Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A property's exterior says a lot about it, and investing in the right siding can help attract buyers and help a home sell quickly. That's good news whether you're selling your own home or flipping a house to sell.

But which siding material should you choose? If your goal is to make your property look more attractive while increasing its resale value, fiber cement could make a lot of sense.

A few key ingredients go into fiber cement siding:

Fiber cement is a popular siding option for a few reasons. First, fiber cement is extremely durable, and if installed correctly, it's designed to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Fiber cement also looks great. Often, it mimics the look of painted wood, only it doesn't require nearly the same level of maintenance as wood siding, which can rot over time. Wood is also subject to termite damage, whereas fiber cement is not.

The one thing fiber cement doesn't always do the best job of, however, is insulate. In that regard, you may be better off with vinyl siding. But from an aesthetic standpoint, you might feel fiber cement offers a more natural look than vinyl.

The average cost to install fiber cement siding is $19,700, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That's definitely more expensive than vinyl siding, which costs $15,800 on average.

On the other hand, with fiber cement siding, you'll get a better return on investment. The NAR reports that those who install fiber cement add $15,000 of resale value as a result, which means they recoup 76% of their investment. With vinyl siding, the cost recovery is just $10,000, which means 63% of that investment is recouped.

Fiber cement siding looks attractive and has a relatively high cost recovery value. If your existing siding is worn and needs to be replaced or you're completely flipping or building a house from scratch that needs siding, it's worth looking at fiber cement, as it may offer more aesthetic appeal than vinyl.

That said, if you're thinking of installing fiber cement siding for a home you plan to live in yourself, you should know there will be more maintenance involved. With vinyl siding, you'll usually just power-wash your exterior once or twice a year to keep it clean. Fiber cement siding, however, may need to be recaulked or repainted every few years, so make sure you're up for that level of maintenance (or have the means to outsource it) before moving forward. In addition to that, prepare to power-wash your fiber cement siding once or twice a year the same way you would vinyl siding.

All told, fiber cement could be a great addition to your home, one that contributes to its curb appeal for many years to come. The fact that it could add resale value is certainly something to factor into your decision.

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Fiber Cement Siding: Worth the Investment? - Motley Fool

I watched flames dance on the nearby ridge. The air was hot and dry, the night suffused with a red haze. Too tired and too hot to sleep, I lay atop my sleeping bag mesmerized by the fire. It had menaced the incident command post days before, nearly forcing relocation. We were wary. It was mid-October and I was seven days into a fire assignment on the 2003 Old Fire complex in the San Bernardino Mountains that lasted until Thanksgiving.

That year Southern California fires cost over $3 billion, burned more than 750,000 acres, destroyed 3,710 homes and killed 24 people.

Nearly 17 years later, not much has changed. Wildfires are still burning millions of acres each year, destroying homes, killing people, decimating economies and environments. And we continue to focus on trying to put them out rather than on helping communities prepare for wildfire. More funding and focus needs to go toward local communities in high-risk areas to help them build effective risk reduction programs.

Perhaps were missing the forest for the trees.

Does wildfire risk reduction work? As noted in the report Lessons Learned from the Waldo Canyon Fire (which I helped write), The cost benefit ratio for the mitigation efforts for the Cedar Heights neighborhood was 1/257; $300,000 was spent on mitigation work and $77,248,301 in losses were avoided. Combined cost benefit ratio was 1/517 for the three neighborhoods with the highest impacts.

Thats an impressive return on investment.

Wildfires arent going away, and we dont necessarily want them to. Small, low-intensity fires at regular intervals are critical to maintaining healthy forests.

But an array of forces Smokey Bears 75-year-old message about the importance of preventing forest fires, previous national policy to suppress fires, increased building in the wildland-urban interface and, yes, climate change have combined to produce the devastating fires we see today.

National and state land management and fire management agencies are changing their policies to allow good fires to burn for ecological benefits. They are also working to reduce the buildup of fuels near high fire-risk communities. But we wont catch up anytime soon.

A 2009 federal study concluded that creating fire adapted communities was the best hope to mitigate exponentially increasing wildfire costs. It stressed that pre-fire mitigation could help communities live safely with wildfire on the landscape without the need for extensive suppression efforts.

To be clear, not all structures can survive all wildfires. Most of the current West Coast fires demonstrate especially destructive extreme fire behavior due to Santa Ana winds. But adaptive measures greatly increase survivability. Mitigation experts have identified the elements that adapt a community to fire:

The community needs local understanding of where its risk is. The town of Paradise, Calif., is a good example of a community that was wholly at risk. But most towns have only certain at-risk neighborhoods or areas, depending on fuel buildup, topography, prevailing winds and structure development.

