By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES |
Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:03am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Stan Lee is barging into the pages of his own comic book as a character based on himself who rubs elbows with superheroes – call it a cameo for the reality TV age.

His new series “Stan Lee’s Mighty 7″, which hit stores this week, is inspired by reality television and throws into the mix real-life characters – like Lee himself, the creator of such Marvel Comics icons as Spider-Man and The X-Men.

Those creations have made the 89-year-old Lee a legend in the comic industry, but since leaving Marvel and starting his own company POW! Entertainment in 2001 his latest projects have met with more limited success. That does not phase Lee.

“Somehow I think the only thing that could tarnish my legacy would be … in fact I can’t think of anything that could tarnish it, because those things have already been done, and nobody can take them back,” Lee told Reuters in a phone interview.

“Everything I’m doing I’m trying to do in the same way, because when I did Spider-Man and Iron Man and all the others, I was trying to do something different,” he said. “There had never been a teenaged superhero like Spider-Man.”

The real-life, Los Angeles-based Lee describes his creative process in a note inside the pages of “Mighty 7.” He writes, “Reality TV is a big deal today, so why not do a reality comic book? (See why I get the big bucks?)”

“Mighty 7″ features superheroes with names such as Strongarm, Laser Lord, High Rise and others who have powers ranging from super strength to shrinking ability.

The superheroes are on a ship hurtling through space that lands on Earth in a desert just steps from the character representing Lee himself. In the following issues, Lee’s character will guide the superheroes.

Nobody should expect Lee’s character to display a superpower, other than his prolific ability to post to Twitter, to which his fans can attest. In fact, in the comic Lee is tweeting or texting a message to his fans when the spaceship hurtles behind him.

“It wouldn’t be a ‘reality’ comic book if I gave myself a super power, because I don’t have one,” Lee said.

“So it would just be fiction again. See this story is very true,” he joked. “Please say I say these things with a laugh or people will think I’m crazy!”

The comic series, which is written by television veterans Tony Blake and Paul Jackson, results from a partnership between POW!, Archie Comics and the company A Squared Elxsi.

Meanwhile, Lee said he is forging ahead with another POW! project called “Stan Lee’s World of Heroes” for which he and his team are creating online videos for YouTube.

“POW! has become the greatest toy I ever played with,” he said.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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NEW YORK |
Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:50am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actor-director Mel Gibson is putting his sprawling hilltop compound in Costa Rica up for sale, with a $29.75 million asking price, .

The Oscar-winning “Braveheart” director, who has suffered a series of public embarrassments in recent years after a decades-long reign as a top box office star, is selling the 500-acre compound to downsize his real estate portfolio following his divorce.

Christie’s International Real Estate, the luxury real estate firm, was set to announce the offering on Friday.

Gibson’s Pacific coast compound, on Playa Barrigona on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula just south of the Nicaragua border, boasts three hilltop homes, the largest of which has seven bedrooms, with soaring ocean and jungle views.

Each villa on the former cattle ranch is outfitted with native Costa Rican woods and Italian and Spanish tiles and features multiple verandahs and a private pool.

“The property is expansive, meticulously maintained, and ultimately private,” said Rick Moeser, Christie’s real estate senior vice president for the Southeast, Caribbean, Central and South America.

“With its multiple homes and outbuildings, this is the ideal family retreat,” Moeser added of the pristine property that includes an expansive beach.

Gibson, 56, has seven children from his long marriage which ended in divorce in 2009 after his drunk driving arrest in Malibu. He also has one child with Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had an acrimonious breakup.

The star and his large extended family had used the estate frequently before the troubles in his personal life. He reportedly retreated to the holiday home during his legal troubles with Grigorieva. Gibson was also photographed with her there in 2009, shortly before his wife filed for divorce.

Over the years the actor has owned lavish properties in Malibu, Australia, Montana, Connecticut, and even a private island in Fiji.

Since his legal troubles and a well-publicized anti-Semitic remarks made during his drunk driving arrest, Gibson’s acting roles have diminished. He had a starring role in the Jodie Foster film “The Beaver” last year, and his next project is “Get the Gringo,” which he also co-wrote and is due out later this year.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Affordable housing, medical and mental health top areas of support

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – California Community Foundation (CCF) has announced nearly $1.6 million in two-year grants to 16 nonprofit organizations working to improve transitional housing for foster youth, affordable housing policy and advocacy, health care and coverage for the uninsured, women’s health, parental engagement in public education, immigrant integration in public housing, and other vital concerns in Los Angeles County.  Examples of funding include:

Quality and Affordable Health Care for Low-Income Individuals and Families

CCF is providing half a million dollars in general operating support for health centers and clinics to focus on women’s health, primary and mental health, and dental health.  Funding will be used to improve access to high quality, affordable and culturally sensitive health care for residents across the county.  For example, the American Indian Healing Center in Whittier will use its grant to provide primary and mental health care for urban Native Americans.

Affordable Housing and Service-enriched Programs for Special Needs Tenants

Nearly half a million dollars will go to policy and advocacy efforts at local and state-wide levels to expand affordable housing in L.A.  Funding will also provide more specialized services, such as social and health, to current and incoming tenants of affordable housing properties in the county.  West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation is among the nonprofits receiving funding.

