Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A rendering of the Hilton Hotel Santa Monica Restaurant

Renovating a large hotel isnt an easy project, especially during a pandemic. Still, Andrea DeRosa and Ashley Manhan, founders of Avenue Interior Design have managed a full-scale renovation of the Hilton DoubleTree Santa Monica in Los Angeles converting the property to Hiltons West Coast flagship. Like everything else during these times, this project has taken far longer than initially planned for. Construction began in late 2018 and the property is almost ready to open.

The building was erected in 1990 and last underwent renovations in 2009. So it was more than time for Avenue Interior Designs full-scale renovation which consisted of 289 guest rooms and suites, public spaces including the lobby, porte-cochre, reception, ballrooms, meeting space, pre-function space, restaurant and bar, outdoor dining terrace, as well as the fitness center and pool deck.

For more than a decade, Los Angeles-based Avenue Interior Design has been designing boutique hospitality venues both domestically and abroad. Theyve made a name for themselves in the hospitality industry with their involvement in the design of the SLS Beverly Hills, La Serena Villas in Palm Springs, and the Ramble Hotel in Denver amongst others.

Andrea DeRosa and Ashley Manhan

The design of the Hilton Santa Monica was inspired by the history of California itself. Southern California has long been a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, innovators, and filmmakers dating as far back as a century during the golden era of the 1920s. The 1930s saw the popularity of custom homes rise along the Gold Coast as LA pioneer architects Wallace Neff and Paul Williams were commissioned to build some of the most iconic estates of that period. The 1960s bohemian culture that rose to popularity in places like Malibu, Venice Beach, and Topanga Canyon, produced and fostered iconic musicians like The Beach Boys and The Doors, and Neil Young, DeRosa and Manhan tell me. Fast forward to the present day when this same landscape is becoming the breeding ground for innovation on another level technology and the rise of the now renowned, Silicon Beach.

Renovating a hotel of the Hilton Santa Monicas scale is a tremendous undertaking even during less chaotic times. But the team at Avenue Interior Design managed to pull it off. However, one serendipitous factor was that the hotel was already closed for renovations during the shutdown. Better yet, the property had an inherently open floor plan so the public areas were already able to accommodate social distancing. While the local government is likely to mandate social distancing for quite a bit longer, accommodating this will likely be a part of hospitality design for an indeterminate period, at least in California.

Lobby lounges, meeting spaces, restaurants, and other public areas within hotels are inherently comprised of communal spaces emphasizing shared experiences, the designers explain. This pandemic has required all of us designers, owners, operators, and guests alike to redefine our experiences within, as well as our expectations for, these communal spaces.

Contemporary sconces are just one major hotel design trend

Cleanliness and easy sanitization has become a major factor in design. The team at Avenue Interior Design not only had to reevaluate the layout of these spaces but also the type of furniture and materials used.

A room with a view at the Santa Monica Hilton

Cleanliness has always been of paramount importance within the hospitality industry, but the dialogue surrounding the maintenance and durability materials and finishes for these spaces is certainly top of mind. We are using more vinyl for upholstered seating, glass and stone tops on tables, and staying cognizant of vertical surface finishes in heavy communal areas knowing disinfecting procedures can wreak havoc on finer finishes and materials, they explain.

The Southern California restaurant industry has been greatly challenged due to the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic. Various authorities and agencies have ordered multiple shutdowns and strict requirements for reopening including changes in social distancing and capacity guidelines. As of February 19, 2021, indoor dining is still forbidden. This has forced the restaurant industry to create layouts that can be pivoted at a moments notice.

A rendering of flexible space at the Hilton Santa Monica

One way Avenue Interior Design addressed this issue was by utilizing modular components of freestanding two-top and four-top tables for maximum flexibility in the event the restaurants must comply with distancing guidelines or reduced group size requirements. However, DeRosa and Manhan take this design challenge in stride. Mixing in various seating styles allows for an infusion of personality and visual interest while maximizing occupancy. An additional consideration for how interior and outdoor spaces connect is also top of mind. Now more than ever plans must be in place for spaces to expand to capture any usable real estate.

The pandemic has undoubtedly changed hospitality design for the long term. As a result, DeRosa and Manhan anticipate several permanent modifications to design interior and experiences within these spaces. For one, wed welcome more automated, touch-free, or motion-activated features especially when it comes to plumbing fixtures and lighting. Not only is it convenient and clean, but its also sustainable, they tell me.

The future is (almost) now.

They also see hotels integrating home office features into rooms. A quiet space, a functioning scanner and printer, reliable Internet, and comfortable chairs instantly became the most coveted home essentials. Once we get the green light to travel freely, we suspect were going to see a surge in travelers looking for hospitality venues catering to those of us seeking a work-cation and in turn capitalizing on the work-from-anywhere mentality so many of us have embraced during 2020.

