Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

By James Tucker, Stacey Mitchell and Bryan Williamson October 20, 2020, 4:27 PM EDT

The congressional elections also will significantly affect the country's environmental and energy policy, as the next Congress can shape policy not just through its constitutional powers, but also through the reversal of many of the Trump administration's late-term rules via the Congressional Review Act.

In this three-part article, we outline both candidates' key environmental and energy policies, including how the candidates might or might not achieve their policy goals.

The first installmentidentified the Trump administration's significant late-term rules that a unified Democratic Congress may seek to invalidate to minimize Trump's legacy.

This installment analyzes the policy differences between Trump and Biden on environmental issues including domestic energy, air quality and international climate diplomacy, and considers some likely consequences of those differences.

The third installment will cover the candidates' positions on water quality, biodiversity and federal lands, and environmental justice.

Domestic Energy

Trump

The Trump administration has championed an "American energy independence" policy, which seeks to shift the country's energy dependence away from foreign suppliers and toward U.S. energy sources, including primarily fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas.[1]

Consistent with this policy, the Trump administration repealed the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which sought to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants, and replaced it with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which supplants a federal emissions reduction regime with one that allows states to establish their own, potentially less stringent, standards.[2]

The Trump administration has also:

Given the virtual certainty that these regulatory changes would be subject to litigation, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to develop these rules to withstand legal challenge, although final resolution in that regard likely will take years to play out. If reelected, Trump can be expected to continue to use these tools to shepherd his support toward the fossil fuel industry and further domesticize U.S. energy production.

Biden

In the process of courting the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, Biden has described the Green New Deal as a crucial framework for meeting climate challenges as part of a broader clean energy revolution, while declining to fully adopt it as his own plan. Biden established a unity task force with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that has made a number of climate-related recommendations, many aimed at creating a clean energy economy.[4]

These recommendations include achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S. building stock by 50% by 2035 and directing $400 billion of federal funds toward clean energy research and innovation part of an overall $2 trillion federal investment in clean energy and environmental justice initiatives.[5]

The Biden-Sanders unity task force recommendations even go further, advocating for the elimination of carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 and the installation of 500 million solar panels and 60,000 wind turbines.[6] According to the Biden campaign, funding for these energy initiatives would come from a reversal of the 2017 tax legislation that reduced the individual and corporate tax rates.[7]

Contrary to the Trump administration's efforts to boost fossil fuel energy sources, a Biden administration would establish a new initiative, ARPA-C, described as "a new, cross-agency Advanced Research Projects Agency focused on climate."[8] This new initiative would work to decarbonize key U.S. business sectors; decrease the costs of producing grid-scale energy storage technology; produce more hydrogen energy from renewable resources; address the challenges of nuclear waste disposal; double U.S. offshore wind production by 2030; and accelerate the deployment of carbon capture sequestration technology for use at U.S. power plants.[9]

Importantly, the Biden campaign appears to have backed away at least for now from previous positions expressing support for a carbon pricing mechanism, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system.[10] The Biden campaign also has not embraced a full ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, despite running mate Kamala Harris's previous statements expressing support for such a ban.[11]

While many components of these domestic energy policy goals could be implemented through rulemaking or executive order, many would require congressional appropriations or legislation e.g., reversal of the 2017 tax cuts, additional funding for clean infrastructure and authorization of a nationwide carbon tax.[12] If elected, Biden would support the transition from a fossil fuel-based energy system toward one more rooted in renewable resources and developing strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation.

Air Quality

Trump

The Trump administration has relied on the rulemaking process to repeal and, in many cases, replace many key Obama-era regulations aimed at curbing air emissions, including most notably the Clean Power Plan, DOI rules governing oil and gas fracking and methane emissions, and fuel economy and carbon dioxide emission standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks.[13]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also issued a final rule in September 2019 that revokes California's Clean Air Act preemption waiver, which had allowed California and other states to adopt more stringent motor vehicle emissions standards than those in place under federal law.[14] With respect to national air quality standards, the Trump administration decided to retain the Obama-era standards for particulate matter, despite signals from the administration's early days indicating that the EPA may have been considering confronting U.S. Supreme Court precedent foreclosing the agency from considering economic costs in formulating these standards.[15]

To that end, however, the EPA issued a proposed rule in early June that aims to revamp the agency's process for considering benefits and costs when promulgating significant rules under the Clean Air Act, by requiring, among other things, that future rulemakings include benefit-cost analyses that do not factor so-called co-benefits from existing regulations in assessing the incremental benefits of new rules.[16]

Most of this administration's major air-related rule rescissions have faced legal challenges, many of which are still pending in the courts.[17] Beyond rulemaking, the Trump administration has sought to downplay the impact of air pollution through discretionary executive action, such as through the EPA's rejection of a petition from Maryland seeking more stringent restrictions on emissions from coal-fired power plants in upwind states, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's issuance of increasing numbers of leases authorizing oil and gas development on federal land.[18]

If reelected, the Trump administration likely would continue the stepwise replacement of existing air regulations, further efforts to modify how economic impacts are accounted for in agency decisions and use an additional four years to revise any components of the administration's rules that courts vacate.

Biden

As in the case of Biden's proposed energy initiatives, his focus on air would seek to "reinstate federal clean air protections, rolled back by the Trump Administration."[19] According to his campaign, a Biden administration would focus on reducing the impact of emissions from the transportation sector, particularly through motor vehicle and aircraft standards and investments in sustainable aircraft fuel.[20]

With respect to motor vehicle emissions, a Biden administration would be expected to promulgate standards more similar to those in place under the Obama administration, restore tax credits for electric vehicles, increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the country and attempt to require annual improvements in fuel economy and emissions performance for heavy-duty vehicles.[21]

The Biden campaign also has pledged to require aggressive methane pollution limits on oil and gas operations, require agencies issuing federal permits to consider the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and commit to reducing climate pollution through federal infrastructure investments.[22] Lastly, Biden has stated that he would establish a new cabinet position dedicated to addressing climate change, which reportedly would "go beyond [the] EPA."[23]

To complement the regulations the Biden campaign has previewed, we likely would see a Biden administration that more aggressively pursues enforcement actions against fossil fuel-based energy producers and other large emitters of regulated pollutants that are found to violate existing standards. However, most of the Biden campaign's air quality aspirations, such as research-based emissions reductions initiatives and plans to expand zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, would require appropriations.

Finally, any attempt to restore electric vehicle tax credits or establish an official new cabinet position would require congressional authorization. But Biden could ascribe a new, climate-related title to an existing aide or adviser, or elevate the role of the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality without formally establishing a new cabinet position.[24]

International Climate Diplomacy

Trump

Consistent with one of his significant 2016 campaign tenets, Trump, within the first six months in office, withdrew the U.S. from the United Framework Convention on Climate Change's 2015 Paris Agreement.[25] In accordance with the Paris Agreement, the U.S.' withdrawal will become effective on Nov. 4, one day after the 2020 presidential election.[26]

Also among this administration's signature moves is its replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which contains environmental provisions that are similar to those in other U.S. trade agreements, as well as provisions intended to support the oil and gas industry by reducing duties, allowing U.S. energy producers to bid on Mexican oil and gas exploration leases and challenge climate policies, and eliminating tariffs on steel used to construct pipelines.[27]

In addition, the Trump administration has issued trade sanctions and executive orders to restrict the use of foreign energy supplies, in an effort to bolster the production and export of U.S. oil and gas.[28]

Given Trump's reliance on constitutional authority to shrink the U.S. role in developing international climate policy and bolster the nation's production of fossil fuels, we expect that, if reelected, he would continue to focus on domestic policy, eschew international climate diplomacy as the U.S. officially withdraws from the Paris Agreement, and continue efforts to engage internationally to promote U.S.-produced energy sources abroad.

