GREENWICH, Conn. and NEW YORK, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- North Castle Partners, along with co-investors, announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in Cascade Helmet Holdings, Inc., ("Cascade"), a leading provider of premium protective athletic headgear. North Castle is a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in consumer-driven product and service businesses that benefit from "Healthy Living and Aging" trends. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Cascade is a leading provider of premium athletic protective headgear. Founded in 1986, the Company is the undisputed leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of helmets and eyewear for the sport of lacrosse, the fastest-growing team sport in America. In 2007, Cascade entered into the design, manufacture and marketing of ice hockey helmets.

guardian of the galaxy

Suppose yourself a National Basketball Association lottery pick. Suppose further that you are blessed with a big body but are somewhat limited (Im being kind here!) in skills. Say your rookie year free throw percentage was a reeking 59%. That aint just malodorous that kind of stench from the line should trigger an OSHA investigation. The HAZMAT guys shouldve been sent in to clean up the site! Say further that you have no shot; you must be within 5 feet of the hoop to score. In plain talk: you cant hit the side of a barn with a Gatling gun even if you are inside the barn. If you were being paid kajillions of dollars, would you dedicate a few minutes each summer to honing those skills and your craft? If that question seems rhetorical, consider the career statistics of a certain overpaid NBA athlete.

Two funerals tell tale of the love engendered by two lives

She had a penchant for spoiling her subjects with home-baked goodies and her homespun wisdom.

Her North Carolina lilt was jaded by decades of Gloucester, living in her beloved house at the tippy-top of Beacon Street overlooking the outer harbor. Her musical connections were often embellished by her entire family of musical husband and four kids, performers all. They came as a package; with Nina, you got the whole kit and caboodle. The music dripped from their souls.

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Black-legged adult tick infection at 60 percent

More than half -- 60 percent -- of the adult black-legged ticks in Fairfield County may be infected with Lyme disease bacteria -- a much higher rate than customarily thought, a new study has found.

This does not necessarily foretell an increase in human cases in the region. People can see and remove adult ticks more readily than tiny nymphal ticks -- which are most responsible for the spread of Lyme disease to humans.

But it does add another reason for people to be on the alert against tick bites in spring, summer and fall.

"It may be that just as people wear sunscreen and wear bicycle safety helmets, they'll have to make preventive steps against ticks part of their daily routine,'' Jennifer Reid, of the Ridgefield Lyme Disease Task Force, said Monday.

The study is part of the ongoing work of the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance -- a 14-town organization dedicated to controlling the number of white-tailed deer in the region.

Veteran who faked hero status sentenced to jail

Former East Naples resident Raymond Gauthier, 72, was convicted of breaking his probation by possessing a forged veteran document in his new Cocoa Beach residence. Gauthier will now serve 90 days in the Collier County Jail in addition to his previous punishment.

The perfect Cotswold boltholes

Hello and welcome to my hotel,' says an card left in the room, and at times it feels as if this is all about the owner rather than the guests. Little notes on windowsills repeatedly exhort you to be careful and not to knock over any of the artworks.

Feeling slightly put out by all this hectoring, we head out for a stroll round Painswick.

HEAR HOT CHIP HERE

Ready for the Floor is the boom tune people will return to again and again, an anthem for misfits looking to waltz beyond the dancefloor, with Alexis Taylor's soulful yelp providing the geeky male lead (see review at right). Shake a Fist is a dizzy skyscraper of a track, full to the brim with sonic smarts and tricks yet hard-wired to a snaking, nagging groove. More wordy fare is provided by the softshoe r'n'b of Wrestlers and the hugely Hot Chippy Hold On, in which the band's bookish tendencies meet their hedonistic selves head on.

Cyclist Nabbed For Motel Hallway Ride

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) -- A man clad in swim trunks was arrested after riding a bicycle through a motel's hallways and hitting two men. A woman showering after using the swimming pool at Best Western Soldiers Field Tower and Suites told police she heard a door open and saw a naked man at about 3:10 p.m. Sunday.

The man ran out of the room, pulled on swim trunks, hopped on a bike and road through the hallways, police said.

Police Lt. John Edwards said the man, 38, hit another man, 76, and his son, both of whom suffered minor injuries.

The son chased the bicyclist, tackled him and waited for police to arrive, Edwards said.

Charges against the man were pending Monday, police said.

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