Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Published 17 June 2020

Inverness city centre is set to receive an affordable housing boost after plans to redevelop the former Arnotts building in Union Street were given the green light.

The long-empty B-listed store, which was also a House of Fraser, will be turned into a mix of two and three-bed apartments with retail space on the ground floor.

Properties at 33-41 Baron Taylors Street will also be redesigned with shopfronts facing onto the street offering opportunities for new bars, cafs and restaurants.

Edinburgh-based developer Swilken Estates expressed its delight at the approval.

A spokesman said: This is fantastic news for Inverness. The development is due to provide 53 affordable houses and a further six new high street shops.

We also expect to create at least 140 local jobs during construction and support a wider regeneration of Union Street and the surrounding area.

Our priority now is to continue to work with the council to implement the plans we had in place before the onset of COVID-19 as soon as possible and try and make up for the lost time due to the delay to planning consent.

We are delighted to be making this investment in the town centre and to be supporting the creation of affordable housing and good quality commercial space to support the retail sector in Inverness.

Stewart Nicol, chief executive of the Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said the investment would be invaluable.

He added: It is superb news, my understanding is that it is a 15 million investment and that is coming from the private sector that is a massive injection of money into the city centre.

It is coming post-COVID so I am hopeful that having had the project approved the developers and the construction guys would be able to do a lot of the preliminary work so when they are given the green light they are ready to go.

I think the other aspect to that is the house building construction has been particularly badly hit so that is good news all round.

I understand that is mainly affordable housing so it helps get people on the housing ladder and it helps get people in and around the city centre spending their money and leading their lives.

Read the rest here:
Housing and retail plan approved for Inverness city centre - Scottish Construction Now

The communitys trees are important, and many that have been taken down due to the Emerald Ash Borer are currently being replaced.

About five more trees (that are not ash) on the north end of Riverview Park will come down that are dead and deceased. The goal is to plant more diversified trees suitable for the park in both the north and south areas of the park.

The efforts over the next three to five years will have a lasting imprint for the next 30 to 50 years.

Year to date, Nearly 200 trees were taken down and removed, City and private, due to the emerald ash borer. The City recently sent out another 50 letters informing citizens of ash trees still existing in their yard. The City would like to thank those property owners for being responsible and taking on the financial burden to have their dead and diseased trees removed. Dead trees can pose serious harm and at the property owners expense should they fall on a pedestrian or vehicle along with falling on power lines and causing power outages.

The Tree Board Commission volunteers Don Cummings, Bill Sieverding, and Warren Crouch continue to work hard and volunteer their time to help identify ash trees and other dead trees in the city limits along with being a valuable resource to homeowners. They have walked and driven the whole town a handful of times to locate and identify all public and private ash trees, making observations from the sidewalk and street.

The Tree Board continues to hear many compliments from arborists and tree nursey owners regarding the City and property owners efforts in being proactive and taking EAB serious. Many towns and property owners are not aware of the issue, have no plan, and have not taken any action to stay ahead of the game.

Under Chapter 6-13-9 of the City Code, the following is stated for Private Tree Maintenance:

The City shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased tree(s) on private property within the City when such tree(s) constitute a hazard to life and property or harbor insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees or property within the City.

The City shall notify in writing the owners of such trees. Removal shall be done by said owners at their own expense within sixty (60) days after the date of service notice.

In the event of failure of owners to comply with such provisions, the City shall have the authority to remove such tree(s) and receive full reimbursement from the property owner or charge such expense on the owners property tax notice.

Call City Hall at 872-4456 to arrange a meeting with a Tree Board Commissioner. If you have questions about a possible dead or diseased tree, what type of tree to plant, tree care, etc they can help you.

The City also has a new tree guide brochure available for citizens as we are encouraging tree variety. (Part of that brochure, showing the kinds of trees already planted, are pcitured on this page with a number key). This brochure identifies ten different trees along with providing some reminders when planting.

The City has seen an increase in the popular Autumn Blaze Maple tree and hopes the new tree brochure will help show property owners other attractive and appealing tree varieties.

The Bellevue Municipal Utilities also has a tree rebate program for newly planted trees that provide energy efficiently, reimbursement of 50 percent or up to a maximum of $200 per year.

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The Trees of Bellevue | News - bellevueheraldleader.com

MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) The Street Philosophy Institute created a petition last week calling for the removal of the Claude Neal tree located in front of the Jackson County Courthouse.

