Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

1. A retail center is under construction on Kuykendahl Road. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact Newspaper

1. Retail center on Kuykendahl Road

A retail center at the corner of Kuykendahl Road and Hennessy Lane is nearing completion. According to leasing agent Angie Podseknik, the shell of the center has been completed, and the building is in the process of being leased. Podseknik said several restaurants and a nail salon are in the process of filling the space.

Space: around 17,500 square feet

Timeline: opening within six months

2. Hyatt House Hotel in Shenandoah

Work has commenced on a Hyatt House Hotel in Metropark Square in Shenandoah. The 148-room hotel is anticipated to open in March 2021 and will feature a dining and bar area, outdoor pool, fitness center, business center, market pantry, guest laundry room and an outdoor pool, according to developer Sam Moon Group. Parking for the hotel will feature surface parking and covered parking in the nearby parking garage.

Space: five stories, 94,140 square feet

Timeline: late 2019-March 2021

3. East Shore Landing in The Woodlands

Development is expected to begin in April on East Shore Landing, a new section in the David Weekley Homes project at East Shell Port Square in The Woodlands. Homes range from 2,200-3,100 square feet of living space, according to David Weekley Homes. The new section is known as The Garden District of The Woodlands.

Space: 59 units

Timeline: construction begins in 2020

4, Howard Hughes residential project in The Woodlands

Work is nearing completion on an unnamed residential project by developer Howard Hughes Corp. at the intersection of Six Pines Drive and Timberloch Place in The Woodlands. The multifamily project will be seven stories tall and will feature 163 residences with one-, two- and three-bedroom options. The project is anticipated to begin leasing this fall.

Space: seven stories, 179,338 square feet

Timeline: summer 2019-fall 2020

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Development updates: 4 projects to watch in The Woodlands area - Community Impact Newspaper

LUMBERTON The new $3.7 million terminal at the Lumberton Regional Airport will be move-in ready by June 15, airport management and contractors said Friday.

Ground was first broke almost exactly a year ago in April for the terminal, located at 163 Airport Blvd., after the nearly 50-year-old building was demolished. The new two-story building will boast 8,000 square feet, more than twice the 3,000 square feet of the previous one.

The project is funded through state and federal grants, with matching funds coming from the city of Lumberton and the Robeson County Board of Commissioners.

Airport Manager Bob Snuck said the building is nearly complete and offices will be move-in ready by June 15.

The entire building is framed, Snuck said. Most of the electrical is in, the Sheet Rock is in. Its 90% complete.

On Friday morning the weather was ideal for United Builders of Lumberton workers who are subcontracted by Simcon Company, the projects general contractor.

We still got to do the siding on the outside, Simcon Project Superintendent Brent Williams said. Inside we got to do the painting and the trim.

Adding flooring and redoing the parking lot also are on the agenda, Williams said.

Williams has been living in Lumberton overseeing construction on the project for the past year.

Were staying on track, Williams said. Were getting there slowly but surely.

Williams said that COVID-19 restrictions have made the process tougher, but he feels confident.

I dont want to put no more than 10 people on the job, he said. I dont want to subject nobody to getting sick, so were trying to keep our numbers down.

The building will be a major economic boost for the county and will house the Robeson County Economic Development office.

A lot of people dont realize the benefit of the airport, Snuck said. For economic development, an airport is a major driver. If you have any major corporation, theyre going to have cooperate aircraft that fly in and out of here, and we have corporate aircraft that fly in and out of here.

This is going to make a statement for the whole county area having this nice building and nice offices, especially when youre trying to attract new businesses.

The executive director of Robeson County Economic Development said it will make his job a lot easier when courting potential clients to the county.

Im very excited about moving into the new building and having a meeting room, Channing Jones said. Its a wonderful opportunity for economic development just for the fact of being able to have meetings in a way that is impressive and very professional for companies coming in.

