The fourth home, not the third, was actually the charm for Kim Taylor when she found the house in east Topeka she is spending her first holidays in as a new homeowner.

This is the one I was supposed to have, said Taylor, referring to her dark beige, ranch-style house she has owned since early May. Im so comfortable. I paid attention to wait for the right one.

Describing herself as very patient and very picky, Taylor said participating in the Topeka Opportunity to Own, known as TOTO, homebuyers program has been a blessing.

Owning my own home, she said, has been such a comfort to me. Im much happier here.

Taylor, who grew up in Tecumseh and provides comfort as a caregiver for Home Instead, an in-home service for seniors, said she was pre-qualified by the TOTO program for two years and had put offers that fell through at the last minute on three homes. However, when she looked at the three-bedroom house she now shares with her five-year-old white male cat named, Mr. Nelson, she knew it was the one.

It had good bones to it, Taylor said of the house built in the early 1960s. It had the kind of structure and layout that I wanted. It has just the right amount of yard space for me to garden.

Having gone through the TOTO program, created in the early 1990s by Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc., or HCCI, Taylor said she knew what parameters to work within to buy her own home. Some of the requirements include attending homebuyer classes, having a good credit history, providing a down payment of $500 and the selling price of the house cant be more than $65,000.

Once qualified, the TOTO participant is eligible to receive a $30,000 loan that Taylor describes as a soft second mortgage which is used to make the house code compliant and energy efficient. That could mean replacing the windows, water heater and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, of HVAC, system. If there is any money left over after making the necessary improvements from the initial $30,000, Taylor said that balance is applied to the mortgage, reducing the monthly house payments.

That was such a blessing, she said. That made my payment even more manageable.

Taylor said when she moved into her home last spring, one of the first projects was gutting the main bathroom which had a configuration she charitably described as being odd. She said the TOTO program paid for the bathroom remodel except for the bathtub.

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At Home Living: Fixing up a new home for the holidays

Even before the front door is opened - even before one climbs the outside steps of the Spinelli home in Riverton - the dazzle begins curbside.

The wraparound porch, the gazebo - and in this season, the lights and decorations - all suggest that something magical is unfolding.

This is an exceptional place in any season, but at Christmas, the pre-Victorian home takes on a glow with an aura of yesteryears that blur present and future.

The soaring ceilings, the woodwork, the fireplaces and arches and crown moldings all explain why 700 visitors poured in for a holiday tour sponsored by the Riverton Free Library last year.

The tale of how the Spinellis came to own the Second Empire period home is one of patience and persistence.

It was in 1986 that the couple, both educators - she at St. Joseph's University, he as a corrective reading specialist in South Jersey - first saw the home. Back then, it was almost completely hidden by overgrown shrubs.

"It was definitely not very inviting," Cathy recalls.

Still, they considered what the three-story house, divided into several apartments, could be as a unified whole.

But then they learned there was no high school in Riverton, and with four kids ages 4 to 10, it was a deal-breaker - at least for the moment. They bought it anyway, knowing that someday they would not be landlords with rental apartments.

Read the original post:
Wonder restored

LOUISDALE If Yvonne Sampson didnt have a prosthesis in her throat, silence would rule the little house she and her husband built 40 years ago.

Raymond Sampson is deaf and mute, and Yvonne had throat surgery more than four years ago after a bout with cancer.

Sampson, 76, was fitted with a voice-restoration prosthesis that allows her to talk, but it requires special cleaning and care several times a day.

Its pretty quiet now, said Sampson, pressing a finger to the stoma or hole in her throat.

The prosthesis in her neck essentially replaces her voice box, which was removed during a total laryngectomy.

If I didnt have that, you wouldnt hear me, she said.

The couples daughter, Janet Martell, was shown how to clean and care for the prosthesis just after the surgery in Halifax and was sent home to Richmond County to provide the daily care her mother needs.

She is worried about what could happen if her mother needs emergency care. There are no medical staff in Cape Breton or in the Guysborough Antigonish Strait health district trained to provide the specialized care needed for a throat prosthesis.

Martell works in a local kitchen three days a week and goes to her parents house before work, during breaks and after work to make sure her mother hasnt choked on a piece of food or had her airway blocked by infection or a buildup of blood.

See the article here:
Family needs help as Cape Breton woman fights cancer and silence

For home renovations, it seems theres no time like the present. With an improving economy and rising home value, now is as good a time as any to add that spare guest room or build the deck of your dreams.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, spending on home remodeling should surpass $145 billion this year. Thats the highest amount spent in eight years.

But before you pull out the wallet, Boston homeowners should know some of the unique aspects of renovating in our historic city.

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First of all, its important to know that renovation is different from preservation and restoration. Renovation means to update a building, leaving features that are of use in the buildings current function, according to Bostons Landmark Commission.

So if youre looking to renovate your home, the first step is to figure out whether your house is on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nations places worthy of preservation.

