HARFORD, Pennsylvania (AP) — For more than a decade, former "Perfect Strangers" star Bronson Pinchot has spent much of his downtime in the picture-book Pennsylvania hamlet where he found a dream home far from the stressful clamor of New York or L.A.

Pinchot likely remains best known as the endearingly naive, quasi-Mediterranean immigrant Balki Bartokomous from the TV sitcom. But unlike Balki, Pinchot is by his own admission "fiercely private."

Still, he has decided to open his doors to America via "The Bronson Pinchot Project," which premiered Feb. 11 on the DIY Network. In all, eight episodes were shot over 13 weeks at the end of last year in Harford, a village founded in 1790 and nestled in the Endless Mountains near the New York state line.

His filmography includes 1980s hits like "Risky Business" and "Beverly Hills Cop," but since "Perfect Strangers" ended in 1993 after eight seasons, Pinchot has performed on and off-Broadway, appeared in touring theatrical productions and done voiceovers and audiobooks.

His new show, though, is altogether different.

First, the designs are his own. "I get a kick out of it because I sit there with a sketchbook and say, 'This is what it should look like when it's done' and in the end it either looks like that or it's better," he said.

Home base is Pinchot's circa 1840 mansion in the center of Harford, a town of about 1,300 people. Pinchot bought the place in 2000.

When he arrived, the scene couldn't have been better staged by a Hollywood set designer: The house smelled of cinnamon toast, the air outside smelled of fresh manure, a woman pushing a baby carriage paused to admire a neighbor's fuchsia roses across the street.

"I was already sold, but that was like God was hitting me over the head with a sledgehammer," he said. "OK, I get it, I get it!"

He now owns six historic properties in Harford, including what was a burned-out vacant home also from around 1840 and a sweet blue-shingled building that houses the town's post office.

The first season's architectural stars are his Ionic-columned mansion and Decker House, a smaller home rehabbed with salvaged wood from demolished old buildings, windows from an abandoned farmhouse and floors from a property formerly part of late heiress Doris Duke's estate.

Not only is "The Bronson Pinchot Project" a show about historic restoration, it's a love letter to his adopted hometown.

"Harford is to be seen through my lens, which is that that it's heaven on earth," he said. "None of this 'big fish in a little pond.'"

___

Online:

"The Bronson Pinchot Project": http://www.diynetwork.com/the-bronson-pinchot-project/show/index.html

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Balki's back! Bronson Pinchot has new show

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Bill Dake, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Saratoga Performig Arts Center, speaks about the demolition of the amphitheater's deteriorated exterior walls Monday. (Erica Miller/Special to The Record)

By Michael Cignoli
Special to The Record
@MCSaratogian

John Whipple, left, and Joe Moore, right, both of Old Saratoga Restorations, work to demolish a section of the deteriorated exterior amphitheater wall at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Monday. (Erica Miller/Special to The Record)

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center is getting a facelift.

Renovation work on the amphitheater’s deteriorating, 46-year-old façade began Monday morning and officials say it will be completed before the start of the 2012 season.

The project will replace the structure’s warped, faded and rotted siding with weather-resistant material. SPAC President and Executive Director Marcia White said the upgrades will create a more contemporary version of the structure’s existing exterior, which was unchanged since the venue opened in 1966.

“It’s beyond time for the façade to be addressed,” White said. “You can’t just renovate your programs; you have to renovate your facility as well.”

The state, which owns SPAC, has invested more than $4.5 million into the facility since 2005.

It has installed new, padded seats in the sheltered portion of the venue while upgrading pedestrian bridges, walkways and sewage and drainage systems.

SPAC unveiled plans for a new façade in May 2008, but critics blasted the proposal because of its resemblance to a stack of pancakes.

When the recession hit, White said, putting capital plans — including those for a new façade — on hold.

The renovations were made possible by a gift from Bill Dake, chairman of Stewart’s Shops and the SPAC Board of Directors, and his wife, Susan.

Continued...

The Dake family was instrumental in getting SPAC in its initial building, White said, and the venue has now evolved into an “economic engine” that generates “close to $100 million” in economic benefits to the immediate community.

The new panels will resemble the current shield-like ones that currently adorn the building, White said, but will include an element of depth. The building itself is structurally sound, White said, but the upgraded material will make the panels more weather-resistant.