In addition to meeting rooms and offices, the interior will include state-of-the-art equipment to be able to give world-class presentation to clients, Jones said. It will also have space in which to entertain guests.

Things that weve incorporated in the building are going to be very useful for myself personally to host clients, Jones said.

The buildings modern exterior also will leave a positive image with clients who enter.

If you look at it from the top of the building, when the architects designed it, they designed it to look like a plane wing, Jones said. Itll be very unique in just its design. I think the city of Lumberton and the county will have something to be very proud of once its complete.

On the construction site Friday, workers were applying the siding to obtain the unique shape.

They wanted a building that really hasnt been built before, and I think they did a really good job on designing it, Williams said. Its quite the building.

Snuck said that in 2019, the State of North Carolina did a study that showed the economic impact of airports. The study found that the Lumberton airport brings in $14.2 million locally.

Theres a huge economic benefit to the local community, he said.

Jones confirmed that it will impact the county greatly.

Obviously for the city of Lumberton and for the county its going to be a great welcome center for folks who are coming in via plane, Jones said. Its going to be a great first impression of our county. It will be an attribute in attracting business and having confidence that our county is well positioned for various economic development opportunities.

The airport has two runways, one 5,500 feet long, the other 5,000 feet long. There are 35 airplane hangers on the airports property.

The next big airport project will be replacing the existing fuel farm. The original fuel farm was build more than 40 years ago and not for aviation purposes, but as an oil storage tank and it was converted, he said.

They dont meet many of the new requirements, and weve been spending a lot of money repairing leaks, Snuck said.

The total cost would be about $1.1 million, but the airport recently was awarded a $112,500 grant by the state Department of Transportations Division of Aviation to pay for the fuel farm engineering study, Snuck said. The local share of the grant is $12,500.

Its really difficult to get the engineering funding and I managed to get it, Snuck said. Usually, if you get the engineering funding, its shortly down the road that youll get the construction funding.

The fuel farm would consist of two 12,000 gallon tanks. One to hold jet fuel and the other to hold aviation gasoline.

That fuel farm is used to fill up the fuel trucks because you buy fuel in quantity, Snuck said. Also, that fuel farm will have self-service capability like you would have self-service capability at a gas station where the aircraft can pull up and get fuel.

Snuck said he will soon be going before city council and county commissioners to speak about the project.

Snuck

Jones

Williams

United Builders of Lumberton workers apply siding Friday on the $3.7 million terminal being built at the Lumberton Regional Airport. The terminal, which will house the office of Robeson County Economic Development, is scheduled to be completed on June 15.

ORyan Campbell, a plumber for Wilkins Plumbing, lays pipes for a bathroom in the new terminal building under construction at the Lumberton Regional Airport. The terminal is scheduled to be move-in ready on June 15.

The $3.7 million terminal under construction at Lumberton Regional Airport is expected to be move-in ready by June 15. The two-story building will be 8,000 square feet in size, more than twice the size of previous 3,000-square-foot terminal.

Expected to be move-in ready June 15

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [emailprotected] or 910-416-5865.

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New airport terminal expected to be move-in ready June 15, to be economic tool - The Robesonian

April 17, 2020 10:39 AM

David Mann

Posted: April 17, 2020 10:39 AM

Updated: April 17, 2020 10:43 AM

FINLEY, Wash. Deputies say a teen driver crashed through a fence in Finley and ditched her car last night, allowing several cows to escape their enclosure.

A couple deputies said they came across numerous cows walking on Perkins Road near Dague Road, according to the Benton County Sheriffs Office.

Though roaming cows are not uncommon in rural Benton County, deputies said these particular cows didnt escape on their own.

Further investigation led the deputies to find an unoccupied Ford Mustang that had taken out part of a pasture fence.

The driver was later identified as 19-year-old Dacia Roberts. She was arrested on suspicion of minor in possession or consumption of alcohol, negligent driving and hit and run.

