LIBERTY TWP.

Developers of the mega retail project Liberty Center announced Tuesday they signed the AC Hotels by Marriott brand for the sites planned hotel.

The 130-room hotel will be built, owned and operated by Middleton, Wis.-based Raymond Management Co., a hotel developer partnering with Steiner + Associates on the project.

Plans for a hotel were previously announced by Steiner for Liberty Center. Tuesdays news revealed which hotel brand was franchised.

Our tagline for AC Hotels is feel the city. Its very design-oriented and targeted very much towards the millennial traveler, said Nina Herrera-Davila, a spokeswoman for Marriott.

Liberty Center, in the early stages of construction in Liberty Twp., is the name of the approximately 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use shopping, office and residential complex planned for the intersection of Ohio 129, Interstate 75 and Liberty Way. Its scheduled to open in September 2015, according to Columbus-based Steiner + Associates.

Steiner is the same developer of Easton Town Center in the Columbus-area and The Greene in Beavercreek. The Butler County projects first phase is expected to be a more than $300 million investment encompassing 64 acres.

AC Hotels by Marriott is a new brand in the U.S., Herrera-Davila said.

Marriott International announced in 2013 it would introduce the AC Hotels brand to the U.S. in a joint venture with Spains AC Hotels. About 30 AC Hotels are in the development pipeline across the country, with the first opening later this year in New Orleans, La., Herrera-Davila said.

Currently there are about 79 AC Hotels open in Europe, she said.

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130-room hotel announced for mega retail project Liberty Center

MIFFLINTOWN - Efficiency and functionality are themes that inspired a design proposed for the industrial arts addition scheduled at East Juniata High School.

Architect Jay Darkey presented the design Tuesday evening during a workshop held by the Juniata County School District Board of Directors. Darkey said the design was developed through recommendations and collaboration between district administration, teachers and professionals. The addition is part of district-wide updates and renovations approved by the school board in recent months.

The proposed addition is 12,150 square feet in size, expanding the current industrial arts building by 7,150 square feet.

The addition - which includes two classrooms, an agriculture education room, building trades shop and wood shop - is separated from the main school building by fire resistant barriers. Darkey said the protective construction saves the district added expense of installing a sprinkler system throughout the whole building due to current building requirements.

Darkey recommended a pitched roof on the building, which he said will last longer than the flat roof design on the rest of the school. The outer perimeter of the building features windows on all sides, set into a split-face block wall. The upper part of the building will be constructed of brick, and the lower portion of the wall will be a textured material to match the brick inlay, he said.

Two regular classrooms, 950 square feet each, will be included in the addition. Each classroom has a countertop to fit four to five computer work stations. Cabinets and storage space are included in the perimeter of each classroom.

All three shops included in the addition - agriculture, building trades and wood shop - have 14-by-14-foot overhead doors to allow for easy access and entry of equipment or construction of pieces for building projects. There is an overhead cover and concrete pad outside each garage door to extend work space for students. The agriculture shop also includes a concrete pad as a foundation for a greenhouse.

Within the addition is a shared welding area with five individual stations. The separate stations allow for specified ventilation, which will improve the efficiency of the work space. The shops also include shared dust collection, sinks and eye wash system.

The pitched roof allows for a mechanical platform above the classrooms and shops to store equipment. A stairway and entrance will be constructed from within an existing family and consumer science classroom.

Representatives from Reynolds Construction said the proposed design exceeds the school board's original budget for the project of $2,526,300. The addition is now estimated at $3,010,508, but representatives said there are some cost-cutting measures the board can use to reduce the estimate to $2,812,108. This includes the use of economy-size brick, the split-face wall design on the outside of the building, elimination of paint on indoor ceiling structures and shared equipment among classrooms.

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Construction on EJHS addition may start in June

Which Room is Best? Any comfortable room can be made into a safe-room, such as a den or extra bedroom. Most of us dont have extra rooms in our homes, so an asthmatics bedroom might be the best option.

How to Set Up an Asthma-Safe Room A safe-room needs to be prepared in advance and should be kept clean at all times. An asthma-safe room must be free of allergens and other asthma triggers, including dust, cockroaches, second-hand smoke, etc. Here are some steps you can take to prepare your asthma-safe room:

1). Remove any dust catchers, such as knick knacks, book shelves, heavy draperies, carpet, and bed hangings. Keep upholstered and stuffed furniture, pillows, and stuffed animals, etc. to a minimum in the safe-room. Bedding should be simple and not include tucks, swags and other embellishments that can catch dust. Window blinds are a great option to replace heavy drapery and curtains.

