HOT SPRINGS - The Harlou Building, located at 407 N. River Street, in Hot Springs, was recently awarded an historic preservation grant from the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The Deadwood Fund Grant, totaling $16,329 a local match will join this will assist with the repair of windows, the installation of storm windows on the second floor, and the replacement of a non-historic storefront window.

The Harlou Building was constructed in 1893 with Hot Springs iconic building material, local sandstone.

There are four large arched windows with prominent keystones across the second-story faade of the building.

It is called the Harlou Building because HARLOU is carved into a central plaque at the top of the building. The name is a union of the names of the two men who had it built, Dr. Hargens and S. Loudenback.

The second story is from the Victorian era and architecturally, it borrows from Romanesque design, with extremely tall, found, arched windows with large keystones and triangular cornice decorations.

The Harlou Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as contributing to the Hot Springs Historic District.

It previously housed both grocery and furniture stores, the public library, a bakery, Masonic rooms and professional offices.

The Harlou Building joins four other properties that received Deadwood Grants this year. These include:

Wylie Park Pavilion, Aberdeen -- Built about 1912, this pavilion received a $10,000 grant to assist with repair and replacement of wood siding and for painting.

Mortimer Cabin, Oakwood Lakes State Park. This 1869 structure received $13,000 grant award to assist with the replacement of chinking and to repair logs, the stone foundation, and the gable roof ends.

Gale & Ward Bank Building, in Canton was built in 1880. It will receive $12,000 to aid with the re-pointing of the brick masonry as part of a larger rehabilitation project

Ipswichs First Baptist Church, built in 1926, will receive $12,000 to help with replace the roof.

These new recipients represent a total award amount of more than $63,000 with planned matching funds topping $157,000.

The grants are awarded through the State Historical Societys Deadwood Fund grant program. Funding for the program is from Deadwood gaming revenue earmarked by state law for historic preservation projects throughout the state. The program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.

This is the 20th year for this historic preservation grants program, said Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society. In 2016 we awarded $108,204 between 11 projects which had matching funds of $291,301. The resulting total public-private investment is $399,505. This program is designed to encourage restoration or rehabilitation of historic properties and is one more way we can promote and protect our history and culture.

Deadwood Fund grants are awarded twice annually. Grant application deadlines are Feb. 1 and Oct. 1, with applications reviewed at the spring and winter meetings of the State Historical Societys board of trustees.

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education, and is headquartered at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the societys world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit http://www.history.sd.gov for more information.

For more information on the Deadwood Fund grant program, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; tel. (605) 773-3458; or website history.sd.gov/Preservation.

Read more:
Harlou Bldg. receives preservation grant - Rapid City Journal

Windsor Windows & Doors renovated its third employee home through the organization's Employee Home Makeover program early this month. Daniel Marquez-Ramirez, group lead for insulated glass production and 11-year Windsor veteran, was the most recent recipient of the home makeover.

The Marquez-Ramirez home in the Capitol Park neighborhood in Des Moines received roofing and siding repair, window and door replacement, exterior paint and landscaping updates with the help of more than 25 Windsor employee volunteers. Through the planning process and over the course of six days, 25 volunteers donated approximately 675 hours to the project. All expenses were covered by Windsor Windows & Doors.

To date, Windsor volunteers have donated an estimated 768 hours on two previous home makeover projects. The program launched in August 2016 and recipients are selected by a company selection committee. Employees are encouraged to submit individual applications for home improvements they would like assistance with, but may not be able to make on their own due to financial reasons or labor requirements.

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Windsor Windows & Doors Gives Employee Home Makeover - Window and Door

Summer renovation and maintenance work is set to begin on the Bement school campus as part of $2.8 million of building upgrades.

Due to a late start because of a delay in state approval, construction of two secure entryways will take place next summer. Window replacement is expected in September.

But there is still plenty to be done before students return this August, according to Bement Superintendent Sheila Greenwood.

Well be remodeling bathrooms, the ceilings, the roof, fire alarm system. All of those things well get done this summer, she told the school board at its June 14 meeting.

She said window work will require the relocation of some classrooms for short periods of time while the more energy-efficient windows are installed this fall.

