By Jennifer Eberbach Special to The Dexter Leader

Members of the Dexter Area Historical Society held a special ceremony on Sunday to mark the recent ownership of Dexter's famed Gordon Hall. JENNIFER EBERBACH--WASHTENAW NOW

The historical society brought its last payment to the bank, this September.

At a ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 12, the mortgage was burned -- at least in effigy.

[ CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS ]

The historical society has been paying down a $900,000 mortgage, plus interest, since purchasing the 1840s Greek Revival home and surrounds from the University of Michigan, in 2006.

This year, Wally Fusilier, whose wife Bene is DAHS board president, posed a fundraising challenge to pay off the last $200,000. Donors contributed $100,000, which the Fusiliers matched dollar-for-dollar.

This is a dream come true, and now we are ready to move on, Bene Fusilier said after watching the mortgage burn.

With the loan out of the way, fundraising efforts can turn to restoring Gordon Hall to how Judge Dexter left it, in 1863, the year he passed away.

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Dexter Historical Society pays off Gordon Hall, burns mortgage in effigy (PHOTOS)

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Nearly a year to the day, word came down that Keith McNally's long-running Meatpacking District restaurant Pastis would close and we now know who the space's new tenant will be: a darling, independently run nonprofit soup shop benefitting orphans a Restoration Hardware. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that the bougie home goods store will move into 9-19 Ninth Avenue on a 15-year lease, shelling out $250 million in the process. Not even $16 Croque Monsieurs can compete with that.

The new lease holders plan to add an additional 70,000 square feet, including three additional floors, to the squat brick building. The building will be retrofitted with a "metal and glass exterior screen," which architects say should "allude to the signs, canopies and fire escapes that once hung off buildings in the neighborhood." Those days were mostly gone even before McNally moved in.

We reached out to McNally's reps to see what the future holds for Pastis and we'll update if we hear back. But there may still be an opportunity to sip vino at 9 Ninth Avenue. Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman has said he wants to create "design gallery" stores that feature restaurants and rooftop bars and the like. Guess we know where to head when the Urban Outfitters restaurant doesn't have any seats available.

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Former Home Of Meatpacking District's Pastis To Become A Restoration Hardware

In an effort to preserve and revitalize Auroras older neighborhoods, the city of Aurora will again offer incentives to homeowners for home restoration projects that convert subdivided homes back to their original single-family designs.

The Single-Family Home Restoration Program seeks to reduce housing density and to improve the historic character of older neighborhoods by encouraging residents to restore their homes to their original intended use, city officials said.

The program offers homeowners loans to help cover up to 90 percent of construction and other costs related to turning a previously subdivided home back into a single-family home. These loans are available for up to $30,000 depending on the number of housing units currently in the home, and can be forgiven following completion of the project.

Program funds can be used for engineering and architecture services, building and planning fees, or construction costs. Applications are now available and can be found at http://www.aurora-il.org under the Quick Links section of the homepage. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Dec. 1.

Other rules and restrictions exist for this program. For more information, contact City of Aurora Neighborhood Redevelopment at 630-256-3320, or in person at the Neighborhood Redevelopment Office, 51 E. Galena Blvd.

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Aurora offers incentive to restore subdivided homes back to single-family units

OUR HOUSE: Noshaba Khan with the new plaque in honour of Arnold Bennett which adorns her Cobridge home.

LITERARY giant Arnold Bennett has been honoured with the unveiling of a blue plaque at his former home.

The author famous for books such as Anna of the Five Towns lived at 205 Waterloo Road, in Cobridge, from 1881 to 1889, spending the majority of his teenage years a stone's throw from the old tram system before he moved to London.

The home was briefly turned into a museum dedicated to the Potteries' leading journalist and novelist, but later fell into disrepair.

However, 34-year-old Noshaba Khan and her family bought the property at an auction. Following a painstaking restoration process, they held a reception for historians, politicians and legions of Bennett's fans.

"We were very excited when we were approached about this. It's a brilliant idea," she said.

"It was in quite a bad state, but now it's looking very good. When we bought the house we had to explain to the agents about its history, as they didn't know Arnold lived here, which shows how much it had been forgotten.

"Hopefully, this can help people in the city remember a bit more about Arnold Bennett's life."

