An urban farm developed on a former landfill site in northern Thailand boosted the food security and livelihoods of poor families during the coronavirus pandemic, and can be a model for unused spaces in other cities, urban experts said on Thursday.

The farm in Chiang Mai, about 700 km (435 miles) from the capital Bangkok, took shape during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus last year, when many of the city's residents lost their tourism-dependent jobs.

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn, a community architect who works on housing solutions for Chiang Mai's homeless and informal settlers, approached authorities with a plan to convert the unused landfill into an urban farm to support the poor.

"We had previously mapped the city's unused spaces with an idea to plant trees to mitigate air pollution. The landfill, which had been used for 20 years, was one of those spaces," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Poor families spend more than half their earnings on food, so when their incomes dried up, they were struggling to feed their families. This farm has been a lifeline for some of them," he said, pointing to neat rows of corn and morning glory.

Coronavirus lockdowns worldwide have pushed more city dwellers to grow fruit and vegetables in the backyards and terraces of their homes, and forced authorities to consider urban farming as a means to boost food security.

In Chiang Mai, after authorities approved the farm plan, an appeal on social media resulted in donations of plants, seedlings and manure from residents, Supawut said.

With diggers loaned by the city, Supawut and his team cleared some 5,700 tonnes of rubbish on the 4,800 square-metre (0.48 hectare) plot that lies next to a canal and a cemetery.

The land was levelled, and a rich topsoil added to offset the degraded soil. The farm opened to the community in June.

About half a dozen homeless families, students from a public school and members of the public grow eggplant, corn, bananas, cassava, chilli, tomatoes, kale and herbs, Supawut said.

"In cities, we have lost our connection with food production, but it is a vital skill," he said.

"Urban farms cannot feed an entire city, but they can improve nutrition and build greater self-sufficiency especially among vulnerable people. They are important during a pandemic - and even otherwise," he added.

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn stands by the urban farm he helped create.

Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rina Chandran

Urban agriculture can potentially produce as much as 180 million tonnes of food a year - or about 10% of the global output of pulses and vegetables, according to a 2018 study led by Arizona State University.

Rooftop farms, vertical gardens and allotments also help increase vegetation cover, which is key to limiting rising temperatures and lowering the risk of flooding in cities.

While land in cities is scarce and expensive, rooftops and spaces below expressways and viaducts can be repurposed, said landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom, who designed Asia's largest urban rooftop farm in Bangkok.

"We need imagination and greater flexibility in our laws to turn such spaces into urban farms," she said.

"The Chiang Mai farm is a sandbox - it shows it can be done in even the most unlikely of spaces if the government and the community come together," she added.

For Ammi, a homeless indigenous Akha woman who has lived at the farm since July, the corn, melons and cabbage that she grows have fed her and her husband, and provided a small income.

"It gives people like me an opportunity to be self-sufficient," she said. "We need more such farms in the city."

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How have urban farms helped during the COVID-19 pandemic? - World Economic Forum

FORT WAYNE The public is invited to attend a virtual Rain Gardens and Native Plants Workshop on Jan. 30 from 10-11:30 am.

Presenters will broadcast live from the Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. The workshop is designed for the beginner and will especially be of interest to people who are thinking about installing a rain garden with native plants. Information regarding available cost-share assistance to install rain gardens will be provided.

Citizens can help reduce stormwater runoff by installing rain gardens in their yards. A rain garden is a landscaped area that holds rain water runoff for a few hours to a few days. The benefit of using native plants in a rain garden is that they are well adapted to their natural surroundings and do not require a lot of maintenance, fertilizers or pesticides. Rain gardens and native plants help the soil soak up water and improve the quality of the water that does run off.

Presenters will be Stacy Haviland, landscape architect and community development manager with the City of Fort Wayne, and Martha Ferguson, owner of Riverview Native Nursery.

Registration is not necessary. For more information, contact Sharon Partridge, stormwater specialist with the Maumee Watershed Alliance, ssp2655@gmail.com or 755-8111.

The workshop is sponsored by the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, the Maumee Watershed Alliance, the Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council and Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. Funding to support this outreach event was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through an Indiana Department of Environmental Management Clean Water Act grant awarded to the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative.

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Virtual workshop offered Jan. 30 on rain gardens and native plants - KPCnews.com

Dickinson ambles closer to the edge of its heros fame and madness in this seasons fourth episode, which serves as a meditation on creative blockage.

Though oft charming and frequently beautiful, the postmodern Apple TV+ show about the 19th-century poet still suffers from an irreconcilable identity crisis. This weeks episode, released Friday, takes no steps to resolve the situation.

Hailee Steinfelds Emily Dickinson feels like a kitten, stuck in a deep hole with no way to get out. Thats the first of this episodes visual metaphors.

To the writers credit, they do manage to spread the problems of each member of the Dickinson household. New amorous boarder Joseph (played by Gus Halper) cant get it up, so to speak, for Lavinia Dickinson (Anna Baryshnikov) because he wants to put his old womanizing and highly sexualized ways behind him, frustrating the less-famous Dickinson girl.