The owner of the cows put them back in the pasture for the night and made temporary repairs to the fence.

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Teen crashes through fence in Finley and ditches car, allowing cows to escape - YakTriNews KAPP-KVEW

Relax with Sheep is actually a single, shorter documentary that loops around six times. The original video was shot in March and edited by Tim Kennedy, a filmmaker who is often commissioned by Napa Valley wineries, breweries and restaurants. Mr. Kennedy handed in his edit at a relatively taut one hour and change. Turning that into an epic longer than Matthew Barneys River of Fundament was the idea of Douglas Shafer, the vineyards proprietor. Mr. Shafer said the goal was to create something like those never-ending yule-log videos, but with sheep.

When the longer version was complete, he asked Andy Demsky, who handles public relations for the winery, to put it on YouTube to share the pastoral beauty with viewers during the upheaval and uncertainty in the world right now, as the introductory text puts it. Uploading the file took three days.

Credit for wrangling the hundred or so sheep goes to a local firm called Wooly Weeders, which drove them to the 50-acre hillside property, packed inside a multilevel trailer, then set them loose to control the unwanted vegetation that grows in early spring, before the dry season sets in and Napas hills turn brown.

Youd usually go in with tractors and mow, Mr. Shafer said. With the sheep we have to do that a lot less, so its less gas. On the hillsides weve got these terraces thats always a challenge. You have to use a machete or that type of thing, its tough. But the sheep can stand on any incline at all and munch away.

Its true. Nothing gets between the sheep and their grass. Ive never given much thought to the mental capacity of sheep. I suppose if I had, I would have said they were not among the leading intellectual lights of the animal kingdom.

After watching Relax with Sheep, though, I am in awe of their attention spans. In awe, and a little jealous. The truth is I havent made any headway on Fassbinder or Proust or any of the other stuff because I cant seem to concentrate lately. I spend my days talking to restaurant people who dont have restaurants to go to. Its been a month since theyve seen a paycheck.

At night, when I could be reading a fat novel, I have the attention span of one of the bumblebees that you can hear on the soundtrack of Relax with Sheep, the pitch of their buzz Doppler-shifting down the way the ambulance sirens outside my windows do every few minutes.

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Dont Fence Me In: The Comforts of a Sheep Video - The New York Times

Posted: Apr 17, 2020 / 01:49 PM CDT / Updated: Apr 16, 2020 / 04:58 PM CDT

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If you have a trellis or fence that needs vine covering, there are several vines from which to choose, and after some consideration, Cross Vine might make the top of your list.

Cross Vine, botanically known as Bignonia, is a native vine to the southeast. It uses claw-like tendrils to climb, and can climb to 30, 40, or even 50 feet long. It is a fast growing vine, but it isn't invasive and can easily be controlled.

Cross Vine features bright orange flowers that bloom in April and continue sporadically until late summer. The long, deep throats of these flowers will attract hummingbirds throughout the season.

This vine does prefer full sun, but you can often find that it will grow in a bit of shade. In addition to its attractive flowers, Cross Vine is a semi-evergreen plant in the winter and has a little bit of a purplish leaf that holds on in the winter.

This is one of the easiest vines to grow, so look around and see if you can find a place for it in your yard.

Have a gardening question? Fill out the form below to ask the folks at Bennett Nurseries.

Excerpt from:
Cross Vine is a top pick to cover your trellis or fence - whnt.com

Earlier this spring, FENCE offered a special program on how to attract and protect the beloved Eastern Bluebird.

The presenter, Joe Sanders, is a local expert on this most beautiful native bird species. Following his talk volunteers at FENCE decided to spring into action using the knowledgeshared at the program sponsored by the Kirby Fund of the Polk County Community Foundation and FENCE.

There is lovein the airat FENCE.It involvesBluebirds!

