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VIDEO: Rare Carpenter Gothic churches in Northwest Florida

Three Carpenter Gothic churches still exist in Northwest Florida

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS Three Northwest Florida churches St. Agatha's Episcopal in DeFuniak Springs, St. Mary's Episcopal in Miltonand First Presbyterian in Lynn Haven are the area's only remaining examples of an architectural style that, while integral to a spiritual sense of place, also presentschallenges for preservation.

The Carpenter Gothic style in church construction traces its roots to the late 1700s and early 1800sas the Anglican Church moved from what had been an austereworship style altarshad been eliminated from churches, and communion was not celebrated back to a more ritualized form of worship.

More: Meet the Female Pastors of the Panhandle

That movement coincided with a revivalof Gothic architecture, a masonry-oriented approach which featured high walls, vaulted ceilings and delicate stonework as seen in grand cathedrals. Eventually, though, the style made its way to much smaller parish churches.

And in places like Florida, where timber was a more readily available material than stoneand where craftsmen and laborers were more familiar with working in wood than stone, that style was replicated in wood. Over the years,though, those churches present significant challenges to theircongregations rotting or termite-infested wood have to be replaced, plaster cracks and falls, and worship spaces have to be modified as technology advances.

Across Florida, the proliferation of Carpenter Gothic churches can be traced to the Rev. John Freeman Young, who served as the state's Episcopal bishop from 1867 until his death in 1885.

Photos: First female chaplain at Air Force Enlisted Village

(On a seasonal note, Young is better remembered as the personwho, in 1859, translated the German Christmas carol "Silent Night" into English.)

While serving in New York, Young became acquainted with noted Gothic Revival architect Richard Upjohn, and by 1853, buoyed by his own knowledge of Gothic Revival architecture, he planned and coordinated construction of a Mississippi church designed by New York architect Frank Wills.

Church architecture was exceedingly important to Young, earning a place in his 1882 message on the consecration of St. John's Church in Jacksonville.

According to areport from the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, Young said at the time, "Wood and stone, and silver and gold, and silk and linen, and diverse colors, are but dead, mute things, which have neither speech nor language inherent in themselves, but under the hand of the cunning craftsman and skillful artificer their voices are heard among them, each one entering into the grand harmony of their utterance, being but a louder or a softer echo of the utterances of the voice of God."

More: Amid the coronavirus, churches are trying different ways to serve their members

Here is how the three Northwest Florida churches are keeping those echoes of Carpenter Gothic sounding today.

'The place where God is'

The aged timber, stained glass and plaster of St. Mary's EpiscopalChurch are so much a part of Mark Starr's life that he dreams about them, although not in the way that you might think.

"I have nightmares about a tree falling on this little church," Starr said on a recent morning inside the 145-year-old structure.

Sunshine coming through stained-glass windows, some of it through the shadows of two large trees flanking the front of the church, lit its varnished wood ceiling, floors and altaras Starr steered his thoughts in a happier direction.

"It's a beautiful place, and more important, the Holy Spirit's in it," said Starr, the church's senior warden.

Erected in 1875, for its first year or so the church had no windows, as finances were strained to secure leaded glass. In the interim, according to church lore, the ladies of St. Mary's covered the window openings with muslin fabric.

A still later addition to the church, a stained-glass altar window featuring Mary surrounded by a host of Christian religious symbols, was installed in 1880. Imported from Czechoslovakia, the window was paid for by the children of the church, who hired themselves out to neighbors to earn money. The window, irreplaceable today, cost $600, at the time "twice the yearly income for a working man in Santa Rosa County in 1880," according to a brief history of the church.

While the Holy Spirit is resident in St. Mary's, its congregation until recently has not been. The coronavirus pandemic forced the church to discontinue services in the tiny building, but earlier this monthit reopened. With social distancing protocols in place, the church can accommodate 35 worshipers.

That's been particularly important for many of the church's older members, according to Starr.

"There are some of our congregationthat feel like this is the place where God is," Starr said.

In the eyes of Ann Odom, who has been attending St. Mary's since 1972, the church's age is an integral part of its specialness as a place of worship. Among the things that make the church special for worshipers, she said, is its "gingerbread" trim elaborately carved wooden features, both inside and out, not found in more modernconstruction.

"They walk in the doorand they feel the spirit," she said.

The church, though, has changed during the decades. The coal-burning pot-bellied stove located in one corner of the sanctuary to keep members warm in winter is long gone, as is its chimney. The old coal storage room attached to the rear of the church remains, but is now used as a nursery.

A bell tower, an elaborate picket fence and a burial yard for cremated remains, complete with a sculpture of an angel, have been added to the church and its grounds, but alwayswith an eye toward remaining faithful to the Carpenter Gothic style.

