For Release: On Receipt
Contact: (phone and e-mail contacts)

ST. PAUL, MN: It's 10 O'clock—Do you know where your credit history is? How about your employment records? Your confidential medical information?

     How would you feel if you found out this sensitive and should-be-private material is "vacationing" in computer databanks around the world—accessible to corporate interests who can afford to track down and purchase it, but not necessarily open to your own inspection.

     According to electronic privacy journalist and technology consultant Mortimer Gaines, this scenario is all-too-common. In a groundbreaking but highly readable new book, Information Attack: Privacy at Risk, Gaines explores the twin issues of privacy in an ever-more-wired world, and citizen access to crucial information that governments or corporate conglomerates might prefer to keep hidden.

     Gaines, author of over 20 previous books including the acclaimed Internet Guide series (Windows Press, 1993-94), is not a rabid privacy nut. He recognizes that consumers often gain value by sharing personal information, in order to take advantage of express car rentals or frequent flier programs, for instance. But Gaines suggests the transaction should be voluntary, freely given in exchange for a clear benefit.

     When, for example, America Online mines data from its customer records and combines it with outside market research to create—and sell—precise demographics with specific identifying information (p. 143), Gaines feels the transaction exploits the consumer, who sacrifices privacy and gets nothing in return. Gaines is equally cogent on issues of citizen access to government and corporate records.

     Information Attack: Privacy at Risk, ISBN 0-00000-00-X, includes detailed references to specific websites, a comprehensive index, and a six-page bibliography. The 336-page 6x9" trade paperback is available directly from the publisher for $25 plus shipping at (601) 555-2222, https://www.domain.com, or at your favorite bookstore.

     Journalists: to obtain a review copy and/or interview the author, please contact (phone and e-mail contacts)

FOR RELEASE: January 3, 2005
CONTACT: (phone and e-mail contacts)

CHARLOTTE, NC: Only a year ago, Salsarita's had only four locations, all in North Carolina. One year later, this rapidly growing franchise has opened eleven stores in three states and signed commitments to open 200 more around the country. But in every state, there's room for more.

South as far as Miami, north within site of Manhattan (Jersey City, NJ), west to Texas, the company is assigning territories rapidly. Major markets already under contract include Orlando, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, and several others (complete list enclosed). Near-future expansion plans include New England, the Midwest, and the whole Southwest; franchise inquiries are welcome.

Why is this train moving so fast?

Because Salsarita's is not just another burrito and taco franchise. Salsarita's sets itself apart in a crowded marketplace by letting patrons design their own offerings—and then watching as the staff prepares the food right in front of their eyes. A circular margarita bar and a cozy, cantina-style dining area that makes the Mexican heritage accessible to a mass audience, while offering health-conscious fresh foods—all these combine to create a unique and pleasurable restaurant experience that customers flock to again and again.

On the operations end, the franchise is carefully constructed to make start-up as simple and affordable as possible: from the salsa recipe to the payroll processing procedure, every detail is laid out clearly and simply. The concept s designed to be scaled from as little as 600 square feet to as large as 3000. And with the chain in its early stages, franchise fees are far less than many other chains.

Company President Bruce Willette has many years of experience operating other franchises, and so he designed his chain to be responsive to the needs of franchisees. He still owns and operates the original Charlotte, NC location

As a result, both experienced restaurateurs looking for new venues and people opening their first franchise are flocking to Salsarita's. To learn more about franchise opportunities, please visit www.salsaritas.com and click on "franchise info."

For Immediate Release
Contact: (phone and e-mail contacts)

AMHERST, MA: What WAS that futuristic spinning workout machine that Keith Tucker used to de-stress after being kidnapped in the November 30 episode of "Star Trek Enterprise?"

     It's a GyroGym� Universal Health Trainer�—the created by dancer and health educator Don Prosch, president of GyroSpace, Inc. And while it looks perfectly at home aboard the Starship Enterprise, it can also be found at fairs, concerts, balloon festivals, and other events around the United States. GyroGym� has been installed permanently at science centers in four countries, as well as in military bases, gyms, health clubs, shopping malls, and colleges. In fact, the unit used on the Enterprise had been touring the Northeast for two years, before it was shipped to California, and many people can now say they worked out on a part of the Enterprise.