Biden

The Biden campaign has announced its intention to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Agreement and "lead an effort to get every major country to ramp up the ambition of their domestic climate targets" with "transparent and enforceable" commitments.[29]

A Biden administration also would seek to join or initiate other international climate agreements, such as a global moratorium on offshore drilling in the Arctic; a commitment among G-20 nations to end export finance subsidies of high-carbon projects; a program to offer financing for lower-carbon energy investments in Belt and Road Initiative countries; and reforms to the International Monetary Fund and regional development bank standards to prioritize projects with low-carbon impacts.[30]

If elected, Biden would be expected to take immediate steps to reverse the Trump administration's international climate efforts, or lack thereof, by relying on the same executive authority used to implement those policies in the first instance.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

[1] President Trump's Energy Independence Policy, The White House (Mar. 28, 2017), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-trumps-energy-independence-policy/.

[2] Repeal of the Clean Power Plan; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Electric Utility Generating Units; Revisions to Emission Guidelines Implementing Regulations, 84 Fed. Reg. 32520 (July 8. 2019) (codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 60 et seq.).

[3] See Exec. Order No. 13920, 85 Fed. Reg. 26595 (May 1, 2020) (securing the U.S. "bulk-power system"); Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Revisions, 84 Fed. Reg. 21908 (May 15, 2019) (codified at 30 C.F.R. pt. 250 et seq.) (offshore drilling safety rule revisions); Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities; Amendments to the National Minimum Criteria (Phase One, Part One), 83 Fed. Reg. 36435 (July 30, 2018) (codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 257 et seq.) (coal combustion residuals rule revisions); Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands; Rescission of a 2015 Rule, 82 Fed. Reg. 61924 (Dec. 29, 2017) (codified at 43 C.F.R. pt. 3160) (oil and gas fracking rule rescission); Hazardous Materials: Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail, __ Fed. Reg. __ (June 19, 2020) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 172-74, 179-80) (authorizing transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail); Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, __ Fed. Reg. __ (July 16, 2020) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 1500-05, 07-08) (re-writing NEPA's implementing rules); Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation; Rescission or Revision of Certain Requirements, 83 Fed. Reg. 49184 (Sept. 28, 2018) (codified at 43 C.F.R. pts. 3160, 3170) (methane rule rescission).

[4] Joe's Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, Biden for President, https://joebiden.com/climate/; Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, Combating the Climate Crisis and Pursuing Environmental Justice (July 2020), https://joebiden.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/UNITY-TASK-FORCE-RECOMMENDATIONS.pdf.

[5] Joe's Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, supra note 10; The Biden Plan to Build a Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure and an Equitable Clean Energy Future, Biden for President, https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/.

[6] Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, supra note 10 at 47.

[7] Joe's Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, supra note 10.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Amy Harder, Joe Biden unlikely to push carbon tax as part of climate change plan, Axios (Aug. 20, 2020), https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-carbon-tax-climate-change-plan-e8d522a8-5015-45fc-8164-3ec5c8a0d8a3.html.

[11] "Harris: 'There is No Question I'm in Favor of Banning Fracking,'" YouTube (Sep. 4, 2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnXl6S0E8w&feature=youtu.be.

[12] The Clean Air Act may allow the EPA to approve state compliance plans that implement a carbon tax, but Congress would need to authorize any attempt to institute a federally mandated carbon tax. See Samuel D. Eisenberg et al., A State Tax Approach to Regulating Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act, The Brookings Institute (May 22, 2014) (discussing the legal bases for imposing state or federal carbon taxes under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act).

[13] The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 20212026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, 85 Fed. Reg. 24174 (Apr. 30, 2020) (codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 86 et seq., 600 et seq.).

[14] The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule Part One: One National Program, 84 Fed. Reg. 51310 (Sept. 27, 2019) (codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 85 et seq., 86 et seq.).

[15] See Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, 85 Fed. Reg. 24094 (Apr. 30, 2020) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 50 et seq.) (retaining Obama-era particular matter standards); William H. Haak, Trump Orders EPA 'Back to Basics' on NAAQS, The Magazine for Environmental Managers (July 2018) (citing Memorandum from E. Scott Pruitt, Administrator, U.S. Envtl. Protection Agency, to Assistant Administrators, U.S. Envtl. Protection Agency, (May 8, 2018), available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-05/documents/image2018-05-09-173219.pdf) (discussing the Trump Administration's renewed emphasis on assessing the economic impact of national ambient air quality standards revisions).

[16] Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process, 85 Fed. Reg. 35612 (June 11, 2020) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 83), available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-06/documents/consistent_transparent_bca_fr_notice_final_pre-pub_0.pdf.

[17] See Roundup: Trump-Era Agency Policy in the Courts, Institute for Policy Integrity, New York Univ. School of Law, https://policyintegrity.org/trump-court-roundup (last visited May 28, 2020) (tracking outcomes of litigation involving the Trump Administration's agencies).

[18] See Response to Clean Air Act Section 126(b) Petitions From Delaware and Maryland, 83 Fed. Reg. 50444 (Oct. 5, 2018) (EPA's rejection of Maryland's petition); U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division, Order in Case No. CV-18-73-GF-BMM (May 1, 2020), https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/39_-_order.pdf (litigation related to BLM's issuance of 287 oil and gas leases in December 2017 and March 2018).

[19] Joe's Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, supra note 10.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Sean Sullivan, His campaign limited, Joe Biden sketches out his would-be administration, Wash. Post. (April 17, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/his-campaigning-limited-joe-biden-sketches-out-his-would-be-administration/2020/04/17/2ffc8b28-80bd-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html.

[24] See U.S. Const. art. II, 2 (requiring the "Advice and Consent of the Senate" for appointments of "Officers of the United States").

[25] Press Release, Michael R. Pompeo, U.S. Sec. of State, On the U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (Nov. 4, 2019), https://www.state.gov/on-the-u-s-withdrawal-from-the-paris-agreement/.

[26] Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dec. 13, 2015, in Rep. of the Conference of the Parties on the Twenty-First Session, U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, annex (2016).

[27] See Scott Vaughan, USMCA Versus NAFTA on the Environment, Int'l Inst. for Sustainable Dev., https://www.iisd.org/library/usmca-nafta-environment (noting similarities between the two agreements); Marianne Lavelle, 5 Reasons Many See Trump's Free Trade Deal as a Triumph for Fossil Fuels, InsideClimate News (Jan. 24, 2020), https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24012020/trump-trade-usmca-nafta-climate-change-oil-gas (describing industry-friendly provisions in the USMCA).

[28] Timothy Gardner, Alissa de Carbonnel, Aggressive U.S. energy policy tests ties with European allies, Reuters (July 10, 2019), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-europe/aggressive-u-s-energy-policy-tests-ties-with-european-allies-idUSKCN1U512P (noting sanctions on oil exports from Iran and Venezuela).