FENCE is excited about the cheerful song of our bluebirds! With nesting season currently underway, FENCE is happy to announce the installation of several new nesting boxes. Bluebirds stay in North Carolina year-round and males begin to search for nesting sites in March, usually natural cavities or in nest boxes. Males are known for their brilliant blue color, rusty breast and white belly. Females have similar coloration, though their coloration appears duller.

Bluebirds feed almost exclusively on insects, though they are also known to eat the berries of dogwoods, hollies and elderberries. Bluebirds were once considered rare due to competition with more aggressive species and habitat loss. Their populations have been recovering significantly in recent years, largely through conservation efforts and the help of homeowners in creating nesting boxes specifically tailored to the species.

Interested in welcoming bluebirds into your own yard?

Consider constructing a box or planting native plants! Elderberry is an excellent choice for attracting and providing for bluebirds. Boxes should have a fixed floor, approximately 55 inches, and four walls. An entrance hole should be approximately 1 inches, though no larger to avoid invasivebirdspecies that will outcompete the bluebird, like the European Starling. Be sure to include ventilation and drainage holes in each corner of the box. An additional note, perches are not recommended for bluebird boxes. Boxes can be mounted on wooden, metal or PVC poles, approximately 5 feet high.

Male bluebirds begin to locate nesting sites as early as March and as late as June, so it is best to have new boxes installed by February. When selecting sites for box installations, keep in mind that bluebirds are known to be territorial during nesting season and typically will not build within 100 yards of another bluebird nest. Select a site that is near an open area that also has spots to perch nearby.

Already have bluebird boxes installed?

Monitor the boxes weekly. A bar of soap can be rubbed on the underside of the roof to repel wasps and other species. If you find a nest keep in mind that bluebirds construct nests using a combination of dried grass and pine needles and that their eggs are blue in color.

For more information, visit http://www.FENCE.org.

Submitted by Tracie Hanson

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FENCE is putting words into action - The Tryon Daily Bulletin - Tryon Daily Bulletin

With respect, the far-reaching nature of this overly restrictive curfew appears to be a gross and ill-advised overreach of government power and an extreme AND illegal violation of basic civil rights.

If it was just used to enforce the termination of large gatherings, parties, etc., thats one thing. A good argument can be made that local and state governments can employ such temporary powers to ensure public health and safety in extreme circumstances.

Even so, I would remind yall that Gov. DeSantis rightly gave religious gatherings an exception superseding the initial actions of Sheriff Chronister because the governor considered the more broad constitutional considerations of violating Freedom of Religion thats enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Still, Sheriff Chronister, rather than making more of an effort to work with ALL religious leaders about social distancing during services and other religious meetings, decided to instead use his intimidating deputes to barge in like a rampaging army for a Godless dictatorship.

The sheriff no matter how well-intentioned MISUSED the weight of the government power entrusted to him to make church arrests. Meanwhile, he also used the powerful lever of law enforcement to bully other congregations into submission across the county.

There were MANY alternatives. How about making a full-court-press at video conferences to work with AS MANY RELIGIOUS LEADERS AS POSSIBLE before rushing in like a bull in a china shop?

Wouldnt that be good community policing and community relations?

This also applies to the CURFEW. City and county officials, if they were really honest with each other, should conclude that they did NOT make the maximum effort to truly think this out.

Come on. You can get arrested now for walking your dog after 9 p.m. or jogging by yourself or a properly separated exercise partner before 5 a.m.?

Its really come to this?

How about also making more of an effort to use every available option to stress the importance of social distancing during gatherings of more than 10 people? People are at home, yes, but these days there are SO many ways to reach them from social media to texting to working with local media.

Heck, even the pull-back by the Tampa Bay Times on how many days it prints the paper might actually represent a communication OPPORTUNITY.

Perhaps local governments could pay to use their print and delivery capacity (OR, it might even be funded with enough advertising) to use a specially printed smaller-than-normal newspaper (or at least create government pages online) to deliver a consistent, unified message county-wide.