Key to reducing risk is hardened structures. In terms of wildfire, that means replacing combustible portions of a structure such as wood shake roofs or wood siding with less flammable materials, and installing metal screening on vents.

Coupled with hardened structures is the creation of defensible space, clearing combustibles from around a structure up to 100 feet. Removing potential fuels slows the fire and provides a place for firefighters to deploy.

Most civilian fire deaths occur during evacuations, which often happen too late or result in traffic jams because there are not enough exit routes from a community. Establishing many safe evacuation routes helps move people out of danger quickly.

Safe zones are a last resort. They are usually a large open area where fire is less likely to reach: a football field, golf course, etc. But extreme fire behavior makes safe zones less reliable.

Both public and private land managers should work to reduce hazardous fuel buildup and create healthy, resilient forests near communities. This might be accomplished by thinning, harvesting or prescribed burns.

Appropriate land management also means restricting development in high wildfire environments. Thats a difficult sell. Few communities have wholly embraced the curtailment of new development.

Community fire adaptation requires a local mitigation collaborative made up of key community stakeholders state, federal and local policymakers, landowners and residents. The concept was embraced by the nations fire world, but sufficient funding was not provided.

For decades, anemic national mitigation funding focused on messaging in hopes that education and awareness would result in mitigation. It hasnt worked.

The fire world has spent billions developing a state-of-the art wildfire suppression infrastructure that provides for equipment, training, staffing, teams, logistics, supplies and expertise that can be mobilized quickly and efficiently. Conversely, very little has been spent to build community wildfire risk reduction programs focused on what can be done before the fire starts.

Developing, creating and maintaining a focused local wildfire mitigation program takes funding, expertise and staffing, things most high-risk fire communities dont have. Several interagency programs are trying to address those shortfalls. National Mitigation Best Practices Training teaches specialists what methods work to engage residents and communities to reduce risk. National Community Mitigation Assistance Teams (CMATs) deploy to communities to help them create strong mitigation programs. Both these programs are new, developed in the last five years, and are still evolving. Both programs are free and supported by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.

Those are only two pieces of the puzzle. The nation needs a national mitigation infrastructure (like the one that supports the national fire suppression effort) to provide interagency coordination of funding, consistent training for mitigation specialists and a focus on strategic work in high risk areas.

Without a coordinated, national, strategic effort to support mitigation at the local level, well see more homes destroyed, more lives lost, more tax dollars go up in smoke. If we continue to invest only in firefighting, well get ... more firefighting.

Whats the saying? If you always do what youve always done, youll always get what youve always gotten.

Pam Leschak, of Side Lake, Minn., and Boise, Idaho, recently retired as the national program manager of Wildland Urban Interface/Fire Adapted Communities for the U.S. Forest Service.

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OPINION EXCHANGE | Down-to-earth management of forests and development could limit wildfire disasters - Minneapolis Star Tribune

WASHINGTON Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared Friday he will support President Donald Trump in attempting to fill the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs Supreme Court seat this fall, despite the imminent presidential election.

Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise, he said in a press release. President Trumps nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.

McConnell famously refused to allow former president Barack Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to proceed in 2016. At the time, McConnell argued it was an election year and voters should decide who filled the next Supreme Court seat; Garland was nominated in March of that year, eight months away from the election.

Responding to cries of hypocrisy from the left, McConnell has said that rule only applied because the Senate was controlled by a different party than the president; he reiterated that argument Friday.

Trump himself did not appear to be aware of Ginsburgs death when McConnell released the statement. The news of Ginsburgs death came during a campaign rally in Minnesota, where Trump did not show any indication he was aware of the news, aside from praising his potential future Supreme Court nominees, including Sen. Ted Cruz, and emphasizing the importance of the election for the future of the court. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McConnell has long been on record saying he would appoint a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court in 2020 if a seat opens up, despite blocking Obamas nominee in 2016. Oh, wed fill it, McConnell told supporters in Kentucky last year.

The Friday night announcement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death comes less than seven weeks before the next presidential election. But even if Trump loses to Joe Biden, Republicans will control the Senate until at least January.

Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-seat chamber. In the event of a tie, Vice President Mike Pence casts the tie-breaking vote. Because of that, four Republican senators would need to object to a new Supreme Court nominee in order to block a nomination, assuming all Democrats are opposed.