And while maintenance is an ongoing issue at St. Mary's the sandy soil on which it is built means that it is slowly sinking,a termite infestation required the replacement of some of the wooden sill plates in its foundation, the roof needs work and the church "is in dire need of a paint job," according to Starr the congregation is determined to keep ittrue to its architectural style.

"We're committed to it," Starr said.

St. Mary's EpiscopalChurch is currently pastored by the Rev. Dr. Margaret Shepard, who is serving there as the church awaits a permanent rector.

Preaching in the historic church is a special experience, she said, as its relatively unchanged nature provides "a sense of presence of people past" and of "thankfulness for the church founders."

"There's a real sense of historicity," she said.

Even as the church has been challenged in keeping its building true to its Carpenter Gothic roots, it also has been challenged in remaining openbecause ofits small congregation.

But according to Odom, at least one of the "supply priests" that has served the church in recent years isn't worried about the future of St. Mary'sbecause of its namesake saint.

"He said, 'Ain't nobody gonna mess with Jesus' mama,'" Odom smiled.

'People like the quaintness'

As Carpenter Gothic churches go, 105-year-old First Presbyterian Church in Lynn Haven has succeeded in maintaining its clear architectural identity throughout a series of accommodationsfor the worship experience.

In fact, First Presbyterian is the only church in Lynn Haven still operating out of its original building. And even Hurricane Michael, which laid waste to the city two years ago and caused extensive damage to First Presbyterian, couldn't touch its Carpenter Gothic character. The signature arch over the church's front door, while damaged, was not destroyed in the hurricane, marvels the Rev. Lisa Martin, First Presbyterian's pastor.

"The outside arch was fine, and that was just amazing," Martin said.

Renovations to the interior of the church began a little more than a decade after it was first occupied, as wings were added to either side of the original 42-foot by 34-foot worship space.

Those renovations also included reversing the sanctuaryspace, moving the altar to the western end of the church. The change no doubt came as a relief to some churchgoers, as the original plan had the entrance door immediately adjacentto the altar. That arrangement, Martin said, meant that "if you were late, you came into church in front of the pulpit." And, of course, in front of the congregation.

In addition, the early renovations included the construction of a brick fireplace in a northwest corner of the church, which remained in place for years. Itsremoval in the relatively recent past disappointed some church members.

Locks weren't placed on the church's exterior doors until 1944. It was air-conditioned in 1965. Stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the life of Christ were installed in 1973after some of the old windows, comprising simple panes of colored glass, fell victim to the occasional gunshot, according to longtime church member MartiWillis. The original metal ceilings were covered with a suspended ceiling, and the church's original globe lights were replaced with chandeliers.

But through it all, the church has maintained the essential Carpenter Gothicethos, according to Martin.

"It tends to allow for a more congregational feel," she said."It is unique people walk in and immediately feel at home.

"There's an intimate feel," Martin continued. From the pulpit, "I can see everybody, and that's what I love."

"I think most people who come here like the quaintness," Willis said.

And just as at St. Mary's Episcopal, the ongoing coronavirus has kept the congregation from gathering at the church until a couple of weeks ago. That'swhen a socially distanced worship service began the liturgical season of Advent, the beginning of the Christian church year.

"There was a levelof pressure" from the congregation to get back into the church, Martin said, just one more indication of "the love for this building."

'Into their own hands'

The history of St. Agatha's Episcopal Church begins in the mid-1880s, as the Rt. Rev. Edwin G. Weed, then the Episcopal bishop of Florida, was traveling by railroad to establish churches across Northwest Florida. At the time, there were a handful of Episcopal families in DeFuniak Springs, meeting in private homes andlaterin the county courthouse.

By the end of the decade, a priesthad been assigned to the community, and in 1895construction of the church began.The name "St. Agatha" was chosen because it was the name of a beloved grandmother of the Landrum family, one of the families thatfounded the church.

As the only Episcopal church in North America dedicated to St. Agatha, patron saint of nursing mothers, professional nurses and sexual abuse victims, it is perhaps fitting that women played a pivotal role in the beginnings of the DeFuniak Springs landmark.

By Easter of 1896, the church stood only partially completed, but the women of St. Agatha's wanted to hold Easter services in the structure.

Here's how things unfolded from there, as briefly related in a history of the church:

"The men refused, protesting that Bishop Weed had not consecrated the building nor licensed lay readers. The women took matters into their own hands and decorated the lath (installed and ready for plaster) with magnolia, dogwood and azalea blooms. They read Morning Prayer on Easter morning."

When Weed, whose duties included visiting Episcopal parishes in the state, heard about the persistence of the women of St. Agatha's, he wrote a letter asking that they "cease and desist," according to the history.

