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Newly released evidence in the corruption trial of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, includes text messages between the first lady and her handyman Donnie Williams the brother of Jonnie R. Williams Sr.

The McDonnells are accused of accepting gifts and loans from Williams, then-CEO of Star Scientific, in exchange for promoting Anatabloc, the companys dietary supplement.

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First ladys texts with handyman Donnie Williams released

In the desert, the term water crisis usually refers to the lack of water. Intermittently, the phrase may mean too much water.

As is usual for the monsoon season, Lake Havasu City is now in the cycle of storm, damage, cleanup. The cleanup amounts to a protracted period of moving rocks, mud and other debris from the roads.

Thats what you get in a city where the washes run across roadways and street curbs and gutters are not the norm.

Is there a better way? Of course. Retrofitting storm drains and routing wash water through underground culverts would be a big step forward but the cost would be daunting.

Even those expensive improvements wouldnt be a perfect solution for a city built on a hillside. The force of water during big storms pushes along rocks and limbs that can clog even huge culverts.

A better first step might well be a cost-sharing curb and sidewalk program similar to those in many other cities.

There are many ways to structure those programs, but they generally involve city government offering residential curb, gutter and sidewalk installation at or near cost. The program can be either bid out to contractors, or handled in house.

For homeowners tired of seeing half of their front yard wash down the street with each heavy rain, the option might be a good one.

Right now, city government doesnt have a formal sidewalk improvement program, though, according to its website, it focuses on areas near schools and in business areas.

What the city does have now is big cleanup costs after storms. It may make sense to apply some of those anticipated costs to a voluntary curb, gutter and sidewalk program.

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Curb, gutter program could stem storm damage, costs

FLORHAM PARK Could the contract for the $1 million makeover of the municipal pool come during one of two Borough Council meeting Thursday?

Thats a possibility, according to Borough Engineer Michael Sgaramella.

Bids for the work were accepted and opened on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

The contract was expected to be awarded some time next month, but in a Tuesday e-mail, Sgaramella suggested it could come when the council meets today.

Bids still under technical review. There may be a contract award for this at Thursdays meeting, he wrote.

Just when the bid could be awarded, however, is unclear. The council is expected to hold two sessions, a work session scheduled for 6:30 p.m., followed by the 7 p.m. business meeting. Contracts are usually awarded during the business session, although official action has taken place at work sessions in the past.

In a separate e-mail, Carl Ganger, director of the boroughs Department of Community Services, on Tuesday wrote that six bids were submitted ranging in price from as high as $1,263,823 to as low as $817,000, and that the review process was underway.

Bid award is based upon review of the complete document, reference checks and submitted bid number. It is only after this review the lowest responsible bidder will be determined and recommended, wrote Ganger.

An ordinance allowing the borough to issue $950,000 in bond anticipation notes for the work was adopted in the spring. The remaining $50,000 will be taken from the boroughs capital improvement fund as down-payment.

In a previous interview, Borough Councilman William Zuckerman, the councils Community Services liaison, called the pending project exciting.

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Florham Park could award $1M pool makeover contract Thursday

Soon those last few dog days of summer will be upon us, and there will likely be half a dozen (or dozens?) of chores you haven't gotten to yet. Well ,now is the time.

whitetag, Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Editor's note: This article originally ran at Improvement Center. It has been reprinted here with permission.

It happens every year: Summer seems to last forever, but then the end comes quickly enough to take everyone by surprise. Soon those last few dog days of summer will be upon us, and there will likely be half a dozen (or dozens?) of chores you haven't gotten to yet. Well ,now is the time.

To help you get motivated, here are several DIY project ideas. They are in order from easiest to toughest, so you can choose depending upon your particular brand of summer laziness.

So grab that sunscreen and let's get started.

Clean up that yard

After a long summer of fun, your backyard is probably looking a little drab. Go beyond picking up the toys and rolling up the hoses. Now is the time to do the heavy work. Those pavers need straightening, the shrubs need mulching, and the fencerow needs a serious cleanup before winter rolls around. Take a few days and clean up your place as though you were going to put it on the market. A major cleanup now makes fall and winter chores easier to handle.

