Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) monitors forecasts and maintains open lines of communication with the National Weather Service.

Mayor Michelle Wu today joined City officials at the Public Works yard on Frontage Road to discuss winter preparations currently underway in the City of Boston, and resources available to residents, including older adults and individuals experiencing homelessness.

I am so grateful to the team from many departments and several different cabinets that come together to ensure that our streets will be safe and that our residents will be warm, supported and connected to everything that they need, saidMayor Michelle Wu. As we continue to manage amidst a global pandemic, winter will be the next phase of how were supporting all of our residents.

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) monitors forecasts and maintains open lines of communication with the National Weather Service. OEM also works across City departments and with external partners to ensure coordinated response plans are in place. Residents can sign up to receiveAlertBostonnotifications by phone, text, or email in the event a snow emergency/parking ban is declared.

The Public Works Department (PWD) currently has 40,000 tons of salt on-hand to treat City streets. Along with 164 pieces of in-house snow clearing equipment, the PWD has the capability to place over 800 additional pieces on the roads during larger storms. As part of their neighborhood plowing operations during winter storms and to ensure the safety of riders following events, PWD allocates pieces of equipment to clear snow from Boston's dedicated bike lanes.

Rules on clearing snow:

Parking during a declared snow emergency:

Trash and recycling:

Caring for vulnerable populations:

Safety tips:

Dress for the weather:

Watch for signs of frostbite:

Watch for signs of hypothermia:

Heating guidelines for property owners and tenants:

Heating safety:

Tips to keep water flowing and pipes unfrozen during extreme cold:

Emergency home repair resources:

Tips to increase home energy efficiency:

Tips for what to do before a power outage:

Tips for what to do during a Power Outage:

Tips for Driving in a winter storm:

For more information, please visit theWinter in Boston guideand follow@CityofBostonon Twitter.

Follow this link:
Mayor Wu shares Boston's winter weather preparations - boston.gov

Country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth ofAustria, Republic ofAzerbaijan, Republic ofBahrain, Kingdom ofBangladesh, People's Republic ofBarbadosBelarusBelgium, Kingdom ofBelizeBenin, People's Republic ofBermudaBhutan, Kingdom ofBolivia, Republic ofBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana, Republic ofBouvet Island (Bouvetoya)Brazil, Federative Republic ofBritish Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)British Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgaria, People's Republic ofBurkina FasoBurundi, Republic ofCambodia, Kingdom ofCameroon, United Republic ofCape Verde, Republic ofCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChad, Republic ofChile, Republic ofChina, People's Republic ofChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombia, Republic ofComoros, Union of theCongo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, People's Republic ofCook IslandsCosta Rica, Republic ofCote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of theCyprus, Republic ofCzech RepublicDenmark, Kingdom ofDjibouti, Republic ofDominica, Commonwealth ofEcuador, Republic ofEgypt, Arab Republic ofEl Salvador, Republic ofEquatorial Guinea, Republic ofEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of the Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of theGeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic ofGibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic ofGuinea, RevolutionaryPeople's Rep'c ofGuinea-Bissau, Republic ofGuyana, Republic ofHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)Honduras, Republic ofHong Kong, Special Administrative Region of ChinaHrvatska (Croatia)Hungary, Hungarian People's RepublicIceland, Republic ofIndia, Republic ofIndonesia, Republic ofIran, Islamic Republic ofIraq, Republic ofIrelandIsrael, State ofItaly, Italian RepublicJapanJordan, Hashemite Kingdom ofKazakhstan, Republic ofKenya, Republic ofKiribati, Republic ofKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwait, State ofKyrgyz RepublicLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanon, Lebanese RepublicLesotho, Kingdom ofLiberia, Republic ofLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein, Principality ofLithuaniaLuxembourg, Grand Duchy ofMacao, Special Administrative Region of ChinaMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascar, Republic ofMalawi, Republic ofMalaysiaMaldives, Republic ofMali, Republic ofMalta, Republic ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritania, Islamic Republic ofMauritiusMayotteMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonaco, Principality ofMongolia, Mongolian People's RepublicMontserratMorocco, Kingdom ofMozambique, People's Republic ofMyanmarNamibiaNauru, Republic ofNepal, Kingdom ofNetherlands AntillesNetherlands, Kingdom of theNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaragua, Republic ofNiger, Republic of theNigeria, Federal Republic ofNiue, Republic ofNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorway, Kingdom ofOman, Sultanate ofPakistan, Islamic Republic ofPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanama, Republic ofPapua New GuineaParaguay, Republic ofPeru, Republic ofPhilippines, Republic of thePitcairn IslandPoland, Polish People's RepublicPortugal, Portuguese RepublicPuerto RicoQatar, State ofReunionRomania, Socialist Republic ofRussian FederationRwanda, Rwandese RepublicSamoa, Independent State ofSan Marino, Republic ofSao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic ofSaudi Arabia, Kingdom ofSenegal, Republic ofSerbia and MontenegroSeychelles, Republic ofSierra Leone, Republic ofSingapore, Republic ofSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpain, Spanish StateSri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of theSuriname, Republic ofSvalbard & Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom ofSweden, Kingdom ofSwitzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailand, Kingdom ofTimor-Leste, Democratic Republic ofTogo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau Islands)Tonga, Kingdom ofTrinidad and Tobago, Republic ofTunisia, Republic ofTurkey, Republic ofTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUganda, Republic ofUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain & N. IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

Follow this link:
Tips to lower your home's heating bill this winter - Sidney Herald Leader

WE DONT REALLY like to think about issues involving our wastewater. Yet, these issues are more regularly coming up to the surface in both a political sense and, more unfortunately, a literal one.