     GyroGym� has received endorsements from fitness professionals and causal users, who praise it for its health benefits, relaxation, and excitement. (An extensive a list of health benefits, plus testimonials from several doctors, a Tai Chi master, the parent of a special needs child, and an educator, among others, can be found at ).

     Prosch sold a unit to Star Trek's production company in August after Mark Harigian, a personal fitness trainer to such luminaries as Madonna and Cher, was hired to create a shipboard fitness center where characters could interact in a relaxed atmosphere. Harigan found GyroSpace https://www.gyrospace.com on a Web search.

     Script writers will be incorporating the machine into many future episodes, as characters use it to counteract the effects of zero-gravity activities.

     Journalists: Prosch is available for interviews, and can also arrange a "test drive" for members of the press.

For Release: On Receipt
Contact: (phone and e-mail contacts)

CHARLOTTE, NC: In a specialized field like horticulture, it's easy to get overwhelmed searching for jobs on vast databases like Monster.com.

     Fortunately, an alternative exists: horticulturaljobs.com is a vertical portal whose only purpose is to match job seekers and employers offering horticulture and related (arboriculture, landscaping, horticultural sales, nursery production, turfgrass management etc.) jobs.

     Job applicants can enter their skills and work history into an easy web-based form on the website--and even better, they can receive e-mail notification of any jobs that meet their needs. This way, job seekers don't have to keep rechecking the website, because they will be automatically notified if a suitable job is posted. They can also sign up for a free e-mail newsletter for a broader selection of available jobs. the site has also set up an active linking program with major general-career websites such as Career Crossroads.

     All these services are FREE to job seekers.

     Horticulture is a surprisingly large sector of the economy. According to one trade industry source, lawn and landscape businesses--the largest piece of the horticultural industry--represent "70,000 business locations collectively producing $60 billion in service revenues."

     By isolating just the horticultural sector of the job market, horticulturaljobs.com expects to provide a much higher level of service to workers and employers in this sector than a general job site could do. Even before its official launch, the site is averaging over 1500 hits per day.

     For more information or, a sample copy of the newsletter, please contact Johnny Eason (phone and e-mail contacts)

For Release: August 1, 2005
Contact: Gloria Yoshida (phone and e-mail contacts)

SOUTH HADLEY, MA: A tornado morphs into a hand with an eerie pointing finger�a woman's legs turn to tree roots�a sea of graduates with dead faces open their heads to receive layers of Japanese maple leaves�

Artist Michihiro Yoshida, South Hadley's "Mythic Modernist," will exhibit a vibrant collection of mythic images, brilliant landscapes, real and surreal portraits and provocative conceptual works at the Forbes Library's Hosmer Gallery during the month of September.

Called "The Mind Expands at 75," the show runs from September 2 through 29, 2005, with a reception on Monday, September 12, 6-8 p.m. It features startling new work from the 75-year-old artist known as "Yoshi", including many canvasses of the artist and others interacting with larger-than-life human brains, with DNA, with multi-headed Buddhist goddesses, and with the world around them—from the peaceful campus of Mount Holyoke to the crumbling World Trade Center towers.

Since moving to the area five years ago, Yoshi has had acclaimed solo shows at the Jones Library's Burnett Gallery in Amherst, and at the office suite of Senator Stan Rosenberg at the State House in Boston. He has also participated in—and won prizes at—numerous group shows throughout the state, including being chosen as one of 40 artists to represent the state in the Brush Gallery's inaugural Massachusetts artist show in Lowell. Previously, he exhibited widely in New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the Cambridge Art Association, and a former member of the Springfield Art League and the A3 Gallery cooperative (both since closed). Yoshi is also the author of four novels published in his native Japan, one of which won a major literary prize.

Michihiro Yoshida was born in Kyushu, Japan, in 1930. At 15, he was drafted by the Japanese army and trained fighter pilots; as a young man, he fell in love with a painting by Cezanne and decided to become an artist. He moved to the United States in 1966, living in or near New York with his wife Gloria until relocating to Massachusetts in March, 2000.

Now, at 75 years old, he still spends up to 16 hours a day painting, sculpting, or writing. Although the Web is not capable of displaying his full color range, several of his paintings can be seen at https://www.artbyyoshi.com.

Journalists: The artist is available for in-person interviews: (phone and e-mail contacts)

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