Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

John Acord didn't start out as an appliance repairman.

He was working on oil rigs in Saudi Arabia for Standard Oil when he and his wife decided to move back to California for the sake of their young son's schooling. Fixing broken washing machines and the like was a sideline he'd picked up overseas, filling a need and teaching himself as he went along.

Acord says a friend gave him the idea of starting his own repair business when he returned the the United States, and that's exactly what he did. In 1963, he set up shop on Calderon Avenue in Mountain View, took out a few newspaper ads (he'd missed the deadline for the Yellow Pages) and put up his card in local laundromats. For the next 50 years, Acord's Appliance Service did a steady business from referrals and repeat customers, he says. His motto: "All of your appliances in Acord."

"I started doing a considerable amount of business for apartment owners, and it grew and grew," he said.

Now, after half a century in Mountain View, he's retiring.

"When you get to be 85, it's time to stop," he says.

A long-time member of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, his business has always been based in Mountain View, although he lives across the border in Los Altos. He gave up his office space a few years back, but kept his Mountain View business license.

He still loves the work, but it's gotten harder since his back surgery, he says. An inveterate tinkerer, he says he'll probably still take on a job or two. "I love fiddling," he says. Acord and his wife Charlene have a motor home and a love of state parks, he says, and plan to put his new-found free time to good use.

He contacted the Voice about his retirement because he wanted a way to say thank you to his customers.

"It's been a good business. We never got rich, but the good Lord will supply," Acord says. "Mountain View has been very good to me."

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MV fix-it man hangs up tools after 50 years

GLENDALE, Colo. (CBS4) The investigation into a massive fire in Glendale in December continues and its still not clear if it was arson.

The flames caused millions of dollars in damage to an apartment building that was under construction. The fire is still classified as undetermined, but sources say early into the investigation several gas canisters were found near the fire scene. That evidence is currently being tested in a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lab.

(credit: CBS)

Sources say two gas canisters were found in a parking structure north of the raging fire off Cherry Street. A third gas canister was also found in an alley way. Investigators also found a backpack and gloves.

Sources say arson dogs were brought onto the scene, which is typical of a fire investigation and hits for accelerants were picked up by the dog.

The fire was so intense it melted cars across the street at an apartment complex and siding on the building.

The developer of the burned apartment building, MKS Residential, is now rebuilding and moving forward with construction of their 341-unit building. The site was released back to them by investigators. Solana Cherry Creek will be a four-story apartment complex.

It could be several weeks before forensic information from the ATF lab is released.

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Investigators Found Gas Cans Near Scene Of Massive Glendale Fire

Construction is starting on the final $8.2 million phase of a south Richland apartment complex.

And plans are in the works to begin the first phase of a 642-unit apartment complex near Cottonwood Elementary School in Kennewick's Southridge area.

The out-of-state developers for the apartment projects are adding units that may help meet the demand for more Tri-City rental housing.

While the area's rental market has improved, thanks to about 15 new apartment projects in the past three years, real estate experts say there remains a demand for more rental housing in the growing area.

The Tri-Cities' apartment vacancy rate was 4.6 percent in March 2013, a definite improvement from the tight vacancy rate of 2 percent and less that made apartment hunting difficult for Tri-Citians in 2010 and 2011.

But developers aim for a 5 percent vacancy rate, which allows time for maintenance and repair, according to experts.

The city of Richland recently issued building permits to Bender Development LP of Hillsboro, Ore., to add eight stucco-sided apartment buildings to Belle Vista Apartments.

The second and final phase of the Belle Vista Apartments will add 106 units just east of the current complex, said Rick Simon, Richland's development services manager.

The two-story buildings at 2101 Steptoe St. will include 86 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units, according to city documents. The new residents will share the recreational building and swimming pool that is already in use by residents of the complex, which was built in 2004 and includes one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units.

Belle Vista Apartments is one of eight apartment complexes in Washington and Oregon owned by Bender Equities, owned by Fred and Kevin Bender.

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Apartment projects could help fulfill some Tri-City rental demand

The architectural drawings and pictorial slides on display at the public meeting Tuesday evening in the auditorium of the Buffalo History Museum had an assured and settled-in look, as if the three-story mixed-use retail and apartment building they depicted in the heart of the Elmwood Village were already standing there.

If all goes well, it will be standing there about a year from now, tucked tightly into a double lot at 766 and 770 Elmwood Ave., currently a parking lot between the Globe Market and the 7-Eleven store at the corner of Elmwood and Auburn Avenue.

The preliminaries are almost complete, but before the project goes to the citys Planning Board, the developer The Benchmark Group and the architect Karl Frizlen of The Frizlen Group needed to hear what people in the neighborhood think.

