Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Charming 2-story home, nestled in a tranquil cul-de-sac within an established private neighborhood. Boasting 4 spacious bedrooms and 3.5 baths, it provides ample space for comfortable living. Enjoy the idyllic front porch complete with a cozy swing, perfect for lazy afternoons. The three fireplaces throughout the house provide warmth and character for you and your family. Enjoy all the perfect picture views of your property through the abundance of windows. Recent upgrades include a fully remodeled kitchen in 2022, with modern amenities and sleek finishes. You will enjoy this beautiful white kitchen and all your counter space, large island and the wall full of pantry space with pull out drawers. The first-floor now features Pergo laminate flooring installed in 2022, adding both durability and style. The basement received the same treatment in 2021, along with a new laminate floor in one of the bedrooms in 2020. The lower level features an additional laundry room, full bath, family room with fireplace, office space/workout room. Master suite offers large living space and welcoming master bath for your relaxation. Wait until you see all the new light fixtures that were replaced in 2020, providing ample illumination throughout. The entire interior, including ceilings, received a fresh coat of paint in 2020, giving the home a bright and inviting ambiance. The half bathroom was updated in 2021, showcasing modern fixtures and finishes. Outdoor spaces have not been overlooked, Enjoy the out doors from the screened in back porch that over looks the pool and your beautiful back yard. Side yard being fenced in 2020 for privacy and security. The addition of an above-ground pool, complete with a new liner in 2023, offers a refreshing escape during warm summer months. Enjoy family time in the large yard with custom club house, shed , firepit ... so much to offer! The new landscaping adds to the home's curb appeal, creating a welcoming first impression. The neighborhood offers a pond to fish in and a common area shed and picnic area for your family enjoyment! This home is equipped with modern conveniences, including a tankless water heater, whole-house humidifier (installed in 2020), and a whole-house water filtration system. The AC coil and AC recharge were added in 2023, ensuring comfort year-round. An ejector pump, added in 2021, enhances functionality. Overall, this meticulously maintained and thoughtfully upgraded home offers a perfect blend of comfort, style, and functionality. Don't miss the opportunity to make it your own! Appliances do remain and there is a back up house generator.

View More

Originally posted here:
Newly listed homes for sale in the Central Illinois area - The Pantagraph

Is home the place where you grew up, or is it the place you live now? Is it always tied to a specific street address or zip code, or is home, to you, a group of people? A favorite restaurant? Could it even be a concept, a feeling born of shared experiences over little joys and common challenges?

At the beginning of this project, we set out to understand from our readers and contributors what it means to live in Boston and find your place in it. But after reading dozens of submissions, we realized that what weve actually compiled is a collection of love letters to our fair city.

Field Guide to Boston: Discover and rediscover your Boston.

In many ways, that makes complete sense. After all, loving a place is not so dissimilar from loving a person. When we love somebody, we love the whole of them: with all their little quirks and beauties and annoyances.

Sometimes love happens all at once at first sight. Or it can come on like a slow burn, the affection among friends (or even enemies) evolving, until one day, you discover the love youve been looking for has been there all along. As youll see below, so it goes with Boston: traffic, housing prices, Forest Hills Cemetery, the Charles River, the T. Its never going to be perfect, but what can we say? When you know, you know.

Reading these mini-essays made us happy to call Boston home. And, were eager to share more of your reflections. If youve got a small story or moment that sticks with you something that makes you feel connected to this place we call home email it to us at opinion@wbur.org and put LOVE LETTER in the subject line. Well keep building this post, and maybe even feature your love note on the radio.

Cloe Axelson and Sara Shukla, Cog editors

I moved to Boston in 2010 because I felt like my soul was telling me that this is where I was meant to live. I listened. And since then, there have been several moments when I knew Id made the right choice.

*A lantern festival at dusk in the Forest Hills Cemetery.

*Free yoga and ballet in the summertime at Boston Common.

*Volunteering for the Halloween costume swap at the Farmers Market in Roslindale.

*Story slams at Doyles, book readings at Grub Street, and poetry slams at Lizard (just over the bridge to Cambridge).

But the one moment I will never forget happened during the (happily brief) two years I spent living in and commuting from Providence, Rhode Island, during the pandemic. I moved there to save on rent, so I could make a downpayment as a first time home-owner in Massachusetts.

I was heading north(ish) on Tremont Street for a meeting with a Boston-based design firm. Paused at the stoplight near Ruggles station in Roxbury, all of a sudden the air felt heavy, crowded, full; my ears clogged with the cacophonous sound of road bikes. It was springtime, and along with the crocuses pushing their way through the grass in the Arboretum and dozens of robins bopping around the greenspace at Franklin Park I felt it, this is why I fall in love with Boston every year at springtime.

This is the sound of a city as it gathers together, wakes up from its winter slumber and roars defiantly into the year to come.

I had, by that time, racked up about three or four rejected offers in my search for a home in Boston. Trying to buy here felt like an endless cycle of rejection, and a constant realization that the home Id been dreaming of wasnt one I could actually afford. But those road bikes reminded me of what I knew before I ever arrived here back in 2010: For better or for worse, Boston is just where Im meant to be.

Theresa Okokon, writer, Chelsea

My kids had a second grade school fair at their primary school in the middle of Brookline, one akin to something from the old black-and-white Mayberry TV show where everything always worked out for the best and apple pies warmed on window sills. Moving there from Brooklyn, I didnt think such events existed, but the sight of machines churning out blue sugar-rich cotton candy, a ferris wheel, stuffed fuzzy bears being won with the flick of a bean bag, bouncy castles that tilt, sway and rock but dont fall down, screams of pure play and joy it all brought out something in me: peace and a comfort of mind knowing the kids from Brooklyn werent ones with a home well lost, but one that, fortunately, was found.