The Hilton Santa Monica anticipates a grand opening in spring 2021.

Read more:
How Avenue Interior Design Renovated The Hilton Santa Monica Hotel In The Middle Of The Pandemic - Forbes

Writers like the British Ian Sinclair have made the walk an exercise in psychogeography; that is, walking through a place knowing the history of that place totally changes our perception of the space. It literally immerses us in history. Or begins to immerse us...

From the more than 86,000 landmarks recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, only 8% are associated with African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and other minorities.

Specifically, in the city of Los Angeles, just 10% of sites associated with women, BIPOC, or LGBTQ communities have become landmarks.

Last January, the National Register, in another effort to rewrite history and its imprint to make it everyone's, added the iconic Church of the Epiphany in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles to the list.

The church, which was built in 1887, became in the 1960s the epicenter of the Chicano Movement and a refuge and space for the civil rights struggle and is still a pillar for the community today, half a century later.

"I cried because I needed a place as a Chicana and a place as a Christian to call home," Angelina Lydia Lopez recalls the first time she visited Church of the Epiphany in 1968.

Lopez was demonstrating on a picket line supporting Mexican American activist Sal Castro when recently deceased UCLA professor Juan Gomez-Quiones told Lydia about a party being held at the parish.

With its high ceilings and religious emblems, the interior was decorated with papel picado, and music from a mariachi band enveloped the attendees.

It was the first time, said Lopez, who had grown up in a Baptist church, that she saw her identity reflected in a place of worship.

Everything about the Church of the Epiphany harkens back to the golden years of La Raza; its basement, now being remodeled into an activity room, was the birthplace of the La Raza newspaper, led by Ramses Noriega and Rosalio Muoz, the main organizers of the first Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War.

The Epiphany was also the site chosen by activists during Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign and the rallying point for organizing student walkouts to protest inequalities in East Los Angeles schools.

Activist and farmworker movement leader Cesar Chavez took the pulpit and preached for social justice in that very spot, and, years later, the parish served as a refuge for Central American immigrants fleeing violence in their countries.

"That's the legacy of the church," its vicar, Father Tom Carey, told the LA Times. "It's a place where people have expressed themselves."

In fact, Epiphany was among the few temples that became a true supporter of the struggle for equality at a time when Latino Catholics complained about the Catholic Church's lack of involvement in minority causes.

With notorious clashes such as that of Catholics for La Raza at the neighboring St. Basil's Church in 1969, where one Christmas Eve the police had to mediate, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre tried to close the doors in the noses of the angry congregation.

The parish has kept holding its bilingual services during the pandemic, albeit virtually. Meanwhile, it attends to local families in need of food and joins protests and calls for small business owners' relief.

All this, while it undertakes a remodeling process thanks to a crowdfunding campaign launched after learning its conversion to a historical monument in the country.

What makes a place sacred "is what has happened there in the past," concludes Father Carey. "What continues to happen there."

Read more from the original source:
The Church That Houses the Latent Heart of the Chicano Movement in L.A. - AL DIA News

Because of weather conditions and other issues, the contractor will not do stormwater work in the Commerce St. and S. 9th St. intersection this weekend. This stormwater work will be rescheduled. Crews will start signals, electrical work and track installation on Commerce Street from S. 7th St. to I-705 on Monday, Feb 22. First, crews will do signals and electrical work at the S. 7th St. intersection and for the track and Old City Hall Station. Then, the contractor will install track from S. 7th St. to I-705. This work includes removing asphalt, moving rail into place, pouring concrete around the rail, and paving. Starting on Feb 22, the southbound lane on Commerce St. will be closed from I-705 to S. 9th St. Commerce St. will be closed to thru-traffic from S. 9th St. to S. 7th St. Local access and access to driveways will be maintained. The detour route from I-705 is Stadium Way north to Broadway or St. Helens or take an earlier exit (City Center exit). Please allow extra time to reach your destination thank you.

We will provide more information about the schedule and location of the stormwater work on Commerce St. This work is expected to start in the S. 9th St. and Commerce St. intersection during a weekend.

COVID-19. The health and safety of all workers on Sound Transits construction sites are of utmost importance to us. Our contractors have primary responsibility for their wellbeing while working on our projects. Sound Transit is actively working with the contractors and construction management teams on all our projects to assure that public health guidelines are being followed.

Construction and traffic restrictions on Commerce Street.

As soon as Feb 22.

See more here:
No stormwater work in Commerce Street and S. 9th St. intersection this weekend - soundtransit.org

In the pavement maintenance industry, the use of coal-tar sealer is vast. These materials are safe and provide the best benefit to end users. Still, environmentalists have been trying for years to ban the use of these sealers.

