from the ground Up

Dear readers,

it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this blog. Since the last post, I’ve completed the complete migration of this blog onto a new server.
However, my efforts are now spent on developing a new project that was launched recently, www.eco-business.com
It focuses mainly on environmental issues with a business perspective. I hope those who read this blog will now move onto this new site, and do sign up to the RSS feeds and the mailing list by subscribing on the right hand column.

For now, I have decided to concentrate my efforts on that website, so this blog will not be updated as regularly as it used to be, although I will continue to put up commentaries as and when the occasion arises.

If I could request a favour from you, do support the Earth Journalism Awards by voting for a story I had written. And also, if you are on facebook, you could join this group.

Thanks for following this blog, and see you on the other site!

To my gentle readers, I am currently migrating this blog to a new web host, since a new project had demanded that I change to a more competent host, and also one that is not located so far away as the current one (Canada) - yup, the teeny tiny micro bytes have traveled a long distance all the way there and back - everytime you read anything on this page.

So if you come back here and there is nothing but a blank page and/or gibberish, please ignore it as I will try and make the move as seamless as possible. But considering I am a fake techie with superficial knowledge of FTP, GAR, RAR, PHP, MySql and god knows what other geek language, I cannot promise it will be quick.

In the meantime, I have thoughts about revamping this blog as 1. not entirely sure what purpose it serves other than an archive of information, (and besides someone remarked to me the other day perhaps I should protect the copyright of what I’ve written.)

And 2. completely getting rid of it since my efforts will now be concentrated on a new environmental project which I will tell you about once it’s launched.

I’m not sure the merits of either outcomes supercede each other by a big margin. But if you have some thoughts on what form the new blog, if any, should take, please do email me! letters [at] jessicacheam.com

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 30 2009
Government will take action if excessive speculation develops
THE Government will take “whatever action necessary” to prevent excessive speculation in the property market, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.
Mr Mah’s note of caution comes amid a buying frenzy that has gripped the real estate sector in [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 29 2009
Industry group to come up with programmes that meet SMEs’ needs
SMALLER building firms have usually been left out of the spotlight, but they will soon get plenty of attention from the new chief of the Singapore Contractors Association (Scal).
Mr Andrew Khng, who took over from Mr Desmond [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 28 2009
Damages sought from NTUC Income over alleged contract breach
REVERSE mortgages – launched with much fanfare over a decade ago to help retirees unlock the cash value of their homes – will, for the first time, be at the centre of an upcoming court case.
Mr Derek Chua, 72, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 26 2009
[property]
Renewed interest in property more focused on private, HDB resale sectors
The numbers show it: Singapore has been gripped by a buying frenzy that seems to have pervaded every segment of the property market.
Sales volume for HDB resale flats has surged 58 per cent in the second quarter, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 25 2009
Decline in upfront cash required makes resale flats more affordable
PRICES of Housing Board flats rose 1.4 per cent in the second quarter to a record high, reversing a first-quarter dip of 0.8 per cent.
The number of transactions also soared – up 58 per cent in the three [...]

July 16 2009
They can thrive in banking and finance sectors, says minister
WOMEN feature prominently in small and medium-sized enterprises, but they can shoot higher for the chief executive’s job in bigger firms, said Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon yesterday.
“We want to see more women as CEOs,” she said, [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 14 2009
THE firm behind the Tianjin eco-city in China clinched a three billion yuan (S$644 million) deal yesterday, with a Japanese company, to build a 40ha integrated riverfront neighbourhood.
It is the latest in a string of property deals for the city, a 30 sq km demonstration project driven [...]

by Jessica Cheam, The Sunday Times, July 12 2009, Headline:
[property special]
More home buyers now recognise the benefits of an eco-friendly home and are willing to pay a premium
When the Government launched Singapore’s first green building rating system – the Green Mark – five years ago, sustainability and climate change were unfamiliar terms to the public.
Today, [...]