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Arthur Sinodinos has told the Prime Minister he is resigning as Assistant Treasurer, paving the way for Tony Abbott to reshuffle his Cabinet.

Senator Sinodinos stood aside from his ministerial duties in March after being called before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

He was questioned about his former role as a director of Australian Water Holdings (AWH), which ICAC has been investigating over corruption allegations.

At the time, Mr Abbott indicated he expected Senator Sinodinos to resume his duties once the ICAC case had concluded.

But the report from ICAC has been delayed from January 2015 to March, which Senator Sinodinos said he was "extremely disappointed" about.

"I believe I'll be vindicated in terms of no corrupt conduct or illegality and I look forward to those reports coming out in due course but, as I've said, that could be some time yet," he said.

In recent weeks, he had been discussing his position with Mr Abbott and Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane.

"The Prime Minister has advised me that I cannot resume ministerial duties until the ICAC matters are completed and reported upon," Senator Sinodinos said.

"On that point the Prime Minister and I agree.

"We, as a government, need to have a full-time assistant treasurer, so it was by mutual agreement that I should resign.

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Arthur Sinodinos resigns as Assistant Treasurer, paving way for possible Cabinet reshuffle

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., chairs, stools and sofas) and sleeping (e.g., beds). Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work (as horizontal surfaces above the ground, such as tables and desks), or to store things (e.g., cupboards and shelves). Furniture can be a product of design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflect the local culture.

Archeological research shows that Neolithic people used stone to build cupboards, dressers, beds, shelves and seats. Ancient furniture from the 8th-century BC includes tables and serving stands. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented. Furniture design expanded during the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs. The nineteenth century is usually defined by revival styles. The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. One unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design is a return to natural shapes and textures.[1]

Furniture has been a part of the human experience since the development of non-nomadic cultures. Evidence of furniture survives from the Neolithic Period and later in antiquity in the form of paintings, such as the wall Murals discovered at Pompeii; sculpture, and examples have been excavated in Egypt and found in tombs in Ghiordes, in modern-day Turkey.

A range of unique stone furniture has been excavated in Skara Brae, a Neolithic village located in Orkney. The site dates from 31002500 BC and due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae were forced to build with stone, a readily available material that could be worked easily and turned into items for use within the household. Each house shows a high degree of sophistication and was equipped with an extensive assortment of stone furniture, ranging from cupboards, dressers and beds to shelves, stone seats, and limpet tanks. The stone dresser was regarded as the most important as it symbolically faces the entrance in each house and is therefore the first item seen when entering, perhaps displaying symbolic objects, including decorative artwork such as several Neolithic Carved Stone Balls also found at the site.

Ancient furniture has been excavated from the 8th-century BC Phrygian tumulus, the Midas Mound, in Gordion, Turkey. Pieces found here include tables and inlaid serving stands. There are also surviving works from the 9th-8th-century BC Assyrian palace of Nimrud. The earliest surviving carpet, the Pazyryk Carpet was discovered in a frozen tomb in Siberia and has been dated between the 6th and 3rd century BC. Recovered Ancient Egyptian furniture includes 3rd millennium BC beds discovered at Tarkhan as place for the deceased, a c. 2550 BC gilded bed and two chairs from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, and many examples (boxes, beds, chairs) from c. 1550 to 1200 BC from Thebes. Ancient Greek furniture design beginning in the 2nd millennium BC, including beds and the klismos chair, is preserved not only by extant works, but by images on Greek vases. The 1738 and 1748 excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii revealed Roman furniture, preserved in the ashes of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, to the eighteenth century.

The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts, the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs that frequently incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism in Great Britain or Louis Quinze in French furniture, others, such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe.

The nineteenth century is usually defined by concurrent revival styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, Rococo, and the EastHaven Movement. The design reforms of the late century introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements.

This design was in many ways rooted in necessity and emphasizes both form and materials. Early American chairs and tables are often constructed with turned spindles and chair backs often constructed with steaming to bend the wood. Wood choices tend to be deciduous hardwoods with a particular emphasis on the wood of edible or fruit bearing trees such as Cherry or Walnut.

The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Wiener Werksttte, and Vienna Secession designers all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Born from the Bauhaus and Art Deco/Streamline styles came the post WWII "Mid-Century Modern" style using materials developed during the war including laminated plywood, plastics and fiberglass. Prime examples include furniture designed by George Nelson Associates, Charles and Ray Eames, Paul McCobb, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen, Harvey Probber, Vladamir Kagan and Danish modern designers including Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen. Postmodern design, intersecting the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted in the 80s by groups such as the Italy-based Memphis movement. Transitional furniture is intended to fill a place between Traditional and Modern tastes.

