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A proposal to demolish Citrus Heights civic center complex to make way for a medical office building is touted by city officials as a good business deal that would help fund a new City Hall building better suited to the needs of employees and the community.

But the project has drawn fire from some residents who say it would destroy the vestiges of Fountain Square, a cherished venue with a prize-winning rose garden. They also are wary of plans for relocating and funding construction of a new city hall.

There are large gaps in information, and nobody seems to want to step up to fill in the gaps, said Susan Howell, who lives in Binet Estates, a neighborhood west of the civic center. An informational meeting the city held in August, she said, raised more questions than it answered.

The city last summer announced that Panattoni Development Co. had submitted a plan for a three-story, 66,465-square-foot building at Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive on property that is part of Citrus Heights civic center. To make way for the project, all buildings on the civic center campus except the Police Department building would be torn down. The initial proposal called for constructing a new, two-story city hall in Fountain Square, north of the current buildings.

But after hearing from residents during the August meeting that they didnt want two large office buildings on the site, City Manager Henry Tingle said staff members decided to pursue an alternate location for the city hall and proceed with the proposal for only the medical office building on the Fountain Square property.

We can only do this once, Tingle said. Looking at an alternate location for city hall gives us an opportunity to be more creative and provide more amenities.

The city has scheduled another informational meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Citrus Heights Community Center, 6300 Fountain Square Drive, to present the latest proposal. Notices of the meeting were mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet of the Fountain Square site, exceeding the 500-foot requirement for a development project, city officials said. But project opponents argue that notices should have been sent to all Citrus Heights residents, because demolishing the current civic center and constructing a new city hall has ramifications for all the citys taxpayers.

Becky Furtado, communications director for Dignity Health, said the proposed medical building would house 50 new health care providers with the Mercy Medical Group as well as 120 support staff. These would be new providers, not transfers from other sites, and would be in addition to the approximately 50 providers housed in facilities on Coyle Avenue in Carmichael, near Mercy San Juan Medical Center. The new facility would help meet the growing demand for medical services expected to accompany implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and would serve Citrus Heights and Dignity Healths northern Sacramento market.

The Fountain Square site is an ideal location because of its proximity to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, convenient access off a major arterial Greenback Lane and available parking, Furtado said. If the project is approved, Dignity Health plans to open the facility by the end of 2015.

The medical facility, Tingle said, would help diversify Citrus Heights economic base, bring higher-end jobs to the community and provide medical services at a convenient location for residents. Constructing the facility on city-owned property also would fund an estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of the cost of building a new city hall, he said.

Link:
Proposal to replace Citrus Heights’ civic center with medical building draws fire from residents who cherish Fountain ...

On a steep hillside on the edge of Haiti's capital, Pacha Jeudy slaps soupy cement onto jagged cinderblocks and stacks them into a wobbly wall. The home looks likely to collapse in a big earthquake, just as his neighbors' houses did in the January 2010 temblor.

Less than a mile down the hill, construction workers are adding two floors to a three-story office building. The owners couldn't be located to explain their plans for the structure, but steel reinforcing bars extending toward the sky suggest that yet another floor beyond those five is in the works.

"That building kind of gives you the willies," said Dany Tremblay, a licensed structural engineer from Utah who has designed and inspected hundreds of buildings in Haiti since the quake. "I would be surprised that, by adding those levels, the building is still structurally sound."

Four years later after the 7.0-magnitude quake that toppled around 190,000 buildings and killed about 300,000 people, construction practices in the Caribbean country have improved overall, with better materials being used for many larger projects. A building code now exists and many big, well-funded projects including more than a dozen hotels, supermarkets and schools are being built to international seismic standards.

But construction of smaller commercial buildings and homes is more haphazard, in large part because most people in the impoverished nation don't have the money to do things by the book. Neighborhoods in the capital of 3 million are filled with precariously rebuilt one- and two-story homes no more secure than the ones they replaced.

Experts like Tremblay, who runs a private engineering firm here, fear that if crews don't start building homes and other structures to much higher standards, another huge earthquake could kill many people and cause widespread damage.