Jim Igoe is the executive director of Preservation Massachusetts, a nonprofit historic preservation organization. He said that if your house is on the register, you might want to consider renovating your home correctly, so that youre preserving its historic and cultural heritage. The title is honorary though, so historical preservation is up to you.

This could be as simple as repairing your windows rather than tearing them out and installing 21st century windows, or choosing to restore your original wood exterior, rather than getting aluminum or vinyl siding.

Unfortunately, just because your house is on the NRHP, that doesnt mean anyone will give you money to restore your house correctly, Igoe said. And keeping your renovation consistent with history can be time-consuming.

If your house isnt on the NRHP, it still might be located in a historic district. There are nine in Boston: Aberdeen, Back Bay, Bay State Road and Back Bay West, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Fort Point Channel, Mission Hill Triangle, St. Botolph, and South End. Each one has different rules.

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Renovating Your Home in Boston? Not So Fast.

For home renovations, it seems theres no time like the present. With an improving economy and rising home value, now is as good a time as any to add that spare guest room or build the deck of your dreams.

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, spending on home remodeling should surpass $145 billion this year. Thats the highest amount spent in eight years.

But before you pull out the wallet, Boston homeowners should know some of the unique aspects of renovating in our historic city.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

First of all, its important to know that renovation is different from preservation and restoration. Renovation means to update a building, leaving features that are of use in the buildings current function, according to Bostons Landmark Commission.

So if youre looking to renovate your home, the first step is to figure out whether your house is on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nations places worthy of preservation.

Jim Igoe is the executive director of Preservation Massachusetts, a nonprofit historic preservation organization. He said that if your house is on the register, you might want to consider renovating your home correctly, so that youre preserving its historic and cultural heritage. The title is honorary though, so historical preservation is up to you.

This could be as simple as repairing your windows rather than tearing them out and installing 21st century windows, or choosing to restore your original wood exterior, rather than getting aluminum or vinyl siding.

Unfortunately, just because your house is on the NRHP, that doesnt mean anyone will give you money to restore your house correctly, Igoe said. And keeping your renovation consistent with history can be time-consuming.

If your house isnt on the NRHP, it still might be located in a historic district. There are nine in Boston: Aberdeen, Back Bay, Bay State Road and Back Bay West, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Fort Point Channel, Mission Hill Triangle, St. Botolph, and South End. Each one has different rules.

More here:
Renovating in Boston? Not So Fast.

LOUISDALE If Yvonne Sampson didnt have a prosthesis in her throat, silence would rule the little house she and her husband built 40 years ago.

Raymond Sampson is deaf and mute, and Yvonne had throat surgery more than four years ago after a bout with cancer.

Sampson, 76, was fitted with a voice-restoration prosthesis that allows her to talk, but it requires special cleaning and care several times a day.

Its pretty quiet now, said Sampson, pressing a finger to the stoma or hole in her throat.

The prosthesis in her neck essentially replaces her voice box, which was removed during a total laryngectomy.

If I didnt have that, you wouldnt hear me, she said.

The couples daughter, Janet Martell, was shown how to clean and care for the prosthesis just after the surgery in Halifax and was sent home to Richmond County to provide the daily care her mother needs.

She is worried about what could happen if her mother needs emergency care. There are no medical staff in Cape Breton or in the Guysborough Antigonish Strait health district trained to provide the specialized care needed for a throat prosthesis.

Martell works in a local kitchen three days a week and goes to her parents house before work, during breaks and after work to make sure her mother hasnt choked on a piece of food or had her airway blocked by infection or a buildup of blood.

If my mother, God forbid, choked on something, shed die in less than five minutes, said Martell.

Go here to see the original:
A voice for Yvonne Sampson

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Dec-2014

Contact: Joe Miksch jmiksch@pitt.edu 412-624-4356 University of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH--A stream runs through it. A much nicer, healthier stream.

Pittsburgh's Frick Park is home to Nine Mile Run, a stream that had been known as "Stink Creek." From 2003 to 2006, the City of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers poured $7.7 million into restoring 2.2 miles of the stream and tributaries into waterways approximating what they were prior to urban development.

The project remains one of the largest urban-stream restorations undertaken in the United States.

What can this restoration teach us as we continue to deal with streams affected by urbanization?

The University of Pittsburgh's Dan Bain, assistant professor of hydrology and metal biogeochemistry in the Department of Geology and Planetary Science within the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, says the project has made a difference and sets an example for other cities to follow. The evidence is tallied in Bain's paper, "Characterizing a Major Urban Stream Restoration Project: Nine Mile Run," published this month in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association.

Nine Mile Run, which is part of a watershed that drains 6.5 square miles of Wilkinsburg, Edgewood, Swissvale, Forest Hills, Squirrel Hill, and Point Breeze, had been truly abused by urbanization and industrialization. Toxins leached into the creek from a slag heap left over from the steelmaking process, sewer lines discharged into the water, and so much of the waterway had been buried in culverts or diverted from its natural path that Nine Mile Run had become toxic.

