The owner of the Sheraton at the Falls Hotel in Niagara Falls says he needs tax incentives to make his $20 million water park feasible.

That's why MichaelDiCienzo applied to theNiagara County Industrial Development Agency for a 12-year reduction on property taxes that would be assessed on the planned 150,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

The package also would include an exemption from paying sales taxes on the building materials and the equipment and furnishings for the water park. The NCIDA staff estimated that the incentives would save DiCienzo's company $6.6 million over the 12-year period.

"There's a lot more risks with attractions. It is needed to make the project successful," DiCienzo said after the NCIDA board agreed to schedule a public hearing on his request. A vote is likely when the board meets Sept. 13.

The Niagara Daredevil Waterpark, as the hotel calls it, would operate indoors year-round in an addition to the hotel and create 30 new full-time jobs and 20 part-time jobs,according to the company's application.

The water park would be built on a vacant lot owned by the City of Niagara Falls. In October 2015, the City Council agreed to sell the land to DiCienzo's firm for $189,262. However, the city's planning director, Thomas DeSantis, said Wednesday the sale has not yet closed.

DiCienzo told the NCIDA board that Niagara Daredevil would take about a year to build.

"It's close to shovel-ready," he said.

"It's great to have a family-friendly recreational project like that," said William L. Ross, the former Niagara County Legislature chairman, who serves on the NCIDA board.

DiCienzo said his water park would give his hotel and others a chance to lure more guests in the off-season.

"The hotels are busy for 100 days," he said. "It's a fantastic attraction and it's much needed. ... It brings new people in and keeps them here longer."

The incentive application, made in the name of NFNY Hotel Management,makes no mention of a $50 million, 200-roomaddition to the top of the hotel, which also was part of an expansion plan NFNY unveiled May 1.

DiCienzo said that would be the second phase of the expansion project at the Sheraton. DeSantis said the city Planning Board already has given conditional approval to the hotel addition, but if the project encroaches on the city's Third Street right of way, DiCienzo would have to take the hotel addition back before the Planning Board and the Council.

When the proposal was announced, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster was unenthusiastic about the Niagara Daredevil proposal.

Itwould be close to another proposed water park, Uniland Development's Wonder Falls project, which is supposed to be built in the unused portion of the old Rainbow Centre Mall at Rainbow Boulevard and Niagara Street.

Uniland was chosen by USA Niagara, the local arm of Empire State Development, to reuse that property. The Niagara County Community College Culinary Institute occupies the rest of the old mall.

DiCienzo said Empire State Development has declined to offer him any incentives for his project because it would compete with Wonder Falls.

"We have been unsuccessful. It's very disappointing," DiCienzo said of his approaches to Empire State Development. "We're looking for other possibilities."

The DiCienzo family owns hotels on both sides of the international border. Awater park operates on the roof of the parking garage that serves their Sheraton and Crowne Plaza hotels near Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ont.

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Niagara Falls hotel seeks IDA tax break on planned $20 million water park - Buffalo News

Rodney FergusonChief operating officer, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino

Ferguson

In 2014, the Forest County Potawatomi tribe opened a 381-room hotel at its casino in the Menomonee Valley. It is one of the largest hotels in Milwaukee. Now, three years later, the tribe says it plans to expand the hotel with a 119-room and suite addition, which will bring its total room number up to 500.

The project will also include the addition of 15,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the total meeting space at the hotel and casino to about 65,000 square feet.

Construction for the $80 million project is expected to begin this fall and be complete in the spring of 2019.

In a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee editor Andrew Weiland, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino chief operating officer Rodney Ferguson explained the hotel expansion plans.

The reason we built the initial hotel was because there was a demand from our standpoint to satisfy our market. Typically if you have a casino without a hotel, you can extend the stay of your guests by adding some accommodations for them. We have been increasing our guest counts on a regular basis as a result of the hotel. Over the past three years, our attendance levels have skyrocketed. We went from 4 million in attendance (the year prior to the hotel opening) to over 6 million last year. We also knew when we built the first hotel, we didnt have enough suites. Thats something our guests really like. So we decided to add on another 59, which will quadruple the number of suites that we have.

