Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Remote visual assistance vendor TechSee has closed out a $30 million Series C round that brought its total investment to $54 million. The round was co-led by OurCrowd, Salesforce Ventures, and Telus Ventures with participation from Scale Venture Partners and Planven Entrepreneur Ventures.

TechSee plans to use the new funding to enter new markets and verticals while also expanding its product offerings and capabilities.

RELATED: Vodafone keeps customers connected during COVID-19 by using TechSee

Like this story? Subscribe to FierceTelecom!

The Telecom industry is an ever-changing world where big ideas come along daily. Our subscribers rely on FierceTelecom as their must-read source for the latest news, analysis and data on the intersection of telecom and media. Sign up today to get telecom news and updates delivered to your inbox and read on the go.

Founded in 2015, Tel Aviv-based TechSee has made its mark during the Covid-19 pandemic by enabling technicians from companies such as Vodafone and Verizon to turn up customers' services remotely without entering their homes. TechSee is also used by contact centers to reduce the number of calls and improve the productivity of support agents

TechSee had driven its solutions into the realm of augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI) to help solve issues remotely and quickly. Unlike some remote virtual assistants, TechSee doesnt require the customer to download an application to their smartphone or tablet.

TechSees AI platform can automatically identify components, ports, cables, LED indicators, and more to detect issues and suggest resolutions for consumers, contact center agents, and field technicians. TechSee is a cloud-based solution that runs on Amazon Web Services. Since there are no downloads or sign-ins, the service can be up and running in days.

With TechSee, a telco customer agent can send an SMS to the broadband subscriber that is experiencing a broadband issue. The subscribers click on the link that turns on their smartphone cameras to show the agent a broadband router our set-top box. TechSee supports Android and IoS devices, and also works on tablets.

Currently, there are more than 50 companies, including Logmein, Teamviewer, and Help Lightning, that provide remote visual support for installations, but they don't use computer vision AI.

In addition to keeping techs and customers safe during the shelter-at-home mandates from Covid-19, TechSee can also reduce costly truck rolls for operators by solving installation or service issues remotely.

"TechSees technology reflects a material leap forward in delivering great experiences and support to consumers," said Rich Osborn, managing partner, Telus Ventures. "Covid-19 has also accelerated the path to adoption through very clear use cases, and the transition from traditional means of servicing customers is primed for an evolution. The majority of consumers have powerful mobile computing devices that can enable a wide variety of virtual and augmented reality applicationsfrom solving simple technical issues or unboxing and installing new devices, to activating and bringing user guides into real life.

"Telus Ventures was impressed with TechSees strong traction in enabling telecommunications client service through unique and differentiated technology, and its ability to innovate and deliver new capabilities during the COVID-19 crises."

TechSee's roadmap

TechSee's use of AI and augmented reality, along with the new funding round, is opening doors into new use cases and products. Autonomous assistance for technicians will allow telecom and cable technicians in the field to point their smartphone or tablet at a device, its components, wiring, LEDs, ports and cables to get troubleshooting guidance. It will also include auto-job verification such as providing feedback if the fibers are configured incorrectly.

TechSee is also working on visual self-service, which will allow consumers to self-install and troubleshoot issues in self-servicesuch as router installationby pointing their smartphone camera at the device. Currently, the TechSee technology still requires an agent on the other end to speak with the customer to identify issues and troubleshoot.

With automated visual self-service, no agent will be needed because the computer vision AI can work with the customer directly to pinpoint problems and identify solutions. It can also diagram solutions using an AR overlay right on the consumer's tablet or phone screen. It's also fully automated, which means businesses can save time, money and resources by deflecting callers to the self-service portal.

TechSee, which currently has 60 employees, but expects to have 100 by year's end, has also seen some additional use cases crop up this year. One new use case includes "bill and invoice explanation" where an agent can visually guide customers through their bill or total automated self-service. TechSee's computer vision AI can identify the components and line items of a bill and help explain them to the customer.

App navigation has also proved to be an interesting use case for TechSee. Some telecom customers are finding TechSee's solution valuable when it comes to learning how to use their provider's mobile applications.

TechSee is also seeing its customers use its technology for on-site support when a technician is having difficulty solving a problem. In that use case, technicians contact an expert, such as an engineer, back at the office to help them fix problems without having to dispatch to the site.

"We believe there is significant potential to expand TechSees relationship with telcos globally by growing its offerings with existing customers and continuing to deliver value-added services to become a leading visual assistance company that can enable organizations like Telus to enhance its customer service and support," said Osborn.

Excerpt from:
TechSee closes $30M investment round with Telus and Salesforce - FierceTelecom

Fact.MR has recently published a report, titled [Global Vertical Gear Motor Market 2020 by Key Countries, Companies, Type and Application]. The research report provides an in-depth explanation of the various factors that are likely to drive the market. It discusses the future of the market by studying the historical details. Analysts have studied the ever-changing market dynamics to evaluate their impact on the overall market. In addition, the report also discusses the segments present in the market. Primary and secondary research methodologies have been used to provide the readers with an accurate and precise understanding of the overall The Vertical Gear Motor market. Analysts have also given readers an unbiased opinion about the direction companies will take during the forecast period.