The particular tree being called for removal is the tree where the SPI believes the public lynching of Claude Neal took place back in 1934.

The night before Neal was lynched, he was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a 19-year-old white woman named Lola Cannady. A group of six men who called themselves the committee of six publicly lynched him and hung him from a tree in front of the Jackson County Courthouse.

Darien Pollock, the founder of the Street Philosophy Institute, originally created the petition to see how many people would sign it. In just two days, the petition received 3,000 signatures according to Pollock. Now, the petition has over 6,000 signatures.

It is not the first time that the trees on the courthouse square have become a topic of discussion, said Wilanne Daniels, Jackson County administrator.

SPI requested their proposal for the removal of the tree be added to next Tuesdays County Commission meeting.

Pollock isnt surprised by the amount of signatures the petition has received because he feels like since the death of George Floyd, the consciousness is prime for the petition because a majority of people have turned their focus toward racial injustices.

The NAACP chapter of Jackson County made their own statement in regards to the petition. The chapter has said they stand with the descendants of Claude Neal and take the position of the Claude Neal tree being preserved and not cut down. The chapter feels the tree can be used as a visual to teach the good and the bad history of Jackson County.

Pollock was disappointed in the chapters response.

So having a lynching tree, is just as much of a symbol of hate, something that we know, we verified that, as a confederate statue, said Pollock. I see no difference.

The proposal for the removal of the Claude Lynch tree is on the meeting agenda for next Tuesdays County Commission meeting. For more information on the next meeting, head to the Jackson County Commissions website.For the full press release from the Jackson County chapter of the NAACP, click the link below.

Link:
Local group starts petition calling for the removal of lynching tree - WMBB - mypanhandle.com

May 16, 1963 - June 13, 2020 Margaret Dana Mayo Houtman, of Lynchburg, Va., died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, June 13, 2020, after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Dana was predeceased in death by her father, John J. Mayo Jr. She is survived by her mother, Dorsey Davidson Mayo; her brother, John J. Mayo III (Rozita); and her sister, Katherine Mayo Earls (Robert). She is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews, Alison Gail Mayo, Ian Johnson Mayo, Milan Kozar Mayo, Charlie Kozar Mayo, Emily Katherine Earls, and Alex Cole Earls. Dana was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1963 and lived in Peabody and Lynnfield, Massachusetts before moving to Lynchburg in 1971. She graduated from E.C. Glass High School in 1981 and from University of Virginia in 1985 where she received a B.A. in Religious Studies. She also received a B.S. in Accounting from University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies in Falls Church, Va. in 2004. She worked in Northern Virginia for many years in the accounting field. Dana went on a missionary trip to Belgium during the summer of 1984 with an international group of students and she was invaluable to the group since she was fluent in French. Dana was very involved in her local church and in volunteer work with a local monastery in Northern Virginia as a young adult. In 2014, she graduated from Education For Ministry, an educational and theological four-year course sponsored by the Episcopal Church. Dana was a kind and gentle soul and will be dearly missed by her family and friends. There will be a celebration of life service in the fall or in 2021. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. John's Episcopal Church, 200 Boston Ave., Lynchburg, VA 24503, or to Centra Hospice, 2097 Langhorne Road, Lynchburg, VA 24501. The family would like to thank the Centra Hospice team for their invaluable care. Diuguid Funeral Service & Crematory, Wiggington Road Chapel, 385-8900, is serving the family. On-line condolences may be sent to http://www.diuguidfuneralservice.com. Diuguid Funeral Service & Crematory-Wiggington Road Chapel 811 Wiggington Rd. Lynchburg, VA 24502

Read more here:
newsadvance.com: Obituaries published June 17 | News - Lynchburg News and Advance

A woman is worried about the security in her home.

A woman is worried about the security in her home.

Photo: RapidEye, Getty Images

A woman is worried about the security in her home.

A woman is worried about the security in her home.

Dear Abby: Take over security responsibilities

DEAR ABBY: My husband has a bad habit of forgetting to lock up our house at night when he's the last one to come to bed. On nine occasions I have gone downstairs after he's in bed or awakened in the morning to find our sliding patio door or a garage door unlocked.

