Young Entrepreneur, 13, Makes $100K With Scooter Parts Company

Click here: Young Entrepreneur, 13, Makes $100K With Scooter Parts Company - Business - Cranford, NJ Patch

It all started with a need.
 
Nicholas Pinto, 13, of Cranford, began avidly riding his scooter a few years ago and realized how quickly his wheels would break.
 
He thought, how come wheels that cost a decent amount of money are not able to withstand exactly what they are made for?

So, Pinto decided to create his own.

Pinto started LB Scoots about two years ago. He originally created wax for skateboarding and riding a scooter, but really advanced the company with the creation of the scooter wheels. In just one year, he made about $100,000 from the sale of the wheels, he and his mother said.

It’s simple. Pinto is creating wheels that last much longer than most of the famous brands, but for only $20 each. Wheels similar by bigger brands can run about $50, he says, but are not nearly as good.

“I feel like other companies are in to just to get money,” he said. “They are not focused on the quality.”

He and his small team of about five people work with a distributor that only makes scooter wheels for LB Scoots. The distributor was unfamiliar with how to even make scooter wheels, but Pinto was confident that the product they made would be durable and last longer as a scooter wheel, so they drew up the designs so they could create a wheel.

“I’m pretty sure no one else on the market is using the same product,” he said.

The wheels Pinto used to ride with lasted him about two to three weeks, but the LB Scoots wheels last a long time, he said, unable to even remember when he last changed them. He also pointed out that when riding on a cement street, wheels wear down faster compared to a skate park.

Pinto’s distributor is based in California and makes a quality product, he said.

“I want to help kids by having a wheel that lasts long and is affordable,” Pinto explained.

LB Scoots is making 100-millimeter wheels, with 110-millimeter wheels in production. The company is now working on a fork for scooters and Pinto hopes to expand the business moving forward.

Pinto also sponsors a team of East Coast scooter riders, supporting his other passion of film and photography. He travels to skate parks all over to make promotional videos of riders. Also, if he attends a competition, the sponsor or skate park will pay him to make a promotional video of the day’s events.

Since Pinto is based on the East Coast, he will send T-shirts and wristbands to other riders across the country to promote his brand.

Besides riding his scooter, skateboarding, filming and editing, Pinto is also really interested in school. Right now, he is home-schooled because he feels he can get his work done more quickly and have more time to focus on his company. He hopes to attend college and study business to further the company.

LB Scoots is named after the Pinto’s dog, which they call Little Boy.

Pinto’s 10-year-old sister Francesca also possesses an entrepreneurial spirit by running her own company of duct tape products called, Duct Tape Dreams.
The siblings bounce ideas off of each other and help each other out. Francesca even amps up Nicholas’ gear with duct tape designs.

 

Pink Dolphin Spotted Swimming in Louisiana Waters/Operation Confidence 

Click here: Pink dolphin appears in US lake - Telegraph

We've heard of pink dolphins before, although they're usually limited to such far-flung places as Hong Kong and the Amazon. But the U.S. has a pink dolphin, too, a local favorite who lives in a Louisiana lake.

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

There are other pink dolphins in the world, like the Amazon River dolphin, but they are not albino. Their coloring is believed to come from diet and physiology.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.

Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter.

"It was absolutely stunningly pink.

"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth. 

The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.

"The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.

"I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel.

"As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career.

"It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it

"While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes.

"Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited."

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon. 

Operation Confidence comments: What a beautiful mammal. 

Matt Lauer Hits Out At Media's Coverage Of Him

Matt Lauer Hits Out At Media's Coverage Of Him 

Click here: Matt Lauer Hits Out At Media's Coverage Of Him

Matt Lauer took aim at the media in a feature for the latest issue of Esquire magazine.

Not surprisingly, Lauer has some lingering resentments about the overwhelmingly negative coverage he received during the crisis over Ann Curry's ouster from "Today." Lauer's popularity has reportedly taken a very big hit in the process.

Lauer did not mince his words in the Esquire piece:

The way the media treated what happened with Ann Curry was a disappointing learning experience. I was disappointed by the laziness of the media, the willingness to read a rumor, repeat that rumor, and treat it as a fact. And yet, what were my options? Does anyone want to see a person who's making the money that the newspapers say I'm making complaining, 

"Woe is me, my life is terrible, and people are being unfair"? No one would've had any patience for that. I wouldn't have any patience for that. So you just shut up and go about doing your job and hope that people who know you well -- your friends and your family -- know what's true.