The research report also includes the global market figures that provide historical data as well as estimated figures. It gives a clear picture of the growth rate of the market during the forecast period. The report aims to give the readers quantifiable data that is collected from verified data. The report attempts to answer all the difficult questions such as market sizes and company strategies.

Request Sample Report @ https://www.factmr.co/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=708

Customized Solutions to Drive Development of Vertical Gear Motor

Increasing emphasis on customized solutions for gear motors is the primary design & development determinant for vertical gear motors. The direct implication of the emphasis for manufacturers is the simplification of integration into mechanical designs. These trends have prompted gear motor manufacturers to provide their customers with more simplicity. In the wake of new applications, suppliers are concentrating more on design changes, such as that in new battery-powered designs.

For example, engineers at Bodine Electric are developing & testing gear motors (vertical and horizontal) with optimized motors and windings, in a bid to impart efficient operation in battery-powered and outdoor systems even at lower voltages. Design enhancements comprise new magnetic configurations for optimizing performance at lower voltages, and new winding configurations optimized to comply with low resistance.

Customization also involves more integration upfront. A prime example of such integration is vertical gear motor with actuators that is designed for definite purposes such as wheel drives, rotating actuators, and lift actuators. In addition, vertical gear motors with integrated controllers enable the envelope in being more compact, and eliminate wiring required between the motor and the controller.

Key Manufacturers Developments

LUYANG Technology Co., Ltd.s new series of vertical flange motor integrated with helical gear reducer feature impact structure and offer high torque performance, low vibration, and low temperature rise. Called as L Series LV18 / LV22 / LV28 / LV32 / LV40 / LV50, LUYANGs new vertical gear motors cater specific application requirements, such as automation machine, food machine, medical equipment, packaging machine, and conveyor belt equipmen

Global Vertical Gear Motor Market: Drivers and Restraints

The report explains the drivers shaping the future of the Vertical Gear Motor market. It evaluates the various forces that are expected to create a positive influence on the overall market. Analysts have studied the investments in research and development of products and technologies that are expected to give the players a definite boost. Furthermore, researchers have also included an analysis of the changing consumer behavior that is projected to impact the supply and demand cycles present in the global The Vertical Gear Motor market. Evolving per capita earnings, improving economic statuses, and emerging trends have all been studied in this research report.

The research report also explains the potential restraints present in the global The Vertical Gear Motor market. It evaluates the aspects that are likely to hamper the market growth in the near future. In addition to this assessment, it also provides a list of opportunities that could prove lucrative to the overall market. Analysts provide solutions for turning threats and restraints into successful opportunities in the coming years.

Request Methodology On This Report @ https://www.factmr.co/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=708

Global Vertical Gear Motor Market: Regional Segmentation

In the successive chapters, analysts have studied the regional segments present in the global The Vertical Gear Motor market. This gives the readers a narrowed-view of the global market enabling a closer look at the elements that could define its progress. It highlights myriad regional aspects such as the impact of culture, environment, and government policies that influence the regional markets.

Global Vertical Gear Motor Market: Competitive Landscape

The last chapter of the global The Vertical Gear Motor market research report focuses solely on the competitive landscape. It studies the key players present in the market. In addition to a brief overview of the company, analysts shed light on their valuation and evolution. It also mentions the list of important products and the ones in the pipeline. The competitive landscape is analyzed by understanding the strategies of the companies and the initiatives they have taken in recent years to overcome the intensive competition.

Ask analyst about this report at https://www.factmr.co/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=708

The rest is here:
Vertical Gear Motor Market to Flourish with an Impressive CAGR During 2018 to 2027 - Eurowire

The small wooded hillock of Craig Gibbon inPerthshire is a popular destination for walkers despite being a relatively minor top among the jumble of hills accessed from Little Glenshee, says Alan Rowan.

The main curiosity is the obelisk perched on its summit, an eight-metre high stone pyramid, erected in the early 1800s by Colonel William Mercer, so that he could pick out the hill from his house at Meikleour, some 12 miles away.

The surrounding trees have long since kept the structure out of sight until the last minute, but the final reveal is a grand pastoral view to the south.

Little Glenshee is a short hop from Perth, but the transformation of the landscape and its soundtrack in that brief journey is breathtaking; leafy arches, gently bubbling waters and birds darting here and there. By the time I reached the small parking area just before the ford I was already feeling as though Id had a mental massage.

A wooden bridge leads out of the car park, along a path and across a road to a high locked gate, the first of a few you will encounter on this circuit. There is a high metal stile with handrails at each, and handily, a separate low entrance hatch for dogs.

The day still hadnt sparked into life; a grey pall coated the sky and my first target, Loch Tullybalton, was a drab silver streak down to the right. My progress had sparked interest with the local crow colony in a nearby stand of trees, however, as they took to the air en masse in full complaining frenzy. Suddenly the silence wasnt silent any more.

On paper, my route was straightforward. In reality, it paid to check the map every so often. There are far more tracks on the ground than there are on the map and it would be simple to stray.

