Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

LStars motto is to do the right thingand do it with passion. What better expression of our motto than repurposing existing resources and pave the way for continued growth and expansion."

Pooler, GA (PRWEB) August 13, 2017

The cottages that formerly housed the Savannah Quarters Sales Center, Golf Pro Shop, and Club Dining are being moved to their new location on three homesites in Westbrook at Savannah Quarters. These cottages reflect the popular and charming architectural elements of the Lowcountry and will be restored for three families to call home.

This relocation and restoration project is the brainchild of Harron Lee of Country Heritage Homes, LLC that was born after a casual conversation with Janice Hoffman, Broker-in-Charge for Savannah Quarters Realty, in February, 2017. Were excited to take on this restoration project, said Harron. These homes will offer modern interior design features with generous living spaces that flow easily.

LStars motto is to do the right thing and do it with passion. What better expression of our motto than repurposing existing resources and pave the way for continued growth and expansion, said Gerrit Albert, Division President Coastal South for LStar Ventures.

Conveniently located within walking distance to The Club at Savannah Quarters amenities, these restored homes will each be approximately 3,200 square-feet with four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, heart pine wood floors, a semi-attached garage with room for two cars, a golf cart, and storage and more. These cottage homes will provide a sense of luxury and comfort that comes from attention to detail.

For more information on these cottage homes, contact Savannah Quarters Realty at 912-450-2300.

About Savannah QuartersSavannah Quarters is a premier new home community in the southeast located 10 miles west of the Savannah city center in Pooler. The 2,600-acre masterplan community offers charm, relaxation, beauty and recreation. The fun and relaxed Club at Savannah Quarters features resort-style amenities such as fitness, tennis, swimming, and a stunning clubhouse with year-round dining and gracious Southern service. Residents can also enjoy the 18-hole Greg Norman Signature Golf Course woven throughout the community. Future plans include a new Village Center, new residences and new adventures for every generation. To schedule a tour and find your dream home, please call 912.450.2300 or visit http://www.SavannahQuarters.com.

About LStar Ventures Since our inception in 2007, LStar Ventures has built more than 65 beautiful, financially successful, and environmentally sensitive communities in 15 states. We are a privately held real estate development firm that owns many of the finest master-planned communities in the country. We take pride in our financial strength, as we maintain little to no debt on any of our real estate assets. This unique approach ensures we can confidently and successfully execute our development strategies over very long periods of time and through varying economic cycles. For more information, please visit http://www.LVNT.com.

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Savannah Quarters Cottage Restoration Project is Underway - PR Web (press release)

Outdoor Lighting

If youre planning to entertain during spring or summer on your patio or deck, you may have a party or two that extends late into the evening. Whether youre all gathered for a night under the stars or are having an evening backyard barbecue, some decorative but useful lighting can help guide the way and set the scene for you, your family and your guests. For all of the summer nights you plan to enjoy outdoors by yourself, with a significant other or with friends, you might also want some lighting that casts a beautiful glow while youre relaxing, chatting and maybe enjoying a dip in the pool. And, even when summer turns to autumn, the gentle illumination from your outdoor lighting can set a welcoming scene for the cozy seasons ahead. When it comes to outdoor lighting and string lights, Pottery Barn features a wealth of different styles and fixtures that make it a breeze to dress up your outdoor space with the same elegance thats featured in the inside of your home.

You may want lighting that youll get to enjoy all the time, not just during get-togethers . For example, having purposeful but decorative lighting by your front door helps you gain entry at night, and it also allows guests and visitors to see the front of your home. Much more aesthetically pleasing than a standard floodlight, consider hanging pendants that are easily installed into the roof of your front porch or stoop. Theyre an exceptional way to light the night, and you can choose from different shapes and styles, such as stars, classic outdoor lanterns-lights/outdoor lanterns/">candle outdoor lanternss and glass boxes. These hanging light fixturess not only do your front door justice, but they also complement your backyard. Hang a set of multiple pendant lights from the overhang of your patio or deck or from your back porch to brighten the space.

