The citys Department of Buildings will begin enforcing a commercial sprinkler law passed in 2004 requiring all New York City landlords to install the fire prevention equipment.

Despite the 15-year window for property owners to get up to code, it was revealed at a November City Council committee hearing that about 1,100 buildings were still not in compliance with the Local Law 26 and 86 building owners have completely ignored city notifications.

The window officially closed Dec. 1, and all commercial building owners are required to have installed sprinkler systems in their buildings throughout the city, including numerous city owned structures.

Our goal is compliance, said Andrew Rudansky, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings. Building owners who fail to comply with DOB orders regarding these sprinkler requirements may face additional violations, which carry additional associated civil penalties, until they come into compliance.

Buildings officials revealed that 983 buildings have been issued Environmental Control Board violations for non-compliance with the sprinkler requirements. Officials indicate that these buildings are in various stages of compliance with the law, as many are actively engaged in sprinkler installation projects. The violations come with civil penalties of $1,250 which can be waived if building owners certify that they are in compliance with Local Law 26 within 40 days of the issuance.

Some of the more notable buildings on the list include the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange many of the older Wall Street buildings were listed as non-compliant. Some of the city buildings were owned by Department of Corrections, Parks and Education.

Continued noncompliance with these regulations could result in additional fines, with civil penalties of up to $25,000. Buildings will be subject to re-inspection every 60 days which could add to the total monetary damages.

Experts in sprinkler installation told amNewYork full compliance with the law is difficult because older buildings may require expensive asbestos abatement; some businesses might also need to be relocated during renovations.

Installing sprinkler systems can cost upwards of $4 a foot making the installation process very costly for some owners to afford. Once a system is installed, property owners are further required to have an engineer inspect every floor of their building to certify compliance with the law.

In addition to city penalties, commercial owners face liability should there be a fire in their building provided that they are not in code compliance. One expert said, An insurance company might not even want to cover damage or injuries in a fire and that might fall on the owner.

As the city presses demands for sprinkler compliance, the City Council is considering a bill introduced by Queens Councilman Barry Grodenchik, which will require residential buildings 40 feet or taller to have sprinklers installed within 10 years of the bill signing. The bill will be considered in the 2020 session.

While it may be difficult for some landlords to afford sprinklers and problematic in many cases, Grodenchik maintained that it is necessary because the need is so real because 85 percent of fires are in residential buildings and most of the fatalities are residential.

Experts in sprinkler installation say it is nearly impossible to install sprinklers in some residential buildings due to structural issues. In some cases, a standpipe would need to be installed in stairwells to a roof storage tank as street pressure would not accommodate the sprinklers above the third floor.

A standpipe is used by firefighters in stairwells of buildings to stretch lines more closely than a fire hydrant on the street.

Most of those buildings without standpipes were built before 1938, and were not required to have standpipes when they were built.

Building experts say most of those buildings under 75 feet are outside Manhattan and are owned by small owners. One expert said, Bringing water above the third floor with street pressure is unlikely so they would have to install standpipes and water tanks. They could install pumps, but then they would have to install a backup generator in case electric goes out. This for many residential owners would be a financial calamity.

Charles Rizzo, CEO of the Rizzo Group, which specializes in sprinkler consulting for commercial buildings, said the Council needs to conduct more careful deliberations of the consequences of forcing landlords to do this. He recommended that the law only apply to buildings that are 75 feet or higher because they are already retrofitted with standpipes under current law.

This bill was a surprise to the community, Rizzo said. They need to provide alternatives rather than a wholesale solution.

Some of the alternatives include requiring installation of building wide-notification systems and intercoms so that people have enough notice to evacuate in case of a fire.

The new law also presents logistical challenges for the Buildings Department, which has hired 400 additional workers to review hundreds of commercial sprinkler applications.Many landlords are rushing to complete compliance in some form, buildings officials said.

Edward Amador, a spokesman for Councilman Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. who is the chairman of the Housing and Buildings Committee, said Cornegy was concerned about enforcement because they seemed to be under sourced and understaffed and may have problems following through.

Amador pointed to a recent hearing on lead abatement, during which an official from Housing Preservation and Development admitted that in 15 years, the agency wrote just two violations and only because they were forced to by a judge.

Grodenchik said he realized there may be difficulty for some landlords to comply with a residential sprinkler requirements. He said they are considering low interest loans, tax abatements or credits for completing the requirements.

However, insurance companies may not necessarily supporting the legislation with incentives. One expert pointed out that the damage from sprinkler head water to a building can be more expensive than personal injuries and therefore, insurance companies do not offer financial incentives for sprinkler installation.

Jamie McShane, a spokesperson for the Real Estate Board of New York, said the organization is reviewing the legislation.

The FDNY testified last month with the Department of Buildings commissioner about the necessity of sprinklers, and want the law enforced.

Frank Dwyer, FDNY deputy commissioner said, Sprinklers are an important, life-saving tool which help reduce the risk of danger during a fire for both building occupants and firefighters.

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With 1,100+ buildings in violation, NYC sprinkler law could cost owners big - amNY

Permitting issues have delayed Americans Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration from moving its parade floats to new storage facilities on county land.

PLYMOUTH Permitting issues have delayed Americans Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration from moving its parade floats to new storage facilities on county land.

But officials and parade organizers appear to be in agreement on a plan that should get the rolling collection of Americana under wraps by the end of the year.

Parade organizer Olly deMacedo said his group will have to do more work than anticipated before it can start moving floats into the vacant building behind the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. But the project is less than some originally feared and should easily be completed within the new deadline for moving the floats from the former Sears building in Kingston.

