courtesy HWKN

Wendy by HWKN, Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner of New York, has been selected as the winning project in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and MoMA PS1’s annual Young Architects Program. Meeting criteria for innovative design that addresses environmental issues, including sustainability and recycling, the installation will be the featured urban landscape at the museum’s outdoor 2012 Warm Up Summer Music Series.

As per competition guidelines, the architects designed a structure that provides shade, seating and water for the PS1 outdoor courtyard in Long Island City, Queens. Spikey arms resembling star prongs create micro-environments with blasts of cool air in one section, music in another, water cannons and misting in yet another. In addition to meeting functional demands creatively, Wendy’s construction improves the environment in a literal sense. It’s nylon fabric is treated with a titania nanoparticle spray that neutralize airborne pollutants and will clean the air to the equivalent of taking 260 cars off the road throughout its temporary installation.

“By combining off-the-shelf materials and scaffolding systems with the latest cry in nanotechnology it is able to produce both an out-of-the-box ecological statement and a bold architectural gesture,” says Pedro Gadanho, curator in MoMA’s department of architecture and design. “It is economical and terse in terms of its design, and yet, through its positioning and scale, it also smartly projects different possibilities for use and social appropriation across the entire site where it sits—including the ability to reach out for those outside the museum’s walls.”

A 70x70x45-foot scaffold defines a large surface area that spills over the PS1 courtyard walls with volume that is sure to add to the east Manhattan skyline, in addition to enhancing the already colorful Long Island City scape.

To learn more about the Young Architects Program, visit MoMA.org/YAP.

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MoMA's Young Architects Program Names HWKN for Winning Project

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IA Interior Architects (IA) is pleased to announce that Lisa Kelly, AIA, has joined the firm as Project Director. She will be based in Orange County.

Lisa brings nearly 20 years of experience to IA. Most recently with Meridien Partners, she gained expertise working in China and the Middle East on hospitality projects. In her new role, Lisa will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing projects. As a senior staff member, she will be responsible for identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, working closely with IA's Workplace Strategies Team, and leading and mentoring staff. Lisa is a registered architect in the State of California.

"Having Lisa join IA was part of our vision to significantly expand IA's expertise and reach for 2012 and beyond.  Her years of experience combined with her leadership and international portfolio better position us to grow the practice and be of service to our clients locally and abroad," says Brian Koshley, Managing Principal, Orange County.

"What drew me to IA was the idea of interiors-only architecture. IA has embraced interior architecture and allowed designers to hone their craft.  As a result of this singular focus, IA excels above its competitors in all areas of service and design. I am excited to be part of such a vision," says Lisa Kelly.

About IA Interior Architects
Founded in 1984, IA Interior Architects is the first and largest global architectural firm focused exclusively on interior architecture and workplace strategies. IA helps clients in diverse markets worldwide align their business strategies and core values with the dynamic use of space. IA has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Raleigh, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC and has partner affiliates in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and Australia, Canada, and Latin America through the IA Global Alliance. For more information, visit http://www.interiorarchitects.com.

Press Contact:
Sofia Zimmerman
917.579.5702
s.zimmerman@interiorarchitects.com

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Lisa Kelly Joins IA Interior Architects in Orange County, CA

February 13, 2012, 11:42 PM EST

By Zainab Fattah

(Adds Dubai Mall expansion in second paragraph, Emaar chairman’s comment in ninth.)

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai’s developers, battered by three years of falling prices for homes and offices, are seeking refuge in retail assets as shopping tourism powers the economy.

Emaar Properties PJSC said today it’s expanding the Dubai Mall, the world’s biggest, by 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters) as retail accounts for a growing share of the company’s income. Nakheel PJSC, the government-owned company that restructured $16.1 billion of debt last year, is adding to its Dragon Mart shopping center and trying to raise funds to build a cluster of restaurants and stores at the tip of its Palm Jumeirah artificial island.

