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SANTA CLARA -- When the 49ers were getting ready to open their immaculate new $1.3 billion stadium, coach Jim Harbaugh compared the team's new field to the fairways at the famed golf course where the Masters is played. The team and its partners billed the new grass as a super-resistant strain capable of withstanding the pounding of 300-pound lineman, saying divots would be "virtually nonexistent."

But as it turns out, the $1.4 million playing field installed four months ago could not even withstand its first week of NFL football.

The team ripped up the grass running down the middle of the stadium and began installing a new playing surface on Thursday, a day after Harbaugh cut short a public practice at the stadium, disappointing 10,000 fans in attendance.

The field was beat up -- with some players falling Wednesday -- following the Niners first game at the stadium three days prior, a preseason exhibition against the Denver Broncos. The team apologized to fans who made the trip to the training camp session and said the field would be ready for Sunday's preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, but declined to comment further.

"That shouldn't happen. One game shouldn't have caused it to fall apart," said Kevin Morris, executive director of the National Turf Grass Evaluation Program, a leading nonprofit that tests grasses. "It's a problem for the team for sure."

The thick-cut sod the team is installing is meant as a temporary fix. It is used occasionally at other sports stadiums that are beat up at the end of a season, or following a concert, but cannot generate the deep roots needed for the field to withstand a beating long term.

It's unclear how the team will sod the field for its regular-season opener, a Sept. 14 primetime game against the Chicago Bears on national TV, or if the sand base contributed to the issues.

It's not the first problem with the field. Last month, trucks carrying heavy equipment for a black-tie VIP gala featuring a John Legend concert damaged part of the area near the south end zone. At the time, Niners executives brushed off the damage and said it would be fixed quickly. But this week, more than a month after the concert, there was still a large brown stain behind and inside part of the end zone.

On Wednesday, fans at the third and final free Levi's Stadium practice were confused when it was called off 45 minutes in, after wide receivers Stevie Johnson and Bruce Ellington and several other players slipped and created new divots. Coaches had been digging into the divots that had been replaced on the field with patches of sod, and team executives huddled on the field to examine its condition, which some fans weren't exactly impressed with.

"Once we sat down in our seats, I kind of chuckled -- look at this great stadium, and the money spent, and look how crappy the field is," said Rick Randall, 48, of Manteca, who was at Wednesday's practice. "I was kind of expecting nice, green lush grass. It didn't look much better than Candlestick."

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49ers sparkling new Levi's Stadium sees field fail, new grass goes in

The 49ers are going to have some dirt and grass stains on their brand new Levis, as theyre already replacing the sod in their state-of-the-art stadium.

After one concert, a soccer match and one preseason NFL game, the field was already in such dire shape the 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh pulled his team off the field last night during a practice.

According to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, crews were at work this morning stripping up the old sod to put in new, in advance of the next game there Sunday.

The previous grass was installed in April, and didnt root down well enough to keep multiple players from slipping and sod to come up in chunks at last nights public practice.

The 49ers issued a statement Wednesday night saying the team haddetermined the appropriate measures necessary to have the field ready for Sunday and look forward to hosting the San Diego Chargers.

They have more than that on tap, as two high school games are schedule there on Aug. 29, followed by a soccer match between Mexico and Chile on Sept. 6 before the regular season opener against the Bears on Sept. 14.

Such quick turnarounds for sod arent uncommon, but its still a dramatic blemish for abrand-new building.

Photo credit: KNTV

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49ers already replacing the sod in their new stadium

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SANTA CLARA (KCBS) Crews at Levis Stadium begantearing up the grass on the new field Thursday morning after turf problems Wednesday prompted the team to relocate a practice session to the teams training facility because of the slippery sod.

The 49ers are replacing the sod after just one preseason game at the newly-opened $1.3 billion facilityand just three days ahead of their second preseason game Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.The team issued a statement Wednesday saying the field will be playable for Sundays game against theChargers.

It appeared the portion to be replaced will be limitied to the area between the football hashmarks and the goal lines.

The Levis Stadium field will be getting a lot of workahead of the 49ers first regular season home game on September 14 against the Chicago Bears. On August 29th, there will be two high school football games on the field and on September 8 Mexico will face Chile in an exhibition soccer match.

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On Wednesday, head coach Jim Harbaugh abruptly stopped practice and pulled the team from the new field after a wide receiver lost his footing and fell hard running a pass route on uneven turf.

The sod laid in April still hasnt taken rootdespite assurances in spring from West Coast Turf that this new blend of Bermuda grass would be great for football.

