Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

From architects and specifiers to contractors and residential painters, the recently launched ppgpro.com website from PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - News) architectural coatings business helps paint professionals easily find the products, information and resources relevant to their needs.

Organized into five professional segments commercial, new home, multi-family, industrial and residential ppgpro.com delivers to visitors in two clicks or fewer targeted content such as most popular products, key services and support, color tools and ecological solutions.

Professionals can quickly find the products they need at ppgpro.com with a unique dynamic product search tool that offers more than a dozen filters such as brand, substrate and conformance standard. The search tool makes it easy to identify product features and benefits and to find and save Technical Data and Material Safety Data Sheets.

Additionally, sustainable-building professionals can find detailed information about PPG products compliance with governmental regulations, third-party certifications and LEED. The site also offers color tools and services for commercial and residential designers as well as a new intelligent retail locator and the latest PPG Architectural Coatings news relevant to professionals.

With ppgpro.com, our professional customers now have a one-stop shop for all of our products, services and support, said Dori Marks, PPG senior marketing manager. This makes it easier for customers to find specific, relevant and meaningful information.

PPG Architectural Coatings is an industry leader serving professionals and homeowners through a network of company stores and independent dealers across North America under the PPG PITTSBURGH PAINTS, PPG PORTER PAINTS and PPG brands. To learn more about PPG Architectural Coatings and PPG services, or to find a location that sells paints from any of the PPG Architectural Coatings brands, visit http://www.ppgpro.com.

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.

PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the worlds leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more than 60 countries around the world. Sales in 2011 were $14.9 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:PPG - News). For more information, visit http://www.ppg.com.

Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

Read the original:
New PPG Professional Paint Solutions Website Provides Comprehensive Online Tool

19-03-2012 09:58 Ace On the Job Episode 1: Home fire in Holyoke, MA where Gary Brunelle owner of Ace Fire & Water Restoration, explains the situation of that particular home.

More here:
Ace On the Job Episode 1: Home fire in Holyoke, MA. - Video

LONDON It's the past home of Queen Victoria and Princess Diana, the future residence of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge and, it's hoped, a stop on tourists' London itineraries.

Kensington Palace part museum, part royal abode is reopening to the public after a two-year $19-million makeover designed to give visitors a sense of what it is like to live in a centuries-old building that has witnessed both affairs of state and affairs of the heart.

Senior curator Joanna Marschner said she hopes the renovated building will shake up preconceptions about royal palaces, offering both the "big, glorious, golden rooms" that people expect, and a trove of more personal, revealing items from Queen Victoria's baby shoes to Princess Diana's little black dress.

"I hope what we have done will engage people who have always thought 'a royal palace is not for me,'" Marschner said Tuesday. "And for them to realize that these remarkable buildings part of the DNA of the city are for them."

Tucked into Kensington Gardens, a public park in central London, Kensington Palace is a warm red-brick contrast to gray Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II's London home.

It was home to six British monarchs, including Victoria, who spent her childhood here, and now contains several royal "apartments" actually Georgian houses, one of which William and Kate will move into next year.

It also has dozens of rooms that are open to the public. The public side of the palace reopens Monday, in time for a busy tourist season that includes the queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June and the summer Olympics.

Project manager Jo Thwaites, who oversaw the renovation, said the changes involved "peeling back the layers of Kensington Palace in order to reveal much more for visitors to enjoy."

Formerly shielded by hedges and fences that made its public entrance hard to find, the palace is now much more welcoming.

The entrance from the park lies beside a lovely ornamental garden surrounded by manicured lawns on which visitors are encouraged to dawdle. It comes as a surprise to find the signs posted there do not say "keep off the grass," but merely warn people to take care on steep slopes.

See more here:
Princess Diana's home reopens to public

New Delhi, Mar 20 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy was sworn-in as the Railway Minister of the country on Tuesday.

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil administered the oath of office and secrecy to Roy in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and other cabinet ministers.

Most of Trinamool Congress MPS were also present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to witness the ceremony.

Roy, who was the Minister of State for Shipping, is a close aide of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and is said to have been her first choice last year for the important Railway berth that she had vacated when she took over as West Bengal Chief Minister last May.

Roy's predecessor Dinesh Trivedi has been lauded by the Prime Minister, Cabinet colleagues and industry for his bold Budget, in which he announced an increase in train passenger fares, the first in nine years.

