Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Architectural Division 8 is a complete, turnkey, distributor of doors, frames, hardware, access control and automated openings to include design, specification, delivery and installation. We are a single source supplier for the door openings industry

Prospective clients currently find themselves dealing with more than one manufacturing and/or distributing entity when endeavoring to find opening solutions to meet their design requirements. In some circumstances, accredited professionals are not available to adequately analyze and recommend correct and cost-effective products suited to the project at hand. In others, these professionals are called upon to provide band-aid solutions to poorly bid projects, after the fact.

Expertise and knowledge matters! Todays world life safety and security commands a much larger concern than any previous time period in our history and the architectural opening is a key element with regards to both. Understanding codes, laws, and standards as they apply to the flow of people safely yet securely through a building involves greater challenges and expertise than ever before.

Expertise and knowledge matters! Todays world life safety and security commands a much larger

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Commercial door contractor | Architectural Division 8

Business lends helping hand

SUMMERSIDE Employees at Prince County Hospital had home to work transportation provided during Tuesdays snowstorm, courtesy of a local businessman.

Nathan Kember, of Paul Davis Systems Restoration Specialists, used his 4x4 to shuttle hospital staff during the overnight storm that keep most people at home.

I have a friend thats a nurse and she needed a drive to the hospital, Kember said. I was over to her house last night and she wanted a drive to work this morning. So, I called her up this morning and she said sure. I thought it was a good idea to keep doing it.

Kember posted a picture of his truck on Facebook offering free rides to hospital employees and the response was over - whelming.

It s something you can do in a small community and it s the least we could do, he said. Weve got about a dozen or so calls and weve got some more lined up.

Kember said he started shuttling people around 10 a. m.

The back streets were al l pretty well not plowed, he said. Our truck can go through quite a bit of snow so I m glad we had t hat i n our vehicl e f l eet.

Kember has a Ford F- 150 with 38- inch tires and a lift kit that made it ideal for the wintery conditions

It was pretty bad all the way around. Central Street was plowed by 11 a.m. A lot of streets weren't open, he said. Greenwood Drive and Pope Road were pretty bad.

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Prince County Hospital workers given free lift during storm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org

Conservation Groups React to Coastal Restoration Cuts in Presidents Budget Proposed budget jeopardizes critical wetlands restoration

(NEW ORLEANS February 4, 2015) On Monday, President Obama unveiled a $4 trillion proposed budget that would tap more than $3 billion in future oil and gas revenues from Gulf Coast states to pay for other national conservation priorities. This shift would divert monies from coastal restoration projects in Louisiana.

National and local conservation organizations committed to coastal Louisiana restoration Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation issued the following statement in response:

We are encouraged by and committed to the elements of the Presidents budget that take on climate change, support the development of clean energy, and fully fund the woefully underfunded Land and Water Conservation Fund and other crucial conservation initiatives. But we are disappointed by the budgets proposed diversion of critically needed and currently dedicated funding for coastal Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta.

This proposed budget undercuts the Administrations previous commitments to restore critical economic infrastructure and ecosystems in the Mississippi River Delta, where we are losing 16 square miles of critical wetlands every year a preventable coastal erosion crisis.Those wetlands, and the culture and economic infrastructure they protect from hurricanes, will be lost without complete and ongoing intervention.And that intervention currently underway through implementation of the 2012 Coastal Master Plan cannot be successful without sufficient funding.

We urge Congress tofund the Presidents commitments to coastal restoration and conservation by maintainingGOMESA fundingthat is vital to the Gulf Coast and by identifying additional funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other priorities. The Mississippi River Delta is a national treasure that is home to millions of Americans, provides vital wildlife habitat, and supports billions of dollars in seafood production, navigation interests and energy production. This landscape deserves our full attention and comprehensive restoration.

The budget proposal would shift hundreds of millions of dollars of offshore oil and gas GOMESA revenue from Louisiana to other spending needs. Louisiana already constitutionally dedicated these future monies to the critical efforts now underway to restore coastal Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta.

