Cleaning supplies might be in high demand but a Melbourne mum has found a way to sidestep that aisle at the supermarket.

When it comes to spotless, streak-free windows, a member of the Mums Who Clean Facebook group says a mixture made with hot water and shampoo is as good as any store-bought window cleaner. Plus, its one less thing to pick up on your weekly shop.

RELATED: Woman's 'game changing' tea bag hack

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Sharing her discovery in the group she says all you need is a bucket, hot water, shampoo, sponge and paper towel.

Put hot (as hot as your hands can take) water in bucket, add a squirt of shampoo and mix it up, she writes.

Dunk your sponge and cover your entire window with the solution. Leave it for a minute or so until it's almost dry then buff with a square of paper towel.

Streak-free spotless windows with so little effort. Just did all my windows today inside and out so quickly.

Responding to a comment, the Melbourne woman confirmed her trick is effective on a range of grime and build-up, including dog slobber.

My back sliding door was caked with dog slobber/muddy dog paw prints and this worked well, she wrote.

Commenting on her Facebook post, other members also suggested diluted dishwashing liquid, baby shampoo and vinegar as other DIY alternatives.

I use dish washing liquid, then wipe over with cloths in clear water to get soap off and when almost dry. I use [an] old clean dry rag to go over them, perfect every time [sic]. My rags are old tea towels, commented one user.

We used vinegar other day. The windows came up awesome, shared another.

This handy trick comes as many supermarkets report empty shelves due to coronavirus-induced panic shopping.

While basic pantry items like pasta, flour and rice have been raided, so too have things like disinfectant, toilet paper and most cleaning supplies.

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DIY window cleaner: All you need is shampoo - NEWS.com.au

With time on our hands and the spectre of the pandemic at our shoulders, if ever there was a moment to give our homes a thorough clean, it is now.

Keeping your home scrupulously clean will help stop the spread of coronavirus - and it could also protect your mental health. A study by cleaning company Molly Maid found that 70 per cent of us feel less stressed if our home is spick-and-span.

With only a limited number of shops open it can be tricky to rush out and buy an armful of specialist cleaning products. But there are some brilliant hacks you can try that use store cupboard basics, from ketchup to silver foil...

Cleaning mucky grouting is a soul-destroying task made easier by Tim and Melanie Smiley who caused a Facebook sensation last year with their (almost) effort-free method.

When Mrs Smiley asked her husband to tackle the stains he did it his way, attaching an electric toothbrush head to a drill and then using the makeshift tool, dipped in grout cleaner, with spectacular effects.

No grout cleaner to hand? Make your own by mixing seven cups of water with half a cup of baking soda, a third of a cup of lemon juice and a quarter of a cup of vinegar.

Now summer is finally here, sparklingly clean windows can make a real difference to your rooms.

Professional window cleaners tend to wash windows down using a weak solution of washing-up liquid, but unless you are a pro with a squeegee the results can be very smeary.

The solution? According to Extreme Couponing and Bargaining, on Facebook, the trick is to use a solution of fabric softener and water instead, then wipe dry with a lint free duster this also works on mirrors, and smells lovely, too.

Housework guru MrsHinch, aka SophieHinchcliffe, offers tips and tricks using basic store cupboard items(Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Instagram queen of clean, Mrs Hinch, carved a niche as a housework guru with three million follows. She suggests freshening up your bed by filling a sieve with bicarbonate of soda and sprinkling it over the mattress. Wait an hour and vacuum it up.

"It's an odour eliminator so any odours that may be lingering in the mattress, it just soaks them up and absorbs them, explained Mrs Hinch, aka Sophie Hinchcliffe, from Essex. It works really, really well.

Meanwhile, most pillows can go in the washing machine (check labels first). Put a couple of tennis balls in the dryer to help plump them up as they dry.

Condiments can make great makeshift cleaning products. Ketchup will eat away at burned-on stains on stainless steel pots and pans, thanks to the acetic acid it contains.

