STEUBENVILLE - Jefferson County commissioners on Thursday signed contracts for the $8.9 million Crestview-Belvedere sewer project, which will allow work to begin in April.

A $6,430,989 contract was signed with Rudzik Excavating of Struthers for the sewer line installation and a $2,551,000 contract with Utility Contracting Inc. of Youngstown for the pump stations.

The county has been under a state mandate for decades to install sewer lines because of faulty septic tanks.

The county had received $5.28 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture grants and $5.55 million in low-interest loans for the project that will serve about 330 homes.

Shannan Gosbin, county water and sewer department director, said the county will sign loans with the USDA in March and work should begin in April.

Commissioners also approved $53,186 in attorney fees for indigent persons facing criminal charges in common pleas court for February. The county auditor's office reported that is the largest amount the county has ever had to pay for a month.

The county spent a total of $195,000 in 2011 for attorney fees, the auditor's office reported.

The county receives a 35 percent reimbursement from the state for the attorney fees.

Commissioners also received a prosecutor's opinion concerning a water line installation at the new hangars at the county airport. The prosecutor's office stated the county water and sewer department will use crews during normal business hours to install the line. There was an issue of whether the county airport authority would have to pay for the labor costs. It still hasn't been determined if the county water and sewer department or the airport authority will pay for the materials.

County Commissioner Thomas Graham said the prosecutor's opinion is clear on who assumes the labor costs.

The commissioners also:

Signed a road maintenance agreement with Chesapeake Energy for Sugar Grove Road (county Road 68). The agreement states the company will upgrade 1.2 miles of the road north of the intersection of state Route 152 to the gas well site. County Engineer James Branagan said Chesapeake will upgrade and widen the road. Once work is completed, Branagan said the county will waive the road bond requirement.

Signed a road maintenance agreement with Utica Gas Services, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, for the installation of gas transmission lines throughout the county. Branagan said the company will be drilling under county roads and hauling large amounts of pipes along roads. David Oaks of the engineering company for the gas lines said work will take about six months. He said the company wants to be released from agreement once the pipeline is operating.

County Commissioner Tom Gentile said the county and Chesapeake have completed a water line tap near the company's gas well site off state Route 152 outside Richmond. The county is selling water at a rate of $7.50 per 1,000 gallons of water. Chesapeake also is buying water from Steubenville for the fracking of the well. The water pressure on the county water line off state Route 152 would have been lowered if all the water for the well fracking was taken from the county water line.

Gentile said he wants to explore the county building a concrete pad and water tap along its main water transmission line off county Road 43 for water to be sold to the gas drilling industry. He said the trucks need a safe place to pull off the road to fill up.

Declared March as Developmental Disabilities Month in the county.

The rest is here:
County signs sewer contracts

by Doug Clark
Assistant Editor The Sampson Independent

Doug Clark/Sampson Independent

Salemburg commissioners, from left, Arnold Page, Donald Nance and Bobby Tew, take notes as mayor Bobby Strickland explains the need for an amendment to an ordinance.

slideshow

Despite very few offenders, commissioners with the town of Salemburg unanimously voted to make an amendment to Section 8 of their Code of Ordinances.

The ordinance, which is titled: “Uncontrolled growth of weeds and accumulation of refuse declared public nuisance” was amended at this month’s town board meeting to establish enforcement measures for preventing people from placing indoor furniture and other inappropriate items outside in open areas, such as porches, decks or other areas visible to the public.

The issue came earlier this month when complaints arose about a citizen who had filled their front porch with furniture.

“Such conditions increase the likelihood of fire, provide a breeding place for vermin, conceal dangerous conditions and contribute to visual blight, which lessen property values,” the amendment in Section 8-4001 states.

Mayor pro tem Joe Warren made a motion to amend the ordinance as presented, Shirley Cooper seconded and it was approved unanimously.

“What happens is we send them (the offender) a letter and if that person neglects or refuses to remove the condition constituting the nuisance within seven days from receipt of the order,” explained town clerk Juanita Faircloth, “then we will have it moved and cleared and they will be responsible for paying the costs of removal.”

