The other weekend we visited Maker Faire. It's a fascinating place, a modern science fair full of neat technologies, hand-built hacks, and every type of machine tool you can imagine. Hundreds of thousands of people thronged the midway, while mechanical giraffes and flaming dragons strolled by. It was a geek mecca.
What's most interesting about Maker Faire is the enabling technologies and the organisations . There's something about the democratisation of sophisticated tooling through places like TechShop that's liberating ideas and innovation in ways that we really couldn’t imagine. Instead of having to invest in tooling, engineers and designers are able to use the shared tooling to collaborate on prototypes for hardware – a process used by the designers of the Square credit card reader that was everywhere at the Faire.
Sign up for TechShop, and you get access to everything from sewing machines to laser cutters. It’s a time-shared machine shop, that offers machine tooling using the same utility model as cloud computing. You'll get training and support, as well as access to new tools as they arrive. Showing what could be done, GE, TechShop and Quirky had set up a workshop at Maker Faire where Quirky engineers and designers were collaborating with the wider Internet to design a better milk jug, opening up the design process to interested bystanders – as well as demonstrating the capabilities of modern computer controlled machine tooling.
If we're to encourage an innovation culture in the UK we need to encourage the creation of organisations like TechShop, giving hardware designers the support that we give software. Engineering is a powerful discipline, and it's important that we give as many people access to the tools they need as we can. Hardware hacking like that on show at Maker Faire gives us new ideas and new approaches, freeing people to try new ideas and new technologies.
One of the surprises of this year's Maker Faire was catching up with some of the UK companies on site. It's a long way from the East End to San Mateo, but the UK's hardware hackers were there in force, demonstrating conductive paints and multi-coloured self-curing rubber pastes – all building on work done at the Royal College of Art. I picked up a sample pack of the Sugru rubber paste, as my laptop had lost a foot.
Sugru's slogan is "hack things better", so I did. A pinch or two of what felt just like plasticene and I'd quickly molded a replacement foot that stuck to the metal and plastic of my laptop, rebalancing it nicely. I left it curing in a motel room for a day, and the resulting replacement foot has stopped my laptop from over-balancing. There was some left over, and I used it to replace a bumper on an external battery.
It's good to see UK companies getting attention in the US, and Sugru is a prime example of hardware hacking and the Maker ethos in action. But if you weren't at Maker Faire you probably won't have heard of it, or tried it out. We need more companies like that, more companies with access to the tools and technologies needed to turn their ideas into products. Raspberry Pi is only part of the process of revitalizing UK innovation, and we need to encourage more companies like Sugru to stake their futures on engineering and science – and on art and inspiration.
And that's why we need a UK TechShop-like organization. The capital cost of setting up a shared-workshop is high, but membership fees can help recoup those costs – and the resulting benefit to the UK of new companies and new technologies is incalculable, and key to the country's economic success.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Owner transforms North End 'spec’ house midway through process
Charles “Chip” James, who owns a Bermuda-style house at 208 West Indies Drive, says he first came across his North End property at the best possible time four years ago: A “spec” house was in the secondary stages of development with architectural plans drawn, a contractor hired and approvals in place from Town Hall. But it was still early enough in the construction process to make modifications to suit his taste and give the house a West Indies flavor.
“I bought with the ability to manage the project and make the changes I wanted,” says James. “At the end of the day [in February 2008], I had exactly the house I wanted.”
Today, though, he is looking for something smaller, and his five-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath house — with 5,850 square feet of living space, inside and out — is offered for sale through Fite Shavell & Associates for $6.75 million, furnished. The price without the furnishings is$6.395 million.
“For me, [building] this house has been an avocation,” James says. “I’m working on turning my avocation into a vocation.”
As a result, he is looking to renovate and sell properties on the island that might otherwise be slated for replacement. He comes well prepared to make the change.
“My grandfather was a master builder and a craftsman of every trade, and I worked with him as a high-school and college student, picking up trades while I was growing up.”
On a lot a bit west of North County Road, James’ home stands on a quiet road south of the Palm Beach Country Club. The house has a number of features James particularly likes, including its “modular” floor plan that includes a distinct progression of spaces designated for public and private uses.
“I have a self-contained master suite, and there’s also a self-contained guest wing with a common area connecting them,” he explains.
The master suite contains a library, which stands just east of the foyer. The entrance to the bedroom, in fact, is through the library’s two sets of doors, an arrangement that ensures privacy.
The house was spearheaded by a pair of developers experienced in Palm Beach renovation and building projects — Paul Birmingham and registered architect Clive Stuart-Findlay, who are both real estate agents with Fite Shavell. Two West Palm Beach firms also were involved in the project — Smith and Moore Architects and the contractor, Daniels Brothers Inc.
Architect Harold Smith of Smith & Moore recalls that the town’s architectural review process was key to the final look of the home. The development team had first proposed a two-story house, he recalls, but those plans eventually morphed into a one-story home with several guest suites consolidated in the rear wing.
“I bought with the ability to manage the project and make the changes I wanted,” says James. “At the end of the day [in February 2008], I had exactly the house I wanted.”
Today, though, he is looking for something smaller, and his five-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath house — with 5,850 square feet of living space, inside and out — is offered for sale through Fite Shavell & Associates for $6.75 million, furnished. The price without the furnishings is$6.395 million.
“For me, [building] this house has been an avocation,” James says. “I’m working on turning my avocation into a vocation.”
As a result, he is looking to renovate and sell properties on the island that might otherwise be slated for replacement. He comes well prepared to make the change.
“My grandfather was a master builder and a craftsman of every trade, and I worked with him as a high-school and college student, picking up trades while I was growing up.”
On a lot a bit west of North County Road, James’ home stands on a quiet road south of the Palm Beach Country Club. The house has a number of features James particularly likes, including its “modular” floor plan that includes a distinct progression of spaces designated for public and private uses.
“I have a self-contained master suite, and there’s also a self-contained guest wing with a common area connecting them,” he explains.
The master suite contains a library, which stands just east of the foyer. The entrance to the bedroom, in fact, is through the library’s two sets of doors, an arrangement that ensures privacy.
The house was spearheaded by a pair of developers experienced in Palm Beach renovation and building projects — Paul Birmingham and registered architect Clive Stuart-Findlay, who are both real estate agents with Fite Shavell. Two West Palm Beach firms also were involved in the project — Smith and Moore Architects and the contractor, Daniels Brothers Inc.
Architect Harold Smith of Smith & Moore recalls that the town’s architectural review process was key to the final look of the home. The development team had first proposed a two-story house, he recalls, but those plans eventually morphed into a one-story home with several guest suites consolidated in the rear wing.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Older Californians Stand Tall, Avoid Falls
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” has long been part of the American lexicon, a staple of late-night comedians for generations.
But for older adults – and California’s fragile healthcare system – falling is no laughing matter.
One in three adults 65 and older falls every year. Falls are the number one cause of injury – and death – for seniors in California and across the nation. They are also the largest single contributor to nursing home admissions – a staggering financial burden for both families and governments who shoulder the high costs of assisted living.
Yet a number of experts and programs around the state are helping California become a leader in fall prevention awareness and training. In a state whose over-65 population is expected to be more than 10 million by 2040 – nearly one in five citizens – this is welcome news.
“Fall is a dirty word,” says Debra Rose, co-director of the Center for Successful Aging at California State University, Fullerton. “Nobody wants to address falls.”
Rose and her colleagues have trained more than 500 instructors under the center’s FallProof certification program using a wide-ranging curriculum that combats the common stereotype that falls are caused simply by physical frailty.
In truth, falls are caused by a combination of risk factors: medications, the surrounding physical environment, poor footwear and age-related decay – which includes vision and hearing.
“People want to find a quick fix for falling, and it’s just not that simple,” says Rose.
Many of Rose’s students are physical therapists or fitness instructors.
“This just adds one more element of expertise to their burgeoning bag of tricks,” she says.
FallProof graduate Kelly Ward, who has trademarked the name “The Fall Prevention Lady,” was once a personal trainer to high-tech firms like Intel. Over six feet tall, lean and muscular, Ward is a striking contrast to seniors nearly a foot shorter in her elder mobility class at a Sacramento Presbyterian church.
Ward steps the 60 and 70 year-olds through a rigorous series of toe lifts, marches, step-ups, and heel-to-toe walks to improve balance and strength. Students use resistance bands for upper body strength, then face a challenging obstacle course.
“They’re not going to get this at senior centers,” jokes Ward, who typically sees improvements in the third week of her six-week program. “The choices you make in your 60’s will determine your vitality and independence of your 70’s.”
Aileen Nitta has taken Ward’s beginner class, and is now in the intermediate course.
“I went hiking in Sedona and hiked two times a day and am glad I had that prep,” she says. “My legs didn’t buckle. And I watched where I was going.”
Low-risk seniors who’ve never fallen can pursue several health-promoting physical activities: walking, biking, tennis, yoga, pilates, and tai chi.
But adults who have already taken a tumble “need a program that specifically targets balance and strength,” says Rose. “You can’t refer them to an aerobics or yoga class.”
In 2009, there were 1,851 deaths and more than 81,000 California seniors over 60 hospitalized due to falls, says Barbara Alberson, chief of the State and Local Injury Control Section. About one-quarter of seniors who suffer hip fractures die in the year following a fall.
The nation’s pioneer in fall prevention is Mary Tinetti, director of the Program on Aging at Yale University, whose early work paved the way for California’s two-day “Targeting Falls in Older Californians” conference nearly a decade ago.
That event spawned creation of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, a comprehensive resource both nationally and internationally headquartered at the University of Southern California’s Andrus Gerontology Center.
Center co-director John Pynoos says that that physical environments – both indoors and out – are implicated in nearly 40% of falls.
Pynoos describes most contemporary homes as “Peter Pan housing” – built for families who never grow old.
“What I really hate are the modern houses in Architectural Digest with floating staircases, and no hand rails,” says Pynoos. “They’re beautiful designs but disastrous for anybody with disabilities.”
Many falls occur on stairways, which often suffer from dim lighting, worn carpets and single-side hand rails. Pynoos says the best indoor improvements include bathrooms located in the ground floor, walk-in bathtubs, grab bars, non-slip tiles, raised toilet seats, and glare reduction. Older adults need up to three times as much lighting as their counterparts.
Outdoors, Pynoos says cities can do plenty: fix uneven sidewalks, add hand rails, or improve lighting by replacing bulbs or adding new LED or halogen lights. Timed walkways also help seniors cross safely.
But for older adults – and California’s fragile healthcare system – falling is no laughing matter.
One in three adults 65 and older falls every year. Falls are the number one cause of injury – and death – for seniors in California and across the nation. They are also the largest single contributor to nursing home admissions – a staggering financial burden for both families and governments who shoulder the high costs of assisted living.
Yet a number of experts and programs around the state are helping California become a leader in fall prevention awareness and training. In a state whose over-65 population is expected to be more than 10 million by 2040 – nearly one in five citizens – this is welcome news.
“Fall is a dirty word,” says Debra Rose, co-director of the Center for Successful Aging at California State University, Fullerton. “Nobody wants to address falls.”
Rose and her colleagues have trained more than 500 instructors under the center’s FallProof certification program using a wide-ranging curriculum that combats the common stereotype that falls are caused simply by physical frailty.
In truth, falls are caused by a combination of risk factors: medications, the surrounding physical environment, poor footwear and age-related decay – which includes vision and hearing.
“People want to find a quick fix for falling, and it’s just not that simple,” says Rose.
Many of Rose’s students are physical therapists or fitness instructors.
“This just adds one more element of expertise to their burgeoning bag of tricks,” she says.
FallProof graduate Kelly Ward, who has trademarked the name “The Fall Prevention Lady,” was once a personal trainer to high-tech firms like Intel. Over six feet tall, lean and muscular, Ward is a striking contrast to seniors nearly a foot shorter in her elder mobility class at a Sacramento Presbyterian church.
Ward steps the 60 and 70 year-olds through a rigorous series of toe lifts, marches, step-ups, and heel-to-toe walks to improve balance and strength. Students use resistance bands for upper body strength, then face a challenging obstacle course.
“They’re not going to get this at senior centers,” jokes Ward, who typically sees improvements in the third week of her six-week program. “The choices you make in your 60’s will determine your vitality and independence of your 70’s.”
Aileen Nitta has taken Ward’s beginner class, and is now in the intermediate course.
“I went hiking in Sedona and hiked two times a day and am glad I had that prep,” she says. “My legs didn’t buckle. And I watched where I was going.”
Low-risk seniors who’ve never fallen can pursue several health-promoting physical activities: walking, biking, tennis, yoga, pilates, and tai chi.
But adults who have already taken a tumble “need a program that specifically targets balance and strength,” says Rose. “You can’t refer them to an aerobics or yoga class.”
In 2009, there were 1,851 deaths and more than 81,000 California seniors over 60 hospitalized due to falls, says Barbara Alberson, chief of the State and Local Injury Control Section. About one-quarter of seniors who suffer hip fractures die in the year following a fall.
The nation’s pioneer in fall prevention is Mary Tinetti, director of the Program on Aging at Yale University, whose early work paved the way for California’s two-day “Targeting Falls in Older Californians” conference nearly a decade ago.
That event spawned creation of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, a comprehensive resource both nationally and internationally headquartered at the University of Southern California’s Andrus Gerontology Center.
Center co-director John Pynoos says that that physical environments – both indoors and out – are implicated in nearly 40% of falls.
Pynoos describes most contemporary homes as “Peter Pan housing” – built for families who never grow old.
“What I really hate are the modern houses in Architectural Digest with floating staircases, and no hand rails,” says Pynoos. “They’re beautiful designs but disastrous for anybody with disabilities.”
Many falls occur on stairways, which often suffer from dim lighting, worn carpets and single-side hand rails. Pynoos says the best indoor improvements include bathrooms located in the ground floor, walk-in bathtubs, grab bars, non-slip tiles, raised toilet seats, and glare reduction. Older adults need up to three times as much lighting as their counterparts.
Outdoors, Pynoos says cities can do plenty: fix uneven sidewalks, add hand rails, or improve lighting by replacing bulbs or adding new LED or halogen lights. Timed walkways also help seniors cross safely.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Families occupy empty flats in crisis-hit Spain
67-year-old is one of 32 homeless families who are squatting in an empty four-storey building, one of thousands of unsold apartment blocks that dot Spain following the collapse of a property bubble in 2008.
Corrales said she found herself on the street when she could not keep up with her monthly rent of 500 euros ($630 dollars).
She and her 70-year-old husband, who has been bedridden for the past two decades, now occupy the show flat of the building, the only one that was furnished, and her kitchen is used by all the squatters.
"All the women you see here are homeless," she said as she gestured to several women as they prepared vegetables for lunch, washed dishes and polished tiles around her in the kitchen.
"This place has been shut up for more than two years, no one has come by. Why do they want to shut up these apartments when there are so many people in the street with nothing?", added Corrales.
The developer of the building has disappeared and no one has claimed the property.
The 32 families moved into the building with the aid of members of Spain's popular movement known as "the indignants", which emerged last year to protest economic inequality, corruption and sky-high unemployment.
"Demanding a home is a constitutional right. The Spanish constitution says that all Spaniards, all citizens, have the right to decent housing," said "indignant" activist Antonio Perez.
So far, police had let the squatters stay, he said.
"The police know that if a judge issues an eviction order, they will have to execute it. But up until now they have protected us."
There are about one million vacant homes left over from the property crash in Spain, where the number of home evictions last year amounted to more than 58,000.
-- 'Not a happy future' --With Spain's unemployment rate of 24.4 percent, the highest in the industrialsed world, home evictions are expected to rise further.
The southwestern region of Andalucia, of which Seville is the capital, has been especially hard-hit by the crisis, with a jobless rate of over 33 percent.
"There must be many other people in our situation. This is an example for those who find a house that has been empty for two or three years," said Corrales, who has been dubbed "the heart of the neighbours".
"We did not know each other before but we are united now like a family, for better or worse we get along well. Our strength comes from our unity."
