounded for not being respectful to your elders (no comment).

You can laugh about it now, though. Your parents’ rules made you into a pretty good person and you knew they meant well. But in the new novel "Powder Necklace" by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond,shop for tiffany, a young girl’s mother makes some decisions that don’t seem quite right.

Lila Adjei should’ve known better. For most of the 13-year-old’s life, her Ghanaborn mother claimed that boys would "spoil" Lila, and that she should avoid them. No problem. Boys really didn’t impress Lila much anyhow. Still, it surprised her when Mum flew into a rage upon learning that Lila had been inviting a friendboy over to do homework.

It surprised Lila even more when, after being told that she would stay at Auntie’s house to give her mother "a break," she realized her Mum was driving toward the airport. Alone and horrified, Lila was put on a plane bound for Ghana.

As a native Londoner, Lila had only the barest idea what faced her in Ghana.

The answer came all too quickly: Lila was sent to Dadaba Girl’s Secondary School where she no longer had her own bedroom, but slept instead in a dorm. Everybody called her a broni, a Black White girl. And those steamy showers she once eiyoyed? They were a thing of the past: baths were taken outdoors from a bucket she had to carry.

As the weeks passed,earrings, Lila prayed that her mother would bring her home. Mum always said God knew what was good for everyone, but how could such turmoil be anything good?

For a debut novel, "Powder Necklace" isn’t bad. Author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond does a fine job at giving voice to a pampered teenager who not-so-happily endures the whims of adults that only want "what’s best for her." Basically, Lila is a likeable and believable character.

What’s not believable is the multi-city, multi-continent journey that 13-year-old Lila makes in the course of just a few short months. I enjoyed her London-to-Ghana-and-back sojourn (as well as what happened in between), but the NYC-to-Disney whirlwind storyline was pretty far-fetched. It didn’t ruin this otherwise solid novel,buy tiffany key rings, but it came close.

If you can ignore that wordy bit of first-time-writer-itis, you’ll find a budding new author to watch. Overall, despite some flaws,tiffany rings sale, "Powder Necklace" is relatively well-grounded.

("Powder Necklace" by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond,thanksgiving teacher gifts, Washington Square Press $15,280 pages.)

Mark Campion said Thursday that doctors suspected his wife -- Sandra Brown -- had dengue fever, although he did not know whether that had been confirmed through testing.

V.I. Health Department epidemiologist Eugene Tull said earlier this week that he had no information abo]]> A St. John woman who was transferred last week to a Miami hospital with possible dengue fever symptoms died there Aug. 20 from complications, her husband said.

Mark Campion said Thursday that doctors suspected his wife — Sandra Brown — had dengue fever, although he did not know whether that had been confirmed through testing.

V.I. Health Department epidemiologist Eugene Tull said earlier this week that he had no information about a possible death from dengue fever.

"I don’t know anything about that. I don’t have any word from the hospital or any reports," he said.

Health Department spokeswoman Eunice Bedminster said Thursday that the department was not aware of any deaths from the territory’s dengue fever cases but had been investigating since receiving inquiries from reporters Monday. Tull had no new information Thursday, she said.

"We have no confirmation at this time," she said.

Campion said Thursday that his understanding was that his 47-year-old wife had died from complications of dengue fever and heart failure, but that he had not yet received a death certificate.

She had been healthy before she became ill and did not have other medical conditions, Campion said.

Brown started having flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills and bone pain, about eight days before she died, he said.

Campion said Brown initially went to Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center for treatment Aug. 17,rings, then went back Aug. 18, when she was transferred to Schneider Hospital. On Aug. 19,tiffany, she was transferred from Schneider Hospital to Jackson Memorial in Miami and died the following morning, he said.

Neither Jackson Memorial nor the Miami-Dade County Medical Ex-aminer’s Office would provide information about Brown’s illness and death.

Tull said earlier this week that so far this year, there have been eight confirmed, laboratory positive cases of dengue fever in the territory, three probable cases with lab results pending and 15 suspected cases. All of those were in the St. Thomas/St. John District,Bead bracelet, except for two of the suspected cases,earrings, which were on St. Croix,Charm pendant, he said.

Dengue fever is transmitted to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. Public health officials say eliminating mosquito-breeding areas in and around the house is one key to preventing the spread of dengue fever, and they advise using mosquito repellent.

A private memorial service has been planned for Brown, Campion said.

"She was an awesome, awesome woman," he said.

Ryan Donlevie had a goal and an assist for the Blue Hawks,key rings, while Quinn Conner, Connor Scott and Jimmy Petruccelli all had assists.

