20-somethings revive '50s feel in updated Arcadia ranch

Adrianne and Jeremy Lentine became first-time homebuyers two years ago when they stumbled upon a 1950s ranch with a welcoming front yard. As soon as they saw its white picket fence, they were home.

"I did not want rocks and cactus," explains Adrianne, who grew up with xeriscaping in Scottsdale and craved a lawn for their dogs in a walkable neighborhood.

The young couple - she's 25, he's 28 - also wanted to be centrally located.

"I feel like it almost takes you back in time,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. with the citrus trees, the grass," Adrianne says of their Arcadia neighborhood in Phoenix, where even at the height of summer, people are out walking and talking to their neighbors.

Unfortunately, the foreclosure home's interior was also frozen in time.

The couple love adding their own touches and refurbishing vintage furniture for the cozy, elegant space.

Once-bland tile floors have been replaced with dark-stained, hand-scraped oak. Textured walls have been smoothed, and those in the great room have been painted a cool, modern gray punctuated with crisp, white wainscoting and crown molding.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,

"Adrianne's painted every square inch of this house, ceilings included," Jeremy says, clearly proud.

Adrianne credits Jeremy for all projects requiring serious carpentry, but it's clear their big projects are a team effort they both enjoy.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,

"We just love making our home ours," she says. "It's a huge, common hobby for us."

The home has a vintage-chic vibe. Crystal chandeliers and antique pieces mix with industrial-metal furnishings, giving the home both warmth and style.

For the first four or five months the couple owned the home, Adrianne says they went without cable television and Internet service so they could focus on improvement projects.

One of their biggest DIY projects was moving a laundry room and opening up the galley kitchen. Now, a great room makes the home's roughly 2,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,000 square feet feel spacious.

The couple turned the kitchen into a focal point of their great room, adding a cream-granite-topped island and facing the north kitchen wall with reddish-brick veneer.

Adrianne says that idea came from their love of urban loft spaces with exposed brick.

Throughout the home, modified vintage pieces add pop. The Lentines' signature project,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. which has earned heightened status on their blog, is a refurbished card catalog that serves as a huge buffet and wine-storage space in their dining room.

Jeremy turned the vertical card catalog into a gorgeous horizontal piece by taking it apart and creating a base. Then they painted it white and distressed it. It's now topped with a vintage radio, and an ornate gold mirror hangs above it.

This Old House magazine mentioned the innovative buffet in its July issue.

Also in the dining room, the couple turned a drafting-table base into a dramatic wood dining table and paired it with an eclectic collection of vintage chairs.

"It's just better made than anything today," Adrianne explains about their growing love of vintage pieces. "We like that it has character."

It doesn't hurt that the Lentines have close ties with a cool vintage-furniture store. Kylie and Ryan Durkin, who own Modern Manor in Phoenix, are their close friends. Jeremy says the Durkins have taught him the ropes of estate sales, where he has gotten several pieces.

How To Know If Wisdom Teeth Really Need To Be Removed

There is ongoing debate regarding the need to extract wisdom teeth. Numerous scientific publications have aimed to clarify when it is medically appropriate to extract wisdom teeth, while many non-surgeons and patients have argued that there are too many unnecessary extractions.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, A recent article in The New York Times again raised the question of the value of wisdom teeth extraction. The author provided no clinical information about her daughter's case but used it as an example of yet another patient who was misled into thinking that "her wisdom teeth had to come out, A.S.A.P." (1) This kind of criticism is nothing new to the medical community: Last year, President Obama suggested that otolaryngologists frivolously remove young people's tonsils. Obama quickly retracted his statement,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. but when critics perpetuate these unfortunate stereotypes, it makes the job of responsible and fair doctors that much harder.

The information below is intended to help patients evaluate the indications for wisdom teeth extraction. Much of this information is based on the "White Paper on Third Molar Data" published by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, which reviewed the current literature published on wisdom teeth and their removal.

Several factors need to be considered when evaluating wisdom teeth: The health of the second molar, the presence of gum disease, the age of the patient and the risk of dental crowding. To minimize the possibility of negative outcomes, the use of cone beam imaging will also be discussed.

Adults have 32 teeth in their mouth, which includes the second molars, located immediately in front of the wisdom teeth. When evaluating wisdom teeth,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, it is important to evaluate the health of the second molars to make sure they are not compromised by the position of the wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth can grow in a variety of positions: Sometimes they erupt straight up like the rest of the teeth, but other times they will grow sideways or toward the second molars, encroaching on their space. Research has shown that the ligament surrounding the second molars and its roots can be negatively affected by wisdom teeth, especially as one gets older.

When these conditions are already present, they improve with time after removal of the wisdom teeth, but it is important to note that the outcome correlates with the age of the patient and the level of plaque present in the mouth. For example, a teenager with impacted wisdom teeth and plaque buildup around the second molars will probably do well after the wisdom teeth are removed, but an older patient in in his 30s may have a bone or gum defect behind the second molars after the wisdom teeth are extracted.

Another factor to evaluate is the pocket depth measurement behind the second molars. A pocket depth of 5mm or more can compromise the second molars. These pocket depths have been shown to increase over time, and bacteria associated with gum disease have been found in these gum pockets, suggesting that impacted wisdom teeth can have a detrimental effect on the health of the gums. Notably, the bacteria count around the molars has been shown to decrease after removal of wisdom teeth.

After extraction of wisdom teeth, some surgeons have advocated bone grafting to improve the outcome of the second molar. This does appear to offer an advantage in preventing a defect behind the second molar, but only in adults 26 years of age or older with a pre-existing attachment loss and an impacted and mal-positioned wisdom tooth that is severely compromising the second molar.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,

It is also important to note the effect of wisdom teeth on gum disease and inflammation,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. which has been linked to a negative systemic impact on pregnancy outcomes in women with asymptomatic retained wisdom teeth. (9) In short, the presence of wisdom teeth tends to cause inflammation, which can negatively impact physical health, including pregnancy outcomes.

Corruption - Pakistan's Past and Future Challenges

Corruption in Pakistan is widespread and growing. In the latest Corruption Perception Index, the country is ranked the 34th most corrupt country in the world, up from 42nd last year. Recent polls reveal a pervasive culture of fraud, bribery, nepotism, cronyism and misappropriation of funds. 69% of poll respondents admitted to corruption when dealing with the courts, 24% said they had paid a bribe to get their children into select schools, 42% gained access to health care by paying a bribe to hospital staff, 31% reported paying bribes to police and a huge 99% said they had paid bribes to have their taxes lowered.

The amount of money involved in corruption has risen from 195 billion rupees in 2009 to 223 billion rupees in 2010 with bureaucracy and the police ranked as the two most corrupt sectors. The lure of easy money reaches even beyond the country's borders; corruption charges have just been leveled against two French officials, charged with kickbacks on arms sales to Pakistan. Known in the French press as the Karachi affair, it is a major scandal affecting the re-election of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. With corruption endemic on such a scale, it is hardly surprising that Pakistanis are cynical or even despairing about their country's administration's ability to clean house and restore public integrity.

Pakistan has had a painful history of corrupt leadership for example, with the Bhutto family and more recently, Nawaz Sharif, a wealthy steel magnate who battled for years to stay out of jail on a range of corruption charges, before defeating Benazir Bhutto's government which had been brought down by serious economic and financial scandals. But as Bilal Hussain wrote in a Guardian article in April 2011, the basic problem in Pakistan is not just corruption.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Many countries are corrupt but at least they are competent. "Today," he says,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. "a terrifying level of incompetence pervades the entire sphere of governance in Pakistan. Because of bribery, jobbery and nepotism, the lower ranks of our civil bureaucracy are filled with incompetent and under-educated people."

This paralysis affects institutions like the country's co-called National Anti-Corruption Strategy launched in 2002, and the Accountability Courts set up in 1999 to address corruption charges. Police reforms have been instituted to attempt to change the culture of lawlessness and lack of credibility or trust in the authorities but all that has happened is further non-cooperation and lack of coordination, and a continued questioning of the integrity and political motives of those appointed as watchdogs. Integrity Pacts for example, or formal no-bribery contracts, have been established for major public/private transactions, with some success in establishing transparency in procurement and financial systems. But it is too little, too late, in spite of all the help given by organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the UN Development Program. Pakistan has reverted to a culture of incompetence, with a stagnating economy, rising inflation, shortages, rising unemployment and poverty.

