Former Peachtree City Mayor Harold Logsdon has announced he will seek re-election to the office he held for one term.

And he’s running against a man he sued for libel.

Logsdon, who settled a libel suit against current Mayor Don Haddix last year, served as mayor from 2005 to 2009.

In his final year in office, the city eliminated a number of public works positions as landscaping services were cut and shifted to private landscaping companies via contract. The change was necessary at the time to provide a deep savings in the budget, Logsdon said at the time.

Logsdon will join Haddix, current council members Vanessa Fleisch and George Dienhart and businessman Ryan Jolly in the five-candidate field for mayor.

In his announcement letter, Logsdon said he has been “appalled” at the lack of leadership the city has seen over the past three and a half years.

Logsdon also touts his experience as a plus.

“You deserve a mayor who has a record of new ideas and innovative problem solving, and a mayor who can bring people together to find practical solutions,” Logsdon wrote. “You also deserve someone who can restore a sense of cooperation among city, county and state officials.”

In 2009, Logsdon declined to run for re-election, instead qualifying for a run at the state insurance and fire safety commissioner’s office. Logsdon ultimately bowed out late in that race due to health reasons.

In addition to protecting the city’s quality of life, Logsdon also wants to focus on economic development and ethics, he said.

Retired from a 36-year career at BellSouth, Logsdon also served in the Army National Guard and has been active with Boy Scouts, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and the American Legion.

“I am running because you deserve a mayor who will work for you, for your family and friends, and for the city — not someone who will work for his own agenda,” Logsdon said.

It is enjoyable hearing from someone who understands both sides of he building trade. Wade Myer writes that he is a recovering contractor who has turned to writing as it is much easier on his back. He adds that he has always been drawn to the written word where he can frame sentences rather than walls. Here he provides a quick and common sense perspective concerning the landscaping side of the green building challenge.

Drought-tolerant woolly silver thyme, golden sedum, and miniature blue bellflowers are perennial low creeping groundcovers blooming together along a garden pathway. Source: Shutterstock

Green Landscaping Ideas

As more and more people are realizing the significance of their impacts on the environment, we are seeing a rapid growth of the “green” movement. As the movement has grown it has also expanded into numerous aspects of our lives. One area where people have become especially conscious of their environmental impact is in regards to their home. For those who want to make their homes more eco-friendly, an easy place to start is outside. Here are some green landscaping ideas and techniques you can implement to make your house more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

Use Native Plants

The first thing you should consider when thinking about green landscaping is whether or not you have native plants in your garden or yard. Planting only native plants is green in a variety of ways. Native plants are accustomed to the region you are living in and will require much less care and water.

Utilizing Shade from Trees

Another green landscaping idea deals with the shade produced by the trees in your yards. Strategically placing trees so that they shade your house can save on energy. The shade from these trees protects your home from direct sunlight which keeps your house cool and reduces the stress put on your air conditioner during summer months.

Xeriscaping

This is a relatively new term and idea that deals with clever irrigation practices. As mentioned before, using native plants will help with this technique as it saves on water. Aspects of xeriscaping include utilizing low-flow nozzles and soil moisture sensors along with smart controllers which determine how to use water most efficiently. To go a step further, you can direct any rain spouts or gutter spouts are directing rain water to your garden or lawn.

Create an Edible Garden

This is perhaps one of the most eco-friendly things you can do in regards to green landscaping as its environmental impacts go beyond just your garden. Keeping the idea of native plants in mind, you can make your garden not only beautiful, but also functional by planting edible vegetation. Eating food that you grow in your own garden will provide you with healthy organic food and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.

These are just a few of the techniques available for green landscaping practices. Ensuring that your garden and the landscape of your house are eco-friendly is a good starting point to making your house more environmentally friendly. The green movement will only continue to grow, and as it does, everyone will benefit.

Wade Myer is a recovering contractor who has turned to writing as it is much easier on his back. He has always been drawn to the written word where he can frame sentences rather than walls.  Currently he writes on behalf of Crown Point home builders Steiner Homes LTD.