Desmond Hall, writer, Brookline

I was driving to a doctors appointment, and I knew I was going to be late, so I dodged through traffic with no blinker and didn't let anyone merge I had completed my journey to full Ma--hole status

I was driving to a doctors appointment, and I knew I was going to be late, so I dodged through traffic with no blinker and didn't let anyone merge. I've always been a steady and cautious driver, but once that happened I knew there was no going back. I had completed my journey to full Mahole status.

Kat Rutkin, Somerville

It was March 11, 1992, flying into Boston from London for (in theory) a 3-year stint. Then I saw Boston Harbor and thought, you know, I might like it here. 31 years later...

When we became naturalized citizens in 2012, it was at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse with that same magnificent view of Boston Harbor. I was brought right back to that day when we flew in, 20 years earlier, and knew we were home.

Anne Sharp, Winchester

When my family moved from NYC to Boston in 2009, for my husbands one-year fellowship, it was never meant to be permanent. Wed lived in New York for close to two decades and knew no one in the Boston area. But with two kids under five, the youngest with special needs, the ease of Boston and the quality of its hospitals appealed to us.

After my husbands fellowship ended, we decided to stay. Within a year, we moved into our first and only house so far an octagon on the west side of Cambridge.

For a long while, I still considered myself a displaced New Yorker. But at some point, Boston did become home. Did it change with the shared trauma of marathon bombings, when we sheltered in place and listened as choppers passed overhead in search of the Tsarnaev brothers? Or maybe it was the discovery that the best yogurt, humous, pitas and olives could be found in nearby Watertown (Sevan Bakery and Arax Market) and Belmont (Sofias)?

I believe it comes down to that feeling of being known here. At Fresh Pond Reservoir in Cambridge we got to know Park Ranger Jean. Before she retired five years ago, you might have crossed paths with her too. Riding around in her ranger cart, making sure dogs and their owners were following the rules. I imagine Ranger Jean probably got to know my son Finn because of his singularity, a product of his profound autism. Few boys of 12 years moved as he moved, rocking from back foot to front. Few boys would suddenly scream, not out of upset, but delight. Few boys would crouch by the drain, ignoring all the dogs and passersby so he could throw rock after rock down that drain for fun.

We felt like we belonged whenever we walked into Fresh Pond, and still do. And isnt that what it means to feel at home?

At least once, Finn pulled the fire alarm in the water purification facility calling the local fire trucks to the park, which he found very funny. But Ranger Jean didnt act annoyed with us, or with Finn on this occasion, though she had reason to. Instead, whenever she saw Finn running toward as she drove her cart around the Ponds loop, she smiled. She often invited Finn to ride along with her.

Finn thrilled in these rides, rocking in his seat and laughing. She could see how this small act meant so much to him. But did she know what it meant for us? In this small act she seemed to say, I see you, in all your difference. You and your family belong here in Fresh Pond, as much the birders and the bikers, the runners and the walkers, the picnickers, and the dog people. This park is your park too. We felt like we belonged whenever we walked into Fresh Pond, and still do. And isnt that what it means to feel at home? Fourteen years later, were still here.

Alysia Abbott, writer, Cambridge

I was working late in a lab, my first summer in Boston during college. One of my mentors stopped to talk to me before she left. She suggested that I get out to see the sunset because it was the summer solstice. I took her advice and biked to the Charles, making it just in time to join in with the cheers from the crowd. I felt peaceful returning home that night, but I was quite lonely. That was five years ago.

This year I returned to the Charles on the solstice with two now-old friends. I think that, if it were a competition, I wouldve won loudest cheerer at this years solstice.

Andrew Szendrey, Jamaica Plain

Ive lived in Boston for decades as a pedestrian, T rider, taxi cab hailer, commuter rail rider, bicycler. Ive had my permit and read the RMV drivers manual cover to cover more times than I can count, yet never bothered to put it to use.

Boston is so small and navigable Id never felt the need to really learn to drive, until my family had an emergency in late 2020, and I realized I couldnt get us to safety on my own. I practiced driving for one hour every day for the next year at the abandoned UMass Boston campus, got my first driver's license in 2021, my first car in 2022. Two years on the road and I'm still amazed that I am driving and that I seem to be one of the few who actually read the manual. But I didnt feel like a real Boston driver until recently, when I came out of my house to find my car being escorted off the street cleaning side of the street by a tow truck, the tow driver insisting Its naht me, its the city! Its naht me!

Bethany Van Delft, stand-up comedian, Dorchester

I always moved from place to place after leaving my parents NYC, Paris, Chicago, anywhere to keep going. So when the person I was dating at the time got into grad school here, I figured it was a place as good as any other. Once in Boston, I went through the pandemic, work chaos, a breakup and multiple family disasters. Finally, when it felt safe enough from COVID, I took a trip back to Paris, which I always told people was my favorite, and which was as lovely as ever. By day four, though, I wanted to be back in Boston. Homesickness was a feeling I'd never had before, but it was such a relief to know I finally had a home I was going back to.

Elizabeth Self, Jamaica Plain

Homesickness was a feeling I'd never had before, but it was such a relief to know I finally had a home I was going back to.

I've lived here for a long time, but claiming Boston as my own was a conscious decision to own the good and the bad. And it happened on my bicycle.