It was that move that also cost him his job. So upset was his party chief, that she first demanded his removal from the Cabinet and then forced him to resign.

Last week, Banerjee announced Roy's name as Trivedi's replacement, much before the latter had put in his papers.

However, the row over Trivedi exposed emerging differences and perceived erosion of ties between the Congress and its ally TMC.

For the past few months, the TMC has kept the Congress on tenterhooks on various issues of national and state concern, such as the price rise, allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the issue of establishing the NCTC, and Mamata Banerjee's decision to skip the Prime Minister's visit to Bangladesh last year. (ANI)

Read more from the original source:
Mukul Roy takes oath as Railway Minister

SYCAMORE GAF and Theisen Roofing & Siding Co. Inc. are partnering with Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County to provide roofing materials and professional installation for the organizations 11th build.

The latest Habitat house is the first the group has done in Sycamore. Installation and material donations are part of a national partnership between GAF and Habitat for Humanity, to match roofing materials donations from GAF with installation services donated by GAF Master Elite and Certified contractors in communities across the U.S.

We are excited to partner with GAF and Theisen Roofing on our first renovation project. We deeply appreciate Theisen Roofings commitment to our community and GAFs sponsorship of this program, said Jennifer Meschner, president of Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County. This donation will go a long way in keeping with our mission of building decent, affordable housing for families in need.

Theisen Roofing & Siding is one of more than 4,000 GAF Master Elite and Certified contractors eligible to participate in the partnership. The installed roofs will carry GAFs System Plus Ltd. warranty.

We are thrilled not only to be able to offer this contribution to an organization creating affordable housing , but also to be able to reinforce the efforts of our Master Elite and Certified contractors as they strive to support the communities in which they live and work, said Jim Slauson, vice president of certified programs and services at GAF.

We are so pleased to have this chance to work in partnership with Habitat to give back to our neighbors in DeKalb County, said Jeff Theisen, president of Theisen Roofing. We have a great sense of pride in knowing our work is part of a solution that creates affordable housing for families in our area.

Construction is expected to be complete by early summer. Roof installation will begin as soon as the weather permits.

Original post:
Roofing donated to Habitat home

On strikes, Samaras, Venizelos, corruption, Athens center

Re: Seamen's strike

We know so many friends who are not coming to Greece for holidays this year. They are not prepared to risk disruptions such as these.

David Wardle Selia, Crete

Elections

So slithering Adonis has welcomed back five of the MPs he expelled for voting against the second bailout; and just in time for the upcoming elections. Think Tony would have welcomed them back if he was polling at 40%? Of course the much publicised act of voting against the second bailout was offset by the much quieter act of voting for the laws that implement that very bailout. Seems like business as usual in Greek politics. Adonis and the honourable five must really believe the people are that dumb! The upcoming election will show us if they are correct in their assumptions. If charlatans like these get re-elected then the situation is truly futile and there is no hope of salvation for suffering Hellas.

On a positive note, cheers to Olympiakos for a fine run in the Europa.

John Dimitropoulos

Re: Interview with Juncker

I would advise against believing a word this gentleman says. He himself has admitted in an interview once that sometimes it becomes necessary for a politician to lie. He then went on to deny that a secret meeting would take place at a Luxembourg castle only to be later photographed at his arrival there. The saying goes One who lies once will lie again. So, there is no reason to believe him.

Follow this link:
On strikes, Samaras, Venizelos, corruption, Athens center

March 20, 2012 - Northwoods League (Northwoods) Green Bay Bullfrogs FrogVille, Wi- The Green Bay Bullfrogs have announced the roster additions of David Armendariz and Chris Hoo to the 2012 roster. Both players are sophomores at Cal Poly. The Mustangs are off to one of their best starts in recent years at 12-7 and are ranked #33 in the USA Today Division I baseball poll. Both players played significantly as freshman and this year have stepped into prominent roles for Cal Poly. During Head Coach Larry Lee's first nine years at the helm, Cal Poly has had 17 players drafted in the top ten rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft and has qualified for the program's first ever Division I baseball regional.

David Armendariz currently has settled into the middle of the Cal Poly order as their everyday left fielder. Armendariz, a native of Granada Hills, Calif, has appeared in each of Cal Poly's first 19 games, starting 18. In 70 at-bats, Armendariz is currently hitting .271 with one double, one triple and one home run. He leads the Mustangs with six stolen bases. While he has not appeared in any games on the mound for the Mustangs, Armendariz is expected to be a contributor out of the Bullfrog bullpen this summer.