Photo: Drought-tolerant woolly silver thyme, golden sedum, and miniature blue bellflowers are perennial low creeping groundcovers blooming together along a garden pathway from Shutterstock.

Shoppers at Habitat for Humanity ReStore were treated to a demonstration on creative container gardening recently sponsored by the Master Gardeners Group of Gaston County.

The gardeners answered a trove of questions and offered advice on the “what and how” of gardening. A display of unique planters included a “fairy garden” in an antique Radio Flyer red wagon, which will certainly be a winner with the kids.

The Master Gardeners will participate as one of the entrants in Habitat’s upcoming Designers Challenge on May 30-31. This event highlights unique ideas for “rebuilding, renewing, reusing, redesigning, and restoring.”

The Master Gardeners have had a long-standing partnership with Habitat with variety of activities. They helped with the landscaping design for Habitat houses. They identified plants for the new homeowner yards based on soil analyst and plant hardiness. The gardeners have designed welcoming planters for Habitat’s entryway into office and ReStore. With upcoming homeowner seminars, the Gardeners will provide information on landscaping and yard maintenance.

“This partnership has really has been mutually beneficial,” said Mary Harris, executive director for Habitat for Humanity.
 

Washing windows may not be the job of a lifetime but Reed MacDonald said being your own entrepreneur makes for a valuable experience.

The 21-year-old business student from St. Albert started Sods Odds last year with his brother and two friends.

The company provides window washing, lawn care, spring clean-up and driveway sealing services in the summer months between their university studies.

I have to say, it just kind of happened. We ran through a few ideas and thought of different things and finally said maybe we do lawn maintenance or window washing, he said.

As students you dont have a lot of capital to start up a company but with window washing all you need is a squeegee and ambition.

It wasnt always that easy.

MacDonald said they worked hard on getting the business on its feet. In the first week, they handed out over 1,000 flyers but only received three calls for jobs.

They also dealt with customers who refused to pay them or questioned their ability to do the job.

But MacDonald said there are also perks to being a young entrepreneur.

In some sense it can help you because people see that you are a student and want to help you, he said.

As long as you are persistent and keep going youll be able to do it.

It is not uncommon for students to create their own business in the summer, said Ray DePaul, director at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Calgary-based Mount Royal University.

Most student-run businesses are landscaping or window washing companies, but there are also entrepreneurs who run shops for drive-through oil changes or own a food truck during the summer.

DePaul said the skills and mindset students pick up during these few months give them valuable knowledge in the future, whether they stay in the business or not.

This can really help a student grow and the lessons will be remembered forever, he said.

They finish a course and things will trickle out of their memory. But if you go out and see how valuable it is and how important it is to make your livelihood that summer it will stick with you much better.

He added that all new businesses have credibility issues to face whether you are in your early twenties or late fifties. But there are many industries and activities linked to younger people, such as web design.

And many people will go out of their way to help see students succeed, he said.

The major mistake any business owner can make is misunderstanding their customers needs. DePaul said entrepreneurs need to differentiate their business from others or find a niche in the market that will get them hired.

If you start your own business you wear multiple hats and you are expected to solve all kinds of problems yourself and you have very little support which can be scary, he said.

And thats why one of the key things you can do is get some mentorship and get people who are helping you.

In Sean Colvins case, mentorship came through University First Class Painters.

The Canada-wide business provides students with everything from business training, to solving liability and accounting questions. In return, students get to run their own painting franchise under the University Painters banner.

ColvinPusch Painting was launched this year and provides residential and commercial painting services in the Edmonton area. Colvin said he and a partner find the jobs, hire the painters and manage the business.

The initial cost of purchasing equipment may be high but Colvin said it made for a great return.

Theres an incredible amount of freedom that comes along with this job and another benefit would be the huge amount of potential for making your own money, he said.

You develop a strong work-minded independence and do things for yourself instead of for someone else.

MacDonald said he found mentorship through speaking with local business owners and doing a lot of research online. At first, he said, its difficult dealing with business licenses, insurance and legal procedures.

But when he returns to school in the fall he knows what the professor is talking about, he said.

If you go into business school, that gives you the book sense on how to run a business, all the terms, but you need the real world sense, he said.