In the fall of 2015, the community activist organization City Life/Vida Urbana ground up bricks to create red dust and used a sports line chalker to mark the historic paths of Bostons redlining and gentrification. Leaving my home nearby, on the south side of Jamaica Plain, and riding down Washington Street to work, I just happened to be riding my bicycle downtown on the day of their art installation. When I got to my office, I researched what I had rolled over and made a commitment: For far too long, I had been a guest on these streets.

That day, I committed to inherit the good and bad of Bostons history, all of the ground beneath my feet. To be a Bostonian, for each of us who move here and adopt this place, means to take responsibility for these streets, all that has come before and the road we are on together.

Rev. Laura Everett, Jamaica Plain

I grew up in central Mass, so when I was a kid Boston felt like my anchor, rather than my home. Fast forward through college and med school, and I was applying to residency programs on both coasts. I had just spent nine lovely days in California, visited and interviewed at several residency programs and enjoyed outdoor dinners with chill people, pleasant campus tours through palm trees. Then I flew to Boston on a Friday, stayed at my mother's house in my childhood bedroom. I woke up to a classic Boston December day gray, rainy and in the low 40s. The interview day started at 7 a.m. (on a Saturday). I drove into the city and parked in the garage, slightly worried about finding my way there. I rememberlike it was yesterdayshaking off my raincoat and settling into the auditorium in my interview suit, surrounded by other anxious almost-doctors in the dark chilly early morning, and feeling my shoulders relax, as I thought "ahhhhhhh....these are my people.

Kristen Goodell, Lexington

My earliest memories of Boston were coming to visit my dad, who worked there. The Swan Boats, which I recognized from Make Way for Ducklings; the statues of the ducks in the Public Garden; the Boston Garden, thick with smoke, at a Celtics game where they unveiled a statue of Larry Bird; coming up out of the dark cavern under Fenway Park into the roar of thousands of fans, the bright green grass, the giant scoreboards with the city behind them.

My aunt lived on Beacon Street for a while when I was about 13, and my parents let me and my best friend walk from her apartment to Newbury Street by ourselves. We felt so grown up and loved looking at all the fancy shop windows full of things we could never afford. I went to college at Boston University, and Commonwealth Ave. became my home: the imposing Warren Towers, the snail-like Green Line Train. My first job was right over the salt-and-pepper bridge in Cambridge.

Boston was where I came back to, came home to, after I left New York in the wake of 9/11, newly aware that the skylines we love, that seem constant, should never be taken for granted. I met my husband in Boston, and we got engaged at Locke Ober. I ran the Boston Marathon twice and have watched it, from various locations, more times than I could count.

Boston was where I came back to, came home to, after I left New York in the wake of 9/11, newly aware that the skylines we love, that seem constant, should never be taken for granted.

I moved out of the city years ago but live close enough to still go back, to take my own children to see the Swan Boats, to experience the sports teams and see where I lived when I met their dad, to window shop on Newbury Street, to experience a city that is always changing, but also, in some ways, always the same.

Laura Shea Souza, writer, Stow

It was 1972, and I was almost 9-years-old. I was auditioning for the Nutcracker. Boston Ballets Nutcracker. The same Nutcracker my grandmother handmade costumes for. The same ballet my mother and aunt performed in as children and adults. Under the scrutiny of the same teacher, Virginia Williams, founder of the company.

My mother held my hand as we entered the waiting room, bustling with girls in leotards and skirts, hovered over by mothers with bobby pins between their teeth, frantically stabbing pins into their buns. I was in my first dance recital at 2; had my first solo at 3. I trained hard every day, gave up parties, weekend trips to the beach and sleepovers with friends. I was good. But was I good enough? Even then, I felt the pressure to live up to my familys expectations.

Every holiday season, for six years, I put on my costume and makeup in the rat-infested basement of the then-Wang Center, my heart pounding as the command came over the loudspeaker for my group to line up backstage. In the wings, barely breathing, I watched the pas de deux with the Sugar Plum Fairy and the prince, and dreamed of my future. Stepping into the lights as the orchestra swelled, under the direction of Arthur Fiedler, is a moment I will never forget.

I never became a ballerina; at least not a professional one. I was 14 when I was accepted to a summer program with New York City Ballet's School of American Ballet, and turned it down. That's when I realized it wasnt what I wanted to do. It was what other people wanted for me.

But the hours and hours of classes and rehearsals in the studio on Clarendon Street, and performing in the Nutcracker: This will always mean Boston to me.

Tracey Palmer, writer, Norwell

During the pandemic, my partner Jimmy and I established a routine of ordering takeout from Manoa Poke Shop in Somerville every weekend. We fell in love with the freshness and simplicity of Manoas salmon shoyu poke, marinated with just the right amount of Tamari, sweet onion, and scallion. Wed order extra portions of the juicy kalua pig and crispy mochiko fried chicken to keep as leftovers for the week. Neither of us have been to Hawaii yet, but discovering Hawaiian food in the Boston area somehow made us feel more connected to our city than ever before, although wed been living here for many years already.

It wasnt just all about the flavorful mixplates, though. The staff came to recognize our eyes and voices from beneath our masks, making us feel at home as soon as we walked through the door. Even the chefs knew us by name, waving to us from the back of the food prep area. One of their former chefs (who is also Vietnamese) would chat with me in Vietnamese, addressing me as younger sister while I called him older brother, further making our stops at Manoa feel like visits to a relatives house. If I came for a pick-up without Jimmy, the staff would ask, Wheres Jimmy? Tell him to come by next week! And vice versa on the weekends when Jimmy conducted solo pick-ups. Our Manoa fam ensured that our weekly pick-ups were something that we consistently did together, as a couple.

