The construction site consists of tidy stacks of flat-packed, prefabricated wall units, roof panels and other jumbo components trucked from Michigan and labeled and numbered like parts for a giant Ikea Akurum cabinet.

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Larger than Manhattan, the Columbia River island is a lush agricultural site and nature preserve with countless miles of flat hiking and biking trails.

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He often receives emails of thanks from people who have found a flat, furnished it and even met their partner through the site.

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The real estate site found that relative to median income, which has remained painfully flat in recent years, home prices in the 30 largest cities are still higher than their pre-bubble historic norms.

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The company will pay the Browns a flat fee for the arrangement, then keep all revenue from the transactions done over its site (it will charge a 10% fee to buyers and 15% to sellers).

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Google previously tried to upgrade the shopping site in order to catch up, but comScore data shows the service has stayed flat while its rivals have surged.

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At the Nasdaq OMX Group, a single technician sits in front of eight flat-panel computer screens in a quiet operations center, 51 stories above the World Trade Center construction site.

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"A lack of coastal irregularities, " such as substantial barrier islands or hills, and the Gulf of Mexico's flat bottom make southern Louisiana "ideal for wave damage, " according to the National Weather Service Web site.

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