A few weeks ago, I wrote about how to use your first meeting with a client to understand their business and collect information that could later inform your keyword research. Now, you’re back at your desk and wondering what to do with all that information.

To begin with, you should have three lists of keyword-types (I call them seeds):

Elements to include in keyword research

Seeds most important to your clients (note that these may include jargon and industry-specific terms that need further research) Seeds that accurately describe the business (these would be your own layman’s terms for what this client does) Seeds that are not relevant or core to your client’s business

I like to refer to these as seeds because they are a seed of an idea that could grow into giant “trees” of information and possibilities.

There’s no need at this point to distinguish between “deck” and “decking” for example, and this is a mistake SEOs often make; trying to narrow the field too much too early.

Let’s dive into each of these a little more deeply using an example of a client I did work for: Artisan Construction Services.

Note that all of these lists have far more than 2-3 keywords on them, but for purposes of example, I’ve simplified them. This client is a local (to Raleigh, NC) remodeling company that specializes in building decks and screened porches and remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. (Those are my own words for List Two).

The owner of the company, when asked to describe the product in his own words, said:

“We provide decking, siding and window replacement, and interior remodeling.”

Seeds most important to the client (based on the above description and the keywords he mentioned) are decking, siding, windows and interior remodeling. This would be List One above.

Seeds that aren’t relevant (List Three above) are things the client prefers not to do or sub-contracts out, such as roofing (says he can never do it as cheaply as professional roofers), plumbing (he hates it) and highly specialized design work like tile inlays. He’s also not a licensed electrician. So these are keyword seeds to avoid.

Example of Keyword Seed Lists

List One

List One is based on jargon, and requires further research. The first thing I do with keywords like this is to look at competitors’ websites. I’ve gotten a list of competitors from the client that I’ll research, and I’ll also put these terms into Google or Bing and look at the sites that come up in the results (I’ll localize to Raleigh, NC so that I’m getting the most accurate set of competitors).

Reviewing these sites will give me more seeds to research based on that jargon. In this case, I found specific types of decking, such as composite and pressure-treated, and I found that many competitors also refer to screened porches as sunrooms or patios (which are slightly different, but may cover more potential customers).

One additional thing the client told me is that customers often aren’t sure of what they want until they call him in for an estimate, so I’m keeping this in mind. Also during my research, I found another competitor in search that wasn’t mentioned as a major competitor. I’ll put this on a list of things to ask the client about in our next meeting.

Example of List One Expansion based on Competitors research

 

Next, I’ll look at how customers are actually referring to the different products and services.

I’ll use the “related searches” area at the bottom of Google’s SERPs, Google Insights to look at trends, and the “Discussions” search option (click “More” under “Search” on the left side of a Google SERP page).

Based on what I found here, I’ve learned that many people are asking what the differences are between screened porches and sunrooms, as well as that they’re sometimes referred to as lanais or three-season porches. I’ll add these seeds to my research.

I also learned that many people are interested in enclosing an existing deck into a screened porch, or “winterizing” a screened porch. More seeds for my research.

To review, I’ve taken the keyword seeds [screened porch], [patio], and [sunroom] and added:

enclosing deck winterizing porch lanai three-season porch

These are all things that my client’s customers are looking for that his competitors aren’t servicing. They should be easy wins.

Example of List Two expansion based on Google "Discussions"

List Two

I can research List Two in much the same way I did List One. I’ll add these seeds to the research as well.

List Three

List Three is a little different from the others. I won’t add these as seeds to my research, but I will save them for the elimination and refinement process later.

This is where instinct and experience becomes particularly useful, as it’s likely that I can take any list of keywords to avoid and expand it on instinct.

For example, based on what I know of this client, he already wants to avoid roofing, plumbing, tile, and electrical. But here are a few more statements I jotted down at our meeting that give me more clues:

“I’m not the best priced contractor out there, because I don’t hire any undocumented workers and I pay my taxes. But I am very experienced and my clients are always happy with my work.”

Now I know I need to avoid [cheap], [free], [low-cost], [best priced], and other keywords like that. [Quality], [experience] and [ethical] are possible modifiers that are allowed.

“I prefer to work with composite materials rather than pressure-treated lumber for decks. It’s much higher quality and creates a nicer finished product.”

