guccipurse

The federal government is preparing to sell more than 40 pieces of jewelry once owned by convicted co-pastors Anthony and Harriet Jinwright.The items – including two Rolex watches, a men's gold nugget ring, a Tiffany's silver ink pen, a woman's silver and diamond Giovanni Beverly Hills watch and a pocket watch given to Anthony Jinwright by his father – were turned over to federal authorities in late April by the Jinwrights' daughter, Anthonea Jinwright.According to a federal court document filed May 9, the U.S. Marshal Service has been charged with disposing of the items, the estimated value of which was not listed.

According to the document, the Marshal Service "may contract with an auction company, jeweler, or any other authorized agent to handle the sale of the levied properties in order to maximize the proceeds generated from said sale."Net proceeds from the sale will be used to help satisfy a $1.2 million restitution requirement imposed on the Jinwrights, of Greater Salem Church, who were convicted in U.S. District Court in Charlotte in May 2010 on multiple counts relating to tax evasion.The Jinwrights, currently serving their prison sentences in West Virginia, have appealed their convictions. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., is scheduled to hear oral arguments in their appeals on Friday, May 18.

The Jinwrights' lawyers will argue that U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney erred in several key areas during the trial and in his instructions to jurors, including his ruling that all money given to the Jinwrights by Greater Salem Church members must be counted as income, not gifts.According to an IRS agent who testified during the trial, the Jinwrights failed to report more than $2.3 million in income between 1991 and 2008. Some of that money was given to the preachers during so-called "love offerings" and was taken home in bags.The Jinwrights took church credit cards on two trips to Las Vegas in 2003, running up thousands of dollars in charges while staying at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and at the Venetian. The church, meanwhile, was routinely bouncing checks.



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Developer Jeff LaPour took an early shot at downtown redevelopment, buying the landmark Holsum bread factory on Charleston Boulevard in 2004 and converting it into Holsum Lofts, originally designed as a live-work project.That didn't quite pan out.LaPour's cost of renovation made it unfeasible for the residential component. The market at that time proved to be much stronger for commercial use, so LaPour leased the space to businesses that fit in with the burgeoning Arts District.Today, Holsum is fully occupied, with a waiting list. Tenants include a design studio, art gallery, dance theater, architectural firm and Lola's Cafe. Many in the development community see it as a perfect example of adaptive reuse of a historic building.

Now LaPour wants to transform the dilapidated former Mission Linen warehouse at First Street and Coolidge Avenue into a $5 million mixed-use project in a joint venture with building owner Jim Page.They will add another 10,000 square feet to the 30,000-square-foot building and develop about 50 residential units with a bar, restaurant and small offices.While luxury condominium projects such as The Ogden, Newport Lofts and Juhl have struggled just a few blocks away, LaPour sees good demand for downtown housing - if it's the right product."The right kind of unique, vintage building reimagined as urban lofts," he said, standing next to the brick building with broken windows and rusted pipes hanging over the alley. "It's a completely different type of product.

It's not new construction that you could find anyplace. It's an old industrial building. It comes with all the cool and interesting architectural elements that you cannot find today - wood truss roof, barrel vault ceilings, big open spaces. Think meatpacking district in New York."The market for downtown housing has changed, he said."It's all there now, no longer a last resort for many, as it has been known,'' LaPour said.LaPour isn't the only champion of downtown living.Sam Cherry found a small parcel at Las Vegas Boulevard and Hoover Avenue in 2004 and built the 120-unit SoHo Lofts. But his plans for another development, StanHi, never broke ground but he hasn't given up.


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Dinosaur Park has been a Rapid City landmark for 75 years.  But the largest iconic dinosaur statue is showing its age and is getting a facelift."It's an impressive place, but does look like they are in need of some repairs," Chris Sumpter, who is visiting from Kansas, said."Rain and snow and freeze and thaw is very hard on the concrete," Rapid City Parks Division Manager Lon Van Deusen said.Summer storms have also taken a toll."Who knows how many times this critter has been struck by lightning, too," Van Deusen said.So the city hired a contractor to give the largest of the statues some much needed TLC.

