SC adjourns Babri demolition case
Babri demolition case adjourned till 2nd April. CBI had come in appeal against the discharge of Advani and others from conspiracy charges in Babri demolition...
By: newsxlive
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SC adjourns Babri demolition case - Video
CrossTalk: Controlled Demolition?
Syria #39;s civil war is turning into a deadly regional conflict. Is the West supporting the right side(s) in Syria? What is their real goal in this game of poli...
By: RussiaToday
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CrossTalk: Controlled Demolition? - Video
Demolition of the Nitro side of the Dick Henderson Memorial Bridge
The Nitro side of the Dick Henderson Memorial Bridge was demolished early Friday, March 8, 2013.
By: TheCharlestonGazette
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Demolition of the Nitro side of the Dick Henderson Memorial Bridge - Video
Published: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 9:43 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 9:44 p.m.
DELAND City commissioners approved the demolition of a century-old building on Woodland Boulevard and honored two World War II veterans at their meeting Monday night.
On a 4-1 vote the commission approved the demolition of 428 S. Woodland Blvd after DeLand businessman Robert Miller, who is under contract to buy the property, said it would be "economically unfeasible" to restore the existing two-story building to a usable condition.
"I can assure you that (demolition) is not my preferred course of action," he said. "I am very passionate about saving historic buildings in the DeLand area," he said, noting he had restored other buildings within the city of comparable age.
However, Miller said while the properties in the area he restored had "good bones," the building at 428 S. Woodland Blvd. did not.
The lot the property sits on is about a quarter of an acre. Miller said he does not have any concrete plans for its future use, but raised the possibility of a metered parking lot that would serve the future Intermodal Transportation Facility opening later this year nearly across the street from the site.
That possibility concerned Commissioner Leigh Matusick, who noted the property was not on a corner or near a crosswalk, and said the ITF will have its own parking area.
DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar and City Attorney Darren Elkind pointed out that only the possibility of demolition was what was under consideration Monday night -- not any future plans, which would have to be considered separately.
Matusick said she voted no on the motion to allow demolition only because city staff had not been able to get inside the building and examine it themselves.
City staff recommended against allow the building to be demolished, saying although by itself it was not of historical significance or located in a historic district, it was a "contributing building" to the historic character of the area.
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DeLand OKs demolition of old building on Woodland Blvd.
The long-planned demolition of the former Hotel Sterling appears safe from federal budget cuts, but other programs and projects could suffer.
As part of the across-the-board spending reductions at the federal level, also known as sequestration, Wilkes-Barre will receive less money to fund social services and infrastructure improvements. Complicating that problem is the fact no one knows how severe the cuts will be.
"The headline is just the uncertainty and really the havoc that uncertainty plays at the municipal level," said Michael Wallace, program director for the National League of Cities.
Wallace said Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which cities use to fund a variety of social services and improvement projects, could be cut by 8.2 percent. However, Wallace said HUD has not decided how to distribute the budget cuts, and block grant funds could be decreased by an even higher amount.
This year, the city will rely heavily on HUD funding to tear down the former Hotel Sterling. Luzerne County originally pledged $232,000 toward the demolition, but Mayor Tom Leighton decided to proceed alone after the county failed to reach an agreement with CityVest, the now bankrupt owner of the property.
The city, which has a $260,000 state grant for the project, had planned to use HUD money in place of the county's share. McLaughlin said that plan will not be hindered by the sequestration, but the city might not have any grant money left to tear down other blighted properties or to improve roads. Last year, the city tore down six properties.
The city received $1.5 million in block grant money last year, McLaughlin said. An 8.2 percent cut would reduce funding by $126,665. In addition to funding public works projects, they also support the Osterhout Public Library and social programs through the city's Community Development Office.
McLaughlin said HUD funding is already at historically low levels since it was slashed 16 percent in 2011. With the federal government investing less in cities, McLaughlin said Wilkes-Barre faces a tough decision. Cut back on community development, or fund it with money from its already struggling general fund budget.
"Houses do need to be demolished, streets do need to be paved," McLaughlin said. "You're talking about a greater and greater strain on the general fund budget. It's all part of the greater debate of how to appropriate tax dollars, but it generally seems to circle down to us and increase our burden."
The sequestration will cut $8.3 million in block grant funding and $2.1 million in housing vouchers in Pennsylvania, according to estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an organization that researches federal budget issues. Officials from HUD have not told the city how much funding it will receive this year.
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Federal budget cuts won't touch Sterling demolition
It's demolition day for Rochester's home-grown grocery store.
The old East Avenue Wegmans is finally coming down to pave the way for a newer version.
People flocked to see a part of Rochester history crash to the ground.
It's the end of an era on East Avenue and while this just looks like the demolition of just another building, to those in this community - it means so much more.
"I bought my lunch there for almost 45 years," said Jim Lill, an onlooker
Jim Lill left his job at Harris everyday to get a bite at Wegmans.
"The part that was the wood right there was the original Wegmans store and then the part beyond it was an addition," said Lill.
"You can't fight a machine like that," said Lill as he watched contractors
Now the machinery is taking a bite out of his old store.