DeMacedo met with Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley and Building Inspector Paul McAuliffe Monday to iron out details of the move.

The parade group stored most of its floats at Sears for the last few years, but the building is slated for demotion to make way for residential development. The county came to the rescue just before this years parade, offering to let deMacedo use a building that has sat vacant behind the county jail since 2009.

The building was originally designed to house an indoor firing range for the county law enforcement community, but the plan fell by the wayside after the state took over the jail a decade ago.

The county commissioners agreed to let deMacedo use the building to store floats for the next two years, but the plan didn't go before either Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald or town officials.

McDonald has said he is pleased to help the parade but feared that the building would not meet with town building approval because it was no longer being used for official county business and thus was held to more rigid permitting standards.

The building has a dirt floor and no heat, water or electricity. Further, any building over 7,500 square feet needs a sprinkler system.

Bradley said the building is less than 7,500 square feet, so it will not need the sprinklers or water. But it will require electricity as well as a system to protect the soil from contamination.

DeMacedo said has always been planning to install new doors on the building and will now install electricity as well. He will also begin pouring a concrete floor and will bring in industrial-sized trays to catch fluids that could leak from the floats.

He said the parade organizers are still actively looking for a permanent home for the floats, but are pleased to have temporary storage.

Its good to see the town working together, and were hoping in next few weeks to be getting in place over there, deMacedo said, acknowledging that the situation could have been a lot worse if he had to install sprinklers or drainage. Well do whatever they need us to do to comply and leave a nicer building for the county when were done.

McDonald said he is glad to see the parade will have a place to store the floats in the short run, but noted that the building is not a long-termsolution.

"It'sjust a shell of a building," he said, "sothe quicker they can get those floats intoclimate control thebetter it will be. At the end of the day, I'm glad we can help. I wish we'd been consulted, but I'mglad we could help."

Read more:
It needs improvements. But Americas Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration will still move floats to county property - Wicked Local Plymouth

Read: Astronomers cant decide what the sun is made of

To ponder the unknowns feels like sitting with an inquisitive toddler. Why is the suns outer atmosphere, the corona, so hot? Where does the solar wind come from? Why does it shoot out of the corona like that? What makes the sun flare up sometimes, shooting even more excited particles out into space? These are some of the questions that scientists hope Parker can answer before its mission ends in 2025, with a fiery plunge right into the sun.

NASA released the first batch of results this week, published across four papers in Nature. The findings come from measurements of the corona, which is, remarkably, hotter than the surface itself. The corona extends millions of miles from the surface into space. The region is only visible to the naked eye during a solar eclipse, when the moon casts a shadow on the Earth and blocks out the sun, leaving only a golden ring hanging in a darkened sky.

The corona unleashes powerful streams of high-energy particles, known as the solar wind, which can be felt all across the solar system, and far beyond Pluto. The data from the Parker probe show that the solar wind is far more turbulent near the sun than in our own vicinity, tens of millions of miles away. The wind drags the suns magnetic field out into space, and even bends the field enough for magnetic forces to completely flip around for a few minutes at a time, pointing back at the sun itself instead of into space. The researchers werent expecting the strength of this effect, as well as how often it seems to occur.

Scientists also found that shifts in the suns magnetic field speed up the particles flowing away from the sun much faster than any of their models had predicted. Astronomers have spent decades probing the depths of countless distant stars in the cosmos, some of them billions of light-years away, but their own still keeps secrets from them.

Read: Where is our suns twin?

Scientists havent been able to make such close-up detections with instruments on Earth, or even with earlier missions to the sun, which never got as close. For studying the sun, proximity is everything. Imagine that we live halfway down a waterfall, and the water is always going past us, and we want to know, what is the source of the waterfall up at the top? says Stuart Bale, a scientist at the University of California at Berkeley, and the lead on a Parker instrument that examines the solar wind by measuring magnetic fields. Is there an iceberg melting up there? Is there a sprinkler system? Is there a lake, a hole in the ground? And its very hard to tell from halfway down. So what Parker has done is got us closer than ever to the sun.

At every close approach, the Parker probe will also get closer to pulling off one of the toughest feats of robotic space exploration. It sounds counterintuitive, but its actually harder to reach the sun than it is to leave the solar system altogether. The suns gravity is always tugging at everything around it, from giant planets to tiny moons, but those objects are also looping around the sun at great speeds, which keeps them from falling toward it. To get to Mars, you only need to increase slightly your orbital speed. If you need to get to the sun, you basically have to completely slow down your current momentum, Yanping Guo, the mission-design and navigation manager for the Parker Solar Probe, explained to me.

More here:
The Mystery at the Center of the Solar System - The Atlantic

In August 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe toward the sun to analyze and measure the G-type yellow dwarf star that makes life on Earth possible. Now, after the spacecraft completed 3 of 24 planned close orbits around the sun, researchers have released four papers published in the journal Nature detailing the probe's first findings.

The $1.5 billion probe has flown closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history, passing through the suns upper atmosphere, or corona, for the first time. The probe is loaded up with several suites of instruments that collect data about solar wind, plasma flows, the suns magnetic field and more, reports Alexandra Witze at Nature News & Comment.

Scientists at University of California, Berkeley led by plasma physicist Stuart Bale control the probes devices, fittingly dubbed FIELDS, that study the suns magnetic and electric fields. A second toolkit called SWEAPor Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons, operated by the University of Michigan and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatorymeasures the particles of solar winds. The probes imaging instrument WISPR is led by the Naval Research Lab. Another group of devicescalled the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun suite, led by Princeton Universitymeasures the suns outflow of energetic particles, like electrons and ions. Together, data from all of these instruments are revolutionizing what we know about the star.

