CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - In Chattanooga, hot days like today usually mean kids flocking to the Coolidge Park fountain. The problem is, it's closed for repairs and has been for the last 10 days.

The "closed for repairs" sign is a disappointing sight for families looking for a free and fun way to beat the heat.

"We're sad because the water was not going," one kid said.

"We were just going to come down here for something different to do in the summer," parent Amber Wyatt said.

A broken pump put the attraction out of service June 13th.

"We had to un-install the pump and have it repaired and when we re-installed the pump, there were a couple other issues and we've had to un-install it again and have some additional repairs done," Chattanooga Public Works Dept. Deputy Administrator Justin Holland said.

Meanwhile, every day dozens of local families have been putting on their swimsuits and driving to Coolidge Park, just to turn back around.

"That's the alternative, papa's going to have to quirt them this afternoon with the hose," grandparent Fred Bennett said.

"If they don't come down here, they go somewhere else so that definitely hurts my sales," Bill's Shaved Ice owner Bill Henderson said.

Having fewer people in the park is costing surrounding businesses.

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Local summer staple closed for repairs

It took three days, a 50-ton lift and a 70-foot flatbed to install Seward Johnsons statue A Turn of the Century, at PPG Plaza.

Passers-by on their way to Market Square Monday through the plaza stopped, took out their headphones and gazed at the 20-foot-tall, 14,440-pound monumental bronze sculpture.

The likeness of a Parisian couple dancing was celebrated Tuesday as the Freya String Quartet played La Vie En Rose, among other works, and the Point Park University Conservatory Dance Company, dressed in bright red, performed Memoirs in Renoir. As the crowd waited for the ribbon cutting, Paris-trained mime Mark Conway Thompson, dressed as Marcel Marceaus character, attempted to mop water back into the plazas dancing water fountain.

"This is another endeavor to give Pittsburgh the look and feel of a European City, Elizabeth Tata, president of Laurel Foundation, said.

The statue, which has been displayed in other cities, is based on an 1883 life-sized painting by impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Bougival.

Renoir used two of his close friends as models for the piece, which evokes the scene at open-air cafes in the Paris suburb of Bougival. Ms. Tata said the foundation brought the sculpture to Pittsburgh because the work reflects the city with European flair, with many plazas and open-air cafes.

The Laurel Foundation was started by Mellon heiress and philanthropist Cordelia Scaife May in 1951 to preserve the citys culture and history. Since Mays death in 2005, Ms. Tata said, the foundation honors her legacy by bringing people to the city with interesting and unique works.

The foundation rented the sculpture for $22,000, which included hauling the three pieces and gluing them together, and it will stay in PPG Plaza until Oct. 3 before the ice rink is installed. Ms. Tata said she hopes the sculpture will bring people to the city. Already, a bridal party took pictures imitating the couple Saturday as the piece was being installed.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said at the ceremony he also hopes the statue will bring people to the city.

"Were a city known for making things and building things, but we are also known for our arts, he said.

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Renoir-inspired statue makes debut at PPG Plaza

The Toronto Star has launched School Work , a project that allows readers parents, teachers, students and others to look at how money is being spent in Torontos aging public schools. Find your school at School Work . Tell us if you think too much is being spent on some jobs. Tell us what jobs need doing to make your school a better, safer learning environment.

Remember the $143 pencil sharpener installation? Thats where the idea came from.

Two years ago, the Star told you that Canadas biggest school board was wasting precious dollars on construction and maintenance. The sharpener was one of thousands of examples. In that case, taxpayers were charged $143 for a Toronto District School Board carpenter to drive to the school to attach the sharpener to a classroom wall with four tiny screws.

We also told stories of the school board paying $190 to replace a toilet seat. Paying $2,442 to mount a $127 whiteboard on a wall. Then there was the electrical outlet $3,000 to put a new plug in a library. That new plug took four hours to install, but taxpayers were billed for 76 hours of labour (almost $3,000), which sources say was done to account for the time of idle workers who had no assignments that week.

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The Star has now obtained and analyzed three years of school board work orders, providing them to the public with simple search functions online at thestar.com . It is a rare chance to examine and comment on how your dollars are spent. In a school board that includes seven schools built in the 1800s, and many more that are 50, 60, or 70 years old, there is lots of work to do. Painting, landscaping, carpentry, wall repairs, electrical repairs, graffiti removal, leaky roofs, water fountain fixes and many more jobs. The ice storm was not kind to schools, and many leaky roofs and crumbling ceilings still need work.

Since the Star first broke the story two years ago, the school board, with the help of strong consultant reports, made some changes, though problems still exist. We spoke recently to Angelos Bacopoulos, chief facilities manager for the TDSB. The veteran public servant is well aware that the province has estimated it will cost $3.1 billion to bring Torontos 600-plus schools into proper, workable, safe condition.

He has an annual budget of about $80 million to tackle it and has joked that he feels like the story of the Little Dutch Boy, so awash is the school board in repair issues.

