Hey there and Hello . . . Today is April 4th . . . The war seems to be moving ahead well, and by the time you read this hopefully it will be on its way to complete victory . . . How the war will play for or against the profession and the construction industry will obviously be influenced by its duration. However, there is one statistic from the latest Housing Starts report by the Department of Commerce that I believe says a lot about the current situation. In all three categories (1 unit, 2-4 units, and 5+ units), new housing starts that were authorized but not started were up 25%. What this tells me is that there are a lot of projects in which the plans are already complete, that won't get built until the war is either over or progresses to a point that the investors are no longer worried. The bad news is that the investors may begin to slow down initiating new projects to allow their permitted projects to get under way. The good news is that, during this lull, demand for facilities will continue to increase while supply will dwindle. If the war progesses positively, we could see a situation where it takes several years for the supply to again catch up to the demand, keeping the profession in a state of consistant work for the next several years . . . I know there are a lot of "coulds" and "woulds" in there but that is the nature of the situation in which we all are affected . . . At least the lights are not going out in the cities of America . . . Although . . . there are some who don't necessarily think that is a good thing . . . No . . . I'm not talking about terrorists . . I'm simply referring to the burgeoning Dark Sky movement. As many of you are very aware, there are more and more ordinances popping up across America limiting . . . or redirecting as it were . . . the use of outdoor lighting. To almost everyone, this idea has a great deal of merit. Landscapes that reduce 'Glow' and 'Trespass' and 'Glare' are easy to visualize. However, how to legislate these elements of the night is a subject creating quite a bit of conversation these days. In landscapearchitect.com there is a growing archive of industry leaders talking about the subject. If you go to the site and click the "Dark Sky" link, then view the comments, you can see the sincerity of the contributors and the scope of the subject . . . Feel free to add your comments as you see fit. You can also turn to page 86 to read some of the ordinance language being presented by both the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). There you will also find related web links to further explore the subject . . . And . . . While you are at landscapearchitect.com, remember to check out the Professional Profiles of the ASLA Fellows and other industry movers and shakers. Just type in your friends last name in the front page search and wait one second for the results . . . Not only can you read about your friends, mentors and peers, but you can also add your good wishes and comments to and about those individuals . . . Be sure to let us know if we left anyone out . . . God Bless you all and have a Happy Easter . . .