Travelers heading to the 2012 Home Design and Remodeling Show in Miami are searching for private vacation rentals instead of hotel rooms this year. John Romano of Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals says the online site is experiencing higher traffic than last year from people searching for home-away-from-home accommodations.

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

At a time when many travelers are looking to save money and demand for Miami vacation rental condos and homes increases, more and more visitors are booking their accommodations online through FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com. Private property owners in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Beach area are making their vacation homes available to visitors in increasing numbers, particularly heading into the spring tourist season.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals offers a comprehensive listing of vacation rental homes in the Fort Lauderdale Miami area. FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com provides a single gateway for people planning their South Florida vacations with a variety of available condos, villas, townhomes and estate homes to choose from.

Among the perks of staying in a Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rental condo or home is the privacy that comes with renting directly from the property owner. Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rentals offer a full kitchen, laundry room, and all the comforts of a home that make traveling easier and more enjoyable.

FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com has grown rapidly in popularity as more and more property owners and travelers become familiar with this opportunity to connect for a mutually beneficial cause, Romano said.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rental homes, condos, chalets, cottages, and apartments are increasing in popularity every year, and we provide a conduit for property owners and travelers to connect.

Many visitors traveling to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area for the Home Design and Remodeling Show plan to stay the weekend or the week to enjoy the areas beaches and other attractions. By booking a vacation home rental in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, they can stay and enjoy the Florida sun and surf much more affordably and with more amenities than a hotel can offer.

About Ft. Lauderdale Vacation Rentals:

FtLauderdaleVacationRentals.com is the world's first portal dedicated only to vacation rentals in Fort Lauderdale. Established in 2006 and acquired by Vacation Rental Organization, LLC in 2010, Ft Lauderdale Vacation Rentals mission is to provide a selection of vacation rentals in Fort Lauderdale and to connect travelers with property owners in the most efficient way possible.

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Visitors to the Spring 2012 Home Design and Remodeling Show in Miami are Booking Accommodations Through Fort ...

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE PHOTOS/John Love Leominster Police Chief Robert Healey gave a tour of the old Leominster National Plastics Center & Museum that officials are thinking of renovating to use as part of the police station. The chief stands on the corner of Derwin and Lancaster streets with the National Plastics Center & Museum building in the background.

LEOMINSTER -- Police Chief Robert Healey walked through the former National Plastics Center & Museum at 210 Lancaster St., pointing out its features to visitors.

A room set up for his detectives was warm and well lit, as was a training room on the third floor.

The rest of the building was dark and cold to keep utility costs down.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella says it is time to start phase two of plans to move the police headquarters from 29 Church St. to the former museum.

Healey is planning to meet with Mazzarella soon to discuss the next phase and how to move forward.

"As far as I'm concerned we're ready to go on the next phase. We just have to decide what needs to get done and do a budget," Mazzarella said.

An empty room on the first floor of the former museum that is undergoing renovation as the new police station.

Until a full-scale plan and budget is in place, Mazzarella and Healey plan to phase in some more employees to make greater use of the building.

The next group of employees to move will have to be those who do not interact with the public because there isn't a reception desk or even a main entrance yet.

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Mayor, chief will go to next level in revamp of new Leominster Police Station

By Alex Kowalski - Sun Mar 04 05:01:09 GMT 2012

A Macy's employee helps a customer at a Macy's store in Chicago. Macys Inc., the second-biggest U.S. department-store chain, may hire about 4,000 new employees this year, matching the number of additions it made last year.

A Macy's employee helps a customer at a Macy's store in Chicago. Macys Inc., the second-biggest U.S. department-store chain, may hire about 4,000 new employees this year, matching the number of additions it made last year. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Employers probably added more than 200,000 workers for a third straight month in February amid optimism about the U.S. expansion, economists said before a report this week.

Payrolls increased by 210,000 last month after rising 243,000 in January, the most in nine months, and 203,000 at the end of 2011, according to the median projection of 55 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. It would mark the strongest three- month stretch in almost a year. The jobless rate probably held at an almost three-year low of 8.3 percent.

Bigger employment and wage gains would go further in bolstering household spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy and is threatened by higher fuel costs. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that while the labor market is making progress restoring the 8.7 million jobs lost as a result of the recession, its far from normal.

There is a much more encouraging labor-market backdrop for the consumer in early 2012, said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics LLC in New York. But economic growth is moderate, which leaves the unemployment rate fairly elevated by year-end, and thats the Feds main focus.

The Labor Department report is due March 9. Payroll estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from increases of 130,000 to 275,000. The January gain was the biggest since last April, when employers hired 251,000 more employees. Employment in December rose 203,000.