A mysterious hole in the backyard vexes Emily and Lavinias mother (Jane Krakowski). Their father (Toby Huss) has been told by a doctor to not spend time outside, so hes going stir-crazy and goes out anyway. To please his dad, brother Samuel (Adrian Enscoe) agrees to adopt his cousins without first consulting his wife Sue (Ella Hunt). And to cap it all off and tie it all together, Emilys suffering from writers block.

Emily meets Frederick Law Olmsted (Veeps Timothy Simons), the landscape architect who designed Central Park and thinks he might have the secret to opening her up.

Olmsted takes his work more seriously than any of the artists Emily met last season. His eccentric system of governing landscapes (this rock is making just the right statement) intrigues her, so she picks his brain. Anything to get her mind off of the fact that publisher Samuel Holmes (Finn Jones) is reviewing her work. They wind up fatefully lost while walking around talking about methods.

The business of being a show like Dickinson is a tricky tightrope. Its essentially a postmodern sitcom. Guest stars intrude on the business of the Dickinson household every week. And its filled with high-concept plot devices, visual motifs and the like.

This week, we get Olmsted and the hole. Everyone falls into the hole either literally or physically, and by the end of the episode, its been wrapped up. The show, by virtue of being postmodern, knows very well what its doing and announces it.

Im in a hole! Huss says over and over again, making it all but impossible to miss that Dickinson is poking fun at the very idea of attempting an idea this broad.

The show is frequently like this, announcing that itwill adopt the shtickiest sitcom tactics and both skewering them and just doing them in the closest thing to good faith the show can muster.

Its endearing. However, it does sort ofunseat the shows pretensions toward talking about the stifling conditions for anyone who wasnt a white male in the 19th century and, by extension, today.

I dont mean to dismiss the show and the considerable effort put into creating it. Dickinson delivers frequently stunning visuals. (The autumn colors this season look especially lovely.) The show also benefits from crisp editing, enjoyable performances, solid-enough construction and good intentions.

The trouble is that, by mixing up the modern and the past, you cant help but come across as more flippant than a show about a white hero who was alive while slavery was happening can support.

This episode, for instance, introduces Sue, a character were supposed to like, having her hair done by her black maid (writer Ayo Edebiri, who really ought to be playing bigger roles than minute-long servant parts, no matter how deconstructed) and babbling about race science.

Phrenologists are so in right now, she says determinedly. Its a joke, but the show will not go back and correct her or explain why its an insidious thing to have as a setup to an unrelated scene that ends with Sue as the put-out party. (Shes mad at Samuel for consenting to adopt his cousins without her.)

You can be glib about the past. And you can be serious about inherited female trauma. But the two things dont quite mix.

Rated: TV-14

Watch on: Apple TV+

Scout Tafoya is a film and TV critic, director and creator of the long-running video essay series The Unloved for RogerEbert.com. He has written for The Village Voice, Film Comment, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Nylon Magazine. He is the director of 25 feature films, and the author of more than 300 video essays, which can be found at Patreon.com/honorszombie.

Originally posted here:
Dickinson review: Everybody's stuck and frustrated in season 2, episode 4 - Cult of Mac

With the slowdown in world economic growth, the Construction and Architecture Software industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Construction and Architecture Software market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of xxx from XXX million $ in 2015 to XXX million $ in 2020, BisReport analysts believe that in the next few years, Construction and Architecture Software market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2025, The market size of the Construction and Architecture Software will reach XXX million $.

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Section 1: FreeDefinition

Section (2 3): 1200 USDMajor Player DetailSpice TechnologiesFreshBooksActCADBluebeam Software

ALSO READ : https://www.technologypressreleases.com/2020/10/13/global-internet-of-things-iot-software-market-2020-trends-opportunity-projection-analysis-forecast-2026/

TrimbleGraphisoftClearview SoftwareProgeSOFTChief ArchitectVectorworksAsynthComputer Systems OdessaBase Builders

ALSO READ https://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/378703/beer-market-2020-global-key-players-trends-share-industry-size-sales-segmentation-opportunities-forecast-to-2026#.X1IeoegzbIU

NewformaTeklaETeksSoftPlan SystemsFloorplannerRoomSketcherGather

ALSO READ : http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cloud-data-security-software-market-by-servicesassets-typesolutionsend-usersapplicationsregions-forecasts-to-2025-2020-12-30

Section 4: 900 USDRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)

Section (5 6 7): 500 USD

ALSO READ : http://www.marketwatch.com/story/flavors-global-market-2021-share-growth-trend-industry-analysis-and-forecast-to-2026-2021-01-07

Type Segmentation (On-premises, Cloud based, Mobile Solutions, , )Industry Segmentation (Small and medium-sized enterprises, Large enterprises, , , )Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation

Section 8: 400 USDTrend (2020-2025)

