JOHOR BARU: THERE are numerous pre-war buildings in the state's capital city and each has an interesting history behind it.

Johor is made up of 10 districts which include Johor Baru, Batu Pahat, Kluang, Kulaijaya, Muar, Kota Tinggi, Segamat, Pontian, Ledang and Mersing.

Johor residents often refer to the state's capital city Johor Baru, as "bandar".

Historians tell us that the Johor Sultanate ruled over Johor, which was then known as Jauhar, since the 14th century.

Johor originated from the Arabic word jauhar, which meant gem or jewel.

Johor Baru was then known as Tanjung Puteri, or the Princess's Cape.

Johor Baru survived and succeeded even during the British colonialism in 1914 and the Japanese occupation in 1942.

Johor is also known for its people who are multicultural, with different beliefs, and religions, but work as a unit, otherwise known as Bangsa Johor.

Evidence of this unity is the houses of worship in the capital city.

One of the most unique and beautiful houses of worship is the Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, which was constructed between 1892 and 1900.

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Jewels in Johor's landscape

Yekaterina Kravtsova / MT

One particularly picturesque hill incentral Sochi is being transformed intothe new Svetlana district, anarea being built up with prestigious apartment buildings that offer aspectacular view ofthe sea.

But most ofthe buildings still remain uninhabited, while those who live there are woken up bythe sounds ofdrills every morning.

Alocal pensioner, Sergei Ivanovich, said he had lived inthis part ofSochi his whole life andthings have changed drastically.

"I remember when this hill was blooming with aparadise ofgardens, where huge oranges andsweet-smelling mandarins grew," he said.

I met Sergei Ivanovich, who gave only his first name andpatronymic but declined tosay his last name, when I was going home one dark Sochi evening andgot lost. He said he would help me find my way and, despite his old age, he climbed up thehill with buoyant steps. Forthe rest ofour journey, he regaled me with incredible andmaybe tall tales.

He cast aglance atthe road that had been blocked forPresident Vladimir Putin's arrival intown, Kurortny Prospect, forcing both traffic andpedestrians towait forthe Russian leader's cortege topass.

"We have seen everyone here: Stalin, Brezhnev, Andropov, Yeltsin, everyone spent their vacation inSochi," Sergei Ivanovich said, adding that security forthe Soviet leaders was not as strict as it later became forRussia's leaders.

When former Russian President Boris Yeltsin came toSochi, he said, there were six lines ofsecurity along thestreet, andarmed officers sat inthe bushes.

"All pedestrians were prohibited fromwalking along thestreet, andwhen anold woman continued towalk down thestreet anyway, anofficer ran out andtold her that he would use his gun if she did not stop. I remember, I looked ather hands, which she was using tohold onto her cane, andthey were white because she was clutching thecane so tightly infear ofmaking asingle move," Sergei Ivanovich said.

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The Old Man and the Hill

Locals pile into an old American car as the group cycles through a village in the Sierra Maestra mountains

Cuba is bigger than you think, only slightly smaller than England, with a population of 11.2 million. The entire trip would cover around 1,200 miles, of which we would cycle 400 miles, with the rest made up by transfers in our mini bus. For the entire fortnight we would have one bus following us, ready to assist with punctures or tired legs, while another bus (carrying our bags) would race on to the first checkpoint and the driver would start chopping up pineapple, papaya and guava for snacks. On the bus transfers our guide Lazaro De La Maza, a 30-year-old Cuban, talked proudly about the island and its history and answered our increasingly discourteous questions. How much is the average monthly wage? (10-20 CUCs about 6-12). How much do you get paid? (18 CUCs).

The biggest mental challenge was getting used to a communist country. The hotels are state owned. The restaurants are mostly state owned (although this is changing). The banks are state owned. We would pass something and I would ask Laz, is this owned by the government? He would nod wearily. Even Laz was an employee of the state. Although our group holiday was booked through Exodus, a UK-based travel company, on the ground it was run by Cubana, a state-owned travel company. Despite this Laz was startlingly honest, explaining the quirks and idiosyncrasies of his country. (Showing us his ID cards Cubans must carry three at all times we smirked at the picture of our normally Lycra-clad guide in a suit and tie. I dont actually own a suit, but they can Photoshop one on for you, he said. In a cafe in Havana, I saw a smartly dressed woman being asked for her ID by a policeman. When she didnt have it she was led away.)