Michael Jordan's Daughter, Jasmine, Addresses Gay Rumors 

Click here: Michael Jordan's Daughter, Jasmine, Addresses Gay Rumors

Michael Jordan's daughter, Jasmine, has taken to Instagram to address rumors she came out as gay.
Talk about Jordan's sexuality first surfaced last week in a Media Take Out report on Sept. 4.

The gossip blog claimed she is dating a player on the Syracuse University women's basketball team named Carmen (who she appears with in an Instagram photo).

The 20-year-old, who is the daughter of the NBA star and ex-wife Juanita Vanoy, then took to her Instagram that same day to address the gay rumors:

Some blogs, like Global Grind, took this to mean that Jordan was coming out. However, she has not classified her sexuality at all, whether gay, straight or bisexual.

Jordan, a junior at Syracuse majoring in Sports Management, wrote on Instagram that she doesn't mind the attention she is getting these days, but she would like for everyone following her to keep things positive.
"I don't consider myself a celebrity or anything like that," she previously wrote in an Instagram post about people's new found interest. "I'm a human being. Nothing more or less! But PLEASE save your negativity for someone who's going to give a damn about it. That's not me though."

When she first started college, however, she had trouble dealing with all the focus on her life, she told Chicago blog The Boss Up in July. Jordan explained that people thought they knew her before she even arrived on campus. Once there, she had to deal with "dirty looks" and "whispers and rumors."

"I have no problem with people knowing me as Michael Jordan’s Daughter," she said. "The issue comes when people make assumptions on who I am because I am his daughter. People assume I play basketball or wear Jordan’s everyday and neither of those is true.

 I do not play basketball but I know the game. I don’t wear Jordan’s everyday because I like to switch it up. I always say I’m a pretty open book. You want to know what it is like being Michael Jordan’s daughter just ask me instead of making assumptions and drawing incorrect conclusions about me."

Obama Agrees To U.N. Discussion Of Putting Syria Chemical Weapons Under International Control

Click here: Obama Agrees To U.N. Discussion Of Putting Syria Chemical Weapons Under International Control

 WASHINGTON -- A White House official says President Barack Obama has agreed to discussions at the United Nations Security Council on a proposal from Russia to secure Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles.

The official says Obama discussed the proposal Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH' oh-LAWND') and British Prime Minister David Cameron. France's foreign minister says France will float a resolution in the U.N. Security Council aimed at forcing Syria to make public its chemical weapons program, place it under international control and dismantle it.

Obama has said the proposal marks a potential breakthrough that could halt plans for a U.S. military strike, though he said the details remain unclear.

The official requested anonymity because the officials was not authorized to discuss the private conversations by name.

A White House official emailed The Huffington Post with further details:

This morning, the President spoke separately with President Hollande and Prime Minister Cameron. They agreed to work closely together, and in consultation with Russia and China, to explore seriously the viability of the Russian proposal to put all Syrian chemical weapons and related materials fully under international control in order to ensure their verifiable and enforceable destruction. These efforts will begin today at the United Nations, and will include a discussion on elements of a potential UN Security Council Resolution

High Bills Faced By Patients With Pre-Existing Conditions Show Obamacare Weakness

High Bills Faced By Patients With Pre-Existing Conditions Show Obamacare Weakness

Click here: High Bills Faced By Patients With Pre-Existing Conditions Show Obamacare Weakness

WASHINGTON — Coping with advanced cancer, Bev Veals was in the hospital for chemo this summer when she got a call that her health plan was shutting down. Then, the substitute insurance she was offered wanted her to pay up to $3,125, on top of premiums.

It sounds like one of those insurance horror stories President Barack Obama told to sell his health overhaul to Congress, but Veals wasn't in the clutches of a profit-driven company. Instead, she's covered by Obama's law – one of about 100,000 people with serious medical issues in a financially troubled government program.
Raw political divisions over health care have clouded chances of a fix for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, leaving families like Veals and her husband Scott to juggle the consequences. That's not a good omen for solving other problems that could surface with "Obamacare."

"You don't advertise one thing and then give the customer another thing," said Veals, 49, who lives near Wilmington, N.C. "I finally felt for the first time going through this cancer that I had something dependable, and somebody pulled the plug."

In a statement, the federal Health and Human Services department said the program "continues to provide excellent coverage." But the department said it was unable to provide current enrollment numbers, which might reflect the impact of belt-tightening this summer that led North Carolina and 16 other states to turn their programs over to federal officials.

