Tamarac, Florida has awarded its street improvement contract to Miami-Dade based Vila & Son Landscaping Corp. (V&S). The three million dollar project will include planting more than 500 trees and 43,000-plus plants and shrubs, and irrigation and hardscape work. V&S has also contracted to landscape an 86-acre site at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, high school junior, Austin Hammer?EUR??,,????'???s Eagle Scout project won first place prize in the 10-12 grade category of the George and Edythe Taylor student award program of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Projects nominated for the award were judged on social impact, quality, accuracy, creativity, and effectiveness in investigation and communication.
Austin raised funds to purchase and install shades on unshielded mercury vapor lamps, and made presentations to numerous local groups, including zoning boards, and gave ?EUR??,,????'??light tours?EUR??,,????'?? to show the effects of light pollution in local areas.
Austin said he learned something about politics and how to lead people. He noted that Mt. Pleasant, Union and Deerfield Townships, Isabella County, and Central Michigan University have pledged to make changes in their lighting policies.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon State University?EUR??,,????'???s Botany and Plant Pathology program have announced the results of lab tests of infected plant material (Phytophthora ramorum) found at a nursery in Gresham, Oregon: The strain is identical to a type found in Europe. The evidence suggests this is an isolated incident, and did not result from the uncontrolled spread of the pathogen from California.
?EUR??,,????'??The finding effectively rules out the possibility the pathogen spread by natural means from California,?EUR??,,????'?? asserted John Aguirre, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurserymen.
How the European pathogen made its way to a nursery in Gresham is unknown.
Washington, D.C. – American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) members, John C. Watkins, Virginia state senator and president of Watkins Nursery, in Midlothian, Va., and Bob Carden, president of Carden & Sprott Insurance Inc., in Winter Haven, Fla., testified before the House of Representatives?EUR??,,????'??? Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management on July 10. Both Sen. Watkins and Carden highlighted the need for changes to USDA?EUR??,,????'???s crop insurance program as it applies to the nursery industry. Watkins testified on behalf of ANLA.
A major focus of their testimony was the need in the nursery industry for an efficient, affordable and sustainable crop insurance program. The ANLA believes the crop insurance program falls short of adequately addressing the diversity and unique situations presented in an industry that grows thousands of varieties in every state, using an array of production systems and technologies.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a new federal grant program and incentives to develop hazard mitigation plans, hundreds of communities coast to coast are preparing plans to reduce their risks and potential losses from natural catastrophes, the American Planning Association (APA) finds.
?EUR??,,????'??The federal government?EUR??,,????'???s pre-disaster mitigation program is leading many communities to recognize the value good planning plays in keeping development and people out of nature?EUR??,,????'???s way,?EUR??,,????'?? said Paul Farmer, APA executive director. ?EUR??,,????'??In order for communities to be safe and sustainable, they also must be disaster resistant.?EUR??,,????'??
Some 1,200 local pre-disaster mitigation plans are now being reviewed by the 10 regional offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but the number is expected to increase as more communities complete and submit the plans for approval.
Since May, FEMA has issued nearly $10 million to 26 states and one territory to assist local jurisdictions in developing multi-hazard mitigation plans. The deadline for applying for $150 million in pre-disaster planning grants appropriated by Congress for FY2003 is October 6. Congress also approved funds for FY2003 that allow communities to do post-disaster planning.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – John Deere Landscapes recently announced the opening of a new facility in Englewood, approximately 10 miles south of Denver. The branch will feature an extensive inventory of landscape and irrigation equipment, including: sprinklers, valves, controllers, low-voltage lighting products, pumps and fountains, and more.
?EUR??,,????'??The opening of the Englewood location is significant because it marks our expansion into Colorado, and it presents new opportunities to bring the full range of John Deere Landscapes products and services to local contractors,?EUR??,,????'?? said Mark Nattinger, senior vice president.
?EUR??,,????'??Employment of landscape architects is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2010. ... Anticipated growth in residential, commercial, and heavy construction; continued emphasis on preservation and restoration of wetlands; and growth in landscape ecology, the use of techniques from landscape architecture to address environmental problems.?EUR??,,????'??
?EUR??,,????'??Implementation of the Transportation Equity Act is expected to spur employment for landscape architects, particularly in state and local governments.?EUR??,,????'?? Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics
NEWARK, Ohio – Holophane will host a three-day ?EUR??,,????'??Advanced Roadway Lighting?EUR??,,????'?? seminar, September 21 through September 24. The session will be held at the company?EUR??,,????'???s Light and Vision center in Newark, Ohio.
Targeted to roadway lighting designers, department of transportation engineers, engineering consultants and others involved with specifying roadway and high mast lighting, the seminar will explore roadway lighting fundamentals, concepts and designs at various levels.
For more information visit the Holophane website at www.holophane.com.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. & ITASCA, Ill. – The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) announced the publication of information and statistics on U.S. fixed-site amusement ride safety. The information is published in the June-July issue of the National Safety Council (NSC) publication Injury Insights.
Included in the publication are initial injury data from IAAPA?EUR??,,????'???s nationwide incident reporting system, summaries of recent scientific studies focusing on industry safety, and a discussion of how design practices are helping the industry to produce safer recreational activities. To view the report visit: www.nsc.org.
The longest street in the world is Yonge Street, which follows alongside Highway 11 in Canada. The road winds 1,178 miles through Ontario, or the distance from San Diego, California to Seattle, Washington. Long before the road was paved, it was used as a trail from the Toronto Lakeshore to Rainy River by the Huron Indians.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, N.Y. – There were more than typical fireworks in the sky on July 4, as the mountain behind Nellis Air Force Base came alive in a red, white and blue lighting display welcoming back American soldiers from Iraq.
Light America, the company that produced the New York City ?EUR??,,????'??Tribute In Light?EUR??,,????'?? for the World Trade Center, was commissioned to create a larger than life ?EUR??,,????'??Tribute To The Troops?EUR??,,????'?? display as part of the Nellis Air Force Base July 4th celebration.
Osram Sylvania donated the OSRAM XBO Xenon lamps used to create the effect. Osram Sylvania supplied the specialized 7,000 watt lamps needed to produce the over 400,000 watts of power necessary to create an immense amount of focused light.
