Characterizing progress on the North South Corridor as glacial is apt on two counts.

For one, it has been extremely slow. Since it was first envisioned way back in 1946, transportation planners have been trying to add a highway that will connect Interstate 90 to the northern suburbs of Spokane along the east side of the city. It took six decades just to get shovels in the ground for an August 2001 groundbreaking that signaled, at last, the start of construction. And now, 19 years later, the Washington State Department of Transportation has set an end date thats another nine years away.

Glacial fits, too, because, like a glacier, the NSC has upended and altered seemingly everything in its 10 1/2-mile path. Railroads, streets and hundreds of properties and buildings have been rerouted or removed to make way for the freeway, which is now about halfway complete, with the multiuse Children of the Sun Trail set alongside the route that exists so far.

On Tuesday night, a legion of WSDOT officials were at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in East Central to talk about what will be final leg of the NSCs very long journey south from Highways 2 and 395 to its eventual intersection with I-90 in that neighborhood and about the impacts it will have.

Planners have long known that the connections effect on East Central will be major. But those plans have changed.

For 20 years, beginning in the mid-1990s, WSDOT pushed toward a plan that would have connected the current and under-construction freeways with whats known as a collector-distributor. That design would have consolidated traffic in wide lanes on either side of I-90 and would have involved reconstruction of I-90 between the Liberty Park and Sprague Avenue exits to straighten the roadway in an area where a curve tends to slow traffic down.

Those plans would have required a huge concrete footprint. And to make way for that footprint, WSDOT removed vast stretches of the East Central neighborhood between East Sprague Avenue and Interstate 90.

But that project was cut due to budget constraints about five years ago, according to Terrence Lynch, assistant project engineer for WSDOTs design office.

Since that time, the Department of Transportation has been pursuing something completely different than that, Bob Hilmes, the engineer overseeing NSCs design, told the audience gathered in East Central on Thursday night.

The new plan is a simpler, smaller and, yes, cheaper plan for creating the NSC/I-90 interchange, though it will still cost between $200 million and $250 million. That practical solution, as WSDOT calls it, would involve adding numerous bridges and a series of new roadways and ramps, tying the local road network, the interstate and the NSC all together.

The revised plan for the interchange has been rolled out gradually over the years, Lynch said, and at Thursdays meeting WSDOT shared revised, but still not finalized, plans focused on the southwest section of the nearly 3-mile stretch of I-90 that will be affected as the NSC connects to it.

Lynch said the biggest change outlined in the preliminary plans for that area will come where Hamilton Street currently connects to I-90.

There, on the ramp that curls up from I-90 to Hamilton, drivers who want to go north on the new freeway would have to begin their move to the NSC northbound, exiting the Hamilton ramp for another ramp about a mile-and-a-half long that will run along I-90 before curling up to the NSC.

The addition of that ramp to the design has necessitated another change: drivers heading south on Hamilton Street would no longer be able to directly connect to I-90. Instead, they would head down a ramp that would place them on East Third Street. They would then travel through the Altamont Street intersection and head up another ramp that would connect to the eastbound interstate.

If it sounds confusing, thats because it is. The maps of the proposed interchange arrangement look like a circuit board and are about as hard to decipher.

What is clear, though, is that the interchange as now designed would have a much smaller footprint than the long-pursued collector-distributor design. And that means WSDOT has quite a bit less property demand, Hilmes said. According to Lynch, the amount of property required is about 30% less than expected under the old interchange model.

But we already bought the property, Hilmes said. So what do we do now?

Spokane City Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson, who lives in the East Central area, said she has one answer: replace some of the housing that WSDOT removed.

I see that land as housing, because they took out so much of it for the initial plan, Wilkerson said. So we already have those lots with infrastructure to build, so we can get some low-income housing for people. That would be great land for housing. It will be accessible. It will be somewhere on STA (the Spokane Transit Authority) so they can get places. That would be great.

Lynch said new housing is a possibility, but likely not on the land cleared to make way for the abandoned collector-distributor.

Replacing the houses displaced by the acquisition is always an opportunity, Lynch said. If there are some areas that are suitable for housing, Im certain that would be a consideration.

He noted, though, that the new design being pursued still uses up most of that space.

Its not like were going to have all this vacant land near this interchange, Lynch said. Its not going to be enough to build an apartment complex or a duplex.

Instead, Lynch and Hilmes say, WSDOTs focus will be on placemaking. Thats the process of gathering community input and combining it with the expertise of professional planners to decide how to develop land around the NSC for the public good. The department has had success doing that on the northern stretch of the road, Hilmes said, and aims to repeat that success in East Central.

Wilkerson said she hopes what they will continue to engage on is that community-engagement piece. They said it out loud, so I think we should hold them to that.

She said its vital that the projects potential be harnessed in an area that has been affected so heavily by a road project that hasnt even arrived yet, and that she predicted is the next neighborhood to pop.

I regret that they (the neighborhood buildings) were torn down, she said. But I think that we should embrace somehow trying to rebuild.

And she wants to be sure the NSC doesnt undermine East Centrals potential by pushing more traffic into the neighborhood without giving people a reason to stop.

Im worried about traffic, Wilkerson said. Im worried about traffic that just drives through. So thats a concern.

Shes hopeful, though, that WSDOTs plan will improve the interstate connections enough that fewer cars will pass through East Central in a hurry to get elsewhere.

If beefing those up would keep the traffic out of the neighborhood, if thats the endgame, then I have to go for it, Wilkerson said.

Hilmes said the flow of traffic on I-90 is a major concern of his department as they continue the work of designing the NSCs connection. As they model how things will look in 2029, when the new freeway is supposed to finally be completed, Hilmes said WSDOT has a goal thats about as modest as it is ambitious: Prove I-90 wouldnt work any worse than it does today, with those connections.

By those connections, Hilmes meant the complex web of on-ramps, off-ramps and bridges that will join the increasingly clogged interstate to the new NSC. And he said the design will help by pulling cars off I-90 before they get to the crowded corridor between Liberty Park and Sprague and sending them to the NSC on long ramps alongside I-90.

The braided ramp design, as its known, will allow designers to take traffic off I-90 before you put traffic onto I-90, Lynch said.

Today, all the traffic is coming on and getting off, Lynch said. Theyre fighting for the same space.

And that, he said, leads to congestion. The new design, Lynch and Hilmes said, should lessen it.

It actually improves the operation of I-90, Hilmes said. Does it fix it? No. But it improves it.

Have strong feelings about the basalt rock sitting in the median of I-90 west of Spokane in the Four Lakes and Tyler areas? If so, you may want to let WSDOT know.

The transportation department is planning to regrade the median in the area and has identified 10 segments where basalt rock and tree removal could affect views along the highway. So WSDOT is considering two options: installing barriers with a guardrail or removing the rock and trees altogether.

You can offer your thoughts on which route the department should take online at surveymonkey.com/r/S2Z53WX. You can also attend an online open house at engage.wsdot.wa.gov/i-90-four-lakes-tyler/.

If you ride the bus, youve seen the fliers. The Spokane Transit Authority wants your input on the big changes planned for routes in North Spokane, Spokane Valley and Airway Heights.

Some of the potential changes were covered in a column earlier this month, and STA still wants your input atsta-servicechanges.participate.online/.

The transit agency also opened an online survey last week for its planned revamping of the Cheney Line. You can offer your input at surveymonkey.com/r/cheneyline, by emailing nhanson@spokanetransit.com or by mailing comments to Spokane Transit, 1230 W. Boone Ave, Spokane, WA, 99201, Attention: Cheney Line Project.

Normandie Street will be closed between Central and Dalke avenues from today through Friday for work on the Central Avenue well.

The north curb lane of Third Avenue between Division and Cowley streets will be closed through Wednesday due to CenturyLink work.

The northbound curb lane of Monroe Street will be closed between Kiernan and Garland avenues through Friday for Quanta work.

The southbound lane of Bernard Street between 29th and 31st avenues will be closed until Friday for Avista work, but two-way traffic will be maintained.

The southbound lane of Lincoln Street between 20th and 21st avenues will be closed and traffic will be flagged from today through Feb. 28 for Avista work.

Northbound Howard Street will have a lane shift between Cataldo and Boone avenues, and Cataldo will be completely closed between Howard and Washington streets through March 6 for Quanta work.

The southbound curb lane of Northwest Boulevard between Buckeye and Grace is closed until March 9 for Sounders Cable work.

See more here:
Getting There: After glacial progress, East Central braces for effects of North Spokane Corridor's eventual arrival at I-90 - The Spokesman-Review

A Highland motorist has criticised Bear Scotland for not carrying out appropriate safety checks after a tree came down in front of him during Storm Dennis.

John Mowatt was travelling north along the A82 from Fort William to Inverness when a large tree crashed to earth just seconds in front of him, north of Invermoriston.

The 53-year-old was forced to turn back to Fort Augustus before driving up the right hand side of Loch Ness along the B852 towards Inverness as the popular road remained blocked.

Following the incident, the transport manager explained how he could still see the branches of the tree shaking upon approach, just seconds after it came down onto the Highland route.

He said: Its the first time it has happened to me and I have been driving for years. I was driving quite slowly because of the road conditions.

When I was standing down there, a local gentlemen came along and he also made the comment that it has been like this for weeks. You could see the bleeding on the tree.

Police were called to the scene less than 30 miles outside Inverness shortly before noon following numerous calls from concerned motorists.

A police spokesman said: We received the first call at 11.45am about a tree which had fallen onto the road on the A82 north of Invermoriston.

Mr Mowatt criticised Bear Scotland for not carrying out the appropriate checks to prevent such eventualities from taking place.

He added: The main road into Inverness, whether it is potholes or trees falling, is horrendous. Its a horrendous road to drive and its getting worse.

Why has Bear Scotland, the Scottish Governments contractor who is supposed to do checks on that road every day not seen these trees leaning at a severe angle?

The tree that came down has been at an angle for months.