“Most developers are looking to build recurring revenues because there are so few property sales happening right now,” said Patrick Gaffney, an analyst at HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. “The sectors that are doing best are retail and hotels because of strong tourist arrivals.”

Dubai’s malls and shops have become more attractive after home values fell by more than 65 percent from their 2008 peak while retail sales have been rising since 2009. Developers that don’t already generate significant revenue from shopping assets will struggle to get a foothold in the market because little is being built or sold and banks are reluctant to finance any type of development in the emirate, including retail, Gaffney said.

Retail revenue in the United Arab Emirates probably increased 5.3 percent last year to 113 billion dirhams ($31 billion) Business Monitor International estimated. That will probably rise to 120 billion dirhams this year and 157 billion dirhams by 2015, it said.

Biggest Mall Owner

Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC, the operator of Carrefour SA stores in the Middle East, is the largest owner of shopping malls in Dubai. The closely held developer this month raised $400 million selling Islamic bonds for the first time as part of a $1 billion program. Last month the company reported an 18 percent increase in revenue in its home market and said 2011 was its most successful year since being founded in 1992.

Majid Al Futtaim priced its $400 million, five-year Islamic bond, or sukuk, at a rate of 5.85 percent on Jan. 31. The yield rose 4 basis points since it started trading this month to 5.66 percent today. That compares with a yield of 7.4 percent for Emaar’s 8.5 percent Islamic notes maturing in 2016. Emaar, Dubai’s second-biggest retail operator, also builds housing and offices.

Share of Income

Emaar reported that 41 percent of revenue and 68 percent of pretax profit came from hospitality properties and leased space including shopping malls in the first nine months of last year. That compares with 24 percent of revenue and 27 percent of profit a year earlier.

“The Dubai Mall is a powerful demonstration of the competencies that Emaar has developed in retail, regarded as one of the core sectors of Dubai’s economy,” Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said in today’s statement.

Owning the Dubai Mall, with rentable space equivalent to 50 football fields, also helped the company when it used the asset as collateral to refinance 3.6 billion dirhams of debt at a lower price. The expansion announced today will lift the total size of the development to more than 13 million square feet.

Retailers including American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Limited Brands Inc. and luxury watch seller Rivoli Group are opening shops in Dubai as consumer confidence rises. Macy’s Inc., the second-biggest U.S. department-store company, in January 2010 chose the Dubai Mall to open its first Bloomingdale’s store outside its home market.

Left Out

Prospects aren’t as bright for developers that haven’t built up retail assets. Union Properties PJSC, which is mainly focused on homes and offices, this month reported a full-year loss of 1.57 billion dirhams. The company in January handed over ownership of properties including some in Limestone and The Index to settle 1.1 billion dirhams of debt.

Deyaar Development PJSC, partly owned by Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, has 234 million dirhams of debt coming due this year, compared with about 37.7 million dirhams of profit in 2011. The company had a loss of 2.9 billion dirhams the previous year.

“Even though retail is generally strong, especially at the large malls, we don’t expect many developers to build new ones because funding is tough and there is already a good amount of supply in the market,” Gaffney said. “The areas that will do best are smaller strip malls or supermarkets near housing developments.”

Boost to Economy

Shopping accounted for about 30 percent of Dubai’s gross domestic product last year, Standard Chartered Bank Plc economist Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce estimated. The Dubai Statistics Center said retail and wholesale trade rose by 9.3 percent and hotels and restaurants increased by 4.4 percent in 2010. It hasn’t yet released figures for last year.

Nakheel is in talks with banks to raise at least 300 million dirhams for its first new project since the debt-ridden company received a government bailout in 2009. The Pointe at Palm Jumeirah, across the water from the Atlantis hotel, will include 120 restaurants, 75 shops and landscaped areas for visitors with a view of an offshore fountain.

“The retail sector is strategic for Nakheel,” Chairman Ali Rashed Lootah said at a press conference in January. He added that 60 percent of an extension to Nakheel’s Dragon Mart mall was booked by retailers within a week of its announcement. The company plans to add 1.7 million square feet of retail space and 5,000 parking spaces to the mall.

