Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

This fully mature perennial bed features Salvia, Agapanthus, Canna Lilies and grasses. The colours may seem disparate, but the cohesiveness and balance are achieved as the tones are of similar vibrancy and the grasses have a muting effect. Bill Brooks photojpg

It felt as though she would never arrive. But at long last, summer officially starts today, June 20 at 3:43 pm MDT. After shivering through a particularly nasty February, a very late and chilly spring and the world seemingly on its knees, the arrival of summer couldnt be more welcome.

By now, annuals should be performing well. Dont forget to deadhead (remove spent blooms) to ensure continuous flowering all season long. Regular fertilizing should be maintained. Perennials (plants that come back every year) should be nearing their peak and its a good idea to make note of those that are working well and those that a disappointment so as not to repeat the laggards next year.

Starting a perennial bed from scratch is almost easier than upgrading an existing bed as often times the latter is looking tired, plant material is not performing as you would like and weeds or unwelcome thugs the likes of Creeping Campanula the bane of gardeners, are making their presence felt.

Say, for example, you want to replace a patch of lawn with a perennial bed or border. Ideally, said site receives at least four to five hours of direct sunlight daily. Shaded areas can work, but the selection of plant material that will thrive in these conditions is more limited than that of full sun to partial shade. If you dont need instant gratification and can wait until next spring to start planting, the easiest and least labour-intensive way to get rid of the lawn is to put layers and layers of newspaper on top of the grass where you want the new bed to be. Water the newspaper and then add a thin layer of manure and finish with a 10- to 15-cm layer of compost. Next spring, all you need to do is dig holes for the new perennials, add some compost to the hole and plant away. Its that easy. If youre fine with a fairly intensive workout and want to go from lawn to border in one season, either rent a sod cutter or dig the grass out, being certain to get all its roots or you will forever be digging out tufts of unwanted grass.

Silver is a great complementary colour to use in a perennial bed. It makes the yellows of the coreopsis shown really pop and it also tones down the brightness of the overall bed. Consider planting Silver Mound Artemisia, lavender, Russian Sage, Lamium or Snow in Summer to add silver to your perennial landscape. But be advised Snow in Summer can be very invasive. Bill Brooks photosjpg

An existing bed can be easily upgraded by adding five- to 15-cm of compost, well-rotted manure or any other organic material. Do not deep-dig in the new soil amendment. Simply leave it on top of the soil or rake it in, being mindful of existing plant material so as not to injure roots. Deep digging is actually detrimental to soil health. Digging and turning over the soil exposes a very delicate ecosystem to the air, which dries it out, and to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, which sterilizes the soil, killing the soil organisms. All the fertilizer in the world is not going to help your plants unless they are located in the proper location for their needs (light requirement being the most important), in healthy soil rich in nutrients.

My personal tastes lean toward an English/cottage garden border and my favourite perennial, the peony, is, unfortunately, taking its time to flower this year. Our harsh winter and unseasonably cool spring are to blame. If you are planting a peony for the first time, remember that the eyes should not be planted more than five cm deep, otherwise it will not flower. They also need at least four to six hours of sun and should be cut back in the fall after hard frosts. And yes, they do come with ants. Its believed the ants eat the sticky sap on the buds, thereby allowing the flowers to appear. Peonies are deer resistant and are fully hardy in our Zone 4 climate and will survive for many years. If you have to divide or move your peony, note that it may sulk for a year or two, so be patient.

Another top pick is the delphinium. These stately spires flower in myriad blues, white or pinks and are best planted in groupings of three to five at the back of the bed or border. They like quite a bit of moisture but are susceptible to delphinium worm, a bright green caterpillar that can wreak havoc on the plant within a matter of weeks. Cutting delphiniums down to 2.5 cm in the fall will minimize the critters re-appearance next summer. If there is limited infestation, hand-pick and squish the worms. If youre squeamish and there are a lot of them, spray with biological insecticide or companion plant lavender, sage or mugwort beside the delphiniums as a caterpillar repellant. Once they have flowered, cut the stalks back by about one-third to one-half and, if the gardening season is long enough before the first killer frost, youll get a second flush of bloom, although not as resplendent as the first. Stake the plants as the stalks are hollow and our windy city is not the place for unsupported delphiniums.

