Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter January 24, 2014 2:08PM

Renderings provided by the city show concepts of the lighting project along the river and "what may be possible out of the international competition".

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Updated: January 25, 2014 2:08AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was ridiculed Friday for suggesting that Chicago be turned into North Americas city of lights at the same time that Paris, the global City of Light, has toned it down.

Last year, the French Environment Ministry ordered Paris buildings and storefronts to turn off artificial lights between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

The environmental edict did not affect the Eiffel Tower and other major landmarks.

Drew Carhart of the Illinois Coalition for Responsible Outdoor Lighting said that makes Emanuels plan particularly ill-timed.

Its somewhat ironic that the mayor wants to turn Chicago into the Paris of North America when the Paris of France has finally figured out that creating lots of extra light to dump into the night is both wasteful of money and energy and really bad for the environment, Carhart wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Carhart bemoaned the use of electric lighting as a toy.Niagara Falls in daytime? Boring. We can make it look like a Disney movie at night with colored spotlights. The pyramids of Giza? You dont want to see them with the stars wheeling overhead, [but] lit up with multi-color glare and lasers, he wrote.

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Environmental group takes dim view of Emanuel’s night light plan

Garden water conservation design |Kenneth Francis |Central Texas Gardener
How can we maximize rainwater in drought? Surroundings Landscape Architect Kenneth Francis illustrates water management designs from experience in New Mexico...

By: KLRU

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Garden water conservation design |Kenneth Francis |Central Texas Gardener - Video

Never underestimate the value of landscaping your home. The Wall Street Journal reported that a homes value can increase by 7 to 14 percent with an attractive landscape. That means that a home with a base worth of $200,000 can now be worth $14,000 to $28,000 more just by adding a moderate landscape. Smart Money Magazine and the American Nursery & Landscape Association indicate that this investment is always recouped and sometimes doubled. They also state that landscaped homes spend five to six weeks less time on the market.

These statistics alone should be an encouragement to homeowners to landscape their homes. But, what about those owners who are not looking to sell any time soon. What value is there for them to landscape their yards?

A yard that is landscaped correctly, not necessarily expensively, will add to the living space of your home. Your yard should not be a no mans land; a place that no one ventures into except to mow. You pay a mortgage on your house and land. You should enjoy as much of it as you can.

A good landscape will provide privacy, tranquility and opportunity. It will give you places to do the things you like to do. These spaces dont just happen in a landscape any more than they do in a house. Architects design houses with rooms and spaces to do the things you have told him you like to do. A yard is the same way. Make a list of activities you would like to do in your yard. This may include doing nothing but, I will bet, that doing nothing also means that you would like it to look nice for you or for the public as they drive past. This is still an activity.

Activities in houses take place in rooms; rooms that are designed for that activity (ie. kitchens for cooking, bedrooms for sleeping, bathrooms for bathing). Yards have areas (spaces) for eating, cooking, playing, relaxing, gardening, bird watching, swimming and anything else your heart desires. Outdoor rooms are created with walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, and accents just like interior rooms. Floors are made of grass, stone, brick, concrete, sand etc. Ceilings are made of trees, overhead structures, overhangs with hanging baskets and umbrellas. Furniture can be traditional benches and tables, but gardens (they take up space in the large room called a yard), fountains, ponds and swimming pools can all be considered to be furniture. Accents in the house are throw pillows, lamps, spots of color. In a landscape, accents are bedding plants, brightly colored patio pots, light poles, and art.

A proper combination of walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, and accents for the activity you wish to do will generate a wonderful landscape fit to meet your needs and increase your living pleasure. (If you would be interested in attending a landscape design class to further explore there concepts please contact the Extension Office at (785) 232-0062 ext. 104 and leave a message.) A landscape design class is being planned for this spring TBA.

Here are a few other benefits to a good landscape.

Lower crime rates and enhanced self-esteem. Landscape projects deter graffiti and other vandalism while increasing community pride and self-esteem for homeowners and neighborhood dwellers.

Stress reduction. It is a proven fact that blood pressure decreases in people with a nice landscape. Working in gardens or just relaxing and enjoying them generate benefits. Improved attention, reduced muscle tension, reduced feelings of fear, anger, aggression, and increased contentment have all been documented as a result of a landscaped yard.

Children who work or play in nice yards cope with stress more easily, learn responsibly, increase in their imaginations, and take ownership of their world more readily.

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Jamie Hancock: Don't underestimate value of landscaping

Note: Just a reminder of our sixth annual Spring into Gardening workshop, set on Feb. 22, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the LifeSpan Center in Mattoon. Register at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccdms/ or by downloading a registration form from the same website, or one may register in person at the Coles County Extension office, 707 Windsor Road, Suite A, Charleston. The cost is $20 per person. For more information, phone the Coles County Extension office, 217-345-7034.