Bill Dake said the upgrades are long overdue.

“Susan and I are doing it simply because I think people underestimate the impact SPAC has on this area,” Bill Dake said. “I don’t mean just economically, but sociologically.”

The venue is home to several Live Nation concerts throughout the summer, as well as a jazz festival. It serves as the summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra and hosts local high school graduations.

“The role that it plays in the area is much broader than people realize,” Bill Dake said. “I think it does a lot for the quality of life in the area.”

Bonacio Construction won the contract for the work and began tearing down the panels Monday morning. The renovations are scheduled to be completed in May at a cost of approximately $500,000.

The venue’s first concerts of 2012 are scheduled for the second week of June.

“An iconic, world-class home for the performing arts should have an outward appearance that projects that image,” White said. “By the time our 2012 season opens, we’ll have one.”

Those who buy lawn seats to future SPAC shows will not only be looking at a more aesthetic building, White said, but they may be able to hear the concerts better as well. Continued...

Currently, the venue’s speakers sit too low in their enclosure, creating audio gaps in some areas of the lawn. The renovations will reposition upgraded speakers within the façade, which should provide better sound coverage and quality.

“Every time we have an opportunity for new technology,” White said, “we’re grateful for that.”

The public can track the renovation process through SPAC’s website, SPAC.org, as photos and videos of the renovation will be uploaded to the site.

Editor’s Note: Saratogian photographer Erica Miller contributed to this report.

Read more:
VIDEO: Facade restoration gets underway at Saratoga Performing Arts Center

ROCKFORD (LHF) -- The Laurent House Foundation closed on the Laurent House and its original Frank Lloyd Wright furnishings on Thursday, Feb. 16.

“Now that the Foundation has official ownership of the home, we are able to move forward with the necessary preservation and restoration work that will return the house to its original condition and ensure it can be enjoyed by the public for years to come,” said Jerry Heinzeroth, president of the foundation’s board of directors.

The Foundation will continue with its planned steps for converting the residence into a museum and visitor attraction. To help determine what features need to be restored and preserved, the Foundation and its partners are reviewing original plans and drawings with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, an advocacy group focused on saving and preserving Wright-designed structures. Structurally, minor masonry and roof repairs are needed. To bring the home back to its original state, some interior modifications will be made to fabrics and upholstery.

The Foundation is also in the process of applying for federal 501(c) 3 status, as well as federal and local historic status for the home.

The Laurent House was secured by the Foundation at a public auction on December 15, 2011. Called the Laurent House, this one-of-a-kind residence was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1949 for Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent, and is the first and only home he ever created for a disabled person’s use and comfort.

Gifts to the Laurent House Foundation can be made at http://www.cfnil.org. Information about the house is available by calling 815.489.1678 or by emailing info@laurenthouse.com.

Read this article:
Laurent House Foundation Becomes Official Owner of Rockford’s Frank Lloyd Wright Home

Published: Feb. 20, 2012 at 4:29 PM

DENVER, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A Denver couple preparing to move from their rented home said they are trying to find a temporary abode for the 30,000-book "library" in their basement.

Jeffrey Lee and Ann Martin said they just don't have enough room in their new home right now to keep their collection of books about "the land and people's connection to the land," which they call the Rocky Mountain Land Library.

The couple said they would only need temporary storage for the thousands of books until they can complete their planned restoration of a ranch house in the Buffalo Peaks wilderness, The Denver Post reported Monday.

John Calderazzo, who sits on the board for the non-profit Rocky Mountain Land Library, said the books represent "the best nature library I know of anywhere."

"There are so many beautiful books. Piles and piles and piles," he said. "There's a thin line between collecting and hoarding."

He pleaded for the public to help the Martins find a temporary home for the books, which fill about 600 boxes.

"Help us, please," Calderazzo said. "This is really a wonderful resource. And they're great people."

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Temporary home needed for 30,000 books

Ernest Hemingway's boyhood home in Oak Park, Ill., is for sale for $525,000. The Hemingway family moved to the house in 1906, when Hemingway was 7, and when he returned from World War I he spent time recuperating there. The large home is now a triplex.