To fund the work, the district intends to levy $2.4 million in funding bonds and $425,000 in fire prevention and safety bonds. Greenwood said it should not result in a tax increase since some borrowing went off the books in 2016-17.

No one testified during a mandated public hearing held during the June 14 meeting in regards to the bond issue, which will be considered for final approval at a special school board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 21.

Although not part of the $2.8 million project, Greenwood said some athletic field work is also planned. That will include repainting of the football field and possibly hiring a contractor to help finish work at the

Bement Foundations baseball field. The ball field work is currently being done by volunteers, but is in its fifth year of renovations and the high school team has not played there in several years.

CEO program High School Principal Doug Kepley gave a report on a possible CEO program that could be available to high school students in DeWitt, Piatt and Macon Counties in the fall of 2019. The community-based program has no cost for participating schools, and would see students report to off-campus businesses the first 90 minutes of their school day.

Students basically work through how to set up a personal business, work with businesses within the community to job shadow, to work with them to see how those organizations work, said Kepley. But it also has them to where they have to start up their own business.

Helping coordinate the effort would be the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship, which has programs in operation in 39 communities involving 160 schools.

Although there is no cost to schools, the program would need to raise about $35,000 to $50,000 per year to fund it, mostly to pay a local facilitator.

New teachers Two new teachers were introduced, including a retired Spanish instructor who will be able to provide guidance for the Bement Spanish program for up to 100 days during the school year. A long-term substitute filled the position in 2016-17.

Rachel Halliday has been a substitute teacher in Bement since retiring from Georgetown Ridge Farm, and jumped at the chance to teach Spanish.

Its a perfect fit, as far as Im concerned, said Halliday, who now lives in Monticello. I just like to teach.

Other staff and substitutes will fill the remainder of the school days for Spanish.

Also introduced was recent Eastern Illinois University graduate Marika Rosenberger, who will be a full-time high school math instructor in Bement this fall. Her plans include working with the science department to learn and observe the rare total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, just five days after school begins.

In other business,the board: heard from Kepley that the every other year trip to Washington D.C. went well. A total of 15 students teamed with students from Freeburg, Illinois and Anna, Texas to tour the sites during their four days in the nations capital;

was told enrollment projections for 2017-18 are close to the year before. High school enrollment is expected to be about 100 students, just under the 104 of this year, while 70 middle schoolers should start the school year, up slightly from 68 in 2016-17;

Heard from Kepley that BHS SAT scores averaged 1,005 in the first year of taking the exam for state purposes, compared to the state average of 1,022. He said sophomores will now be required to take the PSAT to prepare them for the SAT exam;

accepted the resignation of kindergarten teacher Sarah Snyder and high school secretary Linda Craney, the latter on Sept. 29;

approved extra-curricular assignments for 2017-18;

approved intergovernmental agreements with: The Cerro Gordo school district for the employment of Jennifer Thomas as part-time art teacher; with the Monticello school district for the shared services of social worker Jill Clodfelter; and with DeLand-Weldon for the shared services of speech language pathologist Erin Anderson;

approved a renewal of the district food services contract with Aramark;

voted to employ Shannon Connelley as district paraprofessional; and

approved the mandated prevailing wage resolution.

Read more:
Summer work scheduled at Bement schools - Piatt County Journal-Republican

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Save Big on Replacement Windows & Patio Doors from Renewal by Andersen - FOX31 Denver

Home Craft Window is one company that meets all the needs for window replacements in Chapel Hill North Carolina.

This press release was orginally distributed by ReleaseWire

Durham, NC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/19/2017 -- For many homeowners, the best part of their homes are the windows. Windows are not only meant for safety and security but also helps to enhance the home style and decor. In addition, they serve as an understated design piece that helps to frame the aesthetic in each room of the house. A broken window on the other hand makes the home look unkempt, along with not being safe. Homeowners who are looking to replace a broken window must think about not only the cost but the quality of the product and the experience of the company.

HomeCraft Windows strives for excellent service and commitment to the customers. They have been providing home window replacements in North Carolina for nearly two decades and offer various styles and options that fit nicely with any kind of classic and modern architectural requirements.