Solar winds constantly wash over Earth, but studying the phenomenon from an earthly vantage point is like trying to understand the origin of a waterfall by standing halfway down the cliff, explains Bale. Expanding on the waterfall analogy, Bale tells Witze, [i]f you want to know the source, you have to get up there and get closeris it coming from one hole in the ground? From a bunch of seams in the rocks? Is there a sprinkler system up there?

The so-called fast solar wind, which flows at 500 to 1,000 kilometers per second, emanates from large holes in the corona near the suns north and south poles, reports Hannah Devlin at The Guardian. However, the origin of the slow solar wind, which is denser and travels at about half that speed, is not understood, explains atmospheric physicist Tim Horbury of Imperial College London, who is part of FIELDS research team.

During each swoop toward the sun, the probe passes about 15 million miles above a coronal hole for up to a week at a time to measure the solar wind and magnetic fields, according to a Berkeley press release.

Parker Solar Probe is also investigating a mystery that has long baffled solar physicists: the extreme heat of the outer atmosphere. The corona is a million degrees, but the suns surface is only thousands, Horbury tells Devlin. Its as if the Earths surface temperature were the same, but its atmosphere was many thousands of degrees. How can that work? Youd expect to get colder as you moved away.

Data from the spacecraft shows that the movement of plasma in the corona is extraordinarily complex. The measurements revealed that quick reversals in magnetic fields and fast-moving jets of plasma cause turbulence in the solar wind. The researchers dubbed one particularly dramatic type of magnetic field reversal a switchback.

As the solar wind flows away from the sun, the magnetic field lines would almost completely reverse for a few seconds or even a few minutes, causing abrupt changes in velocity. When the magnetic field snaps back to its previous orientation, it produces a spike in energy. While the researchers do not yet know what causes these magnetic reversals, the spacecraft's close observations will help them narrow down the possibilities.

These switchbacks are probably associated with some kind of plasma jets," Bale says in the Berkeley release. My own feeling is that these switchbacks, or jets, are central to the solar wind heating problem.

The Parker probe was able to measure solar wind while it was still rotating with the sun, finding that the speed and strength of the rotation was ten times more powerful than current solar models predict.

Because the sun rotates, solar wind travels on a curved path. But after the energy is flung into space, its path eventually straightens out. Finding out the exact point at which that energy starts traveling in a straight line will tell researchers about the lifecycles of stars and the workings of protoplanetary disks, which will improve our understanding of how planets form.

The probe also observed the suns dust-free zone. Our solar system is full of dust particles remaining from the planet-forming process that occurred over billions of years. Researchers long ago predicted that the heat of the sun could vaporize this dust into gas creating an area with much less dust. The probe has finally found supporting evidence of this phenomenon and researchers suspect it will likely encounter less and less dust as it swings closer to the sun.

Scientists also used the probes data to measure the outflow of electrons and ions that sometimes produce solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs). So far, the Parker probe has recorded several new types of particles and ejection events that researchers are unable to observe from Earth, explains Princetons David McComas who leads the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun suite of instruments.

Its amazingeven at solar minimum conditions, the sun produces many more tiny energetic particle events than we ever thought, says McComas in a NASA press release. These measurements will help us unravel the sources, acceleration, and transport of solar energetic particles and ultimately better protect satellites and astronauts in the future.

As Mike Wall at Space.com reports, this new data is really just a taste of what the probe will likely discover if its 4.5-inch-thick, carbon-composite shield can survive the remaining 21 dips closer and closer to the sun over the next five years. Eventually, the craft will fly as close as 3.83 million miles above the sun.

We knew we were going into a region we've never been before. It is a voyage of discovery, Nicola Fox, director of the NASAs Heliophysics Division, tells Nell Greenfieldboyce at NPR. It's going to the last sort of major region of our solar system to ever be visited by a spacecraft. And as we continue to get closer and closer, then I'm sure that we are going to continue to see more and more surprises."

See the rest here:
NASA's Sun-Orbiting Probe Reveals New Secrets of Our Host Star - Smithsonian.com

This darling 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home was built ahead of it's time with modern construction including a poured concrete foundation, exterior wall insulation, and over a foot of blown insulation in the attic. It has been owned and cared for by a single family and never used as a rental. The main floor features beautiful refinished red oak wood floors with a completely updated bathroom. Laundry hookups are available in the bath on the main floor or in the basement. The kitchen has new sink, faucet, garbage disposal, dishwasher, cooktop hood, and slate back splash. The basement is finished with a large family room and additional bath and laundry. The fenced double lot backyard is perfect for gardening, outdoor games, and pets and also features large cement patio has extra deep footings to allow for a room addition if desired. This is a perfect starter home conveniently located on an Emergency snow/bus route for quick snow removal. Come take a look today!

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Affordable Starter Homes in the Lincoln Area | Home and Garden - Lincoln Journal Star

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Wondering what buildings are coming down or going up in San Francisco? Local building permit data can shine a light on what's under construction near you.

In the past week, the city issued 383 building permits, according to data from BuildZoom, a platform that helps homeowners and businesses with new construction and remodels.

Twenty of those permits were for new building construction, three were for demolition projects and the remainder were for repairs and renovations.

Read on for a selection of the most noteworthy new permits.

Applicant TSL Construction & Consultant Inc. received a permit for new construction of a structure at 128 Elsie St. In the permit, the work scope is described as: "New construction of a single-family home. Five bathrooms, one kitchen, four shower pans. Underground plumbing."

