Christie antiques show returns this weekend

The Christie Antique and Vintage Show is back this weekend, with a treasure trove of furniture, jewelry, clothing, art, memorabilia and more. 

The spring show, on Saturday, May 27 at Christie Lake Conservation Area (100 Hwy. 5 W., Dundas), will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. 

Parking is free, but visitors are asked to leave their pets at home. There will be free shuttle buses from the parking lots to the gates, and food court and picnic areas on site plus a beer and wine tent.

The show also offers free pick-up service from booth to vehicle, and Carter Lease and Rentals will be onsite with rental vans available if you need to transport large items off site.

For advance tickets, go to 

Resource :http://www.thespec.com/living-story/7332653-christie-antiques-show-returns-this-weekend/

‘Entourage’ Star Jeremy Piven’s Malibu Beach House Is for Rent and for Sale (EXCLUSIVE)

SELLER: Jeremy Piven
LOCATION: Malibu, CA
PRICE: $10,495,000
SIZE: 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: With rumors rampant he’s in the process of acquiring a home high in the Hollywood Hills — a bit more on that in a minute — Jeremy Piven hoisted his longtime residence in Malibu up for sale at $10.495 million. The “Entourage” star, who more recently portrayed the titular character on the now cancelled British-American period TV series “Mr Selfridge,” purchased the beachfront house in July 2004 for $3.5 million. Since 2014 the property has been available several times as a short-term luxury lease with asking prices between $35,000 and $50,000 per month and it’s currently listed as a furnished summer rental at $40,000 per month.

A gated and trellis-shaded courtyard entry laden with potted plants leads to the front door of the vine-encrusted residence that’s decorated — or at least furnished if not exactly decorated — with a hodgepodge of carved Balinese-style furniture and a remarkable number of Buddhist figurines. A slender entrance hall leads to a spacious open-plan living/dining area with two sets of glass sliders that open to a slender, oceanfront deck with free-standing spa tub. Open to the dining area over a long peninsula countertop with raised snack bar, the kitchen won’t win any style awards with its practical if pedestrian white, raised panel cabinets and mud-colored granite countertops but it does offer a costly array of premium quality appliances. There are two guest bedrooms on the main floor, per listing details, plus a mirror-walled yoga studio/fitness room.

A media lounge with state-of-the-art projection equipment on the uppermost floor is joined by a guest bedroom and bathroom plus a master suite with roomy bedroom, ocean-view bathroom, walk-in closet and private deck with sweeping views up and down the coastline. A sprawling entertainment room on the lowest level, where listing photos show a full drum set and extensive lounge seating, includes a walk-in wet bar, a dry sauna and a beach-side deck that runs the full width of the house with built-in bench seating and steps down to the beach that, according to listings, remains desirably dry even at higher tides.

So the celebrity real estate rumor mill goes via the property gossips at The Real Deal, Mister Piven, set to star with Eva Longoria and Jamie Foxx in the comedy “All Star Weekend,” plans to purchase a new home in the Mount Olympus neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills. The 2,851-square-foot, two-story residence, need of a spiffing up and described in marketing materials as a “French style house,” has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a double-height atrium entry, swimming pool and extensive decks with panoramic mountain views over Laurel Canyon.

Since June 2011 Mister Piven has maintained a 3,012-square-foot duplex penthouse with almost 1,000-square-feet of private terraces in a snazzy boutique building in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood that he bought in June 2011 for $4,582,125 from former professional baseball player Mike Piazza.

listing photos: Pinnacle Estate Properties

Resource : http://variety.com/2017/dirt/real-estalker/eremy-piven-malibu-beach-house-1202443275/

Philly tops list of 10 most affordable retail locations

 Retailers who want a prime location but also one that’s affordable should check out Philadelphia, Chicago and Seattle.

That’s according to JLL’s inaugural City Retail report, which reveals the 10 most affordable and desirable prime urban retail corridors in the United States based on average asking rent per square foot. The districts have growing populations of working millennials, rising foodie scenes, and trendy mixes of up-and-coming retailers and well-known brands. These factors combine to create affordability and stability—the ideal scenario for retailers and investors that want to expand, according to JLL.

"In retail, store location is everything – pick the wrong corner and your brilliant concept can fail," said Naveen Jaggi, president of retail brokerage and capital markets, JLL. "We know that sometimes retailers want that prime main-and-main location, but just don't have the budget. So, we looked at core U.S. cities to find more affordable areas for retail expansion.”

According to JLL, prime rents in the following 10 prime urban retail corridors are the most affordable on a per-square-foot basis:
Market East, Philadelphia: Once home to vacant lots and failed fortress malls, Market East now attracts large-format retailers looking to tap into the swelling millennial and empty-nester population. Market East's average asking prime retail rent is $50 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 25%.

Wicker Park, Chicago: This edgy, off-the-beaten path foodie destination is seeing an uptick in residential development, piquing international investor and retailer interest. Wicker Park's average asking prime retail rent is $55 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 4.5%.

Pike Street, Seattle: Filled with a stable collection of apparel and restaurants, Pike Street serves Seattle's CBD and is expanding east toward Capitol Hill with new restaurants. Pike Street's average asking prime retail rent is $65 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 18.2%.

Fulton Market, Chicago: Once a hub for industrial and meat distribution, Fulton Market in the West Loop submarket is known for its killer restaurant scene, but is now garnering attention from apparel retailers and investors as it becomes a growth market for corporate headquarters. Average asking prime retail rent is $75 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 8.9%.

The Marina, San Francisco: This corridor has seen a spike of athleisure and boutique fitness studios, adding to its long-standing assortment of neighborhood retail and restaurants. The average asking prime retail rent is $85 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 7.7%.

