City officials are one step closer to giving the nod for interior renovation work to begin at Blackshears historic train depot, but theres still one hurdle to navigate revision of the citys alcohol ordinance.

The city council will need to consider a revision to its alcohol ordinance to potentially allow for alcoholic beverages to be served at events in the depot, if the former freight depot is renovated as an event venue for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings.

If theres any issues about the lack of alcohol service in this building, if it wouldnt get passed, you can forget doing this, says Angela Manders, Chamber of Commerce executive director. Thats got to pass before we ever start on (the renovation).

Larry Jones, architect with Valdosta-based firm Ellis, Ricket and Associates, agrees.

Last week, Jones told a committee of council members and city department heads tasked with researching the renovation project at a meeting the ability to serve alcohol at events would be the number one question people interested in renting the space will ask.

Mayor Kevin Grissom appointed Manders, council members Corey Lesseig and Charles Broady, Better Hometown Manager Bethany Strickland and Police Chief Chris Wright to a committee several months ago tasked with researching the renovation project. The committee, except for Broady, met with Jones last Thursday to review project plans his firm created several years ago when the exterior of the depot was renovated. That work was completed in 2017.

Councilman Keith Brooks, Industrial Development Authority Director Matt Carter, Mayor Kevin Grissom and City Clerk Jenny Grant also attended the meeting.

Lesseig and Brooks indicated they would have the alcohol ordinance revision placed on the councils work session agenda for Monday, March 2. (See related story).

Well know by Tuesday how its going to go, Lesseig told the group.

Blackshear could potentially model their ordinance after the City of Patterson. Their ordinance allows for alcohol to be served at events held in Eagle Station, one of the most-booked event venues in Pierce County.

Should the renovation work proceed, it would also include renovation of the Chamber of Commerce and IDA offices housed in the front section of the depot as well. The committee asked Jones to draft plans for that work to include removing the drop ceiling and restoring the original beat board, pine ceilings above, tearing out the carpet and staining the concrete floor underneath. The renovation would feature exposed ductwork and beams throughout the building.

Well build cross beams that look original to use for duct work, Jones says.

Bathrooms in those offices will be remodeled to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

Renovations to the freight depot will include construction of bathrooms, a catering kitchen and a mechanical room. Most of the room would be restored as an event space able to accommodate 240 people. Contractors will fill the walls with insulation, cover them in felt, and then install heart pine boards as many of the originals as can be restored over the walls. The boards will be sanded and finished to look like new, Jones says.

The depot floor will also be stabilized with plywood underneath to help absorb the vibration of passing trains, and the cracks between the pine planks sealed before the floor is refurbished. A removable platform will be constructed over the old scales still in their original location on the depot floor and LED lighting that appears to be 19th century period will be installed.

New electrical wiring, HVAC system and technology to accommodate group presentations will also be installed in the depot. The depot will be equipped with Wifi.

Manders and Carter would move their offices temporarily to the newly refurbished depot while renovations to their offices are completed as the second phase of the project.

Jones was not able to provide the committee with a budget estimate for the work last week, but was instructed to draw up two contracts one for the freight depot and one for the Chamber and IDA offices that would include those estimations.

Jones did advise the committee that renovation work moves slowly, and estimated it would take 18 months to renovate the freight depot.

New construction goes real fast. Restoration work goes real slow, he said. A lot of this is hand labor, not just machine work.

A lot of gold youll find when you start tearing out you say, my plans were to tear all this up, but my plans just changed, Jones added.

The city is researching several funding options for the work, including a Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) loan/grant program, and/or interim financing through a local bank. The city also has SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) monies allocated for capital improvement projects available.

The train depot exterior renovation was funded through a $250,000 grant that required the city to match $25,000 for a total project cost of $275,000. Exterior renovations, also designed by Jones firm, included a new insulated roof, brick repair and vandalism damage repair, trim paint, skirting around the building. The deck was rebuilt, wheelchair ramp and railings installed.

Ellis, Ricket and Associates specializes in designing historic renovation projects. See photos of other train depots theyve renovated at https://eraarchitects.com/.

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Will Train Depot be restored at last? | News - Blackshear Times

Thyssenkrupp, the German engineering giant, announced last week that it would sell its elevator business to a group of private equity companies for $18.9B more than 2x the value of the entire parent company.

The sale was a last-ditch attempt to turn around years of declining profits.

But it was also the largest private equity deal in Europe since the 2008 financial crisis.

Simple: The market is dominated by an elevator-gopoly that keeps prices at the top floor.

Four companies command more than 60% of the elevator market:

In 2006, these 4 companies (along with rival Mitsubishi Elevator Europe) were found guilty of price fixing. They paid fines but continued to dominate the lucrative lift business.

After years of declining revenue in a struggling German economy, even Thyssenkrupps moneymaking elevators could no longer hold up its other businesses.

Thyssenkrupps debt got so heavy $7.1B on its latest earnings statement that activist investors began to call for the company to sell off its elevator business to pay down debts.

And so they did for $18.9B, or about 2.8x the entire parent companys market cap of $6.7B.

The elevator market is expected to remain strong thanks to increasing construction of tall buildings, particularly across Asia (more than 60% of new elevator installations occur in China).

And as elevators become more complex, giants like Otis have begun to sell subscription-based management services.

That service revenue is going up and fast. In 2018, Otis raked in $12.9B in revenue. The company says 45% of its revenue comes from the sales of new equipment and 55% comes from service.

Read more:
After ups and downs, Thyssenkrupp sells its elevator business at a top-floor price - The Hustle

Do you need to have the HVAC ducts in your home cleaned? (DepositPhotos)

Duct cleaning has become popular in recent years, with commercial cleaning services popping up everywhere. But is the service worth it, or is it a scam? Heres some information to help you decide whether or not your home might benefit from having the HVAC ducts in your house cleaned.

Professional duct cleaning services use specialized blowers, vacuums, and brushes to clean out the supply, intake, and return ducts throughout your home. Duct cleaning should also involve a thorough cleaning of the air handler, registers, grilles, fans, motors, housings, and coils of the HVAC system.

Theres no research at present proving that routine duct cleaning improves the air quality or reduces dust in your home. There is, however, evidence that dirty heating and cooling coils, motors, and air handling units can make your HVAC unit less efficient.

While duct cleaning alone doesnt seem that necessary, there are cases where cleaning the HVAC unit and ductwork could be useful.

Due to growing concerns about indoor air quality, its easy to convince homeowners that their ducts need cleaning. But unless ducts are really dirty, theres no reason to clean them. The EPA takes a similar stance on the issue, recommending cleaning only if the ducts and HVAC unit are contaminated.

If done properly, duct cleaning doesnt hurt; but its not something that needs to be on your regular home maintenance list. You probably dont need to have your ducts and HVAC system cleaned unless:

Originally posted here:
Air Duct Cleaning: Scam or Worth It? - Today's Homeowner

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle, or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca Derendal, owner of Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle, or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca Derendal, owner of Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

A dirty and full dryer vent can cause:

Appliance Inefficiency: the dryer will run longer than necessary.

Wear and Tear: A dryer taking twice as long to dry clothes will cut its lifetime in half and lead to expensive repairs.

Carbon Monoxide: Gas dryers that are not exhausting correctly can cause carbon monoxide in the home.

Obstructions: Nests, dryer sheets, and pieces of clothes tangles with lint blocks the vent.

The most serious consequence of not keeping the dryer vent clean is fire and property damage. A dirty dryer and/or vent can ignite as a result of overheating and overworked safety controls.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration:

2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss.

Failure to clean the dryer (34 percent) is the leading cause of home clothes dryer fires.

