Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Published: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, 5:27p.m. Updated 11 hours ago

The Pittsburgh Planning Commission approved plans Tuesday for a new office building on the site of the former Reizenstein Middle School in Shadyside.

The six-story, 200,000-square-foot building would anchor the $100 million Bakery Square 2.0 development by Shadyside's Walnut Capital. It would connect to the original Bakery Square development across Penn Avenue via an enclosed pedestrian walkway four stories above the street.

Construction is expected to cost more than $40 million and start this spring. Walnut Capital has not identified any tenants.

The commission also was briefed on expansion plans at Whole Foods Market's East Liberty store. Plans include expanding the 32,000-square-foot store by about 14,000 square feet and adding a parking deck over its existing lot. The existing lot would likely close from June through August, officials said. The store is working to arrange parking alternatives.

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Planning Commission approves new office building at site of former Reizenstein Middle School

Jehan Perera

The Island

Publication Date : 21-01-2014

Shortly after the end of the war in 2009, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that in Sri Lanka there would no longer be an ethnic majority or ethnic minorities but only a majority who loved the nation and a minority who were traitors.

Apart from the warning inherent in this statement to those who were political dissenters, there was also the implication that a political solution based on the notion of ethnicities and majorities and minorities based upon them would be unnecessary after the defeat of the separatists Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The logic of this position is that a political solution was only discussed because of the pressure of the LTTE, and now with its destruction there was no need to take that discussion forward.

In keeping with the presidents immediate post-war policy statement and despite the passage of nearly five years since the end of the war there has been no fundamental shift in the governments approach to the ethnic conflict.

The talks with the main Tamil opposition party, the TNA, and the governments effort to form a Parliamentary Select Committee to discuss a political solution has gone nowhere.

This is not the governments failure alone. Nearly all public intellectuals from the Sinhalese community who support the government, which is the politically dominant voice in society, appear to have also taken the cue from the president that there is no ethnic conflict to resolve. But Tamil minority voters have repeatedly challenged this assumption.

So long as there are unresolved ethnic grievances the electorate will tend to vote along ethnic lines. The governments policy of formulating and promising policies of economic development as an alternative to political reform have been repeatedly rebuffed by the ethnic minority electorate. Not even the personal campaigning by the president himself and the government hierarchy has proven able to turn this vote in the direction of the government.

Continued here:
Why international pressure has become necessary for Sri Lanka

Related Guides: Stump Removal Cost Guide, Tree Removal Cost Guide, Stump Grinding

Although cutting down a tree may seem like a major project, its actually straightforward when compared with removing a stump. Stump removal is a lot more involved, which is why its not usually included in the cost of tree removal. Its also why many people have old stumps in their yards. Stump removal isnt easy, but it is doable. Youll get the job done more quickly and easily when you use the right techniques and methods, and there are a handful of viable options available.

After going through the trouble to have a tree removed, it doesnt make a lot of sense to leave the stump sitting there. A few of the top reasons to remove stumps from your yard include:

Some stumps are easier to remove than others and therefore different techniques can be applied. Being prepared ahead of time and knowing which techniques and methods to use for which type of job will make things much easier for you in the long run. For example, pine tree stumps tend to be easier to remove than stumps from deciduous trees. The roots of pine trees tend to be wide, flat and relatively shallow while deciduous tree stumps roots tend to be long and deep.

What makes a stump easier to remove? Generally, the age and size of the tree are the best indicators of stump removal difficulty. Simply put, the older a stump is, the easier it is to remove. Likewise, small stumps are also easier to remove than large ones. Another good thing to keep in mind before choosing a stump removal method is to consider the total number of stumps that need to be removed. Do you really want to remove 100 stumps by hand? Or even 3? This guide will help you decide which stump removal techniques and methods are appropriate for you.

If removing a stump manually wont work and youd like to get rid of your stump (or stumps) quickly, you can always rent a grinder and grind the stump away yourself. These heavy-duty machines weigh around 1,000 pounds, and you can expect to pay between $100 and $200 to rent one for a single day (see our guide to Stump Grinding Prices & Costs) . Therefore, it only makes financial sense to do the job yourself when there are several stumps to remove.

In addition to the grinder, you will need a shovel, a mattock, a chainsaw and a rake.

Keep in mind that a stump grinder is a dangerous piece of equipment and that you should always wear protective gear. Be especially diligent about wearing protective goggles or glasses because wood chips and other debris will fly everywhere. If youve never used a stump grinder before, its also a good idea to have someone at the rental place teach you how to use the machine before bringing it home or having it delivered.

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Tree Stump Removal Techniques, Methods | How to Remove a Stump

The West Australian Finger lime growing at Tass 1 Trees. Picture: Astrid Volzke

There's a strong movement among native-plant lovers to grow species that are traditional sources of food among Aboriginals.

There's a lot to love about these plants, which are in most cases tough enough to grow well in home gardens without needing too much extra work or resources to produce successfully.