Fast forward three years, and Jimmy and I still order from Manoa every weekend. After we got engaged this summer, Jimmy surprised me by gathering our loved ones for dinner and drinks at our apartment. But when our catered meal arrived, I was not at all surprised to see the food that anchors our lives in Boston: salmon poke, kalua pig, and fried chicken all made with love from our extended family at Manoa.

Thuy Phan, writer, Somerville

Having gone to college in the Midwest, and then living in California for many years, when asked where I was from I would say Boston. But that wasnt exactly true; I was from a suburb 40 miles west. But my dad has a Boston accent, I would say proudly, as if that afforded me extra credibility. All along, I knew I would move back, and that Id live in the city.

I fell in love with a South End, zero-amenities, 1-bedroom in a 3-story walk-up that miraculously came with parking, over FaceTime with a realtor. The night I secured my keys, I went for a walk in my new neighborhood while the sun set early on a cold February night, in search of newfound delights and whatever unexpected magic might come my way.

"You from around here? he asked. I paused a moment, then said yes.

Only a block down, I found myself in the Olympia Flower Store, its entryway filled with potted plants and vibrant colors. The walls were covered with black-and-white photographs of celebrities or who I assumed were well-known Bostonians. I selected a couple of gerbera daisies to celebrate my new place, and asked about the photos upon checkout. This is the oldest flower shop in Boston, the man told me. Turns out, he wasnt kidding, but I didnt fact-check that until later. You from around here? he asked. I paused a moment, then said yes.

I took my daisies, grabbed a slice of not-hot pizza from across the street, and smiled to myself as I turned the corner onto my new street, lined with a canopy of trees, decorated with ironwork staircase banisters. I propped the daisies in my window and ate the pizza on the floor. Around me, sirens rang and horns honked. My belongings would arrive the next day on a moving truck, but it didnt matterI was already at home.

Lisa Gordon, writer and editor, South End

I was walking through the Public Garden a few months into living here, and a sweet family asked me for directions. I hesitated and started to say, "I just moved here!" when I realized it had been almost a year, and I knew exactly how to tell them how to get where they wanted to go. Walking everywhere has allowed me to really orient myself in so many of Boston's neighborhoods. That's definitely my favorite part about the city.

Lilli Nelson, South Boston

This piece was produced with help from Kate Neale Cooper, Lisa Creamer, Kathy Burge, Amy Gorel and Meagan McGinnes.

Follow Cognoscenti on Facebook and Instagram .

Excerpt from:
Was it love at first sight or a slow burn? Your love letters to Boston - WBUR News

Fisker Inc. has announced today the collaboration with Octopus Electric Vehicles, the EV specialist business from the Octopus Energy Group, to be the first lease provider in the UK to offer the new premium Fisker Ocean Extreme SUV

Octopus Electric Vehicles will allow businesses to offer the Fisker Ocean Extreme through salary sacrifice an employee benefit that saves drivers up to 40% off the monthly cost making this one of the most affordable ways to access the car.

The agreement, which covers an initial fleet of 200 Fisker Ocean Extreme vehicles, signifies the start of a long-term collaborative journey between Octopus and Fisker. The Fisker Ocean, an all-electric, sustainable, and stylish SUV, is the first model launched by Fisker in the UK as it sets its eyes on international expansion.

Fisker recently announced lowered pricing for the top-level Fisker Ocean Extreme worldwide in UK market from 60,880 to 57,900 offering price adjustments to existing Extreme customers. The Fisker Ocean Extreme has a WLTP range of up to 440 miles, which is the longest range of any new electric SUV in its class sold in European markets today.

The Fisker Ocean is the latest EV model to be offered by Octopus EV, which now has over 80 cars available to customers covering every model available in the UK. Working with more than 3,500 businesses, its convenient all-in-one salary sacrifice service provides everything drivers need to get on the road, including the car, charge point installation and specialist EV energy tariffs.

Fisker Inc. Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker said: Besides the new pricing, we are also excited to announce this lease collaboration in the UK market to enable more customers to have access to our fully electric Ocean. I am looking forward to seeing more and more UK customers using the leasing opportunity to experience the Oceans unique design featuring sustainable materials, best-in-class range and innovative technical features such as SolarSky, California Mode, and a large touchscreen that can also be enjoyed in horizontal Hollywood Mode.

Oliver Boots, Chief Commercial Officer at Octopus Electric Vehicles, commented: The U.S. has a long, proud automotive history and so its fantastic to see new entrants joining the electric revolution from across the pond. Each new manufacturer and model of electric car gives drivers more choice, helps drive down costs and gets us closer to making the switch to having fully electric roads. Weve seen a wonderful response to the Fisker Ocean in test-driving, and were thrilled to be able to unlock savings for drivers through salary sacrifice.

Octopus Electric Vehicles was launched with a simple mission: to make it easy for drivers to switch to clean, electric transport. The business sits within the wider Octopus Energy Group, which is expanding rapidly having received $900m in funding over the last two years, giving it a valuation of US$5bn.

Source:Octopus

Read more from the original source:
Fisker and Octopus EV launch new US entrant the Fisker Ocean ... - Automotive World

Rifrufis an Asian-owned small biz founded by Peter Liu and Jeremy Yoon creating design-driven dog accessories, from stylish dog sneakers and apparel to walking gear like leashes and harnesses.

