Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

by Jacqueline Raphael, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 11, 2012, Sunday

SUPPORTIVE: Archdeacon Solomon (standing centre) and church members at the site of the new St Columba Church building after yesterdays prayer session.

MIRI: The earthbreaking ceremony and piling for the first pillar for the new St Columbas Anglican Church building at Jalan Brighton took place with a simple prayer at the construction site yesterday.

The prayer session was conducted by the parish Vicar, Venerable Archdeacon Solomon Cheong.

We have carried out numerous fundraising drives among members and managed to raise about RM1.2 million to cover the construction cost.

But we are still in need of at least RM800,000 for furniture and fixtures, he told thesundaypost after the earthbreaking ceremony yesterday.

A fundraising dinner would therefore be held at Imperial Hotel on June 16 this year to raise the amount needed, followed by a carnival sales on Sept 1.The new church building expected to be completed by Nov 30 this year will have a floor area of 10,200 sq ft and could sit 1,000 parishioners.

It will have a main worship hall, altar and chancel, Lady Chapel, waiting room, vestry, arch room, gallery, patio and steeple.

St Columba Parish founded in 1922 was named after an Irish missionary in the sixth century. The first building was consecrated on March 18 that year by Bishop F S Hollis.

The second building was built in 1968 and the first building turned into a kindergarten until this day.

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Church still needs at least RM800,000

Brace yourself for the most maritally divisive piece of news you'll hear all week: married women do more housework than their husbands. Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank shows that eight out of 10 married women do more household chores, while just one in 10 married men does an equal amount of cleaning and washing as his wife.

Just over one in 10 women 13% say their husbands do more housework than they do, while only 3% of married women do fewer than three hours a week, with almost half doing 13 hours or more.

In short, the gender imbalance is alive and thriving in the British household, according to the IPPR, which says its research shows that, for real equality, society needs to see men to pick up the vacuum cleaner and do their fair share.

Patterns of housework have changed only slightly. More than eight out of 10 women born in 1958 said they do more laundry and ironing than their partner, while seven out of 10 women born in 1970 agreed.

"The revolution in gender roles is unfinished business," said Nick Pearce, director of IPPR. "Women still shoulder the overwhelming burden of household tasks, particularly after they have had children. When they earn more, their bargaining power with their partners increases, so closing the gender pay gap would help. Universal childcare, rather than tax relief for nannies or cleaners, is also the best way forward for a family-friendly, more equal Britain.

"On most key issues, the route to modern feminist goals must pass through fathers. Men should work more flexibly, take greater responsibility for caring for their children and their homes, and have the right to reserved parental leave," says the IPPR.

Last month David Cameron said that tax relief for people paying domestic staff, what critics call the "butler tax break", was "an interesting idea I want to look at further". The Swedish and Finnish governments allow people to deduct half the cost of household services such as cleaning, cooking, lawn-mowing and babysitting from their tax bills. It is said to have created more than 5,000 jobs in Sweden.

But the IPPR says that just entrenches gender injustice and only universal childcare can help beleaguered parents from being forced into traditional "breadwinner and homemaker" roles.

"Whenever we ask women about the most stressful thing in their lives, housework is at the top," said Siobhan Freegard of Netmums. "Nobody lies on their deathbed thinking, 'I wish I'd kept up with the housework', but it is a serious issue dividing couples and we have to ask why it comes back time and again. Are we really genetically programmed to be keeping the cave tidy while the man goes off to hunt? We're educated women, does housework really matter? Why do we care about it so much? Is it natural instinct or the root of inequality? Our kids see us arguing about it all the time and what are we saying to them about equality for women?

"For a long time it has been unfashionable to say that some women want to stay at home, to the point where women are now asking what happened to choice? Well, choice is gone for most women now. If you can afford to outsource cleaning and childcare, then you can keep your career, but we find it hard to outsource those roles. Maybe we disempower men. Women just get so fed up having to nag to get their partner to wash up that they do it themselves. We see women discussing what tricks to use withholding nookie is popular!"

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Forty years of feminism but women still do most of the housework

Long Island Pressure Washing Company, JM Pressure Washing launches new website with helpful tips on hiring the right power washing company.

Manorville, Long Island, NY (PRWEB) March 11, 2012

This season JM Pressure Washing has decided to launch a new website to keep up with the times. The website has many interesting and helpful function for residential homeowners as well as commercial business owners. Some of the functions of the site are:

The most interesting pages are photo gallery and homeowner tips, these pages are the ones getting big online views.

The photo gallery shows viewers before & after photos to display how nice a home, patio, deck or business storefront can look at being pressure washed. The before and after transitions amaze viewers and prove that a small investment in power washing can go a long way.

The homeowners tips was a page designed to help JM Presure Washing customers select the right power washing company.

Here are some of the tips found on the new website provided by JM Pressure Washing.

1- Make sure clients understand the risks associated with power washing. If clients are equipped with knowledge, it will help them minimize the risks. Client should be able to list down questions that will assist in weeding out contractors and narrow down the list of candidates. As a result, clients only have to choose among quality companies.