The White House is poised to swiftly name a nominee Trump released a list of Supreme Court candidates hed like to nominate just last week. The unusual practice of publicly naming potential candidates has given the administration and conservative legal advocacy groups time well in advance of an actual open seat to vet potential nominees and develop a confirmation strategy. Trump announced the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh just two weeks after now-former justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement in July 2018.

Republican nominees already hold a 54 majority on the Supreme Court, but replacing Ginsburg would shift the court even further to the right; justices serve lifetime appointments and can only be removed through impeachment, so the next justice could spend decades on the bench. Trump has lashed out at Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. for siding with Ginsburg and the courts liberal wing in rulings against his administration, suggesting he would try to fill the next vacancy with a more politically reliable nominee.

According to NPR, before she died, Ginsburg told her granddaughter: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

McConnell has been open about filling judicial vacancies and the reshaping the ideological makeup of the courts being the top priority of the Senate under the Trump administration. Under his watch, the Senate has rarely passed meaningful legislation, but it has confirmed more than 200 of Trumps judicial nominees.

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Lindsey Graham released a statement Friday night expressing great sadness about Ginsburgs death, but he did not address what he would do if Trump announced a nominee. In October 2018, Graham said, If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait to the next election. Asked to confirm that statement at the time, Graham replied: Hold the tape.

Grahams office did not immediately return a request for comment. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is also on record saying he would not support a Supreme Court nomination in 2020, though he and Graham have been more reliable party-line voters over the past four years.

Trump has made the future of the Supreme Court a central part of his reelection strategy, similar to his approach in 2016. Last week, he added 20 more judges, politicians, and lawyers to the two dozen names already on his short list. Conservative operatives have long predicted that Trump would choose a woman as the nominee if Ginsburgs seat became open, either through her retirement or her death, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and Judge Joan Larsen of the 6th Circuit long considered frontrunners.

The confirmation timelines for Trumps first two Supreme Court nominees offer a guide for how a third nomination could play out over the coming months.

It took just over two months from start to finish for the Senate to confirm Trumps first Supreme Court nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch. He was nominated Feb. 1, 2017, and confirmed 5445 on April 7, 2017. Democrats were largely united against his nomination, and McConnell pushed through changes to Senate procedure to make it all but impossible for Democrats to use a filibuster to block Gorsuchs nomination from going forward.

Trumps second Supreme Court nominee, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, proved even more divisive than Gorsuch, but even that bitter political fight only took three months from nomination to confirmation. Trump announced Kavanaughs nomination July 9, 2018, and the Senate confirmed him Oct. 10, 2018, a time period that included an additional Senate hearing to vet allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when they were both in high school decades ago; Kavanaugh denied the allegation, and he was confirmed 5048.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have both said they would oppose voting for a Supreme Court nominee too close to the 2020 election, though those statements were made before Ginsburgs death was announced Friday evening. Both senators, as well as Mitt Romney of Utah, have cast high-profile votes in opposition of Trump. Collins voted with Murkowski and the late John McCain to kill Obamacare repeal. Romney voted to impeach Trump earlier this year. Murkowski voted against Kavanaughs nomination to the Supreme Court (Collins voted in favor, while Romney was not yet in the Senate). None of their offices immediately responded to requests for comment from BuzzFeed News about the new vacancy.

Link:
Mitch McConnell Said The Senate Will Vote On Trumps Replacement For Ruth Bader Ginsburg - BuzzFeed News

Nailing It Down

By Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty

Its one of the ickier household chores: Getting the dirt and dead flies out of your window tracks.

However, there is an easy way to thoroughly clean the tracks that is quicker and not as distasteful. We think its a great end-of-summer chore.

Giving windows a true cleanup

Before you thoroughly wash your windows for the season, we suggest cleaning up the window tracks so that your entire window will look like new!

Its not all about aesthetics: a scrubbed up, bug-free window track is also a sign that your window will work efficiently, allowing rainwater to drain properly through the irrigation channels hidden under the track to the outside.

Im sure you know what were talking about. The grime, dirt, specks of mold and families of flies that quickly accumulate in the tracks of your windows are simply gross.

Even if you are someone who is diligent about cleaning them, its typically hard to get them truly clean. Plus you may not have realized how much it can help to have the irrigation channel hidden under the window track clean. If it is clean, it will prevent moisture from seeping into your window frames and siding.