Simply spread the sauce on the surface and let it sit for half an hour before scrubbing it off.

Mayonnaise has a multitude of uses beyond a dip for your chips. Its oily texture will fix watermarks on wood furniture. Simply dab on, let it sit for an hour, then clean off and buff. Different finishes react differently, so always try a small test patch first.

Forget spending ages polishing up blackened silver like a Downton Abbey housemaid. Karyn Siegel-Maier, author of The Naturally Clean Home: 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning, suggests placing tarnished silver items in a container filled with water, and adding in some strips of tinfoil.

Let it soak for an hour, rinse and dry, and the tarnish will have vanished this method also works on jewellery.

More:
Best home cleaning hacks:from vinegar to ketchup, the everyday items that double up as cleaning products - Homes and Property

The changes include extending the payroll co-funding scheme to sole traders and self-employed business owners not normally on the payroll of the business, as well as to charities and social enterprises where their staff are unable to work as a result of current business restrictions.

In addition to the changes, the scope of business activities that can access both the coronavirus payroll co-funding and the small business grants scheme has also been widened to include a number of other services such as cleaning, window cleaning, gardening, pet care, estate agents, architects, facilities management and office management, security and cash transfer activities, freight and goods transfer, excluding food, and dental and dental hygienists.

Policy & Resources vice-president Lyndon Trott, pictured, said they had and would continue to listen to the concerns of businesses.

Self-employed islanders and sole traders play a vital role in our community and for our economy, he said.

It was clear there was a gap in our support measures implemented so far, so we have sought to move at real pace in order to plug that gap and bring equity to the support we are offering.

We have also extended the businesses and traders who are in-scope for support.

This is also a response to our growing understanding of the need of businesses and traders in our community.

We will continue to monitor the impact of the measures we have introduced, and the feedback on them from the business community, and will carry on responding as needed to ensure our economy is as supported as it reasonably can be during these very challenging times.

The changes come in response to feedback that the support measures in place were not meeting the legitimate needs of a significant number of the self-employed and sole traders in the community.

Support for those business activities added to the scheme will be backdated to 16 March in line with the support provided to the first series of payments of economic sectors.

For business guidance on what is available and who for, visit https://covid19.gov.gg/guidance/business.

See the original post here:
Self-employed and other sole traders eligible for help - Guernsey Press

From Good Housekeeping

Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC now recommends wearing a face mask or covering any time you go to grocery stores, pharmacies, or other places where social distancing is hard to practice. Since N95 respirators and surgical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers, many people have been putting their DIY skills to the test by creating their own cloth face masks right at home, either by following an easy-to-sew pattern or a quick no-sew tutorial. Others in need of a quick fix are simply ordering ready-made face masks on Etsy and other online retailers.

As a reminder, the CDC urges that select individuals aren't required to wear face coverings, including children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. Everyone else should follow the CDC's guidelines and wear a face mask in public. All face coverings DIY or otherwise should meet the following requirements, as outlined by the CDC:

Fits snugly but comfortably against the side of the face

Be secured with ties or ear loops

Includes multiple layers of fabric

Allows for breathing without restriction

Can be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

The Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab suggests that tightly woven, 100% cotton is the best fabric to use, which means you can turn a bandana, or fabric from pillowcases, curtains, or woven shirts into a face mask or covering. Be sure to avoid knit fabrics, like jersey T-shirts, because they create holes when stretched. To make the mask even more protective, use a nonwoven interface, coffee filter, or HVAC filter (as long as they don't contain fiberglass) inside the mask to help block particles.

Making or buying a face mask is just half of it. To ensure that you and your loved ones are staying as safe and healthy as possible, it's also important to clean cloth face masks regularly to limit the spread of germs. There are differing reports on whether or not coronavirus can live on clothes. Harvard Health, in particular, suggests that the disease is more likely to live on hard surfaces (think: countertops and door handles) than soft surfaces like fabric. Regardless, the CDC, along with the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, urges that you give cloth face masks the same level of care as your regular laundry, which means you should wash and dry them often per the CDC's guidelines.