And what would an English border be without the queen of the plant world the rose? I could devote an entire column to the different types of roses, care and so on, but suffice to say, roses like full sun, lots of food and good air circulation. Other great choices for a full-sun bed or border include: black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia); daylilies (Hemerocallis); phlox; coneflower; alyssum; shasta daisy (but be careful on this one as the shasta is a sterile cultivar of oxeye daisy and it can revert to become fertile, as well as cross-breed with oxeye daisy to produce an invasive hybrid); dianthus; salvia; iris; and lilies, to name but a few. A note of caution on lilies. The red lily leaf beetle is a nasty pest that can destroy entire plants in a very short period of time. This brute is most commonly found on Asiatic and Oriental varieties and should be eradicated as soon as detected by either handpicking and destroying the larvae and beetle or spray with neem oil.

A selection of perennials to consider for a shaded bed or border include: Annabelle hydrangea; Ligularia; ferns; Bruneria; Hosta; Astilbe; Lupines; Bergenia; and Columbine.

So heartfelt welcome to the first day of summer! Although hearing on a weather channel that the days will start getting shorter from now on caused me to reach for the gin. Before noon, no less.

Original post:
Brooks: Heartfelt welcome to summer and the longest day of the year - The Kingston Whig-Standard

Michael Calore: Is that the new flavor of smoothie that shows up in your Hello Fresh box?

LG: Does Hello Fresh deliver smoothies?

MC: [Laughs] I don't know. You tell me.

LG: I don't know, but I'm intrigued. No, I'm going to explain what that means. Just keep that phrase in mind. Absolutely bananas insane.

[Intro theme music]

LG: Hi everyone, I'm Lauren Goode. I'm a senior writer at WIRED, and you're listening to Gadget Lab. I am joined remotely by my cohost, WIRED senior editor Michael Calore, who is back from a break. We missed you.

MC: Thank you. Thank you. It's great to be back, and it's great to see your face on the little postage stamp on my screen.

LG: I'm sure you missed Zooming in your time off.

MC: I did, yes.

LG: All right. "Absolutely bananas insane" is what WIRED's digital director, Brian Barrett, tweeted the other day when he shared his story about the harassment campaign that six former eBay employees allegedly launched against a Massachusetts couple who happened to run an ecommerce news site. And that is what we're going to talk about first on today's podcast. Brian, thanks for coming on Gadget Lab.

Brian Barrett: Thank you guys for having me back.

LG: Then later in the show, WIRED's Lily Hay Newman is going to join us to take us through the details of a troubling Russian disinformation campaign. But first, I'm just going to call this story bananas eBay. Is that OK? Can we just call it bananas eBay? I think that's what it says in the court documents, right?

BB: Yep. I think so. Allegedly bananas eBay.

LG: A criminal complaint released this week by the Massachusetts District Attorney's Office lays out this series of bizarre allegations that former eBay executives coordinated a long outrageous harassment campaign. Brian, take us through the details of the case. How did this all start? What do we need to know?

BB: Well, I will just give you the speed-run version, because there are too many details. It's a 56- or something page criminal complaint, and every page is more bizarre and alarming than the last. So it all started last August. Two eBay executives who we now know to be the former CEO and the former head of PR we're texting each other, complaining about a site called EcommerceBytes, which they felt was covering eBay too negatively. The former CEO says to the former head of PR something to the effect of, "Take her down." That was in one of the texts. And that launched an alleged caper that lasted for two or three weeks. One thing I want to make clear is that everything here, nothing's proven. There's still a legal process to play out, and the two executives in question are not charged with anything. It's sort of a Thomas Beckett, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" situation. It feels like where they handed the ball to their head of global security and he ran with it and threw it at a middle-aged couple from Massachusetts.

LG: So what exactly did they do?

BB: We have six eBay employees and contractors, all of whom have left the company since or were fired, who plotted a bizarre campaign to harass this couple. The strategy was two-pronged. One, they were going to mail increasingly disturbing packages to their home that included live cockroaches, a Halloween mask that looked like a bloody pig's face, live fly larvae, live spiders, a funeral wreath, and a book about how to cope with a dead spouse. This is a married couple. Phase two was to create a phony social media profile that would continually batter these people with DMs, taking credit for all of the deliveries that were going on. Eventually, in a huge galaxy brain strategy moment, the eBay employees said, "You know what? We're going to make this couple feel like they're under attack, and then step in as eBay and solve their problem for them so that they will be nice to us."