[29] Joe's Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice, supra note 10. Note that an attempt to rejoin the Paris Agreement would require providing notice to the United Nations of the country's intent to reenter the Agreement, followed by a 30-day waiting period.

[30] Id.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Read the original here:
Environmental Policy And The Election: Part 2 - Law360

PETALING JAYA The chief of Umno Youth has called for a political ceasefire amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, and for politicians to focus instead on national reconciliation.

The wing's head, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said the current Covid-19 situation is troubling as cases have continued to spike while the economy is shrinking, and this has affected the livelihood of the people.

"Don't let us be punished by the people who are sick and tired of the attitude of politicians who continue to fight over political issues of power endlessly," Mr Asyraf said.

"It's the right time for politicians, despite their political parties, to hold a political ceasefire in order to think of the best solutions for the welfare of the people," he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

"Maybe this is the best time for all parties to set aside their differences and give focus to a National Reconciliation agenda." He did not say what he meant by the reconciliation agenda.

He made the call amid a jockeying for posts in the seven-month-old ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Umno leaders are pushing for new terms to remain in PN, and have threatened the collapse of the government if Tan Sri Muhyiddin fails to meet these demands.

A senior Umno leader said the party wants the deputy prime minister's post and other key Cabinet positions.

Its call was made following opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim's audience with the King last week, at which he claimed to have a "formidable" majority of MPs behind him to form a new government and become the new prime minister.

Meanwhile, a senior Umno leader and a Cabinet minister in the Muhyiddin administration said Malaysia should hold a general election, and pick a new prime minister, only after overcoming the coronavirus pandemic.

Umno Supreme Council member Annuar Musa said in a tweet yesterday: "No need to think of a replacement for now... We are in consensus, help the government. When Covid-19 eases, immediately dissolve Parliament and leave it to the public... Give chance for PM to save the country and public lives first."

He was responding to news reports that the political party of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Pejuang, has nominated the 95-year-old statesman as the candidate to replace Mr Muhyiddin.

Umno, its ally Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Mr Muhyiddin's own Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia were set to meet yesterday evening to discuss their cooperation under the Muafakat Nasional pact.

Umno has, meanwhile, postponed a meeting today of the Supreme Council, its highest decision-making body, where it was to discuss its continued cooperation with PN.

Mr Asyraf said "National Reconciliation" does not mean that each party has to disregard its political identity or its own party struggles.

"Instead, the National Reconciliation will allow political parties to temporarily suspend any dispute in terms of a power struggle," he said.

Malaysia logged 867 Covid-19 infections yesterday, the third day in a row of 800-plus cases in a 24-hour period.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

More here:
Umno Youth chief calls for ceasefire amid tussle in ruling alliance - The Straits Times

Gov. J.B. Pritzker held off filling top vacancies at Illinois unemployment office because he was planning to merge it with another state department.

Then COVID-19 upended the nation.

Starting in March, as authorities shut down businesses and schools and 2 million Illinois workers flooded the state for jobless benefits, the state Department of Employment Security was already at one of its weakest moments in recent history, records and interviews show.

At that moment, agency staffing was at an all-time low, according to its then-acting director. Veteran employees were retiring in droves to be replaced by rookies. And when key jobs were filled it was sometimes with political aides who had little or no agency experience.

Before the national health crisis, Illinois had been ranked among national leaders for speedy delivery of unemployment benefits. Suddenly, IDES plunged to being among the worst in the nation on several key performance measures.

In the months since, as problems have persisted, the administration has offered a range of explanations for its inability to handle the surge of claims.

Pritzker has blamed his Republican predecessor for hollowing out IDES and leaving the agency with inadequate staff and outdated technology. He has also criticized President Trump for unfair and chaotic rollouts of federal unemployment benefits.

But government records and interviews offer a more complex portrait, and reveal the frenzy inside an agency diminished by staff vacancies at every level in the 18 months Pritzker was in charge even before the crisis.

State-by-state data from the U.S. Labor Department, hundreds of agency emails and internal agency documents obtained by the Better Government Association show:

Pritzker administration officials acknowledged to the BGA the agency had problems, but Hynessaid unfilled leadership positions at IDES had little impact.

There was not instability at the top, hesaid. I think what was lacking was everything underneath there.

There was great attrition in the rank-and-file employees who were at the front lines of services. There was outdated technology, a lack of investment in technology that had occurred over the last 10 years. Thats really what was lacking.

Hynes said IDES worked hard under incredible stress to pay out a staggering $14.2 billion in benefits to an unprecedented 2.1 million Illinois claimants from March through August.

The volume and surge of claims that overtook the agency was really unprecedented and unsolvable until we figured out how to allocate the resources in the right way, Hynes said. It was heart-wrenching among all of us to urge patience among peoplewho were desperate to get help, but knowing that we were unable to deal with everybody all at once.

Pritzker this summer named Kristin Richards, a former chief of staff to state senate presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon, the new acting director at IDES.

More so than anything, I feel a responsibility to try and bring some stability for claimants, find some stability for people that are attempting to reach us, Richards said. Its a really big problem-solving exercise but its the right time to throw every bit of muscle we can to try to do it, and thats what were going to do.

Experts say reforms are welcome and sorely needed.

These problems at IDES came at a cost to people. Some applicants had desperate financial problems, said Jeremy Rosen, Director of Economic Justice at Chicagos Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The governor was right that no state was properly prepared. But given the crisis every state faced, why did Illinois not respond as effectively as other states?

Before the pandemic, Illinois had been paying about 80% of initial unemployment claims within seven days.

That quick payout rate plummeted to around 1% and held there through September, putting Illinois last among states on this timeliness measure, according to newly released data from the federal labor department.

IDES told the BGA these quick payments slowed because Illinois like many states waited one week before starting the clock prior to the pandemic.After the crisis, Illinois and 36 other states cut out the waiting week in an effort to get more money out quickly.

Agency officials offered no explanation why it performed so much worse than all other states, including those that waived the waiting week. Only nine other states fell to less than 10% on this 7-day measure, the federal records show.

Federal rules do not require a 7-day turn around. Instead, the guidelines require states to pay out nearly 90% of all initial unemployment checks within 21 days.

On that 21-day measure Illinois also fell short by distributing only 61%. However, Illinois stillperformed better than most states. By comparison, the national average for meeting the three-week window is nearly 55%.

Still, every day matters to laid-off Illinois workers borrowing from relatives to pay their rent or mortgage bills, selling personal belongings and using food banks to get groceries to their families, according to emails pleading for help that reached the governors cabinet.

There is no standard for seven days, said Richards, the IDES acting director. I agree with you it is important to claimants. Every day is important to claimants.

The difficulties Illinois was facing amid the pandemic were reflected in federal labor department score cards required by the federal government, which rank states for the promptness of payments, the effectiveness of audits and eight other agency functions.

States submit reports every three months to indicate adequate performance or something less by labeling each of the 10 categories with either a green or red mark. IDES veterans call this chart the Christmas tree.

While IDES had been slowly improving since 2015 on the core labor department metrics, by March of this year Illinois was the only state failing all three categories labeled integrity measures, which includes detection of overpayments, improper payments, and the recovery of those mistaken payouts.

Asked for the states scorecard data through June, Pritzker administration officials declined to provide the records.

The Christmas tree is a document put together for internal purposes only and is not available for public consumption, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco told the BGA in an email.

The BGA, however, obtained a copy of that report, which shows erosion as Illinois failed five of 10 performance measures.