In the state of Maryland, the legislature is attempting to pass a bill that will ban ALL coal tar and LP based sealers in the entire state. These sealers made up 85% of all sealer applied to parking lots and driveways in Maryland between 2019-2020. The ban would include:

The bill has now passed the Maryland House. The next step is consideration by the Senate.

"PCTC has been working in conjunction with the SealMaster franchisee in Maryland Tom Decker. The bill is an existential threat to Mr. Deckers business and everyone involved in the sealcoat business in Maryland," Anne LeHuray PCTC advisor says. "If you have colleagues/customers/supporters in Maryland, please ask them to contact members of the Committee asking them to oppose the sealant ban. If you are NOT in Maryland, you can still call and/or email your opposition."

The Maryland pavement maintenance industry is also asking our vast network of contractors to sign a petitionto show lawmakers how many jobs this ban will eliminate and the devastating impact it will have on the economy.

The fact remains, sealcoating with these products offers the very best protection and preservation, but local elected officials are wasting taxpayer dollars to enact bans on these safe products. Coal tar pavement sealer has been safely manufactured and applied on asphalt parking lots for over 50 years.

It's up to the industry as the constituents, to educate our elected officials on the impact this will have on small businesses that complete pavement maintenance services and the sealcoating industry as a whole.

Sign the petition here.

Excerpt from:
Pavement Maintenance Industry Urges a Stop to Maryland HB 77 - ForConstructionPros.com

I knew I could sell, but I didnt know how to manage my business.

What a scary realization to come to especially after four fast-growing years in business when everything seemed to be going in the right direction. But that is the realization Jim Bebo, president of ACI Asphalt & Concrete Inc., faced after 1997.

This is the story of how a concerted effort to rely on accurate job costing, focus on customer service, target specific markets, develop a turnkey CRM proprietary software system, and emphasize customer solutions instead of just bidding every opportunity enabled the Maple Grove, MN, pavement maintenance contractor to become a dominant force in the Minnesota and upper Midwest market.

This is the story of how ACI Asphalt & Concrete became Pavements 2021 Contractor of the Year.

When Bebo started ACI in 1993 he did not own any equipment. He survived by getting his general contractors license and focused not only on selling asphalt, but roofing, remodeling, and real estate, and he hired out subcontractors to get the work done. This, of course, brought a lot of challenges trying to juggle all the various businesses.

So, in 1995, ACI bought the subcontractor that had been doing his asphalt work, and in 1996 he bought his first self-propelled paver, and focused solely on asphalt. He called his company ACI Asphalt.

In 1997, Bebo quickly realized he was good at providing his customers with quality service, but he was barely staying afloat in his business. So he looked toward the National Pavement Expo to get the knowledge and networking he needed.

I remember buying the pass and sitting in every single class and leaving NPE with a long list of what to do when I got back, he says. I remember listening to Jeff Stokes in class and thinking Boy do I have a lot of work to do. I called him the Monday after the show and had him in here on Tuesday and the first two things we did were look at our job costs and start an estimating system based on job costing.

Accurate job costing is the difference between making a profit and not making it at all. Its as simple as that, he says. Contractors need to realize that if youre going to be in business today, you have to understand your job costs and bid your work accordingly. There is no room for fluff in bids if you want to remain competitive.

When Stokes and Bebo analyzed ACIs job costs, they learned not only why they needed to make some changes but also what some of those changes should be including focusing on different markets and changing the sales culture from old school bidding to a new consultative customer approach.

ACI realized that when they had trouble collecting payment, the problematic customers were almost always either a home builder or a small general contractor.

We were at the mercy of all these other people and all these other things that we couldnt control, and we were bidding so close that we couldnt afford any errors on our part or on anyone elses part. We couldnt afford delays or anything, he says. So ACI ran a tight ship for a couple of years.

In 1997, after focusing strictly on asphalt and making those changes, ACI and its 15 employees generated $1.4 million in paving and pavement maintenance work ranging from patching and repair to overlays and construction of new driveways and parking lots.

But despite the nice gross sales number, the company barely made a profit that year. However, ACI continued to grow at a successful rate, eventually reaching $5 million in sales with a payroll of 30 fulltime people in 2000. That same year ACI acquired strategically located property and built a new building. The new location featured a bigger yard, enabling the contractor to add bulk storage tanks and house more equipment, meaning it could perform almost all its own services rather than subcontract them out.

Then came 2002. We really amped it up that year, but we lost a ton of money, Bebo says. We did a lot of work for general contractors, and we lost money because we were running a driveway crew and a mainline crew, and the margins were terrible. I tried to compete where I couldnt, and we got ourselves into some real trouble.