At the same time, there is deep concern about the way Western funds are being seen as propping up a corrupt and incompetent elite. Confirming the larger debate about the nature of foreign aid and its creation of a dependency culture, aid to Pakistan has enabled it to build an all-powerful military and a public debt approaching more than US $105 billion. US and international aid to Pakistan is now being monitored by Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) to ensure that funds are not misdirected away from the World Bank's five year irrigation project for example, or funds promised to health and education projects. But recent actions by President Zardari's administration to cut ties with TIP will do nothing to stop the increase of corruption and are seen as yet another blow to democracy and the rule of law.

Pakistan's former envoy to the US and India,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, wrote in a December 2010 article, that "all is not yet lost. Our people are indeed resilient. They need to be organized and provided with hope." Qazi reviewed the WikiLeaks revelations and the cables from the US ambassador that made it clear what has been known for a long time -- that a corrupt Pakistan leadership is held in international contempt,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, and is being kept in place as long as it serves the interests of the US. This is indeed problematic as the country continues to disintegrate.

Qazi also referred to the WikiLeaks cable describing politician Imran Khan's interview with a US congressional delegation in January 2010, where he bluntly criticized US policy as dangerous and mistaken in supporting "the man and not the democratic process" first with Musharraf and then with Zardari.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, Khan called on the US to scale back its operations in Afghanistan and replace the counter-productive military action with "dialogue, policing and intelligence gathering" as the drone attacks are simply radicalizing Pakistani youth and provoking revenge and animosity against the US.

New 'Jewish Al Jazeera' satellite channel promises more than 'news for Jews'

With a fare of break-dancing rabbis, an emphasis on the Middle East and coverage of controversial issues such as immigration and bans on kosher and halal slaughter, a new Jewish satellite TV station, JN1, hopes to carve out a niche in a crowded satellite news market.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,

The channel, launched just more than a week ago and for now operating in "test-mode", has quickly acquired the nickname "Jewish Al Jazeera".

An upbeat Alexander Zanzer,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. the Brussels coordinator for the station. known as JN1,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. short for Jewish News One, said: "We hope to be as popular as Al Jazeera and CNN, well actually Fox News, they're even more popular.I have never solved a Rubik's Piles ." For now JN1 has offices in Tel Aviv, Kiev and Brussels and soon hopes to add others in places such as Washington and Moscow, reflecting its global ambitions.

On its Facebook page, the channel proudly advertises itself as the world's first Jewish English-language satellite news channel. It states the station's aim as "offering international audiences a wide range of Jewish opinion and perspectives on key political, cultural and social themes". Or, as an editor has said, not just "news for Jews".

Despite the mission statement, the word "Jewish" in its name raises the question of ties with Israel. But the channel was not going to be engaged in advocacy, said Mr Zanzer. "We are not an activist station, like some others are. We're neither left nor right, not pro-Israel or anti-Israel. It's the news that takes the lead."

The initiative is the brainchild of two Jewish Ukrainian businessmen who have been no strangers to controversy, Igor Komoloisky and Vadim Rabinovich. The latter was mentioned in a 2002 report in the German magazine Der Spiegel as having had connections to alleged illegal arms sales, which he has denied.

More pertinently for the possible course of JN1, they both withdrew from an umbrella organisation of Jewish European groups and founded their own European Jewish Union earlier this year, after other members were said to have baulked at their increased emphasis on politics and Israel.

Mr Zanzer denied that the owners would try to put their stamp on the day-to-day running of the station. "The owners will not get involved in the editorial side. They just want it to be good."

But it is extremely unlikely that the owners will remain at arm's length, said satellite media analyst Leon Barkho at Sweden's Jnkping University.

"No businessman would invest in satellite television, with an initial investment of some US$50 million (Dh183,600), just like that.It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. Would they start that for charity? There must be something there they want to say or deliver to the world," he said.

Mr Barkho has done research into channels such as Al Jazeera and the BBC and said the launch of a specifically Jewish station came as no surprise. "I have always been aware that the Israelis, the Jews in general, feel that their backyard is not well protected when it comes to satellite broadcasting."

He cited an example from shortly after the launch of Al Jazeera in 1996, when Israel set up an Arabic-language satellite TV station, only to close it quickly when it realised that it did not have an audience.

Discovering Europe's non-Jews who kept the faith

Margot Ishtavenfi turned 80 this summer. She is lucid, articulate and brimming with energy and joie de vivre. She and her husband live in a small house with a red-tile roof opposite the Catholic church in the Transylvanian village of Criseni. In the backyard, which is enclosed by a faded wooden fence, they cultivate a small vegetable patch and raise a few chickens. At the end of spring, when night falls and the temperature plummets to close to freezing, they heat the house with a wood stove. They do not have a television set. The Internet and cellular phones have not yet reached the village, which is connected to the main highway only by a bad road of 20 kilometers - a distance measured in local terms as "an hour and a half's ride in a horse-drawn cart."

Meeting with an Israeli journalist was a moving experience for Margot Ishtavenfi. At the start of the interview, she said she remembered nothing from her early childhood. Throughout the evening, she never stopped offering slices of bread covered with black plum jam she had made from the fruit of one of the big trees in her garden, while constantly refilling the glass of red Romanian wine and apologizing endlessly for the simplicity of her home and for her own lost beauty. She spoke a great deal, passionately and rapidly. She had a story to tell. "But when it comes to my early childhood I just don't remember anything," she reiterated time and again, referring in particular to the period before she and her family were thrown into a ghetto.

That is a day she remembers vividly, just as she can recall the day they were herded into cattle cars and the moment when the priest Istvan Raduly arrived on his bicycle and took them off the train, after showing the Gestapo troops papers proving they were Christians. A few members of her family and an even smaller number of Jews from her native village got off the train with her.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, All the others were taken to Auschwitz and, as far as is known, were murdered as soon as they arrived at the death camp.

But everything before that event is "a black hole of forgetting," she says. Then, after almost an hour of conversation (she spoke Hungarian, the village priest translated ), she suddenly fell silent. She wrinkled her brow and looked as though trying to extract something from her memory. A few second later she pulled the wool kerchief on her head tighter and started to mumble in a barely audible voice, "Aleph, bet, gimel..." The first letters of the Hebrew alphabet were uttered hesitantly, in a whisper, but her voice grew stronger as she progressed: "Chet, tet, yud I remember," she said in Hungarian, and smiled.These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives! Then she wrinkled her brow again and continued slowly, "Kaf, lamed, mem, nun.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,.It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line.." emphasizing each letter, nodding her head from side to side as though praying in tune with the rhythm of the letters.

As a child, Margot learned the Hebrew alphabet, along with the Jewish prayers and holiday customs, in the synagogue of the Sabbatarians, the Shabbat-keepers, in the village of Bozodujfalu. These days she terms herself a "reform Christian" and, apart from brief memory flashes, has no recollection of her Jewish roots.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, Nor is she in touch with relatives who live in Israel or with the descendants of the community and the village in which she was raised.

Hose producer aims to stand out

Thunder Technologies LLC can get a business or individual an industrial hose — and so can lots of other companies.

But the owners of the Rochester Hills company have learned a lesson from the international competition. They now offer a custom-made hose service that has helped the company grow and set itself apart from its competitors.

Other suppliers can't coat the inside of a pressure-washing hose with stainless steel to help clean U.S. Navy ships. Or help Siemens USA cradle shipments of its windmill blades so the protective rubber doesn't deface the paint surface. Or figure out how to stop those little rubber "dazzles" from drooping on tall-boot designs for women.

"No one else can do the things that we do because no one else knows how to do them — but we do," said Kimberley Kalinowski, vice president of the company based in a 4,500-square-foot all-purpose facility in an industrial park aside M-59.

"Nothing we do is a commodity," she said, referring to products that can be indistinguishable from others like it. "Everything we do is custom-made."

Thunder has parlayed its expertise in "critical" industrial-hose assemblies and sheet-rubber products into revenues expected to be about $1.2 million this year,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, up about one-third from last year.

The company is doing well in an industry where the average sales growth was 24 percent in 2010, according to a survey of firms by the National Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution. Earlier this year, a survey of hose distributors and manufacturers also found they expected 12 percent growth this year before the economy started stagnating.

Kalinowski, 53, foresees more growth for her company, especially if President Barack Obama's infrastructure-rebuilding initiatives gain any, er, steam, because Thunder can provide custom solutions for crucial components of bridge repair.

For now, Kalinowski and her husband, Marc Kalinowski, Thunder's president,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. are pleased with the company they created two years ago out of the shell of their prior firm. They both hail from Metro Detroit, and both learned the industrial hose business from post-college work at an industrial-supply company.