Like many players that have suited up in Green Bay, Armendariz spent the summer following his freshman year playing in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL). A member of the league champion Corvallis Knights, the 6'1" Armendariz was named his team's Most Valuable Player and was named first-team all WCCBL on his way to leading the team with 23 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He was rated the 17th best prospect in the WCCBL by Perfect Game following the season and recently was named the 283rd best propect nationally for the 2013 draft by the same source.

Chris Hoo has been Cal Poly's starting catcher in 14 of the team's first 19 games. Hoo is quickly becoming known as one of the top defensive catchers in college baseball. While Hoo is hitting just .184 (9/49) thus far this spring, he is second on the team with four doubles. The Cupertino, Calif. native has thrown out an impressive seven of twelve baserunners attempting to steal as well as already picking off four baserunners. Hoo has been the anchor of a Cal Poly staff with an impressive 3.42 team ERA.

"Cal Poly sent us one of the most talented players in Bullfrogs history last summer in Mitch Haniger," Bullfrogs Field Manager Jordan Bischel said. "Coach Lee and his staff have made a priority of sending some of their very best players to Green Bay for the upcoming summer. We know David and Chris will be extremely talented and well-coached. David will provide a great combination of power and speed in the middle of our order while also being able to give us a low 90's fastball out of the bullpen. Top tier catching is getting harder and harder to find and Chris has proven to be one of the finest catchers on the West Coast. We fully expect him to be one of the very best catchers in the Northwoods League this summer."

The Bullfrogs open up their 6th season in FrogVille, Wisconsin on May 30 at 6:35 against the expansion Lakeshore Chinooks. Please call 920-497-7225or log on to http://www.greenbaybullfrogs.comfor more information. The Green Bay Bullfrogs are a part of the 16-team Northwoods League. The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate League in North America .

Discuss this story on the Northwoods League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Originally posted here:
Bullfrogs Sign Pair from Nationally Ranked Cal-Poly

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Over the course of his 24 years, Dustin Ackley has played every position on a baseball field. He was a catcher when he was 11 and 12. He pitched as a kid as well, enough so that by the time he reached college at North Carolina, he needed Tommy John surgery to repair an elbow that never recovered from his high school glory days.

Ackley played first base his final year at North Carolina in deference to the recovering elbow, but he was drafted by the Mariners as an outfielder, given his athleticism and success there earlier in his college career.

As the star athlete on his youth teams, he'd been asked to play shortstop and third base over the years as well.

The one position he'd never tried? That would be second base, of course, the spot where the Mariners shifted him shortly after he entered the organization as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 Draft.

But the versatile Ackley is finally feeling at home in his new home. So much so that he says he's hitting the ball much better this spring because he's had more time to focus on that part of his game, rather than worrying about learning a new defensive position.

And, yeah, it's reached the point where if you ask Ackley where he belongs on the field, he'd list second base.

"I definitely feel more comfortable there now than I would playing any other position," he said. "Second base was the last spot I hadn't played, but I've never played any one long enough to where I felt like, 'OK, that is my position.' But I've been playing second base going on three years now, and that feels natural to me now."

That is good news for the Mariners, because a comfortable Ackley could be a more productive Ackley. And without question, the youngster from Winston-Salem, N.C., is a huge part of the club's offensive hopes as a smooth-hitting left-hander who can hit for average and be a run producer as well.

"I'm real excited for this season," Ackley said. "I feel real confident this year, just how my body and my swing and defense feel. This is the best I've felt in a long time, so I'm hoping to continue that for the start of the season and just kind of carry it through the whole year."

Last season, Ackley was called up from Triple-A Tacoma in mid-June and immediately became one of the Mariners' best hitters. Despite a final-month slump when he was battling a sore leg, he hit .273 with 16 doubles, seven triples and six home runs in 90 games.

Read more:
Safe at second: Ackley comfortable at keystone

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The lowincome Department of Energys Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) has achieved many notable successes. Claims made earlier today in a report released by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Darrell Issa (R-CA), are a rehash of outdated and inaccurate misinformation about the program.