In April, spokesman Greg Dunn promised there would be more than adequate time for the new blend of Bermuda grass known as Bandera Bermuda to grow properly and be ready for play when the stadium opened.

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Slippery Sod At Levis Stadium Forces 49ers To Relocate Practice

Updated AUG 21, 2014 3:59p ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- The San Francisco 49ers were working to re-sod the field at new Levi's Stadium on Thursday, a day after a public workout was cut short and moved to the regular practice fields because players were slipping.

San Francisco hosts the San Diego Chargers at the $1.2 billion stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT, and the team has said it expects to have the field ready in time. KTVU's news chopper showed images of the sod replacement in some areas of the turf Thursday.

"The 49ers organization would like to apologize to any fans who were inconvenienced by today's practice ending early," the team said Wednesday. "We have determined the appropriate measures necessary to have the field ready for Sunday and look forward to hosting the San Diego Chargers."

Coach Jim Harbaugh moved his team out of the stadium Wednesday about an hour into the practice.

"It's a beautiful field for a first-year field," veteran placekicker Phil Dawson said this week. "Those guys are working their brains out to get that thing ready."

Dawson missed wide right on first-half field goal attempts from 55 and 44 yards in Sunday's 34-0 loss to the Denver Broncos. He said there are always adjustments with new grass. The field looked dry in places and chunks of sod could be seen missing in places where it apparently didn't root properly.

"We're all kind of in foreign territory here and learning as we go," Dawson said. "There were a lot of new experiences, not just wind but the footing on the field. It's the first time the big boys have been out there and trudging around and seeing how the field held up. There's a whole lot going on all at once. ... If your technique requires a six-inch step and your six-inch step goes in a divot or something like that, it can affect things. That's not unique to fields we play on. I have pretty good experience playing on fields that are less than ideal, so I'll just have to draw on those experiences."

San Francisco's regular-season home opener is a Sept. 14 prime-time matchup against Chicago. The 49ers are scoreless in their last seven quarters and have been outscored 57-3 this preseason. They lost 23-3 at Baltimore on Aug. 7.

West Coast Turf has provided the 49ers' sod at both Candlestick Park and Levi's Stadium. It is not unheard of around the league for teams to re-sod fields midweek or in short order, for example between a college bowl game and NFL game.

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Already? Loose sod at new Levi's Stadium being removed

MORE than 1500 visitors flocked to this years Festival in the Park in Rhyl.

Despite some early showers, organisers and supporters of the event - which was held in the Botanical Gardens on Grange road, put up gazebos to keep guests sheltered and were able to enjoy an amazing day.

The day featured the Medieval Falconry team, chainsaw carving, donkey rides, the Vale Ladies Choir, Giant inflatables which included a gladiator joust and a giant equaliser, with two contestants pulling against one another on a giant bungee rope, a giant slide and Mr Magico put on a magic show.

There was also stalls, teddy tombola, adult tombola, fairground games, craft and plant stalls.

A spokesperson from the Botanical Gardens Community Association, said:

Considering the rain first thing, which we expected to put people off, we had an amazing day with a vast number of visitors. Despite one or two things on the programme having to be cancelled we still ended up with lots for people to see. We had in the region of 1500 to 2000 visitors over the course of the day.

I would like to thank everyone who came out despite the iffy weather and say a big thank you to all the volunteers who made the day such a success.

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GALLERY: More than 1500 visitors flock to Rhyl's Festival in the Park

Leaders of the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Monroeville plan to expand several parts of their complex on Abers Creek Road, including building a new two-story temple and a 50-foot spire.

On Wednesday night, the Monroeville Planning Commission made a unanimous recommendation that the project be approved.

The temple was seeking approval for site plans and several other aspects of the project, including a proposal to revise lot lines in order to create parcels of roughly one, 22 and 36 acres for the project.

New construction would include the spire, which exceeds the 35-foot height currently allowed, the new temple with more than 15,000 square feet of space, a connecting wing and four gazebos.

The existing building has been in use by the temple's congregation since 1991, but it is nearly 100 years old, according to Streamline Engineering President Martha Frech, engineer for the project.

It's an old structure; they want to modernize it for their congregation, Frech said.

The new temple would be an 81-by-81-foot two-story building, reduced from previous applications that outlined a three-story structure. The application has undergone numerous changes since originally coming before the commission in August 2011.

Monroeville resident Robert Serafini, who lives near the property, had concerns about stormwater management, particularly related to the roughly 1,400-foot proposed driveway, which would come off of Northern Pike.

The water runoff situation on Northern Pike is already bad, and this driveway is going to make it worse, Serafini said.

