Gouverneur delays approval for state DOT

Posted by ledbulbs – May 18, 2012

The village Board of Trustees has delayed a decision that would allow the state Department of Transportation to install a closed drainage system under its streets pending more answers on why it cannot use the same pipeline and to get a better estimate of village costs if it piggybacks improvements onto the Route 11 project.

As part of a $9 million reconstruction of a portion of Route 11 through the village, DOT wants to install storm sewers under North Gordon, Trinity and Austin streets. The village wants to get in on that as part of a solution to deal with its long-standing problem of sanitary and stormwater separation, especially since its system has handled runoff from Route 11 for years.

“I think it’s absurd that they’re not going to accept runoff from the village parking lot,” Planning Board Chairwoman Diane L. Monroe said at a board meeting Tuesday. “Grease is grease.”

The village was told Nov. 16, 2010, that the state could not accept village stormwater into the line because of water quality and contamination issues, DOT spokesman Michael R. Flick said.

However, the village could install a parallel line in the same trench that could cut its price for the cost of the pipe, Mr. Flick said.

The village is working on a state Department of Environmental Conservation consent order to correct sewage overflows caused because its antiquated system combines snowmelt and rain with untreated waste, which overloads manholes. The village is developing a long-term capital project and has already started a cleanup and maintenance program, which has resulted in no overflows in the last two months, and is drafting a schedule of equipment replacement.

“We’re not just blowing smoke here,” Mr. LaPierre said. “We’re going in the right direction.”

The village recently learned it was awarded a $2 million Green Innovation Grant through the state Environmental Facilities Corp. and is in line for other funding. However, it has little spare change, as the total project cost could total $6 million, and there are other ongoing problems with its water and lighting systems.

Mr. Flick declined to estimate the cost to the village of other improvements it could make to water and sewer lines while the road is torn up. DOT estimated the cost several years ago at $890,000 for water line improvements and $80,000 for sewer, but Mr. Flick said the price tag has dropped significantly because of grants the village has received and a partial fix to improve water flow to the Kinney Drugs distribution center will take place before the DOT project begins next year.

The village considers the work that will help Kinney a top priority, said Trustee Ronald P. McDougall, who has asked that it be part of each village board agenda.

“We’re moving forward on this thing,” Mr. McDougall said. “It’s very important for our largest private-sector employer.”

Other businesses are also important in the scheme of the DOT project, including the Casablanca restaurant, A-Plus Autocare and Richardson Flooring, which all stood to lose access and parking spaces under DOT’s original plan, Mrs. Monroe said,

A turning lane along that section of East Main Street was dropped to accommodate those businesses, Mr. Flick said.

“Given the amount of contact and outreach, we thought it solved the problem,” he said.

However, Mrs. Monroe said the public should be able to weigh in on the changes but DOT has no more plans for informational forums.

Supervisors advise San Rafael on how to review development plan

Posted by ledbulbs – May 17, 2012

The Marin County Board of Supervisors, citing community concerns about a controversial sports complex proposed in San Rafael, wants the San Rafael City Council to do the right thing: listen to the people and consider the project’s impacts before making a decision.

The board unanimously dispatched a letter to city officials Tuesday, urging them to consider issues including runoff, levees, wetlands, protected species, outdoor hours of operation, lighting and safety when reviewing plans for a soccer, gymnastics and dance studio operation on part of the 120-acre San Rafael Airport property.

The county board also expressed concern that the complex might include advertising promoting alcohol.

The county letter advising San Rafael on good government was urged by Supervisors Susan Adams and Katie Rice, who noted that the complex is proposed near unincorporated-area residential communities.

A number of residents urged the county board to offer its advice, with Santa Venetia resident Mary Feller saying county residents who live near the area are being ignored at City Hall. “The city is not listening to us. They don’t care what we say because we don’t vote for them,” Feller said.

“You’re not interfering with (San Rafael officials),” Terra Linda resident Barry Taranto added. “You’re expressing a concern of the whole community.”

San Rafael Airport LLC’s plan to build a 35-foot-tall building along Gallinas Creek with two indoor soccer fields, a dance and gymnastics training compound, a cafe that sells wine and beer, locker rooms and offices had been on hold for about two years when it was revived in 2011.

In addition to the indoor facility, the applicant also plans to construct two outdoor sports fields — one lighted — with synthetic “field turf” instead of grass and two parking lots with almost 300 spaces.

An estimated 700 to 1,000 patrons plus 12 full-time employees would use the complex daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Outdoor soccer would likely be played until 10 p.m.