Exeter goalie Evan Mikulich had seven saves.

The Consumer Specialty Products Association is firming up plans for its September 23-24 conference,pendants, "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPS]]> The Consumer Specialty Products Association issued the following news release:,cuff Links

The Consumer Specialty Products Association is firming up plans for its September 23-24 conference,pendants, "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from A to Z (And Beyond)" with recent confirmation received that CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has accepted CSPA’s invitation to be the keynote speaker.

CSPA is offering for this conference special discounts for federal employees and groups. Federal employees can register for $250,tiffany, groups of three or more persons from the same company are eligible for discounts; the first two register at the full rate–$400 for CSPA members and $500 for non-members–and subsequent registrations are $50 less for each. Sponsorships also are available as follows: $500.00 for continental breakfasts, $500.00 for breaks and $750.00 for the luncheon.

The day and a half conference,Beads necklace, the only of its kind,money clips, will provide participants with a thorough understanding of the regulations administered by the Commission. The first day will focus on the basic laws and regulations while the second day will focus on international requirements and the future of the Commission.

The conference is intended to be useful to individuals with varying degrees of familiarity with the Commission and will prove to be a valuable event. It also will provide in detail new regulatory requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Industry experts also will be featured to discuss and provide updates on international consumer product regulations such as the Global Harmonized System (GHS) of Chemical Classification and Labeling and the Canadian Consumer Chemicals & Containers Regulation (CCCR). The conference will conclude with a panel discussion featuring former Commission staff, a consumer group representative and staff from Capitol Hill.

Just about every discount offer raises the same question, since it is genuinely difficult to assess what a fair price really is. In most cases,Bead bracelet, discounts are intended to en]]> Sometime this fall, Target will begin offering a 5% discount to customers who use its credit card for their purchases at the chain. So is this a good deal–or not?

Just about every discount offer raises the same question, since it is genuinely difficult to assess what a fair price really is. In most cases,Bead bracelet, discounts are intended to entice us to spend more, not less. Target says, for instance, that it hopes its offer will prompt its "better and best" customers to buy more at its stores, boosting its sales.

Therein lies my conundrum: My family buys most of its groceries at SuperTarget, and we spent close to $5,000 at the chain’s discount stores in 2009. So the offer would save us money–close to $250 a year–and I might be able to avoid trips to other stores.

Switching cards, however, would mean giving up the benefits of our travel-rewards card, which we estimate are worth $80 to $100 a year on our Target purchases. It also requires carrying around another credit card, paying another bill and–worse–trying to resist the temptation to buy extra,Atlas charm bracelet, unnecessary stuff because of the discount.

While saving money is important, many discount offers have a darker side. Here are some of the ways we get lulled into thinking we are getting a good deal when we may not be:

* Membership has its delusions. In a 2007 paper on membership fees such as those charged by Costco, Harvard Business School professor Michael I. Norton and Columbia Business School professor Leonard Lee found that consumers equated the fees with especially low prices, even when the prices weren’t all that great. Assuming they were getting great deals, shoppers tended to stock up, spending more than they planned and buying "enough pasta to outlive a nuclear winter," according to the professors.

When we pay for something in advance, we want to get the full value. So those who subscribe to Amazon.com ‘s Amazon Prime service, paying $79 for a year’s worth of two-day shipping, are more likely to spend more on the website, just as we might pig out at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

* Loyalty is expensive. My own wallet is full of loyalty cards–Chico’s, Barnes & Noble and Staples, to name a few–all intended to reward high-volume customers. The average consumer belongs to six such programs, says Joseph Nunes, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. Once we belong, we are likely to spend more to qualify for a coupon or earn cash back–and then forget to spend it.

"All loyalty programs count on a certain percentage of consumers not redeeming," Prof. Nunes notes. In addition, he says, "once you get closer and closer to a reward, you want it more and more" and may spend more to get it.

* Free is seductive. Various studies have found that many people will respond more positively to an offer that appears free, even if it really isn’t. For example, consumers prefer a product that costs $5 and includes free shipping to an item that costs $2.50 and requires $2.50 to ship.

"When something is free, we have an overly excited reaction," says Dan Ariely, a Duke University behavioral economics professor and author of "The Upside of Irrationality." He marvels, for instance,necklaces, at how long people will stand in line at Ben & Jerry’s on free cone day. But he asks, "How much time would you spend in line to get $1.75?"