"They politely responded that he need not bother to return if he felt that way," the history continues.

And with a bit of editorial license, the history offers the conjecture that "perhaps this was the first effort of women to assert their rights in what was then a male-dominated church."

And indeed, while it apparently took a few years, Weed eventually made peace with the women of St. Agatha's. Sometime around 1900, according to the best guesses from photographic evidence, Weed sent the church the "Passion Flower" stained glass window that still filters sunlight above the altar.

To this day, that window imparts the spiritual nature of the structure to at least one of its members. Melinda Henderson, who has been closely involved with efforts to restore and maintain the 125-year-old church, said that at certain times of the yearduring evening services, "sunlight comes right through the top jewel (of a crown depicted in the window), and you just feel this is a holy place," she said.

As with other Carpenter Gothic churches, upgrades and ongoing maintenance needs have been a part of the life of St. Agatha's for years. In the 1950sit was re-roofed, and the stained wood ceiling, wainscoting and other woodwork was painted. In subsequent years, a pot-bellied stove was replaced by gas stoves for heating, and Plexiglas covers were placed over the stained-glass windows to protect them from hurricane winds and, as with First Presbyterian in Lynn Haven, the occasional bullet.

In more recent years, as the foundations of the sanctuary and other buildings on the St. Agatha's campus required leveling, some of the interior plaster, already cracked and showing signs of leakage, began to fall to the floor. Subsequently, rotted and termite-ridden exterior boards had to be replaced.

Some of the work has been funded with grants from the state, which in many cases have required matching funds. That's something of a reach for a congregation that, at best, numbers just a few dozen, but the larger community has been stepping up to help, according to Henderson.

From overpaying for items offered at church-sponsored garage salesto leaving generoustips at church pancake breakfasts, the community beyond the church has consistently shown its interest in preserving St. Agatha's, shenoted gratefully.

Henderson's involvement in restoration efforts, from doing actual work on the buildings to seeking grants for needed repairs, has made her keenly aware of the physicalaspects of the sanctuary and the two other buildings. It's something she has to watch, she said, lest she forget about deeper connections with the structure.

"You sit in the sanctuaryand you can feel the presence of the saints," she explained, noting that she meant not only actual saints venerated by the church, but members who have passed away in the faith.

"I have to caution myself about thinking about St. Agatha as a place," she said.

Continued here:
'Echoes of the voice of God': Carpenter Gothic churches rare in Northwest Florida - The Northwest Florida Daily News

Council President Tom Hucker (D-District 5) yesterday introduced two bills intended to improve safety in residential buildings, primarily multi-family and multi-story units.

Expedited Bill 50-20 Landlord-Tenant Relations Fire Safety Removal of Mercury Service Regulators would require landlords to schedule the immediate replacement of indoor mercury service gas regulators with safer, more modern regulators, according to the council staff report.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that an August 2016 explosion and fire that killed seven people at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring was caused when a failing mercury service regulator, which was not connected to a vent line, allowed natural gas to build up and ignite.

We have to do everything in our power to ensure that we never have another tragedy like the fatal Flower Branch explosion, Hucker said in a press release. Now that the federal government has told us that many other properties have the type of outdated, dangerous equipment that caused the Flower Branch explosion, we have to make sure that landlords work with the gas utility to replace them.

Bill 51-20 Housing and Building Maintenance Standards Window Guards would require landlords to install and maintain window guards in certain rental housing, and provide for the enforcement of window guard requirements, among other provisions.

As recently as October, a two-year-old boy died after he fell from a third-floor apartment in Takoma Park, according to a press release. In 2019, a two-year-old boy fell from an 11th-floor window and was seriously hurt in Takoma Park.

Public hearings on both bills are scheduled for Jan. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Farragutful published theCreative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 4.0 Internationallicense.

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Hucker Introduces Bills to Enhance Safety in Residential Buildings - Source of the Spring

The Health Service Executive's information technology system is relying on thousands of out-of-date computers because a plan to replace them has not been completed.

The out-of-date computers, which run on Windows 7, need special security support, which cost the taxpayer over 1mthis year.

Last year, the HSEsaidit had "aprogrammeto migrate"Windows 7 computers to Windows 10 by the end of 2020.

At that time 46,000 of its 58,000 computers remained on Windows 7.

The HSE hassincereplaced 9,000 of the 46,000 computers leaving 37,000 depending on the old software-12,000 of those cannotbe replaced because they are needed to run radiology and other systems that cannotrun on newer software.

In response to a parliamentary question byLabourleader Alan Kelly, the HSE saidits Windows 7 migrationprogrammewas "impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in a lower number of upgraded/replaced Windows 7 devices".

In January, Microsoft stopped protecting Windows 7 computers from viruses and malware,unlessit waspaid extra money to do it.