About three dozen braved the single-digit temperature to voice concerns about parking, the appearance of the building and its impact on nearby streets and businesses.

Martin J. DelleBovi, director of real estate for Benchmark, which also owns the former supermarket building across the street at 765 Elmwood that houses Spot Coffee and Panera Bread, said the new structure would include four small retail shops on the ground floor and 24 one- and two-bedroom apartments upstairs, all with balconies and underground parking.

Several residents expressed concern about how trucks and other construction activities would disrupt that block of Elmwood. DelleBovi assured them that the construction schedule had been stretched from 4 months to 9 months so that only two contracting companies would be working at the same time. Trucks, he said, would park in the Spot Coffee/Panera lot across the street.

Frizlen, who also designed new mixed-use buildings at 504 Elmwood and 448 Elmwood at Bryant Street, talked about how he made modifications to his original plan to soften the facade, which includes precast limestone and lap siding panels, to reflect the character of the neighborhood.

Several residents criticized the look of the building as too modern, too flat or too much like the building at Elmwood and Bryant.

Dan Sack took Frizlen to task for the pre-cast limestone. Its not limestone. Its made to look like limestone. Its a cheap imitation, he contended.

He also cited a wall of concrete blocks facing Grenway Alley at the rear of the building. Its a street, he asserted. Concrete block is not allowed to be visible from any street.

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Elmwood Village residents voice concerns about proposed building on parking lot site

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - After a massive 5-alarm fire on MLK last August destroyed an under-construction apartment building and damaged nearby homes, some of the residents were approached by a company offering a helping hand.

Representatives for water restoration companies approached them and convinced some into signing contracts for service at a low cost -- only to be slapped with bills for thousands of dollars.

One woman who contacted KOIN 6 News got a bill for $3300.

Rep. Chip Shields, D-Portland, is now drafting legislation to protect victims of disaster like this. The company also target people whose homes are damaged by breaking pipes, floods or wind damage. One provision would be to prevent businesses from coming within 1000 feet of a scene without an invitation.

"I think anyone is vulnerable under those circumstances," said Canby Fire Chief Ted Kunze. "Before she know it she was being approached by these restoration companies and being pressured into signing a contract for them to do the work, to clean her apartment."

KOIN 6 News found some some companies -- also known as fire chasers -- listen to scanner to find out when and where disasters are happening.

"I just don't think it's appropriate to respond unsolicited," said Kunze, who is also the president of the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association.

Some victims who filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice named a company called Servpro Restoration. A spokesperson did not return KOIN 6 News calls and emails for comment, but many of their stores do have policies prohibiting unsolicted business.

Lawmakers want to hear from anyone who has been a victim of this tactic.

Kunze said people can always call the fire department for help. "Every fire department has an incident commander," he said.

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After the fire, the predators arrive

CICLOMONTAISMO LLEGADA A PATIOS POR LA VIA A ALA LAGUNA

By: harold fernando vera torrenregra

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CICLOMONTAÑISMO LLEGADA A PATIOS POR LA VIA A ALA LAGUNA - Video

servicio julia corto con la 8845 de ferrovalle pasando por los patios de julia rumbo al vdem

By: Eduardo Urtaza

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servicio julia corto con la 8845 de ferrovalle pasando por los patios de julia rumbo al vdem - Video

Some residents in the area of the Perth Street-Brock Street intersection may be without drinking water until later this week following two water main breaks.

And for one popular area restaurant, the disruption is more than an inconvenience.

City workers responded to a main break at the corner of Perth and Brock Streets around 6 p.m. Monday, said Brockville environmental services director Peter Raabe.

Once they had repaired it, they noticed a second break about 10 metres away from the first, he added.

Workers were still at the scene Tuesday morning and hoped to have the pipe fixed by the end of the day.

There are a few residents and businesses affected at this point, said Raabe.

They include a handful of residents who are without water services, he added.

It could take 48 hours for those people to be able to drink their tap water again once the service is restored, because the water must be tested for toxins.

We have to have two consecutive (clean) samples, said Raabe.

They won't have to wait for non-drinking uses of the water.

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Main breaks shut down business

How To Remove Latex Paint Drips From Appliances Cabinets Countertops Or Vinyl Flooring
Kung Fu Maintenance demonstrates how easily you can remove latex paint drips from hard surfaces such as appliances cabinets countertops fixtures or vinyl flo...

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How To Remove Latex Paint Drips From Appliances Cabinets Countertops Or Vinyl Flooring - Video

Death Of An Interior Decorator - Death Cab For Cutie (Letra al espaol)

By: Alee Williams

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Death Of An Interior Decorator - Death Cab For Cutie (Letra al español) - Video