Bacopoulos said his team has achieved the following:

In August, the school board will attempt to renegotiate its contact with the council of unions the Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council, led by Jimmy Hazel which has a hammerlock on all work done for public schools in Toronto. Even if an outside contractor is brought in to do work the council members cannot do, the contractor has to pay special union dues to the council. That contract expired more than a year ago but the Liberal government extended it to August 2014.

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You be the detective and check out the TDSB

TRAVERSE CITY Mayor Michael Estes push to ban the sale of plastic water bottles at Open Space events didnt wash with his fellow city commissioners, but supporters poured forth enough cash to sprinkle the city with water bottle filling stations.

Objections from National Cherry Festival and Traverse City Film Festival officials sunk Estes proposal, he said, so instead a committee of commissioners turned to private fundraising to install filling stations. City officials and donors will cut a green ribbon for five new fountains made possible through $35,000 in donations today at 1 p.m. in the Open Space west of the Marina.

The whole idea was to reduce the level of plastic water containers that sit in our public parks, Estes said. Ive thought from the very onset they were an excellent idea.

The stations provide both a drinking fountain and a bottle-filling station and also can be ordered with a lower spout to fill water bowls in case anyone wants to sponsor one at the citys dog park, Estes said.

Estes and his wife Rhonda sponsored one of the $7,000 fountains for Veterans Park near the Grand Traverse Commons.

I try to avoid plastic water bottles whenever possible and I thought since I was advocating for them so strongly I should put my money where my mouth is, Estes said.

Hagerty Insurance offered a challenge grant to fund a station if someone else would step forward. Estes said he believes the challenge helped spur other donations.

An anonymous donor agreed to fund a station at the volleyball courts and the operator of the citys sewer plant, CH2M HILL, will fund one in F&M Park. The National Cherry Festival will fund the fifth station on the corner of Union Street and Grandview Parkway.

We do make some revenue off of the water bottle sales, but I also think its important to have the filling stations down there, said Trevor Tkach, Cherry Festival executive director. We want to make sure our customers stay hydrated.

City officials identified other areas in need of water stations and continue to seek sponsors. Anyone interested in funding a station or wishing to make a tax deductible gift should contact Katie Lowran, deputy city clerk, at 922-4480.

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City awash in bottle-filling options

Hub teens have some million-dollar ideas to improve the city and Mayor Martin J. Walsh is all ears.

Boston is poised to set aside $1 million of the citys capital budget, ask kids ages 12-25 for ideas on how to use it, and then empower them to vote for which projects to fund, starting today and ending Friday.

Youth have not been ignored, but not heard for a while, said Naomie Bourdeau, 16, a junior at Snowden International School in the Back Bay. This is the first time I felt like Ive been heard.

Since January teens like Bourdeau, as well as 16-year-old Dorchester triplets Naomi, Brianna and Chantay Robinson, and Sadyia Gurhan, 17, have gathered ideas with Youth Lead the Change, the partnership between the city and the Participatory Budgeting Project.

The group said vetting ideas from the public meetings was a challenge.

Someone said we should install a Gatorade water fountain or something like that, Chantay Robinson said. It didnt make it.

The biggest issue for me was coming up with some good ideas that will benefit people, said Brianna Robinson, a junior at Bedford High School.

To make the ballot, the idea needed to meet capital budget guidelines: feasibility, impact, project need and community need. Between 12 to 14 proposals made the cut, from a free standing graffiti wall for urban artists to playground improvements at Franklin Park and renovations to high school biology labs. Projects receiving the most votes will be funded until the $1 million limit is met. The winners will be announced June 25.

Ashley-Rose Salomon, youth organizer for Participatory Budgeting Boston, said of the kids, They determine how its done. They get to say something and see it get done. Its effective, efficient and its empowering. It actually brings the power back to the people, Salomon said. I feel all too often, especially in marginalized communities, their voices are unheard, so they choose not to vote.

Gurhan, a junior at John D. OBryant School of Math & Science and a member of the Mayors Youth Council, said, Its important because its stuff that will impact them. Its something they can get involved in.

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Boston looks to next generation leaders to improve city

Hub teens have some million-dollar ideas to improve the city and Mayor Martin J. Walsh is all ears.

Boston is poised to set aside $1 million of the citys capital budget, ask kids ages 12-25 for ideas on how to use it, and then empower them to vote for which projects to fund, starting today and ending Friday.

Youth have not been ignored, but not heard for a while, said Naomie Bourdeau, 16, a junior at Snowden International School in the Back Bay. This is the first time I felt like Ive been heard.

Since January teens like Bourdeau, as well as 16-year-old Dorchester triplets Naomi, Brianna and Chantay Robinson, and Sadyia Gurhan, 17, have gathered ideas with Youth Lead the Change, the partnership between the city and the Participatory Budgeting Project.

The group said vetting ideas from the public meetings was a challenge.

Someone said we should install a Gatorade water fountain or something like that, Chantay Robinson said. It didnt make it.

The biggest issue for me was coming up with some good ideas that will benefit people, said Brianna Robinson, a junior at Bedford High School.

To make the ballot, the idea needed to meet capital budget guidelines: feasibility, impact, project need and community need. Between 12 to 14 proposals made the cut, from a free standing graffiti wall for urban artists to playground improvements at Franklin Park and renovations to high school biology labs. Projects receiving the most votes will be funded until the $1 million limit is met. The winners will be announced June 25.