If the fee isn’t paid, it is in the town’s right to place a lien against the property.

Water Meter Tampering

Another issue board members were concerned about was the recent tampering with water meters by citizens with older equipment. The issues stems from citizens whose water was cut off after they didn’t pay their bill. It was learned that some were going out and cutting the water back on themselves.

Board members amended the fee from $25 to $200 for anyone caught tampering with the meter.

“This is very rare,” noted Faircloth of the tampering. “This amendment is really being used as a deterrent from it happening again.”

Faircloth said there have only been “three or four” instances of this happening in the town, but because of a recent incident, it was felt the board needed to address the situation.

“We already have an ordinance that prohibits any tampering of the meters or with any town property,” noted Faircloth. “We send out full notification when water is being turned off to a customer; there is also a note on the meter that explains payment. If someone does tamper with the meter and turns it back on, they will have to pay the bill (in full) and now the $200 before it can be turned back on.”

Warren made a motion that Bobby Tew seconded, with all favoring to amend the fee schedule to increase the charge for tampering with water meters.

To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or email to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.

More here:
Salemburg commissioners amend ordinance

Read more: Local, Scouting for Food, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Collecting Food on Front Porches, Great Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America, Nonperishable Food Items

COLUMBIA, MO. -- It’s the largest one-day food drive by the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouts, leaders and parents are preparing for the 28th annual Scouting for Food drive.

This is the second year for the drive in Mid-Missouri.

On Saturday, cub scouts and boy scouts will be hanging door mail flyers in selected neighborhoods in 33 central and northeast Missouri counties.

The flyers explain how you can donate nonperishable food items for local food pantries.

District Director Jon Wilson said, “It really helps small pantries based out of churches.  For example, here in Columbia, Parkade Baptist Church has a pantry.  We have a troop that goes and collects food and turns it in for that pantry.  It’s real important to those pantries and any pantry, basically, to continue to bring in food so they don’t have to spend money buying it.”

Cub scouts and boy scouts will be collecting food on front porches throughout Mid-Missouri on Saturday, March 3.

You can also drop off food donations in barrels at your local Gerbes and C & R grocery stores.

This year’s goal is 100,000 pounds of food.

See the rest here:
Boy Scouts start Scouting for Food campaign

Article updated: 2/24/2012 4:32 PM

COURTESY LIGHT OF CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH A conceptual drawing of the new Light of Christ Lutheran Church planned at Sleepy Hollow Road and Longmeadow Parkway in Algonquin. The church has to sell its current building at 100 Hanson Road before moving forward with the new construction.

 

Although much has to happen before Light of Christ Lutheran Church in Algonquin can move into a new building, this week a major milestone for its congregation was reached.

The village board Tuesday night approved the annexation of the church?s proposed new location, an 18-acre property on the northeast corner of Sleepy Hollow Road and Longmeadow Parkway, formerly in unincorporated Kane County, Algonquin Senior Planner Katie Parkhurst said. The board also approved preliminary plans for a two-story building with a footprint of 32,000 square feet.

?There are lots of email shouts for joy that are going back and forth,? Rev. Kendall Koenig said.

The church was first built at 100 Hanson Road in 1998, but its 1,400-member congregation has long outgrown that space, Koenig said. In September, the church began renting additional space for Sunday morning worship at Westfield Community School.

The congregation so far has raised about $2.1 million for the construction of the new building, with ?a miracle goal? of $3 million, Koenig said.

Still, the church first needs to sell its current facility, listed at $2.85 million, before construction of the new building can begin, Koenig said. ?The real estate downturn affected not only home sales, but church sales, too,? he said.

Church officials petitioned for annexation to Algonquin knowing current village board members are supportive of the project.

?We didn?t know what could happen with a different leadership. Also, it cemented in everyone?s minds that we are moving forward with the plan,? Koenig said.

Under the plans approved by the village, the new church will have entrances on Creeks Crossing Drive and Richmond Drive; the church will take on the project of extending Richmond Drive to curve south and meet Longmeadow Parkway, Parkhurst said.

Follow this link:
Algonquin church has to sell current building before moving

by Allie Seligman - Feb. 24, 2012 09:01 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com

For 15 years, Mountain Park Community Church has been caught in limbo.

