Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

By MARK LAW

Staff writer

STEUBENVILLE - The Jefferson County commissioners Thursday approved the formation of a countywide port authority, two days after Steubenville City Council gave its OK.

A port authority is an economic development tool, capable of using eminent domain powers, issuing bonds and generating money through assessments for infrastructure for economic development projects.

The city had a port authority and council voted to abolish it to make room for the countywide port authority.

The county and city will each have four appointments to the port authority, with the county's Regional Planning Commission naming a member. There will be no elected officials on the port authority.

County Commissioner Thomas Graham said the port authority is a "major accomplishment" for the entire county. He said it will take time for the port authority to get going, but he believes it will be best for economic development throughout the county.

"It is an excellent step in the journey for the community to take on economic development," said county Commissioner David Maple.

He added all the prior organizations in the county pushing economic development were positive steps to improving the economic outlook for the county.

County Commissioner Tom Gentile said the creation of the countywide port authority has "been quite a task." with the Community Improvement Corp. and Progress Alliance all meeting to discuss the issue over time.

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Port authority creation done

Residents in the rural, disadvantaged Menifee community of Quail Valley were given some words of encouragement recently from officials hoping to replace their failing septic tanks with a full-blown sewer system.

"I'm more optimistic than some people but I'm hoping that within five years, we'll see construction on a new sewer system here," said Ron Sullivan, a board member with the Eastern Municipal Water District. "But we have to be patient when we're working with state and federal funding sources."

Sullivan was among the handful of speakers to address a crowd of about 45 Quail Valley residents earlier this month at Quail Valley Elementary School. In separate English- and Spanish-speaking sessions, residents listened intently as officials updated them on the progress of installing sewer connections to about 1,460 Quail Valley homes.

"Rumors go around that nothing is happening and that's not the case," Sullivan said. "There is more going on than what people realize."

Quail Valley has long had a problem with failing septic tanks and drainage systems, especially during heavy rains. Most of the homes were built decades ago for part-time residents, but now are occupied by families that live there year-round.

During rainy seasons, homeowners have found their underground drain fields swollen by rain, which has pushed up household wastes into their yards. The bacteria-laden water drains downhill toward Canyon Lake which, while it has a water treatment plant, is still is a drinking-water source for thousands of area residents.

The problem is so bad that a building moratorium is in place until sewers can be installed.

Several agencies have tried to get funding for a sewer system, but so far they've secured only enough to design a portion of the overall plan.

Estimates in 2005 indicated it would take about $45 million to $65 million to complete the overall project, according to Armando Arroyo, a civil engineer with the Eastern Municipal Water District.

But officials say the door may be open a little wider now that a similar $16 million project is nearly completed in the Enchanted Heights area of Perris.

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MENIFEE: Quail Valley residents get sewer update

A house wrapped in black plastic, vehicles with expired tags or no tags sitting on local lots for months, and junk-cluttered front porches.

Butch Schmitz has had his fill of such scenes in the neighborhood that surrounds his home in the 500 block of Alston.

The Marysville resident came to City Council in late March and told members it was time to do something.

This isnt the first time that I have complained to local officials about this problem and it probably wont be the last, Schmitz told the council. Its high time that you do something about it other than just send out letters or issue citations. There are very few of you who would put up with this crap in your own neighborhoods for very long.

Were aware of them. Were working with the property owners, said City Administrator Rick Shain.

He said city inspector Dave Richardson has talked to the owners.

He tries to handle it on a personal basis and visit with them face to face before we take further action, Shain said.

Schmitz said earlier Monday that hed noted the plastic was removed from a nearby house. He hopes changes will continue.

I think one of those houses is coming down, Shain said of another nearby home that burned in a fire earlier this year and is now being cleared.

Shain said he would talk to the council about revising existing housing code to add new minimal standards for housing.

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Marysville resident discusses concerns about neighborhood

St. Johns Lutheran Church has received a grant to build a permanent prayer labyrinth and garden, and the church wants it to belong to the community.

"A labyrinth isnt a religious symbol, its a spiritual symbol," said project lead

Shawn McGuire. "There would be no reason to walk in the labyrinth if theres no connection to spirit/self. Whatever ones religion or beliefs, walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight."

The project has been in the planning stages for months but construction will be completed this weekend. It will be made of Tennessee field stone and liriope to outline the paths and half inch brown pea gravel to line the paths.

The labyrinth will include plants mixed into the design, an attached community garden and adjacent meditation area that will make the project not only unique to Jacksonville but the region, according to McGuire.

Other aspects of the project include a "Luther Rose" mural by the meditation area and a prayer for the wall of meditation garden. The only unfinished part may be the fountain. Also a local gardener will be adding more colorful and specialty plants over the next few months.