"8:46:34 It's the end of an era you know because it is the last small store :39*"
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Wegmans Demolition Day
A DEMOLITION derby involving four cars has seen a 21-year-old one woman charged with a number of traffic offences.
About 1.30am last night police were called to Dolphin Street, Coogee last night following a crash involving four vehicles.
It is alleged a black Toyota Corolla hit three parked cars before coming to rest on its side.
The driver of the black Corolla fled the scene.
Officers arrested a Clovelly woman, 21, a short distance away who was taken to Maroubra Police Station where a breath analysis recorded a reading of 0.128.
The woman was charged with mid range PCA, negligent driving and leaving the scene of a crash.
She is due to appear in Waverley Local Court next month.
Anyone with information about this incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
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Woman charged after demolition derby
WORCESTER The Central Building on Main Street has received a temporary reprieve from the wrecking ball.
The Historical Commission tonight unanimously rejected a petition filed by the building's owner for a waiver to the city's demolition-delay ordinance.
Commission members said the owner, 332 Main St. Associates, a group controlled by the Krock family, did not make an adequate case to support the need for a waiver based on the grounds that keeping the building up for another year would create an undue economic hardship.
As a result, the eight-story office building, which was built around 1925, will remain standing at 322-332 Main St. for one year from the date when the application for the demolition delay waiver was filed (November 2012) with the Historical Commission.
After that time, the owner will be able to raze the building.
The demolition-delay ordinance puts a one-year hold on historic properties to give owners time to find a buyer who would be able to preserve the building or come up with another reuse for it.
The ordinance allows owners to seek a waiver to the one-year delay based on the grounds of economic hardship or that the demolition would not be detrimental to the historical or architectural resources of the city.
Gary S. Brackett, a lawyer representing 332 Main St. Associates, said the owner is facing an economic hardship because the building is vacant and is not generating any rental income. In comparison, the building took in more than $431,000 in rental income in 2010 when it had tenants, he said.
Meanwhile, the owner still has to pay more than $150,000 annually to maintain and heat the building, as well as preserve its fire suppression system, in addition to more than $90,000 in property taxes.
The building, which has nearly 84,400 square feet of space, is assessed at $2.9 million; it had been assessed at $1.4 million two years ago.
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Building owner can't expedite demolition
A group of elected leaders this week will send a letter to state environmental regulators asking that they delay demolition of the Asarco smokestacks because of environmental and safety concerns.
The trustee in charge of the project said his team has already addressed most of the concerns and the rest will be addressed in advance of the planned April 13 demolition.
U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, state Sen. Jose Rodriguez and state Rep. Marisa Marquez, all El Paso Democrats, on Thursday confirmed that they planned to sign the letter to be sent to Bryan W. Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
County Judge Veronica Escobar and city Rep. Susie Byrd also said they would sign the letter, which asks whether risks associated with dropping the stacks have been adequately addressed.
"It has now come to our attention that serious, additional questions regarding the long-term environmental and health consequences of the planned demolition and burial of the stacks are being raised," a draft of the letter says.
The letter comes after a group wanting to save the 800-foot and 600-foot smokestacks for historical reasons apparently lost its battle battle in December.
The Asarco smelter shut down in 2000 after a century of operating as a smelter -- and processing quantities of dangerous toxins as lead, arsenic and cadmium. Residents fought to shut down the smelter, but preservationists want to keep the stacks, saying they're
The letter that lawmakers will send environmental officials cites health and safety concerns that add to the preservationists' arguments.
Among them, it asks what contaminants are in the stacks.
Roberto Puga, the trustee in charge of cleaning up the Asarco site, on Thursday said his team is undertaking additional tests to analyze them.
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Officials seek delay on Asarco demolition
Construction crews are currently demolishing facilities no longer needed on post and will recycle and reuse the leftover materials for future projects, according to the Directorate of Public Works.
A contracting company began razing the old buildings Feb. 1 and the projects should be complete by the end of March.
The facilities slated for destruction include the Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas station on 12th street, a warehouse on Gunston Road and the former Prime Power Engineering School on the corner of Pohick and Theote Roads.
DPW will collect salvageable concrete and metal to use for projects such as asphalt paving, pipe installation and parking lot installation, according to Carl Crump, DPW construction inspection estimator.
We reuse here at Fort Belvoir. We dont send useable materials to landfills, Crump said. This practice prevents landfills from filling up and its less expensive for the government.
The reason behind each facilitys end varies.
The old AAFES gas station was replaced by a gas station on the corner of Pohick and Gunston roads. The garrison hasnt used the warehouse since strong winds tore a portion of the roof off during the Derecho storm in July 2012. The 249th Engineer Battalion once used the prime power engineering school but the unit moved into a different facility on post.
The estimated cost for each demolition project is: $165,000 for the warehouse, $221,000 for the prime power school and $199,000 for the gas station. The current plan is to turn the land into grass areas, but this is subject to change, according to Crump.
Theyre going back to nature until a decision is made to put something on those lands, Crump said.
Contractors are sending any potentially salvageable materials to the Fort Belvoir Recycling center for processing.
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Demolition projects increase post recyclable resources