The church, at 24th Street and Pecos Road, is in the proposed path of the 22-mile South Mountain Freeway extension. It, along with more than 100 homes, would be destroyed during construction.

With a growing membership and a need for more space, Senior Pastor Allan Fuller said it's time for a decision.

"We have to do something in terms of space," Fuller said. "We can't be in standstill mode."

Church leaders are working on plans for a $40,000 parking-lot improvement and a children's wing that would add at least 5,000 square feet to the 30,000-square-foot facility.

But they can't implement those plans if the church is headed for destruction in the next few years, Fuller said.

"All of these things are on hold while we wait for a decision to be made," he said.

The Maricopa Association of Governments has said construction could start in 2015 at the earliest. It is likely that the Pecos Road alignment is the only option.

Mountain Park, a Christian church, has been at its location for 15 years. Fuller has been at the church for six years.

He was told early that they could lose the building to freeway construction, he said.

"It was something to keep in mind, but it wasn't a big deal," he said. "It had been dormant for so long. You just can't wait forever."

Fuller and his wife, Tami, even bought a home a mile and a half away. They wouldn't lose the house if the freeway is built down Pecos Road, but they would be within three houses of it, he said.

In 2006, about 1,300 people attended Sunday services. Now, about 2,000 people attend the two Sunday "celebrations," Fuller said. He estimates that Mountain Park has about 4,000 active members.

Of those 4,000 members, about 70 percent live in Ahwatukee, Fuller said. The rest come primarily from Tempe, Chandler and Maricopa.

Mountain Park also attracts people who aren't Christians, he said, with community-outreach programs focused on marriage and family. They hold free yoga classes that about 600 people attend regularly.

"We are a Christian church, and we recognize that not everyone is interested in Jesus Christ," Fuller said. "We want to be relevant to the community regardless of their faith background."

Mike Paschke, a member of the Mountain Park board of directors, said that growth and relevance are part of what makes waiting for the freeway decision so difficult.

"If we were a stagnant, meandering church, it would be less of an issue," the Ahwatukee man said. "We are just growing so much. ... The vibe here is as strong as it's ever been."

And that growth is "embryonic compared to what it's going to look like a couple years from now," he said. "It's about to explode in a really good way for us, we believe."

Still, Fuller said, the hesitance about what will happen to the building can be distracting. There isn't much suitable space in Ahwatukee for a new home for Mountain Park, he said.

"Where we are is really ideal," he said, in terms of space, facilities and accessibility.

In past negotiations, the Arizona Department of Transportation suggested a plot of land on the northwestern corner of Interstate 10 and Pecos Road. That location would be harder to get to, Fuller said.

Still, he's not worried about losing members.

"I'm certain that the church is going to survive," he said. "My concern is that we'd be distracted in the process. Relocation, we could handle that. Sitting in limbo, that's distracting."

Money is another concern. Mountain Park and ADOT will negotiate a price for relocating,+ if necessary, and the department would either look at the church's current value or what it would cost to build a comparable facility.

"Those are likely two very different numbers," Fuller said. "If we are forced to relocate and are compensated for the current value, we will take a multimillion-dollar hit."

Building a facility would take about two years, he said, and ADOT has said they would give Mountain Park time to complete the building before cutting off access to the Pecos Road location.

Fuller said he isn't strongly in favor of or strongly against the freeway, but he does hope for a decision soon.

"Five years ago when we were growing, we could have just stayed and waited," Fuller said.

"Now we have decisions to make, and we want to be responsible when we make those decisions."