The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, which has owned the home since 2002, put it up for sale with hopes that it can find a buyer who appreciates its literary legacy. The foundation is located in another Oak Park house, where Hemingway was born. That house underwent a restoration to honor his centenary in 1999.

The Hemingway house that's for sale was designed by architect Henry G. Fiddelke in collaboration with Grace Hall Hemingway. Each of the restored apartments has two bedrooms; together they rent for about $3,700 per month.

RELATED:

Happy birthday, Ernest Hemingway!

A farewell to Hemingway's Wyoming cabin?

Home repair, the Hemingway way

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Ernest Hemingway's boyhood home in Oak Park, Ill. Credit: Baird & Warner Real Estate

Originally posted here:
Ernest Hemingway's childhood home is for sale

Kennewick-based 1st Choice Restoration is rebuilding the home of a Moses Lake woman whose house was damaged by fire earlier this week.

The woman's 16- and 17-year-old daughters are under investigation for attempted murder as a result of the Wednesday blaze.

Moses Lake police Capt. Dave Ruffin said one or both of the girls lit a piece of paper on fire and dropped it on gasoline they had poured on the floor outside a bathroom their mother was in.

The woman was alerted by smoke detectors and put out the fire before authorities arrived. There were no injuries.

"Our primary goal is to help her rebuild her home and to help her any way that we can during this process," said Elizabeth Smith, spokeswoman for 1st Choice Restoration, in a news release.

"We are here to assist this woman who not only had a fire in her home, but is facing a crisis in her family."

Similar stories:

2 from Kennewick fires remain hospitalized

2 from Kennewick fires remain hospitalized

A 71-year-old woman severely burned Sunday when a fire started in her room at Cedars Inn and Suites in Kennewick remained in critical condition Monday at a Seattle hospital.

The Yakima woman, whose name was not released, apparently was smoking in bed when her bedding and clothing caught fire, said Kennewick police and fire officials.

She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where another woman who was burned in a recent Kennewick fire is improving.

At least 15 dogs die in house fire outside Benton City (w/ gallery)

At least 15 dogs die in house fire outside Benton City (w/ gallery)

An estimated 16 small dogs appear to have perished in a house fire Saturday afternoon about six miles west of Benton City.

A woman, who was in her 60s, tried to go back into her rental home at 26004 251 Private Road to rescue the dogs, but neighbor Mary Bramer said her husband and son prevented the woman from re-entering the home.

The neighbors said they feared the woman would not be able to survive her attempt to save the dogs.

UPDATE: Tri-City woman still hospitalized after fire

UPDATE: Tri-City woman still hospitalized after fire

The woman who climbed out the window of a burning mobile home Monday morning remains today in a Seattle hospital.

Aireen C. Upton, 49, was flown to Harborview Medical Center on Monday after suffering burns and smoke inhalation in the fire that apparently killed her mother.

Kennewick police released Upton’s name this morning. The name of the woman who died in the early morning blaze has not been officially released pending her autopsy today, said Sgt. Ken Lattin.

UPDATE: Mother, daughter believed victims of Kennewick house fire

UPDATE: Mother, daughter believed victims of Kennewick house fire

Investigators still are trying to confirm the identity of the woman killed early this morning in a Kennewick mobile home fire, but believe she is the mother of the victim who escaped the blaze.

Benton County Coroner John Hansens said the resident is an Asian woman in her mid-60s, and her daughter had been spending a lot of time there. The vehicles found in front of the home are the ones both women are said to drive, he said.

A positive ID on the woman likely won’t be known until the autopsy is completed Tuesday, Hansens said.

Investigators still trying to find cause of fatal fire

Investigators still trying to find cause of fatal fire

Investigators still are searching for the cause of Monday's mobile home fire that killed a Kennewick woman and severely injured her daughter.

Nothing suspicious has been found, said Kennewick police Sgt. Ken Lattin, and everything appears to point to the fire being accidental.

Fire investigators, however, continue sifting through the charred rubble at 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., No. 35, to try to pinpoint an area of origin or cause of the early morning blaze.

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Kennewick company to aid house fire victim

HARFORD, Pa. - For more than a decade, Bronson Pinchot has spent much of his downtime in the picture-book Pennsylvania hamlet where he found a dream home far from the stressful clamour of New York or L.A.