Story continues

The CDC has general guidelines on how to properly clean most cloth and fabric masks:

Fabric face masks should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use

A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a face covering

Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing

However, these one-size-fits-all guidelines don't necessarily take into account the different types of fabric and filters used, especially in DIY masks. Carolyn Forte, Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, suggests that all face masks should be washed with hot water in the washing machine, and tumble dried on high heat. More delicate masks that are handsewn may need to be washed by hand. If so, lather masks with soap and scrub them for at least 20 seconds with warm to hot water before tossing in the dryer. For peace of mind, iron masks on the cotton or linen setting to kill any remaining germs.

While there are some other cleaning methods floating around the Internet that suggest sanitizing face masks by sticking them in the microwave, oven, or a pot of boiling water, Forte doesn't recommended them since they are nowhere near as effective as standard washing and drying.

Think about it: You wouldn't make coffee with an old coffee filter the same idea applies for face coverings. Most filters that you would add to homemade face masks are intended for single use, so it's best to replace them after each use.

Coffee filters: Disposable paper products are not washable, so replace them after each use.

HVAC filters: While they are washable, manufacturers warn that they're intended for single use. If you decide to sew the filters between cotton fabrics, wash in the same way as mentioned above, but keep in mind that the effectiveness will decrease with each wash.

Medium weight nonwoven interface: This fabric is typically washable, so follow the method mentioned above.

There aren't any hard and fast rules regarding how often you should wash face masks because it's really depending on the frequency of use, according to the CDC. If you want to be extra cautious or think there may be a possibility that someone is symptomatic, or has sneezed or coughed within close proximity, clean your face mask after each use. Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn't be using face masks frequently, since public health officials urge everyone to only go to grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores when they are in need of essential items.

As more information about the coronavirus pandemic develops, some of the information in this story may have changed since it was last updated. For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, please visit the online resources provided by the CDC, and the World Health Organization. You can work to better protect yourself from COVID-19 by washing your hands, avoiding contact with sick individuals, and sanitizing your home, among other actions.

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Original post:
A Cleaning Expert Explains the Best Way to Clean Cloth Face Masks After You Wear Them - Yahoo Lifestyle

Leading health experts have advised us against touching our face during coronavirus, but one thing we arguably handle just as much in this modern world are our phones.

Research conducted by King University found on average, we touch our phones 2,617 times a day with smartphone users unlocking their screens as much as 150 times from the moment they wake up, to when they go to sleep.

Comparably, we're known to touch our faces as much as 23 times an hour.

And as self-isolation forces us to stare into the cellular voids that are our devices for virtual contact, these numbers are likely to increase, begging the question - do we need to clean our phones to avoid contracting COVID-19?

According to the World Health Organization, while it remains unclear how long the virus lasts on surfaces, studies suggest it may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days.

Dr Amy Edwards, a specialist in infectious diseases claims to clean her phone "at least once a day" in a statement to Grow, while reminding people to be "vigilant, but calm and not to panic.

Cleaning influencer Melissa Maker even famously said "your phone is like a third hand because you're constantly touching it."

Apple expert, Emmanuel Lopez informed 9Honey, that while we may be more disciplined about washing our hands, our phone still comes into contact with multiple spaces each day.

"It's best to get into the habit of keeping your device clean during coronavirus, but also in general for the health of your device too," he said.

Like a quality morning skincare routine, phones require a gentle, but effective process to cut through the grime of daily life.

So, for the most addicted app users to the purist landline callers, here's a damage-free guide to properly cleaning your phone.

Where rubbing alcohol may cleanse kitchen messes and open wounds, much like too much alcohol exposure is terrible for our health, so too is it for your phone. The safest bet is to opt for alcohol concentrated wipes, where the mixture is fixed each time. Lopez recommends using "wipes with 70% isopropyl" and "gentle, circular wiping motions over the exterior surface," of your device.