Local government could use this approach to periodically inform, re-emphasize key messages AND also as a significant forum for citizen feedback.

I fully realize that journalists are normally averse to working with the government. Freedom of the Press as enshrined in the Constitution has always meant a fundamentally adversarial relationship.

Still, its worth at least exploring. Yall may even be able to obtain some state or federal funding if such an endeavor could be characterized as valuable now AND as an experiment for future crises.

These are clearly different times. Perhaps a temporary media-government arrangement shouldnt be so easily dismissed without exploring.

It might even include online video presentations, interviews with health, law enforcement officials and experts from across the local spectrum (hospitals, universities, corporations, etc.)

These would be done by local reporters at local TV stations that would also be easily available for smartphones and other devices. The stations could air content by their own reporters but also make it available for such a centralized effort to disseminate news.

There are many, many potential solutions to this problem. Yet it seems the curfew-oriented committees first instincts were to flex the broad, powerful muscle of government instead of the making attempts at more civil persuasion endemic of a democracy.

Their heavy-handed actions feel more like what youd see in Communist China or some other despotic nightmare than the United States of America.

Government, whenever possible, should ALWAYS try its best to work with EVERYONE. (Exceptions might include instituting Marshall Law during war or other extreme emergencies).

The government should ALWAYS err on the side of civic persuasion and, more importantly, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW to convince the many and diverse communities within our county about the highest and best interests of our entire population.

Instead, it appears that the local governments knee-jerk reaction no matter how well-intentioned was to forcibly mandate sudden change by using the intimidating force of government and gun-carrying law enforcement officers to ram such extreme changes down everyones throats.

To someone who didnt sit in on the curfew decision, it appears to have been made without ANY minimal constitutional considerations.

For instance, consider Commissioner Les Millers statement in Mondays Tampa Bay Times and the apparent concurrence by Sheriff Chronister (who tried to downplay the government overreach as mostly informational), and others who voted for the curfew.

To even consider arresting people and putting them in jail for up to six months, not to mention the fine, for merely walking their dog by themselves after 9 p.m. or jogging alone OR in small, socially distanced groups before 5 a.m. is absurd on its face.

There can be no other interpretation that such macro enforcement is a GROSS, inane and illegal violation of civil rights, let alone common sense.

I dont know the sheriff or Commissioner Miller personally, or for that fact of the matter, Tampas mayor or anyone else on this decision-making government body.

That said, your overly broad application of the curfew against the responsible and law-abiding citizens of the city and county is just plain wrong.

Its fundamentally un-American.

In fact, yall ought to be ashamed of yourselves for committing such an outrageous violation of the public trust.

Since youre asking for my input, I would urge yall in the strongest terms to IMMEDIATELY correct whatever misconceptions and conclusions about your motives that many citizens have come to.

You must emphasize that people can still jog and walk their dogs and still shop at convenience stores and express that your constituents still possess ALL of the individual and small group FREEDOMS that our constitution guarantees.

Yes, people are dying from the coronavirus.

But MANY MORE PEOPLE DIED to fight and uphold these sacred civil rights.

You should honor this noble sacrifice by generations of

Americans by bending over backwards to apologize as you emphasize that this curfew ONLY applies to groups larger than 10.

Moreover, you ought to further emphasize your adherence with the Governors exception granted to religious groups.

Such beliefs and faiths are often deeply held and VERY important to the mental health of large populations within the people you serve.

City and county officials should recommit themselves to talk and communicate by every means necessary to arrive at reasonable accommodations with religious groups while also stressing the overall necessity for good health practices.

WORK with people instead of trying to wield the heavy club of an oppressive government.

Well get through this crisis eventually and emerge stronger than before.

But the time to mend fences is definitely NOW.

