Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A land-bank bill that would change the way tens of thousands of parcels across the city could be redeveloped is drawing criticism from community groups, who argue the legislation doesn't do enough to include them.

"The community approval process is not clear at all," says Carl Redwood, chairman of the Hill District Consensus Group. "And without full community participation, the land-bank legislation can be a way to fast-track what developers want to do in spite of the community's wishes."

The bill's supporters say the legislation is a work in progress, and say they hope community groups will help craft a mechanism to give themselves influence over the disposition of land in their neighborhoods.

Consternation among some community groups came after Pittsburgh City Councilor Deb Gross introduced legislation Jan. 14 that would create a Pittsburgh land bank an entity separate from city council that would act as a central clearinghouse for blighted, vacant or tax-delinquent properties. Under state law, the land bank would be authorized to expedite the title-clearing process and deal with existing tax liabilities, allowing for more efficient reuse of distressed land.

Gross' legislation gives a seven-member board the authority to decide what happens to property in the land bank. Three of the board's members would be appointed by council; four would be appointed by the mayor.

The legislation currently specifies that the use of land "shall be consistent with the provisions of the City's Comprehensive Plan and any adopted neighborhood plans." Where such plans don't exist, "the Land Bank shall determine that proposed uses are consistent with the goals of the community by consulting with any community groups in the area [as well as] the Department of City Planning, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh."

Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corporation, says she's supportive of land banks in theory, but worries about how the land bank will operate in communities that don't have formalized community plans.

"The Hill District has a community plan, but formal codification of that is different," Milliones says, adding that the city has not systematically provided resources for community planning. "[The legislation] has to take into consideration neighborhoods with very large amounts of vacant land like the Hill District and Homewood and parts of the North Side."

Although the bill is at the top of Mayor Bill Peduto's legislative agenda, the community-inclusion process "was one of the things that was intentionally left a little bit vague so we could solicit feedback," says Matthew Barron, Peduto's policy manager. Letting the legislation develop after it is introduced is "not unique to this legislation," he says.

Nate Hanson, Gross' chief of staff, says Gross is open to amendments and will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thu., Feb. 20, at Pittsburgh City Council chambers, so that "[as] many people who want to speak [will] be able to speak."

See the original post here:
Property Control: Neighborhood groups wary of land-bank bill

Ace Micheals interviews interior designer, spokeswoman, and CEO Didiayer Snyder
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/musicsourceusa/2014/03/26/ace-micheals-interviews-interior-designer-spokeswoman-and-ceo-didiayer-snyder.

By: Ace Micheals

Read more:
Ace Micheals interviews interior designer, spokeswoman, and CEO Didiayer Snyder - Video

See This Interior Designer shares DORM ROOM design and decorating ideas
See This home design design your own design home design ideas home interior design home theater design home office design modern home design home design plan...

By: Amran Musholi

Go here to see the original:
See This Interior Designer shares DORM ROOM design and decorating ideas - Video

Must Watch Interior Designer shares DORM ROOM design and decorating ideas
Awesome home design design your own design home design ideas home interior design home theater design home office design modern home design home design plans...

By: Amran Musholi

Read more from the original source:
Must Watch Interior Designer shares DORM ROOM design and decorating ideas - Video

ADS TV: HOME AWAY: EP 38: Tips On Decorating Your Wall Space
In this week #39;s #39;Home Away #39; episode of ANOKHI Daily Spotlight TV, Interior Designer, Liane Robertson from #39;RProjex #39; provides 3 easy tips when it comes to ma...

By: ANOKHI Daily Spotlight TV

Read the original post:
ADS TV: HOME & AWAY: EP 38: Tips On Decorating Your Wall Space - Video

should i include a home warranty

By: James Akers, Jr.

Go here to read the rest:
should i include a home warranty - Video

WH Security and alarm.com
WH Security, located in Rockford, Minn., offers a variety of home automation options including home energy management, light control, lock control, and even ...