This has been a fun addition to my oddly shaped dog's wardrobe. He's got the petite frame of a Chihuahua, but the general length and height dimensions of a terrier. I thought it was going to be too big, but the adjustable Velcro and bungee toggles resulted in a wonderful, custom fit. It's REAL cute (Compliments galore!), has zippers that accommodate different types of walking harnesses underneath, and has helped my dog act slightly less like dramatic when we have to walk outside in the rain.

Promising review: "Finally, a waterproof jacket for dachshunds, not just 'resistant'! As a dachshund owner, I struggled to find a rain jacket that fit my odd-shaped boy (Size: 16; Chest: 19"; Back: 16"). Also, while other jackets would protect the dog's back, they would not adequately cover or repel water on the chest/stomach. After a walk, I would find his entire stomach soaked and irritated with the wet fabric rubbing against his skin. Now his stomach is dry, and the material is easy to clean." Chaya C.

Shipping info: Standard shipping estimates 35 business days for delivery. Expedited two-day shipping is available for an additional fee.

Get it fromRifruf for $60 (available in 10 sizes and 3 colors).

More here:
31 Giftable Small Businesses Finds They'll Cherish Basically Forever - BuzzFeed

You can hang this shower curtain with the pockets facing either the inside or outside, depending on what you need to store.

Promising review: "I needed more storage in my shower because there are no built-in niches and I only have room for a narrow shower caddy. I saw this idea on Pinterest, but it was geared toward college dorms and small apartments. I found that it works great in any size bathroom.

It has nine pockets of different sizes, so you can store many different items. The liner itself is of heavy plastic and the pockets are of sturdy mesh. The overall quality is very good and it does not feel too thin. My shower rod is screwed into the wall, so I am not concerned about putting too many heavy items in the pockets, but if you have a tension rod, you should be aware not to overload it." Minerva King

Get it from Amazon for $20.14+(available in three colors).

See original here:
43 Things That'll Make A Big Difference In A Small Apartment - BuzzFeed

The clich goes like this: City reports get created, drafted and approved with grand fanfare before gathering digital dust on a server following years of inaction.

Not true of Edina. The suburban city passed an aggressive climate action plan in December 2021 and has been making strides toward reducing city operations and community-wide carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

City officials have begun to act on the ambitious plan by starting with a significant city hall renovation, described recently in a panel discussion at the American Institute of Architects state convention in Minneapolis moderated by HGA principal Wade Cooper. Edina facilities manager Derik Otten was joined by the HGA staff members who consulted with the city on the plan.

Before the climate action plan passed, Edina had established an environmental commission, benchmarked city and commercial, and installed solar panels on city hall and a community solar garden on a public works structure, Otten said. To pay for projects, the city created the Conservation and Sustainability Fund, which is part of the citys levy, he said.

The climate action plan has more than 275 action points, with several underway. But even before Edina passed the program, it had begun studying city-owned building stock to identify low performers based on energy use intensity data, a measure like miles per gallon for cars.

Edina found the two-decade old city hall would be a perfect candidate for a retrofit after it scored the third highest EUI, after the aquatic center and an indoor city park, both expectedly big energy users.

Otten said the city hall included the police department, a 24/7 operation that consumed more energy than the rest of the building. One of the biggest challenges we had was that although it is two separate buildings, its technically controlled as one, Otten said. One main goal we had is to separate these buildings and operate in these two individual buildings.

HGA mechanical engineer Ben Fuller analyzed Edina City Hall and found that most of its energy went to natural gas heating. Not surprisingly, the building used electricity for lighting and technology, such as computers. Yet he said the building still performed efficiently, with power consumption 30% below a 2009 baseline.

HGAs study of city hall revealed that HVAC systems and the aging solar array would need replacing. Electric systems would need upgrading. The study even looked at the potential of solar carports in the buildings parking lot.

In all, HGA developed 18 measures to improve the building. Otten said timing retrofits became part of the planning. By staggering the spending, we wont have to spend millions and millions of dollars at one time to do a major renovation or have a catastrophic failure by waiting too long, he said.

Otten chose four improvements at city hall; two focused on lighting and involved installing LEDs and a new lighting control system, the other two on ventilation and occupancy control. He said these initial projects would not significantly disrupt the work of employees over a long period of time.

By trying to complete several related projects at once Edina could tell employees they would have to make do with contractors working throughout the building for six to eight months. Still, the result would be better indoor air quality and lighting, Otten said.

Doing several projects at once also meant employees would not have to tolerate contractors coming in at three or four different times over several years. So, we were trying to limit the disruption to the building occupants, he said.

Even though the conservation fund kitty had grown to more than $2 million, Otten received approval from the city sustainability manager to borrow ahead from future years to pay the completion of major projects in a coordinated fashion. Taking on the financial burden was a little easier at that point, he said.

Edina also focused on testing and selecting gaskets for replacement. Otten said city hall has a reputation as a drafty building with leaks in walls, doors, windows, and gaskets. The roof and the solar system on it both needed to be replaced. The solar system only generated 10% of its intended design.

Again, by planning out the investment, the city could do those projects at one time in a few years and increase the solar installation on the roof to 120 kilowatts, and the carport solar would bring the total to 300 kW.

Otten said the biggest challenge was packaging the projects before determining it would be simpler to deal with one contractor for all the jobs instead of three. City council members supported the project after being shown the study identifying needs and then the reasoning behind the selection of the initial improvements.