Section 9: 300 USD Type Detail

Section 10: 700 USDDownstream Consumer

Section 11: 200 USDCost Structure

Section 12: 500 USDConclusion

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Global Construction and Architecture Software MarketSize, Share, Value, and Competitive Landscape 2020 - NeighborWebSJ

The last few weeks one could argue the last five years have been a lot to process. While many of us around the country have been sent reeling by news coming out of Washington on a regular basis, for DC residents, life still has to go on. Even when there is, say, an attempted coup. We worked with photographer Farrah Skeiky to ask Washington residents how they are doing right now. It's a collective check-in text for fellow Americans who have been not just living the chaos through the news, but experiencing it firsthand through street shutdowns, National Guard checkpoints, and the occasional angry mob.

When Skeikys family moved to the DC suburbs just over 16 years ago, nothing about the situation was appealing for her. Now, having worked and lived within DC city limits for eight years, she feels the frustration that comes with being invisible. Newer transplants passively declare that no ones really from DC, as the citys Black and brown residents are priced out of their neighborhoods, she said. National news directly affects local news here, but local voices dont make it to the national news.

Im grateful to share the perspectives of DCs residents, all of whom have different interactions with the city through their work, their social circles, and their zip codes. This city changed my life for the better, and I will always champion the people who make it such a unique place to be.

Sign up for our newsletter for more photographs from around the country and the world, as well as exclusive interviews.

"Im upset because of the difference in reactions to the domestic terrorists this last week versus the violence against the Black Lives Matter protests earlier in the summer. The contrast between those two really speaks to how ingrained white supremacy is in our government, our law enforcement, and just how we are reacting to both of these things that are happening."

"Im not doing cartwheels for Joe Biden, as I am not going to be doing cartwheels for any lifelong career politician. But honestly, that clown Trump is gone, and there is a deep relief that comes with that, especially when your family is directly affected by his thoughts.

"Ive bartended for a long time, and Ive always worked in the food and beverage industry, so inauguration has always been tied to work for me. With DC being such an overwhelmingly Democratic town, obviously when Democrats win and Im old enough to have been through a number of inaugurations I feel like with such an overwhelmingly Democratic town, its party time, people are happier. But I will say this: There was nothing like when Trump won. The feeling literally descended on the city. Even Biden winning, with the way things have been during the pandemic, its different. At least in my circles, with the people that I know personally and professionally, people know that half the country still voted for that fool. Anything to have him out.

"I dont want to get super-spicy communist on here, but I grew up, from the second I came onto this planet, being very aware. Purposefully my family has made me very aware of how this place really is. There were never any rose-colored glasses. But within that, Im not a pessimist. Theres too many people out there doing the real thing. Im hopeful."

"Im thrilled that we have a new president, so I guess Im kind of happy about that. Its a very odd time. Ive lived in DC for 30 years now. The first week I moved here was the inauguration of the first Bush. You could go right up to them. I was no fan of them, but I wanted to see an inauguration. And now its like a war zone so thats upsetting. Its upsetting that its so militarized, but its necessary.

"Im from Louisiana, and I still travel to Louisiana quite a bit. I come from a very rural town outside of New Orleans, and Ive lived here working as a landscape architect, so Ive seen the extremes. This is a country thats always been divided. Trump didnt create this, he just emboldened it. Im shocked by his behavior, and I guess thats changed my opinion, and politics is a brutal game. So it doesnt surprise me, because I think underneath people only care about being in power, and theyll sell their souls to get here."

Kelsey: Im very worried for the inauguration, especially because there is a Black woman who will be on the stage. Im very concerned for her safety. Very concerned. I want her to be safe, and I want her family to be safe. And I dont like saying that. Im legitimately fearful for them.

Dana: When President Trump was inaugurated, I remember feeling disappointed, but I didnt feel terrified. Even though Im happy that Biden got elected, I cant think about the inauguration or her sense of dread that something awful is going to happen. I feel like that isnt the best way to start anything.

Dana: Its probably been really, really rough to be a political thriller writer. Any idea you had, just turn on the news and its like, Crap, there goes my draft. I feel for them.

Christine: This was a chocolate city first. You look at old history with Maps, and it was mainly a Black city. Look at the people who moved here, especially the recent statistics from the general election in the presidential election, 93% voted Democrat. Im living in Chevy Chase a lot of people think wow youre a Black girl in this extremely white neighborhood with a mired past in which they kicked out all the Black people. But now they have worked on that, they have recognized that, and they are working on those issues. DC has some errors, but in that way its done [some] things right. Its got a great healthcare system in which were actually doing our vaccinations right. Out of three states, we are the nonstate doing our actual vaccinations on schedule.

"I have a hard time quantifying it to only DC feeling under siege, not only geographically but in regards to sanctity of democracy, has been somewhat alarming. But also not surprising.

