TOPEKA, Kansas (WIBW) -- The historic Jayhawk Theatre is one of the only heirloom theatres still standing in Topeka, and volunteers are working hard to ensure future generations can make memories inside it like they did.

"I mean, this was the place to be at one time!"

Quite some time has passed since Lonnie Williams paid 25 cents for a movie ticket and spent the entire day downtown at the Jayhawk Theatre, a 90-year-old Topeka relic that holds many of his memories.

"Back in the day when I was in 6th grade, black people couldn't sit on the main floor, so we had to sit in the balcony. I didn't know any better, so I just threw popcorn and poured pop down on everybody downstairs," Lonnie remembered with a laugh.

He said he never got in trouble, though.

"We were always on the move," he said.

Those were the days of a booming downtown culture in Topeka, where people would come from miles and miles to shop at Woolworths, go eat and of the many restaurants, or go to a show at one of the several theatres scattered about downtown. Those would be all-day excursions, and ones folks like Lonnie looked forward to.

The Jayhawk Theatre opened its doors in 1926, built by the Crosby Brothers Company. It was state-of-the-art for its time, as an extensive heating and cooling system was installed so that patrons could duck inside for 70-degree temperatures at all times. As many as 1,500 people could sit inside with a free-standing balcony that sat 650.

However, major developments outside of downtown Topeka would lead to the theatre's - and many other historic buildings' - demise.

The lights went dark at the Jayhawk Theatre over 30 years ago in 1976, back when life was completely different than today, but the organizers who are working hard to revitalize the gorgeous building say that capturing the spirit of family is what's going to bring that spark back.

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Back When Downtown Topeka Was 'The Place To Be' | Jayhawk Theatre Update

American Canyon homeowners and business owners can now make their properties more water and energy efficient through a property-tax based program already in effect throughout Napa County.

The HERO Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program allows residents to install new plumbing as well as heating and cooling systems, and pay off the costs through long-term property tax assessments.

The cities of American Canyon and St. Helena recently joined PACE, following the communities of Napa, Calistoga and Yountville. Napa County also is a member.

HERO will help American Canyon and St. Helena save water and energy and enable local homeowners to make immediate efficiency-improvements to their homes, Liza Gray, HERO Community Development Manager, said in a press release. Based on our experience in other communities, we also expect HERO to create local jobs by increasing demand for construction services.

Program participants can repay the assessments in as few as five years and as many as 20 years.

Interest is tax deductible.

HERO provides property owners with a variety of environmental and plumbing options to have installed. These range from high-efficiency toilets and faucets to drip irrigation systems to drought-tolerant landscaping.

More than 200 cities and counties in California have adopted HERO Programs representing about $375 million in financing.

Visit http://www.HEROProgram.com or call 855-HERO-411 for more information.

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American Canyon joins water, energy conservation program

Natural ventilation used to be the best way to allow fresh outdoor air to replace contaminated indoor air in a home. But because todays energy-efficient homes are air-sealed and built more tightly for heating and cooling control, its essential to have a mechanical ventilation strategy for todays homes.

To maintain a safe and comfortable indoor environment, we must now mechanically ensure that contaminantshumidity, odors, dust, pet dander, grease, mold, formaldehyde and other chemicalsare constantly removed from the building. A proper ventilation system maintains indoor air quality and reduces the probability of mold formation.

There are two general types of ventilation: local (or spot) and whole-house.

SPOT VENTILATION

Spot ventilation focuses on removing contaminants from a specific place at a specific time, such as the ventilating fan in a bathroom that helps eliminate steamy mirrors, foggy windows and stale odors. Architects, builders and designers should consider a number of factors when installing a bath fan for spot ventilation use.

The Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) recommends that fans should have airflow of roughly 1 cubic foot per minute (cfm) for every square foot of a bathroom area up to 100 ft. For bathrooms larger than this, HVI recommends a ventilation rate based on the fixtures present in the bathroom, with a basis of adding together 50 cfm for each traditional appliance (toilet, shower and so on) and 100 cfm for larger items such as a jetted tub. If additional showerheads are installed, additional or increased ventilation should also be installed. These are rules of thumbgenerally, more cfm will take care of issues faster.