So, heres how you do it: First open your vinyl or aluminum openable window all the way. Then lift the moving portion of the window completely out. (Yes, you can do that!) Now you can take a putty knife and pop out the lower track so that it exposes the window frame. Yes, it does come out. Just lift the movable portion and clean. (Do take note of how it was sitting in the window frame first so youll know which end to put where.)

So then you clean the part you removed and also clean and dry the area underneath the track. When the underneath and the track itself are clean and bug free, just place the window track back in, followed by the window.

Now, that feels better, doesnt it!

While you are paying attention to your windows, take a good look at the caulking around them.

Caulking keeps moisture out

The UV light of the sun damages caulk. A good caulk job should be hidden from the sun and elements by paint or flashing whenever possible. So, if the caulk around windows and doors looks like its weathered, its time to start fresh. Of course the optimal time to do this is before you paint. But if your inspection shows that new caulk is needed, dont delay and then paint over it when cured.

For starters, take a sharp tool which will cut out the old caulk and remove it to sound wood or metal. Caulking over existing caulk not only doesnt look as nice but it can also inadvertently trap moisture behind it defeating the purpose of caulking to begin with!

Once the affected section of caulk is removed, carefully apply new caulk. Use a wet finger or smoothing tool to seal the edges in tightlyless is more and covered is best.

Check for Z flashings at window

While you are inspecting your windows, take a look from a different angle and go outside.

Most homes have something called Z flashings or head flash which is located on top of the trim board for your windows.

The Z flashing diverts water away from the top of your window. Yes, your windows still show raindrops; however with Z flashing the majority of the water is directed away from the top of your window. This helps prevent leaks and the trouble they create for siding, trim and window frames.

However, not all homes have Z flashing above their windows. The better older homes back in the day had a sloped head trim board to do this job. If this is your type, make sure the wood is sound, caulked and well painted.

If your windows are leaking and dont seem to have flashing, take a trip to your local hardware store and talk to the folks there about how to install some. Or, its a good project for a licensed professional to install them.

Reviewing last week

Now that you are on a roll, lets review some of the end-of- summer chores we mentioned in last weeks column.

We reiterated that there is likely still time to paint your house before the weather turns. In our climate, its ideal to paint a homes exterior every five to seven years.

A good paint job is important for your houses siding. It helps keep out the water, mold and mildew out!

However, even if you dont paint your house this year, a scrub with 30 Second cleaner and a good rinse will get the grime off and actually help your current paint job last.

We also stressed ladder safety in the same breath as what to do if you dont have gutter guards to keep out debris or your gutters themselves need to be secured tightly to your house, this is also a great time to take care of those issues.

Dont forget to use a ladder stand-off and be sure the ladder is on solid ground when you use it to wash the outside of your windows.

One more reminder: After the winds earlier this week, you may have become extra aware of trees that are near your house. In fact, any grass, tree or shrub that is touching the siding or roof of your house needs to be cut back so its at least one-foot from any structure.

And of course, if you see any dangerous limbs or unstable trees taking care of that now before the fall storms blow in.

Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty are construction specialists at NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor County, where Murnen is executive director. This is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing opportunities for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about the ductless heat pump program or home repair, housing counseling for renters and landlords, home buyer education and buying, call 360-533-7828, listen to the extension picks that will best help you and leave a callback name and number. Due to COVID-19, our office is not currently open for a visit, but we will call you back.

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A trick to banish flies from your window tracks - The Daily World

Ruth Bader Ginsburg feminist icon, legal giant, toast of pop culture left this statement with granddaughter Clara Spera as cancer closed in: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

The big picture: For all that the nation owes "Notorious RBG" the hip-hop-inspired nickname she enjoyed and embraced Republicans are planning to do their best to be sure her robe is quickly filled, despite that last wish, with her ideological polar opposite.

The Trump court, solidified with an astonishing third court pick in 3+ years is the more likely outcome.

Here's what we learned from both parties after the justice's death at 87, from metastatic pancreatic cancer, was announced about 7:30 p.m. ET:

Republicans familiar with the thinking at both ends of Capitol Hill say that every signal points to moving fast:

Jonathan Swan reported last year that when U.S. Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Chicago came up as Trump was picking a successor to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the president said: "I'm saving her for Ginsburg."

Look for Republicans to ignore the precedent they set when they stonewalled Merrick Garland, after he was nominated by President Obama in 2016.

Remember that the title of the wily McConnell's memoir is "The Long Game."