Adams said the letter will let the city know “we’re paying attention.” The dispatch ultimately was toned down but drew unanimous support, even though Supervisor Judy Arnold initially called it an issue of “local control” that should be left in the hands of the City Council.

San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips said Wednesday he wants to review the county letter before making a comment on it.

Aquatic-Themed Carousel is Taking Shape in Battery Park

Posted by ledbulbs – May 16, 2012

A new aquatic-themed carousel that will feature dozens of giant fish in the place of carousel horses is rapidly taking shape in Battery Park.

The $16 million SeaGlass, a whimsical but educational ride designed to immerse visitors in the sights and sounds of the ocean, won’t open until the spring of 2013, but workers have already poured the concrete foundation, and the carousel’s massive turntable is set to arrive this week, officials said.

By the late fall, a domed structure rising above the turntable will house 30 fish sculptures, created by George Tsypin, who designed “The Little Mermaid” for Broadway. The luminescent fish will stand more than 9 feet tall and will glow with internal LED and fiber-optic lights. In the center of each fish, Tsypin is carving out a space so visitors can sit inside.

“He doesn’t want you to ride the fish,” Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, said of Tsypin’s vision. “He wants you to become the fish.”

During the ride, which will last about 3 minutes, SeaGlass will reverberate with music scored to resemble deep underwater sounds, and projections of fish swimming through New York Harbor will flit across the walls.

The carousel has three interior turntables in addition to the one large one, which will give riders a sense of gliding freely through water rather than just rotating in a circle, Price said.

SeaGlass is designed to recall the original New York Aquarium, which opened in Battery Park’s Castle Clinton in 1896 and drew millions of visitors before closing in 1941.

The Battery Conservancy is working with the aquarium, now based in Coney Island, to develop educational materials about the fish and the harbor, to enhance the experience for school groups, Price said.

But SeaGlass will also be open into the evening, and Price hopes adults will give it a spin as well.

“It’s not going to be just for children — it’s for everyone,” she said.

SeaGlass is just one piece of a major redevelopment of Battery Park that is entering its final stages this year. By the end of 2012, 97 percent of the 25-acre park will either be under construction or will have been completed, Price told the Lower Manhattan Marketing Association last week.

Another Award for Redding School of the Arts

Posted by ledbulbs – May 15, 2012

Redding School of the Arts has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED is an internationally recognized rating system designed to provide owners a path toward “greener” design,  building  and  operations  practices.

Although  there  are  currently  more than  12,000  LEED-certified projects in 120 countries around the world, Redding School of the Arts is noteworthy for  being  the  first  new  school  campus  anywhere  to  achieve  the  Platinum  rating  under  the rigorous LEED for Schools 2009 standards.

“Redding  School of the Arts’ LEED  certification  demonstrates  tremendous  green  building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council.

“The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than  ever  before,  and this school  serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”

Completed in the fall of 2011, Redding School of the Arts is a 77,000 square—foot, K—8 public charter  school  designed  by  Trilogy  Architecture.  It  was  awarded  LEED  certification  for achievements  in  energy  use,  lighting  applications,  water  conservation  and  collection,  and building  material  components,  as  well  as  for  incorporating  a  variety  of  other  sustainable strategies.  The  school  was  funded  by  the  McConnell  Foundation  and  constructed  by  Gifford Construction.

Lee Salter, President and CEO of The McConnell Foundation, said, “We’re pleased to see Redding School of the Arts and Trilogy Architecture gain this recognition. The Foundation is proud to have funded this project and worked so closely with so many talented and visionary people to achieve our goal of building a sustainable school.”

LEED certification of the school was based on myriad green design and construction features that positively impact both the school itself and the broader community. Some of these features include the use of non—toxic paints; the use of more than 25 percent of building materials with recycled content,  and  the  recycling  of  almost  85 percent  of  construction  debris.

Water-saving  devices  are expected to save almost 500,000 gallons of water per year.   Bicycle and pedestrian walking paths to adjacent neighborhoods, bus service and even electric car recharging stations were all designed to minimize traditional car transportation.  With 100 year–old recycled redwood siding, windows into the mechanical spaces and elevator, an exposed steel structure and a building dashboard  to  show  everyone  how  well  the  building  is  actually  performing,  there  is  a transparency designed into the school’s inner workings that functions as a story to be absorbed by students, teachers and parents alike.

Designers understand impact of tall, thin

Posted by ledbulbs – May 14, 2012

Patterned wallpaper or painted stripes on a wall can also help do the trick. For tile bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes, Quinn suggests hanging rectangular subway-style wall tiles vertically, so they appear as tall, thin pieces. People normally use subway tiles horizontally, presenting them as short, wide rectangles.