I had been warned about the food. While the Cuban embassys website promised eating in Cuba is an exciting and rich experience, Laz was more realistic. Youre not here to have a gastronomic journey, he said. It was true that in lots of state-run restaurants the food was overcooked and there were limited choices (fish, chicken or pork with rice and beans). But it wasnt as bad as I had been told; in some of the new private restaurants it was outstanding.

Spending six hours a day on a bicycle, I found myself continually wondering about the system of government. Apart from the lack of creativity in the kitchen Cubans suffered from having no free press, no free elections and limited chance for self-improvement. But the island has a world-class health system life expectancy is high at 78 years; education, including university, is free; and no one is starving thanks to government rations of rice, sugar, salt and oil. I came home to stories of one million people accessing food banks in Britain over Christmas.

Outside the bigger towns we noticed fewer and fewer cars until all that was left were sun-baked farmers whipping their skinny carthorses; their carts were made up from different sized wheels and patched together with spare planks. The fields were full of sugar cane, thick and high, a reminder of Cubas agricultural history. We stopped for a break at an old plantation that had a monument to the former slaves outside the crumbling mansion.

It only struck me on that third day that there was no advertising anywhere. The billboards had party slogans or quotes from Fidel or Che. (At the top of one particularly punishing hill a sign saying, siempre se puede mas You can always do more was galling.) The graffiti, instead of being counter culture, was about the revolution: CUBA LIBRE, VIVA FIDEL.

The life of the peasant farmers was apparently what changed most after the revolution. Castros agrarian reform laws sought to break up large landholdings and redistribute the land to the peasants who worked it, co-operatives and the state. Farmers apply for a plot of land and are obliged to sell 80 per cent of coffee and cocoa back to the government at a set price. The rest, along with meat, eggs and fruit, they can sell for a profit.

Later in the trip we went on a walking tour in the middle of the Sierra Maestra mountain range to a hamlet of farms. Roberto, an 85-year-old farmer with milky eyes and a shuffle proudly showed us his home. The living area was decorated with tiny china ornaments, and behind a curtain were two double beds and a single. We sat at a table with a bleached white cloth while his wife made coffee on a stove. Ricardo, a local guide, told us that Castro had brought electricity and running water to these remote villages. Before the revolution people like this had no life, now they have a farm, freedom and can make a profit legally. People here have a better life than those in the city.

It depended, it seemed, on which city. From the Bay of Pigs we cycled on to Cienfuegos, the industrial capital of the island and a rich-looking town. Unlike Havana the huge colonial buildings gleamed with fresh paint. Why was there this difference? Because the people organise collective restoration projects. The residents have pride here, Laz said.

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Cycling through the revolutionary landscape of Cuba

Few remnants of the town's agricultural past remain in Greenfield Hill, which is dotted now with manicured lawns and high-end houses rather than farms and working fields.

Those reminders that do remain are visible in the northern section of town: The Greenfield Hill Grange Hall on Hillside Road and Greenfield Farm just around the corner on Congress Street. Sandwiched between the two is a ranch-style house at 1893 Hillside Road, and its owners are grateful for proximity to both agricultural amenities.

While grocery stores are not quite as far away as one might guess, the great advantage of living in this neighborhood is that fresh, seasonal produce, free-range eggs, artisan bread and other foods are easily accessible without having to travel more than a few footsteps. The Greenfield Hill Grange, one of the oldest in the nation, hosts a weekly farmers' market every Saturday in winter months, and the family-owned Greenfield Farm, the last operating produce farm in the town, has fresh produce available at its roadside stand generally from July through October.

Entrance to the 1.02-acre, largely level property is marked by stone columns topped with lanterns on the fieldstone wall that runs the length of the front property along the street. The stone wall is topped with white picket fencing. The paved driveway, lined in Belgian block, gently slopes to the three-car attached garage, and a slate path leads to the covered front entrance, which is punctuated by columns and sidelights.

The house was built in 1950 and underwent a complete renovation in 2000. It has 2,996 square feet of living space comprising one-level living with an open floor plan. The formal dining room is to the right of the foyer. It features Wainscoting on the lower walls, wallpaper on the upper portion, and chair rail. A double mahogany inlaid wood border in the oak floor frames the room.