Continued here:
Ahwatukee church in limbo over South Mountain freeway fight

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- Chinese company TPV Technology Ltd to acquire Dutch electronics group Philips' television business (approved Feb. 24)

NEW LISTINGS

-- Italian foodservices provider Avenance, a subsidiary of French group Elior, to acquire of French peer Gemeaz Cusin (notified Feb. 22/deadline March 28)

-- Singapore Technologies Engineering to acquire a 50.1 percent stake in aircraft engine washing business EcoServices which is now solely owned by United Technologies Corp (notified Feb. 21/deadline March 27/simplified)

-- German commodities trader Cremer to acquire a 50 percent stake in German investment firm L Possehl (notified FEb. 17/deadline March 23/simplified)

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

None

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

FEB 29

-- Russian machine manufacturer OJSC Power Machines and Japanese electronic products company Toshiba Corp to set up a joint venture (notified Jan. 25/deadline Feb. 29/simplified)

- PetroFina, which is part of French oil major Total , to acquire a 35 percent stake in petrochemicals producer Fina Antwerp Olefins from U.S. oil company ExxonMobil , giving it full control of the company (notified Jan. 25/deadline Feb. 29/simplified)

MARCH 5

-- Japanese tractor maker Kubota to acquire Norwegian peer Kverneland (notified Jan. 30/deadline March 5/simplified)

MARCH 13

-- Miner Anglo American to acquire sole control of diamond firm De Beers (notified Feb. 7/deadline March 13/simplified)

MARCH 15

-- Private equity firm Cinven to acquire legal support services company George Topco (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 15)

MARCH 16

-- Japanese investment bank Nomura to acquire Dutch life and property insurer Delta Lloyd's life insurance and asset management businesses in Germany (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)

-- Commodities and animal feed producer Forfarmers to acquire sole control of Dutch peer Hendrix from Dutch animal and fish feed producer Nutreco Nederland B.V.(notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16)

-- Private equity firm Sun Capital to acquire chemicals company Elix (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)

-- British Airways owner IAG to acquire Lufthansa's British unit bmi (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16)

-- Spanish builder Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and Mitsui Renewable Energy, which is a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, to acquire joint control of FCC Energia (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 16/simplified)

MARCH 19

-- Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp, Austrian consumer goods producer Tchibo (Austria) Holding GmbH, investment vehicle ML Participacoes, investment company Paraguacu Participacoes and investment vehicle Friele Brazil AS to acquire joint control of coffee producer Ipanema (notified Feb. 13/deadline March 19/simplified)

-- German oil trader Mabanaft Marquard & Bahls to acquire German bunker trader and supplier Bominflot (notified Feb. 13/deadline March 19)

MARCH 21

-- Luxembourg-based chemicals distributor Ravago and Dutch peer Barentz Europe to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. 15/deadline March 21)

-- French oil major Total and Russian gas producer Novatek to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. 15/deadline March 21/simplified)

-- Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co Ltd, Sanyo Special Steel Co Ltd and India's Mahindra Ugine Steel Co Ltd to set up a joint venture to be called Navyug Special Steel (notified Feb. 15/deadline March 21/simplified)

MARCH 22

-- The Carlyle Group, Axel Paeger and investment firm Quadriga Capital IV to acquire joint control of hospital operator AMEOS (notified Feb. 16/deadline March 22/simplified)

-- French building materials group Saint Gobain and Turkish glass manufacturer Trakya which is a subsidiary of Sisecam, to acquire joint control of TRSG Autoglass Holding, which will in turn acquire Russian glass importer Automotive Glass Alliance Rus ZAO (notified Feb. 16/deadline March 22/simplified)

MARCH 26

-- U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp to acquire U.S. aircraft components maker Goodrich (notified Feb. 20/deadline March 26)

APRIL 25

-- German sugar company Suedzucker to acquire a 25 percent stake in British commodities trading company ED&F Man (notified Sept. 19/deadline extended for the second time to April 25 from March 30)

APRIL 26

-- U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire Swiss medical devices maker Synthes Inc (notified Sept. 27/deadline extended for the second time to April 26 from April 2 after the companies provided concessions)

JUNE 4

-- Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione to acquire Italian state-owned ferry group Tirrenia (notified Nov. 20/deadline extended to June 4 from Jan. 18 after the Commission opens an in-depth probe)

GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS

DEADLINES:

The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case.

Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.

SIMPLIFIED:

Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified -- that is, ordinary first-stage reviews -- until they are approved.

More:
EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 24)

Joe Frazier, the great former heavyweight champion, died of liver cancer in November, but not before granting writer Katherine Dunn a lengthy interview that she turned into a terrific portrait of the man.