I cannot understand why this isn't a priority for him. If I'm the last one to come up for the night, I make sure each door is locked, lights are off, etc. It takes me less than a minute. We live in a suburb, and while our neighborhood is relatively safe and quiet, I'm not naive. I realize anything can happen anywhere.

We have two large dogs, but I have no idea how they'd react to an intruder. Frankly, I don't want to find out the hard way. The most frustrating thing about this is, when I try to talk to him about it the next day, he blows it off and says our dogs would never let anyone get far, or he makes a joke about it. I've tried many different approaches, from being calm and sweet to solutions-focused: "How can I help you remember?"

Recently, likely because I'm 37 weeks pregnant with our second child, I lost it and chewed him out after I waddled out of bed to go downstairs and found our sliding door unlocked. It didn't work very well.

I'm at my wits' end. It was one thing when it was just the two of us, but now we're about to have two kids under 2, and I get furious thinking he could be putting all of us in danger. He has taken no responsibility or steps toward fixing this.

I have now reached the conclusion that when I'm home, I must be the one who assumes the responsibility of ensuring our home is secure before we go to bed. But what if I fall asleep early or if I have to travel for work? Any ideas on how to address this with him?

Losing sleep over this

DEAR LOSING: You have already addressed this with your husband. That he is so careless about the safety of his wife and children is shocking. He appears to be very immature.

Because he seems incapable of assuming any responsibility for locking up, you are going to have to do it. There are high-tech ways to remotely lock doors from afar, and you should explore that option.

Also, for your own peace of mind, have a professional dog trainer or other experienced dog person enter your home through the unlocked door while you and your husband are upstairs because, while the dogs might not attack a stranger, they might alert you to the presence of an intruder. I suggest this because many years ago my very tame German shepherd did exactly that.

DEAR ABBY: Due to the coronavirus epidemic, handshaking is no longer being practiced. I have never been a fan of handshaking anyway. In the future, it may be acceptable to forgo handshaking altogether. What will be the best way to avoid it without seeming unfriendly or germophobic?

Resisting in Minnesota

DEAR RESISTING: Try doing what I do. I place both palms together in front of my chest as though praying, smile and greet the person. No one has been offended by it, and it's a common way people greet each other in India.

See the article here:
Dear Abby: Take over security responsibilities - The Hour - Thehour.com

Napa | $3.2 MillionA Carpenter Gothic house built in 1856, with four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, plus a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guesthouse, on a 0.2-acre lot

Built as the home of Johnson Horrell, a Napa County judge, and his wife, Sarah, this house was the first on its block. In 1890, it was moved to a new lot, now within walking distance of downtown Napa. In the late 1940s, the house was subdivided into apartments. The current owner, who bought it in 2015, turned it back into a single-family house and did an extensive renovation to restore its original splendor, using raw materials sourced from the house.

Size: 3,830 square feet

Price per square foot: $836

Indoors: The exterior has many elements of Carpenter Gothic style, popular in the United States in the mid-19th century: a steep, gabled roof, decorative bargeboard and a symmetrical facade anchored by a central pediment.

A walkway made of bricks repurposed from the home leads to the stoop. Behind the front door believed to be original is a long hallway and a curved wooden staircase, with a half bathroom tucked underneath.

On either side of the entry hall are formal entertaining spaces: to the left, a sitting room, and to the right, a dining room. Like the rest of the house, these rooms have period light fixtures added by the owner and refinished fir floors. Several paces beyond the sitting room is a study with wood panels and a redwood ceiling, both salvaged from other parts of the house.

At the far end of the hall is a family room with a wood-frame fireplace. It flows into a contemporary kitchen with marble counters and stainless steel Thermador appliances. On the far right side of the kitchen is a butlers pantry with a leaded-glass window.

On the second level are three bedrooms. At the top of the landing is a guest room large enough to hold a full-size bed and a bathroom with a wooden vanity and walk-in shower.

A hallway extends from the landing to a set of French doors that opens to a street-facing balcony. To the right is another guest room; to the left is the master bedroom with an en suite bathroom that has black-and-white-tile floors.

The third floor is now configured as a large bedroom suite with a bathroom that has a claw-foot tub, set under a window with views of the back of the property.

Outdoor space: Off the family room is a wooden deck with space for an outdoor dining table. The backyard is lined with stones salvaged from the original foundation, and a brick pathway connects the main house to a Craftsman-style guest cottage added in 1907, with a kitchen and full bathroom. To the left of the guest cottage is a carriage house with an attached barn, used by the owner to display artifacts recovered during the renovation and materials related to the homes early owners.