Another thing we learned from talking to our guests they wanted some additional amenities, other than the restaurants and shows. So, we decided to have a spa and salon where you can get a manicure, pedicure, facials, haircuts. Another reason (for the hotel expansion) is, of course when we built the hotel we had some meeting space. We didnt have enough space in the casino and as we added the hotel we added more meeting rooms, as well, and that still hasnt been enough. We will be adding on some additional space for additional meetings.

It will take about 18 months (to build the hotel addition) from start to finish. Fortunately, we designed the property with the possibility of expanding, so we dont have to do the level of pilings that we did for the first project. So, it will be much easier to start and complete this project.

Rodney FergusonChief operating officer, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino

In 2014, the Forest County Potawatomi tribe opened a 381-room hotel at its casino in the Menomonee Valley. It is one of the largest hotels in Milwaukee. Now, three years later, the tribe says it plans to expand the hotel with a 119-room and suite addition, which will bring its total room number up to 500.

The project will also include the addition of 15,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the total meeting space at the hotel and casino to about 65,000 square feet.

Construction for the $80 million project is expected to begin this fall and be complete in the spring of 2019.

In a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee editor Andrew Weiland, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino chief operating officer Rodney Ferguson explained the hotel expansion plans.

The reason we built the initial hotel was because there was a demand from our standpoint to satisfy our market. Typically if you have a casino without a hotel, you can extend the stay of your guests by adding some accommodations for them. We have been increasing our guest counts on a regular basis as a result of the hotel. Over the past three years, our attendance levels have skyrocketed. We went from 4 million in attendance (the year prior to the hotel opening) to over 6 million last year. We also knew when we built the first hotel, we didnt have enough suites. Thats something our guests really like. So we decided to add on another 59, which will quadruple the number of suites that we have.

Another thing we learned from talking to our guests they wanted some additional amenities, other than the restaurants and shows. So, we decided to have a spa and salon where you can get a manicure, pedicure, facials, haircuts. Another reason (for the hotel expansion) is, of course when we built the hotel we had some meeting space. We didnt have enough space in the casino and as we added the hotel we added more meeting rooms, as well, and that still hasnt been enough. We will be adding on some additional space for additional meetings.

It will take about 18 months (to build the hotel addition) from start to finish. Fortunately, we designed the property with the possibility of expanding, so we dont have to do the level of pilings that we did for the first project. So, it will be much easier to start and complete this project.

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5 minutes with Rodney Ferguson - BizTimes.com (Milwaukee)

The 2017 Summer Learning Program has just ended and we are thrilled to announce we had a record-breaking year with more than 1,000 children county-wide signing up to participate.

I believe the overwhelming response this year was due to the changes made to our usual summer program. First of all, we changed the name from Summer Reading to Summer Learning because, in addition to reading, we wanted to encourage families to explore their community. To support this goal, we changed the reward system so that when children finished their 10-book challenge, they received a custom-designed t-shirt. During July, when the children wore their t-shirts to participating businesses, they received special reading rewards, such as free ice cream, pizza, etc.

If you noticed lots of green T-shirts around town, now you know why. Parents and children have told us they had a great time visiting the generous businesses who partnered with us to offer reading rewards. They include Benny Adelinas, the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, Dairy Queen of Rocky Mount and Ferrum, Daylight Donuts, Homestead Creamery, McDonalds of Rocky Mount, Rocky Mount Bowling Center, TNT Auto Body Repair and Service Centers, Westlake Cinema, The Whole Bean Coffeehouse and The Zone Family Fun Center. Parents and children alike appreciated the support given by these local businesses and they greatly enjoyed the rewards of the program.

Dairy Queen, The Zone Family Fun Center, and TNT Auto Body Repair and Service also hosted Bookmobile visits. In addition to the rewards offered by each business, the bookmobile offered activities and crafts for children and the opportunity to check in and out books.

And if exploring the community and reading rewards were not enough, we had special programming at both the Main and Westlake libraries throughout the summer. The Friends of the Franklin County Library provided the funding for great events such as Craft Day, Larsens Amazing Lizards, Red Herring Puppets, and Jonathan Austins Juggling and Magic Show. Our Main Library annual Carnival Day was made even better this year with the contribution of balloons by Jimmy Russell State Farm and the donation of personal pan pizza coupons by Pizza Hut. Mugsy, the mascot of the Salem Red Sox, even came to join the festivities.