The same principles work in reverse. You can bring a large room down to a more comfortable scale by adding horizontal lines through contrasting colors or added surfaces.

A kitchen island with several levels will make a high-ceilinged kitchen feel cozier, says Quinn. To decorate a huge loft space recently, Schuneman used “lower seating profiles for all the couches and side chairs, and that really created a nook within a big space.” It became “a room within a room,” ideal for intimate conversation.

Lighting also can bring a large room down to size or add the impression of lift to lower ceilings.

“When spaces are tall, grounding them with pendant lights or chandeliers really makes a space seem more intimate,” Flynn says.

Quinn agrees: We notice hanging lights in relation to the heads of people standing in a room. Lights that hang within a few inches of the heads of your tallest guests will make even a very tall room feel warm and welcoming.

For low-ceilinged rooms, try recessed ceiling lighting instead of hanging lights. Quinn suggests choosing smaller, pin-point recessed lights rather than the wider, can lights. The larger ones can make you feel as though a spotlight is bearing down on you. Another trick: If your ceiling lighting can be positioned, point lights toward the sides of the room rather than directly downward. This widens and opens up the space.

You can have fun with height in bedrooms, Flynn says, even if the ceiling is low. “I do this by playing with scale and proportion in relation to tall, architectural headboards or platform beds,” he says. “Similar to a giant chandelier in a grand entry, I love walking into a bedroom and being greeted by a statement bed. To keep a tall headboard from being too tall, I counterbalance it with hefty bedside chests, and either hanging pendant lamps above them, or by bringing in super-tall table lamps.”

Or use art to play with dimensions: “A super wide, extra tall piece of art over a simple sofa in a living room can strike the perfect balance between the furnishings and the architecture,” Flynn says.

Furniture that extends to the ceiling can “visually open up the space, but also give you all that storage you’d lose otherwise,” Schuneman says. So build custom cabinets all the way to the ceiling or choose pieces of furniture that reach as close to your ceiling as possible.

“People often use a cabinet that they already have, which doesn’t reach the ceiling, and then try to add storage baskets on top,” he says, “instead of buying the right piece – that taller piece – from the beginning.”

Audi A5 Coupe

Posted by ledbulbs – May 10, 2012

Audi’s car range has been growing faster than any other marque, with a constant tsunami of new models being added to the line-up. This one, the A5 Coupe, is one of Audi’s halo cars, a desirable high-performance model with pumped-up styling and plenty of muscle under the bonnet.

Recent updating to the A5 Coupe has refreshed it in line with changes applied to the entire A5 range. There are a few minor alterations to the exterior styling: new bumpers, headlamps and rear lights, with LED running lights added along the lower edges of the headlights. More changes have been made inside: a new steering wheel, revised steering column stalks and restyled instruments. This detailed updating has given the car a subtle progression from its predecessor.

Prices for the A5 Coupe start from 26,490 for a 1.8 TFSI petrol model. At the top of the range, important change has taken place under the bonnet. The svelte Audi has a new V6 three-litre engine. Power is increased to 242 bhp and 368 lb ft of peak torque. The car we test here is the range-topping 3.0 TDI Quattro S Line S tronic. The transmission is a seven-speed twin-clutch auto.

This up-scale coupe has the quattro four-wheel-drive system, designed to keep the car glued to the road whilst lavish use is made of its considerable performance on a demanding route. The famous Stelvio pass through the Italian Alps? Scotland’s best driving road between Skye and Torridon? Bring it on. This is a car designed to make the best of such demanding terrain.

Here is a car that will reach 60 mph in well under six seconds, with a top speed potential of 155 mph. Such a pace is purely academic on UK roads, of course, but knowing how much is still in hand at 70 mph is something for an owner to feel smug about. It looks good too, especially in this eye-magnet shade of red.

This car is stunningly quick. It is also discreet about its huge performance. Its acceleration figure of 5.8 seconds from stationary to 62 mph is in supercar territory, but its style is smooth elegance rather than look-at-me brashness. Power delivery is smoothly un-temperamental, which makes this a practical supercar that you can live with on a daily basis. The quattro system gives the A5 Coupe a grounded feel in tricky conditions, such as when driving very fast on a twisty route, or in heavy rain.

Fuel economy is very reasonable, on paper at least. Make liberal use of this car’s considerable power, and you would struggle to get close to the quoted combined economy figure of just under 50 mpg, but over 40 mpg should be easily achievable in moderate everyday driving. The CO2 figure of 149 g/km is better than might be expected for a car with this level of performance.