So it’s a good idea to focus on any searches asking for the differences between those materials. Also I’ll probably weight the research more heavily to different types and brands of composite materials.

Another note I’m jotting down from this statement is to suggest the client create a page that discusses the pros and cons of composite vs. pressure-treated materials.

“A lot of customers get a quote from a company like SEARS home improvement when they’re thinking about doing a remodeling project. This makes it tough for me because the materials that SEARS uses are limited to less-expensive ones. It helps me a lot if I can get a sense of a client’s budget beforehand; a single project can vary by thousands of dollars depending on the materials used. But of course, nicer materials create a nicer finished project.”

I’m not exactly sure what I could take from this, but there are likely to be a lot of keywords related to home improvement and/or SEARS.

I’ll be careful of those keywords and use something like Google Insights to determine if those trend higher at a certain time of year. I might even put them into a tool like ComScore to see if I can determine if people who search for [home improvement] related terms are in a lower income bracket. Of course, I also know I’ll have to avoid any keywords having to do with the television program of the same name.

Example of expansion of List Three based on notes from the client meeting

This is just the tip of the iceberg for keyword research. The proverbial “rabbit hole” can get very deep sometimes, so it’s important to make good decisions about which keywords to expand and which to keep at surface level.

I’m sure at this point, you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned Google’s Keyword Frequency Tool. Researching search frequency can be very useful, especially in determining how far to expand a certain keyword seed. For example, I found almost immediately that [lanai] has very low search frequency. So I didn’t spend a lot of time on it.

Conversely, I found that [enclosing deck] is actually quite large, especially when viewed through Google Insights in the spring and summer months, localized to North Carolina.

Ultimately, I’ll put all of these keyword seeds into the Google Keyword Tool to find the most highly searched combinations of keywords and an overall estimate of the search frequency of one service (decks) over another (window replacement). This will help me guide the client on what content should be created for the website.

I prefer to do most of the research in the manner discussed above, and then use search frequency to refine, categorize and prioritize it. I have certain tools and formulas that I use to do that. Next time, I’ll give you these tools and explain how to refine what you’ve found and present it to your client.

Thanks to Artisan Construction for allowing me to use them as an example.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: How To: SEO | Keywords & Content | SEM Tools: Keyword Research

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The Keyword Research Rabbit Hole

Sinking footings and porches detaching from buildings are among township officials' concerns at River's Edge.

Tom Perkins | For Ann Arbor.com

The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees on Monday approved taking legal action against the owner and receiver of a troubled townhome complex.

Officials say both parties are ignoring township requests to address and reverse "deteriorating" conditions at the 162-unit River’s Edge Townhome complex, and, at their Feb. 13 meeting, the board unanimously approved giving staff authority to proceed with litigation.

The property is located on Villa Drive near the intersection of LeForge and Clark Roads.

Attorney Doug Winters told the board he had contacted the property’s mortgage holder, Citizen’s Bank, and the receiver charged with its maintenance and upkeep.

Attorneys representing Citizen’s Bank contacted the township when officials were initially attempting to figure out River’s Edge’s ownership situation, but failed to commit to a meeting to discuss resolving the issues, Winters said.

Without that meeting, he recommended the board approve court action as the next step.

“At least when the board authorizes legal action it gets them talking and maybe they will now come to the meeting,” Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said.

The township has issued two notices of violations to the property’s past owners and current management dating back to May 1. They allege a long list of problems and concerns. Among them are:

Deteriorating and leaking roofs. Leaking windows. Missing siding. Missing trim. Deteriorating porches that are separating from the buildings. Sinking footings. Overflowing Dumpsters.

“From what we can tell, nothing has been done at all to address the township’s NOV’s,” Winters said. “We have a lot going on over there and it’s not going to take care of itself by being ignored.”

Citizen’s Bank took control of the property after the company’s last owner, Next Door Apartments - Villa Drive LLC, defaulted on the mortgage in early 2011. A Washtenaw County Circuit Court judge appointed Farmington Hills-based Finsilver/Friedman Management Corporation as the property’s receiver on June 1, and Finsilver/Friedman is now responsible for River’s Edge maintenance and financial management.