Taxes: $42,561 (estimated, although the home is eligible for reduced property taxes based on the Mills Act, which provides economic incentives to homeowners for the preservation of historic properties)

Contact: Agi Vermes Smith, Engel & Vlkers, 707-363-9896; the horrellhouse.com

The homes and apartment buildings of Herbert W. Burns, a self-taught architectural designer, marry the sleek lines of midcentury modernism with the soft colors and organic materials of the desert. This house, clad in Arizona sandstone, was partially demolished before being bought and restored by Thomboy Properties in 2019.

It is in the Little Tuscany section of Palm Springs, near a number of historic properties, including Richard Neutras Kaufmann House and homes by Albert Frey and E. Stewart Williams. Palm Canyon Drive, a thoroughfare with many bars and restaurants, is a five-minute drive.

Size: 4,700 square feet

Price per square foot: $681

Indoors: A block wall separates the front courtyard and the swimming pool from the street, and a concrete walkway leads to the teal front door.

To the left of the entry is an open-plan living area with terrazzo floors and sliding-glass doors. To the right is a wall of exposed brick with an inset fireplace.

A floor-to-ceiling planter divides the living area from a dining alcove with a built-in teak bar and an open kitchen with an island and new appliances finished in teak. Beyond the kitchen are a butlers pantry and a guest suite with a pool-facing bedroom and a bathroom with a large walk-in shower. Also on this side of the house is a laundry room that connects to the rear garage.

A hallway partially lined in glass brick, with a small row of planted succulents extends from the entryway to the left wing of the house. On the near end is a guest bedroom with a textured accent wall and an en suite bathroom with a teak vanity and a glass-walled shower. At the far end of the hall is the master suite, which has sliding-glass doors that open to the pool area; the bathroom has a double vanity and a soaking tub brightened by a hanging starburst light fixture.

Outdoor space: To the right of the main house, forming a courtyard around the pool, is a two-bedroom guesthouse with terrazzo floors. This space has its own sitting area, a kitchen with custom navy cabinets and gold hardware, and a bathroom with a glass-walled shower.

Overhangs from the two structures offer shaded space around the pool; an outdoor kitchen is built into the left side of the courtyard. A lawn runs between the pool and the street-facing wall, but the rest of the landscaping features rocks and native desert plants. There is a concrete patio behind the house.

Taxes: $40,959 (estimated)

Contact: Keith Markovitz, TTK Represents, Compass, 760-904-5234; ttkrepresents.com

A city on the Monterey Peninsula with a little more than 3,800 residents, Carmel-by-the-Sea is known for storybook cottages that have names rather than street numbers. Many like this one, called Primrose Cottage are within walking distance of the beach and Ocean Avenue, the main drag.

The city has long been considered an artists enclave, and in the early 20th century it was a popular getaway spot for writers like Jack London and Sinclair Lewis. It has a number of small theaters, including the Forest, one of the oldest outdoor theaters on the West Coast, which is a 10-minute walk from the house. San Francisco is about two hours away by car, and Monterey is a 15-minute drive.

Size: 1,498 square feet

Price per square foot: $2,133

Indoors: Past the wrought-iron gate in front is a brick pathway that winds through a yard with English-inspired landscaping, including low hedges and rose bushes.

The arched front door, trimmed with iron strapping, opens to a living room with white-painted ceiling beams and a fireplace with a stone surround. Through an arched doorway at the back of the room is a hallway that leads to a half bathroom and a den with a bay of windows facing the guest cottage.

To the right of the front door is the dining room, which, like the rest of the house, has refinished hardwood floors. Through another arched doorway is the kitchen, which can also be reached through the den. The kitchen has white-tiled counters with white-and-blue-tile trim. A window over the sink looks into the rear garden, and a glass-paned door opens to the patio.

At the center of the house is a wooden staircase with a wrought-iron banister that leads to the second floor, which has two bedrooms on either end of a short hallway. The bedrooms are roughly equal in size, with room for queen-size beds, and both have street and rear-facing windows. A hallway bathroom has a combination tub and shower, a blue-tiled vanity with its original porcelain sink and gray-and-white floral wallpaper.