Corrales' 35-year-old daughter Ana Lopez also lives in a flat in the building, where she is struggling to raise her two children, aged six and 18, on a monthly family allowance of 426 euros.
"We want a rent that we would be able to afford," she said.
No one knows how long they will stay in the building.
"We will be here the time we need, for as long as my family does not have a decent roof over its head," said Aguasanta Quero Reyes, 38, who lives in a flat on the fourth floor with her husband and three children.
"My children joined me here two days ago and I can see they're very happy. When I opened the door, my eight-year-old son said: 'Thank you so much, mummy, thanks to everything you've done we've got a home."
Reyes, who earns just 250 euros a month working as a saleswoman, said her family moved into the flat after they were evicted for falling six months behind on their rent.
Raquel Machuca Rodriguez, who is pregnant with her fourth child, said she planned to buy second-hand furniture for the flat she occupies on the fourth floor.
"This is not a happy future but you have to take what you can get," the 29-year-old said.
Corrales said she found herself on the street when she could not keep up with her monthly rent of 500 euros ($630 dollars).
She and her 70-year-old husband, who has been bedridden for the past two decades, now occupy the show flat of the building, the only one that was furnished, and her kitchen is used by all the squatters.
"All the women you see here are homeless," she said as she gestured to several women as they prepared vegetables for lunch, washed dishes and polished tiles around her in the kitchen.
"This place has been shut up for more than two years, no one has come by. Why do they want to shut up these apartments when there are so many people in the street with nothing?", added Corrales.
The developer of the building has disappeared and no one has claimed the property.
The 32 families moved into the building with the aid of members of Spain's popular movement known as "the indignants", which emerged last year to protest economic inequality, corruption and sky-high unemployment.
"Demanding a home is a constitutional right. The Spanish constitution says that all Spaniards, all citizens, have the right to decent housing," said "indignant" activist Antonio Perez.
So far, police had let the squatters stay, he said.
"The police know that if a judge issues an eviction order, they will have to execute it. But up until now they have protected us."
There are about one million vacant homes left over from the property crash in Spain, where the number of home evictions last year amounted to more than 58,000.
-- 'Not a happy future' --With Spain's unemployment rate of 24.4 percent, the highest in the industrialsed world, home evictions are expected to rise further.
The southwestern region of Andalucia, of which Seville is the capital, has been especially hard-hit by the crisis, with a jobless rate of over 33 percent.
"There must be many other people in our situation. This is an example for those who find a house that has been empty for two or three years," said Corrales, who has been dubbed "the heart of the neighbours".
"We did not know each other before but we are united now like a family, for better or worse we get along well. Our strength comes from our unity."
Corrales' 35-year-old daughter Ana Lopez also lives in a flat in the building, where she is struggling to raise her two children, aged six and 18, on a monthly family allowance of 426 euros.
"We want a rent that we would be able to afford," she said.
No one knows how long they will stay in the building.
"We will be here the time we need, for as long as my family does not have a decent roof over its head," said Aguasanta Quero Reyes, 38, who lives in a flat on the fourth floor with her husband and three children.
"My children joined me here two days ago and I can see they're very happy. When I opened the door, my eight-year-old son said: 'Thank you so much, mummy, thanks to everything you've done we've got a home."
Reyes, who earns just 250 euros a month working as a saleswoman, said her family moved into the flat after they were evicted for falling six months behind on their rent.
Raquel Machuca Rodriguez, who is pregnant with her fourth child, said she planned to buy second-hand furniture for the flat she occupies on the fourth floor.
"This is not a happy future but you have to take what you can get," the 29-year-old said.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Stone cottage holds a bit of Westport history
There is a hidden corner of Westport that houses a bit of the town's agricultural history at 34 Silent Grove.
The updated English stone cottage that sits on the 0.86-acre property there was built in 1930 and is one of the original Wakeman family homes.
The Wakeman family farmed the land off Cross Highway near North Avenue, and a portion of that land has become Wakeman Town Farm, which serves the Westport community as an educational demonstration center for sustainable living.
The entrance to Silent Grove is off Cross Highway directly across the street from the entrance for Wakeman Town Farm. The street lives up to its name. It is a quiet cul-de-sac, and this house is located near the end of it.
The putty-colored house has a stone and vinyl exterior and it is set back from the road, adding to its privacy.
The 1,973-square-foot house has a formal front entrance accessed from a wooden deck and then there is the more frequently used side entrance which is closer to the driveway. This entrance has a long covered porch with a slate floor.
The front entrance accesses the living room, which has a stone fireplace and built-in cabinets and bookshelves.
Entering from the side takes you to a small foyer and into the kitchen and family room. This part of the house was added sometime after the original construction.
It also contains a full bath and a large screened porch, which is wired for sound and cable television.
The porch has a red brick floor and a ceiling fan. It looks out into the open, level backyard, which has ample room for flower beds and a swimming pool.
The yard is actually larger than it appears. Its perimeter of trees continues to the end of the property, which goes back to Hazelnut Road.
In the family room there is a skylight, paneling on the lower portion of the walls, chair railing, built-in cabinets and book-shelving and a fireplace with a tumbled marble surround and decorative white wood mantle with dentil molding.
It also features sliding French doors to a courtyard with a stone patio.
The propane that fuels the barbecue grill on this patio also fuels the range top in the kitchen and the clothes dryer on the lower level. The family room is open to the kitchen, separated only by an angled peninsula -- an extension of the counter, topped in granite.
Although the kitchen would be considered small by today's standards, it is well designed to maximize its efficiency. It has granite-topped counters, and the refrigerator is hidden behind paneling.
The dining room has chair railing and deep-set windows that are ideal for displays of statuary, vases of fresh flowers or houseplants in decorative pots.
On the second floor, there are two bedrooms, one of which could be used as an office.
This smaller bedroom has two skylights, built-in shelving and the staircase that leads to the attic.
Each step has a decorative molding border. The full bath accessed from the hallway has a tumbled marble floor.
The master bedroom suite has a vaulted ceiling, two long skylights with privacy shades and a Palladian window.
Its master bath has a hardwood floor, a large closet with organizers and white ceramic tiles on the lower portion of the wall, including a thin border of decorative white tiles with a leaf and vine design.
The updated English stone cottage that sits on the 0.86-acre property there was built in 1930 and is one of the original Wakeman family homes.
The Wakeman family farmed the land off Cross Highway near North Avenue, and a portion of that land has become Wakeman Town Farm, which serves the Westport community as an educational demonstration center for sustainable living.
The entrance to Silent Grove is off Cross Highway directly across the street from the entrance for Wakeman Town Farm. The street lives up to its name. It is a quiet cul-de-sac, and this house is located near the end of it.
The putty-colored house has a stone and vinyl exterior and it is set back from the road, adding to its privacy.
The 1,973-square-foot house has a formal front entrance accessed from a wooden deck and then there is the more frequently used side entrance which is closer to the driveway. This entrance has a long covered porch with a slate floor.
The front entrance accesses the living room, which has a stone fireplace and built-in cabinets and bookshelves.
Entering from the side takes you to a small foyer and into the kitchen and family room. This part of the house was added sometime after the original construction.
It also contains a full bath and a large screened porch, which is wired for sound and cable television.
The porch has a red brick floor and a ceiling fan. It looks out into the open, level backyard, which has ample room for flower beds and a swimming pool.
The yard is actually larger than it appears. Its perimeter of trees continues to the end of the property, which goes back to Hazelnut Road.
In the family room there is a skylight, paneling on the lower portion of the walls, chair railing, built-in cabinets and book-shelving and a fireplace with a tumbled marble surround and decorative white wood mantle with dentil molding.
It also features sliding French doors to a courtyard with a stone patio.
The propane that fuels the barbecue grill on this patio also fuels the range top in the kitchen and the clothes dryer on the lower level. The family room is open to the kitchen, separated only by an angled peninsula -- an extension of the counter, topped in granite.
Although the kitchen would be considered small by today's standards, it is well designed to maximize its efficiency. It has granite-topped counters, and the refrigerator is hidden behind paneling.
The dining room has chair railing and deep-set windows that are ideal for displays of statuary, vases of fresh flowers or houseplants in decorative pots.
On the second floor, there are two bedrooms, one of which could be used as an office.
This smaller bedroom has two skylights, built-in shelving and the staircase that leads to the attic.
Each step has a decorative molding border. The full bath accessed from the hallway has a tumbled marble floor.
The master bedroom suite has a vaulted ceiling, two long skylights with privacy shades and a Palladian window.
Its master bath has a hardwood floor, a large closet with organizers and white ceramic tiles on the lower portion of the wall, including a thin border of decorative white tiles with a leaf and vine design.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Ottawa’s Double-A baseball dreams dashed
Time has virtually run out for professional baseball to return to Ottawa in 2013.
The city’s hopes of landing the Toronto Blue Jays’ Eastern League Double-A affiliate ended Wednesday after the Major League Baseball team renewed its working relationship with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for two more seasons, through 2014.
Toronto has been New Hampshire’s parent club since the Fisher Cats began play in Manchester in 2004, and the extension nixes the notion by U.S.-based Beacon Sports that it would buy an existing Eastern League franchise, re-locate it to Ottawa for 2013 and nab the Blue Jays affiliation.
Put that together with the fact previously approved renovations to the stadium to bring it back up to professional standards have yet to start and professional baseball leagues are already moving into the planning phase for next season, and it would appear 2013 is now an impossible goal for returning pro ball to the capital.
Ottawa politicians and Beacon Sports had been working for almost a year to make that happen. Speculation was that the Beacon group had a tentative deal to buy the Binghamton, New York, franchise and re-locate it.
Now it’s unclear where the Ottawa baseball bid stands and what happens to the renovations slated to begin this summer at Ottawa Stadium.
Beacon Sports managing director and COO Richard Billings has been the face of the Ottawa bid and he was adamant the Ottawa bid for professional baseball was not dead. He was in Ottawa as recently as a week ago working with city staff. However, he was referring all calls to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson’s office after the announcement.
Watson said he had no new information and negotiations continue, but added the city needs to know in June whether an Eastern League Double-A team would be “go or no-go” in the Ottawa Stadium for the 2013 season.
“The bottom line is that unless we have a Double-A team, we’re not going to do all of the extensive renovations for a Double-A team,” Watson said.
If an agreement can’t be reached for the 2013 season, he said, “I wouldn’t read into (it) that there’s going to be no Double-A baseball, it just means that we’re probably going to need more time to put all the pieces together and have a season in 2014.”
Watson said he still hadn’t given up hope of having a Blue Jays-affiliated team in Ottawa.
“The Jays understand marketing and they understand if they had a Double-A team in the second-largest city in the province, it would be good for them, and it would be good for us,” he said.
Watson ruled out development at the Coventry Road stadium if Ottawa didn’t land a team for next year, saying council had made clear its wishes to attempt to attract baseball and maintain the stadium “as a publicly owned baseball facility.”
Councillor Rick Chiarelli, a key city official on the file, said the announcement doesn’t scuttle the city’s hopes for a Double-A team in 2013.
“On the face of it, it’s a bit disappointing, but it’s only a two-year deal and it’s still possible to have Double-A baseball in Ottawa, maybe with a temporary affiliation with another team while we prove ourselves to try to get the Jays’ affiliation in 2014,” Chiarellis said.
Ottawa has been without professional baseball since the Triple-A International League Lynx left for Pennsylvania after the 2007 season, ending a 14-year run in Ottawa.
Since then, the condition of the stadium has deteriorated while the semi-pro Inter-County Baseball League Fat Cats have been the primary tenant.
The Fat Cats were scheduled to play the 2012 regular season in the stadium before vacating for their playoffs to facilitate the re-tooling of the stadium.
Just last week, David Gourlay, who heads the Champions for Ottawa Baseball initiative, announced his group had sold pledges for more than 3,000 ticket packages.
An Ottawa Chamber of Commerce luncheon is planned for next Wednesday at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in support of the bid.
“I am awaiting word from the City of Ottawa on its plans for the file,” Gourlay said. “But what I can say is that I, on behalf of the Champions for Ottawa Baseball, having just gone through a very successful community engagement process for Double-A baseball remain committed to the ongoing discussions between the City and Beacon.
The city’s hopes of landing the Toronto Blue Jays’ Eastern League Double-A affiliate ended Wednesday after the Major League Baseball team renewed its working relationship with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for two more seasons, through 2014.
Toronto has been New Hampshire’s parent club since the Fisher Cats began play in Manchester in 2004, and the extension nixes the notion by U.S.-based Beacon Sports that it would buy an existing Eastern League franchise, re-locate it to Ottawa for 2013 and nab the Blue Jays affiliation.
Put that together with the fact previously approved renovations to the stadium to bring it back up to professional standards have yet to start and professional baseball leagues are already moving into the planning phase for next season, and it would appear 2013 is now an impossible goal for returning pro ball to the capital.
Ottawa politicians and Beacon Sports had been working for almost a year to make that happen. Speculation was that the Beacon group had a tentative deal to buy the Binghamton, New York, franchise and re-locate it.
Now it’s unclear where the Ottawa baseball bid stands and what happens to the renovations slated to begin this summer at Ottawa Stadium.
Beacon Sports managing director and COO Richard Billings has been the face of the Ottawa bid and he was adamant the Ottawa bid for professional baseball was not dead. He was in Ottawa as recently as a week ago working with city staff. However, he was referring all calls to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson’s office after the announcement.
Watson said he had no new information and negotiations continue, but added the city needs to know in June whether an Eastern League Double-A team would be “go or no-go” in the Ottawa Stadium for the 2013 season.
“The bottom line is that unless we have a Double-A team, we’re not going to do all of the extensive renovations for a Double-A team,” Watson said.
If an agreement can’t be reached for the 2013 season, he said, “I wouldn’t read into (it) that there’s going to be no Double-A baseball, it just means that we’re probably going to need more time to put all the pieces together and have a season in 2014.”
Watson said he still hadn’t given up hope of having a Blue Jays-affiliated team in Ottawa.
“The Jays understand marketing and they understand if they had a Double-A team in the second-largest city in the province, it would be good for them, and it would be good for us,” he said.
Watson ruled out development at the Coventry Road stadium if Ottawa didn’t land a team for next year, saying council had made clear its wishes to attempt to attract baseball and maintain the stadium “as a publicly owned baseball facility.”
Councillor Rick Chiarelli, a key city official on the file, said the announcement doesn’t scuttle the city’s hopes for a Double-A team in 2013.
“On the face of it, it’s a bit disappointing, but it’s only a two-year deal and it’s still possible to have Double-A baseball in Ottawa, maybe with a temporary affiliation with another team while we prove ourselves to try to get the Jays’ affiliation in 2014,” Chiarellis said.
Ottawa has been without professional baseball since the Triple-A International League Lynx left for Pennsylvania after the 2007 season, ending a 14-year run in Ottawa.
Since then, the condition of the stadium has deteriorated while the semi-pro Inter-County Baseball League Fat Cats have been the primary tenant.
The Fat Cats were scheduled to play the 2012 regular season in the stadium before vacating for their playoffs to facilitate the re-tooling of the stadium.
Just last week, David Gourlay, who heads the Champions for Ottawa Baseball initiative, announced his group had sold pledges for more than 3,000 ticket packages.
An Ottawa Chamber of Commerce luncheon is planned for next Wednesday at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in support of the bid.
“I am awaiting word from the City of Ottawa on its plans for the file,” Gourlay said. “But what I can say is that I, on behalf of the Champions for Ottawa Baseball, having just gone through a very successful community engagement process for Double-A baseball remain committed to the ongoing discussions between the City and Beacon.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Court hears of newlywed's frantic bid to revive honeymoon
A newlywed's frantic bid to revive the body of his lifeless bride was outlined in harrowing detail as prosecutors opened the case against the men accused of her murder.
John McAreavey desperately tried to help his lifeless wife Michaela after finding her lying senseless in the bathtub of their honeymoon suite at a Mauritius luxury hotel, the Supreme Court in Port Louis heard today.
Jurors were told how, that morning in January last year, the couple were happy.
They were having breakfast together before John went for a golf lesson and Michaela decided to go for a dip in the pool at the Legends Hotel.
