Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Manual scavenging kills more people than terrorism in the country, according to the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA), an organisation working for the eradication of manual scavenging.

According to the SKA, 1,300 manual scavengers died across the country in 2016. In the same time period, 516 civilians were killed in terrorism in India, as per the data of the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), an organisation that helps in critical assessment and analysis of terrorism in South Asia. Recently, the death of two manual scavengers in Delhi has sparked a debate on the state of manual scavenging in the country.

Though the practice of manual scavenging was banned in 2013 under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the death of two labourers while manually cleaning sewage in the capital is shocking, said Brajesh Kumar, coordinator of the SKA Delhi zone.

Though multiple laws prohibit manual scavenging and despite the Supreme Courts strict directions, things have not changed and 1,300 people died across the country in 2016 in septic tanks or sewers while doing this job. For cleaning septic tanks or sewers, workers often descend into the tank filled with noxious gases, with no protective gear. Often the worker has to go deep inside the tank to clean it, Kumar said.

Although the Delhi State Legal Services Authority had identified 233 manual scavengers in the capital in 2013, of whom 104 were government employees, this figure, say experts, is misleading since there is no way to determine the exact number of people working privately in manual scavenging.

The three Municipal Corporations of Delhi have 2,382 nala beldars, or drain cleaners, on their rolls. Officially, these employees are meant to keep small drains free of silt, but there is nothing that says they cannot be made to clean deeper sewers. The Delhi Jal Board, too, has full-time sewer cleaners. Besides, civic agencies often outsource the dehumanising work to contractors, who find contract labour for such assignments. This allows the agencies to escape culpability in the event of accidents.

A study by Praxis India, a non-profit Bangalore-based organisation doing research on issues related to urban space, revealed the occupational and health hazards and perils of contracting faced by sewerage workers of Delhi. Praxis Indias study shows that every year, over 100 sewerage workers die in Delhi after entering drains and manholes with high temperature, slippery walls, floors and toxic gases.

Most sewerage workers, due to lack of medical attention, suffer from several dreaded diseases like cardiovascular degeneration, musculoskeletal disorders, infections, skin problems and respiratory ailments, said Saron Thambola, a member of Praxis India.

Apart from health hazards, the other issues manual scavengers face are low pay, caste-based discrimination, prejudice, lack of occupational safety and apathy of government agencies, he added.

Jayanti Majumdar, a Dalit scholar at the Mahatma Gandhi Peace foundation, told The Sunday Guardian: The problem of manual scavenging is also a problem of caste. Only law cant prevent manual scavenging; society has to respond and render support to end this inhuman practice. Contractualisation has worsened the situation of manual scavengers. Political parties should ensure they are not only taking votes in the name of caste, but also working for those castes.

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'Manual scavenging kills more than terrorism' - The Sunday Guardian

S. Alexander Gerould @OD_Gerould

UTICA Several downtown Utica buildings are going to look a little different.

At a recent meeting of the citys Scenic & Historic Preservation Commission, board members approved several Certificates of Appropriateness for seven building owners to make exterior improvements to their properties.

The work, which will be done by Bonacci Architects, is part of the citys Faade Improvement Loan Program. The program is focused on rehabilitating blighted commercial buildings within commercial thoroughfares that are adjacent to residential neighborhoods.

The city received approximately 20 applications for the program.

"For the past several years, the city has offered a facade grant program for businesses along largely Bleecker Street from Genesee Street to Albany Street," said Brian Thomas, the city's commissioner of urban and economic development. "This past year, the mayor asked that we change our focus and focus on Genesee Street essentially from Oriskany Boulevard to Oneida Square."

The city has allocated $90,000 in 2016-17 funds with additional funds likely to be allocated in the 2017-18 program year for the loan program, according to a request for proposal for architectural services sent out by the city. The program is a federally funded program through theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant program.

"We didn't limit the amount of people that could participate," Thomas said. "There's a limit on the dollars that are available."

Forgivable loans of up to $22,500 will be awarded based on a rating system, according to the request for proposal. In order to receive the full $22,500, the property owner must commit a private match of at least $7,500 for a total project budget of $30,000. Any cost overruns beyond the $30,000 will be the responsibility of the private property owner, according to the request.

Project components eligible for funding, according to the city's website, include things such as exterior painting, repairing or replacing windows, awnings, signs and display-area lighting.