A door provides access from the dining room into the eat-in section of the kitchen. This is really a separate breakfast room. It has a bay window wall, window seat, built-in desk area, and the same ceramic tile floor as the kitchen. Features in the kitchen include a granite-topped center island, granite counters and backsplash, double stainless steel sink, and custom cabinetry with glass-front doors. The center island has built-in drawers, cabinets and wine rack. Stainless steel appliances include a Kenmore four-burner range top, and GE Profile refrigerator, dishwasher and double wall ovens.

Off the kitchen is a mudroom with the same ceramic flooring, laundry room, office, access to the garage and a door to a small wood deck and the backyard. The laundry room has a deep utility sink, closet and cabinets.

The heart of the house is the family room on the opposite side of the kitchen. It has a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace with a hand-hewn beam mantle, a large bay window with a window seat, built-in bookshelves, and a wet bar area with granite counters, cabinets and beverage refrigerator. This room also features doors that flank the fireplace, both leading to a large wood deck at the center rear of the house.

The deck can also be accessed from the master bedroom suite. There are also French doors in the master that access the wrap around side, covered porch. The master bath has a white ceramic tile floor with an inlaid border of green marble and a double vanity with the same marble, shower and jetted tub.

Two other bedrooms share a Jack and Jill-style bath, and one of them has a door to the side porch.

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On the market: Bucolic pleasures abound in Greenfield Hill ranch

Every week until the 86th Oscars on March 2, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter's lead awards analyst, Scott Feinberg, will post an updated "Feinberg Forecast," wherein he presents a summary of major developments since the last update that helped to shape his current opinions, and then lists his revised projections. For more about Feinberg and how he arrives at his projections, as well as an acronyms key, scroll to the bottom of this post.

The week ahead:

The week that was:

Without further ado, here is the forecast...

BEST PICTURE Nominees 1. 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight, 10/18, R, trailer) PGA, HFPA, BFCA, AFI, BSFC, TIFF, SAG, DGA, IFP, BAFTA, FI, ACE, ADG, ASC, CDG 2. Gravity (Warner Bros., 10/4, PG-13, trailer) DGA, PGA, AFI, LAFCA (tie), HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, ASC, CAS, VES 3. American Hustle (Sony, 12/13, TBA, trailer) SAG, AFI, NYFCC, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, CDG 4. The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount, 12/25, R, trailer) AFI, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, ACE, ADG 5. Philomena (The Weinstein Co., TBA, TBA, trailer) HFPA, BAFTA, FI, CDG 6. Captain Phillips (Sony, 10/11, PG-13, trailer) AFI, DGA, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, BAFTA, ACE, ADG, ASC, CAS, VES 7. Nebraska (Paramount, 11/22, R, trailer) AFI, PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA,FI, ACE, ASC, CDG 8. Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features, 11/1, R, trailer) SAG, PGA, BFCA, WGA, CDG 9. Her (Warner Bros., 12/18, TBA, trailer) AFI, NBR, LAFCA (tie), PGA, HFPA, BFCA, WGA, ACE, ADG, CDG

BEST DIRECTOR Nominees 1. Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) DGA, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA, NYFCO, BAFTA 2. Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) NYFCC, BSFC, DGA, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 3. David O. Russell (American Hustle) DGA, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 4. Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) DGA, BFCA, BAFTA 5. Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

BEST LEADING ACTOR Nominees 1. Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, IFP, HFA, FI 2. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) HFPA, BAFTA 3. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) BSFC, NYFCO, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, IFP, BAFTA, FI 4. Bruce Dern (Nebraska) NBR, LAFCA, CAN, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 5. Christian Bale (American Hustle) HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA

BEST LEADING ACTRESS Nominees 1. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA (tie), NYFCC, NSFC, BSFC, NYFCO, IFP, BAFTA, FIBAFTA 2. Judi Dench (Philomena) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 3. Amy Adams (American Hustle) SAG, HFPA, BAFTA 4. Sandra Bullock (Gravity) HFA, SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 5. Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) SAG, HFPA, BFCA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Projected Nominees 1. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, LAFCA (tie), NYFCC, NYFCO, FI 2. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA, FI 3. Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA 4. Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) 5. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) SAG, HFPA, BFCA, BAFTA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Projected Nominees 1. Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) SAG, BFCA, LAFCA, NYFCO, HFPA, BAFTA, FI 2. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) HFPA, NYFCC, NSFC, SAG, BFCA, BAFTA 3. June Squibb (Nebraska) BSFC, SAG, BFCA, HFPA, FI 4. Julia Roberts (August: Osage County) HFA, SAG, BFCA, HFPA, BAFTA 5. Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) HFPA, BAFTA, FI