More home clothes dryer fires occur in the fall and winter months, peaking in January.

The Consumer Product Safety Commissions safety report, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires, recommends to check the dryer vent and exhaust vent periodically to ensure that exhaust air is completely escaping.

Every vent is installed differently. It can depend on the length of the vent, how many turns and how often the dryer is used every week.

If you use a professional dryer vent cleaning service, there are several different applications depending on how your dryer is situated. The most common technique is with the help of the blower motor and flexible extension rods with a bristle brush on the end. The rods easily navigate several 90 degree turns in your vent line, according to Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts.

This is on a rotor system, so the spin action of the brush really gives the vent a thorough cleaning. The technician will move the rod/brush in and out repeatedly until the vent is clear of lint and obstructions.

The most common way is done from the outside, which keeps your home spotless. This is an extremely effective method to give your dryer vent a clearer passage for the moist hot air to move through.

If you are going to clean the vent yourself, the Consumer Protection Safety Commission recommends the following steps:

Clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying each load of clothes.

Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked. To remove a blockage in the exhaust path, it may be necessary to disconnect the exhaust duct from the dryer. Remember to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and outside vent before using the dryer again.

Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the interior of the dryer chassis periodically to minimize the amount of lint accumulation. Keep the area around the dryer clean and free of clutter.

Replace plastic or foil, accordion-type ducting material with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Most manufacturers specify the use of such metal ducts, which provides maximum airflow. Metal flex ducting is a must as flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and are more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.

Make dryer vent cleaning a regular part of your home maintenance!

Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains. If possible, wash the clothing more than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down period at the end of the cycle. To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Rosies Safety Tip: Do not leave your house while the dryer is running. A fire could easily ignite in the few minutes you are away from home.

For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert since 1988, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8 to 11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and from 7 to 10 a.m. on KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.

Continued here:
Rosie on the House: Cleaning dryer vents more than you think - Green Valley News

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

If you are wondering why this article is so long keep reading! There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly!

Nope, that is not what we are talking about. Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca, owner, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

A dirty and full dryer vent can cause:

Appliance Inefficiency Because the dryer will run longer than necessary. Wear and Tear A dryer taking twice as long to dry clothes will cut its lifetime in half and lead to expensive repairs. Carbon Monoxide Gas dryers that are not exhausting correctly can cause carbon monoxide in the home. Obstructions Nests, dryer sheets, and pieces of clothes tangles with lint blocks the vent.

The most serious consequence of not keeping the dryer vent clean is Fire and Property Damage. A dirty dryer and/or vent can ignite as a result of overheating and overworked safety controls.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

According to the U.S. Fire Administration:

2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss. Failure to clean the dryer (34 percent) is the leading cause of home clothes dryer fires. More home clothes dryer fires occur in the fall and winter months, peaking in January.

A proper annual dryer vent cleaning should include a visual inspection to make sure it is visibly sound, said Rebecca.

The Consumer Product Safety Commissions safety report, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires, recommends to check the dryer vent and exhaust vent periodically to ensure that exhaust air is completely escaping.

Every vent is installed differently. It can depend on the length of the vent, how many turns and how often the dryer is used every week, said Rebecca.

If you use a professional dryer vent cleaning service, there are several different applications depending on how your dryer is situated.

The most common technique is with the help of the blower motor and flexible extension rods with a bristle brush on the end. The rods easily navigate several 90 degree turns in your vent line, said Rebecca.

This is on a rotor system, so the spin action of the brush really gives the vent a thorough cleaning. The technician will move the rod/brush in and out repeatedly until the vent is clear of lint and obstructions.

The most common way is done from the outside which keeps your home spotless. This is an extremely effective method to give your dryer vent a clearer passage for the moist hot air to move through.

If you are going to clean the vent yourself, the Consumer Protection Safety Commission recommends the following steps:

Step 1 Clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying each load of clothes.

Step 2 Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked. To remove a blockage in the exhaust path, it may be necessary to disconnect the exhaust duct from the dryer. Remember to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and outside vent before using the dryer again.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

Step 3 Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the interior of the dryer chassis periodically to minimize the amount of lint accumulation. Keep the area around the dryer clean and free of clutter.

Step 4 Replace plastic or foil, accordion-type ducting material with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Most manufacturers specify the use of a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, which provides maximum airflow. Metal flex ducting is a must as flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and are more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.

Step 5 Make dryer vent cleaning a regular part of your home maintenance!

Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains.

If possible, wash the clothing more than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down period at the end of the cycle.

To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Rosies Safety Tip: Do not leave your house while the dryer is running. A fire could easily ignite in the few minutes you are away from home.

Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts specializes in chimney, dryer vent and air duct cleaning. A family owned and operated company, they have served the Phoenix metro area since 1985. A Rosie on the House Certified Partner since 2009, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, is also associated and affiliated with some of the most trusted names in the industry, including National Chimney Sweep Guild and the National Fire Protection Association. We have Team members with the CSIA Certification by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and National Fireplace Institute of Gas Hearth Appliances along with the EPA Universal technician Certification.

Join Rosie on the House every Saturday morning from 7 to 11 a.m. on KTAR News 92.3 FM. If youd like to send us questions or comments, emailInfo@RosieontheHouse.com. Follow us onTwitterand like us onFacebook.

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Heres how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly - KTAR.com

If you didnt read The Hunger Games in middle school, where were you? Were you hiding under a rock? Probably, because that series was making big waves in the early 2010s. But did you ever happen to stumble upon Suzanne Collins critically acclaimed series The Underland Chronicles?

I was visiting home for the weekend and doing some light spring cleaning when I came across my copies of the books in the series. I had completely forgotten about them even though the series was one of the best I had ever read.

I read The Underland Chronicles before The Hunger Games, so I didnt catch the fact that they were both by Collins. This makes sense though because the detail and the world-building in this series blew my fifth grade mind just like The Hunger Games series blew my seventh grade mind. And while these books are predominately for fourth-eighth graders, I think they would be interesting to anyone. Heres why.

The first book in the series Gregor the Overlander stars Gregor, and 11-year-old living in New York City. His mom leaves him at their apartment with his grandma and little sisters. While he is doing some laundry in the basement with his baby sister Boots, she falls down an old air duct grate. Gregor dives in after and finds the Underland.

The Underland is composed of humans (or underlanders) with almost-clear skin and giant rats, bats and bugs. The two land in the Underland on the outskirts of its capital city, Regalia. They meet some giant cockroaches who believe the two are there to fulfill a prophecy. The roaches then bring them to the city.

They meet some locals Luxa, who is slated to be the queen of Regalia, and her cousin Henry. They also meet the bats that are bonded to the humans.

Henry and Boots learn about the conflict between the Regalians and the rat king Gorger. Then Gregor gets attacked by some gigantic rats but the underlanders save him. This fuels the conflict between the underlanders and the rats.

The Prophecy of Gray, Gregor and Boots learn, is a tale that tells of two overlanders who team up with 10 underlanders to find Gregors father, who went missing in Underland long ago. They gather the team and set out on their journey.

I dont want to spoil too much, because I really do believe this is a series worth reading, even if youre not in fifth grade. The five books all contain action, emotion, struggle and some really cool characters. Its honestly a good read for any gender or any age. Besides, it may be nice for your brain to have a break from college-level reading.

Even though I read the series in grade school, I can still picture the Underland in my head today. While Collins Underworld may not have made as big of a splash as may the odds be ever in your favor, I promise that it is still worth your time.

View post:
The Suzanne Collins series you probably didn't read as a kid but should have - Standard Online

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture keeps records offood safety inspectionsat restaurants and food vendors.

