RACINE Its time to say goodbye to the Wadewitz librarys gray institutional-looking wall tiles and mustard-colored carpeting, covered with duct tape in some well-worn spots.

Construction begins Thursday on a $100,000 library makeover the elementary school won in May for reading the most books per student during the past school years Racine Reads contest.

Mount Pleasant Renaissance School, 6150 Taylor Ave., and Trinity Lutheran School, 2035 Geneva St., also won $25,000 library makeovers for reading the second- and third-most books per student.

Wadewitzs updated library should be completed by the start of school this fall, said Wadewitz Principal Chad Chapin. He said the library will be a literacy commons designed around a comment from Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson, which funded Racine Reads and its prizes. When Johnson announced the prize-winners at a ceremony in May, he compared reading to piloting a plane.

Pick anywhere, Johnson said, and reading will take you there.

The updated Wadewitz library will focus on that idea through clouds painted on the ceiling, a world map on new carpeting and a book check-out area that looks like an airport counter, Chapin said.

It will be a big change for the outdated 2,600-square-foot library that still includes remnants from the rooms original use as a therapy space for special education students.

Old pictures show beds lined up in the room like a hospital. Those have been removed but the upper half of a glass room-divider still hangs from the ceiling and a large therapy lift beam juts out from one wall. Those things will be taken down in the makeover, Chapin said.

The gray wall tiles and the yellow, worn carpet will disappear too, he said, adding Racine Unified is paying for the carpet removal, related asbestos removal and new carpet installation because that project was planned prior to Wadewitzs Racine Reads win.

The updated library will also have new windows, new lighting, iPads for student use, bean bags and couches for students to read in and TV monitors around the room to help students follow along with lessons. Part of a wall will even get removed to open up the library and let passersby see in.

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Readers' reward - Wadewitz’s Racine Reads library makeover starts Thursday

New business focuses on indoor gardening needs

HBJ staff

SNOHOMISH -- The Snohomish Chamber of Commerce announces the opening of SnoGro Indoor Gardening Supply located at 502 Maple Ave., Snohomish.

The Sekulich family, owners of SnoGro Indoor Gardening Supply, have been rooted in Snohomish since 1949 and for decades enjoyed home-grown produce from the small farm owned by Grandpa and Grandma "Moo" just west of the city

Owners Blake and Ken Sekulich offer a full range of indoor gardening products, for those who work in the confines of a closet or a large greenhouse. SnoGro Indoor Garden Supply carries specialty soils, hydroponics, HID lighting, ventilation and organic nutrients to grow fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs.

The store is open now and will have a grand opening celebration with music, door prizes and raffles from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 23 with a complimentary barbecue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. Indoor gardening product vendors will share product education, useful tips and samples.

For information, call 360-863-6935 or visit SnoGro Indoor Gardening Supply on Facebook or at http://www.snogro.com.

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New business focuses on indoor gardening needs

American Institute of Architects handed out its annual awards to projects showcasing the best innovative design

By Louise Boyle

PUBLISHED: 22:06 EST, 12 June 2012 | UPDATED: 03:24 EST, 13 June 2012

What do Scottsdale, Arizona, Syracuse in upstate New York and the San Juan Islands off Washington have in common? They are all home to some of the most architecturally inspiring addresses in the United States.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has handed out the 2012 Housing Awards to projects at the pinnacle of design, creativity and sustainability.

The jury recognized projects in four categories - custom-built homes for one family, large structures which sleep many individuals in their own apartments and specialized buildings such as community centers.

The ten homes selected were: The Nakahouse, a space-age home in the Hollywood Hills; Relic Rock, a luxury home in Scottsdale, Arizona; The Pierre, a strange stone inspired home in the San Juan Islands off Washington state; The Camelview Village, a futuristic condo complex in Scottsdale, Arizona; Hampden Lane House in Bethesda, Maryland; The Live Work Home in Syracuse, New York; the luxury Carmel residence in Carmel-by-Sea, California; a new Jesuit Community centre in Fairfield, Connecticut; new low-budget homes in San Francisco and new college halls of residence in Houston, Texas.

Otherwordly homestead: Optima Camelview Village is a 700-unit condominium development comprised of eleven buildings linked by bridges in Scottsdale, Arizona

Spiritual setting: The Arizona complex draws inspiration from the surrounding mountains and Native American desert communities

Sit back and relax in your surroundings: A lounge area in the Optima Camelview Village in Scottsdale

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American Institute of Architects hand out awards for best designed homes in the U.S.

13 June 2012 Last updated at 19:02 ET By James Melik Reporter, Business Daily, BBC World Service

Institutional figures across the eurozone have been scrambling to offer their latest solutions to the financial crisis.

It is a crisis which, in theory, should never have happened, say the figures who helped create it - if the stability and growth pact insisted upon by the then German finance minister, Theo Waigel, had been adhered to at the time of the creation of the euro in 1999.