Items not eligible include work completed prior to project funding, interior improvements or improvements not seen from a publicly owned space, security systems and business operational costs.

Black River Systems at 162 Genesee St. is one of the businesses taking part in the program.

Michael Krumme, the company's vice president, said they are looking to use the program to help replace the window that's in the front of the building. He said they wouldn't be able to fix it without the program.

"We're right on the Busy Corner, sort of a historical area and that window's been missing pieces of it ever since we moved in," Krumme said. "It's uninsulated and leaks and this is going to help us fix that."

Follow @OD_Gerould on Twitter or call him at 315-792-4995.

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7 Utica businesses to receive funding for improvements - Utica Observer Dispatch

Published: July 30, 2017 4:00 AM

The sun for a few moments will be close to 80 percent dark across northeast Ohio at 1:07 p.m. Aug. 21.

For those of us in Portage County, that's the peak time for the upcoming solar eclipse, according to Jay Ryan, who, courtesy of Roger Sidoti, spoke to Kent Rotary Tuesday.

It's weather permitting, Ryan told Rotarians, because if it is cloudy, those looking toward the heavens will not notice much except a temporary greater darkness.

An amateur astronomer who has developed an expertise concerning eclipses, Ryan maintains a website, americaneclipseusa.com, that provides easy-to-read information for people fascinated by what happens when our moon briefly passes between the sun and Earth.

Solar eclipses, his website says, happen more often than we might think, but they cast a shadow along a relatively narrow track determined by the moon's orbit. Those outside the track, where the shadow does not fall, do not notice any darkness.

Ryan's website indicates we in Portage County will experience a shadow generated by a brief 80 percent blackout of the sun. If you want to see what a 100 percent blackout looks like, wait seven years. One is scheduled to occur in 2024 and if the sky is clear, that eclipse will be dramatic.

Wyoming adventure

In follow-up discussion at Rotary, Dr. E.A Mastroianni, the dentist, mentioned his son, Ernie, photography editor for the science magazine, Discover, will travel to Casper, Wyoming where the eclipse will be 100 percent. Wyoming's cleaner atmosphere will make it easier to photograph the eclipse.

In the 1970s, while studying at Kent State University's School of Journalism, Ernie was a photographer at the Record-Courier. We experienced a near total solar eclipse while he was working at the newspaper and Ernie shot stages of the eclipse that turned out brilliantly. We published his eclipse stages across the top of Page 1.

Ernie has always been interested in science so the job of being photography editor for Nature must be a nearly perfect fit. Ernie has covered a mission to the South Pole. A website gallery he maintains has, among many photos, some of owls and birds for a birding magazine. There is a photo he took of the planet Mercury crossing between the sun and the earth with tiny Mercury so far away its shadow was too diffuse to block out sunlight. There are photos showing thousands of people carrying huge Alpen Horns at a Swiss festival.

Ernie's photography decorates his father's dental offices and provides a nice distraction from one's dental problems.

Our courthouse

Three different versions of our Portage County Courthouse are shown on the cover of a program handed out during the 1960 dedication ceremonies for the courthouse we have now. Industrialist Jack Schafer, an expert on architectural preservation and a collector, shared this program.

The photo in the program's upper left shows the 1830 Greek Revival Courthouse and Jail on the square in downtown Ravenna. Greek Revival was typical of New England architecture in the Western Reserve, when it was first populated by New Englanders, mostly from Connecticut. Connecticut had "reserved" this section of Northeast Ohio from its original land-grant that stretched from seat to sea. Many Connecticut speculators bought huge tracts of land here to sell to settlers. Benjamin Tappan, the founder of Ravenna, was one of these speculators.

Greek Revival was the popular architectural style of the early 19th century and most of early Ravenna, including its commercial buildings, were in that style. The Phenix Block that Coleman Professional Services now owns, was primarily in this style. An 1877 remodeling by the IOOF changed part of it to a more florid version of commercial architecture, Jack said.

The lower left photo is of our 1882 courthouse. It was attached to the front of its 1830 predecessor, which the county had outgrown. Jack said our High Victorian Gothic courthouse showed more architectural exuberance than most Ohio courthouses of the era and that may be why its loss is still mourned today. It was well suited to Ravenna, defining the central public space of the community and it coordinated well with the commercial buildings that Henry Riddle constructed later, especially Riddle Block No. 1.

