With its sprawling campus, tree lined paths, wrought iron archways and beautifully bricked buildings, Harvard University has practically lent itself to the silver screen.

From its renowned Harvard Yard to a perky blonde who hopes to impress her boyfriend by being accepted into Harvard Law School, America’s oldest institution of higher learning has procured various Hollywood roles. Here are movies that have been made possible thanks to Harvard University.

The Firm — The 1993 legal thriller film follows the life of Mitch McDeere, an aspiring lawyer set to graduate from Harvard Law School before he’s made an offer he can’t refuse. Tom Cruise plays the promising Harvard Law graduate.

Good Will Hunting — Featuring an all-star cast of Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck, the film tells the tale of Will Hunting, played by Damon, who meets a British student about to graduate from Harvard named Skylar, played by Minnie Driver.

How High — Method Man and Redman were on the Harvard Campus. In the stoner comedy, both are told they should apply to the University. Once there, the shenanigans ensue.

Ice Princess — The 2005 Disney film follows the life of Casey Carlyle, played by Michelle Trachtenberg, a bookworm turned figure skater who plans to pursue a scholarship at Harvard. Spoiler alert — she later turns the scholarship down after she’s received it.

Legally Blonde — Reese Witherspoon’s character, Elle Woods, packs up for Harvard Law School to reunite with her ex-boyfriend and try to win him back in this romantic comedy.

Love Story — Considered one of the most romantic movies of all time, the 1970 film tells of Oliver Barrett IV, played by Ryan O’Neal, who comes from a family of wealthy Harvard graduates. At the Radcliffe Library, he meets and falls in love with Jennifer Cavalleri, a working-class student played by Ali MacGraw. The two decide to get married after graduation, despite Barrett’s father’s wishes, and the father severs ties with his son.

The Paper Chase — Based on the novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., The Paper Chase follow the life of a first-year student at Harvard Law School who’s petrified of one of his professors.

The Social Network — Last year’s film about Facebook and its resulting lawsuits tells the tale of Mark Zuckerberg, who created the social networking site while studying at Harvard.

Soul Man — This 1986 comedy is about a teen who poses as a young black man in hopes of achieving his dreams of attending Harvard and receiving a full scholarship.

from bostinnovation.com

The fight to keep Westerville city officials from building a wrought-iron fence along State Street continues.

One business owner, who was sued by the city, said he plans to appeal a Franklin County judge’s recent ruling that Westerville has the right to take his property for the fence.

The plan to erect the 40-foot-long, 8-foot-high fence is part of the city’s $70 million effort to spruce up the commercial strip. Slated for next year, it comes with brick pillars as a gateway, a widened road, extra lanes and buried power lines. The project has riled some property owners who say it will obstruct the view of storefronts and is becoming a burden on their businesses.

When James Taylor refused to sell part of his property, which houses the U.S. Bank branch at State Street and Heatherdown Drive, Westerville sued and won the lawsuit, arguing that it has eminent-domain rights to take the property for public use.

“The city is pleased with the court’s decision in the matter and will not be acting until the window for an appeal is closed,” said Christa Dickey, Westerville’s community-affairs administrator.

Taylor’s attorney, Bruce Ingram, said an appeal will be filed in court in the next week or two.

“There’s nothing in Ohio law that allows them to take property for installing aesthetic features,” Ingram said.

Tom Tripp, who owns the Thomas Building, said he will file his own lawsuit to block the city’s plans if Taylor’s appeal is rejected. He said the proposed fence has caused him to lose one tenant and kept away two others.

“You can imagine how intrusive it’ll be if (the fence) is placed there,” he said. “I think the judge has misinterpreted the law.”

from dispatch.com

Platinum Pets launched their new luxurious line of pet beds, raised feeding stands, pet collars and pet tech tags. They specialize in selling pet products in unique colors that allow pet owners to color coordinate with their home décor.