The loudness of the fan is also important to consider. Sound levels in fans are measured in sones, with lower numbers being quieter. A typical builder-grade fan is 4.0 sones while any fan rated at 1 sone or less is very quiet (1 sone is roughly the equivalent sound of a quiet refrigerator in a quiet room).

The HVI recommends that a fan remain on for a minimum of 20 minutes after each use of the shower or bath. Using a timer can help ensure that the bath fan is on for the allotted time needed. For those of us who may be hesitant to turn on the fan for fear of forgetting to turn it off, timers are great alternatives. Another great substitute to a fan switch is a humidity-sensing fan, which automatically turns ON when humidity rises and then turns OFF when the humidity returns to normal. This is a great solution for a bathroom used by the kids, who are notorious for forgetting to turn on the fan. Some models that have the sensor incorporated right into the fan itself are particularly effective as they sense humidity at the ceiling, where it is the most concentrated, and are triggered by a change in humidity over time rather than a set humidity level. These fans are also adjustable in terms of sensitivity and time delay.

Bath fan/light combinations are another great option. A builder can complete two remodeling tasks, lighting and ventilation, with one unit, and homeowners are always eager for a product that can fix multiple household issues at once. Many of these bath fan/lights come in decorative models that blend with existing fixtures but are actually fully functional ventilation fans. On top of that, theyre very easy to install. A fan/light can be installed in the same footprint of the existing fan, which means you can use the original wiring and wall switch.

WHOLE-HOUSE VENTILATION

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Breathe Easy

St. Helena homeowners and business owners can now make their properties more water and energy efficient through a property-tax based program already in effect throughout Napa County.

The HERO Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program allows residents to install new plumbing as well as heating and cooling systems, and pay off the costs through long-term property tax assessments.

St. Helena and American Canyon recently joined PACE, following the communities of Napa, Calistoga and Yountville. Napa County also is a member.

HERO will help American Canyon and St. Helena save water and energy and enable local homeowners to make immediate efficiency-improvements to their homes, Liza Gray, HERO Community Development Manager, said in a news release. Based on our experience in other communities, we also expect HERO to create local jobs by increasing demand for construction services.

Program participants can repay the assessments in as few as five years and as many as 20 years.

Interest is tax deductible.

HERO provides property owners with a variety of environmental and plumbing options to have installed. These range from high-efficiency toilets and faucets to drip irrigation systems to drought-tolerant landscaping.

More than 200 cities and counties in California have adopted HERO Programs representing about $375 million in financing.

Visit HEROProgram.com or call 855-HERO-411 for information.

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St. Helena joins water, energy conservation program

Residential

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Commercial

QUALITY SERVICE Hillestad is known throughout southern Wisconsin as one of the most trusted and respected heating and cooling contractors. We take your business as seriously as our own. Hillestad will assist you from start to finish with expert design, planning and engineering all the way through to the completion of the project.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT Apartment complexes to office buildings, churches to schools. Hillestad can handle any size job. We specialize in heating and cooling rooftop systems and boiler replacement. HIllestad heating and cooling sells only products manufactured by the most trusted names in the industry. Products proven to be energy efficient, cost efficient and environmentally safe. Brands such as Bryant, Burnham, Carrier, Triangle Tube and Buderus.

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Hillestad Heating & Cooling Systems - HVAC Repair and ...

In a recent column on the University of Illinois' progress toward goals articulated in its Climate Action Plan, I noted that Ben McCall, the associate director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment, had called special attention to the role of a team at Facilities and Services known as the Retrocommissioning Group.

Since then, through conversations on campus and elsewhere, I've been reminded that few people know much about the group or the work they do. Given our long-term interests of conserving resources and saving money, that's too bad, because the UI personnel who do retrocommissioning are champions of both.

So let me bring you up to speed.

In a nutshell, retrocommissioning refers to a process of analyzing the energy-dependent systems in a building HVAC and lighting and then doing what's necessary to get those systems operating as efficiently as possible.

Facilities and Services first formed a team dedicated exclusively to retrocommissioning in 2007. It was composed of five people and was led by Karl Helmink, an engineer with long experience in HVAC. Their tongue-in-cheek slogan then was "Saving the planet one building at a time." Since then, the group has grown to 20 people, and it now operates in two teams, so they've updated their slogan to "Saving the planet two buildings at a time." Both teams include engineers, field technicians, tradesmen and student interns.