Business Daily asked some of the architects of the single currency what went wrong, and whether the euro can survive.

Graham Bishop was a member of the European Commission's Maas Committee - preparing the changeover to the single currency - and then the Financial Services Strategy Group.

He insists that had the requirements for sound public finances, embodied in the Maastricht Treaty, been met and fulfilled, the current crisis would not have happened.

"If countries with budget deficits had kept them low, there would not have been a need for the sort of measures we see now," he says.

"But the other problem that we didn't foresee, was that the US would export its subprime mortgages on such a scale and that the government would need to step in."

He says that it is easy to explain monetary union, but that political union is a very different matter.

"There is already a lot of political union through the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, the European Parliament," he notes.

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Architects of the euro reflect on its origins

OSWEGO, NY A proposal for a $150 million exhibition center may be officially presented to the Oswego Common Council as early as next week.

Mayor Tom Gillen said a former Port City resident contacted him recently about constructing a facility that would actually be floating in Oswego Harbor when completed.

The mayor said he received a letter of intent from Joe Pilotta of Digital Financial Group, Columbus, Ohio.

He described the facility as a floating theater and concert hall.

Its going to be a 65,000-square-foot exhibition/concert hall/trade center, the mayor said.

Another 40,000 square feet of office and lab space will be earmarked to accommodate 25 companies, he added..

Theres nothing like this anywhere on the Great Lakes, he said. It will be very 21st Century with an aquarium and aquatic garden, 20 luxury one- and two-bedroom apartments, a multi-media center and more.

Funding for the project would be from international sources, he explained.

It would be done through private equity bonds, the said, noting that potential current backers include Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy, USA/Germany and Citic Guoan Group, Beijing, China.

They want to construct the facility on the water near the International Marina, the mayor said.

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$150 million Construction Project Being Considered For Oswego

By NIGEL DUARA Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Agnes Flanagan Chapel is a 16-sided architectural marvel that seats 650 under stained glass windows depicting the book of Genesis.

In the early 1970s, it was also a big, conical quandary. Chapels aren't really chapels unless they have an organ, and the newly minted structure at Portland's Lewis & Clark College was in need.

But those 16 sides presented a hitch. How do you fit an ordinary pipe organ into a building that's anything but?

You don't. So the college went in search of an organ builder willing to try something different. Several, said organ curator Lee Garrett, backed away. But the world-renowned Larry Phelps took the challenge.

Phelps' solution was to build something to fit the chapel, and the idea for the world's only circular pipe organ was born. Unlike a traditional pipe organ - played by someone sitting in front of the instrument as the notes flow through the pipes into the audience - this organ is suspended from the ceiling, allowing the music to reflect off the floor and into the crowd.

"One of the challenges of playing any organ is that no two are identical," said Garrett, a professor emeritus of music at Lewis & Clark. "Here, it's unusually difficult because the organist plays from the balcony and the organ is suspended from the ceiling."

The electro-pneumatic instrument and its 4,000 pipes turned 40 last year. It has played to graduations, memorials and holiday celebrations.

Players use three keyboards, called manuals, along with pedals and a series of knobs, to create a range of sound. With a couple of setting changes, the organ can be altered to mimic other instruments, like a trumpet.

Now, it serves as a recruiting tool for the college's music school.

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Ore. chapel's circular pipe organ is one-of-a-kind

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A combination of decades of vigorous fire suppression and the waning of the timber industry over environmental concerns has left many forests a tangled, overgrown mess, subject to the kind of super-fires that are now regularly consuming hundreds of homes and millions of acres.

As firefighters continue to battle massive blazes in New Mexico and Colorado, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell is renewing his call to restore forests to a more natural state, in which fire was a part of the landscape and in many instances was far less destructive.

The Forest Service is on a mission to set the clock back to zero and the urgency couldn't be greater, Tidwell said. The plan calls for accelerating restoration programs - everything from prescribed fire and mechanical thinning - by 20 percent each year in key areas that are facing the greatest danger of a catastrophic fire.

This year's target: 4 million acres. The budget: About $1 billion.

"We need to understand the conditions we're facing today," Tidwell told The Associated Press in an interview. "They're different than what we used to deal with. We're seeing erratic fire behavior, more erratic weather."

In southern New Mexico, a lightning-sparked fire raced across more than 34,000 acres in a matter of three days, damaging or destroying at least 224 homes and other structures in the mountains outside of the resort community of Ruidoso. Hundreds of residents remained out of their homes Wednesday.

The Little Bear blaze has scorched 58 square miles in the Sierra Blanca range and containment stood at 35 percent after crews used a two-day break in the hot, windy weather to build miles of fire lines and conduct burnout operations.

To the north, smoke from a fire burning in Colorado was blowing into southeastern Wyoming and smudging the skies above Cheyenne on Wednesday. That blaze, about 15 miles west of Fort Collins, has burned 73 square miles, destroyed more than 100 structures and forced hundreds of people from their homes.