He says he came to that realization in June 2002. But we had no choice but to play out the season and we did. That year was an MBA from Harvard. What I learned that year was its got to make sense or dont do it, Bebo says. It happens to all of us. Learning to say No was good. That year woke me up, pissed me off, and made me realize we cant be everything to everybody. I realized I had to figure out what were good at and do a lot of that.

So, in 2002 ACI revamped again, scaled back residential, eliminated most builders and general contractor work, no longer serviced small driveways, and started to focus on specific commercial markets, large HOAs and large residential jobs. We got rid of any customers who had a motive to squeeze us, started to build a sales team, and we dug ourselves out of a hole, Bebo says.

ACI retained quality accounts and built from there, focusing on how best to serve those customers, improving job costing, and growing no less than 10% each year.

Another improvement was a change in compensation for the sales team. That was essential to our growth, Bebo says. Compensation was now based on how well they managed the job and keeping the customer happy instead of just a percentage of the gross sale.

He says this allows them to focus solely on the customer solution and meeting customer needs not just bidding everything. ACIs business actually shrunk the first year they implemented the change, but then business improved soon after.

Like most businesses, ACIs revenue declined and business went down 25%. So, in 2009, ACI acquired its first infrared repair machine. Bebo says that single addition to its service offering has generated constant work for the company while providing a less-intrusive, short-term solution that is more cost-effective for the customer.

The main reason we bought an infrared machine was because the economy was tough for many of our customers, he says. It got to the point where I couldnt tell a property manager it was going to cost X dollars for three patches because I knew they couldnt spend that amount of money. Now, however, we can do those same patches for one-third the price in half the time with infrared. Thats another move we made with our customer in mind. Now ACI runs 4 infrared units.

By 2010, ACI completed about 900 jobs, and the companys growth was increasing. They bought a six-acre site in Maple Grove, MN -- now the main headquarters -- to help propel them to the next level. The company employed more than 40 people, with twice as many field personnel as sales or administrative employees. ACI was sending between three and seven crews into the field each day, with about 70% of revenue generated from paving and patching, and 30% from sealcoating and cracksealing.

In 2012, ACI added a concrete division and added concrete to its name, becoming ACI Asphalt & Concrete. They had been subbing out concrete work for many years but realized they didnt have control over quality or continuity of the projects, which was not in the best interest of the customer.

ACI started its concrete division with five employees; it now has 20 employees representing 15% of the business. Managing quality control ourselves was the only way we were going to provide concrete services, Bebo says. If we cant do it the right way for our customers, were not going to do it at all.

In 2018, as demand for ACIs services continued to grow, ACI made the strategic decision to acquire the people and assets of Asphalt Associates of Roberts, WI, and Minnesota Asphalt Maintenance, St. Paul, MN. You cant just add equipment to grow, you need the right people too, Bebo says. We saw an opportunity to make these strategic acquisitions, and we focused on bringing the best parts of each of our cultures together to make ACI stronger and better positioned to serve our customers.

There are two big challenges in this business, as far as employees go. One is the seasonality of our business and the second is getting the right can do people on our team, Bebo says. Weve always kept a few people on during the offseason, and when the company was smaller, we were able to keep more people on. But with 100-plus employees we cant do that anymore. We cant keep that many employees on 12 months even though were only working nine months.

To balance the seasonality aspect, ACI seeks fulltime workers who are willing to work seven to nine months with the other months working another job or on unemployment. Through our unions and our benefit programs, our employees are able to get year-round benefits which helps balance the seasonality of most of our jobs, he says.

After our reawaking back in 2003, we evolved our approach to hiring and focused even more on getting the right people on the team to fit our mission, vision and the skills we need to be successful, Bebo says. He says that for years he would hire skilled people and throw money at them and hope they work out. Now, however, ACI hires people for cultural and skill fit and lets them work their way up in the company, promoting from within wherever possible.

This way, they learn the business the way we want to do business he says. Its much less risk for ACI, offers the right people the opportunity to succeed and its been much more successful for all parties, adding that ACIs retention rate is 85%.

Also enabling ACIs growth has been the consistent development of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. For years, ACI scheduled its jobs on a white board, but starting in 2010, ACI added scheduling to its software system, managed by a fulltime scheduler.

Then in 2016, ACI developed a full-service CRM system and turned it into a turnkey software system that integrates virtually all aspects of the business including CRM, sales, management, and operations. It is more of a workflow and business operation system incorporating everything from job costing to scheduling to reporting equipment costs and even gross profit. All in real-time. This has helped ACIs growth exponentially. The software, PROcru, is used by ACI and several customers and is also available to all other contractors across the country.