Volunteers are needed to help with construction, even if by laying just one brick. Show up from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Sunday. The church is at 1950 Silver St.

For more information, call McGuire at (904) 803-4103.

Heres more good news:

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This labyrinth will be inclusive, church says

Pastor Scott Youngblood stands next to the cross that will be hoisted on top of the new United Methodist Church in west Arlington. The building is being described as "tornado-proof," due to considerable reinforcement and extensive use of metal.

By PATRICK M. WALKER

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

ARLINGTON -- When a tornado threatened his construction site on April 3, Kevin Drake knew just where to seek sanctuary: inside the unfinished home of Trinity United Methodist Church.

Turns out, the 75,000-square-foot building on West Green Oaks Boulevard near Pioneer Parkway was spared a direct hit, although the site was showered with debris from the twister that hit a nearby nursing home and neighborhood.

With a framework of insulating concrete forms, the church will offer refuge against not only worldly temptations but also howling winds -- able to withstand the equivalent of a 15-foot two-by-four hitting it at 100 mph, according to testing done by the Wind Science and Engineering Center at Texas Tech University.

"This is one of the safest sites in Arlington," said Drake, construction manager for Fort Worth-based FPI Builders. "I would think it would fare very well" in a tornado.

Projects like Trinity's raise public awareness of tornado-resistant construction techniques and may lead to greater acceptance of them, said Ernst Kiesling, a professor of civil engineering at Texas Tech and executive director of the National Storm Shelter Association.

The 17 tornadoes that hit North Texas that afternoon caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage but took no lives. At the very least, Kiesling said, the outbreak should be a wake-up call for the need for more storm shelters, whether public buildings or reinforced rooms in a home, he said.

Originally posted here:
Sturdy Arlington church doubles as storm shelter

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - When a tornado threatened his construction site on April 3, Kevin Drake knew just where to seek sanctuary: inside the unfinished home of Trinity United Methodist Church.

Turns out, the 75,000-square-foot building on West Green Oaks Boulevard near Pioneer Parkway was spared a direct hit, although the site was showered with debris from the twister that hit a nearby nursing home and neighborhood.

With a framework of insulating concrete forms, the church will offer refuge against not only worldly temptations but also howling winds able to withstand the equivalent of a 15-foot two-by-four hitting it at 100 mph, according to testing done by the Wind Science and Engineering Center at Texas Tech University.

"This is one of the safest sites in Arlington," said Drake, construction manager for Fort Worth-based FPI Builders. "I would think it would fare very well" in a tornado.

Projects like Trinity's raise public awareness of tornado-resistant construction techniques and may lead to greater acceptance of them, said Ernst Kiesling, a professor of civil engineering at Texas Tech and executive director of the National Storm Shelter Association.

The 17 tornadoes that hit North Texas that afternoon caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage but took no lives. At the very least, Kiesling said, the outbreak should be a wake-up call for the need for more storm shelters, whether public buildings or reinforced rooms in a home, he said.

Government incentives, like mitigation grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can also help, but funding is usually scarce.

Tarrant County, for example, received $400,000 in 2010 for homeowners to use on tornado safe rooms, and that money is long gone.

"My bottom line is that the (property owner) is the key person who decides what is going to go in," Kiesling said. "Waiting on the government to create incentives or adopt new standards is an unsure and complicated path that can take a long time.

"It's like wanting to win the lottery without buying a ticket."At Trinity, the new buildings are being constructed with insulating concrete forms, a technology that originated in Europe after World War II and has been slowly catching on in this part of the U.S., said Ann Crocker, the church building committee member who suggested the material.

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Church to double as storm shelter

By Nia Calleja Philippine Daily Inquirer

PHOTO BY ARNOLD ALMACEN

Garbage in, garden delights out.

The Marikina City government since Monday has been churning out hundreds of paving blocks out of used styrofoam packaging and plastic wastes, in a project that shows how recycling can both protect and beautify the environment.

It only takes two workers, a shredder, and a styro-plastic densifier (a three-meter-high piece of equipment fed with raw materials through a cylindrical mouth), to turn trash into two-inch thick blocks durable enough for parks, indoor flooring, or sidewalks.

Apart from providing the city government with an alternative source of construction materials, the project can help reduce Marikinas garbage output and its P30-million annual budget for collecting and hauling household waste to a landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal province.

The shredder and densifier were acquired by the city government for P400,000 under a project dubbed From Wastes to Landscape.

The savings the city will get and the benefits to the environment will definitely surpass the cost of acquiring the technology, according to Oliver Villamena, the assistant city environmental officer.

