According to surveys and feedback from over 1,500 guests, Choice Hotels International, Inc., the parent company of Comfort Inn & Suites, were asked to come up with a new design, and the company listened.  Over 100 properties are currently in the middle of a redesign, with more to come.  The first of the newly redesigned hotels will be The Comfort Inn & Suites hotels in Spokane , Washington.

The brand-wide redesign is set to be completed by 2015.  Comfort Inn is willing to close up to 10% of its hotels if they don’t meet guest satisfaction standards.  This is great to see, that a hotel is really looking out for their customers best interest by providing the best possible service and stay for the consumer.  After staying in some questionable hotels for a bunch of different reasons, its great to see a hotel chain actually reading what we put in the suggestion box.

According to the senior director of brand strategy for Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites at Choice Hotels International Inc., Christina Williamson says that “Our goal is to make Comfort more competitive, more consistent, and more contemporary.”  - We only hope that with all these upgrades that the usual discounted rates we’ve come to expect and find from Comfort Inn, stays the same.  If these upgrades give you the feeling that you’re staying at the W, for Comfort Inn prices, this could be a no brainer when making hotel reservations for your next vacation or bussiness travel.

Lets see how things play out…..

Plans have been announced for a new hotel resort to open up in Atlantic City, NJ.  The resort is set to have a 31 story hotel and a year round amusement water park.

According to the developer the $123 million project should be completed within 2 years.  The resort and hotel in Atlantic City will be 350 feet tall, with 183 rooms.   The hotel is set to be built to emulate a ships sail, in order to help highlight the Atlantic City’s neighborhood nautical theme in the Marina District.  This resort could be, and is expected to be the gateway and main attraction to the Marina District.

Originally the space was supposed to occupy a casino, that should have joined Borgata, Harrahs, and the Golden Nugget, however the push for a more family friendly area and the areas declining gambling market, caused for the shift in the project, and now Atlantic City, will enjoy its first year round water park and hotel resort.

If you are seeking a great reputable lawyer, then I highly recommend contacting the lawyers in New York. The lawyers in New York are very experienced, professional and dedicated to protect and defend you for a crime that you have been involved with. AderhaLawyers.com can never guarantee the outcome but we can help you find a reputable and quality lawyer in New York.

Once you choose your attorney who will commit to pursue your case, make sure you sit down with them and have them evaluate your case thoroughly. You need a face to face sit down meeting to speak with your attorney about any questions and concerns that you may have with your case. Any questions that you have, should be able to be answered by you attorney at that time, or should be tabled until the next discussion.

Aderha Lawyers, can never predict exactly what will happen once you choose a lawyer, but we will provide you with a list of some of the best lawyers in New York for you to choose from.

The world wide web (WWW) has created virtually unlimited venues for amateur photographers to share their pictures with anyone else on the WWW for free. Some of these sites also allow subscribers to post any picture they can upload unto the site in any context they wish to use. Pinterest, Twitpic and Tumblr are a few of the most popular sites that offer these services. People can use these sites as a photographic equivalent of Twitter or Facebook. Many people use these sites to promote their business or service.

Sites such as twitpic or pinterest let anyone post pictures by amateur or professional photographers free of charge. Many writers post their own pictures along with other pictures on these websites. The writers combine these pictures with a weblog to further promote their writing.

There is only one problem users of these sites can face. It is based on the old saying there is no such thing as a free lunch. Written into the terms of service of these sites are conditions that place all responsibility for copyright infringement issues on the users, not the site’s owners or operators. These websites profit from the advertising revenues generated by visitors to their sites. They do not review in detail every picture posted by every user. The site owners avoid any liability through their terms of service that users sign when they use the service. The site owners further protect themselves by removing content that has received a complaint of copyright infringement from the content’s owner. If the owner wishes to pursue other legal remedies, they will have to take action against the user of the site. The site’s terms of service provide strong protection against copyright infringement actions for the owners, none for the users.