For homeowners that are looking for options, HomeCraft Windows is the right company as they offer a wide range of selections. The company will guide a customer through the process, showcasing a variety of products and solutions, without compromising on quality. They ensure affordable pricing with quality craftsmanship to get the window replacement done.

HomeCraft Windows believes that customer satisfaction and quality of service are the ultimate parameters which have determined their success rate. Over the years, they have maintained an excellent track record of delivering quick and quality service. The technicians are all factory trained and industry certified to carry out all tasks involved.

Get in touch with the experts for free estimate or call them to know more details on Window replacements in Raleigh NC.

About HomeCraft Windows HomeCraft Windows is a one stop solution provider for all replacement windows Durham. They offer quality bay & bow windows, garden windows, slider windows and more at reasonable prices.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/home-craft-windows-offers-window-replacement-at-affordable-pricing-in-raleigh-nc-819037.htm

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Home Craft Windows Offers Window Replacement at Affordable Pricing in Raleigh NC - Digital Journal

In April during the Day 2 keynote, Joe Belfiore showed off a new feature coming to Windows 10 this fall called Windows Timeline.

The premise behind this service was to tie multiple devices, including iOS and Android handsets, into the same ecosystem as your Windows 10 device using the same Microsoft Account and then provide the ability to pickup on various tasks across your devices.

Here is a screenshot that was shared during that keynote of the feature in use on the Windows 10 desktop:

In the Windows 10 Creators Update, which was released back in April, we can see just a small sample of this experience with the pick up where you left off feature between your various Windows 10 devices and the Action Center.

This entry is triggered if you leave one Windows 10 devices and log into another one within 30 minutes.

Windows Timeline in the Fall Creators Update will of course be much more robust than this based on the demo at Build however, there is an app that you could start using today on your Windows 10 devices - including Windows 10 Mobile - to share more than just the websites that are shared in the example above.

Connected Devices, formerly known as Share Across Devices, is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app that allows you to easily share files and links with other Windows 10 devices. They key is that these devices must use the same Microsoft Account in order to facilitate the sharing process.

Here are the features as described by the apps author Steven Countryman aka Simplisidy:

-- With this app, you can share any web link, text, or file from any app to any other Windows 10 Anniversary device that you own. This incudes: Windows 10 desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, Xbox One, and Hololens.

-- Share text instantly to your Windows 10 or Windows 10 mobile devices and have it automatically copied to the target device's clipboard

-- Share urls instantly to any of your Windows 10 devices and have them automatically open in the target device's default browser

-- Share youtube videos instantly to any of your Windows 10 devices have them automatically open in your favorite YouTube apps like myTube and TubeCast

-- Share a single file or multiple files at once to your Windows 10 or Windows 10 mobile devices over local wireless or wired networks that are not blocked by firewalls

So as you can see the key limitation is that the devices must be on the same wired/wireless network in order for sharing to work. Although I can not fully test this today since I am on a work trip and only have one device with me, I also suspect those other devices will need to be turned on to open the app to receive the shared file.

While this is certainly no replacement for the features shown off for Windows Timeline, if you work in an environment where you bounce between Windows 10 based systems in the course of your work, then this could be a very fast way to move content between devices.

This app is also being actively developed by Countryman as you can see from the recent release notes - he is already taken advantage of the new Fluent Design language for elements of his UI:

-- Overhauled file transfer UI for sending and receiving. -- Tweaked UI specially for Creator's Update users on desktop, when receiving text or files, the app now moves into PiP mode and floats in the top right portion of the screen until the user has saved or opened the file or canceled the transfer. -- Desktop users can now also drag and drop files into the app window to share with other devices. -- New name! The app has been renamed from "Share Across Devices" to "Connected Devices" for clarity and consistency. -- New tile icon! -- Added Fluent Design Acrylic to the desktop app for Creator's Update users. -- Added sorting to the devices list so they are now sorted by type then name rather than random. -- Added new initial-landing-page look telling the user to select a device. -- You can also now launch the device selector by clicking on current device window. -- Added ability to favorite devices so they will always be at the top of the list. -- Added ability to rename devices (nicknames) for better readability. -- Enabled ability to attempt file sharing for all devices, even if firewalls are in the way. Will still fail, but now it's your choice. -- UI overhaul to use accent colors throughout the app and tile.

