Saturday Conejo Valley Home Remodeling Show: Interior decorating, landscaping, pool and spa ideas and information from over 170 vendors, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission $4. Hyatt Westlake Plaza,880 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village. 805-529-0760. http://www.conejovalleyhomeshow.com

Native Plant Week symposium: The California Native Plant Society and the Theodore Payne Foundation present a wildflower show, book and plant sale and demonstrations,9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Lectures: Anthony Valois discusses Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, 9:30-11 a.m.; Orchid Black discusses Easy Natives for the Garden, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; Lili Singer discusses Native Plants and Pollinators Equal Bountiful Gardens, 2-3:30 p.m. Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd., Encino. http://www.cnps.org http://www.theodorepayne.org

Michaels: Body Art make-it-take-it, 1-3 p.m. Saturday (age 3 and older). Earth Day tote make-it-take-it, 1-3 p.m. Sunday. Some fees. Check website for participating locations. http://www.michaels.com

San Fernando Valley Chapter of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers: Product Knowledge Night with vendors showing what's new for spring, 5 p.m. Meeting includes a barbecue, 6 p.m.; program, 7 p.m. Cost $5. Reservations required. West Valley Occupational Center, 6200 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills. 818-348-1091.

Tournament House tours: The former Wrigley Mansion and garden is open for guided tours by Tournament of Roses volunteers, 2 and 3 p.m. Thursdays through August. Free. 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. 626-449-4100. http://www.tournamentofroses.com

Ventura County Rose Society meeting: Members and guests bring three roses (in a jelly jar) and discuss how it performs in their garden, 7:30 p.m. Rose advice, 6:30 p.m. Ventura County Office of Education Conference Center, 5100 Adolfo Road, Camarillo. 818-337-9970 and 805-523-9003. http://www.venturarose.org

Green Thumb Nursery-Canoga Park: Stephanie Ripple discusses organic vegetable gardening, 10 a.m. April 28. She will be available for questions until 2 p.m. 21812 Sherman Way. 818-340-6400.

The Garden Conservancy's private garden tour in Pasadena: Self-guided tour of six gardens, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 29. Tickets $5 per garden; $25 for six. Begin tour at La Casita del Arroyo Garden, 177 S. Arroyo Blvd. 888-842-2442. http://www.opendaysprogram.org

Spring Plant Sale at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. April 29. Admission to sale is free; admission to the gardens $20; $15 seniors; $10 for students 12-18; $6 children 5-11. Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. 626-405-2100. http://www.Huntington.org

Westlake Village Garden Club garden tour: Self-guided tour of five gardens in the Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village area, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. April 29. Tickets $20. Find ticket locations on the website. 805-437-6606. http://www.westlakevillagegardenclub.com

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Homes & Gardens Calendar: Conejo Valley Remodeling Show, Native Plant Week, Organic vegetable gardening class and more

30-03-2012 19:08 - Bath Room Remodel Company, home improvement remodeling companies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Custom Remodeling, Licensed & Insured.

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30-03-2012 07:58 Some of the biggest changes in this project occurred in the laundry room and converted golf cart garage. We raised the floor of each of these rooms and reconfigured the walls to create a third bedroom and a nice, spacious laundry room/half bath.

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Dexter Builders Chelsea Remodeling Project- Laundry

30-03-2012 07:50 Jeff shows us the interior of this project starting in the living room. The walls were stripped of their dark wood paneling and replaced with some clean drywall. Next, the carpet was ripped up and locally manufactured ash hardwood flooring was installed. Finally, the wall separating the living room and kitchen was cut down to make room for a snack bar and open up the space.

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Dexter Builders Chelsea Remodeling Project- Living Room - Video

When I remodeled my last home I was confronted with more options than I ever thought existed. There were hundreds of options for cabinet handles alone. I was trying to balance between what I wanted, what I could afford and what would provide me the best return on my money. Thankfully the contractor was a friend of mine who gave me the tip to make my home liveable for me first and worry about potential resale later; after all, I had no intention at the time of ever selling.