Chief prosecutor Mehdi Manrakhan said they then met up for something to eat at the restaurant beside the pool.
He said: 'After having had their lunch Michaela ordered tea and went to her room to fetch her biscuits which she was fond of having with her tea.
'John stayed behind at the restaurant and waited and waited for her to come back. Members of the jury, Michaela would never return to John. This was the last time that John saw his beautiful wife Michaela alive.'
Concerned as to what had happened to his wife, Mr Manrakhan said Mr McAreavey settled the lunch bill and went back to their room - 1025.
'Reaching room 1025, since John did not have his magnetic key card with him, he had to knock on the door.
'Seeing that there was no answer he decided to go to the hotel reception to ask for help. A bell boy accompanied him back to room 1025 to allow him to enter the room.
'Members of the jury, as soon as John entered room 1025 his worst nightmare began. In the bathroom John saw Michaela lying senseless in the bathtub.
'John removed Michaela from the bathtub, laid her on the floor and went to cry for help. The bell boy who had accompanied John was still in the vicinity of room 1025.
'They both went back to room 1025 where John tried to revive Michaela. Members of the jury, it was too late. Michaela was already dead.'
The court heard earlier today how Michaela had cried out in anguish when she was strangled on her honeymoon.
Mr Manrakhan said a witness heard a scuffle taking place in room 1025 at the Legends Hotel, saying: 'He heard a female voice crying and then 'Agh, agh, agh' as if she was in pain.'
He claimed the witness - Raj Theekoy - then saw the two men accused of the murder leave the room.
Mr Manrakhan added: 'This was a dream honeymoon for John and Michaela, which turned into a nightmare.'
Defendants Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea deny the charge of premeditated murder.
Mr Manrakhan said medical examinations showed Mrs McAreavey died from asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.
He said: 'Medical evidence is such that there can be no doubt that Michaela had been brutally killed.'
Today is the second day of the trial. Yesterday, Mrs McAreavey's widow came face to face with the men accused of her murder in court.
John McAreavey, who married Michaela Harte just twelve days before she was found dead, is a witness in the the trial.
There was chaos at the court yesterday as hundreds of members of the public fought for a seat at the most sensational trial the Indian Ocean paradise island has ever witnessed.
Mr McAreavey, 28, a player with Gaelic football club Down GAA, briefly stared at the accused as he took his place with the rest of the witnesses for the prosecution.
The trial is expected to last two weeks after both the accused - workers at the hotel where Ms Harte, 27, was found strangled in a bathtub - pleaded not guilty to her murder.
When asked how he pleaded, floor supervisor Moneea, 41, rose to his feet, held his hand in the air and declared to the judge: ‘My lord, I swear I did not kill her.’
The day’s drama began at 8.20am when police vehicles, sirens blaring, brought Treebhowon and Moneea into a side entrance of the Supreme Court in downtown Port Louis.
The front gates of the complex, locked the previous day, were opened at 8.30am in advance of a trial set to mesmerise Mauritius and Ireland.
Complete chaos ensued when crowds swelled and started to congregate at the bottom of the steps leading to the courtroom at 8.45am. A tense atmosphere had been building from the early morning.
John McAreavey desperately tried to help his lifeless wife Michaela after finding her lying senseless in the bathtub of their honeymoon suite at a Mauritius luxury hotel, the Supreme Court in Port Louis heard today.
Jurors were told how, that morning in January last year, the couple were happy.
They were having breakfast together before John went for a golf lesson and Michaela decided to go for a dip in the pool at the Legends Hotel.
Chief prosecutor Mehdi Manrakhan said they then met up for something to eat at the restaurant beside the pool.
He said: 'After having had their lunch Michaela ordered tea and went to her room to fetch her biscuits which she was fond of having with her tea.
'John stayed behind at the restaurant and waited and waited for her to come back. Members of the jury, Michaela would never return to John. This was the last time that John saw his beautiful wife Michaela alive.'
Concerned as to what had happened to his wife, Mr Manrakhan said Mr McAreavey settled the lunch bill and went back to their room - 1025.
'Reaching room 1025, since John did not have his magnetic key card with him, he had to knock on the door.
'Seeing that there was no answer he decided to go to the hotel reception to ask for help. A bell boy accompanied him back to room 1025 to allow him to enter the room.
'Members of the jury, as soon as John entered room 1025 his worst nightmare began. In the bathroom John saw Michaela lying senseless in the bathtub.
'John removed Michaela from the bathtub, laid her on the floor and went to cry for help. The bell boy who had accompanied John was still in the vicinity of room 1025.
'They both went back to room 1025 where John tried to revive Michaela. Members of the jury, it was too late. Michaela was already dead.'
The court heard earlier today how Michaela had cried out in anguish when she was strangled on her honeymoon.
Mr Manrakhan said a witness heard a scuffle taking place in room 1025 at the Legends Hotel, saying: 'He heard a female voice crying and then 'Agh, agh, agh' as if she was in pain.'
He claimed the witness - Raj Theekoy - then saw the two men accused of the murder leave the room.
Mr Manrakhan added: 'This was a dream honeymoon for John and Michaela, which turned into a nightmare.'
Defendants Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea deny the charge of premeditated murder.
Mr Manrakhan said medical examinations showed Mrs McAreavey died from asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.
He said: 'Medical evidence is such that there can be no doubt that Michaela had been brutally killed.'
Today is the second day of the trial. Yesterday, Mrs McAreavey's widow came face to face with the men accused of her murder in court.
John McAreavey, who married Michaela Harte just twelve days before she was found dead, is a witness in the the trial.
There was chaos at the court yesterday as hundreds of members of the public fought for a seat at the most sensational trial the Indian Ocean paradise island has ever witnessed.
Mr McAreavey, 28, a player with Gaelic football club Down GAA, briefly stared at the accused as he took his place with the rest of the witnesses for the prosecution.
The trial is expected to last two weeks after both the accused - workers at the hotel where Ms Harte, 27, was found strangled in a bathtub - pleaded not guilty to her murder.
When asked how he pleaded, floor supervisor Moneea, 41, rose to his feet, held his hand in the air and declared to the judge: ‘My lord, I swear I did not kill her.’
The day’s drama began at 8.20am when police vehicles, sirens blaring, brought Treebhowon and Moneea into a side entrance of the Supreme Court in downtown Port Louis.
The front gates of the complex, locked the previous day, were opened at 8.30am in advance of a trial set to mesmerise Mauritius and Ireland.
Complete chaos ensued when crowds swelled and started to congregate at the bottom of the steps leading to the courtroom at 8.45am. A tense atmosphere had been building from the early morning.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Green Mountain Coffee challenged on fair trade label
Two stalwarts in the fair-trade coffee movement are at odds over a move by a national certifying organization to expand beyond small, farmer-owned cooperatives and allow larger growers to sell their product with a fair trade label.
Equal Exchange in West Bridgewater, Mass., took out a full-page ad Sunday in The Burlington Free Press calling on Waterbury-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to sever relations with Fair Trade USA.
Equal Exchange criticized Fair Trade USA for leaving an international umbrella group devoted to fair trade and for inviting larger coffee plantations into the fair trade fold.
“With this move, they threaten to reverse decades of hard-won gains while potentially putting at risk the very survival of the farmer cooperatives,” it said.
FTUSA remains the dominant player in the U.S. in affixing a label to products as a signal to socially conscious consumers that the producers of coffee and other products grown in developing countries are being paid a fair price. Farmers get a $1.40 per pound “floor price” — a minimum maintained even if commodity markets go lower; a 20-cents-per-pound “social premium,” which pays for communal benefits such as health clinics or schools, and an extra 30 cent premium if the coffee is organic.
FTUSA President and CEO Paul Rice said expanding the market for fair trade products will help all farmers. He cited the case of an estate in Brazil that recently began using the fair trade label on coffee it sells to the Whole Foods chain for its Allegro brand. The Fair trade coffee that carries the “social premium” of 20 cents a pound could now go both to the estate and to small farmers that also provide coffee for Allegro.
Workers on the estate voted to put the roughly $15,000 they earned from the premium toward eye exams and glasses for those among their number who needed them.
“The notion that co-ops should have exclusive access to our markets is just wrongheaded from a marketing perspective,” Rice said.
Rodney North, spokesman for Equal Exchange, was not impressed with the Allegro example. He argued that new sales of that brand to “committed Fair Trade shoppers” merely would take market share away from the co-ops where their previous coffee was coming from.
The fair trade movement started about a quarter century ago as a way to boost the fortunes of poor farmers in developing countries by getting them better prices for the crops they produce. While coffee has been dominant in a market that saw $1.3 billion of fair trade product sales in the United States in 2010, the field has grown to include cocoa, bananas and other crops.
At Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, officials said they want to continue to support the small farmer cooperatives that have formed the backbone of the fair trade movement to date, as well as see whether Fair Trade USA can expand the concept to encompass a broader swath of the coffee supply chain.
Ed Canty, a certified coffee buyer for Green Mountain who travels extensively in coffee producing countries, said what has worked for the farmers who belong to cooperatives should have a similar effect of improving the lives of farmworkers on coffee plantations.
“Why can’t these workers, who are some of the poorest of the poor, in some of these estates be involved as well?” he asked in an interview Monday from the company’s headquarters in Waterbury.
As it announced new policies on a pilot basis last fall, Fair Trade USA split from an international umbrella organization, Fairtrade International. The changes prompted Equal Exchange, which also imports chocolate, tea and bananas on a fair-trade basis, to split from Fair Trade USA and push for other companies, including Green Mountain, to do the same.
Equal Exchange in West Bridgewater, Mass., took out a full-page ad Sunday in The Burlington Free Press calling on Waterbury-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to sever relations with Fair Trade USA.
Equal Exchange criticized Fair Trade USA for leaving an international umbrella group devoted to fair trade and for inviting larger coffee plantations into the fair trade fold.
“With this move, they threaten to reverse decades of hard-won gains while potentially putting at risk the very survival of the farmer cooperatives,” it said.
FTUSA remains the dominant player in the U.S. in affixing a label to products as a signal to socially conscious consumers that the producers of coffee and other products grown in developing countries are being paid a fair price. Farmers get a $1.40 per pound “floor price” — a minimum maintained even if commodity markets go lower; a 20-cents-per-pound “social premium,” which pays for communal benefits such as health clinics or schools, and an extra 30 cent premium if the coffee is organic.
FTUSA President and CEO Paul Rice said expanding the market for fair trade products will help all farmers. He cited the case of an estate in Brazil that recently began using the fair trade label on coffee it sells to the Whole Foods chain for its Allegro brand. The Fair trade coffee that carries the “social premium” of 20 cents a pound could now go both to the estate and to small farmers that also provide coffee for Allegro.
Workers on the estate voted to put the roughly $15,000 they earned from the premium toward eye exams and glasses for those among their number who needed them.
“The notion that co-ops should have exclusive access to our markets is just wrongheaded from a marketing perspective,” Rice said.
Rodney North, spokesman for Equal Exchange, was not impressed with the Allegro example. He argued that new sales of that brand to “committed Fair Trade shoppers” merely would take market share away from the co-ops where their previous coffee was coming from.
The fair trade movement started about a quarter century ago as a way to boost the fortunes of poor farmers in developing countries by getting them better prices for the crops they produce. While coffee has been dominant in a market that saw $1.3 billion of fair trade product sales in the United States in 2010, the field has grown to include cocoa, bananas and other crops.
At Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, officials said they want to continue to support the small farmer cooperatives that have formed the backbone of the fair trade movement to date, as well as see whether Fair Trade USA can expand the concept to encompass a broader swath of the coffee supply chain.
Ed Canty, a certified coffee buyer for Green Mountain who travels extensively in coffee producing countries, said what has worked for the farmers who belong to cooperatives should have a similar effect of improving the lives of farmworkers on coffee plantations.
“Why can’t these workers, who are some of the poorest of the poor, in some of these estates be involved as well?” he asked in an interview Monday from the company’s headquarters in Waterbury.
As it announced new policies on a pilot basis last fall, Fair Trade USA split from an international umbrella organization, Fairtrade International. The changes prompted Equal Exchange, which also imports chocolate, tea and bananas on a fair-trade basis, to split from Fair Trade USA and push for other companies, including Green Mountain, to do the same.
Harlan hero
On most days, JaKari Lewis heads to a local station to visit members of the Florence Fire Department.
But Monday, the firefighters surprised the 11-year-old Harlan Elementary School student with a visit.
About a dozen firefighters walked into the school gym, where Lewis was sitting among classmates at the school’s annual awards day ceremony.
The firefighters were there for a special presentation: a Florence fire helmet for Lewis, who had alerted firefighters of smoke coming from Granny’s Country Kitchen on Oct. 17 when he was visiting Station No. 3, near the restaurant.
That quick notification allowed firefighters to respond immediately and prevent serious damage to the business.
Lewis did not expect the firefighters to recognize him Monday, and certainly didn’t know he would end up owning a helmet.
“I like it,” he said, admiring the helmet after returning to his seat on the gym floor with his classmates, some of whom greeted him with high fives. “I’m gonna keep it in my room and wear it when I’m at the station.”
It should get plenty of wear. Lewis visits Station 3 or Station 5 every day after school and on Saturdays. His mother has taken him there for years.
He said he has wanted to be a firefighter since visiting the station in preschool.
“I like it there,” he said. “I like the fire trucks and just hanging out there.”
Lewis doesn’t necessary have a favorite station among the two, but does appreciate the fact that Station 5 has a popcorn machine, firefighters said.
Lt. Gary Rhodes said firefighters consider Lewis one of the guys and always look forward to his arrival.
“He knows the equipment on each truck and the apparatus,” Rhodes said. “He knows all the firefighters at the stations and what shift they work. He’ll wake up at 8 o’clock on Saturday mornings and listen to his scanner when we do radio checks.”
Lewis was leaving Station 3 about 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 and noticed something strange about Granny’s restaurant.
“I saw thick smoke coming out of the vent,” Lewis said.
“He told his mom ‘I’ve got to tell the firefighters,’ ” Rhodes said.
When he did, firefighters responded and found a fire smoldering in the kitchen.
“We found some tiles smoldering and were able to put it out, and it was a good save,” Rhodes said. “So, JaKari did save the day.”
Owners credit Lewis with saving the restaurant. They said it incurred smoke damage and they closed for about a week to clean it.
One of the first things they did when they reopened was treat Lewis to a free meal. Station 5 had made Lewis a Junior Firefighter and his mother got him a firefighter shirt. When he was eating his meal at Granny’s, the restaurant owners presented him with pants to match the shirt.
Now he has a helmet to complete the set.
“He’s always talking about wanting to be a firefighter,” Rhodes said. “Then, when he had an opportunity to be a hero, he called in a major alarm and averted a lot of damage to the restaurant.”
Lewis isn’t the only resident who recently has been recognized for heroism during a fire.
On May 1, the Florence City Council gave Brittany Frost a commendation for awakening residents at a burning townhouse on Hillsboro Circle and making sure they got out of the fire.
Fire Chief Charlie Cochran said the April 8 blaze could have been fatal had Frost not done what she did.
“Her actions very obviously averted tragedy and the potential loss of life,” Cochran said. “She took the correct actions. She called 911 and then knocked on their door and woke them up. She made sure all the occupants were notified.”
A neighbor, Judy Barber, said Frost is a “low-key person” who doesn’t seek recognition. She said Frost was on her way to her job as an emergency medical technician during the pre-dawn hours when she saw the fire.
Barber said the townhouse is near some trees and another townhouse, so the fire easily could have jumped to additional townhouses.
But Monday, the firefighters surprised the 11-year-old Harlan Elementary School student with a visit.
About a dozen firefighters walked into the school gym, where Lewis was sitting among classmates at the school’s annual awards day ceremony.
The firefighters were there for a special presentation: a Florence fire helmet for Lewis, who had alerted firefighters of smoke coming from Granny’s Country Kitchen on Oct. 17 when he was visiting Station No. 3, near the restaurant.
That quick notification allowed firefighters to respond immediately and prevent serious damage to the business.
Lewis did not expect the firefighters to recognize him Monday, and certainly didn’t know he would end up owning a helmet.
