Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

CLEARVIEW TWP. Township firefighters responded to a blaze on Stayner's main street, Thursday afternoon.

Crews showed up at 7293 Highway 26 around 2:15 p.m. and successfully contained the fire, which is believed to have started due to roofing activities at the unoccupied apartment above Linke's Local Arts Gallery and Art Supply.

The information we received was that there was smoke in the building and possibly apartments that had residents in upstairs, Clearview Fire Chief Colin Shewell said.

We requested Collingwood Tower 1 as a paid agreement for this area, as the location of this fire was in the downtown core of Stayner and to be preventative we wanted to have an aerial apparatus respond to this location if there was a fire to limit the extent of the fire," Shewell added.

Police, fire crews and emergency medical attended the scene where the fire was successfully put out.

Nobody was hurt.

Buildings on all sides of this structure were not at risk at any time, Shewell said, adding that the fire was contained to the rear wall of the apartment by fire crews who initially arrived on scene. It appears that the fire was caused by a roofing activity on the rear of the building.

Shewell said that in addition to nobody being hurt by the fire there was nobody present in the apartment which he believes has been unoccupied for some time and last had occupants in it formerly which he knows of three to four months ago.

They were empty at this time. There occupants in it we knew of three to four months ago, Shewell said. We had been there helping them with inspections ... but it appears that there are no residents in the building.

The cause is still being investigated, but appears to have been due to roofing.

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Crews respond to fire in downtown Stayner

A group of Irish men, women and children, are reportedly being held by authorities in Western Australia accused of running a roof-fixing scam that targeted the elderly.

There are media reports that up to 26 people have been detained.

ABC isreporting that two of those arrested are17-year-old boys from the same family.

Western Australia Police confirmed on their Facebook page that five men and two juveniles were arrested at a caravan park on the outskirts of Perth in Hazelmere.

A large sum of cash was seized "along with other items of interest", according to police.

A number of visas are being examined and police say it ispossible some of those held may be deported.

Police have said thatthis month alone 39 complaints were made about the scam, with an elderly woman paying AUS$12,000 (8,400) for roof repairs with only minor work being carried out.

In a couple ofinstances, elderly customers were taken to banks or ATMs to withdraw the cash.

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Up to 26 Irish held over roofing scam in Australia

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP)s second-quarter iron ore output gained 16 percent as the worlds biggest mining company continued to raise production amid a price slump.

Output of the steelmaking raw material rose to 56.4 million metric tons in the three months ended Dec. 31 from about 48.7 million tons a year earlier, Melbourne-based BHP said today in a statement. That missed the 58 million ton median estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Petroleum production rose to 63.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, beating a median forecast of five analysts of 61.8 million barrels.

We are reducing costs and improving both operating and capital productivity across the group faster than originally planned, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said in the statement.

The largest iron ore suppliers, led by Vale SA (VALE5) and Rio Tinto Group, are raising output even as weaker growth crimps demand in China. While the producers forecast higher cost competitors will curb output, UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimate that the global surplus will grow on supply additions from Australia and Brazil.

BHP, the biggest overseas investor in U.S. shale, plans to cut the number of active rigs in its U.S. shale unit by 40 percent by July in response to falling oil prices, Mackenzie said in the statement.

Though iron ore and oil prices are lower, BHPs cash flow is sufficient to cover planned increases to its dividend, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Brendan Fitzpatrick wrote in a Jan. 20 note. It is some years before sufficient cash would be accumulated on the balance sheet to make additional returns, the analysts wrote.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Stringer in Melbourne at dstringer3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jason Rogers at jrogers73@bloomberg.net Indranil Ghosh, Andrew Hobbs

Press spacebar to pause and continue. Press esc to stop.

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BHP Second-Quarter Iron Ore Output Rises 16% as Prices Tumble

WASHINGTON -

It was a reunion eight years in the making. Earl Johnson III reclaimed an urn holding the ashes of his father Earl Johnson Jr.

It's amazing, Johnson said as he received the urn. It really is. I'm speechless because this was a chapter that was lost and finally we got him back.

It is the end of a mystery Kate Justice has been trying to solve for a long time. She found the urn in a box that didn't belong to her while unpacking from a move to her mother's home in South Dakota back in 2007.

I contacted the moving company obviously right away and sent pictures of the urn along with it, she said. Never a peep back from them. Not a thing.

Justice's mother held onto the urn after she moved back to Portland, Ore. The family even called the room where they kept it as Earl's room.

I had people say, Why don't you just scatter him at this point or toss it?' said Justice. I couldn't do it. If it were my loved one, what would I want? I don't know. It just didn't feel right to me and my family, and we were willing to hold on to him and keep trying to find where he was supposed to be.

Documents inside the box had a Maryland address. After trying several other things, this year, she thought to email us here at FOX 5.

We attempted to track down Johnson's family. There was no forwarding address left at the Hyattsville, Md., home where they had lived.

But within less than 24 hours, a viewer who saw our story and knew Johnson helped us piece it all together.

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After 8 years, misplaced urn reunited with family

Kitchen and Bath Show - kitchen remodeling
With the economy seemingly on the rise, a survey by the website houzz finds that more than eighty percent of us are planning a home renovation project. Kitchen re-dos are number one on the...