The guest cottage is connected to the main house by a brick walkway. It has a Dutch door, an exposed-brick fireplace and a bathroom with a stall shower and white-and-silver wallpaper.

Outdoor space: A brick patio in back of the main house has space for a table and chairs. The back garden, like the front yard, is planted with low hedges and rose bushes, and low stone walls create a path to a second small patio with a bench.

Taxes: $34,826 (estimated)

Contact: Tim Allen, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 831-214-1990; timallenproperties.com

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

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$3.2 Million Homes in California - The New York Times

In 2029, the Patio Door market is spectated to surpass ~US$ xx Mn/Bn with a CAGR of xx% over the forecast period. The Patio Door market clicked a value of ~US$ xx Mn/Bn in 2018. Region is expected to account for a significant market share, where the Patio Door market size is projected to inflate with a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period.

In the Patio Door market research study, 2018 is considered as the base year, and 2019-2029 is considered as the forecast period to predict the market size. Important regions emphasized in the report include region 1 (country 1, country2), region 2 (country 1, country2), and region 3 (country 1, country2).

The report on the Patio Door market provides a birds eye view of the current proceeding within the Patio Door market. Further, the report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the Patio Door market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period.

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Global Patio Door market report on the basis of market players

The report examines each Patio Door market player according to its market share, production footprint, and growth rate. SWOT analysis of the players (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) has been covered in this report. Further, the Patio Door market study depicts the recent launches, agreements, R&D projects, and business strategies of the market players including

In global market, the following companies are covered: Jeld-WenMasoniteASSA ABLOY(Maiman)STEVES DOORSimpson DoorSun MountainTruStile DoorsLynden DoorsSierra DoorsStallionAppalachianUSA Wood DoorWoodgrain DoorsArazzinni

Market Segment by Product TypeSingle DoorsMulti-Doors

Market Segment by ApplicationResidential BuildingCommercial Building

Key Regions split in this report: breakdown data for each region.United StatesChinaEuropean UnionRest of World (Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

The study objectives are:To analyze and research the Patio Door status and future forecast in United States, European Union and China, involving sales, value (revenue), growth rate (CAGR), market share, historical and forecast.To present the key Patio Door manufacturers, presenting the sales, revenue, market share, and recent development for key players.To split the breakdown data by regions, type, companies and applications To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends, drivers, influence factors in global and regionsTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Patio Door are as follows:History Year: 2014-2018Base Year: 2018Estimated Year: 2019Forecast Year 2019 to 2025

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Research Methodology of Patio Door Market Report

The global Patio Door market study covers the estimation size of the market both in terms of value (Mn/Bn USD) and volume (x units). Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been used to calculate and authenticate the market size of the Patio Door market, and predict the scenario of various sub-markets in the overall market. Primary and secondary research has been thoroughly performed to analyze the prominent players and their market share in the Patio Door market. Further, all the numbers, segmentation, and shares have been gathered using authentic primary and secondary sources.

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Potential impact of coronavirus outbreak on Patio Door Market 2020: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Forecast by 2029 - Medic...

Fantastic penthouse w/ stunning view of Shaw Park & the Clayton skyline! 3783 sq ft, 4 bedroom suites, 4 baths, dining room, family room, living room, media room, study, laundry room, service entry & hall w/ access to kitchen, elevator opens to penthouse foyer from garage & secure main lobby, 3 garage spaces, & storage unit. 10' ceilings, 8' doors, extensive molding, casework, crown molding, & recessed speakers & lights throughout, 4 terraces, 5 fireplaces located in family room, master suite, living room, study, & terrace. Center island kitchen w/ granite, custom cabinetry maximizes storage, Bosch dishwasher, instant hot/cold water dispenser, Subzero refrigerator & freezer drawers, Wolf 4 burner gas stove w/ griddle, Wolf wall oven, & Subzero side by side. Master suite w/ 10' tray ceiling, wet bar w/ refrigeration, private terrace. Master bath w/ heated marble floors, spa tub for 2, multi-head steam shower, adjoins dressing room w/ center island shelving & custom built-in organizers.

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Big Homes Just Listed in the St. Louis Area - Mason City Globe Gazette

At a fire resiliency webinar put on by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Cyndi Foreman, fire prevention officer for Sonoma County Fire District, gave a presentation about preparing your home for fire season and also how to prepare for and properly execute an evacuation.