“I like it,” he said, admiring the helmet after returning to his seat on the gym floor with his classmates, some of whom greeted him with high fives. “I’m gonna keep it in my room and wear it when I’m at the station.”
It should get plenty of wear. Lewis visits Station 3 or Station 5 every day after school and on Saturdays. His mother has taken him there for years.
He said he has wanted to be a firefighter since visiting the station in preschool.
“I like it there,” he said. “I like the fire trucks and just hanging out there.”
Lewis doesn’t necessary have a favorite station among the two, but does appreciate the fact that Station 5 has a popcorn machine, firefighters said.
Lt. Gary Rhodes said firefighters consider Lewis one of the guys and always look forward to his arrival.
“He knows the equipment on each truck and the apparatus,” Rhodes said. “He knows all the firefighters at the stations and what shift they work. He’ll wake up at 8 o’clock on Saturday mornings and listen to his scanner when we do radio checks.”
Lewis was leaving Station 3 about 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 and noticed something strange about Granny’s restaurant.
“I saw thick smoke coming out of the vent,” Lewis said.
“He told his mom ‘I’ve got to tell the firefighters,’ ” Rhodes said.
When he did, firefighters responded and found a fire smoldering in the kitchen.
“We found some tiles smoldering and were able to put it out, and it was a good save,” Rhodes said. “So, JaKari did save the day.”
Owners credit Lewis with saving the restaurant. They said it incurred smoke damage and they closed for about a week to clean it.
One of the first things they did when they reopened was treat Lewis to a free meal. Station 5 had made Lewis a Junior Firefighter and his mother got him a firefighter shirt. When he was eating his meal at Granny’s, the restaurant owners presented him with pants to match the shirt.
Now he has a helmet to complete the set.
“He’s always talking about wanting to be a firefighter,” Rhodes said. “Then, when he had an opportunity to be a hero, he called in a major alarm and averted a lot of damage to the restaurant.”
Lewis isn’t the only resident who recently has been recognized for heroism during a fire.
On May 1, the Florence City Council gave Brittany Frost a commendation for awakening residents at a burning townhouse on Hillsboro Circle and making sure they got out of the fire.
Fire Chief Charlie Cochran said the April 8 blaze could have been fatal had Frost not done what she did.
“Her actions very obviously averted tragedy and the potential loss of life,” Cochran said. “She took the correct actions. She called 911 and then knocked on their door and woke them up. She made sure all the occupants were notified.”
A neighbor, Judy Barber, said Frost is a “low-key person” who doesn’t seek recognition. She said Frost was on her way to her job as an emergency medical technician during the pre-dawn hours when she saw the fire.
Barber said the townhouse is near some trees and another townhouse, so the fire easily could have jumped to additional townhouses.
Monday, May 21, 2012
S.Africa's most famous township gets new theater
Playwright, director and actor John Ledwaba gave up theater during South Africa's turbulent 1980s and left his Soweto home to train to be an anti-apartheid guerrilla. But he soon stopped training to lead the fight through theater, staging powerful works that exposed the horrors of racist rule to the world.
Theater mattered in Soweto in those days. With the opening this week of the first state-of-the-art playhouse in South Africa's most famous township, Ledwaba and others think it can matter again.
Apartheid planners saw Soweto as little more than a dormitory for Johannesburg's black maids and gardeners, mine and factory workers. But it has long been a cosmopolitan center of political and artistic life for black South Africans.
The 150 million rand (about $18 million) Soweto Theatre complex with a 436-seat main stage and two smaller performance spaces is part of an ambitious redevelopment plan by the city of Johannesburg for Soweto.
Steven Sack, acting chief executive officer of the new theater, said black South Africans were once "living at the margins of our society." The theater, he said as he proudly led reporters on a tour Monday, is part of efforts to change that.
Sack said the next step in redevelopment plans is the renovation of the nearby Jabulani Amphitheater, which has since the 1950s hosted concerts as well as major funerals and political events. In 1985, one of Nelson Mandela's daughters, Zindzi, stood in Jabulani to read his refusal of an offer from the white racist government to free him from prison on condition he renounce violence.
Since apartheid ended in 1994 and Mandela became South Africa's first black president, Soweto has seen the building of new parks, homes, museums and malls, the paving of more roads and the renovation of schools and stadiums.
"The Suitcase," the production that will open the Soweto Theatre on Friday, brings together some of South Africa's best-known and most beloved talent. The play is based on a story by the late Es'kia Mphahlele about poverty, desperation and hope. The production has music by Hugh Masekela, choreography by Gregory Maqoma, and is directed by James Ngcobo. The lineup of internationally known South African artists underlines the ambitions behind the Soweto Theatre.
The new theater resembles a giant child's toy with walls clad in bright blue, yellow and red tiles and a tent-like entrance covered in an awning of white canvass. Sophisticated and modern, it contrasts sharply with the community halls where plays in Soweto were once performed.
Ledwaba had one bit of advice for the new theater's management: "Please, no weddings and parties!" He wants a stage devoted to theater where audiences can see sophisticated and challenging work.
"I come from a history of using theater to fight," Ledwaba said.
When he was a young actor, Ledwaba remembers casts and crews bringing their own lights, sets and costumes to halls for performances, then clearing everything out so that the hall could be used for the next activity - a wedding, a political meeting, a funeral. Audiences sat on rows of plastic chairs that could be stacked out of the way to make way for dances.
Theater companies back then had to be mobile, so souvenirs ended up scattered or lost, Ledwaba said. One of his own few mementoes, hanging on a wall in the bedroom he uses as a study in his four-room Soweto home, is a poster showing him in character in "Black Dog Inj' Emnyama," a play that toured the world.
Ledwaba played a character closely based on his own experiences during the explosion of youthful militancy in Soweto in the 1970s. Ledwaba and other cast members created "Black Dog" with famed protest theater director Barney Simon in 1984, the year Ledwaba toyed with becoming a guerrilla fighter, but went back to Soweto to create and perform.
Playwright and director Selaelo Maredi - who, like Ledwaba, began performing in Soweto at the start of a theater career that took him around the world - said Soweto theater drew not just large audiences, but police informers sent to find out what black South Africans were thinking and saying. Maredi toured U.S. colleges with "Survival," a play set in a prison that he and three other actors developed in Soweto in the 1970s to explore themes of oppression and resistance.
Maredi laments that Sowetans lost the habit of going to the theater, reluctant to venture into the streets of an increasingly turbulent and crime-ridden area in the 1970s and 1980s and now distracted by other diversions, including satellite TV and shopping mall cinemas.
Maredi hopes to see an off-Broadway to Broadway system created in Soweto with the opening of the new theater. Artists at the gleaming new theater, he said, can work with small acting troupes across the township to develop shows that will help Sowetans tell their stories, and bring them back to the theater.
Theater mattered in Soweto in those days. With the opening this week of the first state-of-the-art playhouse in South Africa's most famous township, Ledwaba and others think it can matter again.
Apartheid planners saw Soweto as little more than a dormitory for Johannesburg's black maids and gardeners, mine and factory workers. But it has long been a cosmopolitan center of political and artistic life for black South Africans.
The 150 million rand (about $18 million) Soweto Theatre complex with a 436-seat main stage and two smaller performance spaces is part of an ambitious redevelopment plan by the city of Johannesburg for Soweto.
Steven Sack, acting chief executive officer of the new theater, said black South Africans were once "living at the margins of our society." The theater, he said as he proudly led reporters on a tour Monday, is part of efforts to change that.
Sack said the next step in redevelopment plans is the renovation of the nearby Jabulani Amphitheater, which has since the 1950s hosted concerts as well as major funerals and political events. In 1985, one of Nelson Mandela's daughters, Zindzi, stood in Jabulani to read his refusal of an offer from the white racist government to free him from prison on condition he renounce violence.
Since apartheid ended in 1994 and Mandela became South Africa's first black president, Soweto has seen the building of new parks, homes, museums and malls, the paving of more roads and the renovation of schools and stadiums.
"The Suitcase," the production that will open the Soweto Theatre on Friday, brings together some of South Africa's best-known and most beloved talent. The play is based on a story by the late Es'kia Mphahlele about poverty, desperation and hope. The production has music by Hugh Masekela, choreography by Gregory Maqoma, and is directed by James Ngcobo. The lineup of internationally known South African artists underlines the ambitions behind the Soweto Theatre.
The new theater resembles a giant child's toy with walls clad in bright blue, yellow and red tiles and a tent-like entrance covered in an awning of white canvass. Sophisticated and modern, it contrasts sharply with the community halls where plays in Soweto were once performed.
Ledwaba had one bit of advice for the new theater's management: "Please, no weddings and parties!" He wants a stage devoted to theater where audiences can see sophisticated and challenging work.
"I come from a history of using theater to fight," Ledwaba said.
When he was a young actor, Ledwaba remembers casts and crews bringing their own lights, sets and costumes to halls for performances, then clearing everything out so that the hall could be used for the next activity - a wedding, a political meeting, a funeral. Audiences sat on rows of plastic chairs that could be stacked out of the way to make way for dances.
Theater companies back then had to be mobile, so souvenirs ended up scattered or lost, Ledwaba said. One of his own few mementoes, hanging on a wall in the bedroom he uses as a study in his four-room Soweto home, is a poster showing him in character in "Black Dog Inj' Emnyama," a play that toured the world.
Ledwaba played a character closely based on his own experiences during the explosion of youthful militancy in Soweto in the 1970s. Ledwaba and other cast members created "Black Dog" with famed protest theater director Barney Simon in 1984, the year Ledwaba toyed with becoming a guerrilla fighter, but went back to Soweto to create and perform.
Playwright and director Selaelo Maredi - who, like Ledwaba, began performing in Soweto at the start of a theater career that took him around the world - said Soweto theater drew not just large audiences, but police informers sent to find out what black South Africans were thinking and saying. Maredi toured U.S. colleges with "Survival," a play set in a prison that he and three other actors developed in Soweto in the 1970s to explore themes of oppression and resistance.
Maredi laments that Sowetans lost the habit of going to the theater, reluctant to venture into the streets of an increasingly turbulent and crime-ridden area in the 1970s and 1980s and now distracted by other diversions, including satellite TV and shopping mall cinemas.
Maredi hopes to see an off-Broadway to Broadway system created in Soweto with the opening of the new theater. Artists at the gleaming new theater, he said, can work with small acting troupes across the township to develop shows that will help Sowetans tell their stories, and bring them back to the theater.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Concord Home of the Week: 45 Williams Rd
This unique property evokes a timeless farmhouse chic with rustic craftsmanship and Victorian design. This home’s unique composition and subtle grandeur depicts the ultimate model of Concord’s historical origins. Prominently sited on a spectacular 1.2-acre lot, complete with a tree house, and is conveniently within walking distance to conservation land and bike trails, the Willard elementary, both Concord Middle School buildings, West Concord Village, Concord Center and Routes 2 and 117.
Immediately upon entry, visitors will admire the traditionally carved wooden window and banister details with colorful tiles and mix of rich paint colors which portrays its elegant country aesthetic. Proceeding down the hallway, the lofty ceiling of the barn addition reveals a sprawling great room with a tiled fireplace with ornate wooden details and two quaint window seats. The kitchen boasts stainless steel appliances, an island with built in shelves and soapstone countertops wrap along three walls to include a farmer's sink and plentiful custom cabinets. Adjoining the kitchen is an expansive eating area with a built-in bench to easily accommodate family dining. Double glass doors lead to the beautiful deck, perfect for grilling or lying out in the sun.
The second floor can be accessed from two staircases located in the front and middle of the house. Completing the second floor is a 24 x 13 square foot master bedroom with a walk-in closet and en-suite bath with luxurious amenities, such as heated marble floors, marble countertops, dressing table, jetted tub, and tiled shower. The first of the remaining three sun-soaked bedrooms on this floor has a large walk-in closet and the adjacent bedroom offers two closets. The third bedroom has light pouring in from a wall of windows, a walk-in closet and ample space for two twin beds. The hallway offers an abundance of storage with two linen closets and a built-in bookshelf, and there is also a laundry room and two full baths on this level. All of the spaces on the expansive second floor offer original vintage details, multiple windows, and hardwood floors.
The third floor expands the home's living space and would make a perfect au pair or teenager suite with two rooms and an open landing.
The whimsical and practical design of this home displays a quiet confidence and strong character with its period design and craftsmanship. It offers an enduring sense of history and extraordinary renovations that fortunately preserved is historical ingredients. This home has and likely always will stand out above the crowd and will endure for years to come.
Immediately upon entry, visitors will admire the traditionally carved wooden window and banister details with colorful tiles and mix of rich paint colors which portrays its elegant country aesthetic. Proceeding down the hallway, the lofty ceiling of the barn addition reveals a sprawling great room with a tiled fireplace with ornate wooden details and two quaint window seats. The kitchen boasts stainless steel appliances, an island with built in shelves and soapstone countertops wrap along three walls to include a farmer's sink and plentiful custom cabinets. Adjoining the kitchen is an expansive eating area with a built-in bench to easily accommodate family dining. Double glass doors lead to the beautiful deck, perfect for grilling or lying out in the sun.
The second floor can be accessed from two staircases located in the front and middle of the house. Completing the second floor is a 24 x 13 square foot master bedroom with a walk-in closet and en-suite bath with luxurious amenities, such as heated marble floors, marble countertops, dressing table, jetted tub, and tiled shower. The first of the remaining three sun-soaked bedrooms on this floor has a large walk-in closet and the adjacent bedroom offers two closets. The third bedroom has light pouring in from a wall of windows, a walk-in closet and ample space for two twin beds. The hallway offers an abundance of storage with two linen closets and a built-in bookshelf, and there is also a laundry room and two full baths on this level. All of the spaces on the expansive second floor offer original vintage details, multiple windows, and hardwood floors.
The third floor expands the home's living space and would make a perfect au pair or teenager suite with two rooms and an open landing.
The whimsical and practical design of this home displays a quiet confidence and strong character with its period design and craftsmanship. It offers an enduring sense of history and extraordinary renovations that fortunately preserved is historical ingredients. This home has and likely always will stand out above the crowd and will endure for years to come.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Woodley Park contemporary
Contemporary-style homes are few and far between in the District, so when one comes on the market, it can generate plenty of excitement.
The city’s extensive swaths of greenery often are the inspiration for a contemporary home with walls of glass. Architect Errol Adels clearly meant to frame views of Rock Creek Park when he designed the single-family home at 2130 Cathedral Ave. NW in Woodley Park. Set on a hillside overlooking the park, this home has an expansive glass front as well as terraces on all three levels.
The home, on the market for $1,795,000, was built in 1988. Its interior was updated in 2002 by designer Thomas Pheasant. Dramatic exterior lighting highlights the distinctive architecture of this residence, which has a vertical cylinder of white-painted brick and a curving, walled stone terrace that punctuate the grid of glass.
The home has a slate motor court with parking for two cars and a storage area under the front exterior stairway. In addition to the curved front terrace, a sheltered terrace and garden are located off the dining room and kitchen, with Bradford pear trees, garden beds, a fountain and stairs to a gate and rear alley. The third-level master suite has a private, 30-foot-long front terrace with landscaping and lighting. The three terraces combined offer 1,250 square feet of outdoor living space.
The home’s interior provides equally dramatic living space. The light-filled foyer has an open spiral staircase to the upper levels, slate flooring and an abundance of closet space.
Adjacent to the foyer is the breathtaking two-story living room, which has an 18-foot-high front wall of windows overlooking Rock Creek Park. The living room has a wood-burning fireplace flanked by sliding glass doors that lead to the curving front terrace. In addition, this room has floor-to-ceiling illuminated shelves for displaying books or artwork, plus a large inset mirror that reflects the trees of Rock Creek Park.
Pocket doors link the living room with the adjacent guest bedroom, currently in use as a library. This room has expansive built-in shelving and custom-designed marble-topped cabinetry. Adjacent to the library are a wet bar and an elegantly remodeled full bath with a marble vanity, sleek gray tiles on the wall and floor, plus a shower with a glass door. The main level also has a utility and storage area.
