Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Vicki Wiltse and her husband had some spare money, an old house and a cramped, ugly kitchen. It was time to remodel.

"We took down the whole entire wall, put a wrap-around bar; brand new granite," said Wiltse, 55, who recently paid $130,000 for a Boynton Beach house that she's almost done renovating. All that's left is to hang the pictures and throw a house-warming party this weekend.

In Boynton Beach, small-scale residential construction is on the rise, according to city workers who approve permits. That means more people, such as the Wiltses, are beautifying their kitchens, repairing their roofs and installing new air conditioners.

The upward trend is a portent of better times, says Nancy Byrne, interim director of the Boynton Beach Development Department. People have been saving and struggling since the crash, and now, with some money but not enough to buy new, they're investing in their homes, she speculated.

Byrne predicts construction in Palm Beach County's third-largest city could reach 2007 levels by the end of September.

"Things are really on the upswing," she said.

In Leisureville, a cookie-cutter senior community on the west edge of the city, Eric Nelson, 77, spruced up the living room and kitchen of his 1970s winter home. The kitchen, he said, "was a large closet" with rotting cupboards and "cheesy" dcor.

"It was dreary to go down there," said Nelson, who spends most of the year in Concord, Mass. "And it shouldn't be dreary to go down to Florida."

In February 2011 he applied for a permit and had a contractor make it like new.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year construction in Boynton Beach reached astronomical heights. The Development Department issued 5,452 permits for construction valued at $244 million.

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Boynton construction coming back; remodeling on the rise

RSV Building Solutions, a Vancouver-based commercial construction company specializing in new construction, remodeling, maintenance and tenant improvement projects, has started a renovation project for AHA! (Alling Henning Associates Inc.), a local communications firm.

The renovation involves expanding AHA!s current office in Vancouvers City Hall building to the entire sixth floor, adding 3,418 square feet for a total of 15,324 square feet of office space. RSV will add 19 new work stations, four new offices, two conference rooms, a kitchenette and will remodel the caf area, including adding a soda dispenser and new cabinetry.

This is a great opportunity to serve such a wonderful local business, said RSV President Ron Frederiksen. AHA! is a fantastic client and we are extremely excited to be a part of its growth.

RSV began construction April 16, and has had workers operate at night to prevent disturbing the offices daytime operations. The first phase of the project includes building out the open space on the 6th floor and remodeling the caf, as well as adding the conference room, with a projected completion date near the end of June. The second phase involves remodeling the former Moss Adams kitchen area, with a projected completion date near the end of July.

RSV worked with LSW Architects and Cohabit Design & Construct on the project.

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RSV renovates AHA! office for expansion

An imposing brick building encircled by black fencing has been growing on Lower Sacramento Road in Woodbridge. It's the new office for the Woodbridge Irrigation District. District staff are still unpacking and sweeping up the last of the construction dust, but the project is complete.

The new office blends Italian and and Spanish styling with a sense of Woodbridge history, and puts district operations right next door to the facilities they manage.

It cost $1 million to build, but the district didn't borrow a cent to pay for it.

"It's bought and paid for," said district manager Andy Christensen proudly. "Now we have a place to convey our rich history. We couldn't do it in the old building."

The district has been in a constant state of construction since Christensen joined them in 1996. Between building the new dam, the fish screen, the fish ladder and now this new building, there seemed to be no end to the projects. But now they are all complete, and the district can turn its attention to improving canals and pipelines in the field.

District staff spent two years planning the building and lining up permits. Designers were keen for the new structure to blend in with other brick buildings on Lower Sacramento Road, such as Cactus Mexican Dining and Woodbridge Crossing.

"We didn't want something ultra-modern," said Christensen.

Spanish and Italian influences are present in the sandy tile floors, the marble counter and open, airy layout.

On the left in the main hallways is a lighted display case full of historical Woodbridge artifacts. It holds rusty mining equipment, photographs of women walking on the 1891 dam and a water level recorder that uses a clock mechanism to mark the change in water level at the dam for a week at a time.

The case is bordered with beams dredged up from 25 feet below the riverbed. District staff ran into the 16 foot beams when they excavated that portion of the river to build the fish screen in 2008. They were the support piles for the 1891 dam. Now the beams are dotted with replica square iron bolts designed to match those used in the original Woodbridge Dam.

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Woodbridge Irrigation opens new office

GRAY - The transformation of a key piece of downtown real estate from a shuttered gas station to an ethnic restaurant is a welcome sight, say business and government officials in Gray.