Otten said the city is now looking at recommissioning buildings to determine how to improve energy performance. HGAs Chris Iacono studied the inefficiencies in buildings heated with geothermal heat pumps combined with a supplemental gas boiler to determine how the city could improve that system.

Other buildings will be studied and retrofitted over the next two decades as the city seeks to reach the net zero goal. For now, though, the city will replace lighting and lighting controls and move on later to HVAC equipment in a few years.

Were not just doing this once and walking away from it; we were going to continue to talk to HGA every year, he said. Work has begun on the $4 million city hall project, with completion anticipated in 2025. The work will include design, engineering, commissioning, third party inspections, lighting, gaskets and sealants, roof replacements and a new solar system.

Here is the original post:
Edina puts a climate neutrality plan into action - Finance and Commerce

The client will never pick this, says my boss as he looks over some well-thought-out concept our design department has just developed. It just makes too much sense. It sounds strange, but hes right. Oftentimes corporate minds make decisions of the what-were-they-thinking variety, and car companies are famous for this. For example, Pontiac paraded some nice looking all-activity concept vehicles in front of us, and then chose to produce the rather ham-fisted design of the Aztek. The European and Australian arms of Ford and General Motors produced some outstanding machines that challenged the best the world had to offer, yet they decided not to sell them here. Worse than that, in cases like the Merkur XR4Ti and Cadillac Catera, they did offer them to Americans but with issues like underwhelming drivetrains that hindered their chance for success. I think Volvos designers missed some opportunities in the seventies that were right in front of them; lets talk about them.

Im talking about the brands chance to improve its cool factor. Im about to look at an alternate reality, as I typically do, but somehow the actual history of Volvo seems even stranger than the fiction Ill present. Allow me to explain.

In 1973, Volvos P1800 series of sports cars was over a decade old, with a chassis based on the even older 122 Amazon series. As a sports car with sweeping lines that was conventionally beautiful, the P1800 was a rather enigmatic car for Volvo. Its also a rare car in that it has tail fins that actually work visually without looking gaudy or stuck on. Another strange fact: Jason Torchinsky actually owned one, and its hard to imagine him ever purchasing a car that is conventionally beautiful in this reality. It might have been a lovely looking and relatively sporting car, but a P1800S beat out taxi-cab-like Benz diesels to hold the record for the highest mileage ever put on a car with 3.2 million on the clock (and New York-based owner Irv Gordon didnt even have a garage). It was still a Volvo, after all.

With looming safety and emissions restrictions in the United States, Volvo chose to drop this by-now-aging car instead of developing a new 1974 model. The last of the P1800 series was a shooting brake model Volvo developed from the coupe with an all-glass backlight.

Dubbed the 1800ES, this rare last-of-the-line car (only 8,077 produced) served as a styling inspiration for a number of Volvo cars, including later front wheel drive sport coupes (but not really sports cars) such as the 480 and C30.

After the last 1800ES left the factory, Volvos apparent need for a halo car led them to coachbuilder and styling house Bertone to make their next special coupe. Did Lamborghini Countach stylist and Bertone employee Marcello Gandini create a slick, low, and angular two door performance machine for Volvos next flagship GT? That would make sense, right? I certainly think so, but that isnt what happened.

You might remember a little while back that we talked about the Volvo Bertone Coupe that did actually reach production. The 262C was styled not in Turin but in-house at Volvo, and the inspiration for the design of this coupe appears to have been vinyl-roof-covered American personal luxury cars. Bertone simply produced the car in Italy, literally chopping down the roof of a standard two door like some Kustom Kar house would. Whether you like it or not, the 262C didnt sell particularly well and was absolutely not a sports-car replacement for the 1800ES.

Volvo did get a Bertone show car in 1980 called the Tundra. This fastback (with somewhat odd rear quarter windows) seemed to point a new direction for styling of the Swedish firm. Needless to say, this rather radical-for-the-time concept was too much for the rather conservative maker of boxy cars. Volvo passed on producing the design, though Bertone did present a very similar design to a company with the balls to produce it: serial bizarre-car-maker Citroen. The BX model followed a very similar aesthetic.

What if Volvo had received the kind of Bertone-designed sports car we all thought we would be getting?

If you like angular styling like I do, Bertone had more cool concepts in the late seventies than you could shake a pencil at. At almost exactly the same time that the 262C was launched in 1978, Bertone showed the Lancia Sibilo at that years Turin Auto Show.

This dramatic wedge (in a glorious brown) was what you would expect from Bertone and Gandini: an insanely futuristic concept. The upper half of the car was done in a formed polycarbonate plastic so there were no window seams; the areas where you dont want to see through the clear plastic are painted body color from the inside to hide any structure. To allow the driver to get some air or pay tolls, there are small round window openingsthey slide back inside the car to open. A vertical bar windshield wiper moves laterally across the screen to give full coverage of the glass. In back theres a heckblende panel between the taillights with SIBILO spelled out in Jasons favorite font: seven-segment digital.

Its odd that the Sibilio is based on the unearthly-sounding rally machine Lancia Stratos, since it looks more like a shooting brake than a mid-engined supercar. That has to be one of my favorite sounding motors but I sure as shit dont want that engine right in the car with me.

I kept looking at the rear quarter view of the Sibilo and personally wanted to make some changes, and once I started scribbling something odd occurred to me: the Sibilio was starting to look like a latter day 1800ES. Heres how the Sibilio could be Volvoized into a two-plus-two front engined GT car called the 2800EX..

To make a late-seventies sports vehicle, Volvo couldnt realistically use 200 series bits; the only other parts bin choice might have to be heavily modified components from the new-for-1976 300 series, which in many ways wasnt totally a Volvo.

