SALEM The City Council will consider tomorrow night whether the planned $246,930 renovation of the Town Pump Fountain should move forward.

City officials say its time the fountain at the corner of Essex and Washington streets got a makeover, but the best bid for the work came in about $97,000 higher than theyd hoped.

The city has found $163,000 in grants for the renovations, leaving it still about $84,000 short. Mayor Kim Driscoll has requested that city councilors fund the remaining amount from the citys Capital Outlay Renovation and Repair account.

The fountain is at the site of the water supply Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about in his short story A Rill From the Town Pump. It hasnt been renovated since it was erected in 1976, and officials have long eyed altering or doing away with its stone-lined pool, which regularly attracts troublemakers who dump in soap to create bubbles.

Currently, the fountain is in a state of disrepair due to the age of the equipment, Driscoll wrote in a letter to the council. In addition, when it is operational, it has been a source of aggravation and a near-constant battle to keep it clean and free of soap suds.

The work would cut the size of the pool by half and install underwater lights so that they shine through the falling water, thereby enhancing the fountains nighttime appearance. The former part of the pool would be filled in with bricks and could eventually host tables or seats.

It is our hope that the project will activate this space by providing al fresco seating in the warmer months where passers-by can sit and enjoy the refurbished water feature at a key intersection in the heart of the downtown, Driscoll wrote.

The existing steps would be torn up and replaced with concrete blocks inscribed with text from A Rill From the Town Pump. Other work would focus on cleaning the sites bronze plaques and installing a new filtration system.

The fountains restoration would constitute the final of three phases of improvements to the Essex Street pedestrian mall.

The city previously rejected a $343,100 bid for the fountain work.

Originally posted here:
Council to consider fountain renovation

Mangalore: Projects worth Rs 461 crore approved for city - J R Lobo

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal Daijiworld media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Feb 5: "Projects worth Rs 461.55 crore have already been approved for Mangalore city, and work on them will be started soon. The tender process is already on for some of the projects. I will strive hard for the overall development of Mangalore city in my 5 years of tenure," said Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo.

Addressing media persons at the district Congress office here on Wednesday, February 5, Lobo said, "Approvals have been acquired for phase II of projects under ADB, road development, drinking water facility, underground drainage facility, rain water management, and waste management system at various places at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore and procedures are on to implement them. This will indeed be a big step towards further major developments in the city."

He further said, "During the third quarter of this year, a 100 crore project including construction of footpaths on major roads in the city and the development a few main roads will be carried out. Approval has been obtained and the tender process is on. Rs 65 crore has been sanctioned for the project. Rs 9.26 crore sanctioned from the SFC Fund will also be utilized for the same purpose."

On the development of important market areas in the city namely Urwa Store, Urwa, Central Market, Kadri, Kankanady and others, he said a project report and blueprints are ready and sent to the government for approval. "This project has been planned on public-private partnership and the entire project will be carried out at a cost of Rs 300 crore," he said.

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Mangalore: Projects worth Rs 461 crore approved for city - J R Lobo

Three groups in Fountain Hills are asking residents to support them as they vie for $10,000 in grant funding from Republic Services.

The Republic Community Grant program was established in response to the towns request that citizens be allowed to support non-profit groups through the trash haulers Recycling Rewards program.

A citizens committee selected three projects from the five grant applications that were received this year. Town Facilities/Environmental Supervisor Raymond Rees said two of the applications were incomplete so narrowing the field was a simple process for the first effort.

The Fountain Hills Theater is asking for $5,000 to install shade screening over the patio area between two buildings at the theater.

The Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association is seeking $10,000 for the Greening of the Downtown initiative for planting of additional shade trees in Fountain Park.

The L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum is asking for $5,000 for creation of an interactive exhibit emphasizing the value of water in Arizona.

Rees said $10,000 is the amount that is available for the grant this year. That being the case, he said if the FHCCA is eventually awarded the grant there will be no money for either of the other projects. However, if either of the other two is leads the tally of supporters the second place request will also receive $5,000.