"Basically, what we're going to be doing here is giving this a new life.  Half the face is missing so we're going to be reconstructing the face, kind of a facelift, if you will," DJ Painting owner David Jasper said."The dinosaur is the centerpiece of Rapid City, almost like its mascot," Van Deusen said.That's why Jasper says this is more than just a normal job."I grew up between Sioux Falls and Rapid City all my life and played up here when I was a child.  And then my children played up here and now my grandchildren, so I have a personal attachment to this as well as just another job," Jasper said.Jasper and his crew will spend two weeks fixing up the 80-foot sculpture so it's ready to welcome visitors long into the future.

"This is a landmark for this city.  This is the first thing you see when you're coming either direction on the interstate.  So yeah, we need to get it fixed up and get it looking good," Jasper said."I'd like to come back another time after all the repairs are done and we can get another look at what the park is supposed to look like in all of its glory," Sumpter said.Right now, only one of the statues is being restored.  The city anticipates that the rest of the dinosaurs will be restored next year.It also is wrong to suggest the study blames dinosaur flatulence for their extinction, Holtz said. He noted that the sauropods started showing up, and getting gassy, around 200 million years ago and did not die off until 65 million years ago.


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The future of BlackBerry in the mobile space has come into question a lot lately. Research In Motion (RIM) has certainly seen better days, and the adequacy of their newly appointed CEO, Thorsten Heins (who replaced former co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie), was called into question. On top of stagnant sales, plummeting market share and stock prices, and internal turmoil, BlackBerry hopefuls were saddened to find that the Q1 2012 time frame given for BlackBerry 10 devices would be missed and they wouldn't see any next-gen BlackBerrys until at least Q3.

Once again, all eyes were on RIM this week as BlackBerry World 2012 kicked off on Monday. Our own Sydney Myers was on site relaying all of the goods. While there were no BlackBerry 10 devices announced or anything super exciting to come from the event, there were several golden nuggets to come from RIM.We were given a glimpse into the Cascades, the new user interface created by none other that The Astonishing Tribe, a design company that was acquired by RIM in December of 2010. As Sydney explained,We learned that RIM has put a lot of effort into their software keyboard, too, and that they're not totally abandoning their QWERTY keyboards either.

(That would honestly be a tragedy.) The BlackBerry 10 keyboard looks a lot like the Windows Phone keyboard, but acts more like SwiftKey, as it learns the way you type, offers word predictions and suggestions and becomes personalized with time.But of all the things shown off this week in Orlando, the most impressive thing, by far, was the camera software. The camera in BlackBerry 10 is "all about technology that allows you to never miss a moment." Or so they say. Among the many features, the one in particular that stuck out is a feature that allows you to alter an image after you take it. Say you take a group photo and a couple people blink when you take the picture.


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She is not a seamstress, Janet Carter said, yet she stays busy making clothes, lots and lots of clothes.There are jumpers, coats, slacks, sundresses, blouses, gowns and pajamas being made by the dozens.In the quietness of her basement studio, she works among outfit patterns and dozens of fabrics. The soothing, steady chatter of the sewing machine measures out the passing hours.Carter makes doll clothes, but not for just any doll. Everything she makes fits the popular American Girl dolls, the rage among youngsters. They are the modern Cabbage Patch doll, Beanie Baby or a younger Barbie for a younger audience.

Making doll clothes began with a Christmas wish."Four years ago, my granddaughter, Gracie, asked for an American Girl doll for Christmas, but it was too late. The only store was in New York City, which was too far away, and there wasn't enough time to order one," Carter said. "So, the following year, she came to me and asked me again, adding, 'I know you'll see that I'll get it.'"These really are one-of-a-kind things because I may have just enough material to make one or several outfits. When people found out I was making doll clothes, people starting giving me their leftover fabric."

"So I got her one that Christmas. Then she asked me if I'd make some doll clothes. I hadn't sewn in years, but told her I'd try. I was able to make her some. Then the cousins asked me to make them some. Then a lady told me, 'You should sell these clothes.' I didn't know if they were good enough to sell, but when I got my first bazaar space at Asbury UM Church four years ago, I sold out. Each year since, I have made more and more and sold them at Christmas shows. Last year, I sold more than 300 outfits.""I used to work in the Worcester County Assessment, in the 'hated' tax office," she said, laughing.