The Dutch firm DAF was best known for rubber belt transmission cars that raced backwards, so it seemed sort of odd when Volvo bought an interest in the company, ultimately taking full control in 1975. The 300 series was essentially a collaboration with DAF that the Swedish firm used to make a Volvo entry into the small-car market, and many fans of the brand dont accept it as a real Volvo. Still, we have to run with what weve got, and this is it.

At least the 300 does have a rear-mounted manual transmission for outstanding weight distribution, a layout the concurrent Porsche 924 and Alfa GTV used as well. Id love to use the straight six out of the old Volvo 164 but well likely need to use the dreaded PRV V6 or a B21 four-cylinder Volvo engine, specifically later models with the turbo. Still, with that V6 youd have the same engine as the rear-motor Renault Alpine (and later Delorean) but theoretically with more predictable handling. Id like to at least put an extra set of camshafts on that dopey old motor. The rear mounted transmission could be a 5 speed or a 4-speed-with-overdrive as on the 200 series. A 3-speed automatic would be available as an optionnot that crazy Variomatic belt transmission from DAF, thank you.

Modifications I made to the Sibilo body are rather simple but make it a more usable, producible design. The seamless windows obviously have to go, but we can keep the glass seams as tight as seventies technology could do. Ive opened up the rear wheel by removing the skirt; I then lengthened that peak on the rear wheel arch to sort of emulate the remains of the fin on the flanks of the 1800ES. The taillights and odd logo panel of the Sibilo always seemed a bit out of place, so I moved more Volvo-looking lights down and integrated them into the body with a heckblende between them. Rubber bumper protrusions take care of US 5MPH regulations.

In front, the sloping nose is still there but the continuous pyramid-like straight line from front bumper to roof on the Sibilo is broken, with a slightly more upright front windshield. A small hood bulge will likely be needed to clear the motor. A mock Volvo grille sits in the center of the bumper with the signals and fog lamps flanking it. Headlamps are still pop ups since I would never willingly NOT put pop ups on anything that would have existed before 1985. Sadly, the sliding bar wiper wont hold up to Swedish snow, so more conventional blade mechanisms are used.

When people ask the question of which cars had the most bizarre interior design of all time, the common answers like Citroen or Subaru XT dont even come close to scratching the surface of dashboards of Bertone concepts of the seventies. The Sibilo was no exception; a giant cylinder was plopped in front of the driver, the rim of which apparently steered the car. For whatever reason, Bertone chose to throw the radio speaker and warning lights on the flat surface in the center of the wheel, simulating Milton Bradleys Simon. Note also the mechanism that opens the little round window on the door (below).

I think such a control center is a bit too much for any Volvo, so I just used the basic angular aesthetic of the Sibilo and put it in the blender with the lovely dashboard of the original P1800. That car had chrome bezels surrounding the secondary instruments in the center of the dash; Jason claimed that those green centers of the gauges glowed like an illuminated swimming pool at night.

Heres what the Mix-O-Matic produced. Ive created a much more conventional trapezoidal shaped dashboard with angular interpretations of those cool old-school instruments placed inside. There are also parts-bin sourced climate and secondary controls that will look very familiar to anyone who rode in a 245DL back in the day. Because I am not sure if the side windows could roll all the way down, well use AMC Pacer-style fins on the door for you to rest your arm on.

Exactly why would the 2800EX have even existed? Its not like the world needed another Volvo sports car, especially a rather controversial looking one like this, but wouldnt it have made more sense than the 262C that they had the Italian firm actually build? Thats a car that confuses people to this very day. If Im buying a Bertone creation from the seventies, I expect it to be a low, lean, batshit crazy spectacle that looks like its escaped from the set of Space 1999.

What good would it be if it isnt?

Volvo Needs A Modern Electric Version Of The Super-Rare 262C Luxury Coupe (Like The One David Bowie Owned) The Autopian

What A New Saab Might Look Like If This Dutch Solar-Car Startup Brought The Brand Back From The Dead The Autopian

The Retrofuturist Cars Of Sci-Fi Noir Film Gattaca Are Still Relevant Today, Lets Make More Of Them The Autopian

A Daydreaming Designer Imagines If Saab Had Rebooted The Sonett In 1985 The Autopian

See the article here:
Here's The Italian-Designed Car That Volvo Should Have Replaced ... - The Autopian

Photo from Grays Harbor PUD

The Grays Harbor PUD is warning residents of scammers seeking access to homes while claiming to work for the utility.

The PUD tells KXRO that they received multiple reports of individuals claiming to work for the PUD, seeking entry to customers homes to replace utility equipment.

They say that over the past weekend, the PUD staff received emails and phone calls stating that multiple customers had been visited by an individual offering to sell a new, roof mounted electricity meter to the customer.

The person had reportedly claimed that the existing meter needed to be replaced and the new meter would save the customer money.

Officials say this is a scam.

This latest scam is troubling on several levels, in that the perpetrators are trying to get inside the customers homes and that they are hoping to be mistaken for legitimate PUD crews who are working in our community says Customer Service Supervisor Megan Warner. If someone shows up at your door and offers to replace PUD equipment or sell you a new meter, do not give them money, personal information, or let them into your home. The best thing to do is to call the PUD and check if there is a crew who is supposed to be at your home at that time.

The PUD says that they have no affiliation with companies who offer to replace meters at a lower cost and when the PUD does replace equipment, official PUD staff are dispatched to do such work during regular business hours (8AM-5-PM) on the weekdays.