Pinchot likely remains best known as the endearingly naïve, quasi-Mediterranean immigrant Balki Bartokomous from the TV sitcom "Perfect Strangers." But unlike Balki, Pinchot is by his own admission "fiercely private" and an "introvert that does a pretty convincing performance as an extrovert."

Still, he has decided to open his doors to America via "The Bronson Pinchot Project," which premiered Feb. 11 on the DIY Network. In all, eight episodes were shot over 13 weeks at the end of last year in Harford, a village founded in 1790 and nestled in the Endless Mountains of Susquehanna County near the New York state line.

His filmography includes 1980s hits like "Risky Business" and "Beverly Hills Cop," but since "Perfect Strangers" ended in 1993 after eight seasons, Pinchot has performed on and off-Broadway, appeared in touring theatrical productions and done voiceovers and audiobooks.

His new show, though, is altogether different.

First, the designs are his own. "I get a kick out of it because I sit there with a sketchbook and say, 'This is what it should look like when it's done' and in the end it either looks like that or it's better," he said. "My theatre training helps; in theatre, it doesn't matter where you're at with your performance, opening night is opening night."

Home base is Pinchot's circa 1840 mansion in the centre of Harford, a town of about 1,300 people. It was the home of state Sen. Edward Jones in the early 1900s and had more recently served as office space. Pinchot bought the place in 2000.

"I wanted a Greek Revival house within five driving hours of New York City," Pinchot said. When he first walked in, he said, he knew he would buy it.

When he arrived, the scene couldn't have been better staged by a Hollywood set designer: The house smelled of cinnamon toast, the air outside smelled of fresh manure, a woman pushing a baby carriage paused to admire a neighbour's fuchsia roses across the street.

"I was already sold, but that was like God was hitting me over the head with a sledgehammer," he said. "OK, I get it, I get it!"

He now owns six historic properties in Harford, including what was a burned-out vacant home also from around 1840 and a sweet blue-shingled building that houses the town's post office. Eventually, he hopes many of the properties will be places for visiting friends to stay.

The first season's architectural stars are his Ionic-columned mansion and Decker House, a smaller home rehabbed with salvaged wood from demolished old buildings, windows from an abandoned farmhouse and floors from a property formerly part of late heiress Doris Duke's estate.

Not only is "The Bronson Pinchot Project" a show about historic restoration, it's a love letter to his adopted hometown.

"Harford is to be seen through my lens, which is that that it's heaven on earth," he said. "None of this 'big fish in a little pond.' No. We're not doing 'Green Acres.'"

Pinchot, 52, an antiques collector and enthusiast of classical art and architecture since childhood, is a hands-on renovator who employs local carpenters and craftspeople; many are slated to appear in the show.

Years of trial and error have culminated into the current style viewers will see taking shape — a blend of English regency and American high country along with 19th-century plaster casts of ancient Greek sculpture and architectural flourishes. The goal is for rooms to look like they've taken shape over many decades, he said.

His earliest home rehab forays involved getting all the period details and furniture just right. But it felt wrong.

"I looked around and thought, 'Well now all it's missing is a docent and a leaflet that says where the cafe is," he said. "I made a little museum and that's not what I want."

Things you won't see in Bronson world: kitchen appliances. Refrigerators — which Pinchot calls "unacceptably, unforgivably ugly" — ovens, dishwashers and microwaves are cleverly concealed behind salvaged wainscoting, cupboards and cabinets mounted clandestinely on hinges, like a bookcase hiding a castle's secret passageway.

All of his properties eventually will get the full "Bronsonian" treatment, a process shaped both by the availability of salvage materials and Pinchot's own improvisational approach to renovating.

"I hope we can do this for 10 seasons!" he said. "We could do an episode on every room."

___

Online:

"The Bronson Pinchot Project": http://bit.ly/xjLyv3

Read the original post:
Balki's back! Actor Bronson Pinchot returns to television with Pa.-based home restoration show

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will withhold Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ resignation until Parliament passes a controversial decree governing the transportation allowance into law Wednesday.

Nahhas opted Tuesday to resign his post rather than surrender to Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s demand he sign the decree.