Additionally, the development of the PROcru App has improved business greatly as it provides immediate job costing results. Weve eliminated all the job costing paperwork and we are no longer waiting on the foreman to manually enter in all of the information every night, Bebo says. Each field employee manages their own time and equipment costs on their own App. This gives them accountability, and no one needs to be micromanaged.

Bebo says ACI has always made a concerted effort to lower its operating cost and overhead so the company could be more flexible with its proposals and better able to add or upgrade equipment when needed.

He says tighter management of labor contributed significantly to lower direct costs of the project. When crews are in the field, ACI works to make sure crew members are being cost-effective on the jobsite, making them aware of the choices they make during the day and on the job and the impact those choices have on the job and on the bottom line.

We try to drive home the fact that they dont work for me and they dont work for ACI. Ultimately, we all work for the customer and the customer pays the bills and pays our salary. ACI just signs the checks, Bebo says.

When we drive operating costs down, we can provide a better service and the same high-quality work as we always have and we do that because thats what our customers have told us they want, Bebo says. We never want to be the company with the lowest price as that requires a business to cut corners and we would never do that.

We are the most cost-effective producer out there for the value given and property managers and owners understand what that means for them. Add our constant communication, professionalism and following through on all our commitments and choosing ACI as a top vendor is a no-brainer.

Even with all its attention on reducing operating costs and job costing, ACI still carries a lot of overhead.

Overhead is tricky because you can only spend so much money on it before you get into trouble. But if you dont have the overhead you just cant give to the customer the service they need and want.

Bebo adds that ACI does not believe in massive borrowing to finance equipment, so the company carries very little debt. That philosophy was key to surviving recent economic downturns because ACI has been able to borrow where other contractors couldnt because their debt load is too high.

Our financial strength and fiscally conservative nature have enabled us to weather the storms and not miss a beat, Bebo says. The quality of our people, our investment in our equipment fleet, the quality of the work we do and the way we approach our business, and our customers helps us get through. But one of the biggest things is our willingness to change. We adapt as the economy and market conditions change -- that is essential in this business.

Read the original post:
ACI Asphalt & Concrete named 2021 Contractor of the Year by Pavement Magazine - ForConstructionPros.com

WUWM's Chuck Quirmbach reports on the Snow Angels program in West Allis.

The snow depth in Milwaukee is now the deepest it's been in about 20 years as snow shovelers with sore backs or shoulders can well attest. In most cities, it's up to the property owners to hire a plowing service. Or, they buy a snowblower or a good shovel, and do pavement clearing themselves. But West Allis recently joined the ranks of snowy North American cities that match older, or disabled, homeowners with volunteer shovelers.

West Allis has about 60,000 residents. Some people live in older, tightly-packed neighborhoods. Others live in areas developed after World War II, where the homes are more spread out.

It's in one of those newer neighborhoods where Nate Meyer was at work on a cold and windy night recently, pushing a snow shovel.

Meyer was clearing a 50-foot long driveway of about three inches of newly fallen snow. The snow looked heavy and wet, but Meyer, so to speak, brushed off that notion.

"Ah, it's actually not too bad tonight. I thought it was going to be worse, Meyer says.

Meyer is one of about 40 West Allis residents who have volunteered for a new city program called Snow Angels.Unpaid shovelers are matched with homeowners who are 55 or older, permanently disabled or otherwise unable to shovel their sidewalks, driveways or alleys.

Meyer is an energetic 30-something who says, no, he has not lost his marbles, not completely.

"Maybe a little bit, he says. I was actually like, looking for a way to volunteer in my community, and I happened to see this posted on Facebook, and I'm like, 'Why not, I'll give it a shot, you know?' I'm younger, able to do the shoveling."

Meyer signed up to shovel two homes that night. One belongs to Jane Adams, who's wearing a cast on her left foot due to a recent surgery. Adams has a snow blower and says she normally does her own driveway. But not this winter, and she says her relatives and friends are out of the picture.

"I have family and friends, but they also have a lot of medical things going on right now. So, I was kind of in a bind, and when I saw the Snow Angels program, I thought, 'I'm going to sign up,'" Adams says.

She's not alone. West Allis reports 50 people quickly signed up for the program. And with demand for shovelers currently outpacing the supply, the city has stopped taking applications, for now.

Shoveling snow or doing other work on someone else's property can betricky, since homeowners often want things done just so. But Adams praises her Snow Angel Nate Meyer.

"I'm like, he's meticulous, he doesn't leave piles. I mean, he does a perfect job, she says.

West Allis says it modeled Snow Angels after similar programs in Pittsburgh, Denver and Canada.