Fundraising Challenge

Even with a growing retail market, Nakheel may have difficulty raising the money after it received a government bailout and restructured debt, according to analysts including Ahmed Talhaoui, the Abu Dhabi-based head of investment and asset management at Royal Capital PJSC.

“Any issue would have to be at a very competitive yield and probably with a structure that gives some government guarantee,” Talhaoui said in a January interview.

The yield on Nakheel’s 3.8 billion-dirham, 10 percent sukuk maturing in August 2016, fell 114 basis points, or 1.14 percentage points, so far this year to 16.83 percent today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with an average yield of 4.45 percent for U.A.E Islamic bonds on Feb. 10, the HSBC/NASDAQ Dubai UAE US Dollar Sukuk Index shows.

Emaar, which opened Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, in 2010, derived about 23 percent of its 2011 income from retail rents and is now focusing almost exclusively in Dubai on growing sales at its malls, HSBC’s Gaffney said. Tourists visiting the Burj Khalifa’s observation deck can only get there by going through the Dubai Mall.

Emaar’s Head Start

“Emaar was better positioned than others when the financial crisis hit,” said Gaffney. “They had already launched and sold so much in Dubai and didn’t have tons of unsold inventory coming on line. They also were focused on the construction of Burj Khalifa, Emaar Boulevard and Dubai Mall, rather than starting new projects.”

Malls and hotels are the main value drivers for Emaar, whose projects span the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, Ahmed Badr said in a note on Oct. 27, when he was head of Middle East property research at Credit Suisse Group AG. He now works as an equity sales specialist with the bank.

Dubai, the second-largest of seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, racked up $129 billion in debt transforming itself into a tourist and trade hub. While many developments were canceled, attractions including Burj Khalifa and resort hotels like the Atlantis help bring in visitors who shop for goods that aren’t available in much of the region.

Locals and Foreigners

“The local population is wealthy enough to be able to keep buying and the tourism growth was very strong in Dubai last year,” said David Macadam, head of retail for the Middle East and North Africa at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. He said Dubai shopping is bolstered by visitors from the Gulf region, Europe, China, the Indian subcontinent and the rest of the Arab world.

Dubai hotels reported an 11 percent increase in visitors in the nine months through September compared with a year earlier, according to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. Revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and armed conflicts in Yemen and Syria mean that tourists in the region have fewer options for vacations.

Buyers spent $114 million in the first week of Dubai’s month-long shopping festival, a 53 percent increase over the year earlier period, according to Karim Beg, Visa Inc.’s head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Our marketing efforts have reached new markets in east Asia such as China and Japan and even though this strategy started only three years ago, we have seen its fruit already,” said Laila Suhail, chief executive officer of festival organizer Dubai Events & Promotions.

Little New Space

Dubai has 2.58 million square meters (27.8 million square feet) of mall-based retail space, according to a report by property broker Jones Lang LaSalle. About 173,000 square meters will be completed in the next two years, mostly in small shopping centers or strip malls, it said.

Banks wary of real-estate lending may make an exception if the business case for a project is clear and if adequate protection is put into place, said Raj Madha, an analyst at Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd.

Union Properties sold a building in the Umm Suqeim neighborhood for more than 140 million dirhams to supermarket operator Spinneys, Chairman Khalid Bin Kalban said in June 2010. Such transactions are rare in Dubai, where developers tend to hold onto shopping assets.

Assets to Keep

“It doesn’t make sense for owners to relinquish well- performing assets such as malls, which were great source of cash even during the crisis,” said Matthew Green, head of United Arab Emirates research at real-estate broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. “Also, when you look at mall owners they are generally companies that don’t have a pressing need to sell. Even if they wanted to sell, it won’t be prime assets.”

Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of the Emirates, which contains an indoor ski slope, has a 99.8 percent occupancy rate, while the developer’s Deira City Center and Mirdif City Centre have rates of 98.8 percent and 96.9 percent respectively, according to the company’s prospectus.