Berks County is divided into three jurisdictions: Reading, Muhlenberg Township and the rest of the county. The results will be posted every other week. All food vendors are inspected at least once a year. View any vendor'slast inspection reportonline. Click on the PDF version of the inspection report for all details.

If a food provider is labeled "out of compliance," that means it has one or more violations that require a return visit by an inspector. The establishment is given time to fix the problem(s) and remains open for business.

Complaints can be filed onlinewith the PDA.

Below are the results of inspections conducted betweenFeb. 11 and Feb. 25, 2020, that were filed in the state database as of Feb. 27, 2020. They include the inspector's comments on violations.

The Well Dressed Cake, 713 Penn Ave., West Reading, Feb. 21, one violation. Observed cake boxes in the front area stored directly on the floor, and not 6 inches above the floor. Corrected.

Tulpehocken School District, Bethel Elementary, 8390 Lancaster Ave., Bethel, Feb. 20, no violations.

Brandywine Heights Elementary School, Barkley & Weis streets, Topton, Feb. 19, three violations. Freezer has frozen condensate hanging from lines behind fan box that is creating an ice dam above food storage shelf and must be removed/repaired. Air vent between prep area and three-bay sink area of the food facility is dirty, dusty, and in need of cleaning. Exterior door located in the kitchen area of the food facility has a gap at the bottom that does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents, and other animals.

Brandywine Heights Middle School, 200 W. Weis St., Topton, Feb. 19, three violations. Condensate lines at the fan box in walk in freezer have an ice damn build up above food storage that must be removed/repaired. Rear exterior door located in the walk in freezer area of the food facility has a gap at the bottom that does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents, and other animals. Dry storage ceiling air vent cover area of the food facility is dirty, dusty, and in need of cleaning.

Dunkin, 1123 Ben Franklin Highway, Douglassville, Feb. 19, no violations.

Fleetwood Grange #1839, 2864 Moselem Springs Road PO Box 27, Fleetwood, Feb. 19, no violations.

Tony's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, 15 N. Home Ave., Topton, Feb. 19, five violations. Working containers in kitchen area, used for storing *chemicals, cleaners* taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected. Plastic food container in reach in refrigerator was cracked and had duct tape covering crack which is not an approved material. Corrected by discarding container. Three-compartment sink was set up so that dirty wash water was right next to clean dish drainboard of dish machine and could possibly contaminate clean dishes. Order of sinks was reversed so only clean sanitized dishes are next to each other. Caulking at the warewashing sink wall area and pre-rinse sink at dish machine is getting moldy and must be resealed/repaired.Observed waitress soda fountain equipment, in waitress area, with an accumulation of splash residue, debris on non-food contact surfaces. Corrected.

Tony's Pizza Shop, 6 W. Franklin St., Topton, Feb. 19, three violations. Knife in clean utensil drawer has a chipped blade and must be discarded. Corrected. Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Floor crevice between reach-in cooler and mixer has some old spilled food debris that must be cleaned up. Observed bags of onions stored directly on the floor in basement area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required. Corrected.

Topton Fish & Game Association, 26 Tina Lane, Topton, Feb. 19, no violations.

American Legion Post #471, 100 Walker Drive, Boyertown, Feb. 18, one violation. Observed 1 quart of Clover Fat Free Milk with a sell-by date of Feb. 15, and 1 half gallon of Clover Fat Free Milk with a sell-by date of Feb. 8 in the upstairs kitchen refrigerator. Corrected onsite by disposal.

Central Beneficial Association, 1409 Park Place, Laureldale, Feb. 18, no violations.

Dollar General # 13695, 230 S Reading Ave., Boyertown, Feb. 18, one violation. Observed two True Fresh Foods reach-in coolers with an accumulation of mold, dirt, food residue, debris on non-food contact surfaces.

Giant Food #6273, 600 E. Lancaster Ave., Reading, Feb. 18, 14 violations. A temperature measuring device for measuring warewashing sanitizing water temperatures is not available for deli warewashing machine. Observed prep and hand sink equipment in the chicken prep area, with encrusted grease and soil accumulation on faucet handles and sides of sinks, old food debris on floor in corner below sink. Also, chicken cooler floor has grease food residue build up on floors. Plumbing system not maintained in good repair observed drain leaking at the produce prep sink. Chicken prep and hand sink has missing gapped caulk that must be resealed and also produce warewashing sink has mold in caulk along wall and must be resealed. Fan covers in the deli/produce cooler area of the food facility are extremely dusty and in need of cleaning. Trays of water/chicken blood left in racks in the fried chicken prep room. Corrected. Waste receptacle for disposable paper towels not provided at the handwashing sink in deli/bakery area. The electrocuter insect control device located in deli area is not designed to retain the insect in the device. Cover is missing. Loose disfigured rubber door gaskets observed on both bakery and deli warewashing machines. The wash solution temperature in the stationary rack, dual temperature mechanical warewashing equipment was 130 F, rather than not less then 150F as required. Service call placed. The hot water used for sanitizing in the mechanical warewashing machine in the deli area did not reach 180F (or 165F for stationary rack). Repair call placed. Ceiling tiles missing in the deli area, and need replaced. Mechanical warewashing equipment in deli area observed with build up of filth/grease and food residue and not cleaned before use, and frequently throughout the day. Spray nozzles of the prep and warewashing sinks in deli/produce areas have a heavy slime/mold residue around nozzle heads. Corrected. Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Floor drain at chicken cooler has a build up of slime and food debris and must be cleaned. Out of compliance.

Hissho Sushi @ Giant 6273, 600 E. Lancaster Ave., Reading, Feb. 18, one violation. Food facility HACCP plan does not have all required elements as outlined in the PA Food Code and is missing current parasite destruction letter of guaranty and also has not been reviewed and signed for current year. Last review was January 2019.

Josh's Pizza Zone, 51 E. Second St., Boyertown, Feb. 18, two violations. Filters in the exhaust hood have observable grease like build up. Two are missing. Globe meat slicer, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch. Corrected.

Laudenslager's Concessions, Route 100 Jake's Flea Market, Barto, Feb. 18, no violations.

Main Street Pub & Restaurant, 505 Main St. PO Box 628, Bally, Feb. 18, five violations. Observed the two-door Advantco freezer, and refrigerator with an accumulation of dirt,food residue debris on the non-food contact services. Observed the fryer and grill equipment, in kitchen area, with an accumulation of dirt, grease, food residue underneath grill and floor area under, and wall behind the fryers. Old food residue, observed in the handwash sink, indicating uses other than handwashing. Corrected Observed gravy, chili, and mashed potatoes being held at 115F, rather than 135F or above as required. Corrected. The latch to the door of the walk-in cooler is broken. Observed frozen beef stored directly on the floor in the walk in freezer, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required.

Muhlenberg School District Middle School, 801 Bellevue Ave., Laureldale, Feb. 18, no violations.

Schuylkill Valley Elementary School, 62 Ashley Way, Leesport, Feb. 18, no violations.

Schuylkill Valley High School, 929 Lake Shore Drive, Leesport, Feb. 18, no violations.

Schuylkill Valley Middle School, 114 Ontelaunee Drive, Leesport, Feb. 18, no violations.

Amity Fire Company, 47 Pine Forge Road PO Box 383, Douglassville, Feb. 14, three violations. Soap was not available at the handwash sink in the bar area. Corrected. Small scoop at the bar is stored with the handle in direct contact with the drink ice. Corrected. The floor, wall, and hood in the area of the fryers have an accumulation of grease and/or old food debris.

Deep Roots Valley Farm, 1047 Irish Creek Road, Mohrsville, Feb. 14, no violations.

