| Town Decrees Solar Panels Ugly, Family Fights Back
I always find amusing the rules that some of my friends around the country must abide by when living in community housing developments. Your grass can only be so high, children's toys must be kept to a minimum outside, your house can only be certain shades of color, etc. etc. It's a frightening utopia of meaningless laws and trivial worry. When I heard that the town of Scarsdale denied a family the opportunity to put up solar panels — on the basis that they were ugly and "not in keeping with the character of the community" — I immediately wanted to cry/laugh. You have got to be kidding me. But then I thought that such reactions are probably not too uncommon. We live in a world with designer water, designer shampoo, and animal spas. People have become so accustomed to modular cookie-cutter homes with white picket-fences and weed-free sidewalks — that they've actually forgotten there's a world of people out there who could care less and actually would like to live a unique existence; with character and vision for their own lives.
No trailers for Schneider Homes
MOSES LAKE -- There will not be a manufactured home park in the Cascade Valley annexation according to Schneider Homes, Inc.Phil Grosso, Schneider's representative, came before the Moses Lake Council to clear up rumors surrounding the use of the land.All of the rumors citizens are hearing are false, he said. He is unsure where the rumors may have originated.
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City talks trash - universal increase may be on the way
Discounted refuse collection rates for Eden seniors have been trashed, and City Manager Brad Corcoran hinted that across-the-board increases could come in several months. Effective May 1, residents over 65 who dump less than 30 gallons of refuse a month will pay $8.50 per month. This rate replaces the current charge of $7.02 per month. At Tuesday's city council meeting, Councilman C.H. Gover asked if council was required to change refuse collection rates because of a legal opinion. During discussions for the upcoming budget, Tammie McMichael, Eden's director of Finance and Personnel, contacted a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government for her opinion on the city's refuse collection rates. "Generally, a local government can provide different rates for different classes of service," wrote Kara Millonzi, the professor, in an email to McMichael.
Piketon plant gets license
PIKETON -USEC Inc. received a license Friday to commercially enrich uranium, and with it, a hope that the Piketon plant will be able to provide more jobs. The enrichment plant that used to operate on the Department of Energy reservation was closed years ago, said Elizabeth Stuckle, spokeswoman for USEC. Since then, the company has been doing Energy Department contract work. .
American Homestar Partners with The Home Depot to Provide Quality ...
HOUSTON -- American Homestar Corporation (Pink Sheets: AHMS) today announced a new initiative, with The Home Depot, to provide housing to the Gulf Coast markets affected by hurricanes in 2005. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, more than 250,000 homes were destroyed throughout the Gulf Coast, leaving nearly 800,000 people without a principal residence. Rebuilding efforts have been slow in many areas due, in part, to shortages of construction materials and skilled construction labor. The Home Depots Home Services, in partnership with Homestar Builders (a division of American Homestar Corporation), has just introduced the Homestar Homes program, which provides high-quality, affordable, permanent homes to residents who plan to rebuild in the area. Nine different home models, ranging from 620 to 2,078 square feet, have been developed for the introduction of this program.
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