Globally, over four billion people use sanitation facilities that lack adequate wastewater treatment, which results in the contamination of the environment and a severe risk to public health. Ireland is no exception.

We have recently suffered a wave of swimming bans following summer heavy rains. This is a result of ageing wastewater infrastructure such as sewers and treatment plants incapable of supporting population growth and the impacts of climate change.

Irelands means of treating wastewater can be divided into two main types. The first is a centralised system in large urban areas such as Dublin where wastewater mostly flows by gravity across the city and ultimately arrives in facilities like Ringsend where it is stored and treated to remove harmful pathogens, using a lot of energy in the process.

A major concern is the collection systems where rainfall runoff from urban environments end up in the sewer, akin to safety releases, during high rainfall events. When this happens, diluted untreated sewage is released into rivers and bays due to rainwater drains overflowing into the sewers.

Sludge from household septic tank being emptied Source: KaliAntye via Shutterstock

Septic tanks across the island

The second form of treatment for wastewater is on-site or decentralised systems. Due to our sparsely-populated rural areas, we have one of the highest proportions of households around 489,000 in Europe using on-site domestic wastewater treatment systems.

The most common system is a septic tank, which separates wastewater of heavier solids and fats. Following this separation, wastewater is dosed underground into the soil along specially made trenches filled with gravel. Bacteria attached to the gravel and soil naturally treat wastewater as it percolates down to the underlying groundwater.

In my professional experience, if these systems are built according to the EPA code of practice, they should be considered an effective nature-based solution to on-site wastewater treatment. The key issue, however, is that much of the function takes place underground, so it is hard to know if these systems are functioning adequately.

Local authorities do inspect these systems, but with so many systems, and an average inspection rate of 1,000 per year, it will take nearly half a millennium to look at the systems currently in operation.

Aerial view of Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant, August 2020 Source: 4H4 Photography

Solutions to our sewage problem

One thing you come to understand when working in this area, is that there is more than one solution to the sewage problem.

Centralised systems such as those in Dublin are crucial as they treat high volumes of sewage on relatively little land but they do use a great deal of energy to do so.

These facilities could be aided by improvements in rainwater capture reducing the impact of climate change on our drainage network and improving our overall water supply.

On-site wastewater systems, if installed adequately, can also offer a low cost and low-energy alternative to smaller populations currently relying on septic tank systems. A good example is the integrated constructed wetland system at Castle Archdale in Co Fermanagh.

The system consists of a series of artificial wetland ponds over a three acre site, using natural processes with plants and bacteria to clean the wastewater. This system has a treatment capacity of 1,000 people and has resulted in a 100% reduction in electricity usage compared to the now decommissioned wastewater treatment plant.

These systems require little maintenance or technical labour in the long-term. They also have a natural aesthetic value with an abundance of plant life that starkly contrasts the typical austere or brutal facades of wastewater treatment plants.

Aeriel photo of Castle Archdale Treatment System Source: NI Water

Time for a new way of thinking

#Open journalism No news is bad news Support The Journal

Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you

There are already examples of such systems in the Republic of Ireland, including Dunhill in Co Waterford, Glaslough in Co Monaghan, Clonaslee in Co Laois and Lixnaw in Co Kerry. Archdale Castle should inspire us to further develop more systems in the south.

The treatment capacity of a system like Archdale Castle could satisfy the needs of 569 of our 846 population centres accounting for nearly 250,000 people. It may not always be cost effective to replace an existing system with these natural process alternatives, but with 32 sites still pumping raw sewage into the environment daily, there is good reason to examine their potential.

Systems like Archdale would have the capacity to treat 15 of these sites, with minimal need for technical staff and energy to run them. These systems could also be adapted to more densely populated urban areas to passively treat wastewater before arriving at Ringsend and relieve some of the strain on the facility.

If we dont want to drown in our own misfortune, it is crucial that we collectivise our waste management, with the added bonus of diversifying our treatment methods and incorporating nature-based processes with minimal impact on the environment.

Alejandro Javier Criado Monleon is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Civil Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. His background is in public health, disease surveillance, water, wastewater, and microbiology. His current work focuses on the soil microbiology in on-site wastewater systems.

EMPTY THE TANK INVESTIGATION

Do you want to know more about Irelands aging wasterwater system?