Another simple way to light up pathways, your deck or your pool area at night is to install outdoor sconces. Carefully constructed to endure all weather situations, these sconces hold up well to the elements while looking great. Install them by your front or back door or on a garage or shed to give yourself helpful lighting when its pitch black outside.

For a bold statement, opt for an indoor/outdoor chandelier. These pieces work incredibly well when hanging from an outdoor porch or overhang, and they can be an exceptional accompaniment to an outdoor dinner party, adding a touch of classic elegance to every meal. Specially made to be used indoors or out to withstand the elements, choose from classic-style chandeliers, ring chandeliers or chandeliers made from recycled glass for a luxurious and environmentally friendly look. Similar to chandeliers, large hanging pendants also have the ability to enliven your outdoor space. Hang them from roofs or overhangs to add spectacular light to your get-togethers or barbecues. Choose from large globe pendants, hanging outdoor lanterns-lights/outdoor lanterns/">candle outdoor lanterns pendant lights or pendants with nautical themes to match your outdoor decor. Larger outdoor lanterns-lights/outdoor lanterns/">candle outdoor lanterns sconces also pair well with hanging outdoor lanterns-lights/outdoor lanterns/">candle outdoor lanternss, and these are easily installed on the side of your home, garage or shed area.

Beyond hanging outdoor lanterns-lights/outdoor lanterns/">candle outdoor lanternss and pendants, sometimes you need an extra bit of twinkling light, especially when youre entertaining. Choose delicate yet joyful string lights to add just the right ambience to your nighttime get-together or barbecue. Look for bulb-shaped lights, fairy lights and LED string lights to light up the night sky. Useful and versatile, these indoor/outdoor lights look great during any season and can even become part of your holiday decorations when winter comes around. Alternatively, you can place string lights in your enclosed porch or mudroom and turn them on when the mood strikes, especially when youre holding indoor parties or indoor/outdoor dinners. String lights in your enclosed space help add a beach-like, nautical feel and are a great lighting solution to use all year long.

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Outdoor Lights & Patio Lights | Pottery Barn

When lighting up the outdoors, first consider your purpose. Outdoor dining areas have different lighting needs than areas for lounging and conversation. The right outdoor lighting helps you better enjoy and use your outdoor space, whatever its purpose.

Outdoor dining

Having an outdoor kitchen in summertime is optimal. Even a simple gas grill can go a long way in conserving the coolness of your home. No matter the scale of your outdoor cooking area, it needs task lighting. Recessed fixtures can be hidden in the beams of an overhead patio cover or pergola, or outdoor sconces can be mounted above the cooking surface for added safety and accuracy with food preparation.

Dining surfaces require less task lighting than cooking surfaces. Therefore, this light can be functional as well as decorative. For example, twinkling starlight pendants not only provide enough light to eat, but the glittery light they spray out of tiny holes adds a romantic feel to the dining experience. Or, hang string lights over your outdoor table like the roof of a tent this will not only provide enough light to eat by, but also adds ambiance.

Theres never been a better chance that your get-together, and the food you present, will end up photographed and posted on the web. If you want those pictures to look great, lighting can help. Warmer colored light, that is light high in oranges, yellows and reds, makes food and people look natural. Cooler light, or blue-colored light, although great over outdoor kitchens for task lighting, can make people and food appear washed out.

Outdoor R and R

Like indoor lighting, exterior decks and patios are best lit in layers. For most of your exterior lighting, hiding the light source is best as it reduces glare and helps create a relaxed mood. Placing fixtures in landscaping, or overhead in trees or soffits will help conceal fixtures, cords, and wires. Post lights are concealed and decorative, and can even be made to cast patterns on the surface of your deck or patio turning light to art.

