Offices

The search for a bicyclist who bombed the Times Square military recruiting office expanded quickly Thursday as the probe's focus turned to photos of the attack site that were sent to Capitol Hill and possible connections to previous attacks on two consulate buildings in the city. The early morning bombing at perhaps the armed forces' most visible presence in the nation's largest city rattled windows and nerves but caused little damage.

Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach bought an $8,990 desk for the reception foyer of his office, and spent $10,300 on shelving in the supply room. Supervisor Patricia Bates bought a $3,375 conference table, and a $1,200 executive high-back chair. Supervisor Janet Nguyen installed $1,300 worth of track lighting with a dimmer switch. County Treasurer Chriss Street spent nearly $50,000 on 90 office chairs from the high-concept Herman Miller design line.

When it comes to blogging in your office, lawyer Mike Oliver has a basic premise: Don't point and click too fast. "If you're the employee and you're upset because you didn't get a raise or you're not getting along with your boss, the inclination now is to post your unhappiness on a blog," said Oliver, who has taught cyberspace law at the University of Maryland and is formulating a blogging policy for his nearly 40 technology-based clients. "But I find this highly dangerous for the employee."

Peter Hubert keeps a mirror on his desk so he can see people walking up behind him, even if he can't hear them. Headphones clamped on, MP3 player plugged in, the 28-year-old draftsman has fashioned a virtual office using invisible walls of sound. Listening to heavy-metal rock doesn't distract him from the precise computer-based drawings he creates for Bigelow Homes in Aurora, Ill. To the contrary, "it puts my head somewhere else so I can concentrate on what I'm doing," he said.

Internet search giant Google Inc. plans to open an office in Ann Arbor, Mich., that would employ 1,000 people. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company will use the facility to handle sales and operations for its AdWords online advertising division, the Michigan governor's office said.

Re "Senators aim stiff criticism at Gonzales," April 20 Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has said that the eight U.S. attorneys were fired because of lapses of judgment and management of their offices. If the same criteria are applied to Gonzales, President Bush should ask for his resignation immediately. DAN CALDWELL \o7Malibu \f7 So Gonzales can't recall -- which he said more than 50 times. No need to fret. Gonzales himself has approved a method of memory enhancement that just might help him. It requires only a couple of common household items -- a bathtub and a board.

Russian police visited the offices of British oil company BP and its Russian joint venture in what some observers said could be part of the government-orchestrated campaign to take control of lucrative energy assets. A group of police investigators appeared at the offices of BP's joint venture, TNK-BP, and later went to the Moscow offices of BP itself.

Security forces allowed supporters of opposition leader Andry Rajoelina to enter the offices of four government departments in the capital, Antananarivo, including two responsible for security. The anti-government group claimed it was in control. President Marc Ravalomanana did not immediately comment.

An auto parts factory in northern France was closed after employees angry about job losses ransacked offices and prompted new concern about increasingly violent worker protests. A French court had rejected a motion brought by employees of a factory run by Germany's Continental AG to block the plant's planned 2010 closure. Citing the steep drop in demand in the automobile sector, Continental announced in March its plans to shutter the factory in Clairoix, north of Paris. The plant employs 1,120 people.

Police raided a Pakistani security firm that helps protect the U.S. Embassy, seizing 70 allegedly unlicensed weapons and arresting two people. The raid on two offices of the Inter-Risk company is especially sensitive because of recent rumors and news reports that U.S. Embassy expansion plans in Pakistan include hiring the controversial security firm formerly known as Blackwater. The U.S. says there is no truth in the reports.