Citizens can participate by going to the Republic website and entering under their access codes. They can then use any points they have collected for recycling and designate them for one of the projects.

People who would like to participate in selecting the grant recipient can go to the Republic website or the Town of Fountain Hills website and register for the Republic Rewards program.

People may go to the website and assign their rewards points to one of the projects as often as they like during the voting period, which lasts until May 31. The winner of the grant will be announced at the Town Council meeting in early June.

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3 candidates for Republic grant

Dave March takes a sip of his coffee and looks through the windshield of his car, which is idling in the water in Newport Harbor, Calif., next to his 65-foot yacht.

This has been a dream for 10, 15 years, he says, his gaze fixed toward Catalina. Every time I see that island, I think, Oh, its not that far.

March, 58, has spent more than a decade developing the high-speed amphibious car he is about to take to market for $135,000 apiece.

He has taken deposits from the Prince of Dubai, tycoons in Silicon Valley and millionaires from around the world.

On this day, he hopes to prove the cars mettle by driving it from his WaterCar headquarters in nearby Fountain Valley, Calif., to Catalina Island, 30 miles offshore.

The only problem is he has never tested the car on open water.

March has been building and testing amphibious cars, or amphibians, for years. He filed patents for his first amphibian in 2003. Six years later, he set the Guinness World Record for fastest amphibious car with the Python, which has a 450-horsepower Corvette engine and can hit 60 mph on the water.

The car that March is test-driving to Catalina is the Panther, a smaller, off-road amphibian that can go 45 mph on water and 85 mph on land that is the entrepreneurial fruit of 12 years of trial and error and hundreds of thousands of dollars in research and development.

Ever since he posted a video online of the Panther in action, Marchs phone hasnt stopped ringing. The car already has been filmed in three reality TV shows, including an episode of the current season of The Bachelor.

He also has received a deluge of emails from buyers around the world.

See original here:
Amphibious WaterCar is a pricey, fast boat, too

By Elena Ruiz

elruiz@demingheadlight.com @LenaHeadlight on Twitter

The Deming MainStreet program is looking for local merchants, business owners, or managers who are interested in becoming part of a steering committee. The committee will form an association that will work toward forming a group of local merchants to rebuild and restore downtown Deming.

Interested parties will be asked to create a work plan, organize events with other merchants in the downtown area in an effort to increase traffic and revenue. They will also play a key role in rebuilding the historic downtown district.

"We are trying to get a meeting set up," said Chris Stevens, executive director of Deming MainStreet, "The response has been good. We have five merchants interested so far."

The steering committee will allow local merchants the opportunity to come together to create a merchant's committee and help each other bring new customers and revenue to the downtown businesses.

DMS is a non-profit organization aimed toward the revitalization and restoration of historic downtown Deming.

Chris Stevens, executive director of DMS, worked diligently during the holiday season to promote local businesses and to get the word out to "Shop Deming First."

Stevens has been working on renovating Pocket Park located on Pine St., next door to the Shirt Shop. The park was once the Luna Theater movie house back in the day. Plans to landscape and restore the area are in the works. Stevens assures the project funds are available, noting PNM recently donated $13,000 to the project.

"We are still currently in a planning phase," said Stevens. "The plan is to make the pocket park a friendly and inviting spot for the community."

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MainStreet seeks committee members

San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) January 27, 2014

The Lancer Corporation recently launched the Spartan Beverage Dispenser, a compact, versatile dispenser with a small price tag that provides consistent quality fountain drinks. Made with the highest quality materials, the Spartan is designed to go where other dispensers havent before.

Intended to make the most of your limited space, the Spartan frees an operator from having to mess with cases or pallets of product. An entire pallet of product is equal to just three BIBs. This space savings is also a cost savings and healthier for the environment. Fountain beverages save the environment from the transportation and packaging waste of prepackaged drinks. Fountain drinks are fresh, mixed at the point of dispense instead of bottles or cans that have been sitting stagnant since being packaged at the factory.