Another report may show the services industry, which makes up almost 90 percent of the economy, expanded near the fastest pace in a year.

Private payrolls are forecast to expand by 220,000, after a 257,000 gain in January that was also the highest in nine months, according to the survey median. Factory payrolls are projected to rise by 20,000 after a 50,000 gain.

Excerpt from:
Employers in U.S. Probably Add More Than 200,000 Workers for a Third Month

An office worker filmed a construction site blaze that shut down parts of the CBD

The fire in a building on the corner of William St and Little Collins St. Picture: Fiona Hamilton Source: Herald Sun

Workers near the site of the blaze in a building on the corner of William St and Little Collins St. Picture: Fiona Hamilton Source: Herald Sun

UPDATE: A BLAZE at a building under construction in Melbourne's CBD has sent toxic smoke billowing across town.

The fire broke out just after 10am on the top two levels of a seven-storey construction site at 121 William St.

Up to seven MFB fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze, which was understood to be burning through polystyrene materials.

The fire is thought to have started when sparks from a welder showered electrical wiring on the seventh floor of an office tower undergoing renovations.

But about 40 firefighters had the blaze under control within half an hour and stopped it from spreading to another floor.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade Commander Lou Mele says crews had to use extinguishers because water to the site had already been cut off during the renovation work.

"One workman required some treatment for smoke inhalation," he said at the scene.

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Fire erupts at CBD building site

LIZ MCDONALD

Construction of a 13-storey building to replace BNZ House in Cathedral Square could begin as early as this year.

Cristo Ltd, the family consortium that owns the site, has planned a building of a similar size and style to replace the one damaged in the earthquakes.

Construction will depend on securing tenant interest and insurance cover.

Marketing agents Jonathan Lyttle and Ryan Geddes said the rents would be "top end".

The BNZ had been the building's main tenant, but the bank had been looking for new premises for its Christchurch headquarters before the quakes. It now leases space in the Canterbury Technology Park in Burnside.

Demolition of the Cathedral Square building has started.

The new building, designed by Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, would be 50 metres high and feature glass walls and the same green Welsh slate as the existing structure. It will include 11,000 square metres of floor space, including a penthouse.

Cristo said construction could begin this year and finish by 2015.

Structural engineer John Hare, of Holmes Consulting, said the building might have deep piles and a steel frame, as well as seismic dampers left visible behind glass walls.

Continued here:
Office block signifies a fresh start for city

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY Architectural consultants have recommended more than $60 million worth of construction in the coming 10 years to help the Sheriff's Office keep up with population growth and increases in the crime rate but also get out of its existing headquarters into a modern building.

And that's not lost on County Commission Chairman Gary Wheeler, a former sheriff who worked in the now-27-year-old building, at 4055 41st St. in Gifford, from 1992 through 2000.

"That's a sick building," Wheeler said Friday. "There's a lot of mold. One time we removed a wall in my office and it was black (inside) with mold two inches thick."

When he left office in 2000, he said, following a defeat by Roy Raymond, he stopped going into the sheriff's building every day and his aching sinuses cleared up.

For current Sheriff Deryl Loar, who took office in 2008, the building is bursting under the strain of 500 employees. And it doesn't even have a fire-sprinkler system.

"There are a lot of things you've got to have (now)," he said Friday.

Vero Beach architect Anthony Donadio and David Crabtree, an associate with Architects Design Group of Winter Park, pitched their latest proposals to the commission in a recent meeting.

Crabtree, who couldn't be reached Friday for comment, gave estimates this month that combine to $61.4 million for the work to renovate a 13,000-square-foot warehouse for the new Crime Scene Unit, build a new 91,000-square-foot uniform patrol building and a 94,000-square-foot support-service building.

The county is tackling the first project now, but isn't expected to deal with the largest building until 2022 at the earliest.

"We'll assist you in seeking grants," Crabtree said. "It's not like $28 million (for the second building) is needed tomorrow. We have time to help you plan for that."

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Sheriff's Office takes 10-year look at new construction to update facilities

Kendall Marshall had 20 points and 10 assists, and No. 6 North Carolina beat No. 4 Duke 88-70 on Saturday night to win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

Tyler Zeller had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 16 points for the Tar Heels (14-2, 27-4). They never trailed, and for the second straight year they rolled in a winner-take-all season finale with the ACC tournament's top seed on the line.

North Carolina shot 54.5 percent, built a 45-28 rebounding advantage and sent Duke to its deepest halftime deficit ever at Cameron Indoor Stadium - 24 points - while winning its seventh straight since last month's loss to the Blue Devils.

