Gardening 101

If you want to start learning right away, there is space available at the Community Gardener 101 course offered by the Spartanburg Men’s Garden Club. Classes start from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 12, and run through April 30. The cost is $155 and includes a one-year membership to the club (which is for women too).

The classes are held at Spartanburg Community College’s central campus in the Tracy Gaines Building.

Each class is presented by Master Gardeners, local professionals and the SCC horticulture staff (Jason Bagwell, Kevin Parris, and Jay Moore). I will be teaching annuals and perennials, and container gardening. Parris will teach propagation and pruning. Jeff Hall, Hatcher Garden’s horticulturalist, will talk on native plants. Other subjects include soils, basic botany, seed starting, vegetable gardening and landscaping.

This class is offered twice a year and is an excellent start to learning the basics of gardening.

To sign up, call 592-4406.

For more information, call Joe Maple, who is in charge of the class, at 576-3319.

Davidson Horticultural Symposium

This event at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., will feature the noted English gardener Noel Kingsbury as its keynote speaker this year. The theme is “Beyond the Garden Gate: Exploring Creative Spaces.”

In addition to Kingsbury, Julia Moir Meservy, Nan Chase and well-known terrarium expert Tovah Martin will speak.

The registration deadline is Feb. 22, and the $89 fee includes lunch.

There are two morning lectures, followed by lunch. Then there is an additional lecture after lunch, followed by a workshop. It is a full day and always very informative.

There are always lots of refreshments, an extraordinary marketplace, as well as a great book sale.

To register, go to www.davidsonsymposium.org and register. All events are held at the Knobloch Campus Center.

Southern Spring Home and Garden Show

Just up the road in Charlotte, N.C., is the Southern Home and Garden Show. This year the show will be open from Feb. 28 to March 3. This event will be at the Park Expo and Conference Center, 2500 E. Independence Blvd. Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for children. For more about this show, visit www.southernshows. com/sss. If you can only go to one show this year, this one is the closest and is usually very good.

Southeastern Flower Show

Farther down the road in Atlanta, you can visit the 25th Southeastern Flower Show. This year’s theme is “What’s Old Is New Again.” It will take place March 15-17 at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

This show will have a whole section on judged entries in landscaping, artistic design, discovery, horticulture, youth and photography.

General admission tickets are $21 and are available at www.southeasternflowershow.eventbeite.com

Philadelphia Flower Show

I have saved the best for last. The best flower show in the country is the Philadelphia Flower Show. It usually picks a country to draw its theme from. This year the show is based on the United Kingdom, with the theme “Brilliant!” The show is held at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

The display gardens are incredible every year, and I expect that this year it will be better than usual with the English theme. There are behind-the- scenes tours to get you into the show before everyone else. The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society sponsors the show and arranges for all of the speakers.

There are education lectures going on nonstop, as well as garden teas, and the very best miniature garden judged competition. In addition, the displays of pictures made entirely from plants and flower petals are incredible.

Just standing in the entryway to this flower show is an amazing experience. There are endless gardens that will instantly transport you to a faraway place. Bring your camera and especially your notepads and pens. Tickets are $27 and are available at www.theflowershow.com. This is a show you should attend at the very least once in your life. Spring is on its way, and the daffodil foliage is peeking out of the ground everywhere. Now is the time to plan your spring activities. This list of lectures and shows will help arm you with ideas for you to bring home and implement into your very own backyard garden space.

Linda Cobb is a master gardener who lectures, teaches and does garden design. Reach her at 574-8493 or email her at lindacobb@charter.net.

* Party leaders consider reasons for Mitt Romney’s defeat
* Paul Ryan: Republican ideas better for “daily lives”
* Leadership will come from states, Republican governor says
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Days after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Republican leaders said on Sunday their party needed to change the way it communicates, not its ideas, to win back the White House.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, appearing in his first live television interview since the Nov. 6 election, said his party needs to demonstrate that Republican ideas can improve people’s lives.
“We have to show our ideas are better at fighting poverty, how our ideas are better at solving healthcare, how our ideas are better at solving the problems people are experiencing in their daily lives,” the Wisconsin congressman told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.
Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned aggressively and lost by 4 percentage points, said his party’s message has failed to reach voters who don’t pay close attention to politics.
“I think they don’t understand the conservative message,” McDonnell told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
McDonnell said the party should look away from Washington and toward the country’s 30 Republican governors for lessons on how to gain voters’ support.
Representative David Schweikert of Arizona said his party has failed to connect with many Americans.
“We are accountants,” Schweikert said on ABC’s “This Week,” arguing that the Republican Party offers a more analytical approach to solving problems than Democrats. “Sometimes, though, being an accountant doesn’t pull at the heart strings.”
Republican leaders gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week to address the party’s future. There, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a potential candidate for president in 2016, told his fellow Republicans to “stop being the stupid party” and reject anti-intellectual strands within the party.
In the 2012 campaign, Republicans struggled to attract support from single women, Hispanics and blacks. Some Republicans are looking to embrace immigration reform as a way to alter the party’s image and welcome new voters.
“How can we be a party of growth, of opportunity, of free enterprise, of prosperity, but not be the party of immigration?” said Carlos Gutierrez, a former U.S. commerce secretary, on “State of the Union.”
Highlighting a Florida Republican senator’s approach to providing a path to citizen for undocumented immigrants, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told CBS’s “Face the Nation:” “Republicans had better listen very carefully to Marco Rubio.”
(Reporting By Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by Eric Beech)

Also on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

• NASCAR Friends

  At the Daytona 500 race, Mitt Romney’s a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/mitt-romney-nascar-team-owners_n_1303029.html” target=”_hplink”attempt to connect with voters went awry/a when he admitted that he didn’t follow racing as closely as “some of the most ardent fans.”