Kimberley owned their first enterprise, Tiger Technologies, which they founded in 1999. Within a few years, they were losing industrial customers to China, "and customers weren't paying us, so we decided to dissolve Tiger and go with a completely different business model," Kimberley said.

With Thunder, they pursued markets where they could leverage their industrial hose and fittings expertise in fulfilling individualized,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. higher-margin orders of one, two, five or a dozen assemblies for demanding customers such as the U.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,S. military, complex-manufacturing outfits, chemical companies,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, green energy concerns and others.

"Knowledge is our biggest niche," 54-year-old Marc Kalinowski said.

Added Kimberley: "Our customers have certain demands where they don't have a lot of leeway for error or are using something with extreme requirements. We're able to solve problems for people."

Despite general concerns about America's foundering manufacturing economy, the Kalinowskis are seeing Thunder Technologies' orders pick up.

Pine Trees centre almost ready despite theft setback

DESPITE a copper theft which threatened to stall the building work,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. the Pine Trees Community Centre is almost complete.

The Swindon Council's 2m project is now in its the final stages, with the council taking bookings for the main hall and seeking expressions of interest for the rentable rooms.

Swindon Commercial Services, the main contractor, expects to finish in time to open on December 21 – slightly later than the originally-stated date of October 31 due to theft of some copper from the building, which damaged the roof.

Swindon Council will get the facility established and run it until April, when the responsibility will be handed over to a group of local trustees, which will be established by a local steering group.

Coun Russell Holland, Swindon Council's cabinet member for One Swindon,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. communities and housing, joined the Adver for a sneak peek yesterday.

He said: "I think it's really exciting.

"I think it's going to be an excellent community facility and it's in line with the whole idea of a Big Society and One Swindon, everyone in the community working together to do something special.

"It's looking good to me. when you go in there's a lot more space than you think.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,"

The two-storey centre is being built on the site of the former Pine Trees residential home on The Circle and replaces the Pinehurst People's Centre, which was located on the site where the Swindon Academy now stands.

The main structure of the building,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, including the roof, is now up and all the windows will be in this week.The remaining tasks over the next few weeks include the installation of electric cabling and basic fittings, the painting of walls and surfaces, the laying of floor tiles, and the installation of PV panels on the roof.

On the ground floor, there will be an internet cafe, large kitchen, two NHS dental rooms, two rentable meeting rooms, a Citizens' Advice Bureau,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, reception and toilets.

There will be a two-storey-high hall similar in size to a badminton court and capable of seating up to 120 people, which groups and individuals can hire for functions, such as parties, wedding receptions and meetings at different rates.

In the same space as the hall, there will be a library. The library facilities will be capable of being pushed back against the wall when the library is not open in order to extend the hall space.

Upstairs, there will be the centre manager's office, three more rentable rooms and a balcony looking down over the internet cafe.

Outside, there will be a car park and community garden, where groups can grow their own flowers and vegetables.

Why Didn't I Think of These?

Some cable channel recently aired a special about the coolest modern inventions. But none of my personal favorites got mentioned.

I'm not talking here about iPhones or Google or GPS - or any other high-tech electronic wonder whose workings most of us will never come within a mile of understanding.

No, to make my short list, an invention has to be so simple and straightforward and mechanical that any of us could have come up with it while tinkering in our garage workshop - if we had just had the originality to do so.

Whoever came up with each of the following great ideas deserves to be a multimillionaire on the basis of that one brilliant stroke alone.

Here goes, in no particular order:

Lock-and-fold flooring: It sounds like "lock and load," I know. But it has nothing to do with firearms

A decade ago, when I put laminate flooring down in our kitchen and dining room,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. you actually had to spend hours painstakingly gluing the pieces together. Bigtime chore.

Now there's a whole new (to me,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, at least) generation of hardwood and laminate flooring with cleverly designed tongues and grooves that allow you to engage a new piece vertically and then fold it down flat,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. firmly locking it in place for the generations. How very clever.

Quick-release hose couplings: It can be an annoyance to have to squat down and unscew a garden hose from a spigot and then screw it back on again - especially if it keeps cross-threading.

By contrast, what a joy when all you have to do is screw a two-piece quick coupler between faucet and hose just once, whereafter all it takes is a simple click of a sliding sleeve to join or separate them again. Pure genius!

Retractable dog leashes: Not that many years ago, anyone wishing to walk the dog had one choice only: a length of leather strapping or chain. If it was too short, Fido's activities were severely restricted. If too long, you had to keep using both hands to haul it in or out.

But with one of those spring-loaded retractable jobs, the human can go walking through the park at his own rate, while the pooch is free to run to and fro at the end of 20 or 30 feet of heavy cord. When things get tight, you can automatically bring him closer, just like reeling in a fish, but with one hand. When we had two dogs, I could walk them at once, feeling like a mule-team driver.

Who do you suppose originally woke up with that brainstorm?

Foam-rubber paintbrushes: If you're going to do some serious painting - that fancy carved crown molding in your living room,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, maybe, or an oil portrait to hang over the fireplace - you need a proper paintbrush, one with natural bristles and a nice, comfortably shaped wooden handle. But those things cost. And no matter how carefully you clean them when you're through, they're never quite the same.

And when all you need to do is dab some primer on some spackled places or touch up those scraped places behind the bed, a nice bristle brush is definitely going to feel overemployed. That's when you reach for one of those disposable jobs. They're nothing but a wedge of foam glued to a cheap piece of dowel. They come in bags of 10 or so, and they do most jobs just fine.

Reading wins gold from Britain in Bloom

It's been roses all the way since Wednesday's announcement of a regional gold in the annual Britain in Bloom contest.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical,where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It has been judged to be top of the tree in the 'city' category of the Thames and Chilterns regional finals.

And there was a bouquet for Green Park as well – it has received the regional award for being the best commercial park.

The accolade is a salute to high quality maintenance, and imaginative and well-designed bedding and landscaping.

The Britain in Bloom campaign, now organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, has been prompting communities to primp their flowerbeds and make the most of their environment since 1963.

Nationally it draws almost 2,000 entries a year – this year's regional Thames and Chiltern campaign attracted more than 20.

Judges Kate Dagnall and Steve McKenna toured the town in July, taking in Caversham Court Gardens, Forbury Gardens, business parks, schools and gardens.which applies to the first TMJ only,

At Wednesday's presentation in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, dignitaries learned judges had found Reading "a green and well treed city with some enviable parks and open spaces" and they also commented "pride in the city" was evident from the care individuals, communities, organisations and businesses put into improving areas and premises.

They dubbed Reading "a clear leader in terms of environmental responsibility" because of its recycling initiatives, the way waste has been reduced and the moves to have meadows or perennial planting instead of close-mown grass and seasonal plants.

And there was high praise for the Reading in Bloom committee, which supports Reading's entry in the regional Britain in Bloom competition.

"Despite challenging times, Reading in Bloom has managed to develop, benefiting all those who live and work there,When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction, its award this year is well deserved."

Jeanette Skeats, chairwoman of Reading in Bloom, said: "Reading In Bloom committee are delighted at the recognition of hard work that has been put in by many people over recent years to keep Reading a beautiful and interesting place to live, visit and work.

"Such an achievement would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of many organisations and individuals.

"This has been from the hands-on help and time given by many volunteers. Also the continued sponsorship of the bridges' floral displays by Jessica Cecil over a number of years.By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts.

Unwrapping Your Purpose

A new Stamford organization seeks to provide the tools for women to pull aside the wrapping — the layers that life often piles on — and reveal what they were born to do in this world.

Stamford native Jessica Bass calls herself an "inspirational midwife," driven to help women to uncover their true selves and discover their purpose in life in the same way that a midwife guides a new mother through labor.

"I believe that each of us has a purpose, I don't care who you are, you have something that only you can do in this world," Bass told Patch.By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts.

For Bass, a key part of uncovering this purpose is to peel away the layers that conceal it — layers piled on by life, by the pressures of society, or by past trauma.

"I've been doing this for years, it started in my relationships with my girlfriends," Bass said. "They saw themselves as only a wife or only a mother — those are roles, they're important roles, but you're so much more than that."

While today her purpose is readily apparent — Bass even discovered later on that her name "Jessica Noelle" translates to "God Sees" and "Precious Gift" — she stresses that it wasn't always that way.where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Bass considered a degree in law before deciding on a different career path and during her undergraduate years, took time off from school to heal the wounds from her parents' divorce.

"I searched and I searched, I was a loner type of kid, I struggled to figure out where I fit in," Bass said. "I had to take time to heal. If you don't deal with life, life has a way of dealing with you."