Manee Thai Restaurant, slated to open in early June after extensive remodeling, will jazz up Grays ethnic cuisine landscape and fill a long-vacant building right in the heart of downtown Gray, at the six-way intersection of what is known as the Crossroads of Maine.

The restaurant is owned by Kwone Sanasy, a woman born in Laos but who traveled to America in 1981 as part of the post-Vietnam exodus. She has since opened several Thai restaurants in Maine and New Hampshire, and according to family members, has chosen Gray due to its location.

Shes been doing this since 1991, so shes pretty good at what she does, said Sanasys son, Sourasay Senesombath, who lives in South Portland and came to America with his mother when he was 2.

Speaking on behalf of his mother, whom Senesombath says does not speak English well, he said she opened Thai 9 Restaurant, located next to Cabellas in Scarborough, in 2008. Sanasy also owns Siam Orchid Restaurant, which she opened in Bar Harbor in 2006. And she is soon to open Bodhi Thai Bistro in Portsmouth, N.H.

In Gray, Sanasy will receive help running the operation from her sister, Kaysone Nakummun. Nakummuns husband, Tee Nakummun, will act as head chef.

What led Sanasy to Gray and the location at 11 Main St., next to the monument in downtown, was the high traffic count and lack of similar Thai offerings.

Look at all the traffic. This is a great location. We dont see any other Thai restaurant in this area, said Senesombaths girlfriend, Nonglack Thanephonesy. I know there are a lot of Thai restaurants in Maine, but the nearest restaurant is Freeport and Westbrook. So we want to bring some diversity to this little town. I noticed theres Chinese (restaurants) in town and they are pretty busy. And there are other towns around here, so why not open a Thai restaurant here rather than them having to drive 20 minutes, 30 minutes to have Pad Thai.

Thanephonesy, who works at Sanasys Scarborough restaurant, said customer demand also drove the family to open a restaurant in Gray.

We do have customers that do live in Gray that come to Thai 9 and they are always like, Why dont you open one in Gray because theres no Thai restaurant there, Thanephonesy said.

The rest is here:
A new lease on life

by Martha Maurer/KTAR (May 30th, 2012 @ 4:30pm)

The Gumball Rally passed through northern Arizona today.

High-dollar sports cars, like Lamborghinis and Porches, were flying along Interstate 40 on their way to Las Vegas.

Carrick Cook with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said 10 drivers were pulled over and one was arrested.

"A driver who is from Holland and lives in Switzerland was traveling at over 120 mph on I-40," he said. "It's a dangerous event. I think these people don't keep in mind that there are innocent people driving along the road and this puts them in danger as well."

The I-40 has a speed limit of 75 mph.

"Reckless would be a good word to use with the driving behavior for them," said Cook. "We haven't seen any crashes or anything like that. Hopefully we don't, but the way these people are driving could seriously, seriously hurt somebody or themselves with the speeds that they're driving at."

The rally was traveling from New Mexico to Las Vegas as part of a 3,000-mile international race.

Excerpt from:
Gumball Rally zips through northern Arizona, DPS issues tickets, arrest

Thousands banged pots and pans as they marched in more than 70 cities all across Canada Wednesday night. The spreading "casserole" protests have erupted in Quebec as thousands of non-students have joined with the students to demand an end to austerity measures and Bill 78, which bans unauthorized public assemblies and curtails the right to protest.

Casserole Night in Halifax, Nova Scotia -- 150 enthusiastic people from all walks of life took to the streets last night in a show of solidarity with the ongoing protests in Quebec. (Photo/Miles Howe) People cheer from their porches as processions of marchers pass through the streets.

Casserole rallies or cacerolazos originated in Latin American countries as a form of popular protest where people bang pots and pans.

Meanwhile, Quebec's emergency anti-protest legislation - Bill 78 - has now drawn the attention of the United Nations.

Two UN experts on freedom of expression have raised concerns about Quebec demonstrations which took place on May 24 that involved serious acts of violence and the detention of up to 700 protesters.

They urged the provincial government to respect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression and association of students.

The recently adopted legislation unduly restricts students rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly in Quebec, warned Maina Kiai, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Kiai said fines ranging up to $125,000 that are included in the law are disproportionate and warned that a municipal regulation requiring protesters to provide their itinerary in advance should not be misused to restrict the legitimate right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

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Thousands March in Canada's Casseroles Night

Home A&E Music-Theater-Dance Loading

Published: 5/31/2012

BY SALLY VALLONGO SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

This weekend's Old West End Festival will include lots of outdoor music along with home tours, garage sales, art shows, and the Wamba Parade. The Toledo Symphony's 5K Stampede will have live classical accompaniment from porches of houses along the run route. A variety of acts will keep the Main Stage at Parkwood and Woodruff avenues lively.

