There are many honest contractors out there, but there are also quite a few that might be looking to rip you off. If youre about to undertake a big renovation project, here are a few red flags to look out for before you hire a contractor.

Asking For Too Much Money Up Front

Most contractors wont start a job without getting part of the payment upfront. After all, there are materials to buy and workers to hire. But a contractor that wants the entire sum up front should set off alarm bells. Once you fork over the cash for a project, a contractor might lose the motivation to finish the job quickly and efficiently. For most jobs, a downpayment of around 15 percent is common, and an initial payment should never exceed a third of the total cost of the project.

Asks for Cash Payments

Some contractors will ask to be paid in cash, which is a sure sign that there is something shady going on. Without a check or credit card statement to back you up, it becomes your word versus the contractors in any payment dispute. So even if a contractor offers you a cheaper rate if you pay in cash, dont take the deal.

Too Many Subcontractors

A good contractor will know how to use subcontractors wisely. For instance, if theres a particularly tricky wiring job, its a good idea to call in an expert electrician. But a contractor who is overly reliant on subcontractors should raise some red flags. If a contractor is farming most of the work out to subcontractors, then hes acting more like an unnecessary middleman rather than a essential part of the renovation process.

Wont Give You References

If a contractor refuses to give you references, its a sure sign that something is amiss. Every contractor should have a few pleased customers that can vouch for past jobs. If a contractor says hes just starting out and doesnt have references yet, take a pass and find someone with more experience.

A Truck For An Office

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How to spot bad contractors

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Friday announced the following appointments.

Ron Brothers, Hamilton. Qualification: A member of the general public who does not hold public office and who does not represent the same industry or agency as another council member. Brothers is the owner operator of Brothers Mortuary and Crematory.

Rick Hutchinson, Black Eagle. Qualification: A licensed electrician selected by the State Electrical Board. Hutchinson is a state electrical inspector.

Robert Risk, Bozeman. Qualification: A county, city or town building inspector. Risk is the chief building official for the City of Bozemans Building Division.

Sean Smith, Anaconda. Qualification: A licensed plumber selected by the Board of Plumbers. Smith is a Journeyman plumber, and the business manager and financial secretary of Local #41.

Terry Bullis, Hardin. Qualification: Representative of the Montana Coroners Association. Bullis is a coroner and owner of Bullis Mortuary.

Ruthann Knudson, Great Falls. Qualification: Representative of the Montana Archaeological Association. Knudson is the executive director of the Friends of the Museum of the Plains Indian.

Videl Stump, Sr., Box Elder. Qualification: Representative of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. Stump is a member of the Chippewa Cree Historic Preservation Committee.

Laura McKee, Billings. Qualification: Parent Representative. McKee is a probation and parole officer for the Department of Corrections and a mother of two boys.

Angela Thompson, Billings. Qualification: Provider of Part C Services. Thompson is an early childhood instructor for Montana State University-Billings College and an Autism specialist.

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Bullock announces appointments

ROCKVILLE - With less than three weeks until the 2014 general elections, candidates are making a last-minute push to appeal to voters. In the June primary, few incumbents lost their seats and many expect to be voted back into office in November.

The Democratic County Council candidates are already preparing for their tenure on the council despite one having a Republican contender. At a recent press conference Council President Craig Rice, who said he ousted the last republican to hold office in 2006 with his election to the state House of Delegates, said he doesnt expect a Republican to win in Montgomery County where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1.

Congressional District 6 Republican candidate Dan Bongino expects to change that. At the announcement of his candidacy in 2013, Bongino told his supporters Republicans deserved a say and they will win back the four seats they lost. Bongino, a former secret service agent who has worked with three presidential administrations, ran against Ben Cardin in the 2012 senate race. He said he easily won District 6, which is heavily Republican.

Montgomery County cares about the things people in the same county care about, jobs, education, and these things are no different. Were the only campaign that is talking about real solutions for job growth, the out of control tax rate, giving people control of their healthcare system back and weve been the only campaign to put out real solutions for that. We havent had any problems in Montgomery County, Bongino said.