Heading up from the gate, I turned right at the first junction to head east for the loch, ignoring another track going off to my left on the way. The burgeoning blue sky had transformed the waters and the yellows and browns of the flora on the surrounding slopes were set alight.

I kept to the main drag along the side of Drum Tick, again ignoring a possibility to the right, and when the track started to turn left, I branched right, crossing a small stream to head uphill to reach two small ponds. The first, on the left, was alive with ducks and a family of swans; the next one, on the right, was not so heavily populated.

Just beyond is another junction. A left turn led uphill by a wood and eventually rounded a hairpin bend, then another gate and high stile. Once over this, stick to the main track, which trends right, climbing steadily until it reaches an obvious branch right.

Ahead is a prominent cairned top. This is Carn Tuile which is passed on the left, and just beyond this the wooded hillock of Craig Gibbon can be seen clearly for the first time. With the rugged brown features of Craig Obney filling the skyline dead ahead, I dropped left from the track on a grassy path to reach a gap in a dyke and the short push to the obelisk. Its a fine spot to linger, and if the weather is misbehaving, it provides a temporary reprieve from the elements.

The pathfinding for the return is simple; back to the last junction and then follow the track anti-clockwise round Moine Folaich, passing the prehistoric Sack Stone, with another pyramid, the distant Schiehallion, keeping you company most of the way.

The track swings round Creag na Criche to rejoin the inward track, but if you havent had enough for one day this summit is not too far away. Be warned though the ascent may be short, but the heather is deep and awkward. The descent is then down a grass ramp to rejoin the track.

1. Cross footbridge from car park and follow path then cross minor road to metal gate with high stile.

2. Follow track and at first junction take right-hand branch east towards Loch Tullybalton (ignoring another exit on left en route).

3. Continue on main track past loch and when it takes uphill curve to the left, take branch right to reach two small ponds, first on left, then right.

4. Just beyond the ponds at junction, turn north (left) and follow to another gate and high stile. Stay on main track, ignoring branch left, and climb steadily to junction.

5. Turn right here, passing a prominent cairned top, then drop right on grass path to wooded top of Craig Gibbon, and climb through the trees to obelisk at the summit.

6. Retrace steps to the track and down to the junction.

7. Complete the circuit, heading right on track which curves to drop back to first junction and path to car park.

Distance: 14km/8.8 miles

Ascent: 415m/1355ft

Time: 3-5 hours

Grading: Good tracks, sometimes wet and muddy sections, steady ascents. Sturdy boots and adequate clothing advised. High stiles to climb, but all with separate dog gates. Please keep dogs under close control due to ground nesting birds and farm livestock.

Start/finish: Small car park on right before ford in Little Glenshee (Grid ref: NN 998341) on minor road from Luncarty.

Map: Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger Map 52 (Pitlochry & Crieff); Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer sheet 379.

Tourist Information: VisitScotland, Perth iCentre, 45 High Street, Perth, PH1 5TJ (Tel 01738 450600).

Public transport: No public transport to Little Glenshee.

See the rest here:
WALK THIS WAY: Craig Gibbon, a popular hillock among jumble of hills accessed from Little Glenshee - The Courier

Theres some hoopla happening on The Hill!

After years of anticipation and planning, construction has begun on Alabama A&Ms 132,000-square-foot event center and arena, Turner Constructions Huntsville office announced Thursday.

The new Alabama A&M University event center/arena will host sporting events, commencement exercises and other campus activities.

The new space will include an arena with a 6,000-person capacity, locker rooms, training rooms, an Alabama A&M athletic Hall of Fame, and a kitchen with the capability to provide meals for all events on campus.

The arena will host sporting events such as basketball and volleyball games, commencement exercises, and other university functions.

The center will provide the university with a much-needed facility where we can host major functions, such as commencements, convocations, our annual scholarship gala, and athletic events, said A&M President Andrew Hugine Jr. It will be a state-of-the-art facility just off of North Memorial Parkway, and we are thrilled to be making this addition for our students and the community, which will transform the landscape of North Huntsville.

The Alabama A&M University Athletics Hall of Fame will have a home in the new facility.

Turner is the construction management agent for the project. Under the CMa approach, the construction manager serves as an extension of the project owners staff and is responsible for construction management services, including advising, coordinating, and inspecting project design and construction, and competitively bidding the various construction components to trade contractors.

Turner will work with architecture firm Nola Van Peursem and engineering firms Moody Nolan (arena consultant); The EE Group (electrical engineer); Mims Engineering (mechanical/plumbing/fire protection); Johnson and Associates (civil engineer); LBYD (structural engineer); Camacho (food service); and Bostick Landscape Architects. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.

We are excited to partner with Alabama A&M on our fourth project together, said Tyce Hudson, project executive at Turner Construction Company in Huntsville. We have experienced a lot of success together and there is no doubt that this is going to be the best project yet.

It is going to be an excellent facility for Alabama A&M University and the community.

Read the original here:
Construction Begins on Alabama A&M Event Center and Arena - Huntsville Business Journal

The conditions seemed ripe for disaster.