Additionally, the groups expressed strong disappointment that the Administrations proposal walks away from an essential longstanding commitment to Army Corps of Engineers funding for construction of critical restoration projects.For four years, the Administration has proposed investing in the Corps budget to restore the delta through the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) program.In fiscal year 2013, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo Ellen Darcy explained the investment to Congress that restoring coastal Louisiana is a nationally significant and urgent effort to both restore habitat and protect the important Louisiana Gulf region from the destructive forces of storm driven waves and tides.

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Conservation Groups React to Coastal Restoration Cuts in Presidents Budget

President Lyndon B. Johnson's boyhood home reopened last week after it was closed for almost a month for restoration.

Even at over 100 years old, the house just needed minor wallpaper replacements and is not due for any major renovations soon, curator Baird Todd said.

The iconic house is just one of several historical buildings in the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Central Texas which is split up into the Johnson City District and the LBJ Ranch District.

The 36th president of the United States home is located in the Johnson City District, alongside his childhood school building, a general store, a post office and the Johnson Settlement, an event and exhibit center.

About 14 miles west of the Johnson City District stands the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, which was the beginning and ending place for Johnson.

He was born on Aug. 27, 1908 in a small house on the ranch, and although it was torn down, he rebuilt it during his presidency in 1964.

Just west of the house is the massive Texas White House, which served as Johnsons refuge during his presidency.

During his five years in office, he made 74 trips from Washington, D.C. to his ranch. Just in front of the house under the large oak trees, some staff meetings and press conferences took place.

The Johnsons continued to live in the house even after they donated it to the National Park Service. And after Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson died in 2007, the NPS began preparing the home for public tours.

The two were buried in the ranchs family cemetery, just a few steps from Johnsons birthplace.

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LBJ's century-old boyhood home restored, still standing strong after long history

TALLAHASSEE | The abrupt resignation of the chief of Floridas crime-fighting agency prompted media and open government advocates to file a lawsuit accusing Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet of violating state Sunshine Laws.

The Florida Society of News Editors, the Associated Press, Citizens for Sunshine and a St. Petersburg lawyer teamed up Wednesday to ask a Leon County court to rule that Scotts ouster of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey subverted open meeting laws.

The Governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE Commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken, the lawsuit said.

The Times-Union has joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs, along with the Associated Press and the Florida Society of News Editors and open-government advocates, said Frank Denton, the newspapers editor and president of FSNE.

The lawsuit argues that aides for Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam acted with delegated authority to communicate on their bosses behalf knowing the matter would come up for a vote at a public Cabinet meeting. The plaintiffs asked the court not only to declare Sunshine Laws were broken but to prohibit the future practice of using Cabinet aides to act as conduits to the governors office.

One plaintiff, attorney Matthew Weidner, sent a complaint letter to Tallahassee State Attorney Willie Meggs last week asking him to investigate whether Scott and the Cabinet broke open meeting laws. Meggs declined to act, citing a lack of hard evidence.

The First Amendment Foundation of Florida took the separate action Wednesday of supporting previous statements by Bondi that transparency issues surrounding Baileys resignation deserved greater attention.

You have called for an outside investigation and expressed your own concern that this states Sunshine Laws might have been violated in the handling of the FDLE issues, foundation president Barbara Petersen wrote Wednesday. The Foundation supports the appointment of an independent state attorney from outside Leon County to investigate this matter, to consider whether criminal charges should be brought and to issue a written report with findings.

Various statements from Scott and the Cabinet members since Baileys ouster have only created additional uncertainty about what happened behind the scenes, Petersen wrote.

While the officers have stated they were blind-sided by Mr. Baileys ouster, the Governor, in one of his few media interviews on the issue, seemed to concede that the law was violated, she said.

Originally posted here:
Scott, Cabinet face lawsuit alleging Sunshine Law violations in Bailey ouster

The Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press, a Tampa lawyer and a coalition of sunshine advocates filed a lawsuit late Tuesday alleging that Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet violated the state's open meeting laws when the governor unilaterally decided to "force the resignation" of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Chief Gerald Bailey and they consented.

