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Owners of the proverbial average home would see an increase of $109 in local property taxes to pay for the 2014-15 borough school budget.

The tax bill on a property assessed at the borough average of $303,900 would increase by $109, said Superintendent Johanna Ruberto.

The Board of Education will hear public comments and vote on the $20.8 million total budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, in the media center of the Alexander Batcho Intermediate School.

Local property taxes would pay $13.9 million of the total, up about $270,000 from last year. State revenue would supply $5.25 million, up by about $28,000.

The tax rate for 2014-2015 would increase four cents per $100 of assessed valuation to $1.22, following an increase of three cents per $100 in the previous year.

The budget is right up to the two-percent cap on the total tax levy, per state law.

The budget anticipates reducing 3.5 certificated staff positions, but will be offset by one additional teacher for the fourth grade for the 2014-15 school year, resulting in a total reduction of 2.5 teachers.

There is no reduction in administration positions, and support aides are hired dependent on student annual reviews.

The district has about 190 unionized staffers, not including administration and non-aligned employees. Administrators have their own association of 12 members.

The budget anticipates percentage increases of 13.5 percent for health benefits, but projected energy costs to be flat.

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MANVILLE: School tax would rise by $109 on 'average' home

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RALEIGH Responding to last years deaths at a Boone hotel, North Carolina lawmakers are proposing to broaden and clarify laws on carbon monoxide alerts in hotels and other lodgings.

The provision, part of a giant regulatory bill approved Wednesday by a Senate committee, would require alarms not just detectors near heaters, appliances and fireplaces that burn combustion fuels.

The bottom line will be that we add carbon monoxide alarms where we need to protect the public and prevent future deaths, said Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Republican.

Samuelson co-chairs the Environmental Review Commission, which made the proposal with input from fire marshals, building inspectors and state insurance officials.

The new requirement would apply to extended-stay tourist homes, bed and breakfast properties, as well as hotels and other lodgings.

The proposal rewrites portions of a law enacted last year after three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the Best Western in Boone. It replaces a portion that just required detectors, not alarms.

Lynn Minges, president and chief executive officer for the N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association, said her group supports the new measure.

Minges said the bill simply clarifies language in the carbon monoxide alarm bill that went into effect last year.

It would end confusion about extended stay motels by making it clear they must install alarms, Minges said.

The only significant change contained in the new proposal would put local fire departments in charge of enforcing the law, she said. Now, local health departments perform that duty, but Minges said many of them don't have expertise with carbon monoxide alarms.

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Bill would broaden carbon monoxide rules

LA QUINTA, Calif. -

Getting enough to drink is critically important here in the valley, especially with the hot days of summer fast approaching.

But one valley mom is expressing concerns about her son and other students staying hydrated at La Quinta High School.

The is mother complaining about dirty water fountains on campus, and she says drinks sold from vending machines are too expensive.

One fountain in question was backed up with what appeared to be green algae covering the basin.

Other fountains near the practice field were brown and rusty.

Another was badly discolored and corroded.

Kelly hall says the thought of her 9th grade son drinking from the dirty fountains makes her stomach turn.

"I think it is deplorable that they allowed the conditions of the water fountains to get like that, for our students to have to drink out of," said Hall.

After her son told her about the dirty fountains, she asked him to take pictures of the half dozen or so he felt were cause for concern.

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Mom complains about dirty water fountains on campus at La Quinta High School

BEIRUT: The fountain is flowing, the bike path is paved, and the grass is springy and new. The Rene Mouawad Garden, known as Sanayeh Park, appears ready to be opened to the public on June 1 following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 31 hosted by the Beirut Municipality and the Azadea Foundation, the Beirut-based luxury retail holding company that funded the renovation of the garden.

Visitors to the old park will recognize the original layout with a few new additions. The park now boasts bike and jogging paths around the perimeter, three small playgrounds and an outdoor performance space. All of the original trees have been trimmed and preserved, with newly planted grass and flower beds. The large central fountain, dry for years, has been cleaned and filled, and the splashing of water is almost enough to drown out the sounds of traffic and nearby construction.

During a press preview Wednesday, Azadea deputy CEO Marwan Moukarzel said the garden would remain free and open to the public under the auspices of the Beirut municipality. Azadea has signed a renewable contract to oversee maintenance for the next 10 years, and has contracted Middle East Security to provide guards during opening hours. Moukarzel promised the guards would undergo strict training on how to deal with the public.