Among the attendees was Morag Jones, who spoke at the presentation in her last act as chairman.

She said: "It's a lovely way for me to end my five years as chairman. This is a great way to bow out, as the Khans have done a brilliant job in renovating the house.

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The Sentinel published Novelist Arnold Bennett honoured with a blue plaque at his...

Sunny skies and a row of smiles reflected the friendliness and optimistic mood among team executives and civic leaders Saturday as the Cubs celebrated their "1060 Project" groundbreaking ceremony at Wrigley Field.

More than 350 people attended the event on the Wrigley infield, with the backdrop of drilling and other construction noise underway.

That noise was music to the ears of Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, who admitted he had doubts that this long-awaited four-year project would start.

"The fact is there were a lot of days I was concerned that we would never get to here," Ricketts said after the event attended by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, community leaders and project team officials.

"Absolutely. But ultimately, the mayor stepped up and we worked it out and found a way to make sure we could get this ballpark saved, and today I feel great.''

So, apparently, did everyone involved in the ceremony, which was dotted with humor and concluded with ceremonial digs with shovels.

"I do want to echo what (President of Business Operations) Crane Kenney said," Emanuel said. "I'm so proud this is privately financed."

That drew a round of chuckles that grew to laughter when Emanuel added: "That's probably the only thing I've echoed that Crane has ever said."

Kenney, whom Ricketts praised for his relentless work in pushing the renovation through layers of bureaucracy and threats of litigation, replied, "I can definitely say I will enjoy not being on the receiving end of some of the mayor's pointed comments."

Emanuel touted the benefits of the $575 million project (that includes a hotel), which is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs and generate $1.2 billion in new net revenue over the next 30 years.

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Smiles all around as Wrigley renovation begins

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) - - A month after heavy rains pounded down across the Mid-South, some homeowners are still dealing with the aftermath.

Many of those homeowners have been flooding restoration companies with phone calls for help.

We had about 50 calls that came through just in one day, we had to start turning people away because we couldn't take care of all of them, Joel Newport of RCI Restoration Services said, Some places we were going to had four feet of water sitting outside in the street.

Some homeowners are learning lessons from last time the hard way.

Nobody had flood insurance, which is what we're telling all of our customers now to get flood insurance because they're coming out of homeowner's pockets, Newport said.

Restoration experts say make sure your policy covers flooding.

A lot of policy holders don't actually carry insurance for floods, Newport said, They don't cover any kind of insurance for flood unless you ask for it.

Also stock up on the essentials, like water and canned food.

You can be trapped in your house for three or four days, MLGW could shut down any day, you could be in your house with nothing, no electricity, no water, no food, Newport said.

Also check a few things around your house before the storm.

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Protect Your Home Before The Flood

MARTINEZ, Calif. See the homes of the stars. Thats the refrain in Hollywood. But in Martinez, its the homes themselves that will be the stars of the upcoming Martinez Home Tour on Saturday. In Hollywood, its hop on a bus, drive by the home, listen to the tour guide talk about the movie star, and move on. But the Martinez Home Tour will allow visitors to actually walk through seven unique homes from the 1920s while homeowners or docents explain the features of the house.

Every house on the tour this year is a star, said Carol Russell of the Home Selection Committee. And the homes are within walking distance of each other in the Arlington Way neighborhood.

An example is Marc and Amelia Hunters meticulously restored 1923 Craftsman which was featured in American Bungalow magazines winter issue, a first for a Martinez house. But the other homes are all gems too, said Carolyn Boone Duncan, Home Tour Chair. Visitors might well conclude that other homes on the tour are deserving of national attention also.

The homes this year have spectacular kitchens, observed Barbara Lucero, who is also on the Home Selection Committee. Three of the vintage homes, such as the 1928 Spanish Revival belonging to Mayor Rob Schroder, have modern gourmet kitchens that were designed to fit in with the rest of the house. Other kitchens are nearly original or were designed to appear so. In the kitchen of the 1920s English Cottage on the tour, restored by Jack Vosney, the cabinets are new but were made to appear old by painting them with many layers of paint and stains until the appropriate look was achieved. In the 1927 Hetzler home, the tiny vintage kitchen is fully functional and features an eye-catching hammered copper sink. The 1928 Gliatto house still has the original Wedgewood stove, so carefully maintained over the years that it needs no restoration. It even retains its matching salt and pepper shakers.