Demand for innovative and luxury pet products continues to grow as pet owners increasingly embrace their pets as members of the family. Despite the tough 2010 economy, people still spent more on their pets in 2010 than in any other year. Based on current pet industry trends, it is predicted that the pet industry will continue to grow at a rate of at least 3.8% per year, leading to a 70 billion dollar industry in 10 years. As of 2010, the pet industry grossed an impressive $48 billion.

As the holiday season fast approaches at the top of everyone’s minds is shopping. Shopping for gifts for your family and loved ones, for your friends, neighbors, and colleagues and even for your pets. Pets need to be pampered as well.

Here are Platinum Pets four top luxury gift ideas for any favorite pet :

• Beds –Princess and Prince powder coated, wrought iron beds are adorned with fanciful hearts and topped with a comfortable vegan leather mattress pad, which are both durable and easy to clean. These designer pet beds are offered in 3 hot colors, Midnight Black, Bubblegum Pink and Candy Apple Red. They are extremely sturdy without compromising on the fashion and design offering pets a patch of indulgence in any home.

• Raised Diner Stands - Splurge on some fabulous wrought iron, raised pet diner stands this holiday season. Leave no pet behind, there are sizes for even the largest dog the Jumbo Triple Diner Stand or for the smallest cat, the Extra Small Modern Diner Stand – all pets should be eating like kings and queens! Platinum Pets raised pet feeders come in 5 beautiful designs and add to any home’s décor. Raised diner stands are veterinary recommended because they help promote proper digestion. All of Platinum Pet’s diner stands come in highly fashionable colors and are fade resistant and rust proof. Complete the look and a clear heavy duty silicone feeding mat to help achieve an attractive and clean pet eating station.

• Collars – Choose from golden stars to colorful spikes with high-end luxury latigo leather pet collars. Collars come in black or white leather and are available in all sizes from cat to extra large dog. Coordinate with a matching chain leash or with the luxurious leather leash for a truly over the top gift idea.

• Pet Tech Tags - Aside from all these luxury gift ideas, consider a gift that benefits not only the pet but the owner as well. The Lost N’ Found smartphone scannable pet id tag is high on a lot of shopping lists this year. An excellent way to keep pets safe and secure at all times, the Scannable pet Id tag is a lightweight aluminum dog tag that’s laser etched with a scannable QR barcode on both sides. When scanned with a smartphone the lost pets contact information is displayed allowing people to immediately call, email or text the pet’s owner. It stores the same information that a microchip has and better yet, anyone with a smartphone can access. This year give the dog and pet owner the invaluable gift of safety and security and complete peace of mind!

from newswiretoday.com

David Snow from Mid Hants Railway said: “We are absolutely delighted to have acquired this historic bridge for re-location to The Watercress Line. We have long wanted a footbridge to provide a viewing location across our tracks and to acquire this one, which has featured in a number of the Harry Potter films, will be an excellent addition to our railway.”

The bridge has now been moved to Eastleigh on the back of nine lorries where it will be shot blasted and painted. It is planned that the first section will be installed before the end of the year.

By spring 2012 King’s Cross will have a new bridge to link the station’s new concourse with the main train shed.

from theconstructionindex.co.uk

A torchbearer will run through Leeds’s Victoria Quarter with the Olympic flame when it comes to West Yorkshire next year, it has been announced.

During three days in June 2012 the torch will visit 25 places in the area.

The procession will first visit Boston Spa, Wetherby and Harewood on 19 June and will return to the area on 24 and 25 June.

There will be celebratory events in Leeds on 24 June, when the torch will stay in the city overnight.

The Victoria Quarter, which opened in 1990, was designed by architect Frank Matcham.

He used marbles, mosaics, cast and wrought iron and carved wood to create two streets, two arcades and the Empire Theatre, which is now Harvey Nichols.

A torchbearer will carry the Olympic flame through the centre on 25 June. The torch will also visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at West Bretton, near Wakefield, on that day.

Thousands of torch bearers are being recruited for the flame’s 70-day journey across the UK before the opening ceremony in London. The Olympic flame will arrive in the UK from Greece on 18 May 2012.

The relay will begin at Land’s End, Cornwall, on Saturday, 19 May and end on Friday, 27 July in the Olympic Stadium.