Winters said the complex appears to have a high occupancy rate and questioned why tenants’ rent money isn’t going toward repairs. He said the items listed in the NOV are generally maintenance items but “important maintenance items” and he expressed particular concern over the sinking footings and porches detaching from the buildings.

Next Door's mortgage dates back to 2007 in the amount of $5.6 million and records show it owes more than $307,000 in back taxes on the property.

Finsilver/Friedman can either manage the property until the debt to Citizen’s Bank is paid off or sell the complex.

“Staff, as well as our office, reached out in an effort to bring all the parties to the table to work out an agreeable timeline and an agreeable manner for proceeding, but if this is going to be difficult, then we are prepared to move forward as we have in the past,” Winters said.

It’s one of several large cases the township is currently juggling. Staff has taken the first steps in the demolition process of the abandoned Liberty Square complex on Grove Road.

A court recently ordered the owner of the partially abandoned Greenbriar Mobile Home Park to remove 14 mobile homes. Officials also recently learned of two more troubled mobile home parks on E. Michigan Ave. and Harris Road, which Winters described as “landfills” and has moved to the top of staff’s priority list.

River's Edge is one of several problematic apartment complexes in the area. Neighboring Eastern Highland's ownership situation between jailed landlord David Kircher and Barnes and Barnes is in legal limbo. That has left several large buildings neighboring River's Edge vacant, though township building Inspector Ron Fulton said they are secure and safe.

Across the street, Huron View Apartments, which is in the city of Ypsilanti, was hit with a rash of burglaries last year and management had refused requests by tenants for extra locks for protection.

Continued here:
Ypsilanti Township to move forward with litigation in River's Edge townhouse case

Should the city of Holland prevent home owners from reducing the number of windows on the front of a home?

Some Realtors in the area have come together to say no.

In fact, they’ve likened the city’s proposed ordinances regulating exterior renovations of homes to a runaway train, said Dale Zahn, CEO of the West Michigan Lakeshore Association of Realtors

“The city may be going too far,” Zahn said, and people are expressing their concerns about that.

If you go
WHAT Holland Planning Commission public hearing
WHEN 5 p.m. today
WHERE council chambers, Holland City Hall, 270 S. River Ave.
ONLINE cityofholland.com

The Planning Commission discussed windows last month when the board learned of two homeowners on East 17th Street who had renovated enclosed front porches. City code enforcers were concerned by the remodels.

The two owner-occupied homes took what were three-season enclosed porches and reduced the number of windows, turning the rooms into extensions of the houses. Neither home appears to have a front porch now.

“A man’s home is his castle,” Zahn said, adding the homeowners in question didn’t do a bad job of renovating. “The homeowners bought the property and made the investment.”

There’s is no evidence that reducing the number of windows will bring down property values, he said.

The Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing today on the amendment to the zoning regulations that apply to certain “in-fill” districts within the city.

The proposed change is one piece of a more in-depth proposal that would allow the city to oversee many exterior renovations and modifications. Because that proposal met with opposition late last year from Realtors and homeowners concerned about personal property rights, it has been indefinitely tabled.

The amendment proposed now would require homeowners in the central city neighborhoods affected by in-fill rules to have changes to windows and doors reviewed. If approved, the rules would ban homeowners from reducing the number of windows.

Currently, the city doesn’t have the authority to do anything about windows and doors, Cindy Osman, assistant director of the Community and Neighborhood Services department, said in January.

The city’s responsibility is to “Keep (properties) safe, sound and sanitary and leave the rest up to the homeowner,” Zahn said.

Zahn questions the idea that a single member of city staff reviewing requests would know what is best for a neighborhood and should be the person to look at each home on case-by-case basis.

“What’s good looking and nice to one is not going to be to another,” he said.

Realtors are more in touch with what’s going on a city neighborhood and are better at marketing the city, Zahn said. The Realtors need the city, but the city needs the Realtors to promote and market the city also.

“It’s a two-way street,” he said.

The rest is here:
Holland could regulate homes' windows, doors; Realtors say no

MADISON TWP. - When Dan and Toni Luscher bought their double-wide trailer in Kearney's Mobile Park I in 2004, they expected to live there for a long time.