Frech told the commission that stormwater flow from the driveway would be directed to a PennDOT drain near the proposed entrance, and that a stormwater pond and rock bed would help alleviate water flow from the wooded area of the property.

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Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Monroeville plans expansion

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) August 21, 2014

Feng Shui expert, Kathryn Weber and publisher of the Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine, will be offering a certification course in traditional Chinese feng shui consultant course this November 12-16, 2014 at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada. The cost for the 3-day intensive is $1997 and will provide feng shui certification in classical Chinese feng shui for feng shui consultants. Currently, attendees are coming from Norway, Canada, the UK, US, Hawaii, and Canada. More information can be found online at http://www.beafengshuiconsultant.com.

The Red Lotus Master Consultant Course takes difficult feng shui concepts and simplifies them by offering templates, charts, and handouts that consultants can use to make complicated feng shui easier to practice. This three-day course will emphasize feng shui schools like flying star, 8 Mansions, and compass methods that are practiced throughout Asia.

Participants will learn important principles and guidelines for the changing time-space energies as the year moves from Year of the Horse to Year of the Sheep. Attendees will also be immersed in traditional feng shui practices such as using a luo pan, the feng shui compass most recognized in China and Asia and rarely used in America due to a dearth of trained consultants. All attendees will be exposed and trained in the fundamentals of feng shui as it applies to various types of residences and businesses.

"Today's homeowners and business owners are looking for authentic traditional Chinese feng shui," Weber says. "Businesses are looking for the same kind of feng shui that is practiced in Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and China, and I offer the kind of training for consultants that will help them compete on that level." Weber explains that the commercial and residential property markets are all looking for that extra edge to appeal to Asian and Western clients that traditional Chinese feng shui provides.

Learning how to recognize feng shui fallacies and faux pas can also create better environments more suited for Asian clientele. "I'm frequently speaking to businesses and architects who are looking for feng shui consultants who are classically trained and can bridge the gap between East and West, and who take a Chinese approach to feng shui," says Weber, "and finding those kinds of consultants who also have a luo pan is rare indeed." Better still, though, consultants trained in this method can command higher fees for this knowledge and skill and are highly marketable.

Aspiring feng shui consultants will want to know

1) How to practice traditional Chinese feng shui more easily 2) How to begin their feng shui consulting practice 3) Easy ways to market themselves and how to charge for their services

To learn more details about these questions and others be sure to sign up for the free 28-page ebook "HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL FENG SHUI CONSULTANT: a Comprehensive Guide to Breaking into the Feng Shui Business." http://bit.ly/fengshuipro

Kathryn Weber is one of the leading feng shui experts on the Internet. Her Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine has over 30,000 subscribers. Her annual feng shui forecasts can be read on Amazon and on her website, redlotusletter.com. She has had three feng shui jewelry collections on Home Shopping Network, publishes a weekly syndicated DIY newspaper column for Tribune Content Agency for the past four years, and has a line of feng shui luo pans manufactured exclusively for her in China. She has been asked to speak and train on authentic feng shui to real estate companies and architecture firms, such as YWS International, an architecture firm specializing in the leisure and gaming industry with offices in Las Vegas, Singapore, Macau, and Beijin. She has been featured in magazines and websites such as Seventeen, Conceive, Natural Health, CBS MoneyWatch, and Entrepreneur.com.

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Feng Shui Expert Kathryn Weber Offering 3-Day Feng Shui Classical Chinese Certification Training Course for Feng Shui ...

If Fort Knox isnt what you need for a garden fence, consider something edible, instead of the usual cedars, boxwood, privet, or forsythia.

A dense planting of fruit- or nut-bearing shrubs or small trees is a beautiful, ecofriendly choice, offering privacy, providing the bees with nectar, and the birds and you, if youre quick enough with delicious produce.

Europeans have been planting rows of edibles for centuries, says Mary Ann Van Berlo, a certified master gardener in Ottawa. Unlike most North American homeowners, Europeans dont share our addiction to interlocking brick, pressure-treated lumber fences and green lawns. In England, homeowners often plant gooseberries and currants to delineate property lines, and Van Berlo is starting to see a shift toward this with younger Canadian homeowners. Theyre very interested in backyard food production, she says. They want to know what theyre eating, and if they grow it themselves, they know.

Klaus Tiessen, of Glen Echo Nursery in Caledon, Ont., has been in the plant and landscape business for more than 50 years, and has seen an uptick in fruit-tree sales, especially cherries, for the blossoms and the fruit. A trend that has come from Europe, just last year, is the $10 fruit tree; the price lets people put in fruit hedges, he says.