Microsemi Unveils Ultra-fast-startup LED Driver for Linear Lighting Fixtures

Posted by ledbulbs – May 9, 2012

Microsemi Corporation MSCC +0.14% , a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today unveiled a new dimmable LED driver module optimized for worldwide residential, commercial and industrial light fixtures.

The 30 watt (W) LXMG221W-0700030-D0(TM) LED driver enables start up times of 150 milliseconds (ms) or faster, closely emulating the “lights-on” performance of a typical incandescent lamp. This is important for home and business applications where light start-up delays are unacceptable. Microsemi’s new ENERGY STAR-compliant, solid state LED driver provides over voltage and current protection, as well as automatic over-temperature shutdown to facilitate reliable and safe operation.

According to estimates from industry analyst firm Strategies Unlimited, the commercial, industrial and residential LED fixture market approached $3 billion in 2011, excluding lamp replacement fixtures. The total LED fixture market is expected to increase at a compound annual revenue growth rate of approximately 20 percent from 2011 to 2016.

“The adoption of regulations imposing a phase-out of inefficient incandescent lamps is driving the growth of alternative light sources including energy-efficient LEDs globally,” stated Irene Signorino, director of business development at Microsemi. “Our new LED driver allows light fixture manufacturers to capitalize on this growing market opportunity. As always, we remain committed to applying our expertise in lighting and power matters to solving challenging industry issues.”

Power-efficient LED lights are becoming increasingly popular for use in homes and businesses alike. However, the energy-savings benefits often don’t outweigh the instant-lighting performance that people have come to expect from incandescent lights in such applications. Microsemi’s new LED driver solves this issue by delivering a 150ms or shorter startup time that is not noticeable by the human eye. This attribute, coupled with the device’s form factor and power/current levels, makes it ideal for use in areas where “instant-on” lighting is required or expected.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related new dimmable LED driver module optimized for worldwide residential, commercial and industrial light fixtures, and its potential effects on future business, are forward-looking statements.

With winds at its back, Rockland Community Sailing soars into season

Posted by ledbulbs – May 8, 2012

“Go home, finish your homework, and come back and sail under the stars,” said coach Patrick DiLalla. And that is just what the Rockland Community Sailing high school team members did April 26 during the program’s first night practice off The Apprenticeshop docks in Lermond Cove, Rockland Harbor.

As the sun set at 7:30 p.m. that day, the young sailors festooned themselves and their boats with flashlights, neon colored glow sticks, flashing LED lights and numerous other illuminating devices and headed out into the harbor. Accompanied by three motor safety boats, 23 sailors in 10 420 sailboats could be heard shouting commands and advice while they practiced racing for upcoming regattas, said Kevin “KC” Heyniger, waterfront programs manager for Rockland Community Sailing Rockland Community Sailing at the Apprenticeshop.

On that late-April night, the “FMC factory, shimmering with yellow lights and vaporous steam clouds looked like a scene from a science fiction movie and bathed everything in an eerie golden glow,” Heyniger said. “The waters shimmered like volcanic lava with ghost-like white sailboats darting on the surface. Pink and green race buoys resembled giant Christmas bulbs floating on the water as coaches in chase boats shone powerful spotlights on them to guide sailors around the course,” he said.

This once-a-season practice was created as a fun and unique team building activity, Heyniger said. Sailing at night always is a bit mysterious and the team felt it would be a really cool idea, he said. However, the coaches noticed an unexpected benefit.

“Sailors talk about ‘feeling’ the boat moving fast and smooth — it’s a sense of being in harmony with the wind and waves,” said coach DiLalla. “Sometimes we actually blindfold one crew while the other keeps lookout to develop this ‘sixth sense.’ However, the night setting forces everyone to feel how the sails are pulling, listen to the hull gurgling, and sense being in ‘the groove’ that makes a boat sail fast.”

The darkness also sharpened people’s awareness and communications, the coach said. “You had to pay more attention to where you were going and where everyone else was — you couldn’t just depend on your vision,” said DiLalla.

The RCS high school team program features both spring and fall seasons. Each season includes two practices a week for six weeks. Midcoast student in grades 7‐12 are welcome to participate. No prior sailing experience is necessary. DiLalla, former RCS head instructor, ocean sailor, and skilled carpenter, is the volunteer coach.

RCS high school sailing began in 2003 with four local students. Along with sailing, team members helped maintain boats, coordinate regatta attendance, and hold an end‐of‐season informal awards party. Student involvement is a key component to give participants ownership and responsibility for the team while developing important life skills for their future endeavors.

Cue the experts

Posted by ledbulbs – May 7, 2012

“The key is to look directly into the camera,” Stewart, a former Fox 61 TV anchor, tells Eisen, who is about to make his first on-air appearance. “If you are looking all around, you don’t look like an expert.