Here are my recommendations based on the easiest varieties to start with.

The term native is a little deceptive so I've tried to break it down to plants that are endemic to our south-west corner of Australia and then others that are popular bush tucker varieties from other parts of the country.

(Citrus australasicus and Citrus glauca)

Most of these are native to semi-arid and arid areas of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia and there are many references where early settlers relied on them to provide the zing to a gin and tonic on a hot afternoon.

The fruits are not only edible, they are attractive, with hybrids producing good-quality fruit. The flesh has a strong citrus flavor and is being used as a garnish in many up-market restaurants. The plants love full sun, a lack of love and will perform in most garden situations.

(Santalum acuminatum) (WA)

This is a semi-parasitic tree with succulent bright red fruits that make for a tasty snack and can be made into jams and jellies.

Link:
Grow your own bush tucker

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Kojo Oppong Nkrumah sheds tears on Joy FM #39;s Super Morning Show in Memory of Komla Dumor
Video Upload by: Barima Osei Asare (barima.asare@myjoyonline.com)

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Kojo Oppong Nkrumah sheds tears on Joy FM's Super Morning Show in Memory of Komla Dumor - Video

by Tami Hoey

azfamily.com

Posted on January 20, 2014 at 7:13 PM

Updated yesterday at 9:02 PM

PHOENIX -- A hefty hound who had some serious weight to lose now has a new "leash" on life.

"Chiquita" has not only shed her extra pounds and reached a healthy weight, but she has found a new home.

We first met Chiquita this summer. The three-year-old Welsh Corgi weighed 40 pounds when she arrived at the Arizona Humane Society in August. That's considered extremely obese.

"She could barely even walk around, let alone jump up on a sidewalk curb,"says Ashleigh Goebel of the Arizona Humane Society. "It was really sad to watch."

But thanks to the doggie diet and exercise program provided by her foster family, Chiquita has lost 16 pounds and is now showing off her canine curves. We're told her exercise program even contained water aerobics!

"She's been on a strict weight-loss program," says Goebel."It ended up being a tremendous success."

Continued here:
Overweight dog sheds pounds; finds home

(BPT) - Nearly everyone has a home improvement impossible dream an inground pool in a postage-stamp-sized backyard or a professional-grade kitchen on a $5,000 budget. Some homeowners might say their cant-do renovation is adding a bathroom in an impossible space. But enterprising homeowners and contractors are using a long-proven technology to creatively add bathrooms in a variety of locations once considered impossible for plumbing.

Above-the-floor plumbing, also known as up-flush plumbing, has been a dependable alternative for homeowners who wanted to add a bathroom in a basement where breaking into concrete flooring makes conventional plumbing laborious, costly and high-risk. In the Northeast and the upper Midwest, most homes are built with basements and a high population density requires homeowners to make the most of all available living space. In these regions, up-flush plumbing has been a solution-of-choice for quickly, cost-effectively adding a toilet in a basement environment. But the technologys usefulness extends far beyond the basement.

In the South, Southwest and West, many homes are built on concrete slabs, so above-the-floor plumbing is a natural solution for adding a ground-floor bathroom, says contractor Mario Rink of Mechanical Solutions LLC in Culpeper, Va. Rink has long used a macerating toilet and plumbing system by Saniflo to help his clients create bathrooms where none existed before. Its also a great alternative in a range of other settings where traditional plumbing can be problematic, such as the raised homes you see in shore towns and southern bayous, or historic homes.

Macerating systems use a pump to reduce waste and paper from the toilet and send it under high pressure through piping directly into the septic or sewer system. No waste is stored, and the systems are low-cost compared to traditional plumbing. If youve dreamed of adding a bathroom, but thought it was impossible, here are five impossible scenarios where above-the-floor plumbing may be the solution:

* Ground floor on slab construction

Owners of slab-built homes may hesitate to cut into the concrete foundation in order to accommodate conventional plumbing. No matter how careful a contractor is when cutting into concrete, a variety of problems can arise from unexpected obstructions to poor-fitting patches and even stress cracks.

Cut and patched concrete is simply never as strong as concrete that has never been cut, Rink notes. Up-flush plumbing eliminates the need to cut into a slab and possibly compromise its integrity.

* Historic homes

Opening walls or floors to accommodate piping may jeopardize historic elements, such as original wood flooring or plaster walls. Systems like Saniflos macerating toilet and plumbing technology eliminate the need to cut through a floor to install new drainage, while minimizing the impact on walls as well. The system also fits easily into small areas like a closet or the dead space behind a stairway, meaning homeowners dont have to give up any room and compromise the flow of their historic homes in order to add a bathroom.

* Raised homes

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Got an 'impossible' space? The no-fail way to turn it into a bathroom

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Painting and Wallpaper NYC, remodeling 718 746 6819 http://www.fdhomeimprovement.com free estimates - Video