Dubai’s mall vacancy rate stands at 20 percent, mainly because of smaller malls with low visitor numbers. Most big international brand retailers won’t open stores in small malls as they look for the most prestigious and high profile locations, Gaffney said.

After the sheikhdom first opened up its real-estate market to foreigners in 2005, developers focused on selling homes as speculation-driven investment drove up prices.

“At the time, it made more sense to sell land and residential units because it was less risky,” HSBC’s Gaffney said. Back then, developers couldn’t determine whether the location would be valuable by the time a shopping center was built, he said.

--Editors: Ross Larsen, Andrew Blackman.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai on zfattah@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at ablackman@bloomberg.net V US <Equity> UPP UH <Equity> DEYAAR UH <Equity> 840705Z UH <Equity> EMAAR UH <Equity>

Go here to read the rest:
Dubai Developers Thrown Retail Lifeline as Home Sales Sink

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. and WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH - News), has chosen Web Industries, Inc., a global leader in custom manufacturing and development services for flexible materials, to manufacture its Rad-Sure line of blood irradiation indicators. This partnership will allow Ashland to see increased production yields and reduced defect rates over the lifespan of the contract for the blood-supply safety devices.

Ashland's Rad-Sure blood irradiation indicators are used to quickly and clearly verify that blood components have been irradiated to protect patients from contracting transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD). This is a rare, but potentially fatal, complication associated with blood transfusions in which the blood donor's lymphocytes engraft in the recipient. Certain categories of patients – such as those with solid tumors, acquired T-cell deficiencies and bone marrow transplant recipients – are more prone to contracting the disease. Proper irradiation of the blood before transfusion destroys the donor lymphocytes and prevents the immunoreaction that leads to TA-GVHD.

Rad-Sure is a complex, multi-layered laminate device that is affixed to transfusion blood bags. It features a gamma-ray or X-ray sensitive indicator that displays a clear "NOT IRRADIATED" message until exposed to the proper level of radiation. Once exposed, the "NOT" becomes obscured and the visual message reads "IRRADIATED," providing quick, positive visual verification.

To manufacture Rad-Sure, Web Industries' Hartford facility had to develop manufacturing methods to pre-process and combine multiple web-based raw materials into discrete subassemblies and then precisely combine those subassemblies to create the finished medical device. The final assembly process involves in-line lamination, fixed and variable-data printing using either thermal or flexographic processes, and precision die cutting and island placement. Web's manufacturing solution reduces risk with automated inspection and data logging, substantially increases capacity, and improves the yield of high-value input materials.

All assembly takes place on one of Web Industries' modular, programmable manufacturing lines in a medical Class 10,000 clean room environment. An automated vision inspection system capable of measuring tolerances down to +/- .005" and performing optical character recognition to verify the presence and accuracy of lot numbers and language keeps a watchful "eye" on the devices as they move through the process. This monitoring system inspects 100 percent of the critical-to-safety features of Rad-Sure, with real-time data monitoring and automatic detection and segregation of out-of-spec products onto a defect conveyor.

"With a medical device like Rad-Sure, any performance failure can result in serious patient safety concerns," said Dr. Xiang Yu, director, Advanced Materials, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. "Web Industries' manufacturing approach brings an extremely high level of quality assurance at a volume production rate. This combination will enable us to confidently meet the growing demand for these blood safety products and position us for worldwide growth."

"For Web Industries, the Rad-Sure project with Ashland represents a validation of our commitment to advanced flexible material manufacturing and quality assurance systems in the medical device market," said Donnie Romine, president and chief executive officer, Web Industries. "Working with Ashland, we've developed a robust and scalable manufacturing approach by combining medical-class quality with high-speed production and automation."

Web Industries' first shipment of Rad-Sure was delivered to Ashland's distribution center, where it was sent to medical facilities without additional assembly or inspection.

About Ashland Inc.