University Avenue, Silicon Valley: Palo Alto's tech boom is creating a retail sea change with more non-chain boutiques and home goods stores moving in to University Avenue. The average asking prime retail rent is $90 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 7.9%.

Hayes Valley, San Francisco: Opportunities for investment and new storefronts in Hayes Valley is shrinking as housing values increase and entertainment venues play host to tourists. The average prime asking retail rent is $90 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 4.7%.

Design District, Miami: Textile and furniture factories once lined the Design District, which is now a curated assortment of luxury retailers, art galleries and restaurants. Phase II of development will add 60 new tenants to the market. The average prime asking retail rent is $95 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 2.2%.

Metro Center, Washington, DC: Well positioned between the White House and Chinatown, Metro Center is where people go to shop at well-known brands and discount retailers. The average asking prime retail rent is $100 p.s.f., with annual rent growth remaining flat.

Fillmore, San Francisco: It's been eight years since the transformation of the Fillmore corridor started, and today luxury lite retailers are dominating the retail scene. The average asking prime retail rent is $115 p.s.f., with annual rent growth of 13.6%. Prime Urban Retail Corridors are the New High Streets

"We expect the value of real estate in these select corridors to rise over the long-term, and retailers to remain vigilant in their expansions. But, as competition rises and consumer buying habits shift, retailers will search for opportunities to get more bang for their buck," concluded James Cook, director of retail research, JLL, which is the largest third party retail property manager in the United States with more than 1,000 centers, totaling 125 million square feet under management, lease and sale.

 Resource :http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/philly-tops-list-10-most-affordable-retail-locations

Staged to sell: New business rents furniture and accessories to home builders, homeowners and realtors

WEST FARGO—Home builders, real estate agents and homeowners have a new tool at their disposal in the quest for higher home sale prices.

The Private Collection, a business that rents furniture and decor to be used for home staging, opened here last fall. Clients have the option of renting furniture piece-by-piece or asking its owners, Trever Hill and Susan Hozak-Cardinal, to professionally stage the home for them.

Home staging is the art of furnishing and decorating a house to sell quickly and for more money. The National Association of Realtors reports that for every $100 invested in staging, the potential return is $400.

There are many reasons selling an empty house can be a challenge. For one, Hill said buyers often misjudge empty rooms as being too big or small.

"They'll walk in and think 'Wow, it's kind of a small dining room,' but it's really not," he said. "If you get furniture in there, you realize it's a really spacious room."

The Private Collection carries furniture that will work in almost any size and layout, he said.

Hill and Hozak-Cardinal hand picked each item from high end and local vendors such as Room & Board, New Pacific Direct, McNeal & Friends, Scheels Home & Hardware and HomeGoods. Styles range from modern and contemporary to traditional and farmhouse.

A 'Gateway' to a new business

Hill has been interested in decorating and design for as long as he can remember. He got his start decorating the homes of friends and family while he was still in high school in his hometown of Spearfish, S.D.

In 2009, he established his own interior design firm, Home Suite Couture, here in Fargo. At the time, he was also working full time as the internet manager for Gateway Chevrolet Cadillac Hyundai Nissan in Fargo. In 2014, he left Gateway to become the specialty shop manager for Scheels Home and Hardware.

Within months of accepting that role, Hill was named a Top 5 Decorator/Designer by Design & Living Magazine. After that, Hill said "everything just exploded."

He renamed his company Trever Hill Design and began working on his own full time. Hill said realtors often asked him if there was anywhere they could rent furniture for a home on the market.

When he realized there were few options, he turned Hozak-Cardinal, the wife of a former Gateway co-worker. The two got to know each other well when Hill worked on their home back in 2014. She agreed there was a real opportunity for them to fill a market niche.




They started buying furniture last May and staged their first home last fall.

Hozak-Cardinal, who also works as the director of marketing for Friendly Smiles in Fargo, mainly takes care of the business operations, but she also has a hand in staging homes. She recently staged a home built by Titan Homes featured in this spring's Parade of Homes. That's where they held a ribbon cutting with the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber last month.

"That was good for us," Hozak-Cardinal said. "A lot of people hadn't heard about us. That really helped get the word out."

BUSINESS PROFILE

What: The Private Collection

Contact: (701) 715-3077 or info@privatecollectionfargo.com.

Online: www.privatecollectionfargo.com

Resource : http://www.inforum.com/business/4271223-staged-sell-new-business-rents-furniture-and-accessories-home-builders-homeowners

Welcome to Everyday Life of a Muslim in Times of Lynch Mob

A couple of months back we were looking to change our rented apartment. As our kid grew, we felt our need for space grow and so we started doing the weekend exercise of searching for a bigger house. We all know it is difficult for a Muslim to get a house and we had a matter-of-fact approach to this problem. We told our broker upfront that we were Muslims and to kindly refrain from hiding our identity. We asked him to ensure the landlord was absolutely okay with renting out to Muslims and only then shall we step into the premises to have a look at the house.

The broker was a young man and was effaced by our bluntness, he smiled apologetically. While this did narrow down our options, but also saved us a lot of time and energy. After about two months of actively seeking a new place, we finally liked, let me rephrase, loved an apartment. It was open, airy, suitably located, in budget and did not compromise on the quality of lifestyle that we wanted for ourselves. The landlord was an affable sweet man and we instantly knew we had finally found a new home.


