Horseshoe Chamber Blog

A growing number of restaurants and food service companies are making a commitment to offer consumers locally grown food items. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is gathering more data on locally sourced food than ever before, and as the 2014 Locavore Index shows the number of farmers' markets, CSAs [Community Supported Agriculture], and food hubs are increasing," Vermont's Bennington Banner reported Monday. Farm-to-school programs and chefs favoring and purchasing local foods are more popular than ever. JJ Gonson, chef and owner of catering company Cuisine en Locale, purchases all fruits, vegetables, food items, and ingredients locally -- from Maine -- whenever possible. When Gonson's in a bind, she'll order foods from the New England region. She will not prepare any menu selections ...

Watches that do more than just tell time might have seemed like something from the distant future, if not just James Bond’s closet, than anything else. However, the development of smart watches, which feature many of the same capabilities of smart phones that have become a must for individuals who want to always stay connected, is changing that perception. Today, smart watches are being synced to smart homes and can be used to turn the lights on and off or arming and disarming security systems. “But in 2014 the smart home flood gates are opening, and lately it seems there’s news practically every week of a new smart watch/smart home integration,” notes Michael Wolf. “The smart watch is a logical control device for your surroundings because, chances are, it’s always a glance away, ...

Over half women report being harassed at work, CNBC reported Wednesday. Specifically, 52% of women in the workplace reveal coworkers sent inappropriate texts or emails, said something sexual or disparaging, or touched them without permission, according to a new British survey with 25,000 participants. The survey, CNBC continues, is the largest of its kind. Workplace harassment does not stop there. "[Further] examples of bullying and harassment ranged from being deliberately undermined – which more than one in four respondents reported – to victimization, or the intentional blocking of career progression, which more than one in six said they had experienced," CNBC explains. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), asking for sexual favors in exchange...

Sleep deprivation may make for funny sight gags on sitcoms (think baggy eyes, messy hair, zombie kitchen coffee marches), but in the real world, it's no laughing matter. Just ask any of the three-dozen passengers aboard the Chicago Transit Authority subway train that crashed into an escalator at O'Hare International Airport last month. The train's operator had nodded off in the control booth, investigators from the National Transport Safety Board found last week. As a result, she lost control of the eight cars she was in charge of, causing the train to plow through a barrier and hop up a station platform before coming to a final stop atop the escalator. It took cleanup crews nearly four days to remove the train from the scene, and damage is estimated at $6 million. The most troubling a...

The quest for affordable dental care leads many to search outside the United States for a better price on some procedures. And lately, more and more Americans are heading south to find a great dental deal. Mexico is seeing a resurgence of patients lately. Many Americans had been shying away from our southern neighbor due to an escalation in drug-related violence. As the violence declines, the number of bargain-seeking dental patients is once again on the rise. The American public has long bemoaned the high cost of dental care in this country. And the passage of the Affordable Care Act and its notable lack of dental coverage has only added fuel to the fire. If a better deal is to be had within driving distance of home, patients are likely to take advantage of it. But there's more on th...

If you mentioned how this past winter was particularly dark, exceptionally gloomy and incredibly snowy, no one in America would argue. Even the folks in the most tropical of paradises -- namely, Florida and California -- saw snow and brisker temperatures, which means no one was truly safe from the wrath of the winter. But now, spring is officially here, and so far, that's meant good news for the real estate, retail and automotive industries. According to the latest reports from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), there's plenty to celebrate in the manufacturing industry as well. Earlier this week, the ISM released its newest numbers for the month of March, which found manufacturing growth in the United States was up to 53.7%, up slightly from its 53.2% February number. This expa...

On December 3, three-year-old Finley Puleo Boyle of Hawaii had a heart attack while visiting the dentist fell into a coma, and died a month later. As the toddler had no underlying problems with her heart, the medical examiner ruled that the sedatives she received before her root canals and cavity fillings were what most likely killed her, causing her heart attack. "Immediately following the lidocaine injection, the decedent became unresponsive and went into cardiopulmonary arrest," wrote Dr. Christopher Happy, the Chief Medical Examiner. According to Dr. Happy, Boyle received five different drugs prior to her dental procedures, which included laughing gas, a local anesthetic, amongst a few others. However, dental sedation has caused the death of at least 31 children over the past 15 or so...

Bill Truax, a retired Fort Meyers dentist, is on a mission to educate the medical community and the public about the growing need for quality dental care among the uninsured. Truax and 40 other Fort Meyers-area dentists and staffers are seeking to publicize the Florida Mission of Mercy event at the Florida State Fairgrounds on March 28th and 29th. The event provides dental care to uninsured patients. Organizers expect to reach almost 2,000 patients. Patients attending the event can receive tooth extractions, root canals, and denture work. Also available is more routine dental care, such as cleanings, exams, and even fillings. Patients can receive tooth-colored fillings or the more traditional amalgam (metal) fillings, all at no cost whatsoever to the patients. Last month a report wa...

Hair growth and hair replacement supplements do not work, Medical Daily reported Thursday. According to publication, at least one-third of women suffer with hair loss and/or thinning hair. Women often struggle with the condition -- called androgenetic alopecia or female patterned baldness -- in secret and in silence; most are ashamed and unwilling to openly discuss it. "It can often lead to lowered self-esteem and depression," Medical Daily adds.  Many medical and pharmaceutical companies continue to respond by putting out supplements, vitamins, and natural products promising to regrow hair. The products, Medical Daily continues, are a sham. "There are no specific vitamins that grow hair,” Dr. Zoe Diana Draelos, dermatology professor at Duke University, told The New York Times. That does ...

"But first, let me take a selfie," go the lyrics in the runaway hit song, #SELFIE, by the Chainsmokers. Selfies have been making the rounds in social media for quite some time -- celebrities and so-called normal people alike have been taking selfies of themselves doing everything from hanging out in pajamas, to getting arrested. According to a new study, though, the selfie might be having a greater impact on Americans than just clogging our Facebook feeds. One interesting and unexpected result of the "selfie craze" is that cases of head lice are on the rise. Why? Among young people, it's popular to pull in a friend for the selfie photograph. Hair in close contact means that any critters along for the ride are getting a free highway system from head to head. Another, more serious impact of...