ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) Its been more than 60 hours since some homes in Abilene have had power as electricity is slowly being restored across Texas.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says they were able to supply power to 600,000 homes Tuesday night, but 2.7 million households statewide still remain affected by widespread power outages that began during winter weather Sunday.

We know this is hard. We continue to work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power. We gained some MWs overnight but are back to 14,000 MW of load shed; lost east DC-tie imports due to Midwest power emergency. We hope to reduce outages over the course of the day.

Nearly 20,000 of those affected homes are here in Abilene, with many local customers living without power since early Monday morning or even Sunday night.

Abilenes power outages also hit all three of the Citys water treatment plants, causing all customers to lose water around 7:00 p.m. Monday.

Tuesday, City officials said power had been restored to the northeast water plant, in turn restoring water to a large portion of Abilene.

However, customers are asked to be conservative with the water as the system recharges, and once restoration is complete, a boil water notice is in effect.

This means the water must be brought to a rolling boil for two minutes if its going to be used for eating, drinking, teeth brushing, or any other activity that involves ingestion.

Non-consumption related activities, such as showering and hand washing, do no require the water to be boiled.

Customers who have their power restored are asked to be conservative as well.

ATMOS Energy says there is an unprecedented demand for natural gas.

For more information about the ongoing outages, including why its taking so long to restore power and why the blackouts lasted so long, read this explainer article from AEP Texas.

See live maps of the outages from AEP Texas and Oncor.

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Power Outages Day 4: More outages expected as nearly 20,000 still without - KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com

BATON ROUGE - Weather experts say icy conditions in Baton Rouge will begin to thaw on Wednesday (Feb. 17) as temperatures, though still causing chilly 'sweater-weather,' start to rise.

This is good news for the thousands of Louisianians who have braved freezing weather conditions without electricity in their homes since Monday morning.

Demco has deployed a vast number of workers to help restore power to the area and Entergy also says it has more than 2,000 representatives attending to restoration efforts. As of 5 a.m., Wednesday these efforts are needed to bring electricity to nearly 27,000 in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Even more customers found themselves in the dark and without heat on Tuesday night when Entergy abruptly cut power to thousands for about two hours.

The company says it was forced to do so due to "as a last resort and in order to prevent more extensive, prolonged power outages that could severely affect the reliability of the power grid."

Click here to read more on the unexpected outage and the power company's explanation.

As of Wednesday morning, power has reportedly been restored to more Baton Rouge residents and restorations are expected to continue into the evening.

WBRZ will continue to monitor outages and update viewers as major changes occur.

For the latest updates on Entergy's restoration efforts, please visit this link:https://www.entergy.com/view-outages/and click Louisiana. Then, click the red bar at the top for the most recent information, including estimated times of restoration.

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Wednesday to bring warmer temps, power restoration to thousands - WBRZ

There's no denying that fans have become obsessed with Ty Breaker. It's a great way to get renovation ideas for your home and you can see the former Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host work his magic. And while this show has stark differences from other home improvement shows, there are a few details that they have in common.

Per the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the show is actually filmed in the metro Atlanta area. And if you're familiar with Atlanta, then seeing various styled homes including bungalow, colonial, split-level, and townhomes would have been an easy clue.

Not to mention, plenty of HGTV shows are filmed in the Atlanta, The Cinemaholic reports. "Several HGTV shows are filmed in Atlanta, including Flipping Virgins, Flip or Flop Atlanta, Rock the Block, and House Hunters."

Plus, Ty has also tagged Atlanta, Georgia in his location for all of his Instagram posts that are related to the show.

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Where Is 'Ty Breaker' Filmed? Details on the Home Renovation Show - Distractify

The Woodland Restoration Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving the grounds of Woodland Cemetery, is in the process of fundraising and renovating the Eastern Henrico cemeterys former chapel into a museum to house artifacts and memorabilia of those interred at Woodland.

Woodland Cemetery, established in 1917 and located just north of I-64 at Mechanicsville Turnpike, is the second-largest historically African American cemetery in the area at 29 acres, next to the 60-acre Evergreen Cemetery. Woodland was created two years before perpetual care in cemeteries was required legally.