More here:
Tampa, Hillsborough County and Sheriff Must Mend Fences on Curfew - Elemental

Most part of the week Bitcoin has been controlled by bears that managed to push the price of the first digital coin below $6,500 before bulls woke up and engineered a strong recovery above $7,000.At the time of writing, BTC/USDis changing hands at $7,070, which is only marginally higher than seven days ago and slightly lower than at the beginning of the year. Bitcoin's market capitalization is registered at $129.4 billion, which is 64% of the total market of digital assets.

Traditional markets show some resilience despite terrible economic statistics and disappointing corporate reports.S&P 500 extended the recovery and hit the intraday high at 2884, which is the highest level since March 10. Obviously, investors were inspired by Trump's promise to re-open the economy by May 1 and German's intentions to let their citizens out of the homes.

Positive news has been popping up now and then, reducing the sense of gloom and despair. This trend is set to continue, as more countries will consider canceling the lockdown or loosening it up, virologists will proceed with vaccine development and experiments with the medicine for COVID-19. Even though the global economy will feel the consequences of this coronavirus pandemic for years, the good news is very welcome now; it adds some optimism, which is reflected in investors' behavior on the markets.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market is getting ready for bitcoin's halving. The event is less than 30 days away, and it is a key conversation topic in the industry. The forecasts range from a sharp growth to a non-event or devastating collapse. It only means that halving will bring more uncertainty to the market and may trigger sharp volatility either ahead of the event and right after it.

This is one of the reasons, why traders and investors have been taking their assets from exchanges to stored in wallets. People prefer to wait-out the risk, which is understandable as many cryptocurrency exchanges, even such behemoths as BitMEX and Binance, tend to have technical issues amid high volatility.

From the technical point of view, Bitcoin regained ground above $7,000, but it is still vulnerable to losses if it fails to clear the next barrier created at $7,150 by a combination of strong technical indicators, including the previous recovery high and 50%Fibo retracement for the downside move from February high.Once it is out of the way, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on $7,500 that stopped the previous bullish assault. A sustainable move higher will allow for a sharp recovery towards the next critical barrier of $8,000-$8,200. This resistance area is created by a combination of daily SMA200 and 61.8%Fibo retracement for the downside move from February 2020 high. A sustainable move higher will unleash Bitcoin's bullish potential and create FOMO environment on the market.

Considering the downward-looking RSI on a daily chart, BTC/USD may undergo abearish correction towards the lower barrier of the previous range of $6,500. This area is likely to serve as a backstop and a jumping-off ground for another upside wave. Otherwise, the bearish sentimentsis likely to gain traction with the next focus on $6,150 (the lower boundary of the daily Bollinger Band) and $6,000. This development will negate the bullish scenario and bring deeper correction on the table.

The Forecast Poll showed a mixed picture as the expectations worsened on a monthly frame and stayed bullish on a weekly and quarterly basis. While it means that the market is more optimistic in the long-run, the price expectations on all time-frames are below $8,000, while the monthly forecast suggests that BTC may have another dip under $7,000.

Read more:
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: Bitcoin bulls sit on the fence before halving - FXStreet

The other side of the back property line where we live has what we lovingly refer to as a fence rat a cute little dog who sticks his head under the fence and yaps every time I come or go. I tried to make friends by giving him dog biscuits.

Lens afraid his collars going to get caught on the bottom of the fence and hell be stuck there until someone comes to his rescue. Greedy little bugger! (referring to the dog), See what you started? (referring to me).

The neighboring dog reminds me of the monkey traps described in Robert Pirsigs Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, where certain tribes leverage the monkeys greed to their advantage. They hollow out a gourd, leaving the opening just large enough for a monkeys hand to go through to reach a sweet treat.

When the monkey (unaware that the vine attached to the gourd is staked to the ground out of sight) reaches in to get the treat, the opening is too small for its now-clenched fist to pass back through. Escape is entirely possible if hell just let go, but he wont because he chooses to hang on to the treat. At this point, the tribespeople come along and its easy pickings

What wont you let go of?