The carpeted two-story spiral staircase leads up to a generously proportioned dining room that overlooks the first floor. At the front of the dining room is the upper half of the two-story living room window wall that frames treetop views. At the back of the dining room are French doors with louvered wood blinds. The French doors open onto the private rear terrace with its fountain, trees and flowers. The dining room also has marble-topped custom cabinetry.
This level is shared with the sleek modern kitchen, which has custom-designed cabinetry, granite counters, double wall ovens, a dishwasher, a refrigerator and two sinks. A state-of-the-art washer and dryer are concealed in one kitchen cabinet, and a built-in banquette provides a comfortable and stylish area for casual dining. French doors with louvered wood blinds open from the kitchen to the terrace and garden.
The spiral staircase also leads to the third level of this home, which includes a dramatic master bedroom with a front wall of glass framing a view of the woods. The bedroom includes a wood-burning fireplace under a large mirror that conceals a flat-screen TV. Floor-to-ceiling illuminated display shelves and cabinetry flank the fireplace, and the bedroom includes plenty of closet space with organizing elements.
A free-standing headboard has extra drawer space, and remote-controlled blackout curtains cover the sliding glass doors that lead to the private terrace. The terrace features a row of boxwoods for privacy and views of the sky and woods of Rock Creek Park.
Pocket doors link the bedroom with the master bath, which has a front wall of glass, a sunken tub with a shower attachment and a honed marble vanity with a vessel sink.
The upper level also has a third bedroom, currently in use as a study, which has built-in shelving and a work station with concealed wiring, a closet and large windows overlooking the rear terrace and garden. The bedroom has a dressing area with a vanity with a vessel sink and a large mirror. Pocket doors link this bedroom with a private bath with a shower and built-in storage niches.
This home has been enhanced with two-zone heating and air conditioning, a multiline phone system with DSL/Wi-Fi, and central sound and security systems.
The city’s extensive swaths of greenery often are the inspiration for a contemporary home with walls of glass. Architect Errol Adels clearly meant to frame views of Rock Creek Park when he designed the single-family home at 2130 Cathedral Ave. NW in Woodley Park. Set on a hillside overlooking the park, this home has an expansive glass front as well as terraces on all three levels.
The home, on the market for $1,795,000, was built in 1988. Its interior was updated in 2002 by designer Thomas Pheasant. Dramatic exterior lighting highlights the distinctive architecture of this residence, which has a vertical cylinder of white-painted brick and a curving, walled stone terrace that punctuate the grid of glass.
The home has a slate motor court with parking for two cars and a storage area under the front exterior stairway. In addition to the curved front terrace, a sheltered terrace and garden are located off the dining room and kitchen, with Bradford pear trees, garden beds, a fountain and stairs to a gate and rear alley. The third-level master suite has a private, 30-foot-long front terrace with landscaping and lighting. The three terraces combined offer 1,250 square feet of outdoor living space.
The home’s interior provides equally dramatic living space. The light-filled foyer has an open spiral staircase to the upper levels, slate flooring and an abundance of closet space.
Adjacent to the foyer is the breathtaking two-story living room, which has an 18-foot-high front wall of windows overlooking Rock Creek Park. The living room has a wood-burning fireplace flanked by sliding glass doors that lead to the curving front terrace. In addition, this room has floor-to-ceiling illuminated shelves for displaying books or artwork, plus a large inset mirror that reflects the trees of Rock Creek Park.
Pocket doors link the living room with the adjacent guest bedroom, currently in use as a library. This room has expansive built-in shelving and custom-designed marble-topped cabinetry. Adjacent to the library are a wet bar and an elegantly remodeled full bath with a marble vanity, sleek gray tiles on the wall and floor, plus a shower with a glass door. The main level also has a utility and storage area.
The carpeted two-story spiral staircase leads up to a generously proportioned dining room that overlooks the first floor. At the front of the dining room is the upper half of the two-story living room window wall that frames treetop views. At the back of the dining room are French doors with louvered wood blinds. The French doors open onto the private rear terrace with its fountain, trees and flowers. The dining room also has marble-topped custom cabinetry.
This level is shared with the sleek modern kitchen, which has custom-designed cabinetry, granite counters, double wall ovens, a dishwasher, a refrigerator and two sinks. A state-of-the-art washer and dryer are concealed in one kitchen cabinet, and a built-in banquette provides a comfortable and stylish area for casual dining. French doors with louvered wood blinds open from the kitchen to the terrace and garden.
The spiral staircase also leads to the third level of this home, which includes a dramatic master bedroom with a front wall of glass framing a view of the woods. The bedroom includes a wood-burning fireplace under a large mirror that conceals a flat-screen TV. Floor-to-ceiling illuminated display shelves and cabinetry flank the fireplace, and the bedroom includes plenty of closet space with organizing elements.
A free-standing headboard has extra drawer space, and remote-controlled blackout curtains cover the sliding glass doors that lead to the private terrace. The terrace features a row of boxwoods for privacy and views of the sky and woods of Rock Creek Park.
Pocket doors link the bedroom with the master bath, which has a front wall of glass, a sunken tub with a shower attachment and a honed marble vanity with a vessel sink.
The upper level also has a third bedroom, currently in use as a study, which has built-in shelving and a work station with concealed wiring, a closet and large windows overlooking the rear terrace and garden. The bedroom has a dressing area with a vanity with a vessel sink and a large mirror. Pocket doors link this bedroom with a private bath with a shower and built-in storage niches.
This home has been enhanced with two-zone heating and air conditioning, a multiline phone system with DSL/Wi-Fi, and central sound and security systems.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A Bethany Beach house gets a makeover
For 20 years, the Burns family made awesome memories here in their cedar-sided beach house on stilts. They learned to fly kites and ride boogie boards and even met future spouses. Most summer weekends, Kevin and Nancy Burns and their three kids couldn’t wait to hear the crunch of gravel in their driveway as they pulled in after a three-hour trip, first from Potomac, and then Bethesda.
But two decades of salt air, nor’easters, houseguests and wet dogs took a toll on the three-story beach block property. In 2010, with kids grown and two grandchildren on the way, Kevin and Nancy, both 62, decided it was time to shore up the place for the next generation with a renovation and redecoration.
“We needed to do some extensive work. We wondered who we could get with the right combination of design talent and construction and project management skills,” says Kevin. The right person was sitting at their dinner table: daughter-in-law Erica Burns, 31, a Washington interior designer married to their son Ryan, 33. The two have a 10-month-old daughter, Elle.
Erica has a degree in construction management and previously worked for high-end residential builders. “I can read plans and understand sequencing, and I know a lot about finishes,” she says.
She also was familiar with the patterns of life by the sea among the extended family, which includes Ryan’s sister Kate Coleman, 29, married to Joe Coleman, 31, and their daughter Lindsey, 1; Ryan’s sister Jaime, 36; and three dogs.
“It was so important to me,” says Erica, who got engaged here to Ryan, who manages an investment partnership. “It’s where my family will be going for years.”
The house had lots of great relaxing spaces inside and out. On the main level, a living room, kitchen and dining room are all connected, and there’s a screened porch off to the side. “It’s a very communal type of atmosphere that can accommodate a lot of people,” Erica says. There are two bedrooms and a bath on the first floor and a family room that holds the only TV in the house. Yes, that’s on purpose: Kevin and Nancy have always felt that limiting TV to one room encourages conversation and reading in the rest.
On the second floor, there’s a master bedroom and adjoining bath and two bedrooms with another bathroom. Up a narrow spiral staircase is a loft where you can escapebabies and dogs.
Kevin, a venture capitalist, and Nancy didn’t want too much change. It was important to preserve the casual, open feel of the house. But it was showing its age. The original plan was to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, replace carpeting with wood floors and redecorate in a cottage style. The builder-grade details on the fireplace and trim needed to be improved. There was a deadline: the work should start October 2010 and be completed by Memorial Day weekend 2011.
Like any renovation, there were surprises. They uncovered extensive water damage requiring replacement of the cedar siding with cement board plank. Although unfortunate and costly, it led to more improvements: a bigger screened porch, new windows and the opportunity to create a spacious sundeck on the second floor. “It’s the cool new favorite place to go now because it’s breezy and has a view of the beach,” Erica says.
One of her favorite makeovers was the master bath, where a monster Jacuzzi tub (so 1990s) that nobody used was replaced with a large open glass shower lined with subway tiles and a new white marble vanity. Nancy wanted a white kitchen with marble counters, a bit tricky for a beach house where kids will be spilling juice boxes and adults will be mixing margaritas. Instead of marble, Erica went to Charles Luck Stone and found Antico Namibian White granite, which is less porous and shows fewer stains than marble.
Nancy and Erica agreed there would be no baskets of shells or wooden signs saying “Beach This Way.” Erica says they “focused on colors and textures that remind you of the beach.” They painted walls the color of sand (Winds Breath by Benjamin Moore), hung an oxidized lantern and chose a cotton rug in a sea blue.
Erica and Nancy selected reclaimed wooden tables and white slipcovered sofas. The bedrooms are spare and restful. They kept a few old things, including wicker porch furniture and quilts, which have a cottage look.
Throughout the eight-month redo, the family stuck together. “A lot of people said I was crazy for doing this with my in-laws, that it was a recipe for disaster,” Erica says, “Not true.” She says only a few things required a little convincing of Nancy, such as going with granite instead of marble and replacing Palladian windows with a more contemporary style.
But two decades of salt air, nor’easters, houseguests and wet dogs took a toll on the three-story beach block property. In 2010, with kids grown and two grandchildren on the way, Kevin and Nancy, both 62, decided it was time to shore up the place for the next generation with a renovation and redecoration.
“We needed to do some extensive work. We wondered who we could get with the right combination of design talent and construction and project management skills,” says Kevin. The right person was sitting at their dinner table: daughter-in-law Erica Burns, 31, a Washington interior designer married to their son Ryan, 33. The two have a 10-month-old daughter, Elle.
Erica has a degree in construction management and previously worked for high-end residential builders. “I can read plans and understand sequencing, and I know a lot about finishes,” she says.
She also was familiar with the patterns of life by the sea among the extended family, which includes Ryan’s sister Kate Coleman, 29, married to Joe Coleman, 31, and their daughter Lindsey, 1; Ryan’s sister Jaime, 36; and three dogs.
“It was so important to me,” says Erica, who got engaged here to Ryan, who manages an investment partnership. “It’s where my family will be going for years.”
The house had lots of great relaxing spaces inside and out. On the main level, a living room, kitchen and dining room are all connected, and there’s a screened porch off to the side. “It’s a very communal type of atmosphere that can accommodate a lot of people,” Erica says. There are two bedrooms and a bath on the first floor and a family room that holds the only TV in the house. Yes, that’s on purpose: Kevin and Nancy have always felt that limiting TV to one room encourages conversation and reading in the rest.
On the second floor, there’s a master bedroom and adjoining bath and two bedrooms with another bathroom. Up a narrow spiral staircase is a loft where you can escapebabies and dogs.
Kevin, a venture capitalist, and Nancy didn’t want too much change. It was important to preserve the casual, open feel of the house. But it was showing its age. The original plan was to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, replace carpeting with wood floors and redecorate in a cottage style. The builder-grade details on the fireplace and trim needed to be improved. There was a deadline: the work should start October 2010 and be completed by Memorial Day weekend 2011.
Like any renovation, there were surprises. They uncovered extensive water damage requiring replacement of the cedar siding with cement board plank. Although unfortunate and costly, it led to more improvements: a bigger screened porch, new windows and the opportunity to create a spacious sundeck on the second floor. “It’s the cool new favorite place to go now because it’s breezy and has a view of the beach,” Erica says.
One of her favorite makeovers was the master bath, where a monster Jacuzzi tub (so 1990s) that nobody used was replaced with a large open glass shower lined with subway tiles and a new white marble vanity. Nancy wanted a white kitchen with marble counters, a bit tricky for a beach house where kids will be spilling juice boxes and adults will be mixing margaritas. Instead of marble, Erica went to Charles Luck Stone and found Antico Namibian White granite, which is less porous and shows fewer stains than marble.
Nancy and Erica agreed there would be no baskets of shells or wooden signs saying “Beach This Way.” Erica says they “focused on colors and textures that remind you of the beach.” They painted walls the color of sand (Winds Breath by Benjamin Moore), hung an oxidized lantern and chose a cotton rug in a sea blue.
Erica and Nancy selected reclaimed wooden tables and white slipcovered sofas. The bedrooms are spare and restful. They kept a few old things, including wicker porch furniture and quilts, which have a cottage look.
Throughout the eight-month redo, the family stuck together. “A lot of people said I was crazy for doing this with my in-laws, that it was a recipe for disaster,” Erica says, “Not true.” She says only a few things required a little convincing of Nancy, such as going with granite instead of marble and replacing Palladian windows with a more contemporary style.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The people of Glasgow's East End are many things, but they are not pampered
There is no echo of steel, no molten metal being fired, no forgings or armaments being hammered out in what was once the largest steelworks in Europe. Here on its site, the only clanking to be heard is the sound of zimmer frames hitting the tiles on a shopping centre floor.
With its furnaces drawing in a workforce from across the country, the Parkhead Forge was the largest employer in the city. Now all that remains is the nomenclature, giving title to a down-at-heel shopping centre, a place that can often seem like a petri dish of everything that ails the East End of Glasgow.
Look at some of the faces here and you will see the ravages of ill health, smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, a lack of sunshine and a life lived without much hope. Here people aimlessly wander, hoping to fill empty days with a wee blether, a free heat and a cheap cup of tea.
It is an oft-remarked fact that the average life expectancy at birth for men round these parts is 68.1 years, five years lower than the Scottish average. And it would be a rare thing indeed for the East End man to bid his farewell to this mortal coil on a sedan chair.
So to hear Sir Tom Hunter describing this life as "pampered" would no doubt leave the poor old soul burling in his grave – and shouting that at least his early death meant one less demand on the public purse.
Hunter, Scotland's first self-made billionaire – whose riches were made selling training shoes to the nation – has declared that his fellow Scots are "pampered, dependent people who expect what others strive and graft hard for".
This was closely followed by the Daily Mail's description of the East End of Glasgow as the "benefits capital" of the UK, with almost nine out of 10 people "on welfare". It states: "Astonishing figures from the Department of Work and Pensions reveal that 85% of working age adults in Bridgeton, in the city's impoverished east end, are claiming some kind of welfare payment."
But a closer analysis of the DWP statistics for Bridgeton (not actually in the Glasgow East constituency) shows that while high at 44.1% compared with the national average of 14.8%, the total number of claimants was 1,480, and that number included those on disability and incapacity benefit and bereavement and carers allowance. People on employment and support allowance are lumped in there too.
When I think of the East End, other statistics, published by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health in 2008, spring to mind.
Approximately 1,960 patients are admitted to hospital each year for alcohol-related or attributable causes, with 420 deaths due to alcohol over the past five years. There were 800 new cancer cases and 1,400 heart disease patients admitted to hospital last year.
Just under a third of the population are classed as income-deprived. In the last year, 490 serious assaults were recorded, as well as more than 1,600 domestic abuse cases. The rate of low birth-weight babies is 62% above the Scottish average and teenage pregnancies are 42% above. Almost 16,000 people, out of a population of around 124,000, are estimated to be on prescription drugs for depression.
I grew up in the East End of Glasgow and my family have lived there for generations (almost all of them working all their lives). This is a landscape far removed from the glossy designer stores of the city centre's style mile or the coffee bars and delis of Byres Road in the West End. Here, the clutter of charity and pound shops that shoulder the pavements speak their own story. In the off-sales, wine is sold from behind bars or bulletproof glass and the Shettleston branch of Tesco rarely stocks free-range chicken since "there's not much call for it round here".
Walk these streets and you can see that gross inequalities have hammered hard into the souls of people who are disenfranchised and ignored. Their housing stock has been improved and overhauled but their lives do not thus have more meaning. Poverty and social problems are still endemic. A local minister recently told me that day by day things were only getting worse.
