Latest news with #MikeFowler
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Derry shuts down 6 massage parlors
Six massage parlors in Derry were forced to close this month for violations, including one establishment that employed someone with a prostitution conviction in another state, a town official said. The town ordered Little Tokyo Spa at 127 Rockingham Road, LZ Asian Spa at 34 Manchester Road, Wei Lan Bodywork and Spa at 49 Birch St., and Orange Orange at 37 Crystal Ave. to cease and desist for violating Chapter 56, a town ordinance regulating massage spas. Two other spas were also ordered to cease and desist — Star Day Spa at 4 Peabody Road Annex and Orange Tree Spa at 92 W. Broadway — which the town says were operating under New Hampshire esthetician licenses and also violated the town ordinance. Incoming Town Administrator Mike Fowler said the violations varied, but included unlicensed technicians working under a single state license, a technician with a felony prostitution conviction, and explicit advertisements offering services not allowed at massage spas. Before Derry adopted a new ordinance in 2023, all a massage therapist needed to operate in town was proof of a license through the state's Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. Town leaders decided that wasn't enough and started requiring that licenses with the state be in good standing and their applications were legitimate. 'Well above a common massage' Fowler said residents reported activity beyond the scope of spas set out by the state and town at several parlors. The town's new licensing process began in March 2024 and after a year, the town's health and code enforcement departments scrutinized the businesses during the renewal process. What they found was shocking, Fowler said. 'There were some things that started to pop up on six of the locations and we had to take action to issue cease and desist orders on those businesses,' Fowler said. 'The common theme with all six of these locations is that we were finding advertisements, and they all look basically the same, that were essentially solicitations for things well above a common massage.' He said when officials searched the names of the businesses on the internet, they found 'references with pretty explicit photos and references to services' that are not part of a massage spa license. Last Thursday, town councilors voted 7-0 to rescind Wei Lan Bodywork and Spa's license after the owner appealed and had been allowed to operate on a temporary basis. The business had recently moved from Manning Street to Birch Street. Also by a unanimous vote, the Town Council upheld its decision to rescind the license of Orange Orange, run by Yung Cui, at an emergency Saturday morning meeting April 5. Cui had appealed the council's earlier decision, stating she didn't understand the rules when it came to advertising. After further investigation, officials found other violations as well, Fowler said. Massage parlor ads Several of the massage parlors have pages on Facebook and review sites such as Yelp. Little Tokyo Spa's Facebook page displayed an ad that included 'New Young Girl & Best Choice … There are sweet and gentle girls here … The girls will give you a unique feeling.' One of the pictures with that post, dated Sept. 18, 2024, included a suggestive picture of a young Asian woman who was not giving a massage. On Monday afternoon, most of the massage parlors that had their licenses revoked no longer had reviews, pictures or working website addresses on Yelp and other sites, and previous suggestive posts on TikTok were no longer available. Enforcing the ordinance Fowler said it's difficult for the health and code enforcement departments in Derry to enforce rules on massage parlors because the ownership of the businesses frequently changes hands and many basically share licenses among several workers. Fowler said after the meeting upholding the revocation of Orange Orange's license, someone else applied for a license at the location under a different name. 'Since then, we've received a change of use for that location where somebody had come in, another name, another person seeking to reopen under a new ownership structure. So, we're navigating that piece of it. It's been a challenge,' he said. 'It's a shell game that gets played because as soon as you know, we take an action for cease and desist, and two, three, four days later, another person comes up and the business has been sold or allegedly sold to a new owner. And now, they're asking for an application and they have a valid license from the state of New Hampshire.' Fowler said several establishments have moved from Salem to Derry after being shut down there. 'Derry just happens to be now at the epicenter of this in southern New Hampshire, so we are taking actions within our ordinance,' he said. The town has cracked down, but Fowler would like to see state regulators take a more active role in investigating business credentials before issuing licenses. 'We have written several inquiries to them, and never received anything back,' Fowler said. Fowler said he could not comment on whether there are any criminal investigations by the Derry Police
The Star
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
At a little known Rolls-Royce museum in US, volunteers dote over iconic cars
Mike Fowler had been faintly aware that a museum of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles existed near his boyhood home in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but the car enthusiast didn't expect the experience he got when he started volunteering there. Fowler had oil on his hands within a half-hour of his first volunteer session at the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Museum. More than a year later, he keeps a list on his phone with notes about cars in the collection to help him get them started properly or disconnect their batteries. Fowler is part of a group of about 50 volunteers who gather twice a month at the museum to help out, including cleaning, maintaining and driving the fleet of customized iconic vehicles, many designed to be driven by a chauffeur. For many volunteers, it's an opportunity to experience a life few people can afford. "You take it out on the road and you are transported to a different time, a different mentality,' said Fowler, a 28-year-old Camp Hill resident. Mike Fowler drives a 1946 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith from the The Rolls-Royce Foundation's collection in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Newcomers are first paired with a more experienced volunteer for about a year and must pass the museum's driving school. They start with the most modern vehicles, which have automatic transmissions. "We're very protective of the collection. We're its caretakers, and we take it very seriously. So you can't just come in off the street and start driving,' said Sarah Holibaugh, the museum's head librarian and archivist. "But it should be that way.' The 29 antique