I am really excited about giving this app a real workout once I am back on my home network.

Let us know if you try this and how it works out.

Check out the gallery of screenshots to see what the UI looks like on my local device. The names of other devices I sign into with the same Microsoft Account were already populated in the app first time I ran it on this system.

----------

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

Read more:
Connected Devices UWP App Allows You To Share Content Across Windows 10 Devices - SuperSite for Windows

Its easy to leap to categorizing new products like Apples iPad Pro 10.5 as either revolutionary or evolutionary. Do they break new, uncharted ground, or are they last years flagship, polished and refined for another attempt? At first glance, the iPad Pro 10.5s familiar shape makes it easy to conclude evolution, but Im not so sure.

If anything, that familiarity does the iPad Pro 10.5 no favors. Certainly, the brushed metal casing with its chamfered, polished edges may not stray too far from last years 9.7-inch model, but in reality almost everything is different. New processor, new display, new physical size, new cameras, new hardware controls, new ports, and more.

Question is, does that all add up to an instant-upgrade for existing iPad owners, and does it make the new iPad Pro 10.5 the tablet-to-have?

Bookmark this page, safely turn off your phone or laptop, and head down to the nearest Apple Store. Theres really no other way to fully grasp how incredible the 10.5-inch display on the new iPad Pro looks. Seeing is believing may be a cliche, but were just going to have to push through our discomfort of that, because honestly, this time around its true.

Back from the store? Great. Now lets talk about what Apple has done. The branding because you knew thered be fancy branding, didnt you is ProMotion, but its basically describing a 120Hz refresh rate. If youre not a display tech person, that means the speed at which the display updates its pixels.

Typical displays clock in at 30Hz or 60Hz, which make the ProMotion panel on the new iPad Pro twice as fast. Its no marketing ploy, either. Scroll fast, and unlike with the smeary blur of most touchscreens, you can actually read the text go past on the iPad Pro 10.5. Panning and zooming has a smooth creaminess that reminds you of those early days of multitouch, when the sensation of pinching on a glass capacitive display was so jaw-dropingly fresh.

Factor in the Apple Pencil, and the results are even clearer. The hardware of Apples $99 stylus is unchanged, but the digital ink keeps up far better on-screen than it did before. Apple claims its down to 20ms latency now: the pen-ink system was always this good, but the display technology has caught up to help actually show that.

Everything else changed is the metaphorical gravy on top of ProMotion. With size up from 9.7-inches, Apple threw more pixels at the iPad Pro 10.5 rather than just making them larger. Resolution is now 2224 x 1668, while brightness has increased to an eminently outdoor-usable 600 nits. If iOS spots youre doing something which doesnt require 120Hz itll automatically scale down the refresh rate, saving battery in the process.

True Tone, which adjusts color temperature in a way so subtle as to be almost imperceivable until, that is, you turn it off is still present, and its talents are donated to the also-updated iPad Pro 12.9. You still get an anti-reflective coating to avoid distracting glare.

The iPad has never really been known for its waif-like screen bezels, but that changes with the iPad Pro 10.5. Indeed, despite the significant increase in display, its physically only a little larger than the 9.7-inch version it replaces. Weight is still just over a pound.

The chassis itself is the same, high-quality aluminum and glass weve come to expect. Touch ID has been upgraded to use Apples second-generation fingerprint sensor technology. I cant say I noticed a particular speed increase over the old version, but I did spot the fact that Apple is still using a physical home button rather than the pressure-sensitive pad of the iPhone 7.

What the iPad Pro 10.5 does get from Apples smartphone is its cameras. On the back that means 12-megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture lens, up to 5x digital zoom, and optical image stabilization. The front camera is a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD, with f/2.2 lens and 1080p video recording.

The world is split into those who dont see why you shouldnt take photos with your tablet, and those who believe it to be the height of barbarity. If youre in the latter camp, you might resent the newly-protruding bulge that has been introduced to accommodate the higher-quality rear camera.