The Spartans modular design allows for multiple configurations including two, three or four valves, built-in plain water booster, chiller configuration, cabinet assembly alternative graphics and optional refrigeration systems. The Spartan is a turnkey solution, perfect for low volume commercial accounts, an office, break room, concession stand or home bar, outdoor kitchen or man cave. The Spartan comes with an on board chiller, carb/non-carb flexibility, consumes minimal energy, is easy to install, and is backed by the industry leading Lancer Service Network. Spartan, Big value in a small, economical machine.

About the company: Lancer is a leading manufacturer and marketer of beverage dispensing systems with a passion to fulfill their vision of providing Dispensing Solutions that Pour More. Headquartered in San Antonio, Lancer serves customers throughout the world and maintains sales and/or manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Belgium, Great Britain and New Zealand. Lancer consistently designs, manufactures, and markets superior quality products. Lancer will meet or exceed the customers needs and expectations and is committed to a quality program that drives continual improvement. Please visit http://www.lancercorp.com or call 800-729-1500 for more information.

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Lancer Corporation Launches Spartan Beverage Dispenser

Dave March takes a sip of his coffee and looks through the windshield of his car, which is idling in the water in Newport Harbor, next to his 65-foot yacht.

This has been a dream for 10, 15 years, he says, his gaze fixed toward Catalina. Every time I see that island, I think, Oh, its not that far.

March, 58, has spent more than a decade developing the high-speed amphibious car he is about to take to market for $135,000 apiece. He has taken deposits from the Prince of Dubai, tycoons in Silicon Valley and millionaires from around the world.

On this day, he hopes to prove the cars mettle by driving it from his WaterCar headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif., to Catalina Island.

The only problem is he has never tested the car on open water, and 30 miles is a long way to swim.

March has been building and testing amphibious cars, or amphibians, for years. He filed patents for his first amphibian in 2003. Six years later, he set the Guinness World Record for fastest amphibious car with the Python, which has a 450-horsepower Corvette engine and can hit 60 mph on the water.

The car that March is test-driving to Catalina is the Panther, a smaller, off-road amphibian that is the entrepreneurial fruit of 12 years of trial and error and hundreds of thousands of dollars in research and development.

Ever since he posted a video online of the Panther driving on the freeway, scaling sand dunes and impressing scantily clad ladies at a lake, Marchs phone hasnt stopped ringing. The car already has been filmed in three reality shows, including an episode of the current season of The Bachelor.

He also has received a deluge of emails from buyers around the world.

The embassy of the United Arab Emirates has ordered one, and Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the crown Prince of Dubai, has ordered six. Two of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley each have sent deposits with nondisclosure agreements to prevent their names from appearing in the media. NASCAR drivers are knocking at his door.

More here:
Speedy on Land and Sea

(PRWEB) January 11, 2014

The Holiday Inn Resort, Panama City Beach, kicks off the New Year with several projects to enhance the resort and the vacation experience for springtime of 2014. During the month of January the resort will be working to enhance Aqualand - their kids water playground - with new water toys, as well as adding additional seating in the large lagoon style pool, enhancing the WiFi experience, and installing new tile on several floors of the resort.

We are working hard to keep our resort at the level of excellence our valued guests deserve, while evolving for their future enjoyment, says Jay Canales, Director of Facilities Maintenance for the Holiday Inn Resort.

Its out with the old and in with the new for Aqualand as the resort team replaces a few of the older water features with fun new water toys for kids to explore. These new toys will include an Aquawave and Aquatips Tippin Pirates; the team hopes to have all the new toys in place by February 1st, 2014.

We are very fortunate to have so many of our guests that have become a part of our resort family and visit year after year. We do our best to keep our resort fresh and full of new, exciting features and activities for our loyal guests to enjoy each year, says Philip Colvin, Director of Marketing for the Holiday Inn Resort.