West Allis Mayor Dan Devine says his community does have neighborhood associations and church groups that offer snow shoveling. But Devine says demand is typically unmet, and he wanted the city to do its part.

"We know that we have to salt, we have to plow. We have to pick up garbage. We have to recycle, and people are happy with those services. But when it goes to the extra steps, we did look at other cities offerings and just thought it would be a good idea for our population, he says.

Devine says there's little cost to the city. And to reduce liability concerns, homeowners have to sign a waiver saying West Allis is not responsible for any injuries.

The mayor, who is pushing 50, notes he's not quite eligible for shoveling help from the Snow Angels program. "Not yet, not yet. I hope it's still in place when I am," he says.

Read more:
The Snow Angels Of West Allis Help Elderly And Disabled Property Owners - WUWM

Road crews battle the weather to keep the city moving while cleaning up in the wake of Winters mixed mess.

Here is how the Erie City Streets Department is working during a snow storm.

Its hard to drive through a snow storm or to shovel snow to clear your driveway.

Erie City Streets Department is doing their part by working around the clock to plow the streets.

Keeping safe during a snow storm is hard to do especially if you have to travel in your car or shovel your driveway.

Im 64 at the end of this month so I dont need to be pushing heavy snow. I dont need to have a heart attack out here, said Mark Andrews, Erie Resident.

Once you get out of the driveway, theres another challenge.

Its kind of bad out here, but I think the ice is more bad than the snow. Its what is under the snow thats bad, said Drewey Williams, Erie Resident.

Its that mix that has made the latest storm unique. Its also forced the Erie Streets Bureau to work around the clock.

The bureau allowed us to ride along as one of the citys plows cleared the roads on Tuesday night.

Weve prepared for this storm. We had the trucks in and we serviced them all, checked all the fluid levels, the blade bolts, sprains and everything. We made sure all the spreaders were working properly. Everything was maintained and ready to go, said Steve Sornberger, Bureau Chief of Streets.

The Erie City Streets Department uses trucks such as this one to plow through the streets to not only let people drive through safely, but also for first responders.

This plow is actually 12 feet wide, and this is eight. So we can cover a 20 foot sloth of road going one way and we use this on main runs so we can go down the road and clear a big sloth with one shot, said Sornberger.

The interesting thing about those big plow trucks is that they have a mixture called brine. So what is it?

Brine is a condensed liquid of salt and water. This is then released while salting the roads.

Once on direct pavement it will create a barrier between any new fresh coating of snow, so the next time they replow the same spot it is easier to remove.

Link:
Road crews battle the weather to keep the city moving - YourErie

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 10: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #14 HighPoint.com Ford, sits in ... [+] his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 63rd Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2021 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Chase Briscoe may have just started in Nascars Cup series, but the rookie is already making an impact. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver made the move into the Cup series this season after a successful 2020 Nascar Xfinity series campaign that saw him score nine wins and make the Championship 4.

Briscoe was tapped to take over the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas for outgoing driver Clint Bowyer late last year. Not only did Briscoe bring his helmet to the Cup series with him, he also brought his primary sponsor HighPoint, an IT integration services company that joined him in the Xfinity series and is new to Nascar.

While HighPoint might not be recognizable to all Nascar fans yet, another sponsor, also new to the sport, is along for the ride. And this one has a great deal of brand name recognition.

The Huffy Corporation is widely known across America. The bike manufacturer began its sponsorship of Briscoe last season during the virtual racing league iRacing and that virtual became reality starting with last weeks Daytona 500. For Briscoe, the sponsorship is a homecoming of sorts.

Growing up, I had a Huffy bicycle. I had imaginary races in my driveway on that thing, he said chuckling. I wasn't out there with anybody else, but I would set up cones in my driveway and I was imagining I was racing other people.

For me, a lot of my childhood, I remember truthfully being on a Huffy, I'm not saying that because they're associated with me now. Like that's a true honest thing. And, you know, it's pretty neat.

With Huffy, Briscoe has now brought in two high-profile sponsors to the sport. The latest, as he points out, is also very involved in racing.

For me to be able to be the guy that has brought them into NASCAR is a huge honor and very humbling, he said. It's really neat to, to see those guys be so involved like they are, and they're so interested in it.

Yes, they're on two wheels and we're on four wheels, but you know, they still have a racing division like BMX and all these other things. It's really a good tie in, and hopefully we have a relationship that will last a long time, because it's, it's great on my end.

The sponsorship couldnt have come at a better time for Briscoe, coming just as COVID-19 put the world in a lockdown last year. Especially when that sponsorship included a bike of his own.