Bonginos platform includes a stay on tax rates, Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) reform and a change to the rain tax.

How did we lose the argument that we were the genuine legitimate party for Americans middle class? The Republican party forgot the working class a long time ago. I was a grave digger, my father a plumber, my brother an electrician and I only became a secret service agent later on. How we became the party of rich oil barons is beyond me. When the liberals win in Maryland, like they always do, everybody loses; when we win, the liberals lose nothing. When the liberals win, more money comes out of your pocket and you lose control of your healthcare, and you cant pick where your kids go to school thats why people leave the most beautiful state in the union. What happens when we win? When we win, we take nothing from them. Their wallets get fatter and their businesses grow, they get their own healthcare back and they get to pick where their kids go to school. Nobody loses. Bongino said.

Neither Bongino nor his opponent incumbent John Delaney live in District 6. Bongino lives in District 2s Severna Park and Delaney lives in District 8s Potomac. Less than a million people live in District 6, many of them in Montgomery County. The district includes Potomac, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Poolesville, Clarksburg, Frederick and all of Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties. Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-1 in Frederick, Washington and Allegany counties.

Bongino said he is running a grass-roots campaign which includes phone calls, knocking on 20,000 doors 6,000 of which Bongino said he knocked on personally and attending community events.

Link:
Bongino talks jobs, health care and the working class

The Pulaski County Quorum Court at its meeting Tuesday night will take up the repeal of a 64-year-old ordinance that allows businesses to designate "whites only" drinking fountains.

The repeal measure's sponsor, Justice of the Peace Donna Massey of Little Rock, said the long-forgotten ordinance was recently discovered to be still on the books. There's no indication anyone in the county abides or even knows about the pre-civil-rights era ordinance, but Massey said it's important to take action.

"This does not reflect the current realities of Pulaski County," she said. "However, symbolically it exists and it needs to be removed. It is, I guess you would say, an affront to the non-white citizens of the county."

Massey said she began investigating the ordinance's history after receiving a forwarded email in late September of an old photo of a drinking fountain with a "whites only" sign above it. The sign in the photo also included an ordinance number, she said.

With that, officials began researching its history. She said they initially believed ordinances older than 1977 were not considered active, but ultimately determined that wasn't the case and the one in question was still law.

So Massey sponsored a new ordinance to repeal it. It's the seventh item on the court's new business agenda Tuesday night.

"This is the only thing you can do, bring it before the Quorum Court and vote to repeal it," she said. "I trust that as a body we will definitely vote to get this repealed."

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JPs to take up repeal of 'whites only' drinking fountain ordinance

Murrieta, CA (PRWEB) October 14, 2014

TVA is establishing the highest quality benchmark in the industry , said Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Marine Corp (Retired) Scott Duncan, who is co-founder and CEO of The Veteran Asset, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, whose mission is recruiting, training and placing veterans into the renewable energy sector, at no cost to the veterans.

We are hand-selecting veterans and transitioning military candidates, screening and qualifying them for TVA scholarships, Duncan continued. This very solar-specific recruiting and training process makes TVA graduates extremely valuable to the solar community. Effort on the front end assures high-quality graduates. By vetting out the right candidates, we insure that the end result is a skilled, solar-trained workforce, which is already proving to make a tremendous difference to the solar companies that hire them and to the industry in general.

The hand-selected veteran recruits are provided a 32-hour course, entitled Entry Level Solar PV Design and Installation, offered in the Ambassador Energy College training facility in Murrieta, CA. On the final day of the course, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Entry Level Exam is proctored.

The TVA formula appears to be working, as the majority of those who have graduated the program since May 2014 have found gainful employment within the solar industry.

Dates for upcoming courses include October 20 24 and November 17 - 21, 2014. Interested candidates should visit The Veteran Assets website, where they may obtain course details and apply for an interview by TVA staff.