A Bear Scotland spokeswoman said: All of our routes, including the A82 through Invermoriston, are subject to weekly safety checks to identify if any work, including tree removal or other landscaping activities, is required.

Trunk road safety remains our top priority and well continue to carry out routine safety patrols across the network and respond to any issues.

She added: We thank all road users for their patience while we deal with any incidents during the storm and encourage them to drive to conditions if out.

Here is the original post:
Highland motorists criticises Bear Scotland as tree comes down onto the A82 - Press and Journal

You spent the holidays binging on HGTV, and now visions of shiplap accent walls and freestanding soaking tubs are dancing through your head.

Don't let your desire to upgrade your home downgrade your home's market value. Before you make a renovation fantasy a reality, consider whether the project will pay off when you're ready to sell. Plenty of home improvements add value, but others like these five can hurt it.

1. A chef-quality kitchen

If you love to cook, a high-end kitchen could be the ultimate gift for you. But if you think a massive overhaul will majorly impact resale value, you might be in for a surprise. An upscale kitchen renovation recoups just 54% of its cost in added value, according to Remodeling magazine's 2020 Cost vs. Value report.

"If you do marble countertops and high-end appliances, you could spend $100,000, and it doesn't necessarily mean your house is worth an extra $100,000," says Beatrice de Jong, a consumer trends expert for Opendoor, a San Francisco-based direct home buyer and seller.

Smaller kitchen upgrades could yield a bigger payoff. Chris Arienti, broker and owner of Remax Executive Realty near Boston, suggests keeping updates reasonable: Think granite rather than marble, and GE instead of Sub-Zero.

2. DIY painting

A bold statement wall can say the wrong thing to potential buyers if the workmanship is questionable. Streaky, chipped or low-quality paint can knock $1,700 off a home's sale price, according to Opendoor data that looked at home offers made from June 2018 to June 2019.

"A good paint job is not easy," says Sarah Cunningham, a real estate agent with Ethos Design + Remodel in Boise, Idaho. "It is all in the prep work, and most people don't want to do the prep work." Hiring a professional to paint can help ensure a more attractive result.

3. An expanded master suite

Knocking down a wall to create an oversize master bedroom or stealing closet space to build out a spa-style bathroom may sound dreamy. But how about as a selling point? "If you go from five bedrooms to four, and you can make it work, no big deal," Arienti says. But he cautions that losing a bedroom in a smaller house could mean a lower selling price.

As for cutting into closet space, residential building codes don't mandate that bedrooms have closets. But, Arienti says, "Once you take the closet out of a bedroom, to a buyer, that no longer looks like a bedroom."

4. Plush wall-to-wall carpeting

Carpet can be especially unattractive to first-time home buyers, who may be used to landlords updating carpet between renters, de Jong says.

"In general, people are grossed out by (carpeting). It can make a room look a little bit dated."

It can also ding your sale price. Carpet as the primary flooring in a house drops the value by $3,900 and carpeting in the master bedroom causes a $3,800 plunge, according to Opendoor. Conversely, a 2019 report from the National Association of Realtors estimated that sellers could recoup the entire cost of refinishing hardwood floors. New wood flooring could actually add value, with sellers getting $1.06 for every dollar spent according to NAR.

5. A swimming pool

It doesn't matter if it's infinity edge or above-ground: Any pool can be seen as a drawback by buyers who don't want to deal with maintenance or insurance. Even in Florida, a pool doesn't add value, Liede DeValdivielso, a real estate agent with the Keyes Company in Miami-Dade, said via email. If you're thinking resale, it's not worth it you'll never recoup the cost, DeValdivielso said. But if you'll use it and enjoy it, put in a pool.

How to decide if renovation is worth the cost

To ensure you're making an informed decision:

CONSIDER YOUR TIMELINE: "If you're going to be in the home for 30 years, you can do anything, because at that point, your mortgage is paid off," Arienti says. Looking to sell in the near future? Pay closer attention to whether your choices will appeal to a potential buyer.

CONSULT AN EXPERT: "Talk to a professional so you aren't making misinformed choices that are going to work against you in five to 10 years," Cunningham says. A designer can help you tell fleeting trends from future classics; a contractor can explain what kind of work a proposed renovation would entail.

COMPARE HOME FEATURES IN YOUR AREA: De Jong suggests looking at comparable homes for sale near you and going to open houses to make sure your improvements align with the norms for your neighborhood.

GET AN APPRAISAL: A licensed appraiser can do a feasibility study to estimate your home's current value and its likely value after the improvements.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Related links: http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-how-much-home-worth; http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-tips-first-time-home-buyers

Go here to read the rest:
5 home improvements that may not pay off when you sell - Worcester Telegram

These days, consumer tastes lean toward a more transitional or contemporary aesthetic, and technology has enhanced virtually everything we buy. This holds true for the new kitchen and bathroom products that were introduced by manufacturers at this years Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas.

New debuts included sleeker cabinets and hardware; counters and tile that are more durable than ever; and technology so finely tuned that we can ask a faucet to give us 8 ounces of water at 100 degrees or command a toilet to flush without ever touching a knob.

Everyone was talking about integrating technology, said Agha Mo, a Houston tile and marketing consultant. How products in your home will recognize its you and what time of day it is and what your mood is and turn on lights and music accordingly. Then when you leave the room the lights go off. The idea is super amazing.

Mo, as well as designers Diana Walker of Diana S. Walker Interior Design and Melanie Heinrich of TriFection Remodeling and Construction, attended the trade show and reported back on top trends they spotted.

New products are utilizing voice technology in more refined and responsive ways.

Kohlers 2.0 version of its fancy Numi toilet is so sleek you barely know its a toilet. With a $7,000 price tag, it senses your arrival and lifts its lid automatically and has built-in Alexa voice controls, so the virtual assistant can call up your favorite music, create ambient mood lighting and flush on command.

Simpler examples come in other plumbing fixtures, such as touchless faucets that deliver water at certain temperatures and in any quantity you want, from a tablespoon to a cup or more.

Everything can be done by voice. Technology is taking over everything, Walker said. Dont be afraid of it, its coming, and it will be the way everything happens in the future.

Gray and white arent going away completely, but theyll surely take a back seat to warmer neutrals and more color overall, the designers said of the variety of colors they saw in cabinets and appliances.

I noticed a lot more color a lot of mixed-use bright colors across plumbing and appliances, Heinrich said. Blue is big this year, and what I saw for next year is a deep green. Those natural colors are really trending as we get out of the gray and white age.

Appliance makers already jumped on the blue wave prompted by Pantones announcement of Classic Blue as its 2020 Color of the Year, with GEs lineup soon to include blue, joining companies such as Viking, Thermador, BlueStar, Big Chill, La Cornue, Lacanche and Bertazzoni, all of which offer appliances in a variety of colors.

Wolf, Thermador and Gagganeau came out with more color two years ago, but this years exhibit was really out of the box, Walker said.

The trend toward contemporary design affected cabinets in a big way, with Heinrich noticing more installed flush with walls an installation more common in modern design.

European cabinets are made in modules and installed in removable sections, and Walker marveled at the Nobilia brand that billed its cabinets as a forever kitchen that you could uninstall and take with you when you move provided you could find a home buyer who wants an empty kitchen.

That method could come in handy in flood-prone areas, she noted. Imagine if you had something like a Harvey incident; you would take them out, clean them up and put them back in your house. Thats how they do it in Europe, and its a game changer if you like contemporary style.

For another take on appliances, we might be more likely to see appliances blending in with cabinets as matching panels cover up our dishwashers, microwave ovens and even our refrigerators.

I saw a lot of panel-front appliances, with wood and other materials, Mo said. I saw some covered in fabric that looked like a sofa cushion. People are really taking it to the next level.

Mo noted ongoing trends in the tile industry, where improvements in porcelain tile and slabs have made it look better and be more durable.

Plain white subway tile isnt likely to ever go out of style, and Mo said he saw new versions of it in glassier materials, as well as a number of booths using Moroccan tile in bold colors and patterns as backsplashes.

Manufactured stone continues to grow in popularity, for its improved appearance and tough exterior. Cosentino and Cambria made a good showing in Vegas, with both launching numerous new patterns. Cambria launched 20 new designs as well as a new collaboration with furniture manufacturer Room & Board that uses Cambrias man-made stone on tables and other items.

Cosentino added more patterns to its Dekton, Silestone and Sensa collections, including some that mimic popular types of quartzite and onyx.

Never before have our passions and our indulgences been showcased so much in our homes.

For our pets, KBIS showed a fancy glass-enclosed shower and refrigerated drawers for use in utility/pet rooms for those who feed their pooches fresh food and want to keep it separate from human food.

For those who cant be too far from their favorite cold beverages, Thermador showed a vignette with a refrigerated drawer built into a bathroom makeup vanity, Heinrich said.

One of Walkers favorites was the Plum wine dispenser, a small, self-cleaning refrigerated unit that holds two bottles of wine and dispenses the beverage through a needle to prevent oxidation. Its technology scans the bottles label to identify the varietal, vintage, region and winery.

GE and Monogram both have come out with a machine that can make clear ice, Mo said, excitedly. Man, I am in love with that. Im not joking, it looked like you had crystal balls in your glass.

diane.cowen@chron.com

Sign up for Cowens Access Design newsletter, delivered to your inbox Tuesdays, at houstonchronicle.com/accessdesign.