Tapping your way through the day leaves dreaded fingerprint marks across the screen. The safest way to salvage your resolution from bodily oils is a gentle scrub with a microfiber cloth. Though smartphones are typically water resistant - to an extent - but a "firm rubbing motion" is enough to restore your screen to it's mirror-like resolution.

For phone purists, devices with buttons present a cleaning challenge most millennials have no concept of. Using toothpicks and skewers can assist in freeing the dust caught between dialling. Covering the buttons with tape can also help remove any lint or grime stuck in slim crevices.

Turns out people with a pore-perfect complexion may have another glowing face to cleanse each night before bed. Specific make up removers for phones exist, however, a gentle spritz of your own make up remover on a tissue or cotton pad works a charm too.

Conserve your hand sanitiser resources and don't use them on your phone - same goes for window cleaner, kitchen chemicals, soaps, vinegar and anything with enough bleach in it to turn your hair platinum blonde. Remember your phone is sensitive, like that last text you sent your coronavirus love.

Whatever you do, Lopez stresses "don't submerge your phone in any cleaning agents" or you may be soaking your device in rice until the pandemic is over.

There are currently 6,462 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia.

Read more here:
How to keep your phone coronavirus free without damaging it - 9Honey

Right now, were struggling to overcome a pandemic, but our hygiene standards are at an all-time high. A diligence for hand washing has spilled over into the household, and for once weve got the time to deal with domestic tasks frequently neglected.

Bored with tidying the living room, scrubbing the bathroom and disinfecting kitchen surfaces? Step up to the challenge of ticking off jobs you probably never even imagined needed doing.

1. Blitz oven grime(Nick Ansell/PA)

Hobs regularly get a rinse down, but how often do we tackle ovens? Over time, fat and food debris build up on the walls and shelving, burning and spewing fumes every time the appliance is switched on.

Choose a non-caustic cleaning product to avoid damage to both kitchen surfaces and your health any stubborn stains can be cleared by soaking them with bicarbonate of soda overnight. Non-toxic products shouldnt leave lingering odours, but to be safe fill a tray with water and lemon juice and heat to 120C for 20 minutes beforehand.

2.Remove dust from radiators(Yui Mok/PA)

Whatever the design, radiators are magnets for dust, which often ends up collecting in the hardest to reach places.

Allowing it to fester is not only unhygienic but can also impair heating performance, so its worth making the effort to delve in.

For tight spots impossible to vacuum, collect fluff by dangling a damp cloth, or wrap it around a wire coat hanger for greater control.

3. Moth-bomb wardrobes(English Heritage/PA)

Lockdown conveniently coincides with moth season, which traditionally kicks off in April or May.

If you want to rid pantries, carpets and wardrobes of infestations, now is the time to strike before warm weather causes dormant eggs to hatch. Lavender pouches and cedar blocks are all deterrents, but sticky paper traps and moth bombs are the most effective weapons.

Any clothes with telltale webbed cases should be put in the freezer for 48 hours.

4. Empty kitchen cupboards(Barry Batchelor/PA)

At a time when supermarket trips should be minimised, creating storage space for long-life food is more important than ever. While most items are stamped with expiry dates, others fall into a grey area. Can you recall exactly when those burgers went into the freezer?

And how long have strands of saffron been drifting around the bottom of a spice jar? According to the NHS, its best to eat frozen meat within three to six months; after that, taste deteriorates although its still safe. Most spices have a shelf life of three to four years.

5. Sort sock drawers(Ben Birchall/PA)

How irritating is it to wake up and find a drawer full of odd socks? Admittedly, Skype, Zoom and Houseparty only require dressing from waist up, but there is a sense of self-respect to be earned from wearing matching smalls. Empty the drawer, lay out each sock and ball them into pairs. Think of it as a game of Snap.

6. Detangle electrical cables(Royal Family/PA)

Not everything in the world is wireless. When the back of a TV set starts to resemble electrical spaghetti, its time to tidy cords and cables neatly away.