The HSE needed that protection and paid1.1m for it in 2020. Next year, it faces paying more to Microsoft because the pricing structure per computer doubles.

The HSE confirmed negotiations are "still ongoing" between itself and Microsoft and a "figure is yet to befinalised" on how much Windows 7 protection will cost for 2021.

Read More:Windows 7 users warned of cyber attacks as software support endsHSE spent 300k on software patches

The scaling down of Windows 7 was known widely from 2014 and the HSE started its migrationprogrammein 2017.

Speaking on RT's Morning Ireland,MrKelly saidthe failure to address the issue showed a lack of preparedness which led to a cost to the taxpayer.

"I cant believe that the HSE still hasnt dealt with this issue. It is costing the taxpayer a huge amount of money.

"One year on, they still havent been able to ensure that they brought their software and security settings up to date. It leaves them open to a serious amount of security issues and problems potentially.

"That doesnt excuse the fact that they were a year behind anyway. That doesnt excuse the fact that these costs were building up. I accept the fact that it would have been much more difficult this year. But,that isnt the full story, this could all have been prepared for in advance,"hesaid.

The HSE said in a statement it has a "layered system of security to mitigate cyber security risk".

"This includes perimeter security, software updating, real time monitoring of assets, mobile device security and endpoint encryption. We alsoutilisecybersecurity expert partners and Microsoft to provide additional support to the HSE.

"No single element on its own is sufficient to provide adequate cybersecurity. It is the combination of all elements working together that provides the best cybersecurity. Given the continued threat of cybersecurity, the HSE will continue to invest in cybersecurity tools and education of staff to helpminimisethis ever-changing threat," the HSE statement read.

Dr Simon Woodworth, director of the health information researchcentreat University College Cork, saidthe HSEs pace of Windows migration is pathetically slow and creates a single point of failure that could have massive consequences.

"I am sympathetic with the HSE because Covid-19 is going to put a12monthdelay on everything.

"It is not just a financial issue. It is an issue of increasing risk. The longer they leave this and the slower they are at remedying the situation the more they are exposing themselves to risk of a vulnerability or a cyberattack.

"The HSEs multi-layered system is actually very, very good. They areabsolutely diligent, and they try very, very hard to make sure there are several layers of security, so if there is a failure on one point it should not affect everything else.

"If you have a single point of failure, while the probability might look very low, the consequences could be quite serious because an enemy agent or a threat to the system-for whatever their motivation is-if they establish a toehold inside anybodys networks, all they need to do is compromise one machine and then the damage they do spreads outwards from that machine"

Other institutions andorganisationare also dealing with similar Windows 7 issues.

Last year, Government departments had 22,312 computers on Windows 7.Today, it has reduced that by almost half to 11,850.

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Thousands of HSE computers rely on out-of-date software - RTE.ie

MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The updated release reads:

NEXSTREAMING ANNOUNCES NEXPLAYER BECOMES A UNITY VERIFIED SOLUTIONS PARTNER

NexStreaming announced today that it is now a Unity Verified Solutions Partner. Being a Verified Solutions Partner means NexStreamings SDK, NexPlayer, the leading player SDK for premium video apps, has been verified by Unity to ensure its SDK is optimized for the latest version of the Unity editor, providing a seamless experience for Unity developers.

NexPlayer offers many functionalities such as high-quality HLS and DASH streaming across all Android and iOS devices, subtitles, ad insertion, and content protection using Widevine Digital Rights Management (DRM).

As a Unity Verified Solutions Partner, NexPlayer enables its users to easily update and deliver video content to players by simply changing the source URL. NexPlayer supports Windows, Mac, Android, as well as iOS and will be available on WebGL in Q1 2021.

Carlos Lucas, CEO of NexStreaming said: From the beginning, NexPlayer has been a multiscreen player, supporting platforms like Android, iOS, Tizen, WebOS, Xbox, PlayStation, and HTML5. Becoming a Unity Verified Solutions Partner allows us to be integrated into the most popular gaming apps. We are very excited to support the Unity community.

See more technical details in the Nexplayer GitHub: https://github.com/NexPlayer/NexPlayer_Unity_Plugin

About NexPlayer

NexPlayer is the leading multiscreen player SDK for premium video services, integrated inside the apps of ATT, Sky, Turner, BT or TVB. It is fully customizable and available for Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, Samsung Tizen, LG WebOS Smart TVs, Android & iOS apps as well as HTML5 browsers. For more information: http://www.nexplayersdk.com

Originally posted here:
CORRECTING and REPLACING, NexStreaming announces NexPlayer Becomes a Unity Verified Solutions Partner - Business Wire

The Vegas Golden Knights still need to clear salary cap space, and according to reports on Tuesday night they could be considering a Max Pacioretty trade.