Amid the chaos, IDES was so far behind in processing claims that it triaged cases by prioritizing people referred by local politicians, the BGA found.

In a June 5 report to the bipartisan Senate oversight panel, IDES responded to questions about the lack of uniformity in how unemployment claims are submitted.

Claimants continue to call IDES in addition to their elected officials, the report said. Therefore, often, even though we move an elected officials constituent to the front of the line, the constituent has often already been able to get through to the call center.

We will continue to pull our staff out of the call center to call claimants sent to us by an elected official, that report added, but with hundreds of elected officials submitting issues to IDES, we cannot ensure the claimant will receive a response prior to their being able to get through to the call center.

Later that month, more than 50 House Democrats wrote to the agency that each of them was fielding 60 to 90 complaints from constituents on any given day. The lawmakers asked for additional IDES staff to handle their claims. In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rich Miller reported on the lawmakersletter.

In a recent email to the BGA, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh called the IDES practice of responding to claims referred by elected officials an attempt for the Department and its employees to help as many people as possible at a time when there was no structure in place.

The BGA has filed a pending public records request for details on the number of claims referred by each elected official since March.

Illinois began the pandemic era in a proud position, first among states to begin paying out the initial $600-per-week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments on April 6, records show.

That early success quickly became a footnote as IDES was overwhelmed with 519,269 new claims for regular unemployment benefits that month more than 10 previous Aprils combined and federal authorities poured $500 billion in crisis relief into an alphabet soup of new and existing programs for laid-off workers.

Records show how Illinois struggled to implement those federal programs.

It was the 44th state to apply for the $300-per-week Lost Wage Assistance benefit: While most states deployed that program in August, Illinois did not start making payments until September 4, records show.

It was among 23 states that did not offer workers partial benefits when their employers reduced hours instead of laying them off. IDES told the Senate oversight panel in August it decided against offering the benefit because its staff was stretched thin.

Illinois also trailed all but seven states in processing the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA benefit, to independent contractors and gig workers. Illinois did not begin processing PUA payments until May 11, and didnt starting paying until a week later.

Emails between Hynes and then-IDES Acting Director Thomas Chan obtained by the BGA through a public records request detail the pressure inside IDES as Illinois PUA program was rolled out.

Folks I am counting on you to launch the independent contractor unemployment system ASAP and no later than May 11, Pritzker wrote to Chan and Hynes at 7:43 a.m. on May 4. Can you confirm that will happen? JB.

IDES hustled to update its policies and computer code, and minutes before midnight on May 10 Chan emailed Hynes that he and aides did a test run by filing a small sample of claims.

Minor hiccups but no show stoppers, Chan wrote.

Within 10 minutes of Illinois PUA system going live the next morning, on May 11, more than 1,500 people applied for benefits through the state portal, records show. Hynes conducted his own test minutes later.

I called the 800 number. Hit the correct prompts for PUA, Hynes wrote in an email to Chan at 8:01 a.m.

An automated voice told Hynes there was a high volume of calls. Then it hung up on him, Hynes emailed.

Its not even 830, Hynes wrote. This is not good.

Illinoisstruggle to roll out the new federal benefits came amid staffing shortfalls at every level of IDES.

Acting Director Chan was a placeholder pending the governors merger plans. Pritzker had named a replacement for Chan in 2019 then withdrew that appointment days later without explanation. And there were months-long vacancies in the deputy director and audit positions.

On March 14, 2020 as Pritzker was closing Illinois schools and dine-in restaurants and limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people Chan sent Hynes an urgent email that revealed the staffing shortfalls within IDES.

I need permission to fill IDES Chief Operating Officer position as soon as possible, Chan wrote. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed. But I need some help.

The Pritzker administration granted that request, and Chan rode out the harrowing next months at the helm of IDES. Chan declined to comment for this report.

Beyond leadership vacancies, rank-and-file numbers also were dropping.

In 2010, the year after Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn took office, the agency headcount stood at almost 2,000. That number declined to around 1,300 when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took over in 2015. When Pritzker assumed office in 2019, there were 1,100, records show.

By April, the IDES staff level had slipped to 1,041, according to state records.

Illinois had been struggling to onboard new employees faster than the rate of attrition, Chan told the states Employment Security Advisory Board.

In other words, heading into this downturn, our baseline staffing numbers, the employees hired to operate our programs and meet minimum federal performance standards, were, despite our best efforts, at an all-time low.

Whats more, experience had been drained from the agency.

In 2014, Chan told the panel, about 86% of IDES workforce had more than five years experience with the agency. By June it had dropped to 67%. Managers are serving in multiple roles and performing the work of multiple employees, Chan said, according to the boards meeting minutes.

Amid the pandemic, on April 29, IDES contracted with a private accounting firm to bolsterthe force of 100-plus IDES staffers answering phones. But those new agents often did not have adequate training to answer even the simplest questions, instead transferring claimants to the better-trained IDES employees, records show.

Pritzker wants to add 226 IDES employees next year. Illinois also is planning to issue bonds to borrow more than $5 billion to bail out the IDES Trust Fund, which uses taxes levied from employers to pay out worker benefits claims, records and interviews show.

What were going to do ourselves over the coming months and years is to figure out what weve learned from this experience, Hynes said. And that applies to what technology systems we have and need, what sort of human resources we need to devote to this agency, what type of best practices we should be borrowing from other states.

On hold for now: the governors plan to merge IDES with the state labor department.

It would not be a prudent thing to try to move pieces around and make changes in an agency that is really struggling just to meet its basic operations, Hynes said.

See the article here:
Illinois Poorly Prepared for Flood of Unemployment Claims - Better Government Association (BGA)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker held off filling top vacancies at Illinois unemployment office because he was planning to merge it with another state department.

Then COVID-19 upended the nation.

Starting in March, as authorities shut down businesses and schools and 2 million Illinois workers flooded the state for jobless benefits, the state Department of Employment Security was already at one of its weakest moments in recent history, records and interviews show.

At that moment, agency staffing was at an all-time low, according to its then-acting director. Veteran employees were retiring in droves to be replaced by rookies. And when key jobs were filled it was sometimes with political aides who had little or no agency experience.

Before the national health crisis, Illinois had been ranked among national leaders for speedy delivery of unemployment benefits. Suddenly, IDES plunged to being among the worst in the nation on several key performance measures.

In the months since, as problems have persisted, the administration has offered a range of explanations for its inability to handle the surge of claims.

Pritzker has blamed his Republican predecessor for hollowing out IDES and leaving the agency with inadequate staff and outdated technology. He has also criticized President Trump for unfair and chaotic rollouts of federal unemployment benefits.

But government records and interviews offer a more complex portrait, and reveal the frenzy inside an agency diminished by staff vacancies at every level in the 18 months Pritzker was in charge even before the crisis.

State-by-state data from the U.S. Labor Department, hundreds of agency emails and internal agency documents obtained by the Better Government Association show:

In recent months, IDES has issued around 1 percent of its unemployment checks within seven days of the initial applications, making it the slowest state in the nation by that measure. Before the pandemic, it was among the fastest. On some key federal measurements for processing unemployment claims, IDES performed better during the pandemic than other big states or than the nation as a whole. Still, Illinois failed to meet standards in five of 10 performance measures collected by federal authorities, ranging from timely benefits distribution to the soundness of internal audits that detect fraud and underpayments. The Pritzker administration denied a request for these scorecards, but the BGA obtained them anyway. In June, the overwhelmed and understaffed agency told a senate oversight panel, in writing, that it moved jobless claims that came through elected officials to the front of the line over applications that came directly from taxpayers, the BGA found. In emails and internal presentations, the acting head of the agency sounded the alarm repeatedly and urgently. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed, he wrote in a March 14 email to his boss, Deputy Governor Dan Hynes. But I need some help.