"Theres probably more of a confirmation of the systemic inequality and oppression that Ive always been quite vocal about. The stage has been set more accurately, and its more obvious to more people now. Although weve suffered a lot of loss and a lot of unnecessary deaths and damage, and were still fighting to correct so many wrongs from even the Reagan administration, I feel like there are more people that have come into a deeper understanding of what this country really is."

"Everyones on eggshells and the city is locked down. The amount of military that I saw downtown, the amount of guns rifles and assault rifles it was just a lot. I dont know the last time that happened, definitely way before my time. Its terrifying. As a gentleman thats half Native, half Latino, I watch my back every day. Am I going to see a Trumper? Am I gonna see a Proud Boy? Its alarming. "

"Its this weird limbo. They brought in a lot of security now it seems now that theyre prepared, but again we saw that Capitol Police and other federal law enforcement were allowing these insurrectionists to come into the building. Not to say that it was an inside job, but obviously there were/are people in law enforcement that sympathize with these people. My plan is to stay home, stay out of it, and Im gonna be sitting on my stoop watching things go down and listening to the radio. Im worried that this isnt all going to go away after the inauguration. Trump will still be around. He is still going to have his sycophants and theyll still be bending over backward on doing Olympic-level mental gymnastics to justify what this absolute clown is doing."

Jodie: Im definitely feeling scared for our family and our country. Weve lived here for 18 years, and we always felt safe being in the nations capital. Theres a comfort knowing that this is the safest place in the country to live, and that notion quickly crumbled when we saw the events that took place last week. As more news comes out about the people who were aiding the insurrectionists, it feels like a scary time for our country.

Aden: Even though people are still ready for the inauguration and want Biden in office, people are also scared that what happened at the Capitol is going to happen again, and I totally understand because I dont want anyone harmed.

I have more knowledge about white privilege in this country and also how messed up we are in our country, whereas, some other countries view us as the big strong United States thats so popular, but actually were crumbling. If we dont do something soon, then well fall apart.

Al: As a business owner in the hospitality industry, aside from the differences in the morale and the pomp and circumstance, theres a huge difference to this year with the economic impact that this particular inauguration will have on the district. This will be a huge drain on resources. Ordinarily, its a boon for hotels, booked restaurants, all the caterers, and the black-tie events in the evenings. Every firm along Pennsylvania Avenue has a huge blowout party and they spend tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars on a catered event where they invite all their clients, their staff, for a parade viewing party. It starts very early in the morning, goes into the afternoon, then people go home and take a nap and then go to the inaugural balls in the evening so theres a lot of money to be made. This isnt solely attributed to the events of last week, but combined with the nature of COVID, thats a real difference to the city that cant be ignored.

Isaac: My whole life, Ive been like, Its OK, the Capitol will be safe because people are protecting it. When people got in, Im getting scared that a lot of people might be hurt, and Im scared that if someone gets hurt, like the police or someone who works there, or someone else, I dont like people dying in real life. Its OK in movies because its fake, but in real life its scary. Im mad because someone started all this just because they lost the election.

"I feel like we should be doing a lot more as a city to make sure that shit doesnt happen again. As you can see now, everything is back to normal, and I dont like that. Because if that was us out there, doing what they did, wed be getting locked up today, for sure. All the Trump supporters, all the people who started that, were staying in this hotel and that hotel right here. The day after, they were sitting out here laughing like nothing was wrong, and thats an issue to me. They were our customers. Like I said, if that was us, police would be pulling up in paddy wagons arresting us. Its nonsense if you ask me. But its expected."

"Im a bit surprised, but overall its just the theme of America and the area itself. But definitely anxiety along with everyone else that lives here. Im super anxious about the inauguration. Everyone in the area is pretty sick of everything government right now, and we just want everything to go back to whatever normalcy I guess there was. Honestly, the United States hasnt changed too much over the past four years. Its just more blatant and in your face. The last four years has desensitized a lot of people to how outrageous and terrible racism is, systematic racism, and how distracting it is.

"I dont even think people think about DCs residents. Its like were not even here. So I think people get wrong that were real people and understand how loving people are in DC, especially ones that dont come and go with red and blue. Especially with corona, I never see anyone without a mask, period. Just know that were here: Were actually people, we cannot vote, and we are a community and try to take care of each other as best we can."

"Im nervous. Its getting closer and closer to the location of my home. Ive got the Capitol on the west side of me, and the National Guard setting up on the east side of me, so Im in the middle of all this traffic.

"Im talking to my friends and neighbors and finding out what they plan to do. Were starting to see some MAGA people camp out around Lincoln Park. They have fires raging in the night, its just not fun. Its a visceral thing. Tons of friends and family have sent us messages asking if were OK, but I dont think people really understand how real it is living right in these blocks. You cant really avoid it. People say Oh its the Capitol, no ones around there but really I live a mile from there. People who dont live in the area dont understand that its very real, and its not just what you see on TV."

"Im outraged at the attack on our town and our government. Im shocked at the failure of security that weve all taken for granted at our federal buildings, and I look forward to the transition.