Gusting Santa Ana winds had grounded water-dumping aircraft for hours, and flames were spreading across a tinder-dry fuel bed. Downwind sat a tangled maze of suburban streets where more than 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate.

Had this weeks Silverado fire began anywhere else, and at any other time, firefighters said it could have been the latest disaster in Californias busiest fire year on record a time when firefighting resources have been stretched perilously thin.

Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado Fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 toll road and Portola Parkway in Irvine.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

But this latest fire started on the outskirts of master-planned Orange County, where the roads are smooth and wide, communities were built under the states most recent fire code and the largest regional firefighting force in the world was at the ready and just a phone call away.

Despite 45-mph gusts launching embers into the suburban sprawl, where cars sat bumper to bumper trying to flee the oncoming flames, not a single home was lost or seriously damaged. In the end, thanks to a semi-formal agreement among the regions biggest fire departments and the first-ever use of the worlds biggest, fastest water-dropping helicopter at night, crews were able to stand their ground, keeping the flames largely north of Portola Parkway, a major road that divides the subdivisions of Irvine from the backcountry.

In some ways, we got a little bit lucky, said Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy.

In a year when firefighters have lost so many battles in part because the number of blazes has stretched firefighting resources this firefight and a second battle that began hours later in Yorba Linda could be considered successes, officials said.

When the Silverado fire began, about a third of Orange Countys firefighters were in their last hour of a two-day shift and were about to be replaced, in essence, putting twice as many firefighters at the ready than would typically be available, Fennessy said. As the chief headed to department headquarters down Portola Parkway that morning, he managed to come across the fire the moment it jumped the road and moved toward the subdivisions, giving commanders on-the-ground intel of where the fire was and how it was behaving.

An Orange County firefighter stands ready to defend a home as the Silverado fire approaches in an Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

I just got off the phone with the [operations] chief, hes telling me the fire is still high up on the hill and right in front of me the fire is coming up the road, Fennessy said. Like so many of these fires, they show up so much faster than people think.

Fennessy pulled into the neighborhood and, along with one Irvine police officer, began urging residents to flee, he said. At one point the chief jumped out of his vehicle, grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and put out a spot fire burning next to a home, video on his cellphone shows.

As authorities cleared out the neighborhoods, a surge of crews were headed into the area thanks to a pact reached among Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the city of Los Angeles. Fire chiefs in those districts had all agreed to help one another in dire situations, avoiding the states usual mutual aid system because its viewed as being slow to dispatch resources.

Fennessy reached out to his peers and within an hour of the call, had 25 engines racing to help. More crews flowed into the county in the following days. More than 2,200 firefighters arrived overall.

Had either of these fires erupted in August or September, when firefighters and equipment were busy battling record wildfires in the central and northern parts of the state, theres no telling what could have happened, Fennessy said. When the Blue Ridge fire broke out in the afternoon in Yorba Linda, commanders were able to quickly divert firefighters to the new threat. Only one home was destroyed, while seven others were damaged.

Orange County firefighters protect homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

All of us were stunned that there were only two fires, Fennessy said. We dodged a bullet in Orange County.

Battling a wind-driven fire on the ground, and head-on, is a dangerous proposition, so hotshot crews worked the rear and sides of the fire to limit its spread while other firefighters took up positions in neighborhoods to protect homes from an onslaught of firebrands. Two hotshot crew members were critically burned in that initial attack on the fires flank and remain hospitalized.

Though aircraft were grounded for several hours in the morning, winds died down by the afternoon, according to National Weather Service data, and the aerial assault on the fires went into full swing. Air tankers caked the grass and shrub-covered hillsides with pink retardant while helicopters doused flare-ups with water even at night.

Southern California is an oddity in the world, you guys have a true air force down there, said Mel Ceccanti, a pilot and director of flight operations for Coulson Aviation, a firefighting aviation company that holds contracts around the world and has crews stationed in Orange County for a three-month period this year.

Orange County firefighters have to look away because of the hot wind, debris and approaching flames while defending homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Throughout the first night of the Silverado fire, Ceccanti operated the companys retrofitted CH-47 Chinook, a beast of a helicopter used by the Army that can fly 200 mph and drop 3,000 gallons of water or retardant at once a payload on par with some fixed-wing tankers.

With night skies relatively clear and plenty of lakes and reservoirs in the area, Ceccanti was able to drop 47,000 gallons of water over four hours.

Its safe to say we dropped more water in Orange County than Orange County has ever had dropped, Ceccanti said.

Though the fire burned through bone-dry vegetation, Orange Countys landscape is markedly different from the terrain in Northern California a key advantage to firefighters.

Theres no timber-heavy forest to sustain fire for long periods of time, so while the light grass and shrubs can burn extremely hot and launch embers into the air, the fires go out just as fast as they begin, Fennessy said.

It burns so frickin quick, the ember cast can only last for so long, he said.

In retrospect, both Fennessy, who battled the 2007 firestorm in San Diego, and Ceccanti, who most recently flew over Australias massive bushfires, say the county caught a break this week. Had the fire reached Trabuco Canyon, it could have raged out of control as winds pushed it deeper into rugged terrain. Had the winds remained as strong as they were initially, aircraft wouldnt have been able to help.