As we settled in, we got the various daily needs streamlined. The vegetable vendor, the florist, the milkman and the local meat shop — all home delivered. Our building guards always call on the intercom to check before allowing entry to a visitor. Once in a while, when my meat seller delivers the orders, be it fish, chicken our mutton, we get a call saying ‘mutton aaya hai’. And we freak out every time this happens.


At first, we scolded the delivery boy to say it’s just a ‘food’ item. But he would forget and on every delivery, we heard on the intercom, ‘mutton aaya hai’. The words just sounded ominous. Looking at our exasperation, the delivery boy finally asked, but why do you ask me not to say ‘mutton’? I replied, “Kya pata tumhara mutton kab beef ban jaaye?”




Any meat cooked in a Muslim house today is after all considered beef. My Muslim maid tells me of the many times she has been asked by other maids if we cook beef at home. We don’t. But we still live in paranoia. Just look at news around you, there is no time for clarifications, mere suspicion is enough to humiliate, or worse, to kill a Muslim.

If ever there is confusion over the kind of meat being delivered at our place, however unwittingly, we will be just another number to be held against the community. For there is no fringe lynch mob, it’s all around us.

I remember, when finalizing this house, we had walked around the neighbourhood checking the clubhouse, swimming pool and other sports facilities available. We were a happy twosome, already making plans for our new home. We decided to ring the bell of one of the houses in our building and ask about the pros and cons of the apartment. The door was opened by a cheerful couple with big warm smiles, the kinds one instantly likes. We told them we were planning to shift and they seemed happy to talk to us. After a few pleasantries, they invited us for tea. As we settled down in their sofa set, tea arrived.

As an afterthought, they asked us, ‘oh, and what is your name?’ We realized that in the excitement of meeting new people, none of us had bothered to introduce ourselves. So we offered our names. Suddenly, as we picked up the tea cups in our hands, we were aware of a hesitant and momentary silence. As the noiseless exchange of glances happened, I remembered hearing a story of people who destroy the tea cups used by Muslims. Suddenly, I felt very sad for the fine china cup in my hand. What a waste of such a beauty! It’s only fault being its fate to be in my hands.

I also realized that these were no longer the times when you can enter any house without double checking if your religion is welcome or not. But knowing and experiencing are not the same things. While we were aware of landlords not giving houses to Muslim tenants, we were not prepared for the hesitancy from educated and equally privileged neighbours. Yes, accepting bigotry in its all-pervasive nature is a slow process. But being a Muslim today means living unfazed by these everyday instances. We slowly learn to smile at visitors, who refused to even drink a glass of water at our homes.

On the other hand, we have the few landlords who do give us nice houses on rent. We slowly learn to get used to losing friends and being at the ends of unfounded hate. At the same time, we don’t lose hope as we make new friends who stand up against injustices regardless of religion or political leanings. We are also used to hearing about lynching and vigilante ‘justice’, which just happens to be directed at one community. And if many ‘right’ commentators are to be believed, it’s not a communal occurrence but only a serendipity. This makes us worried, very worried.

Most of us, the Muslims of India, are aware that we are seen as a homogeneous group — an ummah that is undivided in practices and beliefs. We have grown up hearing comments like ‘oh you don’t look like a Muslim’ or ‘aapke yahaan toh honge chaaku-churri chalaane waley’. We are aggressively stereotyped and fused in class, region or aspirational distinctions. And the knowledge of this is inherent to being a Muslim today. It’s not a mundane newspaper article. It’s a reality we live with.

That is why perhaps the news of a Muslim being lynched is so close to home for us and is a distant fringe for our neighbours. For me, it’s another day survived, another day lived, knowing very well I could be the next victim. The stunning brutality and regularity of it all has probably distanced my neighbour and colleagues from the reality that India has become today.

It’s convenient to ‘fringicize’ it in the heads. This is partly to exonerate oneself from the onus of the majority Hindu middle and upper class from speaking against such violence. How many social media timelines I see talking of every issue in the world, but this? There is a total silence on this in all 'mann ki baats'. Probably, a picture of a blood soaked man with folded hands pleading for a fair chance in the face of camera phones doesn’t touch hearts anymore. It’s a sign of how developed we are, see even the so-called fringe has a smartphone! Probably, we must not be affected by the gory details but look for positives and buy into the various theories that make us feel good about such ‘stray’ incidences. Let’s continue to unsee, unhear, and unfeel the fear next door in the life of your Muslim neighbour or colleague.

(Nazia Erum is a TEDx speaker and author of forthcoming book, 'Mothering a Muslim' by Juggernaut Books. Her views are personal and not that of News18.com. She can be reached on twitter at @nazia_e)

Resource :http://www.news18.com/news/india/welcome-to-everyday-life-of-a-muslim-in-times-of-lynch-mob-1408879.html

RVing: An Alternate Form of Living

You’re gonna live in a van down by the river!”  is what many of my friends and professors exclaim when I tell them about my intentions to begin living in a recreational vehicle (RV) this summer. The exclamation references a skit that was done by Saturday Night Live several years ago about a motivational speaker who lives in a “van down by the river” trying to convince two teenagers not to do drugs using references to the speaker’s miserable life in a “van down by the river.” However, my choice to live in an RV is certainly not like living in a camper van.

The first thing to realize about RVs is that there are many different types. Ranging from the simple camper van or pop-up trailer that only has a bed and maybe air conditioning to fully self-contained units that have all the creature comforts of a small home or apartment, such as travel trailers, Class C, and Class A RVs. My RV is a 1983 Fleetwood Pace-Arrow. It falls under the category of being a Class A RV, which is essentially shaped like a charter bus. However, rather than having rows of seating, it has the contents of a typical one bedroom apartment. I have a living area with a couch and can place a TV linked to a satellite dish on the roof. I have a fully functional kitchen with an oven, stove, microwave, and refrigerator along with a dinette to eat at. My RV even has a bathroom area that has a toilet and shower larger than most of the dorms. Then I have a separate room for my sleeping quarters and plenty of storage for all my possessions. There is not much else a single person in their 20’s needs out of their living situation.