The lawsuit, filed in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, alleges that the Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam circumvented the requirements of the state's sunshine laws because they used conduits to coordinate and discuss the removal of Bailey and the selection of his replacement, Rick Swearingen, without advanced notice or in a public setting.

The groups refer tostatements from the governor and Cabinet officials who acknowledged they allowed their Cabinet aides, and in the governor's case his general counsel, to both confer about the decision to replace Bailey and agree to the hiring of Swearingen in violation of their constitutional duties.

Scott spokeswoman Jackie Shutz said the governor's lawyer "is reviewing it."

The lawsuit comes a day before the Cabinet is to meet and discuss, this time in an open setting, the procedures for hiring and firing officials who report to them as a joint body. That meeting will be held at the grounds of the Florida State Fair during the fair. The governor rejected a request by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to shift the venue for the meeting back to Tallahassee because of the seriousness of the debate. Scott refused.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that all meetings are subject to the sunshine law and seeks an injunction against the state's top officials conducting any future meetings out of the sunshine.

"This action seeks a declaration that the Florida Cabinet is subject to the Sunshine Law when cabinet aides seek to act for and exchange information among Cabinet members as to decisions about hiring and firing the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"The Governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE Commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without anyminutes being taken. Because the Governor appears to justify this conduct by claiming it is part of a longstanding convention and tradition, Plaintiffs also seek injunctive relief."

It also notesthat the state's laws offer little punishment for these violations.

"Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy other than an injunction to prohibit the longstanding practice of violating the Sunshine Law by allowing Cabinet aides to engage in polling, discussions and communications about appointments required to be made by the Cabinet and relaying the results of those exchanges back to Cabinet members prior to a Cabinet meeting."

Originally posted here:
Governor and Cabinet slammed with lawsuit from media, advocate over sunshine violations

TAMPA

Trying to quell a growing scandal that is threatening to derail the start to his second term, Gov. Rick Scott apologized Thursday for how his office handled the dismissal of the states former top law enforcement officer.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott gestures during a cabinet meeting at the Florida State Fair, Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Scott said Thursday that he mishandled the ouster of Gerald Bailey, the head of Floridas main law enforcement agency. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

It is clear in hindsight that I could have handled it better, Scott said. The buck stops here and that means I take responsibility.

But the governor continued to deny allegations made by ousted Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief Gerald Bailey that he was fired, in part, for refusing to target an Orange County official in a criminal investigation.

Scottmade the unusual admission that he acted inappropriately during a Cabinet meeting at the Florida State Fair.

It came as the governor is fighting to maintain his credibility during one of the most trying episodes of his administration and to ward off a potential criminal investigation.

The three other members of the Cabinet, all prominent Republican elected officials, have been critical of the governors office during the episode. They seemed to ease up on Thursday, with only Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam calling for an investigation into Baileys most explosive allegation.

Cabinet members who share authority over certain state agencies have said they were not properly informed that Baileys dismissal was involuntary before voting on the issue and selecting a replacement.

Putnam and Scott proposed a series of new rules for appointing and reviewing agency heads that were embraced Thursday by the Cabinet, which includes the governor, Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

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Scott apologizes over firing of FDLE chief

TALLAHASSEE News media organizations and open-government advocates are upping the pressure on Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet by filing a lawsuit that alleges the handling of the forced resignation of the state's top law-enforcement officer violated the Sunshine Law and calling for an independent investigation.

The two separate moves came ahead of a meeting today in Tampa, where Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi are set to discuss new steps for hiring and reviewing agency heads.

Filed by the Associated Press, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Citizens for Sunshine and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner, the lawsuit focuses on conversations between Scott's staff and aides for other Cabinet members concerning the ouster in December of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey. The staff discussions were a way for Scott to work around the state's open-meetings laws, the suit contends.

"The governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken," says the lawsuit, filed late Tuesday.

In a "frequently asked questions" document sent to the news media and a series of follow-ups, the Scott administration has outlined some of the discussions between the governor's staff and the offices of the other Cabinet members. Scott's office has denied that the discussions about Bailey violated state law.

"It has been a longstanding convention for governor's staff to provide information to Cabinet staff," said one answer. "This was the same process the Cabinet staff followed in respect to Gerald Bailey."