Contractor BH Chen Inc. received a permit for new construction of a structure at 18 Turk Murphy Lane.The permit defines the project's work scope as: "Install new fire sprinkler."

Applicant De Anza Tile Co Inc. received a permit for new construction of a structure at 1 Market St. The permit defines the project's work scope as: "Waterproofing at two new shower pans on level six."

Contractor AM West Mechanical Inc. was issued a permit for repair/renovation of a structure at 3475 16th St. The permit defines the project's work scope as: "Install new water service line for new fire sprinkler system."

Contractor Innovative Construction Implement was issued a permit for addition of a structure at 1309 Ninth Ave. In the permit, the work scope is described as: "New ADA restroom. New service area."

Contractor Berisha Construction received a permit for repair/renovation of a structure at 1251 37th Ave. The work is described as: "New plumbing throughout whole home."

This story was created automatically using local building data from BuildZoom, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing.

Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.

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More here:
Permits for 20 new construction projects issued in San Francisco last week - Yahoo News

You cast your votes. We counted them. And now we present the winners of the2019Dans Best of the Best contest! Below, youll find all the winning businesses, organizations and personalities in the many South Fork Home & Personal Services categories!

Dans Best of the Best 2019 Winners: North Fork Home & Personal Services

Keep your eye out as we announce more 2019 winners online, but you can find them all in theDecember 6, 2019 issue ofDans Papers!

View all our2019 Dans Best of the Best winners, and dont forget to visitDansBOTB.comto rate and review all your East End favorites.

BEST AUTO BODY REPAIR SHOPPlatinum Rubio Premier MotorsGold Joes GarageSilver Village Auto BodyBronze Corwiths Auto Body

BEST AWNING COMPANY*Hall of Famer East End AwningPlatinum Brock AwningsGold The Awning Company Inc.Silver C.E. King & Sons

BEST BUILDERPlatinum TelemarkGold Eastbay BuildersSilver G.B. Construction and Development, Inc.Bronze Farrell Building Co.

BEST CAR WASHPlatinum Hampton Auto WashGold Strebels Hand Car WashSilver Beach Hand WashBronze Southampton Car Wash

BEST CHIMNEY SERVICEPlatinum Ace Chimney Experts, Inc.Gold Done Right Roofing and ChimneysSilver Advanced Chimney Inc.Bronze Cunningham Duct Cleaning

BEST CLEANING SERVICEPlatinum A Votre Service!Gold Schindler Carpet & Upholstery CleaningSilver Cs Home & Office Management, Inc.Bronze New Yorks Little Elves

BEST CLOSET DESIGNPlatinum California ClosetsGold Custom Closets DirectSilver Long Island Closet DesignBronze Hampton Closet Company

BEST CONTRACTORPlatinum G. B. Construction and Development, Inc.Gold Farrell Building Co.Silver Eastbay BuildersBronze Kean Development Co.

BEST DOMESTIC AGENCYPlatinum Hamptons Employment AgencyGold Hire SocietySilver Al Martino AgencyBronze Hampton Domestics

BEST ELECTRICIAN/ELECTRIC COMPANY*Hall of Famer Ocean ElectricPlatinum Leos ElectricGold G. Craig ElectricSilver All Wright Electric

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICESPlatinum Eastern Environmental SolutionsGold TechClean IndustriesSilver Affordable Cesspool Sewer & Drain, Inc.Bronze ACV/Clearview Environmental

BEST FENCE COMPANYPlatinum East End Fence & GateGold Craftsman Fence Corp.Silver Safe HamptonBronze The Deer Fence

BEST FIREPLACE STOREPlatinum Hampton HearthGold Beach Stove & FireplaceSilver Sag Harbor Fireplace

BEST FLOORINGPlatinum Well Floor U Inc.Gold CarpetmanSilver Cancos Tile Corp.Bronze Long Island Paneling, Ceilings & Floors

BEST HANDYMANPlatinum All Island HandymanGold Southampton HandymanSilver BEST LevelBronze Baywood Construction

BEST HEATING/AIR CONDITIONING*Hall of Famer Flanders Heating & Air ConditioningPlatinum Hardy Plumbing & HeatingGold Kolb Mechanical Corp.Silver East End Heating and Air ConditioningBronze Nugent & Potter

BEST HOME INSPECTIONPlatinum AC&E Home Inspection Corp.Gold Southampton Home InspectionsSilver A-Pro Home Inspection East Hampton

BEST HOME STAGERPlatinum Styled and SoldGold Home Staging by SPCSilver Dream Windows & InteriorsBronze D & J Concepts

BEST HOUSE PAINTER/PAINTING COMPANYPlatinum Joes Custom Home Decorating Inc.Gold DiNome PaintingSilver Roses Painting ServiceBronze Kaplan Painting

BEST HOUSE WATCHER/PROPERTY MANAGEMENTPlatinum TA Property ManagementGold A Votre Service!Silver HCMC Home Care MaintnenanceBronze Chaloners of the Hamptons

BEST INTERIOR DESIGNPlatinum Dream Windows & InteriorsGold Styled and SoldSilver D & J ConceptsBronze Sea Green Design

BEST IRRIGATIONPlatinum K. Clemenz IrrigationGold RB Irrigation, LLCSilver Irrigation SolutionsBronze Irrigation Man

BEST KITCHEN/BATHPlatinum Ciuffo CabinetryGold All County MillworkSilver Ron Morizzo Kitchens & BathsBronze Green Art Kitchen and Bath

BEST LANDSCAPER/GARDENER*Hall of Famer Unlimited Earth CarePlatinum Natures Guardian Inc.Gold Stinchi LandscapingSilver Creative Design LandscapesBronze Jose Camacho Landscaping

BEST MASONRY/STONE/TILEPlatinum Southampton MasonryGold Ace Chimney Experts, Inc.Silver BEST View Landscaping & MasonryBronze Eastern Concrete

BEST MOLD INSPECTION/REMOVAL*Hall of Famer Mildew BustersPlatinum Enviroduct CleaningGold East End WaterproofingSilver AC&E Home Inspection Corp.Bronze Mold Pro Inc.