The image on the right of the program is a rendering of the current courthouse built during the modernist era that swept the USA after World War II. Its austere design clashed with the late 19th and early 20th century style commercial buildings that remain dominant in Ravenna today. Two decades ago some unflattering comments about the Portage County Courthouse appeared in a book about Ohio's courthouses. The commissioners were remodeling the courthouse's interior back then and asked the architect to soften its plain modernist exterior. He did so by attaching a pedimented portico on the front.

To enhance understanding of Ravenna's architectural heritage, Jack Schafer is providing interesting hour-long walking tours of the downtown to raise funds for the Main Street Ravenna program. The next one deals with the community's civic buildings. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 17 with a repeat session at 11 a.m. Aug. 26.

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David Dix: Elcipse offers rare opportunity - Ravenna Record Courier

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Apogee Enterprises, Inc. shares had a trading volume of 10K on Thursday. Overall, volume was down 94.13% under the stocks normal daily volume.

Investors are a little more bearish on Apogee Enterprises, Inc. recently if you take a look at the change in short interest. The firm experienced a rise in short interest of 2.08% as of the latest report on May 31, 2017. Short interest grew from 4,618,489 to 4,714,340 over that period. Days to cover decreased from 25.9 to 23.0 and the percentage of shorted shares is 0.16% as of May 31.

Here are a few additional firms who have increased or decreased their stake in (APOG). As of quarter end Goldman Sachs Group Inc had bought 1,195 shares growing its stake by 17.1%. The value of the investment in Apogee Enterprises, Inc. went from $375,000 to $489,000 increasing 30.4% for the reporting period. Macquarie Group Ltd reduced its position by selling 2,619 shares a decrease of 0.4% as of 03/31/2017. Macquarie Group Ltd claims 613,272 shares valued at $36,557,000. The total value of its holdings increased 10.8%.

Horizon Investment Services, LLC augmented its stake by buying 23,075 shares an increase of 152.2% in the quarter. Horizon Investment Services, LLC controls 38,240 shares with a value of $2,279,000. The value of the position overall is up by 180.7%. As of the end of the quarter State Street Corp had acquired a total of 37,383 shares growing its position 3.5%. The value of the total investment in Apogee Enterprises, Inc. increased from $56,866,000 to $65,517,000 a change of 15.2% quarter to quarter.

On July 12 the company was downgraded from to Neutral by analysts at Goldman Sachs. On June 26 the company was rated Market Perform in a report from Northland Securities down from the previous Outperform rating.

On June 15 DA Davidson held the company rating at Buy but raised the price expectation from $58.00 to $64.00. November 17 investment analysts at DA Davidson held the stock rating at Buy and raised the price target to $52.00 from $46.00.

On September 23 the stock rating was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform and a price target of $47.00 was set in an announcement from Northland Securities. Northland Securities raised the price target and upgraded the stock on September 23 boosting the price target from $33.00 to $47.00 and moving the rating from Market Perform to Outperform.

In the market the company is trading down from yesterdays close of $52.96. The company announced a dividend for shareholders that was paid on Tuesday the 25th of July 2017. The dividend was $0.140 per share for the quarter which is $0.56 annualized. This dividend amount was represent a yeild of $1.06. The ex-dividend date was Thursday the 6th of July 2017.

The stock last traded at $52.49 a tad below $55.42, the 50 day moving average and marginally under the 200 day moving average of $55.93. The 50 day moving average went down $-2.93 or -5.29% and the 200 day average went down $-3.44 or -6.15%.

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.s P/E ratio is 17.98 and market cap is 1.51B. As of the latest earnings report the EPS was $2.92 and is expected to be $3.38 for the current year with 28,848,000 shares presently outstanding. Analysts expect next quarters EPS to be $0.99 with next years EPS anticipated to be $4.18.