If they are actually shopping him, he would be an attractive option for any team in need of scoring.

The hurdle is going to be the $7 million salary cap hit over the next three seasons.

As of this moment there are only seven teams in the NHL that have enough salary cap space to take on such a contract this season without retained salary on Vegas side, or Vegas taking back another contract.

Those teams: Florida, Columbus, Detroit, Ottawa, Nashville, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.

There are a handful of teams that can probably be scratched off from that list.

Columbus has the salary cap space and the need for scoring, but it still has to re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois, who will take up most of its remaining $9.2 million in salary cap space. I am not saying it could not work there, but it would require some creativity on both sides.

Ottawa, Detroit, and Los Angeles are in the early stages of rebuilds and not really in a position to add a 32-year-old winger on a $7 million per year contract. They are probably out.

I still think the offer sheet option is an intriguing option, but Pacioretty would also be a great fit.

The Predators love to swing for the fences in trades, and they still have more than $12 million in salary cap space with only restricted free agent Luke Kunin left to re-sign. They easily have the money to take on that contract and they are still in a position where their window for contention is open.

Their offense was already weak and saw close to 70 goals leave town this offseason with no proven impact players coming back to replace it. Pacioretty would help fix that and maybe even help improve what has been the leagues worst power play over the past two seasons.

They need another finisher, and Pacioretty is one of the leagues best.

The Devils are a fascinating situation. They are not a contender, but they are also not a team that is setting up to be a disaster, either.

They have two recent No. 1 overall picks hopefully ready to take a significant leap in their development, and with Corey Crawford and Mackenzie Blackwood in net they have what should be an outstanding goalie duo that will keep them in a lot of games. If they can avoid all of the late game collapses they had to start last season and get some competent goaltending, they could be surprisingly competitive.

They also have more salary cap space than any other team in the NHL with a whopping $17 million in space still remaining.

Blackwood (restricted free agent) still needs re-signed, but he is only going to take up a small portion of that space.

They also still need more offense. A lot of it.

They are obviously banking heavily on Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to be stars, but they could still use another proven scorer or two. There is also the fact that both Nikita Gusev and Kyle Palmieri are unrestricted free agents after this season and there is no guarantee they will be back. Pacioretty would give them a proven scorer that is still under contract for the next two years. It also would not prohibit them from re-signing one of the other two forwards. It would also be kind of funny to see Pacioretty be reunited with P.K. Subban in New Jersey just a couple of years after each of them was traded out of Montreal.

The Panthers biggest need is improving their defensive play and goaltending.

Their offseason moves are intriguing when it comes to improving the former, and they created a new department to try and squeeze excellence out of the latter. We will see how it all works.

While their offense has been very good the past two years, they did lose a lot this offseason with Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman (their top-two goal scorers from a season ago) leaving in free agency.

This is a team that is clearly determined to make the playoffs, and they still have close to $8.5 million in salary cap space to play with.

Adam Gretzis a writer forPro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line atphtblog@nbcsports.comor follow him on Twitter@AGretz.

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If Max Pacioretty is available, these teams should be calling - NHL

NEW HIRES

Portland senior care community The Cedars has tapped Tim Jalbert as its new chief financial officer. A resident of Kennebunkport, Jalbert comes to The Cedars from CliftonLarsonAllen, where he served as a health care consulting manager. He is a forward thinking, technology-savvy certified public accountant who has been an innovator in software development to improve quality and revenue and enjoys using analytics to study future health care trends.

Amy Bell Segalhas been hired by South Portland engineering firm Sebago Technics. Segal will take on the role of senior landscape architect/senior project manager, where she will manage a variety of projects on top of contributing to overall site planning and design. Segal graduated from Cornell University with a degree in landscape architecture, and she and her family are longtime Portland residents. After 28 years with Terrance J. DeWan & Associates, Segal brings a wealth of experience to her new position.

Health care provider InterMed has hired Theresa Falcon as director of operations. Falcon brings nearly a decade of health care experience, most recently with MaineHealth.

Maine Medical Partners has announced a slew of new hires:

Dr. Angela Y. Higgins has joined Maine Medical Partners MaineHealth Cardiology. She completed her fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine and Advanced Imaging at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. Higgins was also a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and completed her residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, serving as a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Kristina A. Giles has joined Maine Medical Partners Surgical Care Vascular Surgery. Giles was most recently apart of the University of Florida Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. She served as the director of quality for the department of surgery and as associate program director of the vascular surgery fellowship. She completed her medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Szymon L. Wiernek has joined Maine Medical Partners MaineHealth Cardiology as an interventionalist. Wiernek graduated from a two-year interventional cardiology training program at the University of California at San Diego, with comprehensive training in complex coronary, peripheral, structural and robotic-assisted interventions, as well as mechanical circulatory support, advanced heart failure devices and pulmonary hypertension treatment including balloon pulmonary angioplasty.