See more here:
eBay and the Deliveries You Never Wanted - WIRED

For better and worse, Grand Theft Auto Online has been updating since it was released in 2013. Some updates brought back beloved characters from the single player campaign, while other updates added wacky situations to the game. While some of these updates pleased fans, others made them wonder what Rockstar was thinking.

RELATED: 5 Things That Saints Row Does Better Than Grand Theft Auto (& 5 Things It Does Worse)

Updates forGrand Theft Auto Online can range from adding new missions to the game to allowing players the tools to make their own maps. For any fan of the online portion of the game, there is most likely an update that has either left them pleased or left them disappointed and wanting more. Here are the five best and five worst updates onGrand Theft Auto Online.

While it is pretty nice that snow was added to Los Santos, it did not last and neither did the items the player could get. Clothes were added in the update, allowing the player to look like snowmen, elves, or reindeer. The sad part is that the clotheswould vanish forever if the player took them off after the update passed.

This is not the first updateGTA Online received, so it makes no sense why they would take away the items. The player had to pay for these items with their money, making it odd these clothes would disappear forever.

This update allows the player to buy and operate a nightclub in Los Santos. Aside from this, the player can go to their friend's nightclubs and dance the night away. Tony Prince makes a comeback fromGrand Theft Auto IV,too, which is a treat for older fans.

Also included in the update are new clothes and vehicles, such as the blimp and theflying motorcycle. There is a lot for players ofGTA Online, giving them either new vehicles or new missions to promote their club.

This update does not even have a name, if that says anything. This update added the Drop Zone mission for adversary mode, while also adding two new vehicles that can be upgraded at Benny's garage.

RELATED: The 10 Weirdest Grand Theft Auto Mods Ever

No new clothing was added, despite new clothing being used for the adversary mode. Only about a week later, Rockstar released the Valentine's update for 2016. It seems like this update could have waited the week to release.

The Cunning Stunts update focused entirely on racing, adding new tracks and racing cars to the game. What was also added was giant tubes and rings of fire to be added to custom race tracks. Fans of the racing inGrand Theft Auto Online will definitely love this update.

The races offered in this update has the player drive through tubes that are suspended up above downtown Los Santos. New outfits are added, too. These outfits take inspiration from real racing suits and motocross suits.

The Beach Bum Update was the first update introduced toGrand Theft Auto Online. Beach clothing and beach vehicles were added, but these outfits do not really change from what the player was able to buy already.

It might have been the first update and Rockstar might have learned what players want, but it was still a bit of a disappointment. The only upside was the addition of a van you can paint a shark onto.

The Bikers update allows the player to start their own motorcycle club with their friends. Also included are new motorcycles and outlaw clothing to make the perfect gang. Also added is the ability to use melee weapons while riding a motorcycle.

Fans of theLost and DamnedDLC fromGrand Theft Auto IV will definitely enjoy this update. With Rockstar giving players double rewardsat random times for doing biker missions, it is worth forming a club.

The High Life update added new clothes, vehicles, and the ability to buy a second property. More jobs were also added for the player to complete. The bad part, though, is a new mental state system was added to the game.

The mental state of a player will rise as they kill NPCs, players, and blow up cars. This will rise, even if the player is killing in self defense. It might not seem like a big deal, but it will lead to players being more likely to kill you.

This update added a casino, allowing players to gamble and own their own penthouse. New missions were added to the game relating to the casino, such as attacking the current owner soTao Cheng becomes owner. Also included were new survival missions, new races, and new vehicles for the player to buy.

RELATED: 10 GTA V Locations That Are Based On Real-Life

Content forRed Dead Redemption II was also added, in a way. By collecting 54 cards, the player will be rewarded with an outfit onRed Dead Online. With this update, players are finally able to see inside the casino and gamble with their friends.

This update was added to celebrate the 4th of July. Added was a musket, fireworks, and vehicles with American flag decals. As cool and fittingly patriotic as these additions sounded, the one majorissue is a lot of this stuff is only available once a year.

Much like the Holiday Special, players are only able to buy this gear when the event happens. This means if they miss the 4th of July, they have to wait an entire year if they want a musket or fireworks. Additionally, this means players would have to ration their fireworks for an entire year before they could get more.

The Heists Update was finally added to the game on March 10, 2015. This added heists the player could do with their friends, while offering a quick way to earn money. The heists are different from ones found in single player, making them truly unique.