Yesterday I had the privilege to go to the Jill Scott taping of StoryTellers for VH1.  It was an unbelievable and awesome experience as Jill gave fans an up close and personal look into her life, her thoughts, and her music.

Jill performed about 8-10 songs and had her band perform during breaks and her wardrobe changes.  I can’t say enough good things about the show and her band, they were unbelievable.

The picture to the left of this article is the best I could do with my camera phone, however i’m sure if you do some searches online in the near future, you will get a better view and better pictures from the various photographers in New York, NY that were at the event.

At the end of the show, Jill gave the audience a chance to ask questions which she gave some very candid responses too.  Including her strangest place she gained inspiration for a song, which I won’t spoil for you here, but you can watch it when it airs on May 21st on VH1.

One of my favorite moments of the show is when Jill met one of her favorite fans: @JillScottFans who is an avid Jill Scott Fan from Twitter.  The two shared a warm embrace, then @JillScottFans, followed with the final question of the night.

Watkins who grew up in the middle class neighborhood of Oak Cliff, seemingly went through various racial profiling and racial stereotyping, including being stopped and questioned in his new $100,000 Mercedes truck, by a Dallas police officer days after becoming the Dallas district Attorney.

Watkins earned his degree in political science, went to Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and thought working as a prosecutor would lay the foundation for a political career. After several failed attempts at running for office, and as a struggling Lawyer in Dallas Watkins remained persistence and his persistence paid off with a victory in 2006.

With his new title and his persistence for justice, Watkins created the country’s first conviction integrity unit: two prosecutors, an investigator and a paralegal.  This unit took on the task to review the 400+ appeals by prisoners under the 2001 state law to have DNA tested against evidence, to help reverse any wrongful convictions.

The Texas based unit, began reviewing the cases with Lawyers in New York Innocence Project.  The investigation showed that there were potential DNA problems with up to half of the cases.  By 2010, this unit that Watkins created has helped exonerate about a dozen prisoners.

If it wasn’t for Craig Watkins, there would be hundreds of inmates that wouldn’t have the opportunity to be heard again, and many innocent men, could be sitting in jail when the evidence would be there to exonerate them.

We’d like to send a special THANK YOU to Craig Watkins for his effort in helping the wrongfully accused.

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency and the CIA used an informant to infiltrate an Al Qaeda cell in Yemen and take its upgraded bomb, officials say.

The CIA takedown of an Al Qaeda plot to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner involved an international sting operation with a double agent tricking terrorists into handing over a prized possession: a new bomb purportedly designed to slip through airport security.

U.S. officials Tuesday described an operation in which Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency, working closely with the CIA, used an informant to pose as a would-be suicide bomber. His job was to persuade Al Qaeda bomb makers in Yemen to give him the bomb.

After weeks operating undercover in Yemen, the double agent arranged to deliver the device and a trove of vital intelligence to U.S. and other authorities waiting in another country, officials said. He is now safely out of Yemen.

Experts are analyzing the device at the FBI‘s bomb laboratory at Quantico, Va., to determine whether it could evade current security systems. Officials said it appears to have a more advanced triggering device than that of the so-called underwear bomb that fizzled instead of exploding aboard a packed passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

U.S. officials said President Obama was informed of the bomb in early April and was assured that it did not pose a threat to the public. Officials emphasized that the terrorists had not chosen a target or purchased air tickets, and that the plot to blow up an airliner never reached the operational stage.

Read the full article from the latimes.com

A bankruptcy lawyer help Octomom file bankruptcy in a federal court.  According to court reports Ocotmom Nadya Suleman, owes over a million dollars, while having an income of next to nothing.

In order to make some quick money, it seems that Suleman, is expected to take on a roll in the porn industry.  This after she reportedly turned down millions in the past for the same offer.

This isn’t the first that Suleman, has reportedly taken the fast track to earn a quick payday.  She gave National Enquirer website an exclusive look inside her home, which Radar Online paid for the access.