“I have received Minister Nahhas’ resignation and it is up to the Cabinet, and not to me, to deal with it,” Aoun told reporters after chairing a weekly meeting of his parliamentary Change and Reform bloc at his residence in Rabieh, north of Beirut. “Eventually, we will send the resignation to the Cabinet. From now on, the labor law and the wage hike will be organized as Nahhas wanted.”

Aoun said he has not yet decided on whether to accept Nahhas’ resignation, adding that he will send it to the Cabinet whenever he wants.“The decision to endorse [Nahhas’] resignation is still in my hands and when the resignation is sent to the Cabinet, it means we [the Change and Reform bloc] have accepted it,” he said.

In the meantime, sources at the Grand Serail said Mikati has not yet received Nahhas’ resignation letter and that the premiership was not concerned with his stepping down.

The sources said Parliament’s approval of the draft law presented by FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan, which would authorize the Cabinet to set the transportation allowance, was linked to sending Nahhas’ resignation to the prime minister.

Sources close to the FPM said Tuesday night that Aoun insists he will send Nahhas’ resignation letter to the Cabinet only after Parliament has ratified a draft law on the transportation allowance.

Grand Serail sources said that meetings were ongoing to reach an agreement whereby Nahhas’ resignation would be sent to the premiership or the presidency in order to ask the acting Labor Minister Nicolas Fattoush later to sign the Cabinet decree and legitimize the transportation allowance through the draft law presented by Kanaan. They pointed out that if this did not happen, then the Cabinet would withdraw the draft law.

The sources did not rule out the possibility of implementing this agreement, which would lead to the resumption of Cabinet sessions and naming a replacement for Nahhas. A source said Aoun will name Greek Catholic lawyer Walid Azar for this post.

Sources close to Nahhas said that he was surprised by Aoun’s demands and the paper relayed to him by Baabda MP Alain Aoun.

The sources said that Nahhas was not aware of the understanding which the FPM leader said was reached between him and each of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Mikati ahead of Parliament’s session Wednesday on the approval of Kanaan’s draft law.

Parliamentary sources in Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc said that Alain Aoun failed in more than three hours to convince Nahhas to sign the Cabinet’s decision on the transportation allowance, preferring to sign his resignation letter and putting it at the disposal of the FPM leader.

Answering reporters’ questions, Aoun said that if the bloc approved Nahhas’ decision to resign, then his replacement would have to be from the FPM. He did not name the potential successor to Nahhas.

Aoun rejected the argument that the FPM did not back Nahhas in his attempts to legalize the transportation allowance decree. “We are still supporting Minister Nahhas. Of course, the new minister [replacing Nahhas] will be from the Free Patriotic Movement. Otherwise, we will return to the same Cabinet crisis,” Aoun said.

Nahhas’ resignation came on the eve of a crucial Parliament meeting which is expected to vote Wednesday on two draft laws – one prepared by Kanaan and another by Future Bloc MP Nabil de Freij – which would authorize the Cabinet to set transportation and education allowances.

Media reports said the two draft laws would be combined into one proposal to allow MPs from the March 8 and March 14 camps to ratify it during Wednesday’s legislative session, a move which would open the way to a resumption of Cabinet sessions stalled since Feb. 1.

Aoun said he had sought to reach “a legal solution” for the problem of the transportation allowance decree, which has been at the root of the Cabinet crisis since Nahhas refused to sign it, arguing that it was illegal.

“We supported Minister Nahhas in his decision to refuse to sign the decree because the Shura Council will send back illegal draft laws,” Aoun said.

He added that Wednesday’s Parliament session was a chance to make the Cabinet decision on the transportation allowance legal. He said he had reached agreement on this subject during his meeting with Berri last Friday and that a similar understanding was reached with Mikati.

“We agreed to continue the legal course if the draft law was challenged. We spoke with Nahhas, whom we thank for his services and cooperation with high efficiency. But his circumstances might not allow him to cooperate with us,” Aoun said.

Aoun has accused Mikati of violating the Constitution with the suspension of Cabinet sessions following a dispute with ministers from the Change and Reform bloc over appointments of Christians to key posts in the public administration. Aoun’s ministers rejected names proposed by Mikati to head the High Disciplinary Committee, a position traditionally reserved for Greek Catholics.

For his part, Mikati has defended his decision to suspend Cabinet meetings, saying the move was designed to protect state institutions.

