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For anyone who has ever wondered what Christmas is like in Bethlehem, the site where Christians believe the first one took place, here it is, 2013 years after the fact.

Snow melts underfoot in Manger Square, the plaza that surrounds the Church of Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. Businesses bordering the central hub of Bethlehem are unfurling a bit late this year, after the worst winter storm in the region since 1953; for them it is economic crunch time. The meteorological-induced downturn is added to an already-stagnant economy in the West Bank, which the local council is attempting to turn around. An oversized (55 feet tall) artificial Christmas tree that was made in China stands beside the Church of Nativity, covered in shiny red baubles and a large metal star, steps from the Omar Mosque. Shops bordering Manger Square are fully stocked with Christmas wares for the masses of Christian tourists from all over the world who will pack the square on Christmas eve and day. Nabil Giacaman, 30, who is Christian, helps his father Issa in the family shop, Christmas House, which sells holiday-themed ornaments and nativity scenes carved from local olive wood. When a reporter for International Business Times visited the shop just a week before Christmas, it was quiet after the bad weather, but business was slowly picking up. Giacaman said local businesses are doing well, despite the setback posed when the municipality set up an outdoor Christmas market directly outside their shops, taking business away. Most of their stuff is made in China; ours is made locally and supports the locals," Giacaman said. "It is not common sense to set up direct competition for us and take business away from the local economy. Guides are taking tourists to big shops where the commission is 40 percent and no one is preventing them. I am suffering from this. But, Giacaman was happy to report that there are few conflicts between the region's Christians and Muslims, as exemplified by the fact that the Mosque of Omar and two Christian churches easily coexist on Manger Square. Bethlehem merchant Nabil Giacaman talks about the influx of tourist business during the Christmas season. Kate Shuttleworth Giacamans father, Issa Giacaman, recalls when the citys economy fell victim to extreme violence. In March, 2002, the Israeli Defense Force rolled into Bethlehem two days after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 30 Israelis and injured 160 in Netanya.Two hundred gunmen, mostly Fatah and Palestinian Authority policemen, took refuge in the Church of the Nativity, holding 46 clergymen and up to 200 civilians hostage as the IDF closed in on the sacred site. During the 39-day siege, Issa Giacaman's warehouse, where he stored the olive wood he used to carve the ornaments he sold in his shop, was destroyed. This year, said George Hadweh, manager of the Bethlehem peace center restaurant and bar in Manger Square, business was great prior to the rare snowstorm, but for him has been extremely difficult since. We were closed last week because the pilgrims didnt come -- I couldnt even make it to work because the roads from my home in Beit Jala were blocked, Hadweh said.We were supposed to have 80 people for lunch, but it was canceled when the bus couldnt reach us." Because Bethlehem is perched on a 2,500-foot-tall hill, reopening the ancient citys snowy roads was difficult. The area is still covered in snow and the walkways and roads are hazardous with ice. Bethlehem is also still reeling from seven years of international sanctions, the construction of the West Bank security barrier with Israel, and random incidents of violence. Though it is just a few miles from Jerusalem, the city has been cut off since 2003, when Israel quickly erected a security wall during the violence of the second intifada, which lasted four years, saying it was necessary to protect Israeli citizens from Palestinian terror attacks. Bethlehems history and its association with Christianity is what attracts visitors, and Christmas is the obvious season. Beyond that, many wonder about the city's future. Modern Bethlehem struggles under the occupation and what they lament as Israels refusal to provide some sort of financial injection into the Palestinian economy in return for propping up its own tourism industry. Land in the greater Bethlehem region is proving another stranglehold for the area. Only 13 percent of the Governorates 660 square kilometers (260 square miles) is available for Palestinian development. Up to two-thirds of it comes under Area C, which under the Oslo Peace Accords remains under full Israel military control. Palestinians who wish to build anything from a water tank or garden shed to a house have to apply to the Israeli military for a permit, and permits are rarely granted. Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun, 49, is the first woman mayor. Shes Christian, a widow and a mother of five who also remembers the 39-day siege well. Bethlehem Christian Vera Baboun is optimistic about the future of her religion in her home city, despite Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Kate Shuttleworth Her husband Jonny, a Fatah member, was imprisoned by Israel for three and a half years during the first intifada, leaving Baboun to raise their young family alone. He died in 2007 and was given a martyrs funeral at the Church of the Nativity, which Baboun can see from her office every day. It was tough -- the 39 days were not only on the nativity, it was on the city as well. The deported are all still away. She agrees there's now little conflict between the citys Muslim and Christian communities. In Bethlehem we talk about Palestinians per se; there is no schism between Muslims and Christians. The only schism is a national one, between Fatah and Hamas. Baboun is working hard to reclaim Bethlehem as a Palestinian tourism site. According to latest Israeli tourism figures, 65 percent of Israels tourism earnings are reliant upon tourists visiting Bethlehem. Yet, that money doesn't always return to the Palestinian city, she says. Between January and June of this year, an estimated 1.7 million tourists visited Israel, and many of them made the short trip to the Palestinian town of Bethlehem. Sixty-five percent of Israeli tourism is because Bethlehem exists, and yet Bethlehem does not really, economically, humanly benefit from tourism, Baboun said. Its not a matter of number only, its a matter of efficient presence in Bethlehem. When I consider the movement of tourists in Bethlehem, I consider Bethlehem as if it is not a touristic city. Baboun said pilgrims typically entered the Church of Nativity and left Bethlehem within three hours. Christmas events in the city began on Dec. 1, and while Bahoun doesnt think the tourist influx is as high as normal, she conceded that all 3,300 hotel rooms in Bethlehem are booked for Christmas. We have another four hotels, including the regions first five-star hotel, being built at the moment that will lift the number of rooms to 5,000, she added. The most-important tourist offering is the Church of the Nativity, which was built at the behest of Queen Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, in 327. It's one of Christianitys most visited and scared sites, standing above the grotto where it's believed Jesus was born. More than two million people visited the church last year. Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity is undergoing a long-awaited restoration. Kate Shuttleworth This year the church is undergoing a $2.75 million renovation. The restoration work began after the State of Palestine was admitted to UNESCO, and the international organization recognized the church as a protected heritage site and joint work on the restoration effort became possible. The Palestinian government contributed $2.6 million toward the project, which the Italian company Piacente Spa is supervising. The basilica located at the Church of the Nativity is wrapped in scaffolding as the roof is repaired to prevent leaks from damaging mosaics and other priceless items. Despite Babouns reassurances, Samir Qumsieh, the founder of the Christian Nativity TV channel and an outspoken Palestinian Christian, said he's not optimistic about the long-term prospects for his people in the birthplace of their religion. The future of Christianity here is gloomy and anyone claiming otherwise is wrong. Extremism is expanding and we, the Christians, are the weakest link in the chain. But for now, Christmas is coming up, which is foremost on the minds of the tourists (in addition to avoiding slipping down on snow and ice), the shopkeepers, the hoteliers, and, in particular, the local Palestinian Christians. The giant Chinese Christmas tree is there in Manger Square, like a beacon, advertising and paying tribute to Jesus' birth, while in the square, a mix of tourists, local Christians and Muslim women hurry past, many of them chattering away on cell phones.