2). All bedding should be washed once a week in the hottest water safe for each piece of bedding. A wash temperature higher than 130 F is necessary to kill dust mites.

3). Mattresses and pillows (in a bedroom) should be encased in dust mite-proof covers.

4). The asthma safe-room should be free of carpet if at all possible, as it can harbor dust mites, mold, pollen and dirt. Flooring such as tile, concrete, and wood is easier to keep clean. Throw rugs can be used, but should be washed once a week in order to keep them allergen-free.

5). Keep pets out of the asthma-safe room at all times.

6). You might consider the addition of a HEPA air cleaner in order to keep the air free of allergens and other triggers. These do work well; however, avoid air cleaners that work use ionization. Ionization creates ozone, a known asthma trigger.

7). Do not include wood burning stoves or fireplaces in the safe room, as these put off particulates that can cause indoor air pollution, another known asthma trigger.

8). Keep humidity at about 50%, as this will keep the air comfortable to breathe, while keeping dust mites to a minimum. Dust mites thrive when humidity goes over 50%.

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Create an Asthma Safe-Room

Battling: Stephen Larkham

Following the news that Henry Speight will be the latest addition to treatment room, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham remains composed.

A morale-boosting win over the Waratahs on Saturday gave last year's finalists something to cheer after suffering from injuries in recent weeks.

Speight is expected to be out for six weeks with a fractured jaw, joining David Pocock, Christian Lealiifano, Fotu Auelua and Leon Power on the sidelines.

A tough run now awaits Larkham and fellow coach Laurie Fisher as they face a tough run against the Stormers, Rebels, Blues and Reds.

"We have a tough stretch ahead. We've been battered around, we've done a fair bit of travel, but we've found some confidence and cohesion," Larkham told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The guys played some superb rugby against NSW. But we have to be careful with how we manage our squad because of injuries.

"The win against the Waratahs shows we can stand up through pressure ... find a way to solve problems. It allows you to have a belief that you can get through anything no matter what they throw at you.

"We have to get through this period ... we've had our fair share of injuries early but guys who were on the fringe at the start of the season now have an opportunity to play."

Some welcome news for the Brumbies after losing Speight is that Joe Tomane is back in contention after recovering from a foot injury.

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Brumbies battered as Speight falls

By AMANDA CUDA/Connecticut Post/March 16, 2014

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) Susan Maldonado doesnt have time to spend all day in a crowded doctors office or emergency room.

She works full time and goes to school full time, so her time is at a premium. But the Bridgeport resident is sick, and has been for a while, with symptoms that include a high fever.

Looking for some relief, she went to the new Doctors Express Urgent Care clinic on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport, which opened March 3.

For many people, urgent care clinics provide a lower-cost, more accessible alternative to doctors offices and hospital emergency rooms. Theyre typically open longer hours than most doctors offices, and are open on weekends.

Maldonado said that kind of convenience is part of why she picked the Boston Avenue clinic. Its also a two-minute drive from her home and she found the atmosphere of the office, which sits in a strip mall near the Boston Avenue Burger King, a more pleasant environment than most doctors offices.

Its not crowded, Maldonado said. The people arent rude. Its nice.

It seems that others share her interest in convenient health care, as urgent care centers have been popping up at a brisk rate in recent years. According to the American Academy of Urgent Care, the number of these walk-in, stand-alone urgent care facilities has increased from 8,000 to 9,300 within the past five years, and about 50 to 100 new clinics open every year.

These clinics provide a variety of medical services, from treating colds and the flu, to setting broken bones to conducting school- or employer-mandated physicals. Some say the clinics are needed in todays health care landscape, as they help keep uninsured and underinsured people from seeking costly care in the emergency room.

The hospitals are full of people who dont really need (emergency room) care, said Yvonne Lederer, market director for the Doctors Express Bridgeport sites.

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Urgent care centers aim to fill health need

For students living on campus for the 2014-15 academic year, room and board rates will jump about $200 extra each semester, after the Penn State Board of Trustees approved the increase at its March 7 meeting.

The 4.27 percent increase in the average room and board rate , which includes a standard double room and a level three meal plan, is slightly up from last years increase of 4.23 percent, Assistant Vice President for Housing, Food Services and Residence Life Stan Latta said.

What we are trying to do is make sure that we dont have any large spikes in our room and board increase, Latta said. We had a couple of increases in early 2008 and 2009 that were about 6.5 or 6.8 percent, but the last several years they have held pretty steady at 4 percent.