(Were going to talk) about what to get ready, defensible space, and well talk about home hardening, which is a really important factor for survivability, Foreman said as she started her presentation. The other thing well touch on is what you can do when you know that fire is coming and things to do to prepare.

Its also really important that families have a plan, she continued. We train every day, so we can fall back on muscle memory and training. But if you dont have that, panic can overtake you, and you make bad decisions. Having a plan and practicing a plan is so important. Kids train to move out when a fire alarm goes off at school, and it becomes muscle memory for them. Its important to teach them this as well, and it can take the fear out and really empower children.

Defensible space

Creating good defensible space can make the difference between you home surviving and losing it. It is based on zones, and what is allowed within each zone.

Zone 1 extends 20 feet from buildings, structures and decks. In zone 1, you should remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (including under your deck), as well as dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters. If you have trees around your home, remove any branches that hang over your roof, and keep any dead branches at least 10 feet from your chimney. Trees should also be trimmed to keep a distance of 10 feet between them. Flammable plants and shrubs near windows should be removed or pruned, and there should be a five-foot exclusion zone from any combustible construction. Wood piles should be relocated into zone 2, and there should be a separation between trees and shrubs and items such as patio furniture, swing sets, etc.

Zone 2 extends 100 feet out from all structures. In zone 2, all grass should be mown to a maximum height of 4 inches, and creating both horizontal and vertical space between shrubs, trees and grass. Fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones and small branches should be removed if possible, if not they should be at a depth no greater than 3 inches.

Home hardening

The roof should be considered the most vulnerable part of your home, and wood or shingle roofs are the most at risk. Composition, metal or tile will provide better protection. It is also important to block any spaces between the roof decking and the covering to prevent embers from catching.

Vents can be sources where flying embers can enter your home. Foreman recommends covering your vents with 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch metal mesh, and putting baffles under eaves or cornices and soffits.

Windows can be fractured by the heat from a wildfire, long before the home is on fire. Single paned and large windows are particularly vulnerable, and cracked or broken windows allow burning embers inside your home. Installing dual-paned windows and limiting the size and number of windows that face or are surrounded by large areas of vegetation can help prevent catastrophic results.

For walls, decks and fences that are part of or connect to a structure, using ignition-resistant or non-combustible building materials such as stucco, fiber cement or treated wood can significantly increase the chances of saving the home.

A final and extremely important thing to consider is your driveway. Ensure that all gates open inward and are wide enough to accommodate emergency equipment and fire apparatus. This include trimming trees and shrubs. In addition, make sure your address is clearly visible from the road and at night.

Driveways, if they dont have at least a 10-foot clearance, are a hazard for you and a hazard for us, Foreman said. If you are trying to evacuate with fire bearing down, it is your way out. If there are low hanging branches, and we have to jump out and cut them to get into your property thats valuable time, not just in a fire but even in a medical emergency. And if we dont think we can be safe, well move on.

Foreman also said in relation to clear addresses, SCFD will provide reflective number signs to district residents.

We make the signs and send them out; Graton does it too, Foreman said. I know your decorative ones are nice, but they do not help us find you in smoky and dark conditions.

A list of 10 low-cost ways to harden your home can be found at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/Low-cost-Retrofit-List-Final.pdf.

Things to do before you evacuate

Foreman presented two checklists for things that will assist firefighters and also help protect your home. However, she emphasized these checklists should only be utilized if you have enough time once the evacuation has been called.

If you have time to prep your home before evacuation, do it, Foreman said. Get your go bags, put them in the driveway and close the doors, leave hoses and ladders out if you have them. Seal up the attic and crawl space vents. Patrol the property if you have time, dont wait for the order if you feel threatened get out. Early on locate your pets and put them in their carrier. Keep your cats inside during Red Flag warnings, a lot of people learned a lot of hard lessons about that. As you prepare to evacuate, take your car keys and put them in pocket. So many people couldnt find them when in panic mode.

Home Evacuation Checklist (Inside)

Home Evacuation Checklist (Outside)

Doormats? Chuck them over the hill to get them out of the way, Foreman said. Do not turn on your sprinklers, you will be robbing your community of valuable firefighting water when you do that. In 2017, many places ran out of water, so please dont leave them running. I know it sounds crazy to leave doors unlocked, but it gives firefighters the ability to get inside. Trash cans are also a big one, dont leave them up against the house.

