SKYLINE News Briefing - 15 July 2005

911 calls that don't exactly qualify as anything close to real emergencies.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown house on the corner.
Dispatcher: Do you have an address?
Caller: No, I'm wearing a blouse and slacks, why?

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: Someone broke into my house and took a bite out of my ham and cheese sandwich.
Dispatcher: Excuse me?
Caller: I made a ham and cheese sandwich and left it on the kitchen table and when I came back from the bathroom, someone had taken a bite out of it.
Dispatcher: Was anything else taken?
Caller: No, but this has happened to me before and I'm sick and tired of it.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: Hi, is this the Police?
Dispatcher: This is 9-1-1. Do you need police assistance?
Caller: Well, I don't know who to call. Can you tell me how to cook a turkey? I've never cooked one before.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 Fire or emergency?
Caller: Fire, I guess.
Dispatcher: How can I help you sir?
Caller: I was wondering.....does the fire department put snow chains on their trucks?
Dispatcher: Yes sir, do you have an emergency?
Caller: Well, I've spent the last 4 hours trying to put these chains on my tires and... well.. do you think the fire department could come over and help me?
Dispatcher: Help you what?
Caller: Help me get these chains on my car!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: I'm trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't have an eleven on it.
Dispatcher: This is nine eleven.
Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one
Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same thing.
Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?
Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart.
Dispatcher: Is this her first child?
Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

And the winner is..........

Dispatcher: 9-1-1
Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn....I think I'm going to pass out.
Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from?
Caller: I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster.
Dispatcher: Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?
Caller: No
Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?
Caller: Running from the Police

Scaffolding collapse kills two workers
CLIFFORD LO and FELIX CHAN, SCMP 14 July 2005

Two workers fell five floors to their death after the scaffolding they were working on collapsed at an industrial building in San Po Kong yesterday.

Pipe rehabilitation projects to drive Chevalier growth
FOSTER WONG, SCMP 14 July 2005
Construction and engineering services firm Chevalier International Holdings said its pipe business would drive earnings growth this year in anticipation of Hong Kong's increasing infrastructure renewal projects.

Dengue risk jumps in New Territories
MARY ANN BENITEZ, SCMP 13 July 2005
Three public hospitals in the New Territories have recorded worrying levels of dengue-fever mosquito infestation.

Developers all aboard for Western revival
SANDY LI, SCMP 13 July 2005
The approval of the MTR West Island line last week has set off a potential race among developers to build up their land banks in the district dominated by old residential properties.

E2-Capital plans to spend $400m on luxury housing
FIONA LAU and FOSTER WONG, SCMP 13 July 2005
Financial services group E2-Capital (Holdings) plans to spend $400 million to develop a luxury residential site in Kowloon City as part of its efforts to transform itself into a key property player, executive co-chairman Fung Ka-pun said yesterday.

Paul Y wins $969m contract for flats
Staff reporter, The Standard 11 July 2005
Paul Y Engineering, a unit of Charles Chan-controlled Paul Y-ITC Corp, has won an almost HK$1 billion construction contract from Cheung Kong (Holdings) to build a residential project atop a train station.

Proposals for hub top-notch, says bidder
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 12 July 2005
Proposals for developing the West Kowloon Cultural District are of high quality and can form the foundation for the project's next phase, a bidder for the ambitious scheme said yesterday.

Saddling up for an Olympic facelift
WINNIE YEUNG, SCMP, 9 July 2005

Facelifts are to be given to five venues in Hong Kong to prepare them to host the 2008 Olympic equestrian events.

Parks champion sets new goal
Simon Parry, SCMP 10 July 2005
Despite its reputation as a densely populated, high-rise city, Hong Kong is far greener than most of its residents tend to realise.

Stanley Ho favours multi-developer idea
JIMMY CHEUNG, SCMP 11 July 2005
Tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun has weighed into the debate over the West Kowloon project, saying a multi-developer approach would net the government $150 billion more than a single developer would.

A harshly worded Legislative Council report released Wednesday called for a thorough revision of the West Kowloon cultural district project and the abandonment of the single-

Hunghom Peninsula to be renovated
NORMA CONNOLLY, SCMP 7 July 2005
Hunghom Peninsula - the Home Ownership Scheme property which narrowly escaped being pulled down before it was ever occupied - is to undergo a facelift.

Exco and Legco both bypassed on arts hub
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 7 July 2005
Both the Executive Council and the Legislative Council had been bypassed by the government in decision-making on the controversial West Kowloon arts hub project, a Legco report concluded yesterday. developer approach.

Now that the much-awaited West Island rail line has been given the green light, the government and MTR Corp are bargaining over funding for the $6 billion to $7 billion project. .

A growing number of developers are adopting green building strategies as a way to vie for multinational corporate tenants who prefer features that will save energy, reduce waste and increase productivity.

New transport boss to launch a fresh study into electronic tolls
ELAINE WU, SCMP 30 June 2005
The new transport commissioner plans to launch another study into the need for electronic tolls as part of measures to ease traffic congestion after the Central-Wan Chai bypass is finished.

Greener harbourfront tops people's wish list, poll finds
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 29 June 2005
Greening and beautifying the harbourfront is the top wish of most residents, followed by solving traffic congestion in Hong Kong Island and creating more open spaces along the shoreline, a survey commissioned by the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee has found.

Natural wonders captured to entice tourists
CHEUNG CHI-FAI, SCMP 25 June 2005
Country park rangers toiled up and down hills with heavy cameras and criss-crossed Hong Kong in helicopters in a two-year mission to portray the city's natural wonders in a new book.

KCRC welcomes authorisation of Kowloon Southern Link
KCRC Press Release, 24 June 2005
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) today welcomed the authorisation of the Kowloon Southern Link (KSL) by the Chief Executive in Council.

SHKP pays $1.2b for Southside Villa
ERNEST KONG, SCMP 25 June 2005
Sun Hung Kai Properties has splashed out $1.2 billion for a low-rise apartment project on Shouson Hill Road belonging to the family of Ho Sin-hang, one of the founders of Hang Seng Bank.

KCRC awards Wu Kai Sha property development project
KCRC Press Release, 24 June 2005
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) today announced that its Managing Board had approved the award of the tender for the joint venture property development at Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Sha Rail (MOS Rail) to Shine Harvest International Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sino Land Company Limited.

Developers to try again after change to land sales
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 23 June 23, 2005
A property developer is to submit a bid for a luxury site in an attempt to trigger an auction after modifications to the government's land application list system.

Developers' hands tied by inherited land covenants
FOSTER WONG, SCMP 22 June 2005

This five-storey building at 15 Yun Ping Road in Causeway Bay was built in 2001 in accordance with a restrictive covenant from 1953. Picture by Foster Wong.