SAN DIEGO - No one was hurt after a boulder -- which came from a rock quarry nearly a half-mile away -- struck a Tierrasanta home on Thursday.

Bianca Bushnull was inside her home in the 11400 block of Madera Rosa Way when the giant projectile hit her house.

"I thought we were having an earthquake or something like that, and then I heard like a big, big pop," Bushnull said. "It could kill people, and it's dirt. I mean, imagine if it was a rock... would any of this stuff still be here?"

10News learned the "earthquake" that Bushnull described was from a blast at a quarry on Mission Gorge Road.

The boulder, which was the size of a bowling ball, blasted through stucco, metal wiring and drywall after shattering the corner of a recycling bin.

Escondido-based Superior Ready Mix has explosions in the quarry all of the time. The company uses rocks to make concrete and asphalt, and they contract out.

10News learned Jones Services, out of Alpine, was the company that set off the blast. A company representative came to Bushnull's neighborhood to look for damage and also spoke to Bushnull after the incident.

"[He] said that he had been looking for damage because he actually saw the rocks fly," said Bushnull.

No other homes or neighborhoods reported any damage from the launched rocks.

"I don't know; what if we would have been outside? I guess that's the biggest question. What if I would have been outside?" said Bushnull.

Excerpt from:
Quarry blast sends boulder into home

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Storms rolled through the bluegrass on Friday night and at one point, the heavy rain closed multiple roads and lightning had stop lights across Lexington out of order.

Heavy lightning struck down throughout the city. A lightning strike caused some damage to one Lexington home on Blue Ash Drive, off Harrodsburg Road.

Firefighters say that lightning traveled into the home, blowing off a few shingles and setting some insulation to smoldering. The man who lives there called firefighters before it could get out of hand.

"(There was) light damage to the home, basically just his duct work and some wiring that was in the attic crawl space," says Major Jason Walton, with the Lexington Fire Department.

Police say the traffic lights at about 20 different intersections were affected, some flashing, some out all together.

The heavy rain also caused problems. Leestown road near Dolan Lane had to be closed when the water began to rise where the road goes under a set of train tracks.

Police say they had one car stall out. They also had to deal with some tractor trailers turning on that section of the road.

Lexington police say they expect Leestown Road to be closed for several more hours. They say they're used to it flooding and that water is slow to recede.

Are you in the area? Do you have any information, pictures or video to share with WKYT? You can email us at iWitness@wkyt.com, find us on Facebook by searching for WKYT, or send a message to @WKYT on Twitter.

Originally posted here:
Lightning strikes home, power out in Lexington storm

BANGOR, Maine Work is continuing on upgrades to Cameron Stadium, home of the Bangor High School football team and numerous other local athletic entities.

After playing all their home games on Saturday afternoons last season while the stadiums electrical and lighting system was being upgraded, the Rams will play all home games under the lights this fall, beginning with the September 12 contest against Scarborough.

The new lighting was turned on for the first time last spring and is ready to go, said Bangor High School athletic administrator Steve Vanidestine. With the stadiums electrical needs now linked to the adjacent William S. Cohen School rather than connected to the power grid separately like the previous light system, the school department that operates the facility will save an estimated $20,000 per year in demand fees.

Vanidestine said the return to Friday night home games would be beneficial on several fronts, among them the fact that the high school team wont have to compete for fans on Saturday afternoons with University of Maine and Husson University home games, and it will allow players to have some additional weekend rest on both Saturdays and Sundays after Friday night home games rather than playing those games on Saturdays.

Bangor is scheduled to play just one Saturday afternoon regular-season game this season, that on Oct. 18 at Cheverus of Portland.

Coach Mark Hacketts Rams, who finished 5-5 and reached the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals last fall in the first season of the Maine Principals Associations new four-class format, open their 2014 campaign at Edward Little of Auburn on Sept. 5. After hosting Scarborough the following week, Bangor faces back-to-back road trips to Portland for games Sept. 19 at Deering and Sept. 26 at Portland High School.

Bangor then plays three of its final four regular-season contests in the Queen City, beginning with home dates against Windham on Oct. 3 and Lewiston on Oct. 10.

After traveling to Cheverus, the Rams will conclude the regular season with their homecoming game against Oxford Hills of South Paris on Oct. 24.

By the time Bangor hosts Windham, new restroom facilities should be completed and operational just behind the year-old main grandstand at the stadium.

Vanidestine said all the preparation work involving plumbing, wiring and electricity has been completed, with the end of September serving as the target date for completion of the building.

See the article here:
Bangor football team to resume playing night home games

If you want blazing fast speeds and the ability to multitask with all your devices, nothing beats a wired network. This week, Tech Talker explains all the steps you need to set up your own home wired network, from cabling, to design, to the finishing touches.

This week's episode was inspired byTech Talkerlisteners Mike and Bill.

In a previous podcast, I talked aboutswitches, routers, hubs, and bridges. In that episode I mentioned why having a wired home network would be extremely useful. Say you wanted to stream movies, home videos, share files, orback upall of your computers to your home network. Well, you can do that.