We support ground firefighters, no matter how much you put on that fire, someone has to come through with a hose to put that fire out, Ceccanti said. If you bet the farm on aviation alone, you might catch yourself with your pants around your ankles.

As of Thursday, the Silverado fire had burned 13,390 acres and was 51% contained, and the Blue Ridge fire had burned 14,334 acres and was 39% contained. Most evacuations in the county were lifted in the afternoon.

Originally posted here:
A rare victory in the OC during California's worst fire year - Los Angeles Times

In the 1980s, When Kevin Dahl first began visiting the Organ Pipe Cactus national monument in southern Arizona, the border was unmarked, save for a simple fence used to keep cattle from a ranch in the US from crossing into Mexico. In those days, park rangers would call in their lunch orders at a diner located just across the border.

Since then, a 30ft steel bollard wall has replaced the old barbed wire fence at Organ Pipe. The towering steel barrier cuts through the Unesco reserve like a rust-colored suture.

Its this incredible scar, said Kevin Dahl, a senior program manager at the National Parks Conservation Association, describing the wall that snakes its way through a pristine track of Sonoran desert, dwarfing the giant cacti that give this desert its name. What was once a connected landscape is now a dissected one.

That dissection is now a reality across much of the US border. It is a landscape increasingly defined by walls, roads, fences and associated border infrastructure that is fragmenting critically protected habitats, desecrating sacred cultural sites and threatening numerous endangered species in some of the most biodiverse and unique places in North America.

Border construction has had a huge impact on some of the most remote and biodiverse landscapes on the continent, said Dan Millis, a campaigner at the Sierra Club. The Trump administration is taking it even further.

Four days before the US election, this is how the new border wall has affected four distinct wilderness areas.

Donald Trump entered the Oval Office with a campaign promise to build 450 miles of a new border wall system a combination of infrastructure including bollard barriers, roads, perimeter lighting, enforcement cameras and other technology even amid the pandemic, has continued at an increasing pace. According to Customs and Border Protection, 400 miles of the border wall system has been completed so far, with physical barriers from 18-30ft tall. If he wins, he may well aspire to wall off the border in its entirety.

Construction is occurring mostly on public, often protected lands, because the Department of Homeland Security has sweeping powers to waive environmental protection laws, like the Endangered Species Act, which would otherwise bar construction.

Protected lands belong to the government because they are so unique and fragile. Because of that same fact, they are being demolished, said Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, noting the relative ease of border wall construction on public lands compared with the lengthy process of taking private property.

The eastern terminus is the Lower Rio Grande Valley wildlife refuge in south-eastern Texas 100,000 acres of lush protected lands that US Fish and Wildlife have spent four decades restoring. The 135 individual tracts of land, described as a string of pearls connecting various habitats, extend along the 275 miles of the Rio Grande River before entering the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the most biodiverse places in the country, supporting 700 species of terrestrial animals such as the jaguarundi, a wild cat, as well as myriad plants and a vibrant ecotourism industry.

The landscape is now being bisected by a 15ft concrete base surmounted by 18ft steel bollards.

Its going to make it that much harder to preserve the very little that is left of the ecosystem, said Norma Herrera of the Rio Grande Equal Voice Network

This is some of the best birding in the world, said Elise Wort, a tourist who traveled from her California home to see some of the 500-plus bird species that reside in the valley. The border is an environmental and human disaster.

Much of the construction in the south-western border states is occurring in remote and mountainous terrain. Critics say it makes little sense to construct a physical barrier in these areas because most are lightly trafficked corridors for unauthorized migration, and they are also crucial habitat for animals. Ninety-three endangered and threatened animal species are found in the borderlands.

One such area is the Madrean Sky Islands, rugged linked mountain ranges in New Mexico and Arizona that boast the highest biodiversity in inland North America.

Its like going from the climate on the Mexican border to Canada, said Emily Burns, program director of the Sky Island Alliance, with ecosystems ranging from subtropical lowlands and deserts to temperate mountaintops.

The 30ft steel wall and stadium lighting are adversely affecting the ocelot, javelina, Mexican grey wolf and the North American jaguar, the latter of which has made a surprising comeback in the US since being hunted to extinction in the late 1980s, according to Burnss organization.

We dont expect there will be any hope for the jaguars recovery in the US if [the border is] completed, said Burns, because it will cut off the main Jaguar population in Mexico from that in the US.

Further east in Arizona, new sections of steel bollard wall are being built in the largest area of protected Sonoran landscape. At the San Bernardino national wildlife refuge, groundwater pumping to mix concrete for the wall is draining a crucial wetland and imperiling four threatened or endangered species for which San Bernardino was created to protect. Government documents obtained by environmental groups revealed that the US Fish and Wildlife Service repeatedly warned the Department of Homeland Security about the imminent threat to these species. Their warning went unheeded.

I started my career as a biologist at the Refuge, and 20 years later, I came full circle to witness its destruction, said Myles Trapenhagan, borderlands program coordinator for the Wildlands Network, an environmental group.

Construction during the Trump administration has severely affected tribal lands along the border, leading to a growing protest movement in response to desecration of sacred sites and barred access to ancestral lands.