A range of assorted products are available to meet all your outdoor needs. Rope lighting can be placed under railings, or along the edge of a wooden walkway or concrete path. Super flat rope lighting is so thin its practically invisible. Undercap lighting, a type of strip light, can be placed under the edge of a sitting wall or bench, or as stairway lighting when applied under the cap of each step.

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Installing hidden fixtures high over your outdoor area, or moonlighting," will mimic soft, romantic moonlight even when the moon is nowhere in sight. Be sure to use LED lighting with anything high it will reduce the number of times you need to climb a ladder, or hire someone with a lift, to replace bulbs.

Outdoor ceiling fans help maximize your R and R when the evening is a warm one. Before purchasing your outdoor fan, pay attention to its rating by Underwriters Laboratories. An outdoor fan thats UL rated damp means the fan is well suited for moist locations where it wont be directly exposed to water. A UL rating of wet means the fan will withstand direct exposure to water snow, rain, ice, or even water squirted from a hose to clean it.

For those without clear purpose

The answer to all of those without clear purpose is dimmers. Dimmers allow you to multipurpose, and offer forgiveness for changing your purpose. Dimmers can not only change the intensity of a light, but now they can change the color as well. When youre cooking over the grill, use a dimmer to intensify the light and cool its color, but when its time to dine and relax, use the dimmer to lower the lights and warm the color.

No matter how you do it, you want to create a space that people linger in, that they are drawn to, and lighting can help. Lighting can and should be a weaving together of colors, wattage and fixtures to create an outdoor space thats magical.

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Outdoor Lighting: Finding your purpose - Billings Gazette

Georgie Silvarole , wltx 4:55 PM. EDT August 13, 2017

Glenn Brill hadn't even thought about the lights.

"My friend mentioned it to me, and he said, 'What are you going to do when the lights pop on?' and I hadnt even thought about it," Brill said. "As I understand it, they're all on photo cells so the street lights will pop on all over Anderson County when we have totality."

Brill, Anderson County's director of parks, recreation and tourism, has spent the last several months preparing the county for the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. But it wasn't until a friend mentioned street lamps with automatic sensors that Brill even considered streetlights could put a damper on visitors' view of the eclipse.

Brill put in a request with Duke Energy several months ago to have the power cut at Green Pond Landing and Event Center on Aug. 21 for the duration of the eclipse.

The Black-Out at Green Pond is one of two events Anderson County has developed for people to view the eclipse. After the Green Pond event generated so much popularity, the county announced a second viewing location, the Civic Center of Anderson, in mid-July.

"Back in February, I made the request to cut the power to Green Pond, and that request is being honored," Brill said. "At the Civic Center ... I made that request in July and they had too many requests by then."

Randy Wheeless, a spokesman for Duke Energy, said the company is unable to meet the high number of requests they've received for the eclipse.

"We've received quite a few there's probably been dozens," Wheeless said. "As a rule, we're not really accepting those."

Though a few exceptions may have been made, Wheeless said meeting every request just isn't feasible.

"To cut off streetlights in any particular neighborhood is a manual process," Wheeless said. "It's very impractical for us to go and manually turn off those streetlights and then go back later and manually turn those lights back on."

Duke Energy simply doesn't have the time or manpower to meet each request to have streetlights manually turned off (and then back on again) all on the same day, Wheeless said.

"We understand the request, but from labor-intensive standpoint there's thousands of street lamps," Wheeless said. "You're talking about a pretty labor-intensive endeavor."

At the Civic Center, guests will be directed to the William A. Floyd Amphitheater, which will position them so the parking lot (and it's bright lights) will be at their backs, Brill said.

"We can turn off all of our outside lights, except for the ones in the main parking lot, and the amphitheater backs to the parking lot," Brill said.

More than 60,000 people are expected to visit the county on the 21st and thats the low estimate.

It could be as many as 245,000 in Anderson County, and as many as 2 million for the state, Brill said. Because of that influx, locals are encouraged to view from home if they can and if they choose to, they should try to cut the power to any security lights or outdoor lighting that might be activated by low light, he added.

