Liberty Bell's closing boosts visits to city's lesser-known historic sites

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JAD SLEIMAN & VALERIE RUSS, Daily News Staff Writers sleimaj@phillynews.com, 215-854-5938 Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2013, 12:16 AM

ANNE McLaughlin, director of tourism at Old City's Christ Church, spent years handing out Beyond the Liberty Bell pamphlets to encourage visitors to see Philly's less-famous historic sites.

Thanks to the government shutdown, they no longer have a choice.

"We've had a lot of people coming up and thanking us for staying open, being very grateful," McLaughlin said between greeting German tourists.

Visitors from abroad, school groups and long-haul charters routinely plan trips to the city well in advance. Flights confirmed and time off reserved, they're still coming to Philly to glimpse American history, just not necessarily at 6th and Market.

"They're useless now," he said while visiting Elfreth's Alley, the nation's oldest residential street.

More than a dozen hours of air travel got him close enough to the bell to snap a pic from the street.

A Historic Philadelphia news release notes that Independence Mall typically sees about 10,000 visitors a day this time of year. Tourism officials don't have solid numbers, but many of the museums and landmarks surrounding the mall have noted a modest uptick in visitors as the shutdown enters Day 10.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, on Independence Mall, is effectively operating for tips to welcome those rejected at the Liberty Bell.

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Liberty Bell's closing boosts visits to city's lesser-known historic sites

Liberty Mutual Insurance Schedules Third Quarter 2013 Earnings Release

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BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc., the parent corporation of the Liberty Mutual Insurance group of entities (the Company), is scheduled to release its third quarter 2013 financial results on October 30, 2013. The Company will not be hosting a conference call.

The earnings release, financial results and other supplemental information will be available on the website http://www.libertymutual.com/investors.

Going forward, the Company expects to host conference calls in conjunction with the quarterly earnings releases on a semi-annual basis. Calls will be scheduled for the second and fourth quarters. The earnings release, financial results and other supplemental information will continue to be published quarterly and will be available on the website. The next conference call to be held will be for the release of the 2013 fourth quarter results in early 2014.

The Company may, from time to time, make material information regarding the Company available to the public via the website http://www.libertymutual.com/investors (or any successor site). Any such information disseminated to the public via such website shall be deemed to have been furnished to the holders of any of the Companys outstanding securities.

For further information, please contact Alison Erbig, Vice President and Director, Investor Relations, at 6175746655 or email investor_relations@libertymutual.com.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Bostonbased Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2012 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 81st on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2012 revenue. As of December 31, 2012, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $120.1 billion in consolidated assets, $101.5 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $36.9 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance (www.libertymutualinsurance.com) employs over 50,000 people in approximately 900 offices throughout the world.

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Schedules Third Quarter 2013 Earnings Release

Liberty Closes Cabot Fund Buyout

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Liberty Property Trust (LRY) sealed the buyout of the operating partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III for around $1.475 billion. The acquisition enhanced the companys industrial portfolio with 23 million square feet and 177 properties in 24 new and existing Liberty Property markets.

Of the total Cabot Portfolio, roughly 58% of it is situated in 14 of Liberty Propertys existing industrial markets and the rest of the portfolio is positioned in 10 new markets, in which the company does not have a presence. As of May 31, the Cabot Portfolio was 93.3% leased to 436 tenants.

Liberty Property financed the deal with proceeds of $834.1 million reaped through common equity offering of 24.15 million shares, $450 million senior notes offering and $230 million in mortgage debt assumption.

This high-end acquisition is expected to significantly boost Liberty Propertys top-line growth going forward. The buyout will not only strengthen Liberty Propertys industrial portfolio, it will also expand the companys footprint in three of the top five industrial markets of the U.S.

In particular, the acquisition will deepen its reach in existing Liberty industrial markets, including Chicago, South Florida, Houston, New Jersey, Maryland and Central Pennsylvania. Moreover, it will offer the company the opportunity to expand its platform in new markets including Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth and Southern California. Moreover, recently Liberty Property disclosed the leasing of 7.5 million square feet in its industrial portfolio in third-quarter 2013. With this, the company recorded the highest quarterly leasing volume, since its inception in 1972.

We are encouraged with Liberty Propertys noteworthy achievement in industrial portfolio acquisition and leasing. As a matter of fact, the U.S. industrial market is benefiting from the healthy demand for such properties with the net absorption rate improving and vacancy rates declining. Hence, with the high-end tenant base, Liberty Property is well poised to ride on the growth trajectory and enjoy a steady rise in rental revenue, going forward.

This Pa.-based real estate investment trust (:REIT) - Liberty Property - currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better performing REITs that are worth a look include CubeSmart (CUBE), Parkway Properties Inc. (PKY) and Sotherly Hotels Inc. (SOHO), all of them carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Zacks Investment Research

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Liberty Closes Cabot Fund Buyout

Libertarian Candidate for Gov. Makes Campaign Stop in Roanoke

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Roanoke, VA - You've heard a lot from both the Republican and Democratic candidates in the race for Virginia Governor.

Libertarian Robert Sarvis though brought his message to a Roanoke area audience Tuesday night.

When it comes to polling, Sarvis, is dead last. His numbers though are strong. In fact, experts would argue they are stellar for a third party candidate. And his popularity continues to increase.

His face may not be all that familiar, but at small meet and greets like the one he hosted in Roanoke Tuesday, Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate, Robert Sarvis, is making his name known.