“And don’t forget to smile when they introduce you,” Stewart added.

Eisen is getting a crash course on being an on-air personality in a new multimedia video studio that the hospital recently opened inside its main campus on Seymour Street. The studio allows the medical center’s surgeons and physicians to communicate with local, national and even international TV networks live or on tape.

The $75,000 studio, which was financed through a fundraising campaign by the medical staff, isn’t a typical investment made by a hospital. In fact, Hartford Hospital is the only medical center in Connecticut that has one.

So what’s the purpose? Simply put, it’s about raising the profile of the hospital as it tries to catapult itself into the top tier of medical centers in the country.

“The goal is to make our experts as accessible as possible,” said Stewart, who championed the idea.

Jeffrey Flaks, Hartford Hospital’s CEO, said the video studio fits in with the hospital’s vision of becoming a destination medical center because it helps bring more attention to the capabilities of the hospital and its staff.

He said the hospital has world-class doctors who have penned scientific studies and made surgical advances so getting their stories out to a national audience is important, especially when the hospital is competing on a worldwide scale for talent.

And as the hospital gets more national attention, it has a better chance of being asked to participate in research opportunities that will bring clinical trials and the latest surgical techniques and devices to the Hartford market first.

“Creating awareness for our programs, services, and doctors helps us recruit physicians,” Flaks said. “It gives our people more of a national profile.”

The hospital’s video production technology is part of a service provided by Massachusetts-based VideoLink Inc., whose product ReadyCam, is a remotely-operated studio that can be installed in any office or conference room.

The hospital’s 16-by-20 square foot studio is equipped with a background, lighting, a director’s chair and camera, which is capable of transmitting HD video directly to any network around the world. It can also be used to create video for internal and external communications.

Video production is taken care of offsite by VideoLink, so the hospital doesn’t have to invest in a video staff.

Prior to having its own video studio, Stewart said, the hospital would have to send its experts to local TV stations, ESPN, or even New York in order to get them in front of a camera.

That was inefficient, and sometimes caused them to miss out on opportunities to get their experts on-air for breaking news stories related to health care.

The world’s clean energy advance

Posted by ledbulbs – May 4, 2012

This past week the Clean Energy Ministerial met in London and had its most successful meeting to date, greatly expanding a number of its climate-friendly technology cooperation commitments, while also introducing new initiatives, including a partnership to utilise renewable energy and energy efficiency through smart grids.

The Clean Energy Ministerial, launched by the US in 2010, is a collaborative effort to promote policies, programs, and technical solutions that accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy among 22 national governments and the European Union, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

The meeting in London also united the Clean Energy Ministerial with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative. Sustainable Energy for All has emerged as the key goal for the upcoming Rio+20 Conference in June, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when the UN framework conventions on climate change, biological diversity, and desertification were created.

Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Initiative

The ongoing ‘Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Initiative’ announced several new developments that should accelerate efforts to improve energy efficiency. This included a new effort to shift to more efficient lighting technologies led by India in partnership with the $20 million UN Environment Program’s enlighten initiative, which could reduce global electricity consumption by 2.5 per cent. This is critical for the overall Clean Energy Ministerial goals of eliminating the need for 650 mid-size power plants worldwide and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 11 billion tonnes from 2010 to 2030, all while saving billions of dollars.

Solar and LED Energy Access Partnership

The Clean Energy Ministerial also announced the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership to provide modern, low-cost energy options for the world’s poor. The partnership expands on the existing Solar and LED Energy Access Initiative led by the United States and Italy.

The Solar and LED Energy Access Initiative has already helped facilitate the sale of 500,000 off-grid lighting systems in Africa, helping the Lighting Africa program in its mission to provide modern, reliable off-grid lighting to 2.5 million people in Africa by 2012. Lighting India, a similar program, aims to provide modern lighting services to two million people in India by 2015. These initiatives will advance the Clean Energy Ministerial’s overall goal of expanding energy access to 10 million people by 2015.

Clean Energy Solutions Center

A year ago at the second-annual Clean Energy Ministerial meeting, Australia and the United States took the lead on the creation of the Clean Energy Solutions Center – a new Internet-based technical assistance project to provide low-cost, high-impact support to clean energy practitioners and policymakers implementing clean energy and efficiency policies. Now in partnership with UN Energy, the Clean Energy Solutions Center has expanded to a $15 million project with more than 10,000 users from 150 countries so far. In London the ClimateWorks Foundation announced a $1 million in-kind commitment to support for this project over three years.