PHOTO BY ARNOLD ALMACEN

The recipe is quite simple: For every 20 kilos of styrofoam and a corresponding amount of used cooking oil, the machines can produce at least 21 blocks.

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Marikina turns junk styros into patios

In todays Weekend section, one of the Posts foreign correspondents, Emily Wax, is your guide to the areas many markets selling international food and products. She found everything from bamboo salt toothpaste to authentic naan at store shelves near you.

Our picks for the best events this weekend include a Parisian market in Georgetown, the Sweetlife Food and Music Festival and the annual croquet match between St. Johns College and the Naval Academy.

Speaking of the Sweetlife Food and Music Festival, one of the headliners, Avicii, is one of the biggest stars in electronic dance music, which places him amongst the worlds biggest rock stars these days. Read about his rise to the top. Also see record reviews of rockabilly singer Nanci Griffith, bluegrass group Dailey & Vincent, indie-folkers Good Old War and progressive bluegrass group Punch Brothers.

Also in todays issue of Weekend:

Fritz Hahn takes a look at the new Town Hall, which features a biggger dining room, bigger kitchen, bigger bar and a new courtyard patio.

If the idea of sitting out and enjoying a nice meal or a drink on a patio is enticing, see our picks for the best patios for a long lunch.

What happens when you mix a blue singer with no theater experience and Shakespeare? You get an Old West take on The Taming of the Shrew, beginning Tuesday at Folger Theatre.

D.O.L.L.: DIWO OPNSRC LMFAO LHOOQ, the acronym-heavy exhibit at Artisphere, features interactive and high-tech art that ranges from brilliant to banal.

Get the latest movie reviews, including the new Jason Segel romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement and John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven.

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International markets, Avicii at Sweetlife and best patios for a long lunch: Weekend update

Washington DC (PRWEB) April 28, 2012

Maryland Granite Countertops has made some significant changes to the way customers interact with the leading fabricator of granite countertops in the Washington DC metropolitan areas website. In addition to upgrading their photo galleries to increase your imagination when exploring different designs, they have added a news and blogs page which is constantly being updated with news and trends relevant to the granite countertops industry.

Customers want more ideas; more variety; better quality; excellent service; and of course the inevitable special one on one attention and we want to give this to our clients says owner of Maryland Granite Countertops.

With the economy the way it is still hurting people are taking advantage of housing prices and investing in their new homes. Houses are very affordable right now, and you can find a home for up to 50% or more of its original value. This leaves home owners with plenty of money to spend remodeling and tweaking their new homes to the way they dreamed of, and we want to help them imagine the perfect home to live in through our online tools says chief marketing officer at Maryland Granite.

Kitchen countertops are one of the most common remodeling jobs for new and especially first time home owners. I dont know why the phenomenon laughs Rick from Maryland Granite but this is just how it works; people just want to have a beautiful looking kitchen this may prove that house wives are after all in charge in the house smiles Rick

Maryland Granite is located in Beltsville Maryland right outside the 495 Beltway that surrounds our capital city. Leaders in the natural stone industry with over 15 years of solid strong reputation, they have been able to gain an edge on the manufacturing and fabrication of countertops. You can reach them at 301-605-1168 ###

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Maryland Granite Announces Major Revamp

Photo by Jason Palmer

BELOW: Lynn Moran, seen in this file photo from 2010, has added her aesthetic to this weekend's Decorator Show House, 2101 Avondale. The event benefits Faith Refuge for Women. Times Record News file photos

Photo by Times Record News file art

LEFT: Merrill Sweatt of M. Lynne Designs is one of 17 designers and businesses participating in the Decorator Show House this weekend.

Some people have interior motives, particularly the organizers of the Decorator Show House, where those with interior design cachet have culled their creative skills to put together some spectacularly decorated rooms.

Seventeen interior designers, furniture stores, landscape designers, arts organizations and other businesses have the run of the house, so to speak, and have put together several spaces at the Decorator Show House, 2101 Avondale, corner of Avondale and Harrison

The Country Club home, owned by Susan Saied, is open for viewing for three days, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

"They painted about five or six rooms and it just looks fabulous," said Shirley Craft, co-chairwoman of the show house with Kris Gossom. "We're real excited about it."

Craft on Tuesday was at the home, where designers were busy bringing in and setting up furniture, rugs, artwork and other decorative items to convey as best they can their particular aesthetic, whether whimsical, like the very colorful painted furniture of Merrill Sweatt of M. Lynne Designs; fun, like the items from the Polka Dot Penguin; sophisticated, like the work of Lynn Moran Interiors; or creative, like the work of Wichita Falls artist Pamela Moller.

This is the second year for the Decorator Show House.

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With 17 designers, more than a touch ofstyle