So we decided to do something about it.

PEABODY — Mayor Ted Bettencourt went in-house choosing Julie Rydzewski as the city’s first “business liaison,” the person responsible for making it easier to make money in Peabody. Rydzewski, 30, grew up in Peabody and has worked at City Hall — initially as a high school intern — for three mayors, including Peter Torigian and Mike Bonfanti.

She chatted with The Salem News recently about her new position.

What’s your understanding of what this job is supposed to be like?

It’s about making the experience of conducting business here in Peabody a positive one. It’s eliminating frustration for businesses dealing with the city. They’ll know that their calls are answered. The object is to keep them here and keep them happy.

What sort of work did you do at City Hall to prepare you for this job?

Mayor Pete hired me in 1999. I worked up in his office. Every day he’d come in with a smile and a joke. After high school I had my heart set on a job at Hanscom Air Force Base. It was a job that included an hour of physical activity. But I was offered a job here in the treasurer’s office and I took it. After that I became the grants manager. And Mayor Bonfanti gave me a place on the Licensing Board. I think he was throwing me a challenge.

How so?

Well, I learned a lot about the laws. Which will help in this job. I familiarized myself with business practices and business in Peabody. And then there’s the connection with the state — I dealt with the ABCC (Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission) and I met with the attorneys around town who represent the liquor stores and restaurants. I’m a little sad to give that up. I liked working with the people on the Licensing Board.

Why did you want this job?

I think it will allow me to spread my wings a little, to get out more.

You like physical activity?

A lot of my best ideas come when I’m running downtown. And I like getting out of the office, going to a meeting.

You’ve always worked for government. How do you feel about business?

I’ve always wanted to go and open my own business. I still want to have a business someday. And I realize that business plays a pretty big role in Peabody. I’ve dealt with our businesses, too. They’re good people. When you call for donations for some worthy cause, it’s always the small businesses that donate. And always the same small businesses. I’ve been very impressed with that. I applaud the business community. They’re great.

People will say business is important, but they don’t always say why.

They’re a big part of our tax base. And the least we can do is be helpful.

Give me an example of how the city can be helpful.

Well, (Community Development Director) Karen (Sawyer) and I have been going downtown to talk with the merchants about the construction. (Downtown Peabody is under renovation, with new sidewalks, landscaping and consumer-friendly parking in the works.) Some of the businesses were very upset about delays. We explained the situation. But they also offered some good ideas. One thing a few have mentioned would be, in the summertime, to have some kind of sidewalk sale. Salem does things like that. Salem does great things with their downtown, and we want to do things with ours.

Is Peabody competing with Salem?

People go right through downtown Peabody to get to Salem. People can still go there, but we want them to stop here first.

Do you plan to do outreach?

One day a week I want to walk into stores and introduce myself, to get a sense of what’s out there. Keeping existing businesses here is very important. Also bringing in new ones in the downtown and in Centennial Park.

Related Images

Jeff Klein is a laid back guy. He usually dresses in a t-shirt, jeans, and boots because of his day jobs as owner of Detroit Farm and Garden and his work as a landscape architect for Classic Landscape, Ltd., a design/build landscaping firm he owns with a partner. But when I first met him, he thought it was appropriate to don a collared shirt. That’s because he was presenting conceptual drawings for a new pocket park in North Corktown to a group of residents–his neighbors–for their feedback.

In the basement of the Spirit of Hope Church at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Trumbull, Jeff rolled out his drawings that represent the culmination of more than three years of community outreach to residents, neighborhood groups, and the local school seeking input for the project currently being referred to as Intersections that will sit at the corner of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.

His pro bono work on Intersections is far from the only thing on Jeff’s plate. He has been a busy man in recent years. After finishing a degree in landscape architecture at Michigan State, Jeff founded Classic Landscape, Ltd. at the age of 25 and has been operating this design/build landscape architecture and implementation firm for the last 14 years with his business partner Andy Ray. Just last year, Jeff opened a new business, Detroit Farm and Garden, a store in Southwest Detroit whose mission is “to provide quality gardening, farming and landscape resources to Detroit’s communities.”