Frazier is best known as the boxer who defeated Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971, in the most famous bout in history, but Dunn paints an indelible picture of Joe Frazier the man in her profile that appears in the March issue of Playboy.

She takes you inside Frazier's personal life with vivid details. She tells how, despite being blind in one eye, he repeatedly managed to pass eye examinations.

Frazier had also injured his left eye while preparing for the Olympics. He was hitting a speed bag when the steel swivel broke and a piece of shrapnel flew into his eye. The lens was damaged, the vision clouded. No boxing commission in the country would have allowed Frazier to fight as a pro if word got out. He kept it secret.

All these years later he laughed like a naughty kid, explaining how he got through dozens of commission eye exams by memorizing the eye chart and switching hands instead of eyes when the doctor said "And now cover the other one."

She writes of his infidelity and his long-time relationship with Denise Menz, who was at Frazier's side when he finally succumbed to liver cancer.

Menz went from being the other woman to his constant companion, the most significant figure in his life. She helped guide him through his post-retirement years with skill and aplomb.

On the night Frazier flattened Buster Mathis, another important thing happened. At a party after the fight, the 24-year-old Frazier met Denise Menz, the spunky 19-year-old from New Jersey who would be his lover, friend, office manager, interior decorator, supply clerk, nurse, historian, jokester and companion off and on for the rest of his life.

The laughing, redheaded Menz welcomed me into the apartment she'd been sharing with Frazier since his last spinal surgery, in 2008. She said, "I have a Ph.D. in Frazierology." In addition to running the popular Menz Restaurant near Cape May, New Jersey with her family, Denise is an interior designer. The big front room was full of comfort and grace all the way to the glass wall looking onto the terrace.

Dunn eloquently tells the tale of the time when Frazier was married and Menz was the other woman. She checked into a hotel with Frazier, only to find out he had three other women in the same hotel.

Over the decades, when Denise got mad at Frazier, it was usually over women. The first time, she said, she was devastated. "I was so naive. I knew I was the other woman, but I didn't know there were others."

The best stuff, though, is when she talks about the pressure Frazier felt in 1971 in the build-up to the first Ali fight. Frazier was protected by the police but still didn't feel safe.

There were so many police around him, even as he trained, that Frazier said he felt like "a jailbird."

The pressure became most intense as the fight neared, and Dunn skillfully weaves a narrative.

Frazier was set to fight Ali on March 8, 1971. Two days before, Philadelphia police escorted Frazier to New York City. In his gold Cadillac the usually friendly fighter was so silent and grim that the cops joked about taking an order for his last meal.

In Manhattan a contingent of New York cops met the Cadillac and guarded his hotel room. When fight time came the police smuggled Frazier into Madison Square Garden through an underground tunnel to avoid the mobs outside.

It's a wonderful piece about a fascinating man and one of the greatest boxers ever.

It's so good, you can say you read Playboy for the articles and, at least this time, you'd be telling the truth. (Warning: The landing pages hosting the Frazier story contains links to explicit content.)

Continued here:
Playboy gives legendary champion Smokin? Joe Frazier a final send-off

(ARA) - If your home will be on the market this spring, you're probably looking for every possible edge that will make it stand out to potential buyers. But even if you're staying put, you still want to make your home as attractive and valuable as your budget will allow.

"Daylighting" improvements that boost your home's brightness and energy efficiency offer substantial return on investment for both home sellers and those who will be staying in their homes for the foreseeable future.

Bringing the daylighting concept home

Industrial and office designers have long used daylighting - the concept of illuminating interior spaces with natural light from above - to improve energy efficiency, healthfulness and functionality of rooms. The slower housing market and sluggish economy have raised homeowner interest in the concept.

"Daylighting improvements not only elevate a home's visual appeal for potential buyers, they can enhance homeowners' enjoyment of their living space, and reduce energy costs," says Ross Vandermark, national product manager with skylight manufacturer VELUX America.

Homeowners who want to apply the principles of daylighting to their home have many options: They can add windows or roof windows or install any number of types of traditional skylights or Sun Tunnel tubular skylights.