Original post:
Pet showers and voice-activated toilets: Whats new in kitchen and bath products - Houston Chronicle

CHUCK TODD:This Sunday, state of play.SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:Thank you, New Hampshire.CHUCK TODD:Who's the Democratic front-runner? Is it New Hampshire winner Bernie Sanders?SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:We will not only defeat Trump. We will transform this country.CHUCK TODD:Or delegate leader Pete Buttigieg?PETE BUTTIGIEG:I now stand before you at the head of an unlikely campaign, leading in the race for delegates to the Democratic nomination.CHUCK TODD:Can Amy Klobuchar keep surging?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I'm Amy Klobuchar, and I will beat Donald Trump.CHUCK TODD:Or should Democrats pin their hopes on Michael Bloomberg, who's now facing heightened scrutiny?MICHAEL BLOOMBERG:I know I can't change history. What I can do is learn from my mistakes.CHUCK TODD:This morning, my exclusive sitdown with the one-time front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, who took on Sanders supporters.JOE BIDEN:If any of my supporters did that, I'd disown them.CHUCK TODD:And my interview with Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Plus, the president strikes back.REPORTER:What lesson did you learn from impeachment?PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:That the Democrats are crooked, they've got a lot of crooked things going, that they're vicious.CHUCK TODD:President Trump attacks his foes and protects his friends in a post-impeachment show of force. And Attorney General William Barr sounds off about his boss.ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR:Public statements and tweets make it impossible for me to do my job.CHUCK TODD:Was this a genuine rebuke of the president? Or political theater? Joining me for insight and analysis are Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson; NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander; Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute; and Mara Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino. Welcome to Sunday. It's Meet the Press.ANNOUNCER:From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history. This is Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.CHUCK TODD:Good Sunday morning. When you're thinking about the Democratic presidential race, it's helpful to remember a line from the movie No Country for Old Men. No, I'm not going where you think I'm going. Paraphrasing here. "If this ain't a mess, it'll do till the mess gets here." Bernie Sanders has a plausible path to the nomination, leaving the Democratic establishment grasping for an alternative. Two alternatives, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, are splitting the center-left vote for now, while another, Mike Bloomberg, stands ready to divide the non-Sanders wing even more come March. And then there's Joe Biden, the one-time presumed front-runner. Fourth and fifth place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire have raised serious doubts about whether his campaign can survive. In just a moment, you'll see my exclusive sitdown with the former vice president. And against that backdrop has come what one Democratic senator called President Trump's retribution tour. Mr. Trump sacking or attacking perceived enemies, including those who testified at the House impeachment hearings and then of course trying to protect his friends. It all suggests that the lesson Mr. Trump learned from impeachment is to just be himself, only more so. It's left Democrats feeling an even greater urgency to find the right candidate to take on Mr. Trump, while being no closer to figuring out who that candidate is.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Nevada.JOE BIDEN: South Carolina.PETE BUTTIGIEG:California.SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:North Carolina.SEN. ELIZABETH WARRENVirginia.MICHAEL BLOOMBERG Right here in Texas.CHUCK TODD:As Democratic candidates look to Nevada, South Carolina and the 15 states and territories that vote on Super Tuesday, Democrats are already anxious about the potential of a drawn-out primary fight that could drag on for months.SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:I did win the popular vote in Iowa. I did win the popular vote and win the primary in New Hampshire. I think we're going to win in Nevada.CHUCK TODD:The strong start by Bernie Sanders is triggering alarm among some Democrats who worry he could win a plurality of delegates with strength just on the left without broadening his political support.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I was the only one on that stage that raised my hand and said that I didn't think we should have a socialist leading the Democratic ticket.PETE BUTTIGIEG:What he's offering is a vision that says you've got to either be for the revolution or you're for the status quo and there's nothing in between.CHUCK TODD:And Democrats worry if Sanders is not the nominee, many of his supporters may refuse to get in line behind another candidate. This week, Sanders supporters attacked Nevada's hotel workers union after it criticized his position on Medicare for All.SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:We're living in a strange world on the internet. And sometimes people attack people in somebody else's name. But let me be very clear. Anybody making personal attacks against anybody else in my name is not part of our movement. We don't want them.CHUCK TODD:With Joe Biden's decline, Democrats are jockeying to prove they are the best equipped to take on Sanders and win the center. Among them, Michael Bloomberg, whose rise in the polls is fueled by more than $300 million in ad spending.MICHAEL BLOOMBERG:You've all heard the slogan, "Mike will get it done." And if you haven't, I've been spending an awful lot of money to get it out there.CHUCK TODD:With Bloomberg's growing strength comes new scrutiny of his past, including a 2015 speech defending New York City's controversial stop-and-frisk policing policy.MICHAEL BLOOMBERG:The way you get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them against the wall and frisk them. Sometimes, you just make a mistake and I think the sign of leadership is standing up and saying so.CHUCK TODD:2008 comments that seem to blame the economic crisis on banks ending redlining, the denial of housing loans to minority neighborhoods.SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN:That crisis would not have been averted if the banks had been able to be bigger racists. And anyone who thinks that should not be the leader of our party.CHUCK TODD:And allegations from women of sexist comments and workplace discrimination at his company. On Saturday, Bloomberg tweeted, "I would not be where I am today without the talented women around me. ... I will always be a champion for women in the workplace." Bloomberg's rise and the muddle among centrist Democrats is a product of one thing: Biden's struggles.JOE BIDEN:Nobody told me it'd be easy. I don't believe you brought me this far to leave me now. Don't leave us now.CHUCK TODD:Yesterday, I sat down with the former vice president, Joe Biden, in Las Vegas, where he is campaigning ahead of Saturday's Nevada caucuses. I began by asking how months of public attacks by President Trump on he and his son have affected him personally.

JOE BIDEN:First of all, it initially made me angry. But I realized that whomever was likely to be, whoever he most feared was going to be the victim of his affection. No matter who it is, they're going to go after them. And secondly, what I determined was, and I know this sounds -- I don't what it sounds, I'll just say it. You know, a president can't just fight. The president has to be able to forgive, has to be able to reach out. We've got to pull the country together, and so the dilemma's been, you know, how much do I let my frustration show and how much do I focus on -- because ultimately it's not about me, Chuck, it's about the folks listening. I mean for real. It sounds prosaic. CHUCK TODD:I got to ask. You've been asked about Lindsey Graham before. What kind of violation of your friendship has this been?JOE BIDEN:Well, you know, Lindsey -- I went out of my way for Lindsey, and Lindsey recorded things that were so -- you know, about what a wonderful guy I am. But when I watched how Lindsey responded under pressure to John McCain, our mutual friend -- John and I went at each other hammer and tong, but on his deathbed he asked me to do his eulogy. We were friends. He was honorable. He was decent. And it just stunned me that he did not respond to, to the attacks on John that were made by this president so viciously. He -- and the way he, well I shouldnt -- hurt the family. And so I'm not surprised. But I have to tell you, I'm disappointed. He was friends with Jill. He was friends with Beau. He was friends with Hunter. I mean, he was, you know --CHUCK TODD:Let me ask it this way. If you become president of the United States and Lindsey Graham calls you up and says, "Hey, that was just politics. Can we begin our friendship again?" How's that conversation going to go?JOE BIDEN:I would say I'll be willing to talk to Lindsey. I want to know.CHUCK TODD:You want to know why he did it? So you'll take that phone call, if he'll ever, if hell ever give you that phone call?JOE BIDEN:Yes, I would.CHUCK TODD:Have you thought about the fact that the president's campaign against you and your son might have been effective? I mean, that it might have cost you Iowa? Might have cost you New Hampshire? Has that crossed your mind?JOE BIDEN:It has, but you know, I can't, I can't focus on that, Chuck. I've got to focus on the future. I've got to focus on how do we, how do we end this era of -- I mean how do we literally, I wrote about it, restore the soul of this country? I mean it's just being eaten out. It's being eaten away. The cruelty. The viciousness. The way he pits people against one another. The way he goes after people of color. The way he makes fun of. I mean theres a cruelty about it. And that's not who we are, Chuck. I refuse to believe that's who the American people are.CHUCK TODD:Let me talk about the campaign.JOE BIDEN:Yes.CHUCK TODD:There was something you wrote in your book before you launched your campaign. You were talking about the 2016 campaign you might have run. Heres what you said what you were not -- this is the type of campaign you said you were going to run in '16. You weren't going to do a cautious, trim around the edges campaign. You thought that was pointless. So Biden for President was going to be big. Anything less just wasn't worth it. You look at this campaign now. Can you say this is not a cookie cutter campaign? Do you feel like you are running something different? Running something bigger? Some of your supporters feel like there's not the urgency that they want out of you.JOE BIDEN:No, I understand. And one of the reasons they say that is because I am unwilling to, up to now, attack the Democratic opponents who are attacking me. I mean, I got involved. I was viewed as the front-runner. I had the target on my back. I've been put through the test. And they've thrown a lot, a lot at me. Some misrepresentations. And so I have to ask myself whether or not it has, it has been wise to be as, sort, of polite and not negative as I have been. The ideas I have, Chuck, are big and bold. I mean this idea that I'm not the progressive in the race. I mean my lord, if, if I get elected president of the United States with my position on health care, my position on global warming, my position on foreign policy, my position on the middle class, this will go down as one of the most progressive administrations in American history. But what were -- what you're up against is things that are almost fanciful. Like, you know, Medicare for All. Thirty five, thirty, forty trillion dollars. Even Bernie's now saying, "Well, how much is it going to cost?" "Well, who knows. We'll find out." I think that's the phrase he used -- or "we don't know." I mean, part of being president is not just the idea you have. Can you get it done? Have you ever done anything big? Have you ever been able to put together coalitions that bring along Republicans and all the Democrats to get things done? And the idea, I mean it's almost fanciful sometimes.CHUCK TODD:I know, but isn't that Bernie's strength, though? Everybody knows -- one thing about Bernie. You know where he stands. You know who he is. He doesn't change. I mean, isn't that --JOE BIDEN:And he's never gotten anything done. I'm not being --CHUCK TODD:No, I get it.JOE BIDEN:I mean, he's a decent guy.CHUCK TODD:I get what you're saying.JOE BIDEN:I mean, he's been talking about health care, Medicare for All, universal health care, for 35 years. Nothing's happened. I helped get passed Obamacare. I helped move it forward. I got the votes. I'm in a position where I take something that I promise you, I'll get done. We take Obamacare. We allow people -- like out here in Nevada, what's going on? Bernie requires, and Elizabeth's plan requires you to give up all private insurance. These folks have broken their necks, the culinary union and others, to get the most comprehensive health care that's out there. And they've given up wages for it. Now they're being told you've got to give it up, you can't, you cant keep it, and it's going to cost 30 trillion dollars or more, and I can't tell you who's going to pay for it. I mean come on. This is -- I mean, I think people are so tired of the lack of straightforwardness out there. Now, if I'm wrong, I'm going to be dead wrong, but I really believe that you have to lay out why you're doing what you're doing and how you're going to get it done.CHUCK TODD:Are you concerned that $300 million has gotten Michael Bloomberg half your support among African Americans?JOE BIDEN:Well, no --CHUCK TODD:We're starting to see it in these Southern Super Tuesday states.JOE BIDEN:Well, I think -- you know, you just saw the Super Tuesday states, saw Georgia, I'm still getting 80%. Anyway, the point is that $60 billion can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can't erase your record. There's a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg. You all are going to start focusing on him like you have on me, which I'm not complaining, like you have on me the last six months. You're going to focus on him. His position on issues relating to the African American community, from stop-and-frisk to the way he talked about Obama, to, I mean --CHUCK TODD:Has it dawned on you that two of your, two of your biggest rivals, one's not a member of the Democratic party yet, and the other was a Republican about five or six years ago.JOE BIDEN:Yes. No, it doesn't surprise me.CHUCK TODD:What does that say about the state of today's Democratic party?JOE BIDEN:Well, I think what it says is money, billions of dollars, can take you a long, long way. And it says that it's going to be awful hard to go out and win those -- the base support of the Democratic party, the African Americans, Latinos and working class white folks, and put that coalition together. That's how you win an election. You put that coalition together.CHUCK TODD:I was stunned that you didn't do as well in Manchester and Dubuque. You're Middle Class Joe. You're the guy of these working class -- you didn't do well in Dubuque and Manchester.