It is estimated it will be carried 8,000 miles.

from bbc.co.uk

Ind.i.a is a company as solid as steel, the kind of steel which proclaims history, passion, difficulties, and progression at the same time. It is made up of a group of companies which all started and began 40 years ago.

Back in 1971, Arch. Bruno Gonzato started the company, Ind.i.a, to produce amphibian means of transport. Ind.i.a, with the initial letters coming from the Italian name Industria Italiana Anfibi, later was changed to Arteferro.

To sponsor this business he first started producing wrought iron scrolls, which is a very common item throughout the Vicenza area.

Within a very short period, Bruno Gonzato realized that his business is much more fascinating that he could have ever imagined, and decided to start investing in this market. Following his instinct, the art and passion of wrought iron was able to transmit.

Ind.i.a has grown through much experience and magnitude to become a group of 22 subsidiaries worldwide, all producing and distributing components, forgings, and finished products of wrought iron and stainless steel through three different name brands: IND.I.A, II Grande Fabbro, and Arteferro Inox.

The expansion has not undermined the love for tradition which marks out this ancient art. To this day Arch. Bruno Gonzato still considers himself a craftsman rather than a major manufacturer, always running his company looking for innovation and design.

He is helped by his wife Stefania, whom is also an architect and designer, as well as his daughter Francesca and sons Matteo, Davide, Dario, and son-in-law Andrea. Through the will of letting second generation grow in managing the industry, it sets a solid base for the future and grants continuity of the company’s philosophy and quality of the brand Ind.i.a.

By Ashley Meeks

The Anthony, N.M., Welcome Center was closed most of Thursday after vandals covered it in apparent gang graffiti and attempted to set fires in some of the structures, according to law enforcement.

A Doña Ana sheriff’s deputy discovered the damage to the Interstate 10 rest stop just after 9 p.m. Wednesday, noting the suspects kicked in a wrought-iron gate, broke an interior door, threw travel pamphlets into a fountain and tagged a gang moniker on trash cans, walls, doors and hallways.

“That’s a significant deal of damage,” said Capt. Rich Libicer, of the New Mexico State Police, the agency tasked with patrolling highways. “There weren’t any facilities that weren’t damaged in some way. The damage was so extensive, and the vandalism was so extensive, that they had to shut it down to make minimal repairs and cleanup so that people could get services.”

The New Mexico Department of Transportation did not return a call for comment on the damages Thursday.

Gang members are assumed to be behind the destruction, and anyone with any information on the damage or other criminal activity in the area is urged to come forward to law enforcement, said Sheriff Todd Garrison.

“We’re trying to work on those issues down there, but we can’t be everywhere, see everything,” Garrison said. “I’m sure people in that area really are tired of the tagging and just – the criminal damage to the property that’s occurring down there. Give us an opportunity to follow up; give us the opportunity to hold these people accountable and make it stop.”

The state police Street Crimes Unit will also start looking into it and will do “anything we can,” Libicer added. “That’s a significant amount of property damage, plus the man hours and equipment and paint (it will take to fix it) … If people have information and they’re not willing to come to us, their tax dollars are just going to keep going to these kids of repairs.”

Callers can remain anonymous.

“It’s unfortunate,” Libicer said of the damage, “but we’re looking into it. We’re taking it seriously. It’s a huge amount of property damage. Unfortunately, taxpayers in New Mexico are going to have to pay for it, but we’d like to find who’s responsible. If we do, they’ll be charged.

from lcsun-news.com

This stylish 37-unit building, a companion to the 25-unit Modern, to which it’s attached, has just hit the market and is drawing young professionals looking to live in the South End without paying a premium to buy in this desirable neighborhood.

The location, a block up on the Lower Roxbury side of Massachusetts Avenue and across from the Piano Factory artist building, is keeping the prices in this new complex reasonable. One-bedrooms run from $399,000 to $495,000 and average around 800 square feet, and two bedrooms, averaging 1,200 square feet, start at $499,000 and run up to $649,000 for top-floor units with great city views. There are also seven units on the first and second floor reserved for artists, which will be sold through a lottery.