They had more space than they needed with three bedrooms and two full baths. They added porches, planted shrubs and last year replaced the windows and flooring.

Now, they are being forced to move from the park and take their mobile home with them.

The Luschers and about 60 other tenants of Kearney's Mobile Park I and II were given notice from owner Robert Kearney Jr. that the park is closing. Their personal possessions, including their homes, must be removed by April 30, according to a notice Mr. Kearney sent to all residents.

The notice came after months of rumors about regulators looking into the shared utilities at the lots. The parks are served by two wells and have a sewage system connected to a common septic mound, tenants say. Both have had problems, the Luschers say, adding that park officials blame regulators for requiring expensive system upgrades and testing for forcing the parks' closure.

Attempts to reach the park office by phone and email were unsuccessful Sunday. The state Department of Environmental Protection and federal Environmental Protection Agency also could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

Whatever the reason, the parks' closing in less than three months presents residents with some difficult problems to solve.

Alissa Lozenski and her husband had decided to move from Kearney's Mobile Park II with their two children. But they have few options. Their parents and aunts live nearby, but they have medical issues. Money is a problem.

"I want to leave, but we have no money to go anywhere else," Mrs. Lozenski said.

The Luschers figure the cost of moving a mobile home would be between $5,000 and $7,000, not including out-of-town moves and the large mileage surcharges. Special pilings are required for newly set mobile homes. The bank that has the mortgage to the home has to approve the move, and that could take months.

The problem underscores the limits that tenants of mobile home parks face. While they often own the home in which they live, they rent the land and can be evicted. In January, the park raised the lot rent from $230 to $250 per month.

Mr. Luscher is on disability. Mrs. Luscher is taking classes at Luzerne County Community College, hoping to get into an allied medical profession. Their son, Connor, is in preschool and could have to change schools.

They point to their neighbors, some elderly, who have lived at the park for decades, as having particularly hard times with the prospect of moving.

The Luschers also have looked at land, but any option requires more money than they have. "We don't have that kind of money," Mrs. Luscher said. "If we did, we wouldn't be living in a trailer park."

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Original post:
Residents of North Pocono mobile home park have to move hearths and homes

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Archadeck of Kansas City has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service companies.

“Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling customer service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “The fact that Archadeck of Kansas City can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers."

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their customers and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service business ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 1 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Take a quick tour of Angie’s List and view the latest Angie’s List news.

Archadeck of Kansas City based out of Overland Park has been serving the metro Kansas City area for over ten years. Archadeck builds custom backyard structures including decks, screened porches, open porches, sunrooms, three- and-four-season rooms, pergolas, patios, hardscapes, and custom outdoor living areas. Archadeck is proud to have won the Super Service Award four times including each of the last three years. Read more and view multiple photo galleries at http://kansas-city.archadeck.com.

Continued here:
Archadeck of Kansas City Earns Coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award

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Scott Salladin of Poughkeepsie organizes barbershop quartets to surprise your valentine with a song.KEITH FERRIS/For the Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 02/13/12

POUGHKEEPSIE — Scott Salladin and his fellow choristers sing in the rain, in the snow, on porches and in living rooms. They'll even sing, if someone asks them, in a barbershop.

Salladin is chapter secretary of the Poughkeepsie Newyorkers Barbershop Chorus, practitioners of a four-part singing style with roots in the early 1900s.

Anyone who's ever attended a high school production of "The Music Man" has witnessed a barbershop quartet in a capella action. It's old-fashioned. It's corny.

And it's romantic, especially as Valentine's Day nears. For a modest fee, Salladin and friends serenade couples all over the mid-Hudson region.

"We'll come right to your door, whether you open it or not," he said. "Sometimes they let you in; sometimes you stay on the porch."

Salladin has scads of stories documenting rigors and risks of appearing unannounced on a stranger's doorstep, wearing a tux and singing "Sweet Adeline."

Once, when the group was grabbing a bite at a McDonald's, an elderly gent asked for a tune. The group agreed: How about "Heart of My Heart"?

The man's wife, Salladin discovered, was a stroke victim, unable to speak. But when they finished singing, he saw the hint of a smile on the woman's face, and a tear ran down her cheek.

The man asked what he should pay for the song. There was only one thing to say: "No charge."