BEST MOVING COMPANYPlatinum Despatch of SouthamptonGold Hall LaneSilver Twin Forks Moving & StorageBronze Plycon Plycar

BEST OIL/GAS/PROPANE COMPANY (Learn More)*Hall of Famer Paraco GasPlatinum Suburban PropaneGold PetroSilver Danisi FuelBronze Twin Forks Oil

BEST PARTY RENTAL/SERVICES (Learn More)Platinum Bermuda Party RentalsGold Sperry Tent HamptonsSilver American Tent CompanyBronze Darling Events

BEST PEST CONTROL*Hall of Famer East End Tick & Mosquito ControlPlatinum Fox Tree ServiceGold Twin Forks Pest ControlSilver Natures Guardian Inc.Bronze ArborTech

BEST PLUMBERPlatinum Ken Massa Plumbing & HeatingGold R. Essay Plumbing & HeatingSilver Hardy Plumbing & HeatingBronze J.P. Mulvey Plumbing & Heating

BEST POWER WASHERPlatinum Schindler Cleaning CompaniesGold Clearview House Washing ServiceSilver Hamptons Power Wash

BEST REMODELINGPlatinum G. B. Construction and Development, Inc.Gold Eastbay BuildersSilver Joe Burns Contracting Corp.Bronze Gutierrez Home Improvement Inc.

BEST ROOFERPlatinum M. Stevens RoofingGold Fast Home ConstructionSilver Line Home ConstructionBronze Martins GC

BEST SECURITY ALARM COMPANYPlatinum Intelli-Tec Security ServicesGold All Suffolk SecuritySilver Briscoe Protective

BEST SHIPPING/PACKINGPlatinum Navis Pack & ShipGold The UPS StoreSilver EB Dunkerley & Sons

BEST SWIMMING POOL BUILDERPlatinum Spring & Summer ActivitiesGold M&M PoolsSilver Prestige PoolsBronze Casual Water Pools

BEST SWIMMING POOL SERVICEPlatinum Aquaman Pool ServicesGold Spring & Summer ActivitiesSilver M&M PoolsBronze Prestige Pools

BEST TREE SERVICEPlatinum Fox Tree ServiceGold Natures Guardian Inc.Silver Jose Camacho LandscapingBronze Integrity Tree

BEST WASTE MANAGEMENT/TRASH DISPOSALPlatinum Mickeys CartingGold College Hunks Hauling JunkSilver Emil Norsic & Son Inc

BEST WATER SERVICESPlatinum Better WaterGold Simply PRSilver Casola Well Drillers

BEST WINDOW CLEANINGPlatinum Schindler Cleaning CompaniesGold We Do WindowsSilver Crystal Clear Window CleaningBronze Triple C Window Cleaning

BEST WINDOWS/DOORS/GARAGE DOORSPlatinum AJ Garage DoorsGold All Island Garage DoorSilver Long Island Egress ProsBronze New York Window Film Co.

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Dan's Best of the Best 2019 Winners: South Fork Home & Personal Services - Dan's Papers

There was a time when it was enough for pubs to serve a decent pint of beer and get away with it, but increasing variety in customer profiles and drinking habits means the back bar now has to service a range of functions.

Theres a need for ample refrigeration for craft and world beers and ciders, an attractive and efficiently organised spirits bank to cope with long mixes and cocktails, and enough space for soft drinks, tea and coffee to meet the needs of those who arent drinking.

And customers have become more demanding than ever before, with the instant ability to publicly call out bad service, putting bar hygiene high on the agenda. It helps to keep on top of latest developments to allow the back bar to evolve organically, while refurbs offer a perfect opportunity to get things right in one big hit.

If you are going the whole hog soon, many suppliers offer a full back bar design service. London-based Nelson says that a well-run bar attracts customers but a well-designed one ensures they return.

It says its bespoke service trumps modular configurations by incorporating irregular shapes so the space can be used to its best effect, with workstations accommodated in optimum locations and dirt-traps eliminated.

Power points can be installed so equipment such as ice makers and crushers, blenders, coffee machines, glass-frosters, bottle coolers and EPoS stations are sited conveniently.

Nelson specialises in glasswashers and its latest addition is the Compact, designed for small spaces but which it says has washing power to rival machines twice the size. It has a soft start option to prevent chipping and rinse arms at both top and bottom to give a better wash finish.

IMC also offers a full back bar design service to improve speed of service and effective operation.

UK head of sales Martin Venus says: The type of equipment, and where it is positioned, is crucial to the smooth and successful operation of a pub or bar, and its important that its tailored to individual establishments.

Before we advise any outlet on layout design and equipment, we assess their needs and understand what they want to achieve, so space can be maximised.

We find out how many staff there will have to be behind the bar at busy periods, whether the glass washers and ice machines will be front-of-house or in the back, and whether they have handwashing facilities within reasonable distance, to adhere to health and safety regulations.

