2010年2月24日星期三

Ajax spa owner charged with fraud

A 45-year-old woman faces several charges after a woman allegedly posing as a qualified healthcare provider was offering massage, naturopathy and acupuncture without credentials.

The Durham Regional Police Fraud Unit, along with the Major Crime Unit, the Intelligence Branch and the West Division Target Team conducted a month-long undercover investigation into services being provided by an unqualified and unregistered suspect.

A search warrant was executed at the Ajax Unisex Salon and Spa, at Westney Road South and Clements Road West. The business had been operating since 2007 by a woman, police allege posed as a doctor of natural medicine or as a registered massage therapist.

Jenny Tran, 45, has been charged with fraud over $5,000, two counts of attempted fraud over $5,000, forgery, uttering a forged document, two counts of defrauding the public, and attempting to obstruct justice.

2010年2月23日星期二

Spa City paid parking plan suffers setback

The prospect of instituting a paid parking plan in the city in 2010 suffered a serious setback Tuesday afternoon.

A 12-member advisory committee charged with forwarding its recommendation about a paid parking plan to the City Council voted to not accept any of the four proposals received from parking management companies vying for the job.

"I think it's a flawed process," said advisory committee member Charles V. Wait, who compared the paid parking plan to an addict's "heroin shot," that would only serve as a temporary fix for the city's budget problems.

"I think this would be a very foolish thing to do," he added.

When Finance Commissioner Ken Ivins crafted the city's 2010 budget, it included about $1.35 million in revenue anticipated from a paid parking program the city hoped to implement by May 1. The measure was suggested as an alternative to cutting city jobs, Ivins said.

Last week, the city received four valid responses to a request for proposals.

A majority of the advisory committee members - the committee is made up of local business leaders - found the prospect of on-street paid parking, as well as the four specific proposals that were submitted, flawed. They cited fuzzy math, inconsistent mapping of city streets suggesting where meters should be placed, and large discrepancies in estimates of how much annual revenue the city might receive as major reasons for their disapproval.

"It's like putting four pills on the table. Take your choice. Each one of them is poison," said committee member Joseph Dalton. "Paid parking is a disaster."

A visibly dejected Ivins thanked the committee members for their time and told the crowd of about two dozen who gathered in City Hall, "this was not the solution I was looking for coming out of here."

Despite the outcome, Ivins said he will take the proposals to the five-member City Council, which will ultimately decide whether to accept any of them. Approval must come in a majority vote, and it is not clear whether the idea has enough support from council members to move the project forward.

The City Council is expected to discuss the proposals prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting on March 2, and a public forum on the topic will take place at the Canfield Casino on March 8.

2010年2月22日星期一

Art Islands Japan Tour

This fall, Journeys East, a northern-California-based company specializing since 1985 in cross-cultural Japan tours, is taking a small group of travelers to Japan’s Inland Sea to Benesse Island for the Setouchi International Art Festival.

Artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Rei Naito and Yukinori Yanagi are installing artworks on the theme of ‘utilize existing elements, and create elements that do not exist, a vision that marries art, community revitalization and environmental consciousness to create a ‘Sea of Hope’ on seven islands in the Inland Sea. Starting in the 1990’s on Benesse Island (also known as Naoshima), the Benesse Corporation has worked with architect Tadao Ando, building museums and lodging to house their art as well as visitors to the island. The permanent art collection includes work ranging from Claude Monet to contemporary artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and James Turrell.

Journeys East participants are also traveling to Inujima — an island where a former copper smelting plant has been transformed into an artwork by artist Yukinori Yanagi and architect Hiroshi Sambuichi.

On Honshu, Japan’s main island, the work of traditional Japanese artists is also a focus on this small group Japan tour. Visits to the studios of bamboo master, Jozan Sugita, potter Yoshinori Izumi and indigo artisan Hiroyuki Shindo are other highlights. Besides focusing on the arts in Japan, the “Asian Havens” tour seeks out the best in Japanese hospitality, highlighting exceptional ryokan (inn) experiences. — elegant inns in the mountains, by the sea and in onsen (hot spring) towns.

2010年2月21日星期日

Nashville Massage & Yoga Studio

Rachael Holliman began Nashville Massage & Yoga Studio in one room in January of 2008. Now, it has expanded to a four-room studio.

Holliman has had clients come to Nashville from Atlanta and even St. Augustine, Fla., for massages, yoga and spa treatments.