Styles change and with it the best return on your remodeling money changes. To that end I made some changes that saved me a great deal of money at the time and when I did sell ended up giving me a great return on my investment.

I chose a walk-in pantry over wall cabinets. Cabinets are incredible expensive. While I am tall I'm not tall enough to reach the back of the top cabinet height in my kitchen. Plus I had 3 external walls. I choose windows for the walls and lower cabinets. A walk in pantry is much more accessible, keeps everything more organized and in thousands less expensive to build.

I frequently take 2 showers a day, especially in summer. I generally only take a bath in winter and then only now and then. A shower is simply faster; I can be in and out in the time it takes the tub to fill. So when I remodeled the bathroom I opted for a large walk-in shower instead of a tub. There is another bathroom with a tub so the house still has one.

I added windows to the office. Well the previous owners used the room as a dining room, but with the size of the kitchen and the informality of my life, I used the former dining room for an office. The only problem was that it had only one very small window. It also had a great view of the front garden. So I had a huge picture window installed and the only 30inch window taken out. I flanked the new window with built in bookshelves and the room looked great. I went from needing 2 lights on during the day to work to being able to leave the light off until sunset. It was great.

The single most important decision I made was not to spend money I didn't have. I didn't have the cash for granite countertops so I didn't get them. I saw no reason to go into debt to remodel. I paid cash for all of it. When the job was complete I was able to enjoy the house without worrying about my credit card balance. I had budgeted $25,000 for the renovations, $15,000 for the kitchen and $10,000 for the bathroom. The kitchen ended up costing me $18,000 and the bathroom cost $8,000. I was able to have the window in the office expanded for $3,000. This project wouldn't have been done at the time if it hadn't been for the savings on the other projects. Overall I added $50,000 value to my house. Not a bad return on my investment.

When you remodel your home make sure your first priority is it's suitability for you and your family and not some mythical potential buyer from the future. If you find that the cost of your remodel exceeds more than 50% of your home's current market value you might want to consider the advice my father gave me for that situation: move!

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.

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First Person: Remodeling My Home on a Budget

Topeka A majority in the House approved a bill on Wednesday to install a meditation and prayer room in the Statehouse.

House Bill 2694, originally introduced by Rep. Arlen Siegfried, R-Olathe, was created to provide space in the Capitol for state legislators and others to pray and relax.

The Kansas Statehouse previously had a chapel in the 1960s and early 1970s, before it was changed into an office.

The room will be open to people of any denomination or belief to use. Rep. Bill Otto, R-LeRoy, said the room will lack any religious symbols.

We were assured this is a place where there would be no religious symbolism, Otto said. The room should be free for anyone to use.

All costs associated with construction, remodeling and furnishing will be paid by private donors, who will remain anonymous.

Rep. Sean Gatewood D-Topeka, said he feared the measure could be abused, specifically citing the likelihood of disturbances by the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka.

All things considered, I dont believe this is something we want to get into, Gatewood said. Thats a problem I dont want.

A final vote is expected Thursday.

Copyright 2012 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.

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Bill setting up prayer room advances

TOPEKA Whether a representation of Kansas heritage, or an erosion of the separation of church and state, the Capitol Prayer and Meditation Room moved one step closer to fruition Wednesday.

The state House approved a bill creating a room within the state Capitol for prayer and reflection. Six other states, including Florida and Arizona, and the U.S. Congress have set aside capitol space for prayer.

It seems to me like a very good place to do his (Gods) work, said Rep. Bill Otto, R-LeRoy. ... this place for me is not a place just of meditation but a place of celebration that Kansas has a very rich history of religion and its faith.

House majority leader Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, R-Olathe, who proposed the bill, had originally named the room the All Faiths Chapel, but the name was later changed because of worries that the word chapel would violate the First Amendments establishment clause.

However, representatives spent little time discussing the separation of church and state on the house floor some representatives opposed the bill because of concerns that certain groups would have access to use the room.