It has been wonderful to see the community support childrens literacy this summer. So many businesses were excited to partner with us and we thank them for such a successful year.

Here at the Main Library we have also been enjoying our newly created Teen Room where we offer special programming for patrons aged 13-17. In June and July, teens participated in our journaling workshop as well as FAN Club. This summers FAN Club themes included Board Games, Comic Books, Middle Earth and Doctor Who. At each of these meetings we enjoyed snacks, themed activities, and encouraged teens to play as their favorite characters. We hope to take advantage of the momentum of such a great summer by continuing to hold FAN Club meetings during the school year--the first of which will be held Saturday, Sept. 9, from 2-3 p.m. Teens are invited to come join the fun and be a part of planning future FAN Club themes.

Many other popular programs such as art classes and Lego Club will also be returning this fall. Be sure to pick up our monthly event calendar or check our website at library.franklincountyva.gov to find out whats happening.

Thank you library staff, Friends groups, local businesses and patrons for making this one of the best Summer Learning Programs ever!

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Summer programs included new Teen Room - Franklin News Post

Behati Prinsloo is in the midst of a lot of life achievements. She recently had her first child, she just landed a major beauty campaign, and now she and husband Adam Levine have a new home. The pair just dropped $18 million on a Holmby Hills mansion, as Trulia reports, and it is as lavish as West Coast living gets. For starters, the home comes with a coveted pedigree: It was designed by famed architect Casper Ehmcke in 1966 and has all the touchstones of quintessential indoor/outdoor living. There's also the fact that the home has not one but two marble master bedrooms, a rarity.

The property welcomes in guests through a gate, where they arrive at a long walkway into the home, outlined by classic Hollywood palm fronds and tropical landscaping. The black- and white-checkered foyer is illuminated by a crystal chandelier a feature that's repeated in the living room as well as the dining room.

Trulia

Trulia

With glass doors that open into the backyard, Behati and Levine's living room is centered around a fireplace. Naturally, it houses enough space for a grand piano, which the musician will no doubt get a lot of mileage from.

Trulia

Trulia

Trulia

Trulia

Meanwhile, the 9200-square foot home has plenty of room for the growing family which includes the recent addition of baby Dusty Rose. "I have a daughter, I have the most beautiful wife in the entire world," The Voice host said of his family as he was receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame back in February, as Us Weekly reported. "[Dusty's] unbelievable. Im so in love with her. Its crazy." Aside from having two master bedrooms, the home also features another three bedrooms and bathrooms.

Trulia

Trulia

Trulia

Trulia

Plus, there's plenty of room for dining as well. In addition to a formal dining room, the estate also boasts a breakfast solarium.

Trulia

The social couple will have no problems entertaining as Behati and Levine's new home comes equipped with a two-story guest house, a three-car garage, and ample parking on a motor court.

Trulia

But the crown jewel of the $18 million home has to be the custom-shaped pool, which is fenced in with lush landscaping.

Trulia

Trulia

Related: Behind the Scenes with Behati Prinsloo

Get Up Close and Personal with Supermodels in W Video:

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Look Inside Behati Prinsloo and Adam Levine's $18 Million Los Angeles Mansion - W Magazine

Of all the additions you can put on a home from a master bathroom to a mudroom to a laundry room a family room may provide the biggest bang for the buck. In part thats because the job doesnt include any pricy plumbing fixtures, stone surfaces, or major appliances, so the costs are comparatively low per square foot.

But also, a family room can be much more than just an addition: By building it next to the kitchen, with an open floor plan, you can create a single, multipurpose gathering space thats well suited to life in the 21st century.

Whats involved

A 16-foot-by-25 foot family room addition constructed over a crawlspace foundation, with vinyl siding, hardwood floors, recessed ceiling lights, and 180 square feet of glass, including windows and atrium-style doors (double French doors with fixed door-sized panels on each side), has a median cost of $84,201, according to Remodeling magazines latest Cost vs. Value Report. You can expect to recoup $53,955 64.1% of your investment when you sell the house.

Make no mistake, this is a big project that will require a building permit, take a big chunk out of your yard, and require a host of different tradesmen to pour a foundation, install a roof, and do everything in between.