It also takes into account the contribution to a venues sales from draught product, single-serve bottles and made-from-scratch drinks.

The priorities for a cocktail bar and a real ale pub will be very different, adds Venus, who suggest creating workstations for each staff member, with beer taps, cocktail ingredients, glasses and a till all within easy reach.

Every minute a bartender isnt in front of a customer, service is slower, which affects sales and profits, he adds.

If there was one piece of kit I would advise investing in, it would be an IMC glass refresher.

This sprays a jet of cold water and is great for glasses that are still hot from the washer. It enables bar staff to serve drinks quickly, without having to wait for glasses to cool.

The sheer range of drinks a busy pub has to be prepared to serve means the amount of useful kit on offer grows all the time.

Jestic supplies a number of high-spec Vitamix blenders designed for making quality smoothies and blended cocktails.

Sales director Steve Morris says: Ensuring consistent quality when it comes to a diverse cocktail menu requires consideration of the type of blending equipment used.

As they are on display to the customer and used regularly throughout the day, operators need to ensure their equipment is not only capable of delivering an excellent product, but also looks good and, most importantly, is reliable.

The range includes the Bar Boss Advance. It features automatic shut-off, which allows the operator to prepare the beverage and start the blend before continuing with the rest of the customers order, safe in the knowledge the unit will automatically stop when finished, says Morris.

The widespread awareness of quality cask beer and the resurrection of keg as a result of the craft beer craze has made beer line cleaning more important than ever.

Chemisphere UK specialises in drinks dispense system hygiene and says its Pipeline detergents range is uncompromising and totally effective in the removal of yeast deposits, biofilm and bacterial and protein growth.

Its purple cleaner changes colour if the line is dirty, but if it stays purple pubs can be confident lines are free of yeast and bacteria.

Cocktail and soft drinks service also requires a clean and efficient postmix dispense system. Abbeychart, which specialises in Wunder-Bar and Schroeder bar gun equipment, offers an intensive deep clean and refurbishment service for post-mix kit, over and above a pubs regular daily cleaning.

It includes a complete strip-down, deep-cleaning, sanitising and replacement of seals and plastic parts.

Most people would be quite surprised at the amount of unsightly residue and grime that accumulates on bar guns, particularly with heavy use over the summer, says managing director Mark Taylor. This harbours germs and undoubtedly has a detrimental effect on the taste of drinks.

Hubbard Systems offers a next day delivery service for replacement Scotsman icemakers, which could be a boon if things go wrong during busy periods such as Christmas.

The range includes the EcoX EC, an eco-friendly machine that produces long-lasting supercube ice, and comes with capacities ranging from 25kg to 170kg a day.

Marketing manager David Rees says theres a lot that pubs can do themselves to maintain existing machines that hopefully wont mean them having to rely on an emergency bailout.

Ventilation grills need to be kept clear of obstruction, filters replaced at least every six months, and the scale guards and air filters cleaned regularly.

If it gets clogged with dust it will make the icemaker less efficient, so youll get less ice, says Rees. If its a quality icemaker this should be a simple, two-minute job.

Having a maintenance schedule for the components that need regular cleaning will help keep the equipment in peak condition.

Rees also warns not to ignore warning lights.

If the machine has self-diagnostics itll indicate whats wrong, and should be sorted straight away, he says. Dont wait. If necessary, call in the equipment service provider. If the icemaker isnt being looked after by a service company, get one in sharpish.

Excerpt from:
Why your pub's back bar should be front of mind - MorningAdvertiser.co.uk

Updated December 06, 2019 15:03:30

When the demand for electricity exceeds supply, sometimes people need to be cut off from power to prevent the whole system from collapsing.

This is called load shedding.

Here's how it works.

Load shedding is when power companies reduce electricity consumption by switching off the power supply to groups of customers because the entire system is at risk.

This could be because there is a shortage of electricity supply, or to prevent transmission and distribution lines from becoming overloaded.

A number of factors can result in load shedding, including extreme weather and infrastructure outages.

In January, a perfect storm of events placed the energy system under unusual strain.

While temperatures soared into the 40s in much of Victoria and South Australia, driving demand for air conditioning, three electricity generation units at coal-fired power plants in the Latrobe Valley were out of action, reducing the amount of available power.

To restore the balance, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) instructed electricity networks to reduce load, which left more than 200,000 customers without power for up to two hours.

It's important to note that such load shedding is different to planned local outages, such as for maintenance, and unplanned ones caused by damage to wires by events such as storms, bushfires or car accidents.

AEMO decides when load shedding is needed in the National Electricity Market (NEM), which includes Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

Before it turns to load shedding, AEMO has other measures it takes to try to overcome a power shortfall, such as importing more power from other states and tapping into emergency energy reserves (such as South Australia's diesel-powered generators which were switched on for the first time last summer).

It can also appeal to consumers to voluntarily reduce their energy consumption for example by postponing their use of dishwashers and washing machines and pay large industrial electricity users such as Alcoa's Portland aluminium smelter in western Victoria to power down for a period of time

But after exhausting these options, if it still needs to reduce demand, AEMO instructs electricity transmission and distribution companies to carry out load shedding.

AEMO tells the companies how much power needs to be saved, and the transmission and distribution companies then work out how to achieve those reductions.

Approaches vary between the states and territories, and each has a plan in most cases developed by the state or territory government in collaboration with the electricity industry for how load shedding is to be carried out in their jurisdiction, including a schedule for the sequence in which particular loads will be shed and restored.

These plans are based on nationally consistent principles and seek to maintain critical services and spread the inconvenience equitably: a limited disruption to many, rather than more significant disruption to a smaller number of customers.