The Noteworthy team wants to investigate if there are sufficient enforcement resources available to local authorities to ensure that septic tanks are safe and that contents are disposed of in a safe and regulated way..

Heres how to help support this proposal>

Continue reading here:
Lets not waste an opportunity: Nature-based solutions to our wastewater woes - thejournal.ie

To the editor:

What has Joe Biden accomplished? A lot. The previous administration attempted to pass an infrastructure bill, however despite having the majority in the House and Senate, was unable to do so. By working together with Republicans, skillfully negotiating and compromising, Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with the support of 17 House Republicans and 18 Republican Senators, including Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham. Why would they do that? Because it is GOOD for the country.

According to NBC News in Miami, Florida will get about $19 billion for roads and bridges, new rail lines, projects to mitigate sea level rise, improved broadband access and transitioning neighborhoods from septic to sewer. Thats huge for homeowners, as it raises their property values while simultaneously protecting the aquifer we all rely on for drinking water.

It also includes funding to restore and protect aquatic ecosystems the goal of Captains for Clean Water. Its a big win for Florida and for our country.

Biden has shown the power of bipartisanship by getting done what 4 years of bitter fighting could not. Way to go!

Isabel Francis, MPA, MSN, RN

Bokeelia

Visit link:
Biden has done a lot for this country - Pine Island Eagle

AUSTIN Over the last few years, in one of the fastest-growing cities in America, change has come at a feverish pace to the capital of Texas, with churches demolished, mobile home parks razed and neighborhood haunts replaced with trendy restaurants and luxury apartment complexes.

The transformation has perhaps been most acutely felt across East Austin and the neighborhood of Montopolis, a 2.5-square-mile patch southeast of downtown, where unobstructed views of the ever-expanding skyline have made the historically Black and Latino neighborhood a sought-after community.

And the momentum is nowhere near abating. These days, construction sites and cranes feel more like permanent fixtures across the neighborhood, where longtime residents have watched with growing anxiety as chic coffee shops, yoga studios and pricey bars have inched closer and closer.

We knew it was coming, said Francisco Nuez, who for nearly two decades lived at the Cactus Rose Mobile Home Park until it was sold to a developer to make way for amenity-rich apartments that now fetch more than double what he once paid in rent.

A decade ago, Austin, the capital of Texas often deemed a liberal oasis in a staunchly conservative state, was among the most affordable places to live. Now, according to a forecast prepared by Zillow, a real estate company that tracks affordability, the Austin metropolitan area is on track to become by years end the least affordable major metro region for homebuyers outside of California. It has already surpassed hot markets in Boston, Miami and New York City.

With an average of 180 new residents moving to the city every day in 2020, housing inventory is very low, realtors said. Multiple offers, bidding wars and blocks-long lines outside open houses are commonplace.

Home sale prices in the city of Austin skyrocketed to a record median of $536,000 in October, up from about $441,250 a year ago. And they have more than doubled since 2011, when the median sales price was $216,000, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS, a trade group. Rentals, too, have surged, with the average cost of an 864-square-foot apartment now $1,600.

Austin is the worst-kept secret, said Job Hammond, a secretary-treasurer with the board.

With the University of Texas flagship campus, gentle rolling hills and a vibrant music scene, Austin has long been an attractive place to call home. But surging prices have created a brewing housing crisis that is reshaping the city of nearly 1 million people, and pushing mostly low-income Black and Latino residents like Mr. Nuez away from cultural centers, transportation hubs, grocery stores and other amenities that come with urban living, activists said.

The lack of affordable homes has been underscored by the relentless sight of homeless encampments outside City Hall and under busy highways. (The city recently began efforts to clear them after voters approved a public camping ban this year.)

In 2018, while already experiencing explosive growth, at least 35 Austin neighborhoods were undergoing some stage of gentrification. Another 23 neighborhoods were at high risk of following suit, according to a study commissioned by the city and conducted by researchers with the University of Texas.

The numbers are likely higher today, said Heather K. Way, a law professor at the university and one of the studys authors.

You drive down a street one day and all of a sudden youre thinking, What happened to the apartment building that stood there last week? said Ms. Way, referring to the rapid demolition of older housing occurring in some Austin neighborhoods.

The displacement of low-income residents, in a city where about 13 percent live below the poverty line, has concerned Austin officials to such a degree that a grass-roots movement led them to hire the citys first displacement officer this year. Nefertitti Jackmon has been assigned the challenging task of preventing widespread gentrification even as cranes continue to dot the skyline and new structures climb ever higher.

Ms. Jackmon said that while plans remain in flux, her office will be allocated about $300 million over the next 13 years to be spent on addressing displacement, such as securing more affordable housing in affected neighborhoods. She doesnt mince words when describing the challenges that lie ahead.

In Austin, Black and brown neighborhoods have been marginalized and underinvested, Ms. Jackmon said. She also said she wants to expand participation of local residents in the early process of new developments. We are saying development can happen without displacement.

But not everyone is convinced a new displacement office will have a significant impact.