“Business has been great,” Holliman said. “I am very grateful for my clients (because) without (them) my dreams would have never come true.”

Holliman is married with two children, but she usually runs the business on her own.

Her husband, who is stationed at Moody Air Force Base, has been on several tours to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It’s hard to do it all on your own but well worth the sacrifice,” she said. “I am very proud that he is defending our freedoms. I have a very big support system. My friends are always willing to help, and the people in Nashville are the best on Earth. I am very blessed.”

Q: How long have you been involved in the massage, yoga, spa business?

A: I have been a massage therapist for four years and a yoga instructor for two years. I have always had a passion for the spa business. At the age of 19, I started sweeping floors, doing laundry and worked as a tanning operator for a local hair salon. Six years ago, I started a home-based business selling skin care and cosmetics. I would travel the state of North Carolina hosting girls night out, birthday, bachelorette parties. I hired a massage therapist to help with these parties, and she mentioned that she thought I would make an excellent therapist. I was interested as well and signed up to a Medical Massage School in Raleigh, N.C.

Q: What kind of massages do you offer clients?

A: I offer Swedish massages, deep tissue, hot stone, pregnancy massage, reflexology, body wraps, mud treatments. The most interesting thing that I offer is Thai yoga massage. This is ‘lazy man’s yoga.’ It involves a lot of stretching and compressions along the meridian energy channels. I (also) offer Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy. I have taken all of three levels of this modality. Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy is ‘the deepest most luxurious massage on the planet.’ I use bars overhead for balance and literally walk on the client’s back.

Q: How did you get involved with Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy?

A: I heard about it when I was in school and immediately wanted to learn this modality. It just looked so fun!

2010年2月20日星期六

Massage therapy and prostate cancer topic of talk

The Orillia Prostate Cancer Awareness Group is pleased to welcome Jeremy Clark on Wednesday, Feb. 24, to speak on the subject of manual therapy and the creation of scar tissue.

Clark graduated with honours in 2004 and is a local registered massage therapist working in the Orillia and Barrie areas. Some of his patients include international volleyball players as well as local high school athletes and others.

Residing with his young family in Horseshoe Valley, he will add new dimensions in the management of side effects associated with prostate cancer.

The gathering will take place at the Royal Canadian Legion, Normandy Room, with doors open at 6.30 p.m. and featurng live music until the speaker at 7 p.m.

Light refreshments will be available. There is no charge for admission or refreshments.

Officers Raid Massage Parlor in North Jakarta

A massage parlor located on Jl Sinar, Lagoa, Koja, North Jakarta became the target of a raid conducted on Friday (2/19) by local public order officers. The officers arrested five workers and the manager of the massage parlor for questioning in connection with the existence of their business place.

The raid starting at 9 a.m. was carried out by around 10 officers. The officers found no customers during the operation.

Valentino, head of operational section of public order police squad of Koja sub-district said the operation was a response to public complaints citing the massage parlor also ran prostitution practices.

“(During questioning), the management of the massage parlor said they only provided health-massage service,” he told beritajakarta.com, Friday (2/19), adding that, from the raid, his side did not find any indication of prostitution.

However, he pledged to continue keeping eye on the massage parlor, and would take legal action should, later, the massage parlor be found practicing prostitution.

2010年2月10日星期三

The benefits of massage are explained

There’s no denying the power of receiving massage bodywork. Regardless of the adjectives we assign to it (pampering, rejuvenating, therapeutic) or the reasons we seek it out (a luxurious treat, stress relief, pain management), massage therapy can be a powerful ally in your healthcare regimen.

Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and pressure altogether in this fast-paced world may be idealistic, massage can, without a doubt, help manage stress. This translates into: decreased anxiety; enhanced sleep quality; greater energy; improved concentration; increased circulation; and reduced fatigue.

Furthermore, clients often report a sense of perspective and clarity after receiving a massage. The emotional balance bodywork provides can often be just as vital and valuable as the more tangible physical benefits.

In response to massage, specific physiological and chemical changes cascade throughout the body, with profound effects.

Research continues to show the enormous benefits of touch — which range from treating chronic diseases, neurological disorders, and injuries, to alleviating the tensions of modern lifestyles. Consequently, the medical community is actively embracing bodywork, and massage is becoming an integral part of hospice care and neonatal intensive care units. Many hospitals are also incorporating on-site massage practitioners and even spas to treat post surgery or pain patients as part of the recovery process.