Mason Plumlee had 17 points, brother Miles Plumlee added 16 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Austin Rivers - the hero of that last meeting - had 15 points for the Blue Devils (13-3. 26-5).

Syracuse (17-1, 30-1) matched the Big East record for victories - Connecticut also won 17 conference games in 1995-96 - and the Orange also finished the regular season with 30 wins for the first time in coach Jim Boeheim's 36-year tenure.

No. 7 Missouri 81, Texas Tech 59: Kim English scored 20 points, Marcus Denman added 17 and Missouri hit a season-best 16 3-pointers to beat Texas Tech.

Denmon scored all his points in the second half, going 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the half, and Ricardo Ratliffe finished with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

The Tigers (14-3 Big 12, 27-4) slowly pulled away in the second half with 12 of their 3s coming after halftime. The win gave Missouri a school record for wins in the regular season.

No. 8 Marquette 83, No. 11 Georgetown 69: Jae Crowder had 26 points and 14 rebounds in his final home game, helping Marquette beat Georgetown and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament.

Fellow senior Darius Johnson-Odom added 17 points for the Golden Eagles (14-4, 25-6). Marquette was 33 of 45 from the free throw line.

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North Carolina decks Duke to win ACC title

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - The strong wind gusts have caused plenty of damage around western New York.

Look up as you drive the 198 west toward the 190 interchange, and you'll notice a very big hole in the sky. Fierce winds tore down a billboard and sent it smashing onto a walking path Saturday morning. By good fortune, no one was around.

The owner of a Niagara Falls home is less fortunate. Winds toppled a 40-foot tree onto the house, taking out half the porch and ripping the tree's substantial roots right out of the yard. The caller who alerted our newsroom to the damage told us the only way to get around the porch is by using a ladder. A neighbor's house, she said, also took a hit.

>> See more photos of storm damage caused by high winds from around western New York here

Niagara Falls Arborist Paul Dickinson said, "We've got a payloader, some empty tandems. We'll start trying to remove it, away from the house, and remove the wood. Probably a couple hours, for this one."

Highway and utility workers across western New York spent dozens of man-hours clearing roads, hauling away tree limbs, and repairing downed power lines.

"We started at five o'clock this morning; [that's when] we got the first call. Our first priority is to open up all the streets for emergency vehicles. We just took a couple of limbs off the top of cars, so people could get out of the driveway," explained Dickinson.

According to the National Weather Service, the strongest gust to hit the region since the winds' overnight onset clocked in at 69 miles-per-hour. It hit the Niagara Falls International Airport just after 4 a.m.

Lake Erie continues to churn and splash with the wind, prompting a lakeshore flood advisory through the evening hours on Saturday. You can get all the latest weather alerts here.

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Tree comes down on porch of Falls home

Saturday, March 3, 2012

THE FUTURE An architectural drawing shows what the inside of the new Salem United Methodist Church will look like once the building is completed. The old building was heavily damaged by a log truck April 25 and will be demolished Tuesday. The congregation has been attending services at another church in their charge. They are hoping the new building will be finished in September, in time for their annual fall festival (Photo submitted)