Heists can range from robbing drugs from gang members to robbing a bank and escaping on motorcycle. Also included are new vehicles, such as an armored car and attack helicopters. The heists are a fun way to work together with friends, trying to do better each time a heist is started.

NEXT: Grand Theft Auto: 10 Best Cheats In Franchise History (& How To Do Them)

Next 5 Underrated Simulation Games For Playstation 4 (& 5 That Are Overrated)

Brian Winters is a video game fan from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He goes to The University of Southern Mississippi and works for the school paper. His favorite video game series are 'Half-Life', 'Fallout' and 'Metro'.

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Grand Theft Auto Online: 5 Of The Best Updates (& 5 Of The Worst) - GameRant

Dani Fitzgerald @dfitzgeraldb

ThursdayJun18,2020at4:41PM

A local paving company on Wednesday took it upon itself to pave a neighborhood road free of charge.

HOPEWELL TWP. A local paving company on Wednesday took it upon itself to pave a neighborhood road free of charge.

Road Star Paving, an Aliquippa-based paving and sealing company, was paving a driveway in the 1700 block of Glen Road in the township and had some of its asphalt mix leftover.

"There were big pot holes in the road, especially in front of their driveway," said John Rudder, a foreman with Road Star Paving. "They had a really bad spot down the road. So instead of taking the mix and dumping it, we just took care of it."

Wendy Gates, who lives down the road, said the workers with Road Star Paving are a diverse group of people who work together as a strong unit.

"They paved the road using their own funds and out of the goodness of their heart," said Gates. "The (crew) works together like a fine-oiled machine.

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Pave the way: Local paving company helps out neighborhood - Ellwood City Ledger

Fresh tar and pavement.Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

Middletown Township is moving forward with repaving a number of local roads.

At their meeting last week, the Board of Supervisors approved hiringGeneral Asphalt Paving Company of Philadelphia for$926,364.75 to repave3.8 miles of roadway.

The township will repave Heatons Mill Drive, Heatons Mill Circle, Branford Way, Colby Lane, Huntingdon Place, Windham Drive, Alberts Way, Bernick Drive, Cambridge Drive, Choate Court, David Drive, Exeter Court, Hanover Court, James Court, Waldon Road, Silverlake Road, and Swift Road.

As part of the contract Middletown will repair and repaveTownship Line Road/Big Oak Road as it runs from the West Trenton Line tracks to the I-295 bridge. In February,Pat Duffy, the now retired director of zoning and building, said the section of Township Line Road isdeteriorating badly.

The work will also include repaving the parking lot Firefighters Park off Poplar Street, add a walkway to the basketball courts at Firefighters Park, repave the entrance driveway to Harris Park off Harris Avenue, and the pave a parking area that can be used for township storageat the old Langhorne Spring Water Company property off Hulmeville Avenue.

New Building and Zoning Director Pat Ennis said $400,000 of the project will be paid for byPennDOT liquid fuel tax funds.

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Middletown Will Repave 3.8 Miles Of Road This Summer - LevittownNow.com

The Texas Department of Transportation has announced the road construction, repair and improvement projects planned this week for the Paris District, which includes Hunt County:

SH 66, Hunt County: from near FM 6 to near FM 2642. A project to widen the pavement, install continuous left-turn lanes, and safety-treat fixed objects is underway. The contractor is working on driveways, and at county road intersections. Please be aware of lane closures, and watch for work zones and workers in this area.

FM 2194, Hunt County: between Merit and FM 903, a project that begins May 27 will widen the shoulders and apply safety treatments to fixed objects. The contractor will be placing SW3P devices and removing and installing driveway culverts. Please be careful when traveling in this area.

SPUR 264, Hunt County: in Quinlan. Sidewalk improvement project. The contractor is currently seeding and watering, sidewalk construction is complete. Please be careful when traveling in the area and watch out for workers.

FM 816, Hunt County: FM 816 at Spring Creek in Wolfe City. Contractors are working on erosion and riprap repairs. Please be careful when traveling in this area and watch out for workers.

Hunt County mowing contractors will be working on I-30 at various locations in Greenville, Texas, and on FM 36 and FM 903. Mowers will also be working in Rains County on US 69. Please be careful when traveling in these areas, watch out for workers and maintain a safe distance from these work crews.