In Victoria, in its special role as the state's transmission system planner, AEMO works with the State Government to determine the priority order of load shedding.

In WA and the NT, which aren't connected to the National Electricity Market, state and territory authorities decide when load shedding is necessary and how it's carried out.

Areas are disconnected from the power supply by distributors switching off the feeder serving that area.

A feeder is a high-voltage line that could supply anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands of customers.

Which feeders get switched off depends on a number of factors, including where the area sits in the state or territory's priority order of load shedding, how much power needs to be saved and which areas are using the most energy.

The penetration of solar energy also plays a part.

Some areas with a lot of solar panels could be feeding more energy into the grid than they are using.

These areas are unlikely to be disconnected, as to do so would make the shortfall worse.

AEMO says it works with the electricity industry to minimise the impact on the community, particularly major health facilities, emergency services and public transport.

But it says such services can still be affected by load shedding and should have backup arrangements in place.

Distributors also say they seek to avoid disconnecting power to other kinds of critical infrastructure, such as sewerage and water pumping stations, and to large shopping centres.

Energy Queensland said it first switches off "controlled load" energy. These customers receive lower prices in exchange for allowing the distributor to switch them off for a few hours each day.

The impact of this is generally less than other options, because these tariffs are typically used for non-essential equipment such as pool pumps.

Energy Queensland also has demand management agreements with a number of large industrial customers, which are offered lower bills throughout the year in exchange for being available to reduce their consumption at peak times.

In general, the first areas to be turned off will be mainly residential.

Victorian distributors CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy say they annually review the types of customers connected to each feeder in their networks, to determine which should be given priority because they serve critical customers.

Distributors try to minimise the impact of load shedding by rotating the disruptions between different areas: for example, disconnecting one area for a period of up to two hours before restoring its power and disconnecting another area.

"Typically, critical customers are last to have power turned off and first to have supply restored," said Andrew Dillon, the chief executive of Energy Networks Australia, which represents electricity transmission and distribution businesses.

Feeders serving hospitals are less likely to be disconnected, but being located near a hospital doesn't necessarily mean you share its feeder.

Living near a big industrial energy user is unlikely to have any bearing on whether you lose power.

Victoria's biggest energy user, Alcoa's Portland smelter, is served by its own dedicated transmission lines.

If load shedding is necessary in your area, you may not get any advance warning.

"Networks are often only given short notice by AEMO that load shedding is required," Mr Dillon said.

"This may be because a generator fails, creating an unexpected and rapid drop in supply."

When load shedding was ordered in Victoria in January, the rapidly moving situation seemed to take even the state's Energy Minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, by surprise.

On the morning of January 25, Ms D'Ambrosio told a media conference she didn't anticipate load shedding being necessary.

Later that morning, AEMO ordered load shedding.

South Australia publishes a list of which feeders are next in line for load shedding, based on which areas were shut off last time.

It is the only jurisdiction to publish its arrangements.

Michael Brear, the director of the Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne said if other jurisdictions were as transparent as South Australia about their plans, it might help reassure people that load shedding was being implemented fairly.

"I think it would be a good thing if they did it [published plans] in all states, so that everybody realises that there's no sort of political or other, less legitimate considerations involved," he said.

"Some people might think, 'They'll turn off that seat because it's a safe seat, but not that one because it's a swinging seat,' or something like that. That doesn't come into play."

Professor Brear says the alternative to manual load shedding would be more widespread and longer-lasting interruptions to power supply.

"There are very good reasons as to why we load shed and why we do it in a systematic way. It's to minimise the inconvenience and share this inconvenience across the whole population so that collectively we don't experience much worse.

"The choice is not between manual load shedding and continuing to have your air conditioning on and drinking your cold beer," he said.

"The choice is between coordinated and controlled load shedding and uncoordinated, uncontrolled load shedding, which might lead to greater problems."

AEMO's summer readiness plan, released this week, warned of a risk of blackouts across the national market but particularly in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, due to a combination of extreme weather, bushfires and plan outages.

The state most at risk is Victoria.

In August, AEMO warned that more than a million Victorian households were at risk of being without power this summer during extreme heat if two of the state's power plants which are out of action following faults earlier this year are not returned to service in time for peak periods.

AGL said this week its Loy Yang A coal plant in Gippsland would be back online by mid-December, while Origin said its Mortlake gas plant would not be operational again until the end of the year.

The market operator and Victoria secured extra power reserves ahead of summer to reduce the blackout risk, but Ms D'Ambrosio was not giving any guarantees this week.

"I don't think it's a sound position for anyone to give guarantees [about power] when effectively the Victorian Government doesn't own any of these generators," she said.

Professor Brear said since the closure of Victoria's Hazelwood coal-fired power station in 2017, which removed 1,600 megawatts of generation capacity, the state did not generate enough power to meet demand at its peak.

As for whether load shedding will be necessary this summer, he said it would largely depend on the weather, as well as the preparedness of coal and gas-fired generators.

Weather conditions influence demand for electricity as well as how much wind and solar energy is generated, and how reliably the state's remaining coal-fired power plants operate.

Longer term, he said Victoria needed more capacity to generate dispatchable power power that can be turned on when it's needed, even if the wind isn't blowing and the sun has set.

He said this could be delivered with more batteries, gas plants or pumped hydro.

"We could do with a new power station," he said.