Known as PCIP, the program was intended as a temporary lifeline for people denied insurance because of medical problems. It's supposed to provide coverage at premiums that healthy people would typically pay. PCIP will end Jan. 1, when Veals and other enrollees will be able to transition to new insurance marketplaces where they may be able to find lower-cost plans.

Jan. 1 is also when Obama's law will forbid insurers from turning away people in poor health. At the same time, virtually all Americans will be required to have coverage. Many who are currently uninsured will be able to get tax credits to help pay premiums.
Part of the problem with PCIP stems from a decision by the president and Congress more than three years ago to cap funding at $5 billion. Some experts warned that might not be enough to last through the end of 2013.
Veals is a breast cancer survivor now battling colorectal cancer. A runner, she has participated in more than 125 fundraising races for cancer research. Her husband Scott is self-employed, a slow-motion replay operator for televised sporting events.

Bev Veals had been uninsured for 27 months before she was able to get on the North Carolina PCIP plan early in 2011. She considers herself a strong supporter of Obama's law.

But even with insurance, deductibles and copays for cancer care strain the budgets of most families. And that doesn't count lost wages and expenses not covered by insurance.

"It starts as a hand-packed snowball that someone starts pushing down the hill," said Veals. "It gains momentum and speed, it gets bigger and bigger, and swallows everything in its path."

The more than $3,000 extra the Veals will have to pay this year "is not discretionary money," she explained. "This is heat-the-house-in-the-winter money."

When her home health nurse called her at Duke Cancer Center about the health plan changes, Veals was on a chemotherapy pump. Her first thought was they missed a payment. Then she remembered her premium was set for automatic payment and wondered if their account was low. Her mind racing, she worried somebody had hacked their finances.

Scott Veals called the North Carolina PCIP plan and learned it was being turned back over to the federal government on July 1 because of financing problems. After more digging, he found out their premiums would go down somewhat in the federal plan, to $420 a month.

But there was a catch: They had already met their deductible in the North Carolina plan, and also reached their annual out-of-pocket maximum of $6,250.

With the federal plan, they would have another deductible of $1,000 for the rest of 2013, and a total of $3,125 in out-of-pocket costs before reaching that plan's catastrophic limit. Deductibles and co payments shift some financial responsibility to patients.

"We are paying 18 months of deductibles and out-of-pocket cost for one year's worth of coverage to two insurance companies," said Scott Veals.

The problems with PCIP bubbled up in February, when federal officials unexpectedly announced an enrollment freeze. Although fewer people had signed up than originally expected, very costly cases were draining its budget.

A few months later, federal officials gave states running their own PCIP plans an ultimatum: take on some financial risk or turn the programs back to Washington at midyear. In those 17 states, Washington put in new cost-sharing requirements to help keep the program financially viable through the end of the year.

If the administration saw problems coming, Obama's budget did not reflect it. The president did not request any new funds for PCIP.

The No. 2 House Republican did make an attempt to pump more money in, but it was fraught with politics. Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia proposed to divert funds from elsewhere in the health care law, unacceptable to Democrats. His idea also failed to get Republican support.

"Our elected officials, some of whom have been impacted by cancer, must come together to identify a bipartisan solution to fund this program for the remainder of 2013," said Emily Shetty, who handles federal policy and lobbying for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Veals and her husband say they are looking forward to full implementation of the health care law next year. But getting through the next few months will be a struggle.

"We both knew there would be bumps along the road but we never thought there would be this kind of bump," she said.

Syrian president issues warning to US

Syrian President Issues Warning to US

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Click here: Assad: U.S. 'Should Expect Every Action' If It Strikes Syria

'CBS This Morning' previewed an interview with Syria's President Bashar Assad that Charlie Rose conducted in Damascus.

In the interview, Assad denies his administration used chemical weapons and criticized U.S. foreign policy. At one point, he compares President Obama's policies to the policies of former president George W. Bush.
Refuting John Kerry's claims that he has seen evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people, Assad said, "We have the precedent of Colin Powell ten years ago when he showed the evidence [that Iraq had WMDs], it was false and it was forged."

He also threatened full retaliation if the U.S. strikes Syria.

"You should expect everything... expect every action," Assad said. "Not necessarily from the government."
He said the United States' credibility was at an "all-time low."

"What do wars give America?" Assad said. "No political gain, no economic gain, no good reputation. United States is at all-time, credibility is at all-time low. So this war is against the interests of the United States."
After Rose asked whether chemical weapons were worse than nuclear weapons, Assad sneered and said, "I don't know, we haven't tried either."

The full interview with Assad will air Monday night on PBS, at 9 PM EDT.

Operation Confidence Comments: Please Mr. President no war