| 'Action Auction' Retro
Where else could you see your neighbors on TV - some looking good; others, well, maybe acting a little foolish. There were sports and broadcast celebrities outside their natural habitats. They, too, ranged from looking slick to silly. It has never been especially great TV. But no one seems to mind. It is quaint and homey. And there were always bargains to be found. WCET-TV (Channel 48), the first public TV station in America, granted a license in 1954, celebrates the 40th anniversary of its "Action Auction" this week when the watch-bid-and-buy fest airs Wednesday-Saturday. "I think it might have been the first reality show," says Grace Hill, CET program director, who has been there for all of the auctions having started at the station as a receptionist in 1962. "The thing I remember most is that everyone in the community supported it.
Schools will seek more bids
The Arkansas City Board of Education on Monday rejected a lone bid for a half million dollars to build a school access road and authorized the project engineer to go back and get more bids.
The access road project would accommodate a planned railroad overpass at Kansas Avenue at the railroad crossing just east of Arkansas City Middle School.
The lone bidder, LaFarge Construction, of Wichita, indicated today that it would rebid the project, said Al Oakes, a senior partner of Smith & Oakes Engineering, the project engineers.
"That's good news," Oakes said.
He added, however, that there is a chance that a second round of bids -- to be solicited during the next 30 days -- might result in higher bids. One factor that could raise costs would be a higher cost of fuel.
Bidding war brews for Alliance Boots as rival emerges after offer ...
LONDON (AP) - A bidding war broke out for Alliance Boots PLC on Friday as a second private-equity consortium came forward with an improved proposal after the British-based pharmacy chain accepted a 10.6-billion-pound (US$21.3-billion) bid from a group that includes its deputy chairman and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Boots shares soared nearly eight per cent to 1,132 pence (US$22.68) after the rival consortium including private-equity group Terra Firma Investments, medical charity the Wellcome Trust and banking group HBOS PLC made an "indicative offer" worth 10.8 billion pounds ($21.6 billion). Boots made no immediate comment on the new approach from the Terra consortium. Earlier Friday, the company recommended that its shareholders vote in favour of the sweetened bid from deputy chairman Stefano Pessina and KKR valued at 1,090 pence ($21.87) a share.
Cricket bids bye to King Lara
Brian Lara bid an emotional farewell to international cricket on Saturday but admitted he leaves the game with regrets that the West Indies are still a struggling team. Lara's 17-year career finished on a losing note when his team were beaten by one wicket by England in their final World Cup Super Eights match at a packed Kensington Oval. Despite a career boasting 11,953 Test and 10,405 one-day runs as well as twin batting records of a Test best 400 not out and 501 not out in first class cricket, he leaves the game with regrets. "Not all of my dreams have been fulfilled," said captain Lara who made just 18 on Saturday before he was run out in the West Indies total of 300. "From the very first time I played cricket, my dream was to see the West Indies back on top of the sport.
|