Topics:business-economics-and-finance,industry,electricity-energy-and-utilities,melbourne-3000,australia,vic,nsw,qld,tas,act,sa,nt,wa

First posted December 06, 2019 05:48:49

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What is load shedding and who decides whose power is cut when there's not enough electricity? - ABC News

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) His mobile home was rotting around him and Johnny C. Owens had no money for repairs.

The Vietnam veteran had been living alone for eight years in the woods of South Alabama. Although he was no longer drinking, his old enemy depression had beaten him down.

Suicide seemed like the only way out. A couple of friends had killed themselves, but he didn't want to leave a mess in his bedroom like one of them did. So he practiced outdoors with his shotgun.

Then one day, he picked up a card that had been laying around. It was for a veterans' crisis line. He called.

The crisis line connected him with services offered through the Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System, which stretches from Hancock County to Panama City, Fla.

The VA determined Owens was essentially homeless. Before long, two men from the nonprofit group Soldier On showed up at his trailer, packed up his belongings and moved him to an apartment in Biloxi, where he has lived for five years.

"I started on my way up," said Owens, 77. "I'm doing good now. I've got some good people around me."

The safety net that caught Owens has for four years in a row housed every homeless veteran who wanted a home. The homeless rate for Coast veterans is "functional zero," a standard few communities in the United States have achieved.

It means South Mississippi has enough beds available for homeless veterans who want them.

This has been no small feat. In its first year of success, 2015, the veterans program housed 276 veterans. Success followed each year, with 147 veterans housed in 2018. With fewer veterans to house, the VA has more time to spend on prevention.

"If somebody is a veteran who is homeless, it is his decision to be homeless," said Judy Hearn Cottrell, who has worked with the homeless for 10 years, most recently as pastoral director of Seashore Mission in Biloxi. "I don't see any veterans on the street who are homeless unless they elect to be."

Further, the employment rate for veterans in supportive housing who can work was 90.83 percent for fiscal year 2018-19, the second highest in the nation.

The VA has achieved its success by working with community partners through the Open Doors Homeless Coalition, a nonprofit organization based in Gulfport that has more than 50 member agencies focused on a variety of services.

Under Executive Director Mary Simons, the ODHC is focused on ending homelessness not just for veterans but for all of South Mississippi.

"What we have found was that there were lots and lots of people, veterans included, falling through the cracks because the assistance was siloed," Simons said. "What we noticed was, if we were going to end anything, we needed to know what we were ending.

"We needed to know all the services being provided. We needed to break down those silos. Now, we couldn't imagine any other way of doing it or how we would manage without these partnerships."

The ODHC works off a database of the homeless, built through surveys that member organizations began conducting in 2015 while counting the homeless population annually through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's Point in Time count.

The survey specifically asked about veteran status, health-related problems, services needed and other issues so that respondents could be linked to available community services.

Veterans were a priority, but the ODHC and its members are applying lessons learned to the larger homeless population.

Performance measures show 96 percent of Gulf Coast service area veterans stay in a home while enrolled in the supportive housing program. Two years after discharge, only 10 percent return to homelessness, Simons said.

"We are one of the few communities that has sustained an end to veteran homelessness," she said, "and that is a result of the community partners doing this work."

" . . . We certainly don't want to leave anyone behind. The lessons we're learning from an end to veteran homelessness we're applying to other things."

Owens isn't flourishing only because he secured an apartment through the partnership between the VA and HUD, which supplies housing vouchers that help qualified applicants with rent. A support system surrounded him and continues to be there for him.

The VA's supportive housing program provides case management based on an individual's needs, including licensed clinical social workers, registered nurses, budgeting classes, peer support specialists, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Community partners working with the VA include ODHC members Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, the Hancock County Resource Center and Oak Arbor based in Hattiesburg.

Veterans in the HUD-Veterans Assistance Supportive Housing program go through phases of case management, said Jodie Picciano-Swanson, Homeless Program manager for the Gulf Coast VA.

The veterans start with a two-week orientation that teaches them everything from getting along with neighbors to managing their money. Some veterans have no income when they enter the program.

The VA works with them to find and enroll for any benefits to which they might be entitled, including Social Security and service-connected benefits such as health care.

The assistance he received, and the friends he's met along the way, have made all the difference for Owens.

He had previously cycled through drug and alcohol rehabilitation and psychiatric units.

Owens said his problems seemed to start as soon as he stepped off the airplane in 1964 on his return from 14 months' service in the Air Force as a member of the First Communications Group during the Vietnam War.

He doesn't think of himself as a hero, not at all. Instead, he said, he gives all the credit to those who were engaged directly in combat.

"I just felt guilty," he said. "Why should I be back and not them?"

During the war, he discovered alcohol and drugs, which were cheap and plentiful. He continued to drink when he returned home. He worked for less than two years at Keesler, where he taught math, electronics and communications.

His family came with him, but the drinking eventually chased off his wife and two children. After an honorable discharge, he wound up homeless and without work. He said he rode freight trains all over the country.

His family in Alabama didn't want him around and he didn't want to be around them, either. He eventually settled in that trailer in the woods.

His depression became unmanageable after both his parents died, he said.

"I just didn't care about life anymore," he said. "Depression got me good. That depression is fierce."

His apartment and supportive services saved him. He has made friends through the VA and still attends a veterans support group weekly. He also has friends and neighbors in his Biloxi apartment complex off Pass Road.

They share meals and good times. And he's back on speaking terms with his family, proudly displaying pictures of their get togethers in his apartment.

He loves to cook and enjoys reading about astrophysics, theoretical physics, astronomy and philosophy.

"I've got some special people around me," he said. Oh, man!

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Group helps Vietnam vet find new life on the Coast - The Edwardsville Intelligencer