Politico's Tim Alberta author of "American Carnage," the best modern book on Republicans says in a smart piece:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Sean Hannity on Fox News that it's "critical" a justice be confirmed before Nov. 3, in part because of the possibility of a "constitutional crisis" if there were a 4-4 split over a disputed election outcome.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, hoping that this election will make him Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, can be expected to fight ferociously against a rocket-docket confirmation.

Howard Wolfson, a Mike Bloomberg strategist who's a veteran of Senate campaigns, writes in his Daily Biscuit newsletter:

Reporting was contributed by Zachary Basu, Alexi McCammond, David Nather, Hans Nichols, Jonathan Swan and Alayna Treene.

Go deeper: Ginsburg's life ... What they're saying.

Continue reading here:
A court fight for the ages - Axios

The United States unilaterally proclaimed on Saturday that UN sanctions against Iran are back in force and promised to punish those who violate them, in a move that risks increasing Washington's isolation but also international tensions.

"Today, the United States welcomes the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

According to him, the measures were "back in effect" from 8pm Washington time (0000 GMT Sunday).

The government of US President Donald Trump also promised to "impose consequences" on any UN member state that does not comply with the sanctions, even though it is one of the only countries in the world which believes they are in force.

Tehran's 'reaction has been largely restained' to new US sanction threats, FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah

The threat is formidable: those deemed to be in defiance by Washington will be denied access to the US financial system and markets.

"If UN member states fail to fulfiltheir obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of UN-prohibited activity," Pompeo stated.

He promised that measures would be announced in coming days against "violators".

Iran condemns US sanctions, calls on international community to 'stand against these wreckless actions'

'False claim'

With 45 days to go until the November 2 election, Trump could unveil those measures during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

However Washington is almost alone on the issue: all the other great powers China, Russia and also the US'sown European allies have challenged the claim.

"Any decision or action taken with a view to re-installing [the sanctions] would be incapable of legal effect," France, Britain and Germany said in a joint letter sent Friday to the Security Council and of which AFP has obtained a copy.

The Russian foreign ministry on Sunday condemned the United States' unilateral declaration that UN sanctions on Iran are back in force, saying that Washington's statements lacked legal authority.

"The illegitimate initiatives and actions of the United States by definition cannot have international legal consequences for other countries," the foreign ministry said in statement.

Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, also lamented the decision.

"It's very painful to see how a great country humiliates itself like this, opposes in its obstinate delirium other members of UN Security Council," he tweeted.

"We all clearly said in August that US claims to trigger #snapback are illegitimate. Is Washington deaf?"

'America's maximum pressure has turned into America's maximum isolation'

Reacting to the US move, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran had thrown the US into "maximum isolation". "America's maximum pressure against Iran, in its political and legal aspects, has turned into America's maximum isolation," Rouhani said during a televised cabinet meeting.

The Americans themselves realise the statement is a "false claim", Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said Saturday.

How did the UN arrive at this spectacular stand-off between the leading superpower and the rest of the planet? To answer that, one has to go back at least one month.

In mid-August, Trump's administration suffered a resounding defeat at the UN Security Council when it tried to extend the embargo on conventional weapons being sent to Tehran, which was due to expire in October.

Pompeo made an unusually vehement attack on France, Britain and Germany, accusing them of "siding with Iran's ayatollahs", and on August 20 announced a controversial move known as the "snapback", which aimed to re-establish all sanctions against Tehran a month later.

The sanctions were lifted in 2015 when Iran signed on to an international agreement not to seek to build nuclear weapons.

But Trump said that the landmark accord, negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, was insufficient and withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018, then renewed and even strengthened Washington's bilateral sanctions.

Iranians react to US slapping new sanctions 'we need to find a solution'

Legal pirouette

At the moment, the US is insisting it is still a participant in the agreement that it stormed out of, but only so that it can activate the "snapback" option.

Virtually every other member of the Security Council disputes Washington's ability to execute this legal pirouette, and the council has not taken the measure any further.

But this dialogue of the deaf has gone on unabated: the Trump administration acts as if the international sanctions are in place, while the rest of the international community continues to act as if nothing has changed.

Washington is hammering home that the arms embargo has been extended "indefinitely" and that many activities related to Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes are now subject to international sanctions.

But "I don't see anything happening", said one UN diplomat. "It would be just a statement. It's like pulling a trigger and no bullet coming out."

Another diplomat deplored the "unilateral" US act, saying that "Russia and China are sitting, happy, eating popcorn, watching" the "huge destabilising fallout" between Washington and its European partners.