The new increase means students will pay $4,885 per semester for the average housing about $200 extra each semester to live on campus during the upcoming academic year.

Latta said the calculation was made by looking at next years additional expenses, which ran close to what the Consumer Price Index increase will be. Then, an additional 1.75 percent was factored in to help support a 10-year plan in which the university envisions renovating all of East and Pollock Halls at a rate of about two buildings per year.

At the last Board of Trustees meeting, Associate Vice President for Auxiliary and Business Services Gail Hurley said Housing, Food Services and Residence Life are auxiliary programs and are self-sustained enterprises of the university. Because they operate as one financial entity, the program does not get financial support from the university or the state, and therefore all of its funding comes from the student room and board dollar.

Latta said the increase is necessary because as steam rates, utility rates, food and transportation costs go up, all of those costs get passed onto Housing, Food Services and Residence Life. Those costs, along with the price to renovate and refurbish residence halls, are figured into the room and board rate for the following academic year, he said.

As a part of the 10-year plan, Latta said the program has three major renovation plans to help maintain competitiveness among off-campus housing.

These renovations include the installation of air conditioning, the creation of the wet cores that provide more privacy than regular bathrooms, the installment of wireless access to be completed by the end of May and the update of interior finishes that will include movable furniture, new flooring, paint and lighting, he said.

So far, Latta said the universitys previous 10-year plan to renovate South Halls, which will be finished in January 2015, has been a success among students.

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Room and board rates will jump about 4 percent for the 2014-15 academic year

Published: Friday, March 14, 2014, 9:06p.m. Updated 21 hours ago

Pittsburgh's choked hotel market is getting some room to breathe.

More than a dozen hotels are either under construction or will open this year in the city a $168 million investment by developers who are attracted by the market's near 70 percent occupancy rate. The modest boom will add more than 800 rooms to the 4,570 available in Downtown hotels.

The increase will help to alleviate some of the problems visitors may have finding rooms during key events, such as Pittsburgh Pirates games, but the city still lacks an important element for major conventions: a 1,000-room hotel at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

That's what professional meeting personnel tell us, said Craig Davis, president and CEO of VisitPittburgh. That is one reason we fail to attract larger conventions.

The 618-room Westin Convention Center Hotel is the sole major facility directly connected to the convention center. The problems posed by the shortage of rooms Downtown was underscored by the G-20 summit in 2011 when visitors had to travel to hotels in the suburbs to find a place to stay.

While existing hotels Downtown don't like the addition of new hotels, since they tend to take away some hotel guests, as president of the hotel association, I welcome all the new hotels opening in the region, said Tim Zugger, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Hotel Association and general manager of the Doubletree by Hilton hotel, Downtown.

The four hotels opening Downtown are doing it at a good time. Davis said 2015 is shaping up to be the best year ever for conventions, with room bookings 54,000 more than normal. Davis wouldn't say how many total rooms have been booked for 2015 but he said they include events by the Fraternal Order of Police with 19,000 rooms and the Barbershop Harmony Society with 15,000 rooms.

Developers invested $167.9 million in new or renovated hotels last year, up from $76.9 million in 2012, according to Breaking Ground magazine, published by Jeff Burd of Tall Timber Group in Ross. Some of the money is coming from out-of-state developers. They are attracted by the market's stability and relatively high occupancy rate, says a report by HVS Global Hospitality Services Inc.

I don't believe out-of-state developers were significant owners of Pittsburgh hotels prior to the last several years, said Keith McGraw of Sierra Associates in Sewickley, a partner with Mark LaPort in Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. in Raleigh.

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Finding a room in Pittsburgh to get easier as hotels boom

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Common room boost for patient West Craven students

1:58pm Thursday 13th March 2014 in News

WEST Craven High School has marked the last leg of its 6.2 million refurbishment by announcing the addition of a student common room.

The room, due to be finished in September, will be available to Year 11s at the school in Barnoldswick.

Construction giant Keepmoat, which began the renovation of West Craven High in October 2012, has donated 1,000 to establish a common room as a thank you to the pupils for their understanding during the building works.

Roy Barnes, who retired as deputy head last year but has remained at the school to oversee building work, said: This is the biggest investment the school has ever seen and will bring West Craven into the 21st century.

The school has been waiting for a common room for the last 16 years and now, thanks to Keepmoat, we can finally give our students a place to relax and study ahead of their GCSEs.

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Common room boost for patient West Craven students