  “But I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners,” he added.

  At the same event, he told a group of fans wearing plastic ponchos, “I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.”

  Romney later a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/mitt-romney-garbage-bag-rain-gear_n_1313499.html” target=”_hplink”defended the comment/a, saying, “Look, I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself.”

• Loving The Height Of Michigan’s Trees

  Romney campaigned through Michigan ahead of the state’s GOP primary in March, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html” target=”_hplink”frequently making mention/a of its foliage.

  blockquoteMitt Romney’s last few Michigan stump speeches have included an unusual plank — his appreciation for the apparently perfect height of the state’s trees.

  “I love this state,” he told an audience Tuesday. “The trees are the right height.”

  On Friday afternoon, Romney reprised the comment, saying, “This feels good, being back in Michigan. You know, the trees are the right height.”/blockquote

  Of course, those comments were just the latest examples of Romney professing his love for the Wolverine State’s trees. For more, read the a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html” target=”_hplink”rest of the story/a.

• Romney Likes Grits, Y’all

  At a March stump speech in Mississippi, Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/mitt-romney-i-like-grits-learning-to-say-yall_n_1334935.html?ref=elections-2012″ target=”_hplink”explained to primary voters/a that he had been making attempts to solidify his Southern credentials.

  blockquoteCampaigning in Mississippi on Wednesday, Mitt Romney attempted to win over local voters by invoking a beloved regional delicacy.

  The former Massachusetts governor said during a speech in Pascagoula, Miss., that he is turning into an “unofficial Southerner.” He also joked, “I’m learning to say ‘y’all’ and I like grits. Strange things are happening to me.”/blockquote

• Packzi Problems

  Romney tried to connect with a Michigan crowd by providing 35 dozen paczkis, Polish jelly doughnuts traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday, with flavors including strawberry, rose-hip and prune.

  But as emThe Washington Post/em reports, a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-michigan-rallies-reveal-romney-santorum-flaws/2012/02/21/gIQA5Sz9ZR_print.html” target=”_hplink”the gesture went awry/a:

  blockquoteThe Comeback Kid walked out smiling, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans.

  And immediately messed something up.

  “By the way, how was the paczkis this morning? Yeah, yeah! That was very good,” Romney said. His message: We are not so different, you and I. We have both just eaten the same food! But then Romney began talking about the powdered sugar on the paczki.

  There was no powdered sugar. The doughnuts were glazed and bare.

  “Reminded me of what’s going on outside,” Romney said, comparing the falling snow to a doughnut that people had not eaten. (Had he not really eaten one of the paczki, after all? Had Romney’s campaign given the naked doughnuts to the crowd, while Romney was eating upgraded, sugar-dusted ones backstage?)/blockquote

  Passing out baked goods is apparently something of a Romney hallmark, per this pool report of his a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/sc-primary-mitt-romney-ha_n_1220447.html” target=”_hplink”foisting Panera on reporters/a during a flight.

• A Couple Of Cadillacs

  Mitt Romney tried to woo voters in Michigan when he off-handedly listed the American cars he and his wife owned, but may have instead ended up painting himself as out of touch.

  “I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles,” Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-cadillac_n_1299740.html” target=”_hplink”said during an economic policy address/a. “I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs actually. I used to have a Dodge pickup truck, so I used to have all three covered.”

  Ann Romney’s SRXs, retail new for $35,485 to $54,525.

• $10,000 Bet

  During a December debate, Mitt Romney tried to make a point by challenging rival Rick Perry to a bet over the content of his book, “No Apology.”

  “You’ve raised that before, Rick, and you’re simply wrong,” Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/10/mitt-romneys-10000-bet-rick-perry_n_1141387.html” target=”_hplink”said/a. “Rick, I’ll tell you what: 10,000 bucks?”

  He may have been right, but it was the dollar amount that raised eyebrows. $10,000 is a href=”https://twitter.com/#!/WestWingReport/status/145696946579972097″ target=”_hplink”three months’ salary/a for many Americans.

• Pink Slips

  During the New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/new-hampshire-primary-romney-rivals-final-appeals_n_1193570.html” target=”_hplink”told an audience/a at a campaign stop that he understood the fear of being fired, and that “there were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped.”

  Then-opponent Rick Perry mocked the statement, saying, “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips – whether he’d have enough of them to hand out.”

• Oh, My Goodness!

  At a campaign stop this spring in Derry, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney pulled a gag that raised eyebrows. While posing for a photo with his arms around the waitresses at Mary Ann’s Diner, Romney suddenly jumped forward, acting as if someone had pinched his hind quarters.”Oh, my goodness gracious!” he exclaimed.

  The GOP presidential candidate later said he was “just teasing” and the gag is “kind of fun to do.”