JOE BIDEN:Well I, --

CHUCK TODD:Why is that?JOE BIDEN:I did better in Dubuque, but I got outspent overwhelmingly in both places. I think Bernie spent $25 billion --CHUCK TODD:And this is what has your supporters anxious. You're the former vice president. How are you getting outspent? How are you getting outspent by Bernie and by Buttigieg? You shouldn't be.JOE BIDEN:No. I shouldn't be, because -- but I haven't, I havent spent the time -- it's starting to happen now. I haven't spent the time going out doing the fundraisers, and moving the way I have. Well, now online we're raising about 400,000 bucks a day, and we have a lot of fundraisers that are online, and we've got a lot of union support now. So -- but I think you're right, that my being outspent has had an impact. We're not going -- were going to be able to compete from here on in, including these two.CHUCK TODD:South Carolina is it, isn't it? I mean you have to win that.JOE BIDEN:Well, I think I have to do really well in it, but right --CHUCK TODD:What's really -- is there such a thing as doing well without winning for you?JOE BIDEN:Well, I think so. But look its, Ill be, look, right after that, within -- on March the 4th we end up with -- going into all the states, which the polling data is now showing me doing incredibly well. Whether it's North Carolina or Georgia or Texas or any of these other places. So look, it's not an apt comparison, but Bill Clinton lost his first eight, ten, 12 primaries and caucuses before he won one. I don't plan on taking that long. But we're just getting to the meat of getting to the number of delegates you need to be able to win this election. And I'm confident we're going to be in good shape.CHUCK TODD:Bernie Sanders is a guy who says he's going to support whoever's the nominee, and he's all in. Are you confident his supporters will do that or are you worried that some of his supporters -- and do you think -- who -- if his supporters are attacking culinary union members, who's responsible for that?JOE BIDEN:Well look, he may not be responsible for it but he has some accountability. Im going to not put you put you in a spot you dont have to you know me well enough to know if any of my supporters did that, Id disown them. Flat disown them. The stuff that was said online, the way they threatened these two women who are leaders in that culinary union. It is outrageous. Just -- just go online. I invite anybody to go and take a look, the things they said, the vicious, malicious, misogynistic things they said. The threats they put out. And to say I disassociate is one thing. Find out who the hell they are, if any of them work for me. Fire them. Find out. See whats going on.

CHUCK TODD:You don't think he's been curious enough?JOE BIDEN:I'm hoping he's looking, but I tell you what, so far I don't think it's sufficient just to say, "I disassociate myself."CHUCK TODD:Mr. Vice President, thank you, sir.JOE BIDEN:Thanks. Thank you.CHUCK TODD:Good to talk to you.JOE BIDEN:Thank you.CHUCK TODD: You can see my entire interview with Joe Biden on our website, MeetthePress.com. When we come back:

[BEGIN TAPE]

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHARHello, America. Im Amy Klobuchar and I will beat Donald Trump.

[END TAPE]

CHUCK TODD:The candidate who introduced herself in a big way Tuesday night with a strong, surprising third-place finish in New Hampshire. But can Amy Klobuchar keep the momentum going? She joins me next.

CHUCK TODD:Welcome back. If there was one constant about Senator Amy Klobuchar's campaign, it's that she's had very strong debate performances that didn't translate into strong poll numbers. All that changed in New Hampshire when her powerful Friday night debate generated big crowds that weekend and a surging third-place finish, well ahead of Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. The question now, does she have an encore? And Amy Klobuchar joins me now from Las Vegas. Senator Klobuchar, welcome back to Meet the Press.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Well, thanks, Chuck. I can't think of a better place to have an encore than Las Vegas.CHUCK TODD:There you go.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:So there we go.CHUCK TODD:Yeah, there you go. Fun way to tease that. But let me talk about that. You know, one of the hallmarks of your New Hampshire campaign is you essentially out-evented everybody. I think, by our count, you ended up doing more events in New Hampshire than any of the other major candidates. That translated into something there, the end of that campaign. You now are suddenly going from a one-state campaign to this thing's about to scale up in a hurry. Are you able to put together a campaign in order to become one of the leading front-runners?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I am, Chuck. And we're really buoyed by what we've seen here in Nevada. I got the endorsement of the Las Vegas Sun and a recent poll in the Review Journal had me in double digits, so that's a major change for us. What has happened since that debate in just a little over a week is that we raised over $12 million online, mostly from just regular people, new people who gave. That's the first time in a campaign like this that you've seen a surge from people just seeing a debate and deciding, "You know what? I like this person and I think she's going to have my back. And I think she can lead this ticket to victory," which is the number one concern of Democrats. So we are doing multiple events here. We had over a thousand people in Reno just a day or two ago, in Las Vegas now, and we're just taking this message all over the state.CHUCK TODD:$12 million in a week is impressive. $300 million from Michael Bloomberg is what you're facing. And I say this because you guys are fighting for the same part of the party here. I mean, it is - that has got to be daunting. On one hand, you've got some money, you can start building a national campaign, but you're facing this onslaught.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Yeah. I mean, honestly, is it daunting? Yes, because I do things like go on your show, take tough questions, and then at the same time, he is running more ads on whatever he wants during that same time. That's what life is, and I think what needs to happen here is that he needs to go on shows like this, which he hasn't done. He just can't hide behind the airwaves. He has to answer questions. And of course, I think he should be on that debate stage, which eventually he will be, because I can't beat him on the airwaves, but I can beat him on the debate stage. And I think people of America deserve that to make a decision.CHUCK TODD:You know, when you looked at the New Hampshire exit poll, you saw that the sort of the non-Sanders wing of the party, whatever we want to call this, the pragmatists, the centrists, whatever, whatever title you want to give to it, it is larger than what Sanders had. But at the end of the day, you guys arent pragmatic enough. Let me show you something Politico wrote: The pragmatic, compromising Democratic moderates apparently cant pragmatically agree to compromise on a preferred presidential candidate. Instead, they have handed their ideological intra-party nemesis, Sanders, the bragging rights in the first two contests even as he hasnt touched 30 percent of the vote in either. If you guys dont coalesce around somebody, he could be the leading delegate guy after Super Tuesday, and theres suddenly not enough delegates left to stop him.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I don't see it that way at all, Chuck. This is a primary and we're not going to go back in some back room, three or four people, and just say, "Okay, you got it. I don't." We're competing, and the voters of this country get to make that decision. And eventually people will drop out of this race, but right now, this is a competition and that's how it should be. I also think people understand that what unites us is bigger than what divides us. I was the one on that debate stage, when asked, "Should we have a socialist leading the ticket?" I was the only one that raised my hand, even though I get along with Bernie. We came into the Senate together. We've worked on pharmaceutical prices together. My argument is that while I may not have the money of Michael Bloomberg, I will get the money from people as this goes on, as I emerge as a stronger candidate. We now are going to have teams in every single Super Tuesday state. I'm starting to travel to these states and we're going to be doing events --

CHUCK TODD:Let me ask --

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:-- in nearly all of them.