Kempton Hotel, 9910 Kistler Valley Road, Kempton, Feb. 14, one violation. Mop is not being hung to air dry. Rather it is being stored next to the ice macine directly on the floor.

Malizzi Cakes and Pastries, 1203 Old Swede Road, Douglassville, Feb. 14, no violations.

New Great China, 2675 Shillington Road, Sinking Spring, Feb. 14, six violations. Observed in-use knives and /or cleavers stored between table edges or between tables, an area not easily cleanable & sanitized. Corrected. Food dispensing utensil in corn starch and flour bins observed stored in the food and not with handle above the top of the food and the container. Corrected. Cardboard used on shelves of refrigerator and prep tables must be removed. Drain line from warewashing sink has a plastic bag around directing water into drain that is dirty and not an approved material and must be repaired to a proper piping material. Rear kitchen door located in the back area of the food facility has a gap and does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents, and other animals. Exposed food preparation observed in kitchen grill area under ansul system piping and hood duct system that is dripping grease, and subject to potential contamination. Catch strainer in floor drain under warewashing sinks has a build up of food debris around lip of strainer.

Papa John's #2294, 2612 Penn Ave., West Lawn, Feb. 14, five violations. Keyboards of computer equipment all have a heavy food residue build up and are dirty and in need of cleaning. The floor / wall juncture in kitchen area is not coved and closed to 1/32 inch. Coving tile is broken at doorway on pizza oven side. Handwash sink next to pizza bain marie has a food dust residue build up on faucet handles and must be cleaned more frequently. Also pizza oven metal spindles under wire mesh pizza conveyor have a heavy build up of dirt, dust and food residue. A working container of *cleaner / sanitizer* was stored above or on the same shelf with food, equipment, and/or single service articles in the side table area. Corrected. The food facility does not maintain Food Employee Certification records as required.

Petra's Empanadas, 164 W Main St., Kutztown, Feb. 14, one violation. Ceiling tile missing in the back room needs to be replaced.

Sinking Spring Veterans, 550 Columbia Ave., Sinking Spring, Feb. 14, no violations.

The Nesting Box, 230 Snyder Road, Kempton, Feb. 14, two violations. Observed a full box of ice cream cones stored directly on the floor behind the counter area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required. The shelves in the McGray reach-in dairy and lettuce refrigerator, a non-food contact surface, has the coating wearing off and the steel material underneath is rusting.

Utopia Cabaret, 395 W Benjamin Franklin Hwy, Douglassville, Feb. 14, one violation. Small scoop at the bar stored with the handle in direct contact with the drink ice. Corrected.

Wanamakers General Store, 8888 King's Highway, Kempton, Feb. 14, one violation. Observed some food items being stored directly on the floor in the walk-in freezer and refrigerator area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required.

West Lawn Beverage Co., 2330 Penn Ave., West Lawn, Feb. 14, two violations. Observed peanut-roasting equipment, in front area, with an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, debris on front of machine above the peanut chute, a non-food contact surface. Side main door located in the peanut storage area of the food facility has a gap and does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents, and other animals. Peanut bags to be stored in closed container when garage door is left open in summer.

West Lawn Quoiting Association, 19 Perkasie Ave., West Lawn, Feb. 14, two violations. Under counter ice machine at bar has a mold build up along side wall and a pink slime residue on the water curtain in rear and was not clean to sight and touch. Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing glass washer in bar was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Facility will use 3 bay sink until repaired.

Black Jax American Pub and Grill, 668 Ben Franklin Highway, Birdsboro, Feb. 13, four violations. There is a build-up of ice around the walk-in freezer door and inside the unit. Working containers (spray bottles) in the bar area, used for storing chemicals, cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected. Small scoops at the bar are stored with the handles in direct contact with the drink ice. Corrected. Some lights are not shielded or shatter proof in the kitchen.

The Bridge Inn, 3 Covered Bridge Road, Oley, Feb. 13, one violation. Two working containers (spray bottles) of cleaner / sanitizer were stored on the same shelf with food in the kitchen area. Corrected.

CVS #1923, 3100 Shillington Road, Sinking Spring, Feb. 13, no violations.

Giant Food #6289, 2104 Van Reed Road, West Lawn, Feb. 13, two violations. Caulking around prep sink in produce, deli areas has mold and must be resealed. Produce and dairy fan box covers in walk in cooler are dirty, dusty, and in need of cleaning. Also dairy cooler has trash and broken eggs under racks and near doorway.

Oley Turnpike Dairy Diner, 6213 Oley Turnpike Road, Oley, Feb. 13, five violations. Observed dried food residue on some surfaces of the milkshake machine. Corrected. Large double door located in the rear kitchen area of the food facility has a gap and does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents, and other pests. Lights are not shielded or shatter proof over the rear cooking area (in the hood over the stove), and the lights above the front food preparation area are missing end caps. Soap was not available at the handwash sink in the small front cooking area. Corrected. Working container (spray bottle) in the dishwasher area, used for storing chemicals, cleaners taken from bulk supplies, was not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected.

Paolo's Pizza & Restaurant, 2480 Lancaster Pike, Reading, Feb. 13, seven violations. Ambient air and water temperature measuring device for ensuring proper food storage in cook line refrigerator equipment in kitchen area, is not accurate to +/- 3F. Replace broken thermometer. Also need thermometer in small reach-in cooler on waitress station. Observed in-use knives and /or cleavers stored between table edges or between tables, an area not easily cleanable & sanitized.Corrected however this is a repeat violation. Floor cleaner dispenser hung on wall at prep table is too close to prep table shelf and must be moved below table shelf areas. Soda gun dispenser nozzles at bar have a residue build up. Corrected. Wall mounted french fry cutter has old dried residue build up. Corrected. An improper insect control device located in dishroom area with potential to contaminate food, equipment, and / or utensils. Corrected. Wall area of the dough mixing area of the food facility has cob webs and is dusty, and in need of cleaning. Also some appliance cords above food/cook line areas have a dust build up and must be cleaned. Cook line reach in refrigerator has a build up of splashed food residue on interior fan box and ceiling area.

Union Fire Company of Kulptown, 1082 Chestnut St., Douglassville, Feb. 13, one violation. Some working containers (spray bottles) in kitchen area, used for storing chemicals, cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected.

A Plus 40205h, 3100 State Hill Road, Wyomissing, Feb. 12, no violations.

Betty's, 129 W. Main St., Kutztown, Feb. 12, one violation. Two sets of lights are not shielded or shatter proof over the prep area.

Boyer's Food Market #3580, 408 Park Road, Fleetwood, Feb. 12, five violations. Old unused equipment and other items stored in the unused walk-in cooler in the back area need to be more organized or removed from food facility. The area is inaccessible due to the clutter. Observed old food debris and other items on the floor under the shelves in the bakery walk-in cooler. The handwash sink in the meat room does not have single use towels or air drying device. The handwash sink in the produce prep room was blocked by a plastic container and was not accessible at all times for employee use. Corrected. Double doors located in the back area of the food facility have a gap and do not protect properly against the entry of insects, rodents, and other pests.

Fraternal Order of Eagles, 209 W Main St., Kutztown, Feb. 12, two violations. The hood filters have an accumulation of grease dirt. The small ice scoop at the bar is stored directly against a dusty liquor bottle. Corrected.