Located in a building that once housed the Detroit Police Department’s 3rd Precinct, Detroit Farm and Garden’s location is quite unique.

“The whole complex is a collaborative between non-profit organizations and for-profit business,” says Klein. Southwest Housing Solutions, a longtime non-profit real estate developer in Southwest Detroit, renovated and owns the building. Detroit Farm and Garden, a for-profit business, rents the large hangar-like space in the rear of the building, and the non-profit 555 Gallery and Studios is located in the portion of the building fronting Vernor Avenue.

The building itself is becoming something of a blue-green infrastructure project. Over the past year, Klein has been installing a green roof on the building with the help of funding from the Erb Family Foundation. The roof is a system of tray plantings atop two 6 to 8 feet tall foam hills Jeff designed for aesthetic purposes so that it is visible from street level. Once complete, the green roof will be able to divert as much as 75 percent of stormwater landing on the roof away from the sewer system.

These kind of projects are critical in Detroit, where an aging combined sewer system that collects storm and waste water in the same pipes can have its capacity exceeded during heavy storm events, resulting in the discharge of untreated waste water into the Detroit River and the Great Lakes water basin that threatens the ecosystem.

Klein is very much a landscape artist, but over the years he has become interested in landscape projects that serve the infrastructural purposes of stormwater management. His first commission as a landscape architect was for the Gloryland Garden on the grounds of Gesu Parish and School in Northwest Detroit, which won a grant from Rhodale Press and Organic Gardening magazine to design a rainwater harvesting system.

Other green infrastructure projects sprang up by chance. Klein took a job in Lake Angelus a few years ago to help a homeowner prevent erosion that was happening during heavy rains, washing away lots of soil and debris from the yard into the lake. Jeff installed underground retention basins that naturally leech water slowly to prevent the wash outs. A project like this serves practical and environmental purposes, helping the homeowner maintain the property and preventing pollutants from entering the lake as runoff.

Now green infrastructure is becoming an increasing piece of Classic Landscape, Ltd.’s billings. They were the people who installed the Green Alley between Prentis and Canfield Streets off of Second Avenue. They built the retaining walls at the mouth of the Dequindre Cut greenway that hold native plantings that help mitigate stormwater runoff.

More recently, Klein has been working on a project for D Town farm in Rouge Park, the largest urban farm in the city of Detroit, which happens to be located in a floodplain area on Detroit’s West Side. Klein is designing what will eventually become a 120,000 gallon catch basin that will help alleviate frequent flooding and provide a cost-free watering source for the farm. Through the same grant from the Erb Foundation, Klein is also designing a system for capturing rainwater from the roof of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and St. Bonaventure’s Church on the East Side that will provide a watering source for the Earthworks Farm and divert stormwater away from the combined sewer system.

Jeff Klein has some ideas about how we need to reform the way we charge people for their use of water and the sewer system. A water bill in Detroit includes sewerage fees based on the amount of water that comes out of your taps instead of charging for the amount of water that actually enters the sewer. “It costs you more in sewerage fees to water your garden than it does to wash all of the love off of your hands in your sink that you got while planting and weeding.” The point is that watering your garden does not cost more in sewerage because the plants and soil naturally filter water, as opposed to when you wash your hands or dishes and water directly enters the combined sewer system from your drain.

The same is true for formulas the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department uses to charge businesses with parking lots for sewerage. They calculate the rate they charge for stormwater runoff generated on site based on the surface area of the parking lot, automatically assuming that all of the rain landing on the parking lot will enter the sewer–even if the parking lot has measures in place to divert that water to natural filtration systems like bioswales, retention basins, or, in the case of Detroit Farm and Garden, a green roof.

IN PICTURES: 2nd Annual Long Beach Lawn-to-Garden Tour

Details

By Nicholas Noell

 | Monday, 20 May 2013 13:31

Photos by Nicholas Noell

More than 2000 people drove, biked and strolled through Long Beach neighborhoods on Saturday seeking native landscaping featured in the 2nd annual Long Beach Lawn-to-Garden Tour, hosted by the Long Beach Water Department. The self-guided tour singled out 34 of the more than 850 transformations that have taken place under the department’s award-winning “L2G” program, which awards money to residents who convert their water-guzzling grass lawns into drought-resistant gardens.