Mike and Bill both wanted to know more. So that's why today,I'll be covering just how to go about wiring your house withCat6internet cabling so that you can have an ultra fast wired home network of your own.

Step #1: Design Your Network First things first - you'll need to decide how many rooms you want to run your wired internet through. This will determine much of your price, because it will dictate how many feet of cable you'll need to buy.

> Continue reading on QuickAndDirtyTips.com

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How to Create a Wired Network at Home

Severe summer storms terrorized Okotoks last week as at least three buildings and one tree was hit with lightning during the evening of Aug 14.

Stuart Donaldson was surprised when he came home and found his maple ash tree in the backyard of his Downey Green house split right down the middle. His neighbour Don Gilbert found splinters from the tree on his deck two doors down.

I found a piece over by my barbecue. We heard it but we didnt know what happened, it was so close and we came and checked it out and just saw it, there was debris over by our house, Gilbert said. It was an explosion, Ive never heard anything like that.

Okotoks Fire Department responded to three lightning related calls during the storm a business that was struck on McRae Street, a house on Crystal Shores, and a house that was hit in Drake Landing. The first two received no damage, but the Drake Landing home received extensive damage including an attic fire.

Owner Chuck Shields wasnt home at the time, but his 19-year-old son Spencer was. Shields said his neighbour was watching the storm and saw Shields Drake Landing house get hit.

My neighbour sent a photo three or four seconds after it hit and the house was already starting to smoulder, Shields said.

Fortunately, another neighbour quickly came over and knocked on the door to alert Spencer to get out of the house, as he was in the basement and hadnt initially realized the house was on fire.

He didnt know because he couldnt smell anything, Chuck said. He did exactly what he was told to do, grabbed the dog and grabbed his phone and was out of the house in 20 seconds.

The familys bird was also rescued by firefighters who were on site quickly and were able to contain the fire to the attic. In addition to the fire, the bolt blew out a light in the master bathroom and travelled through the wiring, erupting out of a bar fridge in the basement.

Okotoks Deputy Fire Chief Pat MacIsaac said the department has responded to a few other lightning strikes this summer, and each year its something theyve come to expect.

See original here:
Lightning ignites attic of Drake Landing home

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Criminals are stopping one mans fight against blight in Binghampton.

He was hoping if he fixed one home, there would be a domino effect.

I had a vision. I saw potential in this property, said Deon Spight.

Some people told him it would never work, that he was crazy to invest in any home on Carpenter. Now, hes starting to agree.

Spight said when he first bought the home last year, things went great. He slowly fixed up the place.

In the last few months, however, thieves stripped the aluminum siding, yanked what was left of the copper wiring, and even stole the Azalea bushes lining the walkway.

If thats not enough, Spight said he picks up beer cans and drug paraphernalia in the yard daily.

Anything that is not bolted down, they will come back and try to steal, he said.

Spight said he called police over and over again, and even filed three reports.

Memphis police told WREG they went to the home three times last week, but didnt mention if they are close to catching who did it.

Read more:
Criminals stop a mans fight against blight in Binghampton

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -

One of the fastest growing communities in St. Johns County has been faced with thieves.Construction crews in Nocatee have reported burglars to the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office and the crooks are breaking into homes that are under construction and stealing what they can.

The St. Johns County Sheriffs Office told News4Jax Tuesday that the constant construction in Nocatee is making it a target for thieves.

"You don't have the neighborhood watch, you don't have the people looking out for other people and you also have some of these homes being left unlocked, being left in different stages of completion, and so you have valuables there," said St. Johns Countys Kevin Kelshaw.

News4Jax found four different home construction sites in the Nocatee area that have been burglarized.On Park Lake Drive, a built-in oven, cooktop, kitchen cabinets and two microwaves were stolen from a home under construction.

On Magnolia Creek Walk, burglars stole a washer and dryer and thieves struck twice on Hiller Lane, stealing $4,000 worth of lath metal, a metal wiring used in home construction.

"Metal lath is not traceable, there's not a serial number or anything like that on it," said contractor Daniel Wilkinson."There's no way to identify it. It's like a package of shingles that you would buy for a roof. There's no identification other than each individual piece and it's very easy to sell."

Wilkinson said thieves often turn around and sell the lath metal to other contractors for half the price and with little to no evidence to go off of.

"We urge people to keep that in mind when you are locking up a house, securing a house, keep it locked, keep it secured and don't give a bad guy an opportunity to steal from you," said Kelshaw.

"Its very tough to make it, so anything you battle against, especially a thief, is hard to deal with and makes you angry," said Wilkinson.

Original post:
Appliances, metal stolen from home construction sites

Provided by Networx.com

Getting ready to remodel your home involves a great deal of planning deciding how best to use the space, clarifying your budget, designing the project, and (the fun part!) choosing colors and materials. In the midst of all these preparations, remember to give adequate attention to revamping your electrical system. Planning and installing electric wiring and equipment is a complex business. It must be carefully done to protect the safety of both the building and its occupants. The National Electric Code has set the standard for electrical safety in the US for over a century, helping to shape state and local building codes. When you are planning to remodel, work with a licensed electrical contractor who is expert in all the ins and outs of the NEC.