Specialized Legal and Health Support for Foster Youth

Grants will be used to protect the legal rights as well as primary and mental health of youth in the foster care system.  Organizations like California Youth Connection in Monterey Park and LeRoy Haynes Center for Children and Family Services in La Verne will also provide policy and advocacy support to improve the overall foster care system in L.A., in addition to transitional housing services.

California Community Foundation (CCF) is a public, charitable organization serving Los Angeles County in multiple capacities since 1915. It encourages philanthropy by individuals, families, companies and organizations, and serves as a steward of their charitable funds and legacies.  It makes grants to nonprofits and collaborates in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations such as persons with disabilities. It actively engages in community problem solving with business, civic, government and other organizations.  For more information, visit www.calfund.org or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/calfund.

SUMMARY OF GRANTS BY CORE PROGRAM AREAS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
March 2012

Contact: Barbara Lee, Media Specialist
Phone: (213) 413-4130 ext 258
E-mail: blee@calfund.org

SOURCE California Community Foundation

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NEW YORK, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Anvil Knitwear, manufacturers of the Anvil Eco Collection for the imprintables and private label apparel markets, announces its sponsorship of the Earth Day Organic Indoor Learning Garden program in partnership with Earth Day New York. The program provides organic container gardens to classrooms in public schools in New York City. Anvil’s goal is to equip 10% of the city’s schools with an organic garden by next year’s Earth Day 2013 Celebration.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120202/NY46849LOGO )

“These organic gardens are an extension of Anvil’s TrackMyT® program and help school children learn to appreciate the benefits of organic farming and the positive effects it can have on the environment,” says Caterina Conti, Anvil’s Executive VP and head of sustainability.

The Earth Day Organic Indoor Learning Gardens are container garden kits suitable for use in classrooms or other teaching spaces and contain organic soil, organic seeds, and instructions for planting and care. The gardens also come with an organic farming instructor’s guide to leverage the garden as a teaching tool. This launch of Earth Day Organic Indoor Learning Garden kits features lettuce seeds and grows edible greens in about 6 weeks.

Anvil is a vocal global advocate for organic farming and the largest purchaser of US grown organic and transitional cotton. The AnvilOrganic^® line is ranked one of the top ten organic cotton apparel programs in the world. Recognized as a company with a strong and well-documented commitment to corporate and social responsibility, Anvil actively supports organic farming beyond just organic cotton for apparel to organic farming as a whole. “We believe that when people choose organic for their tables or for their closets, those choices ultimately contribute to making the Earth a better place to live and work,” continues Conti. The Earth Day Organic Indoor Learning Garden program is a grassroots effort to educate children who will, in turn, educate their families and influence choices they make.

Anvil piloted the Earth Day Organic Learning Garden program with 20 schools and received positive reviews from students and educators. Anvil’s post-launch goals for the program include extending beyond their New York City community and inspiring other like-minded companies and individuals to join in to implement the program in their own communities. 

For more information about Anvil’s sustainability efforts, contact Dina Dunn at Dina@Blinkready.com or 336-371-5584. Anvil’s corporate responsibility site is www.AnvilKnitwearCSR.com. The Earth Day New York website is www.EarthDayNY.org.

About Anvil Knitwear
Anvil Knitwear, Inc., a century old apparel brand, is a leading manufacturer of sportswear and accessories primarily serving the imagewear and private label markets. Anvil offers over 70 styles of sportswear and accessories in 80 colors. The company is also a leader in the sustainable apparel industry with its AnvilOrganic® and AnvilSustainable™ brands.  In addition to sustainable apparel, Anvil focuses on consumer education via interactive platforms, including www.trackmyt.com, which chronicles the life cycle of a t-shirt from seed to store and Shirt Scan™, a mobile content delivery platform using QR Code technology. For more information, please visit www.anvilknitwear.com.

SOURCE Anvil Knitwear

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My news for Investors

ORLANDO, Fla., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — At first glance they seem like any other students.  And they are—with one amazing difference.  At just 9-14 years-old, they are some of North America‘s youngest and best SCRABBLE® players.  These students will put their SCRABBLE skills to the test as they compete against some of their most skillful peers for the $10,000 top prize at the annual National School SCRABBLE® Championship (NSSC).  This year’s event takes place at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, FL April 13-14.

Many of these 4th-8th graders will go on to play—and often defeat—adults in rated SCRABBLE® tournaments and the annual National SCRABBLE® Championship.  At this year’s NSSC there will be 29 students with official North American SCRABBLE® Players Association (NASPA) ratings.  The field also includes NSSC champs, 12 sets of siblings and numerous School SCRABBLE® tournament newbies. 

“These competitors represent the cream of the crop from our National School SCRABBLE® Program,” says National SCRABBLE® Association Executive Director, John D. Williams Jr.  Praised by parents and educators alike, the School SCRABBLE® Program is an innovative teaching tool that has helped over a million kids in over 20,000 schools nationwide with spelling, vocabulary, math, dictionary use and more.  “Kids are learning, and they don’t even know it!” Williams adds.

Play begins at 2:00 PM with 3 rounds on Friday, April 13th and all day Saturday, April 14th.  Finals will be approximately 3:00 PM on Saturday, followed by the awards ceremony.

To learn more and watch a fun 4-minute video about the National School SCRABBLE® Championship, go to www.schoolscrabble.com.

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio.  From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY.  The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.  Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com.  Hasbro is the owner of the registered SCRABBLE® trademark in the United States and Canada. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SOURCE National SCRABBLE Association

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