Ashland Specialty Ingredients is a world leader in specialty additives and functional ingredients that modify the physical properties of aqueous systems for products in key markets including personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings and energy. Using natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers and vinyl pyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH - News) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit http://www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units – Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

About Web Industries

For over 40 years, Web Industries has been a leader in providing contract manufacturing and development services for products involving flexible materials, including slitting, spooling, printing, laminating, specialty extrusion, assembly, packaging, and complete supply chain management. An employee-owned company, Web Industries has a long history of applying expertise, innovative thinking and creative problem solving to speed time to market and drive costs down in order to ensure our customers' product success.

™ Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries

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Ashland Chooses Web Industries to Manufacture Rad-Sure™ Blood Irradiation Indicators

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Stuart Dean, a renowned provider of architectural restoration services throughout the United States, will present its full line of interior and exterior restaurant solutions at the March 4-6, 2012 Restaurant Facility Management Association (RFMA) 2012 Annual Conference, including metal polishing, stone cleaning and sealing, wood refinishing, glass restoration, and commercial-grade grout installation.  The conference is at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with attendees to include facility directors, managers, project coordinators, owners/operators, construction managers, and operations and purchasing managers. Stuart Dean will be at Booth #311.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120213/NE52388LOGO )

"Many restaurant facilities feature fine architectural and commercial-grade materials in high-traffic areas, which creates the need for skilled restoration services," said Mark Parrish, president and CEO of Stuart Dean.  "Our services are designed to reduce restaurants' annual aesthetic maintenance in order to maintain curb appeal and enhance profitability."

Stuart Dean's standardized operating procedures and national footprint enable the company to provide consistent, scheduled rollouts across multiple locations for chain restaurants. The company's vast experience gained during nearly 80 years in business enables Stuart Dean to provide unique solutions to costly maintenance challenges, including cost-effective restoration programs that are custom-designed by the most skilled, knowledgeable and safety-conscious technicians in the industry.

The company's exclusive Marcoat® Epoxy Grout Floor System is an innovative solution for grout degradation, one of the most common and costly back-of-the-house problems for the restaurant industry.  Marcoat is a nonporous epoxy replacement for conventional grout and eliminates corrosion for the long term by standing up to the rigors of daily wear and tear in commercial kitchens.  The material features industry-leading return on investment, with a total cost of ownership four times less than conventional grout.

RFMA is a professional organization dedicated to advancing industry awareness of restaurant facility management, and promoting professional and ethical standards to serve customers with added value.  Drawing restaurateurs from across the country, the RFMA Annual Conference spotlights the latest technological advances in the restaurant facilities' industry. With more than 230 exhibitors displaying products and services, renowned speakers and breakout sessions, the RFMA conference has established itself as the leader in assimilating new information on restaurant facility maintenance.

About Stuart Dean
Stuart Dean is the country's preeminent architectural restoration company, specializing in metal polishing, stone cleaning and sealing, wood refinishing, glass restoration, and commercial-grade grout installation.  Thousands of clients entrust Stuart Dean to protect, maintain and restore their buildings, retail stores, institutions and restaurants every day. Stuart Dean offers a portfolio of services to enhance the beauty and retain the value of a wide array of architectural assets. The company has been in business for nearly 80 years, with 22 offices in the U.S. and Canada and over 450 employees.   Major markets served include New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, D.C./Virginia, Phoenix, Charlotte, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Tustin, San Diego, and Toronto.  For more information, visit http://www.stuartdean.com.

Contact: Jeff Donaldson
For Stuart Dean
412-642-7700
jeff.donaldson@elias-savion.com

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Stuart Dean Presents Specialized Architectural Restoration Services to Restaurant Industry at RFMA 2012 Conference

MARIETTA, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -

Members of a Marietta Brazilian church held a going home ceremony for five members killed in a crash along I-75 in late January. A total of 11 people died in that accident.

Five hearses and five caskets arrived one-by-one at the First United Methodist Church of Marietta. The larger church hosted friends and family to say goodbye to members of the International Church of the Restoration.

"It's very hard for everybody," said friend Rinaludo Rodriguez.