Homeowners were available at each location from 10AM to 2PM to discuss their experiences and an audio tour–which could be accessed by calling a special number or scanning QR codes at each location–provided highlights of each garden. Homes across the city were featured, from Alamitos Beach to North Long Beach to Wrigley and Los Altos.

The Lawn-to-Garden Tour is meant to give prospective converts landscaping ideas and a close-up look at finished projects. Thanks to a funding increase through the Long Beach Water Department’s partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of California, residents can now earn up to $3.00 per square foot of grass removed, up from $2.50 when the program was initially launched three years ago. Design ideas and money-saving tips are also available on the Lawn to Garden website.

For more information on how to turn your lawn into a garden, visit lblawntogarden.com

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Victor Alva’s Sunrise Landscape, a full service landscaping and irrigation company, offers tips for arid yards and sustainable landscapes for the summer.

Santa Fe, NM (PRWEB) May 20, 2013

Victor Alva’s Sunrise Landscaping company is a locally owned business that works hard to create the best environment for each of his clients. With arid conditions in the Southwest regions, many homeowners think they are limited to how they can create an oasis of plants and water features. Alva takes on this challenge happily with each of his clients.

Alva says, “Our primary goal is to find a balance between beauty and conserving resources. We constantly seek new and creative ways to help you with our services like landscaping, sprinkler irrigation, clean yards, flat stone and masonry and patios”.

For lighter water use and sustainability, Victor offers some landscaping ideas for your home or business:

•     Select plants that are tolerant and naturally found in the local climates. Plants that already exist in the region are acclimated to the temperatures, moister levels, soil conditions and sun exposure.
•     Use Terracotta planters. Planters hold a defined amount of soil and help conserve water instead of having the entire yard soak up the water.
•     Cover garden beds with mulch or stones. Different types of cover will help keep the ground cooler and preserve the moister as well as provide the landscape a pleasing design effect.
•     Adjust sprinklers and irrigation to meet the needs of specific landscapes. Many people over water their yards and plants. Also, never water in the heat of the day as much of the water is absorbed into the hot atmosphere.

Sunrise Landscaping has many more tips and idea specific to each homeowner’s needs. See some of Victor’s landscape creations and get a no cost, no obligation estimate today. http://mycinsay.com/c/sunrise-landscaping/landscaping-services

Join Sunrise Landscaping Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunrise-Landscaping/603006686377076?fref=ts

Contact:

Victor Alva, Owner

505-204-3559

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/05-Sunrise_Landscaping/prweb10751084.htm

NEW YORK She could save money, and there’s a good chance she wouldn’t get caught, but Consuelo Gomez says she won’t hire people who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S. to work for Marty K, her cleaning and landscaping business.

Gomez thinks she’s being undercut by competitors that hire workers who are in the U.S. without permission from the government. When potential clients tell her that her competitors can do the same work for a lot less, it makes her suspicious.

“I’ll hear, ‘They’re $2,000 cheaper than you,’ and I say, ‘That’s impossible,’ ” says Gomez, whose business is in Bellevue, Wash. “I can’t fathom how they do it, because we would lose money.”

If Gomez’s hunch is correct, she’s dealing with a little-talked-about problem that a lot of small-business owners say makes survival difficult. Competing with companies that hire immigrants who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S. is tough for a small business that follows the law because of the cost. Often, businesses pay ineligible workers less, and they also save on taxes.

Sixty-eight percent of business owners surveyed recently by the advocacy group Small Business Majority said too many companies gain an unfair advantage by hiring immigrants who aren’t eligible to work in the U.S. In 2008, the Pew Research Hispanic Center estimated that 8.3 million people were working in the U.S. without permission. Current estimates put the total number of people in the U.S. without permission at 11 million. The issue is in the forefront now as lawmakers propose ideas to reform the country’s immigration laws.

“What small businesses want the most is a level playing field where they can compete fairly,” says John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority. “Unless we fix the immigration system, small businesses are going to continue to operate at a disadvantage with companies that aren’t following the law.”

