Once an expanse of lawn, the front yard of the Glass residence is now an attractive landscape with low-water plants, mulch and decorative rock.

Steve Glass had already replaced the grass in his backyard with a low-water landscape. So, when he heard about rebates offered by the San Diego County Water Authority for turf removal, he and his wife decided it was time to make the switch in their Mira Mesa front yard as well.

The front yard before the makeover.

He credits the online resources of the water authority, plus information on the website of Las Pilitas, an Escondido native-plant nursery, with getting him up to speed on the process.

The guy who does the survey of your property (for the San Diego Water Authority) is quite knowledgeable, he added. Hes got good opinions.

Glass killed the 837 square feet of grass himself, using Roundup; that took about three weeks. The couple chose the plants themselves, but hired a landscape contractor to do the planting and add a permeable path of pebbles and large decorative rocks, plus gorilla hair mulch (actually shredded redwood) around all the plants.

The plants are a mix of natives and other low-water species, including purple rockrose, California buckwheat, caryx, seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus) and salvia Mrs. Beard.

Kathleen and Steve Glass chose new plants themselves for the landscape redesign.

People have weird misconceptions, Glass says. Low-water doesnt mean cactus; you can get some really good plants.

For irrigation, the home already had a 10-year-old Weathermatic weather-based smart controller. Glass capped most of the existing sprinkler heads and installed five Hunter 12-inch pressure regulating pop-up sprinkler bodies with rotator heads.

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A turf removal success story

'There's growing anger and resentment' PHILIP MATTHEWS

VISITING: John Key lunches with Nicky Wagner in Ballantynes.

A political starter for ten. Which politician from which party said this about Christchurch East last year?

"The roads and other infrastructure in the electorate are a disgrace three years after the earthquakes. National has cause to be concerned."

That was former ACT MP John Boscawen, who is not exactly a hardcore Left-winger or a so-called "carper and moaner". Boscawen was commenting on a story in the National Business Review in the wake of National's defeat in the Christchurch East by-election.

Defeat? Maybe you need a stronger word.

"National was totally humiliated," political commentator and former Labour Party president Mike Williams says. "That was a landslide."

In a seat vacated by long-term Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel, newcomer Poto Williams actually increased Labour's majority. It was said that Labour got the vote out in an old-fashion, door-knocking campaign led by retired MP Jim Anderton involving a cast of hundreds; but the result was also taken as the electorate's verdict on National's management of the broken city.

It came only two years after National's win in 2011 was interpreted as a mandate from Christchurch, an assurance that the Government was on track with the recovery. Two electorates switched from red to blue and Labour's share of the party vote dropped in all of the seven electorates in greater Christchurch.

National's victorious Christchurch Central MP Nicky Wagner does not attribute all of the 2011 result to at the time strong rhetoric about the rebuild, but three years later, after all that has and not happened, does she think people still feel positive about her government's handling of Christchurch?

Read this article:
Chch political landscape set for shakeup?

While the complaint doesn't necessarily get at the fabric of dark pools, it is likely to raise questions about the need for transparency at a time when the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators have taken dead aim at cleaning up the trading climate.

Dark pool trading happens away from major exchanges like the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange and does not have to be reported publicly. It is responsible for about 40 percent of all stock trading and is used often by high-frequency traders.

Read MoreBarclays launches internal dark pool investigation

The regulatory climate generally has seen SEC Chair Mary Jo White pledge changes to HFT rules for later in the year. In May, the New York Stock Exchange paid a $4.5 million penalty to resolve HFT-related charges the commission brought, and a slew of other parties have had to pay penalties in cases related to trading irregularities.

"Right now it's isolated at Barclays. The case reads like more of a marketing fraud situation as opposed to what was actually going on inside of the dark pool," Saluzzi said. "But it's the first time a dark pool has been kind of dinged."

How far the efforts go to reform dark pools likely will depend on how much Washington regulators are willing to anger Wall Street.

Read MoreBanks withdraw from Barclays' dark pool -FT

The SEC, in fact, already has a set of proposed changes at the readya 116-page document prepared in 2009 called the "Regulation of Non-Public Trading Interest."

There were three broad recommendations made: Changing the definition of "bid" and "offer" to express "actionable indications of interest" rather than quotes that were never meant to be executed; a "substantial lowering of the trading volume" benchmarks for dark pools before they had to release consolidated trading data; and changing rules that would provide for the "real-time disclosure of the identify of dark pools and other (alternative trading systems) on the reports of their executed trades."

"The proposals are intended to promote the Exchange Act goals of transparency, fairness, and efficiency," the document stated.

See original here:
Dark pools are in the crosshairs

While the complaint doesn't necessarily get at the fabric of dark pools, it is likely to raise questions about the need for transparency at a time when the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators have taken dead aim at cleaning up the trading climate.

Dark pool trading happens away from major exchanges like the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange and does not have to be reported publicly. It is responsible for about 40 percent of all stock trading and is used often by high-frequency traders.

Read MoreBarclays launches internal dark pool investigation

The regulatory climate generally has seen SEC Chair Mary Jo White pledge changes to HFT rules for later in the year. In May, the New York Stock Exchange paid a $4.5 million penalty to resolve HFT-related charges the commission brought, and a slew of other parties have had to pay penalties in cases related to trading irregularities.