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Pougheepsie group offers four-part harmony for your valentine

KITCHENER — They’ve still got the front porches, barbecues waiting for summer and pastel-coloured cottages where inmates themselves carry the keys.

But the Grand Valley Institution for Women, Kitchener’s federal prison that opened in 1997 as a kinder, gentler kind of jail, is most certainly a changed place.

A trip behind the razor wire will show you it’s nearly bursting at the seams with an influx of female inmates — housing 177 women on a recent visit, three times the number it was designed for when it opened with eight cottage-style units 15 years ago.

The formerly minimum-security prison now houses some of Canada’s most notorious female offenders, and will soon include Tooba Yahya, the mother convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in the recent Shafia honour-killing trial.

It took The Record more than three months to get permission from Correctional Service Canada to tour the institution. Once inside, the photographer was prohibited from taking any images of inmates, including pictures that didn’t identify the women.

Space at Grand Valley is at such a premium they’re extending the prison’s perimeter to build a new food services building near Homer Watson Boulevard. Those cottage units have now doubled to 16, and temporary portables fill the space where women used to play baseball.

Tenders are also out for a new two-storey, 40-bed minimum security unit to be built on a hill overlooking the prison. This February, construction will wrap up on a 16-bed building in what used to be Grand Valley’s courtyard.

The prison is so full Grand Valley recently ran out of mailboxes for inmates, has converted private family visiting rooms into sleeping quarters for inmates, and put bunk beds in what used to be single rooms.

It all means warden David Dick has had to get creative to find spaces for his growing population.

And his problem isn’t expected to go away any time soon.

“If they arrive at the front door, I have no choice. They’ve got to come in,” he said. “The legislation has had an impact on our numbers, and that impact is likely to be permanent.”

The space crunch is being driven by a dramatic increase in the number of women getting jail terms longer than two years, sending them to federal institutions instead of provincial jails. Canada’s female federal prison population has grown by 40 per cent in the past decade, and that growth appears to be speeding up.

Crowding has become such a challenge that some federally sentenced women are being transferred involuntarily to provincial jails because there’s no room for them.

Women who’ve spent time at Grand Valley say the population explosion isn’t just making it more cramped. It’s also increasing wait lists for rehabilitation programs and pushing tensions to the breaking point.

“It’s just warehousing now. It’s not about rehabilitation. It’s pure security now,” said Toronto’s Surriff Atkinson, who was first sent to the prison in 1999 for trafficking cocaine.

Programs that once dealt with issues like anger management or violence against women have been replaced by religious-based volunteer-run programs that don’t appeal to all inmates, she said.

Inmates at Grand Valley made 124 formal complaints in 2010 to the Office of the Correctional Investigator, more than any other women’s prison in Canada, according to the 2011 annual report by prison ombud Howard Sapers.

Many of the complaints have to do with the conditions of their confinement, and that’s no surprise to the federal watchdog.

“The more crowded an institution becomes, the more there’s an increase in tension within the institution,” Sapers said. “It affects the institutional climate.”

It’s meant more inmates living on top of one another, pushing some tensions to boil over.

Former inmates interviewed for this story witnessed fights breaking out between women made to share tight spaces. The Elizabeth Fry Society and the union representing prison guards have raised concerns about the makeshift accommodations too.

Records show use-of-force incidents, reported security issues and assaults, both between inmates and on staff, are all on the rise, Sapers said.

Security staff has been increased, Dick confirmed, but that’s because the prison population is growing and incidents of violence have risen in step. It’s an inevitable result of having more inmates, he said.

“There has been a rise in the number of fights between inmates, yes,” he said. “You put more people into a defined space, and you’re going to have more disputes … There’s no question there is frustration with the added numbers.”

Some former inmates complain that wait lists to get into some programs are now so long that an inmate can spend six months at Grand Valley without getting in. But others seem to recognize the prison is at the mercy of the courts, which is sending a steady stream of women its way.

“It’s not really their fault that so many more women are being sent to prison,” said Georgina Poirier, a Cambridge mother who was released from Grand Valley in 2007 after a drug trafficking conviction.

“It’s hard to accommodate everyone, and there’s only so many (program) spots open.”