Find a new place to store your stuff

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Perfect summer DIY projects

SILVER CITY >> The Gila National Forest Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team announce the completion of emergency treatment and stabilization of areas burned as the result the Signal Fire, which started 10 miles north of Silver City on May 11, according to a news release.

In the aftermath of the Signal Fire BAER Team members moved in quickly assessing the burned areas and recommending emergency treatments to minimize threats to life, property and natural and cultural resources. BAER's first-aid immediate stabilization treatments reduce downstream values at risk from wildfires.

The BAER Team assessed and has completed the following:

Installing water erosion bars on FR154-Signal Peak Road and FR 855A-Lockney road to provide drainage and reduce negative effects to the roads

Cleaning and clearing road ditches to allow water to move freely through them

Removing drainage culverts and replacing them with drive-able low-water crossings

Installing a closure gate on Signal Peak Rd. and Meadow Creek Rd. for public safety during monsoon rains

Installing warning and hazard signs at area entry points

Aerial seeding high severity burn areas

The road work on Signal Peak Road is intended to prepare the road for increased erosion and runoff from the fire area during monsoonal rains. The installation of the low-water crossings and removal of drainage culverts allows water and debris to flow freely across roadbeds and not clog up the culverts and wash out the road. Road storm patrol and response will continue throughout the monsoon season.

Link:
Signal Fire burn area stabilized

More than a week after music fans rocked out at Lollapalooza, two mud-slopped fields in Grant Park remained closed to the public for the repair work that is set to begin Wednesday. The price tag for the post-fest repairs is estimated at $266,000, the Chicago Park District announced Tuesday.

Thanks to rain during the fest, concertgoers left the turf fields torn up, particularly at the southern end of Grant Park where about 30 acres of the park was blocked off Tuesday.

The three-day music festival, which was held Aug. 1-3, is hosted on 115 acres of Grant Park. The entire park is 325 acres including the high-traffic areas of Millennium Park and Buckingham Fountain.

On Tuesday, chain-link fences surrounded the swampy Lower Hutchinson Field from Balbo Avenue to 11th Street where headliners Eminem, Outkast and Kings of Leon performed on the Samsung Galaxy stage. Also closed off was mushy Upper Hutchinson Field from Balbo Avenue to roughly 8th Street where Iggy Azalea and Chance The Rapper graced what's known as Perry's stage.

The rest of Grant Park was open to the public, including Buckingham Fountain, the gardens and Butler Field where puddles, mud pockets and dozens of geese were spotted at the park's north end.

"For all intents and purposesI was at Grant Park yesterdayit's basically open other than the one area down at the south," said Bob O'Neill, president of Grant Park Conservancy. "People are using it as if nothing happened there," he said of the rest of Grant Park.

A day after the fest, Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents said it saw more damage to parts of Grant Park compared to 2013 due to heavy rains Aug. 3. Last year, the Chicago Park District estimated the repairs to cost $210,000 to $220,000.

But it wasn't as bad as 2011, when it cost roughly $800,000 to repair Grant Park after three inches of rain soaked festgoers, O'Neill said.

Representatives from C3 and the park district as well as an independent third-party contractor assessed the condition of Grant Park before and after the festival.

Under the terms of the concert agreement, C3 is responsible for picking up the repair tab.

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Repairs to Grant Park after Lollapalooza could cost $266,000

Bill Ryan/The Gazette

Montgomery County Park and Planning maintains the baseball and softball fields at James H. Blake High School in Silver Spring, site of this American Legion game between Cissel Saxon (Lawrence Johnson) and Wheaton (Zeke Green) on July 1. Most public high schools, however, must maintain their athletic fields themselves.

At most Montgomery County public high schools, coaches and athletic directors put in a lot of individual time and effort to keep athletic fields not only playable, but in excellent condition.

Take for instance Germantowns Seneca Valley High School, an athletics program that has enjoyed a lot of success, winning more state football championships than any other school in Maryland.

According to Athletic Director Jesse Irvin, he and the coaches mow the grass and line the fields themselves. The football field at Seneca Valley consists of Bermuda grass, which is supplied by a private outside landscaping company, the Brickman Group. But once the sod is put down, it is up to Irvin and his coaches to maintain the field.