and collectible Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles that date as far back as the late 1920s are the central attraction of the largely overlooked and seldom visited museum, which is easy to miss among the surrounding miles of farm fields and stretch of nondescript industrial buildings just outside Mechanicsburg. Mike Fowler drives a 1946 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith at The Rolls-Royce Foundation in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The museum, owned by the Rolls-Royce Foundation, includes a showroom, maintenance area and a third room being converted into a library and reading room. "I often wonder if the homes around here know the foundation exists,' Fowler said. "Or if they always just wonder, 'Why do we see these vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentleys roaming around from time to time?'" The museum has its roots in nearby Harrisburg, where Rolls-Royce put an owners' club in the 1960s, located between large dealerships in New York and Washington. After Hurricane Agnes devasted that location in 1972, a businessman donated the Mechanicsburg property for a new facility. The 6,000-person owners' club, with members in 26 countries and a headquarters in the same complex, is a separate entity but works closely with the museum. Shown are various vehicles in the garage at The Rolls-Royce Foundation in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Though admission is just US$5, the museum launched in 2004 gets only about 1,000 visitors a year. It typically draws members of car clubs, groups of seniors and students on school field trips, with visits that have to be scheduled in advance. It also has rented out its cars for films and similar uses. The museum's 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was in last year's Timothée Chalamet biopic about Bob Dylan, A Complete Unknown , and a 1959 Silver Cloud I from the collection appeared in Season 4 of the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel . Volunteers also help preserve and digitize the museum's archive of ownership and service records for North America, which span from 1907 until 2004, shortly after Rolls-Royce and Bentley were acquired by BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Records for cars made for the European market are available through the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club in the United Kingdom. Volunteers gather at The Rolls-Royce Foundation in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The North American records, which are available for a fee and produce the foundation's biggest revenue stream, have helped prove cars outside of their collection were once owned by famed director Alfred Hitchcock, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor and hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Foundation records have also debunked claims about purported prior ownership, including a Rolls-Royce vehicle thought to have been owned by country singer Hank Williams Jr. "We were able to absolutely prove that it was not owned by him,' recalled volunteer Randy Churchill, a Boiling Springs man now retired from a marketing career. "They just thought they had a million-dollar gold mine on their hands.' Vehicles in the museum's collection range in value from about US$30,000 to about US$120,000. A whiskey delivery truck appraised at US$320,000 has been donated and will soon be on display. Many of the cars Rolls-Royce has built are still on the road and used models can be surprisingly cheap. But maintaining an older Rolls, with its customized features and expensive parts, can be pricey, noted volunteer Ron Deguffroy, a retired psychologist from Chambersburg. "The most expensive Rolls-Royce you will buy," he said, "is a cheap one.' – AP
CBS News
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
At a little known Rolls-Royce museum in Pennsylvania farm country, volunteers dote over iconic cars
Mike Fowler had been faintly aware that a museum of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles existed near his boyhood home in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but the car enthusiast didn't expect the experience he got when he started volunteering there. Fowler had oil on his hands within a half-hour of his first volunteer session at the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Museum. More than a year later, he keeps a list on his phone with notes about cars in the collection to help him get them started properly or disconnect their batteries. Fowler is part of a group of about 50 volunteers who gather twice a month at the museum to help out, including cleaning, maintaining and driving the fleet of customized iconic vehicles, many designed to be driven by a chauffeur. For many volunteers, it's an opportunity to experience a life few people can afford. "You take it out on the road and you are transported to a different time, a different mentality," said Fowler, a 28-year-old Camp Hill resident. Newcomers are paired with a more experienced volunteer for about a year and must pass the museum's driving school. They start with the most modern vehicles, which have automatic transmissions. "We're very protective of the collection. We're its caretakers, and we take it very seriously. So you can't just come in off the street and start driving," said Sarah Holibaugh, the museum's head librarian and archivist. "But it should be that way." The 29 antique and collectible Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles that date as far back as the late 1920s are the central attraction of the largely overlooked and seldom visited museum, which is easy to miss among the surrounding miles of farm fields and stretches of nondescript industrial buildings just outside Mechanicsburg. The museum, owned by the Rolls-Royce Foundation, includes a showroom, a maintenance area and a third room being converted into a library and reading room. "I often wonder if the homes around here know the foundation exists," Fowler said. "Or if they always just wonder, 'Why do we see these vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentleys roaming around from time to time?'" The museum has its roots in nearby Harrisburg, where Rolls-Royce put an owners' club in the 1960s, located between large dealerships in New York and Washington. After Hurricane Agnes devastated that location in 1972, a businessman donated the Mechanicsburg property for a new facility. The 6,000-person owners' club, with members in 26 countries and a headquarters in the same complex, is a separate entity but works closely with the museum. Though admission is just $5, the museum, launched in 2004, gets only about 1,000 visitors a year. It typically draws members of car clubs, groups of seniors and students on school field trips, with visits that have to be scheduled in advance. It also has rented out its cars for films and similar uses. The museum's 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was in last year's Timothée Chalamet