Dr. Rebecca Hillyer Leary has joined Maine Medical Partners Endocrinology and Diabetes. After earning her bachelor of science in biological sciences and psychology from the University of Delaware, she went on to earn her osteopathic medical degree at the University of New England.

Dr. John M. Fallon II has joined Maine Medical Partners Cardiovascular Surgery. He completed his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta. He completed his general surgery residency and internship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. He earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.

PROMOTIONS

Town & Country Federal Credit Union has elevated Jon Paradise to the newly created position of senior vice president of communications, marketing and community outreach after serving as the credit unions vice president of public relations and communications since 2018. Paradise will continue to oversee the credit unions significant public relations efforts, as well as be responsible for leading all marketing and community outreach at the credit union in his new role. During his over 35-year career, Paradise has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward L. Bernays Award as the top public relations professional in Maine from the Maine Public Relations Council in 2010.

Kelly St. Ongehas been promoted by Clark Insurance from senior account manager to personal insurance department coordinator at its Portland headquarters after working for Clark for 18 years. In addition to the promotion, St. Onge has also earned two Safeco Insurance Awards this year: the Agent of Excellence Award and the Award of Distinction. Those awards are presented to outstanding agents who are among the top producers in the country, have developed a solid underwriting relationship with Safeco, and qualified for their top recognition program.

InterMed has promoted Wayne Googinsto manager of facilities after overseeing a wide range of projects, including several large office renovation initiatives since he joined InterMed in 2009.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Herring Gut Learning Center has welcomed David Brakke to its board of trustees. Brakke grew up in Minnesota, attended the University of Minnesota and completed his doctorate in limnology/ecology at the University of Indiana. While doing research at Lake Itaska in northern Minnesota, he met George Jacobsen, a paleoecologist at the University of Maine, which led him to spend a year there as a faculty research associate. Brakke has written columns, publications, given presentations, reviewed journals and agencies, and is a member of the Associated Societies of Limnology and Oceanography and the Ecological Society of America. Brakke and his wife will relocate from Washington, D.C., to live full time in Port Clyde.

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Tim Jalbert named chief financial officer at The Cedars - Press Herald

Today we look at efforts to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the Cerrado in Brazil, the worlds largest and most biologically-rich tropical savanna.

Listen here:

Comprising more than 20% of Brazils land area, the Cerrado is the second-largest biome in the country, after the vast Amazon rainforest. And with more than 10,000 species of plants, 200 species of mammals (14 of which are endemic), 860 species of birds (10 of which are endemic), 1,200 species of fish, more than 300 species of reptiles and amphibians, and millions of insects, the Cerrado is considered to be the most biodiverse tropical savanna in the world. But it hasnt received nearly as much attention as the Amazon over the past several decades, even as agriculture and cattle ranching have expanded so aggressively in the Cerrado that the habitat is now highly fragmented and only around 20% of its native vegetation remains.

Joining us on the Mongabay Newscast to help us look at how the Cerrado might finally be getting some of the attention it deserves, we welcome Mariana Siqueira, a landscape architect based in Brasilia, the countrys capital city located in the heart of the tropical savanna region. Siqueira discusses her work helping to find and propagate the Cerrados natural plant life in collaboration with ecologists who are working to restore the savanna habitat.

We also welcome to the program Arnaud Desbiez, founder and president of Wild Animal Conservation Institute (known by its Portuguese acronym ICAS). One of ICASs long-term projects is the Giant Armadillo Conservation Program. Desbiez tells us that the Cerrado is an important part of the Brazilian range for the giant armadillo, the worlds largest armadillo, which is known as an ecosystem engineer that provides many benefits to its fellow wildlife species.

But the armadillos elusive nature means that there is much we still dont know about the species. Desbiez tells us about the discoveries he and his colleagues have made regarding them, a unique threat they face in the Cerrado, and why preserving them could play an important role in conserving whats left of the Cerrados biodiversity on a broader scale.

Read more about the Giant Armadillo Conservation Project here at Mongabay, In search of the forest ghost, South Americas cryptic giant armadillo (09/08/2020), and view all of our recent coverage of the Cerrado here.

You can subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast on Android, the Google Podcasts app, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, RSS, Castbox, Pocket Casts, or listen via Pandora, Spotify, or Audible. You can also listen to all our episodes via the Mongabay website here on the podcast homepage.

Or download our new app for Apple and Android devices to gain fingertip access to new shows and all previous episodes.

Follow Mike Gaworecki on Twitter: @mikeg2001

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.