With its furnaces drawing in a workforce from across the country, the Parkhead Forge was the largest employer in the city. Now all that remains is the nomenclature, giving title to a down-at-heel shopping centre, a place that can often seem like a petri dish of everything that ails the East End of Glasgow.
Look at some of the faces here and you will see the ravages of ill health, smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, a lack of sunshine and a life lived without much hope. Here people aimlessly wander, hoping to fill empty days with a wee blether, a free heat and a cheap cup of tea.
It is an oft-remarked fact that the average life expectancy at birth for men round these parts is 68.1 years, five years lower than the Scottish average. And it would be a rare thing indeed for the East End man to bid his farewell to this mortal coil on a sedan chair.
So to hear Sir Tom Hunter describing this life as "pampered" would no doubt leave the poor old soul burling in his grave – and shouting that at least his early death meant one less demand on the public purse.
Hunter, Scotland's first self-made billionaire – whose riches were made selling training shoes to the nation – has declared that his fellow Scots are "pampered, dependent people who expect what others strive and graft hard for".
This was closely followed by the Daily Mail's description of the East End of Glasgow as the "benefits capital" of the UK, with almost nine out of 10 people "on welfare". It states: "Astonishing figures from the Department of Work and Pensions reveal that 85% of working age adults in Bridgeton, in the city's impoverished east end, are claiming some kind of welfare payment."
But a closer analysis of the DWP statistics for Bridgeton (not actually in the Glasgow East constituency) shows that while high at 44.1% compared with the national average of 14.8%, the total number of claimants was 1,480, and that number included those on disability and incapacity benefit and bereavement and carers allowance. People on employment and support allowance are lumped in there too.
When I think of the East End, other statistics, published by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health in 2008, spring to mind.
Approximately 1,960 patients are admitted to hospital each year for alcohol-related or attributable causes, with 420 deaths due to alcohol over the past five years. There were 800 new cancer cases and 1,400 heart disease patients admitted to hospital last year.
Just under a third of the population are classed as income-deprived. In the last year, 490 serious assaults were recorded, as well as more than 1,600 domestic abuse cases. The rate of low birth-weight babies is 62% above the Scottish average and teenage pregnancies are 42% above. Almost 16,000 people, out of a population of around 124,000, are estimated to be on prescription drugs for depression.
I grew up in the East End of Glasgow and my family have lived there for generations (almost all of them working all their lives). This is a landscape far removed from the glossy designer stores of the city centre's style mile or the coffee bars and delis of Byres Road in the West End. Here, the clutter of charity and pound shops that shoulder the pavements speak their own story. In the off-sales, wine is sold from behind bars or bulletproof glass and the Shettleston branch of Tesco rarely stocks free-range chicken since "there's not much call for it round here".
Walk these streets and you can see that gross inequalities have hammered hard into the souls of people who are disenfranchised and ignored. Their housing stock has been improved and overhauled but their lives do not thus have more meaning. Poverty and social problems are still endemic. A local minister recently told me that day by day things were only getting worse.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Safety Violations at India Plant Linked to Tuna Salmonella Outbreak
As the case count continues to rise in the nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tuna, an inspection by U.S. health officials has revealed unsanitary conditions at the India facility that produced the implicated tuna product.
On April 19, about a week after authorities announced that a ground yellowfin tuna product imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation was the likely source of the Salmonella bacteria that had sickened 116 people, health inspectors began a 6 day review of the plant where the tuna - called Nakaochi Scrape - was processed. The resulting report - issued by FDA's Department of Health and Human Services - details a series of 10 sanitation slip-ups.
Of the offences, four were violations of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) guidelines, which all foreign producers must comply with in order to export seafood to the United States. A HACCP plan identifies all points in the processing where contamination could occur and outlines steps to prevent pathogens from entering food.
In this case, inspectors noted that Moon Fishery - from which Moon Marine Co. sources its tuna - was missing the following steps from its plan:
Monitoring for temperature on shipment vessels and testing for histamine when receiving tuna to make sure temperature wasn't too high on the harvesting vessel
In addition to HACCP violations, HHS officials reported that the facility's water and ice, both of which come into contact with fish during processing, were dirty. They also found product residue on the ceiling and on cutting knives and peeling paint above the processing line.
"Tanks used for storage of process waters have apparent visible debris, filth and microbiological contamination," noted the inspectors. "There is no laboratory analysis for water used in ice manufacturing," continued the report.
Inspectors also noted broken and cracked tiles in the floor and ceiling, which they observed can trap pathogens and make these surfaces hard to clean.
Overall, "You are not monitoring the condition or cleanliness of food contact surfaces," said the investigators in the report, addressed to the company's managing director, Dominic Sebastian.
Since the report was issued, Moon Marine has recalled tuna strips because the FDA isolated Salmonella in a sample that had not yet been distributed. The company agreed to recall frozen tuna strips that had already been shipped as a precautionary measure.
The outbreak involving the company's tuna scrape has now sickened at least 258 people. Illnesses come from two different strains of Salmonella: Salmonella Bareilly, which has infected 247 of the victims, and Salmonella Nchanga, which has infected 11.
Authorities tested samples of unopened Nakaochi Scrape and found Salmonella Bareilly in 2 of them. The bacteria's genetic fingerprint was indistinguishable from the type found in outbreak victims. Another specimen contained a type of Salmonella Nchanga, also indistinguishable from the Salmonella Nchanga contrated by victims.
On April 19, about a week after authorities announced that a ground yellowfin tuna product imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation was the likely source of the Salmonella bacteria that had sickened 116 people, health inspectors began a 6 day review of the plant where the tuna - called Nakaochi Scrape - was processed. The resulting report - issued by FDA's Department of Health and Human Services - details a series of 10 sanitation slip-ups.
Of the offences, four were violations of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) guidelines, which all foreign producers must comply with in order to export seafood to the United States. A HACCP plan identifies all points in the processing where contamination could occur and outlines steps to prevent pathogens from entering food.
In this case, inspectors noted that Moon Fishery - from which Moon Marine Co. sources its tuna - was missing the following steps from its plan:
Monitoring for temperature on shipment vessels and testing for histamine when receiving tuna to make sure temperature wasn't too high on the harvesting vessel
In addition to HACCP violations, HHS officials reported that the facility's water and ice, both of which come into contact with fish during processing, were dirty. They also found product residue on the ceiling and on cutting knives and peeling paint above the processing line.
"Tanks used for storage of process waters have apparent visible debris, filth and microbiological contamination," noted the inspectors. "There is no laboratory analysis for water used in ice manufacturing," continued the report.
Inspectors also noted broken and cracked tiles in the floor and ceiling, which they observed can trap pathogens and make these surfaces hard to clean.
Overall, "You are not monitoring the condition or cleanliness of food contact surfaces," said the investigators in the report, addressed to the company's managing director, Dominic Sebastian.
Since the report was issued, Moon Marine has recalled tuna strips because the FDA isolated Salmonella in a sample that had not yet been distributed. The company agreed to recall frozen tuna strips that had already been shipped as a precautionary measure.
The outbreak involving the company's tuna scrape has now sickened at least 258 people. Illnesses come from two different strains of Salmonella: Salmonella Bareilly, which has infected 247 of the victims, and Salmonella Nchanga, which has infected 11.
Authorities tested samples of unopened Nakaochi Scrape and found Salmonella Bareilly in 2 of them. The bacteria's genetic fingerprint was indistinguishable from the type found in outbreak victims. Another specimen contained a type of Salmonella Nchanga, also indistinguishable from the Salmonella Nchanga contrated by victims.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
3 Razorback football players charged with burglary
Three Arkansas football players, including wide receivers Marquel Wade and Maudrecus Humphrey, were arrested Saturday and charged with burglarizing dorm rooms.
University of Arkansas police arrested Wade, Humphrey and tight end Andrew Peterson after looking at security video in which the players allegedly walked into rooms where items had been taken. The preliminary police report valued the stolen property, including computers and textbooks, at nearly $5,000.
Razorbacks coach John L. Smith immediately and indefinitely suspended the three players in his first test of discipline since being hired to replace Bobby Petrino last month.
"We have high standards for our student-athletes, and I expect them to conduct themselves appropriately," Smith said. "Poor conduct and misbehavior will not be tolerated and is not what we expect from the University of Arkansas football program."
Six Razorback players have been arrested since March, and Saturday's arrests add to what has already been a difficult spring for Arkansas, which was 11-2 last season and finished the season ranked No. 5 after a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.
Petrino was fired April 10 after initially trying to cover up the fact he was riding with his mistress during an April 1 motorcycle accident. The married father of four later admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Jessica Dorrell, who Petrino had hired to work in the football department and had given $20,000 in gifts.
In mid-March, offensive tackle Jason Peacock was arrested and charged with using a stolen debit card to buy $35 worth of gas. Wide receiver Kane Whitehurst was charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia in early April, and linebacker Tyler Gilbert was arrested in mid-April for allegedly taking part in an apartment break-in.
Wade, a sophomore, is the top returning player of the three after finishing with eight catches for 62 yards last season. He was one of Arkansas' top offensive threats during its recently completed spring practice, finishing with five touchdown catches during one scrimmage, and was being counted on to replace the three former Razorbacks receivers (Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs) who were taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
Wade was also one of Arkansas' top special teams' players last season, averaging 25.6 yards per kickoff return and returning one kick 85 yards for a touchdown.
He was suspended for the Razorbacks' game against South Carolina after being ejected for a late hit on a Vanderbilt punt returner, leveling the Commodores' Jonathan Krause as he was looking up before he had the ball. Wade later apologized for the hit, but only after he was ejected and escorted off the field upon becoming animated.
Wade was charged Saturday with one felony count of burglary. Humphrey, a junior, and Peterson, a redshirt freshman, are both charged with nine felony counts of burglary.
The case began after an Arkansas student reported on May 1 that her laptop had been stolen from her unlocked dorm room. Over the next seven days, police had a total of 10 reports of stolen items, including cash and DVDs, from four different dorm buildings.
The police reviewed security video from the dorms and said they observed Wade, Humphrey and Peterson walking the hallways, checking doors and entering rooms. Police also said a witness saw Peterson and Humphrey opening doors, and police said another witness identified Peterson as having been in her room
Some of the stolen items were recovered from a bookstore near campus, along with in Peterson's room, and the report said a store clerk identified the three as regularly selling used items.
Records from the Washington County Jail indicate the players have a court hearing on Monday. The records do not indicate whether they have attorneys.
University of Arkansas police arrested Wade, Humphrey and tight end Andrew Peterson after looking at security video in which the players allegedly walked into rooms where items had been taken. The preliminary police report valued the stolen property, including computers and textbooks, at nearly $5,000.
Razorbacks coach John L. Smith immediately and indefinitely suspended the three players in his first test of discipline since being hired to replace Bobby Petrino last month.
"We have high standards for our student-athletes, and I expect them to conduct themselves appropriately," Smith said. "Poor conduct and misbehavior will not be tolerated and is not what we expect from the University of Arkansas football program."
Six Razorback players have been arrested since March, and Saturday's arrests add to what has already been a difficult spring for Arkansas, which was 11-2 last season and finished the season ranked No. 5 after a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.
Petrino was fired April 10 after initially trying to cover up the fact he was riding with his mistress during an April 1 motorcycle accident. The married father of four later admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Jessica Dorrell, who Petrino had hired to work in the football department and had given $20,000 in gifts.
In mid-March, offensive tackle Jason Peacock was arrested and charged with using a stolen debit card to buy $35 worth of gas. Wide receiver Kane Whitehurst was charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia in early April, and linebacker Tyler Gilbert was arrested in mid-April for allegedly taking part in an apartment break-in.
Wade, a sophomore, is the top returning player of the three after finishing with eight catches for 62 yards last season. He was one of Arkansas' top offensive threats during its recently completed spring practice, finishing with five touchdown catches during one scrimmage, and was being counted on to replace the three former Razorbacks receivers (Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs) who were taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
Wade was also one of Arkansas' top special teams' players last season, averaging 25.6 yards per kickoff return and returning one kick 85 yards for a touchdown.
He was suspended for the Razorbacks' game against South Carolina after being ejected for a late hit on a Vanderbilt punt returner, leveling the Commodores' Jonathan Krause as he was looking up before he had the ball. Wade later apologized for the hit, but only after he was ejected and escorted off the field upon becoming animated.
Wade was charged Saturday with one felony count of burglary. Humphrey, a junior, and Peterson, a redshirt freshman, are both charged with nine felony counts of burglary.
The case began after an Arkansas student reported on May 1 that her laptop had been stolen from her unlocked dorm room. Over the next seven days, police had a total of 10 reports of stolen items, including cash and DVDs, from four different dorm buildings.
The police reviewed security video from the dorms and said they observed Wade, Humphrey and Peterson walking the hallways, checking doors and entering rooms. Police also said a witness saw Peterson and Humphrey opening doors, and police said another witness identified Peterson as having been in her room
Some of the stolen items were recovered from a bookstore near campus, along with in Peterson's room, and the report said a store clerk identified the three as regularly selling used items.
Records from the Washington County Jail indicate the players have a court hearing on Monday. The records do not indicate whether they have attorneys.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
In Hong Kong, adaptive reuse produces a free clinic
A historic home has been restored and transformed into a free Chinese medicine clinic that opened last month.
In Hong Kong, where land is scarce and property prices are among the world’s highest, very few historic buildings remain; old buildings are simply torn down to make way for shiny new ones. But the past decade has seen an increasing awareness toward conservation and changing policies that have given rise to adaptive-reuse projects.
Lui Seng Chun was the home of a wealthy businessman, Lui Leng, who had it built in the 1930s. Typical of “shophouses” in Hong Kong at the time, the ground floor was used as a store — in this case of Chinese medicine — and the upper floors were residences. “At the time, Lui Leung had three wives, so there were several families living here,” said Joanna Chan, who led a guided tour of the 6,500-sq-ft building.
The house sat vacant since the 1970s, and in 2000, the family decided to give the building — labeled a top-grade historic structure — to the government to do as it pleased. After years of research and deliberation, the government decided to turn it into a free Chinese medicine clinic run by Hong Kong Baptist University.
Balconies originally wrapped around much of the house on its three upper floors. The new design encloses these outdoor areas, turning them into waiting areas for patients. To modern eyes, this building stands out for its squat form situated at the corner of two busy streets.
Hoyin Lee, a conservation expert who was involved in deciding what to do with the building, said having relevant use is vastly more important than preserving a historic building’s form. The team considered that the house is in a relatively poor area with an aging population, and no tourism, and targeted its use accordingly. “The fact that it is going to be a community health clinic and providing a service that is needed by the community is the most important thing.” Lee said.
The challenge, as always, was to preserve much of the dilapidated structure while making it usable for modern purposes. While all the wooden doors with glass panels are originals and the floor tiles were restored, a modern set of staircases was added to comply with current regulations of escape routes.
It also followed the principle that a building’s new use should echo its old use. In this case, it made sense to turn an old Chinese medicine shop into a clinic of Chinese medicine, which many older people in Hong Kong prefer over Western medicine. Much of the building is devoted to exhibitions that tells of its history and preservation, as well as the history of Chinese medicine.
In Hong Kong, where land is scarce and property prices are among the world’s highest, very few historic buildings remain; old buildings are simply torn down to make way for shiny new ones. But the past decade has seen an increasing awareness toward conservation and changing policies that have given rise to adaptive-reuse projects.
Lui Seng Chun was the home of a wealthy businessman, Lui Leng, who had it built in the 1930s. Typical of “shophouses” in Hong Kong at the time, the ground floor was used as a store — in this case of Chinese medicine — and the upper floors were residences. “At the time, Lui Leung had three wives, so there were several families living here,” said Joanna Chan, who led a guided tour of the 6,500-sq-ft building.
The house sat vacant since the 1970s, and in 2000, the family decided to give the building — labeled a top-grade historic structure — to the government to do as it pleased. After years of research and deliberation, the government decided to turn it into a free Chinese medicine clinic run by Hong Kong Baptist University.
Balconies originally wrapped around much of the house on its three upper floors. The new design encloses these outdoor areas, turning them into waiting areas for patients. To modern eyes, this building stands out for its squat form situated at the corner of two busy streets.