The daughter of two Stamford educators — Bass knew she'd need the education to back up her natural gift.When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction, Today, she holds a Master of Divinity from Yale and a Master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, Following in this spirit, Day of Birth is unique in its sense of balance — a faith-based organization that uses both pastoral and practical approaches to counseling, striving to meet each client where they are.

When Bass begins a conversation with a woman through Day of Birth, she first asks them what they view as being their purpose. Some have given it some thought, some have not, and many reply with what they do for a living.

"I have to stop them and say, "No, that's what you do, but who are you? What do you do off the clock?" We start to talk about their passions and that's when they light up," Bass said.

Another facet of her work takes this idea of purpose and healing to young women struggling to overcome obstacles. "Girls II Women Building Bridges Through Life Transitions" has helped young women to find mentors and acquire the tools to heal and begin to build a life that meets their purpose.

"I've always been fascinated by "woman wisdom" — women share this wealth of information. We talk. We talk about fashion, cooking, our men, why can't we talk about healing?" Bass said.

On October 8 from 10 am—2 pm, Bass will host a symposium at Cloonan Middle School. Sponsored in part by Stamford Youth Services Bureau and Fairway Market, the day will consist of speakers discussing the path to purpose and introducing Day of Birth's four main themes – to inform, inspire, equip, and empower.

"It will be the official launch,which applies to the first TMJ only," Bass said. "A way to introduce Day of Birth to the community at large and show in one day what we're seeking to do."

One year later, banker David Widlak's death still a mystery

David Widlak hoped he had found an angel to help save his struggling bank.

First thing that Tuesday morning, a New Jersey mortgage executive was set to pitch a deal to the board of Community Central Bank in Mt. Clemens that just might help pull Widlak's deeply troubled institution into the black.

Then the following day, Widlak had time set aside with a retired FBI agent to discuss his concerns about some guys he had encountered as he searched metro Detroit and the country for investors.

He also was thinking about a community-focused advisory panel with a possible role for Edsel Ford II, who had dropped by the office a couple of days earlier.

It appeared that Widlak had the solution to his business problem all mapped out with time left over on a Sunday afternoon a year ago to work on arrangements for his family's annual Caribbean getaway -- just the planning you'd expect from a savvy guy who went from Detroit's bungalow belt to banking board rooms and blue-book Grosse Pointe society.

But there was another plan in place for Widlak on Sept. 19, 2010, as the 62-year-old walked from the bank on Main Street into the late summer night.

That plan called for a bullet to the back of his head and left the banker floating faceup along the weed-choked shore of Lake St. Clair, rattling metro Detroit with a mystery that remains unsolved.When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction,

Did Widlak choose his own escape from looming financial failure and personal shame, as some speculate, or were darker forces at play?

In reviewing the case, the Free Press conducted hours of interviews and examined court files and business records, discovering previously unknown details of Widlak's final days, events leading up to his disappearance and still-vexing questions surrounding his death.

It's been a year of multiple investigations, clashing autopsy findings and whispers of shaming secrets and self-serving deals.

"This is not just a mystery, this is the terrible loss of a husband, brother and father," said the Widlaks' family attorney, Todd Flood, who added that the family had to endure a month of uncertainty before the missing man's body was found. "This is a family that is heartbroken at the loss of someone they dearly loved."

The bank's collapse and Widlak's death have drawn in a collection of powerful political and social figures -- names including Ford, Stroh, Dingell, Hackel, Patterson, French and Booth. Some say Widlak's family won't accept the painful notion that he could have killed himself over personal and professional problems.where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

But a team of lawyers, criminal investigators, doctors and other experts working on behalf of his widow, Anne Widlak, says the trail of forensic clues, e-mails, financial records, a nightstand memo and a washed-out note clutched in the dead man's hand point to murder. The lakeside scene alone stymies a suicide scenario, they say.
Wake-up call didn't come, nightmare began

It all started for Anne Widlak that Monday morning, Sept. 20, 2010, when her phone didn't ring on her business trip to Traverse City. Anne expected a 4 a.m.By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. wake-up call and was troubled by her telephone's silence.

Dave should have called her; he had promised. She'd requested a backup call from the Park Place Hotel's front desk, besides Dave's call, just to be on the safe side.

As the new attorney on an employment case, she wanted to be prepped and ready for a 7:30 a.m. conference and 8 a.m. hearing. Her mobile phone was still silent as she left room 411 and walked the couple of blocks to the old red brick courthouse. She tried Dave's cell and bank office, but the calls went to voice mail.

She reassured herself,which applies to the first TMJ only, assuming Dave turned off his phone at the gym or on a run, or maybe it was a business emergency as he continued trying to raise money for the bank.

With the judge taking the bench at 8 a.m., Anne ducked into an anteroom to shut off her phone. Just then, it flashed with a call from Mt. Clemens' 586 area code. She answered.

Anne Widlak? This is the Macomb County Sheriff's Office. Do you know where your husband is? His car's at the bank, but he's not.

Stifling panic, Anne said she would drive right back,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, but friends scotched that notion. Lynn Ford Alandt, a friend and member of the Ford family, sent a jet to bring her home.

That anxious flight would carry her into a fearful puzzle as the plane roared toward an Oakland County airport.

With Community Central Bank on a watch list of shaky institutions, David Widlak had crisscrossed the country for months scouting for investors. By late summer, according to some accounts, he had found a match in New Jersey-based Mortgage Now.

The mortgage company's CEO, Jim Marchese, was flying in Monday night. Widlak was apparently so pleased with the prospect that he and Anne took Marchese to a champagne dinner that August at the understated, exclusive Little Club, tucked behind the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church on Lake St. Clair.

Media Matters: Texas race yields iconic images

Then there is the genuine emotional pain of failure sadly represented by the televised image of Karen Stouffer slumped over her GEICO Suzuki, raising her hands in despair, after an odd circumstance on the start led to her loss.

Heat also dominated interviews, like Cruz Pedregon explaining, "It's hotter than love out there," which won the "best description" award for the steamy conditions.

But then there are scenes that could not have been scripted for television any better, because they occur naturally.where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. That was the outburst of pure joy as Bob Vandergriff — after finally conquering a Texas-sized streak of final-round losses in his C&J Energy Services dragster — ran back to the start line, still in his helmet and firesuit as temperatures soared near 100 degrees.

Why would anyone run back on a drag strip looking like a space alien in full race regalia when the air is so hot a sauna would be a relief? Vandergriff's draw to be with his crew and family — in the momentous moment following his smoking victory over favored Spencer Massey — overpowered any good sense or post-race protocol.

Protocol like, you park over here, you interview there, and this is the way to do it.

Vandergriff rewrote those rules in his foot-powered rendition of the Alan Kulwicki's "Polish Victory Lap" custom of circling a NASCAR track in reverse direction to celebrate a win.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, One could see and experience the emotion develop step-by-step as the initial shock of, "What's going on?" was replaced with a lump in the throat.

It was ESPN drag racing coverage at its best.

First, the two finalists spoke, as Massey related later, and he congratulated Vandergriff. His comment to the new winner was along the lines of "I wanted to win, but it is gratifying to see (Vandergriff) win."

The broadcast booth carried on, too, as Paul Page exclaimed, "This is a moment." His "This is cool" was a double entendre, also referencing their privileged quarters filled with air conditioning. Even their standard dress shirts and ties were gone,By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. replaced with snazzy black short-sleeve shirts accented with white undershirts.

Any question of Vandergriff's physical conditioning needed to complete the return "run" was laid to rest when analyst Mike Dunn noted, "He's built like a brick building."

Finally, a cart drives up alongside and Vandergriff hops in. A viewer could see right on the screen the driver was about to turn around to the finish line,which applies to the first TMJ only, but Vandergriff was having nothing of that, and quickly the cart pointed to the start line.

They never made it.

By this time a crowd joining the team had moved en masse to about the 300-foot mark like a human tidal wave sweeping up Vandergriff as he crashed to shore. "I didn't want to be all the way down there by myself," he said. "I'm just so excited."

This scene of a lone drag racer wearing his full uniform, running back on a blistering hot race track, will forever be recognized infamously as the defining moment of the 2011 AAA of Texas Nationals.

The quarterfinal rounds in the second race in the Countdown to the Championship provided some of the most exciting,When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction, topsy-turvy drag racing yet this year. However, the single biggest race occurred in the opening pairing of Funny Car as Matt Hagan's Diehard Charger and Mike Neff's Castrol GTX Mustang met in the opening round.