In fairness, it is hard to compare an ice-cream cone and cold, hard cash. A couple of years ago, Prof. Ariely asked about 50 people who were buying a car at a dealership what they would buy if they didn’t purchase a car. Most didn’t have an answer–and none of them saw the cost of the car as equivalent to, say, a tuition bill or multiple vacations.

Prof. Ariely says people should get more comfortable comparing apples and oranges–that is, an impulse purchase with something they truly value. Learning to weigh trade-offs is a good start to becoming a smart shopper.

So is making an extra trip to hunt for specials. Marketing professors Stephen Hoch,bangles, at the Wharton School, and Edward Fox,earrings, at Southern Methodist University, studied "cherry pickers," people who did most of their grocery shopping at one store, but then went to a second store the same day to take advantage of specials, such as soft drinks on sale. Even factoring in the extra time spent shopping, they found that cherry pickers actually can save big money.

Weighing the hassle involved also is important, of course, whether you are switching credit cards, surfing the Web for discounts or clipping coupons. When it comes to the Target card, I’m not yet convinced that the extra savings are worth the trouble.

Scope of this research:

-- Market expenditure,]]> UK Retail Futures 2014: Clothing & Footwear provides comprehensive insight into sector related issues such as market shares, space expansion and the changing patterns of consumer demand. It combines this with a host of economic, social and political factors to derive thorough sector forecasts over the next five years.

Scope of this research:

– Market expenditure,Atlas charm bracelet, inflation and volume growth forecast to 2014 as well as data from the last ten years

– Comprehensive analysis covering inflation, volume and sales growth split by categories

– Channels of distribution analysis 2009, 2010 and 2014 covering clothing & footwear specialists and non-specialists

Research and analysis highlights:

Despite improved growth,Bead bracelet, 2010 will continue to be tough. We expect higher taxes and weak wage growth to result in consumer reluctance to spend. Inflation has been the main contributor to growth, with VAT and increased cost prices pushing up costs.

Cost price pressures will push up the selling prices of items as retailers will not be able to absorb production cost increases without taking significant hits on margins. Retailers will try to minimise inflation by continuing to negotiate harder with suppliers and adding detail to garments.

Retailers will need to make the store environment, customer service and shopping experience exciting and enjoyable to entice people into stores and encourage discretionary purchases. While creating an emotional attachment with consumers through communication and returning to traditional values will encourage return visits.

Key reasons to purchase this research:

– Plan for the future, using this report to develop strategies that will enable you to compete effectively against rivals in tougher market conditions

– Enhance your understanding of key issues, trends,watches, and dynamics in the market,Charm bracelet, providing a valuable tool to help steer your business into the future

– See how core clothing & footwear categories are expected to perform over the next five years

Key Topics Covered:

OVERVIEW

SCOPE

– Methodology

– Executive Summary extracts

– Principle sources

DEFINITIONS

– Current Prices

– Constant Prices

– Volume Growth

– Inflation

– Total Growth

– Percentage point difference with Total Retail

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/31ebff/annual_forecasting

Source: Datamonitor

A 14-year-old girl was awakened about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday,cuff Links, when she heard a male voice in her mother's bedroom, which is adjacent to hers]]> A 41-year-old man was arrested on charges of home invasion, domestic battery, possession of cannabis and resisting police after he allegedly beat up his ex-girlfriend and barricaded himself in her home to hold off police.

A 14-year-old girl was awakened about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday,cuff Links, when she heard a male voice in her mother’s bedroom, which is adjacent to hers.

After she heard the man threaten to break her mother’s ribs and heard her mother crying,bracelets, she climbed out of her bedroom window and ran to a neighbor’s house, where she called police, according to a sworn statement by a Decatur police officer.

When police officers arrived at the home, they saw the man and woman through a crack in the blinds and heard the victim crying. When the officers knocked on the door, the man responded by telling them, "You’re not (expletive) getting in here."

The police tried to break in through the front door, but it was blocked by a sofa. They then tried the side door, but an inner side door was blocked by a stove and resistance by the suspect. When the officers succeeded in pushing the door open about one foot,key rings, an officer used a stun gun to subdue the suspect. When he then refused to put his hands behind his back, he was hit with the Taser again.

After handcuffing him,watches, officers found a plastic bag containing more than two ounces of marijuana in his pocket.

The victim told police her ex-boyfriend recently had stolen keys to her home and had used them to enter before attacking her. She said he punched her in the face, chest, stomach, back and head. He threatened to kill her and anyone she contacted, including police officers.

The man is being held in the Macon County Jail on $25,000 bond.

hfreeman@herald-review.com 421-6985