biopic about Bob Dylan, "A Complete Unknown," and a 1959 Silver Cloud I from the collection appeared in Season 4 of the series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Volunteers also help preserve and digitize the museum's archive of ownership and service records for North America, from 1907 until 2004, shortly after Rolls-Royce and Bentley were acquired by BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Records for cars made for the European market are available through the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club in the United Kingdom. The North American records, which are available for a fee and produce the foundation's biggest revenue stream, have helped prove cars outside of their collection were once owned by famed director Alfred Hitchcock, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor and hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Foundation records have also debunked claims about purported prior ownership, including a Rolls-Royce vehicle thought to have been owned by country singer Hank Williams Jr. "We were able to absolutely prove that it was not owned by him," recalled volunteer Randy Churchill, a Boiling Springs man now retired from a marketing career. "They just thought they had a million-dollar gold mine on their hands." Vehicles in the museum's collection range in value from about $30,000 to about $120,000. A whiskey delivery truck appraised at $320,000 has been donated and will soon be on display. Many of the cars Rolls-Royce has built are still on the road and used models can be surprisingly cheap. But maintaining an older Rolls, with its customized features and expensive parts, can be pricey, noted volunteer Ron Deguffroy, a retired psychologist from Chambersburg. "The most expensive Rolls-Royce you will buy," he said, "is a cheap one."
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At a little known Rolls-Royce museum in Pennsylvania farm country, volunteers dote over iconic cars
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Mike Fowler had been faintly aware that a museum of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles existed near his boyhood home in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but the car enthusiast didn't expect the experience he got when he started volunteering there. Fowler had oil on his hands within a half-hour of his first volunteer session at the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Museum. More than a year later, he keeps a list on his phone with notes about cars in the collection to help him get them started properly or disconnect their batteries. Fowler is part of a group of about 50 volunteers who gather twice a month at the museum to help out, including cleaning, maintaining and driving the fleet of customized iconic vehicles, many designed to be driven by a chauffeur. For many volunteers, it's an opportunity to experience a life few people can afford. 'You take it out on the road and you are transported to a different time, a different mentality,' said Fowler, a 28-year-old Camp Hill resident. Newcomers are first paired with a more experienced volunteer for about a year and must pass the museum's driving school. They start with the most modern vehicles, which have automatic transmissions. 'We're very protective of the collection. We're its caretakers, and we take it very seriously. So you can't just come in off the street and start driving,' said Sarah Holibaugh, the museum's head librarian and archivist. 'But it should be that way.' A museum that's easy to miss The 29 antique and collectible Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles that date as far back as the late 1920s are the central attraction of the largely overlooked and seldom visited museum, which is easy to miss among the surrounding miles of farm fields and stretch of nondescript industrial buildings just outside Mechanicsburg. The museum, owned by the Rolls-Royce Foundation, includes a showroom, maintenance area and a third room being converted into a library and reading room. 'I often wonder if the homes around here know the foundation exists,' Fowler said. 'Or if they always just wonder, 'Why do we see these vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentleys roaming around from time to time?'" The museum has its roots in nearby Harrisburg, where Rolls-Royce put an owners' club in the 1960s, located between large dealerships in New York and Washington. After Hurricane Agnes devasted that location in 1972, a businessman donated the Mechanicsburg property for a new facility. The 6,000-person owners' club, with members in 26 countries and a headquarters in the same complex, is a separate entity but works closely with the museum. Though admission is just $5, the museum launched in 2004 gets only about 1,000 visitors a year. It typically draws members of car clubs, groups of seniors and students on school field trips, with visits that have to be scheduled in advance. Who used to own that car? It also has rented out its cars for films and similar uses. The museum's 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was in last year's Timothée Chalamet biopic about Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown,' and a 1959 Silver Cloud I from the collection appeared in Season 4 of the series 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.' Volunteers also help preserve and digitize the museum's archive of ownership and service records for North America, which span from 1907 until 2004, shortly after Rolls-Royce and Bentley were acquired by BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Records for cars made for the European market are available through the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club in the United Kingdom. The North American records, which are available for a fee and produce the foundation's biggest revenue stream, have helped prove cars outside of their collection were once owned by famed director Alfred Hitchcock, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor and hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Foundation records have also debunked claims about purported prior ownership, including a Rolls-Royce vehicle thought to have been owned by country singer Hank Williams Jr. 'We were able to absolutely prove that it was not owned by him,' recalled volunteer Randy Churchill, a Boiling Springs man now retired from a marketing career. 'They just thought they had a million-dollar gold mine on their hands.' Vehicles in the museum's collection range in value from about $30,000 to about $120,000. A whiskey delivery truck appraised at $320,000 has been donated and will soon be on display. Many of the cars Rolls-Royce has built are still on the road and used models can be surprisingly cheap. But maintaining an older Rolls, with its customized features and expensive parts, can be pricey, noted volunteer Ron Deguffroy, a retired psychologist from Chambersburg. 'The most expensive Rolls-Royce you will buy," he said, 'is a cheap one.'