Last years iPad Pro was fast. 2017s iPad Pro is even faster. You can credit a few things for that, but primarily its the new Apple A10X Fusion chipset, and the 4GB of RAM its paired with.

Its tough to argue with the idea that getting into building its own mobile chips was one of the best ideas Apple has had in recent memory. The A10X Fusion is a hexacore, designed with both performance and frugality in mind. On the one hand, you have three low-power cores which can crunch more humble tasks while sipping battery power. On the other, you have a trio of potent cores for when you need maximum performance.

The results are astonishing. Synthetic benchmarks may be the tech industrys equivalent of locker room bragging, but the iPad Pro 10.5 has nothing to be ashamed of there. In Geekbench, for instance a popular test of processor and memory performance it delivered a single-core result of almost 4k. The multi-core score in the same test was over 9,300. Theyre numbers which put full, proper laptops to shame, and which allow for high-performance apps with desktop-levels of photo and video processing.

Thats entirely intentional, of course, since Apple wants you to retire your regular laptop in favor of the iPad Pro 10.5. For 2017, 64GB is now the minimum storage tier, and you can ramp all the way up to 512GB if your budget permits. The Lightning port now supports USB 3.0 speeds, while the optional LTE configuration comes with an LTE Advanced modem capable of up to 450Mbps downloads, network depending. All this while still offering 8-9 hours of practical battery life under mixed use, in my testing.

The delta between what would traditionally have been dismissed as a mere tablet and whats a proper laptop alternative is narrowing. Thats not to say the math behind Apples equation is going to be right for everyone.

The 10.5-inch display does allow for what Apple is calling a full-sized on-screen keyboard. Of course, most people wanting to segue from a traditional laptop will still expect a physical keyboard. That likely means Apples own $159 Smart Keyboard.

Its changed a little over the previous version for the 9.7-inch tablet, not least by the frustrating fact that the old Smart Keyboard wont quite fit properly. If youre upgrading, youll need to budget for the new one.

You do get more for your money than just a larger design, mind. The key layout is larger, just like its on-screen counterpart, which does make typing a little less cramped. Apples keys still arent quite as touch-typist-friendly as a regular board, but theyre clickier and more tactile on this new model than before.

What it still wont do is cover the back of your iPad Pro. For that, you either need a third-party keyboard case, or Apples new leather sleeve. You can just about squeeze in the iPad Pro 10.5 with the Smart Keyboard in place, while theres a useful slot for the Apple Pencil too. Its not cheap, mind: youre looking at another $129.

Meanwhile, with only a single Lightning port, youre looking at dongles if you want to add further wired connectivity. Apple offers an SD card reader, for instance, as well as a USB adapter, both of which support USB 3.0 speeds. Youre looking at either $29 or $39 for them.

If youve been keeping track, it means that the cheapest iPad Pro 10.5 setup with keyboard, stylus, and the entry-level 64GB tablet with WiFi-only, will set you back $907. If you want to max out storage and add in LTE, that means $1,079 for the tablet alone. Were right in premium laptop territory.

The iPad Pro 10.5 runs iOS 10.3.2 out of the box, but its hard to escape the feeling that its a stopgap. The real drama will occur when iOS 11 arrives, sometime this summer.

To say the new iPad Pro was designed with iOS 11s talents in mind is an understatement. While the current version of Apples mobile platform may have made steps toward mainstream, desktop computing paradigms like split-window and multitasking, iOS 11 builds on those with the flexibility of drag & drop, and a much enhanced windowed multitasking system. Problem is, iOS 11 isnt ready yet.

From my early experience with iOS 11, its worth the wait. The new Dock, which can be summoned on every screen and expands to accommodate recently-opened apps, is far more conducive to jumping between projects. So, too, is the new App Switcher, which can preserve things like split-screen multi-app states.

Drag & Drop is so cleanly implement, you wonder why it hasnt been a feature for years; so, too, the Files app with its cloud sync support for services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and OneDrive. The iPad Pro will intelligently choose which files to pull down local copies of and which to leave in the cloud, while cross-service search will pull in results from every local and cloud location youre logged into. Youll even be able to make folders of documents from mixed sources.