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Christmas In Bethlehem: A Rare Snowstorm, A Struggling Economy And A Chinese Christmas Tree Beside The Mosque

15 Arundel St West Pymble Tree Removal
Watch our trees disappear as the house build starts!

By: Martin Ralphs

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15 Arundel St West Pymble Tree Removal - Video

San Francisco Tree Removal
How do you remove a tree inside of a city block? Get a large crane and lift pieces of it over the buildings and into a giant wood chipper. (Santa has a quick...

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San Francisco Tree Removal - Video

The city of Houston has recovered $225,000 through a settlement with Signature City Homes, its owners and contractors, following the removal of two large, healthy and valuable trees in the public right-of-way.

The developer removed a 100-year-old Live Oak with a trunk measuring approximately 36 inches in diameter from 801 Bomar and another tree at 1704 Blodgett St. The actions were in direct violation of city ordinances that prohibit the unpermitted removal of a tree when at least 50 percent of the trunk is in the public right-of-way.

The city filed suit in October after learning about the tree removals and also red tagged each of the properties to halt construction. This settlement will enable construction to continue, but all further permitting requirements must still be met.

We are fortunate that both commercial and residential development is booming in Houston to meet the demands of the strong economic growth in our City, however, developers cannot put their own commercial interest ahead of the law, said Houston Mayor Annise Parker. This settlement and another that followed the removal of trees in Woodland Park in Woodland Heights are meant to send a strong message we will not tolerate the removal and destruction of city trees and vegetation without permit or approval.

The settlement funds will go directly to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department for reforestation purposes in the affected neighborhoods.

City Attorney David Feldman stated he was hopeful that the cost to those involved in this case would serve as a deterrent to others, adding that the city would continue to aggressively pursue recovery if other infractions occur.

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Developer settles suit over tree removal

Further Government funding has been secured to enable Telford & Wrekin Council to carry out more stabilisation work in the Ironbridge Gorge.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has confirmed in an letter to the council that it will make a multi-million pound contribution.

The stabilisation work will be concentrated in Jackfield, between Jackfield Tile Museum and the Boat Inn, an area which has suffered significant landslides.

The proposals look to stabilise the most active part of the area to allow a new road to be constructed. The Jackfield Stabilisation Project has now reached the stage where the detailed design has been prepared and a planning application approved.

A preferred contractor has also been secured for the main works.

Telford & Wrekin Council will provide match-funding to the money provided by DCLG for the project which will run until March 2016. No specific figure has been given for todays release of funds. The Government has previously vowed to invest 12 million in the 80 million scheme.

Councillor David Davies, ward member for Ironbridge Gorge, said: Im really pleased that we have managed to secure this significant amount of funding from the DCLG.

Instability is a fact in the gorge and these works are essential to help prevent landslides and maintain the structure of the gorge both in the short and the long term.

The council is working with landowners to secure the necessary consents to allow the work to proceed. The Shropshire Star revealed yesterday that a number of landowners were still to sign legal agreements,

Work is due to start on site in early 2014 with condition surveys, tree felling, creation of access routes into the site, installation of additional monitoring gas and groundwater monitoring wells, the treatment of shallow mine workings, and the investigation and treatment of mineshafts.

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Government cash for Ironbridge gorge stabilisation scheme

Dec. 20, 2013, 10 p.m.

Maureen and Michael Sullivan outside their home at Yallah.

A high-profile builder who won this year's Illawarra Business Leader of the Year Award has come under attack from several home owners who claim their houses contained defective and poor quality workmanship.

Jason Gow, managing director of Gow Constructions, which owns the Illawarra franchise of G.J. Gardner Homes, received the prestigious title in October for his business achievements and community work. He was also highly commended in the 2013 Illawarra Building and Construction Awards in recognition of his commitment to customer service.

The award has outraged some of his former clients, who struggled for years to have a series of defects in their homes, which were still under warranty, rectified.

G.J. Gardner Homes Jason and Stacey Gow.

Many of the issues are similar in nature and involve drainage, waterproofing, painting, brickwork and roof defects.

Mr Gow, who is the face of the company, owns Gow Constructions with wife Stacey, who manages the company's business accounts.

The pair are involved in many events and charities including the Great Illawarra Walk for Camp Quality and the Leukaemia Foundation. Mr Gow is also vice-president of the Illawarra Master Builders Association.