• Chrome For The Hollandaise

  During a Granite State visit, Mitt Romney stopped off at Blake’s Restaurant in Manchester. On the way out he met with the diner’s owner a href=”http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/06/14/mitt_romney_vs_diners.html” target=”_hplink”and cracked this egg/a:

  blockquoteI saw a young man over there with eggs benedict. He had the eggs benedict with a hollandaise sauce and the eggs, there. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce and hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise!/blockquote

  emGet it!?/em

  The owner laughed politely.

• Corporations Are People

  At an August rally in Iowa, Mitt Romney attempted to school a heckler by telling him that “corporations are people.”

  “Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are,” Romney said, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/11/mitt-romney-heckled-iowa_n_924426.html” target=”_hplink”answering a question about entitlement reform/a. “Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings my friend.”

• Know Each Other?

  Trying to make small talk with patrons at a New Hampshire diner, Romney asked a married couple sitting in a booth together, “You know each other?”

  Other Romney conversation nonstarters, a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-day-of-awkwardness-with-mitt-romney/2011/06/14/AGApq6UH_story.html” target=”_hplink”via The emWashington Post/em/a:

  blockquoteTo a man wearing a “Joe Gauci Landscaping” T-shirt: “You do some landscaping work?” To two older women who just came from the gym: “Are your knees, hips doing okay?” … Romney seemed to be auditing one man: “What’s happened to your financials the last couple of years?”/blockquote

• ‘I’m Also Unemployed’

  On the campaign trail in Florida, Romney and a small group of voters discussed unemployment and how to find a job in the struggling economy. The GOP presidential candidate worth more than $200 million chimed in, “I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed.” The crowd laughed and asked if he was on LinkedIn. “I’m networking,” Romney said, “I have my sight on a particular job.”

• Who Let The Dogs Out?

  In the now-infamous video from Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, Mitt is seen meeting with voters at a Martin Luther King Day parade in Florida. After nervously approaching a crowd of youngsters and awkwardly weaving his arm into the huddle, he randomly a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22/mitt-romney-who-let-the-d_n_82486.html” target=”_hplink”blurted out/a, “Who let the dogs out? Whoo Whoo!”

  For the full effect, watch the YouTube video above.

• Anyone Over 100?

  At a town hall event at a senior center in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney asked the elderly audience if anyone was over 100 years old. The exchange, a href=”http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/25/romneys-awkward-senior-moment/” target=”_hplink”via the Daily Caller/a:

  blockquote”Anybody here over 100 years old?” Romney asked.

  Crickets.

  “Not yet, but we’re getting there, right? We’re on our way,” continued Romney.

  “We’re hopefully going to get there soon.”

  “Well, not so soon. We hope to get there safe and sound.”/blockquote

• Airplane Scuffle With LMFAO Rapper

  In February 2010, Mitt Romney got into a a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/mitt-romney-threatened-on-plane_n_463322.html” target=”_hplink”scuffle on an airplane/a traveling back from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A Romney spokesman initially told reporters that a passenger became “physically violent” after Romney asked him to move his seat upright for takeoff. Rapper “Sky Blu from the group LMFAO later identified himself as the passenger, saying Romney loudly told him several times to straighten his seat. When Romney reached forward and grabbed Blu’s shoulder, the rapper knocked Romney’s hand away.

  a href=”http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632218/lmfaos-sky-blu-was-other-man-mitt-romneys-plane-fight.jhtml” target=”_hplink”From MTV/a:

  blockquoteIf Romney had asked nicely, Blu said he might have put his seat up, but since he was so rude … Well, next thing you know, Blu said Romney reached out and put his hand on his shoulder and asked him again to put his seat up. /blockquote

  a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/mitt-romneys-fight-with-a_n_468407.html” target=”_hplink”Blu said/a, “And I didn’t take it any further than that. I just wanted the man not to touch me; that’s it.”

• Only $100s

  At a campaign stop in Colorado, Romney mingled with patrons at a Mexican joint in Denver. From a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-sharpens-attack-on-dodd-frank-financial-regulations/2011/06/20/AGPbUwdH_story.html” target=”_hplink”emThe Washington Post/em/a:

  blockquoteAt one table, a boy offered Romney a $1 bill that he had folded origami-style for good luck. The candidate happily accepted it, but then rifled through his wallet looking for money to give the boy in return. Romney had a $100 bill, but evidently did not want to give that away. An aide handed him a $1 bill, but Romney said that wasn’t enough.

  Then, deep inside his leather billfold, Romney found a $5 bill. “We’ll give you an Abraham Lincoln back,” he said, handing it to the boy./blockquote

• A ‘Product’

  Mingling with voters at a a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romney-reaches-out-but-often-lacks-common-touch/2011/10/21/gIQAkUVc7L_story.html?hpid=z3″ target=”_hplink”campaign stop in Iowa/a, Romney ordered a plate of fried chicken, corn and baked beans. While chatting with the market’s owner, Romney, ever the business executive, curiously referred to the meal as a “product.”

• Politicians Get Recognized

  a href=”http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59002.html#ixzz1biat38lC” target=”_hplink”Courtesy of Politico/a, this video shows Romney trying his hand at comedy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Romney talks to the crowd about how his four years in politics compare to his 25 years in the private sector, and how politicians get recognized in public.

  blockquoteI was in the Newark airport, flying to Boston, and I was reading my newspaper and I heard someone shriek and I looked up and she was pointing at me. She had on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots; she was a Chinese exchange student. I knew she wasn’t Texan because she had her jeans tucked into her boots. She pointed at me and she said, ‘You’re John Kerry!” And I said, “I sure am.”/blockquote

  For the full act, and the audience non-response, check out the video above.