The park will remain open for approximately 12 hours a day, closing in the evenings, Moukarzel said. The rules for the park include bans on water pipes, barbecuing and damaging the flora. Dogs will be allowed initially and as long as owners are vigilant in cleaning up after their pets.

Praising the municipalitys cooperation, Moukarzel said he hoped to set an example for the private sector to take initiative where the public sector had failed to do so.

CSR [corporate social responsibility] is a great way for a company to do good for the community and at the same time remain competitive in the market, he said, adding that it would be nontransparent to deny the positive publicity such projects bring to the brand.

Weve got 1,100 employees in Lebanon ... we want them to be proud that their company is making a difference in their [community] and with their families, he said. As for my customers, I want them to start looking at us as a company that not only sells whatever it sells, [but] is also ... going beyond that point of sale.

The renovations, which began last year, cost a total of $2.5 million. The company has pledged several hundred thousand dollars a year in maintenance and upkeep as well.

It remains to be seen whether the park will win the approval of local residents, many of whom were skeptical early on following an aborted attempt by the municipality to turn Sanayeh Park into a parking lot. Mayor Bilal Hamad has denied the plans ever moved beyond the preliminary stage. The municipality continues, however, to pursue plans to dig up several other parks in the city to install garages before replanting the areas, a strategy that has been heavily criticized by residents, activists and urban planners.

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Revamped Sanayeh Park to make public debut on June 1

By Laura Lennie, News Staff

City officials say the new parkette at the corner of King and Jones streets should be ready for use by the end of next month.

Senior landscape architect David Zimmer says the parkettes irrigation system has been completed and the sites large trees and shrubs appear to look healthy.

The contractor has a number of minor things to complete in the next couple of weeks, he said last Thursday. Once the sod is installed, we will move the fence back to protect only the inner grass circle. We are expecting the parkette to open once the sod has had time to catch and has been cut twice, so I would say towards the end of June.

The parkettes features include an open green space area, a circular walkway with benches and a mix of trees of shrubs. The project has been funded through Taro dump royalties at a cost of about $400,000.

The site also includes a clock tower that mimics the design of the arbour structure at the Augustus Jones fountain area. The clock tower was made possible through a Rotary Club of Stoney Creek donation of approximately $20,000.

Zimmer said the parkette will see the addition of two large planters on top of the columns at the site.

These will be annually planted with colourful floral displays, he said. We also have intentions to install some decorative art on the grass side of the columns. We formed an edge to frame this future art.

Zimmer said naming of the parkette is being discussed.

A grand opening ceremony also is in the works, he added.

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Stoney Creek parkette expected to open in late June

Another new restaurant from Tim Thompson will occupy the ground floor of a $22 million, mixed-use riverfront development in Monona featuring 121 luxury apartments and advanced erosion control strategies.

Thompson co-owns the Free House Pub in Middleton and just opened The Flying Hound in Fitchburg. Both feature a European focus with a draft-beer focus and menus with German and English influences.

Robin Pharo, a Madison native and sustainable building operations expert, said the restaurant for her new Monona development, to be known as Treysta on the Water, will have similar themes.

"It's meant to be a destination restaurant," she said. "It will be in the vein (of the other restaurants) with a full-service bar and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays."

City officials and Pharo held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the project, slated for completion in early 2015. Fitchburg-based Tri-North Builders will be the general contractor.

The building also is slated to be the state's first mixed-use development to achieve a "Clean Clear Waters" designation, a new certification requiring the advanced use of best practices in erosion control, landscape conservation and storm water management.

It's administered by the Madison Area Builders Association and the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, with third-party verification of standards.

Madison area lakes are a vital asset to our region's livelihood, WEI Executive Director John Imes said in a statement. By educating builders and developers about the easy steps that can be taken to avoid harmful effects during the construction process, we can help improve the quality of our lakes.

The site for the four-story, 79,000-square-foot building is on the 400 block of West Broadway, adjacent to Lottes Park. It's the former home of the Hickory Lane Mobile Home Park, which closed in 2007 with residents moved out under pressure from a former developer.

Beyond the planned restaurant and retail stores on the building's first floor, and 24-hour-a-day concierge services for the apartment tenants who live above it, the 5-acre site will boast amenities including public and private boat slips, boats for rents, an expanded riverfront boardwalk and an outdoor public performance space for concerts and other events.

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Groundbreaking held for luxury Monona apartments on Yahara River with 'destination' eatery

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