Jose Carmo was a pastor at the church. He, his wife Adriana, and daughter Leticia died in the crash in Gainesville. Jose's brother Edson and his girlfriend Rose were also killed. 

They were riding in a van on their way back home from a church conference in Orlando, FL when they crashed. Poor visibility because of smoke and fog played a major role in the crash.

"He was a faith guy, from a faith family. I wanted to pay my respect for a good man," said Rodriguez.

Several of Leticia's classmates from Sprayberry high school came to pay their respects.

"She sat in my lunch and she was really sweet and nice. It just doesn't seem real that something like that would happen to her," said Jeremy Bernal.

Leticia's younger sister, Lidiane is the only survivor from the van. She's still in an Orlando hospital, unable to attend the service for her family.

While friends say goodbye to too many members of their congregation, they are still praying for strength for Lidiane.

"I just pray. It's the only thing you can do is just pray and God will take care of the rest," said Rodriguez.

The bodies will be flown to Brazil on Tuesday. The family will be buried on Wednesday.

Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation).  All rights reserved.

 

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Going home ceremony held for five members of Marietta church

On what would have been his 80th birthday, Feb. 26, the legendary Johnny Cash will be honored with the official ground breaking ceremony of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Project in Dyess at 2 p.m.

The Cash home is one of the few houses still remaining in Dyess. The restoration of Cash's childhood home began in January and is expected to be finished in June of 2013.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done before we can actually open the home up to the public," Ruth Hawkins said, director of the Arkansas Heritage Sites.

With the unpredictable weather and conditions of the gumbo soil, the ceremony will be in the Dyess Community Center, but there is an opportunity to drive past the Cash home and see the progress of the restoration.

During the ceremony the Cash family will make tributes, performances from the family; along with the status of the restoration.

The funding for the project came from the very first Johnny Cash Music Festival held last year at the Convocation Center.

"We raised $300,000 from the festival, part of the money is going to scholarships in Johnny Cash's name for students from that area, as well as money towards the restoration," Hawkins said.

As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program in 1934, the town was originally built as an Agricultural Cooperative Project.

The main purpose of the town's administration was to give poor families a chance to start over.  The Cash family was one of 500 families to receive this chance, moving to Dyess in 1935.

The current status of the project is stripping away the paint of the walls inside.

"When the Cash family lived there, it had wood panelling that was milled on site in Dyess," Hawkins said.

With the help of photos and memories of relatives

of the Cash Family, Hawkins and her team have been able to make this restoration possible. When all is said and done the home will be an exact replica of the time when the Cash children lived there.

His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression was the inspiration of many of his song fans know and love today. The project will not only be a tribute to 'The Man in Black,' but a reflection and illustration  of what life was like during the Great Depression.

The Arkansas Heritage Site is not only working on the restoration of the Cash home, but also have acquired the town theater and the administration building.

"After the completion of the theater it will be used as an orientation center for visitors, where there will be Johnny Cash films along with documentaries from the 1930s," Hawkins said.

The exterior of the administration building has been completed. Once the interior has been completed, half of the building will be leased out to the city hall. The other half will be a museum dedicated to the city of Dyess and the impact Dyess made on Johnny Cash's life.

"The overall vision for this project is to create a museum complex that tells the story of Dyess and Johnny Cash," Hawkins said.

 

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Cash Home Project to hold ground breaking ceremony on Cash's birthday

13-02-2012 15:10 customdesignbuilders.net Straightforward ad about your skills at helping customers remodel or refurbish their home, whether for a single room or several. New housing costs have you overwhelmed? Why not spruce up your existing home with help from the experts? With the proper skills, tools and experience, we specialize in a wide range of remodeling and renovation services. We work with you to create an exciting design, then our experienced and knowledgeable crews work quickly to complete the job to your satisfaction, while maintaining a high standard of excellence. Whether you want to remodel a single room or your entire home, call us today.