Great efforts from individuals, governments, and companies has led to the manufacturing of products with higher sustainability known as Ecodesign. This new line of furniture is based on environmentally friendly design. Its use and popularity are increasing each year.[2]

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Furniture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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There are so many good reasons to remodel your basement -- more usable room, additional privacy, increased resale value, and energy efficiency, to name just a few. The best part is that basement remodeling costs only about 10-15 percent as much as building out. So get busy choosing pretty and practical light fixtures and floor coverings to enhance your newfound space, but don't forget one important item ... the egress window.

What Is an Egress Window?

Every room used for the purpose of sleeping requires a direct opening to the outdoors, to allow for emergency escape and rescue. Therefore, unless you have a walkout basement, you will need to include some form of egress from each bedroom. Most commonly, this is a window, although legally it may also be a low skylight or a door. (If you can work it into your basement remodel design, a door is an excellent choice. It provides more privacy and independence when you are creating a studio apartment to be used as an in-law flat or a rental unit -- subject to local zoning laws, of course. However, the layout of many basements does not allow for door installation.)

While this type of opening is not a requirement for other basement remodels, such as a home office, gym, games room, or family room, it's still a good idea to include an egress window in the construction. You'll be glad of the flexibility it allows in case you want to change the room's purpose some day -- or use it as an occasional guest room right now.

Egress Window Specs

International Building Code specifications for egress windows are very demanding -- with good reason, as they are designed to save lives. The bottom of any egress window is required to be no more than 44 inches above floor level. The net clear opening must be at least 5 square feet for a basement bedroom, the amount of space required to admit a firefighter wearing protective gear and carrying an air tank on his/her back. Note that this refers to the open space available to crawl through, and not merely the total area of the window. The egress opening, as well as window bars, if any, must be operable from the inside, without any keys or other devices, to permit fast exit. For basements, the most practical style of egress window is usually a casement.

Window Well

The nature of a basement is that generally most or all of it is located underground. For this reason, an egress window will need a window well to make it functional. This is an outdoor excavated area adjacent to the egress window. Code specifies that the well's horizontal dimensions must be a minimum of 9 feet, with a horizontal projection of at least 36 inches. The top of the window well is required to be 6 or more inches above the soil line, with steps or a ladder provided. Construction of the well will be much easier if you excavate it first, before installing the egress window. Ensure proper drainage. A cover or grate may be installed on top of the window well to keep out small animals such as skunks, but it is subject to the same operating principles as the egress opening itself.

Egress Window as a Design Element

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Basement remodel? don't forget the egress window!

While the recent razing of the ASB Building on Broadway was obvious to any passerby, the extreme makeover next door wont be apparent for a few months yet.

The Medical Office Building (MOB) is being remodeled to house what will be called St. Rose Health Center; the name change from St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center would occur as a result of a successful joint venture between Hays Medical Center and Centura Health, which continues to be negotiated.

The MOB, which opened in 2009, will be home to existing and new services.

St. Rose Senior Vice President Leanne Irsik outlined the basics of how the facility will be re-configured.

A new entrance will be added to the southeast side.The first floor will accommodate registration just inside the main entrance, where the atrium is now.Other first-floor occupants will include St. Rose Family Medicine & Urgent Care, infusion and specialty nursing, laboratory collection, occupational testing, and imaging and diagnostic services.The second floor will be home to the Specialty Clinic, Great Bend Internists and the licensed ambulatory surgery center.

Golden Belt Home Health & Hospice will remain in the Kirby Medical Office Building, located just south of St. Rose; other support offices also will move into the Kirby facility.

The ambulatory surgery center will include one main procedure room with three spaces for patient care before and after procedures, Irsik said. These are same-day procedures that require local or regional anesthesia or sedation. The most common are minor biopsies, endoscopies, colonoscopies, pain management and carpel tunnel treatment.

The parking lot will be directly south of the lobby, outside the new entrance. Parking also will be available on the west side. After the new building opens, the west entrance temporarily will be used while the east end is completed after the circular towers are separated from the MOB.

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Remodeling progresses at St. Roses Medical Office Building

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - To appreciate the history behind the Sanford House, start with the wallpaper mural in the grand entrance hall of the 168-year-old pillared landmark.

Depicting scenes of life in the Americas in the 1820s, the design is called Vues dAmrique du Nord. It was created by Jean Zuber, a French artist whose company made luxury handmade wall coverings in the late 19th Century, according to The Grand Rapids Press (http://bit.ly/1yKkk6T ).

In 1960, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy salvaged the same woodblock-printed wallpaper and installed it in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. Youll also find the pattern in the dining room of the Old Governors Mansion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the elegant Monmouth Historic Inn in Natchez, Mississippi.

Zuber never visited America, but painted scenes from places and events about which he had heard and read. Hence, Boston Harbor has tropical Spanish moss hanging from its trees and the Indians look like they are from India, not North America.