The warden argues that more judges are choosing to send women to federal prisons because they offer such a range of treatment and educational programs for women.

That’s a change from the 1990s, when many judges sent women to provincial jails to avoid time in Kingston’s infamous Prison for Women, the warden said. That was before the regional federal prisons were built to keep women closer to their homes.

The number of women in Ontario’s provincial jails, meanwhile, is actually dropping, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

“Judges used to bend over backwards not to sentence them federally. That’s all changed now,” Dick said.

For all its overcrowding, Grand Valley is still trying to do corrections in a more progressive way. Much of the minimum security unit feels like a high school, where women in grey sweatpants linger in the halls and offer a pleasant hello to new faces.

There’s a library, a “grocery store” where inmates can pick up their week’s food and cook it themselves, and a spirituality centre where someone strums an acoustic guitar. In a far corner of the property, inmates have built a “sacred ground” area, a space for campfires and quiet reflection.

There are classrooms where inmates can work toward their high school diploma — an important goal in a place where as many as six in 10 never finished school. Officials here know an inmate who is released with few job prospects has a good chance of returning to prison.

“If they don’t find work when they get out, they may be back,” said deputy warden Pam Gray.

There has even been a partnership with the Accelerator Centre, where inmates have been trained off-site to gain skills that could help them start their own business upon their release.

Within a few weeks of arriving at the prison, every inmate is entered into a program that teaches them about things such as addictions and employment skills. There’s a special version for aboriginal inmates, who represent about a third of all inmates.

There’s the gymnasium where women still play volleyball and basketball, but because of space constraints it also doubles as a meeting room for parole officers and social agencies. It’s also used for classes on everything from yoga to quilting.

Grand Valley’s founding philosophy of women living and co-operating together in small groups in a house-style setting is still working the way it’s supposed to, Dick insists.

And with an army of volunteers, estimated at as many as 600, coming to the prison to run programs for the women, there’s still a wide range of activities to help inmates better themselves.

“Certainly, as your numbers increase, the dynamics change. There’s no question about that. But I think we’ve been relatively successful in minimizing that impact,” he said.

The prison has also increased the number of officers running in-house rehabilitation and counselling programs, Dick said, but it’s not staffing that’s the problem. The prison now employs 214 people.

“Our problem now is not finding program facilitators, but finding space where they can do it,” he said. “As our numbers have grown, I’ve had to add parole officers. But we have not grown in space.”

Grand Valley is not the minimum-security institution it used to be, although about 60 per cent are here for non-violent offences, such as drugs, fraud or shoplifting.

Today, parts of the institution look more like a conventional prison, with a maximum security unit, segregation cells, uniformed prison staff and razor wire. About 20 per cent of inmates here are “lifers,” serving long sentences for crimes such as murder.

In 2004, Grand Valley added its 27-bed, maximum-security unit, which looks like the type of imposing cellblock you might see on television. Inside, groups of eight women live in small, college-dorm-style rooms with bunks behind heavy steel doors. It’s attached to the segregation unit, where on a recent visit a guard kept an eye on an inmate on suicide watch through a small window in her cell door.

“We’re seeing many things in women’s prisons that weren’t in the original plan,” Sapers said. “The environment within women’s centres has certainly hardened.”

Overcrowding has meant inmates are being pushed into higher level security classifications, sometimes unfairly, as violence rises, and many can’t access prison programs, such as in-house employment or mental health services, Sapers said.

With inmates sleeping in spaces they were never intended to, the prison ombud says, there are concerns around personal security, hygiene and access to fresh water.

An overburdened prison also spends most of its resources just trying to secure its own population, and has less time and money to deal with the rehabilitation of inmates, he said.

“As a consequence, we do see there are delays in getting people into programs, there are delays getting people into their treatment plans,” Sapers said.

But the overcrowding isn’t likely to ease any time soon, Sapers warns. Despite the plans for the 40-bed addition, he’s concerned the expansion may not be enough to deal with a coming influx of new female prisoners, thanks to new federal tough-on-crime legislation.

The number of women in federal prisons jumped by 15 per cent in just one six-month period last year, according to his office.

The plans for the extra beds at Grand Valley were made before the Conservative government introduced changes that are expected to place even more women behind bars, Sapers points out.