Nahhas has been at the center of a political storm since last month, when he refused to sign a Cabinet decree officially approving a transportation allowance, arguing that it should be ratified by Parliament first.

Read more here:
Aoun exploits Nahhas resignation

World

February 21, 2012

by Felice Friedson, The Media Line

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Jan. 29. Photo by REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Rumors circulating inside the Palestinian Authority regarding possible replacements for Prime Minister Salam Fayyad are being discredited by at least one of those being named. Sources have been reporting that Munib Al-Masri and Dr. Mohammad Mustafa are under consideration to replace Fayyad instead of PA President Mahmoud Abbas taking on the additional role that some Hamas members are arguing would be illegal to do. Both rumored candidates are renowned leaders in Palestinian financial circles and would arguably placate Western governments that have looked to the US-educated, former World Bank official Fayyad to provide a level of comfort relative to the handling of large aid contributions from donor states.

But while a source close to Abbas told The Media Line that serious consideration of Al-Masri and Mustafa is underway, Mustafa himself denied there is room for anyone but Abbas. “Hamas and Fatah agreed in signing the Doha agreement that Abbas would take on the role of prime minister in addition to the presidency,” Mustafa said. “The parties have agreed that President Abbas will be the leader of the government. So no more candidates. The president is the person nominated to do the job. He has to be the president. There is no way for anyone else to do so under terms of the agreement.”

Mustafa said the focus now is not on selecting an alternative to Abbas as prime minister but on completing the process and getting the elections set as soon as possible.

The conflicting versions of events-to-be both exude reasonableness. With governments including the United States not comfortable about funding a unity government that includes Hamas, which is listed on the US State Department’s terror list, there is heightened sensitivity about caving in to Hamas’ demand that Fayyad be removed from the roster of ministers in the pending interim cabinet that is supposed to govern until elections can be held. One theory is that replacing Fayyad with men whose bona fides in Palestinian commerce are established will go far in preventing the replacement from being an issue. Underscoring that point, Al-Masri and Mustafa each have points of confluence with Prime Minister Fayyad in their educational and professional resumes.

A well-placed source speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak on the record told The Media Line that above all, “the requisite is being someone who can handle money and is a technocrat.” Al-Masri and Mustafa both fill the bill. Al-Masri, an octogenarian who created much of the Palestinian financial infrastructure including its stock exchange, leading holding company and largest telecommunications company, was twice asked by Yassir Arafat to be his replacement as president, a role he reportedly turned down a total of three times.

Al-Masri remains active and as a measure of the respect afforded to him, played a key role in early reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas. And like Fayyad, his American alma mater is the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Mustafa serves as Chairman and CEO of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and is President Abbas’ economic adviser.  Like Fayyad, he spent more than a decade at the World Bank following his education in the United States. Mustafa’s Master’s degree and Ph.D. were awarded by George Washington University.

Asked about Israeli objections to the unity government, Mustafa told The Media Line that “the Israelis need to negotiate with their counterpart. And their counterpart as negotiators for the Palestinians is the PLO.” When asked whether he believes Congress will cut off aid, Mustafa replied that “some voices in Congress” are making that threat, but he doesn’t expect that line of thought to carry the day.

Sources inside the Palestinian Authority are characterizing the initiation of the interim body as “imminent.” Eyes are on Cairo where on Wednesday Abbas joins the Reconciliation Committee as it seeks to tidy up remaining details and perhaps establish a firm timetable for events. If that happens, Abbas’ appearance at an Arab League event in Doha on Thursday will take on the air of a victory lap by a man who insisted all he seeks is retirement.

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The rest is here:
Replacement rumors for Abbas as Prime Minister denied by ‘candidate’ Mustafa

Sika Sarnafil announces Roofing Contractor of the Year Competition winners; the competition highlights visually stunning, energy efficient, and sustainable roofs. Winners of the 2011 competition include: TD Garden in Boston, MA; Grand Harbor Condominium in Destin, FL; Vertical Screen, Inc. in Warminster, PA; and Griffin Hall, Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY.

Canton, MA (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

Winners of the 2011 Roofing Contractor Project of the Year Competition were announced today by Sika Sarnafil, the worldwide market leader in thermoplastic roofing and waterproofing membranes. Judged on project complexity, design uniqueness, craftsmanship, and creative problem solving, the winners include: TD Garden in Boston, MA; Grand Harbor Condominium in Destin, FL; Vertical Screen, Inc. in Warminster, PA; and Griffin Hall, Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY.