Our tribal sovereignty is not being upheld, said Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, a doctoral candidate of Indian studies at the University of Arizona and a member of the Tohono Oodham Nation, who lands have been split by the wall, stifling cross-border cultural and religious events between Oodham members in Mexico and the US. I dont think it ever has been when it comes to the border wall or the border in general.

At Organ Pipe Cactus national monument in Arizona, part of the ancestral lands of the Tohono Oodham nation, a particular flashpoint has been the impact of the border wall on the sacred Quitobaquito springs. A recent analysis by data scientists at the investigative journalism website Bellingcat found that water levels at Quitobaquito springs are declining at unprecedented rates, with border wall construction a likely culprit because crews have tapped the underlying aquifer for water to make concrete.

On 12 October Indigenous Peoples Day Oodham members and their allies blockaded the highway passing through Organ Pipe. Border officers responded with force, including teargas, arresting eight in the process.

Earlier this year, construction crews used dynamite to blow up Monument hill in Organ Pipe to make way for the wall, disturbing Oodham burial grounds and uprooting numerous Organ Pipe and Saguaro Cactus scattered along the service roads, which evoked felled green monoliths.

A recent decision by a federal appeals court has provided at least one win for border wall critics, and a blow to Trumps ambitions to complete the 450 miles of the wall by years end.

The ninth circuit court of appeals ruled that the presidents use of emergency powers to allocate military funds for border wall construction was illegal. Even so, construction will continue on projects where military money was not used including the four described here.

This wall has done nothing more than divide our communities, disrespect our values, and inflict enormous environmental harm, said the Arizona congressman Ral Grijalva, whose district includes Organ Pipe. Its time for wall construction to end once and for all.

Read the original post:
'An incredible scar': the harsh toll of Trump's 400-mile wall through national parks - The Guardian

To celebrate Wightman Parks reopening, Councilperson Erika Strassburger slid down the brand-new slide built into the hillside embankment right into the park.

Councilperson Erika Strassburger going down the slide at Wightman Park. Photo courtesy of the City of Pittsburgh.

After four years of work, Wightman Park in Squirrel Hill has reopened to the public at 5612 Solway Street. What was once an under-utilized two-acre ball field with deteriorated playground equipment now features an inclusive new playground and a host of new amenities.

The project also attempts to solve stormwater drainage problems that have plagued nearby neighborhoods.

This park should be a model for all the parks in Pittsburgh, said Strassburger at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. And while this park can and will welcome everyone regardless of age, ability, interest and neighborhood, I truly believe that every neighborhood deserves a park this wonderful.

The park prioritizes inclusion for children of different abilities along with a focus on sustainability, recreation and beautiful design, she adds.

There are distinct play areas, one for toddlers ages 2 to 5 and another for children ages 5 to 12, with an array of slides, tunnels, netting and other climbing equipment.

Theres also a new covered wooden picnic pavilion open to the community along with a walking track and a half-court basketball hoop.

In addition, the park also features a large green space, suitable for everything from frisbee to soccer, baseball and softball. New family restroom facilities are included with an adult changing table, the first in a public space in Pittsburgh.

The inclusion of an adult changing table was an important request from the community, says Senior Project Landscape Architect Andrea Ketzel with the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works. We heard from parents and caretakers of children with differing physical abilities. They communicated the struggles that they face in a public setting when caring for their children who have outgrown a standard baby changing table. The table will allow parents and caretakers to provide for their grown children or adult family members in a safe, sanitary and private location.

Wightman Park playground. Photo courtesy of the City of Pittsburgh.

Artists Oreen Cohen and Alison Zapata of OOA Designs created metal sculptures, inlaid with colorful panes of glass that merge the forms of falling water and pollinating insects, that are child-safe and act as benches.

OOA Designs worked with the children of the nearby Carriage House to create drawings of butterflies, bugs and natural elements for inspiration in the sculptures, says Ketzel.

The park doubles as a massive stormwater retention project, featuring green infrastructure such as rain gardens and plantings along with retention tanks beneath the park and additional stormwater storage capacity under the sidewalks. The city estimates that this will capture two million gallons of stormwater every year, and provide 50,000 cubic feet of storage.

This site is very unique in that it sits at a low point in the topography, says Ketzel. When you visit the park, you might notice that the site is bowl-shaped and the perfect place to hold water. Many years ago, it held water permanently and was used as a skating rink in the wintertime. Early in the public engagement process, we received complaints from neighbors about their basements flooding and engaged with PWSA (Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority) to collaborate on a park renovation that also included stormwater management.

The next phase of the stormwater project will involve improving drainage along local streets and directing stormwater towards the park. This will keep it out of peoples basements, and sewer overflows into the Monongahela River. The improvements will feature stormwater bump out planters at intersections, and channel drains that convey stormwater under the street between planters.