The Independent
10-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
At a little known Rolls-Royce museum in Pennsylvania farm country, volunteers dote over iconic cars
Mike Fowler had been faintly aware that a museum of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles existed near his boyhood home in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but the car enthusiast didn't expect the experience he got when he started volunteering there. Fowler had oil on his hands within a half-hour of his first volunteer session at the Rolls-Royce and Bentley Museum. More than a year later, he keeps a list on his phone with notes about cars in the collection to help him get them started properly or disconnect their batteries. Fowler is part of a group of about 50 volunteers who gather twice a month at the museum to help out, including cleaning, maintaining and driving the fleet of customized iconic vehicles, many designed to be driven by a chauffeur. For many volunteers, it's an opportunity to experience a life few people can afford. 'You take it out on the road and you are transported to a different time, a different mentality,' said Fowler, a 28-year-old Camp Hill resident. Newcomers are first paired with a more experienced volunteer for about a year and must pass the museum's driving school. They start with the most modern vehicles, which have automatic transmissions. 'We're very protective of the collection. We're its caretakers, and we take it very seriously. So you can't just come in off the street and start driving,' said Sarah Holibaugh, the museum's head librarian and archivist. 'But it should be that way.' A museum that's easy to miss The 29 antique and collectible Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles that date as far back as the late 1920s are the central attraction of the largely overlooked and seldom visited museum, which is easy to miss among the surrounding miles of farm fields and stretch of nondescript industrial buildings just outside Mechanicsburg. The museum, owned by the Rolls-Royce Foundation, includes a showroom, maintenance area and a third room being converted into a library and reading room. 'I often wonder if the homes around here know the foundation exists,' Fowler said. 'Or if they always just wonder, 'Why do we see these vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentleys roaming around from time to time?'" The museum has its roots in nearby Harrisburg, where Rolls-Royce put an owners' club in the 1960s, located between large dealerships in New York and Washington. After Hurricane Agnes devasted that location in 1972, a businessman donated the Mechanicsburg property for a new facility. The 6,000-person owners' club, with members in 26 countries and a headquarters in the same complex, is a separate entity but works closely with the museum. Though admission is just $5, the museum launched in 2004 gets only about 1,000 visitors a year. It typically draws members of car clubs, groups of seniors and students on school field trips, with visits that have to be scheduled in advance. Who used to own that car? It also has rented out its cars for films and similar uses. The museum's 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was in last year's Timothée Chalamet biopic about Bob Dylan, 'A Complete Unknown,' and a 1959 Silver Cloud I from the collection appeared in Season 4 of the series 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.' Volunteers also help preserve and digitize the museum's archive of ownership and service records for North America, which span from 1907 until 2004, shortly after Rolls-Royce and Bentley were acquired by BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Records for cars made for the European market are available through the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club in the United Kingdom. The North American records, which are available for a fee and produce the foundation's biggest revenue stream, have helped prove cars outside of their collection were once owned by famed director Alfred Hitchcock, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor and hockey great Wayne Gretzky. Foundation records have also debunked claims about purported prior ownership, including a Rolls-Royce vehicle thought to have been owned by country singer Hank Williams Jr. 'We were able to absolutely prove that it was not owned by him,' recalled volunteer Randy Churchill, a Boiling Springs man now retired from a marketing career. 'They just thought they had a million-dollar gold mine on their hands.' Vehicles in the museum's collection range in value from about $30,000 to about $120,000. A whiskey delivery truck appraised at $320,000 has been donated and will soon be on display. Many of the cars Rolls-Royce has built are still on the road and used models can be surprisingly cheap. But maintaining an older Rolls, with its customized features and expensive parts, can be pricey, noted volunteer Ron Deguffroy, a retired psychologist from Chambersburg. 'The most expensive Rolls-Royce you will buy," he said, 'is a cheap one.'