Countryview Kitchen, 2934 N. Fifth Street Highway, Feb. 15, four violations. Food dispensing utensil in oatmeal, brown rice and other bulk bins observed stored in the food and not with handle above the top of the food. Cooking utensils stored in plastic bins are not stored with handles in the same direction. Mixing bowls not stored inverted or covered. The handwash sink in the prep area was blocked by a table and not accessible at all times for employee use. Prepackaged assorted spreads are not labeled to clearly indicate any "Big 8" allergen ingredients and / or the allergen warning statement. Prepackaged assorted spreads are not labeled properly with the name of product, ingredient statement, net weight, distributed by statement and/or nutritional facts.

Dino's Wings & Things, 5306 Allentown Pike, Feb. 15, two violations. Non-food contact surfaces, trash can exteriors, wire racks and bin exteriors are food splashed/soiled. Food contact surface of walk-in shelving is not smooth, easily cleanable and/or resistant to pitting, cracking or scratching.

Domino's Pizza, 3007 N. Fifth St., Feb. 15, three violations. The food facility does not employee a certified employee as required. A food safety certification class is scheduled for new General Manager of two weeks, on March 13, 2020; per District Manager. Ceiling tile missing in the middle soda storage room, and needs replacement. The floor / wall juncture in hall area is not coved and closed to 1/32 inch due to missing/broken tiles.

Infinito's Pizza Buffet, 3023 N. Fifth St., Feb. 15, one violation. Several holes remain in ceiling area of the main kitchen/dry storage areas.

Monte Lauro European, 2934 N. Fifth St., Feb. 15, two violations. Observed gas range/oven, bain marie, refrigeration equipment, and walls in prep area, with an accumulation of dust, and food splashes (on non-food contact surfaces); specifically sides of equipment and underneath. Handwashing sink leaks at faucet.

Alebrije Mexican Restaurant, 3225 N. Fifth St., Feb. 12, four violations. Food employee observed in kitchen area, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as nets, hats, or beard covers. Can opener blade, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch. Several raw animal foods were stored above ready to eat food (cooked pork)in the cook's refrigerator, corrected immediately on inspection. All food items stored properly in bain marie and walk-in refrigerator. Observed wet wiping cloth in bain marie area, not being stored in sanitizer solution.

13th & Union Elementary School, 1600 N. 13th St., Feb. 24, no violations.

Armani Deli & Grocery, 700 N. 13th St., Feb. 24, "two violations. Food facility can either maintain City trash receptacle out front or provide their own. Repair flooring around newly installed ATM machine. Flooring needs to be easily cleanable, smooth and non absorbent.

Barrio 27 De3 Febrero Deli & G, 352 N. Ninth St., Feb. 21, seven violations. Hand wash sinks in deli area and bathroom do not have paper towel or soap dispensers. Out of date milk was being stored for return in a cooler that was accessible to customers. Potential rodent harborage areas inside the food facility observed in the front area due to mouse feces observed on shelving. Cheese in the deli cooler is being stored open with no covering. The handwash sink located in the deli area does not have water at a temperature of at least 100F. No light bulb cover observed under ventilation hood. Ventilation hood does not have up to date documentation of cleaning.

Manzueta Grocery, 926 Perry St., Feb. 21, five violations. Observed cat food and litter box, indicating the presence of a live animal on the premise of the food facility. Bare unsealed wood, is in contact with floor at front counter and steps on side. Old food residue, dishes and utensils observed in the hand wash sink. Observed broken floor tiles through entire facility. No paper towel or soap dispenser observed at hand wash sink in kitchen or bathroom.

Max Butcher Shop, 835 Hiester Lane, Feb. 21, one violation. Observed food stored directly on the floor in cooler area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required. Out of compliance.

Crown Fried Chicken, 450 Centre Ave., Feb. 20, no violations.

Mi Familia Grocery, 1122 Elm St., , Feb. 20, two violations. Observed bare wooden material being used that is in direct with the floor. No documentation is available to show the last time the hood ventilation was cleaned.

13th & Green Elementary School, 501 N. 13th St., , Feb. 19, no violations.

Emily Mini Market, 349 N. 13th St., Feb. 18, two violations. Light bulb in hot hold unit has peeling outer coating. Ventilation hood is out of date for professional cleaning.

Turkey Hill #54 A5204250, 425 N. 13th St., Feb. 18, no violations.

5th St Deli Market Inc.348 N. Fifth St., Feb. 13, no violations.

El Patron Restaurant , 346 N. Sixth St., Feb. 12, one violation. Observed a bare wood base for the handwash sink in the kitchen area.

King of Cheesy Pizza, 841 Washington St., Feb. 12, three violations. Wooden legs for Bain-marie are not corrosive resistant. No paper towel dispenser is present in bathroom. Documentation not provided for ventilation hood cleaning.

The following reports for the period of Jan. 29 to Feb. 11, 2020, were added to the state database after Feb. 13 and were not part ofthe last Reading Eagle published report.

Austins Restaurant, 1101 Snyder Road, West Lawn, Feb. 11, no violations.

Camp Adahi, 172 Hartz Store Road, Mohnton, Feb. 11, one violation. Lights are not shielded or shatterproof over the kitchen area, cover missing on light near doorway. Also dry storage has a bulb that is not shatterproof or covered.

Dollar General #15084, 2471 Lancaster Pike, Shillington, Feb. 11, no violations.

Global Libations Coffee, 544 Noble St. Suite A, Kutztown, Feb. 11, two violations. Observed some liquid spills on the counter and loose coffee beans on the floor in the middle room. The handwash sink in the back area does not have single use towels. Corrected.Out of compliance.

Heritage Of Green Hills, 200 Tranquility Lane, Reading, Feb. 11, 10 violations. Observed deeply scored salad bain marie cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required. Stagnant water under bain marie cutting board. Corrected. Food facility person in charge does not have records to demonstrate routine inspection and service of backflow prevention devices and other water treatment devices. Filters for soda dispensing equipment do not have a date of maintenance. Food dispensing utensil in flour/sugar bins observed stored in the food and not with handle above the top of the food in the container. Corrected. A temperature measuring device for measuring warewashing hot water sanitizing water temperatures is not available. Warewashing machine has a rust-like debris build up on top near gauge area. Observed wet wiping cloths in kitchen area, not being stored in sanitizer solution. Corrected. Warewashing room area does not have a hand sink for washing hands after racking dirty dishes. Sanitized water bucket method is to be used at this time. Corrected. Waste receptacle for disposable paper towels not provided at the handwashing sink in kitchen at door area. Preset tableware is not wrapped, covered or inverted, or being removed at a frequency to assure tableware remains clean and sanitized. Corrected.

J R's Pizzeria, 24 Village Center Drive, Reading, Feb. 11, three violations. Food dispensing utensil (bucket) in pizza flour observed stored in the food without a handle above the top of the food and the container. Corrected. Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Shelving unit near dough mixer has a residue/dust build up and must be cleaned. Observed grill equipment in the kitchen area, with encrusted grease and soil, dust accumulation on underside of front board and grill.

Bethel Food Shop, 8558 Lancaster Ave., Bethel, Feb. 10, no violations.

Flying J #518, 2210 Camp Swatara Road, Frystown, Feb. 10, two violations. Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in storage room refrigerator equipment. Canned good with missing label on shelf offered for sale. Item removed. Corrected.

Rainbow Pit Stop, 8602 Lancaster Ave., Bethel, Feb. 10, seven violations. Various packaged sandwiches, a refrigerated, ready to eat time temperature control for safety food in the reach in self serve cooler area, was date-marked by the facility, but was beyond the 7 day use or sell by date and requires discarding. Corrected.Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in counter top hot hold equipment. Old soda splash residue/mold build up around nozzle and splash guard area of the soda fountain. Observed 3 bay warewash and mop sink with water backing up into drains. Call placed for service. Fan box cover area in the walk-in cooler of the food facility is dusty and in need of cleaning. Also some drink racks have a slight mold build up on wire racks and on some plastic shelf covers. Rolls for self-serve hot dogs were not packaged for individual self service and customers were able to reach in a whole pack of rolls with bare hands to select a roll. Corrected. The food facility does not maintain Food Employee Certification records as required.