About the Entry Level Solar PV Design Course The 5-day Entry Level PV Design and Installation course includes:

About The Veteran Asset (TVA) TVA is a tax-exempt nonprofit 501(c)(3)organization, whose mission is helping U.S. military veterans (Active/Guard & Reserve), obtain careers in the renewable energy sector. TVA recruits, facilitates top-notch Solar PV training and ultimately provides placement services - at no cost to the veteran.

About Ambassador Energy (AE) AE is comprised of Ambassador Energy College Solar Training, the Ambassador Energy Agency Program and the installation arms, Ambassador Energy and Ambassador Solar. On staff are NABCEP Certified PV Installers, NABCEP Certified PV Technical Sales professionals [Fulgham/Kelso] and multiple NABCEP EL graduates. AE holds California licenses General Contractor B, C10 Electrician and C46 Renewable Energy. Ambassador Energy is IREC/ISPQ accredited. AE Agencies are nationwide. Ambassador Energy installs residential and commercial PV systems throughout California and the US.

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U.S. Military Veterans Continue to be Deployed into the Solar Career Arena with the Help of 501(c)3 The Veteran Asset

IT might have a population of under 400, but Wasleys is a small town achieving big things.

On October 18, the Wasleys Institute will be a hive of activity as the inaugural 'Showcasing Wasleys' event kicks off.

To be held from 3pm to 7pm, the initiative encourages local businesses and tradespeople to show off their wares and skills.

Wasleys Community Group secretary and operator of the town's post office Dawn Richter said the project was created to build community spirit and lift the local economy.

"We've had lots of new people move into town with the new building estate, and we have people come in all the time asking me if there's an electrician or a plumber or something around in the town," Dawn said.

"I thought we needed to organise some way of letting people in the community know about the skills that they have."

She said new residents often assumed they would need to head to a larger regional centre to find tradespeople, but this was not the case.

"If someone needs a plumber or an electrician, or they're looking to get something built, they'll go outside of Wasleys, not realising that we have those skills in our own town and in our own community.

"If we all work together and promote and support each other, then our local people will thrive and our community as a whole will thrive - that's the plan.

"People don't necessarily have to use the local people, but at least if they know they're out there, they can ring them and get a quote. If it works out, it's a win-win for everyone in the community."

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Wasleys shows community spirit

A JUNIOR football team from Swanage is celebrating after receiving a new sponsor for the season.

Swanage Town & Herston FC Under 10s have received support from BH Electrical Dorset Ltd, a new company set up earlier this year by electrician, Ben Harris, which serves the Dorset area.

Ben has supported the team since they formed in the past two years, as the father of one of the players.

He said: I have been heavily involved with the team over the past two years helping out with subs collections, refreshments for home matches & assisting with general organisation & lifts whenever possible.

I am please to volunteer my company to this seasons official sponsor for the Under-10s.

The team meets every Friday and is led by coach, Mark Carter, and assistant coach, Ian Cole.

For more information, Swanagefc.com

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Swanage FC celebrates sponsorship deal

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - When Michael Barnhard took his car in for service at Southfield Chrysler, he assumed his car was going to be taken care of.

When his Chrysler 300 turned up stolen, he assumed since it was under the dealership's care it would be responsible.

Instead, Barnhard said the incident has cost him about $4,000 with insurance after the vehicle was damaged, recovered and impounded.

"Sept 12th I took it in for warranty issues and then the next week they called me and said they couldn't find my car and they believe it had been stolen," Barnhard said. "I asked where are my keys and (I was told) the keys were gone with the car and they think it might have been an inside job."

Barnhard filed a police report and two days later his car was found and an arrest made - but not before $11,000 in damage was done to the car.

"They had driven through the fence and one of the windows was smashed in," Barnhard said. "There was interior damage where they ripped out the center console and the tires and rims were gone as well."

Barnhard says he had to pay to get his car out of the impound, rent another car, and pay for the repairs.

Barnhard is a firefighter in Harrison Township on a fixed income. He said he is loyal to his department and the Chrysler brand.