Hair scrunchies can be used to create manageable bundles, or thread stray wires through empty toilet rolls to avoid any tangles.

7. Descale the showerhead(Ian Nicholson/PA)

In areas with hard water, limescale deposits quickly form in bathroom taps, turning power showers into pathetic trickles over time.

White vinegar is the simple, cost-effective solution: clean a removable spout by immersing it in a bucket of the acidic liquid; if the shower is fixed, fill a plastic bag instead and use a rubber band to tie it to the head.

8. Steam clean a mattress(Rentokil Pest Control/PA)

Its a place where we spend a good proportion of our lives, so its no surprise that beds are a den of dirty hair and dead skin cells.

A vacuum cleaner will remove most of the detritus from a mattress, while baking soda can be used to help soak up stains and deodorise bad smells. Steam cleaners get the best results and should be used every few months.

9. Clean windows crystal clear(Ben Birchall/PA)

At the moment, were spending a lot of time gazing through windows, and who really wants to connect with the outside world through a veil of pigeon poo?

Its tempting to choose a sunny day to get glass gleaming, but if cleaner dries too quickly it will form streaks.

While squeegees are a window cleaners favourite tool, its easier and less messy to use a microfibre cloth for smaller panes.

10. Deodorise the washing machine(Yui Mok/PA)

If your whites are running grey after cycles emitting foul smells, its likely the washing machine is due a good clean.

Use an old toothbrush to scrub the detergent drawer, clear the debris filter (its usually on the bottom of the machine, behind a hinged cover) and clean the drum with dishwasher tablets on a hot wash.

See the article here:
Life on the inside: 10 household chores to finally complete during lockdown - BreakingNews.ie

Early last week, if youd been cruising through the Mid-Wilshire area, you might have caught sight of a wrecking crew beginning to pry apart the Bing Theater at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. But chances are you didnt catch sight of it because Los Angeles has been under quarantine for almost a month.

In late March, the museum told Times reporter Deborah Vankin that it would proceed with its planned $750-million building project designed by Peter Zumthor and that demolition was scheduled to begin sometime in April. But surely it would have been nice er, transparent? to give Angelenos a heads-up that workers had actually begun tearing apart a county building that had been part of the citys landscape for more than half a century.

The museum didnt address the demolition in a fully public way until April 9, via a blog post on its website published three days after it had begun and two days after The Times had published a story on the subject. The post described the controversial building project as an important source of job creation.

A demolition crew works on removing the William Pereira-designed Bing Theater.

(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

All of this raises the question of where exactly things stand with the buildings design specifically plans for the interior, which have yet to be shown to the public. The museum has circulated conceptual renderings of what the gallery spaces may look like, but no final floor plan has been released.

In February, in a story I reported about concerns over the museums debt load, LACMAs director, Michael Govan, said the plans would be made public sometime in March. Now, he says, the release of those plans has been pushed back by the pandemic.

We have spent the last month 24/7 navigating the COVID-19 crisis, Govan stated in an email. Delayed for good reason, we are still working to finish our better presentation about the gallery designs that is more complete, including the curatorial perspectives that shaped the program.

He expects to be able to share more descriptive materials about how the galleries work within the next 4-6 weeks.

LACMA, like so many institutions around the world, has had day-to-day life overturned by the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting galleries and forcing staff to work remotely. Unlike many other institutions, the museum has not laid off any staff in the wake of the quarantine.

But the floor plans should never have been affected by coronavirus to begin with. The museum should have released them some semblance of them months ago.

Or how about a year ago, when a revised design was presented to the County Board of Supervisors for a crucial vote as part of the environmental impact approval process? The supes didnt seem all that preoccupied by the incomplete nature of the designs and rubber-stamped the plan, unanimously releasing $117.5 million in county funds for the project. They may have been distracted by Brad Pitt, whom LACMA took to the meeting as a celebrity booster.