Hoyin Lee, a conservation expert who was involved in deciding what to do with the building, said having relevant use is vastly more important than preserving a historic building’s form. The team considered that the house is in a relatively poor area with an aging population, and no tourism, and targeted its use accordingly. “The fact that it is going to be a community health clinic and providing a service that is needed by the community is the most important thing.” Lee said.
The challenge, as always, was to preserve much of the dilapidated structure while making it usable for modern purposes. While all the wooden doors with glass panels are originals and the floor tiles were restored, a modern set of staircases was added to comply with current regulations of escape routes.
It also followed the principle that a building’s new use should echo its old use. In this case, it made sense to turn an old Chinese medicine shop into a clinic of Chinese medicine, which many older people in Hong Kong prefer over Western medicine. Much of the building is devoted to exhibitions that tells of its history and preservation, as well as the history of Chinese medicine.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Over 1,300 tubes damaged at Calif. nuclear plant
More than 1,300 tubes that carry radioactive water inside the San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California are so damaged that they will be taken out of service, the utility that runs the plant said Tuesday.
The figures released by Southern California Edison are the latest disclosure in a probe of equipment problems that have kept the coastal plant sidelined for more than three months.
At issue has been the integrity of tubing that snakes through the plant's four steam generators, which were installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009 and 2010.
A company statement said that as of Monday, 510 tubes had been plugged, or retired from use, in the Unit 2 reactor, and 807 tubes in its sister, Unit 3. Each of the generators has nearly 10,000 tubes, and the number retired is well within the limit allowed to continue operation.
The statement comes just days after an Edison executive said the company hopes to restart at least one of the twin reactors next month. The company is drafting a plan under which the reactors would run at reduced power, at least for several months, because engineers believe that will solve a problem with vibration that the company believes has been causing unusual wear in the alloy tubing.
Government regulators say there is no timetable for a restart, which would require federal approval.
A joint statement issued Tuesday by Edison and the agency that operates the state's wholesale power system, the California Independent System Operator, said the possible June dates are for planning and subject to change.
"There is no timeline on nuclear safety," Edison President Ron Litzinger said.
Activists viewed the new figures as another alarming sign following a tube break in January, which prompted Edison to shut down the Unit 3 reactor as a precaution. Traces of radiation escaped at the time, but officials said there was no danger to workers or neighbors.
Unit 2 was taken offline in January for routine maintenance, but investigators later confirmed accelerated wear on tubing in both units.
"It seems that these new steam generators are falling apart and Edison doesn't know why. It would be foolhardy to restart, even at reduced power, under the current circumstances," said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear watchdog who lectures on nuclear policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ted Craver, chairman of SCE parent Edison International, told investors in a phone call last week that unusual wear was found in about 1 percent of nearly 39,000 tubes in the steam generators.
Costs related to the long-running shutdown could climb over $100 million, company officials say, and state officials have warned about possible rotating blackouts in Southern California while the reactors are offline.
The figures released by Southern California Edison are the latest disclosure in a probe of equipment problems that have kept the coastal plant sidelined for more than three months.
At issue has been the integrity of tubing that snakes through the plant's four steam generators, which were installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009 and 2010.
A company statement said that as of Monday, 510 tubes had been plugged, or retired from use, in the Unit 2 reactor, and 807 tubes in its sister, Unit 3. Each of the generators has nearly 10,000 tubes, and the number retired is well within the limit allowed to continue operation.
The statement comes just days after an Edison executive said the company hopes to restart at least one of the twin reactors next month. The company is drafting a plan under which the reactors would run at reduced power, at least for several months, because engineers believe that will solve a problem with vibration that the company believes has been causing unusual wear in the alloy tubing.
Government regulators say there is no timetable for a restart, which would require federal approval.
A joint statement issued Tuesday by Edison and the agency that operates the state's wholesale power system, the California Independent System Operator, said the possible June dates are for planning and subject to change.
"There is no timeline on nuclear safety," Edison President Ron Litzinger said.
Activists viewed the new figures as another alarming sign following a tube break in January, which prompted Edison to shut down the Unit 3 reactor as a precaution. Traces of radiation escaped at the time, but officials said there was no danger to workers or neighbors.
Unit 2 was taken offline in January for routine maintenance, but investigators later confirmed accelerated wear on tubing in both units.
"It seems that these new steam generators are falling apart and Edison doesn't know why. It would be foolhardy to restart, even at reduced power, under the current circumstances," said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear watchdog who lectures on nuclear policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ted Craver, chairman of SCE parent Edison International, told investors in a phone call last week that unusual wear was found in about 1 percent of nearly 39,000 tubes in the steam generators.
Costs related to the long-running shutdown could climb over $100 million, company officials say, and state officials have warned about possible rotating blackouts in Southern California while the reactors are offline.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Chic Bathroom Designs
Because bathrooms can easily become filthy and unsanitary, having a clean and tidy bathroom is a definite must for both health and appearance purposes. Still, there are certain instances in which bathrooms are cleaned, but they look as if they haven’t been disinfected in quite some time. While this may be due to old fixtures and accessories, it is also possible that the inexpensive materials used to build the bathroom do not shine after a good scrub like other quality materials do. When designing a chic bathroom, top quality materials and neutral colors are best for an easy-to-clean bathroom that boasts an immaculate look and feel.
According to Decoist, granite, porcelain, and marble are materials one should consider using when designing a practical bathroom, while materials such as vinyl and carpeting are less likely to maintain its cleanliness. Similarly, decorating with neutral colors is recommended, as they offer a more relaxing feel, allowing you to use your bathroom as your personal day spa and beauty parlor. This way, you won’t even have to leave your home to enjoy all the luxuries provided by fancy hotel rooms.
“Natural wood, bamboo, soft beiges, stone gray, glossy blacks, and bright whites are always a safe choice,” Decoist said. “If these colors seem too plain, mix things up with interesting textures and unconventional bathtub or shower designs. If you have a need for additional color, consider a mosaic tile or brightly patterned rugs and wall art.”
With decorative materials and colors out of the way, focusing on fixtures is necessary in order to create a chic bathroom. Since there are so many different styles of fixtures, choosing one may be difficult. If you’re going for a lavish look, but you still want a bathroom that is low maintenance, consider purchasing fixtures that are more modern. Wall-mounted vanities, glass vessel sinks, and stainless steel faucets offer a contemporary feel fit for any chic bathroom. Consider browsing through what Bathnuvo and Modern Bathrooms have to offer.
According to Decoist, granite, porcelain, and marble are materials one should consider using when designing a practical bathroom, while materials such as vinyl and carpeting are less likely to maintain its cleanliness. Similarly, decorating with neutral colors is recommended, as they offer a more relaxing feel, allowing you to use your bathroom as your personal day spa and beauty parlor. This way, you won’t even have to leave your home to enjoy all the luxuries provided by fancy hotel rooms.
“Natural wood, bamboo, soft beiges, stone gray, glossy blacks, and bright whites are always a safe choice,” Decoist said. “If these colors seem too plain, mix things up with interesting textures and unconventional bathtub or shower designs. If you have a need for additional color, consider a mosaic tile or brightly patterned rugs and wall art.”
With decorative materials and colors out of the way, focusing on fixtures is necessary in order to create a chic bathroom. Since there are so many different styles of fixtures, choosing one may be difficult. If you’re going for a lavish look, but you still want a bathroom that is low maintenance, consider purchasing fixtures that are more modern. Wall-mounted vanities, glass vessel sinks, and stainless steel faucets offer a contemporary feel fit for any chic bathroom. Consider browsing through what Bathnuvo and Modern Bathrooms have to offer.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Illinois faces its moment of pension reform truth
Sit for a few minutes in the waiting area outside the governor’s office on the 16th floor of the Thompson Center and the decaying financial condition of the state of Illinois is illustrated in clear, dismal fashion. From the disreputable acoustical tiles to the stained, ragged, blue carpeting repaired with strips of grimy duct tape, the whole thing gives off a vibe of threadbare neglect. The tubular, white, plastic sofas and scratched laminate tables would sit on a curb with the garbage all day and nobody would touch them. The only decoration is eight state flags stuck to the wall with pushpins. Some door moldings are held on with masking tape.
“Now would not be a good time to get carried away redecorating,” says Gov. Pat Quinn, in his inner office, where the furnishings are a little more presentable but, to be honest, the carpet still buckles into inch-tall watch-your-step crests and waves.
No, now is a good time to pull back hard on the throttle of the gravy train transporting state retirees. The state faces a choice: Either continue to hack away at vital services trying to fulfill skyrocketing pension obligations — pension costs are 17 percent of state expenditures this year — or cut future benefits.
The devil is in the details, of course, but the basic plan, for those just joining us: Retirement age gets pushed up to 67, cost-of-living adjustments are reduced, and retirees will be expected to pay something toward their health care — right now, 90 percent pay nothing.
“If we don’t change the system, then folks coming up now, especially children, we won’t have the money for their schools, or education, or public safety,” Quinn says.
How did this happen? How did $83 billion in state pension commitments go unfunded? What were they thinking? Quinn blames bipartisan folly committed over decades.
“The folks who put us in this mess are from both parties,” he says. “Every governor and every session of the legislature, the choice at the end of the year came down to: ‘Do we pay this pensions thing or spend a little bit more money now on other things?’ They always picked now over requiring pension payments. So it got worse and worse.”
Further complicating a complicated situation, the Illinois constitution forbids revoking pension benefits, but health care isn’t included, supposedly, so the governor hopes to skirt the constitution by offering retirees a Hobson’s choice — accept the new plan with the cuts or keep the old system but lose your health care.
“You have to have a bargain. The constitution says you can’t alter a contract unilaterally,” says Quinn. “So what we’re doing is proposing a contract, but you still have a choice. You can still stay in the old system, and there’s no change at all. You’re not guaranteed by the constitution a pay raise or retiree health care. You have to make that choice. We’ve come to a fork in the road. We have to deal with it.”
“So far so good,” he says. “I think we’re going to win. I’m very optimistic that people in the legislature will rise to the occasion.”
Even if the reform is passed, might voters not decide to kill the messenger? Is Quinn sacrificing his own political future here?
“No, not really” he says. When I started this mission, I felt this is a moment in history to change the channel in Illinois, to radically change the way the government is going. That’s what I want to do — I want to do major things that make a difference for a generation.” In fact, he hopes it’ll be those who oppose his plan who’ll end up paying a price.
“We’ve really helped change the environment,” Quinn says. “Folks who vote ‘no’ on pension reform, I think will perhaps have political trouble. Most voters would say, ‘You better vote for that.’ Those who resist reform in pensions will suffer the consequences.”
Americans are used to abundance, to the idea that if you complain loudly enough, you’ll be spared any cuts. Are those days truly over?
“If we don’t [do this], there won’t be any money today, for schools,” says Quinn. “The most important thing adults can do, in my opinion, is sacrifice a bit of their present for their kids’ future. That’s America. We do things now that might be hard but are better for our kids’ future. So we have to make these changes. They’re necessary.”
Otherwise, he says, even more fiscal woe as the bond rating agencies “take their revenge.”
“Anybody who looks at the fiscal truth realizes what we have to do. [Debt] gets higher and higher. It never gets better,” he says. “The pension obligation is now three times what it was in 2008. If we don’t have this moment of truth, this rendezvous with reality, it’s just going to get more and more difficult. Do or die. We have to make a stand. This is Iwo Jima -— we have to plant our flag and win the day.”
“Now would not be a good time to get carried away redecorating,” says Gov. Pat Quinn, in his inner office, where the furnishings are a little more presentable but, to be honest, the carpet still buckles into inch-tall watch-your-step crests and waves.
No, now is a good time to pull back hard on the throttle of the gravy train transporting state retirees. The state faces a choice: Either continue to hack away at vital services trying to fulfill skyrocketing pension obligations — pension costs are 17 percent of state expenditures this year — or cut future benefits.
The devil is in the details, of course, but the basic plan, for those just joining us: Retirement age gets pushed up to 67, cost-of-living adjustments are reduced, and retirees will be expected to pay something toward their health care — right now, 90 percent pay nothing.
“If we don’t change the system, then folks coming up now, especially children, we won’t have the money for their schools, or education, or public safety,” Quinn says.
How did this happen? How did $83 billion in state pension commitments go unfunded? What were they thinking? Quinn blames bipartisan folly committed over decades.
“The folks who put us in this mess are from both parties,” he says. “Every governor and every session of the legislature, the choice at the end of the year came down to: ‘Do we pay this pensions thing or spend a little bit more money now on other things?’ They always picked now over requiring pension payments. So it got worse and worse.”
Further complicating a complicated situation, the Illinois constitution forbids revoking pension benefits, but health care isn’t included, supposedly, so the governor hopes to skirt the constitution by offering retirees a Hobson’s choice — accept the new plan with the cuts or keep the old system but lose your health care.
“You have to have a bargain. The constitution says you can’t alter a contract unilaterally,” says Quinn. “So what we’re doing is proposing a contract, but you still have a choice. You can still stay in the old system, and there’s no change at all. You’re not guaranteed by the constitution a pay raise or retiree health care. You have to make that choice. We’ve come to a fork in the road. We have to deal with it.”
“So far so good,” he says. “I think we’re going to win. I’m very optimistic that people in the legislature will rise to the occasion.”
Even if the reform is passed, might voters not decide to kill the messenger? Is Quinn sacrificing his own political future here?
“No, not really” he says. When I started this mission, I felt this is a moment in history to change the channel in Illinois, to radically change the way the government is going. That’s what I want to do — I want to do major things that make a difference for a generation.” In fact, he hopes it’ll be those who oppose his plan who’ll end up paying a price.
“We’ve really helped change the environment,” Quinn says. “Folks who vote ‘no’ on pension reform, I think will perhaps have political trouble. Most voters would say, ‘You better vote for that.’ Those who resist reform in pensions will suffer the consequences.”
Americans are used to abundance, to the idea that if you complain loudly enough, you’ll be spared any cuts. Are those days truly over?
“If we don’t [do this], there won’t be any money today, for schools,” says Quinn. “The most important thing adults can do, in my opinion, is sacrifice a bit of their present for their kids’ future. That’s America. We do things now that might be hard but are better for our kids’ future. So we have to make these changes. They’re necessary.”
Otherwise, he says, even more fiscal woe as the bond rating agencies “take their revenge.”
“Anybody who looks at the fiscal truth realizes what we have to do. [Debt] gets higher and higher. It never gets better,” he says. “The pension obligation is now three times what it was in 2008. If we don’t have this moment of truth, this rendezvous with reality, it’s just going to get more and more difficult. Do or die. We have to make a stand. This is Iwo Jima -— we have to plant our flag and win the day.”
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Newly constructed home in Park Shore features updated Mediterranean interior design
The owners of a newly-constructed 6,800-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-and-a-half bath home in Park Shore elected to execute a Mediterranean interior design that is ideally suited to a lifestyle that revolves around their three children and entertaining close friends. The layout of the home includes formal living and dining rooms, a family room, study, den, two game rooms, a three-car garage, and a large covered lanai with outdoor kitchen.
"The updated, transitional Mediterranean interior in this residence includes numerous details that contribute to its warmth and overall appeal, including beautifully applied crown moldings and ceiling details in every room," said Ficarra Design Associates President Lisa Ficarra, who created and executed the home's interior design.
"The color palette features reds, greens and golds along with rusts and creams. The flooring is porcelain with a stone look presented in a pattern consisting of 20-by-20-inch and six-by-six-inch pieces. When you enter the home's foyer, a half-wall with a stone arch and an iron accent provides a view of the dining room. A beautiful medallion, an element often found in Mediterranean designs, has been laser cut into the floor and offers a note of welcome. From the foyer, the eye is drawn through the formal living room to a view of a cascading waterfall flowing into the pool at the rear of the home. The waterfall has hand-painted Italian tiles, another common Mediterranean design element," said Ficarra.