Timothy Warfield, Executive Director of the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) issued this statement in response to the report:

The House Oversight Committee was wrong in its characterization of the Weatherization Assistance Program. The program is state-of-the-art and was praised by the Government Accounting Office for influencing the direction of the private sector. While all accusations of inadequate work need to be addressed immediately by local program administrators, we agree with Secretary Chu that these examples cited in the report do not reflect the overall quality and success of the program. These instances are rare exceptions to an otherwise exceptional program.

The Weatherization Assistance Program, which has existed for more than 30 years, has been effective in reaching its goals to make homes of low-income families more energy efficient, safer, and healthier nationwide. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, the Weatherization Assistance Programs network of local providers weatherized approximately 700,000 homes nationwide, more than 100,000 homes than originally projected, resulting in families saving an average of $437 in heating and cooling costs per year at current prices.

Contractors engaged in the weatherization program are highly trained and have access to industry standard curriculum and resources. Weatherization crews use computerized energy audits and advanced diagnostic equipment, such as blower doors, digital combustion analyzers, and infrared cameras, to determine the most cost-effective measures appropriate for each home. To ensure cost effectiveness, crews install only those energy-efficiency measures that are determined by the energy audit to have an energy savings payback greater than the cost to install the measure.

In addition, during this extended period of high unemployment, the Weatherization Assistance Program is the second largest single job-creating program out of approximately 200 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus programs. The most recent results from the fourth quarter of 2011 found that the Weatherization Assistance Program created or retained 13,186 jobs during that period.

NASCSP urges the committee to review the Weatherization Assistance Program in its entirety, including its long history of successes, to give a more balanced depiction of this proven program.

About NASCSP

NASCSP is a professional association whose members are State administrators of the Department of Health and Human Services Community Services Block Grant and the Department of Energys Weatherization Assistance Program.

Read this article:
Report Paints Inaccurate Picture of State-of-the-Art Weatherization Assistance Program

Ball State is building the nation's largest geothermal heating and cooling system. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Kcflood

MUNCIE, Ind. -- On an unusually warm day on the campus of Ball State University, Jim Lowe is giving a tour of the campus's huge, half-completed geothermal system.

Lowe, the director of engineering, construction and operations for Ball State, peppers his explanation of closed-loop systems, chilling stations and boreholes with banter on college basketball games and the history of the school, founded by the makers of Ball canning jars.

"The irony is, they came here for the natural gas," said Lowe, of the university's founders' arrival to Indiana to take advantage of the fuel for glassmaking. "And now we're using it for renewable energy."

Ball State is building what will be in 2014 the largest district heating and cooling ground-sourced geothermal facility in the United States (ClimateWire, May 29, 2009). Completion of the first phase will allow the university to shut down two of its four coal-fired boilers, cutting carbon emissions in half.

The new system will avoid emitting approximately 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide, as well as 1,400 tons of sulfur dioxide, 240 tons of nitrogen oxide, 200 tons of particulate matter and 80 tons of carbon monoxide. The switch will save Ball State $2 million per year and shelter the university from U.S. EPA's upcoming Boiler MACT regulations for hazardous air pollutants.

Today, the university will announce the unveiling of the second phase of the project with recorded speeches from Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar (R) and a keynote speech by noted renewable energy advocate Amory Lovins, chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Other schools are interested Geothermal systems generate energy thanks to the laws of thermodynamics: Thermal energy -- or heat -- will flow from higher-temperature to lower-temperature objects. In this case, water flows through vertical pipes running underground. In summer, the earth pulls heat out of the water. The resulting chilled water is used in air conditioning systems throughout campus. In the winter, the cold ground creates the opposite effect: It warms water for renewable heat and hot water systems.

The vertical, closed-loop district system -- meaning the warm and cool water it makes does not make contact with naturally occurring groundwater -- will connect nearly 3,600 boreholes, 500-foot narrow vertical wells with loops of pipes surrounded by grout. The boreholes cover 25 to 40 acres, buried under an old soccer field, parking lots and other green fields.

The first phase began in May 2009 and became operational last November. In the second phase, the university will install 780 boreholes of the remaining 1,800 and will build a new energy station with two 2,500-ton heat pump chillers and a hot-water loop around the south portion of campus. Eventually, the system will bring heat to more than 5.5 million square feet.

View original post here:
How Ball State Will Get Its Heating and Cooling from Underground