Ashley-Rose Salomon, youth organizer for Participatory Budgeting Boston, said of the kids, They determine how its done. They get to say something and see it get done. Its effective, efficient and its empowering. It actually brings the power back to the people, Salomon said. I feel all too often, especially in marginalized communities, their voices are unheard, so they choose not to vote.

Gurhan, a junior at John D. OBryant School of Math & Science and a member of the Mayors Youth Council, said, Its important because its stuff that will impact them. Its something they can get involved in.

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Hub looks to next generation leaders to improve city

June 2, 2014 City Council meets on election day

Anonymous Ottumwa Courier The Ottumwa Courier Mon Jun 02, 2014, 03:47 PM CDT

OTTUMWA Four public hearings are on tap for the Ottumwa City Council when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 109 at City Hall.

The hearings will focus on a $11,636 2014 JAG grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance; plans for the apron and taxiway overlay project at Ottumwa Regional Airport; estimated cost for the Randolph Street Sewer Repair project; and street improvement plans for the Street Crack Improvement Program in 2014.

Public comment can be made during any of the public hearings.

Other items on the agenda include:

A closed session prior to the 6:30 p.m. meeting for performance evaluation for City Administrator Joe Helfenberg and City Attorney Joni Keith.

Reports from the city department heads, including a discussion on the citys bridges.

Discussion on approving a payment to Alliant Energey to remove equipment from Finley Avenue Lift Station. Cost is estimated at $10,942.46.

Granting permission for the Parks Department to install the bulldog sculptures in the city of Ottumwa and in Central Park.

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City Council meets on election day

The cool, refreshing sound of water is one Texans are working hard to preserve. The First Baptist Church of Austin is also doing its part.

On Sunday, the church dedicated a new water-conserving fountain.

"I keep the water level about this high, and all it's doing is recirculating through some pumps that are in a pit at the center of the water fountain," facilities manager Jim Stanford said.

The $12,000 fountain uses 200 gallons of water, which trickles from three vase-like structures through the fountain's rocks and into a pool below.

"It's not just a source of pride for us, but it's a sign we're trying to be faithful and responsible as we're called to be in the way we use our lighting, the way we use water and the way we use solar power, things like that," the Rev. Roger Paynter said.

The church had to change the original 1969 fountain's design to meet Austin's Stage 2 water restrictions. The new one was donated by parishioners and installed at the end of last year.

Because the fountain is covered, it's easier to maintain, and since there are no chemicals in the water, it's safe for birds to drink, something that brings the parishioners joy as they celebrate conservation and symbolism.

"Thank you for water," Paynter said during the dedication. "The water that is so precious to us here in Austin and the water that is such an important symbol of your presence to us."

Originally posted here:
Church Dedicates Water-Conserving Fountain

The water bureau started draining the 144 million gallon Cobbs Hill Reservoir in preparations of repairing the structure. The reservoir was built in 1909.

Water service to Rochester water customers will not be affected by the construction. Work includes concrete and crack repairs and fountain maintenance. Crews are also working on the Upper Gate House portico floor, pipe gallery, screening wells and walls. The project costs $3 million.

This is one of the city's three reservoirs that draw water from Canadice and Hemlock Lakes.

"Water flows through here everyday into the city," said Bob Morrison, Director of Bureau of Water City in Rochester. "It's one the most important things any water bureau can do and that is preventative maintenance to its system to keep reservoirs, piping and tanks running. That is the most important thing we do in our capital programs."

Work on the reservoir will continue through the next several months. The reservoir is expected to be refilled in December. Cobbs Hill Park will remain open during renovations.

Rochester was voted "Best Tasting Drinking Water in NYS" at the Water Works Annual Convention earlier this month.

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Cobbs Hill Reservoir Being Drained

RICHMOND, Va. In the heart of VCUs campus, construction isthe new normal, but many say heavy flooding has also been a familiar sight, for too long.

As evidenced last week when a fast-moving, heavy storm flooded the intersection of Grace and Harrison Streets, it was temporarily a mini-lake.

It was five feet over the curb, said Village Cafe bar manager Chris Brumfield.

I wondered if it was going to ruin the tiling in the restaurant if we were going to have to shut down for a while,said Ariel Schultz, who works at Panda Garden.

Businesses like the Village Cafe say they felt the brunt of the flooding, and last week wasnt the first time.

Everytime it rains, it floods from outside drains in through ours, said Ray Ralph, Bartender, Village Cafe.

From like the door, it started coming in a little bit from outside, but then it will also come in from out here and kind of dispense to a couple of booths down there, Ralph said. And then, downstairs started to get wet from coming out of the bathroom.

Ralph told CBS 6 that the problem stems from the citys overflowing sewer system.

The city came down and cleaned out the sewage not too long ago because we got complaints about it smelling bad, Ralph said.

According to Richmonds Department of Public Utilities, the city is well aware of the issue experienced by those businesses, and has been for some time.

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City responds to dire flooding problem in the Fan