The three-year restoration project involved rerouting the creek to a natural pathway, reestablishing flora, creating areas to catch floodwater, and building natural "slash piles" and "snags" from cut-down trees to create bird and animal habitats. It also involved infrastructure interventions: adding rain barrels to individual's homes, preventing some storm water from overwhelming the stream, and fixing parts of the underlying sewers.

See more here:
National model of restoration: Nine Mile Run

MANCHESTER In 1969, it was time for a makeover of the interior of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Manchester.

The liberalizing spirit of Vatican II was in the air, and then-Bishop Ernest J. Primeau decided that more than just church liturgy was going to change in his century-old cathedral building.

Out went the reredos, the elaborate, marble backdrop that featured heavenly directed spires and cubbyholes for statues of angels.

Paint brushes silenced intricate moldings and a starry night sky painted on the ceiling. The interior color scheme changed to tones of beige, light beige, and wooden pews.

All that is now changing.

For the last three months, an interior restoration has been underway at the home church of the Diocese of Manchester.

A wooden reredos has been salvaged from a shuttered South Boston church and installed where the original had stood. Stations of the Cross from the same church now hang on the cathedral walls.

And painters have added an ocean-blue color to the ceiling, rich shades of rose and gold to moldings, and a faux-marble pattern to church columns.

This is a tremendous gift for us. These are priceless, these are works of art, said the Rev. Msgr. Anthony Frontiero, rector of the Cathedral.

Work has been going on at the Cathedral for about three months. On Mondays, about a half-dozen workers under the direction of Marko Golumbovic lay drop cloths, plug in power tools, turn on rock n roll radio and start their work.

Read the original here:
A faithful restoration of a Manchester cathedral

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced funding worth 4.8million to different projects around the country.

Among the beneficiaries is a scheme to restore Moat Brae House in Dumfries, where Peter Pan creator JM Barrie played out pirate and castaway adventures in its 'Neverland' gardens.

In Barrie's words on the creation of his most famous story, his 'escapades in a certain Dumfries garden which is enchanted land to me, were certainly the genesis of that nefarious work'.

With the help of a 1.78million grant from HLF, an ambitious project will transform the house and its gardens into Scotland's first centre for children's literature and storytelling promoting creativity, imagination and play.

Actress Joanna Lumley, patron of the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust, welcomed the funding boost, saying: "This grant will make a sensational difference to Moat Brae and the plans for the future of the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust.

"It means that we can now move swiftly towards our goals of restoring the house and garden in readiness for its role in the literary life of children in Scotland.

"Our aims are to nurture the memories of past writers and to encourage the emergence of new young talent: to respect our extraordinary literary inheritance and to enable children's imaginations to fly, like Peter Pan. What a thrilling piece of good news. "

The funding will also pay for the restoration of Campbeltown Picture House, one of the first purpose-built cinemas in Scotland.

A grant of 1.1million has been earmarked to repair its Glasgow School Art Nouveau design and add new contemporary facilities, including a second auditorium and a new caf bar.

From its origins in the silent movie days in 1913 through to the modern day and digital technologies the Picture House has provided an invaluable service to Campbeltown and Kintyre cinemagoers.

See the original post here:
Peter Pan creator's childhood home gets lottery cash boost

Washington D.C., Dec. 12, 2014

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced securities fraud charges against the owner of a home restoration business in upstate New York who sold unsecured notes to investors to finance his real estate operations.

The SEC alleges that David Fleet misrepresented or failed to disclose a number of key facts to investors in Cornerstone Homes Inc., which was in the business of buying and restoring distressed single family homes to sell or rent to low-income customers. For example, investors were told that the company did not use bank financing during time periods when Fleet was heavily reliant on mortgaging to banks virtually all of the homes that Cornerstone was purchasing with investor money.

The SEC further alleges that as the business began to deteriorate during a downturn in the real estate market, Fleet failed to inform his investors as he decided to secretly invest Cornerstones funds in the stock options market in an effort to keep the companys finances afloat. Fleet lost between $3 million and $4 million of the approximately $6 million that he invested. Ironically, this allegedly occurred soon after Fleet sent newsletters to investors, many of them senior citizens, warning that investing in the stock market was risky and they would be better off investing their money in Cornerstone. Fleet continued to raise money from investors without telling them that he was using their investments in his company to unsuccessfully invest in the stock market. Cornerstone eventually filed for bankruptcy.

Fleet concealed the true state of finances at Cornerstone Homes and essentially tricked investors into funding his efforts to save his company by investing in the stock market that he had otherwise told them was too risky, said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SECs New York Regional Office.

The SECs complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, alleges that Fleet violated the registration and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks financial remedies and a permanent injunction against Fleet, who resides in Beaver Dams, N.Y.

The SECs investigation was conducted by Neal Jacobson and Patricia Schrage of the New York Regional Office, and they will lead the litigation. The case is supervised by Alistaire Bambach. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Office of the United States Trustee for Region 2.

Link:
SEC Files Securities Fraud Charges Against Owner of Home Restoration Business in Upstate New York