Go Bag preparations

If you live in Sonoma County, you should have a Go Bag. Have your essentials because when we panic dont do things like we should, Foreman said. Take this list and put it on your fridge, because you wont remember when things go crazy. The Go Bag should be for everybody, including kids and pets. And make sure you have a carrier for every pet, in case you are going into a shelter.

Your Go Bag should include:

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Fire season is coming here's how to be ready - Sonoma West

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As more Arizona restaurants and bars reopen, the public has posed various questions about how COVID-19 can spread among diners and employees.

Eating and drinking remain some of the few activities people need to remove their masks to do.

Many restaurant owners have responded to safety concerns by implementing new measures, such as sneeze guards at order counters, masks for employees and tables distanced six feet apart.

It may not be enough, however. Experts say Arizonas increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations cant be solely attributed to increased testing. They warn the state is trending upward in a way that could necessitate another stay-at-home order to curb the spread.

For these questions, The Arizona Republic turned to guidelines from Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Republic also spoke to virologist Charles Gerba and atmospheric scientist Eric Betterton from the University of Arizona. Gerba studies how viruses are transmitted through the environment. Betterton studies environmental contaminants, including aerosols.

COVID-19 spreads when an infected person produces respiratory droplets by speaking, coughing or sneezing. Infected droplets contain coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19.

At least one study shows infected coronavirus droplets can remain in the air for several hours and up to two to three days on certain surfaces.

Evidence does not support routine airborne transmission, however, according to an AZDHS presentation on the Arizona's COVID-19 response.

The CDC recommends restaurants and bars "ensure that ventilation systems operate properly and increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible, for example by opening windows and doors and prioritizing outdoor seating."

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Dining outdoors tends to be safer because indoors people are more likely to be in closer vicinity and there are more surfaces with risk of contamination, Gerba said.

The concentration of droplets can also be higher indoors where air tends to recirculate, Betterton added.

"Many people forget that dose matters," Betterton said. "If you inhale just a small number of virus-containing droplets, your body and immune system may be able to overwhelm that. But if you inhale a large number, the virus can propagate rapidly."

The coronavirus may spread less outdoors, but summer is also descending and eating outside won't be an attractive option for many. Metro Phoenix is already hitting consecutive, triple-digit temperatures with the hottest part of summer yet to come.

One oft-cited CDC study concluded that air conditioning in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China caused the spread of virus-laden droplets, prompting an outbreak. The distance between each table was about one meter, or a little more than three feet.

"One of the problems, we don't know all the activity of people," Gerba said. "It's certain, keeping social distancing is a good idea in any restaurant. But if you start looking at people's activities, they go to the restroom, go to the cashier, go to the bar. They have to get up and walk past other people."

Gerba said information is lacking and he'd like to see more data on what contamination is like in a restaurant.

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Misting fans might actually give diners an advantage because it's better to have moving air than stagnant air, Gerba and Betterton said.

Both the CDC and the World Health Organization have stated there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread through water, The Republic reported in May as Arizona began reopening.

"Misters that come with a fan, that would be a positive thing because it keeps air moving and it would dilute any virus droplets in the air," Betterton said. "Even if the fan is blowing in same direction as you, it's still better than somebody sneezing on your face with no moving air. If those are the two choices, I would go for moving air.

As the virus can survive several hours in the air, it also depends on how far apart people are, Gerba added. The advantage with rapid air movement is that if a person sneezes at a table, the air is moving so fast it can dilute the droplets.

"The odds are working in your favor," Gerba said.

While it's not possible to wear a mask while eating and drinking, Betterton recommended that if people choose to eat at restaurants, they bring a mask for other activities, such as waiting at the restroom and standing in line to pay at the cash register.

Betterton said he understands that taking extra safety precautions, such as wearing a mask and keeping six feet apart, is "going to get old." But the virus isn't going to go away magically just because people don't want it here anymore, he said.

"People should be more respectful of others' health, even if theyre not respectful of their own health," he said. "Its here, it hasnt gone away, incidents are increasing. Until we get a vaccine and or a cure, were all going to be vulnerable."

Got a story tip about what's going on in the food & dining industry? Reach the reporter at Priscilla.Totiya@azcentral.com. Follow @priscillatotiya on Twitter and Instagram.

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Is it safer to dine on a restaurant patio instead of inside? We asked 2 Arizona experts - AZCentral