When New Yorks Museum of Modern Art announced its renovation and expansion plan in 2014, it issued a set of simple schematics that showed how the new spaces would attach to the existing museum and which of these would be devoted to showing art. Three years later, as the renovation wrapped and construction of the new wing got rolling, the museum issued a more detailed plan that provided the particulars of circulation and the location of amenities.

LACMA a museum that draws anywhere from a fifth to a quarter of its annual budget from the taxpayers of the County of Los Angeles has provided no such information to the public. And in LACMAs case, the information is even more critical given the buildings unusual form and the fact that part of the intent of the design is to rethink the ways in which permanent collections are shown.

Govan stated via email that the Zumthor building will include 110,000 square feet of gallery space, a bigger and better version of Rays and Stark Bar, a gift shop, two loading docks, an education facility, a theater and two cafes. But how any of these might be configured within a building that is shaped like a moose antler is still a mystery.

What is certain is that neither the demolition nor the pandemic has put a damper on the activities of the two groups that have been actively protesting the construction plan: the nonprofit Save LACMA and the more ad hoc Citizens Brigade to Save LACMA.

Late last month, Save LACMA, led by nonprofit consultant Rob Hollman, filed the initial paperwork for a county ballot measure that could implement changes to the ways in which LACMA operates and the ways in which it might undertake construction projects in the future.

The initiative would:

If the county approves the submission, Hollman says his organization will get to work gathering signatures they will need 225,000 to get it on the November ballot. Though how signature collecting will be achieved in the age of social distancing remains to be seen.

Regardless, Hollman says his organization is charging ahead. I got a snarky email from a former [LACMA] board member saying that maybe I have too much time on my hands, he says. I actually dont. I have two kids at home and we have to teach them. My question is, why are they approving this?

An excavator demolishes the western facade of the Bing Theater.

(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

The more loosely organized Citizens Brigade, an informal organization spearheaded by architecture writers Greg Goldin and Joseph Giovannini, is moving forward with its own plans.

On the heels of the demolition reports, the Brigade launched a letter-writing campaign to the museums board with a variety of email templates that, like a restaurant menu, can be chosen by levels of hotness.

The mild template, which features a one chile pepper rating, urges board members: Stop the demolition now. Halt construction. Hold an international architectural competition to get a bigger and stronger not a smaller and weaker LACMA.

The on fire choice five chiles reads: Look in the mirror and live with the disgrace of knowing you cheated Angelenos out of the museum they loved.

They also launched a pop-up architectural competition to redesign LACMAs east campus. Proposals are due by midnight Wednesday.

We got 73 inquiries followed by intent to submit, Goldin stated by email.

In the meantime, LACMA is busy demolishing three structures designed by the firm of William Pereira in the 1960s, along with an addition by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates from the 1980s.

A banner outside the LACMA demolition zone advertises the new Peter Zumthor-designed building.

(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

The Bing Theater was part of the suite of buildings designed by Pereira for the museums original campus in 1965. It was inaugurated by French composer Pierre Boulez, who premiered a new work for the occasion: "clat, a piece for 15 instruments that is inspired by ideas of resonance.

Over the course of its life, the Bing was the site of countless other classical music concerts, as well as artist talks and film screenings. In 2013, I saw a stirring presentation of Luis Buuels Los Olvidados in connection with an exhibition about Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

When word of the theaters demolition got out, filmmakers and aficionados rushed to pay tribute on social media. A great place to view the classics, wrote Joe Dante, who directed popular 80s pictures like Gremlins and The Burbs. Film critic Kenneth Turan, who retired from his post as Times film critic earlier this month, described it as one of the best of L.A. movie showcases.

On Monday morning, nothing appeared to remain of the Modernist, wood-paneled interior. All that was left was a shell being demolished by an excavator.

Part of what has been so frustrating about the LACMA design process are the questions that remain unanswered at this very late stage: Namely, what this container for art will actually contain.

Designs frequently evolve up to and even during construction bending to the reality of cost or building codes or the availability of materials. I am not unaware of this. But when it comes to LACMA, there has been nothing more on offer than faith in Zumthors vision.