"The reality is, if you're looking at the sun at this 63-degree angle, the lights shouldn't have too much of an impact," Brill said. "But for most people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event."

The Greenville News

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Duke Energy receives dozens of requests to turn off streetlights for eclipse - WLTX.com

EAST BAY, CA If you're a small or medium sized business owner, a free energy audit could help you slice you monthly power bill.

The East Bay Energy Watch Program (EBEW), a local government partnership between PG&E, Alameda County, and Contra Costa County, helps small and medium business owners achieve long term energy and money savings.

The program offers rebates between 25% - 75% of the total project cost for a wide range of energy upgrades including indoor and outdoor lighting, commercial refrigeration equipment, anti-sweat heater (ASH) controls, and electronically commuted motors.

The program begins with a free comprehensive energy audit.

If you choose to implement changes, EBEW provides a carefully selected network of contractors.

To get started, call EBEW directly at 510-285-4111.

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Originally published August 14, 2017.

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Energy Efficiency Program For East Bay Small, Medium Businesses - Patch.com

Spain has been notorious for its incomplete cities and the overall infrastructure issues in some Spanish cities. Recently, a multinational technology integration company,Sociedad Ibrica de Construcciones Elctricas (SICE), has been working with municipalities to improve street infrastructure in two Spanish cities.

Mengbar (a city in the south-central province of Jan, Spain) is to receive a project that aims at replacing about 1000 points of light with LED lampposts, improving efficiency and energy savings of outdoor lighting systems. Santander, a city along the north coast of Spain, is also getting atraffic light priority system for public transportation.

SICE has built a reputation for saving up to 70% in electricity consumption and 20% in CO2 emissions.The project running in Mengbar aims to significantly optimize public lighting systems. Control equipment will be installed and integrated into the lampposts, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and annual electricity consumption.

While in Santander,SICE will install a Prioritization and Geolocation System, eventually giving priority to the public transport in the city via 17 traffic lights. The new system will enable intelligent wireless communication between priority vehicles and traffic light control elements while aiming at improving vehicle traffic.

The traffic light prioritization system is purposed to relieve the public transport from delays caused by traffic congestion at intersections controlled by traffic lights, which should reduce travel times and improve the services commercial speed.

When municipal buses get closer to a traffic light that is about to turn red, the system locates the buses on a GPS geolocation system to trigger the green light. Moreover, SICE will provide Santander streets with a queue jump (or sometimes called cutting in line).A queue jump system isa type of street infrastructure that provides preference to buses at intersections, often found in bus rapid transit (BRT) systems.

The system will be installed at three traffic lights, which will ease the incorporation of buses into the bus lane.

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Spanish Cities to Receive New Street Infrastructure - progrss (press release) (blog)

Retaining walls provide lateral support to vertical slopes of soil. They retain soil which would otherwise collapse into a more natural shape. The retained soil is sometimes referred to as backfill.

Retaining walls can be constructed of many different materials and with a variety of building techniques. This discussion will focus on rigid, monolithic, poured concrete walls as the structural material, but steel, timber, and reinforced soil are often used too.

This retaining wall discussion will focus on walls that are constructed from the bottom up and where a stable backslope exists (at least temporarily) prior to wall construction. With poured concrete retaining walls, backfill is placed between the wall and the slope after the wall is constructed.

Concrete Retaining Wall Information

This discussion will talk about the walls themselves, their design and some important construction considerations. It will not talk about groundwork or compaction, since these are entire topics on their own right. Designers and builders of any kind of retaining wall should be familiar with and follow the procedures and methods for soil preparation and backfill compaction methods dictated by the appropriate local building codes.

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Retaining Wall Design - The Concrete Network

For many years the options for engineers specifying retaining wall structures have been limited to time consuming and often expensive solutions such as gabion baskets or crib-wall systems. However, over the last few years more and more retaining wall projects are being completed in record times and below forecast costs by choosing interlocking blocks.