Proactively preparing for the Smart Grid

With utility costs rising apparently with little end in sight, many building owners and operators view the potential of Smart Grids and their associated technologies with excitement.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, The transition of the century-old U.S. power grid, which is the largest interconnected web of technology and machinery on Earth, into a Smart Grid has begun, with technological advancements being implemented in transmission efficiency, integration of intermittent power sources such as solar and wind, distributed combined heat and power systems, and smarter buildings.

Already, Smart Grid pilot projects are showing promising results. In North Carolina, 100 Fayetteville residents and businesses cut energy use an average of 20% during a six-month pilot in 2010. As these systems come online, they can have enough impact to reduce the building of new power plants—an expense that is largely borne by the residential and commercial sectors.This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their chicken coop .

On an individual basis,Save on Bedding and fittings, businesses in some areas are reaping minor benefits from Smart Grid technologies such as two-way communication enabled by smart meters. For example, some business owners currently power down noncontinuous, noncritical operations—from computers and printers to production line assemblies—based on real-time utility pricing—during designated times of peak power usage and rates. Even critical machinery such as cooling and refrigeration systems is being duty-cycled periodically without affecting operational effectiveness.

Many commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities allow utilities to bring on power generation assets automatically to meet utility-grid peak demand and manage alternative energy source integration with the electrical power grid. These are the baby steps that only hint at what lies ahead.

Much work and coordination is needed and underway by the utility, building, and government sectors to make widespread Smart Grid deployment a reality. Owners of existing buildings that are not yet able to participate in these programs may be asking their engineers how they can speed up the process.

While it’s beneficial to stay engaged with local utilities and thereby be apprised of available Smart Grid projects, the reality is that outside forces and factors play a large role in when Smart Grid benefits will be available to a given location. Astute engineers can show building owners that analysis of existing configurations now to identify internal operational improvements—and where it is possible to implement them—is the best way to prepare for Smart Grid technology.

These improvements and the data that drive them, both of which focus on making the buildings smart in themselves, provide real-time feedback on the building’s performance through information gathered from smart utility meters, advanced metering systems, building equipment sensors, occupant surveys, and other mechanisms (see Figure 1). Not only do building performance indicators provide management and operations staff with the information to operate a building for maximum economic, environmental, and social performance in the short term, but the data they provide create valuable benchmarks for building performance over time.

Occupants who are dissatisfied with their environment will install fans, electric heaters, additional lighting, and other personal improvements—all of which can reduce the satisfaction of other occupants and negatively impact operating costs.Initially the banks didn't want our RUBBER SHEET . Fear of reprisal may prohibit occupants from answering surveys honestly, so respondents should be reassured that all comments are welcome and will be handled sensitively.

Surveys should encourage participants to move beyond the typical enhancements to less-common issues. For example, an occupant might be placing paper over air registers/diffusers because he is cold, or running portable air purifiers because he has a perception,Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. however untrue, that the air in the building is not clean.

Occupant surveys should also incorporate concerns for productivity such as ambient noise. If personnel cannot work effectively because the office environment is open or established as a cubicle farm that does not sufficiently dampen the sound of nearby discussions, productivity will be affected. Likewise, perhaps some personnel do not have enough space to perform their work.

Try to uncover every physical constraint and indoor environmental quality complaint and then make a plan to address them. These benefits can be enormous, as productivity savings routinely exceed direct energy cost returns and provide significant savings.

Home Energy Audit Services Taken

Building science experts are transforming the field of home performance energy audits and retrofits today. Backed by a rigorous understanding of building physics and dynamics, these advanced building scientists can model, design and implement home energy retrofits that eclipse yesterday's home energy efficiency improvements.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical,

"The field of building science has grown up and is now driving reductions in home energy consumption that would have seemed impossible ten or twenty years ago", explains Sam Hagerman, co-owner of Hammer & Hand, and President of the national nonprofit, the Passive House Alliance. "We've assembled a home energy performance team of crack building science technicians at Hammer & Hand to harness this new power for the benefit of our clients and the planet."

The typical home performance technician not trained in advanced building science is forced to rely on a boilerplate approach in the field, applying prescriptive retrofit solutions aimed at satisfying the requirements of the latest governmental weatherization program. While this approach does achieve some reduction in home energy consumption, it falls short on two counts: it squanders money on prescriptive home energy solutions that may not address the unique problems of a given home; and it results in energy retrofits that will likely become obsolete in 10 or 15 years, or whenever the next weatherization program comes along.

Advanced building science, on the other hand, revolutionizes home performance audits and home energy retrofits because it empowers the building scientist to optimize homes through a performance approach, using sophisticated modeling to tweak air tightness, insulation, ventilation and other building component variables to design the most cost-effective home energy retrofit possible for each unique home. This leads to better solutions with bigger return on investment,Save on Bedding and fittings, and energy efficiency gains that are well ahead of the curve - retrofits that will stand the test of time.

"Everything is about optimizing", says Skylar Swinford, Certified Passive House Consultant and leader of Hammer & Hand's building science team. "Take heat recovering ventilation systems, for instance. I love HRVs because they conserve energy that would otherwise be lost in a home's exhaust air.Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. But when we do the math, if the building science tells us that super-insulation is a more impactful investment for a given home, then we prescribe that ahead of an HRV, and switch to a more basic continuous mechanical ventilation system.The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, Each variable is scrutinized and fine-tuned for optimal performance."

The Passive House movement, widely recognized as representing the cutting edge of building science and home energy performance,Initially the banks didn't want our RUBBER SHEET . fuels the building science expertise of Hammer & Hand's new team. "Because our team's building science lineage traces directly to the rigorous Passive House training that we've undergone," says Hagerman, "our suite of home energy retrofit measures comes straight from the Passive House high performance playbook." This suite includes:

Aggressive air sealing to create a nearly airtight building shell. Continuous mechanical ventilation to provide constant flow of fresh air - often a heat recovering system for better energy performance. Intensive, high quality insulation, with low global warming potential - usually cellulose or water-blown spray foam. Computer modeling to optimize the performance and value of the home energy retrofit package.

"When we are smart about home energy performance audits and retrofits, and bring advanced building science to bear," says Hagerman, "it's a win for each individual client who receives better home performance for the money - greater comfort, safety, and energy savings. But it's also a win for society at large, because we're taking full advantage of every retrofit to significantly reduce the energy consumption of our built environment."

Solar panel plant could have brought 1

Solar panel plant could have brought 1,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet,000 jobs to Tulsa

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated Dec. 18,The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, 2009, indicated that Tulsa was the top location for construction of an additional solar panel fabrication facility.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett, who knew about the Fremont, Calif.-based company's pursuit of a Tulsa plant, said the facility could have employed up to 1,000 people, nearly doubling the company's workforce.

"This would have been a huge economic shot in the arm to all of Tulsa," Bartlett told the Tulsa World on Monday.

The information was listed as part of Argonaut Credit Facility's agreement to purchase additional shares of preferred stock in Solyndra LLC. Argonaut Ventures, which eventually invested $340 million and accrued a 39 percent stake in the company by the time of its closing earlier this month, is the investment arm of the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation.

Bartlett said the company had actively scouted a plot totaling several hundred acres just west of Mohawk Park.

He said George Kaiser, chairman of Tulsa-based BOK Financial Corp.,Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. encouraged Solyndra to build in Tulsa, but not just anywhere in the area.

"His desire was for it to be located in north Tulsa, in an area that could be of great economic benefit to an area of the Tulsa community that had been deficient in job creation for many years," Bartlett said.

In a previous emailed statement to the Tulsa World, representatives of the Kaiser foundation said the investment was made independently by the foundation through Argonaut, and that George Kaiser himself was not an investor in Solyndra.

The SEC filing stated that a third-party independent counseling firm would assist in the analysis of additional manufacturing locations for Solyndra, although Argonaut "will interact with the consultant to ensure that all relevant information with respect to Tulsa, Oklahoma's candidacy is made available."

While Solyndra's board of directors would have made the final decision, the filing noted that if Tulsa was determined to be reasonably equivalent to the top-ranked location determined by the third-party firm, the management would recommend Tulsa as the location.

Bartlett said the Solyndra's investigation of the Tulsa site was "serious," although officials kept their inquiries quiet.

"There weren't too many people that really knew about it very much," he said. "It wasn't well publicized, probably to prevent speculation to drive land prices up, and to prevent false hope."

Bartlett said work into the potential Tulsa site lost steam over the months because of Solyndra's financial problems.

Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 6, laying off its entire work force of 1,100. Company officials say the Chinese solar panel industry, helped by subsidies from that nation's government, have undercut the market for U.S.-made solar products.