According to Tiessen, his supplier, Winkelmolen Nursery of Linden, Ont., is barely keeping up with the demand for 60-centimetre, $10 apple, cherry, plum, pear trees.

Its a trend that started in Germany and Holland they sold 20,000 little fruit trees last year and is going to be big here, very soon, he predicts.

But before you start digging, consider these factors:

Patience: It takes three to five years for most fruit-bearing shrubs, vines, and trees to establish, fill out, and bear fruit. Asparagus takes five years; nut trees need seven to 10 years.

Purpose: What is its function? Are you visually delineating an area, creating privacy or a windbreak? To discourage trespassing, go for prickly varieties: blackberries, raspberries, stinging nettles. For something more open, a border of asparagus is delicate and soft. To create a wind barrier, think of a row of tall shrubs, such as serviceberry, Nanking cherry or hazelnut.

Plant for the right conditions: For a shady spot, think fiddleheads (ostrich ferns). Sunflowers and sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) are good choices for sunny, dry areas theyre tough, drought-tolerant, can grow upward of three metres and with time, as the plants spread and mature, youll be able to harvest more, while still maintaining a lush screen.

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Shrubs: Edible fences make well-fed neighbours

Internal emails and newly-released autopsy reports obtained by 2 Investigates are revealing new details about a fire in San Francisco public housing earlier this year that killed a woman and her three-year-old son.

Esther Ioane, 32, and her son Santana Williams, 3, were killed in the fast moving blaze at the Sunnydale Public Housing Development on April 16.

At the time of her death, Ioane had detectable amounts of methamphetamine, as well as cannabinol and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol two compounds found in marijuana in her body, according to the autopsy report released by San Franciscos Medical Examiners office.

The toxicology report also lists several other stimulants detected in Ioanes system at the time of her death. The compounds listed include amphetamine, nicotine, caffeine, and methylphenidate, a medicine prescribed to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health.

On the morning of the fatal fire, Ioane was pronounced dead in her apartment at 76 Brookdale Ave. Her son was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where medical staff performed CPR for 45 minutes, but the little boy did not survive.

The Medical Examiner investigators notes state that San Francisco firefighters discovered the mother and son in the upstairs bathroom, submerged in a bathtub nearly full of water. According to the report, fire crews found Ioane and Williams with their heads near the faucet and the water turned off, presumably in an effort to avoid the smoke and flames inside the home. The toddler was discovered underneath his mothers body.

According to internal maintenance documents from San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) obtained by 2 Investigates, Ioane had requested repair work for at least one smoke detector in her unit on March 31, two weeks before the fire.

A work order grants permission for an electrician to enter Ioanes unit even if no one is home. But according to records from the Housing Authority, the electrician was not able to gain access and the smoke detector was not repaired.

Hand-written notes taken by the SFHA electrician, and obtained through a public records request, document multiple failed attempts to access the unit. But they do not offer any explanation of why the worker was never able to complete the requested repairs.

Kevin Cholakian, an attorney representing the Housing Authority, says an unidentified woman turned the electrician away at the door three times. Cholakian has also retained a private company to investigate the fire and issue its own report, which has not been publicly released. He says that investigation uncovered three dismantled smoke detectors inside a drawer in the unit, possibly moved by someone in the home.

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2 Investigates: Autopsy reports, internal emails offer new details about deadly public housing fire

Traditionalists launch PR offensive CHARLES ANDERSON AND ANNA PEARSON

SUPPLIED

STRAIGHT-BACKED: Christ Church Cathedral from above in a photo taken for the Great Christchurch Building Trust, which is campaigning to save the building.

A group opposing the Christ Church Cathedral demolition has launched a public relations offensive to convince Kiwis the landmark is not ruined.

The six-week campaign by the Great Christchurch Building Trust (GCBT) includes extensive billboard and media advertising, featuring photographs of the cathedral taken from a helicopter.

GCBT co-chairman Jim Anderton said the photographs showed the cathedral in a different light - far from the ruin that many perceived it to be.

The trust had engaged focus groups and discovered many people believed the building was beyond repair when the reality was far different, he said.

"The hope is that we will be able to change opinion in the city from it's a ruin' to finding a way forward to repair it that would not cost the ratepayer anything."

Auckland-based public relations consultant Fleur Revell, of Impact PR, told The Press the campaign would bring the debate to life again but her advice would have been to "spell out the compelling reasons why the cathedral needs to stay in a more convincing way".

"The key messages on why it needs to stay need to be stated more clearly; instead there are simply a series of opinion pieces and supporting documents for the public to click on and read. This puts the onus back on the public to essentially do the research themselves," she said.

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Cathedral wars heat up