And, to cap off Saturday events, the Cathedral Concert Series will feature local jazz artists Mark Lemle and Eric Dickey in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. in Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd.

The performance will be a debut for the duo's new CD, "Wind, Stone and Ivory," with an eclectic mix of jazz standards, works by Keith Jarrett and Jay Ungar, and original pieces.

A free performance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Recital Hall of the University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts will represent Barbara Rondelli Perry's swan song as a professor of music. Now professor emerita from the department where she shaped dozens of up and coming singers, Rondelli Perry will be serenaded by 13 of those fledged students.

Singers will be Kevin Foos, Janet Brehm Ziegler, Jodi Jobuck, Scott Knueven, Michelle Perrine, Jo-Anne Chrysochoos, Ebone Waweru, Michele Marszalkowski, Sasha Noori, Joyce Rush, Sam Mason, Dusty Selman, and Anthony Ferrer.

On the program will be works from opera and oratorios as well as art songs by Mozart, Handel, Gounod, Puccini, Wagner, Rorem, Gershwin, Brahms, and more. Robert Ballinger and Phillip Clark will accompany the singers.

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Jazz concert tops off weekend fest

Michael Waterson Napa Valley Register | Posted: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 3:28 pm |

AMERICAN CANYON After years of holding services in a gymnasium, American Canyons Holy Family Parish may finally get a dedicated home at the expense of a tourist-based business.

City officials recently announced ongoing discussions with church leaders to move into the building now occupied by Napa Sonoma Visitor Center. City staff and church officials were scheduled to continue discussions this week.

A representative of the diocese said Wednesday the move was still in the talking stage.

I know they are contemplating a move, but theres nothing definite at this time, said Deacon Mike Urick, finance officer for the Santa Rosa Diocese.

Victor Leach, executive assistant for the parish, confirmed that church members had discussed the move with the buildings landlord, Constantine Shishkin of Sonoma.

Longtime church member Victor Rivera said the location is ideal, since the church owns undeveloped land directly behind the visitor center. Rivera said the church needed a more permanent home since the present situation holding Sunday services in the Community Center gymnasium was depleting church membership.

We could only hold one Sunday Mass. For some people 9 oclock (Mass time) wasnt convenient and some people dont feel comfortable worshiping in a gym, Rivera said. There was also competition from other groups to use the space, he said.

Rivera estimated there are about 350 to 400 members of Holy Family Parish in American Canyon. According to Rivera, long-range plans, including construction of a rectory on church land behind the building, were discussed at length during Sundays service.

The head of the diocese, Bishop Robert F. Vasa, is in favor of the move, Leach said. We do have the bishops support.

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American Canyon's visitor center may become church

News

Nailbenders lend hand to Scranton church

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 9:39 AM CDT

In 11 days, First Baptist Church of Scranton saved an estimated $50,000 to $200,000 on the cost of its family life center, which is now under construction and will open in August.

How'd they do that?

With a little help from their friends.

The help came from Nailbenders for Jesus, a Baptist Church volunteer organization that helps put up buildings. For 11 days this month, between 15 and 25 members of the organization have been doing interior work on the family life center. They came from all across Arkansas, and parts of Missouri and Tennessee.

Charles Morris of Clarksville has been a part of Nailbenders for 15 years. The Scranton job is the 180th he's been a part of since joining the group.

"We're mostly all retired people but we do have a few who take vacation a week at a time to help us," he said last week.

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Nailbenders lend hand to Scranton church

2m church hall plan gets approval at last

7:00am Thursday 31st May 2012 in News By Reg Little

A NORTH Oxford church hopes to make it a year to remember after its 2m scheme for a new church hall was approved by Oxford City Council.

St Andrews Church, in Linton Road, plans to replace temporary buildings with a two-storey extension and is now busy fundraising for what has been christened the Jubilee Project.

It is hoped that construction will begin before the end of the year.

The extension will include a new hall, large meeting space, meeting and youth rooms, creche, kitchen, cafe area and offices.

It will be connected to the existing church through a lightweight glazed link, which will double as a concourse space.

While churches across the country have been facing dwindling congregations, St Andrews says the churchs membership and the popularity of its youth centre have placed severe pressure on space.

The vicar of St Andrews, the Rev Andrew Wingfield Digby, said the extra space would allow the church to expand its youth and childrens work.

In the winter church members were asked whether they wanted to go ahead with the project in a vote.

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£2m church hall plan gets approval at last