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When Christy Lee, a South Korean investment banker, was dispatched to the Gulf four years ago to drum up business, her friends in Seoul had a hard time taking the assignment seriously. "They would say, Did you enjoy riding the camels?" she recalled.Then the Gulf states' oil earnings led to orders worth tens of billions of dollars for South Korean companies: The most noteworthy so far has been the deal for South Korea Electric Power Corp. to build four nuclear plants in Abu Dhabi, worth as much as $30 billion.

Now, when Ms. Lee talks about the Gulf, people listen. She has started her own firm, Daewon Advisory Services, with offices in Seoul and Abu Dhabi. In the past year she has brought 120 executives and leaders from the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries to South Korea, eager to figure out how it made its big economic strides. She expects these visits to bring in more deals.Ms. Lee is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs and other people who have carved out roles as intermediaries between Asia and the Gulf, reviving in modern form ― real estate projects, joint ventures, and investment deals ― the centuries-old link between the Middle East and Asia known as the Silk Road.

Traders centuries ago brought silks and other goods from China by overland caravan trails and sea passages plied by sailing dhows ― ancestors of the chunky boats that still berth, several abreast, along the banks of the Dubai Creek while scruffy crews load cargoes ranging from machinery to soft drinks for Iran and India.In more recent times, as the West waxed in wealth and China waned, the old routes waned with it. But now the pendulum is swinging back and the Middle East ― especially the Gulf region ― is again growing much closer to Asia. Trade between Asia and the Middle East rose 700 percent in the decade ending in 2010, and more than half of the region's trade is now with Asia, said Farouk Soussa, chief Middle East economist at Citi in Dubai.



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In spite of the shaky economy - actually because of it - Debi and Dean Carlson decided to open a custom gift store in the quaint town of Crestline, nearly 5,000 feet up in the San Bernardino Mountains.Why would they do that?When home sales tanked, Dean Carlson, a realtor in northern San Diego County, decided to make a fresh start, moving up to the family's vacation cabin in the mountains and starting a business."If you can't find a job, make one," he said.Dean Carlson has been an entrepreneur since he was nine - except for his dozen years in the Navy - mowing lawns, delivering The Sun Telegram, then moving on to landscape and tractor work.

The couple found the shop near the corner of Crest Forest Drive and Hwy 138, remodeling it with help from one of their sons.For the Carlsons, eight is enough. Between them, the couple has eight grown children, as well as a baby granddaughter."This is definitely a family business," Dean Carlson said.The new business, which opened in October 2011, caters to people seeking customized and personalized gifts through photographs and laser etching.They use techniques such as photo fusion, laser engraving and crystal fusion.A few of the techniques were perfected by Dean Carlson.

"I guess I'm the engineer of the business and Debi is the wheels," he smiled.Armed with state-of-the-art laser etching and cutting technology, the owners can use their skills to help manufacturers with designs, in addition to the personal gift items."We're both very hard workers and we're going to make this happen," Debi Carlson said. "I always see the rainbow - it's going to go."Crystal, porcelain and wood designs - framed photographs, plaques, boxes, signs, Christmas ornaments and promotional products adorn a table and shelves.The sign in the shop's front window says it all: "Custom Gifts for Any Occasion - wedding, anniversary, new baby, Valentine's Day, graduation, military recognition, sports and school awards, memorial, retirement, employee recognition, executive gifts - or just because."


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Artistic clothing and accessory designer Trace Cyrus has announced the launch of the new summer line. Called HIGHasFVCK, the line consists of t-shirts, bandanas, watches, sunglasses, backpacks, skateboard decks and more.Trace Cyrus started Southern Made Hollywood Paid, of which HIGHasFVCK is a part, in 2009.All textile goods – slightly used – will be accepted, including apparel, footwear, bags, linen, blankets, belts, drapery, soft toys, comforters and accessories.