What is the NEC?

The NEC (National Electric Code) is a list of standards governing the safe installation of electrical wiring and other equipment in the United States. Since its first appearance in 1897, updates of the NEC have been published every three years. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes the NEC as part of its comprehensive fire codes. While the National Electric Code is not an actual law itself, but rather a collection of guidelines intended to safeguard against burns, shocks, and electrocution, it is legally binding. Whats more, many state and local jurisdictions have passed laws requiring that the NEC be followed in electrical installations for both new construction and remodels.

Pro electrician

The NEC specifically states that it is not intended to be used as an instruction manual. And when printed out, the complete text of the Code runs to some 1000 pages in length. What this means in practical terms is that in-depth study of the NEC is necessary to understand how to implement its requirements. Apprentice electricians are required to demonstrate a thorough theoretical and practical familiarity with the NEC in order to obtain their license. A licensed professional electrician in your area is the best person to implement the requirements and ensure that your home remodel is up to current local code. In addition to his or her expertise, a pro electrician has the knowledge to come up with ideas that will save you money and hassle.

Keeping up with the NEC

The 2014 edition of the National Electric Code contains some important new changes to reflect recent advances in technology. For example, the volt threshold was increased from 600 to 1000 in order to safely accommodate new sources of electricity such as photo-voltaic and wind generation systems. Areas where GFCIs (Ground Fault Circuit interrupters, which protect against electric shocks, burns, and electrocution) are required have been extended to include residential dishwasher branch circuits and 125 volt single phase 15 and 20 ampere receptacles in apartment or condo laundry rooms. Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) are now required in home kitchens to protect against fires caused by electrical leakage from damaged wiring.

What not to do

TRUE STORY: I once visited a home (outside of the USA) that had recently been remodeled by its owner. With brand new flooring, fresh paint, and a lavishly updated kitchen, the place looked great. But when I asked the homeowner what he'd had done to upgrade the old electrical system, he replied, Oh, I didn't touch that ... I had my hands full enough with the decorating. This kind of attitude is not only lazy, its asking for trouble from worn-out wiring. In the United States, the National Electric Code spells out how to safely design and install electrical systems to avoid dangers to life, limb, and property. As a legally binding document, the NEC carries civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance. Make sure that your home remodel is in compliance, for your safety's sake.

Continued here:
The NEC and your home remodel

Four years after a Tesla employee's plane plummeted into an East Palo Alto neighborhood, destroying Lisa Jones' home and child care center, residents of Atherton and dozens of community volunteers have stepped forward to rebuild Jones' home and life.

Ms. Jones' family members barely escaped when the twin-engine Cessna slammed into their bedrooms on the morning of Feb. 17, 2010. Since then, she has struggled while others in her Beech Street neighborhood have been able to recover.

When a lawsuit that settled in July 2013 did not give her enough money to rebuild, Maryan Ackley, a longtime friend and Atherton resident, started to raise funds to rebuild her home.

Now the project, which began in November, is nearly completed. On Aug. 11, Ebcon Corporation construction workers were putting the finishing touches on the neat, beige-and-white home.

"I've known Lisa since our kids were in kindergarten together 12 years ago," Ms. Ackley said. "Our kids were friends, and we were friends. When the accident first happened, I stayed close to Lisa. When it became apparent that the settlement wouldn't be enough, I reached out to the Sacred Heart Schools community" for help.

Pacific Peninsula Group, a real-estate development firm cofounded by Ms. Ackley's husband, Stephen, became a corporate sponsor for the effort, which tapped into subcontractors who supplied in-kind donations.

Dollinger Properties executive David Dollinger put up a $125,000 matching grant, which gave impetus to the community fundraising, according to Ms. Ackley.

The nonprofit Rebuilding Together Peninsula, with which Ms. Ackley has been active for many years, agreed to get involved. Scads of local businesses and contractors also donated money, materials and time.

"It really was a labor of love for a lot of people," Ms. Ackley said.

Chalk messages on the pavement in front of Jones' home attest to that affection.

Continued here:
Volunteers rebuild plane-crash victim's home

TACOMA (AP) A sheriffs deputy found two bodies in a home in the Tacoma suburb of Frederickson Sunday, and authorities detained four people for questioning.

Pierce County sheriffs spokesman Jerry Bates says it is unclear yet how the two people died or who they were.

The four people detained were found in a vehicle associated with the house where the bodies were found.

The News Tribune reported Sunday night that a 40-year-old man had been taken into custody in what the Sheriffs Department described as the homicides of two men, 22 and 66.

The News Tribune reports that experts from the Sheriffs Department were called to examine a possible booby trap in the home. Bates later said that investigators believe that the suspicious wiring connected to an outbuilding may be part of an old marijuana grow.

The bodies were found around 8:30 a.m. Sunday by a deputy who was doing a routine address check on a sex offender.

Frederickson is about 20 miles south of Tacoma.

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Deputy finds 2 bodies in home south of Tacoma; 4 people detained