It was really a great way to get out of the house, Briscoe said. When COVID first started, training wise, I was on a stationary bike. So, when Huffy and I lined up at the beginning of COVID, it allowed me and my wife to go out and do something outside finally. And it was just a huge thing to be able to get out of the house and have something every day to look forward to.

Chase and Marissa Briscoe love getting out of the house and riding.

Jimmie Johnson, the 7-time champion who recently left the sport could be seen riding his bike with crewmembers, other drivers and people who work in the industry during race weekends. That seems to be one of the legacies he left behind.

Its something that, truthfully the Nascar garage ever since Jimmie, Briscoe said. I would say a large, large majority of the, not only the industry, but specifically at Stewart-Haas, almost half of our guys on their lunch break, go and ride bikes. I mean, that's what they do.

And all that riding has helped in the racecar as well.

My crew chief just yesterday went and rode 25 miles, Briscoe said. Man, it's a huge thing in Nascar. And I think it's just because it is relatable to what we do. You know, it's a team kind of aspect. You can go out and ride with your buddies you can still talk and communicate. The drafting is very similar what we do on the racetrack.

Unlike Jimmie Johnson who spent most of his time riding on pavement, Briscoe prefers going off-road.

Huffy actually sent me an off-road bike, he said. It was something that last year, one of the guys on the Xfinity team was really big into. So just picking his brain and trying to go do it. It reminds me kind of, of growing up. I rode a little bit of dirt bike stuff just for fun and it's kind of like that. It's intense because you're going on these trails that are narrow, there's some jumps it's, it's really, really exciting.

So while other drivers might be gulping energy drinks or eating fast food, Chase Briscoe is riding his bike just like he did when he was a kid winning imaginary races in his driveway.

It's a great thing for me to be tied in with Huffy, he said. And then, you know, all of the things they've been doing from the Chase the Ride deal to help other people go and get bikes at 20% off. And then also, you know, every time we won a race last year, they would donate a thousand dollars a children's hospital.

There's just so many things they're doing to try to bridge that gap to the racing crowd. it's been really neat for me to be tied to a brand that we're just so well known, and it's such a great company from top to bottom.

More here:
Nascar Rookie Brings Another Major Sponsor To The Cup Series - Forbes

Because of weather conditions and other issues, the contractor will not do stormwater work in the Commerce St. and S. 9th St. intersection this weekend. This stormwater work will be rescheduled. Crews will start signals, electrical work and track installation on Commerce Street from S. 7th St. to I-705 on Monday, Feb 22.

First, crews will do signals and electrical work at the S. 7th St. intersection and for the track and Old City Hall Station. Then, the contractor will install track from S. 7th St. to I-705. This work includes removing asphalt, moving rail into place, pouring concrete around the rail, and paving. Starting on Feb 22, the southbound lane on Commerce St. will be closed from I-705 to S. 9th St. Commerce St. will be closed to thru-traffic from S. 9th St. to S. 7th St. Local access and access to driveways will be maintained. The detour route from I-705 is Stadium Way north to Broadway or St. Helens or take an earlier exit (City Center exit). Please allow extra time to reach your destination thank you.

We will provide more information about the schedule and location of the stormwater work on Commerce St. This work is expected to start in the S. 9th St. and Commerce St. intersection during a weekend.

COVID-19.The health and safety of all workers on Sound Transits construction sites are of utmost importance to us. Our contractors have primary responsibility for their wellbeing while working on our projects. Sound Transit is actively working with the contractors and construction management teams on all our projects to assure that public health guidelines are being followed.

Construction and traffic restrictions on Commerce Street.

As soon as Feb 22.

Related

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No stormwater work in Commerce and S. 9th St. intersection this weekend. Track install starts on Commerce on Feb. 22 - The Suburban Times

HERE ARE a few things I learned about squirrels, breadcrumbing and the search for work while waiting for baseball season to start. ...

One benefit from working from home has been discovering how many neighbors you have living around you and Im not talking about the human ones.

Take the gray squirrels that scurried across the ice-crusted snow in my front yard last week. They have been my co-workers over the past 11 months I have worked from home. Turkeys and deer sometime stop by, too.

Recently, I did play-by-play from my dining room office tracking one squirrel bounding across my yards natural area and retaining wall, up one tree and then another, across the driveway and out of sight. It went something like this:

He grabs the nut. Oh no! The nut is rolling down the hill. Saves it at the cliff. Climbs up the hill. Up the first foot of the tree. Recalculate. To the second tree, No third, fourth tree. Down the hill. Over the pavement...Out of sight. Oh, were going to miss the squirrel.

Not sure if I amused my wife or scared her. Maybe both.

So I decided to check in with the squirrel experts at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

Theyre taking in the view as well.