Pritzker administration officials acknowledged to the BGA the agency had problems, but Hynes said unfilled leadership positions at IDES had little impact.

There was not instability at the top, he said. I think what was lacking was everything underneath there.

There was great attrition in the rank-and-file employees who were at the front lines of services. There was outdated technology, a lack of investment in technology that had occurred over the last 10 years. Thats really what was lacking.

Hynes said IDES worked hard under incredible stress to pay out a staggering $14.2 billion in benefits to an unprecedented 2.1 million Illinois claimants from March through August.

The volume and surge of claims that overtook the agency was really unprecedented and unsolvable until we figured out how to allocate the resources in the right way, Hynes said. It was heart-wrenching among all of us to urge patience among people who were desperate to get help, but knowing that we were unable to deal with everybody all at once.

Pritzker this summer named Kristin Richards, a former chief of staff to state Senate Presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon, the new acting director at IDES.

More so than anything, I feel a responsibility to try and bring some stability for claimants, find some stability for people that are attempting to reach us, Richards said. Its a really big problem-solving exercise but its the right time to throw every bit of muscle we can to try to do it, and thats what were going to do.

Experts say reforms are welcome and sorely needed.

These problems at IDES came at a cost to people. Some applicants had desperate financial problems, said Jeremy Rosen, director of economic justice at Chicagos Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The governor was right that no state was properly prepared. But given the crisis every state faced, why did Illinois not respond as effectively as other states?

From best to worst

Before the pandemic, Illinois had been paying about 80 percent of initial unemployment claims within seven days.

That quick payout rate plummeted to around 1 percent and held there through September, putting Illinois last among states on this timeliness measure, according to newly released data from the federal labor department.

IDES told the BGA these quick payments slowed because Illinois like many states waited one week before starting the clock prior to the pandemic. After the crisis, Illinois and 36 other states cut out the waiting week in an effort to get more money out quickly.

Agency officials offered no explanation why it performed so much worse than all other states, including those that waived the waiting week. Only nine other states fell to less than 10 percent on this seven-day measure, the federal records show.

Federal rules do not require a seven-day turn around. Instead, the guidelines require states to pay out nearly 90 percent of all initial unemployment checks within 21 days.

On that 21-day measure, Illinois also fell short by distributing only 61 percent. However, Illinois still performed better than most states. By comparison, the national average for meeting the three-week window is nearly 55 percent.

Still, every day matters to laid-off Illinois workers borrowing from relatives to pay their rent or mortgage bills, selling personal belongings and using food banks to get groceries to their families, according to emails pleading for help that reached the governors cabinet.

There is no standard for seven days, said Richards, the IDES acting director. I agree with you it is important to claimants. Every day is important to claimants.

A Christmas tree on fire

The difficulties Illinois was facing amid the pandemic were reflected in federal labor department score cards required by the federal government, which rank states for the promptness of payments, the effectiveness of audits and eight other agency functions.

States submit reports every three months to indicate adequate performance or something less by labeling each of the 10 categories with either a green or red mark. IDES veterans call this chart the Christmas tree.

While IDES had been slowly improving since 2015 on the core labor department metrics, by March of this year Illinois was the only state failing all three categories labeled integrity measures, which includes detection of overpayments, improper payments, and the recovery of those mistaken payouts.

Asked for the states scorecard data through June, Pritzker administration officials declined to provide the records.

The Christmas tree is a document put together for internal purposes only and is not available for public consumption, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco told the BGA in an email.

The BGA, however, obtained a copy of that report, which shows erosion as Illinois failed five of 10 performance measures.

Front of the line

Amid the chaos, IDES was so far behind in processing claims that it triaged cases by prioritizing people referred by local politicians, the BGA found.

In a June 5 report to the bipartisan Senate oversight panel, IDES responded to questions about the lack of uniformity in how unemployment claims are submitted.

Claimants continue to call IDES in addition to their elected officials, the report said. Therefore, often, even though we move an elected officials constituent to the front of the line, the constituent has often already been able to get through to the call center.

We will continue to pull our staff out of the call center to call claimants sent to us by an elected official, that report added, but with hundreds of elected officials submitting issues to IDES, we cannot ensure the claimant will receive a response prior to their being able to get through to the call center.

Later that month, more than 50 House Democrats wrote to the agency that each of them was fielding 60 to 90 complaints from constituents on any given day. The lawmakers asked for additional IDES staff to handle their claims. In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rich Miller reported on the lawmakers letter.

In a recent email to the BGA, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh called the IDES practice of responding to claims referred by elected officials an attempt for the Department and its employees to help as many people as possible at a time when there was no structure in place.

The BGA has filed a pending public records request for details on the number of claims referred by each elected official since March.

This is not good

Illinois began the pandemic era in a proud position, first among states to begin paying out the initial $600-per-week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments on April 6, records show.

That early success quickly became a footnote as IDES was overwhelmed with 519,269 new claims for regular unemployment benefits that month more than 10 previous Aprils combined and federal authorities poured $500 billion in crisis relief into an alphabet soup of new and existing programs for laid-off workers.

Records show how Illinois struggled to implement those federal programs.

It was the 44th state to apply for the $300-per-week Lost Wage Assistance benefit: While most states deployed that program in August, Illinois did not start making payments until September 4, records show.

It was among 23 states that did not offer workers partial benefits when their employers reduced hours instead of laying them off. IDES told the Senate oversight panel in August it decided against offering the benefit because its staff was stretched thin.

Illinois also trailed all but seven states in processing the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA benefit, to independent contractors and gig workers. Illinois did not begin processing PUA payments until May 11, and didnt starting paying until a week later.

Emails between Hynes and then-IDES Acting Director Thomas Chan obtained by the BGA through a public records request detail the pressure inside IDES as Illinois PUA program was rolled out.

Folks I am counting on you to launch the independent contractor unemployment system ASAP and no later than May 11, Pritzker wrote to Chan and Hynes at 7:43 a.m. on May 4. Can you confirm that will happen? JB.

IDES hustled to update its policies and computer code, and minutes before midnight on May 10 Chan emailed Hynes that he and aides did a test run by filing a small sample of claims.

Minor hiccups but no show stoppers, Chan wrote.

Within 10 minutes of Illinois PUA system going live the next morning, on May 11, more than 1,500 people applied for benefits through the state portal, records show. Hynes conducted his own test minutes later.

I called the 800 number. Hit the correct prompts for PUA, Hynes wrote in an email to Chan at 8:01 a.m.

An automated voice told Hynes there was a high volume of calls. Then it hung up on him, Hynes emailed.

Its not even 830, Hynes wrote. This is not good.

Staffing levels hit all-time low'

Illinois struggle to roll out the new federal benefits came amid staffing shortfalls at every level of IDES.

Acting Director Chan was a placeholder pending the governors merger plans. Pritzker had named a replacement for Chan in 2019 then withdrew that appointment days later without explanation. And there were months-long vacancies in the deputy director and audit positions.