The unique personalities of the homeowners can be seen in the houses. A daughter in the Hetzler house insisted on painting her entire bedroom with vines and flowers even on the ceiling. Jack Vosney built a cottage in the garden that has wall paper which he created from articles in an 1881 magazine. The Gliatto house features vivid colors both outside and inside with every room of the home painted a different color by its owner, a former artist.

As for the owners of the homes on this years tour, none are movie stars, but many are well known in the community. For example, Candice Gliatto is the owner of Citrus Salon on Main Street. When asked what was unique about her house, Candice replied: My house is full of art. We rotate the art at the salon. And after every show I buy a piece of art by a Martinez artist to display in my house.

Corrine Christiansen has her own 1922 Craftsman house on the tour. As a teacher at the New Leaf Academy, Christiansen was named the 2012 Educator of the Year in Martinez. She added an inlaw unit to her home in which her mother lives. Craftsman features such as hardwood floors and wainscoted walls were utilized to make the addition appear as if it dated from the same period as the main house.

When asked what visitors would find interesting about his Spanish Revival home, Mayor Rob Schroder replied with a chuckle, They will have the opportunity to see the skeletons in my closet.

Also on the tour will be all four floors of the 1930 Art Deco Masonic Temple, the 1890 Martinez Museum, the 1882 John Muir House, the 1849 Martinez Adobe and the Shell Refinery Museum.

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Home Tour to offer up-close look at local historic homes

GWEN IFILL: Much of our reporting on climate change has focused on the impact it could have on people or on the environment in which they live.

But one area that tends to get less attention is how climate change will affect wildlife. Theres a major habitat restoration project in San Francisco Bay thats trying to address that very issue.

The NewsHours Cat Wise has our report.

RACHEL TERTES, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: So, welcome, everyone, to our first morning of trapping.

CAT WISE: On a recent morning, a small group of volunteers clad in rubber boots gathered at a park on the edge of the San Francisco Bay.

RACHEL TERTES: So when the animal walks in, he sets the trap off.

CAT WISE: Theyd come to help U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials gather traps in a restored tidal marsh to determine if an endangered species, found only in this area of the bay, is making a comeback.

Wildlife biologist Rachel Tertes carefully opened the first trap and out spilled a tiny creature, just what they were hoping to find.

RACHEL TERTES: This cinnamon belly would tell us pretty much right away that this is a salt marsh harvest mouse.

CAT WISE: The endangered harvest salt marsh mouse is, well, pretty cute. Its lost about 90 percent of its habitat due to human development along the bay, and now, according to Tertes, it faces a new threat: climate change.

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Restored wetlands welcome wildlife and protect against future floods in San Francisco Bay Area

October 9, 2014 -

Get Involved, Be Prepared, Protect Your Family, Animals & Home.

The Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) and the Monte Nido Fire Safe Council will sponsor a Fire Prepardedness Fair on Saturday, October 18.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a home assessment tour of four houses, led by trained risk assessors, will demonstrate and explain what you can do to protect yourself and your home.

The Fair officially begins at 11 a.m. with presentations by representatives of the L. A. County Fire Department, National Park Service, MRT, the Monte Nido Fire Safe Council, the North Topanga Fire Safety Council, insurance companies and vendors.

All horse owners living in the greater Las Virgenes area, the Santa Monica Mountains, Monte Nido, Malibu Valley Farms, etc., will receive a free copy of the little red booklet created in Monte Nido that has gone all over the Nation: What Do I Do With My Horse In Fire, Flood, and/or Earthquake? provided by MRT. All you have to do is show up

Meet at the West end of Camino Colibri, Edenwild Tract in Monte Nido for both the guided tour and the Fair.

Please RSVP to Jo Powe at (310) 745-3642; jopowe@gmail.com.

This event is sponsored by the Monte Nido Fire Safe Council and MRT. Funding is provided by a grant from the Community Assistance Program of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, National Park Service, the Department of the Interior through the California Fire Safe Council.

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Monte Nido Fire Preparedness Fair, Oct. 18