"Im cautiously optimistic about the inauguration this week. From a domestic terrorism standpoint, Im worried about not only attacks on our National Guard troops that are protecting us, that somebody would try to do something against the new administration or that people could just try and disrupt or attack our neighborhoods.

"I never worried for my safety at an inauguration before. A lot of us work in and with politics and no matter who wins, theres always a peaceful transition of power. Thats something thats unique to our country, and I think Ive always taken it for granted and now I see how precious that is.

"The past four years opened my eyes to how much larger the problems we face are and how systemic they are than I previously thought."

"Being someone that was born in DC and has lived here for such a large portion of his life, Ive always known that going near the Capitol was almost impossible, especially as a Black man. To see so many privileged white people be able to attack the police, storm the Capitol this sacred building, one of the most sacred buildings in the country I was just angry. A lot of my friends were checking in on me, because they know that Im always at protests capturing images. I saw a lot of people making jokes about it, and some of the jokes were funny, but it just feels so personal. I was about to get arrested a few weeks ago, just for taking photos. Seeing so many of these people able to just take advantage of police and run into the Capitol is just ridiculous to me. And its literally against the law. I cant believe I watched that."

"I know that everything is going to be fine in the long run, but Im from a small town thats known for its KKK ties, so I kind of already know what happens when white people get angry. I remember when they were happy with Trump and when they were lining up the streets. Its not the KKK, of course, but its their grandchildren.

"I grew up with grandparents that were from the South. Ive always heard stories about how the United States is kind of horrible, so it doesnt really shock me. People were shocked when Trump was elected, but I kind of knew what was going down.

"When I came to DC, I was expecting everyone to be rich. I didnt know until I looked it up that a lot of DCs residents were Black. To me, I always thought thats where the president lives, so that must be where rich people live. Its true. In California, the parts where Im from, you dont really see a lot of rich Black people, but I saw a lot of rich Black people. It kind of felt really good. Hopefully, one day, my life will be not rich, but well off. To be in a place where you see all these people who are well off and look like you is kind of crazy."

"Ive come to love the city, and to see people desecrate the Constitution of the United States a lot of the world looks up to the US for democracy, and it was just sad to see.

"Before the events of last week, I was really excited to be in the city for this historic moment. When Joe Biden got elected, it was just a feeling of excitement in the city. I went to the White House that evening, with my mask of course, and it was just a great feeling. Right now, after last week, Im holding my breath to make sure everything goes off smoothly."

"Im not surprised at all. Its kind of funny in a sense that a lot of people are starting to see it now.

"Since President Obama got elected, a lot of people were very unhappy that a Black man became president and I feel like Trump was a response to that. And now that the Trump presidency is over, its uneasy. I feel like people got to see the wild side of racism and white supremacy and that it doesnt help anybody, in any way, and especially during a pandemic. I feel like thats making this one kind of special because theres two monsters on top of each other.

"I would say theres probably not any place in the world that a Black person can go and they dont have to check how the racism is? Am I gonna be safe? Am I gonna be OK to go here? Can I actually enjoy myself here? Thats just the reality of how life is. It doesnt change it any."

"Im a former bartender, and I hope to be one again after the pandemic since Im out of work. During the Obama administration, you saw a lot of people who wanted to be in community with each other. With the Trump administration, you see more entitlement. People are keeping to themselves and arent open to meeting their neighbors. Its put a cloud over the city. And its mostly to the detriment of the Black and brown community. We dont see people happy. This summer after the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Aubrey protests, you saw people on the streets every day. Were sad, but were dancing. Were sad, but we decided now to feed each other. Were sad, but now were trying to organize and build. I think thats a testament to the city, and to what people forget. We are a community of people. Not just Capitol Hill. Were not just government buildings. Were a whole community of people who are affected by things that are happening globally."

"Im much more critical of the democratic process, much more critical of the historic checks and balances of our country. The rules seem to be very different for white supremacists and white people in general, and theres a stark contrast between how law enforcement and the law in general treats Black people, Indigenous people, minorities, immigrants, refugees thats all come to light and at the forefront of the last four years. Whether it was the Muslim ban or with Black Lives Matter protests, children in cages even though they were in cages during the Obama administration as well its just all kind of in the spotlight with this previous administration. Im less confident about what my role as a US citizen should be. Im less confident about the kind of future that were hurtling toward; environmental disasters, crippling student loan debt, what kind of future are we trying to make our children inherit? The possibility of holding elected officials accountable seems less and less each day, and its incredibly sad and I hope that theres a real concrete change that comes with this administration.

"Theres a bunch of people who decided to leave DC after last weeks events, and I thought about it, but wow, what a privilege to be able to even consider that option because my heart goes out to all the essential workers who have to deal with white supremacists in the areas that they work. Theyre going to deal with added harassment on top of what the stress of their job already is going to be. How are they going to get to their jobs? Will they be paid overtime? Are they safe?"