Apogee Enterprises, Inc., launched on July 12, 1949, is involved in the design and development of glass solutions for enclosing commercial buildings and framing art. The Company operates in four segments: Architectural Glass, Architectural Services, Architectural Framing Systems and Large-Scale Optical Technologies (LSO). The Architectural Glass segment fabricates coated glass used in customized window and wall systems comprising the outside skin of commercial, institutional and multi-family residential buildings. The Architectural Services segment designs, engineers, fabricates and installs the walls of glass, windows and other curtainwall products making up the outside skin of commercial and institutional buildings. The Architectural Framing Systems segment designs, engineers, fabricates and finishes the aluminum frames used in customized aluminum and glass window, curtainwall, storefront and entrance systems comprising the outside skin and entrances of commercial, institutional and multi-family residential buildings. The Large-Scale Optical Technologies segment manufactures glass and acrylic products for the custom picture framing and fine art markets..

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Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) Sees Significantly Lower Trading Volume - Highlight Press

Two architectural practices in North Yorkshire have merged to create a more substantial presence in the North East architecture market.

Shuttleworth Picknett Associates and DKS Architects, who were both operating from offices in Stokesley, have consolidated their resources, workload and client base.

The new business will be known as SPA Architects and will operate from Shuttleworth Picknett Associates' existing premises on Stokesley Business Park.

All staff have been retained to establish a headcount of 16 staff with a range of expertise consisting of architects, technicians, interior designer, BIM manager, practice manager and administration support.

DKS partner Martin Desmond said "The two practices were near neighbours, of similar size and very similar in organisation and culture, so discussions were straightforward and made sound economic sense.

"Each practice shared a common understanding of delivering projects in the same development sectors particularly in the residential, healthcare, industrial, education and leisure sectors, but have also been able to bring expertise in different sectors such as residential extra-care, commercial, retail and pharmaceutical design which compliments these core sectors."

Fellow DKS partner David Knudsen added: "All current projects are continuing seamlessly with at least the same levels of design skill, working drawing detail and contractor support during construction stages.

"However, we believe that going forward the levels of service we can offer will be even higher due to synergies within the combined business.

"In addition to architectural and interior design services we are also able to offer project management and principal designer services as a result of the merger."

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Stokesley architecture firms merge - Insider Media

A Grand Rapids architecture firm has added 10 employees to its team.

TowerPinskter, which also provides engineering and interior design services,said this week it added the employees to its offices in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo during the first half of this year.

The growth of our team is directly correlated with our expansion and success in the Midwest marketplace, said Bjorn Green, president and CEO,TowerPinkster.

Our new team members are essential to our strategic plan, set in place to help us broaden our reach and expand our capabilities and services.

Tom Sturr

Sturr was added to the TowerPinkster team as a senior project architect.

He has 32 years of architecture experience across the globe.

He works in government, health care, commercial development and education.

One of the most significant projects of his career was the $100-million expansion of the Nanjing Airport Terminal in Nanjing, China.

Nick Wallis

Wallis joined the firm as a architectural project coordinator.

While living in Beijing, he helped design the Nanjing Green Lighthouse.

He graduated from Lawrence Technological University.

Karl Kinkema

Kinkema joined the firmas a senior project architect.

He has more than 25 years of experience.

He works on hospital facilities, medical office buildings, sports facilities and commercial buildings.

He holds a master of architecture from the University of Michigan.

Elizabeth Slaski

Slaski joined the firmas an architectural designer.

She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Douglas Milburn

Milburn joined the firmas a project manager.

He has 15 years of experience and is an active member in the American Institute of Architects Michigan Mentoring Network.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois.

Kyle Boston

Boston joined the firmas a mechanical designer.

He has 18 years of experience.

Angela Bowles

Bowles joinded the firmas an interior designer, returning to West Michigan from California.

She has a degree from the Art Institute of California in Sacramento.

Lindsay Gadbois

Gadboisjoined the firm as a lanscape designer, returning to Grand Rapids from Washington.

She graduated from the University of Washington College of Built Environments.

Administration

Rosa Kelly was hired as an administrative coordinator, and Nick Covey was added as an ITsupport specialist.

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Architecture firm adds to team - grbj.com

Guests attended the launch event included the following: Li Bingren, president of China Building Decoration Association, Li Hejun, Board Chairman of the Hanergy Holding Group, over 600 potential distributors and channel partners, and another 3000-odd people from local governments, industrial associations, financial organizations, as well as domestic and foreign media. They gathered together to witness the historical release of the Hantile, an upgraded-product inspired from the company's original Hanergy Civil Focusing solar products.