Factor in an Apple Pencil, and youll get search support for your handwritten notes, and the ability to begin note-taking directly from the iOS lock-screen. With the stylus, youll be able to slot handwritten text and drawings directly in-line within emails, too.

I cant argue with Apples hardware. The iPad Pro 10.5 ticks all the right boxes: it has the superlative display, a processor that comfortably out-performs the needs of any app in the App Store right now, and all bundled into a sleek and long-lasting aluminum and glass slice.

Problem is, right now the software doesnt live up to that hardware. Once youve had a sniff of iOS 11 on iPad, anything before it just seems half-baked if you really want to replace your laptop. The upside is that iOS 11 will arrive relatively soon, and be a free upgrade.

That still leaves a big decision to make, and its one which remains whether you go the early-adopter route or wait until the new iOS versions release day bugs have been ironed out. The iPad Pro 10.5 is not a cheap tablet. When you factor in the accessories youre almost certain to want, it gets even more expensive. Too much, Id argue, to be justified away as a companion device to a laptop.

In short, for most people this needs to be your everyday machine if its to make financial sense. Apple is clearly targeting photo and video pros on the one hand, who will find new apps like Affinity Photo that put the A10X Fusions potency to work; the others will presumably be the same document editing, email triaging, web browsing users who dont want the hassle or complexity of a Windows 10 or macOS machine. For the latter cohort, the iPad Pro 10.5s power and price are probably overkill, but I wouldnt blame you for succumbing to its charms when you see the ProMotion display.

Read more from the original source:
iPad Pro 10.5 Review (2017): Half the laptop-replacement story - SlashGear

2017 Eureka! Innovation award winner: Renewal by Andersen Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal With a sparkling new 124,000-square-foot expansion to its Cottage Grove headquarters, Renewal by Andersen is showing the world that it can talk the talk and walk the walk. The replacement window manufacturer, a wholly owned subsidiary of Andersen ... and more »

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2017 Eureka! Innovation award winner: Renewal by Andersen - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Thursdays Detroit Tigers game felt like a quintessential performance from the teams two pillars. Justin Verlander started in his 366th career game for Detroit, going up against the Rays and pitching seven solid innings as he put himself in position to get the win. But the team lost its 3-2 lead when an unreliable bullpen pitcherthis year, its Francisco Rodriguezsurrendered a solo homer to Steven Souza Jr. in the eighth inning.

With the game tied at three in the bottom of the ninth, Miguel Cabrera came to the plate with a man on first and one out. He took Tommy Hunters 2-1 fastball and muscled it to opposite field, earning his 314th career home run as a Tiger.

This Tigers win was the exception to the norm this year in Detroit. The aging group has slowly faded out of contention, leaving a sub-.500 team likely looking to sell most of its few players of value at the trade deadline.

In the Verlander era (starting in 2006), the Tigers have made the playoffs five times, which is five more times than they made the playoffs in the 19 years before. Due to a number of stellar trades by former GM Dave Dombrowski and some extravagant spending from late owner Mike Ilitch, the Tigers completely changed their image. A team with the most losses in American League history in 2003 became a pennant winner in 2006. In the decade since, Detroit has unendingly employed a win-now philosophy. As Ilitch chased the World Series title he craved, he continued to build up his payroll and gave the okay to swap minor-league prospects for established veterans.

As a whole, the pricey veterans led the team to several exciting seasons but always fell short of the ultimate goal. This generation of consistent division winners was led by manager Jim Leyland, a chain-smoking, no-nonsense baseball lifer who wasnt afraid to call out his team when they lacked effort. Leyland retired in 2013 after a third straight Central Division title, but in a curious move for an aging team still seeking a trophy, his replacement was the former player and first-time pro manager Brad Ausmus. The young manager has also come under fire for his questionable in-game moves, particularly his bullpen strategy. His three years as manager have produced zero playoff wins.

Most representative of the Tigers current situation is Victor Martinez, a broken-down jalopy of a player who, despite giving All-Star caliber seasons just a few years ago, has now become painful to watch. The 38-year-old DH simply cannot run after years of leg and knee injuries. In the past, Martinez could hit well enough to negate that fact, but now hes a liability in the batters box as well as the basepaths.