Its an aspirin for cancer, said Fred McGhee, a local historian and longtime resident of Montopolis, a neighborhood once home to formerly enslaved people and Mexican migrants who came to work in cotton fields.

On a recent day, Dr. McGhee walked out from his home and pointed in several directions, toward construction sites or newly built luxury buildings. Not long ago these used to be all wetlands, Mr. McGhee said. Now all you see are new developments or plans for one.

The East Vue Ranch is one of them. On the land that was once the Cactus Rose Mobile Home Park, the luxury complex has a sleek swimming pool, game room and enclosed dog park. Nearby, another apartment complex now sits on land once occupied by a historical Black church. Another Black church, built in the 1860s, was demolished to make way for a road to accommodate all the new traffic. And a neighborhood hair salon was replaced with a trendy South American bakery.

This has become the tale of two Austins, said Susana Almanza, a longtime activist. The rich keep building in our neighborhoods and the poor keep getting displaced. It doesnt end.

From March 2020 to February 2021, despite the pandemic, Austin nearly led the nation in new construction, with close to 42,000 new residences, according to a housing report by Rice Universitys Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Much of the citys expansion has been attributed to the recent arrival of tech titans, including Apple, Amazon and AT&T and more recently Tesla, whose chief executive Elon Musk, already a resident with a rocket site in South Texas, said that the company would move its headquarters from Palo Alto, Calif., to Austin.

Those big moves joining other major tech companies, like Dell and IBM, already fixtures in the region have meant an infusion of a younger and more affluent population, giving rise to the citys new moniker of Silicon Hills.

The high-paying jobs have accelerated the areas economy. Over the last 10 years, jobs in high-tech, which tend to pay in the six figures, rose nearly 62 percent in the Austin metropolitan area, for a total of about 176,000 positions, accounting for 17 percent of all jobs and far surpassing the growth of all other industries, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

And since 2010, the median household income has jumped from $55,744 to $80,954, according to the chamber.

Those high salaries have pushed up the price of housing, including rentals, the cost of which surged 38 percent over the last decade, more than other fast growing Texas cities like Dallas and San Antonio, according to a 2020 Root Policy Research housing market analysis.

The city, which saw an increase of nearly 160,000 people over the last 10 years, cant build homes fast enough, said Rob Gordon, manager and real estate agent with the realty company, JBGoodwin.

In the neighborhood of Northwest Hills, about 20 minutes northwest of downtown, where Mr. Gordon does a majority of his business, 18 of the 19 homes on the market this spring sold for more than the asking price, an average of a 113 percent spike, Mr. Gordon said. One home, listed at $975,000, was sold for $1,395,000 after a grueling bidding war.

Jon Kniss, a photographer from Nashville, took desperate measures to find a home when he moved to Austin last year. For months, he blanketed his new neighborhood with letters of cash offers.

Nine months and more than 200 letters later, the Kniss family moved into a three-bedroom house in an affluent community northwest of downtown. We wanted to see if we could get a little advantage, Mr. Kniss said. Great weather, quality of life, the schools. Everybody wants to move here.

That feels especially true in Montopolis.

For those who left the neighborhood, many wonder whether they will be forced to uproot from their new homes yet again, as new developments continue to be approved and built in even more remote pockets of the city.

Maria Garcia de la Luz, 68, a former Cactus Rose resident who now lives next door to Mr. Nuez, said she misses the proximity to shops and access to public transportation that she had in Montopolis. Not long ago, she hurt a knee in an accident and had no way to go get treatment after her husband, Magdaleno Garcia, 77, also fell ill and was unable to drive her.

It really affected me. I feel trapped here, Ms. de la Luz said. In the end, it is us, the poor people, who end up getting hurt. Whos to say they wont kick us out of here too?

Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

The rest is here:
How Austin Became One of the Least Affordable Cities in America - The New York Times

Folks, out in Portland, Oregon, there's this family-owned business by the name of Tiny Heirloom. The name alone should give you a hint that whatever this team builds is small. Well, they're a tiny home designer and builder responsible for mobile homes that break any established norms of the industry.

One project they have in their lineup is simply known as Journey. The name says it all, and with the sort of work they do, you can expect a mobile construction meant to give you everything you need to feel at home no matter where you are. Since Journey is constructed on a hand-built chassis and features a triple-axle setup, it is up to you wherever you lay your head for the evening.

Like other builds from this team, Heirloom completes Journey with the same 2x4 lumber framing with CDX plywood and shed roof. To make sure all this wood isn't affected by the elements, a Zip System moisture barrier keeps things dry. Closed-cell spray foam insulation maintains the interior nice and toasty, and flooring is completed from rigid foam.

Now, what sets the Journey is the result of over two years of market research and questions to clients to produce a home that gives customers what they want and need. Sure, Journey does come in with an asking price of 139,000 USD (123,025 EUR at current exchange rates), but once you're acquainted with what you get for that sort of cash, you too might feel it's worth it. On the other hand, I've seen travel trailers that cost more than this, so it's not really an inflated price. After all, you are buying a home.