CHUCK TODD: -- let me ask you this. At some point--SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Okay.CHUCK TODD:--you have to win. You have to win someplace.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Yes.CHUCK TODD:And it can't just be in Minnesota. We know that's going to be an opportunity for you. Where are you going to win by Super Tuesday?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:There's so many states out there, I'm not going to list them all for you, but it's everything. You can just go around the country. I don't know which state I'll win, but I'm going to do better than anyone imagined. There's states like Colorado and Utah. There's states like North Carolina on Super Tuesday. There's states like Virginia. I can go around the map with you, but right now who knows who's going to win because a lot of us are clustered together in the polls? I don't have the biggest name ID or the biggest bank account, but I have this ability to bring people with me, and that's what you're seeing, slowly but surely, in every single state. And by the way, when the mayor, Mayor Bloomberg and the president were going at each other on Twitter, when the president claimed that the mayor was 5'4" and the mayor said, no, he's taller, I am the only one that has the claim to be 5'4" in this race, the only one.CHUCK TODD:You take that, President Trump, I guess, on that front.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Yes.CHUCK TODD:Let me ask you about Michael Bloomberg. Can you envision supporting him as the Democratic nominee, somebody who's been a Democrat, I think, only for a couple of years?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I have been very clear that I am going to support whoever comes out of that convention who is our Democratic nominee. If he is the one that emerges from that convention, I would support him. I still do not think he is the best candidate for our country. I don't think that people look at the guy in the White House and say, "Oh, let's get someone richer." I think my background, where Donald Trump got $413 million from his dad in the course of his career, and my grandpa saved money in a coffee can in the basement to send my dad to a community college as he worked in the mines his whole life, you can't fit $413 million in a coffee can in the basement. I would also add the Midwest is not flyover country to me. I live there, and the people that live there are not poker chips in a bankrupt casino, since I'm in Vegas, of President Trump to me. They are my friends and neighbors. That's the area of the country that we need to win and that's also a strong case I'm going to have against Michael Bloomberg.CHUCK TODD:If you're the Democratic nominee, are you going to be comfortable accepting funding help in different ways and, and from Michael Bloomberg? You know, there's a lot of progressive and Democratic groups that have, that have received a lot of money from him over the years. What, what is the price of that money in your mind?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Right now, I'm just focused on our own campaign, and that is based and fueled so much by those small contributions at AmyKlobuchar.com, that's allowed me to compete, a modicum of money to be able to compete on the airwaves with Mayor Bloomberg and others. That, to me, is where I am focused. And I believe in the future that, of course, when we get a nominee, there is going to be enough money because of the incredible interest of people in this country. Not just fired up Democrats, but also independents and moderate Republicans like I brought in in New Hampshire, like I'm going to bring in in Nevada. They also want to see a change in the White House and they don't agree with everything that's said on that debate stage, but they agree with me when it comes to a decency check and a patriotism check, even though they may not agree with everything on that debate state.

CHUCK TODD:Given some --

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:I'm really excited about the coalition I can put together to beat the president.CHUCK TODD:Given some of the things that Michael Bloomberg has said, whether it's about women in the workplace that he's been accused of saying or about policing African Americans, redlining, things like that, if he's the Democratic nominee, does it make the job of going after President Trump's character harder?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Again, I don't think he's the best person to lead the ticket. I think I am. But I think, just like every other candidate, like I have come on your show multiple times and a number of other candidates have come on and answered tough questions, he's got to do the same thing. He hasn't gone on the Sunday shows since he announced. Instead, he's just running ads. And I don't think you should be able to hide behind the ads. I think you should not only go on these shows, I also think that he should take the debate stage. That's why I have actually been supportive of him on that debate stage because I know I can't beat him on the airwaves, but I can beat him on the debate stage.CHUCK TODD:Let me ask you this. He's getting scrutinized for his record on criminal justice issues, and now so are you. And I'm curious about this. When it comes to your record, there's been a lot of people who have done more analysis of your record over the years as a prosecutor. Have you read these, these, these look-backs? And if you have, have you, have you sort of winced? Do you look back at your career and think, "Boy, there are some things that if I knew then what I know now, maybe I'd be a different prosecutor. Maybe I wouldn't have put so much trust always in law enforcement and what they say on the witness stand versus what somebody else says"? Do you at all acknowledge that maybe your record deserves a different look?SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Well, of course, what we know now was not the same as what we knew then. And I have always been an advocate for criminal justice reform. That was a tough job. I supervised 10,000 to 15,000 cases every single year and we did a lot of good work and I was proud of our office, but we know that there is systematic racism in the criminal justice system. And the answer is, of course, something that I worked on when I had that job before being in the Senate is diversifying the office. It is doing things like videotaping interrogations, something I advocated for and we had in Minnesota. It is doing eyewitness ID in a different way that limits racial misidentifications. It is what we're doing now in the Senate, where I've been a co-sponsor of the First Step Act to reduce non-violent sentences. And as president, for good or bad, I think having someone that's actually led on these issues will be a good thing because I will be able to get that clemency board in place and move on to the Second Step Act because I have a deep understanding of the goods and the bads of the criminal justice system.CHUCK TODD:Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota, thank you for coming on, getting up extraordinarily early today and sharing your views. Thanks very much.SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR:Its all good. Thanks, Chuck.CHUCK TODD:All right. When we come back, Michael Bloomberg is spending money like a front-runner, which means he's now getting front-runner-like treatment from reporters. Can he handle it? Panel is next.

CHUCK TODD:Welcome back, panel is here. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson; Danielle Pletka, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Mara Teresa Kuma, president of Voto Latino; and NBC News White House correspondent, Weekend Today co-anchor, Peter Alexander. Welcome to all of you. So, Michael Bloomberg. Mara Teresa, this is alleged comments that Bloomberg-- this is from a Washington Post look-back on Bloomberg on women. And I'm putting all this up here because it feels like pre-Trump this could have been disqualifying in a Democratic primary. Quotes that have been attributed to him, "If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they'd go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale's." Referring to some lawsuits about discrimination, the lawsuit said when Bloomberg saw certain women he said, "I'd (expletive) that in a second." Another anecdote, "When Bloomberg learned on April 11, 1995, that Garrison," somebody who worked for him, "was pregnant, according to her suit he allegedly said to her, 'Kill it.'" He has denied that he said those words in a deposition. Is this going to be damaging to him as he tries to become a mainstream Democrat?MARA TERESA KUMAR:This is where it's going to get tough. Who's going to show up for the American public? Is it going to be Mayor Bloomberg or is it going to be philanthropist Bloomberg? And I say this because philanthropist Bloomberg is the one that has invested heavily on electing women through his Emily's List, has invested heavily through Planned Parenthood for women's choice, has invested heavily on gun reform, has invested heavily when it comes to basically every single issue that technically will expand the base and bring in a bigger tent. Mayor Bloomberg, when he talks about what happened with redlining, when he talks about, you know, stop-and-frisk, has been incredibly damaging with some of those policies. And so as he rolls out his person and his persona, he's going to have to be able to answer directly of what is happening and who is going to show up.CHUCK TODD:Eugene, does it take character off the table?EUGENE ROBINSON:It-- it may. I mean, we did have an election in 2016 and Donald Trump did win it, right. After the Access Hollywood tape, after everything, he won the election. And so I think a lot of Democrats, as they look toward this election, they're saying, "It's Trump. It's going to be a knife fight. Maybe we should look at the guy with the biggest knife, right, and with a $60 billion knife." And that's Michael Bloomberg. I think that's why he's getting a look from the Democratic party and I think that's why, you know, things that definitely would have been disqualifying just a few years ago may not, in and of themselves, be disqualifying. We have yet to see him on a debate stage. We have yet to see him mix it up with them. We've yet to see how he actually performs, but we've seen a lot of ads and it's gotten him some numbers in the polls.CHUCK TODD:You know, interesting, Danielle Pletka, Amy Klobuchar decided not to go to any of those places. And you know, that is her prerogative. Maybe she's going to do it at the debate, maybe not. She clearly wants him on the debate stage, that's for sure.DANIELLE PLETKA:Yes, I think she does because she recognizes that she's going to come across as somehow genuine and together and he's going to come across as a thin-skinned rich guy who bought his way into the Democratic primary.CHUCK TODD:Are you confident he's going to be a bad debater? I mean, we don't know that.DANIELLE PLETKA:I worry. Let me put it this way, you know, I dont, he's not a personal friend of mine so I don't know how he is going to debate, but one of the things that great wealth does to you is it insulates you from the people. You know, one of the things that Donald Trump has going for him is you can say a lot of bad things about Donald Trump, and we all have, but he is actually a man of a certain group of people. A lot of people don't like those people, but he is a man of the people. I don't think that Bloomberg is going to prove himself to be a man of the people.CHUCK TODD:Peter, the president though, hes, I think he respects only one thing in life, I think, wealth.PETER ALEXANDER:I was going to say, there is one thing that the president notices and that's how much money you have, right. The president likes to boast about all the money that he has. This guy has, what, 60 times more money than he has, $60 billion by some estimates here, so I think that is the one thing that resonates with the president. We witnessed it this week where the president again attacked him, referring to him as Mini Mike. But Democrats watched the way that Bloomberg responded, I think, and were impressed by that. A lot of Democrats appreciated someone that fought back and used the same insults, where he said stuff that's ugly and not pretty, but at least they liked the fact that this guy's not going to back down from it. We'll see if that matters. I was in the Oval Office earlier this week and I said to the president, "Who's the frontrunner?" He said, "Yeah, I think it's got to be Bernie right now." I said, "Why is Bernie surging?" And his eyes kind of sparkled for a second. He wants to praise Bernie in a way--CHUCK TODD:Yes, he does. Uh-huh (AFFIRM).PETER ALEXANDER:--because he sees something about Bernie in himself, which is he's an outsider. He's anti-establishment. He's got a movement. Obviously I think he'd like to run against Bernie Sanders. Bloomberg, I think he has concerns about.CHUCK TODD:Mara Teresa, where is this all headed? I mean, it's a mess.MARA TERESA KUMAR:Grab the popcorn. I think the biggest challenge right now is with Bernie Sanders I think the question is that he will grow that electorate base that the Democrats desperately need--CHUCK TODD:Will he?MARA TERESA KUMAR:--in order to win. I think he'll bring in the young people.CHUCK TODD:But did he--MARA TERESA KUMAR:The challenge--CHUCK TODD:He hasn't yet.MARA TERESA KUMAR:No, he has.CHUCK TODD:In this, and so far, I mean, youth turnout was down, not up.MARA TERESA KUMAR:No, but in Iowa you actually saw a constituency of the Latino vote and you actually saw a constituency of young African American votes actually outperform. That is where the new base is coming from. The challenge though is that is he going to turn off a lot of the moderate Republicans and independents that Bloomberg will actually be able to siphon off?CHUCK TODD:Or Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg won those voters in New Hampshire as well.MARA TERESA KUMAR:Yes, but I think the challenge is that-- this is the challenge with both Buttigieg and Klobuchar is that, coming into Nevada, they do not have a base. Biden has a base, Warren has a base, and Bernie has a base. Those are the three. And so when you start talking about, and they've been working it for a long, long time. And I have to say Elizabeth Warren's camp, she brought in all the folks from Julian Castro's camp, but also the same people who made sure that Hillary won last time.CHUCK TODD:Julian was the best organizer in Nevada early on.MARA TERESA KUMAR:All the folks, right, yes.EUGENE ROBINSON:Well, after Nevada, we get to South Carolina. You know, it's dangerous this year to look past any primary.CHUCK TODD:Don't look past anything, yes.EUGENE ROBINSON:So let's not look past Nevada. What happens in Nevada will affect what happens in South Carolina. But that's, I certainly believe, a do-or-die state for Joe Biden. He has to do well there.CHUCK TODD:What's well?EUGENE ROBINSON:He's got to win.CHUCK TODD:Okay.EUGENE ROBINSON:He's got to win.CHUCK TODD:I was surprised he didn't say win.EUGENE ROBINSON:I'm sorry. He's got to win. And you know, there was a poll that showed nationally Biden's African American support going down. That's the ballgame in South Carolina. Basically you have to do well. So that South Carolina firewall, if Bloomberg actually makes inroads there, I mean, Bloomberg is not even running there and he's polling like 6% in South Carolina.CHUCK TODD:The Charlotte media market helps--EUGENE ROBINSON:Yes.CHUCK TODD:--because he's advertising heavily in North Carolina.EUGENE ROBINSON:And so if you see Biden go down, maybe Bernie comes up or whatever, you know, I think that would be a disaster for Biden and I think it would be good for Bloomberg going into super Tuesday.DANIELLE PLETKA:But the problem is we're still talking about this as if it's some sort of speed dating show. And you know, for me, the big question that we don't talk about enough is what is the Democratic party going to stand for? Is the Democratic party going to be the party of we have to beat Donald Trump at all costs, or is the Democratic party, which is what it has been for the last two years?CHUCK TODD:And what Bloomberg is essentially saying, "Hey, that's what I am."DANIELLE PLETKA:Yes, that's what I am, right.(OVERTALK)CHUCK TODD:I am. You know, I have a lot of warts, but you know what, let's go.DANIELLE PLETKA:Or is it going to be the party of ideas?And thats, because that's what inspires people.MARA TERESA KUMAR:And this is where the challenge is, that you have historically Democrats that will vote for whoever's on the ballot right now because they are feeling nervous, but we also know that that's not going to get them over the top unless they grow that base. And that has to be a party of ideas. And this is where I think a lot of the Democrats are missing the opportunity. They keep talking about these big ideas, but they're not landing it. They have to give the vision of the day after Donald Trump is, you know the day after, right after my inauguration and Donald Trump is gone, this is what we're going to do together. That's how they have to synthesize it.CHUCK TODD:Well, that was a nice robust discussion. Thank you. And remember, NBC News and MSNBC, the networks at NBC News, will be hosting the next Democratic debate Wednesday from Las Vegas. I'll be joined by my colleagues Lester Holt and Hallie Jackson, Telemundo's Vanessa Hauc, and Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent. That's Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss it. When we come back, Bernie Sanders is promising to expand the electorate by getting young progressives to vote. How's he doing so far? That's next.(COMMERCIAL BREAK)CHUCK TODD:Welcome back. Data Download time. Bernie Sanders may have eked out the most votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, but if you look at the numbers more closely, it shows a candidate hitting a ceiling, for now, rather than a glide path to the nomination. In both states, Sanders garnered almost the same percentage of the vote. Check this out, 26.5% and 25.6% respectively, compared with Buttigieg earning similar amounts as well. Now, Sanders can blame the large field of candidates, but Donald Trump got 35% in New Hampshire in 2016 in a similarly crowded field. Sanders often makes the case for enthusiasm, that is people are more fired up and he's better able to bring new voters into the fold as a result. Well, if you look at the combined percentages among the centrist candidates, they do much better than the progressives, earning 51% of the vote in Iowa and 52% in New Hampshire. Then there's turnout. Tuesday's New Hampshire primary broke the record set in 2008 with an 18% increase in overall turnout compared with four years ago, but a decline in the groups that tend to support Sanders. The amount of 18 to 29-year-old voters was down 5% on Tuesday night compared to when Sanders swept the Granite State in 2016. And the amount of very liberal voters was down the same amount compared to 2016 as well. Those kinds of numbers do not favor the Sanders campaign and actually, it could just get tougher. Iowa and New Hampshire were near-perfect places for Sanders to flex his progressive muscle. Both were states he'd organized in before, one being next door to his home of Vermont. But there are very few other contests with as friendly of electorates to Sanders as those two first two states of Iowa and New Hampshire. When we come back, when Bill Barr suggested that President Trump knock off the tweets, was he really saying, "Don't worry, Boss, I got this"? End Game is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUCK TODD:Back now with End Game. And it's been quite an active week here in Washington away from the campaign, hasn't it? We've seen Attorney General Bill Barr's Justice Department intervene in both the Roger Stone and Mike Flynn cases. We've also seen four Stone prosecutors quit the case as a result. And then we heard Barr rebuking-- and we're going to put that in quotes for now -- President Trump and his tweets. Rebuked him again in an ABC News interview. I want to play a couple of things before we get started with this conversation. First, I want to play Barr about what the tweets have done to him. Take a listen.