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Podcast: Is Brazil's biodiverse savanna getting the attention it deserves, finally? - Mongabay.com

Light it up Warm, yellow hues such as those pictured here are currently all the rage. (Photo: Linda Oyama Bryan)

Jan-Gerrit Bouwman, senior landscape architect at Grant & Power Landscaping in West Chicago, says when it comes to landscape lighting trends, landscape lighting is the trend.

Lighting is everything because it makes your yards very friendly at night in the summer and the fall, he says. Its also nice to look at it from the inside out and the outside in.

Grant & Powers focus is primarily on residential design/build services. The company also offers residential maintenance, commercial maintenance and snow and ice removal.

Crayton Caudill, vice president of Redwood Landscape in Cedar Lake, Ind., agrees with Bouwman. Landscape lighting used to be an add-on but has become a must-have, Caudill says.

Landscape lighting used to be an upgrade that people would add on if they had it in the budget, he says. They didnt want to spend the $3,000 to $4,000 on it at first, but now Im seeing it grow a lot.

Redwood Landscape offers residential landscape design and installation, lighting, irrigation and maintenance, plus commercial landscape design and installation, maintenance and snow and ice management.

Caudill says this increased interest among his residential clientele has been strong for the past two to three years.

The popularity has grown as people become more educated about it and understand the value of it and understand it adds beauty to the front of a home, landscape or outdoor living space, he says.

Caudill and Redwood Landscape have launched Lumin8 Outdoor Lighting, a holiday lighting and dcor installation company, to capitalize on the increased interest in outdoor lighting and the growing holiday lighting market.

Bouwman says Grant & Power only uses LED lighting for the companys landscape and hardscape lighting projects. However, clients still want warm, yellow hues, not the blue hues of traditional LED lighting.

You get so much more light (with LED) for a smaller system, he says. While the (LED) fixtures are more expensive, the whole system lasts longer. Its actually, in the end, way cheaper.

Caudill says homeowners no longer want the traditional uplights on houses and path lights. They look for lighting level with the surface, such as hardscape lighting in seat walls, outdoor kitchens and staircases. Redwood Landscape uses in-ground products from In-lite Outdoor Lighting.

People dont always want to see the tall lights, he says. Lighting flush with landscaping that softens up a pathway Ive seen a growth in that.

In terms of the shape of the lights, Caudill says homeowners are looking for outdoor lighting that reflects the trends in interior dcor and lighting.

Increasingly, homeowners have approached him looking for the farmhouse style of lights with pendants and black or bronze finishes to match the farmhouse style thats popular in homes.

Homeowners want a modular, modern look to outdoor lighting with square and rectangular features to give their outdoor spaces clean, straight lines, he says.

A lot of people are liking more modern looks with black fixtures or brass, Caudill says.

Homeowners are also in the market for Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone controls for everything, including landscape lighting, experts say. Redwood Landscape uses the Luxor system from FX Luminaire. Another popular option is Kichler Lightings LED controllers with Wi-Fi capability that users can adjust on their own.

You can play with the brightness on some of them, which is nice, Caudill says. A lot of people like that.

He adds that a full Wi-Fi lighting system may be more expensive to install because the Wi-Fi-enabled lights designed to change colors and brightness are a more expensive product.

For a Wi-Fi system, it is a little more expensive because the lights are more expensive, he says. For an actual Wi-Fi timer, its minimal. I dont charge any more for them. The product might cost me $5 or $10 more. I have seen how people are willing to pay a little more for lights that are adjustable. Its really just an app you download.

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Lighting the way - Landscape Management magazine

El Paso County officials want to limit people from making their own trails among the rock formations.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. Improvements are coming to Paint Mines Interpretive Park because people are ignoring the rules. El Paso County officials have seen visitors exploring off-trail.

"There has been damage caused by increased use," Greg Stachon, a landscape architect for El Paso County said. "More people go out there and not everyone follows the rules."

Climbing on the iconic formations is prohibited. Staying on the designated trail is also important since the rock fixtures are fragile. El Paso County explained as more people visit the Paint Mines, the visitors have created their own trails among the rocks.

"When you get into the formations it's really hard to tell where the official trail stops and rock formations start," Stachon said.

The county plans to add improvements to get people back on the legitimate trail. Crews will build fencing at certain locations to delineate the official trail from the visitor-made ones. The county calls the trails made by foot traffic 'social trails.' Fences will be added to slopes that are too steep for people to walk on as well.

County officials made clear the fencing will not be around all of the rock formations. They explained it's not meant to keep people out, but to preserve the park and encourage public safety.

"I've seen families with kids on their backs trying to navigate down a steep social trail and I shake my head," Stachon said. "Because we would never design a trail over a 10% slope, let alone the 30% slope on that trail."