By: kgun9

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Kitchen and Bath Show - kitchen remodeling - Video

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -

A new 190,000 square foot building office building will be constructed just east of the United Center, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced during a news conference Thursday morning.

The new facility will create several hundred new jobs and will be the future home of Bulls, Blackhawks, Levy Restaurants and United Center employees.

Investments like this new office building can have a multiplier effect and bring more economic development in their wake, which is why I am excited about this latest addition to the United Center and what it means for the entire community, Mayor Emanuel said Thursday.

In addition to office space, the building will also be the home of a 10,000 square foot ground-level Bulls and Blackhawks retail store and public atrium.

The new building will be located on the east side of the United Center on South Wood Street between Monroe and Madison Streets. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2016.

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New office building planned near United Center

By - Associated Press - Friday, January 23, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) - Officials in Chicago have announced the construction of a new office building for the Bulls and Blackhawks near the United Center.

The planned 190,000-square-foot facility would house a retail store, along with offices. Officials said Thursday that the facility would create up to 300 jobs and be privately funded.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and chairmen for the Bulls and Blackhawks announced the facility on Thursday. Construction of the new facility could also move the iconic Michael Jordan statue indoors. Drawings of the proposed building show the statue inside the atrium lobby.

Crews will break ground on the project in the spring. Its slated for completion in 2016.

The proposal detailed Thursday is smaller than United Center owners first proposed in 2012.

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Officials to build new office near Chicago's United Center

Crews continue to work on the state Capitol. Tom Scheck / MPR News

There will be no delay in the remodeling of the state Capitol after the House, Senate and governor announced an agreement today on how to allocate space in the building.

The Capitol Preservation Commission signed off on a final design this morning that increases public access to conference rooms, dining rooms and bathrooms.

The design reduces the number of offices for state senators insidethe Capitol building from 39 to 4. However, nearly all senators will have offices in a newly constructed building across University Ave. from the Capitol.

Every member of the commission, including Gov. Mark Dayton, praised the agreement.

Its a big step forward for the public and the peoples building, Dayton said.

Every member of the commission voted for the plan after Dayton, DFL Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and GOP House Speaker Kurt Daudt worked behind the scenes to agree on a floor plan that served all of them.

The truth is we would be sitting here right now approving renovations of the Capitol to permanently be a senate office building if we werent building an office building across the street, Bakk said.

Bakk said the senate leaders who have offices in the renovated Capitol will not have offices in the Senate Office Building.

Construction crews are currently working on a major overhaul of the 109 year old Capitol building. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

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No delay in Capitol construction

Recommendation going to council

After hours of sometimes heated debates, an ad hoc committee that was formed to recommend changes to the citys tree protection laws has reached a verdict.

The citizen-led committee was formed by the Thousand Oaks City Council after the removal of scores of trees from Westlake Plaza last spring ignited public outrage.

A moratorium on sections of the tree law expires in May. The committees suggestions will be considered by the planning commission and the City Council before that time.

The group voted 6-4 on Jan. 20 to recommend that owner-planted exemptions for the removal of oak trees only be granted to requests from single-family residential properties, not commercial, and for not more than three trees.

Requests for more than three exemptions would require review by the planning commission.

For trees in parking areas, the committee recommended that any request for removal or relocation of more than three oak trees or more than five landmark trees be considered by the planning commission, regardless of whether the trees are indigenous or nursery grown.

Requests for removal or relocation of more than five protected landmark trees should be reviewed by the planning commission. City staff may review requests to remove five or fewer.

On Tuesday, committee members engaged in a two-hour tugof war as some defended the rights of property owners to cut down trees they planted themselves and expressed concern that too-strict laws would deter people from planting oak trees. Others feared that the recommendations would fail to protect enough trees.

Its a tough decision because there are people who dont want to see any oak trees removed, committee member Judy Lazar told the Acorn after the meeting. On the other hand, you want to have reasonable use of private property. I think (the decision) is a good compromise.

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Board asks city to remove distinction between native, owner-planted trees

CHICO, Calif. -

PG&E presented the reasons Wednesday why trees lining the street near an Oroville cemetery have to be removed.

According to PG&E there are areas they have neglected for too long. The right away, which is the area directly above the pipelines have not been cared for as they should.

"We have allowed structures, patios, swimming pools and vegetation to exist very near and on top of our pipeline," said Chauna Moreland, director of gas safety program. "It's simply not acceptable, and we take full responsibility for that."

PG&E said they know trees near pipelines can be a risk to their employees and first responders, especially if they need to access a pipe in an emergency. They also know that third parties may dig into the pipe.

"What we didn't know, and were not aware of, is what roots are doing underneath the ground," explained Moreland.

The company conducted a study and found roots damage their pipeline by corroding them and leaving imprints.

"We know all those other items, trees are a risk to the pipeline, now we know roots interact with the pipelines as well," said Moreland.

Talk of relocating the pipeline across the street had been mentioned, but PG&E said it will take more time and effort, as well as have a serious impact on the community.

"It disrupts the community in terms of having to dig up streets and do additional construction activity," said Christine Cowsert Chapman, senior director of engineer gas operations.

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PG&E explains Oroville tree removal plan