Ficarra's furniture selections are classic with transitional Mediterranean overtones that offer cleaner lines and something less ornate than heavier Mediterranean furnishings. Matching John Richards' chairs, done in an embroidered chenille fabric, are featured in the living room. The sofa has a paisley patterned chenille cut into it that provides a three dimensional look.
A custom stone fireplace features antiqued mirrored panels above the mantle that are surrounded by a keystone frame. Custom built-in wall units are positioned on either side of the fireplace. The coffered ceiling has rope lighting and an contemporary faux finish that brings in the color of the John Richards' chairs.
An adjacent study's wall finish mimics elephant skin. A traditional style wall unit wraps around the room and a chair rail has a unique tan elephant skin finish.
A custom built-in buffet with granite top is featured in a niche in the dining room. The niche is bordered by a keystone frame. The wall above the buffet has a light bronze metallic faux finish that compliments a bronze-finished tray ceiling. The ceiling's stenciled design accents tall silk draperies. A crystal chandelier is suspended above the dining table that seats eight.
The kitchen has a bar that seats four, an island and a wet bar that features a wine cooler and a light textured faux wall treatment.
Ficarra created a beamed ceiling, a mosaic inlay in the floor that frames the island and a custom vent hood that has a transitional design. The vent hood incorporates an iron accent that plays with raised, three dimensional iron pieces inlayed into the cook-top's mosaic backsplash.
The kitchen's primary cabinetry is off-white with glazing and lighting above. The vent hood, the base of the island and the space under the cook-top that surrounds the oven are in a deeper, darker brown tone. Granite countertops are a mix of rust, gray and taupe tones and feature a thick, double waterfall edge.
The kitchen flows into the family room that in turn flows into the ground floor game room that features a pool table and a bath done in a leopard pattern and zebra stripes.
The family room has a tall custom built-in set in a niche that houses a flat-screen TV. The built-in also has curio shelves and component cabinets. The family room's box pattern coffered ceiling is painted gold with white crown moulding. Pocketing sliders open to the covered lanai.
The master suite's ceiling design has intricate three-piece crown and wall moldings that accent a cream, rust and gold-taupe color palette. Furnishings include Bombay chests, a bed with a carved scalloped headboard and a heavy Mediterranean bed frame.
The master bath has a custom made stained glass window that brings light to the shower. Arches throughout the space are framed out with keystone moulding. An inlaid onyx floor in a thatched pattern with painted Italian tiles is in the shower while the tub deck is a soft gold marble.
The upstairs has four bedrooms, each with a full bath, a breakfast area at the top of the stairs, a recreation room, a den, a den bath and a covered lanai. The den is used as a computer room for the children. All of the upstairs rooms feature dark brown walnut six-inch plank hardwood flooring.
"The updated, transitional Mediterranean interior in this residence includes numerous details that contribute to its warmth and overall appeal, including beautifully applied crown moldings and ceiling details in every room," said Ficarra Design Associates President Lisa Ficarra, who created and executed the home's interior design.
"The color palette features reds, greens and golds along with rusts and creams. The flooring is porcelain with a stone look presented in a pattern consisting of 20-by-20-inch and six-by-six-inch pieces. When you enter the home's foyer, a half-wall with a stone arch and an iron accent provides a view of the dining room. A beautiful medallion, an element often found in Mediterranean designs, has been laser cut into the floor and offers a note of welcome. From the foyer, the eye is drawn through the formal living room to a view of a cascading waterfall flowing into the pool at the rear of the home. The waterfall has hand-painted Italian tiles, another common Mediterranean design element," said Ficarra.
Ficarra's furniture selections are classic with transitional Mediterranean overtones that offer cleaner lines and something less ornate than heavier Mediterranean furnishings. Matching John Richards' chairs, done in an embroidered chenille fabric, are featured in the living room. The sofa has a paisley patterned chenille cut into it that provides a three dimensional look.
A custom stone fireplace features antiqued mirrored panels above the mantle that are surrounded by a keystone frame. Custom built-in wall units are positioned on either side of the fireplace. The coffered ceiling has rope lighting and an contemporary faux finish that brings in the color of the John Richards' chairs.
An adjacent study's wall finish mimics elephant skin. A traditional style wall unit wraps around the room and a chair rail has a unique tan elephant skin finish.
A custom built-in buffet with granite top is featured in a niche in the dining room. The niche is bordered by a keystone frame. The wall above the buffet has a light bronze metallic faux finish that compliments a bronze-finished tray ceiling. The ceiling's stenciled design accents tall silk draperies. A crystal chandelier is suspended above the dining table that seats eight.
The kitchen has a bar that seats four, an island and a wet bar that features a wine cooler and a light textured faux wall treatment.
Ficarra created a beamed ceiling, a mosaic inlay in the floor that frames the island and a custom vent hood that has a transitional design. The vent hood incorporates an iron accent that plays with raised, three dimensional iron pieces inlayed into the cook-top's mosaic backsplash.
The kitchen's primary cabinetry is off-white with glazing and lighting above. The vent hood, the base of the island and the space under the cook-top that surrounds the oven are in a deeper, darker brown tone. Granite countertops are a mix of rust, gray and taupe tones and feature a thick, double waterfall edge.
The kitchen flows into the family room that in turn flows into the ground floor game room that features a pool table and a bath done in a leopard pattern and zebra stripes.
The family room has a tall custom built-in set in a niche that houses a flat-screen TV. The built-in also has curio shelves and component cabinets. The family room's box pattern coffered ceiling is painted gold with white crown moulding. Pocketing sliders open to the covered lanai.
The master suite's ceiling design has intricate three-piece crown and wall moldings that accent a cream, rust and gold-taupe color palette. Furnishings include Bombay chests, a bed with a carved scalloped headboard and a heavy Mediterranean bed frame.
The master bath has a custom made stained glass window that brings light to the shower. Arches throughout the space are framed out with keystone moulding. An inlaid onyx floor in a thatched pattern with painted Italian tiles is in the shower while the tub deck is a soft gold marble.
The upstairs has four bedrooms, each with a full bath, a breakfast area at the top of the stairs, a recreation room, a den, a den bath and a covered lanai. The den is used as a computer room for the children. All of the upstairs rooms feature dark brown walnut six-inch plank hardwood flooring.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Memo from Vietnam
My story doesn’t make much sense to people who see the United States as the land of opportunity. Read: my parents.
They sneaked out of Vietnam in the 1980s and lived out the immigrant dream in California, complete with the house, car and college for their children.
And here I am now, giving up all of those luxuries, to move from Sacramento, back across the Pacific.
When I told my parents I would return to Vietnam to work, they thought it was the dumbest decision I’d ever made.
Why, oh why, my mother lamented every time we talked, would I leave the comforts of home for that Third World country?
Even while driving me to the airport, she hoped I would reconsider, or at least wait until she was dead so she wouldn’t have to worry. Human life is cheap there, she said, and war with China (over ongoing territorial disputes) could break out any day.
Vietnam has a per capita income close to $1,000, and while my parents never seriously demanded I become a doctor or engineer, they sensibly expected I would earn more than that. How could I waste my Ivy League degree on a place like that?
Indeed, as I look around at this very moment, their question seems to be the only sane one. Surely, I have not resigned myself to sleeping on ceramic tile, squatting over toilets and scrubbing my laundry beneath a faucet.
Within hours of landing in this city, I was explaining my poor life choices to one Vietnamese person after another. Not that they were all clamoring to go to the United States, but there certainly is a culture here that pines for the land of air conditioning and four-wheeled cars. Some joke about it (“If you’re good, I’ll let you go to nuoc my with that lady,” one mother tells her 5-year-old when we meet); others pay for marriages of convenience or, in my family’s case, escape.
My parents felt everyone was heading in or looking toward one direction, and I was running in the opposite direction. Or perhaps I was like the daughter in The Little Mermaid II, returning to the ocean.
These days, I am wondering if the American Dream has evolved.
The narrative no longer has to be that immigrants work hard so their children don’t have to. Our parents aren’t giving us the tools just to become wealthy, but also to have freedom in the kind of lives we want.
I am simply taking the resources my parents gave me—education, curiosity, a stable upbringing—and investing them elsewhere. I don’t have a mission in Vietnam, like someone who made it out and then returned to give back. But I think my background will go much further here.
As a champion of globalization, I’m pleased to hear about friends and others who also are setting out and settling down in far-flung locales for whatever reason—adventure seeking, wanderlust, employment.
In some of their cases, and in mine, the journey somehow brings the immigrant story full circle. My parents abandoned Vietnam when it felt like a sinking ship. Decades of conflict had devastated the nation; global politics isolated it. Then economic reforms began to bring the country back into the international fold, even to the point of friendship with its former enemy. Vietnam’s turnaround hasn’t quite reached the level of South Korea or Japan after U.S. involvement, but it’s no longer the country my parents left behind.
They sneaked out of Vietnam in the 1980s and lived out the immigrant dream in California, complete with the house, car and college for their children.
And here I am now, giving up all of those luxuries, to move from Sacramento, back across the Pacific.
When I told my parents I would return to Vietnam to work, they thought it was the dumbest decision I’d ever made.
Why, oh why, my mother lamented every time we talked, would I leave the comforts of home for that Third World country?
Even while driving me to the airport, she hoped I would reconsider, or at least wait until she was dead so she wouldn’t have to worry. Human life is cheap there, she said, and war with China (over ongoing territorial disputes) could break out any day.
Vietnam has a per capita income close to $1,000, and while my parents never seriously demanded I become a doctor or engineer, they sensibly expected I would earn more than that. How could I waste my Ivy League degree on a place like that?
Indeed, as I look around at this very moment, their question seems to be the only sane one. Surely, I have not resigned myself to sleeping on ceramic tile, squatting over toilets and scrubbing my laundry beneath a faucet.
Within hours of landing in this city, I was explaining my poor life choices to one Vietnamese person after another. Not that they were all clamoring to go to the United States, but there certainly is a culture here that pines for the land of air conditioning and four-wheeled cars. Some joke about it (“If you’re good, I’ll let you go to nuoc my with that lady,” one mother tells her 5-year-old when we meet); others pay for marriages of convenience or, in my family’s case, escape.
My parents felt everyone was heading in or looking toward one direction, and I was running in the opposite direction. Or perhaps I was like the daughter in The Little Mermaid II, returning to the ocean.
These days, I am wondering if the American Dream has evolved.
The narrative no longer has to be that immigrants work hard so their children don’t have to. Our parents aren’t giving us the tools just to become wealthy, but also to have freedom in the kind of lives we want.
I am simply taking the resources my parents gave me—education, curiosity, a stable upbringing—and investing them elsewhere. I don’t have a mission in Vietnam, like someone who made it out and then returned to give back. But I think my background will go much further here.
As a champion of globalization, I’m pleased to hear about friends and others who also are setting out and settling down in far-flung locales for whatever reason—adventure seeking, wanderlust, employment.
In some of their cases, and in mine, the journey somehow brings the immigrant story full circle. My parents abandoned Vietnam when it felt like a sinking ship. Decades of conflict had devastated the nation; global politics isolated it. Then economic reforms began to bring the country back into the international fold, even to the point of friendship with its former enemy. Vietnam’s turnaround hasn’t quite reached the level of South Korea or Japan after U.S. involvement, but it’s no longer the country my parents left behind.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Death threats for bin Laden demolition man
Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai cuts a defiant figure in the genteel Pakistani town of Abbottabad. He is the man who demolished Osama bin Laden's house and despite Taliban death threats, says he is proud of what he did.
Yusufzai paid the government around 400,000 rupees ($4,500) for the contract to demolish the compound where the Al-Qaeda chief hid for around six years and to salvage building materials from it.
The high-walled three-story house was flattened in February and now Yusufzai gives away bricks to curious souvenir-hunters from all over Pakistan.
A year after the US special forces raid which found the world's most wanted man living on the doorstep of the country's elite military academy, Pakistan is keen to turn the page on one of the most humiliating episodes in its history.
The 47-year-old Yusufzai, tall, mustachioed and confident, told AFP the Pakistani Taliban had sent him threatening letters, but he was pleased to have erased some of the physical traces of his country's shame.
"I am not scared at all but sometimes I think I have put my family in danger," said Yusufzai, who has a seven-year-old daughter.
"My wife feels scared and whenever I come home late she thinks that either I have been killed or kidnapped.
"But I believe that whatever I did was in the national interest. We conveyed a message to the world by demolishing this compound that we are against terrorism, which harmed our province and the country."
Yusufzai hoped to make a profit on material recovered from the site but said he lost money despite taking away 12 tons of scrap metal from the buildings.
Conspiracy theories about what "really" happened to bin Laden are rife in Pakistan, and many in Abbottabad are not convinced he was ever there. Even Yusufzai is prepared to accept the doubts.
"I am not sure whether bin Laden actually lived there but my feeling after seeing the building and its design was that it might have hosted him," he said.
Six dumper trucks were needed to clear the building scrap from the bin Laden house, Yusufzai said, and now the salvageable material is held in a storeroom in a girls' hostel at a local college.
Two bathtubs were stacked in the storeroom along with dozens of bricks, floor tiles, water pipes and cables. An Arab-style black and white scarf lay on the floor.
Yusufzai said he would donate an orange tree and an olive tree he took from the compound to the college.
Twelve months ago the air of Abbottabad rang with the deafening sound of gunfire and explosions as two Black Hawk helicopters full of US Navy SEALs stormed the house in the dead of night.
Now there is birdsong at the site and the sound of boys playing cricket.
A smooth patch of concrete, once part of the foundations of the buildings which hid bin Laden, his three wives and their 10 children, now makes a perfect pitch for young cricketers.
The boys say they know little about the 9/11 mastermind who lived there, but they are clear about what should happen to the site.
"Everybody in this area wants this place to become a playground. We like playing cricket here and we want the government to build a playground," said 12-year-old Jamal-ud-Din.
Yusufzai paid the government around 400,000 rupees ($4,500) for the contract to demolish the compound where the Al-Qaeda chief hid for around six years and to salvage building materials from it.
The high-walled three-story house was flattened in February and now Yusufzai gives away bricks to curious souvenir-hunters from all over Pakistan.
A year after the US special forces raid which found the world's most wanted man living on the doorstep of the country's elite military academy, Pakistan is keen to turn the page on one of the most humiliating episodes in its history.
The 47-year-old Yusufzai, tall, mustachioed and confident, told AFP the Pakistani Taliban had sent him threatening letters, but he was pleased to have erased some of the physical traces of his country's shame.
"I am not scared at all but sometimes I think I have put my family in danger," said Yusufzai, who has a seven-year-old daughter.
"My wife feels scared and whenever I come home late she thinks that either I have been killed or kidnapped.
"But I believe that whatever I did was in the national interest. We conveyed a message to the world by demolishing this compound that we are against terrorism, which harmed our province and the country."
Yusufzai hoped to make a profit on material recovered from the site but said he lost money despite taking away 12 tons of scrap metal from the buildings.
Conspiracy theories about what "really" happened to bin Laden are rife in Pakistan, and many in Abbottabad are not convinced he was ever there. Even Yusufzai is prepared to accept the doubts.
"I am not sure whether bin Laden actually lived there but my feeling after seeing the building and its design was that it might have hosted him," he said.
Six dumper trucks were needed to clear the building scrap from the bin Laden house, Yusufzai said, and now the salvageable material is held in a storeroom in a girls' hostel at a local college.
Two bathtubs were stacked in the storeroom along with dozens of bricks, floor tiles, water pipes and cables. An Arab-style black and white scarf lay on the floor.
Yusufzai said he would donate an orange tree and an olive tree he took from the compound to the college.
Twelve months ago the air of Abbottabad rang with the deafening sound of gunfire and explosions as two Black Hawk helicopters full of US Navy SEALs stormed the house in the dead of night.
Now there is birdsong at the site and the sound of boys playing cricket.
A smooth patch of concrete, once part of the foundations of the buildings which hid bin Laden, his three wives and their 10 children, now makes a perfect pitch for young cricketers.
The boys say they know little about the 9/11 mastermind who lived there, but they are clear about what should happen to the site.
"Everybody in this area wants this place to become a playground. We like playing cricket here and we want the government to build a playground," said 12-year-old Jamal-ud-Din.
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