WOW! What a winter this one is turning out to be. I am sick of it already and we are not even half way through, but it has brought with it some pretty incredible scenes outside my windows.

Winter offers a great opportunity to see a trees bark, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

Many trees offer spectacular bark, said Rhonda Ferree. Too often people overlook this part of a plants aesthetic qualities. But considering that most deciduous trees and shrubs are without leaves for many long winter months, we should consider using trees and shrubs with good bark character.

The trees most commonly planted for their bark characteristics are white-barked trees. Examples are birch, sycamore, and white poplars.

Some trees are actually more beautiful without foliage because of their bark, she said. Good examples include Acer griseum and Ulmus parvifolia.

Acer griseum goes by the common name of paper bark maple because of its spectacular bark, which is a cinnamon brown that exfoliates to expose rich brown colors.Ulmus parvifolia is also called lacebark elm. It has magnificent bark with mottled combinations of gray, green, orange, and brown. Compared to other elms, it shows considerable disease and insect resistance.

Paper birch trees are very popular but unfortunately do not typically live long in Central Illinois. Two commonly planted white birch trees are white birch (Betula papyrifera) and European white birch (Betula pendula). Both have whitish bark, but the Europeans bark does not peel as much, and with age the trunk becomes black.

Both of these trees are extremely susceptible to the bronze birch borer. Therefore, I do not recommend planting these trees unless you are willing to replace them every few years, Ferree said.

Ferree suggests a better option is to plant a white-barked version of the native river birch (Betula nigra Heritage).

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Yard & Garden: Many trees offer some spectacular bark

By NATALIE KOTSIOSJan. 25, 2014, midnight

SHE is almost camouflaged against the blackened landscape.

Melissa and Tristan Meyers are grateful the fire stopped just short of the verandah of their Little Billabong Road home, but it was a different story with a nearby shed. Pictures: TARA GOONAN

The Meyers filly, Salara, has burns to her body, head and hoofs.

SHE is almost camouflaged against the blackened landscape.

Eyes scan the charred paddocks, burnt to a crisp in the Minnimbah fire north east of Holbrook for the only sign of life, an 18-month-old chocolate-brown foal, called Salara.

She desperately needs veterinary attention, her wounds from the blaze still fresh.

But her owner, Melissa Meyers, hasnt been able to get close enough to help her.

Instead, a still-skittish Salara is in mourning, pacing between the bodies of her mother a brumby Mrs Meyers four-year-old daughter, Caidence, christened Flicker and a miniature horse, Bambi.

Neither Caidence nor her brother Beau, 6, know whats happened to their horses, or to the 1400 hectares they call home.

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Scars of inferno may never heal

Decorations a mess

I have loved the Hill Country since I was a law student in the 1970s. Upon retirement, I got back here as quickly as I could only to be disgusted by so many peoples low regard for the beautiful Hill Country. Lady Bird Johnson would be revolted at our roadside littering, both casual and organized. By organized littering, I mean the gaudy, so-called decorating of trees along the roadways.

It really irks me to see people intentionally defiling our beautiful landscape by festooning trees with sparkly junk. They are like those simple-minded cretins, so insecure in their own worlds, who share their angst by spray-painting graffiti over murals. You are not sharing the holiday spirit; you are just making a public mess on someone elses property. No true Texan should tolerate the intentional damaging of our landscape. If you want to do something constructive, clean up your own lives and homes. Then, really be helpful clean up other peoples litter. Dont Mess With Texas.

John Kelsey

kelsey4defense@aol.com

Dripping Springs

Don't alter test

Re: Jan. 23 article, Firefighter case nears settlement.

Here we go again. Our attorney general out of Washington, D.C., is after the State of Texas once again. This time its the City of Austin. Hes not happy because the written and oral tests are too hard for minorities? So, what does he want the mayor and City Council to do about it? Hard to say from the article in the American-Statesman other than, I assume, make the test a lot easier so minorities can pass? Is that what we really want in Austin? Firefighters less qualified to do the job because they happen to be a minority? I dont think so.

Here is my message to Mayor Lee Leffingwell, members of the City Council and our fire chief: Do not fear the possibility of a lawsuit from the Justice Department. Its wrong so, if necessary, take it all the way to the Supreme Court. Time to put a stop to this nonsense coming out of the current administration.

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Letters to the editor: Jan. 25

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Land Clearing in VA - Massie Contracting
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Massie Contracting - Land Clearing Virginia - SS Eco cutter disc mulcher
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Massie Contracting - Land Clearing Virginia - SS Eco cutter disc mulcher - Video

Best Interior Decorator San Antonio | 210-305-7114
Best Interior Decorator San Antonio | 210-305-7114 Call For Your FREE Consultation 210-305-7114 http://interiordesignersanantoniotx.com "We #39;re not here to ma...

By: Hope Hansen

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