On March 14, 2020 as Pritzker was closing Illinois schools and dine-in restaurants and limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people Chan sent Hynes an urgent email that revealed the staffing shortfalls within IDES.

I need permission to fill IDES Chief Operating Officer position as soon as possible, Chan wrote. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed. But I need some help.

The Pritzker administration granted that request, and Chan rode out the harrowing next months at the helm of IDES. Chan declined to comment for this report.

Beyond leadership vacancies, rank-and-file numbers also were dropping.

In 2010, the year after Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn took office, the agency headcount stood at almost 2,000. That number declined to around 1,300 when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took over in 2015. When Pritzker assumed office in 2019, there were 1,100, records show.

By April, the IDES staff level had slipped to 1,041, according to state records.

Illinois had been struggling to onboard new employees faster than the rate of attrition, Chan told the states Employment Security Advisory Board.

In other words, heading into this downturn, our baseline staffing numbers, the employees hired to operate our programs and meet minimum federal performance standards, were, despite our best efforts, at an all-time low.

Whats more, experience had been drained from the agency.

In 2014, Chan told the panel, about 86 percent of IDES workforce had more than five years experience with the agency. By June it had dropped to 67 percent. Managers are serving in multiple roles and performing the work of multiple employees, Chan said, according to the boards meeting minutes.

Amid the pandemic, on April 29, IDES contracted with a private accounting firm to bolster the force of 100-plus IDES staffers answering phones. But those new agents often did not have adequate training to answer even the simplest questions, instead transferring claimants to the better-trained IDES employees, records show.

Best practices to borrow

Pritzker wants to add 226 IDES employees next year. Illinois also is planning to issue bonds to borrow more than $5 billion to bail out the IDES Trust Fund, which uses taxes levied from employers to pay out worker benefits claims, records and interviews show.

What were going to do ourselves over the coming months and years is to figure out what weve learned from this experience, Hynes said. And that applies to what technology systems we have and need, what sort of human resources we need to devote to this agency, what type of best practices we should be borrowing from other states.

On hold for now: the governors plan to merge IDES with the state labor department.

It would not be a prudent thing to try to move pieces around and make changes in an agency that is really struggling just to meet its basic operations, Hynes said.

This story was produced by the Better Government Association, a nonprofit news organization based in Chicago.

Read more here:
Better Government Association: Illinois poorly prepared for flood of unemployment claims - The Herald-News

(Adobe Max image courtesy of Adobe)

Adobe ADBE is weaving its artificial intelligence capabilities into even more of its biggest creative applications, including Premiere Pro and Photoshop, it announced today. The company also launched an iPad version of its Illustrator vector-drawing program, and an iPhone version of its Fresco drawing software.

Those were just some of the many product announcements from the software giant, all timed to the start of its three-day Adobe MAX creativity conference this morning.

Thanks to the pandemic, the conference is virtual only, and free. Max features dozens of panels on using Adobe software, as well as appearances by creative notables such as photographer Annie Leibowitz, film directors Ava DuVernay and Taika Waititi, actors Zendaya and David Tennant, talk-show host Conan OBrien, writer Roxane Gaye and electronic musician Marshmello.

The biggest news, though, may be the ways Adobes AI and machine learning tools, which it calls Sensei, are being woven even more deeply into its programs, typically to simplify or speed complex, often repetitive parts of the business of creating images.

The company calls Photoshop, its flagship image-editing program, the worlds most advanced AI application for creatives as it released new versions for desktop computers and Apples iPad.

Our goal is to systematically replace time-intensive steps with smart, automated technology wherever possible, the company said in a blog post. With the addition of these five major new breakthroughs, you can free yourself from the mundane, non-creative tasks and focus on what matters most your creativity.

Photoshop gets five major new AI features, including Sky Replacement, with 25 replacement sky presets, and two Refine Edge Selections, to simplify the painstaking process of selecting hair and complex objects.

Adobe touted another new AI-based function, Neural Filters, as a reimagining of the ways Photoshop uses filters and image-manipulation tools. Neural Filters ships with a large group of new, non-destructive filters to modify images, though Adobe cautioned that many are still in beta stage, and will need further refinement.

The Neural Filters dashboard suggests groups of actions, such as Skin Smoothing or Smart Portrait, to improve an image with a single click or manipulation of a slider. Smart Portrait can tweak details such as where a subject is gazing, or the tilt of their head.

A new Sensei-based Discover panel adds better context-aware search, help and other tools and tips to help creators work faster within the program, which has long been known for both its power and brain-melting complexity.

Elsewhere, the Roto Brush 2 tool uses Sensei to greatly simplify the time-consuming task of rotoscoping. It smartly automates much of the process of closely outlining a moving figure in video, extracting the movement from the rest of the video and dropping it into another one. Roto Brush is in both the film-editing app Premiere Pro and the 3D and visual-effects tool After Effects.

Premiere Pro also gets a Sensei-based automated captioning tool that captures speech in a video scene, converts it to text, then uses machine learning to properly place the text in cadence with the speech on screen. The launch version works with 11 languages and multiple speakers. The company is also taking applications from people who want to beta test the new Captions Track, which allows a creator to modify the look, color, font, placement and other aspects of captions on screen.

Another app, Character Animator, is also adding AI smarts, with speech-aware animation and more accurate lip synching to allow creators to essentially puppeteer and capture a digital image so that its mouth and body parts move in concert with the live humans movements and speech.

The ability to capture arm movements, through what was previously called Arm IK, now extends to other body parts, such as knees, in Limb IK.

Other announcements on the day include:

See original here:
Photoshop, Premiere Pro And Other Adobe Programs Get More AI Smarts - Forbes

Countertops Market report offers detailed perceptions on the market dynamic forces to enable informed business decision making and development strategy formulation supported on the opportunities present in the market.

The pandemic impact and recovery measures in Countertops Industry and new policies and plans are covered. The complete historic, present Countertops market monitoring and performance check is conducted with the help of reliable data sources and paid sources.

Some of the Important and Key Players of the Global Countertops Market:

Arborite, ARISTECH SURFACES LLC, Cambria, Wilsonart LLC, Caesarstone, Formica, Cosentino S.A., and Masco Corporation.

Request for Sample Report (Including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Countertops Market @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/838?utm_source=AD

The report scrutinizes different business approaches and frameworks that pave the way for success in businesses. The report used Porters five techniques for analyzing the Countertops Market; it also offers the examination of the Global market. To make the report more potent and easy to understand, it consists of info graphics and diagrams. Furthermore, it has different policies and improvement plans which are presented in summary. It analyzes the technical barriers, other issues, and cost-effectiveness affecting the market.

There are 10 Chapters to deeply display the Countertops market: Chapter 1, is executive summary of Countertops Market; Chapter 2, is definition and segment of Countertops; Chapter 3, to show info and data comparison of Countertops Players; Chapter 4, to explain the industry chain of Countertops; Chapter 5, to show comparison of regions and courtiers(or sub-regions); Chapter 6, to show competition and trade situation of Countertops Market; Chapter 7, to show comparison of applications; Chapter 8, to show comparison of types; Chapter 9, to show investment of Countertops Market; Chapter 10, to forecast Countertops market in the next years.