Unfortunately this is a report that we’re not happy to report.  We truly hope for the best for Suleman, as she now needs to be able to provide for herself as well as her children.

Marketing Your Freelance Photography In a Snap Shot

Potential clients can only contact the photographers that they know or can find. So of course marketing and networking are the keys to landing gigs in our freelance world.

Most photographers and photography studios market themselves based on their equipment list. But clients rarely know how good your equipment is unless they are a photography studio themselves.

Keeping your photography in front of a nationwide audience can keep your photography business in the back of a client’s minds. Here are the basics of separating yourself from the sea of freelance photographers.

Compulsively update your portfolio website.

You want a portfolio website that refreshes itself constantly to keep a flow of interest. You want to look like you are getting work. And if you haven’t been busy with getting work, you want to look like you are enjoying your skill on your free time. So simply posting a few highlights of your last roll can keep an interest in your talents.

Maybe you are volunteering your time by taking family photos for a friend. Maybe you’re doing photo-journalism for a cause that interests you.

Pay yourself back by showcasing your continuous work to potential clients.

Blog yourself.

Blogging allows you to communicate your own emotions and ideals to potential clients. Good clients will reach out to the top photographers who can communicate emotions, messages or ideas for their businesses or brands. It also gives you a medium to flex some muscle about your own professional thoughts on the skill or trade.

Think of it like this:

The better you are at blogging, the more repeat traffic you can bring to your portfolio and website.

Do free work.

Everyone needs some sort of promotion or word of mouth, but not everyone has the funds.

Example, small film crews need to build interests before they even start editing the project. Having a photographer on-set to capture their hard work is a great start. They may not be able to pay you, but they will be pushing your photography to the masses when they begin their own promotions.

Possibly some day, that film crew or that not-for-profit organization will get bigger, and pay you money.

The top photographers are not always the best photographers, but merely the best photographers at marketing themselves.

And that’s how you market yourself in a snap shot.

Additionally, the best thing you can do for your website both for freelancers and professional studios is have good Search Engine Optimization for your website.  SEO for Photographers, will help you rank for top keywords in your business, like Photographers in Brooklyn, NY, Photographers in Newark, NJ, Photographers in Los Angeles, CA.  After all, if you’re having trouble finding your website on various local searches, how are your customers going to find you?

Assisted living facilities provide professional care for those who need assistance with everyday living activities. These activities can include household chores, running errands and preparing meals. Assisted living offers individuals the chance to live as independently as possible while providing 24 hour care and support. It is a perfect transition for those who require more personal care than what is available at home but do not require the supervision or medical care around the clock that is typically provided in a nursing home.

Making the transition from home to an assisted living facility may be difficult for some people. Talking with family and friends before making the decision can help ease some of the concerns and anxiety that may develop. Living in an assisted living facility should feel as safe and comfortable as living at home. The best way to find a facility that meets those needs is to interview the staff and take a tour.

All questions and concerns should be addressed during the interview with a prospective facility. Discuss all needs with the staff and observe their responses. How well they can meet all of those needs should be fully addressed during this interview. In addition, staff members should be able to explicitly explain all activities and details of the community.

Talk with other residents in the facility to get a feel of what life is like within the community. If possible, try to make several trips throughout the day to get a more in-depth feel of the community at different times. In addition, ask about the various types of social activities as well as the safety services that are offered throughout the facility.

High-quality assisted living facilities should encourage independent living. An emergency call system should be readily available for all residents and around the clock security should be provided. Residents should have as much freedom as they desire with personalized plans that meet the needs of each resident and accommodates their disabilities.

The cost of an assisted living facility may depend on factors such as how many amenities and services that are offered. Medicare does not cover the costs of assisted living; however, individuals that have long term care insurance can have a significant portion of their expenses paid for during their stay at the facility. State Medicaid and other types of programs are also available for lower income individuals.