Marvin Harris, the cemeterys owner and the creator of the Woodland Restoration Foundation, grew up in Jackson Ward. He volunteered first at Evergreen Cemetery because he was an alumnus of Maggie Walker High School, whose namesake is buried in Evergreen. He spent more than four years working there before moving to Woodland.

I would venture to say I knew about 1,500 people out [in Woodland Cemetery], or at least had heard their name, Harris said. Thats what really brings me back. To see this history go back to absolutely nothing, it really makes me get involved. Thats why Im out there and thats why as long as Im on this earth, Im going to make sure that we bring it back around to where it should be.

Harris became the owner in August 2020, around five months after he became involved with the cemetery, he said. Prior to his ownership, Henrico elementary school teacher Kathleen Harrell was leading the efforts to get volunteers involved with cleaning up the cemetery.

Arthur Ashe, a Richmond-based tennis icon, is interred at Woodland Cemetery. His family and friends have donated money to the cemetery in the past. Those who were close to Ashe are also donating memorabilia to the museum, Harris said.

Harrell first went out to Woodland Cemetery in 2018 after she discovered that Ashe was buried in Richmond through a documentary she wanted to show her students, she said.

I saw [Ashes] gravesite and it looked great, she said. His family takes care of it and makes sure that its well-manicured. Then I turned around and the rest of the cemetery was completely overgrown. You couldnt see headstones, you couldnt see much of anything. It just really shook me and I couldnt stop thinking about it.

Later in 2018, Harrell heard that a large number of pine trees had been dumped in Woodland.

That was kind of my one deciding moment, like I need to go out and do something about that, she said. Three weeks and 22 truckloads later, John Shuck (another volunteer), my kid and I had cleared the dumped trees. Then I was just hooked.

Since then, Harrell has gone to the cemetery on a weekly basis, she said. She and other volunteers started a Facebook page to document the clearing progress and recruit more people to help out.

Harrell is now a board member for the restoration foundation and is in charge of coordinating volunteer efforts, she said.

Restoration is an ongoing process based upon available funding, Harris said.

Right now, were getting volunteers to put in as much time as they possibly can and weve got some donations coming in, he said, citing a $25,000 grant from Henrico County last summer among others. [A]nd we just got notice that the Virginia Outdoors Foundation is giving us a grant, so were basically doing it as we get the funding.

The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation also donated $50,000 to Woodland Cemetery in November 2020 for its restoration efforts.

Long-range planning, including road construction and an eventual educational center, will probably take 10 to 15 years, Harris said.

We see a lot of youth that come out and they might have heard of Arthur Ashe, but they have no knowledge of some of the other people the pastors and doctors and lawyers that are interred out there, Harris said. And some of the family havent been out there in years because they moved away, or it got to the point where they didnt feel safe coming out there. We want it to be so that they can punch their relatives name in and itll tell them exactly where theyre located.

Roxie Lyons, treasurer of The Woodland Restoration Foundation, has been involved with the organization for almost a year and started volunteering because she has family members interred in the cemetery, she said.

My mother used to take me and my brothers and sisters out there as kids to clean off the graveyard because it was in such bad condition, she said. Over the years, it got worse to the point where you couldnt even get in there to do [clean up].

The foundation has been applying for grants, trying to set up a perpetual fund and also reaching out to relatives of those who are buried in the cemetery for donations and volunteers, Lyons said.

Woodland is important to Lyons on a personal level, but it also should be important to everybody in the context of identifying the history of African Americans in Richmond, she said.

We know a lot about the Confederacy. We know a lot about the generals and soldiers and everybody in that, but what about people who were living under the laws of Jim Crow? What accomplishments did they make? Thats something that Woodland represents, Lyons said. It shows that people in this community, even though we were working at a major disadvantage, were able to accomplish wonderful things. Thats why I want [Woodland] to be beautified and made sacred again. I want it so that we can educate our children.