Last year the resort enhanced their large lagoon style pool with underwater speakers, LED lighting, and underwater bench seating. The underwater benches quickly became a favorite spot to relax and it didnt take long for the resort to see the need to expand the seating area, and that is exactly what they plan to do.

During the busy spring and summer season the underwater benches became a prime location for relaxation, and by the middle of the summer we already started making plans for expanding the in-pool seating area so that we could better accommodate our guests. Were also looking to place the Dive-Inn Movie Screen up above the waterfall, so that guests can sit and relax in the pool while watching the movie, Colvin said.

The small fountain pool will remain open and heated for guests to enjoy all month, but for a short time the large pool will close to install additional underwater seating.

As the resort amps up for the spring and summer season the resort team is working hard to make sure that everything is in its best shape from top to bottom. Some of the other projects around the resort will enhance the aesthetic, with new slate tile on the higher level guest floors, as well as increase functionality with a stronger Wifi system and more throughput for all of the guests connected devices.

We hope to have these enhancements completed quickly for you and your family to enjoy, but during the process there may be some noise that comes from these projects between 9am - 5pm. We tried to pick a time of day where there will be the least amount of guests in their rooms, and we will do our best to cause as little disturbance to our guests stay as possible, says Colvin. The Holiday Inn Resort team is aware that our guests have other accommodation options, and are thankful for our guests loyalty to our resort and for their understanding as we work through these enhancements.

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Enhancements Happening At The Holiday Inn Resort, Panama City Beach

Chris Riley, top, and Brandon Pennington, bottom, both water and sewer department technicians for the town of Front Royal, maneuver to clamp this 10-inch water line that ruptured during the cold weather on Tuesday. The town worked to repair two leaks on Tuesday. Rich Cooley/Daily (Buy photo)

Eric Riley, a water and sewer department technician for the Town of Front Royal, saws into the pavement at Virginia Avenue and Sixth Street to repair a water leak on Tuesday. Rich Cooley/Daily (Buy photo)

By Katie Demeria

Though relief from frigid temperatures should arrive soon, the polar vortex that swept through areas of Virginia on Tuesday left many scrambling to prevent a severe impact.

The cold hindered travel in various parts of the commonwealth -- AAA experienced a higher volume of calls than usual Tuesday morning, largely from individuals with dead batteries or cars that would not start.

Mass transit was also impacted, with a cracked Metro rail causing delays in Washington and HOV lanes on Interstate 95 opening an hour later than usual due to frozen gate motors.

During the day Tuesday, the wind chill warning issued by the National Weather Service was decreased to a wind chill advisory scheduled to end at midnight.

NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson said the wind was still blowing throughout the day Tuesday, and would possibly continue to do so through the night, but the temperatures largely did not reach minus 20 degrees, the minimum for a wind chill warning.

"There might still be some minus 20-degree readings at higher elevations, like in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but we wanted to highlight more of what is happening in the valley itself and what will continue through the evening hours," Jackson said.

The Shenandoah Valley likely will see a south breeze today, Jackson added, causing temperatures to rise out of the single digits and into the upper 20s and 30s.

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Cold temperatures impact many in area Tuesday

Installation of rock fountains begins by excavating for the preformed pond liner, but excavation begins by establishing a safe power source for your pump (unless you already have one). Have a certified electrician install a GFCI outlet on your outer house wall, near where the rock fountain will be.

Speaking of safety, another step precedes the installation proper: calling the Call Before You Dig phone number. Why take a chance on severing a utility cable?

As said on Page 1, the granite piece will rest over a pond, supported by a grate. To create the pond, insert a preformed pond liner into the ground. I already had my preformed pond liner in place, since I merely swapped out a prior fountain I had in this area for my new rock fountain (you can see that the landscaping is different in this old picture).

Here's how to install the preformed pond liner:

With the excavation for the rock fountain's pond out of the way, in Step 3 we'll move on to what goes on top of that pond....

Continued here:
How to Install Rock Fountains - Excavating for the Preformed ...