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR:Once the tweet occurred, the question is, "Well, now what do I do?" And do you go forward with what you think is the right decision? Or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be.

CHUCK TODD:Of course, everybody's been trying to figure out -- who is Barr talking to? Is he rebuking the president? Here's what Laura Ingraham on, on Fox News, here's what she said after the interview.

LAURA INGRAHAM:The media sees this sexy story of Trump versus Barr, but they missed the fact that Barr was basically telling Trump, "Don't worry. I got this."

CHUCK TODD:Peter Alexander, did Laura Ingraham just say the quiet part out loud?

PETER ALEXANDER:I mean, I think a lot of people believe that's the case, right? That effectively what Barr was saying is, "Hey, boss. This is unnecessary and unhelpful. Look at the actions we've taken to this point so far." The president -- this is not a president who's in it for justice. He's a president who's in it for an eye for an eye. Think about what's happened in the last, what, eight to ten days since he was impeached. I asked him for lessons learned. There was no self-reflection. He said that the Democrats are crooked. In the days since then, he's fired Gordon Sondland and Vindman. He also moved on attacking the Stone decision, you know, and, and got what he wanted out of it. And McCabe, I'm told, is what made him angrier than anything right now. But this is a president that is emboldened. And the best example of that is the fact that today he goes to the Daytona 500, and I'm told that there are discussions, he is planning to literally take a victory lap where he will -- you know, the cars all lean left, the folks in the crowd lean right. This is going to be a massive Trump rally. And this is a guy who feels big, not just like a survivor, but feels stronger right now.

CHUCK TODD:Dani, he even quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson saying --

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DANIELLE PLETKA:He misquoted Ralph Waldo, he misquoted Ralph Waldo Emerson.

CHUCK TODD:-- attempted to.

DANIELLE PLETKA:I guess I'm a little bit less inclined, which is why I'm here, I guess, to, to, to attribute some malign intent to, to Attorney General Barr. I mean, I --

CHUCK TODD:You were shocked Laura Ingraham said that.

DANIELLE PLETKA:I was totally shocked Laura Ingraham said that, but I, I -- no comment. But I do think it's possible that he's actually just telling the president to shut up. I think that those who see a conspiracy here have to make a decision. Either Trump is an idiot who's out there just, you know, slamming through everything, slamming through all the norms, or he's a conspiracy guy who's behind the scenes working with his attorney general to send out a message. I don't see him as that guy. I see him as that guy where it's all out there. And I also see Barr as a very serious prosecutor. So, you know, I think he'd love the president to be quiet.

EUGENE ROBINSON:I, you know, I -- a serious prosecutor? I think Bill Barr once was a serious prosecutor. I'm not sure he is now. But I do think, I cannot imagine that President Trump liked being publicly rebuked by somebody who worked for him. Whatever, even if --

CHUCK TODD:No other Cabinet secretary has --

EUGENE ROBINSON:Even if --

CHUCK TODD:-- gotten away with it.

EUGENE ROBINSON:Even if it had been a pre-planned kind of song and dance, he would not have enjoyed that. That would have eaten at him. I think it will eat at him that the Justice Department is not going to prosecute Andrew McCabe --

CHUCK TODD:Or Jim Comey.

EUGENE ROBINSON:-- and it's not going to go down -- or Jim Comey, right. It's not going to go down that road that President Trump wants it to go down. On the other hand, Laura Ingraham is basically right that Barr has done a lot of the things that Trump would like and if Trump would just leave him alone, you know, he'd get a good result. But I don't think the president can leave that scab alone. So we'll see the next couple weeks.

CHUCK TODD:What should Democrats in Congress do? I mean, they're in this sort of --

MARA TERESA KUMAR:Call him in for an Oversight hearing to --

CHUCK TODD:Well, they are --

MARA TERESA KUMAR:-- actually talk about it and they should --

CHUCK TODD:I mean, we're going to hear it at the end of the month, I guess. Or the end of March.

MARA TERESA KUMAR:This is the challenge, is that the president has taken the Department of Justice as his own personal vendetta. It is a dotted line to whatever he wants to actually do. And what I mean by that is that they, when Giuliani said, "I am in Ukraine right now trying to pick up dirt on the president, and I'm giving it over to the Department of Justice," Barr didn't exactly say that he wasn't accepting that, that dirt. It is --

CHUCK TODD:No, he said they've created a channel actually --

MARA TERESA KUMAR:A channel. Right, a channel, right? Like, they're actually actively building that. That's the wall, thats the bridge that they're actually building together. And that is the challenge, is that the turmoil that was inside the Department of Justice prior to that, there, folks were -- you know, these conversations that there was going to be actually an insurrection. People were going to walk out. But I also know folks that have used to work for the Department of Justice. And they take their job so seriously. These are public servants. These are the ones that say, "My job is to uphold the Constitution, make sure that people, everybody gets a fair shot." And what Trump has been able to do in that institution is going to be long-lasting unless we change it.