When asked what his campaign philosophy was, Sarvis replied, "Well this is a campaign for the people, and so you have to engage with the people."

With a bank account a fraction of the size of his opponents', less than $100,000, Sarvis is having to campaign with events like this. He says he's unable to compete with the millions backing the two front runners.

But it's slowly paying off, recent polls place him at anywhere from 8-12%, and climbing. His first televised campaign ad just went state-wide this week. His competitors hit the air waves, months ago.

"I think their campaigns have just been very negative, very vacuous, not a lot of substance to them. I think this is how campaigning should be done, even if you do have $10 million, you should still be doing this" said Sarvis.

The Harvard and Cambridge graduate was not included in the first two debates. But his message has still gone public.

"You get to see who he is, and you get to talk to him" said Dianne Erb.

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Libertarian Candidate for Gov. Makes Campaign Stop in Roanoke

New Zealand's Main Islands Get Long Overdue Names

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Eight hundred years after indigenous Maori first arrived in New Zealand and 370 years after Europeans spied its shores, the South Pacific nation's major land masses will finally get official names.

For generations, the two main islands have been called the North Island and the South Island. They've also appeared that way on maps and charts. But in recent years, officials discovered an oversight: The islands had never been formally assigned the monikers.

On Thursday, Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson announced the North Island and South Island names would become official, effective next week. Equal status will be given to the alternate Maori names: Te Ika-a-Maui (the fish of Maui) for the North and Te Waipounamu (the waters of greenstone) for the South.

Don Grant, chairman of the New Zealand Geographic Board, said the country had an informal process for naming places before 1946, when a formal process was set up.

He said the Maori names for the islands have been the same since Europeans first arrived, but that the English names have changed over time. On some early maps, he said, the islands were called New Ulster and New Munster, after the Irish provinces. The South Island was also sometimes called the Middle Island, a reference to the much smaller Stewart Island, which is even farther south.

Grant said the North Island and South Island names become widely accepted after they were endorsed by a lawmaker in 1907. But he said the names never became official, perhaps because there was no controversy or question about them.

At least, that is, until 2004, when somebody challenged the South Island name, saying it should be renamed by its Maori moniker. Grant said that's when the board first discovered that neither island had an official name.

But there were more delays, Grant said. After the board studied the issue, a 2008 law change inadvertently prevented places from getting dual names. So the board waited until 2012 when the law was fixed. Then it put the names out for public consultation, he said, and a majority of the people who weighed in said they preferred the dual name approach.

Next Thursday, he said, the names will be entered into the New Zealand Gazette, finally making them official.

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New Zealand's Main Islands Get Long Overdue Names

Cyclone hits Andaman Nicobar islands, Andhra Pradesh on high alert

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Hyderabad: A deep depression expected to turn into "a very severe cyclonic storm" over Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, crossed the North Andaman island on Wednesday and lay centred over the east central Bay of Bengal, 950km southeast of Paradip, the latest IMD bulletin said.

The deep depression with a wind speed is 78km per hour hit the Andaman Islands near uninhabited Landfall island at around 5pm causing very heavy rainfall, a report from Port Blair said.

Andhra Pradesh government put all its departments on high alert in view of the cyclone threat along north-coastal Andhra and Odisha even as chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy appealed to striking government employees in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions to return to work to meet any emergency.

It would intensify into a cyclonic storm in next 12 hours and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip by October 12 night as "a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 175-185kmph," the bulletin said.

"The storm is likely to cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha between Kalingapatanam and Paradip by the night of the October 12. We are expecting the wind speed to be around 175-185kmph. These areas will also experience very heavy rainfall," said a senior scientist at the Met department.

"We have sent an advisory to fishermen not to venture into Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Fishermen out at sea along north Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have been advised to return to coast," the official added.

The Odisha government also issued a high alert and cancelled the Dusshera holidays of employees in 14 districts with chief minister Naveen Patnaik asking collectors to ensure the safety of the people.

The alert was issued to Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts.

It was decided to deploy Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams in the 14 districts from October 10, Revenue minister Surya Narayan Patro said and directed that a mock drill by ODRAF and fire personnel be held.

Cyclone hits Andaman Nicobar islands

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Cyclone hits Andaman Nicobar islands, Andhra Pradesh on high alert

Islands get alternative Maori names

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It's official - the North Island and the South Island have alternative Maori names Te Ika-a-Maui and Te Waipounamu.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says people can use whichever name they prefer and won't be forced to use both of them.

"Everyone will have the choice to keep calling the islands what they always have, or use the assigned alternatives, or use both together if they wish," he said on Thursday.

His decisions are in line with recommendations from the New Zealand Geographic Board.

The board undertook lengthy public consultations, inviting submissions and talking to iwi from both islands.

Te Ika-a-Maui translates as Fish of Maui - a reference to the legend that the demigod Maui and his brothers fished up the North Island from their canoe. Te Waipounamu means the place of greenstone.

Mr Williamson has also formalised the names North Island and South Island.

"While these names appear in official publications, including maps and charts, they had been recorded names only and had no formal standing," he said.

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Islands get alternative Maori names

WHO Urges Health Care for All | WHO Urges Health Care for All in the United States – Video

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WHO Urges Health Care for All | WHO Urges Health Care for All in the United States
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WHO Urges Health Care for All | WHO Urges Health Care for All in the United States - Video