• Aloof Plane Flight

  Mitt Romney displayed some particularly aloof behavior when a passenger sitting next to him on a fight to Boston tried to strike up conversation, emThe New York Times/em reported Nov. 6. a href=”http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/in-flight-romney-is-aloof-with-fellow-passengers/” target=”_hplink”From the emTimes/em/a:

  blockquoteAccording to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight — which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading emUSA Today/em and using an iPad while wearing headphones — she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.

  “He looked at me blankly and said, ‘I understand,’ then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading,” she said./blockquote

  When another passenger asked Romney for a restarauant recommendation in Boston, he told her “I can’t give you any .. You’ll have to ask someone else,” according to the article.

• Perspired Heavily

  For 15 years Mitt Romney ran the private equity group Bain Capital. The successful financial company earned him millions. a href=”http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/16/nation/na-mittbain16″ target=”_hplink”An emLos Angeles Times/em article/a about Romney’s career at Bain painted a picture of the businessman under strain. “In tense meetings, he sometimes perspired so heavily it became an office joke. Or he nervously flapped his tie and said, “Oooohhh, what do we do now?” former colleagues told the paper.

• The Decision

  When Romney entered the 2008 presidential race, he released a a href=”http://www.myspace.com/video/mittromney/the-decision/16602414″ target=”_hplink”13-minute video /aof his family aimed at humanizing him. The video, titled “The Decision,” went viral, but not for the reasons Romney wanted. The short film is narrated mostly by his wife Anne Romney, who comes across as charming, personable and engaging, while the rest of the scene gives off a cloying whiff of privilege, cloister and artificiality.

  Mitt sits down with his family to discuss the pros and cons of running for president, although Anne had already admitted that the decision had basically been made earlier, undermining the conceit of the filmed family gathering. Mitt, apparently unable to behave informally even with his family, whips out a white legal pad to take notes on his family’s discussion. “Let me ask: How do you minimize the downsides?” the business executive asks his sons and daughters.

  Tagg Romney, who suggests he runs, has one warning for his pop: “The country may think of you as a laughing stock.”

* Party leaders consider reasons for Mitt Romney’s defeat
* Paul Ryan: Republican ideas better for “daily lives”
* Leadership will come from states, Republican governor says
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Days after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Republican leaders said on Sunday their party needed to change the way it communicates, not its ideas, to win back the White House.
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, appearing in his first live television interview since the Nov. 6 election, said his party needs to demonstrate that Republican ideas can improve people’s lives.
“We have to show our ideas are better at fighting poverty, how our ideas are better at solving healthcare, how our ideas are better at solving the problems people are experiencing in their daily lives,” the Wisconsin congressman told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.
Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned aggressively and lost by 4 percentage points, said his party’s message has failed to reach voters who don’t pay close attention to politics.
“I think they don’t understand the conservative message,” McDonnell told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
McDonnell said the party should look away from Washington and toward the country’s 30 Republican governors for lessons on how to gain voters’ support.
Representative David Schweikert of Arizona said his party has failed to connect with many Americans.
“We are accountants,” Schweikert said on ABC’s “This Week,” arguing that the Republican Party offers a more analytical approach to solving problems than Democrats. “Sometimes, though, being an accountant doesn’t pull at the heart strings.”
Republican leaders gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week to address the party’s future. There, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a potential candidate for president in 2016, told his fellow Republicans to “stop being the stupid party” and reject anti-intellectual strands within the party.
In the 2012 campaign, Republicans struggled to attract support from single women, Hispanics and blacks. Some Republicans are looking to embrace immigration reform as a way to alter the party’s image and welcome new voters.
“How can we be a party of growth, of opportunity, of free enterprise, of prosperity, but not be the party of immigration?” said Carlos Gutierrez, a former U.S. commerce secretary, on “State of the Union.”
Highlighting a Florida Republican senator’s approach to providing a path to citizen for undocumented immigrants, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told CBS’s “Face the Nation:” “Republicans had better listen very carefully to Marco Rubio.”
(Reporting By Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by Eric Beech)

Also on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

• NASCAR Friends

  At the Daytona 500 race, Mitt Romney’s a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/mitt-romney-nascar-team-owners_n_1303029.html” target=”_hplink”attempt to connect with voters went awry/a when he admitted that he didn’t follow racing as closely as “some of the most ardent fans.”

  “But I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners,” he added.

  At the same event, he told a group of fans wearing plastic ponchos, “I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.”

  Romney later a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/mitt-romney-garbage-bag-rain-gear_n_1313499.html” target=”_hplink”defended the comment/a, saying, “Look, I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself.”

• Loving The Height Of Michigan’s Trees

  Romney campaigned through Michigan ahead of the state’s GOP primary in March, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html” target=”_hplink”frequently making mention/a of its foliage.

  blockquoteMitt Romney’s last few Michigan stump speeches have included an unusual plank — his appreciation for the apparently perfect height of the state’s trees.

  “I love this state,” he told an audience Tuesday. “The trees are the right height.”

  On Friday afternoon, Romney reprised the comment, saying, “This feels good, being back in Michigan. You know, the trees are the right height.”/blockquote

  Of course, those comments were just the latest examples of Romney professing his love for the Wolverine State’s trees. For more, read the a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html” target=”_hplink”rest of the story/a.