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FEINBERG FORECAST: Oscars Landscape in the Home Stretch

January 31, 2014 - Pacific Coast League (PCL) Round Rock Express ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express and Ryan Sanders Sports Turf Services have finalized plans to rebuild the Oak Hill Youth Sports Association (OHYSA) baseball and softball fields that were left damaged by the severe flooding in October.

The Express, their Turf Services counterpart, along with help from Diamond Pro, Fenske Sand Gravel, the Houston Astros, Jack Allen's Kitchen, the Nolan Ryan Foundation, the Perfect Mound, Sunbelt Rentals, the Texas Rangers Foundation and Whittlesey Landscape Supplies have agreed to rebuild the field surfaces on seven fields at the complex: five baseball diamonds and two softball fields. The baseball fields will receive a new infield and sideline sod and all fields will receive new skinned clay areas.

Since the flooding, OHYSA has hosted several fundraisers throughout the community to cover the cost to repair the damaged fields, but was still short of the total needed.

"We're happy to be able to pull together with some of our partners and help bridge the fundraising gap to get these field repairs done for the players, coaches and families of Oak Hill," said Express CEO Reese Ryan.

Repairs will start Monday, February 3 and are expected to be done in time for the association's spring league.

The Express kicks off their 15th season on Thursday, April 3 against the Oklahoma City RedHawks. For more information on the Express, visit http://www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook and Twitter !

Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

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Round Rock Express Finalizes Plans to Rebuild Oak Hill Fields

BERKELEY

In post-apocalyptic films featuring the fight-to-the-finish Thunderdome, an audience chants the arenas guiding principle, Two men enter, one man leaves. In many ways, the ongoing Thunderdome Debates initiated last fall at the University of California, Berkeleys College of Environmental Design (CED) borrow from the movies, but theres no steel cage. And if anyone is left behind, its only figuratively.

The Thunderdome Debates stake out their own special purposes and rules. Theres no blood, just verbal sparring by two leading minds in landscape architecture and environmental planning one man and one woman who face off in Wurster Hall in front of an audience comprised mostly of well-mannered students looking for more than the typical and too-often-sleepy expert presentations.

My take-over-the-world goal is to re-position Berkeley at the center of debates in this field, since theres broad interest in the big topics well discuss, quipped Kristina Hill, an associate professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning and Thunderdome Debates mastermind.

Kristina Hill

Moderator Kristina Hill to Julie Bargmann:

What pisses you off about starting with form instead of process?

Bargmann: Thats actually why I left sculpture. I was making objects, and gravitated more and more towards making installations it is just that kind of, you know, object-making. Objectification. Thats the thing that burns my ass

Kristina Hill to Walter Hood:

Are there aspects of all this process stuff that piss you off?

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Open for debate: teaching Thunderdome style

Landscape architect Len Zickler, a principal in the Spokane office of Tacoma-based AHBL Inc., says the company is seeing more requests to design environmentally friendly infrastructure to manage stormwater drainage.

He expects this approach, called low-impact development, to increase in demand.

Since 2010, he says the AHBL office has worked on four Spokane projects with significant environmental sustainability features. The latest design work is for an upcoming $2.5 million project to replace an asphalt median ditch between lanes on Country Homes Boulevard with a mile of buried pipe covered by soils and native plants to absorb much of the runoff from storms.

I believe in the next 10 years well see a significant shift toward the application of these technologies, says Zickler, who during his 23-year AHBL tenure has consulted with more than 40 cities and counties in Washington state on how to apply low-impact development techniques.

One problem we see at the outset is there arent many people familiar with the concepts, but expertise is on the rise, Zickler adds. Were seeing more contractors and developers who are getting more familiar with the concepts and asking for them. Fortunately, more individual engineers in Spokane are familiar with low-impact development, and more are beginning to embrace it.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines low-impact development, or green infrastructure, as building techniques that work environmentally to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. Zickler says the most effective approach is distributing clusters of stormwater management techniques across a property.