The Wightman Park project was a joint effort between the City of Pittsburgh ($3 million) and the PWSA ($2 million). The funding came from their capital budgets, as well as state, federal and local grants, says Ketzel.

squirrel hillWightman Park

See more here:
Renovated Wightman Park in Squirrel Hill reopens as 'a model for all the parks in Pittsburgh' - NEXTpittsburgh

The three storefronts from 112114 S. Madison St.comprise what is historically known as the Hill Block (Images of the Past, Feb. 1, 2017), and the buildingshave been part of Bloomfields business history for more than150 years. The question now facing community leaders is how long two of the three business fronts will remain part of the citys economic landscape.

About three years after the close of the Civil War, the Hill Block was constructed as a unified structure that was divided into three storefronts.The block isseen above in a vignette from the 1869 Bloomfield birds-eye lithograph by August Koch.

During the century and a halfit has occupied a prominent location in Bloomfield commerce, the building has weathered the transition from horse-and-buggy to the Model T, and then to todays cars and trucks. The transition has gone beyond just the mode of transportation. The changes include moving from wooden walks and dirt streets to concrete sidewalks and paved streets. Over the decades, there have been changes in buildings themselves. The imposing facade was minimized when the raised central parapet was removed, probably at the end of the 19th century. The individual store facades werepainted to look unique,and 112 S. MadisonSt.,lostits arched windows and arcaded ground floor entry.

Various businesses occupied 112 S. Madison from dry goods, hardware and drug stores. Many people will remember it as the West Side Grill and News Stand. The store at 113 S. Madison had been a grocery store since at least 1883. Tudo and Hazel Nardini operated Nardinis Model Market at this addressandlived above the store. Hazel was later mayor of Bloomfield. The connection to people connected to the citys administration does not stop with Hazel. Councilman Jake Bohis great-grandfather, Mark Henson, had his grocery store at this address,too, in the 1930s.

Two other buildings in the vignette are still standing today:108 S. Madison, the 3-story building, lost its top floor in a 1917 fire thatresulted in the facade being remodeled, and itnow houses Making Memories. The building at far right, 107 S. Madison, is the home of CJs Family Restaurant.

Rudy Evans | revans1953@gmail.com

Go here to see the original:
Images of the Past: Hill Block, 1869 | Columnists | bdemo.com - bdemo.com

Come autumn, as a way of defying the back-to-school doldrums brought on by a rapid shortening of the days, and to mark what feels like the true start of a year, I go on a pilgrimage. This year, more than ever, I crave the slow and steady rhythm of a walking pace, big skies, and cleansing wind and rain to shake off the cobwebs of a long confinement and to break the domestic routines of daily life. I want to connect to my own pumping heart and the natural world around me, re-oxygenate stale lungs and feel the muscles in my legs stretch and work.

Since Im looking for uplift, there is nowhere for me thats more rejuvenating and exhilarating than the uplands of Golden Cap in Dorset, the highest point on the south coast of England. In the rinsed light of early autumn, it glows, as if just-hatched, new-born. I have earmarked the little church of St Candida and the Holy Cross, behind these soaring coastal cliffs, tucked into the valleys of Marshwood Vale, a landscape that folds gently in on itself like ribbons of thickened cream. It is part of a medieval pilgrimage trail that connected Bridport to Axminster, containing one of only two shrines with relics of a saint still existing in England (the other being Edward the Confessors shrine at Westminster Abbey), somehow miraculously surviving the Reformation and the civil war. St Wite, martyred by marauding Viking hordes, attracts the hopeless and hopeful sick who journey to her quaint limestone shrine.

Pilgrimage as a cure, pilgrimage for healing: the concept is as old as these hills that were crisscrossed with wayfarer and pilgrimage trails almost since the beginning of our civilisation. But the past 50 years, in particular, have seen a global revival of interest in the idea of pilgrimage; the eternal search for spiritual and physical succour dovetailing with todays urgent calling for holistic meaning. It satisfies our hankering for slow over instant gratification, and offers an alternative, drug-free route to emotional and physical wellbeing. No surprise then that numbers increase year on year at the famous Camino de Santiago de Compostela trail, almost 350,000 recorded pilgrims last year, while more than 2m went on the Hajj in 2019.

In early March, with the world spinning on its axis, I was instinctively drawn to the pagan, mysterious, breast-like form of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, off the Ridgeway, the oldest pilgrimage route in England. The perfect curve of the mound rose high above the flooded plains and I scaled it, in the horizontal rain, wading through treacle mud, reflecting that endurance is part of life, as it is part of any pilgrimage. Making a days circuit of the Neolithic standing stones and pagan burial sanctuaries seemed a very symbolic and purposeful way of processing the seismic changes that were unfolding. It was as if the very unknowability of Silbury helped me to find mental clarity, providing guidance as the tumultuous turn of world events shifted my own sense of self.

Sometimes when people look for a new inner direction in their lives the most sensible and simple approach is to be found in an outer direction, says Dr Guy Hayward, of the British Pilgrimage Trust. With pilgrimage you literally walk a physical path, have a clear goal your destination and have a means of reaching it: walking. The simplicity of this tangible endeavour may be the secret that many need to know in order to find that inner-direction that so many of us seek.

A walk in nature calms the psyche and eases depression

With no more than a pair of sturdy boots and a sense of purpose, on a simple physical and psychological level, the very act of walking, the rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other, of matching your breathing to your pace, in the fresh air, is soothing.