• Romney Likes Grits, Y’all

  At a March stump speech in Mississippi, Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/mitt-romney-i-like-grits-learning-to-say-yall_n_1334935.html?ref=elections-2012″ target=”_hplink”explained to primary voters/a that he had been making attempts to solidify his Southern credentials.

  blockquoteCampaigning in Mississippi on Wednesday, Mitt Romney attempted to win over local voters by invoking a beloved regional delicacy.

  The former Massachusetts governor said during a speech in Pascagoula, Miss., that he is turning into an “unofficial Southerner.” He also joked, “I’m learning to say ‘y’all’ and I like grits. Strange things are happening to me.”/blockquote

• Packzi Problems

  Romney tried to connect with a Michigan crowd by providing 35 dozen paczkis, Polish jelly doughnuts traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday, with flavors including strawberry, rose-hip and prune.

  But as emThe Washington Post/em reports, a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-michigan-rallies-reveal-romney-santorum-flaws/2012/02/21/gIQA5Sz9ZR_print.html” target=”_hplink”the gesture went awry/a:

  blockquoteThe Comeback Kid walked out smiling, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans.

  And immediately messed something up.

  “By the way, how was the paczkis this morning? Yeah, yeah! That was very good,” Romney said. His message: We are not so different, you and I. We have both just eaten the same food! But then Romney began talking about the powdered sugar on the paczki.

  There was no powdered sugar. The doughnuts were glazed and bare.

  “Reminded me of what’s going on outside,” Romney said, comparing the falling snow to a doughnut that people had not eaten. (Had he not really eaten one of the paczki, after all? Had Romney’s campaign given the naked doughnuts to the crowd, while Romney was eating upgraded, sugar-dusted ones backstage?)/blockquote

  Passing out baked goods is apparently something of a Romney hallmark, per this pool report of his a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/sc-primary-mitt-romney-ha_n_1220447.html” target=”_hplink”foisting Panera on reporters/a during a flight.

• A Couple Of Cadillacs

  Mitt Romney tried to woo voters in Michigan when he off-handedly listed the American cars he and his wife owned, but may have instead ended up painting himself as out of touch.

  “I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles,” Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-cadillac_n_1299740.html” target=”_hplink”said during an economic policy address/a. “I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs actually. I used to have a Dodge pickup truck, so I used to have all three covered.”

  Ann Romney’s SRXs, retail new for $35,485 to $54,525.

• $10,000 Bet

  During a December debate, Mitt Romney tried to make a point by challenging rival Rick Perry to a bet over the content of his book, “No Apology.”

  “You’ve raised that before, Rick, and you’re simply wrong,” Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/10/mitt-romneys-10000-bet-rick-perry_n_1141387.html” target=”_hplink”said/a. “Rick, I’ll tell you what: 10,000 bucks?”

  He may have been right, but it was the dollar amount that raised eyebrows. $10,000 is a href=”https://twitter.com/#!/WestWingReport/status/145696946579972097″ target=”_hplink”three months’ salary/a for many Americans.

• Pink Slips

  During the New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/new-hampshire-primary-romney-rivals-final-appeals_n_1193570.html” target=”_hplink”told an audience/a at a campaign stop that he understood the fear of being fired, and that “there were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped.”

  Then-opponent Rick Perry mocked the statement, saying, “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips – whether he’d have enough of them to hand out.”

• Oh, My Goodness!

  At a campaign stop this spring in Derry, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney pulled a gag that raised eyebrows. While posing for a photo with his arms around the waitresses at Mary Ann’s Diner, Romney suddenly jumped forward, acting as if someone had pinched his hind quarters.”Oh, my goodness gracious!” he exclaimed.

  The GOP presidential candidate later said he was “just teasing” and the gag is “kind of fun to do.”

• Chrome For The Hollandaise

  During a Granite State visit, Mitt Romney stopped off at Blake’s Restaurant in Manchester. On the way out he met with the diner’s owner a href=”http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/06/14/mitt_romney_vs_diners.html” target=”_hplink”and cracked this egg/a:

  blockquoteI saw a young man over there with eggs benedict. He had the eggs benedict with a hollandaise sauce and the eggs, there. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce and hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise!/blockquote

  emGet it!?/em

  The owner laughed politely.

• Corporations Are People

  At an August rally in Iowa, Mitt Romney attempted to school a heckler by telling him that “corporations are people.”

  “Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are,” Romney said, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/11/mitt-romney-heckled-iowa_n_924426.html” target=”_hplink”answering a question about entitlement reform/a. “Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings my friend.”

• Know Each Other?

  Trying to make small talk with patrons at a New Hampshire diner, Romney asked a married couple sitting in a booth together, “You know each other?”

  Other Romney conversation nonstarters, a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-day-of-awkwardness-with-mitt-romney/2011/06/14/AGApq6UH_story.html” target=”_hplink”via The emWashington Post/em/a:

  blockquoteTo a man wearing a “Joe Gauci Landscaping” T-shirt: “You do some landscaping work?” To two older women who just came from the gym: “Are your knees, hips doing okay?” … Romney seemed to be auditing one man: “What’s happened to your financials the last couple of years?”/blockquote

• ‘I’m Also Unemployed’

  On the campaign trail in Florida, Romney and a small group of voters discussed unemployment and how to find a job in the struggling economy. The GOP presidential candidate worth more than $200 million chimed in, “I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed.” The crowd laughed and asked if he was on LinkedIn. “I’m networking,” Romney said, “I have my sight on a particular job.”