You're given two options to enter Journey, a lateral entry and another entrance at the deck. For the sake of argument, I'll mention the interior layout starting with the patio or deck entrance.

Once inside, you'll encounter the kitchen equipped with residential-sized appliances like a fridge with bottom freezer, induction cooktop, fireclay under-mount sink with brushed gold pull-down faucet head fill this area. There's also an option to add a washer/dryer. Across from the kitchen, a drop table sits ready to enjoy intimate dinners.

Heading towards the rear, the living room is the next space encountered and is also the space where you'll find the entertainment center and can add a full or queen bed. The rear is reserved for the bathroom with shower tub, toilet, sink and even fit with multiple cabinets.

Aside from all the usual home furnishings I mentioned, Journey is equipped to handle your electrical, plumbing, and heating needs. Two electrical and programmable wall heaters, plumbing connection and drain, water heater, and exterior outlets are available. Even though much else isn't mentioned about what electrical systems are in place, logic dictates that a comprehensive electrical system is available.

To find out a bit more, I tried out the configurator for Journey, just to see how much my dream home would run me. By the time I was done adding a larger entertainment center, propane upgrade, massive skylight, solar power consultation, and a queen bed in the living room, I ended up with a Journey priced at 160,397 USD (142,051 EUR at current exchange rates). Honestly, I've seen camper vans with a higher price tag, and here you're getting a home. Think about it.

See the original post:
Journey Is the Culmination of Two Years of Recon A Near-Perfect Mobile Home - autoevolution

Five years ago ten tornadoes left behind a path of destruction in the Tennessee Valley on November 29th and 30th, 2016. These storms struck during the evening and overnight hours, which made it dangerous for those in the path of these tornadoes. Above are some photos of the damage from the tornadoes. There were a total of three fatalities and thirteen injuries. The three deaths and majority of the injuries occurred with an EF-3 tornado that moved through Jackson and Dekalb counties, early in the morning hours on the 30th.

Of the ten tornadoes that impacted the area, five had the strength of an EF-2 or EF-3 tornado. This means the winds with the strongest tornadoes were between 111-165 mph. These occurred in Cullman, Colbert, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, and Madison counties.

Just after midnight on November 30th, residents in portions of DeKalb and Jackson counties were awoken by a severe storm that would produce a tornado. The tornado touched down just outside of Rosalie at 12:02 am CST and had a 13.7-mile continuous damage path. At 12:20 am CST the tornado lifted 10 miles north-northwest of Ider, right before the Alabama and Georgia state line.

This tornado claimed the lives of three individuals and injured ten others. Homes sustained significant damage and a barn was completely destroyed in Jackson County. Over in DeKalb County, an unanchored mobile home was completely destroyed and in the Deer Head Cove area, a well-anchored metal shed was destroyed.

The EF-3 tornado that occurred in Morgan County touched down around 8:40 pm along Danville Road, just east of Isabel Mountain, and was on the ground for eight minutes. The tornado continued to strengthen as it moved towards the northeast, causing roof and structural damage to homes. In the Neel area, the roof of the volunteer fire department was almost completely taken off and large metal trusses were bent.

The tornado reached its maximum intensity as it crossed Boys Ranch Road, producing the most damage. A home in this area suffered complete roof loss and partial wall collapse, an anchored mobile home was destroyed, and a large motorcycle repair shop was almost wiped clean. The damage here was consistent with a lower-end EF-3 tornado with winds of 140 mph. Thankfully, in the 6.20-mile damage path, there were no fatalities or injuries.

Just after 7 pm on the 29th, a tornado touched down near Lost Creek Road on the west side of the Cedar Creek Reservoir in Franklin County. When it touched down it caused a significant amount of roofing damage to a single-family home and an occupant of the home was injured. The tornado was the strongest in Franklin county with wind damage typical of an EF-2 tornado.

It quickly moved off towards the northeast, crossing into Colbert County, this is where two others were injured. These individuals were injured when a single-wide manufactured home sustained damage to the roof and walls. Along with the many homes that were damaged, many trees were snapped or uprooted. After producing an 11-mile damage path, it lifted at 7:23 pm seven miles south/southwest of Tuscumbia.

The final tornado we will touch on from this outbreak was an EF-2 tornado that traveled nearly 20 miles through Madison and Jackson counties. At 9:30 pm, this tornado touched down just outside of Monte Sano State Park snapping and uprooting trees along the northern brow of the mountain. More significant damage occurred near the Central Estates neighbored where at least 15 houses had some roof decking removed, some of these homes had large sections of the roof damaged.

The peak of intensity occurred near The Flint Ridge horse farm where damage was consistent with EF-2 strength, peak winds of 125 mph. Nearly all of the tin roof was removed from one large and one small horse and a riding arena was completely destroyed. After being on the ground for almost thirty minutes, the tornado lifted 3-miles north of the Princeton area. Thankfully, there were no fatalities or injuries.