Debris and litter operations are ongoing throughout multiple parts of the county. Please be careful when traveling, and watch out for workers.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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TxDOT announces construction, repair and improvement projects for this week - Herald-Banner

BUTLER COUNTY

Several major projects that have been underway in Butler County are very near completion, including the $20 million Union Centre Boulevard diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 75.

For the next two nights the on and off ramps at UCB will be restricted with lane closures on the northbound I-75 side from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to paving work, which signals the end of the project is near.

Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens had hoped with lighter traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic the project might wrap up by July 4 but now it is looking like it will be open in early August as was originally forecast.

Theyve lost some ground on that and it looks like its going to be on track to be finished when they said. Wilkens said. For some reason, I dont if they didnt put people on it or what but they ran into some minor issues, but nothing thats not on track.

The plan is to close the bridge for four or five days drivers can still exit and enter the interchange they just wont be able to cross bridge and that will likely occur the week after the Fourth from Wednesday to Monday.

Likewise work on phase two of the $3 million Tylersville Road widening that switched briefly from a night-only project due to the estimated 50,000 cars that pass through daily to night and day construction, is back to work only at night according to Wilkens. It will be finished in early July.

RELATED: Big Butler County road projects ahead of schedule as roads clear for coronavirus shutdown

The project entails adding a westbound lane on the north side of the road from the interstate to Cox Road. To make that happen, access driveways to the rear of the eateries near Home Depot must be moved. There will now be two access roads to the rear service road, the current one at Dudley Drive and a new one that will run through the old Sunoco gas station site.

Several other detour causing projects are are either complete or nearing completion. The commissioners approved a $5.5 million contract for the Liberty Fairfield Road widening project last year. The project included adding a center turn lane, widening the shoulders, adding street lighting at intersections and adjusting the vertical profile between Princeton and Millikin roads.

The project started in Liberty Twp. last summer and crews finished working on the Fairfield Twp. side of the road last week.

The drainage project on Beckett Road in West Chester is supposed to be finished by July 4 and the roundabout at LeSourdesville West Chester and Beckett Ridge is on track for an early August opening.

Several projects are upcoming, including widening Gilmore Road at the Ohio 129 overpass in Fairfield Twp., the Butler Warren Road and Liberty Way intersection improvement and a bridge replacement on Hamilton Mason Road in Liberty Twp. The commissioners recently approved a $1.7 million contract for the the bridge project that will begin July 6, which was around $600,000 below the estimate.

Wilkens is anticipating an approximate 35 percent drop in gas tax revenues due to the stay-at-home orders. He said it will not have a huge impact on this years budget but the reduction could hurt next year.

We had a little bit of carryover so we could budget our way through that, but as we move into the following year were going to be a little more cautious of it and see where it goes Wilkens said. Were not living on razors edge right now, but were getting closer because we had three major drop in projects.

Wilkens had about $1 million in unexpected projects crop up this year. A hole opened up on Cincinnati Dayton at the border of Liberty and West Chester townships; a bridge went out on Elk Creek Road at Ohio 122 west of Middletown and a landslide also occurred on that road south of Ohio 122.

Almost $7.2 million worth of resurfacing work is also underway, it is largely fueled by the gas taxes in most communities. Last year the legislature authorized a gas tax hike and also allowed communities to impose an additional $5 vehicle registration fee. Hamilton was the first jurisdiction to impose the added fee and Ross Twp. trustees recently followed suit. Liberty Twp. trustees have tabled that idea for now, public hearings would have been required.

Bottom line is we did put it on hold, Liberty Twp. Trustee Tom Farrell said. I think the consensus was to move forward and then we had the corona hit and the comment was made do we really want to go to open meetings during this pandemic and ask for more money and thats when we put it on hold.

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Some major Butler County road projects nearing completion: Where traffic will improve - Hamilton Journal News

Photo from QFC preliminary plan submitted to City.

Graphic from QFC preliminary plan submitted to City.

According to early plans the proposed QFC Fuel Center would be located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Evergreen Way and 50th Street, in the City of Everett, Washington; a portion of the parking field serving the adjacent QFC Food Center, within the Claremont Village Shopping Center.

The area impacted by the proposed development is approximately 22,000 square feet ( 0.51 acres).