There is one little elephant in the room that hasnt been addressed tonight that slipped my mind: that is the Westboro Baptist Church right here in Topeka, said Rep. Sean Gatewood, D-Topeka. They have already decided to send in a letter to the editor saying that if we have this open that is absolutely their right to be here. That is really a problem I dont want to have.

Other representatives argued that the state should not be scared of one or two groups.

If he (Fred Phelps) comes down here, certain people, I will be one, will be glad to volunteer and be praying for him, said Otto. If enough of us take enough time to pray for him maybe he will change or decide its not worth the time. We should not be backing down because of a certain group of people who have run around and shamed the state.

According to the bill, the prayer room will be built using private funds donated to the state treasury. All donors names will be kept confidential. Religious books could be allowed in the room.

The bill does not list a location within the Capitol for the room but Siegfreid said Gov. Sam Brownback was willing to have the chapel in one of his administrations offices on the second floor of the Statehouse. The Capitol visitor center has also been suggested as a possible location for the room, once remodeling is completed.

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Kansas House OKs prayer room at state Capitol

About 11 years after it opened, Rochester's North Target store is getting a more than $2 million facelift.

Construction storage containers are lined up outside the store at 3827 Marketplace Drive N.W. and Target is adding more workers to supplement its staff during the remodel.

"Overall, it will create a fresher, newer look for our guests," says store manager Patti Scharpen.

Ryan Cos. kicked off the project earlier this month in the store's back-room area. It is expected to wrap up by the middle of June, Scharpen says.

The store's fitting rooms will be updated and relocated.

"We're moving around a few things to make the store flow better for guests," says Scharpen.

Infant and toddler clothing, equipment and diapers are also being being brought together from various areas around the store.

"We're creating a whole new Baby World area, which should be more convenient," she says.

Target is also making some changes in the frozen foods area with new coolers and the addition of new product lines.

New carpet, shelving and some freshening up of the Starbucks Coffee shop also are part of the project.

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Heard on the Street: Remodeling project targets north Rochester retailer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Bill O'Brien is still living out of a hotel room nearly three months after arriving at Penn State to take over the football program.

At least O'Brien is back in his element at work with spring drills finally starting for the Nittany Lions.

The start of practice Monday allowed the first on-field glimpse into the transition to the first new head coach at Penn State in nearly a half-century. O'Brien made his presence known during a fast-paced day of drills.

O'Brien is slowly leaving his own mark of the program, from a remodeling of the weight room to an overhaul of the offense.

The late Joe Paterno ran the program 46 years before his ouster in November in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges against a retired assistant coach.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Penn State commences first spring under O'Brien

27-03-2012 13:57 http://www.contractorli.com CONTRACTOR LI A Contractor LI is what you need if you are in the market to do a makeover in your home to redo your kitchen or add a room to your house. While some people try to do their Long Island Remodeling themselves, it's usually a better idea to hire some professionals like those at Contractor LI who have the proper skills and tools to handle your remodeling job. Finding a Contractor LI for you Long Island Remodeling First, you need to find a Long island Remodeling contractor who is honest, trustworthy and who can do the job that you desire. In order to find one, you can start by contacting home builders in your area. They may either provide one of their own people to do the job, or they will be able to refer you to a reliable Contractor in LI Another way to find a Long Island Remodeling contractor is to contact some of the area real estate businesses. These places will most likely have an up-to-date list of Long Island remodeling contractors licensed to work in your area. They will be able to steer you to a reliable Contractor LI since they would have used them to do work for their own properties. You can also talk to friends or relatives who have had similar remodeling jobs done in their homes. You can go to their house and see the quality of the work the remodeling contractor did to see if you are satisfied. If so, you could hire them to do your Long Island remodeling job. VISIT OUR WEBSITE http://www.contractorli.com CALL Contractor LI 516 340 9549

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Contractor Li | Long Island Remodeling from Contractor LI - Video