Patricia Bozeman, another board member of the restoration foundation, also grew up going to Woodland Cemetery. She re-visited the cemetery in her adulthood and decided to get involved when she saw its poor condition, she said.

For the group of founders, the original directors, who had the imagination and the skills at the time to make sure there was a decent, respectable burial place for African Americans in the Richmond area, its really important that story continues, Bozeman said. And then to find out who the people are who are buried there and their stories, thats something that my generation is going to lose.

Im not a spring chicken anymore and Im trying to make sure that my children and grandchildren are aware of the story and know where their families and neighbors are at Woodland Cemetery.

* * *

To learn more about the Woodland Restoration Foundation and Woodland Cemetery, or to contribute to the efforts to restore it, visit http://www.woodlandrestorationfoundation.org/

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Restoring history | The Henrico Citizen - Henrico Citizen

Softie Interior Renovation / OPA Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. Why cant architecture be more like nature -- changeable, varied, and uninhibited? Our client wanted to return home and feel a sense of private freedom, a release from the conformity of the world outside.

In this project, we softened her existing Modernist house by infusing it with an atmosphere of clouds. The clouds scatter freely throughout the house and dissolve and soften it in different ways.

The clouds erode and blur the order of the rational modernist grid, creating a sense of space that floats and drifts. Moments of softness are encountered unexpectedly the interventions are like a mist that has settled unevenly.

The softness dissolves the entry, melts the stairs, wafts through the house on all three floors, and a lonely cloud is trapped above a sheltered terrace.

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Softie Interior Renovation / OPA Architects - ArchDaily

MILWAUKEE (Feb. 11, 2021)NARI Milwaukeeis excited to announce the tradition will continue! The 59thannual Spring Home Improvement Show is back at State Fair Park with new dates for 2021. Thepopular show will be held May 2123 at the Wisconsin Exposition Center,8200 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis.

To say thank you to front-line workers, NARI Milwaukee is providing free admission (with I.D.) to the show. Each year, NARI offers free admission toretired and active-duty military personnel (with I.D.) and decided to expand the offering to recognize the front-line workers who have worked tirelessly this past year.

The Spring Home Improvement Show will once again include more than 200 NARI Milwaukee members. Exhibitors run the gamut of remodeling and home improvement services and products from design/build firms to specialized contractors for all areas of the home, including roofing, gutters, windows, doors, HVAC, electrical and more.For those who have projects in mind, the NARI Spring Home Improvement Show is the place to find qualified professionals who can do the job right.

Over the past year, homeowners have realized the shortcomings of their dwelling.They are looking for improved use of space and function in kitchens, bathrooms and basements.Exteriors are getting their needed maintenance with new siding, windows and roofs, while outdoor entertaining and play spaces are a must, says Diane Welhouse, CKBR, executive director of NARI Milwaukee. Homeowners are looking to hire experienced, local professionals and were ready to make those connections at our show.

Welhouse is confident the spring show will be a success. Last fall with COVID safety protocols in place, NARI Milwaukee held its Home & Remodeling Show in October at State Fair Park.

The NARI Milwaukee consumer shows are vital to the community. For those who have projects in mind, the NARI Shows arethe place to findqualified professionals who can do the job right. For the more than 600 NARI Milwaukee member companies, the shows support local small business.

Nearly 80% of our members are small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, says Welhouse.

NARI Milwaukee, State Fair Park and Valley Expo Services are closely monitoring the coronavirus and will implement applicable safety protocols as part of the show. A detailed Health and Safety Policies document is available atNARIMilwaukeehomeshow.com.

Spring Home Improvement Show Hours, Tickets & Parking

Fri., May 21, 10 a.m. 8 p.m.

Sat., May 22, 10 a.m. 8 p.m.

Sun., May 23, 10 a.m. 5 p.m.

$10 in advance (online only at NARIMilwaukeeHomeShow.com); $12 at the door; Adults 60+ are $8 at the door; children age 17 and younger and retired and active-duty military personnel (with I.D.) are free. In addition,to acknowledge and thank front-line workers for their dedication and service, they will be admitted free into the show with I.D.