“The net impact of those legislative reforms will be to add new population on top of that which was already projected,” he said.

“It’s now an open question whether the additional capacity will be enough to meet the demands that will be placed on the correctional service.”

gmercer@therecord.com

A troubled legacy

The construction of the Grand Valley Institution for Women was in part a response to the troubled legacy of Kingston’s Prison for Women.

The 90-year-old stone prison, closed for good in 2000, was the subject of 13 inquiries and commissions, and was once famously described as “unfit for bears.”

In 1990, the federal government commissioned a task force that recommended closing the outdated prison and replacing it with smaller, regional residential-style centres.

The new era of women’s prisons ushered in a whole new way to house female inmates, with an emphasis on co-operative living arrangements and increased programming. Grand Valley was opened in 1997.

Grand Valley, by the numbers

 • Inmate population has tripled from 64 women in 1997 to about 180 today.

 • Minimum-security housing units have doubled, from eight to 16.

 • A 27-bed maximum-security unit was added in 2004.

 • New 40-bed minimum-security unit to be built next year.

 • New 16-bed unit opened this month.

 • The prison now employs 214 people.

 • There are about 570 women in federal prisons in Canada, one third of them aboriginal.

Continued here:
Women’s prison a crowded, harder place

08-10-2010 23:10 http://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com Join our community of porch lovers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com Side porches are quite common on historic Charleston homes. We explain why.

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The Story of Side Porches on Charleston Homes - Video

16-05-2010 07:13 At The Peel in Kingston

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Porches 'Shirts On, Dudes Off' @ K-Fest 15th May 2010 - Video

Before the invention of central heat and air conditioning, people generally built houses that were designed to be as comfortable and durable as possible for their specific climate.  In hot climates, they built overhangs to shade windows and protect from rain, high ceilings to let the hot air rise above the people, porches to sit out on when it was hot, and big windows to let in breezes.  In cold climates, overhangs were smaller to let more sun shine into the house.  In dry, desert areas, houses were made of masonry that would absorb heat during the day, releasing it at night.

When we started heating and cooling our homes, all those smart decisions fell by the wayside and we started building any type of house anywhere – southern cottages in the north, southwest adobe-style homes in the south, and on and on.  However, appropriate roofing in Phoenix is not synonymous with appropriate roofing in Baltimore. What we are finding is that a house style in the wrong climate can lead to more energy use, and reduced comfort and durability. 

For example, in the hot, rainy south, small or no overhangs let too much water hit the walls of the house, which causes premature deterioration and lets in too much sun on hot days.  Big overhangs in the north don't let enough of the sun's heat on cold days.  This illustrates that thinking about where you are when you decide what kind of house to build is an easy way to make a better, greener house that will be cheaper to operate, more comfortable, and last longer – and none if this has to cost you a dime extra.  Just make the right decisions early in the process.

Here are some guidelines for climate-friendly roofing and window placement:

If you get a lot of rain where you live, design your house with overhangs and simple roof designs to keep water from backing up into the attic and keep it off the walls.  If you get a lot of snow, a steep roof will allow the snow to slide off quickly instead of building up.  In almost all climates, avoid west-facing windows – they heat up the house at the end of the day and can overheat during even cold weather.  I have seen homes that need to turn on the air conditioning in the winter because too much sun comes in.  In cold climates, don't put too many windows on the north side, especially if you get a lot of wind from that direction – they will lose a lot of heat.  Put a lot of windows on the south side of the house all climates, making sure to shade them with overhangs to keep out the heat during hot months.  Put in windows that open easily, with screens if you live in a buggy area.  Then open them (and turn off the AC) when the weather is nice.  You don't need to heat or air condition your house every minute of every day.  Take advantage of natural heating and cooling, save money, and enjoy the day.

If you build or renovate your house to fit your local climate conditions, you can save energy, save money on maintenance, and be more comfortable year round.  Why more people don't do it is beyond me.

Have you remodeled your house to suit local climate conditions? Tell us about how you keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Green building consultant Carl Seville writes for Networx. Get home & garden ideas like this - http://www.networx.com/article/building-a-house-to-fit-local-climate-co - on Networx.

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Home Designs for Every Climate