"Right now it's isolated at Barclays. The case reads like more of a marketing fraud situation as opposed to what was actually going on inside of the dark pool," Saluzzi said. "But it's the first time a dark pool has been kind of dinged."

How far the efforts go to reform dark pools likely will depend on how much Washington regulators are willing to anger Wall Street.

Read MoreBanks withdraw from Barclays' dark pool -FT

The SEC, in fact, already has a set of proposed changes at the readya 116-page document prepared in 2009 called the "Regulation of Non-Public Trading Interest."

There were three broad recommendations made: Changing the definition of "bid" and "offer" to express "actionable indications of interest" rather than quotes that were never meant to be executed; a "substantial lowering of the trading volume" benchmarks for dark pools before they had to release consolidated trading data; and changing rules that would provide for the "real-time disclosure of the identify of dark pools and other (alternative trading systems) on the reports of their executed trades."

"The proposals are intended to promote the Exchange Act goals of transparency, fairness, and efficiency," the document stated.

Read the original here:
Dark pools in crosshairs after Barclays charges

HENRY CO., Va. -

Their job is done but there is plenty of work left to do.

Friday the Virginia National Guard finished clearing 15 acres of land in an industrial park in Henry County.

It's now ready for businesses, which is the second part of this project conducted more locally by the economic development leaders.

Friday Virginia National Guard soldiers cleaned up their work sites and washed off military trucks.

The team is planning to leave Saturday.

Earlier this month more than 120 members of the national guard set up camp on the industrial site to grade and expand a section of the park. Their work saved the county a lot of money.

"To bring in the all the equipment, the manpower that they brought in would cost us well over one million dollars to do this project and you know we have quite considerably less invested in that right now," said Dale Wagoner the Deputy County Administrator.

Wagoner says the land still needs some work, like paving a road before a new company moves in but the majority of work is finished.

Their work isn't going unnoticed by the community. People have showered the soldiers with food and a thank you. The county plans to have the guard here again next year for more work.

Continued here:
Virginia National Guard finishes work in Henry County

West Coast Living, West Vancouver Townhouse
Townhouse Location: West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Interior Designer: Kristin Balter Designs (http://www.kristinbalter.com/) Music: http://www.purple-planet.com/light-backgrounds/4584537...

By: Grig Stamate

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Interior Designer Singapore | HDB Interior Design | Home Interior Design Singapore
Call: +65-83687263 if you run a interior designing company in Singapore and you would like to rent this video. Interior Designer Singapore | HDB Interior Des...

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Interior Designer Singapore | HDB Interior Design | Home Interior Design Singapore - Video

Article updated: 6/27/2014 8:38 AM

Q. When we bought our house, the home inspector included pictures of the foundation under the building. In one photo, there are black stains that look like mold, but nothing about mold was mentioned in the report. Now we are also finding mold on the walls in the basement. Why would a home inspector say nothing about mold in his inspection report?

A. There are two probable reasons why your home inspector said nothing about mold in his report:

He may have failed to see the mold. In that case, he may not have done a thorough inspection in general, and a second inspection would be advisable to see what other defects were missed.

Mold inspecting is actually outside the scope of the standards of practice for home inspection. Therefore, many home inspectors simply ignore mold, even when it is obviously visible. In my opinion, that is not a wise or equitable practice. Although a home inspector may not be professionally qualified to identify mold in a definitive sense, saying nothing about an observable condition is professionally negligent.

When mold is apparent in a building, a home inspector can simply state that stains were observed and that further evaluation by a qualified mold specialist is recommended. In that way, the home inspector has provided competent disclosure without exceeding the scope of the profession. Home inspectors who say nothing about visible mold-like conditions are not using good judgment and are not representing the interests of their clients.

Q. We just sold our home and are buying a new spec house. Our agent said it's not necessary to have a new home inspected because of the one-year builder's warranty. She said we should wait about 10 months and then get an inspection before the warranty expires. Does this sound like good advice to you?

Also, do you think the final walk-through inspection with the builder will cover any significant defects? And finally, do people usually have home inspections on new homes?

A. Waiting 10 months to have your new home inspected is not a good idea. When you are in escrow, the builder is motivated to get the sale closed and will be more likely to comply with repair requests now than 10 months after the sale. Therefore, waiting to have a home inspection at a later date is a needless gamble.

Home inspections for new homes are becoming increasingly popular. A truly qualified inspector can find defects in any new home, regardless of the quality of construction or the competence and integrity of the builder. It is simply a law of human nature that anything man-made will not be perfect.

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Ask the House Detective: Home inspector says nothing about mold

Home Business Ideas
http://home-business-ideas.savemedollars.net Home Business Ideas, Home Business Ideas, Home Business Ideas. Yes it was worth repeating three times. This home business idea is quickly becoming...

By: George Breedlove

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Home Security Timer from Watchdog
http://www.amazon.com/Watchdog-Guardian-House-Sitter-Radios/dp/B00H5A8QDG/ - Now on Amazon - Just plug our security device into the wall, plug your lamp, tv ...

By: David VonGunten

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Home Security Timer from Watchdog - Video