In his speech titled "One Tile, One Tree," Chairman Li Hejun remarked: "Hanergy took advantage of the lightness, thinness and flexibleness of thin-film solar power material and creatively integrated it with roof tile. This integration between technology and industrial products is a breakthrough in the history of construction; even more so, such creation is an innovation based on our Chinese culture."

Merging cutting-edge thin-film technology and traditional culture

"Qin bricks and Han tiles" have long been upheld in Chinese literature. From the Weiyang Palace of Western Han dynasty to the home of peasants, tiles have been considered not only as an important characteristic of Chinese architecture, but also endowed with cultural significance. To quote a famous folk saying "home is where the tile overhead", tile signifies home in the heart of the Chinese. All around us, everything is going through tremendous changes, except the material and function of tiles have remained the same, as their purposes are still simply protection from wind and rain, preservation of warmth, and decoration.

As today, the introduction of the Hantile will change all that! The Hantile, using laminated packaging technology, encapsulates a thin, light, flexible and efficient CIGS thin-film solar chip into ultra-clear float glass that not only able to maximized solar chip's conversion rate but fulfilling architectural aesthetic demands at the same time. Data shows that the current average conversion rate of the Hanergy's flexible thin-film chips used by the Hantile is 16.5% at the manufacturing level, such rate is expected to rise to 17.5% by end of the year, and such consistent growth is expected at the future.

"The Hantile highly reflects the essence of Chinese traditional culture and architectural philosophy. The choice of material and design considers practicality, incorporates aesthetic and humanistic values, and creates environmentally friendly architecture reflecting the harmony between human beings and nature. The product name Hantile is taken from and develops on Chinese culture as well as Hanergy technology," said Li Hejun.

At the event, during Mr. Li's speech, an all-in-one construction team was building a 50m2 rooftop with Hantile. About 40 minutes later, a rooftop covered with 168 pieces of Hantile for an installed capacity of 5000W had been completed and was ready to be displayed in front of guests.

Upgraded products and services and pioneering "Automatic custom service"

Current distributed solar power modules are generally installed on the surface of buildings, which cannot be part of them. As an upgraded version of these modules, the Hantile comes in three models: curved, flat and upturned C styles, which can cater to the aesthetical and individualized needs of most buildings.

In addition to integrating the thin-film solar chips for power generation, the Hantile the product series also contains accessory tiles of the same color and design to achieve consistency. As a one-stop service provider for complete clean energy solution, Hanergy provide customers with integrating consultancy, system design, installation, grid connection, user training, operation and maintenance data monitoring so on.

As a construction material, the Hantile has better performances than traditional tiles in terms of thermal insulation, heat preservation, fire prevention, infiltration prevention and hail prevention. The Hantile especially stands out with its waterproof performance because of its special design: glass material, U-type weather bar and F-type slot. In terms of structure, this product has perfect windproof and lightning protection design. It is able to generate power at a temperature from -40 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celsius. At present, the Hantile has received the China Compulsory Certification and the China Quality Certification, and passed installation testing, meeting all industrial requirements in term of product quality and safety.

At the launch event, Hanergy announced the market price of the triple arch solar tile as 1390 yuan/m2. Hanergy offers lifetime warranty and lifetime charged maintenance.

Hanergy's mature service system, fostered by residential power generation product and other distributed solar products, is being further upgraded. It has first put forward a service concept of "Automatic custom service," according to which all Hantile systems delivered to customers will be accompanied with an inverter data collector connected to a big data analysis platform at the Hanergy headquarters; when the operation data from the Hantile system diverge from local average data by 20%, the backstage supporter at the headquarters will issue orders for on-site repairs through its nation-wide network to solve any customer issue. All the orders and evaluations are made through the Customer Relationship Management system and the mobile APP "Hanergy Man". To further ensure its clients' interests, Hanergy also bought insurance for customers from a third party, the People's Insurance Company of China.

Strong distribution channels facing a trillion RMB market

According to data from the China Bricks & Tiles Industrial Association, in 2016, 1.01 billion m2 of tiles were sold. The market is still expanding with an annual speed of about 20%. According to the current price of the Hantile, the potential domestic market is estimated to be 1.4 trillion yuan annually. As for the global market, it is at least two times as big as China's market, bringing its potential market scale up to 2.8 trillion yuan.