But if the United States were to carry out the threat of secondary sanctions, tensions could continue to spiral.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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US unilaterally declares UN sanctions on Iran are back in force - FRANCE 24 English

LEVITTOWN, PA Here are some of the past week's top news posts from the Levittown Patch site. You can scroll through the headlines below and click on the links

Share your local news, events and photographs by clicking "+" at the top of any page, or email Patch editor Doug Gross at doug.gross@patch.com.

Pedestrian Killed In Rt. 1 Hit-And-Run In Fairless Hills

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Drive-Thru Wawa In Falls Twp.: Groundbreaking Photos

Groundbreaking On Drive-Through Wawa In Falls Is Tuesday

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Pennsbury Superintendent Gretzula Announces Retirement

No Arrests In Fairless Hills Shooting, Victim Still Hospitalized

Mary's Cupboard Seeks Backpack Donations

The Supreme Court has decided ballots received up to three days after the election will be counted.

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Bristol Riverside Theatre Gets $93K In CARES Funding

The Supreme Court has decided ballots received up to three days after the election will be counted.

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Bristol Gets Money For Eviction Relief

Fitzpatrick, Finello To Debate In Bucks Congress Race

Bucks Co. Announces Ballot Drop-Box Locations For Election

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Deadly Hit-And-Run | Drive-Thru Wawa: Levittown News - Levittown, PA Patch

The level of competition among the local HS football landscape has been steep when it comes to Staten Islands gridders, particularly over the past decade.

Now, were asking the readers who you think has been the BEST on the gridiron over the last ten years.

Ten nominees from four different schools - each of which either claimed the Al Fabbri or Fred Fugazzi award as the Islands top player - appear on the ballot.

Check out a brief description of each player with some noteworthy stats below before voting in the poll at the bottom of this story. You can vote as many times as you like.

Roland Dempster (Tottenville) -- The most recent Al Fabbri winner in 2019, Dempster rushed for 1,368 yards as a senior, to go along with 17 TDs.

Roland Dempster in action. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez)

Mike Jones (Tottenville) -- A teammate of Dempster in 2018, Jones was a dual threat as a receiver and out of the backfield -- hauling in 26 receptions for 654 yards, while adding 225 yards on the ground during his senior campaign. He tallied 10 scores.

Amad Anderson (Curtis) -- A co-winner of the 2017 Fabbri Award, Anderson racked up 833 receiving yards on just 27 receptions, while rushing for an additional 283 yards. AA tallied 15 total TDs that season.

Former Curtis star Amad Anderson Jr. now plays for Purdue. (Staten Island Advance/Shira Stoll)

Quincy Barnes (Curtis) -- Andersons QB and Fabbri co-winner threw for more than 2,000 yards and scampered for 395 while racking up 32 total TDs.

Curtis quarterback Quincy Barnes completed a whopping 63.8% (94 for 149) of his passes during his senior year in 2017. (Staten Island Advance)

Stephen Viegas (Monsignor Farrell) -- In 2016, Viegas ran for 1,376 yards and 13 TDs. He posted three 200+ yard efforts that season.

Stephen Viegas on his way to the house.

Jesse Bramble (Tottenville) -- A do-it-all threat, Bramble ran for 926 yards and 13 TDs in 2015, and he hauled in 16 passes for 414 yards and four more scores. He also returned four punts for touchdowns and three interceptions for scores.

Dawa Winn (New Dorp) -- In 2014, he ran for 1,226 yards and nine TDs.

James Munson (Tottenville) -- A hard-hitting safety with a nose for the football, Munson held down the secondary with a pair of interceptions, while he added 465 receiving yards and 11 TDs on offense in 2013.

Kevin Austin (Curtis) -- In 2012, he ran for 1,500 yards and 20 TDs.

Alvin Cornelius (Tottenville) -- A two-time Fabbri Award winner, Cornelius nabbed 26 receptions for 634 yards (21.7 yards per reception). He ran for an addition 272 yards and totaled 14 scores in 2011.

Alvin Cornelius takes one up the sideline.

The poll will remain open until Friday at noon, when the winner will be announced -- feel free to vote as often as youd like and be sure to check back in on the standings throughout the week!