Link:
Custom Design Builders - Video

CHEYENNE -- A local woman who says she has been scammed by a roofing company is happy about a proposed bill that would strengthen the state's laws regarding roofers.

Following a number of dishonest incidents in the wake of last summer's hailstorms, state Rep. Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne, is sponsoring the bill in the budget session, which begins today.

“It’s really a consumer protection bill," he said.

It would make a number of changes in state law aimed at protecting residents from illegitimate roofers.

Cheyenne’s Margaret Harer says the bill is a great idea.

She paid a company to repair her roof, but she got a notice that a lien had been put on her home. The notice orders her to pay for materials related to the work, but she says she already paid Advance Construction Inc. of Cheyenne for those costs.

Advance Construction has not returned her calls since she got the lien notice.

She says Advance apparently did not pay the materials supplier. Now she is being asked to pay Mead Building Centers of Cheyenne $2,554 or a lien will be put on her home.

She says she does not blame Mead Building Centers, just Advance.

The owner of Advance, Daryl Byerly, told the WTE that he does not know whether Harer’s contract included material costs, but it probably did.

Advance Construction was licensed by the city in August and remains licensed, according to the city Building Safety Office.

Harer is refusing to pay for the materials again and says she will fight the matter with a lawyer.

“I’m going for breach of contract against (Advance),” she says.

Her insurance covered the $6,541 payment she made to Advance but will not pay for the shingles again, meaning that cost would have to come out of her pocket.

“Where do they expect me to get $2,500?” she asked as she sat at her kitchen table with a stack of documents related to the roof work. “I don’t have the money to pay for the shingles again.”

She spoke to the attorney who sent her the lien notice, and he told her he had sent seven similar notices that day.

Lynn DeVilbiss with the city’s Building Safety Department said her office has gotten similar complaints recently.

She urged residents to make sure they have reputable roofers licensed by the city. This can be done by calling 637-6265.

But the city can’t do much in these types of situations, she added.

“We don’t have any way of making sure that roofers pay their bills,” she said.

DeVilbiss said residents also can report these complaints to the consumer affairs division of the Attorney General’s Office.

As of Thursday, the city had issued 4,744 roofing permits since the last hailstorm in July.

And two roofing companies n Aspen Contracting of Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Always Contracting of Windsor, Colo. n have had their licenses revoked.

City building official Bruce Wilson said the city’s Contractors Licensing Board cannot handle disputes over contracts and money. That board issues licenses based on a roofer’s qualifications and can take those licenses away for violations.

Therefore, issues that residents have with their roofers over contracts and money end up in civil court, DeVilbiss said.

What the bill would do

Under a bill sponsored by state Rep. Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne, roofers would be subject to new rules. It would:

- Require roofers to disclose a contractor’s license or registration number.

- Require roofers to reveal if they are from out of state.

- Prohibit roofers from promising to pay for any portion of an insurance deductible.

- Make it illegal for roofers to represent a consumer in regards to insurance claims.

- Make it illegal for roofers to accept payment for letting another company use their name or license number.

- Require roofers to provide a precise description and location of the damage claimed in a proposal for services.

- Allow a client to cancel a contract within five business days.

Read more:
Bill would strengthen roofing laws after scams

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 2:13p.m.

By Tristan Clark

The original SoulCalibur on the Dreamcast (and now Xbox Live and, disgustingly, iOS) remains one of the best fighting games of all time. It’s slick, pure, tons of fun, and — a rare thing — welcoming to newcomers and pros alike. But in my opinion, none of its sequels has ever managed to top it. Sure, they’ve added features or changed up the gameplay enough to make it feel partially new, but that hasn’t made them definitively better. It’s the old “less is more” adage: the original SoulCalibur works so well precisely because of its stripped down sleekness.

So here we are with SoulCalibur V, the second entry to hit the current generation of consoles. Can it escape the fate of its direct predecessors? Or does it, too, succumb to the mistake of fixing things that don’t need to be fixed?

Answer: the latter. But it’s more nuanced than that.