See original here:
After The Coup Attempt And Ahead Of Inauguration, DC Residents Are Feeling On Edge - BuzzFeed News

By Cathi Harris, contributor

Decatur, GA The Decatur Planning Commission voted Tuesday to table a developers request to rezone a half-acre lot at the corner of East Ponce de Leon Avenue and Commerce Drive from the existing R-60, single-family residential zoning to RM-22, multiple family residential.

Decatur resident Phillip Rassel and Atlanta builder Bud Rogers hope to build nine four-bedroom townhomes on the property. One of the homes would be reserved for buyers making less than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) to comply with Decaturs inclusionary zoning requirements.

The residences would be similar to those constructed on Northern Avenue with rooftop terraces and parking in the rear of the development off a private alley, Rassel told the commission.

Several residents of the surrounding neighborhood attended the virtual Zoom meeting, speaking both in favor of and in opposition to the development.

We are in support of the zoning change and in support of this property being redeveloped with townhomes, said Stephanie Hudson, who lives at 140 Ponce de Leon Court and whose backyard borders the property. The current structure on the property is a dilapidated eyesore that has been deemed so unsafe the current owner is not allowed to live there. Developing it would increase tax revenue for the city and would certainly be better than the current condition.

But several other residents raised concerns about how the townhome residents would enter and exit the property given its narrow configuration and location so close to the busy Commerce and East Ponce intersection.

Because the parcel is only 70 feet wide, townhome residents would access it by a one-way alley, entering on East Ponce de Leon and exiting onto Commerce. Both neighborhood residents and members of the Planning Commission wondered whether that would result in traffic backing up into the intersection at busy times of day.

I have concerns about ingress and egress to the site, particularly if you are coming east on Ponce from downtown and turning left into the entrance, Planning Commission member Lori Leland Kirk said. It seems like it would certainly back traffic up into that intersection.

The proposed location of the exit on Commerce is also dangerous, said Rachel Susie Kezh, of 117 Ponce de Leon Court.

People fly over that hill [on Commerce] coming from the south, Kezh said. This is right before the curve in the road and there are a lot of accidents there as it is. If you add more cars entering the road there, it just makes it even worse.

Alan Wieczynski, a landscape architect who lives at 416 East Ponce de Leon, two doors down from the proposed development, said he was concerned that the current engineering drawings for the site did not reflect important details about stormwater and sewer management as well as the height of the buildings relative to their surroundings.

I want people to understand how difficult this site is, Wieczynski said. If you look at the high point where Ponce hits Commerce and the low point at its northeast section, there is 26 feet of [elevation] change. That is a lot of fall over a very short property. It averages out at an 8 percent slope.

The design drawings that he has seen from the developer show a level elevation, but that is not possible with the existing grade change, he said.

The applicant has proposed four stories for these units, but the zoning for RM-22 dosnt support four-story buildings, he said. Only way to get the fourth is if there is a basement that is more than 50 percent recessed in the ground. Looking at the site, it doesnt seem that you are going to be able to sink these buildings low and still have the drive-under parking.

If the entire site were filled in and made level, it would need a 21-foot retaining wall, he estimated. But, the developer has told the neighborhood residents that there would only be a four-foot wall and only at one corner, he said. There is no documentation of this in the application at all.

And, even though the developer has indicated they will have on-site underground stormwater detention, they have not said where the water from the tanks will be discharged.

Removing the existing trees and maximizing the lot coverage with so much impervious surface is going to increase the stormwater runoff significantly, he noted. The on-site stormwater detention must be tied into the citys existing infrastructure for removal and not just allowed to discharge into neighboring yards, he added.

In discussing the application, Planning Commission members agreed that they needed more detailed plans from the developer before they would be willing to recommend the rezoning to the City Commission.

There seems to be a significant variance between the drawings and how the development would sit on the site in reality, commissioner Joseph Greco said. This needs to be included as part of a thorough evaluation.

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Developer seeks rezoning to build new townhomes on Commerce Drive - Decaturish.com

Nick and Taylor Thurmond found a post-it note on their mailbox last April with an offer to buy their Lower Greenville home in Dallas. That little piece of paper served to keep a family business afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

It planted a seed for how a business with a rich Dallas legacy could outrun a health crisis thats gobbled up many other companies.

The family business, now called Nitsche, is known as an event construction company with a rich Dallas legacy. Founded by German immigrant Ernst Nitsche, it began as a flower store around 1887, according to family members. The family initially sold flowers grown on their Dallas farm under the name Nitsches Flower Store, the first flower shop to be counted in the Dallas census, according to family.

The company shifted direction in the 1970s when Virgil Thurmond, Nicks father, changed it from a retail flower shop to an events and trade show business, renaming it Nitsche Convention Florist. Since then, the familys main work came from building sets and outdoor designs for events like the State Fair of Texas and traveling across the country for other similar large-scale events.