See original here:
Berks food safety inspections February 12 to 25: Trays of water/chicken blood left in racks in the fried chicken prep room of a market - Reading Eagle

When it comes to Tarek El Moussas relationship with Heather Rae Young, not only are they great as a couple, but theyre a dream team at work, too!The Flip or Flop star exclusively tells Life & Style it was awesome having his lady make an appearance on his show.

Since the first day we met, we talked about the fact that hey maybe one day we can film together, and, you know, about six months later the opportunity came up and we filmed together, and shes just amazing on camera, the 38-year-old says. It was super cute, and I just really enjoyed it!

Though nothing is set in stone, Tarek is definitely open to filming more with the 32-year-old Selling Sunset star. You know, well see where things go. At this point in time, Flip or Flopis running the way its been running for a very long time, he adds.

In fact, their chemistry seems to be so good on camera, Tarek wouldnt be surprised if they end up having their own show together down the line. I definitely see me and Heather doing shows together in the future, he divulges. So actually, a show that I would want to do with her that sounds fun would be developing and building super high-end spec homes in the Los Angeles area and having her sell them. I think that would be a fun show. But thats, you know just a lot of different things.

It helps that Tarek and Heather have a unique bond. The two announced they were dating in August 2019, and theyve been going strong since then. She understands what I go through on a daily basis, she helps bring my stress down, she talks through things with me and shes just my best friend! Tarek previously told Life & Style.

Tareks new series Flipping 101w/Tarek El Moussawill premiere on Thursday, March 5th at 9/8c on HGTV and hell be appearing on an upcomingExtreme Makeover: Home Editionepisode on Sunday, March 15th at 9 ET/PT.

Reporting by Diana Cooper.

Read the original here:
Tarek El Moussa Gushes Over GF Heather Rae Young on 'Flip or Flop' - Life&Style Weekly

Aliso Viejo Mar 5, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of New Home Company Inc earnings conference call or presentation Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 10:00:00pm GMT

* Drew P. Mackintosh

The New Home Company Inc. - Founder & Managing Partner, Mackintosh IR

* H. Lawrence Webb

The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman

* John M. Stephens

The New Home Company Inc. - CFO & Executive VP

* Leonard S. Miller

The New Home Company Inc. - President & CEO

* Alan S. Ratner

Greetings. Welcome to the New Home Company Fourth Quarter 2019 Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Drew Mackintosh, Investor Relations. Mr. Mackintosh, you may begin.

Drew P. Mackintosh, The New Home Company Inc. - Founder & Managing Partner, Mackintosh IR [2]

Good afternoon. Welcome to The New Home Company's earnings conference call. Earlier today, the company released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019. Documents detailing these results are available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at nwhm.com.

Before the call begins, I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made in the course of this call, which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A discussion of such risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual operating results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in the company's filings made with the SEC, including in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The company undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements that are made during the course of this call.

Additionally, non-GAAP financial measures may be discussed on this conference call. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable measures prepared in accordance with GAAP can be accessed through The New Home Company's website and in its filings with the SEC.

Hosting the call today is Larry Webb, Executive Chairman; Leonard Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer; and John Stephens, Chief Financial Officer. With that, I will now turn the call over to Larry.

H. Lawrence Webb, The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman [3]

Thanks, Drew, and good afternoon to everyone joining us on the call today as we go over our results for the fourth quarter and full year 2019, discuss current homebuilding market trends and provide some color on the future of The New Home Company. The fourth quarter of 2019 capped a year of retrenchment for our company, which was marked by strong cash flow generation and cost curtailment as we made further strides towards our goal of lowering our leverage ratios and streamlining our cost structure, all while moving our product offerings to the more affordable segment of the market. We generated $63 million of cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter through a combination of accelerated backlog conversion, strategic land sales and prudent reinvestment in our business. This brought our total cash flow from operations for the year to $121 million, a considerable sum given the size of our company. It also lowered our net debt-to-capital ratio to 49.2%, a 980 basis point reduction as compared to the end of 2018 and a 1,090 basis point improvement from the first quarter of 2019.

On the cost front, we kept our SG&A expense below 10% for the fourth quarter, thanks to our efforts to reduce personnel expenses and employing more efficient marketing and advertising methods. Our SG&A ratio, excluding severance charges for the full year came in at 11.3%, 100 basis points lower than it was in 2018. The success we had in 2019 reducing our leverage and improving our cost structure relative to 2018 has put our company on a much more solid foundation as we begin 2020.

We also entered the new year as a company rapidly transforming itself into a more diverse and affordably priced homebuilder. Average selling prices in the fourth quarter of 2019 declined 13% year-over-year, a downward trend that should continue into 2020 and beyond as we close out of our more higher-priced legacy communities and open more affordably priced ones. In fact, 15 of our next 18 community openings over the next 24 months will be priced below conforming loan limits, and 13 will have base pricing below FHA limits. These communities will shift our company away from the coastal areas of California and into the more inland parts of the state as well as the very strong Phoenix market. Based upon our current projections, entry-level deliveries will jump from 25% of closings in 2019 to just under half in 2020, then move closer to 3/4 of our closings by 2021. Based on our view of the long-term housing dynamics in our markets and the sales trends we've witnessed at the more affordably priced communities we've already rolled out, we believe this product repositioning will lead to better order activity and higher profit margins over time.

Supplementing the encouraging outlook of our company is the continued favorable fundamental backdrop of our industry, which is characterized by low levels of new and existing home inventory, consumer confidence near historical highs and an encouraging interest rate environment. Last month, the National Association of REALTORS indicated that existing home inventory hit the lowest level since they began tracking the figure in 1999. This is especially true in California. The need to replenish the housing stock of our nation is real and will not be resolved anytime soon. These macro tailwinds give us great momentum as we enter the spring selling season and have created a sense of urgency on behalf of homebuyers that typically bodes well for our industry.

We have a lot to be excited about, both from an industry- and company-specific standpoint, and I'm optimistic for what this future holds. Additionally, I'd like to note that our recent leadership transition has gone extremely smoothly. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Leonard, who will provide more color on our operations this quarter.

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Leonard S. Miller, The New Home Company Inc. - President & CEO [4]

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Thanks, Larry, and good afternoon to everyone on the call. As Larry mentioned, we continue to execute on our goals of cash flow generation, cost containment and product repositioning in the fourth quarter, putting us in a much better position today than we were 1 year ago. Our team members did an excellent job adjusting their operational focus to meet these goals. This meant more -- being more aggressive on the sales front, turning through slower selling communities to converting cash and making tough decisions with respect to our headcount and our land portfolio. In some cases, these efforts came at the expense of profitability as evidenced by our weaker gross margin performance in 2019. However, now that we are in a better place strategically, financially and structurally, we believe that we can start to make improvements to our gross margins as we move through higher-priced legacy assets and selectively raise prices where demand has improved. We've increased prices across a number of our communities to start 2020 and continue to see year-over-year order growth for the month of January.

In terms of the overall industry dynamics, I concur with Larry that the market feels considerably better today than it was last year. We finished 2019 with 5 consecutive months of year-over-year order improvement and have experienced solid traffic quality to start the year, a great sign that homebuyers are looking to get a head start on purchasing a home ahead of the spring. With respect to our input costs, land and labor continue to move higher in most markets, while material costs have flattened.