• Who Let The Dogs Out?

  In the now-infamous video from Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, Mitt is seen meeting with voters at a Martin Luther King Day parade in Florida. After nervously approaching a crowd of youngsters and awkwardly weaving his arm into the huddle, he randomly a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22/mitt-romney-who-let-the-d_n_82486.html” target=”_hplink”blurted out/a, “Who let the dogs out? Whoo Whoo!”

  For the full effect, watch the YouTube video above.

• Anyone Over 100?

  At a town hall event at a senior center in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney asked the elderly audience if anyone was over 100 years old. The exchange, a href=”http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/25/romneys-awkward-senior-moment/” target=”_hplink”via the Daily Caller/a:

  blockquote”Anybody here over 100 years old?” Romney asked.

  Crickets.

  “Not yet, but we’re getting there, right? We’re on our way,” continued Romney.

  “We’re hopefully going to get there soon.”

  “Well, not so soon. We hope to get there safe and sound.”/blockquote

• Airplane Scuffle With LMFAO Rapper

  In February 2010, Mitt Romney got into a a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/mitt-romney-threatened-on-plane_n_463322.html” target=”_hplink”scuffle on an airplane/a traveling back from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A Romney spokesman initially told reporters that a passenger became “physically violent” after Romney asked him to move his seat upright for takeoff. Rapper “Sky Blu from the group LMFAO later identified himself as the passenger, saying Romney loudly told him several times to straighten his seat. When Romney reached forward and grabbed Blu’s shoulder, the rapper knocked Romney’s hand away.

  a href=”http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632218/lmfaos-sky-blu-was-other-man-mitt-romneys-plane-fight.jhtml” target=”_hplink”From MTV/a:

  blockquoteIf Romney had asked nicely, Blu said he might have put his seat up, but since he was so rude … Well, next thing you know, Blu said Romney reached out and put his hand on his shoulder and asked him again to put his seat up. /blockquote

  a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/mitt-romneys-fight-with-a_n_468407.html” target=”_hplink”Blu said/a, “And I didn’t take it any further than that. I just wanted the man not to touch me; that’s it.”

• Only $100s

  At a campaign stop in Colorado, Romney mingled with patrons at a Mexican joint in Denver. From a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-sharpens-attack-on-dodd-frank-financial-regulations/2011/06/20/AGPbUwdH_story.html” target=”_hplink”emThe Washington Post/em/a:

  blockquoteAt one table, a boy offered Romney a $1 bill that he had folded origami-style for good luck. The candidate happily accepted it, but then rifled through his wallet looking for money to give the boy in return. Romney had a $100 bill, but evidently did not want to give that away. An aide handed him a $1 bill, but Romney said that wasn’t enough.

  Then, deep inside his leather billfold, Romney found a $5 bill. “We’ll give you an Abraham Lincoln back,” he said, handing it to the boy./blockquote

• A ‘Product’

  Mingling with voters at a a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romney-reaches-out-but-often-lacks-common-touch/2011/10/21/gIQAkUVc7L_story.html?hpid=z3″ target=”_hplink”campaign stop in Iowa/a, Romney ordered a plate of fried chicken, corn and baked beans. While chatting with the market’s owner, Romney, ever the business executive, curiously referred to the meal as a “product.”

• Politicians Get Recognized

  a href=”http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59002.html#ixzz1biat38lC” target=”_hplink”Courtesy of Politico/a, this video shows Romney trying his hand at comedy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Romney talks to the crowd about how his four years in politics compare to his 25 years in the private sector, and how politicians get recognized in public.

  blockquoteI was in the Newark airport, flying to Boston, and I was reading my newspaper and I heard someone shriek and I looked up and she was pointing at me. She had on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots; she was a Chinese exchange student. I knew she wasn’t Texan because she had her jeans tucked into her boots. She pointed at me and she said, ‘You’re John Kerry!” And I said, “I sure am.”/blockquote

  For the full act, and the audience non-response, check out the video above.

• Aloof Plane Flight

  Mitt Romney displayed some particularly aloof behavior when a passenger sitting next to him on a fight to Boston tried to strike up conversation, emThe New York Times/em reported Nov. 6. a href=”http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/in-flight-romney-is-aloof-with-fellow-passengers/” target=”_hplink”From the emTimes/em/a:

  blockquoteAccording to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight — which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading emUSA Today/em and using an iPad while wearing headphones — she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.

  “He looked at me blankly and said, ‘I understand,’ then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading,” she said./blockquote

  When another passenger asked Romney for a restarauant recommendation in Boston, he told her “I can’t give you any .. You’ll have to ask someone else,” according to the article.

• Perspired Heavily

  For 15 years Mitt Romney ran the private equity group Bain Capital. The successful financial company earned him millions. a href=”http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/16/nation/na-mittbain16″ target=”_hplink”An emLos Angeles Times/em article/a about Romney’s career at Bain painted a picture of the businessman under strain. “In tense meetings, he sometimes perspired so heavily it became an office joke. Or he nervously flapped his tie and said, “Oooohhh, what do we do now?” former colleagues told the paper.