Laurie Buchanan

Find me on Twitter @TuesWithLaurieFind me on Facebook

Previously published on tuesdayswithlaurie

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Fence Rats and Monkey Traps - The Good Men Project

Polarized is a weekly series featuring Americans from all 50 states sharing their views on the 2020 elections. Click here if you would like to be a part of this project

Some Americans have had a rough go of it in the last few weeks under lockdown orders amid the coronavirus pandemic but James Callahan says hes loving the hell out of it.

A retired federal agent, the 54-year-old independent voter lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico,and says hes basically been quarantined for the last four years, engaging in few social interactions besides the occasional errand or when grabbing a bite to eat.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Callahan spent the bulk of his career with the US Marshals, after serving as a border patrol agent in San Diego, California. The border, and specifically illegal immigration, are key issues to the former lifelong Republican.

I hate the Republican Party and I hate the Democratic Party, so theres really nowhere else to go, Callahan says in a recent interview with The Independent about why he chose to drop his affiliation with the GOP nearly two years ago.

He cites the failure of the Republican Party to get anything done for the reason as to why he switched to an independent voter status, which forbids him from partaking in his states closed primary system.

Callahan is a former member of a Young Republicans club in Tampa, Florida and often agrees in principle with the partys platform. But as a federal agent living in Washington, he says he saw the corruption first-hand before retiring nearly nine years ago. It made him loathe politicians in general, and led him on a path to whohe is today: a voter that helped Donald Trump secure the White House, but now has second guesses about giving the incumbent his ballot a second time over.

There was a short period of time when the Republicans had the Congress, the Senate and the presidency, and they failed to get anything done particularly on immigration and the national debt, he says.

Callahan says he voted for Trump in 2016, and he supported his agenda in the White House despite having previously donated to Florida Senator Marco Rubios failed 2016 campaign. His frustrations with the GOP leave him at an interesting crossroads, he says.

Im going through a struggle with family and friends over this very issue: Im a philosophical conservative, libertarian is probably the best way to describe it, he says. But for the first time in my life I started looking at Bernie Sanders. I get he has his issues too, but hes been singing the same song for years, hes not nearly as corrupt and clearly we have a corrupt system. And youre talking to a lifelong Republican.

No hype, just the advice and analysis you need

I spoke to Callahan after Sanders, the progressive Vermont senator who was once seen as the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primaries, announced he was dropping out of the campaign and endorsing former vice president Joe Biden.

Callahan says he wanted to hear more about what Bernie had to say and for him to more clearly outline his views on democratic socialism.

Socialism doesnt work, neither does communism my own philosophy is that all isms are designed to fail, he says. Capitalism is doomed to fail, too. Its just the best of the worst, and it had a great run.

Of course, Sanders is no longer an option in the race against Trump, as he plans to support Biden rather than launch an independent bid. Not that Callahan would likely have voted for him anyway I voted for Donald Trump, and if I had to pull the switch today, Id vote for Donald Trump again, he says.

But the presidents inability to fulfil his campaign promises such as building a big, beautiful wall that spans the entirety of the US-Mexico border has led Callahan to the point where he says hes on the fence about casting his ballot for Biden.

He considers the choice to be some form of protest against the Republican Party: Im looking at all these Republicans who I used to support, and now theyre OKwith bailing out peoples mortgages and paying their student loans. What does that tell somebody like me?

Callahan says he pays a disproportionate amount of taxes and is concerned about what he describes to be excessive spending during the pandemic.

People are dying, I understand that, he says, adding that some measures must be taken to help flatten the curve and avoid the crisis worsening. But he also notes thatfederal debt has soared past $23 trillion and now it seems to him even the Republicans have washed their hands of the problem.

This thing hit the whole damn world, he says. But we have to remember our priorities.

Click here to read more of The Independent's series, Polarized: Voices From Across America

Link:
Why this Trump voter says he's now 'on the fence' about supporting Biden - The Independent