However, I am still frequently asked the question of why I have chosen to live in an RV? It just makes sense where I am at in life right now. My roommate for the last three years will be moving to Orlando when our lease expires, and I do not particularly like the idea of breaking in a new one. Also, it will be possible for me to save a considerable amount of money living in an RV rather than getting another roommate of renting a studio apartment. Currently, I pay a little over $600 a month for my share of the rent and utilities; that is approximately $7200 per year I am throwing away on rent. The reason I refer to paying rent as throwing away money is that you gain absolutely no capital benefit by doing so. You are quite literally making someone else richer without gaining any long-term benefit. I purchased my RV for only $3200 as a mechanic’s special (but hey, I am a mechanic) and RV lot rental with utilities is only approximately $300 per month. Not to mention that my RV has already experienced its maximum depreciation, which means I should be able to get most of the money I put into it when I decide to sell, so long as I maintain its condition, of course.

Not to mention one other intrinsic benefit of the RV lifestyle, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. All you are is a gas tank away from a short weekend adventure or a permanent relocation.

Resource :http://theavion.com/rving-an-alternate-form-of-living/

UMass student lists dorm room with a view on Airbnb; university officials say “Not so fast

AMHERST — For a short time, $85 might have gotten you a night in a dorm room in the Southwest Residential Area of the University of Massachusetts with the “best view” in town, according to the student attempting to rent it on Airbnb.

It might have been a good deal. That is, if you like to look out over dormitory towers and share a bathroom with college students. The host touted the room’s other amenities on the online room and home rental service, including friendly neighbors.

The student listed it as a “Luxury Room in Southwest” when she advertised her single bed for rent on the website.

University officials have contacted her since and the listing has been removed. Renting out a dorm room violates the residence hall contract, which all students sign to live on campus, said UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

“Assigned space is not transferable by the student,” states section five of the residence contract.




The university declined to comment further, other than to note that the student was contacted and the listing deleted. She never actually rented it out.

(The woman used only her first name in the Airbnb post and asked the Gazette with remove it from this article because she said she was being harassed and feared for her safety.)

“I used my room as a way to make money and meet other people,” she said in an email interview via the Airbnb website.

Her listing boasted proximity to the dining halls, access to the laundry room and utilities such as a microwave, refrigerator and television.

However, she said in the listing that partying would be off-limits, or else “you will be written up and asked to leave.”

Many other college campuses across the country have faced similar issues with students renting out their dorm rooms.

In January 2016, Jack Worth, an Emerson College student, rented his dorm room three times on Airbnb before he was caught, according to the Boston Globe.

After the Emerson College incident, Katie Theiler, a spokeswoman for Housing and Dining Services at the University of Colorado, told Daily Camera last year that the school was keeping an eye on online rental sites.

Last year, the Huffington Post found Airbnb listings for dorm rooms at several colleges, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Temple University and the University of Chicago. To Blaguszewski’s knowledge, this is the first time a student at UMass Amherst has listed a dorm room for rent.

Nicole DeFeudis can be reached at nmdefeudis@umass.edu. 

Resource : http://www.gazettenet.com/UMass-student-uses-web-service-to-rent-out-dorm-room-9298375

When a house no longer feels like a home

Washington - Two days before Christmas, the man I thought I would marry ended our relationship. We sat facing one another – he on the long, low green couch he'd brought when he moved from Texas to Tennessee to be with me, I on the white and gray linen sofa I'd bought from a friend whose boutique was shutting down.

As he said the words that ended our relationship, I stared not at him but at a drawing on the foyer wall: a gift from my cousin, depicting me and my partner in front of my little orange house, our pets at our feet. When our talk was done, I stood up and took down the drawing. I set it in the back room, full of renovation detritus, and began to pack a bag.

"You shouldn't be the one to leave," he told me. "It's your house."

"That's true," I said. "But this isn't home anymore."


I fled to my parents house, unpacked my things in the guest room and stayed for a month. While I was there, I made wild, half-baked plans to escape to another city – shorthand for the new life I wanted to have, one I would have to rebuild for myself. I pictured myself hiking in Denver and drinking cold craft beer in view of tall mountains. I spent two weeks in San Francisco, getting lost in a place that was as simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar as I was to myself.

When I returned to my house after Valentine's Day, my former partner had found a new place to live. The living room looked strange and empty without his green couch, and the bedroom still smelled like his dog after Belle had slept next to him in my absence.

I didn't have a template for this, for making my home feel like it was mine again. There were many places I had left, but I always knew I would never return. My childhood home after my parents signed the closing paperwork. The houseboat I'd lived on for a week in Hong Kong. The home of friends with whom an ex-boyfriend had lived while we dated. The crumbling rental where I was assaulted by someone I'd known since high school. My first college dorm room.

It was cleaner to leave and never come back. To let certain restaurants and bars and music venues fall off my regular circuit if they reminded me too much of someone who had cut me loose.

There I was in the foyer of the house I owned, the home I had once shared with a man who often told me he couldn't wait to marry the s – out of me. If it had been in any condition to rent out, I might have simply packed another suitcase and fled.

But I couldn't leave. There was work to be done.

And everywhere I looked, there was some reminder that my former partner had been here. He had been renovating the house and had gotten only as far as the demolition phase. The master bath was purged of its fixtures, the tile torn up.