The easiest daylighting upgrade

While adding a window in the wall of your home may raise practical and design issues, adding a roof window or skylight can be much easier. Roofs are, for the most part, a blank slate, allowing you to install skylights wherever they are needed most. And daylighting from above doesn't just add functionality; it offers room-changing drama and decorating flair.

Roof windows are hinged, venting units designed to be installed in easily accessible areas, such as the angled walls in attic bonus rooms, and are operated by hand. A double-sash roof window is available that opens from both bottom and top to form a balcony on your roof. These units are often used in place of, or to replace, dormers.

Skylights are usually positioned higher on the ceiling, out of reach. Venting models can be opened or closed manually with a control rod or by remote control.

Skylights are popular with daylighting designers for several reasons. First, they easily fulfill the primary goal of daylighting by admitting more natural light into a room than similar sized vertical windows - thereby reducing the need for energy to power artificial lights. But they also work to enhance the healthfulness of a home.

If you opt to install a manual or electric venting skylight, it can be a natural, low-energy way to vent humidity, fumes and stale air from your home. Electric venting models open and close by remote control and have rain sensors to close them automatically.

Energy efficiency, high-tech and decorating in one package

Another important similarity among windows, roof windows and skylights is in the glazing, or how the glass is manufactured. Since the units are mounted facing directly at the sun, skylight glazing technology has to be among the best in the industry. Quality Energy Star-qualified units feature double-pane, gas-filled construction to control heat gain or loss, and filter the sun's fade-causing rays.

Independent research done in Denmark shows that skylights admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers, and provide the drama of a sky view that can't be achieved with vertical windows.

In addition to high-tech features such as remote control and automatic rain sensors, skylight blinds are available in a varied palette of colors and patterns. Homeowners can utilize blinds as another decorating option while achieving as much as a 37 percent increase in energy efficiency, according to VELUX America.

They recommend closing the blinds on high heat/sun days in the summer to reduce potential solar heat gain and, on cold winter nights, to provide an extra layer of thermal insulation to keep warm air indoors.

Skylights also address important health considerations. One in five Americans suffers varying degrees of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a condition in which the symptoms can include depression and fatigue due to lack of sufficient daylight. Skylights can help by admitting abundant daylight while visually expanding rooms in any style or size home.

Modern, low-profile skylights are unobtrusive and as dependable as vertical windows. Information about units with a 10-year, no-leak installation warranty, plus an installer locator, is available at veluxusa.com. There's also a free mobile phone app available to help homeowners see how skylights and blinds would look in rooms in their own homes. The Velux Skylight Planner App is available for iPhones, iPods, iPads and Android phones.

For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency, visit energystar.gov, and for independent agency information, visit nfrc.org or efficientwindows.org. For remodeling information visit nahb.org/remodel or greenhomeguide.org.

More here:
Selling or staying put, 'daylighting' improvements pay off for homeowners

Cree, Inc.
4600 Silicon Dr
Durham, NC, 27703
USA

Press release date: February 21, 2012

Five European Installations Yield up to 76 Percent Energy Savings

DURHAM, N.C. - Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), announces participation in a series of energy efficiency renovations across U.S. Embassies in Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Madrid and Lisbon. The installation of energy-efficient interior and exterior LED lighting by Cree is part of a visionary program spearheaded by the Alliance to Save Energy and The League of Green Embassies, a U.S. Department of State initiative to promote international cooperation in energy efficiency and clean technology.

The range of LED lighting products being installed at each residence varies according to its unique needs. The energy savings for these installations as compared to the old lighting ranges from 45 percent to 76 percent, which can have significant economic impact due to the cost of electricity in these locations. Older, energy-wasting lighting is being replaced with energy-efficient LED lighting in security lighting, indoor lighting, area lighting, walkway lighting and parking lot and roadway lighting.

"The goal of the League of Green Embassies is to make each participating embassy as energy efficient as possible and to use these embassies as platforms for showcasing U.S. energy innovation technologies and products," said Bruce J. Oreck, U.S. Ambassador to Finland. "We want to encourage companies to create and showcase for a global market the latest technologies that reduce energy waste and lower costs."