The Hantile mainly targets newly-built commercial villas, urban and rural public buildings and self-built houses in rural areas. It aims at the construction of beautiful villages and towns. The Hantile is also highly competitive when it comes to rooftop reconstruction projects, such as renovating aged rooftops and turning flat rooftops into slanted ones.

Hanergy intends to share this rapidly growing market with its distributors. In recent years, Hanergy has creatively developed China's residential distributed power generation market; its specialized distributor model and system is now mature, offering a one-stop service system integrating marketing, installation and aftersales services covering all established municipal and county-level markets.

Learning from successful business models and market experiences, Hanergy gave authorization of Hantile at the municipal level under the "sole distributor in a city" channel policy. It is planned to absorb 300 distributors that will cover 90% of China's cities. Hanergy will establish its internal training system, "Hantile Distributors' College," to offer systematic training and support on marketing, design, installation, operation and maintenance and services.

Contact: Contact Person: Wang Danning Telephone Number: 0086 10 83914567 ext 3118 Cell Number: 13671129766 Email: wangdanning@hanergy.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/540402/Hanergy_Triple_Arch_Solar_Tile.jpg

LHDE Hanergy Holding Group Ltd.

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Hanergy Releases Hantile to Snatch Construction Material Market Share - PR Newswire (press release)

Split Level renovations have been growing in the last few years. It is a fast and convenient way to add more space to the unfinished or partly-finished areas of the home. Some ideas are opening up the main floor, updating the kitchen, adding bathrooms and formal living rooms.

Many people want to create more openness in the main floor of a split level, which usually consists of living room, dining room, kitchen and possibly a bedroom. Openness can certainly be achieved by removing some of the walls between rooms. You will need to be sure you know which walls are load-bearing walls. For example, you might want more openness between the kitchen and the dining room. Either removing the wall or replacing the wall with a counter will open up the area and feel more spacious. Removing the wall between the living room and dining room can also open up the area and make it more conducive to entertaining.

It is not uncommon for split level homes with four levels to have an unfinished bottom level. Finishing this area is really no different from finishing any basement. It will be important, however, to check on ceiling height early in the planning stages of the project. A number of split level homes have lower ceilings on the bottom floor.

The desire to add a bathroom to any home is quite common. Split levels often offer two important opportunities for bathroom additions. First, most split level homes were not built with a bathroom on the main (formal living area) floor. Many homeowners would like to add at least a half-bath or powder room on the main floor for the comfort and convenience of guests or for elderly or disabled family members. Determining the location of the new bathroom is a challenge in most split levels. Logic and cost-consciousness would suggest locating the new bathroom near (next to, above or below) existing plumbing. This allows you to use existing supply and removal pipes. Depending on the floor plan, however, this might not be workable. Location of pipes to a new bathroom on the main floor will also require some attention to the ceiling height of the floor below (if there is one). If the lower level has typically lower ceilings, placement of plumbing might depend upon where you can run pipes without making the lower level unusable.

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Whole House Remodeling, Room Additions

Jul 27, 2017 at 7:41 am | Print View

Stepping into The Map Room, a new pub in downtown Cedar Rapids, is a little like stepping into the pages of an atlas maps from around the world line the walls.

We traveled a lot, and we were always picking up maps wherever we went. We joked we would put them in the map room someday, said owner Christina Springman, who opened the bar and restaurant with her husband, Mitch Springman.

Instead of creating that room in their house, they decided to share their maps with the public, alongside servings of homemade pub food and signature cocktails. Together, the decor and the menu are meant to provide a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.

We wanted a spot that would inspire people to talk about their travels, Christina Springman said.

The food also comes with a globe-trotting aesthetic. The kitchen is small, about 4 feet wide, so they had to keep the menu focused; chef Quincey Sproston mainly serves burgers, along with a selection of loaded fries and crostinis.

Each burger focuses on a different global city, with a flavor profile and toppings inspired by that areas cuisine. The Delhi burger, for example, is topped with paneer, garam masala and mint chutney, while the New Orleans burger is topped with mortadella, ham, salami, mozzarella, provolone and spicy olive relish. Others include the Marrakesh, Seoul, Memphis and Napoli burgers.

We tried to hit every continent with the menu, Springman said. We just had to figure out how to put them on a burger.