The use of ineligible workers divides small-business owners. Many don’t want to speak openly about whether they hire people who don’t have permission to be in the U.S. Those who do hire ineligible workers don’t want to say publicly that they’re breaking the law, and that they benefit from paying them less.

“Our members have told us that while they follow the rules committing time and resources to the hiring process — they remain frustrated with their competition when they cut corners and don’t adhere to the same rules,” said Kate Bonner, manager of House legislative affairs for the National Federation of Independent Business.

The number of businesses that hire ineligible workers is hard to pin down, although a study last year by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that 1.6 percent of the 365,000 businesses it examined in Georgia had employees who weren’t authorized to work in the U.S.

It also showed that those employers had an advantage. Companies that employed people not legally authorized to work in the U.S. had a 23 percent chance of failing, compared with an average for all companies of 28 percent.

The study confirmed what anecdotal evidence has shown: Businesses get a competitive benefit from hiring people who don’t have permission to work in the U.S., says Julie Hotchkiss, one of the study’s three authors.

“If you employ undocumented workers when your competitors aren’t as well, that gives you the biggest boost,” she says.

The study examined records of Social Security numbers at companies to find workers who weren’t eligible.

Hotchkiss noted that because the study used company records, it could not count the number of workers who were paid off the books — so the total number of companies hiring unauthorized workers was likely higher.

It’s widely believed that ineligible workers earn far less than people who are eligible to work in the U.S. That’s not always the case.

A 2002 study by researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago found that the average hourly wage earned by ineligible workers was $7, higher than the minimum wage of $5.15 at the time. To reach that average amount, many workers had to be earning below $7. But the advantage that comes with hiring people not authorized to work in the U.S. is not just about salary.

Companies also pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on each worker. For example, a company with a $500,000 annual payroll is required to pay more than $38,000 in federal taxes.

States may collect additional payroll taxes from businesses. Soon, many small-business owners will be required to provide affordable health care insurance, or pay a penalty. If a business is paying a significant number of workers off-the-books, it can save it thousands of dollars a year.

Some businesses consider using ineligible workers not so much because they want to save money, but because it’s hard to find people willing to do jobs that are unattractive, like being janitors or doing other low-skilled work, such as harvesting crops or cleaning tables in restaurants.

For her part, Gomez, the cleaning and landscaping service owner, says she won’t succumb to the pressure to hire workers who aren’t supposed to work in the U.S.

“I’m going to follow the law,” she says.

Joyce M. Rosenberg writes for The Associated Press.

ANACONDA – Organizers have started planning a summer people’s market and are looking for vendors and volunteers.

The 2013 Anaconda Community Market, which features area foods, crafts and wares, starts Thursday, July 25, and continues through September. The market will be open each Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Friendship Park, adjacent to the Copper Village Museum and Art Center. The park is undergoing improvements this year including cleanup, landscaping and electrical upgrades.

The market features vendors from throughout Southwest Montana who offer everything from fresh produce and wild Alaskan salmon to jewelry and handmade soaps. Admission is free, and meals are available from a weekly lunch vendor.

Vendors interested in selling at the market may pre-register beginning immediately for $10 per market or $100 for the season. Late and same-day registration is $15 per market. Lunch vendors may pre-register for up to two markets. Contact vendor coordinator Erin Nicholes, 560-2608, or erinnicholes5@gmail.com for a registration form, and for more information.

Volunteers are needed to help with setup, take-down and clean-up activities. Contact volunteer coordinator Kristine Smith, 491-1491 or krissmith28@gmail.com to sign up for specific dates.

In addition, organizations, businesses and individuals may choose to sponsor children’s activities as a community service at the kids’ corner during the 2013 markets. Face-painting, arts and crafts projects, physical and educational activities and jewelry making are examples of appropriate kids’ corner activities. The kids’ corner offers free activities to kids under 12, and sponsors are not required to pay a booth fee.

The market is sponsored by the Anaconda Community Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to securing Anaconda’s future as a vibrant place to live, work and raise families. Market proceeds are returned to the community in the form of grants distributed to important local nonprofit organizations.