November here in the Tennessee Valley is known as the secondary severe weather season. You can read more on this here.

The rest is here:
Remembering the Tornadoes of November 29th and 30th of 2016 - whnt.com

Fidaa Ataya, an artist from a village outside Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, is a hakawatia a storyteller who is well-acquainted with the dangers of trying to create art under occupation. Settlers have attacked her, broken her equipment, and wrecked what shes tried to build on the hill of Kafr Nima, where she was born in 1987, during the First Intifada.

But Ataya isnt giving up. At the end of the month shes organizing a festival called Al-Haya Al-Mahdoura (Forbidden Life), with artists from Palestine and abroad. I want to bring the area back to life, she says. The Israeli occupation is trying to break our emotional connection to the land and uproot us. Art can bring us back.

When she was a little girl, Ataya would frequent the hill that overlooks Kafr Nima, which spans Areas B and C of the West Bank (under partial and complete Israeli control, respectively), and which itself is surrounded by other hills. Now, Atayahas turned her art into a means of resisting the military and the settlers that have taken control of that mountain.

After studying cultural psychology in Ramallah and drama in Jarash, Jordan, Ataya went to study theatre in Lebanon. In 2018, she moved to the United States, where she received another degree in community art. At the end of 2020, however, the coronavirus pandemic forced her to return to Kafr Nima from the United States.

Even before she went abroad to study, one of Atayas hobbies was taking daily hikes through the hills around her village. Al-Rusan Hill, which is part of Kafr Nimas land, was one of her favorite spots, and ever since she was a child, she would climb to its summit and sit there under a large tree.

For me that was the top of the world, Ataya recalls, I felt like I was at the center of the world, surrounded by clouds, the sky stretching across the horizon with nothing obscuring its view, as if you were standing at the beginning and the end of the earth at the same time.

Fidaa Ataya. (Courtesy)

I have to travel a lot for work, and Ive seen a lot of nature, but for me, this is the most beautiful place in the world. This is where life begins.

Before she went to the United States, Ataya invited colleagues from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to come and see the hills. They hiked there and wandered through the ruins of an ancient village, probably from the time of the Byzantine Empire. They found caves, fossils, and bits of pottery. One of her friends photographed the site, and they decided that their next art project would be on Al-Rusan Hill.

When she returned from the United States in 2020, Ataya went into quarantine because of the pandemic. We have a small house close to the hill, Ataya says. I isolated myself there, and my parents brought me food. One morning she went out on a hike toward the hill, as had been her routine. I saw that there was a barbed wire fence, she says, and I kept walking. I saw a gate and a car going in. I went in right behind the car.

She was told that an Israeli settler had taken over the hill. I went up the hill and sure enough I saw a settler there in a mobile home, Ataya recalls. Everyone said he would probably leave. In the village she heard that this same settler had paved a road from the neighboring village of Ras Karkar, all the way to the top of the hill, and set up a mobile home despite the objections of the Palestinian residents.

When I arrived [in the village] there was a demonstration, explains Ataya. I didnt participate in the demonstration, just continued up the hill. The soldiers stopped me on the way, threatened me with their guns and asked me what I was doing there and where I was going. They said it was a closed military zone and they wouldnt let me go up the hill.

A settler saw me and asked me where Im from. I replied that Im a Palestinian-Italian. I entered the area. I saw someone feeding sheep. [The settlers] had turned the hill into a settlement. There were several mobile homes, a wood house, and big barns where they were raising animals horses, goats, sheep. I saw a woman leaving her house. I tried to speak with her, but she ignored me.

I continued to walk towards the tree where I used to sit. They had changed everything. Not a trace of the Byzantine village remained. Someone came over and started interrogating me. I spoke to him in English. He had a gun. He was the head of the hilltop settlement.

He barely understood what I was saying, so he called someone over to translate. He asked me to speak Arabic. I replied that my Arabic isnt good enough and I am worried that I might get confused. He asked me why I had come here, and I replied that I wanted to continue the art project that I had started there. He asked me where in Palestine Im from. I pointed towards Modiin and told him that my grandmother was from there, became a refugee and came to live in Kafr Nima.

Fidaa Ataya. (Courtesy)

As soon as I finished my sentence, he punched me right in the face, cursed at me, and demanded, Speak Arabic. I continued speaking English unfazed. He started cursing at me and then punched me again. I said, Dont hit me, Im speaking nicely to you.

He started yelling. The woman I had seen outside, who must have been his wife, started yelling at him to stop. My headscarf fell off. He grabbed it and used it to blindfold me. They yelled at me, put me in a vehicle, and handed me over to the army.

The army asked me for my ID. I told them that I dont have my ID or phone on me because I am in quarantine. I gave them the number, the soldier checked it and told me to go home. He asked me how I had even gotten there, and I told him that Ive been hiking here my whole life. I asked him what they were doing there.

The soldier told me that from today on, hiking is no longer allowed on the hill because it is a closed military zone. I asked him what had changed, and he replied, Everythings changed, ask the villagers.