LUTHERSBURG - The Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Thessalonians, "Therefore among God's churches, we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecution and trials you are enduring." Thousands of years later, the same can be said for the Salem United Methodist Church in Luthersburg, which was severely damaged by a log truck April 25. According to previously published Courier-Express/Tri-County Sunday articles, the truck, driven by Clayton Null of Reynoldsville, lost control on a curve, left the road, entered the church's parking lot and flipped onto its drivers side. The logs on the truck broke loose and slammed into the side of the church. The damage to the building was so severe that the church will be demolished Tuesday morning. While the truck accident is the latest challenge the congregation has faced it is not the first. According to Barb Muth, chairwoman of the church's board of directors, the church was built in 1857 but later moved to its present location. The church was then rebuilt in 1943 after it had been destroyed by fire. However, this most recent challenge has been one of the toughest the church has faced. Muth, Sonya Fetterhoff, chairwoman of the fundraising committee, and David Radaker, one of the church trustees, said following the accident, the congregation wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. "We had two services (in the building) after the accident, but the church was closed May 15," Muth said. "The building kept shifting and the damage was getting worse." Radaker said the building was inspected by several engineers between April and September before a decision on how much damage was caused and how much it would cost to repair could be made. Radaker said it would be about $350,000 just to repair the building. Several other inspectors said they thought it would be less costly to demolish the building and build a new church on a different area of the property. The decision to move (the location of) the (new) building was made in order to protect the new building from future accidents. Muth, Fetterhoff and Radaker said the log truck incident was not the first traffic accident to occur at the property. They said not long ago, another vehicle struck a utility pole and fencing on the property. They said the mailboxes and fencing are struck by vehicles on a regular basis. Several years ago, they said, a garbage truck wrecked, spilling its entire load into the church's parking lot. The new church will be located on the opposite side of the parking lot, farther away from the road. Radaker said the congregation is hoping the new location will better protect the building from any future accidents. Although the damage to the church did not seem irreparable at first, the building is starting to twist on its foundations. Cracks that were not there at the time of the original accident began to appear and are getting wider. "Even if we were able to rebuild, the engineers could not be sure that the building would not continue shifting and moving," Radaker said. "There is a lot of concern about the roof. If we would have had a hard winter, there's a good chance the roof may have collapsed." Fetterhoff said the congregation plans to hold a service at the church at 7 a.m. Tuesday before the building is demolished. She said the corner stone which was placed in the church's foundation after the fire will be removed and set in the foundation of the new church when it's constructed. "It was a tough decision," Fetterhoff said. "Some people really wanted to keep the old church because of sentimental reasons. A lot of the older members have been going there for a long time. They raised their children there, but they understand the problem with the building." Since the building had to be closed, the 60-80 members have been attending services at the Luthersburg United Methodist Church, another church in their charge. "They're looking forward to coming back home," Muth said. "It's been tough. We're a small congregation but we're looking at a huge project." Radaker said with the church's budget, none of the small, local banks would lend the church money for the rebuilding project. "We can't blame them," Radaker said. "I wouldn't lend us the money either based on our income. We've gotten donations and volunteers have offered to donate their time to help with the painting." Radaker, Fetterhoff and Muth said the church was able to get a loan through a credit union to help pay for the repairs. With the help of Hallstrom Construction, they are hoping to break ground on the new church in late March or early April, weather permitting. Fetterhoff said the church is hoping to have the construction completed in September, in time for its annual Fall Festival. Radaker said the trustees have removed the pews and all the furniture from the old church and it will be taken to the new church once it's built. The new building will be a single-story structure which will be fully handicapped accessible. "The old church was not handicapped accessible," Muth said. "It's something we wanted to do for the older members. The older generation is really what has held our church together after all this." She also said the church is working to raise as much money as possible and is applying for grants so the debt will be paid off as soon as possible." "We have had people ask us what kind of legacy we'll be leaving for future generations," Radaker said. "One thing we won't leave them is debt. We took out a 30-year mortgage so the payments will be lower, but we plan to pay as much as we can as soon as we can." The church is planning several fundraisers including: selling Christmas bulbs with a picture of the original church, a game of chance for a quilt that was made by a member of the church and a spaghetti dinner May 20 at the Luthersburg Community Building complete with "celebrity" waiters and waitresses. The church members will also be at the community booth at the DuBois Mall March 10 and April 14. "It's been a step on faith, but the community and other churches have really done a lot to help us," Fetterhoff said. For more information about fundraisers for the church, call Sonya Fetterhoff at (814) 503-8259. --- Reported by Kimberly Finnigan, Tri-County Sunday. Email: kfinnigan@thecourierexpress.com.

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Church looks to build anew

When the walls of Ridgways St. Joseph Catholic Church fell during Wednesday mornings storm, the tremor was felt in Tallula.

That is where Dennis Drone lives. He scoured the next days news coverage of the southern Illinois storms that killed six in Harrisburg, looking for some mention of the old church. Nothing.

I would have been happy with just a line, he says, saying that 20 miles east of Harrisburg, the storm blew in the church.

The Harrisburg Daily Register reported that, though the church is ruined, the marble altar is untouched.

As far as we can tell, it's hard to find a scratch on it, the Rev. Steve Beatty, St. Joseph pastor, told the Register.

As you can guess, that church means a lot to Drone. He was born in Ridgway in 1937. The family name was LaDrone back in France, but, as happened with many emigrants to America, the original name was shortened by an official when Denniss great-grandfather, Joseph Drone II, arrived in this country.

Joseph eventually settled in Ridgway, where the saying was that if your name was Drone in Gallatin County, you have to go outside of the county to find someone you arent related to.

Joseph Drone and three other men were instrumental in building St. Joseph.

They got money for building the church from France because the family stretched back there, says Dennis. Many of the settlers down there were from France.

The church was beautiful. It was built on the same construction design as the cathedral in Belleville. Thats the Belleville diocese down there. The bishop at the time dubbed it the little cathedral of southeastern Illinois.

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Dave Bakke: Destroyed S. Illinois church was part of family history