They should be placed in heavy duty black plastic bags."These items usually end up getting thrown away in the garbage, filling up precious landfills," Donna Simone-Sofo, founder of Yorktown Love in Action (YLIA) said. "We will now be able to utilize and recycle all textile goods, benefiting everyone in the community."The south is where he grew up and California is where he really came into his own. Hollywood is where he met his band, started playing shows, and by the age of 17 had a record deal and a chance to tour the world.

Trace's love for art is one reason his entire body is covered in tattoos. "I have always had a love for fashion and the opportunity presented itself to have a clothing company of my own and I really wanted the name of it to represent me. That is why I decided on Southern Made Hollywood Paid. I feel it tells a lot about my life, my story, and me. I love any way to express myself and that's why I started SMHP," says Trace.Music and fashion were always his two true passions in life and Hollywood really gave him the opportunity to meet the right people and allow him to live out his dreams.



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Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth will be hosting a unique exhibit this summer that highlights the fashion of days gone by while promoting the most talented designers of today.Thread: Stories of Fashion at Strawberry Banke, 1740-2012 will open May 1 and will put on display some of the rarest pieces from the museum's costume collection. Six of the historic homes at Strawberry Banke, the Goodwin Mansion, the Chase House, the Thomas Bailey Aldrich House, Shapley-Drisco, Rider-Wood and the Abbott Store, will be used to display everything from dresses to shoes to hats.

Strawberry Banke was the original name for what is now Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Strawberry Banke Museum is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in New England, an area that was known as Puddle Dock. The museum connects visitors to Portsmouth’s historic past.Fashion has always been an important part of Portsmouth’s culture. During the Colonial time period Portsmouth was the fourth largest port in the world, closely connecting the city with major fashion centers like London and Paris."Portsmouth is no stranger to fashion, which is why the architecture, artifacts and stories preserved by Strawberry Banke Museum make a compelling visitors’ experience and have drawn passionate advocates for more than fifty years," said Lawrence J. Yerdon, president and CEO of Strawberry Banke Museum.

"Our mission, after all, is to inform a contemporary dialogue with ideas and objects from our own past."In keeping with this mission Strawberry Banke Museum will also be holding a fashion show, featuring designers from around the world, who are all creating collections inspired by the historic looks that will be on display in the Threads exhibit. The fashion show will be kicked off with a Passion for Fashion Gala event that will be hosted by "Project Runway: All Star" Austin Scarlett. The Passion for Fashion Gala will be held June 30th and tickets for the gala can be purchased online here.




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The summer's seductive breeze calls for all types of fabulously light fabrics that blow in the wind, cool the body in the heat and show off sizzling trends in the shade.For some, summer is a time to bare luscious legs paired with light sashes, ribbons and pearly necklaces. Others seek out the long, flowing skirts and dresses that trap a cool gust in the heat of the mid-afternoon. And depending on the humidity scale, a knee-length spaghetti strap cocktail dress may best fit the bill for an exciting evening soiree.Exploring all the summer alternatives for the sundress is an exciting feat, as this season offers carefree glamour in infinite and cost-effective options for the financially challenged bargain huntress.

Maxi dresses are a staple of summertime bohemian chic. Women who love to wear summer fedoras, floppy hats and boaters will appreciate a striped or solid maxi. Styles that are especially popular this time of the year are color-blocked, floral and graphic-printed maxi dresses and skirts, which are now offered at some of the most inexpensive trend-hungry chains that some consumers may overlook because of the cheap quality of garments.Other up-to-date maxi dress styles include the high-low hemming and long sheer maxi dresses with shorter under-dresses acting as a shell.

Both of those styles present a sense of unrefined elegance when paired with a vest or wide belt and beaded sandals. A maxi dress that buttons down offers even more style versatility when worn with shorts while the long, flowing feel of maxi-drama hangs alongside the legs.Alberta Ferretti's new collection in collaboration with Macy's presents a plethora of cute summer maxi dresses, cocktail dresses and sundresses that are just as dainty and feminine as the women who sport them. Floral-printed, pleated, chiffon-looking cocktails that draw attention to the legs, drawstring necklines and cold-shoulder sleevless sundresses in teal and coral are just a few of the fun creations Ferretti has brought to this Macy's collection, sold within the $49 to $149 price range.


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