Interlocking concrete lego style blocks (provided they are cast in accordance with BS EN 15258:2008) have a number of advantages over more traditional systems

Speed Retaining wall projects are often time critical not only for cost reasons but also for reasons of safety in that open excavations are relatively unstable and liable to collapse. Similarly retaining wall structures are often required to repair land slips and of course in these cases every day taken to complete the repair can cost huge sums of money. Interlocking blocks are incredibly quick to install (often over 100m2 per day is achieved) and moreover, the method of installing the blocks means that personnel are not exposed to the risk of being trapped by embankment failure.

Cost Quick installation (see above) is by its nature a relatively low cost approach. However the interlocking elements themselves are usually cheaper than alternative materials because they are mass produced in standard sizes. Direct cost comparisons have shown that interlocking block solutions are on average 75% of the cost of more traditional systems.

Availability Modular block systems are mass produced in large numbers for a huge variety of project types. They are therefore always available directly off-the shelf enabling large projects to be completed extremely quickly avoiding long lead time or waiting for a cast in-situ solution to cure.

Flexibility Interlocking concrete blocks offer great flexibility in terms of the finish that can be achieved. Whilst many clients choose the standard smooth concrete finish the blocks can easily be clad in brick, natural block / stone or rendered, according to the requirements of the local planning or conservation officers.

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Interlocking Concrete Blocks for retaining wall structures - Hub 4 (press release)

Essex, Vt. - Police say there is a thief targeting an Essex neighborhood and packages are being stolen right off of porches.

According to Essex Police Department, officers have heard about stolen packages in the East Street and Mansfield Ave area and are looking for two teens on bikes. Only a couple people have filed formal reports.

Residents are talking on a community group called Front Porch Forum and have written that Pleasant and Arlington Streets are also involved. From speaking with residents, Local 22 & Local 44 has learned of one incident where a woman on Arlington Street had a package stolen. It was later found torn apart and thrown onto someone else's lawn.

Neighbors are coming together until police can catch whoever is doing this. Tom Stone lives next door to the affected home on Arlington Street.

"She did end up I guess recovering the merchandise but since then she has asked if UPS and the Post Office could deliver her stuff to our home and we said sure," Stone said.

Police suggest doing just this. Officer Kissinger said it is a hard problem to fix. He suggested having your package delivered to a safer place or picking it up at the post office.

Stealing packages is a federal offense.

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Packages Pinched From Essex Porches - My Champlain Valley FOX44 & ABC22

Long before a lot of Oklahoma artists made their way to big stages and bright lights, they were playing on front porches, sharing good times with friends, writing, laughing and dreaming.

Its a natural habitat for a songwriter, watching the world go by with a guitar in hand, picking along on a summer afternoon. Its a side of the music life that fans dont often see, but it will be on full display when the second annual Norman Porch Festival returns from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 19 to the Miller Historic District.

Last years festival was the first of its kind in Oklahoma, and organizers Wess McMichael and Sara Kaplan didnt know what to expect. People showed up by the hundreds, on foot, on bike, towing toddlers, walking dogs and soaking in an evening of music as they bounced from one front yard to another.

Singer/songwriter Kierston White will make her Norman Porch Festival debut this year, but like so many other artists, she said shell feel right at home.

Itll be more like going camping than playing a show, she said. Front-porch picking is how a lot of us started. Thats what we do at home, thats how we write. You just sit around on a front porch and play.

I think its more organic. You wont have the noise of a bar and well all be outside during a perfect time of year.

White said shes not sure who shell have playing with her, but like any good front-porch jam, shes not too worried about the details.

Im going to grab whoevers around that day, she said. We like to get together and jam any chance we get and I think itll be perfect.

McMichael said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout and the reception last year, and is looking forward to a similar block-party atmosphere this time around.