On Monday, creditors of the company asked U.Save on Bedding and fittings,S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath to delay an auction of the company's assets four weeks to the end of November, saying a quick sale could push down the price.

"Without sufficient opportunity to complete due diligence, a prospective buyer is likely to undervalue the assets," the committee of creditors said in court papers filed Friday in Wilmington, Del.Initially the banks didn't want our RUBBER SHEET . The committee blamed a rush to sell the company on "forces outside the Chapter 11 process."

Planning Board Approves Temple's Solar Panel Project

The Planning Board has approved Temple Beth Tikvah's application to install a 10,000-square foot system of solar panels in its parking lot.Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year.

The board unanimously approved the application Monday night. It is the first time a house of worship in town will install solar panels on its property.

Steve Taylor, from Green Energy Construction & Consulting, said the panels are expected to generate 144 kilowatts of energy an hour, enough to potentially eliminate the Temple's reliance on power from PSE&G.

"The project gives the temple the ability to significantly reduce its electric bill," said Michael Ruben, the attorney who represented the Temple before the board.

The 600 panels will be installed atop a skeletal structure in the parking lot, forming a carport.

Taylor said the system could be up and running by the end of the year.

Although the project is the first of its kind for a Wayne house of worship,Save on Bedding and fittings, solar panels have been popping up throughout the town this year.

Solar panels have been installed at seven public schools.The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, They should be operational in November. A raised solar panel system already exists at William Paterson University. Those panels created a large canopy that covers several parking lots, but that system is not easily seen from nearby roads. Officials are also examining the possibility of installing solar panels on town property. PSE&G has installed hundreds of panels on utility poles throughout the town.

Rueben said solar panels have several advantages when it comes to finding alternative ways to generate energy.

"People don't like the big windmills because they think they are loud and somewhat dangerous," Rueben said. "You don't have that with solar panels. Although they might not look the best, they are a quite, passive technology."

Several residents expressed their disapproval with the application at a board meeting in July.

"This is going to be an eyesore,Initially the banks didn't want our RUBBER SHEET ." said Robert Gordon, who has lived on nearby Teak Road for 33 years.

Rueben said that although some residents might not like the way they look, solar panels are going to become more popular in the coming years.

"This is the wave of the future, whether people like it or not, you're going to see more solar arrays appear everywhere, especially in North Jersey," Rueben said.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet,

Weinberg Center for the Arts unveils renovations

The Weinberg Center has come a long way since it emerged, moldy and mud-covered, after the devastating downtown Frederick flood of 1976. Volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work to save a part of Frederick's history. In 1978, the refurbished Tivoli opened with a new name and a new type of entertainment — moving away from R- and X-rated movies.

Since then, the theater has featured local performing arts, national touring plays, musicians, silent and classic movies, beauty pageants and fundraisers.

The audience has grown, especially in recent years. In 2006, attendance totaled about 35,000. Last year, it totaled about 64,000. The Weinberg's annual budget is $1.4 million.

The latest renovation, which took place this summer, focused on giving the theater a lighter, more airy look while taking it back to its 1920s style. "We were not trying to re-create the Tivoli theater, we're trying to re-create a 1926 theater," said John Healey, executive theater manager.

"It was the most extensive renovation since 1978," Healey said. The funding came from a combination of private donations, state grants and a small amount of funding from the City of Frederick, which owns the theater. The building also needed to meet Maryland Historical Trust requirements.

John Zink, who designed more than 200 theaters throughout Washington and Baltimore from the 1920s to the 1950s, designed the Tivoli. Nancy Pascale completed the latest redesign, and Sam Robinson of Valley Craftsmen in Baltimore was in charge of the renovation. Hilgartner Natural Stone Co. of Baltimore, which did the theater's original marble work, restored the marble.

The crown molding, the decorative arches and the marble paneling remain. The walls and trim are bathed in shades of gold and light blue, with ceilings of ivory and eggplant.

The gold and light-blue color scheme starts in the outside lobby. The pale blue walls with gold trim flank the stand-alone box office, which has been painted gold. The box office is original to the building.

The interior outer lobby continues the color scheme, and new carpet should be in place for the theater's grand reopening event on Friday, when 1980s pop singer Richard Marx will be featured.

Much of the marble has been repaired and polished. "Because of the flood of 1976, a lot of the cement that was holding the marble slabs onto the walls had disintegrated," Healey said.

The glass-enclosed ticket office has been eliminated in favor of a more modest ticket counter. The glass-and-wood ticket counter was installed about 10 years ago,who was responsible for tracking down Charles China ceramic tile . Healey said, and didn't add anything to the look of the theater.

"We wanted to bring out the bones of the theater," he said. "The arches show up more, and the whole space is much lighter."

Two massive theater masks dominate the entrance to the inner lobby. "The masks didn't come until the 1960s," Healey said. They are popular, however, so they remained.

The entrance doors have been repainted gold. "That brings out a certain elegance," Healey said.

Inside the inner lobby,When the stone sits in the Cold Sore, some repairs have been made to the original tile floor. Here the walls are a shade of off-white, with gold stenciling and trim. The simple stenciling sets off the trim,For the last five years Hemroids , the faux marble and the marble columns.

Fabric panels, in a shimmering off-white, add another touch of elegance behind the bar. The ceiling is painted a rich shade of eggplant, set off by pale trim.There is good integration with PayPal and most Aion Kinah providers,

"It brings out the lighting fixtures," Healey said. "All the lights are original. We don't know when the wall sconces went in, but the stained-glass exit signs are original."

The bar now stands where the candy counter once was, and where a soda fountain stood in the early years. The starfish design in the tiles is partially hidden by the bar. One day when the money allows, Healey said the Weinberg's board of directors would like to uncover the design.

The 1,Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an plastic card , and not a metal,100 seats, replaced in 2008, are wide, modern and comfortable, yet styled after 1920s theater seats. At the end of each row is a filigree pattern common in many 1920s theaters.

The renovation also included $14,000 in repairs to the Wurlitzer organ, a period-style organ similar to the original Tivoli Wurlitzer organ. The original pipes remain.

The Weinberg Center is named for Dan and Alyce Weinberg, the Braddock Heights couple who owned the theater before it was damaged in the 1976 flood. The 50-year-old building had begun to deteriorate, even before Carroll Creek floodwaters inundated it.

The Tivoli theater had a 16-foot movie screen when it opened in 1926. It also had an orchestra pit, a large stage, 50 sets of pulleys for handling scenery and a series of dressing rooms. Tivoli, the name of a popular amusement park in Denmark that dated to 1843, was a common name for theaters of the era. Cities with Tivoli theaters included Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Chattanooga, Tenn.

In 1940, the Tivoli was the first building in Frederick to be air-conditioned, all because of a racehorse.

Challedon, a racehorse bred in Walkersville, had the good fortune to win the Hollywood Gold Cup, a prestigious horse race in California, at a time when horse racing captivated much of the American sports audience.

Bring natural hues indoors for fall

Indoors is taking on the distinct look of outdoors in this fall's home decorating trends.

Shades of green, rustic looks and elements of a farmers market will play a big role in your fall home decorating. It's like a retreat to the forest, capturing the mood and ambience of beautiful wood designs and garden floral patterns.

Neutral colours such as grey and light brown whisper comfort and create an inviting place.

Pantone, the colour guru, introduced Oyster Grey, Endive (a lettuce green), Woodbine (a masculine green), Coral, Lipstick Red and Purple Orchid for fall's home colour trends.

Retailers say consumers may take a more conservative approach and choose chocolate and dark beiges as their base colours, and look toward rich reds and deep plums as accents to bring brighter colours into the home.

"Consumers will also see a few carry-overs from spring, including purple and lemongrass," says Frank Hasper, manager at Crate & Barrel in Richmond Heights, Mo. Lemongrass is expected to become a strong fall colour, paired with accents of orange.

"Accent walls are the perfect way to infuse new life into your space, and there are more options now than ever before," says Kris Keller, president at The Design Source Ltd. in Ballwin, Mo. Keller has fallen in love with some of the latest wallcovering collections, from mother of pearl to slate to an array of textures. Homeowners can add a splash of colour to a wall by choosing a warm grey-green, and for an accent, try a red-coral bronze or a mauve-rose.

The trendiest designs in the dining area are repurposing and upcycling furniture to create a new look with an old feel, and Phillips Furniture in Kirkwood, Mo., achieved this with its Nantucket sideboard, made from obsolete old Indian ship wood. "The trends show a great respect for family values and roots through ethnic vintage elements and colours that remind us of the past and our responsibility to sustain the earth," says Natalie Trivundza, advertising and marketing specialist at Phillips Furniture.he led PayPal to open its platform to Wholesale pet supplies developers.