• The Decision

  When Romney entered the 2008 presidential race, he released a a href=”http://www.myspace.com/video/mittromney/the-decision/16602414″ target=”_hplink”13-minute video /aof his family aimed at humanizing him. The video, titled “The Decision,” went viral, but not for the reasons Romney wanted. The short film is narrated mostly by his wife Anne Romney, who comes across as charming, personable and engaging, while the rest of the scene gives off a cloying whiff of privilege, cloister and artificiality.

  Mitt sits down with his family to discuss the pros and cons of running for president, although Anne had already admitted that the decision had basically been made earlier, undermining the conceit of the filmed family gathering. Mitt, apparently unable to behave informally even with his family, whips out a white legal pad to take notes on his family’s discussion. “Let me ask: How do you minimize the downsides?” the business executive asks his sons and daughters.

  Tagg Romney, who suggests he runs, has one warning for his pop: “The country may think of you as a laughing stock.”

Different studies have shown varying results with regards to increased property values due to landscaping.

Boise, ID ( pr-usa.net ) January 25, 2013 – Different studies have shown varying results
with regards to increased property values due to landscaping. For example,
adding a deck, a porch, a patio, or plants around your home may increase
your property value by up to 14%! Additionally, studies have found that
beautifully landscaped homes with trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants have
typically sold faster in the past. Therefore, landscaping is imperative because
it plays an important role in the economic value of your property. At the same
time, it also has a distinct quality of life value, simply providing peace,
privacy, and beauty to your property.

Landscaping
Ideas To Add Value To Your Home

Whether you plan on staying in your
home or selling it, you should make the most of your property, beginning with
reducing maintenance wherever possible, such as with a sprinkler system. You’ll
save lots of time and energy when such a system is in place, and it will
definitely look impressive as a selling feature in the
future.

Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees

No landscaping plans are
complete without these essentials regardless of the size of your property.
Perennials are plants that will grow back and bloom year after year. Annuals are
still important in the garden, as they will continue to add excitement and color
in between the blooming perennials. Shrubs add shape and interest, and trees
provide vertical line for more excitement.

Light up your property and
your home at every opportunity. Today, it is a very economical undertaking,
considering the availability of solar powered LED lighting, which can
dramatically cut down the cost of their installation around the garden. Bright
floodlights or up lights beneath a tree can also create visual drama to make
your home look absolutely fantastic and give it curb appeal. Solar garden lights
provide safety and softer illumination which look stunning along the sides of
the walkway that lead to the entrance.

To really pack a punch, consider
installing a water feature, like a fountain. In the past, this was usually quite
expensive, but that’s not the case anymore. In fact, these also can be powered
by solar energy, so anyone can install them, and they are available in different
shapes and sizes to complement the architectural design of your
home.

While your budget may not allow you to do all of the above at once,
you may be able to pace yourself with one project per year. You can stretch out
your large projects in phases over the course of a few years. Slowly but surely
your project will be completed and it will definitely add to your enjoyment at
home. You will also have the opportunity to witness the excitement of each step
being unveiled knowing all the while you are adding value to your
property.

Media Contact Information:

P.O. Box 140134
Boise,
Idaho 83714
Phone: 208.884.2694
Email:

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

###

Different studies have shown varying results with regards to increased property values due to landscaping.

Boise, ID ( pr-usa.net ) January 25, 2013 – Different studies have shown varying results
with regards to increased property values due to landscaping. For example,
adding a deck, a porch, a patio, or plants around your home may increase
your property value by up to 14%! Additionally, studies have found that
beautifully landscaped homes with trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants have
typically sold faster in the past. Therefore, landscaping is imperative because
it plays an important role in the economic value of your property. At the same
time, it also has a distinct quality of life value, simply providing peace,
privacy, and beauty to your property.

Landscaping
Ideas To Add Value To Your Home

Whether you plan on staying in your
home or selling it, you should make the most of your property, beginning with
reducing maintenance wherever possible, such as with a sprinkler system. You’ll
save lots of time and energy when such a system is in place, and it will
definitely look impressive as a selling feature in the
future.

Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees

No landscaping plans are
complete without these essentials regardless of the size of your property.
Perennials are plants that will grow back and bloom year after year. Annuals are
still important in the garden, as they will continue to add excitement and color
in between the blooming perennials. Shrubs add shape and interest, and trees
provide vertical line for more excitement.

Light up your property and
your home at every opportunity. Today, it is a very economical undertaking,
considering the availability of solar powered LED lighting, which can
dramatically cut down the cost of their installation around the garden. Bright
floodlights or up lights beneath a tree can also create visual drama to make
your home look absolutely fantastic and give it curb appeal. Solar garden lights
provide safety and softer illumination which look stunning along the sides of
the walkway that lead to the entrance.

To really pack a punch, consider
installing a water feature, like a fountain. In the past, this was usually quite
expensive, but that’s not the case anymore. In fact, these also can be powered
by solar energy, so anyone can install them, and they are available in different
shapes and sizes to complement the architectural design of your
home.

While your budget may not allow you to do all of the above at once,
you may be able to pace yourself with one project per year. You can stretch out
your large projects in phases over the course of a few years. Slowly but surely
your project will be completed and it will definitely add to your enjoyment at
home. You will also have the opportunity to witness the excitement of each step
being unveiled knowing all the while you are adding value to your
property.