Anyone who is visited by these scammers should under no circumstances agree to send money or give bank account, credit card or other personal information, and should not allow access to their homes.

Customers are advised to contact PUD Customer Service at 360-532-4220 to verify claims of service.

Continued here:
GH PUD warns of latest scam targeting local residents - KXRO Newsradio

We know we must reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere, but some of us still believe that reducing our carbon footprint means sacrificing our lifestyles.

At a New York Times event, former vice president Al Gore emphasized that alternative energy is not about sacrifice. Instead, alternative sources such as clean solar, wind and geothermal simply replace dirty energy.

But, thinking our lifestyles will be affected, we drag our feet instead of taking action now. Fossil fuels still dominate the energy industry long after we have learned that they negatively impact our planet.

Taxpayers still subsidize the fossil fuel industry. In 2022, globally countries provided $7 trillion to the industry. The U.S. reportedly uses $20 billion of taxpayer money toward this bill. How counterproductive it is that we are trying to reduce the use of fossil fuels but still make sure the industry continues.

If the economy will suffer without this ongoing production, maybe we should take a lesson from agricultural practices. When farmers produced too much corn, some were paid not to have a crop. Perhaps we should pay the fossil fuel industry not to drill.

For some politicians, money from the fossil fuel industry provides reason enough to continue slowing down the use of alternative energies. According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the more a politician votes against environmental issues, the more the fossil fuel industry supports that campaign.

Despite the Inflation Reduction Act and its many incentives to switch to alternative energy, change is slow to build momentum. Yet those who take advantage of this program are reducing their carbon footprint without any sacrifice.

When I switched from fossil-fuel energy to solar power for electrifying my home, my lifestyle did not change. If anything, my disposable income increased as my electric bills decreased.

Similarly, friends who now drive the newest electric cars just changed one means of transportation for another. They lowered their carbon footprint with no change in their travel plans. One such friend allows that he now takes longer, more leisurely lunches if hes traveling farther. When his car is recharged, his programmed phone notifies him that he can continue his journey.

Some claim cooking with gas is much better, while others admit they really arent good enough chefs to notice much difference. But what they do notice is that statistics show us childhood asthma increases in homes with gas stoves.

In yard maintenance, lawn mowers have not changed their combustion technology while regulations have demanded that cars do so. Electric lawnmowers work just fine. Also, leaf blowers not only destroy pollinators but also use gas inefficiently. All those leaves can be used as mulch under bushes and in garden beds to provide nutrients and moisture to the soil, as well as winter homes for pollinators.

So many quick changes can be made without threatening our comfort or behavior. In Florida, solar panels on the roof will quickly decrease the reliance on fossil fuels. Outside holiday lights can be powered by solar; pond pumps solar; electricity throughout the house solar.

Our climate is getting hotter and hotter because of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We need to wake up. Act now!

Susan Nugent is a Climate Reality Project leader from Gainesville. This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea website (www.theinvadingsea.com), which posts news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida.

View original post here:
Carbon emissions can be reduced without sacrificing comfort ... - Orlando Sentinel

St Mary's at Beachamwell, near Swaffham, was devastated by fire in February, 2022.

Its rare thatched roof - one of few to remain in the region - was totally destroyed.

The scene after the fire at Beachamwell Church (Image: PA)

Roof trusses being replaced at the church (Image: Chris Bishop)

A giant crane moved in to replace the roof trusses on the building, which is believed to date back to early Norman times last month.

Now its crowning glory of reeds is being replaced - by the grandson of the craftsman who last re-thatched it in 1897.

Thatcher Jamie Lloyd at the church at Beachamwell (Image: Chris Bishop)

The thatched roof of the church at Beachamwell is being replaced (Image: Chris Bishop)

Jamie Lloyd, who runs the Hingham-based Anglia Thatching Company, is the third generation of his family to take up the craft.

After three weeks' work on St Mary's with his brother Tom and fellow thatcher Miles Gray, he said the end was in sight.

Jamie Lloyd at work on the roof of the church at Beachamwell (Image: Chris Bishop)

Thatchers at work on the roof of the church at Beachamwell (Image: Chris Bishop)

"We should be done next week, it's just gone perfect," he said.

Mr Lloyd reckons by then, the trio will have got through 2,000 bundles of reed, each thrown up from the ground to the scaffolding above by hand.

Jamie Lloyd throws a bundle of reed up to Miles Gray (Image: Chris Bishop)

Jamie Lloyd throws a bundle of reed up to Miles Gray (Image: Chris Bishop)

He said instead of Norfolk reed, which would once have been the thatcher's go-to material, loss of reedbeds and management of those that remain by conservation groups means he has to look to Hungary for supplies.

Thatchers are also in short supply these days. Mr Lloyd, who learned his craft 30 years ago,said his business had a three-year waiting list and struggled to recruit.

Thatcher Jamie Lloyd at the church at Beachamwell (Image: Chris Bishop)

"I've never known a time when the demand has been so high," he said. "I'm actively seeking labourers and apprentices.

"They don't stick it out, they get an inside job instead. Getting someone to commit to a traditional craft is getting harder and harder.

Thatchers at work on the roof of the church at Beachmwell (Image: Chris Bishop)

"It's not romantic, it's physically demanding but it's a way of life for us and I love it."

Once the thatch has been ridged, the next step is the final layer with a decorative flourish.

Mr Lloyd reckons it should last another 50 years or so.

Read the rest here:
Thatchers working on Beachamwell Church after fire - Eastern Daily Press