Following weeks of investigation, the Illawarra Mercury has spoken with 10 people who have had dealings with Gow Constructions.

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Illawarra builder accused of shoddy work

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If you really want to keep your home and the people and property in it as safe as possible from fire, consider a residential sprinkler system.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division of FEMA, fire sprinklers inside a home reduce the chance of fire death by 80 percent and cut the likelihood of property damage by 71 percent.

Industry experts and fire control and prevention pros say sprinklers are a good idea for all homes, whether new or existing, and should be used in combination with smoke detectors.

Across the United States, hundreds of municipalities as well as California and Maryland require that new residential construction include fire sprinklers. However, newly proposed mandates generally face strong opposition from home building organizations, in large part because they add to the cost and complexity of building. To find out if your locality mandates sprinklers, contact your state fire marshals office.

While interviewing consumers, highly rated sprinkler installers and experts on fire control and prevention, including the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), our research staff learned that many homeowners have misconceptions about home sprinkler systems:

Perception: Every sprinkler in the house will go off at once. The reality, experts say, is that only the heads that detect fire will activate. Usually, one head will extinguish a blaze before it spreads.

Perception: Sprinkler systems are unattractive. The reality, experts say, is that the heads stay flush against the wall or ceiling until deployed, so they dont greatly affect home aesthetics. A single sprinkler head can cover from 144 to 200 square feet.

According to the NFPA, the cost of a fire sprinkler system, installed, has dropped from an average $1.61 per square foot in 2008 to $1.35 in 2013. The association says the decline is due to government mandates, which increase the number of contractors doing the work. In some parts of California, according to the NFPA, the cost is less than $1 a square foot.

The actual price can vary widely by region. One Chicago-area homeowner, whose town of Libertyville, Ill., requires a fire sprinklers in new construction, paid about $12,000 to have a sprinkler system included in a home built in 2007.

The NFPA doesnt maintain statistics about installing sprinklers in existing homes. However, additional work to cut walls and update existing plumbing means the cost is likely higher than for new construction. One state fire marshal told our team that he retrofitted his 2,400-square-foot home with sprinklers for $3,500.

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Home fire sprinkler systems reduce chance of death by 80 percent

The city of Napa wont be providing a water hookup to an Upvalley winery on Rutherford Road after City Councilman Scott Sedgley balked at the request, saying it would create a bad precedent for growth management.

Elizabeth Spencer Winery asked to be connected to the citys water system for fire suppression purposes. Its current hookup with the city of St. Helena doesnt have enough capacity to provide the water flow needed for a sprinkler system.

The City Council debated the request for more than an hour Tuesday, before a vote needing four-fifths of the council failed. City Councilwoman Juliana Inman recused herself from voting, and a motion to allow the hookup failed 3-1, with Sedgley dissenting.

The City Council then voted to rescind that motion, allowing the current application to stay active, so Elizabeth Spencer wont have to pay to submit a new request.

Elizabeth Spencers request could come back if Sedgley removed his opposition, Inman decided not to recuse herself, or the citys water policies changed.

Sedgley feared a setting a precedent by granting the request, saying other wineries in the unincorporated could follow suit in hooking up to the city system to fulfill a county requirement that they install sprinkler systems.

I see the city receiving more of these requests in the future, Sedgley said. Water is king. The industry is booming.

City staff didnt share Sedgleys viewpoint, asserting that Elizabeth Spencer already sits on a city water main running from Lake Hennessey, the citys main reservoir, into city limits.

Joy Eldredge, general manager of the citys Water Department, said that the winery will continue to use St. Helena water for domestic use, and would only connect with Napa water in the event of a fire, or to test its sprinkler system.

Beaulieu Vineyard and Inglenook have done a similar thing in the past 15 years, as has the Gordon Huether Studio + Gallery on Monticello Road and a vineyard near Big Ranch Road and Trancas Street, Eldredge said.

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Napa council denies winery water hookup

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