While the exteriors of both buildings are similar, the interiors of the Modern 2 are designed to be more stylish, warmer and more contemporary than its next-door sister.

The Modern 2 features a beige cast-stone exterior with wrought-iron balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. There’s a garage on the first floor, with spaces on lifts costing anywhere from $23,000 for a spot on a top lift to $30,000 for a floor-level (lower lift) space.

There’s a 4,000-square-foot common roof deck with a bathroom and built-in gas grill that affords great views of the Back Bay, South End and Roxbury’s Fort Hill.

We took a look at the complex’s just-opened model condo, Unit 310, an 810-square-foot front-facing one-bedroom space that’s on the market for $399,000.

This stylish condo features engineered espresso hardwood floors throughout the living areas, floor-to-ceiling windows and a sliding door out to a private wrought-iron balcony. The big draws for the unit are the high-end finishes and fixtures and the open kitchen, dining and living area.

The condo opens into a hallway, with closets that hold a coat/storage closet, a white Bosch washer and dryer and a utility room that holds the unit’s forced-hot-air by gas heating and cooling system and water heater.

The 11-by-7-foot galley kitchen really pops, with high-end finishes such as the chocolate-colored quartz-based Celador counters and island. There’s a striped laminate backsplash and 14 custom cabinets with high-gloss white finishes. Overhead lighting includes pendant lamps. High-end stainless steel appliances include a side-by-side Samsung refrigerator with a large bottom freezer drawer, Frigidaire Professional dishwasher and Frigidaire four-burner gas stove with a built-in microwave above.

The adjacent 18-by-14-foot dining/living area has two floor-to-ceiling windows and a sliding glass door out to a small, but private, wrought-iron balcony.

Off the living/dining area sits the unit’s carpeted 14-by-10-foot bedroom with a floor-to-ceiling window, track lighting and a large double-door closet.

The adjacent 10-by-8-foot bathroom is luxuriant, with white Italian Bianco Dolomiti granite floors and surround for a stylish kidney-shaped soaking tub. There are contemporary-looking Moen and Kohler fixtures and a white, quartz-based Celador-topped high-gloss vanity.

The finishes in the model unit will be featured throughout the building. The higher-up units, particular in the rear of the building, have great city views, but all owners will be able to enjoy the views from the common roof deck.

Another plus to the building will be the low condo fees, which include heat and hot water in a 62-unit condo association that combines the two buildings. The estimated fee for Unit 310 is just $281 a month.

from news.bostonherald.com

Normally it is a power drill or a pushbike.

Winchester police have a set of wrought iron gates and five aluminium milk churns, recently recovered in a raid on Thursday, March 31 at Upham near Bishop’s Waltham.

PC Stuart Turner, of Winchester Priority Crime Team, said: “This warrant was executed as part of our ongoing effort to stamp out thefts from the local rural community. Numerous articles have been seized by officers that are believed to have been stolen and we are keen to find their owners.

“We don’t normally get wrought iron gates. They are quite distinctive, with red roses and gold spikes on the top.”

The raid in Alma Lane, in which a 30-year-old man was arrested, was conducted by officers from the Priority Crime Team, the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Countrywatch.

The man has been released on bail until May 26.

from hampshirechronicle.co.uk

The new gate is designed by artist David Murphy and is based on the banksia plant, a flowering relative of the garden’s logo.

Murphy was free to choose the materials and design of the gate and he opted for stainless steel, replacing the wrought-iron used for the pre-existing entrances.

The gardens were converted from a golf course in 1975 and named after George Pentland, who served in local council from 1939 until 1975, including as shire secretary and town clerk. He also played a prominent role in the establishment of Frankston as its own city in 1966.

Murphy hopes the new gates will be instantly recognisable to the local users of the park.

The gates are on Foot Street near Hastings Road.

The gardens are open from 7am-6pm April to October, and from 7am-9pm November to March.

from hastings-leader.whereilive.com.au