All day long I have the opportunity to observe wildlife in my back yard, which if I wasnt basically quarantining at home, I wouldnt have that opportunity, said wildlife specialist Matt Tarr.

I think it provides a unique opportunity to maybe slow down a bit and just observe whats going on around them and begin to appreciate their yard is home to a lot of other critters other than themselves, Tarr said.

He rattled off a roll call of bird species, including blue jays and goldfinches, along with at least five squirrels he was staring at from his house in Gilmanton Iron Works as we talked last week.

Thats more than the 15 human co-workers he would see if he werent working from home.

But none of them are begging me for food, said Tarr, who maintains a bird feeder.

The squirrel population is benefiting from a pretty mild winter, he said, providing them with more opportunities to gather nuts and seeds.

And squirrels like to mate in January and February, so expect to spot a few more starting next month.

Waiting game

Since the flip of the calendar to 2021, one staffing agency is fielding more job openings to fill in New Hampshire.

Theres definitely some good optimism there, said Barry Roy, regional president at Robert Half, with offices in Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth.

And more workers both new and old are being told to head back to their workplaces, he said.

He thinks the jobs market will improve as the year proceeds and vaccinations become more widespread.

The jobs picture still doesnt match a year ago when the market was very, very hot before COVID hit us, Roy said.

Hes right. New Hampshire isnt back to where it was pre-pandemic. For December, the state reported there were 37,330 fewer Granite Staters employed compared with December 2019. There were 10,020 more unemployed people and another 27,310 who left the labor force.

Still others were working part-time or in a job paying less than before the pandemic hit last March.

His firm also released a national survey showing one-third of senior managers surveyed said their company was taking longer to hire new workers, known as breadcrumbing.

Its stringing folks along, right? Roy said.

Boston ranked second among 28 U.S. cities in drawing out hiring.

Its a competitive area with competitive companies with competitive talent with Boston home to larger companies that typically take longer to hire, Roy said. If you have someone you like and want to hire, dont wait too long.

Thats because 62% of professionals surveyed said they would lose interest in a job if they didnt hear back within two weeks of the initial interview.

New jobs site

People looking for a more outdoorsy lifestyle can scan the job openings on a website featuring the Mount Washington Valley area.

The site, workinthewhitemountains.com, already has received more than 9,200 unique visitors as of last week. About two-dozen employers have posted about 50 jobs on the site, which went live Oct. 30.

The main purpose of the website is to be a comprehensive resource for employers and potential employees for 2021 and beyond, said Charyl Reardon, president of the White Mountains Attractions Association.

Her organization joined a group of chambers of commerce in the effort, spending about $20,000 in CARES Act money to develop and support the website.

Folks from California, Florida, Virginia and New York have visited the site, showing the widespread geographic interest in the North Country.

Workforce realignment

You can earn a degree as a licensed nursing assistant at White Mountains Community College in Littleton, but you cant snag college credit for skiing.

I wish, college president Charles Lloyd said the other day.

Lloyd, who also oversees locations in Berlin and North Conway, is looking to create a higher profile for the Littleton location, which shares space with New Hampshire Employment Security and is within walking distance of Littletons charming Main Street. Hes pushing to get funds to construct a $7 million building out back that could offer classes as soon as spring 2023 in repairing blades for wind turbines an industry, Lloyd said, that could flourish under President Joe Biden.

We will be bringing diesel heavy equipment technology from Berlin, IT, foundational manufacturing, and industrial mechanics/energy technology (including electric vehicles, generations, and turbine maintenance), he said in an email following my recent visit to the colleges Littleton Academic Center.

And for those skiers, Cannon Mountain is only about a 20-minute drive south.

In the meantime, Lloyd is seeing more people over age 25 attending classes there, including workers displaced by the pandemic who previously worked in area hotels and restaurants now seeking a new career.

Theres really a workforce realignment, Lloyd said.

There are people that have either lost their jobs or had hours reduced that can be reskilled to align with open positions while we still need to work collaboratively with employers to recruit a workforce to the North Country and train them accordingly, he said. It is truly a team approach.

Lloyd also has been talking with Jim Kisch, president and CEO at Passumpsic Bank and chairperson of the Vermont Bankers Association, about lecturing at the college or out in the community.

I see like a workshop series or guest speakers; something fun, Lloyd said.

Whats Working, a series exploring solutions for New Hampshires workforce needs, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and is funded by Eversource, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the New Hampshire College & University Council, Northeast Delta Dental and the New Hampshire Coalition for Business and Education.

Contact reporter Michael Cousineau at mcousineau@unionleader.com. To read stories in the series, visit unionleader.com/whatsworking.

Read more from the original source:
Getting to the nut of the jobs market | What's Working | unionleader.com - The Union Leader