Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

David Callahan is Kootenai County's new director of community development. A San Antonio native, Callahan started work here in November of last year after holding a similar position in Fort Morgan, Colo.

If you had it to do over, what would you do with your life?

I'd be a jazz pianist. Jazz is one of the art forms that is cerebral while being all at once emotional. It can reach people in a way that gets to them on multiple levels.

After high school, I was already in the jazz program at University of Texas, Austin, when I realized I had to switch careers. When I saw talent like Lyle Mays and others of that caliber barely eking out an existence, I realized there was some real competition out there and that I wasn't really that talented. I decided that my strengths were in other areas.

How did you learn about landscape architecture as a possible career?

I had some vocational counseling while I was in junior college and that was when the idea of landscape architecture first popped up.

At the same time, my best friend was at Texas Tech and Texas Tech, as it turned out, also had a good landscape architecture program. Oh, and I wanted to get as far away from home as I could and still stay in Texas.

Sounds like the educational equivalent of the trifecta. Do you think you made the right choice?

In the end, I was thrilled with the idea of being a designer. I was at the top of my class and very good at it. It was something entirely new and I positively sank into it and embraced it. I figured I would be a practicing landscape architect for the rest of my life.

What do landscape architects do?

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David Callahan: Planning to solve problems

Youve heard the drought warnings and emergency declarations. You see your utility bill. You know youve got to do something to save water.

With looming cutbacks, its time to rethink the lawn. But what will replace it in the New Front Yard?

Imagine a fertile greenbelt of colorful California native flowers alive with hummingbirds and buzzing with bees. Picture a garden space ripe with home-grown fruit and blueberries. See substantial water savings and no more mowing.

Yet many homeowners are reluctant to take out the turf; they know what the grass looks like and arent quite sold on alternatives. Now that Sacramento city officials have voted to ask residents and businesses to slash water use by 20 percent, however, many consumers will be pushed into action.

This situation offers an opportunity here, said water-efficient landscape expert Cheryl Buckwalter, executive director of EcoLandscape California. Its time to actually take action and do what weve been talking about. If people really started these things some time ago, wed be in a much better position today. But if you start now, well be in a better position in the future.

Landscape irrigation accounts for about 65 percent of household water use in the Sacramento area, according to local water agencies. Turf grass ranks among the thirstiest landscaping, needing 2 inches of water a week (or more) during hot summer months.

Even with cutbacks, that water use adds up quickly: A half-inch of irrigation for a typical front lawn uses as much water as about 104 showers, 52 baths or 52 loads of laundry, according to efficiency experts. Faced with rationing, do you want clean kids and clothes or green grass?

Unless you have horses grazing in front of your house, theres no reason to grow grass there, said Sacramento radio host Farmer Fred Hoffman.

He saw the water savings firsthand at his own 10-acre property in Herald. Hoffman removed about 2,600 square feet of Bermuda grass and replaced it with fruit trees, blueberries and California natives. He slashed his water use for that former turf area by 88 percent.

The sprinklers used 2 gallons a minute, Hoffman observed shortly after the makeover. The drip system uses 1 gallon an hour (once a week). Its a fraction of the water and very low maintenance.

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The ‘New Front Yard’ saves water, supports wildlife

From herbs and seed saving to lawn care, composting and plant diseases, you'll find awide variety of topics at the 18th annual "Nursery School: Lessons in Gardening."

The event will beSaturday, Feb. 22, at the iWireless Center in Moline, sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension and the Unit 7 Master Gardeners.

The day will begin with a keynote address titled"Landscape Design: Basics and Beyond," byMark Dwyer, the director of horticulture at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wis. He will help youmake the most of your landscape by following simple, goal-based steps.

After that, there will be a choice of16 different classes, including a "make and take" miniature garden session.Participants may choose one class from each of these sessions:

Session 2:10:15-11:30 a.m.

"Tried and True Performers: Annuals and Perennials." How to select, incorporate andcare for a solid cast of performers.Bud LeFevre, Distinctive Gardens, Dixon, Ill.

"Growing Heirloom Vegetables." Choosing theright varieties for your particular space is critical.Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah, Iowa.

"Aromatic Composting and the Bins to Support It." You'll learn how easy and inexpensive it is to compost, as well as the right bin for your use. DaveArensdorf, Unit 7 Master Gardener.

"Newly Emerging Plant Diseases in the Home Landscape." Symptoms and tips on how toavoiddisease problems.Monica David, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener coordinator.

"Gardening for Birds and Butterflies." Plants and practices to maximize the number of those creatures in your yard.Martha Smith, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

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From herbs to lawns, Nursery School covers many topics

Anyone who has gone to the California Maritime Academy campus to watch a basketball game has likely found the seating area a little, say, snug, if not downright crowded.

That shouldn't be the case when the new Physical Education and Aquatics Center on the South Vallejo campus opens next year.

Under construction since March, the new building will house a large swimming pool, basketball courts, classrooms and various offices.

Construction activity, plus new walls, concrete slabs and other features can clearly be seen to anyone driving by the campus on Interstate 80 or on local streets nearby.

"This is a big project for our little school," said Kurt Lohide, Cal Maritime vice president for administration and finance.

Once complete, the main gymnasium will seat 650 spectators -- about 500 more than the current gym in Mayo Hall.

That old gym plus the existing pool have changed little over the last five decades and hearken back to a time when the student population was about 200, far fewer than the record number of students who have applied for entrance to Cal Maritime, about 1,045.

The new building will have "California Maritime Academy" and "California State University" in large lettering on the outside, making it clear to those driving in the vicinity that Vallejo is home to a state university.

Estimated to cost about $29 million, the new gymnasium and outdoor pool are part of an evolving Cal Maritime landscape which also includes a new dining hall, new bookstore and new building to house the campus police department.

Construction of the new gymnasium is funded through state bonds and represents an expansion of the Cal Maritime footprint well outside its boundaries on Morrow Cove.

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New gym, swimming pool taking shape on Cal Maritime campus

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Via Condotti shoe boutique by Greg Natale, Sydney
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curlBOX TV | Episode 2 Teaser: Home Decor With Myleik
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