Detroits stars, Cabrera and Verlander, havent declined as sharply as Martinez, but they still arent what they used to be. Verlander, coming off last years controversial Cy Young loss, has had a few too many shaky starts. In particular, hes given up more free passes than he usually does: The pitchers allowed 42 walks in 14 starts this season. Last year, he walked 57 batters total. Verlanders lasted less than six innings five times in 2017, and has yet to pitch in the eighth inning or later this year.

Meanwhile, Miggy has gone from an outstanding hitter to a merely okay one, by his standards. As hes battled injuries, his slugging percentage sits at .446, a far cry from his usual .500s. At least hes hitting the ball hard:

For the first time in a long time, Verlander and Cabrera are not the Tigers best players or most valuable assets. Those honors belong to outfielder J.D. Martinez and starting pitcher Michael Fulmer, both acquired through savvy transactions. Martinez was released by the Astros at the start of the 2014 season, but since coming to Detroit hes turned himself into a brilliant, reliable source of both contact and power hitting. A foot injury delayed the start of Martinezs 2017 season, but hes returned without any problems at all, boasting an OPS of 1.093. However, Martinez seems not long for Michigan. He enters free agency after this season, and any team currently in playoff contention would pay a high price even for half a season of his talents.

Fulmer, though, is the untouchable jewel of the Tigers future. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year, if he lives up to his potential, could be Baby Verlander. Acquired from the Mets in the Yoenis Cespedes trade, Fulmer is already the teams best option on the mound. Hes posted an ERA of 3.40 this season, with a home runs per nine rate that leads the league and walks per nine rate in the top 10. A shoulder injury indicates that there could be some bumps on the road, but hes extremely valuable.

Technically, there is some hope left for this season, too. Despite a 31-34 record, the Tigers only sit two games out of wild card contention, and 4 games back of the division-leading(!) Minnesota Twins. But somehow, in a mostly mediocre AL, only two clubs have a worse record than the Tigers, and the teams above them (particularly Cleveland) seem poised to improve in the second half. The beat-up old Tigers dont have what it takes for a playoff run this year. Better to sell now than chase a fools dream this year and be left with nothing.

Enjoy the strikeouts of Justin Verlander and the hitting of Miguel Cabreratheyre not going anywhere. Unfortunately, that probably means theyll have to suffer through some dull, irrelevant seasons very soon. But if the Tigers are patient and make the right moves this year, especially if they get some good young guys for J.D. Martinez, the team could trampoline right back into the playoffs. They might be able to rebuild a championship contender just in time for Verlander and Cabrera to still play a small part.

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The Tigers' Window Has Closed, But They Could Reopen It Soon - Deadspin

An independent shop in Perth has appealed for help in an attempt to meet the cost of fixing a window smashed by vandals.

Alison Mountain and Jeanette Sendler, joint owners of Bridgends Hat in the Cat, were horrified to find their display window had been broken last month.

The situation was made worse by the fact it was felt that as the insurance excess was so high it was not worth making a claim for the damage said to be 400.

They put up a notice asking for help from the public to restore the pane of glass and generous donations have helped prevent the hat designers being so out of pocket.

Bridgend has seen an apparent rise in the number of firms being hit by vandals, with Friends Barber and The Cafe on Main Street also seeing windows damaged in recent months.

Since we started asking for help to fix the window, 85 has been donated, explained Alison.

It has been amazing, people clearly see this is a hit to the community image, and residents and even visitors have come inside to give us money.

One lady on holiday very kindly just put 20 in our donation hat.

Its so important that Bridgend starts to pick itself up, and I think people are willing to make that a community effort.

Alison explained why the breakage was such a setback for the shop.

She added: While other businesses have been able to make claims on their insurance policies, our contract is tied into a sizable excess which makes it not worth filing a claim.

Despite the boarded up window panel, master hat designer Jeanette still entered the remaining display spaces into the Perth Festival of the Arts Shop Window Competition.

It was commended as a worthy runner up as part of a contest won by Fair City toy shop, Fun Junction.

Read more here:
Hat designers call for community help to replace smashed shop window - Scottish Daily Record