A winner and two finalists in four different categories: Low Slope, Steep Slope, Waterproofing and Sustainability were recognized for outstanding workmanship in completing a project using a Sika Sarnafil thermoplastic membrane for roofing or waterproofing applications.

Low Slope Category Winners

Greenwood Industries, Inc. of Millbury, MA won first place in the Low Slope category for the re-roofing of the TD Garden, the Boston landmark that is home to the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. The 19,600-seat arena has a distinctive barrel roof now covered with an energy-efficient Sika Sarnafil EnergySmart Roof® System. During the project Greenwood worked around a continuous schedule of TD Garden events and even withstood a hurricane to complete the project. The second place winner was All Weather Waterproofing, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, for the Wilkinson Student Center at Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. Third place went to Letner Roofing Company, Inc., Orange, CA, for the Pacific Design Center “Red” Building in West Hollywood, CA.

Steep Slope Category Winners

In the Steep Slope category, Bel-Mac Roofing, Inc., of Santa Rosa Beach, FL, was awarded first place for their work on Grand Harbor Condominium in Destin, FL. High winds, numerous roof levels, and a complex geometric roof design pushed the Bel-Mac crew. The company’s creative problem solving enabled them to install a watertight Sika Sarnafil Décor Roof System that preserves the upscale look established by the condo’s failed standing seam metal roof. Peach State Roofing, Inc., Lawrenceville, GA, was the second place finisher for the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, and Diamond Roofing Company, Inc., Syracuse, NY, was the third place finalist for the Finger Lakes Residential Center in Lansing, NY.

Waterproofing Category Winners

Tecta America Zero Company, LLC, based in Cincinnati, OH, took first place in the Waterproofing class for Griffin Hall, Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY. The company battled terrible weather conditions and an aggressive schedule for this newly constructed facility, which involved three distinct roof areas and included a vegetated green roof protected by Sika Sarnafil’s G476 waterproofing membrane. Second place in this category went to A-1 Roofing Company, Elk Grove Village, IL, for the United Cargo Facility in Chicago, IL, and third place to CitiRoof Corporation in Columbia, MD, for the H.D. Woodson High School in Washington, D.C.

Sustainability Category Winners

In the Sustainability category, Delta Contracting Services, Inc., of East Brunswick, NJ, was awarded first place for Vertical Screen, Inc.’s world headquarters in Warminster, PA. This visually stunning facility received the ninth highest LEED score in the world for newly constructed office buildings and garnered a LEED Platinum Certification. In second place was Morris Roofing & Sheet Metal Corporation, Springfield, MA, for the Mass Mutual headquarters in Springfield, MA, and in third place for this grouping was Progressive Roofing, LLC, of Phoenix, AZ for the Wells Fargo Arena at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.

More than 30 contractors from around the U.S. submitted projects for evaluation in the annual Sika Sarnafil Contractor Project of the Year competition. First place winners were awarded cash prizes and all finalists were presented with recognition plaques.

“We are proud to honor these award winning project teams and salute them as champions of proven performance and design excellence," said Brian J. Whelan, Senior Vice President of Sika Sarnafil. “Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Contractor Project of the Year competition.”

About Sika AG

Sika AG, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, is a globally active company supplying the specialty chemicals market. It is a leader in processing materials used in sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting load-bearing structures in construction (buildings and infrastructure construction) and in industry (vehicle, building component and equipment construction). Sika’s product lines feature high-quality concrete admixtures, specialty mortars, sealants and adhesives, damping and reinforcing materials, structural strengthening systems, industrial flooring and roofing and waterproofing membranes. Sika AG has subsidiaries in more than 70 countries worldwide, including Canton, MA and approximately 13,500 employees link customers directly to Sika and guarantee the success of all of its business relationships. With this business structure, Sika generates annual sales of CHF 4.4 billion.

For more information about Sika Sarnafil in the U.S., visit http://www.sikacorp.com.

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Kathleen Van Gorden
kathleenv@kvgcom.com
401-480-1840
Email Information

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Roofing Contractors Recognized for Outstanding Workmanship