The project narrative says the current proposal calls for the construction of a new QFC Fuel Center featuring a 43- by 92foot fuel canopy (3,956 SF) with five (5) multi-product dispensers (MPDs), creating ten (10) vehicle fueling positions (VFPs) and an 8- by 23-foot (184 SF) cashiers kiosk (see Figure 4).

The project will also feature the installation of two (2) new underground storage tanks (USTs); one 20,000-gallon UST for regular the storage of regular unleaded fuel and one 18,000-gallon dual/split UST (8,000-gallons for the storage of premium unleaded fuel and 10,000-gallons for the storage of diesel fuel). The QFC Fuel Center will be capable of unattended operation (24/7/365), but attendants will be onsite during regular business hours and for all fuel deliveries.

Related site improvements may include asphalt paving, exterior lighting fixtures, signage located on the fuel canopy fascia, perimeter and interior landscaping, and the use of an existing access driveway for fuel customers and deliveries. The project also calls for the loss of as many as fifty-six (56) parking stalls.

This project is still in the preliminary stage. No word when they might be seeking public comment.

My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring breaking news and events in Everett, WA. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett. It's written by Leland Dart a former Snohomish County based radio reporter born and raised in Everett.

Excerpt from:
QFC Proposing Fuel Center At 50th And Evergreen Way - My Everett News

A SCOTTISH company aiming to tackle the major problem of charging electric vehicles for people without off-street parking options has raised 4.1 million to support development and growth of its flat and flush points.

Aberdeen-based Trojan Energy estimates 10 million people in the UK and 100 million in Europe park their vehicles on the street. It declared that switching to electric vehicles could potentially reduce European carbon dioxide emissions by more than 120 million tonnes annually.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell: Conservatives will be judged on unemployment misery from coronavirus crisis so they had better listen

The firm flagged its belief that, to date, councils have been reluctant to install on-street charging points because of their cumbersome size and space requirements on pavements. Trojan Energy notes its charging points are flat and flush to the pavement, removing the need to sacrifice pedestrian space.

It said: Users simply carry a charging lance in their vehicles and plug the lance into the connector point to start charging.

Trojan Energy has received 1 million of investment from business angel syndicate Equity Gap, Social Investment Scotlands SIS Ventures, Aberdeen-based Alba Equity and Scottish Enterprises Scottish Investment Bank arm. The equity funding unlocks a further 3.1m from state-backed agency Innovate UK.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell: Will anything make Johnson and Co. stop Brexit folly in its tracks?

The funding will enable Trojan Energy to advance testing and certification of its product, with the aim of installing the first 200 units for Brent and Camden councils in London by early next year. Trojan Energy plans to follow the roll-out of its on-street product with a similar driveway offering for homeowners, which it says will eliminate the need for posts or wall-boxes.

The company, while noting the UK remained its immediate focus, highlighted longer-term plans to export to other European countries, India and China, and its aim of capturing a large part of the emerging global on-street charging market.

Ian Mackenzie, chief executive of Trojan Energy and one of four founders who between them retain a majority stake in the firm, said: This is such an important milestone. Ever since we started this business, we have wanted to ensure that the benefits of the low-carbon transition can be realised by everyone and not just those with a driveway.

He added that the firm had "engaged in positive discussions with several councils throughout Scotland, all of whom are keen to see the results of the London roll-out".

Equity Gap director Fraser Lusty said: Trojan Energy and its strong Scottish team...have brought their expertise from the oil and gas sector to partner with industry, energy suppliers and councils to help accelerate the adoption of EV-usage in dense urban areas where the technology is needed most.

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'Milestone' in drive to bring electric vehicle charging to people without driveways as 'flat and flush' innovation wins funding - HeraldScotland

At the exact moment I wheeled the 2020 Telluride into my in-laws Eastern Washington driveway, the trip odometer read 2858.4 miles. The four-day drive spanned the continent, from Brooklyn, New York to Washington states far-flung farm country, with more than 45 hours of wheels-on-pavement drive time. The trip was a real white-knuckler, tinged with the urgency and paranoia only a pandemic could bring.

You can read all about that trip and its myriad foibles in the June, 2020 issue of Road & Track (which should have arrived in your mailbox by now). More specifically, I want to talk about the machine that conveyed me, my wife, and our cat and across the country safely: the 2020 Kia Telluride.