$6 for parking at State Fair; ample street parking is also available

For more information on the NARI Spring Home Improvement Show or to receive a free copy of Renovate, the 2021 consumer magazine and membership directory, visit NARImilwaukee.org or call 414-771-4071.

# # #

NARI Milwaukeeis an over 600-member strong organization that represents the best remodeling and home improvement professionals in the area. Since 1961, NARI Milwaukee has been a trusted resource for consumers. The non-profit promotes professionalism, ethical conduct and sound business practices in the remodeling industry and works to educate and inform Milwaukee-area homeowners. Consumers can have peace of mind and confidence when selecting and working with a NARI Milwaukee member. For more information on NARI and its members, visit NARImilwaukee.org or call 414-771-4071 for a free copy of Renovate,our 2021 consumer magazine and membership directory.

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National Association of the Remodeling Industry Milwaukee: Announces May dates for spring home improvement show - Wisbusiness.com

With the emergence of COVID-19 mandates in 2020, a Honolulu homeowner and his family discovered that their new residence, designed and completed a year earlier by Graham Builders, offered flexibility beyond their expectations.

The major project began with the teardown of a 60-year-old house, followed by a new design that maintained the aesthetics of the neighborhood. The primary goal was a residence in which the couple could gracefully age in place and accommodate family members. Having recently cared for elder family members, universal design was essential.

Little did they know that their design decisions would have a tremendous impact on their lives when the 2020 pandemic blanketed the globe.

STAY HOME, WORK FROM HOME

Shortly after the family moved into their new residence, COVID-19 became a national crisis. When Hawaiis first stay-home, work-from-home order was released last March, the homeowner found himself in need of a remote office space. His wife also wanted additional space to sew masks for loved ones.

Because the homeowners and their design team produced a plan that allows individual privacy, a bedroom on the second floor served nicely for his needs. The accessible mother-in-law suite on the lower level was repurposed as a sewing room.

The homeowner works in the IT industry, helping medical professionals, call center staff and other admin to work remotely.

Home design plays a large role in this transition, explains the homeowner. In order for physicians to see patients through telemedicine and for secure call center staff to receive calls away from the workplace, each employee is required to have an environment that is isolated from others, including their family.

This requirement spans other privacy-intensive (compliance regulated) professions such as legal, financial and insurance occupations. Even employees who process transactions on a credit card machine require privacy.

Ensuring client confidentiality requires an environment separate and secluded from the employees family members and other occupants. A securable, acoustically isolated guest room with high-speed internet connectivity can fill the need for a private office when there is need.

BUILT TO ADAPT

Designed to accommodate a diverse variety of occupants, this residence has proven eminently adaptable during the recent national crisis.

As working from home becomes the new normal, home designs should include spaces where functions can be adapted as needs change. This also broadens the ability for jobs, as no longer are we limited to jobs solely in Hawaii. Many companies list remote as a location for their job offerings. Many employers are seeing that with todays technology, the best candidate for the job may not be located within driving distance of the companies physical location.

The pandemic has many companies and organizations rethinking the need to invest in office space, observes the homeowner. I keep mentioning to people how fortunate we were to have our new Graham Builders home during the pandemic not only to have a space to make masks, but also because it allowed me to work from home comfortably and securely. Its a great space.

Founded in 1990, Graham Builders remains the only local general contractor honored with Better Business Bureau Hawaiis Torch Award for Small Business Ethics, and was also Oahus first design-build general contractor with a certified aging-in-place specialist on staff. You are invited to register for Graham Builders free Building Your Home for Life seminar, scheduled for Saturday, March 6, at grahambuilders.com/seminar, or call 593-2808.

GRAHAM BUILDERSCONTACT 593-2808ADDRESS 1144 Young St., HonoluluWEB grahambuilders.com

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Homes That Last - Graham Builders | Hawaii Renovation - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Home renovation trends are ever-changing. Renovations that might have been de rigueur 20 years ago may seem dated now. Recognizing the potentially popular trends of tomorrow is a great way for homeowners to give their homes a fresh new look and put themselves in position to capitalize on popular trends when they put their homes on the market. Thats especially so after 2020, a year when millions of people spent more time at home than ever before. All that time working from home and relaxing at home gave millions of homeowners ideas about what they like about their homes and what they hope to change. The following are some renovation trends that various experts suspect could emerge in 2021.