The pandemic has been very difficult for Ataya. Both her brother and her father passed away from COVID-19 in 2021. But she didnt give up. After her quarantine was over, she went to the police to complain about the settler violence.

The prohibition on going to the hill didnt stop her either. She continued to look for new sites in the area to create art. I realized that I have to come back to art, because there is hope in art, she says. She started a project on the Jordan River with colleagues from abroad and Palestinian artists. The idea was to hike the Jordan River to see the beautiful view, the beauty that had disappeared from our lives. The idea was to get people to fall in love with the place again and give them hope.

Ataya put together handmade milepost signs to place along the hike, but the army harassed her. The soldiers ruined my project, arrested six artists and confiscated one of their cars. Someone destroyed all the signs we put up, she explains.

At the same time, she organized a project on village land, between Ein Al-Hilweh and Wadi Al-Maliha (Freshwater Spring and Salty Wadi). Its a miracle to me that the salt water and the fresh water meet.

Ataya found herself surrounded by violence and destruction once again, when both settlers and the army destroyed her artwork whether from the settlers or the army. She turned to the Israeli police, filed a complaint, and continued to look for a space for new projects.

I tried to access our land to plant trees and they didnt even let me go there, Ataya says. I tried to walk around the area with my foreign friends and continue with our art project, but the settler stopped me. He remembered me, asked me what I want from him and why Ive been coming to his house.

I replied that I wanted to continue the art project that I started there, and he responded, no, you want a war. I replied that I dont want a war, and the women and I continued to walk to the site. I planted trees in place of the trees they uprooted. I made a library for children and a small costume room. I set up a parasol and a large doll and I made a sign that read Art Studio.

I was at the studio taking photographs. A settler came up to me and started photographing me and my studio. I asked him to leave. When I was on my way home, the settler came back on a motorcycle with the army in tow and started asking me where Im going. The head of the settlement arrived, and I told the army that he had hit me.

Atayas brother arrived at the scene, spoke to the soldiers in Hebrew, and was able to release her. Three days later I came back to my studio, she recalls. There was nothing there. They stole everything. They even uprooted the trees. They also took the sign. I went straight to the police and filed a complaint, and I went to the [Israeli human rights] organization Yesh Din. Ive already filed four complaints against the settlers with the police.

Atayas works have been displayed in festivals around the world Italy, the United States, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, France, and others. I tell stories. Sometimes theyre true stories about my own experiences or stories that other people told me, and sometimes theyre Palestinian folk tales. I make them relevant and tie them to our present reality.

Village life gave me a strong connection to nature. The land is a part of the villagers lives. I organize festivals and invite artists from Palestine and abroad. Each time I pick a new location where I feel there is a conflict. We sit, meet with locals, listen to their stories, and come out with a collaborative art project either visual or story-based, depending on the place and the stories.

Is your art an act of resistance?

For me, art is a way to help people. I realized that I cant make change on my own. I want to bring the area back to life. The occupation is suffocating us from every angle.

On Oct. 30, Atayas festival, Forbidden Life, will take place featuring artists from Palestine and abroad. My plan is to put together three large festivals a year, not just in Palestine. I want the art to be part of nature, not disconnected from it. Thats my way. I go somewhere and incorporate my art into the people, places and environment.

Fidaa Ataya performs for Palestinian schoolchildren. (Courtesy)

Maysoon Badawi, a researcher from Yesh Din, is tracking settler and military violence in the area and is the coordinator of the organizations work on gender issues. She also runs workshops on legal empowerment for women in the West Bank. Fidaa came to me, says Badawi, shes never able to get to her land.

For me, Fidaa is a symbol of the struggle. She went to the police alone to file a complaint three times. Its not an easy thing to do, Badawi says. She doesnt throw in the towel. They uprooted her trees several times, but she didnt give up. Its important to file complaints with the police. It wont end the occupation, but the settlers need to understand that someone is keeping tabs on them.

This article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.

More here:
'The occupation is trying to uproot us. Art can bring us back' - +972 Magazine

Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter

4 to 6 percent of all monthly U.S. listings are For Sale By Owner

Based on new research by Zillow over the past three years, For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) made up 4-6% of all home listings nationally, which translated to roughly 63,000 homes for sale during September 2021. The research also found that FSBOs are most common in rural areas and tend to be more affordable.

"Our research shows that homes put on the market directly by owners are a small but consistent part of the housing ecosystem," said Zillow economist Alexandra Lee. "We see that these types of listings are more heavily used by rural, lower-income sellers, a demographic that appears to value flexibility to sell their home on their own terms."

The research found that in 2021, 24% of rural sellers did not use an agent, compared to 16% of suburban and 20% of urban sellers. Additionally, across all markets, FSBOs are listed at prices 18% lower than properties represented by agents. This trend is likely attributable to location and size of the home, rather than the home being sold at a discounted price. The median listed price for a FSBO home is $292,810. The median price of a home listed with a seller's agent is $355,777.