The teams typically spend about two months on a building, and they employ a highly systematic approach. Their work entails a thorough analysis of available documentation on mechanical systems by engineers and a comprehensive investigation of operating conditions, equipment and more by field technicians and tradesmen.

Members of the team also confer with representatives from the facilities where they work throughout the process to make sure their needs are met. "When our work is finished," said Helmink, "they've got to be happy with the building."

One straightforward thing the retrocommissioning teams do is identify maintenance issues that tend to multiply in overlooked places as facilities age things like clogged ducts, stuck dampers, damaged coils and worn out sensors.

Beyond attending to such issues, they also focus on ensuring that lights and heating and cooling are on only as they are needed, rather than around the clock. Toward this end, they install occupancy sensors wherever they can.

Such tuneups can have really amazing impacts.

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Environmental Almanac: Group 'saving planet two buildings at a time'

Infrastructure upgrades, including a $2 million heating and cooling system, are among future plans Columbia State Community College officials presented to the Columbia City Council Thursday.

These improvements and the colleges accomplishments in the past year were the focus of a presentation given by president Janet Smith at Thursdays regular meeting of Columbia City Council.

The college has undergone heavy renovations and improvements over the past year and Smith said it is eying next to install a complete HVAC update to the Warf building, which is currently in the planning stage and will cost $2 million.

It has been three years in the process of obtaining the funds, well, its been longer than that so now we have enough to do the whole project and we will start as soon as we can get folks out after graduation, she said. And they will have to work very hard because weve got to get back in there in August for all of the new students that we expect.

Other projects the college is hoping to tackle in the next year include renovations of the library, Walters building and health services building. It also hopes to construct a new health sciences building.

Smith delved into other various campus programs, improvements and upgrades to facilities, including a $45,000 renovation to the Cherry Theatre, $133,000 renovation to Ledbetter Auditorium and a $2 million project to renovate Jones Student Center, which will have a ribbon cutting in the next few weeks.

Statues donated from former president Rebecca Hawkins have been another way Columbia State has worked to upgrade the look of the campus.

The key is a symbol the college has been using as a motivation point to students and the community as being vital to its development, Smith said.

We are a key to the lives of many individuals, we are a key to where they are going, were a key to our communities and to the economic development. We are also a key to the state achieving its goal and to increase the education level throughout the state, Smith said.

Smith also paid focus to the various clubs, organizations and civic groups that she said have helped encourage not only student involvement, but involvement from the community as well.

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Smith looks to CSCCs future

Beginner's guide to SSL certificates

A startup in Germany reckons it's found a, how can we put this, courageous way to merge cloud computing with staying warm at home this winter.

Rather than throw another log on the fire, you can install one of its toasty server cabinets in your basement. Assuming you have a spare ten grand and a 50Mbps pipe to the internet.

Cloud&Heat emerged this week to suggest homeowners and businesses can use hot racks to heat their buildings. For 12,000 euros (9,500), the company will install a large fireproof and tamper-resistant housing containing a load of compute systems.

The secured cabinet is then hooked up to heat reservoirs and tanks to warm water and air. Extra heating is vented outside the building when not needed.

The company said for smaller buildings the system could provide all the heating needed, while larger buildings could use the system just to heat water or air in combination with boilers and radiators. Once the installation fee is paid, Cloud&Heat covers all electric, data and maintenance costs (including replacing the server hardware every three to five years) for a period of fifteen years.

Buildings are also required to meet a minimum set of power requirements and the ability to run a 50Mbps connection into the server cabinet. Building owners do not have direct access to the servers in order to maintain security protections, assuming they don't smash open the cabinets for whatever reason.

By dotting its servers around Germany, Cloud&Heat believes it can save on data center facility and cooling costs. There's also a potential indirect benefit for the environment as the hot air is being put to practical use rather than carried off by a cooling system.

One wonder what happens during the summer months, though.

Additionally, because the service is only offered to buildings in Germany the company can claim all data is stored within the borders ie: not the US and NSA and servers can be maintained and audited.