Were not a school with a contract, Irvin said. The county doesnt maintain our fields.

Despite the hard work and time commitment, Irvin believes having control over his own fields helps the school in the long run.

It gives us an advantage, he said. I believe we have one of the nicest grass fields in the county, and our kids love playing on it.

Although the county does not help maintain Seneca Valleys fields, the Montgomery County Public School system does provide some financial aid.

High schools, for the most part, provide for the maintenance for their athletic fields, Dr. William Duke Beattie, Montgomery Countys director of system-wide athletics, said in an email to The Gazette. ...The school system periodically foots the bill for resurfacing a high school stadium field, doing about one school per year. The school system also takes care of resurfacing tracks and tennis courts.

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Some schools benefit from county facilities -- Gazette.Net

Castle Howard Proms Spectacular, August 16

Updated 12:00pm Thursday 14th August 2014 in Music news and reviews By Charles Hutchinson

EXUBERANT conductor Jae Alexander is back on baton duty with the English National Orchestra at the Castle Howard Proms Spectacular on Saturday night.

Suitable for the whole family, the 7.30pm Proms programme features soloists Wynne Evans and Janet Mooney, an aerobatic display by an original Second World War Spitfire and a rousing 10.30pm finale of flag-waving favourites from the Last Night of the Proms with a fireworks display.

Gates open at 5pm; Gary Williams gives a pre-Proms performance at 6.15pm, celebrating the great singers with his own tribute to Nat 'King' Cole, Andy Williams, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

Saturday's concert is picnic style, so bring food and drink, chairs and rugs. Additional refreshments will be available; no gazebos are permitted. Tickets can be booked online at maconcerts.co.uk or on 0844 318 7000 and should be available on the day, but please ring first to check.

Free parking is provided on site and special provision is made for disabled parking. All parking will be signposted.

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Castle Howard Proms Spectacular, August 16

After many obstacles and delays, plus the suspension of the general contractor's license, the new Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce building is nearing completion.

"We are really close to finishing," Chamber President Jim Roach said last week. "There isn't anything major that needs to be done it's all minor fixes. I would hope we'll be ready in a month or two."

Two and a half years ago fire struck the "old" chamber building (built in 1967) burning it to the ground. The cause - arson. Plans to rebuild started immediately.

"Right after the fire our building committee sent out bids to six licensed builders," Roach said. "They went through a vetting process and hired Marra Construction."

The building committee received the insurance settlement and held a benefit dinner to raise the necessary funds. One year and five months later, on June 12, 2013, the GPICC held a ground-breaking ceremony for its new building. Steve Timcak, president of the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, began the ground-breaking ceremony by telling those in attendance that June 12 was a new beginning after the tragic loss of the old building to arson.

The general contractor, Marra Construction, projected that the building would be completed three months after construction was started in September (depending on the weather) and by December significant progress had been made.

"It seemed we had numerous issues to deal with," Roach said. "There was the water pipe outside. That was an unexpected expense that cost us $20,000 to meet the fire code for the sprinklers. Honc jumped right in and took care of that for us. There were zoning issues, an infinite number of changes, and other delays that were not taken care of in a timely manner. There were times when the chamber took over smaller details from the general contractor just to get things done. That's when we asked Richard Dobson to get involved."

"My family was in construction and I've been in construction," said Dobson, a chamber board member. "I know something about the permitting process and contracting. So they asked me to help get the building finished. Marra was probably about three quarters finished but we didn't have the final inspection on the electrical, plumbing wasn't finished, air conditioning wasn't finished, there's a lot that wasn't finished. And that was the problem progress just kind of stopped.

"I got hold of the electrician and the plumber and resolved some relatively minor issues," he continued. "Once that was taken care of, things took off again. And then we received a stop work order, I think it was July 10th when we were notified that Marra Construction's license was suspended - not with anything related to this building but another matter. Of course, that meant that all work on the building had to stop."

The board met immediately to decide whether to stick with Marra or find another general contractor. There was a mutual agreement between Marra and the board to replace Marra Construction.

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New chamber building nearly finished

Quad Feed on Demolition - Nuketown 2025
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