When COVID-19 sent the events business into hibernation, the Thurmonds had to figure out other ways to make money.

It was 100 to zero income in February, said Nick Thurmond, part of the fifth generation of family members to be involved in the business. He co-owns it with his father. Taylor, Nicks wife, also works for the family business.

Fortunately, the family had a background in construction. And they had a lead: the post-it note.

Nick and Taylor had been renovating their own homes for a number of years, making small-scale improvements. While living in their first Dallas home a duplex they owned while renting out the other half they decided to buy the home next door when it went on the market.

Three or four months after the renovation, they found that note on their mailbox. The Thurmonds realized they could channel the companys existing construction know-how into homebuilding.

In June, they bought a two-unit duplex on Vickery Boulevard in Lower Greenville under the companys name. The Thurmonds had the skills necessary to completely reimagine the 1950s build so they set out to convert it into a single-family home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The Thurmonds say they hate the term flipping houses because it evokes the idea of slapping on new countertops, adding paint and calling it a day. Instead, when they renovate, they gut an entire house, reassessing everything from the plumbing to the layout to the exterior appearance.

They worked with Amy Sack from Compass Real Estate to find and acquire the properties. On Dec. 30, they closed a sale of the Vickery Boulevard house with Sacks help. Nick and Taylor said it was their first sizable paycheck since February.

When your side hustle becomes your main hustle overnight is how Taylor explains the choice they faced.

Nitsche has since acquired a second property where the Thurmonds will be building from the ground up. Nick and Taylor own a few properties of their own, separate from the family business, and are building their own custom home as well.

As for the future of the company, the couple said theyre uncertain how this year will play out. And theyre okay with that.

The company has already survived one pandemic the infamous 1918 Spanish flu that infected 500 million people. In a 1970 article in The Dallas Morning News, Nicks grandfather Robert Thurmond was quoted as saying the family flower store peaked during that pandemic.

Nick expects homebuilding to become a permanent part of the 134-year-old family business.

It was kind of a natural and welcome shift that will continue regardless of what happens, he said.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly cited Richard Thurmond in a 1970 article, the correct name is Robert Thurmond. The article now reflects the change.

Originally posted here:
This Dallas family business went from building floral displays at big events to fixing up homes - The Dallas Morning News

The Cheyenne River Youth Projects Wo Otuhan Wi, or Moon of Giving Away Presents, finally came to an end this past Friday, Jan. 15. Over the last several weeks, the nonprofit youth organizations small staff just 10 people sorted, wrapped, and safely delivered thousands of gifts through curbside distributions, bringing Santa Claus to more than 265 families on the remote Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Christmas 2020 is officially done, said Julie Garreau, CRYPs executive director. We delivered gifts for hundreds of children here on Cheyenne River, making sure that each one received four gifts from his or her unique Dear Santa letter, as well as warm winter clothing. And due to the pandemic, we did it without any long-term or community volunteers for the first time in our 32-year history.

Im humbled and honored to work with such a remarkable, committed group of people here at CRYP, she continued. They faced hard work, long hours, delays, and deeply challenging circumstances, yet they never wavered in their determination to bring holiday joy to our community.

Delivering that joy to Cheyenne River families was more important than ever in 2020. Not only are parents and caregivers dealing with lost income, quarantines, and sickness, their children are suffering from the loss of school, recreational and cultural activities, and gatherings with loved ones.

Our kids have lost so much since the pandemic erupted last March, said Dawn E. LeBeau, CRYPs deputy director. They couldnt lose us too, and we knew they definitely couldnt lose Santa Claus. We had to find a way to save Christmas.

That effort began early in the fall. The youth project created a new Family Services system that would allow families to submit their applications and their childrens Dear Santa letters entirely online. Next, its tech team came up with a plan to make those letters available to donors through the website.

We knew that employees at many of our partner organizations were working remotely, LeBeau explained. They wouldnt be able to distribute physical letters in their traditional work spaces, so we gave them a user-friendly online option for letters, as well as an Amazon wish list.

Not only could donors adopt letters from CRYPs online letter store, they also could shop online and ship the packages directly to Eagle Butte. As a result, many families gifts arrived at CRYP through couriers and the U.S. Postal Service this year.

CRYP did welcome its annual toy truck from Friends of Lakota Youth in St. Louis, as well as the annual toy truck from Colorado, which brought gifts from Fairview High School in Boulder and Lennar Custom Homes in the Denver metro area.

Other supporters included the American Indian College Fund; International Dream Achievers at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois; a Leeds School of Business student group at CU-Boulder; Partnership with Native Americans; Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey; Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP in Louisville, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.; the Rapid City Woodworkers Association; the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Spirit of Sovereignty Foundation, and Square.

The need is so great everywhere right now, words cannot express how deeply grateful we are that you chose us, Garreau said. Thanks to you, nearly 900 children experienced the magic of dreams coming true this year.