More than 600 firefighters labored to build containment lines as air tankers and helicopters focused on protecting buildings from the High Park fire.

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US wildfires fuel urgency for forest restoration

Will Troy Buswell return as WA's Treasurer?

The Premier has confirmed he will not remain as the Treasurer beyond the next two weeks following yesterday's resignation of Christian Porter.

Colin Barnett said this morning that he would find a suitable replacement within the Cabinet to take over towards the end of the month.

"Obviously a new Cabinet Minister will come in and I've just got to look at the balance of the Cabinet overall," Mr Barnett said.

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"I don't intend to continue as Treasurer."

The Premier's comments have ended speculation that he would take on the role on a permanent basis, leaving him with the two biggest portfolios.

There are still left several questions unanswered as to which Ministers could take on the position of Treasurer and Attorney General.

The gaping hole in the senior portfolios could see former treasurer Troy Buswell return to the role but that would also leave his present responsibilities of housing, transport and emergency services up for grabs.

Mr Barnett is more likely to promote one of his MPs with some economic and business credentials, such as Liza Harvey or Mike Nahan.

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Ministry question mark

SUWANEE, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

When the Egee family decided to remodel parts of their home, the first to go was their inefficient central air conditioning system. Joy and Ed Egee installed a ductless cooling and heating system from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric) last summer, and the mother of two young boys says she couldnt be happier with the results.

Before the installation, our family room and office were always too hot in the summer and cold in the winter, says Joy Egee. To solve the problem, the Egees installed a Mitsubishi Electric M-Series system in their Woodbridge, Va., home. Now during the summer, were cool and comfortable, she says.

When it comes to home remodeling, the Egees arent alone. As sales of existing houses remain sluggish, many homeowners nationwide are opting to remodel their houses instead of moving. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University expects remodeling expenditures to reach $113.6 billion in 2012, compared with $110.2 billion last year.

Instead of cosmetic facelifts, many homeowners are choosing projects that boost energy-efficiency and increase comfort. American Home Comfort Study (AHCS) reports that 67 percent of homes in the U.S. have a room thats too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. One easy and cost-effective summertime remodeling project that produces impressive results is installing a super-efficient cooling and heating system in a room that is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Because a Mitsubishi Electric system requires no ductwork, installation is fast and doesnt require any messy renovation.

Thousands of other families across the country, like the Markus family of Reading, Mass., have also benefited from new ductless systems. The Mitsubishi Electric system had a lot of features we were looking for, and the installation was clean and easy, says Rob Markus.

Mitsubishi Electric systems also are ideal whole-house solutions in older homes where ductwork is not practical, or to supplement existing central air conditioning. The systems are small and compact and dont require reconstruction of ceilings and walls to add ductwork. In most cases, a simple three-inch opening in the wall or ceiling is all thats needed.

Our systems are so adaptable that they naturally lend themselves to most customer needs, says Marc Zipfel, director of product marketing, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating.

Besides increased comfort and easy installation, Mitsubishi Electric cooling and heating systems have many other benefits for homeowners:

Also available on some indoor units is the i-see Sensor, which scans a room for hot and cold spots and automatically makes adjustments to quickly reach the desired comfort level. Check out case studies of Mitsubishi Electrics cooling and heating systems installed without ductwork here or visit the Mitsubishi Electric Solution Advisor to find the system best suited for an individual home and calculate potential energy savings. To learn more about cooling and heating products from Mitsubishi Electric, visit http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com.

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Goodbye Hot and Cold Spaces, Hello Comfort and Energy Savings

22-year-old Marlene Bruhaug is an international student from Norway studying at UNC Charlotte. Photo/ Scarlett Newman

22-year old Marlene Bruhaug is one of the new additions to the Interantional student family at UNC Charlotte. Bruhaug is from Narvik, Norway and is here for the spring semester.

When she returns to Norway next year for her final year of school she plans to work in the shipping industry.

According to Bruhaug, the biggest differences between Norway and the U.S. are the food and the people.

People here in America are more welcoming than in Norway. Not that we arent welcoming and friendly, we are just a lot more reserved, said Bruhaug.

She went along to add that an American perk is cheaper nightlife.

In her spare time she likes to ski, play soccer and hang out with her friends. She loves to be around her friends whether it be watching a movie or going out on the town.

This is her first time in America so she was eager to see if her expectations of it matched up with reality.

Ive seen a lot of American movies and TV shows so I had an idea on how it would be, but I didnt know for sure. The first week is usually orientation where you get to know the other international students, you learn about the culture, the school and the city you are in. Its a busy week with a lot of things happening, but its really fun!

Bruhaug expresses her love of the people in America and gushes that Americans are so easy to talk to and to get along with but is not pleased with the public transportation.

Excerpt from:
Abroad in America: a Norweigan Niner profile