It was up in the air, he said. There were a lot of unknowns there, but it was an overwhelming success. Some people asked me to do it twice a year, some people asked if we would do it in different neighborhoods. We were very excited and its something were going to try to carry forward.

McMichael said he had worked with the Dreamer Concepts board, and after Midsummer Nights Fair folded in 2016, he was looking for a new way to showcase Normans musical talent.

Norman is the City of Festivals, and to that point, McMichael treated Midsummers end as a means to exercise the law of conservation of festivals.

This year, McMichael said he was initially worried about securing enough artists, but when he started making calls, he found a lot of enthusiasm. And when he secured Norman legend Mike Hosty, he said it upped the cool factor.

Theres a lot of goodwill involved, he said. This town has some of the best musicians per capita of anywhere in the world. Maybe not all of them are famous, but people in Norman get it and they like to hear them. So, putting those two things together is easy.

It really wasnt that much of a deal. Once I let people know I needed PA systems, they started coming out of the woodwork. It really made itself and it really kept the grass roots vibe going. No sponsorships, just a lot of good will and people volunteering to make it happen.

Theres no committee. There are no meetings. I think Sara and I had pizza once. Theres a unique want to hear these amazing musicians and the musicians just want to be heard and the two come together naturally.

Last year, the festival had 33 performers on 11 stages. This year, there could be even more artists involved and a few improvements.

McMichael said the only issue last year was bathrooms, or the lack thereof. So, this year, McMichael said the festival has arranged to provide portable outhouses. To help people find their way to their favorite stage, McMichael said the festival will be providing an interactive Google map with band lineups and venues at mcmichaelmusic.com, though lineups have yet to be finalized.

McMichael said he will also be unveiling two new stages the new artist stage and a spoken words stage. To make sure everybody will get a chance to see their favorite acts, show times will be staggered.

White and McMichael said its a great time for performers, but theyre not the only ones who get to enjoy the atmosphere. Some of them, well, they live there.

This is my second year and Im ecstatic, said Sheila Dilling, who manages the stage at 503 S. Crawford Ave.

I think we need to keep it going. We had such a fantastic turnout and it was a great opportunity for neighbors to mingle purposefully, instead of just while were working on our yards or walking our dogs.

There was a lot of anticipation and immediate interest and I think everyone was pleased with how it turned out. Theres nothing like a porch in the summer and our neighborhood has some great porches. It was a neat opportunity to showcase our neighborhood.

She said 405 Brewing will be sharing some of their beers at her place, much like Lazy Circle Brewery did last year. She said thats the kind of community Norman is, and festival helps bring people together. Having the Miller Historic District host the event adds a little something extra.

I do think its fitting, she said. I think the porch fest highlights the unique character of our neighborhood, even though its just a few blocks. There are all these fantastic porches that you dont see so much now. I think its a sort of hidden gem. Its this little pocket of cottages. I would love to see the porch fest continue. I also think its a great close to summer. Its kind of that last chance to really spend some quality time on your porch and include as many people as you can.

Then, theres the music.

Sometimes youre lucky when youre hanging out on the porch and somebody maybe has a guitar and youre all having beverages, but this opens it up to the entire neighborhood, she said. Its like that times 10.

First-time porch host Allie Halford, who moved to Norman from Oklahoma City in May, said she wanted in immediately when she heard about the festival.

These are the kinds of things that we love, Halford said. We lived in a neighborhood in Oklahoma City that did a lot of things like that, and you really got to know your neighbors and feel part of your community.

Halford said turning porches into stages brings people together. She has a lot of musician friends and shes hoping Norman band Cedar House will get to perform on her porch. If they dont, she said its cool. Shell just get to meet more musicians.

Confirmed artists:

Mike Hosty

Caleb McGee

Susan Herndon

Camille Harp

Lacy Saunders

Kierston White

Katie Williams

Derek Paul

Dorian Small

Steven Baker

Clint Hardesty

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Porch Pickin': Norman Porch Festival returns for second helping - Norman Transcript