You see, SoulCalibur V will still get a good score from me because at the end of the day, it’s still a good game. At its core, the fighting engine remains supremely enjoyable, whether you’re a button-mashing first-timer or a veteran seeking to learn the complex ins and outs of the new characters. Playing against friends or opponents in basic matches is as fun and challenging as it’s ever been.

I’ll return to all that in a moment, but first let’s take a trip down The Changes That Aren’t All That Good Lane.

First up: the story. SoulCalibur has always had a surprisingly meaty number of modes for a fighting game, and its main story mode — usually complete with a map filled with one-off missions — could often be quite engaging. A thorough unlocking system helped add to the longevity.

That’s all gone in SoulCalibur V, and in its place is an absolutely dreadful tale of classic character Sophitia’s two children as they attempt to reunite, kill lots of people, and… I don’t know, destroy the Soul Edge sword, or something. It reads like some people got the Japanese script, stuck it through Google Translate, and left it at that. A handful of animated cutscenes swim amongst a large number of sketched animatics, furthering the feeling of a mode that was left half-finished.

Put aside the actual story part, and you’re left with a linear progression of battles against a variety of foes, some of whom fight you repeatedly. It’s a far cry from the best story modes the series has offered in the past, and one of the biggest disappointments here.

The other, more standard modes fare better, probably because they haven’t changed in the last decade and a half. Arcade and Versus are exactly what you think they are, and at least allow you to enjoy the polished gameplay without much cruft. Legendary Souls, meanwhile, is a punishingly difficult mode that will annoy most people, but please the most fervent fans. It pits you against more and more characters and will eventually wear all but the most skilled players down.

Online play is, happily, a significant improvement from SoulCalibur IV, with a well thought out group lobby system, and netcode that makes most games, if not lag-free, then at least tolerable. Your performance may vary, but I had nary a hiccup getting my ass kicked by superior players over the net.

The Character Creator makes a return from the last game as well, and it’s been fleshed out with even more customisation options. You can spend a long time here if you’re not careful, and as I type this, a friend of mine is sitting on the couch trying to replicate Joker and Harley Quinn.

So what we have in SoulCalibur V is a relatively meagre array of modes. It’s quite a disappointment, but that’s tempered somewhat by the core gameplay, which is still — after all these years — fun, accessible, and deep.

Changes have been made here, though. You now have a gauge that fills up as you attack or defend. Performing Guard Impacts or extra special moves use up a portion of this bar, while a super move can be unleashed whenever the gauge is filled up enough. Basically, it’s a move towards the systems employed in anything from Street Fighter to Mortal Kombat.

It’s a solid system, and — along with guard breaks that shatter pieces of armour — has the effect of further emphasising attack over defence. Depending on your play style, that’s either a good or bad thing. I’m a bit worried about what that does to the more considered characters like Astaroth, who rely on careful blocking and counter-attacking. It’s still possible here, but it’s certainly harder.

In any case, the SoulCalibur you love still beats at the heart of this instalment. It’s faster and more aggressive, sure, but also remains intensely familiar. And hey, maybe that’s the root of the problem for the developers: they arguably perfected this engine years ago, and look like they’re at a loss about what meaningful additions they can make.

But it is a shame that V is largely a backwards step compared to IV, at least in terms of value. Playing this game, I get the overwhelming impression that the developers were phoning it in — who knows, maybe the budget was slashed, or they (somehow) didn’t have much time. Or maybe it’s simply a case of bad design. Either way: this is far from the best SoulCalibur entry, but that doesn’t make it a bad game. SoulCalibur V is still a lot of fun with some mates around, or when you best an online opponent. Just don’t get your hopes up if you’ve enjoyed the single player modes in the past.

P.S. Ezio from the Assassin’s Creed series is by far the best ‘guest’ character to ever be in the series. Keep him around for next time, Namco!

NZGamer.com

     SoulCalibur V  
:: Publisher: Namco Bandai
:: Developer: Namco
:: Format: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
:: Rating: M

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Soul Calibur V review