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Poll: Who was Staten Islands best HS football player of the last decade? - SILive.com

Global warming has made forecasting weather a big gamble. Generally speaking, Hawaiis rainy season is usually November through April. The exception is Kona that has a summer rainy season with a dry winter. Other variables include elevation and the effect of moisture-bearing tradewinds. Thus mauka areas of the windward side may receive 200 or more inches of rain while coastal South Kohala may receive very little rain throughout the year. On the leeward side, coastal Kona may receive 30 inches of rain in the summer, but at 2,000 to 4,000 feet elevation, summer rainfall may be 60 to 100 inches. Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary at 3,000 feet in Kaloko Mauka has recorded no dry season for almost three years while the windward side has experienced unusually dry weather.

Wherever you live, the first plants to show water stress are those with shallow roots like grass and many groundcovers. These are good indicators as to when you need to irrigate. They are also likely to tell you when to fertilize if you are sensitive to your plants needs. You should apply plant nutrients when the soil is moist during rainy periods or when you can supplement water with irrigation.

Whether you have a home with a large yard or an apartment with a small lanai, plants create a more luxurious mood. Attractive trees, shrubs and lawns actually increase the value of a home. In fact, if you cut down that big shade tree in the front yard, you may actually be reducing the value of your property by thousands of dollars. Just think how much it would cost to have a landscape company replace it! When trees are destroyed, it affects the whole community.

The key to success is to put the right plants in the right place. Hot sunny areas of the islands require shady gardens to create a comfortable environment. Windbreaks are important to reduce excessive winds. Many tropical landscapes do not include grass. Examples may be found in books like Tropical Asia Style, Thai Garden Style, and several books featuring the Hawaiian landscape. The use of palms adds even more luxuriance to the design.

Besides trees, shrubs and bedding plants, one of the main elements of many landscapes is ground covers including grass. It might be Bermuda, buffalo, centipede, zoysia, seashore paspalum, or a mix. Whatever type lawn it is, green and healthy is the key. It is important to remember that lawns generally require more maintenance, fertilizer and water than more deeply rooted ground covers, shrubs and trees. Thus, many communities are minimizing turf except in parks and recreational areas like golf courses.

However, it is pleasing to see a healthy, well-maintained lawn. An expanse of green lawn can serve as the right setting for the homes they surround.

From a practical standpoint in the tropics, a lawn serves a number of ends. First, it reduces heat and glare as the sun beats down on the earth. Green is a soothing color. No doubt that is why there is so much of it in nature. Second, it controls mud and erosion. It definitely beats concrete and asphalt or gravel.

The chief value of a lawn over other kinds of ground covers is that it offers a pleasing place to walk and play, as well as being artistic. In a dry area, a grass such as Bermuda makes a successful path, or can be used for auto parking.

A well maintained grass cover also offers one of the easiest ways to control weeds. Just mow frequently and fertilize occasionally, making sure the grass cover has sufficient water to keep its green color.

Of course, if you want a perfect lawn that is a different proposition. Your idea may be just a green expanse to set off the surrounding landscape. Then it really does not matter of what the expanse consists. It may be a combination of grasses kept in check by frequent mowing.

Lawns are a garden heritage from Europe. They are not typical in Asia except through Western influence. Asian design uses moss, pebbles or sand for its plain element in landscaping. But in England, turf is key to the landscape and has become an essential part of the garden tradition. Mainland Americans have inherited this tradition. They generally consider a lawn a necessary part of the landscape. However, in the wet tropics, turf is generally not a part of the native picture, since meadows are infrequent. Here, it is a good idea to stop and consider whether or not a lawn is an essential part of your garden. In many parts of the mainland where water may be scarce and expensive, grass is fast disappearing as an aesthetic element.

Shady forest effects with paths and patios tend to relate to the tropics more than do extensive lawns. And yet even here, there is much use of the lawn in open expanses around a dwelling.

A perfect lawn in the tropics can be an expensive proposition. To keep it perfect requires constant attention to weeding, rolling, fertilizing, mowing, watering, and control of diseases. Just about the time you think you have everything under control, some new condition arises, and the lawn goes up in smoke.

Today there is a strong inclination to let the lawn be more informal along with the rest of the garden. Such a mixed green cover has its appeal, being more like a meadow than the monoculture lawn. A semi-natural lawn like this has its practical aspect also. It reduces maintenance by eliminating most of the weeding and also the struggle to make one kind of grass grow under the varying conditions of sun and shade which make up the average lawn area.

There is, no doubt, a legitimate reason for cultivating a green expanse around a dwelling even in the tropics. But lets not make such a burden out of it. When a weed pops up here and there, let it be. The secret is not in exterminating the weeds, but in keeping the area mowed so that the weeds cannot dominate and go to seed, keeping them from spreading too much.