Global Countertops Market: Competitive Analysis

This section of the report identifies various key manufacturers of the market. It helps the reader understand the strategies and collaborations that players are focusing on combat competition in the market. The comprehensive report provides a significant microscopic look at the market. The reader can identify the footprints of the manufacturers by knowing about the Global revenue of manufacturers, the Global price of manufacturers, and sales by manufacturers during the forecast period of 2015 to 2019.

Global Countertops Market: Regional Analysis

The Countertops market is analysed and market size information is provided by regions (countries). The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and by Application segment in terms of sales and revenue for the period 2015-2026.

To get Incredible Discounts on this Premium Report, Click Here @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/industry-reports/countertops-market?utm_source=AD

Countertops Market Segmentation

Type Analysis of Countertops Market:

by Material (Granite, Solid Surface, Quartz, Laminate, Marble, Others)

Applications Analysis of Countertops Market:

by Application (Residential and Non-residential)

The scope of the Countertops Market Research extends from the market scenarios for comparative pricing between the major players, services, costs and profits of the specified market regions. Countertops Market report examines the factors influencing market growth and product development along with technological up gradations that can boost the Countertops Market. The Countertops Industry report cites the various opportunities to favor market growth over the 2018-2026 forecast period. It also highlights the significant market trends shaping the market.

The key questions answered in this report:

1. What will be the Market Size and Growth Rate in the forecast year?2. What are the Key Factors driving Countertops Market?3. What are the Risks and Challenges in front of the market?4. Who are the Key Vendors in Countertops Market?5. What are the Trending Factors influencing the market shares?6. What are the Key Outcomes of Porters five forces model?7. Which are the Global Opportunities for Expanding the Countertops Market?

Table of Contents

Report Overview: It includes major players of the Global Countertops Market covered in the research study, research scope, and Market segments by type, market segments by application, years considered for the research study, and objectives of the report.

Global Growth Trends: This section focuses on industry trends where market drivers and top market trends are shed light upon. It also provides growth rates of key producers operating in the Global Countertops Market. Furthermore, it offers production and capacity analysis where marketing pricing trends, capacity, production, and production value of the Global Countertops Market are discussed.

Market Share by Manufacturers: Here, the report provides details about revenue by manufacturers, production and capacity by manufacturers, price by manufacturers, expansion plans, mergers and acquisitions, and products, market entry dates, distribution, and market areas of key manufacturers.

Market Size by Type: This section concentrates on product type segments where production value market share, price, and production market share by product type are discussed.

Market Size by Application: Besides an overview of the Global Countertops Market by application, it gives a study on the consumption in the Global Countertops Market by application.

Production by Region: Here, the production value growth rate, production growth rate, import and export, and key players of each regional market are provided.

Consumption by Region: This section provides information on the consumption in each regional market studied in the report. The consumption is discussed on the basis of country, application, and product type.

Company Profiles: Almost all leading players of the Global Countertops Market are profiled in this section. The analysts have provided information about their recent developments in the Global Countertops Market, products, revenue, production, business, and company.

Market Forecast by Production: The production and production value forecasts included in this section are for the Global Countertops Market as well as for key regional markets.

Market Forecast by Consumption: The consumption and consumption value forecasts included in this section are for the Global Countertops Market as well as for key regional markets.

Value Chain and Sales Analysis: It deeply analyzes customers, distributors, sales channels, and value chain of the Global Countertops Market.

Key Findings: This section gives a quick look at important findings of the research study.

Make an enquiry before buying this report @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/838?utm_source=AD

About Us :

Adroit Market Research is an India-based business analytics and consulting company incorporated in 2018. Our target audience is a wide range of corporations, manufacturing companies, product/technology development institutions and industry associations that require understanding of a markets size, key trends, participants and future outlook of an industry. We intend to become our clients knowledge partner and provide them with valuable market insights to help create opportunities that increase their revenues. We follow a code @ Explore, Learn and Transform. At our core, we are curious people who love to identify and understand industry patterns, create an insightful study around our findings and churn out money-making roadmaps.

Contact Us :

Ryan JohnsonAccount Manager Global3131 McKinney Ave Ste 600, Dallas,TX75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: USA: +1 972-362 -8199/ +91 9665341414

Original post:
Countertops Market 2020 Size, Growth And Status, Analysis and Forecast 2026 By Segmentation And Geography Overview - Eurowire

With the UK property market well on the way to recovery and activity heating up amongst buyers, sellers are being advised to go the extra mile to make their homes stand out from the crowd.

According to new research from self-storage experts, Space Station, 46% of new-build homes now come fitted with a utility room and extra storage space, making these features the must-haves for homes in 2020/21.

With utility rooms and additional storage space reported to increase a propertys value and make it more attractive to buyers, homeowners looking to sell in the near-future should certainly consider increasing the amount of storage space in their home.

Vlatka Lake, storage expert, has provided tips and advice on affordable ways sellers can create additional storage space around their home, without breaking the bank.

Create a mini utility area

Utility rooms are a coveted house feature at the moment, thanks to Stacey Solomans recent revamp of her utility room and the popular The Home Edit organisation programme. However, homeowners dont have to fork out thousands to create their own utility room. Unused space under the stairs is a great option to create a small utility space to help maximise selling prospects. Shelving could be added to help store cleaning and laundry supplies, as well as a worktop for additional storage.

Make use of unused space

Without realising it, our homes are full of unused space that could be a storage goldmine with a little bit of DIY. Space under a bay window, or an empty corner of the room, for example, could be transformed into useful built-in storage that will be appealing to buyers.

Sellers could easily add some under-window storage in the form of a storage bench, which not only creates a cosy seating area, but also inconspicuous storage space. Plinth drawers are also a great option for additional storage in the kitchen. Drawers can be fitted underneath cabinets and are an affordable way of making the most of unused space, especially in smaller kitchens.

Think vertically

When it comes to storage space, most homeowners use the floor space around them, however, theres plenty of space unused above us. Think of adding shelving or storage cupboards higher up, especially in smaller bathrooms where space can be limited. Try adding hooks or pegs to spaces next to doors or a bookcase above a window frame to create a quirky, but useful storage space.

Utilise outdoor space

Homebuyers are always on the lookout for what storage solutions a home can offer both inside the home and outside.

Garages and sheds are great spaces for storage, so consider adding in built-in shelving units or hooks to store gardening tools, DIY equipment and gadgets. Equipment and tools could be hung up on the wall or on the ceiling to really maximise the floor space.

Give the pantry some TLC

A built-in pantry is great for storing surplus food and can also be a really attractive asset to buyers if they are used properly. Most pantries come with one or two built-in shelves, which results in a cluttered space. Sellers could consider adding additional shelving to maximise the space they have, as well as a door organiser to really make use of every square inch of space.

Vlatka concludes: Spaces such as utility rooms are really desirable features, as they offer practical storage space, freeing up room in living areas like the kitchen and dining room.

However, not all homes are made equal and our recent analysis shows that for the price of an average UK home, the chances of finding a pre-owned property with a purpose-built utility room are just 8%. There are ways for those looking to sell their home to really maximise the space they already have available and create more appealing storage solutions for potential buyers.

Simple DIY jobs such as adding more shelving in the garage or garden shed, or sprucing up your existing pantry, can really appeal to prospective buyers and help sell your house as quickly as possible.