Also hot this fall are unpredictable mixes of styles. "Traditional pieces updated with new hardware or ornate leg styles will be a must-have in the family room or bedroom," Hasper says.who was responsible for tracking down Charles China ceramic tile .

The dining room will see some changes,Polycore hydraulic hose are manufactured as a single sheet, too. Curvy-style chairs will add a modern twist to a traditional setting. At first glance, one might be apprehensive at the silhouette, but this chic style may become the draw behind the favourite seat in the home. Kari Woldum, vice president of merchandising at Design Within Reach ( www.dwr.com), says, "There's definitely a trend toward beautifully upholstered dining chairs that combine innovation and shape."

Multi-functional furniture, such as storage beds (footboards with storage drawers) and media chests couldn't have come at a better time. As many homeowners downsize, multi-use furniture can seem like a godsend. "There never seems to be enough room in the bedroom for everything that needs to be put away," says Vicky Smith, president of Rothman Furniture Stores Inc.

Armoires have virtually disappeared from the bedroom scene and have been replaced by media chests or media consoles. They are the perfect size to handle a 32- or 42-inch flat-screen in the bedroom, if you prefer not to mount a TV on the wall. They're at a perfect viewing height for those propped up in bed at night and they come with all the storage you normally would have in a chest. "Some consumers find it hard to mix their high-end tech products with their audio and video components," Hasper says. But a media console offers organization for both.

While leather continues to be a popular choice, a new type of product, bonded leather has burst onto the furniture scene this fall. The price of leather furniture has skyrocketed over the past six months, and consumers have embraced this new product that gives the look and feel of leather without the high price tag. Bonded leather is a man-made product. Rothman markets it as Ultrablend, Broyhill calls it Performance Leather, and it's been seen in the marketplace under several different names, such as Ultrahide, Valentino Leathertouch and Durablend.

"Consumers need to know the product they are buying is not a leather hide," says Smith. Bonded leather is a composite material made of recycled leather scraps and fibres mixed with bonding materials with a polyurethane face.Initially the banks didn't want our chicken coop . Because it doesn't undergo chemical tanning, it has much lower levels of environmentally unsafe formaldehyde. Because bonded leather comes in rolls like fabric, there is significantly less waste than when using irregularly shaped hides. Rothman's sofas that have top-grain leather on the seating area but bonded leather on the backs and sides retail from $699 and $999.A custom-made Cable Ties is then fixed over the gums. Comparable sofas made entirely of leather retail from $1,199 to $1,599.

What's in store for home accessories? Jeanne Spotanski, floor design director at Rothman, says, "Grey, white and taupe with touches of metallic are expected to be popular this fall in accessories. Shades of muted purple have become neutrals in rooms and add drama. And while black is still big, intense brown shades, such as coffee, are an alternative that adds elegance and warmth."

Crate & Barrel's fall collection includes brown, chunky, braided ottomans and hunky woven rugs that lure the eye and create a comfy setting in any room.

Big gold patterns and greens such as olive and avocado also will make a splash in home accessories. "This fall it's all about a fresh take on traditional styles," says Ralph Snyder, home design director for Kohl's Department Stores.

To achieve an outdoor rustic look that still works and feels good indoors, add autumnal colours with textured throw pillows, embellished table linens and botanical patterned bedding collections. Concrete side tables, usually found in outdoor settings, will be one of many showstopper pieces in home decorating this fall.

College Conference Realignment Madness

In case you've been on an extended safari deep within Africa and haven't noticed, college athletics is experiencing a radical shift in conference membership, with many schools actively engaged in a sort of musical chairs game of chance. The incredible piles of money being generated by major college football are partly to blame, but an entire shift has occurred in the culture of collegiate sports as well. Loyalty and tradition are two words which have been thrown out the window. It's every school for itself, and nothing but figuring out how to squeeze more money out of the golden egg seems to matter anymore. How did we reach this point?

If you ask Jim Boeheim, the long-time head basketball coach at Syracuse, whose school just bolted from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference, he's not shy about giving his two cents.the Bedding by special invited artist for 2011, Boeheim said that conferences have been taking teams from other conferences throughout the history of college sports. While that's true, it has never been so rampant as it has recently become, and it usually happened within lower echelon leagues, or leagues which might have been originally formed to focus on one particular sport, such as basketball. It also usually involved schools moving up from a lower tier conference to one with more national exposure, which is a typical business move for a school wanting to improve its image and maximize revenues. Never before have all the major conferences been in such a state of flux. The ACC has been around since the early 1950's. The Big Ten goes way further back. The Big 12 used to be known as the Big 8 and has also been around for quite awhile, as has the old PAC 8, which became the PAC 10, and recently became the PAC 12. The Southeastern Conference is also an old, well established league. So when did all of the movement really get started?

Some would argue that Arkansas was the first school from a major conference to switch to another major conference during the modern era of college sports. Prior to 1990, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was generally run by the athletic directors from its various member schools. That all changed when they decided to put the college presidents in charge of the organization which govens major college sports.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar RUBBER MATS systems, It's probably no coincidence that the Razorback's departure from the old Southwest Conference (SWC) came at about the same time,Initially the banks didn't want our chicken coop . in 1991. They decided they didn't want to be in a league with nothing but teams from the state of Texas, which was dominated by the University of Texas, a cash-rich school at least twice the size of Arkansas. So the Razorbacks took their football with them and joined the SEC. At the time nobody even blinked, but it's now apparent that Arkansas may have set in motion a trend which would continue to escalate throughout the next two decades, and escalate it did.

Soon after the Arkansas exit, the SWC broke up, with Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas A&M heading to the Big 8, making it the Big 12.then used cut pieces of impact socket garden hose to get through the electric fence. The remaining SWC schools were forced to scramble around to find other leagues to play in. As an example, TCU has been a member of no less than four different conferences since 1995. They've currently decided to join the Big East as of next season. A team from Fort Worth, Texas in the Big East? That seems pretty ridiculous,Traditional China Porcelain tile claim to clean all the air in a room. doesn't it?

New Hope Available for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Sufferers

Having been undiagnosed and a medical enigma for most of my adult life, I was eager to visit Abby's Health & Nutrition in Carrollwood to listen to Pam Ross last week.

Ross is a physician's assistant who specialized in successfully treating chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia in patients for the last three years. She was on a speaking tour discussing her findings.

These syndromes, once misunderstood and oftentimes ignored, have only recently been recognized by the medical community as legitimate illnesses.

Ross has created a treatment in the form of a natural supplement called Virasyl with ingredients scientifically validated over 10 years of university and clinical research.

"Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are real," said Ross. "These patients were being shunned. They were treated different than any other patient. They were referred to psychiatry and told, 'Sorry, it's all in your head.' No. These issues need to be addressed and taken care of."

To hear those words from the mouth of a physician's assistant was a validation that I had been seeking for over 15 years.

My story started like many other sufferers. I remember waking up one morning in 1996 feeling like someone had taken a bat and beaten me repeatedly until there wasn't a bone, tendon or muscle that didn't ache. Getting out of bed did not feel like an option, but as a working mom to her precocious two year old, staying in bed wasn't either.

Fast forward 15 years. My baby is graduating high school, and the flu I thought I woke up with has lasted her lifetime.

I personally identify with every patient who was considered to be a hypochondriac and told his ailment was psychosomatic, that he needed to see a psychiatrist because "people like him need special doctors he can talk to."

I completely relate to the passage of years without answers, being so filled with hope, going for yet another blood test, MRI, ultrasound and x-ray from every "ist" and "ologist" on your insurance and several quacks not on any plan and having that hope dashed when results came back normal.

I understand the definition of "going back to square one," and I know what it's like to be treated with harsh chemicals - Buspar for a Persistent Anxiety Disorder that you do not have and Prozac for a depression that you are not in.the Bedding by special invited artist for 2011,

I know, firsthand, the overwhelming frustration of knowing something was wrong with you, feeling just 50 percent, looking perfectly healthy on the outside and not knowing what was happening on the inside, wondering if your friends and even your family really believed you because ‘You looked fine,' feeling with every year without answers,Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar RUBBER MATS systems, you were slowly losing your mind.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia presents itself in a number of ways. Sufferers often have a laundry list of symptoms like anxiety, problems sleeping, irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis, flu-like symptoms, low grade fever or chills, neck pain, shortness of breath, unexplained chest pain, skin rashes, night sweats, headaches,then used cut pieces of impact socket garden hose to get through the electric fence. TMJ, chemical sensitivities, depression,Initially the banks didn't want our chicken coop . acid reflux, canker sores, thinking and memory issues called fibro fog, on top of chronic fatigue and widespread muscle and joint pain.