The Telluride is a three-row, unibody SUV that will cause Lexus shoppers fits. Its interior quality matches the midsize luxury SUVs from Japan (and most of the Germans), and betters them all when price is factored. Our top-of-the-line tester begs $46,860 from your wallet. Every penny felt defensible from the Tellurides cockpit. The drivers seat is supple, trimmed in soft leather, infinitely adjustable. A crisp ten-inch touchscreen anchors a simple, logical infotainment suite. Physical buttons flourish along the compact console. Materials lining the cabin feel upscale. Theres wireless phone charging, heated and ventilated front seats, acoustic glass to cut road noise, and probably a dozen USB ports. If the Stinger was a shot over the bow of Japanese luxury, the Telluride is something far greater: a direct hit.

On the first morning of our trip, I wheeled the Telluride out of Brooklyn and picked up Interstate 80 at the Pennsylvania border. The Telluride settled into an easy gallop, having conquered New York's cracked pavement in sublime comfort. The SUVs 3.8-liter, naturally aspirated V-6 hummed along the interstate, nearly silent, aided by a seamless 8-speed automatic. While the engine produces just 291 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 262 lb-ft at 5200 rpm (not huge grunt for a 4300-lb ute by 2020 standards), its a reminder of the playful joys of natural aspiration.

The Telluride shined on Americas interstates, with easy road manners and that smooth, quiet, efficient V-6 mill. By the end of our trip, I calculated 23.8 mpg. For a crossover with a curb weight cresting two tons, equipped with a luxurious and isolated cabin, thats impressive.

Other high points: The captains chairs in our top-of-the-line Telluride SX were brilliant. I cant think of another time Ive written about a second or third row in a review, unless the seats filling those rows were rigid as The Iron Throne. Im a tall-ish human, but the Kias second row is a happy place to be. Headroom, legroom, knee roomthe Tellurides first two rows have clearance and comfort in spades.

And we did more than drive the thing cross-country; my wife and cat and I slept in the Tellurides cargo area on the trip (avoiding contact, social distancing, long story). The third row seats fold flat. The second row chairs do, too, but youll need some luggage to fill out the gaps between the seats and create a seamless surface. Arranged thusly, theres room for a queen-sized memory-foam mattress pad, some food, and luggage. That allows comfort and isolation from the elements. If your version of camping leans toward #vanlife, this is a great option. (Consider a roof rack though, so the front seats dont double as food storage).

But my favorite of the Tellurides myriad features was Glenda. Let me explain. Some cocktail of relief and fatigue gripped our minds on the interstate just outside NYC. I set the Kias cruise control to cut the edge off the journey and noticed the steering wheel constantly nudging our Telluride back to the lanes center.

This cruise control wizardry is described by Kia in alphabet soup acronyms, but their net effect is miraculous: autonomous driving you actually want to use. My wife and I named Kias invisible hand Glenda. Its catchier than Highway Collision Assistant or Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance, and the name rolled off our tongues like a song when spoken with phony Oklahoma drawls. (I blame the accent on repeated viewings of The Tiger King.)

Glenda is damned good at her job. But not perfect. Especially approaching off-ramps, which shell dive toward if left unattended. This caused clenching incidents of a severity. We rebuked Glendas indiscretions loudly, full drawl: Gall dar-nit Glenda! Stay off the edge of the lane! When she straddled the center line for a quarter mile: Was that whiskey in your coffee this morning, Glenda? Or when she dove toward yet another off-ramp: WELL SHOOT GLENDA ARE YOU TRYINTA GET US KILLED?!

But ultimately, Glenda Take the Wheel became the journeys giddy refrain. For all the joking, Glenda freed up valuable mental bandwidth. My eyes searched the horizon for deer more often and scanned through corners for stalled cars, freed from the need to constantly consult the asphalt under my nose. We felt relaxed under Glendas watchful eye. Id say 90 percent or more of our 3000-mile trip was driven by Glenda. Of the autonomous driving suites Ive triedand I've tried them allI trust this one the most. Bless your silicon heart, Glenda.

In Car and Drivers review of the Telluride, they cite just one complaint: the Kias so good, theres almost nothing to complain about. Thats mostly true. For most Americans use casescommuting, family hauling, grocery-gettingthe Telluride will fit the bill perfectly and do it better than any other midsize SUV. But if youre looking beyond nine-to-five duties, I have just a couple caveats to the praise.