I hadn't taken a shower at home in a year, though he kept promising the new marble tile would go in soon, that the plumbing would be reconfigured for a walk-in shower to replace the old cast iron tub.

The kitchen was missing one of its counters and there were patchy holes in the drywall where a rustic back splash once hung. The back room was piled high with boxes, including a giant 1960s stove he had bought from a young couple.

When we met, I was coming off a hard few years of personal and professional disappointments, and was clawing my way out of depression. He promised me peace of mind. When he moved in, he built a beautiful deck and pergola off the back of the house, a gesture to show that he had something to offer and the ability to follow through – qualities he felt distinguished him from the other men I'd dated.

For our anniversary, he cut and stained new shelves and drawers for my closet. Everyone we knew commented on how happy I'd become, on the way I glowed and grinned now that this man was in my life.

The progress on the house stalled so slowly it was almost imperceptible, just as our relationship was falling apart. There was always some excuse for a project not to move forward – our single-income budget after he lost his job, travel plans, my grueling graduate program, his long hours doing work trade at a local farm. I didn't even notice the way the things I loved most about the house and myself were getting stripped away, from the ability to host dinner parties and take long baths to my own sense of confidence.

"Don't you have anything to say?" he asked me as he ended things.

"For once I don't have any words," I said, shaking my head.

Eventually, I started putting the house back together. Family friends stepped in to finish the renovation. A handy cousin happened to need a place to live, and moved in with his many hammers and saws. He put the doors and drawers back on to the kitchen cabinets, mowed the lawn and planted flowers.

As the kitchen counter tops went back in, and the rotten siding was repaired, I stopped researching apartments in Denver and San Francisco. I wore dark red lipstick and grew out my hair. I watched the cats play in the back yard and the buds unfurl on the trees. I became generous again, and open.

I took long, hot baths. Where my ex's green sofa once sat, I put a fig tree in a white ceramic pot. In the back room that had once been a cluttered tomb of renovation materials, my cousin moved in his dressers and bed. We go for long hikes and drink cold beer together. The house has become a home again, and I've recovered my sense of self.

Resource :http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/home-garden/home/when-a-house-no-longer-feels-like-a-home-8700398

Furniture nonprofit debuts new warehouse

Clad in a sequined hat, Anna Richelle ran her fingers across the plastic covering of a room full of mattresses Thursday afternoon. The 70-year-old said she felt quite at home as she adjusted the drawers of a bureau and then wrapped the cord of a lamp around its base.

Richelle has been a regular at the Houston Furniture Bank since 2014. She began as a shopper but quickly became a volunteer, dusting and sweeping for the old facility on Hussion Street before a fire destroyed it in 2015.

"My husband had a stroke, and Oscar (the manager of HFB's thrift store operation) gave me a scooter for him to ride," Richelle said. "I told him I didn't think he'd ride it, but my husband got on it. After that day, there was never another scooter. We just got lucky. The place is a miracle."

The nonprofit dedicated to "Making Empty Houses Homes" debuted its new warehouse at 8220 Mosley with a ribbon cutting Thursday. The 75,000-square-foot space is more than triple the size of the old facility and aims to serve up to 500 families a month within the next two years under a more aggressive business model.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who spoke to an audience of HFB volunteers, partnering agencies and customers, identified with the Houston Furniture Bank's theme of charity. During his time at Harvard Law School, he needed a mattress and all he could afford was one from Goodwill, he said.

"I came to say thank you to the Houston Furniture Bank for stepping up when the City of Houston needed organizations to do so," he said.

'Like a phoenix'

The nonprofit began in 1992 as a pilot project aiming to help 140 families under the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County. When Executive Director Oli Mohammed realized its potential, he proposed creating a furniture bank to serve the community. In 2003, the furniture bank became an independent agency, and it opened its first outlet in 2008.

Through partnerships with over 85 agencies, it serves between 100 and 150 families a month - an effort that was stalled by the devastating fire at the Hussion warehouse. At the time, Mohammed, promised the nonprofit would rise from the ashes "like a phoenix."

"I knew that there were poor people in America, but when I saw the condition that people were living in, it was unacceptable," said Mohammed, who arrived in Houston from Bangladesh in 1987. "That challenge, that unfilled need. It's very understandably prevalent. If you want to see it, you see it. And it's a condition that doesn't need to exist. That's the point. That's what keeps me going, the thought that 'This is not something that needs to happen.' "

About 600,000 mattresses going to landfills and 300,000 children sleeping on floors would seem to fit in his home country, Mohammed said. In America, it doesn't make sense.

The furniture bank's Designing Interiors - Volunteers At your Service, or DIVAS program, is the creative arm of the nonprofit that transforms local families' homes with donated items.

Challenging stigmas

DIVAS member Connie Hizem said they interview the family like an interior designer would, finding out their needs and furnishing the home accordingly.

"The first house I went to, when we were finishing the apartment, it was interesting because they had this little boy - he was 5 - and there were no books in the house," Hizem said with regret. "Last Friday, we went in with a woman and she had a newborn baby, she was 8 weeks old and premature, and I brought books for the baby."

Founded in 2003 by two Houstonians looking to help the community, the DIVAS soon joined forces with the Houston Furniture Bank.

Member Connie Page said she'll never forget the home she furnished for a veteran who moved to Houston to help her mother afflicted with Alzheimers.

"My husband passed away a couple of years ago. We would always donate furniture and clothing and do what the DIVAS are actually doing now," Page said. "I used to always say to my husband before he died, that that's what we should do - help other people - and I'm so happy to be doing it now, even though he can't see it."

