Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

By SARAH CUTLER

In response to a budget shortage for the ongoing Commons redesign project, the City has made cost-cutting measures in order to preserve amenities such as a playground and gateway structures.

In addition, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance has begun efforts to attract private sponsorship to fund a fountain, for which there is a funding gap of $500,000.

The inclusion of the saved amenities will further animate the Commons, creating the vibrant and prosperous public space that the City and public sought to create, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick 09 said in a memo on April 22.

According to John Schroeder 74, a member of the Ithaca City Planning and Development Board, all projects other than the fountain are set to be completed as a result of the City cheapening reducing the cost of aspects of the redesign, despite the additional $2 million it recently received in funding.

In order to address the remaining deficit after Common Council added that $2 million, the City found ways to accomplish the spirit of the design in a cheaper way, said Schroeder, who is also the Production Manager for The Sun. This includes substitution to cheaper materials like granite for some of the structures.

According to Schroeder, this streamlining of resources led to the shortfall being cut to about $500,000, which would be required to construct the above-ground portion of the planned fountain, which will be located in Bank Alley.

The understanding was that the Downtown Ithaca Alliance would fundraise to cover the fountain, Schroeder said.

Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson said he currently feels good about the fundraisers success. Though he said he is not yet ready to release the names of sponsors, he said they have included a combination of families, banks and other community businesses.

A lot of people have stepped up to make this a community project, he said. This donor program will provide needed funds for finishing the project while at the same time providing value and exposure to donors and sponsors.

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Ithaca Commons Project Undergoes Cost-Cutting

Gordon Westrand, with Spud, wishes the parks board consulted park users more.

image credit: Phil Melnychuk/The News

Spud isnt a big dog, but he still likes to run around and get some exercise and sniff out some of his peers in a safe environment.

As of June 10, though, when the off-leash area in Volker Park closes and the fence is removed, Spud, a cairn terrier, will be looking for a new playground.

Im upset with fact its being closed, said Gordon Westrand, Spuds owner. I just dont think the public is being told why its being done.

The Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Parks and Leisure Services Commission made the decision at its April 10 meeting after hearing from residents who live nearby.

Parks and facilities director David Boag said the residents had a compelling case.

The closure, I would say, is largely about the noise, although there were also complaints about dust and people walking dogs outside the fence.

People were upset about being woken early on Sunday mornings or from dogs barking after hours. Video clips backed up the residents concerns.

I would say the biggest part is the noise throughout the day for the people who live in such close proximity to the park, Boag said.

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Maple Ridge residents fight dog park closure

Picture perfect: A reflection of the Basilica bounces off the water in St Mark's Square. Photo: Brian Johnston

Only surly travellers could complain about the infamous high tides of Venice. Brian Johnston discovers beauty even in a swamped city.

Before we even arrive in Venice, the naysayers are moaning. A combination of full moon, high tides and rain-sodden winds are threatening another acqua alta, those tourist-annoying high tides that regularly submerge Venice. Yet though I'm bootless and umbrella-free, I'm secretly pleased that our arrival coincides with the city's most infamous event. There's nowhere else can you see a city submerged, secure in the knowledge that it isn't a natural disaster but a predictable event that locals take in their stride.

Next morning, as I leave my hotel, city workers are setting up passerelle, elevated wooden walkways on metal legs. Shop owners slot metal barriers across the thresholds of their doors. At 9.50am an alarm sounds: a dull beep like a reversing truck that barely penetrates over clanging church bells. The more frequent the tone, the higher the tide expected. The beeping sounds urgent. Water is slopping over the landing steps of the Grand Canal and bubbling up through grates in the flagstones of St Mark's Square.

Tackling the tide in plastic shoe covers. Photo: AFP

Fifteen minutes later, water is sopping between cafe chairs by the Rialto Bridge. Stall owners set out lurid yellow or purple plastic boot-coverings, outrageously priced at 18 ($27). Water rises and I have to find an alternative alley to the Rialto markets. Soon I'm a little lost. I go from squares packed like battery-hen farms with tourists into empty back alleys where water slaps against apartment blocks. Cracks appear in the clouds and the sun throws pale light on to gargoyles and gateways.

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By 10.45am I'm down on the waterfront, where deformed pigeons hobble on pink legs. Water laps the Doge's Palace and is now ankle-deep along the shopfronts that line the northern side of St Mark's Square. The cafes opposite are as yet unaffected. In one, a pianist determinedly plays, like a musician aboard the Titanic. I finish my coffee as seawater laps at my toes, but am still able to hop across dry patches and on to a passarelle that brings me to St Mark's Basilica. Water has covered mosaic floors under the gold-leaf porticos, providing the feel of wanton Roman baths.

Venice's acqua alta is caused when high tides in the northern Adriatic coincide with a warm sirocco from North Africa, usually between September and April. Low-pressure systems and heavy rain combine to worsen the effect. Media reports of particularly bad acqua alta - such as those that hit at the end of 2012 - show pictures of miserable tourists trudging through floods with their suitcases. Yet so far, I've kept my socks dry. Tides can rise 85 centimetres and not be too bothersome, flooding only the area around St Mark's Square, the city's lowest point.

Apart from unforeseen plunges between pavement and canal, there are few dangers in this flooding. Because they've happened for centuries, they do little damage to foundations; Venetians worry more about cruise-ship wash and vibrations. Acqua alta conditions are predicable and the city well prepared. High tides are announced on a website, in newspapers and on noticeboards around town. As a tourist, you'll be well warned by the clang of arriving passarelle. There are maps of walkway routes if you don't want to get your feet wet.

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Spires in galoshes

Rose Societys garden tour steps into artists European influenced gardens

For 11 years, Bill and Sandra Jensen have welcomed guests to their San Clemente bed and breakfast, Garden Cottage at the Green, to take respite among their well-kept, European-inspired gardens.

Photos and story by Andrea Papagianis

Maria del Carmen Calvo steps into her canvas. Nestled along the Capistrano Beach bluffs, Calvos rich garden rooms provide an escape from the outside world, where the inside meets the out, creating a space straight from one of the artists oil paintings.

Walking the grounds Calvo stops to smell the roses. Its my sanctuary, Calvo says in the heavy Spanish accent she carries even after 50 years in California. She moves through the garden, passing through a line of olive treesa simple, gravel path shrouded by tall, neatly trimmed topiaries. Its one of the many ways her European heritage, and artistic style, shines through the rose-lined pathways and tall hedges.

Calvo and her husband, Walter Henry, have been building their home for 30 years. They started with a clean slate. All but one tree was removed when they moved into their Camino Capistrano-located home. Since, Calvo has cultivated an outdoor living space where tranquility reigns.

Roses billow from their branches, heavy and wide, encompassing cement walkways Calvo lay with intricate glass and tile designs. Fountains echo the gentle trickling of water. Around each corner, Calvos artistic sleight of hand peeks through with personal touches straight from an artists eye.

Situated just above her bathroom sink is a broken Lalique vase that Calvo united with the homes edifice. Now the crystal provides a surprise among the stucco and a simple backdrop to Calvos water liliesone of her much loved garden features to paint.

Its a happy place, Calvo said. It is a place for everyone to enjoy.

On Saturday, May 10, Calvo and Henry will open their home for all as the Rose Society of Saddleback Mountain hosts its annual south Orange County garden tour. Attendees of this years event, coined the Elegant and Enchanting Garden Tour, will have the chance to tour five home gardens highlighting floral displays, environmentally sound garden practices and garden architecture.

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