The first is power. On Idahos Fourth of July pass, the final physical hurdle to our Washington safe haven, the Tellurides drivetrain strained against incline and altitude. The transmission seemed unwilling to hang in a lower gear up the mountain pass unless you stomped the fast pedal waaaaaay down. Then the engine alternated between high-rev shout and relaxed burble, but never settled on either. It was one of the few times on our trip the powertrain felt out of sorts. The compromise here is longevity versus powerwe expect Kias V-6 to be very reliable in the long haul. But when the transmission is hesitant to downshift when you need a lower gear, or hold that gears when it finally does, you start to question that tradeoff, and often pine for a wallop of turbocharged torque.

Swapping the Telluride into Sport mode seemed to help the transmission hold gears longer, but ultimately didnt cure the drivetrains indecision or effort. Power lives high up along the Telluride's tachometer, where the engine sounds and feels least refined. If youre hauling kiddos up to a ski slope regularly, or commuting in a mountainous city, this might be enough of an annoyance to aim your dollars elsewhere. That lack of grunt also had me questioning the Tellurides claimed towing capacity. Kia says its SUV is good to tow 5000 lbs. I wouldnt push the limits of that figure if you're heading into the mountains.

Which brings me to my second niggle with the Telluride. This crossover is heavily marketed as an SUV. At auto shows, the Telluride pranced around on off-road sets to show off its theoretical prowess. That label comes with expectations of capability. Now I wont go into huge detail (again, read the June 2020 magazine piece), but I got the Telluride stuck in silt in North Dakota during some light off-roading. It was my fault. I didnt steer around some ruts when I should have, plain and simple.

But the experience opened my eyes. As versatile as mid- and full-size CUVs have become, they still lack the robust functionality of a true body-on-frame SUV. Firstly, any body-on-frame SUV would have had an easy spot to hook a tow rope. The Telluride has none.

When I got the Telluride buried up to its rockers in mud, I had to crawl on my belly and dig out a path for the tow strap to loop around the lower control arm once help arrived. I was covered in wet silt for the next hour as the sun went down. Im still digging the dried clay out of the pockets of my jacket nearly two months later. Really. A single removable panel on the Telluride's front or rear bumper, and a threaded hole to attach a tow eyelet, would have done the trick.

Would any other midsize CUV have done better to dig out of the silt? Maybe not. I suppose the lesson was cautionary: If you head off-road in one of these things, either bring better tires, a better driver, or a tow company on speed dial. Maybe all three, if you can. Because the Tellurides locking center differential did nothing to help free me from the mud. It simply allowed one-tire fire from both ends of the vehicle. Neither did the Kia's tires help. They tiptoed through a couple inches of wet snow in Livingston, Montana, but otherwise seem aimed at a life lived entirely on pavement. I'll always remember those tires whizzing against the North Dakota mud: the sound of disappointment.

The whole point of the SUV moniker is Utility. Many Americans actually utilize their SUVs. What does a Telluride owner do if they slide into a snow bank? Theres no locking front or rear differentials to save you. Unfortunately, an expensive tow may be your only option. Do you have cell service on the mountain? This lack of ultimate capability would be fine if Kia didnt bank on off-road imagery to garner credibility. (Remember this Super Bowl commercial where the Telluride, fitted with an aftermarket snorkel, fords water up to the waist?)

Still, these are less major complaints and more warnings. Buy the right tires for your Telluride. Assess trail risks better than I did. Go with God. The Telluride is still a versatile, comfortable, value-packed CUV. And an honest triumph for Kia.

Its handsome, too. After four days of nonstop use covering 2858 miles, wreathed in a layer of cracked mud like a crown, the Telluride had never looked better. I thought about why, even after being stuck in that North Dakota hellscape, I still liked the Telluride so damned much. No component on the thing is revolutionary. The engine is conventional and effective. The cars packaging, proportions, and design dont speak to the cutting edge. But this CUV is exceptional. Because theres a confidence about the Telluride. Its the first Kia product that, to me, stands solely on its own identity. Theres no wide Audi-chasing grille. No Tesla-esque tablet dominating the center console. Instead, the Telluride wraps a plush, intelligent, feature-dense cabin in confident, masculine sheet metal. Its not just the best midsize SUV on sale todayit has us wondering why the German and Japanese luxury equivalents cost so damned much. Whenever this pandemic mess ends, Kia should sell a million of the things.

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The 2020 Kia Telluride Is a Nearly Flawless Three-Row SUV - RoadandTrack.com