Hizem said the stigma surrounding poor people is something that is immediately challenged by the work. After helping a client in need, she goes home and hugs her children.

"You can't imagine that feeling. We're ridiculously lucky," she said.

Resource :http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Furniture-nonprofit-debuts-new-warehouse-11056571.php

Voices Café builds community through music

    Now into its fifth year and after some 40 shows, Voices Café remains as strong, if not stronger than ever — as both a respected monthly music series supporting local and nationally touring musicians, and as a community-based gathering raising funds for worthwhile nonprofit organizations.

“Voices Café’s intention from the start was to support musicians, raise funds for social justice, and to create a community gathering space for music that’s powerful, provocative, fun, and uplifting. That’s what we started talking about when we were conceiving Voices Café,” said David Vita. “Little did we know that it would actually turn out that way.”

And turn out that way, it has. This season alone, the series has presented remarkable singer-songwriting talent, like Abbie Gardner and Molly Venter, two members of the celebrated folk trio Red Molly, in separate shows with their own bands. And Susan Werner comes in next month. This weekend, gracing the stage and returning — by popular demand, no doubt — are country hit-makers Don Henry and Craig Bickhardt performing at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 8.

The series also has an important fundraising component. “Voices Café is part of the Social Justice Program at The Unitarian Church in Westport,” explained Vita. “The ticket sales first go to pay the musicians, and supporting artists is part of our mission. Then the money goes back into the community.”

Vita related a perfect example of the latter. “I was recently speaking with Claudia Connor, the president and CEO of IICONN in Bridgeport, the International Institute of Connecticut, which has been settling refugees here for 99 years. I asked her, ‘If $1,500 dropped from the sky tomorrow, what would IICONN do with it?’ She said that they would buy a trailer to move furniture. IICONN sets up on average an apartment a week for an arriving refugee family. They have donated furniture to pick up and store, and furniture in storage that needs to be delivered to the apartments. They were always looking for volunteers with a truck or a van, but if they had a trailer to hitch to a car they could do it themselves. I said, ‘Done!’ And we raised the money to purchase the trailer, between Voices Café and our Sunday Share the Plate Offering. That’s what Voices Café is all about.”

Pretty amazing stuff. As is the music itself, like this weekend’s headliners. Don Henry is as polished a performer, as he is hilarious. Plus, he’s an award-winning songwriter. His song, “Where've You Been,” won a Grammy and Song of the Year honors by the Academy of Country Music Song, Country Music Association, and Nashville Songwriters Association International, all four accolades in the same year.

Craig Bickhardt’s songs found their way onto platinum and Grammy-winning recordings by legends such as Johnny Cash, Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Jonathan Edwards, David Wilcox, Kathy Mattea and Alison Krauss. He’s got nearly 1,000 songs in a catalog that includes four No. 1 country hits, “Turn It Loose” and “I Know Where I’m Going” recorded by The Judds, “In Between Dances” by Pam Tillis, and “It Must Be Love” recorded by Ty Herndon.

As to the superb talent that Voices Café attracts to the stage, Vita explained: “We have people on our committee who are so knowledgeable about the music and visit other venues and hear new sounds that there are so many more musicians that we’d love to have at Voices that we just can’t squeeze in. And Tim Wilson does our booking, and he has a great ear for talent.”

And the crowds seem to appreciate the efforts. “Our audience base is solid and continues to grow,” said Vita. “At practically every performance, someone will come up to me and say that it’s the first time that they’ve been to Voices Café, how could they have not heard about us before, and that they’ll be back! And then they do come back. First-timers become regulars, strangers meet new people, and then it has a large family gathering kind of feeling.”

Voices Café is located at The Unitarian Church in Westport, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport. Seating is cabaret style. Call 203-227-7205, ext. 14 or visit www.voicescafe.org. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Concert update: The Zombies show at the Ridgefield Playhouse, which was postponed last month due to a band member’s illness, has been rescheduled for Monday, May 8.

Mike Horyczun’s Sound Surfing column appears every Saturday in The Hour. Mike can be reached at news2mh@gmail.com

Resource :http://www.thehour.com/news/article/Voices-Caf-builds-community-through-music-11055972.php

New Waterford couple purchased former Gardiner Mines church to live in, but now rent it out

Corrina Kelly and her husband, Mike Kelly, of New Waterford, stand in front of the former St. James Catholic Church in Gardiner Mines which they have purchased. Corrina said after living away from Cape Breton for 20 years they moved home to retire and plans were to move into the church and make it their home. However, she said, they made extensive renovations inside and it now houses the Premier Cheer Allstars group in the upstairs with plans still to be determined for the lower floor.

©Sharon Montgomery-Dupe/Cape Breton Post

GARDINER MINES, N.S. — When a former New Waterford couple purchased a church in Gardiner Mines, plans were to put a ‘Home Sweet Home’ mat out front, but that’s on hold for the time being.
Advertisement

“We were going to live in it,” said Corrina Kelly. “I even had our furniture sent there at first. We were going to make it our home.”

Corrina and her husband, Mike Kelly, former members of the Canadian Armed Forces, had postings throughout Canada and the United States over the years.

“We had been living away for more than 20 years,” Corrina said.

One of her visits home she noticed the St. James Church in Gardiner Mines was up for sale. In 2013 she said they purchased the church and moved home to retire.

“The building has so much potential, there wouldn’t be any need to see it destroyed. “

With pews still in place, plans were to move in and renovate as they went along.

However she said they ended up moving in to her old family home in New Waterford to live with her mother. She said they have invested a lot of money into the former church and still have a lot more to do.