Multi-functional spaces: Homeowners asked a lot of their homes in 2020, as rooms were transformed into multi-functional spaces seemingly overnight. HGTV notes that spending more time at home showed homeowners that it may not make sense to dedicate entire rooms of a home to a single purpose. Renovations that can help homeowners transform rooms into multi-functional spaces figure to be hot commodities in the years ahead.

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Renovation trends that figure to be popular in the year ahead - Daily Herald

The Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) will kick off one of its most popular series this Saturday, Feb. 20a virtual SNOOP! tour of the William H. Ford House at 4201 Franklin Blvd. in Ohio City.

The members-only SNOOP! tours provide exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to ongoing and completed historic preservation projects in and around the Greater Cleveland area.

The Queen Anne Victorian-style home is one of the most intact historic homes in the area and is a contributing structure to the Franklin Boulevard-West Clinton Historic District. Matt and Celine Shenk bought the house in 2014 when the historic home was deemed unlivable and showed signs of severe neglect. The Shenks restored many elements of the homes original beauty and modernized other areas in keeping with period charm.

While it served as a single-family home for many years, it was also used as a boarding house and rented out room by room, says Margaret Lann, director of preservation services and publications for CRS. The Shenks underwent four rounds of construction over the course of three years in order to revive the house.

Lann says CRS Heritage Home Programhelpedthe Shenks retain and restore many original features of the homeincluding vintage lighting fixtures, hardwood floors and trim, fireplaces, and specialty wall coverings. One of the most intriguing aspects of the home, Lann says, is the Lincrusta wallpaper.

Stephen Sullivan, a Youngstown-based historic Lincrusta expert with Sullivans Wallcoverings, will be on the panel along with the Shenks to discuss the restoration.

The tour is free and only open to CRS members. New memberships start at $35 per year. The tour takes place on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. There is a limit of 90 people for the event. Registrants will receive the Zoom link on Friday, Feb. 19.

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Cleveland Restoration Society kicks off SNOOP! tours this Saturday with 1891 William H. Ford House - freshwatercleveland

A gas-fed fire caused very high flames to billow in the 500 block of Green Bay Road in Highland Park Monday evening. | Photo: Max Weingardt.

Gas and water service remains out for nearly 70 homes in Highland Park after a gas line was struck by a contractor, leading to an hours-long gas-fueled fire at the scene.

The Highland Park Fire Department and Highland Park Police Department responded around 6 p.m. Monday to the 500 block of Green Bay Road.

Firefighters arrived and found a contractor had struck a gas line, causing a gas leak. A construction vehicle and a generator caught on fire and the gas leak fueled the fire for several hours.

Green Bay Road between Clavey Road and Washington Place was closed due to the incident as city and utility crews responded to the scene.

The fire was finally extinguished around 10 p.m. Tuesday but gas and water service to 69 homes in the area were impacted.

North Shore Gas worked throughout the night to repair the gas line. The city said Tuesday morning service restoration at each home will not take place until after the main gas line has been restored.

When NSG is ready to resume service, NSG staff will need to activate service at each individual home for safety purposes. NSG will visit each home to conduct a pressure test, the city said in a statement.

After the gas main is repaired, repairs to the water main will resume.

Due to the cold temperatures, residents without gas service were offered the option of two overnight warming centers or accommodation at an area hotel.

The City has made arrangements for a discounted rate. Income-qualified individuals may be eligible for a fee waiver. Police Officers will go door-to-door to impacted homes with additional information, officials said.

There was also a limited power outage in the vicinity as well and ComEd restored the service Monday evening.

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Crews working to restore service to 70 homes after gas leak fueled hours-long fire in Highland Park - Lake and McHenry County Scanner