Strength Through Connections

The Engineered Wood Technology Association continues to serve as a valuable networking vehicle for engineered wood industry suppliers.

A few years ago during a review of its purpose and mission, the Tacoma, Wash.-based Engineered Wood Technology Association (EWTA) adopted a new marketing tagline: "Strength Through Connections."

The idea of solidarity embedded in the slogan seems to have struck a chord among the members of the industry supplier organization, because despite the difficult economic conditions of the past two years, EWTA by several measures has actually gained strength.

"Our membership has remained stable, our annual supplier exhibition grew by 35% …

US minivan market 'collapsing,' hit by gas prices and image

Asked recently how the U.S. minivan market has been faring, Nissan's Dominique Thormann had a concise answer.

"It collapsed," said Thormann, a senior vice president of Nissan North America.

While the rapid decline in pickup and sport utility sales has been grabbing the headlines, minivan sales have also taken a tumble, falling 20 percent in the first five months of this year.

And unlike trucks, which could rebound once the construction industry picks up, it's unclear if minivans have a future in the U.S. market or if they're being killed off by crossovers and the stodgy taint of the soccer mom image.

"The future of the …

Woman crossing I-290 hit by car, killed

A woman was struck by a car and killed Tuesday night as sheattempted to cross Interstate 290 -- at the I-294 interchange inProviso Township -- near west suburban Berkeley, State Police said.

About 7:30 p.m., the woman, who apparently lived in the area,walked into the westbound lanes and was struck by a car driven by ajuvenile, police said. The woman was taken to Loyola UniversityMedical Center Maywood and pronounced dead.

No citations were issued to the teen driver late Tuesday. The nameof the …

treating spring colds

natural solutions for common problems

THAT PESKY RHINOVIRUS KNOWS NO SEASON

This time of the year, my office is flooded with questions about treatments for those symptoms that we thought we had escaped once the dark days of winter had passed: achy body, scratchy throat, cough, runny nose, stuffy head and that rundown feeling that sends us off to bed.

Whatever the season, the common cold is an acute viral infection-most often a rhinovirus or influenza-characterized by the inflammation of any or all of the airways including the nose, throat, sinuses, larynx, trachea and bronchi. The onset of a cold is usually abrupt after a 1- to 3-day incubation period, starting with …

Bahrain military chief says Gulf troops to stay on

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Saudi-led forces sent to Bahrain to help crush anti-government protests will remain even after emergency rule is lifted next month, the head of the kingdom's military said in a move that is likely to deepen regional tensions with Iran.

And Bahrain's crackdown on opposition continued Thursday when a special security court sentenced a protester to 15 years in prison. Twenty-one others had their cases continued by the court, which has ordered executions in some previous cases.

Shiite power Iran has condemned the 1,500-strong Gulf Arab force in Bahrain as an "occupation" by Sunni states against Bahrain's Shiite majority, which has faced waves of arrests and …

At least 10 dead in Ky. highway truck-van crash

A coroner says "at least 10" people were killed Friday in a fiery crash between a tractor-trailer and a van after the truck crossed over the median on an interstate highway in south-central Kentucky.

The van was carrying "men, women and children," Emergency Management Director Kerry McDaniel said. He said the tractor-trailer was going south on I-65 and crossed the median around 5:30 a.m. CDT, striking the van head-on near Munfordville, about 75 miles south of Louisville.

Hart County Coroner Jeff Roten confirmed the number dead in a phone call with The Associated Press.

The truck hit a rock wall and burst into flames. McDaniel …

$42 million in paintings missing in Madrid Robbers target home of one of Spain's richest women

MADRID--Thieves have snatched more than 20 works of art, worth atleast $42.6 million, from a private collection in Madrid, includingmasterpieces by Goya, Brueghel and Pissarro.

In one of Spain's biggest art thefts, burglars raided the home ofEsther Koplowitz, 51, the marquesa of Casa Penalver and of Cardenas.

Members of the gang, which the police described as "very wellprepared" and as having had a thorough knowledge of the contents ofthe flat, broke windows in the street outside the Koplowitz residenceto divert the attention of a security guard.

They then beat and tied the guard, forced open the door to theapartment, disarmed the alarms and quickly loaded the …