Summary List Placement People around the world use an estimated 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year. ChopValue is a Canadian company that collects used chopsticks and turns them into a variety of products like furniture and countertops. We visited ChopValue's "micro-factory" to see how workers pulverize chopsticks and turn them into something new. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Join the conversation about this story » ...read more Source:: Business Insider

Summary List PlacementAs a landscape designer, my job is to create the most beautiful setting for whatever outdoor space I'm working with. It could be a huge garden, the area around a pool, a back patio or gazebo, or even just a walkway.  At any given time, I'm working on 30 or so projects, but we've never been busier than we are right now. Most of my work these days is in Miami and Palm Beach. In Miami Beach, we do a lot of work in North Bay Road, which is a neighborhood on the water filled with incredible mansions. We also go to Gables Estates, a beautiful gated community in Coral Gables. In Palm Beach, we're in Billionaire's Row. So many of my clients have moved here from New York and other places since COVID-19 or are at least staying here long term. They're home all the time and ha...

Summary List PlacementGoldman Sachs has been going through some massive changes under CEO David Solomon. It's taken big steps involving transparency and inclusion to change up its culture. After its first-ever investor day in early 2020, the firm is looking to execute on targets including multi-year cost-cutting plans. And it's making big pushes into businesses like wealth management and consumer banking.  Now, the elite Wall Street bank is finally launching its do-it-yourself wealth management offering to the public, marking a milestone in the elite firm's quest to appeal to Main Street.  Goldman rolled out Marcus Invest, its automated investment tool with a $1,000 account minimum, in February after having previously faced delays. Solomon, who took the reins as CEO in 2018, has also lo...

REUTERSOne of the worst things you can say about a relationship is “it’s complicated.” At best, it projects a sense of futility about anything changing. At worst, it’s a disregard for your own self-worth. If your partner literally kills and dismembers someone in your protection—and now everyone knows it for a fact— it says a lot (of the wrong things) when your response is still to shrug and say “it’s complicated.” Yet that is the latest response from the United States in its longstanding, toxic relationship with Saudi Arabia. This affair has involved decades of arms sales, a co-dependence on fossil fuels, and covering up for the cruelties of the Saudi royal family, all in the name of dubious shared regional objectives. Under the past president, the relationship reached new depths: mutual ...

  The 45th anniversary of the founding of West Valley Christian Church in West Hills is celebrated on Feb. 28. (Google Street View)  Here is a sampling of upcoming services and events that are online, and some in-person, in the San Fernando Valley area.   Services with Temple Beth Hillel: Havdalah online, 7 p.m. Feb. 27 (click on the Facebook link from here: (bit.ly/3bF4irk). A  Shabbat service, 7 p.m. March 5 (bit.ly/3aQHHsF). The Reform Jewish temple is in Valley Village. tbhla.org Reseda Church of Christ’s Sunday service: Online, 8 a.m. Feb. 28. The senior minister is the Rev. Dewayne Winrow. www.facebook.com/ResedaChurch; resedachurch.com What Is in Your Hand? – 45th Anniversary of West Valley Christian Church: The Rev. Rob Denton delivers the message, 9 a.m. Feb. 28 (outdoors on the l

Gov. Gavin Newsom remained hopeful Friday of reaching a deal with state lawmakers early next week to speed the reopening of public schools that have been closed for nearly a year by the pandemic. But he also acknowledged: “We’ve been at this since December.” So what’s the holdup? As schools across the state grope toward reopening at vastly different paces — with those serving the neediest students often furthest behind — politicians in Sacramento are struggling to craft an approach that meets the needs of districts large and small to get kids back into classrooms quickly. Teacher unions, influential in the Democrat-led Capitol, have said infection rates must fall much lower or teachers must be vaccinated first before returning to in-person instruction. A spokeswoman for Assemblyman Phil Ti

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants are happy with the progress right-hander Tyler Beede has made while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but fans won’t get the chance to see him pitch for at least another three months. The club transferred Beede to the 60-day injured list Friday to clear a roster spot for right-handed pitching prospect Jordan Humphreys, who is back with the organization after being designated for assignment this offseason. Beede threw his fourth bullpen of the spring this week and continues to impress manager Gabe Kapler, but it was unlikely the starter would have been healthy enough to contribute to the major league staff before May 31, which is when he’ll be eligible to return from the injured list. The Vanderbilt product underwent Tommy John surgery last March and the Gian

As Mike McQuaid tells it, the Lookabaugh family opened a small, neighborhood grocery store on a two-lane dirt road called Fallbrook Avenue in 1946, selling the store a few years later “to a guy who sold it to another guy who sold it to my father” — a butcher who had been renting space in the store for his meat counter since 1951. The other owners had failed to see what the butcher saw when he looked into the future of Woodland Hills — a pot roast in every oven. There would be a massive change in the landscape. All those agricultural farms would be covered with ranch style homes filled with hungry children and a mother in the kitchen with time to make grandma’s recipe for the country’s favorite Sunday night dinner — Yankee Pot Roast. Where would they buy their boneless chuck roast, Jim McQ

Summary List PlacementThe White House on Friday said it would begin to permit people who've used marijuana recreationally to apply for roles within the Biden administration.  The new policy means that some people who've used pot on a "limited" basis" will not be penalized by being denied the chance to work in the White House, NBC News reported.  A White House official told NBC News that the policy changed after "intensive consultation with security officials." The change will be implemented on a "case-by-case basis," NBC News reported. Only individuals applying to positions that don't require a security clearance can receive a waiver overlooking past marijuana use. Marijuana is not legal under federal law. But there's a growing movement to legalize pot, and multiple cities and states h...

Summary List PlacementSan Francisco's public schools were among the first in the US to shut down at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020.  They're still closed. And the outrage over the endless foot-dragging on re-opening is well-deserved, especially considering what the city's school board has spent precious time on rather than laser-focusing on reopening. Children — especially those in low-income households — continue to suffer mental anguish, the loss of irreplaceable months of youth and social discovery, and a permanent stunting of their education as long as in-person schooling remains unavailable. And yet for some reason, San Francisco's Board of Education recently devoted a disproportionate amount of time and energy on an effort to review every single public scho...

Summary List Placement The House voted to approve a third stimulus check as part of a massive economic relief bill. The checks aren't final until the Senate votes and the president signs the legislation. A person earning under $75,000 would get a $1,400 check, including dependents of all ages, under the current proposal. Visit Personal Finance Insider for more stories. A third stimulus check is just around the corner. On February 27, the House voted to approve a new round of payments as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The Senate will take up the bill next week and is likely to make changes before the legislation becomes law. Democrats have pledged to enact the legislation before March 14. Here's who qualifies for a third stimulus check, worth up to $1,400 per person,...

Summary List PlacementA Delta Air Lines passenger is facing a $27,500 fine for hitting a flight attendant, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The unnamed passenger traveled on a flight from Miami to Atlanta on October 19 and was sitting next to a passenger who refused to wear his mask, secure his tray table, or fasten his seatbelt. As a result, Flight 1997 was forced to return to the gate and both the unruly passenger and their neighbor were asked to leave the plane.  However, the FAA said: "In response, the passenger accompanying the non-compliant traveler ignored the flight attendant's instructions, began yelling expletives at the flight attendant and other passengers, and struck the flight attendant under her left eye." In January, the FAA announced a stricter u...