Youll have to expand your heating and cooling systems to accommodate the new space, which will likely mean upgrading to larger furnace, central air conditioner and electrical panel, says Phil Kolby, a contractor in Charlotte, N.C. And youll see higher energy and property tax bills as a result of the project.

Is it right for your house?

The classic scenario that calls for a family room addition is a house with a small- or medium-sized kitchen thats segregated from formal living and dining rooms by interior walls. But there are often lower-cost alternatives: You may be able to avoid a full addition project by simply knocking down some interior walls ($2,000 to $8,000 per wall, depending on whether its bearing or contains plumbing and electrical supply lines)as long as youre willing to turn those formal spaces into everyday rooms.

Or, if thats not feasible, because of stairways or other complications, the family room doesnt have to be adjacent to the kitchen. You may be able to create the space by finishing the basement or using a spare bedroom or a bonus room over the garage. Those are far more cost-effective ways to get your family room, says Missoula, Mont., appraiser Bryan Flaherty.

Still, even in this market, Flaherty says an addition may be worth the investment. If family rooms are common among similar houses in your neighborhood, the house doesnt have other major salability drawbacks, and youre not selling for three to five years, its a fairly safe investment. After all, even if you only get half the cost back when you sell, that means youre getting all those years to enjoy the room for 50 cents on the dollar, Flaherty says.

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Evaluate Your House for a Family Room Addition

Work in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has produced computer programs that can beat the world chess champion and defeat the best human players on the television quiz show Jeopardy. AI has also produced programs with which one can converse in natural language, including Apple's Siri. Our experience shows that playing chess or Jeopardy, and carrying on a conversation, are activities that require understanding and intelligence. Does computer prowess at challenging games and conversation then show that computers can understand and be intelligent? Will further development result in digital computers that fully match or even exceed human intelligence? Alan Turing (1950), one of the pioneer theoreticians of computing, believed the answer to these questions was yes. Turing proposed what is now known as The Turing Test: if a computer can pass for human in online chat, we should grant that it is intelligent. By the late 1970s some AI researchers claimed that computers already understood at least some natural language. In 1980 U.C. Berkeley philosopher John Searle introduced a short and widely-discussed argument intended to show conclusively that it is impossible for digital computers to understand language or think.

Searle argues that a good way to test a theory of mind, say a theory that holds that understanding can be created by doing such and such, is to imagine what it would be like to do what the theory says would create understanding. Searle (1999) summarized the Chinese Room argument concisely:

Searle goes on to say, The point of the argument is this: if the man in the room does not understand Chinese on the basis of implementing the appropriate program for understanding Chinese then neither does any other digital computer solely on that basis because no computer, qua computer, has anything the man does not have.

Thirty years later Searle 2010 describes the conclusion in terms of consciousness and intentionality:

Searle's shift from machine understanding to consciousness and intentionality is not directly supported by the original 1980 argument. However the re-description of the conclusion indicates the close connection between understanding and consciousness in Searle's accounts of meaning and intentionality. Those who don't accept Searle's linking account might hold that running a program can create understanding without necessarily creating consciousness, and a robot might have creature consciousness without necessarily understanding natural language.

Thus Searle develops the broader implications of his argument. It aims to refute the functionalist approach to understanding minds, the approach that holds that mental states are defined by their causal roles, not by the stuff (neurons, transistors) that plays those roles. The argument counts especially against that form of functionalism known as the Computational Theory of Mind that treats minds as information processing systems. As a result of its scope, as well as Searle's clear and forceful writing style, the Chinese Room argument has probably been the most widely discussed philosophical argument in cognitive science to appear since the Turing Test. By 1991 computer scientist Pat Hayes had defined Cognitive Science as the ongoing research project of refuting Searle's argument. Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker (1997) pointed out that by the mid-1990s well over 100 articles had been published on Searle's thought experimentand that discussion of it was so pervasive on the Internet that Pinker found it a compelling reason to remove his name from all Internet discussion lists.

This interest has not subsided, and the range of connections with the argument has broadened. A search on Google Scholar for Searle Chinese Room limited to the period from 2010 through early 2014 produced over 750 results, including papers making connections between the argument and topics ranging from embodied cognition to theater to talk psychotherapy to postmodern views of truth and our post-human future as well as discussions of group or collective minds and discussions of the role of intuitions in philosophy. This wide-range of discussion and implications is a tribute to the argument's simple clarity and centrality.