The drink menu, meanwhile, features beer and wine alongside craft cocktails like the La Mure, which includes blackberry brandy, fresh lemon juice and sparkling wine, or the Porch Life, with gin, Domaine de Canton ginger and house-made strawberry lemonade.

We went for light, refreshing summer drinks, Springman said. I want this to be a comfortable tavern. I dont want it to be pretentious by any means.

Both of the Springmans have a restaurant industry background. Christina Springman most recently managed the Black Sheep Social Club, and Mitch Springman manages The Lucky Penny in Hiawatha.

Black Sheep Social Club owner Graig Cone gave them the loan to get started with The Map Room. When Stellas closed during the 2016 flood and didnt reopen, Springman got in touch with building owner Kory Nanke with her business proposal. After some remodeling, The Map Room opened June 30.

Springman said the small downtown bar has always appealed to her, nestled among much taller buildings. Along with the snug indoor seating, she plans to open patio seating this week.

Everything else is so big and towering. Its a tiny little respite, she said. I like the size of it. I can talk to everyone in here. Its nice and cozy.

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Travel the world on a plate at The Map Room - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines

David Beard's Catfish Village at 2005 Toler Road is being closed through Aug. 31 for a remodeling project that will give it a fresher look, according to Kriste Jones, who owns it with husband Harold.

She said the project would give the restaurant the Joneses have owned since March "a more pleasant dining experience."

They hired contractor Richard Kessler, who said he started demolition Monday. The project calls for adding a waitress station, moving and refinishing interior walls and painting the exterior, according to an application for a commercial alteration permit Kessler submitted July 18 to the Longview Development Services Department. The project has a construction value of $45,800, documents showed.

The Catfish Village has been around since the mid-1980s and seats about 200 people, Jones said. She and her husband also own Catfish King in Atlanta.

Jones said no date has yet been set for reopening

Photo, floral neighbors

Ashley Hill and Rashell Garcia, who have worked together on photo shoots, opened adjacent studios at 5804 Judson Road.

Hill said she moved Ashley Hill Photography from 1903 Eastwood Road to get more space, while Garcia said she moved her business, Timber Bloom Design, out of her home.

Hill said she began dabbling in photography six years ago in Japan while her husband, Cody, was stationed there with the U.S. Marine Corps. She and her business moved to Longview four years ago when he became a Marine recruiter.

Hill said she shoots photos inside the studio, which also has a gallery.

"My goal is to really create a community," she said.

Garcia said she has been doing design work and decorating for several years for churches and nonprofit groups. She previously owned Sweet Pickins Vintage Rentals, which provided vintage furniture for photo shoots but closed it in January to work full time in floral design, which she has done for photo shoots as far away as Missouri.

The business also works with photographers on weddings, baby showers and corporate events and arranges merchandise for display in online catalogues and storefront windows.

"I strive to create very unique individual designs for each client," Garcia said.

Garcia and Hill work by appointment only. Visit Garcia's business Facebook and Instagram pages and Hill's studio page on Facebook

Accounting firm moves

The family that owns Dennis-Wade Associates Inc. is planning to move to a building that also will contain their home.

"We will be able to walk through our door to be at our house," said Richard Wade, who works with his son Derek as a tax accountant. His wife, Margaret Dennis Wade, founded the company with her father, William Dennis.

Richard Wade said they would move from 1125 Judson Road their office for about 26 years to a building of about 5,200 square feet. The office will be at 1100 Judson Road, Building 200 and their home at 1001 Yates Drive.

They expect the office/home to be ready in a year.

Steve Pirtle Construction has applied for building permits from the Longview Development Services Department. The project has a construction valued of $600,000, city records show.

Healthy vending

San Diego-based KarmaBox Vending said it is bringing vending machines that sell healthful, nutritional snacks to the Longview area.

KarmaBoxes carry a range of beverages and snacks that are low in sugar and calories, including turkey jerky, nuts, berries and coconut water. The company also sells personal care products.

Exact locations are in the works, but KarmaBoxes are generally placed in high-volume locations such as health clubs, hotels, public and private schools and community centers, said A.J. MacQuarrie, founder and president.

He said he started the business in 2010 in his dorm room at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and has expanded the business to 65 markets in this country,

For more information, visit mykarmabox.com or call (855) 527-6226.

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Business Beat: Catfish Village closed for remodeling - Longview News-Journal