The groups suing Scott and the Cabinet say those kinds of statements show the need for the courts to also issue an injunction barring similar conversations in the future.

"Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable injury if defendants continue the longstanding practice of violating the Sunshine Law by allowing Cabinet aides to engage in polling, discussions and communications about appointments,'' the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation wrote a letter to Bondi asking for a special prosecutor to look into whether the Sunshine Law was violated.

"Only a prosecutor with the authority to subpoena witnesses and documents can adequately investigate this matter," wrote Barbara Petersen, the foundation's president, in a letter dated Wednesday. "However, that prosecutor must be perceived as entirely objective. A prosecutor outside of Leon County one who does not reside and work in the same town as those under investigation should be appointed. Otherwise, public confidence in the investigation itself will be compromised."

Continued here:
Scott, Cabinet sued over FDLE scandal

Sarasota attorney Andrea Mogensen.

SARASOTA - A Sarasota attorney known for her litigation of area open government cases will take the lead in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet.

Andrea Mogensen represents the nonprofit Citizens for Sunshine in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, which claims that Scott violated the state's Sunshine Law in communicating with Cabinet members about a controversial change in leadership at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Also joining the suit were the Associated Press, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and St. Petersburg attorney Matthew Weidner, who has called for an investigation of the replacement of FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Disagreements over how Bailey left his position in December have grown to involve other members of the state Cabinet and attracted statewide media attention. The case, filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County, seeks a ruling that the Florida Cabinet is subject to the Sunshine Law and a prohibition on polling members about appointments and communicating decisions to them before meetings.

Mogensen often represents Citizens for Sunshine, which has advocated for open government across the state. Most often the group files cases in and around Sarasota and Manatee counties. Citizens for Sunshine became a plaintiff in the case because it involved citizen access to government decision-making.

That's the purpose of the group government transparency, Mogensen said. The group hoped the case would expose to the public a pervasive evasion of the Sunshine Law in the state's executive branch, she said.

Bailey resigned in December and has publicly contradicted Scott's version of events. Scott and other members of the Cabinet unanimously confirmed his replacement, Rick Swearingen, in January. Since then, Scott and Cabinet members have been criticized over the details of Bailey's ouster.

Scott said that the commissioner resigned, only to have Bailey contradict him in statements to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau, saying I did not voluntarily do anything.

Since then, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam have voiced displeasure with how the matter was handled. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she thought Scott's staff may have acted without the governor's knowledge.

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Sarasota attorney involved in Scott Sunshine suit

TALLAHASSEE Floridas top elected officials Thursday agreed to begin considering an overhaul of the way state agency heads are hired, evaluated and fired, but they didnt immediately accept Gov. Rick Scotts suggestions for making the reforms.

Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam held a Cabinet meeting in Tampa before they opened the annual Florida State Fair.

The discussion was brought on by the Dec. 16 ouster of longtime Florida Department of Law Enforcement director Gerald Bailey. As FDLE head, Bailey was in a handful of state jobs that the governor with the Cabinet must agree to replace.

They approved Baileys successor, former Capitol Police director Rick Swearingen, but did so because Scott said at Januarys Cabinet meeting that Bailey was stepping down.

Bailey since has created a firestorm by saying he was forced out, ordered by the governors staff to retire or resign.

He has also alleged, among other things, that the governors staff asked him to state falsely that acting Orange County Clerk of Court Colleen Reilly was under investigation for a high-profile prison break that embarrassed the states corrections department.

The maelstrom surrounding Scott and the Cabinet, all of them Republicans, includes a lawsuit filed by news organizations and government openness advocates that the states open meetings law was broken by Scott staff members acting as back-channel conduits.

Scott repeated his contention Thursday that there are no lifetime jobs in state government, but said that in hindsight, I could have handled it better. The buck stops here.

His public perception has not suffered, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday, showing his approval and disapproval ratings at 45-45, consistent with past poll results.

Besieged by reporters after the meeting, Scott repeated many of the same answers hes been giving, including referring to a question and answer page on his website.

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Scott: I could have better handled Bailey situation