2-Make sure the contractor will visit the job site before providing a quote or estimate on the cost for their services. Clients can use this as a way to evaluate the contractor basing on how he calculates the cost and how he assesses the job site. In addition to the cost, the contractor should provide clients the success rate of the project.

3- Obtain more than one estimate or quote from different power washing companies. Getting more than one evaluation or estimate allows clients to compare each of them. If they want to find the best deal among the choices, clients need to invest both money and time into the project. With different opinions, they get specific information about the scope, processes and risks of the project.

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Long Island Power Washing Company, JM Pressure Washing Launches New Tips on Hiring Pressure Washing Company on their ...

19 Darley Road, Randwick, is a fine example of the suburbs federation homes.

Properties to look out for in Randwick.

About $2.7 million Built 1910 Land 670 sq m Auction March 20 Inspect Sat and Thu, 11.45am-12.30pm Agent Di Jones, 0407 601 857 Last traded for $1.65 million in 2001

Thankfully, all the grandeur originally bestowed on this Federation house has been retained. On an at-times busy road along Centennial Park, it has a high front privacy wall with a north-facing front courtyard that has space for two cars and a facade that - for once - doesn't hog all the charm to itself.

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The verandah has two entries: the main to a tiled vestibule with plaster ceilings and space for an umbrella stand or two, the second with leadlight windows to a study nook with arched doorway to the formal lounge room. The formal lounge and dining rooms have marble fireplaces, plaster ceilings and timber floors - the latter area also with french doors to a side courtyard with a water feature. The bedrooms and both bathrooms, all with ornate details and built-ins, line the western side of the house.

The kitchen and family room at the back are more recent additions and come with glass doors to a deep back terrace with a glass roof - a worthy improvement on the often clear-perspex variety. The terrace has space for entertaining and overlooks a level back lawn and a good-sized swimming pool at the back.

It's an elegantly proportioned house that nicely balances not only the number of bedrooms with the living areas but also the house size with that of the garden.

Room for improvement

It would be worth sacrificing the guest toilet and back laundry to open up the kitchen to an extended, full-length back terrace.

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Three of the best in Randwick

For the first time since the 1970s, the development of a hangar park is under way at Midland International Airport.

Three leases for executive hangars near the Commemorative Air Force already have been signed with the city of Midland, and a fourth will be finalized later this month. Director of Airports Marv Esterly said other contracts are in the works and calls continue coming in to claim the remaining hangars planned for the first phase of development. If interest remains at a steady level, Esterly said there could be two phases of new hangar developments complete within the next two years.

When the airport first set out to spur growth, he had estimated it could take 10 years to complete both phases.

"We have a lot of interest," Esterly said, walking toward a diagram of the first phase that will include the construction of nine hangars. "We're pretty sure we're going to fill this up by the end of the year."

With airlines continuing to cut capacity, Esterly said businesses and individuals are turning increasingly to private planes.

The number of general aviation flights leaving Midland -- which include non-commercial and non-military aircraft -- has risen more than 24 percent in January when compared with January 2011, according to data provided by Midland International Airport. For the fiscal year so far, fuel sales for general aviation activity are up 22.3 percent at the airport when compared with the same time period last year.

As that traffic has increased, so has the demand for a place to store corporate and private aircraft.

"It just seems right that we're having another boom, and we're expanding," Esterly said.

Path to growth

Esterly said that during the last boom, a company expressed interest in building a condominium hangar association to meet the needs of private aircraft owners. When the entity realized there were no utilities or roadways in the area, it deemed the project too expensive because of infrastructure costs.

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Oil boom leads to quick hangar expansion, airport director says

STUYVESANT The Stuyvesant Town Board has chosen Wainschaf Associates to construct the highway garage additions and renovations at a base bid of $276,940.

The board made the choice Thursday by way of a passed resolution at its regular meeting.

A salt shed project was the first phase of a larger capital project that includes the garage work.

Town Supervisor Ron Knott announced that the roof is going up on the new salt facility on Sharptown Road.

Construction costs were estimated at $759,000, but the latest bid choice by the board brings the capital project's total construction cost to more than $630,000.

A referendum vote on the capital project passed last year with 253 voters in favor and 170 against it. Since the summer results, the Town Board has taken steps toward completion of the project.

Bids opened March 6 and were reviewed by town Highway Superintendent Bernie Kowalski. Nine bids were received.

Also on the agenda, a presentation by Stuyvesant Trails Committee Chairman Sean Cummings outlined future goals for local trails and the towns section of the Kinderhook Stuyvesant Stockport Intermunicipal Trail plan.

Cummings explained that the Stuyvesant leg of the trail system would start at the intersection of the National Grid right-of-way and Smith Road. From there, the ROW bisects two large operational farms and briefly crosses Route 9 before meeting up with Sunnyside Road while paralleling the Kinderhook Creek on its way to the Stuyvesant Falls.

The cost to develop the trail from Smith Road to Stuyvesant Falls is roughly $400,000, Cummings said. He added that money to build bridges and develop the trail could come from matching grants and donations. He said that a license agreement with National Grid and the three municipalities involved, as well as negotiating easements with residents along the proposed trail, are also required.