We are now at the stage where theres a giant hole in the ground where the Bing Theater once stood. And the only thing filling it is a very large shrug: _()_/.

Read more here:
LACMA has begun demolition. Where are the gallery plans? - Los Angeles Times

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John Brodersen plans to demolish the "Herman Reel house" at 4640 N. Lake Drive. The house is one of four homes designated as historic by the Whitefish Bay Historic Preservation Commission.(Photo: Jeff Rumage/Now News Group)

One of four buildings on Whitefish Bay's historic registry will likely be demolished.

The village'sArchitectural Review Commission unanimously voted April 9 to issue a demolition permit to John Brodersen, who for the past 18 monthshas sought permission to tear down his house at 4640 N. Lake Drive.

The English Tudor Revival-style house, built in 1928, was added to the village's historic registry in 2007. The home was designedby architectRichard Philipp, who also designed the Holy Hill Monastery andThe American Club in Kohler.

The home needs $1.2 million in renovations, including the remediation of lead, asbestos and mold, as well as the installation of new wiring, plumbing and sewer laterals, according to consultant Rob Ruvin.

Brodersen has said he wantsto demolish the property and build a new house, similar to what he did with a house next door at 4646 N. Lake Drive. He paid $1.75 million for that house.

Whitefish Bay's zoning code states a demolition permit cannot be issuedfor a historic property unless the applicant has made good faith effortsfor at least 60 days to find a buyer who agrees to preserve, relocate or otherwise rehabilitate the historic building.

Brodersen first applied for the demolition permitin October 2018. The commission denied the permit in March 2019, ruling that he had notmade good faith effortsto sell the house to someone willing to restore or relocate the structure.

Brodersen appealed that ruling, but it was upheld by the Whitefish Bay Village Board.

In his first application for a demolition permit, Brodersen did not list the house for sale online, because he only wanted to sell the building and not the land. He also said he would sell the house for $1 to anyone who would pay for it to be relocated.

In preparing for a second permit application in August 2019, Brodersen listed his property for sale online. The property was marketed byFalk Ruvin Real Estate and listed on real estate websites.

The property was originally listed for $1.65 million, which is the price Brodersen paid in 2016. Brodersen reduced the price to $1.55 million July 3.

The house netted one offer for $800,000 from broker Bob Herzog. Herzog said he made the offer on behalf of Darin Early, who plans to move to the Milwaukee areafrom Providence, Rhode Island.

The commission denied Brodersen's second permit application in August 2019, saying the property was not professionally staged or photographed. Commissionersalso wanted comparable properties' sale data, to determine if a $1.55 million asking price was reasonable.

The following month, Brodersen hiredreal estate agent Suzanne Powers, who listed the property for $1.49 million. She later lowered the price to $1.39 million.

Powers said the house was professionally cleaned, and all the furniture was donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStores. Brodersen also paid to have the electrical and plumbing systems fixed.

Powers said she showed the house to 100 people during 12 open houses and 219 days on the market.

Powers said she didn't receive any new offers just Herzog's$800,000 offer from August. Powers said she requested a writtenoffer from Herzog three times, but she said she never received one.

Herzog sentan email to PowersFeb. 6 that explained why he thought the property was worth $800,000. In thatemail, he said hisclient would increase his offer to $1 million.

Two days before the commission was set to consider Brodersen's third demolition permit request, Herzog sent Powers a term sheet referencing a $1 million offer transmitted Feb. 6.

Herzog was not allowed to speak during the commission's video conference meeting April 9. In a later interview, Herzog said he would have prepared a written offer earlier if Powers had agreed to theinformal $1 million offer mentioned in his Feb. 6 email.

Herzog also said the more formal $1 million offer he sent two days before the meeting should have still been considered, as there was no offer deadline stipulated by the commission or the historic preservation ordinance.