CHUCK TODD:Peter, Barr himself, and that's the thing where everybody's trying to debate, is Barr, is this -- Barr himself noted the dilemma. It, he's admitting it creates the appearance of political interference.

PETER ALEXANDER:Yeah. No, you're exactly right. This, this was a release valve for William Barr no matter what. It had to happen in some form because we know what was happening behind the scenes in the Justice Department. Not just those four prosecutors walking away, but the potential that a lot more were going to leave. We saw the reporting of that around the country, federal prosecutors having real concerns that the president was going to intervene with what's going on there. But at the end of the day, this is a president who wants his Justice Department to protect him and to punish his perceived enemies, right? And I'm told that he was fuming, he was so much more angry about Andrew McCabe not being prosecuted than he was about anything that William Barr said. Just the idea was, "Hey, let's go after these guys."

CHUCK TODD:Why does he always want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

DANIELLE PLETKA:Because that's Donald Trump --

CHUCK TODD: -- Its amazing.

DANIELLE PLETKA:No, he can't help himself --

CHUCK TODD:His approval rating likely will probably go down from this. We know this, the Trump skeptic voter, right, sits there and says, "I like the economy. I like these things. Stop tweeting. Stop doing these things." And those are the ones that go back to disapproving him.

DANIELLE PLETKA:But I just want to, I want to draw us back to something that I think should concern everybody. And that is that these are norms that were beginning to be eroded before Donald Trump. Donald Trump just takes that ball and runs with it. The IRS going after people who the president doesn't like. President Obama being rebuked by James Comey for being perceived to have prejudged the Clinton email investigation. These don't rise to the level of what Donald Trump has done, but they, they create this appearance of -- what did Donald Trump call himself? "The king," right? You don't want a president who is the king. I don't want --

MARA TERESA KUMAR:We're not a monarchy.

DANIELLE PLETKA:Right. I don't want Barack Obama to be my king. I don't want Donald Trump to be my king.I don't want any of them to be my king.

EUGENE ROBINSON:And we really don't want a Justice Department that is seen as politicized.

MARA TERESA KUMAR:Exactly right --

EUGENE ROBINSON:Ive lived in countries where that was the case.

CHUCK TODD:Let me ask you this.

EUGENE ROBINSON:We don't want that. It's hard to get it back.CHUCK TODD:I kind of think --EUGENE ROBINSON:It's hard to get it back.

CHUCK TODD:-- we're in a situation that we may need to come up with different ways that we appoint an attorney general. Do we need to come up with a five-year term? Do we need to separate it out from presidential terms?

DANIELLE PLETKA:Interesting question.

CHUCK TODD:I mean, I just throw that out there because the public isn't going to feel good about this. It doesn't matter --PETER ALEXANDER:The Justice Department has to be objectively fair but also to have the perception of fairness right now. And if nothing, if we know nothing else, it's that the perception is clearly lost.MARA TERESA KUMAR:But Eugene really hit on something. We have experienced countries where the press is under, constantly under attack and scrutiny and the Justice Department is constantly under attack and scrutiny. And I have to say, my family fled Colombia. The only thing that kept it as a democracy was the fact that their judges were fair and the, and the press was fair and told the truth. Those were also the most dangerous jobs in that country.EUGENE ROBINSON:Yes. Yes.CHUCK TODD:All right, guys. Thank you. What a - nice to have a couple of robust discussions today. We got them both in. That's all for today. Thank you for watching. It's been great to be in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it's great to be here, too. We'll be back next week right after the Nevada caucuses. We hope they have results. Because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.

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Meet the Press - February 16, 2020 - NBCNews.com

(OnFocus) Roofing in the winter presents unique industry challenges, but Quality Roofing is well-equipped to handle any winter roofing project.

Obviously the snow, the cold, and the ice present challenges and theres a little more precaution on that aspect, said Kyle Schultz, project manager. There are slipping hazards, but we take time to make sure everyone is safe.

Quality Roofing can work even through the coldest parts of winter, though owners Pat and Mark Begotka dont make laborers work if the cold becomes unbearable.

Everything has its temperature limitations, but there are often ways to work around it, said Schultz. We work around the temperatures most of the time.

Other winter challenges include those present in most other jobs, such as driving to the location. If the project location is a considerable distance from a laborers home, Quality Roofing will provide the option for workers to stay overnight near the job site.

Benefits to winter roofing include shorter workdays and dressing warm.

We always have to wear pants and hard hats, so in the summertime it can get warm. In the wintertime, you can dress a little better for conditions, said Schultz.

To join the Quality Roofing team or to hire them for your next commercial roofing project, contact them at 715-384-8881.

Kyle Schultz Celebrates 20 Years with Quality Roofing

Marshfield Insurance, Quality Roofing Inc, Offer Tips to Prepare Roofs for Winter

More here:
Quality Roofing Handles Winter Projects with Safety in Mind - OnFocus

MIAMI VALLEY Todd Miller of Sidney was recently recognized with the Larry Swaney Award from the Metal Construction Association. Miller is president and co-owner, along with Kelly Joseph of Tipp City, of Isaiah Industries in Piqua. Isaiah Industries is a leading manufacturer of specialty residential metal roofing and other building materials.

The Larry Swaney Award is given to an individual who has worked unselfishly for the success of the Metal Construction Association (MCA) and the betterment of the metal construction industry. The recipient is recognized for reflecting the spirit of Larry A. Swaney, the founding president of the association and an individual committed to promoting communication, cooperation, sharing and unity, as well as fostering growth and enhancing the betterment of metal construction.

Miller has spent his entire career of 35-plus years in the steep slope metal roofing industry. He has played an industry leadership role for more than 20 years and is widely respected for his industry knowledge. Miller has served MCA in various capacities related to technical, research, marketing, governance, and government relations. While most of his work has been in manufacturing, marketing, and sales, he has also worked with a great deal of industry research, including writing and co-writing numerous technical bulletins and installation guidelines. He served on the MCA Board of Directors from 1999-2015 and was chairman in 2013 and 2014.

Todd works with thousands of homeowners and contractors each year, answering questions and providing direction for successful roofing systems, said Dick Bus, president of the Metal Roofing Alliance, a leading trade association related to MCA. The vast majority of these interactions do not involve his companys products, but Todd sees it as his calling to further our industry by being a great resource.

In addition to being Vice Chair of the Metal Roofing Alliance, Miller serves on the Board of Directors for Christian Academy Schools in Sidney and the Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce. Isaiah Industries has 55 team members who serve customers across North America as well as in Japan, the Caribbean, and other areas.

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Isaiah Industries president recognized with award from the Metal Construction Association - Troy Daily News

Metal Roofing Market Overview:

Global Metal Roofing Market was valued at USD 4.21 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 20.39 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.64 % from 2019 to 2026.

In the report, we thoroughly examine and analyze the Global market for Metal Roofing so that market participants can improve their business strategy and ensure long-term success. The reports authors used easy-to-understand language and complex statistical images, but provided detailed information and data on the global Metal Roofing market. This report provides players with useful information and suggests result-based ideas to give them a competitive advantage in the global Metal Roofing market. Show how other players compete in the global Metal Roofing market and explain the strategies you use to differentiate yourself from other participants.

The researchers provided quantitative and qualitative analyzes with evaluations of the absolute dollar opportunity in the report. The report also includes an analysis of Porters Five Forces and PESTLE for more detailed comparisons and other important studies. Each section of the report offers players something to improve their gross margins, sales and marketing strategies, and profit margins. As a tool for insightful market analysis, this report enables players to identify the changes they need to do business and improve their operations. You can also identify key electrical bags and compete with other players in the global Metal Roofing market.

Request a Report Brochure @ https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=12220&utm_source=ITN&utm_medium=003

Top 10 Companies in the Metal Roofing Market Research Report:

Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation, Jinhu Color Aluminum Group, Ideal Roofing Co., Reeds Metals, ATAS International, DECRA Roofing Systems, Firestone Building Products, Carlisle SynTec Systems, BlueScope Steel Limited and The OmniMax International

Metal Roofing Market Competition:

Each company evaluated in the report is examined for various factors such as the product and application portfolio, market share, growth potential, future plans and recent developments. Readers gain a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the competitive environment. Most importantly, this report describes the strategies that key players in the global Metal Roofing market use to maintain their advantage. It shows how market competition will change in the coming years and how players are preparing to anticipate the competition.

Metal Roofing Market Segmentation:

The analysts who wrote the report ranked the global Metal Roofing market by product, application, and region. All sectors were examined in detail, focusing on CAGR, market size, growth potential, market share and other important factors. The segment studies included in the report will help players focus on the lucrative areas of the global Metal Roofing market. Regional analysis will help players strengthen their base in the major regional markets. This shows the opportunities for unexplored growth in local markets and how capital can be used in the forecast period.

Regions Covered by the global market for Smart Camera:

Middle East and Africa (GCC countries and Egypt)North America (USA, Mexico and Canada)South America (Brazil, etc.)Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Italy, France etc.)Asia Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia)

Ask for Discount @ https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/ask-for-discount/?rid=12220&utm_source=ITN&utm_medium=003

Table of Content

1 Introduction of Metal Roofing Market

1.1 Overview of the Market1.2 Scope of Report1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology of Verified Market Research

3.1 Data Mining3.2 Validation3.3 Primary Interviews3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Metal Roofing Market Outlook

4.1 Overview4.2 Market Dynamics4.2.1 Drivers4.2.2 Restraints4.2.3 Opportunities4.3 Porters Five Force Model4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Metal Roofing Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Metal Roofing Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Metal Roofing Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Metal Roofing Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview8.2 North America8.2.1 U.S.8.2.2 Canada8.2.3 Mexico8.3 Europe8.3.1 Germany8.3.2 U.K.8.3.3 France8.3.4 Rest of Europe8.4 Asia Pacific8.4.1 China8.4.2 Japan8.4.3 India8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific8.5 Rest of the World8.5.1 Latin America8.5.2 Middle East

9 Metal Roofing Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview9.2 Company Market Ranking9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview10.1.2 Financial Performance10.1.3 Product Outlook10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

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About Us:

Verified market research partners with clients to provide insight into strategic and growth analytics; data that help achieve business goals and targets. Our core values include trust, integrity, and authenticity for our clients.