In terms of the local market color, stronger order activity at more affordable price points has been a consistent theme in all of our markets. However, we did see some stabilization and improvement at higher price points during the fourth quarter. The coastal areas of Northern and Southern California have shown signs of life recently, but it came at the expense of pricing across the market. We continue to believe that these markets will be impacted by affordability and in the case of Southern California, the decline of the foreign buyer segment.

Demand trends are much more stable in the inland parts of the state where higher order rates have led to a reduction in incentive activity and moderate price increases. Phoenix continues to be one of the best housing markets in the country and will finally start to be a material contributor to our results with 7 new communities coming online this year, 5 with base prices within FHA loan limits. We are excited about these community rollouts as well as our other affordable communities slated to open over the coming quarters. We believe that we have found a compelling niche for our company at lower price points in each of our markets with a continued emphasis on unique design and desirable locations that sets ourselves apart from the competition.

Now I'd like to turn it over to John for more detail on our financial results for this quarter.

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John M. Stephens, The New Home Company Inc. - CFO & Executive VP [5]

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Thank you, Leonard, and good afternoon. For the 2019 fourth quarter, we generated a $7 million pretax loss as compared to a $22.4 million pretax loss in the year-ago period. The current quarter pretax loss included a $6.6 million inventory impairment charge related to 1 luxury condominium community in Phoenix and a $3.5 million impairment charge related to a land development joint venture in Southern California. Including these impairments, we generated a net after-tax loss of $3 million or $0.15 per diluted share for the quarter compared to a net after-tax loss of $16.2 million or $0.80 per diluted share in the prior year fourth quarter. In addition, the 2019 fourth quarter included a net $1.2 million tax benefit related to the extension of the federal energy tax credit for 2018 and 2019 deliveries.

Excluding impairments, adjusted net income for the 2019 fourth quarter was $3.1 million or $0.15 per diluted share. Our home sales revenue for the fourth quarter exceeded the high end of our quarterly guidance by 9% or $14 million, coming in at $174 million due to the increased sales demand experienced during the quarter and our ability to sell and close more spec homes. 29% of our Q4 deliveries were homes sold during the quarter. Deliveries were up 7% year-over-year, while our average selling price was down 13%, coming in at $870,000 per delivery for the quarter.

The decrease in our average selling price was consistent with our continued transition to a more affordable product, including more deliveries from our Sacramento operations and in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Based on the homes in backlog and spec homes available for first quarter delivery, we are estimating first quarter home sales revenue of between $75 million and $90 million and our average selling price for the first quarter to be approximately $875,000.

Our backlog conversion rate for the quarter was 97% as compared to 61% in the year-ago period. The improvement in our fourth quarter backlog conversion rate was the result of a higher population of specs that completed during the quarter that we were able to sell and deliver. For the first quarter, we estimate our backlog conversion rate will return to the mid-60% range.

Our net new orders for the 2019 fourth quarter were up 106% over the prior year and up 15% sequentially from the 2019 third quarter. The year-over-year and sequential order improvement was largely driven by an 83% increase in our fourth quarter monthly sales absorption rate due to stronger homebuyer demand in California. As a result of the higher fourth quarter backlog conversion rate and the lower beginning backlog to start the fourth quarter, the number of homes in our backlog was down 22% from the prior year but was an improvement from the 33% decline in backlog units at the end of the 2019 third quarter due to stronger fourth quarter order activity. The dollar value of our backlog stood at $126 million as of the end of the year.

Our gross margin for the 2019 fourth quarter, including impairments, was 7.8% versus 8.1% in the prior year period. The 2019 fourth quarter included a $6.6 million inventory impairment charge related to 1 luxury condominium community in Scottsdale that had a slower absorption and required more incentives than originally anticipated, while the 2018 fourth quarter included $10 million in inventory impairments. Excluding impairments, our gross margins from home sales was 11.6% for the quarter versus 13.5% in the prior year period. The 190 basis point reduction in gross margin before impairments was primarily related to higher incentives and interest costs. The lower gross margins relative to our quarterly guidance was largely due to a mix shift in delivering more homes at one higher-priced legacy community in Southern California, where higher incentives were needed to sell nearly completed spec homes. Excluding impairments and interest and cost of sales, our gross margin from home sales for the 2019 fourth quarter was 16.8% as compared to 17.7% in the year-ago period. For the 2020 first quarter, we are projecting home sales gross margin of between 11.8% and 12.1%.

Our SG&A rate as a percentage of home sales revenue for the fourth quarter was 9.9%, flat with the prior year despite a 7% decrease in home sales revenue and was approximately 100 basis points lower than the -- our quarterly guidance. Our overall G&A spend for the fourth quarter was approximately $650,000 less than the prior year period due largely to lower personnel expenses, and that was after allocating about $700,000 less in G&A costs to the fee business during the 2019 fourth quarter as compared to the prior year period.

For the 2020 first quarter, we are projecting our SG&A rate to be in the low 16% range. The higher anticipated first quarter SG&A rate is the result of lower anticipated Q1 revenues due to seasonality and timing of deliveries. As is typical, we expect our SG&A rate to drop sequentially as we move through the balance of the year and increase our revenues.

Our share of joint venture activity for the 2019 fourth quarter resulted in a pretax loss of $3.8 million and included a $3.5 million impairment at our Southern California land development joint venture in Corona. The balance of the loss allocated to us was largely due to the write-off of certain capitalized selling and marketing expenses at 2 homebuilding joint ventures in connection with the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard at the joint ventures. For the 2020 first quarter, we are anticipating about a breakeven to a slight loss from our joint ventures.

Our fee building revenue for the fourth quarter was $31 million as compared to $42 million in the year-ago period. The lower fee revenue for the quarter was due primarily to less construction activity at our Irvine fee building communities. For the 2020 first quarter, we are estimating fee building revenue of between $20 million and $30 million.

Our effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was a 56.9% benefit as compared to a 27.8% benefit in the year-ago period. The higher benefit rate for the 2019 fourth quarter was primarily due to the extension of the federal energy credits during December 2019 for homes that closed during 2018 and 2019. We estimate an effective income tax rate, including discrete items, of approximately 15% for the first quarter.

We ended the year with 21 active communities, up slightly from the 2018 fourth quarter. We expect our first quarter 2020 ending community count to be up 1 community on a sequential basis, and for the full year, we plan to open approximately 12 new communities, 7 of which are located in Phoenix. However, on a net basis, we expect our year-end community count to remain relatively flat from where we ended 2019. As a result of the strong operating cash flow that we generated during the quarter, we ended the year with $79 million in cash after paying down the balance outstanding under our revolving credit facility and repurchasing $5 million of our senior notes due 2022.

For the full year 2019, we reduced our total debt by approximately $83 million, and we ended the year with a debt balance of $305 million. We spent $25 million on land during the fourth quarter, and $91 million for the full year. For 2020, we are budgeting land spend of between $100 million to $125 million.

I will now turn the call back to Larry for his concluding remarks.

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H. Lawrence Webb, The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman [6]

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Thanks, John. In conclusion, we made great strides in the fourth quarter to improve our balance sheet, rightsize our cost structure and reposition our company to take greater advantage of the healthy demand trends we've witnessed at more affordable price points in our markets. 2019 was a year of retrenchment for our company, and we look forward to reaping the benefits of these efforts in the years to come.

Finally, I'd like to thank all of our team members for their hard work in 2019 to get us where we needed to be from a strategic and financial standpoint. Your ability to execute on a number of fronts and continually adjust to the ever-changing landscape of our industry gives me great confidence in the future of The New Home Company. I'm also proud of our recent recognition as Professional Builder magazine's 2019 Builder of the Year, a great honor for our entire team.