A sign on the church dates the building back to 1949, but other documents it may go back as far as 1947.

“The government needs to open some funding up for people willing to save structures like this.”

She said there wasn’t any insulation in the building at all, it was costing $100 a day for oil plus servicing a furnace that wasn’t working at peak efficiency.

To address that issue, they put a $100,000 geothermal heating system into the building.

 “It still cost a lot for power but not nearly what the oil was.”

She said the building needs a new roof and they also hope to put solar panels in as well. They repainted the yellow and brown walls to a neutral white and grey. Plans include making the former confessional into an office.

“Right now we are going one step at a time.”

In the meantime the church has a new kind of kingdom in it’s midst; they have rented out the upstairs of the former church — which now bears a pink front door and a sign ‘The Palace’ — to the Premier Cheer Allstars, a local cheerleading group. The parking lot spaces have even been outlined in pink.

Corrina said they allowed the group to add these touches, “to help make them feel at home.”


Stacey Madden, co-ordinator of the Premier Cheer Allstars, said one of her cheer mothers knew the new owners and knew the space was empty.

“I was in contact with her almost a year before I decided to take it over.”

Madden watched the renovation process, where the church was gutted. The cheer group — which includes about 100 girls from ages three to 30 — moved into the building in June.

Madden said the main floor is beautiful and bright and now houses the group’s spring floor and tumbling equipment.

“The inside is beautiful, it was all redone,” she said, adding they are very happy there.

“ You can still feel it is a church with the windows and one of our back doors still has a cross on it.”

She said pink is one of their group’s colours, which also includes black, silver and white.

“I wanted it to stand out on the outside as well and make it was pretty as I could.”

She said through social media everyone voted on the name of the building.

“We are called Premier so we thought Premier and Palace goes well together.”

The fairytale aspect was a natural part to add on to a group with more than 100 girls.

“It’s not that the girls think they are little princesses — we like to think the girls are treated like little princesses.”

Premier Cheer AllStars is a non-profit organization dedicated to cheerleading. Madden said cheer training is a combination of gymnastics, stunting and dancing, but skills are not only developed in these areas but also other areas including self-esteem and self-confidence.

She said they compete in tournaments locally, regionally and nationally.

And there’s another business still brewing in the former church — Kelly Kids Thrift Shop.

Corrina Kelly said they opened a thrift shop in the basement to get rid of the belongings they no longer wanted.

“When you’re military and moving a lot sometimes there’s boxes you don’t even get a chance to open for years. We always totally unpacked except for this time.”

She said her children, ages 12, 15 and 16, have been looking after it.

“My kids are entrepreneurs, it’s all designed around them.”

She said the basement is partially renovated and once the basement is partially cleared out she plans have it become a fun zone type of place, perhaps to rent out for birthday parties.

Corrina said a lot of people are always stopping by to see the church.

 “I get approached all the time by people telling me family got married there or were baptized there or are buried in the graveyard, something that ties them to the church.

“They are quite proud of that church. They are appreciative it wasn’t torn down.”

Resource  :http://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/2017/3/27/new-waterford-couple-purchased-former-gardiner-mines-church-to-l.html

Easily Available Furniture On Rent In Delhi

You need to be careful when you’re taking furniture on rent in Delhi as there are many companies claiming to offer the best.

You need to consider the options that are available for you. So you need to determine your needs and accordingly select from the best available options.

Before you select a company and sign the contract, you need to go through the fine print and ask question if in doubt. It is important for you to understand your responsibilities in case the furniture you hire is damaged. Also, go through the clauses that the company has if you have to move to some other apartment.

Before you select a particular rental company, you need to find out for how long it has been in the industry. It is important to do so, because gaining adequate experience in the industry will help the company to understand and meet your needs and requirements. They will have the knowledge of the ins and outs of the furniture business.

Renting furniture will include upfront fees and monthly payments. After you pay your upfront fees, there is the monthly payment that you’ll have to pay every month throughout your contract. Therefore, you need to ensure that you get the best deal from the best company.

Remember, renting certain types of furniture will cost you more than some others. The amount you pay for furniture on rent in Delhi will depend on the type you rent. To make sure that you select the right rental company, you can compare the prices as well. Also, before you sign on the dotted line, ask if the company is offering any discounts.

Whether you’re looking for furniture on rent in Gurgaon or Delhi, the above discussed points will help you select the right rental company. You can look for a renowned company that is known for providing beautiful furniture on rent that are in good condition.

Resource  :https://furniturerentalnews.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/easily-available-furniture-on-rent-in-delhi/

UCLA trails Cincinnati 33-30 at halftime of NCAA second round

SACRAMENTO — UCLA put forth its lowest-scoring first half of the season Sunday, heading into halftime down 33-30 to Cincinnati in Sunday’s second-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

The Bruins, the third seed in the South region, struggled to find a rhythm against the sixth-seeded Bearcats’ physical defense, shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and making just four of 14 3-pointers.

After jumping out to an early 8-2 lead, the Bruins failed to score for more than five minutes, falling behind in the process as the Bearcats rained down three 3-pointers in that span.

The offense would continue to operate in spurts throughout the half. After a stepback 3-pointer from freshman point guard Lonzo Ball gave the Bruins a lead with just over three minutes, they went scoreless for the next two minutes as the Bearcats jumped back ahead.

Cincinnati controlled the rebounding battle, piling up 19 boards to UCLA’s 12 in the opening period.

Freshman forward T.J. Leaf struggled with the physicality of Cincinnati’s interior players. Fresh off a dominant 23-point performance Friday against Kent State, Leaf dealt with early foul trouble and missed all five of his shots in the first half.