Whatever type lawn you have, chances are it will require watering except the extremely rainy locations. Deep watering is preferred. Frequent shallow watering will encourage shallow rooting. It is best to water in the early morning. There is less waste of water through evaporation at that time.

Along with water, green growing things need fertilizer. This is especially true with the lawns. A fast growing grass like Bermuda may need fertilizer every month. On the other hand, Zoysia may be fertilized three to four times per year or less. A slow release fertilizer high in nitrogen is usually the best.

The important thing is to think green. We humans have created too much desert in the past. The old saying, Rain follows the forest, desert follows man does not need to apply to wise Hawaiian gardeners.

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Your lawn may be hungry and thirsty now - West Hawaii Today

Fall webworms are not tent caterpillars although, without fail, everyone thats asked has referred to them as such. Forest tent caterpillars dont construct webs. Eastern tent caterpillars do, but they hatch in the spring and early summer and make their nests, or tents, in the forks or tree-branch crotches of (mostly) apple, crabapple, and pin cherry trees.

Fall webworm caterpillars spin webs that envelop entire branches or groups of branches and feed on many varieties of deciduous trees. They feed inside their webs, completely consuming the foliage; leaving only the mid-veins. Skins cast off by the caterpillars when they molt, fecal pellets, and dead leaf debris accumulate within the web, giving it an even messier appearance.

Even when the caterpillars are present in numbers so great that they enshroud nearly every limb in nests and completely defoliate a host tree or shrub, the damage is, with few exceptions, a lot less-serious than it appears. The one exception to this may be in young trees that have yet to become established.

As summer winds down, plant growth slows. Trees are already preparing for winter dormancy and have stored up enough nutrient reserves to survive. Since the leaves have already performed their service, the loss of them generally has little effect on the health of the host. The empty webbing may persist well-into the winter before falling part however, which although unsightly, wont cause any further damage. Infestations tend to be episodic in nature, with back to back bad-webworm-infestation years rarely occurring.

The fall webworm is a native moth that occurs across almost all of the continental United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico.They were accidently introduced into the former country of Yugoslavia in the 1940s, and since then have expanded their range to include most of Europe, as well as parts of China, North Korea, and Japan.

Given its wide geographical range, its not surprising that there is variability in the appearance of both the adults and the larvae, which are divided into two genotypes; each named for the color of their head capsules; black-headed or red-headed. Pure white adults and black-headed larvae predominate in northern regions, whereas spotted adults and red-headed larvae predominate in southern regions.

Although there may be two broods of fall webworms annually in some areas of New York State, and southern populations may complete as many as four generations in a single year, the insect has only one generation per year in our region.

The life cycle begins when the not-often-noticed white, adult female moths lay as many as 1,500 eggs in a single mass on the underside of a host plants foliage leaf. She will then cover the eggs with bristles from the underside of her abdomen to protect them. The eggs hatch into tiny larvae and immediately start building a web, which protects them from predators. At first, the web encircles only a few leaves at the growing tip of the limb. But as the caterpillars grow, they expand the web down the limb, covering more and more foliage and devouring more and more leaves.

Larvae stay in the colony until their last molt, after which they are about an inch and a half long. They then crawl down the tree trunk or descend to the ground on a strand of webbing and seek out a protected place to spin a somewhat-fragile cocoon and pupate in the debris at or just below the soil surface, where they will overwinter. They emerge as adult moths in the spring, mate, and the cycle begins again.

As with all pests, its easiest to get rid of fall webworm caterpillars when they first start appearing in your trees. So keep a close eye out starting in late summer. Webs are always on branch ends.

You can easily poke holes in the nests to break them apart using a long stick. Once the webs are broken open, the nests can be easily raided by predators.

Although fall webworm damage is rarely severe, keeping your trees healthy is always important. Water trees in your yard during dry periods, and avoid wounding trees or compacting the soil within the dripline. Maintaining tree health will help your trees recover from defoliation and other stresses and keep them looking good year-round.

Captions and credits are as follows:

1) Fall Webworm Larvae. Photo Credit:Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Bugwood.org

2) Fall Webworm Infestation. Photo Credit:Natural Resources Canada

3) Fall Webworm Adult Female and Pupa. Photo Credit:Gerald J. Lenhard; Louisiana State University; Bugwood.org

Richard Gast is a retired Extension Program Educator and has been contracted by Cornell Cooperative Extension Franklin County to continue his informative and thought provoking articles.

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Webs in the Trees? They're Relatively Harmless - - Adirondack Almanack