Rae Green, who restored the house in Grand Rapids with her husband, David, said shes amazed the murals have survived all of the owners and non-profit agencies who have occupied the home since the wallpaper was installed during a 1907 remodeling.

There have been stories that some of the owners almost took it down, said Green, who will operate Sanford House as a private treatment center for women with addictions to alcohol and drugs.

The Greens bought the house for $365,000 in July after it served as an office building for several health and recovery-related agencies over the previous 23 years. Since then, they have invested more than $1 million while restoring and remodeling the home for its next life.

Green makes no apologies for the plush setting, the in-house chef or the $20,000-per-month fee they will charge their clients. Out-patient clients will be charged $600 a week for three-hour thrice-weekly sessions.

There is so much stigma when it comes to someone getting treatment for substance abuse, she said. Sometimes, the stigma is even greater for women.

We want to create an environment that was comfortable so they could focus on the work that they are there to do and restore their lives and the lives of their families.

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168-year-old Grand Rapids house restored as treatment center

Officials anticipate opening the reconfigured facility at 44 Millpond Parkway in March

Published Dec 18, 2014 at 2:18 pm (Updated Dec 18, 2014)

In the newly built children's area, stud walls separate the programming and performance area from the collection room.

Images provided by Cheryl Fils-Aime/cherfoto.com The Monroe Free Library is using a $30,370 New York State Library Construction grant to replace windows.

The library's new public entrance and foyer were framed out by late summer.

The day after the removal of the books and shelves, the library's main collection space is vacant.

MONROE Monroe Free Librarys $1.9 million renovation is about 95 percent complete, according to a Dec. 1 progress report from Verticon Ltd., the contractor managing the project.

The contractor estimated that the construction portion of the project will be substantially completed by the last week of December. This includes finishing the installation of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning and electrical systems; siding and roofing; and interior finish work such as ceiling tiles, painting and millwork, doors and flooring.

The next progress meeting is scheduled for Dec. 22, when the libary expects to have a clear idea of the date Verticons construction work will be complete.

Barring any construction delays or unforeseen contingencies, library anticipates opening an expanded and reconfigured facility at 44 Millpond Parkway at the beginning of March. The doors will open with an enlarged childrens area, a Young Adult room, added capacity for books and programs, improved office spaces, and the ability to offer more services to the community.

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Monroe Free Library expansion nears completion

Superior Roofing Company Bakersfield 661-322-8300
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North West Rubber Roofs - P.V.C Single Ply Roofing Systems
North West Rubber Roofs, based in Co. Donegal, Ireland, is a registered installer of P.V.C Single Ply Roofing Systems. For more information or to obtain a quote or survey please visit our...

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Merry Christmas from LaFerney Commercial Roofing

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That being said, as a roofing contractor in Sioux Falls, Ive been a part of them at different times in my Roofing career. Not because I believe in what they do, but because the bulk of the public still does..time will tell how long that will last.

Truth be told, most listing services online produce about the same effect as a BBB listingin that if a roofing contractor does bad work, then customers will leave negative feedback on their listings. The new way that the web is allowing interaction between consumers and businesses is allowing for the same thing that the BBB did before all of the new web 2.o social media became the norm online.

Anymore the BBB is simply an overpriced listing.. kind of like advertising in the good old fashioned Yellow Pages big book/door stop not many people see it, but as a roofing contractor or any business. you have to pay out the nose in order to still be a part of it.

Anymore if a potential client asks if Im a roofing contractor with the BBB I simply tell them it cost me over $500 per year and never brought in a single project, so after a few years of wasting money on them I canceled, but if the customer would like I could make one call and get my A+ roofing contractor rating right back..(I also mention that paying clients get negative remarks and situations taken off quickly, if they ever even become public).

Regardless of the BBB stance as a consumer protection company the sad truth is that they are a business that makes millions off of other businesses, and reality would dictate that their loyalties go to where their money comes from.

In a strange way, the BBB is like the old gangsters offering protection to local roofing contractor businesses, and then increasing the cost of protection..to the point where it no longer is protection, but extortion.

Because of the common phrase check them with the BBBwhen searching for a roofing contractorthe BBB has risen to the point that it kind of strong arms businesses to pay their unreasonable listing fee just because consumers expect it.

In my experience as a roofing contractor, the listing with the BBB was a waste of marketing money, and only a few people ever checked out my roofing contractor profile with the BBB . and none of them ever became a client.

They (the BBB) also sent me regular emails to events ranging in price from $100 -$500, and Im sure this is simply part of their profit producing strategy.(I believe each office is a locally owned franchise, so listing fees vary depending on the area located, but I could be wrong on thatso dont quote me Ill have to do a little more research and then update this post at that time:)

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Best Roofing in Sioux Falls 605-549-5033 - Roofing Sioux Falls