Josh Levy, an attorney representing Brodersen, said Herzog's offer included a clause similar to a "solar easement" that would limit what Brodersen could do with his property next door at 4646 N. Lake Drive.

Its not a real, bonafide good faith offer," Levy said.

The commissionunanimously voted to award the demolition permit, but allowed a 15-day window for Brodersen to entertain any potential offers that might arise. The ruling did not require Brodersen to accept any of those offers.

Brodersen did not return an email asking when he planned to demolish the property.

ContactJeff Rumage at (262) 446-6616or jeff.rumage@jrn.com. Followhim on Twitter at @JeffRumage orFacebook atwww.facebook.com/northshorenow.

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Link:
This historic Whitefish Bay mansion will likely be demolished - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Texas Observer has published a lengthy article on the planned demolition of the Alazn-Apache Courts, San Antonios oldest public housing project, as part of its "Gentrification of Texas" issue.

The piece by writer Gus Bova chronicles the development's significance in Mexican American culture and cautions that its destruction to make way for mixed-income housing will indelibly alter the historic near-downtown neighborhood where it's located.

Bova pulls no punches in his description of the West Side project but gives humanity to the people for whom it's a source of housing stability, including 36-year-old Kayla Miranda, who's called it home since 2017:

"Bouncing from friends couches to motels, Miranda began missing work as her sons school peppered her with calls about his increasingly frequent meltdowns. Disaster loomed. Then, after a year and a half on a waitlist, a space opened for her at one of San Antonios public housing projects in mid-2017.

'Its a safety net, thank God,' Miranda tells me when I visit her 80-year-old cinder block apartment complex in January. Its not an ideal place: The bedrooms scarcely fit a queen mattress, theres no central air, and the roaches are resilient. But Miranda, a mother of three who also cares for her 3-year-old nephew, pays only $168 a month in rent. And after two and a half years here, she feels connected to her neighbors. For her, its a home worth fighting for."

Some of the most affecting prose comes as Bova chronicles the history of the housing project, which was established in 1939:

"In her exuberant Spanglish, Blanquita Rodriguez, an 86-year-old ranchera singer with Las Tesoros de San Antonio tells me of her childhood at the courts. 'I grew up muy contenta; era muy bonito, mijo. It was like a big family,' she says, recalling the complexs large hedges and her days performing at the nearby Guadalupe Theater. 'I have a lot of beautiful memories, chatting on the porch. Nadie te molestaba. You needed a couple tortillas, you went and knocked on your neighbors door.'"

Last year, the Current and the San Antonio Heron collaborated on a lengthy analysis of gentrification's sweep across the West Side, including the scheduled demolition of the Alazn-Apache Courts.

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Originally posted here:
Lengthy Texas Observer Story Digs Into the Pending Demolition of San Antonio's Alazn-Apache Courts - San Antonio Current

How can the demolition of a building be deemed essential?

WE live in times of increasing contradiction.

On the one hand sunbathing for people without gardens is frowned upon, even with social distancing, walking routes are closed to much of the population, spiritual wellbeing counts for nought.

On the other people are flying in to Heathrow without any health checks, those with mild symptoms are quarantined for seven days rather than the World Health Organisation-prescribed 14, and construction workers are exempt from the rules about non-essential work.

How can the demolition of a building in Clerkenwell, with no planning permission for its replacement, or work on the HS2 project, neither of which can be done without breaching social distancing rules, be deemed essential?

Delaying Crossrail will affect next years finances, but it has happened in the interests of public health.

HS2 is years away. Moreover, the government has just told HS2 Ltd that they can no longer be trusted with the Euston approach, having abandoned the scheme that was approved by parliament and failed to come up with a convincing replacement.

Why, then, are they even contemplating further work in the Euston area, regardless of Covid-19 restrictions?

The government cannot afford to drift until the prime ministers convalescence is complete. There must be a stop to all unnecessary construction and destruction work now.

ANDREW BOSI Wall Street, N1

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Put an end to all unnecessary demolition and construction work now - Camden New Journal newspapers website