That concludes our prepared remarks, and now we'll be happy to take your questions.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Alan Ratner, Zelman & Associates.

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Alan S. Ratner, Zelman & Associates LLC - MD [2]

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So first off, congrats on the progress in the quarter. I know, obviously, it was a little bit of a push and pull there between the focus on cash generation, debt reduction and obviously trying to drive that margin higher. But I agree with you, certainly much stronger starting point heading into 2020 than this time a year ago. My first question on the gross margin. Totally understand kind of the moving pieces there and as you try to move through some of those legacy projects, the drag that's having. Was curious if you might be able to frame for us the more recent community openings that you've had targeted more at the entry-level price point. How do the margins look on those versus kind of the current company reported averages?

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Leonard S. Miller, The New Home Company Inc. - President & CEO [3]

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Alan, it's Leonard. Thanks for the question and good to talk to you. All those new communities that we've opened up and really targeting lower price points, what I would say is that both the absorption rate and the gross margin is well above the company's average on the gross margin standpoint. Specifically to your question, it's about 300 to 400 basis points higher.

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Alan S. Ratner, Zelman & Associates LLC - MD [4]

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Got it. That's very helpful. Second question, I think there's a lot of mixed signals coming out of California right now. Definitely, the data has improved quite a bit. We were even starting to hear a little bit of kind of anecdotal commentary that perhaps the foreign buyer was starting to come back a little bit as some of the Chinese trade talk rhetoric toned down a little bit. On the other hand, I know there's a lot of concerns over the coronavirus now going on even here and some people talking about that having a potential impact on the spring. So was curious if you could just talk a little bit about what you're seeing. I know the foreign buyers in a small piece of the market in general, and I know you're kind of moving away from those coastal projects. But can you give us any insight into what the current climate's like?

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H. Lawrence Webb, The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman [5]

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Alan, this is Larry. It's interesting because I anticipated you'd ask a coronavirus question, and I feel like I'm the only person who's qualified to answer that, who's not in Wuhan right now. I can tell you, anecdotally, we made a strategic plan to exit, in particular, the upper end of the Orange County market a couple of years ago. And so as we sit here today, our -- the majority of our communities are in South Orange County that was never very influenced by the Asian market to begin with. But on an anecdotal basis, I've been in pretty close contact with the 3 large landholders in Southern California, and they've all said that they're seeing an uptick in the Asian buyer. And it -- so far at least, we haven't seen any negative impact outside of -- on the coronavirus. It just hasn't impacted us because we weren't really selling to the Chinese buyer in a very significant way anyways. But I haven't heard any stories or any comments from any other builder or any master plan developer that they've seen any hit at all at this point.

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Operator [6]

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Our next question is from Sean Monaghan, Symphony Asset Management.

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Sean Monaghan;Symphony Asset Management;Analyst, [7]

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Just, obviously, you've seen a lot of refinancing come out of the homebuilding space in the last month, 1.5 months. I was just wondering if you guys could kind of give any update on what you guys think about your debt levels and potential refinancings down the road. That's it.

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John M. Stephens, The New Home Company Inc. - CFO & Executive VP [8]

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Yes. I mean, obviously, the bond -- high-yield market's been very strong of late since the beginning of the year, and clearly, many homebuilders have gone to market, which has been very, very positive. We've also seen our bonds sort of trade up here in the last couple of months. We've got a little more than just over 2 years left until maturity. Obviously, it's something that we will continue to evaluate, and at some point, we will look to refinance those. But we'll continue to evaluate sort of what is the price to do that relative to what we're trading that now. And again, it's something that we have our eye on, but there's a lot of considerations that go into that.

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H. Lawrence Webb, The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman [9]

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Sean, this is Larry. I think it's safe to say that, a year ago, we were in a much more difficult position financially than we were -- we are today. But it was our primary goal to lower our leverage, and John and Leonard and their teams have done a really great job getting under 50% in 1 year -- really less than 1 year. And it's our goal to keep improving the financial position of the company so that when the right opportunity occurs, we're going to be able to take advantage of that. But as we sit here today, we're primarily focused on maintaining our leverage at 50% or so and improving our margins.

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Operator [10]

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There are no further questions at this time, and I would now like to pass the call back over to Larry Webb for closing remarks.

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H. Lawrence Webb, The New Home Company Inc. - Executive Chairman [11]

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Thanks a lot. Big picture, the last year has not been easy. We set some pretty specific goals of reducing costs, both building materials as well as G&A. We also wanted to lower our leverage significantly. We want -- we were in the middle of a pivot towards more affordable housing, and we wanted to continue that. And along the way, we wanted to never compromise on the quality of our homes, our customer service or how we treat our staff. We have gone through the last year and basically been pretty darn successful in all those areas, and we are -- we really feel like we've laid the foundation for the company now to take the extra cash that we brought into to look for opportunities and over the next 2 to 4 years, be improving everything that we do.

And along the way, we transitioned Leonard into being CEO. Leonard and John have done a fantastic job, and I would say, without a doubt, the company is in significantly better shape than it was 12 months ago. And we appreciate everything that both the bond and the equity holders have done for us with their confidence, and we look forward to continuing to improve. Thank you.

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Edited Transcript of NWHM earnings conference call or presentation 13-Feb-20 10:00pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

One of the most famous (and most expensive) homes in Los Angeles is The Manor. Built in 1991 for late TV mogul Aaron Spelling and his wife Candy, the 123 room, 55,000-square-foot mansion sits on 4.7 acres and carries an annual property tax bill of $1.12 million. Nicknamed Candyland while the Spelling family occupied it, the Holmby Hills estate has room for everything and it should, since it is larger than the White House. The home comes with 14 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms as well as a flower-cutting room, an aquarium, a nightclub, and a French wine and cheese room complete with sidewalk-caf style tables and chairs. Oh, by the way, this is where Tori Spelling grew up, so we can kind of forgive her for the money management troubles that have plagued her adult years. Something tells us that when you grow up in a home like this, learning how to budget and balance your checkbook aren't big priorities.

Aaron Spelling died in 2006. Candy Spelling sold The Manor to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone in 2011 for $85 million in all cash. Ecclestone turned around and sold it in 2019 for $119.75 million, making it the priciest ever home sale in Los Angeles County. It bested the previous record of $110 million set by the sale of Peter Morton's Malibu beach house in 2018. The Manor was the fourth sale of $100 million or more in Los Angeles and the third in the tony Holmby Hills neighborhood. The Playboy mansion sold for $100 million in 2016 as did a nearby spec mega-mansion.

Image via YouTube

The Manor is the largest home in Los Angeles and one of the largest in the United States. It sits on the ground of Bing Crosby's former home. Construction on the estate began in 1988 and concluded in 1991 at a cost of $12 million. The two-story home has a basement as well as an intermediate level for closets between the second story and the attic. It has a screening room, a gym, three rooms for wrapping presents, a humidity-controlled room for storing silver, a barbershop, four two-car garages, a tennis court, and a pool. The parking lot can hold 100 cars and there are 16 additional carports. A staff of 30 ran the place when the Spellings were its inhabitants. Ecclestone turned Candy Spelling's room for her doll collection into a hair salon and massage parlor.

Ecclestone put the mega-mansion on the market for the first time as a pocket listing in 2014 at $150 million. She put it on the market for real in 2016, at $200 million. She later dropped the price to $160 million. The $119.75 sale price is the most expensive in California's history, just edging out a mansion in Silicon Valley's Woodside that sold in 2013 for $117.5 million. The national record still belongs to Ken Griffin's $238 million New York penthouse overlooking Central Park.

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L.A.'s Most Expensive Property Taxes: The Manor - Celebrity Net Worth