A 2015 study by the American National Academy of Science summarised that a 90-minute walk in nature calms the psyche, eases depression and feeds creative juices. Walking has been further proven to reduce blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels and improves concentration and energy. Unlike hiking, which is purely a physical challenge, the activity of a ritual walk, the thinking footfall as writer Robert Macfarlane describes it, encourages you to savour the moment and the resonance of each place. Its finding pleasure and purpose in the act of slow.

So, after the easing of lockdown, I celebrated with a British Pilgrimage Trust route, via app, that guided me from the city of Wells, to the iconic pilgrimage landmark of Glastonbury Tor. I was drawn by their description of ley lines, Green Men, leaping water, fire-breathing dragons and angels in high places. I followed their counsel to pause, breathe and interact with the landscape; throwing stones into the holy wells, offering blessings at the foot of sacred trees, leaning into the branches and feeling the bark beneath my hands. My venture here felt like something quite separate from a ramble on a hill in my own backyard; a symbolic gesture of something meaningful and profound.

We came home sore of foot, butwith lighter hearts

I recognise that my private pilgrimages, which bookended lockdown, were very personal and solitary quests for direction and a sense of wholeness and wellbeing in a fractured world. Yet it should not be forgotten that social interaction can be the most memorable source of influence in a pilgrimage. As a way of taking the pulse of place and its people, pilgrimage is a great way to travel. Traditionally, it has always been a true social leveller, as Chaucer has so vividly described.

On my various holy trails around the globe, the inevitable spontaneous mixing with strangers has been a singular takeaway. I have met down-and-outs and dreamers, strivers and shysters, hippies and Alpha achievers, and even a future lover, all as varied and as interesting as the swindling millers, virtuous martyrs and libidinous wives in the Canterbury Tales. Climbing Adams Peak in Sri Lanka on New Year, and watching tantric ritual dances and seeking the head lamas blessing at the Mani Rimdu festival in Nepal with its medieval atmosphere of beer, bribery and bride-bartering, the communality, and festival vibe is joyfully infectious, the social interaction uplifting.

A few years ago, I was wrung-out emotionally in the wake of my mothers death and at a kind of crossroads in my life. Not knowing which way to take my career, unable to make any sane decision about the most trivial things, even what colour to paint the bedroom, I decided to join an organised pilgrimage in Shikoku, one of the less visited islands of Japan. The mythological landscape is part of a route made sacred by Kb-Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism in the 8th century. I hoped it would help me, not only get under the skin of this indomitable landscape and Japans rich, storied past, but also to find the something that was missing, the key that would reconnect me to myself. After all, extending ones horizons is a fundamental human instinct, a fact that made lockdown so challenging.

I invited my sister and we piggybacked on to a jolly coachload of white robed henro, or pilgrims, for a few days, following the same slippery forest paths to our destination-shrines. We entered into the convivial spirit of their rituals: purifying at the water troughs, throwing a coin into a tray, lighting incense, ringing the giant bell, hitting the gong, chanting the Heart Sutra. Each step had its own resonance, like notes on a score sheet. They rose and fell.

Over tricky, stony, maple leaf-strewn paths, trodden down comfortingly over centuries by so many pilgrims before, the act of walking and talking out our grievances and problems among our uncomprehending fellow pilgrims, without having to maintain constant eye contact, was conducive. My sister and I successfully aired our hopes and fears, argued and cried, and came home, sore of foot, but with lighter hearts and soaring spirts.

We display the mementos of the journey conical hats and staff, journals full of shrine stamps with humour, but never underestimating that these are material symbols of the transformative power and healing trajectory of pilgrimage.

Contact British Pilgrimage Trust for organised pilgrimages in the UK (britishpilgrimage.org). Britains Pilgrimage Places by Nick Mayhew Smith and Guy Hayward is published by Lifestyle Press at 19.99

Go here to read the rest:
In troubled times, a ritual walk can clear the mind and soothe the soul - The Guardian

Billed as the most important David Hockney landscape to ever appear at auction, the British artists Nichols Canyon went on view in London on Thursday ahead of its sale.

The 1980 landscape is the star lot of Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York on December 7 and is estimated to sell for $35 million.

Nichols Canyon is considered Hockneys first mature landscape. It marked the artists return to California and to painting following a hiatus in the 1970s during which he focused on photography.

The paintings counterpart Mulholland Drive: The Road to the Studio, is held in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

It is a very rare and pretty unique painting in his career, according to Phillips Global Chairwoman Cheyenne Westphal.

The canyon was very much part of his daily life. He was living up the hill and driving down the hill to his studio and this journey every day, several times, became part of his self, as he says.

He started it with a wonderful squiggly line and then created this extraordinary California landscape around it with the swimming pool, the houses, just the lusciousness of it all.

The painting has been held in a private U.S. collection since 1982.

In 2018, 83-year-old Hockneys Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) from 1972 sold for $90.3 million at Christies in New York, smashing the record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

Here is the original post:
Hockney masterpiece goes on view ahead of auction - Hindustan Times