"I can't believe it that this is how they treat their loyal customers, he said, adding that he shouldn't have to shoulder this burden alone.

"They were negligent," Barnhard said. "No different if I didn't shovel my sidewalk and someone tripped on it. I wouldn't say you got health insurance so good luck. No I would be held liable for that."

Link:
Car stolen from dealership, owner stuck with $4,000 bill

Nicknames like Beer City USA, Foodtopia and Paris of the South all acknowledge Ashevilles increasing significance as a food and drink haven. But for city development officials, keeping pace with the permitting needs of a burgeoning food industry has been a hard bite to swallow.

THE RESTAURATEURS HOLY GRAIL

A certificate of occupancy must be obtained and displayed prominently in commercial establishments, but for some restaurateurs, the legal document also serves as a battle scar of sorts. In business settings, the CO states that a building is fit to be occupied by a certain number of customers, and this human-safety aspect makes it more troublesome to acquire than most food and alcohol licenses.

In the simplest terms, the quest for a CO consists of two phases the planning stageand the build-out and the approval of both can require smaller prerequisite permits and months of collaboration between city officials and a restaurateurs team.

Although Ashevilles business development-related services were consolidated into one building years ago, departments continued to operate in functional silos. Over the summer, City Manager Gary Jackson created the Development Services Department a new one-stop shop aimed at streamlining the fragmented permitting process. Despite major strides, his efforts havent placated everyone just yet.

PERMITTING ROUNDTABLE: IS THE CITY KEEPING PACE?

We had a very difficult time in the permit process during plan review, says Hole doughnut shop co-owner Caroline Whatley. Typically, plan reviews are facilitated by a single reviewer, but in Whatleys case, a sudden reassignment added more than 20new items to Holes to-do list, tagging anextramonth onto the plans-approval process.

The process is slower than it has ever been, says Thirsty Monk owner and general contractor Barry Bialik. He feelsthe consolidated approach causes a bottleneck, since many processes are initiated by the handful of employees running the permit desk. Everyone I know calls it the time warp, he says. You pretty much have to budget, for the most minor thing, that youre going to be there for 45 minutes to an hour.

Still others are satisfied with the citys pace. Catawba Brewing co-owner Billy Pyatt says his Biltmore Village tasting room came together pretty quickly, thanks to the helpful guidance of the city staff who handled his beverage permitting. And Vortex Doughnuts co-owner Ron Patton echoed those sentiments, stating that inspectors were thorough but fair and worked with him over a fairly normal term.

Still, crossing the planning hurdle is a fleeting victory for those who face more challenges during round two on-site inspections.

Originally posted here:
Permit pileup: Following the paper trail for Ashevilles growing food economy

Oct. 10, 2014, 4 a.m.

A NEW $4.4 million trade centre will operate across five sites in the Corangamite area giving students an opportunity to study closer to home.

A NEW $4.4 million trade centre will operate across five sites in the Corangamite area giving students an opportunity to study closer to home.

The project, to be launched next week, involves secondary schools at Cobden, Camperdown, Terang, Derrinallum and Timboon.

It initially attracted federal funding as the Corangamite Trade Training Centre in April last year, but has now been rebranded as the Corangamite Trades Skills Centre as part of a new government initiative.

The project will involve construction work across all schools, where existing facilities will be either extended or upgraded and new equipment installed.

It will create new workshops for automotive, building and construction and electro-technology classes at Cobden Technical School and facilities for hairdressing at Camperdown Colleges senior campus.

Terang Colleges senior campus will offer community services courses and a new sheep-shearing facility will be built at Derrinallum P-12 College for students enrolled in agriculture.

Timboon P-12 School will gain a new commercial kitchen for use by hospitality students and its existing engineering facility will also be refurbished.

The aim of the multi-site centre is to address skills shortages in agriculture and help meet local demand for qualified aged care and child care workers. Students will also be able to qualify as a carpenter, joiner, cook, electrician (general), fitter (general), hairdresser and motor mechanic (general).

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Five Corangamite schools to share $4.4m training centre