The League of Green Embassies was established to advance the 2007 Presidential mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. government buildings; to demonstrate the capabilities of U.S. products and technologies to the world market; and to increase the exports of U.S. products and services in line with the National Export Initiative.

"Embassies are a great vehicle to showcase U.S. innovation and influence global commercial and industrial organizations to take action, consume less energy and advance energy efficiency," said Greg Merritt, vice president corporate marketing, Cree. "Cree is excited to be part of the League's initiative and to provide the embassies with Cree? high-performance, energy-efficient interior and exterior LED lighting."

The completed installations are expected to be unveiled throughout 2012. The embassies will host a VIP and press reception and exhibition to provide guests a firsthand look at recent upgrades in the embassy. For more information visit http://www.leagueofgreenembassies.org/

About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to http://www.cree.com. To learn more about the LED Lighting Revolution, please visit http://www.creeledrevolution.com.

Media Contact:
Michelle Murray
Cree, Inc.
Corporate Communications
(919) 407-5505
michelle_murray@cree.com

Read the original:
Cree Joins Forces with League of Green Embassies to Drive Energy Savings and Showcase ...

Tired of your garden? Do you yearn for an outside kitchen, complete with fridge, oven and sinks? Or perhaps an outdoor shower? Do you think your garden is crying out for luminous, glow-in-the-dark furniture? Or a chandelier as the centrepiece?

Sound crazy? Not at all! You’ll be pleased to know that all of this is coming to a highstreet near you in the next few years. The trade shows are buzzing with excitement at the incredible new products and materials coming on to the market. Admittedly, these items are currently right at the top end of the price scales but, as is the way with such things, they are likely to inspire a whole slew of products that will be on the high street before long.

You needn’t take my word for it, just take the case of outdoor sofas. About five years ago these same shows started to sell outdoor sofas to great fanfare. Now they’re for sale in department stores and DIY shops. Just like in clothes fashion - what happens in haute couture will be in the high street in just a few years. So what do you have to look forward to? Put simply, the key  trend is to make the outside as comfortable and stylish as any room inside the house, and doing this by taking pretty much everything you can find on the inside and making an outdoor version of it.

I’ll start with the floor. For several years there’s been a burgeoning market in fake grass. One company in London set up in the depths of the credit crunch and a year later they had a turnover of over a million pounds: there’s a demand out there.

But the people who make the fake grass have started to make it in different colours (stay with me, it gets better) and bingo! They are now selling outside carpets with bold shapes and patterns - looking very much like the carpets you would have inside you house.

And comfort? What started with outdoor sofas has now gone to some extremes. We have bean bags, day beds, circular sofas, four poster beds... all for the great outdoors.

Behind this are technical innovations which have made it possible to have water resistant but beautiful material on the sofas and cushions to give you all the comfort you’d expect from a sofa inside your house - but outside. The very latest; outdoor velvet.

And to go with the sofas and beds you need standard lights, table lights, sculptural lights, wall lights. Pretty much any light you would have inside is now available for outside use.

But, because it’s a garden they can go one step further and have much more fun with lights. What about giant, coloured, solar powered flower lights? Projections are coming into their own: lights, pictures, photographs, TV images projected onto walls of the garden. Interactive lighting displays where you can ‘move’ pieces around a chess board or the children can kick a virtual ball. And all of these remotely controlled, at the touch of an ipod.

A trend that’s been growing for a few years now is for outdoor fireplaces and fire tables, but artists are now taking this idea and making metal sculptures which visually interact with the fire. Outdoor art for the walls, colourful screens to cordon off areas of the garden or provide privacy, outside gyms, pocket showers, hidden swimming pools.

The sheer inventiveness, fun and excitement of these new products is something I’ve never experienced before. Technology, design and art are all working together to create some amazing things. So what are you going to create?

Caroline Tilston is a tutor at MyGardenSchool, where she teaches courses in Decorating Your Room Outside and Garden Design for Interior Designers. She is also a bestselling author of garden design books and prolific gardening journalist. Her company, Oak Studio Design Ltd, has been providing clients with beautiful gardens for the past 10 years.

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Indoor style, outdoors - 2012 garden design