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Wainschaf Associates chosen for Stuyvesant HW garage job

After being closed since late December, the Ocean Beach library celebrated its grand reopening on March 10, sporting a new roof along with fresh carpet and interior paint.

The 83-year-old library, situated in a city historically-designated building, had originally been approved for roofing through an infrastructure bond in 2008; it has since been targeted for closure multiple times by mayor Jerry Sanders, each time meeting fierce community opposition.

Library staff greeted returning patrons and passed out chocolates to children, though in the early afternoon the number of users was noticeably lower than usual.

Despite a call for volunteers to drop in and help prepare for the reopening, many shelves were still empty. Staff also said that while the recent updates did not include the installation of a self-checkout kiosk, they were expecting one to be installed within the coming months.

The branchs first day back in operation also marked the last day on the job for popular local librarian Bob Cronk, who was promoted and will move to the Scripps Ranch library. Throughout the day, Cronk received bittersweet farewells from local library patrons sorry to lose his service.

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Ocean Beach Library Reopens

For Tony Staab, sales manager of Rich & Sons RV Headquarters, having an indoor arena to showcase the best in the recreational vehicle industry has always been a dream.

Staab is the third generation of his family to have owned and operated Rich & Sons, which is fast approaching its 40th anniversary. The business is at 5112 S. Antelope Drive, just off Highway 281.

It will give our customers a good shopping experience, especially with Nebraskas weather, which can be extreme at sometimes, Staab said of the new showroom.

Rich & Sons is known not only for its wide selection of recreational vehicles but also for its parts department and customer service, which have kept people coming for nearly 40 years.

But we wanted to give them a state-of-the-art sales facility also, and we think we have done that, Staab said.

The indoor arena is about 11,500 square feet and can house up to 18 units at a time. All of the sales representatives are now next to the indoor showroom to allow for better customer service.

I have been planning this for years, Staab said. What we have done is to be able to put power to all the units we have inside.

That allows sales representatives to show the customer how everything works. With the vehicles inside and out of the weather, Staab said, they can also simulate what the RVs look like set up for a campground.

That allows us to show people that have not camped before what it feels like, he said. It is just a nice way of promoting and demonstrating what we are not able to do outside.

Construction on the new indoor showroom started last fall and was recently completed with a grand opening planned for March 22 through 24. Store hours are 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

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Rich & Sons adds large indoor showroom for RVs and campers

The Walmarts are coming.

In the wake of the Great Recession, Walmart is one major retailer with significant plans for expansion in Tucson.

The company has three new supercenters and two neighborhood markets in the works.

The discount retailer has identified Tucson as an area that's underserved when it comes to affordable shopping options, said Delia Garcia, a Walmart spokeswoman.

"Our goal is to improve access to affordable groceries for Tucson families," Garcia said.

Tucson's big-box retail market has been hit hard by bankruptcies and closures since 2008. National chains such as Mervyn's, Circuit City, Linens 'N Things and Borders book stores have left big spaces in shopping centers.

And as consumers reined in spending, discount retailers like Walmart, along with dollar and second-hand stores, have become increasingly popular.

With its one-stop-shopping model, Walmart fills a niche in the retail market, said Greg Furrier, a commercial broker with Picor Commercial Real Estate Services. In contrast, an electronics retailer like Best Buy, which sells destination products people are willing to drive for, won't have as many stores, Furrier said.

When considering whether Walmart presents a threat to other grocers, consumers don't generally change their habits unless they can save a decent amount of money, Furrier said. So more expensive grocers tend to be more vulnerable when a Walmart moves in nearby, he said.

The consumer market has recently shifted toward discount retailers - spurring the expansion of Walmart - but Furrier said there's no way to know for sure how long that trend will last.

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Walmarts on the march

WEIRTON - The Tri-State Home and Garden Show is fast approaching.

The annual event will take place Friday through Sunday at the Serbian-American Cultural Center. It is being presented through a joint effort by the Weirton Area and Jefferson County chambers of commerce, and coordinated by Beyond Marketing.

Major sponsors for the show this year include Weirton Medical Center, Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration and DeNoon Lumber.

The show is free and open to the public, with doors open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

The two chambers of commerce will hold a joint Business After Hours, open only to chamber members, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.

Weirton Medical Center is returning as a sponsor for the long-running area event.

The local hospital will offer free blood pressure checks, along with health information and giveaways. Representatives of the medical center will be on hand to answer questions from area residents.

"We're pleased that the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce host the Home and Garden Show each year," said Kevin Brown, director of communications for Weirton Medical. "It always draws a big crowd and gives local businesses the chance to showcase their products and services.

"For Weirton Medical Center, the show is a great opportunity to be in front of the public with important health information as well as information about Weirton Medical Center's programs and services," Brown said. "We hope the public comes out again this year to see the different vendors and experience the show."

Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration was founded in 1977 by Robert Contraguerro Sr. Through the years, the company has grown and worked on projects in more than 15 states, including taking part in hurricane relief up and down the East Coast.

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Home and Garden Show fast approaching