Sophomore guard Aaron Holiday, coming off a double-double in Friday night’s first-round win, was aggressive off the bench, providing five points, three assists and two steals in 13 minutes.

The winner of Sunday’s game will move on to face No. 2 seed Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Memphis, Tennessee.


Matt Cummings | Senior Staff Writer

Matt Cummings is a senior staff writer covering UCLA basketball. In the past, he has covered UCLA football, baseball, cross country, women's volleyball and men's tennis. He served as an assistant sports editor last year. Follow him on Twitter @mbcummings15

contact  mbcummings@media.ucla.edu          @mbcummings15

Resource :http://dailybruin.com/2017/03/19/ucla-trails-cincinnati-33-30-at-halftime-of-ncaa-second-round/

Women’s tennis rides doubles success to victory over Oregon

UCLA women’s tennis is on a doubles roll.

The No. 20 Bruins (8-5, 2-1 Pac-12) won the opening point for the fourth dual match in a row, all without dropping a set, and then pulled away from the host Oregon Ducks (8-6, 2-1) for a 4-1 victory Friday.

[Related: UCLA women’s tennis finishes weekend matchups with 4-3 win over Cal]

Sophomores Gabby Andrews and Alaina Miller won their second consecutive doubles match at court two, defeating Oregon’s Marlou Kluiving and Julia Eshet 6-1. Andrews and Miller didn’t finish their first two matches together against Baylor and Stanford, but they have clicked in the past two dual matches. Friday’s win came one week after the sophomores upset Cal’s No. 23-ranked team of Olivia Hauger and Karla Popovic 6-1.

Junior Kristin Wiley and freshman Ena Shibahara clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory on court three, their third consecutive victory. Wiley, however, was forced to retire her singles match after losing her first set 6-1.

[Related: Freshman tennis standout Ena Shibahara follows tennis dream to Westwood]

The Bruins dominated the rest of singles play, winning three consecutive straight-set matches at courts three through five. For the dual match, coach Stella Sampras Webster made a slight change to her singles lineup, swapping Miller and redshirt freshman Jada Hart at courts three and four, respectively. The two have alternated throughout the season, with both playing at least six singles matches at each slot.

Hart, who entered the singles rankings at No. 81 earlier in March, only lost two games as she snapped her three-match losing streak. Each of those losses came against ranked opponents at No. 3 singles, but she breezed past Eshet at No. 4.

Andrews also reversed a two-game losing streak at No. 5 singles, defeating Kluiving 6-1, 6-4 to put UCLA ahead 3-1. Miller then clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Oregon’s Nia Rose.

Friday was only the Bruins’ second match indoors since January, and the only one scheduled against a Pac-12 opponent this season.

UCLA won’t compete again until March 31 and April 2, when it travels to Washington and Washington State to resume Pac-12 play.

Resource : http://dailybruin.com/2017/03/20/womens-tennis-rides-doubles-success-to-victory-over-oregon/

Editorial: Uncontested GSA elections could jeopardize graduate student services

Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles city elections flaunted the year’s most dismal instance of voter apathy.

And then the UCLA graduate student government election process began.

This year, all four executive positions in the Graduate Students Association cabinet, one presidential and three vice-presidential seats, are uncontested. GSA represents the voice of the graduate student body and provides services such as student-group funding and social events, which means it has notable access to campus administrators to advocate for graduate-student needs.

While GSA has a history of elections with uncontested positions, this year’s bleak participation, in which only four of more than 12,000 graduate students are running, is disconcerting. At a time when graduate students stand to lose many of their student services because of budget cuts and construction projects that ignore their needs, and face possible tuition hikes due to a potential increase in the professional degree supplemental tuition, there is a need for the graduate student body to actively participate in student government, not remain indifferent to it.

The barriers to running for office are minimal; becoming a candidate only requires 50 student signatures. Uncontested GSA candidates automatically get elected as long as one person votes for them, yet no additional students beyond this year’s four bothered to apply, despite contested elections often giving way for greater voter turnout.

[Editorial: Donor-funded projects should consider impact on students]

Increased engagement can help graduate students tackle the issues they face on campus. While GSA elections have generally boasted less-than-stellar participation, graduate students themselves have remained politically active. Be it a student-initiated petition to make more parking spots available to graduate students or the series of protests against the return to campus of Gabriel Piterberg, a history professor accused of sexually harassing two graduate students, they have sought various means for making their needs known to the administration.

And rightfully so. Developments such as the construction of the Geffen Academy – which required the relocation of the graduate student gym – and the cutting of doctoral-student travel reimbursement funds, have shown the administration is complicit with sidelining graduate student services in the name of expanding campus and cutting costs.

Even UCLA’s most recent proposal to construct five new undergraduate housing units would trample on certain graduate student services. One of the proposed apartment buildings would require the demolition of Warren Hall, a laboratory and office building in the middle of graduate student housing.

It’s ironic that at a time when these services are in jeopardy under the administration, graduate students have turned away from their student government. GSA officers frequently meet with the chancellor and vice chancellors to discuss graduate student needs, and have access to resources the average graduate student doesn’t have.

And while many graduate students do not bother taking time away from their research and studies to engage with their student government, it seems counter-intuitive at a time like this that only four people would care to pursue a position that best allows them to advocate for their needs.

Regardless of how busy their schedules may be, graduate students must recognize that their voices and political sway have an impact. But that impact will only be seen if they actively participate in their government, not push it to the side.

Resource : http://dailybruin.com/2017/03/19/editorial-uncontested-gsa-elections-could-jeopardize-graduate-student-services/