The project includes new signage along the trail explaining what's acceptable behavior in the park. The only signs already in place that inform people to stay off the rocks are in the parking lot.

Other improvements will focus on the tremendous uptick in visitors in recent years. County officials said crews will resurface the official trail since much of the surfacing is worn off. They will also expand the parking area by about 25 new spots.

"We want to protect this park," Stachon said. "We're glad people are visiting and getting outside. We want the formations to be here a 100 or a thousand years from now."

The improvements are expected to be done by April 2021. Some parts of the Paint Mines trail will be closed during construction.

While the Paint Mines are one of Colorado's most beautiful sights, they also have cultural significance.

The first evidence of human life at the Paint Mines was 9,000 years ago. Multiple Native American peoples have lived in the area. Artifacts have been found representing the Apishapa culture, Cody complex and Duncan complex, according to the Visit Colorado Springs website.

The Paint Mines are designated by the National Parks Service and the park is protected land.

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Improvements planned to protect the Paint Mines - 9News.com KUSA

For decades, Howard Roark, the architect superhero of Ayn Rands iconic 1943 novel, Fountainhead, personified the male-dominated profession. Arrogant, individualistic, even ruthless, he possessed an ego as towering and granite-like as the skyscrapers he created.

Joseph Hillels documentary City Dreamers (First Run Features) finally lays waste to that age-old misconception. He presents us with four trailblazing women architects: Denise Scott Brown, Phyllis Lambert, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, who have been transforming our urban landscape for more than 70 years.

For 83 of her 85 years, Denise Scott Brown thought architecture was a womans profession. As a toddler in South Africa, she watched her designer mother pull architectural blueprints up to the light. This feisty youngster had a wayward eyea strong mind as she put itarriving in the U.S. from blitz-torn London with an American can-do spirit intact. She eventually married Robert Venturi, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, and their combined genius revolutionized the way the post-WWII mobility of trains, planes, and automobiles could coexist with their own urban visions of the future.

Based in Philadelphia, their projects have included campuses and museums here and abroad, such as the University of Pennsylvania, the Seattle Arts Museum, as well as the Sainsbury Wing of Londons National Gallery and the Nikko Hotel in Japan. Revered as a teacher, her students and notables such as Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas petitioned to give her the prestigious Pritzker prize retroactively after Venturi unfairly became the sole recipient. The effort was denied. (She has said the petition is her prize, a better reward.)

In one sequence, Scott Brown is seen traveling the Las Vegas Strip, assessing the value of the casino signage in that singular desert sprawl. That trip resulted in one of the most referenced texts on architectural theory.

It is this peripatetic approach that drives much of the films transitions between these four remarkable women and their stories. Director Hillel leapfrogs through time, often moving us from one locale, one construction or demolition site to another at warp speed, blurring the boundaries between cities and forcing the viewer to keep his subjects straight.

Its a big challenge, covering such figures in their twilight years, as each comes with a truckload of accolades and monuments worthy of our attention.

Take Phyllis Lambert, for instance. Born in Montreal to Samuel Bronfman, she became an heiress to a distilling empire. No lady-in-waiting, she put up a fearless battle to make her architect mentor Mies van der Rohe in charge of the construction of Manhattans Seagrams Building. And that was just the beginning. She became the founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture and Heritage Montreal, an intrepid champion of her beloved birthplace. One of her greatest gifts to the city was her development of a low- income housing cooperative known as Milton-Parc.

Blanche Lemco van Ginkel deserves knighthood for saving Old Montreal from being destroyed by the wrecking ball. The use of aerial photography to map out ways to save treasured parts of the city and still make way for an expressway is one example. In a true modernist spirit, her vertical neighborhoods changed the face of Vancouver, allowing structures with 700 families to enjoy views of the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. She is adamant that city dreams should not be thin as air but realizable.

A leader in the field of landscape architecture, Cornelia Hahn Oberlanders urban solutions remain the perfect complement to the sky-high ambitions of her female contemporaries. Her mother wrote gardening books, and the young Cornelia felt an early calling studying the pictures. I want to make parks, she announced. She was perhaps one of the first genies in her field to develop urban green spaces, introducing the concept of green roofs in several major cities. Wandering through a former lot she designed, she still remembers the trees she seeded.

These four women architects all possess an indomitable spirit, as determined as their male counterparts to realize their visions. But in making their dreams real, they never left the communities they served behind. Hillel has managed to treat them, above all else, as the great humanitarians they are.

Author Bio:

Sandra Bertrand is Highbrow Magazines chief art critic.

For Highbrow Magazine

Image Sources:

--Noroton (Wikimedia, Creative Commons)

--First Run Features

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City Dreamers: How Four Women Architects Took on the World - Highbrow Magazine