Located on the Enriquillo fault system with the neighboring Dominican Republic, Haiti is always at risk of another powerful quake.

As much as 90 percent of Haiti's construction is done without an architect or engineer, and much of it on unstable soil, according to a study last year by the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. "Seismic hazards maps are now available for the design of new buildings," it said. "Unfortunately, few engineers in Haiti are very familiar with seismic design principles and dynamics of structures."

Jeudy, a construction worker who is helping enlarge the home of his neighbor, a widow with two school-aged children, said he was taught by a foreign engineering group how to mix concrete and water to ensure blocks are strong enough to withstand major shakes. But he said tight budgets mean that the ratio of water to cement in many construction projects can fall short. "There isn't enough money," Jeudy said.

In a dusty courtyard down the street, construction site manager Paul Gaston shouted above the roar of a machine making cinderblocks far sturdier than the ones that crumbled in 2010. He said more of Haiti's smaller builders now use better materials, but safety is still often considered a luxury.

Read the original here:
Haiti Builds Stronger After Quake, Gaps Remain

Updated from 1:47 p.m.EST to include press release statement from the company.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) closed 1.2% lower to $145.72 on news that the company is experiencing more problems with its wares, as the company's wall chargers have overheated in some cases.

First reported by Bloomberg, CEO Elon Musk noted the company would be mailing out the updated charger connectors within the next two weeks.

Tesla has come under scrutiny in recent months over fires that have occurred from its Model S electric vehicle. The company has experienced three fires associated with its popular Model S, two domestically, and one in Mexico.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla provided a statement on the matter, noting that the updated adapter would have a thermal fuse. "In December 2013, Tesla provided an over-the-air software update that addressed potential overheating at the socket and would even protect a customer if there was bad wiring on the house side," the company said in an email. "We believe this fully addresses the problem. However, to provide additional protection for Model S customers, we have designed a new wall adapter with a thermal fuse. This upgraded adapter will be provided to all existing and new customers starting in a few weeks."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is probing the Model S for investigation over these fires. However, the government agency recently reaffirmed its 5-Star safety rating on the car, as Tesla awaits final word on the probe.

Following the close of trading, the company issued a press release on the matter. Full text is below:

PALO ALTO, Calif. - A variety of factors such as corrosion, physical damage to receptacles, or inappropriate wiring or installation of electrical outlets can cause higher than normal electrical resistance when using the Universal Mobile Connector ("UMC") NEMA 14-50 adapters to charge Tesla Model S vehicles. When charging, higher than normal electrical resistance connections to external energy sources may cause excessive heating of the adapter. In December 2013, Tesla released an over-the-air software update to address this issue, enabling the Model S onboard charging system to automatically reduce the charging current by 25 percent if it detects unexpected fluctuations in the input power to the vehicle. This fully addresses the issue by substantially reducing the heat generated in any high resistance connections outside the vehicle. This update increases robustness and safety considerably in the unlikely event that a home wiring system, receptacle, adapter or cord is unable to meet its rated current capacity.

Because this was an over-the-air update, customers can confirm receipt without having to bring their vehicles into a Tesla Service Center or other location by simply tapping on the 17" touchscreen and verifying that their Model S is running software version 5.8.4 or later. Any vehicle that is not within range of the wireless network or is not remotely accessible for any other reason can have the update installed through Tesla authorized Service Centers or Tesla Rangers.

Tesla believes that this software update fully addresses any potential risks. However, to provide another layer of assurance to Model S customers using the 14-50 socket, we have designed an improved wall adapter with a thermal fuse. Even if the circuit breakers on the house side and car side don't trip, the thermal fuse will prevent current from flowing if the wall socket region heats up for any reason. Although we do not believe the improved adapter is required to address the issue, we are taking this step as part of our commitment to full customer satisfaction. We will provide this upgraded adapter to existing and new customers free of charge starting in a few weeks.

Read more:
Tesla Drops on Concerns Over Wall Charger Fires (Update 2)

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