| Nestle bites into pet food market
Nestle, one of the world's largest food companies, opened its first pet food processing plant in China on Friday in a bid to cash in on the nation's growing pet-related market. Nestle said it invested an initial 80 million yuan in the Purina Petcare factory located in Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area. Nestle chose Tianjin, a port city close to Beijing, to meet demand from the country's two largest markets - Beijing and Shanghai, said Sim Joohua, business unit head of Nestle Purina Petcare China. It is Nestle's fifth plant in Tianjin and part of its network of 21 factories in China. Experts predict that annual sales of pet food in China might top 6 billion yuan in 2008, while the country's "pet-related economy" could reach 15 billion yuan in the next five to seven years.
Something to warm you up
On a cold evening, the fireplace burning and a bowl of something good and hot is just what you need to warm up.Many people through the years have shared recipes for a great variety of soups, chilies and stews. Known as winter comfort foods, they can be prepared on top of the stove, in a crock pot, in the oven or as in pioneer days, over an open fire in a big iron kettle. You can just picture me stirring soup in an iron kettle and it is 1 degree above 0. I don't think so!Soups can be hot or cold, thick or clear, mild or spicy, meaty or vegetarian or made with seafood. There's a soup for everyone's taste. The slow cooking method gets the best results and the best flavors. We need to expand our menus and include some new soups or chilies for the family. Once I try a new recipe and it is great, I rarely go back to the old one.
Paula Deen Encounters 'Proud' Naked Man; Rats, Sysco Takes Over
Paula Deen is confronted with a naked man in a hotel and kindly gives him her newspaper to cover up with. Not the Food Network star we would have expected this story to be about. [NYP] Rats, big ones, have taken up residence at the KFC-Taco Bell on West 4th Street and Sixth Avenue, and WNBC has the video to prove it. [WNBC] A lot of New Yorkers are cooking up a storm for their Oscar parties. Personally, we think they would do better to heed Rob and Robin's advice, and just order out. [NYDN] Related: Oscar Night Delivery: East Side Edition Oscar Night Delivery, Part II: West Side [NYM] .
UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News
ALAMEDA, Calif., March 2 (UPI) -- A California artist's cardboard cutout of President Bush with a knife through his head earned him his second visit from the U.S. Secret Service. Michael McDonald displayed the work in his front yard in Alameda. Like some of his other art, it appears to have disturbed and annoyed some of his neighbors, including three who reported it as a potential threat against the president. That drew Secret Service agents. "They said, 'You've got a knife sitting in the head of the president of the United States,'" McDonald told the Oakland Tribune. "I said, 'No, I got a knife in a piece of cardboard.'" McDonald, a Vietnam-era veteran, makes no secret of his dislike of the president and Vice President Dick Cheney, but he appreciates the Secret Service.
East County patients cheer Kaiser changes
After reading the articles and complaints by residents of Martinez regarding Kaiser's move to East county, it reminds me of NIMBY, only in reverse. Do the people of Martinez believe they are the only ones enrolled in Kaiser? Or the only seniors enrolled? I've lived in far East County for 30-plus years and have had to drive to Walnut Creek or Martinez for all but basic services provided by Kaiser in Antioch. I have managed to do this even though I am a senior. If Martinez residents complain about having to drive clear to Walnut Creek and find parking a problem, try driving from Discovery Bay or Brentwood to Walnut Creek for a burst appendix or weekly chemo, or to Concord for daily radiation treatments. Then looking for a parking spot. Approximately one-third of Kaiser patients, including myself, are looking forward to the new Kaiser facility in far East County finally becoming a reality.
Template for success
Though the types of businesses vary greatly, local business owners who have been successful at it all seemed to follow a template for success. • Know the business Though each of the small business owners came by it differently, all had a solid understanding of the business they started before diving in. For Eric Larsen, owner of Ben Franklin in Fergus Falls, operating craft stores was a family business, starting with his great-grandfather's store in Kindred, N.D. Larsen had worked at his father's stores throughout high school, and managed a Ben Franklin in Fargo for four years before opening the Fergus Falls store in 1984. “You have to have some background," Larsen said. “I'd hate to start a restaurant, for example, without any knowledge of the business." .
Tidbits from Small Bites
Chartreuse in Yonkers: Liz talks with owner Stella Rodriguez-Cheblal, who explains that the new restaurant - Belle Havana - will serve small plates of Cuban-French fusion food and provide a lounge atmosphere that's open late. Wine dinners: Liz gives you the lowdown on wine dinners at Restaurant X in Congers (tonight) and the Heights in Yorktown Heights (March 11). TOP OF PAGE | E-MAIL ARTICLE | PRINTER-FRIENDLY FORMAT | E-MAIL ALERTS .
REO Horror Story: The Family Pet
The REO Horror story of Richard Williams, REO director with Annalee's Realty in Ohio, begins with a distressed property and a family that refused to give up. "We tried everything including cash for keys," said Richard. "But, these folks just wouldn't leave."Unfortunately, when the family did leave, they left a few precious belongings behind – namely their family pets. The pets, a few of which died of starvation, were not found until Richard checked on the property."We found an unlocked window," remembers Richard. "And, I started to put my son through the window so we could check inside the home. A few seconds later, my son shouted 'there's a dog in here.' " The neglected family dog, which is part pit bull, had been starved within days of his life. The sad thing for Richard was finding a few other pets that had already died.When a police officer arrived on the scene to file an animal cruelty report, he granted Richard's family an early Christmas present by declaring the dog -- there's.
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