Read this article:
Top five storage additions to make your home more attractive to buyers - Property Reporter

LifestyleHomes and GardensBusinessman Tony Gartland left an impressive legacy including Broad Carr House in Holywell Green now for sale

Tuesday, 20th October 2020, 11:07 am

Broad Carr, Holywell Green

Contact: Fine and Country Halifax, tel: 01422 419890, http://www.fineandcountry.com

Businessman Tony Gartland was a working class boy made good through hard work, intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit.

He passed away this summer at the age of 79 but left an impressive legacy. He built an empire, made a fortune from parking meters and used his talents to buy and turn around failing companies before selling them on as going concerns.

A proud Yorkshireman and fiercely loyal to his home town of Halifax, where he devoted time and money to community work and to its Rugby League club, he would not have considered living anywhere but Calderdale.

That is why he chose to lavish a substantial amount of money on buying and improving Broad Carr House in the village of Holywell Green. Now on the market for 1.75m with Fine and Country, it is an impressive live-work home and one of the areas most outstanding properties.

Mr Gartlands daughter Deborah, says: He bought it 27 years ago and it is a beautiful house. It feels very rural but you can get into Halifax, Huddersfield

and on to the motorway very quickly.

The period property had been a restaurant in the 1970s and the previous owners had converted it back to a home. While it was in good order, Mr Gartland improved on it by adding a portico, an orangery, and garage.

He also had the old coach house converted into offices with an apartment above, and his most recent addition was an octagonal library. His daughter, Kelly Jackson, an interior designer, designed the decor in some of the recently updated rooms,

Deborah Gartland says: The house is imposing but it is very welcoming, warm and inviting home. We are sad to see it go as we have very happy memories of living here. It is such a wonderful place.

Broad Carr House sits in seven acres with gardens, open park land, stables, a wood and a lake. The earliest part of the house dates to the mid 17th century and there are Victorian and Edwardian additions. The hallway has a grand staircase and opens onto three reception rooms.

The property also has an orangery, kitchen pantry, utility room, butlers kitchen, wine store, several store rooms and access to the cellars. On the upper floors are six bedrooms.

Along with the main house, there is a garage, a suite of two offices and a two-bedroom, two bathroom apartment.

Broad Carr House is 1.75m and is for sale with Fine & Country, tel: 01422 419890, http://www.fineandcountry.com

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just 5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

See the original post:
One of the most outstanding homes in Calderdale is for sale - Yorkshire Post

People who celebrate Halloween are spending more than ever on the holiday in 2020, a year thats been almost all trick and no treat.

Admittedly, the percentage doing the celebrating this year is down 4% (to 58%) in a new National Retail Federation survey, a drop directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. But what theyre spending per person has jumped to an all-time high of over $92, with much of that going to decorations.

In part, its because people are spending a lot more time at home. In part, its because decorating the house for the holiday can make up a little, at least for having to forgo the trick-or-treat tradition this year, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC to its friends) and the Oregon Health Authority.

The big-box stores know this all too well, selling out of 12-foot-tall skeletons and creepy jack-in-the-box clowns that would keep Stephen King awake at night.

But there are ways to create decor even Dracula would approve of for falls second spookiest holiday (behind the absolutely terrifying Election Day), that wont suck your bank account dry in the process.

Of course, carving pumpkins is an option (see our previous column for guidance), but the impact is especially short-term, because once you carve them, you have less than a week before they start to rot.

So we that would be Marcia have come up with a few ideas to create some spooky additions to your holiday experience. And for very little money.

Consider them our treat to you. Especially since I plan on eating all the candy wed normally hand out to trick-or-treaters.

Marcia:

If you are a longtime reader, you might remember me saying before that I love Halloween.

I love the season the colors, long sideways shadows, crisp clean air and freaky monsters.

I love the creativity of it all the pumpkins and gourds, homemade decorations and handmade costumes.

In fact, for my September birthday, I was gifted a wiener dog skeleton (Dennis: Dont worry, it was fake) from our granddaughter Noelle. Best present ever!

This skeleton wiener dog was a birthday gift.Marcia Westcott Peck

On Halloween evening, I greet every person at the front door, ask them about their costumes and hand out a full-size candy bar to each and every one of them.

Young, old or in between, if you are dressed up, you get candy from me (Dennis: Is that why Weird Uncle Gary wears a wizard hat and a wrestling singlet every year? Marcia: I cant unsee that!).

Id love it if everyone wore a costume and trick-or-treated. Age makes no difference; its the spirit that counts.

Last year, I came up with the idea to make a giant spider out of a round pittosporum bush in our front garden. I bought foam pipe insulation to make legs, decorated it with orange lights and made eyes out of solar lights.

This year, I decided to use that same idea and make two matching pots that flank our front entry path into spiders. It was a simple, inexpensive project that was easy and fun to do.

I also created spider pumpkins and pots from clippings and divisions I found in the garden. Any excuse to be outside with a shovel and clippers on a sunny fall day is good therapy before we hunker down for the approaching winter.

Plus, the little spider pumpkins have so much personality they make me laugh!

Im sad that because of COVID-19 we will not be greeting people at the door this year, but next year watch out!

There will be flying bats, screaming goblins and Weird Uncle Gary dressed up as Big Foot (Dennis: Anything is better than the wrestling singlet), handing out theater-sized candy.

It will be a Halloween to remember, thats for sure!

Spiders dominate the Pecks' Halloween decorations this year.Marcia Westcott Peck

Heavy-gauge wire for the foam pipe insulation spider legs.Marcia Westcott Peck

This foam pipe insulation has been notched to create potted plant spider legs.Marcia Westcott Peck

You won't even have to gut the pumpkins to make these spiders.Marcia Westcott Peck

Marcia Westcott Peck is a landscape designer (mwplandscape.com or find her on Instagram at @pecklandscape or on Facebook by searching for The Pecks), and Dennis Peck is a former senior editor at The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Read more:
Make these spooky Halloween spiders without spending a fortune: The Pecks - oregonlive.com

Vicky Gibbons of Valhermoso Springs in Morgan County, Ala., wasnt really surprised someone spray-painted Trump on the hood of her car. Its what I would expect from the kind of people Trump has attracted as additions to the Republican Party, Gibbons said Friday. My neighbors are Republican, but they would never do something like this. It would be the fringe or redneck types.

Gibbons allowed a Democratic volunteer to put Biden signs in her yard this week after he asked permission. I told him to go ahead, she said. I had worked with him in (a) campaign. I was manager of the Democratic headquarters in Morgan County in 2008.

They were there for two days, she said of the signs, which also got sprayed the night of the car attack.

The car was parked near the highway where Gibbons' 100-year-old house sits back from the road under big, old trees. Whatever they are, they drip sap in the Fall," she said of the trees, "so the only place I can park I dont have a garage is at the end of my driveway. So, the car was parked that way, nose first. Gibbons imagines the vandals sprayed her Biden signs and then said, Oh, look over here. A nice, white bulletin board.

Gibbons called an auto body shop, and the owner told her to get the car there as soon as possible. The faster you bring it in, the more likely we are to get it off, he said. The shop got the paint off in five or 10 minutes and didnt charge Gibbons. I didnt ask and he didnt say, she said, but I have a feeling he may be a Republican and is ashamed of what somebody did.

Why would she think the shop owner might be a Republican? Shes lived within 2 miles of her home her entire life, she said, and she knows, Most people in Alabama are Republicans.

I live in a sea of loneliness, she said.

Read this article:
She parked near her Biden yard signs, so they painted Trump on her car - AL.com