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Cheyenne River Youth Project serves 265+ families in 2020 Toy Drive - Drgnews

Now that BC Assessment is done analyzingeveryone's homes for 2021, we decided to find outwhere themost expensive homes residein B.C.s northern capital.

Most of the top 10most valuable residential property homes in Prince George are located inCollege Heights,then a few pop-up placeslike Hart Highway,Red Rock and Chief Lake Road.

Some of the homes are lakefront properties that have docks and some are expansive rural acreages, while a few others boast spectacular square footage right in town.

A few of the homes are properties with long driveways that you can't see from the road but thanks to Google, we can get an idea of what they look like.

In Prince George, all 10 properties are valued at $17,893,000.

In 2020, all top 10 properties in Prince George were valued at $15,702,000, a difference of more than $2 million.

Northern B.C. did see a moderate increase in property values this year with the average valueof a home in Prince George, specifically,increasing by seven per cent.

The highest-valued property in northern B.C. is an acreage in Dawson Creek valued at $4.4 million followed by a lakeside house in Fort. St. John valued at $2.6 million.

The report reflects market value as of July 1, 2020, according to BC Assessment's website.

With that said, here are 10 very nice homes:

Built in 2012, this custom two-story house has four bedrooms and four baths, sitting on 3.62 acres.

In 2020, it was worth $2,187,000.

Built in 2002, this one-story house has four bedrooms and five baths.

In 2020, it was worth $2,128,000.

Built in 2010, this two-story custom home has four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

In 2020, it was worth $1,740,000.

Built in 2009, this custom two-story house has six bedrooms, five baths and sits on 1.81 acres.

In 2020, it was worth $1,787,000.

Built in 1998, this one-story custom house has three bedrooms and five bathrooms.

In 2020, it was worth $1,441,000.

Built in 2011, this two-story house has six bedrooms and six baths.

In 2020, it was worth $1,436,000.

This two-story semi-custom home built in 2006 has four bedrooms and three baths and sits on 29.4 acres.

In 2020, it was worth $1,486,000.

Built in 2014, this 1.5 story house has six bedrooms and six baths and sits on 92.44 acres.

In 2020, it was worth $1,431,000.

Built in 2001, this two-story house has eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

In 2020, it was worth $1,295,000.

Built in 2008, this two-story house has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

In 2020, it was worth $1,241,000.

Original post:
Here are the 10 priciest houses in Prince George in 2021 - PrinceGeorgeMatters.com

AVENTURA, Fla., Jan. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Pea Architecture & Engineering Corporation (PAE https://paecorporation.com/) announced that founder and President Manuel Pea would be traveling to Dubai to help facilitate a series of major upcoming project developments for the company. PAE is a boutique architectural firm known for designs that exemplify both excellence and elegance in their style and execution.Led by the young but ambitious designer, PAE plans to introduce the company's architectural vision of simple luxury paired with energy efficient utility to the thriving architectural wonderland of Dubai.

"Beauty and luxury, merged with simplicity and functionality that's a signature design aesthetic for us," said Pea. "But what exactly does that mean? Well, it can a mean a lot of different approaches and theories. But some of our clients express a desire to live as nearly off-the-grid as they can, or they wish to lower their energy and carbon footprints in other significant ways. And sometimes they're hesitant to ask for these designs because there's a lingering notion out there that energy-efficient can't be beautiful. And that's just not true. Art and design are absolutely linked; beauty can be part of any design. An architect's job is to first envision the completed project whether it's an addition, a brand-new home, or an entire office complex and then find a way to get to the end goal in a way that incorporates both the client's desires, and a sense of artistic style. Dubai is a great place to see this in action all the time because the city is very welcoming to new architectural design approaches."

PAE: Completed Projects

PAE has already finished multiple successful projects in the Florida region, including a medical office in Miramar; commercial warehouse renovations, condominiums, and a car wash in North Miami; Oxford Courts in North Miami; Plaza Maria Condominium in Miami; and landscaping and residential homes in Miami Beach. Some other featured projects include:

For more information on upcoming company events, or future plans related to the latest design projects, follow PAE on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.

About Pea Architecture & Engineering Corporation (PAE)

PeaArchitecture & Engineering Corporation is a team of highly experienced and talented professionals who are dedicated to providing excellence in both design and planning services for construction development projects across the globe. Working with a wide range of successful businesses and entrepreneurs, PAE specializes in providing landscape, single-family, multi-family, and custom homes, as well as commercial, industrial, and mixed-use developments. Combining simplicity and luxury, PAE creates personal spaces that are challenging yet engaging; with color, texture, and light as proportions that come together to express the heart of each project's vision. Learn more at: http://www.PAECorporation.com.

Media Contact: Manuel PeaPresidentOffice 305-749-2512Toll-free 1(877)-797-2326[emailprotected]

SOURCE Pea Architecture and Engineering Corp.

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Pea Architecture & Engineering Corporation Announces Lead Architect, Developer, and Visionary, Manuel Pea, Traveling to Dubai for Major Project...