By: WHSecuritymn

Continued here:
WH Security and alarm.com - Video

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a security breach at Atlanta-based Home Depots corporate headquarters. According to a criminal complaint, three human resources employees were arrested after accessing employees confidential information and opening fraudulent credit cards. Our corporate security, IT security and legal teams quickly investigated the matter and notified law enforcement, and the three associates were subsequently arrested, said Stephen Holmes, the Director of Corporate Communications at Home Depot. No customer information was compromised. Employees Claudette Grimes, her daughter, also an employee, Lakisha Grimes, and Paulette Shorter were all arrested on fraud charges and released on bond. That is everything you need right there: Social Security number, date of birth, youve got it, said Brent Brown, the CEO of Chesley Brown Companies. His company does corporate security, and he says this type of crime is on the uptick They are doing it in such a way that sometimes the breach goes unnoticed for days, months, maybe even longer, that is the scary part, said Brown. According to the criminal complaint, Home Depot Corporate Security alerted the U.S. Secret Service to the crime after discovering that Claudette Grimes sent an email from her Home Depot account containing an attachment which contained more than 300 Home Depot employees identifying information, including Social Security numbers and birthdates. Home Depot has notified the affected employees and is offering free credit monitoring. Out of an abundance of caution and looking at the universe of those whose information might have been exposed which we believe is between 10 and 20 thousand well notify others as needed, said Holmes, the spokesperson for Home Depot. Home Depots Full statement: This was an isolated incident involving three rogue HR associates who had authorized access to personal information to perform their jobs. They were in a position of trust, which they abused and they are no longer with the company. They did not have access to customer information. Our corporate security, IT security and legal teams quickly investigated the matter and notified law enforcement, and the three associates were subsequently arrested. We have notified and provided free credit monitoring to the approximately 300 current and former associates and a few hiring candidates referenced in the complaint. Out of an abundance of caution and looking at the universe of those whose information might have been exposed which we believe is between 10 and 20 thousand well notify others as needed. The security of anyones personal information is something we take extremely seriously, and we move aggressively to investigate and act on any questionable activity, no matter how large or small an incident might be. Thats what we did in this case, and will continue to do moving forward. You can read the entire criminal complaint here.

See the rest here:
Home Depot employees charged with stealing co-workers' personal info

By KEITH HEUMILLER

Staff Writer

Middletown voters will be able to weigh in next month on a proposed $32.9 million facilities project that would replace roofs and repair heating and cooling systems at 15 of the public school districts 17 schools.

Board of Education members unanimously agreed to schedule a March 11 public referendum for the projects, saying they want to take advantage of $19 million in available state grants by lumping all of the projects together and beginning work this summer.

They are critical projects that have been researched, and a lot of work has been done in scoping them out, district Business Administrator Amy Gallagher said during the boards Jan. 28 meeting.

This isnt a bells-and-whistles type of referendum. Its basic needs. These are things that are going to have to be done whether the referendum passes or not.

Board professionals gave public presentations on the proposed work Jan. 27 and 28, explaining that state Regular Operating District (ROD) grants would cover 40 percent of all project costs.

Superintendent of Schools William George III said more than 2,400 applications were submitted for the grants, and the state determined that all of Middletowns 39 proposed projects are critical.

Were very humbled, very proud of the fact that we are the leader in Monmouth County with the number of grants awarded, he said.

If approved by voters, the project would bring new roofs to Bayview, Fairview, Leonardo, Lincroft, New Monmouth, River Plaza and Navesink elementary schools, and partially replace the roofs at Middletown Village, Nut Swamp and Ocean Avenue elementary schools.

View original post here:
Middletown board OKs vote on $32.9M for roofs, repairs

Prince William News

Gainesville Times

"We have no access to natural gas in our neighborhood, so we had oil heat," says Nadig. "The price of oil has gotten extremely high and we found ourselves keeping the thermostat fairly low."

Nadig started to investigate geothermal (or ground-source) heat pump systems to help them stay warm in the winter - without paying a lot of money on their oil bill.

Quickly realizing the energy saving benefits, as well as the environmentally friendly aspects, he opted to install a system from ClimateMaster (www.climatemaster.com/residential).

"The geothermal saves us money and we can keep the house at a nearly constant temperature," says Nadig, whose system went live about a year ago.

Nadig is just one of the many Americans who are replacing conventional oil, natural gas and electricity-based heating and cooling with geothermal heat pump systems, and the demand for these systems is only expected to grow, on a global scale, over the next decade.

"There are more than 1 million of these units in U.S. homes today, which means an increasing number of homeowners are recognizing the benefits of this system in controlling their energy bills for life, and essentially declaring their energy independence," says Raj Hiremath, marketing director at ClimateMaster.

Geothermal, or "geoexchange," systems work on the simple principle of regulating indoor heating or cooling by using the consistently moderate temperatures just below the earth's surface. While outside air temperatures may vary wildly depending on where you live, the ground temperature just a few feet down stays relatively stable.

Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of this by moving heat through water in underground pipes to make it either warmer (in the winter) or cooler (in the summer) inside the home. The result is comfortable year-round indoor temperatures.

See the article here:
Geothermal systems provide energy independence for more homeowners