Searle's argument has three important antecedents. The first of these is an argument set out by the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz (16461716). This argument, often known as Leibniz Mill, appears as section 17 of Leibniz Monadology. Like Searle's argument, Leibniz argument takes the form of a thought experiment. Leibniz asks us to imagine a physical system, a machine, that behaves in such a way that it supposedly thinks and has experiences (perception).

Notice that Leibniz's strategy here is to contrast the overt behavior of the machine, which might appear to be the product of conscious thought, with the way the machine operates internally. He points out that these internal mechanical operations are just parts moving from point to point, hence there is nothing that is conscious or that can explain thinking, feeling or perceiving. For Leibniz physical states are not sufficient for, nor constitutive of, mental states.

A second antecedent to the Chinese Room argument is the idea of a paper machine, a computer implemented by a human. This idea is found in the work of Alan Turing, for example in Intelligent Machinery (1948). Turing writes there that he wrote a program for a paper machine to play chess. A paper machine is a kind of program, a series of simple steps like a computer program, but written in natural language (e.g., English), and followed by a human. The human operator of the paper chess-playing machine need not (otherwise) know how to play chess. All the operator does is follow the instructions for generating moves on the chess board. In fact, the operator need not even know that he or she is involved in playing chessthe input and output strings, such as NQB7 need mean nothing to the operator of the paper machine.

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The Chinese Room Argument (Stanford Encyclopedia of ...

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Room additions are meant to create more space in your home so that your life can become more convenient and efficient. Room additions by Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen push the limits of conventional design as we strive to bring our customers modern designs that will truly create added value to their home. Room additions can be done to expand an existing space or add completely new room to your home. Whether you need more room for your growing family, want to create a room for relaxation or entertainment, or want to expand your master bathroom to create a relaxation haven, Remodel Works can create a room addition that will make you fall in love with your home all over again. Deciding to do a room addition is a great alternative to the hassle that is moving to a new home by improving upon your current residence. The bottom line of doing a room addition is to make your home bigger to better accommodate your familys needs. With Remodel Works, you can get a room addition that is executed with skill, professionalism, and the highest level of customer service. For us, room additions shouldnt just be bigger, they should make your house better.

At Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen, we do room additions better than our competitors by using state of the art materials from world renowned vendors, having highly trained technicians working in your home, and continuously pursuing improvement within our company so that we can always be the best. There are thousands of horror stories out there of people living with subpar work. Hiring an inexperienced contractor has unfortunately left them feeling helpless and unhappy. Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen never does subpar work as we pride ourselves on the quality projects we create with our clients. We are able to build better room additions because we care. Each and every Remodel Works employee working on your project is dedicated and passionate about creating something you will love.

For your room addition, our designers will take your vision and bring it to life. When we get started on your room addition we will go through your needs and wants so that you get everything you are asking for and more. Once we have your ideas, our designers will take their professional knowledge and create a proposal. As soon as you approve a proposed design, the fun begins. Our expansive showroom has everything you need to create a cutting edge room addition that perfectly pairs style and function. The Remodel Works showroom has unique designs, textures, and quality materials you can choose from. Whether you are looking for a down home rustic feel or something modern, together we can create a bold look that will take your breath away.

Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen strives to be the room addition specialist that goes above and beyond customer expectations. As a family owned and operated company Remodel Works was created to meet the needs of San Diego residents seeking a reliable room addition expert that would be up front with them, create quality projects, and push the limits of modern design. Dont settle, Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen will make your room addition bigger, better, bolder.

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#1 San Diego Room Additions : Bath, Kitchen, Master ...

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Encinitas Home Remodeling Contractors Room Addition Testimonial for Classic Home Improvements
Encinitas home remodeling contractors room addition testimonial for Classic Home Improvements San Diego. They did a great job with building a room addition onto my home in Encinitas, CA....

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Encinitas Home Remodeling Contractors Room Addition Testimonial for Classic Home Improvements - Video

Clairemont Master Bedroom Addition
Check out the progress on our room addition in Clairemont.

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Clairemont Master Bedroom Addition - Video