Because doctors could not understand it, it was easier to chemically medicate a potential problem than to deal with the real underlying one. But putting chemicals in the body of a fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers doesn't make sense.Traditional China Porcelain tile claim to clean all the air in a room. With the medicine treatment advertised regularly on TV, the side effects often sound worse than living with the chronic illness.

Ross has taken years of listening to her clinic patients' needs to create a natural antiviral supplement called Virasyl that is at the very heart of what preventing what might be the cause of the illness, a stealthy, insidious virus.

How safe is your indoor swimming pool?

Catherine Garceau doesn't go to the pool anymore. The former Olympic swimmer has trained at many fitness centers over the years that smelled strongly of chlorine. While most would assume that means the water is clean, Garceau now knows it's just the opposite.

After winning bronze in 2000 with the Canadian synchronized swimming team in Sydney, Australia, Garceau was a "mess." Her digestive system was in turmoil, she had chronic bronchitis and she suffered from frequent migraines.

Garceau retired in 2002 and began looking into holistic medicine. Experts suggested detoxifying her body to rid it of chemicals, including what fellow teammates used to jokingly refer to as "eau de chlorine -- the swimmer's perfume."

"As part of my journey to determine the factors that affected my health, I delved into the possible effects of chlorine and discovered some shocking facts," Garceau writes in the appendix of her upcoming book, "Heart of Bronze."

Outdoor pool season is ending in many parts of the country, and competitive swimmers are heading indoors for their workouts and team meets. But how safe are the waters they're diving into? Researchers are examining the longterm effects of the chemicals in pool water.

Chlorine inactivates most disease-causing germs within a fraction of a second. That's why it's found in our drinking water as well as 95% of pools in the United States, said Dr. Tom Lachocki, the CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation.

As Lachocki points out, access to clean water is what often separates first and third world countries. Without chlorine, swimmers are at risk of contracting many dangerous waterborne illnesses. But the chemical compounds formed in pools have some scientists worried.

"When you open up a tap and pour yourself a glass of water,Our oil painting reproduction was down for about an hour and a half, you don't normally put someone's backside in it," Lachocki said. "But in a pool there are people getting into that water. Every time a person gets in they're adding contaminants."

Those contaminants -- sweat, hair,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their oil painting supplies .there's a lovely winter polished tiles by William Zorach. urine, makeup, sunscreen, etc. -- combine with chlorine to form chloramines, said pool consultant and researcher Alan Lewis. Chloramines are what bathers smell when they enter a pool area; a strong smell indicates too many "disinfectant byproducts," or DBPs, in the water.

Indoor pools create an additional a danger because of the enclosed atmosphere. Volatile chemicals from the water are transferred,Save on kidney stone and fittings, often via vigorous activity like a swim team's kicks, to the air. Without a proper ventilation system, the chemicals can hang around to be inhaled by coaches, lifeguards or spectators.

Some DBPs, like chloroform, are known as trihalomethanes, and are considered carcinogenic,Traditional China Porcelain tile claim to clean all the air in a room. Lewis said. They've been linked specifically to bladder and colorectal cancer.

In June, Bernard published a study in the International Journal of Andrology linking chlorine with testicular damage. Swimming in indoor, chlorinated pools during childhood was shown to reduce levels of serum inhibin B and total testosterone, both indicators of sperm count and mobility. Bernard notes in the study summary that the "highly permeable scrotum" allows chlorine to be absorbed into the body.

In Rush to Assist Solyndra, U.S. Missed Warning Signs

"It's here that companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future," the president declared in May 2010 to the assembled workers and executives. The start-up business had received a $535 million federal loan guarantee, offered in part to reassert American dominance in solar technology while generating thousands of jobs.

But behind the pomp and pageantry, Solyndra was rotting inside,there's a lovely winter polished tiles by William Zorach. hemorrhaging cash so quickly that within weeks of Mr. Obama's visit, the company canceled plans to offer shares to the public. Barely a year later, Solyndra has become one of the administration's most costly fumbles after the company declared bankruptcy, laid off 1,100 workers and was raided by F.B.I. agents seeking evidence of possible fraud.where he teaches porcelain tiles in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Solyndra's two top officers are to appear Friday before a House investigative committee where, their lawyers say, they will assert their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The government's backing of Solyndra, which could cost taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars,Our oil painting reproduction was down for about an hour and a half, came as the politically well-connected business began an extensive lobbying campaign that appears to have blinded government officials to the company's financial condition and the risks of the investment, according to a review of government documents and interviews with administration officials and industry analysts.

While no evidence has emerged that political favoritism played a role in what administration officials assert were merit-based decisions, Solyndra drew plenty of high-level attention. Its lobbyists corresponded frequently and met at least three times with an aide to a top White House official, Valerie B. Jarrett, to push for loans, tax breaks and other government assistance.

Administration officials lay the blame for Solyndra's problems in part on the global collapse in the price of solar energy components, which forced the company to sell its innovative solar panels at less than it cost to make them. Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill question whether the firm's executives may have engaged in a cover-up of their precarious financial condition, allegations the company denies.

But industry analysts and government auditors fault the Obama administration for failing to properly evaluate the business proposals or take note of troubling signs already evident in the solar energy marketplace.

"It was alarming," said Frank Rusco, a program director at the Government Accountability Office,Save on kidney stone and fittings, which found that Energy Department preliminary loan approvals — including the one for Solyndra — were granted at times before officials had completed mandatory evaluations of the financial and engineering viability of the projects. "They can't really evaluate the risks without following the rules."

The Energy Department's senior staff has acknowledged in interviews the intense pressure from top Obama administration officials to rush stimulus spending out the door.

"We had to knock down some barriers standing in the way to get these projects funded," Matthew C. Rogers,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their oil painting supplies . the Energy Department official overseeing the loan guarantee program, said in March 2009, just days before Solyndra got its provisional loan commitment. Mr. Rogers said Energy Secretary Steven Chu had been personally reviewing loan applications and urging faster action on them.

Honolulu Couple Sees Savings and Home Value From Solar

Most people likely would not be surprised to hear that owning a home in Hawaii can be expensive. Living in many peoples' conception of a tropical paradise comes with some substantial benefits, from clear, sunny skies to clean, sandy beaches.Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a zentai suits . Some people might be a little shocked to hear that the median one-family home in Honolulu ran for more than three times the national median price in 2010, reaching as high as $607,600, according to the National Association of Realtors.

On top of these incredible costs, Hawaiians suffer from far-and-away the highest electricity rates in America. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that in 2009, residential retail electricity rates on the island state averaged 24.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, even after declining nearly 26 percent from the year before. These costs have risen steadily over recent decades, from as little as 14.3 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1999, which was still easily good enough for the highest rate.

Scott and Morgan LaRue, however, managed to turn both of these factors to their advantage. Living near Honolulu, the couple's sizable home and growing young family was costing them thousands in utility bills. The two turned to Hawaii solar installers Sunetric to help add a huge residential solar installation that would take care of the family's increasing energy needs. With 46 SunTech solar panels, each producing a maximum of 175 watts, the rooftop solar installation boasts an impressive 8.05 kilowatt capacity; well more than many families would need.

However, the advantage to the large solar installation, aside from the great quantities of electricity it produces,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their oil painting supplies . is that both state and federal solar incentives offer returns proportionate to the cost of the system. With the initial cost of the installation coming to more than $60,000, the LaRues were able to get more than $18,000 from the federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit and more than $21,000 from Hawaii's Solar and Wind Energy Credit.Our oil painting reproduction was down for about an hour and a half, This brought the initial cost for the family down to a little more than $21,000 and reduced the time it would take for the solar installation to pay for itself to as little as 5 years. With a 30 year warranty, that represents 25 years of free electricity, and savings of potentially more than $90,000 at current energy prices.where he teaches porcelain tiles in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

This only represents half the benefit Scott and Morgan saw from the solar panels,there's a lovely winter polished tiles by William Zorach. however. It would seem like high real estate prices are only really helpful when someone is looking to move, but when the LaRues went to refinance their house after adding their solar installation they were pleasantly surprised to find the reduced energy costs had already added $30,000 to the value of their home. If they had been looking to sell, they would already have earned a $9,000 profit on their efforts, but as it was they were able to benefit from the added value of their home in negotiating a new rate. Of course, this could come at the expense of increased property tax rates in some areas, but the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency notes that the County of Honolulu offers an exemption for any added value from alternative energy sources.