The techniques do a much better job if they are smaller scale and distributed, he says.

Largely, the practices include installing drainage systems designed with specific plants and soils to absorb runoff more effectively. Other methods include installing rooftop gardens, pervious pavement areas that enable water to percolate into gravel underneath, and container collection systems to capture precipitation for eventual irrigation use. Additionally, properties can have clusters of small storm gardens with plants and soils to filter runoff, as well as plant-soil bioretention swales that are similar in function to traditional grassy swales.

While AHBL isnt involved in Greenstone Corp.s ongoing Kendall Yards mixed-use development northwest of downtown, Zickler applauds that project for applying a number of green infrastructure techniques, including a drainage system to handle stormwater with park-like open spaces.

He contends that consumers who want to live in such neighborhoods and cities with sustainable features also are affecting the trend here and in other parts of the state.

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Low-impact development said to be in higher demand

Food Stamp mistake costs Catawba Co. woman Food Stamp mistake costs Catawba Co. woman

Updated: Monday, January 27 2014 8:46 PM EST2014-01-28 01:46:08 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, January 29 2014 12:56 PM EST2014-01-29 17:56:25 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, January 29 2014 8:52 AM EST2014-01-29 13:52:43 GMT

Updated: Tuesday, January 28 2014 10:26 PM EST2014-01-29 03:26:25 GMT

Updated: Wednesday, January 29 2014 9:47 AM EST2014-01-29 14:47:17 GMT

Between January 24th and 26th this year, the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center will be full of the latest and greatest ideas for your home and your yard.

At the Greater Charlotte Home and Landscape Show you can learn how to spruce up your home and landscape yourself or you can find the perfect person to do it for you.

Appearing through the weekend are the stars of Animal Planet's show Tanked! - Wayde King and Brett Raymer. Fans of the show know their wild and massive fish tank projects.

Wayde and Brett visited WBTV News Saturday Morning to talk about the TV show and their appearance here in Concord.

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Stars of "Tanked" to visit Home and Landscape show

Periods of lingering snow have formed a welcome blanket for shivering if drowsy flower buds this winter, and the snow has also provided a brilliant backdrop for big shrubs and small trees.

These woodies are at their least showy in deep winter, but they invite study of the textures and patterns of their bark along with the ornament of last years lingering pods and this years swelling buds. They catch the eye mostly, though, with their silhouettes in the landscape. The snow draws starker outlines.

Adrian Higgins

Adrian Higgins has been writing about the intersection of gardening and life for more than 25 years, and joined the Post in 1994. He is the author of several books, including the Washington Post Garden Book and Chanticleer, a Pleasure Garden.

Archive

I never tire of looking at a bottlebrush buckeye that sits on a hill about 30 feet from the kitchen window. It has grown in the past 20 years or more from a twig into a tall spreading shrub 15 feet high and 12 feet across. In leaf, it forms a fabulous screen of just the right scale. Now, it presents a pleasing tracery of charcoal gray branches.

It has reached maturity, stopped growing, for the most part, and rewarded patience with its little perfection. If I had been in a rush and planted a cedar or pine in its place, I would have been pleased for the first five years and fighting a giant thereafter. The world is full of trees that have outgrown their spaces and full of people trying to hack them back.

Hacking is bad, but pruning is good, or can be, if you know what youre doing. This is the season for pruning many of the deciduous woodies, but if you dont know why youre pruning or what youre pruning, then leave the plant alone. Nor should you assume that the guy who delivers your mulch knows how to prune.

If you prune in an arbitrary or excessive way, the plant can respond by growing a load of gangly and weak suckers water sprouts and you see this on badly pruned apple trees and crape myrtles.

When you get manic about pruning, you sometimes stop looking at the pleasing architecture of the plant and begin to see everything that is wrong: a rubbing branch, a stem growing inward, a water sprout, a broken twig. All these can be fixed through artful pruning. This month and next form a perfect period for this: The shrubs are dormant, they have yet to use energy in pushing new growth and, in their naked state, you can see the branch structure.

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Prune rosebushes in winter