FSBOs can be found in every state in the country, providing an option for some buyers searching for a home at a lower price point. For instance, in states like New York, Illinois and Montana, FSBOs are 19-25% less expensive than non-FSBO properties. States with the largest share of FSBO properties are concentrated in the Midwest and South. FSBOs make up at least 10% of all home sales for in Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

The data shows homeowners with lower incomes are more likely to sell their properties directly. For instance, a household earning less than $50,000 annually is almost twice as likely to sell a home without an agent than a household earning over six figures. Around a quarter (24%) of sellers earning less than $50,000 sold their home without the help of an agent over the past three years.

While more FSBOs are generally in rural areas, FSBOs can still be found at lower prices than traditionally listed properties in a number of large, populated U.S. metro areas. In 23 of the largest 50 metros, FSBOs are priced lower than agent listings. Looking closer at these figures, the research shows that homes for sale by the owner in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta and San Antonio had the largest price differential -- FSBOs in these markets were listed at 10% less than traditionally listed properties in these markets.

The research also found that due to structural inequities in income and, in turn, home value and type, sellers of color are slightly less likely to report using an agent. On average over the past three years, 79% of Black sellers and 76% of Latinx sellers report enlisting an agent to help sell their home. White sellers reported using an agent 83% of the time.

Overall, FSBOs are used for all home types, but are most popular for sellers of smaller home types like townhomes, row houses, duplexes, triplexes, mobile homes and manufactured homes.

The steady and consistent prevalence of FSBO listings underscores the importance of this option as one of many in today's housing market.

See original here:
For Sale By Owners Tend to be Rural, Lower-Income Sellers in the U.S. - World Property Journal

In the warmer months,Greater Lansing residentsdealwith mosquitos and ants some must also endure bees, waspsandtermites. Now that winter is upon us, there's an entirelydifferent set of bugs to be on the lookout for.

Bob Yoakam isthe "Lansing Bug Man" his pest control business dealswith bug issues mostly in the spring and summer however, this time of year iswhen he starts getting more indoor calls.

"Now that it's this cold, they're already in your house," Yoakamsaid.

So, what are the bugs to watch out for in winter? And how do you get rid of them once they're inside? Read on for the five most common winter bugs in Greater Lansing, and how to keep them out of your home.

Gary Parsons is thedirector of the MSU Bug House, part of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where you can learn about all sorts of insects and arachnids and interact with live specimens.

According to Parsons, the five most common bugs found in Michigan homes during the colder months are:

Each of these bugs have adult stages in the winter, which makes them mobile and motivatedto get out of or avoid cold and rain and snow.

Most are seeking a dry spot to enter a hibernation state,somewherethey know they'll be protected. Some may go into the bark of trees, or inside a fallen log. Stink bugs especially are known to hibernate in rock, such as the crevasses of a cliff.

Ladybugs and stink bugs are distasteful,meaningpets may get sick from eating too many. For the most part, though, theseare all harmless, Parsonssaid.

These bugs view houses as just another place to spend the winter because they can sense the warmth. Once inside, they mostly just hibernate in the house.

Obvious entry pointsfor bugsare where there's an electrical, water or air-conditioning line enteringthe house, Yoakam said. Caulking and sealing holes around these openings is a good first step toward a bug-free home, but it's not as certain as using a pesticide, he said.

Other common places for bugs to sneak in is through warped siding, orwindows anddoors that aren't well-insulated. Parsons said he's had stink bugs get into his house through vent pipes in theroof. He recommends sealing up all cracks where bugs could get in.

Parsons said bugstend to prefer south- or west-facing sides of the house, because those areas tend to get more sun in the winter. He also usesa mesh screen over his attic vents and other openings to keep bugs out of his home.

"The first thing you should do is try to prevent them from getting in the house," he said.

Oncebugs are inside, they emit an attractivepheromone to help other bugs findthe safe, warm area and then it becomes a matter of getting them out.

"We do not advocate using pesticides," Parsons said. "It really has little effect on these things anyway." He said there are more effective ways to deal with bugs indoors that don't leave any residue.

According to Parsons, the best way to address thebugs who have made it inside your house already is to vacuum them up, or capture them in some sort of container to take outside. These bugs die in the cold, so there's no need to worry about them coming back inside.

Parsons warns residents to not squish bugsstink bugs and lady bugs especially can leave a stain, not to mention possible odors.

Yoakam the "Lansing Bug Man" approaches gettingbugs out a bit differently:"Without a pesticide keeping a bug out of a house, I don't know another way to be honest," he said.

To learn more about how to keep bugs out of your home thiswinter, visit the Lansing Bug Man websiteor MSU Bug House. And for more resources about bugs in general, including tips for keeping them out of your home, visit the MSU Extension website.

Sophia Lada is a news assistant at the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at slada@lsj.com or 517.377.1065. Follow heron Twitter@sophia_lada.

See the article here:
5 most common winter bugs in Greater Lansing, and how to keep them out of your home - Lansing State Journal