Analysts with high expertise in data gathering and governance utilize industry techniques to collate and examine data at all stages. Our analysts are trained to combine modern data collection techniques, superior research methodology, subject expertise and years of collective experience to produce informative and accurate research reports.

Contact Us:

Mr. Edwyne FernandesCall: +1 (650) 781 4080Email: [emailprotected]

TAGS: Metal Roofing Market Size, Metal Roofing Market Growth, Metal Roofing Market Forecast, Metal Roofing Market Analysis, Metal Roofing Market Trends, Metal Roofing Market

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Metal Roofing Market 2020 Trends, Market Share, Industry Size, Opportunities, Analysis and Forecast by 2026 - Instant Tech News

RESTON, Va., Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Stanley-Martin Communities, LLC announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire the homebuilding assets of Essex Homes in North Carolina and South Carolina. The transaction is expected to close by the end of February 2020.

Columbia-based Essex Homes was founded in 1985 in Aiken, South Carolina, by Karl Haslinger. During the subsequent 34 years, Essex grew to become one of the largest homebuilders in the southeastern United States, with homebuilding operations in Columbia, Charlotte, Greenville, North Augusta, and Brunswick County. For the twelve months ending December 31, 2019, Essex closed 853 homes and controlled 8,332 lots. Karl Haslinger will join Stanley Martin as a Regional President and continue to manage operations in the former Essex Homes markets.

"Essex Homes is a perfect match for Stanley Martin. The markets in which Essex Homes builds are some of the strongest housing markets in the U.S. Karl and his team have done an outstanding job, and their commitment to quality construction and superior home design is impressive. We look forward to their joining our team as we work together to continue expanding our operations and delivering outstanding quality for our customers," said Steven Alloy, President of Stanley Martin.

Karl Haslinger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Essex Homes, said, "Essex started as a custom homebuilder and over the last 34 years has grown to become a much larger builder operating in multiple markets. I am proud of what we have done and our success is the result of the hard work of many on our team. My conversation with Steve started with values, culture and the importance of people to Stanley Martin. I am excited about joining a company that shares our values, the opportunity for the employees of Essex to advance and most importantly an unwavering commitment to the homebuyer."

Founded in 1966, Stanley-Martin Communities, LLC is one of the leading homebuilders in the southeastern United States. The company builds in six metro areas: Washington D.C., Richmond, Charlottesville, Raleigh, Charleston, and Atlanta. Stanley Martin builds a wide selection of new housing options, including condominiums, townhomes, and single-family detached homes. The company combines a commitment to excellent design with outstanding quality construction, alongside exceptional customer service. For the twelve months ending December 31, 2019, Stanley Martin closed 1,774 homes and controlled 14,917 lots.

Stanley-Martin Communities, LLC is a subsidiary of the Daiwa House Group, which is headquartered in Japan and is one of the largest housing and construction companies in the world.

About Stanley Martin HomesHeadquartered in Reston, Virginia, Stanley Martin Homes builds new condos, townhomes and single-family homes in Maryland, Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Charlottesville, Richmond, Raleigh, Atlanta and Charleston. Founded in 1966, Stanley Martin has been building homes and neighborhoodswith quality and craftsmanshipfor more than 53 years. For more information, visitwww.StanleyMartin.com.Guildmaster Award Winner:2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018MHBR No. 3588

SOURCE Stanley Martin Homes

http://www.stanleymartin.com

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Stanley Martin Homes to Acquire the Operations of Essex Homes - PRNewswire

And according to the Census Bureaus American Community Survey data which includes all occupied homes, not just newly built ones only 4.3 percent of Massachusetts properties have five or more bedrooms. So its fair to say that a five-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house could be considered very, very big by most standards. Generally speaking, there is a movement toward smaller, more efficient, comfortable, and intimate spaces, said Peace Nguyen, an agent with Engels & Vlkers in Wellesley. But while most people dont want or, perhaps just as likely, cant afford a home that size or larger, theres still plenty of appetite for big homes, she added, especially among the well-heeled.

Doug McNeilly, an agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Wayland, said the tipping point in his area is about 4,500 square feet. His buyers like big homes with four or five bedrooms, an open-concept kitchen and family room, and a three-car garage, he said but once those boxes are ticked, most start to think about trading any excess space for better proximity to work and shopping. Many buyers want a master with a large walk-in and decent size master bath, McNeilly added. [But] they dont need a 1,000-square-foot master suite.

What were finding is a lot of people are looking for amenities, but not so much the square footage, said Karen Landry, a luxury broker at RE/Max Destiny in Cambridge. Because theyre not just buying one home anymore, theyre buying that second vacation home. Millennial millionaires 5 percent of whom live in Massachusetts own an average of three properties, according to a recent Coldwell Banker report, and Landry said they want homes that are easy to maintain and manage.

Matt Dolan, a broker with Sagan Harborside Sothebys International Realty in Marblehead, has seen a similar trend, with high-end second-home buyers topping out around 5,000 or 6,000 square feet. A lot of times people are saying, you know what, any more than that, Im not going to be there enough to really do anything with it, he said. And one thing we are seeing as we get younger buyers more in the millennial bracket, they tend to want to do less and less work.

It can be tough to find the right buyer and balance for a large home, Landry said. Some buyers want to entertain and enjoy a sophisticated lifestyle, she said, but dont want to be burdened by a lot of upkeep or landscaping. And then you have the others who say, "If I have a house this big, I want everything else that comes with it: I want the yard, the pool, the tennis court.'

Far more important than sheer size, Dolan said, is whether the space complements the intended lifestyle of the home. It really matters how that space is used. Thats the key, he said. In Salem, for example, there are beautiful old mansions with grand parlors on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor. But on the third floor, Dolan said: Youve just got more rooms and rooms and rooms. And that originally would have been where the staff would stay, but now people dont have staff like that they have apps and dishwashers. It can be a challenge for modern homeowners to utilize that space in a useful way.

Likewise, Dolan recalled an expansive $6 million-plus home with three bedrooms on the first floor and two more in the basement. What do you do if youre a family of four? This amazing giant home isnt going to work that well, he said. You have 6,000 square feet, but its in the wrong spots.

Dolans also seen car collectors who would trade interior square footage for a bigger garage. Sometimes you have 6,000 square feet but a two-car garage. Well, theyd give up 1,000 square feet if they could for a six-car garage, because otherwise they dont have a place for their collection, he said. So its all about does that space match the lifestyle.

After all, isnt that the point of a huge home: a more comfortable setting for a happier life? Maybe not entirely. A 2019 research paper explains that even as the average American house has grown larger, were collectively no happier with our properties than we were 40 years ago and its largely due to envy.

At any point in time, households living in bigger houses tend to be more satisfied with their home, wrote the studys author, Clment Bellet, an assistant professor at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. However, they start to feel worse about their own house if nearby homes get bigger. The effect is so pronounced among those whose homes are in the second-largest tier, Bellet estimated, that it can trigger something of a suburban arms race, spurring homeowners to build additions and take on debt to reclaim their status.

Size is just one way buyers might quantify a homes value, however. For many wealthy buyers, Dolan said, its more about making sure a home speaks to their success. Their real estate is part of how they describe themselves to the world. so when they step up, they want to be able to make sure that people recognize the step up, he said. So it has to have certain features, like a grand entryway or a view it has to have that wow factor.

And just as a picture says a thousand words, a spectacular view is sometimes the best way to communicate grandeur. You can have a fabulous master bath, but its going to be out of style in 10 years," he said. "A view is timeless, and when people come up to a truly breathtaking view, they wont even notice your kitchen cabinets. Theyre entranced.

Another reason some wealthy buyers are cautious with oversized homes is financial prudence, Dolan said. The top end of the real estate market naturally has a smaller buyer pool, and Boston-area luxury properties took an extra 41 days to sell, on average, according to fourth-quarter 2019 data from national brokerage Redfin. Theres not a lot of liquidity in that market, he said, so some homeowners with huge homes consider cashing out into something smaller.

If a homeowner is selling a Colonial in a good neighborhood, and theyve made smart choices with their renovations over the years and stage it to have that Pottery Barn antique look, Dolan said, the home will probably sell very quickly. But once you get north of $2 million, he said, the market is less predictable, and the perfect house is in the eye of the beholder. One person may value something, and the next person may not like it at all, Dolan said. So what that leads to at the high end is sometimes homes sell immediately, or they take forever.

David Brookes, principal at Brookes + Hill Custom Builders in Waltham, notes that his wealthy clients know exactly what they want. Hes built homes up to 20,000 square feet with high-end craftsmanship and sometimes lavish touches, like real gold-leaf molding. But as a custom builder, Brookes has to please only one client and doesnt have to worry about marketing the home to a broader market. I would be really nervous if I was doing that, he said.

Size can become a liability, too, when a home is starting to feel outdated because theres just so much more that needs updating. McNeilly said there was such a glut of large 1990s houses on the market in Sudbury in the middle of last year that, at one point, there was 72 months of inventory in the $1.25 million to $1.49 million range. Anything over six months is generally considered a buyers market, he noted.

The seasonal winter slowdown brought those inventory levels back down to normal, McNeilly said. But the same thing could happen again this summer, he added, because a lot of those houses are starting to show their age and the prospect of updating something that size can overwhelm buyers. A 6,000-plus-square-foot house built in the late 1990s with minimal or older updates might need a new kitchen, updates to all four and a half baths, new flooring, and interior paint, he said. That can easily top $250,000.

The fact is, the bigger and more expensive a house is, the farther it is from the norm. That might make it more enjoyable to own but as an outlier, it can also be inherently more difficult to sell. Higher-end, older, dated, and more unique homes take longer to sell, in general, Nguyen said. It is possible to find that one buyer who falls in love, but there are fewer of them.

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At what point does a home become too big to sell? - The Boston Globe