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Cold? Cuddle these HOT GERMAN RACKS, yours for only 12,000 euro we swear there's an IT angle

Robert Castellino has worn a lot of hats over the last 20 years he ran the ski-racing program at Eldora in the early 80s, worked in telecommunications, founded his own greeting card company, supported adolescents as a youth minister and, as a lifelong photographer, has authored five photographic story and guide books about Boulder, Denver and Colorado at large.

Now hes donned another hat environmental activist.

Ive always had a passion for the environment and the books Ive written in the past have always had a component about the ecology of commerce and our place in relationship to nature in Colorado, Castellino says. Nature has always driven my experience in Colorado and everything I know about the land and how it defines us. So thats been at the core of my passion as a photographer, being in touch with nature, the land, the diversity of the landscape and the people in it, how we celebrate it in our everyday lives. Thats why so many of us come here, to be connected with the outdoors and enjoy this amazing lifestyle we have.

A little more than two years ago, Castellino decided he needed to take action to save the natural beauty that has inspired him throughout his life. On Nov. 15 and 16, the result of Castellinos decision will culminate in the Colorado Climate Summit, a conference that Castellino says will move attendees past the conversation about the global climate crisis and toward solving the problem.

There will be some of the usual conference trappings keynote speakers will kickoff the event: Alison Holloran, executive director at Audubon Rockies; Mario Molina, strategist and department director with the Climate Reality Projects Climate Leadership Corps; and Coreina Chan, manager in the Rocky Mountain Institutes buildings practice division.

But after a series of presentations with experts, the conference will get hands-on. Attendees will break out into teams, based on geography and expertise, and work with presenters to solve a series of real-world problems facing Coloradans, from glacial melt to drought to beetle kill to fire, in hopes of not only addressing the ecological effects but the economic bearing as well.

Here is the major deal the Switch 2020 contract, says Castellino. We are requesting that every person who participates ... sign their own contract, a checklist based on how far down the road they are, what they are going to do to make the switch to renewable energy by 2020 and reduce their water footprint by 50 percent by 2025. Accountability is part of the process.

Castellino says even those who cant attend the summit will still be able to create their own Switch 2020 contract by reaching out to summit participants who live near them. Castellino plans to work with other summit organizers to create an online map of participants, allowing people around the state to find someone in their community who can share the knowledge they gleaned from the conference.

That notion of community is the driver here, says Castellino. How can we reach 64 counties and make a difference on the ground there are seven regions in our state and we have different cultural interests based on where we live in Colorado. How can we reach out across these cultural barriers, geographically and demographically, bringing together people who arent just activists but who are doing things?

Castellino says that diversity is key to addressing the climate change crisis, and hes got the numbers to back up that belief. Census data shows that Latinos make up approximately 21 percent of the states population, and according to projections from the State Demography Office, Latinos will make up one-third of Colorados population by 2040. To address the states fastest growing demographic, the Colorado Climate Summit partnered with the Americas Latino Eco-Festival. ALEF Executive Director Irene Vilar will present at the summit.

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Less talk, more action

(11/12/14) - As the temperatures are cooling down, furnaces are heating up.

We want you to keep you and your family safe, and warm this winter. Here's some helpful safety tips from Consumer's Energy.

1. Furnaces should be inspected once a year using a qualified appliance service/heating and cooling professional.

2. Change air filters at least every other month (more often when pets are in the home) during the heating season.

3. Weather permitting, perform a visual inspection of the chimney and vent pipes to make sure they are free of obstructions such as leaves and nests.

4. Never use gas stoves or charcoal grills to heat homes. These appliances can produce dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide when used improperly.

5. Never leave a supplemental heater or fireplace unattended. Keep clothing, papers and other flammable items well away from gas appliances and supplemental heaters.

6. When using generators, make sure they are connected by a licensed electrician and only operated where there is adequate ventilation. Never use a generator in basement, enclosed garage, breezeway or near air intakes.

7. Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm that will sound if dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are present in a home or building.

Carbon monoxide is known as the "silent killer." According to Consumer's it's a tasteless, odorless, invisible gas "caused by the incomplete combustion of fuels like oil, propane, natural gas, coal, wood, kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel and charcoal." Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, nausea, fatigue or dizziness.

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Safety tips for heating your home this winter