Media Contact Information:

P.O. Box 140134
Boise,
Idaho 83714
Phone: 208.884.2694
Email:

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

###

Community

Kevin Ostapowicz, a member of Troop 390 in Fairlawn, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting’s highest honor. For his Eagle Scout project, Kevin supervised his fellow scouts in landscaping the gardens in the courtyard of Faith Lutheran Church in Fairlawn, the charter church for his troop. He is a junior at Copley High School.

Leon Doutrich of Wadsworth has received the state’s highest award for a nonactive member of the military reserve. He was honored for 11 years of service on the Fort Knox Retiree Council. He retired from the U.S. Army 20 years ago as a first sergeant and joined the 37th Infantry Division of the Ohio National Guard. He is adjutant of the Wadsworth VFW Post 1089.

Claudia Coleman received the 2013 Charles Salem Humanitarian Award from the city of Akron. She was among a dozen candidates who were nominated for their humanitarianism. She was a board member and officer of Akron Summit Community Action and a member of more than seven other nonprofit organizations throughout her career.

Education

Julie Zhao, director of the IDEAs Program in the University of Akron’s College of Engineering, was named the 2013 Outstanding Minority Engineering Program Administrator by the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates. The IDEAs program — Increasing Diversity in Engineering Academics — recruits African-American, Hispanic and Native American students into engineering majors.

University of Mount Union Board of Trustees member Clifford Shields, a 1943 MU alumnus, was chosen for induction into the Hall of Excellence for the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges. He has been a Mount Union trustee since 1967, serving as president from 1987 to 1992.

Hiram College President Thomas V. Chema has been named to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the unified national voice of more than 1,000 member institutions and associations.

New members to the board of trustees for the University of Mount Union are:

John J. Flynn, an attorney with Keith Flynn in Kent; Laurence Talley, a senior manager, certified public accountant and certified internal auditor at Ernst Young; and Gretchen L. Schuler, vice president of insurance-risk management and technical documentation at Invacare Corp. All graduated from Mount Union.

Military

Sergio V. Capotosto was promoted to master sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He graduated from Tallmadge High School in 1995 and joined the Marine Corps in 1996. He is the son of Fred and Rosemary Capotosto of Tallmadge.

Marine Corps Pvt. Zachary J. Wagner, son of Shannon K. McPeak and David L. Wagner, both of Akron, graduated from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of Ellet High School in Akron.

Marine Corps Pfc. Jyordan J. Smith, son of Lavetta M. and Joseph Smith of Akron, graduated from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. He is a 2012 graduate of James A. Garfield High School.

Navy Constructionman Melanie L. Hamilton, daughter of Melinda and Mark Hamilton of Akron, was among the sailors awarded the Naval Construction Force Battle “E” award for outstanding operational performance of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. She is a 2005 graduate of Springfield High School.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Megan E. Dunton, daughter of Debbie Archer of Canal Winchester and Steve Dunton of Stow, was among the sailors awarded the Naval Construction Force Battle “E” award for outstanding operational performance of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalions.

Dunton is a 1997 graduate of Pickerington High School, a 2002 graduate of the University of Dayton and a 2010 graduate of Ohio State.

Send news of community, school or military achievement to staff writer Carol Biliczky at cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com or fax them to 330-996-3033.

But it’s not for lack of trying.

The California Department of Transportation has tried to fit intermittent trash pick-up into its already heavy workload. Volunteers have stepped up their efforts, too. New ideas are being mulled, like having the city hire clean-up workers with state funds.

Inmates needed

Authorities say the best solution would be to get those inmate crews back, but that possibility is far from certain.

“When we lost the inmates, you could see the difference … you could see the decline,” said John Enriquez of Keep Bakersfield Beautiful, the city’s anti-litter and beautification group. “When we had the inmate program (and) the volunteer efforts, we could stay on top of it. … And things were looking presentable two years ago.”

A contract for prison inmates from the Shafter Community Correctional Facility ended in July 2011. The inmates were paid a small amount to clean up litter along Highways 58 and 99 around Bakersfield and along roadways in Delano, Wasco and Porterville. And they provided a massive amount of labor. Four crews of nine to 12 inmates each, picking up litter six hours a day, five days a week. That totaled at least 1,080 working hours every week.

Now, in the Bakersfield Caltrans office, staff devote about one day a month to litter pickup, and it’s mostly reactionary, such as cleaning up homeless encampments, said David Schroeder of Caltrans. That’s about 72 hours of work time a month.

Litter pickup competes with all the other tasks the 25 Caltrans road crews in Bakersfield do: filling potholes, fixing broken sprinklers, signs and guardrails, answering complaints and repairing facilities when copper wire thieves hit, he said. Those 25 people cover 179 miles of roads and 320 acres of landscaping.

The loss of the inmate crews means “a whole lot more complaints and headaches” for Caltrans, Schroeder said. “We obviously can’t address what we’ve got coming in.”

Caltrans had planned to renew its contract with the Shafter prison to provide crews, he said, but then the facility closed with the shift of certain criminals from state to county custody.

The prison, which had housed more than 500 inmates, still stands empty, but recent discussions with the state Department of Corrections to take state prisoners have been encouraging, said Shafter City Manager John Guinn.

“The (agency) just has to figure out whether it fits into their existing plans,” Guinn said. “I think we’re going to be able to get more information here pretty soon.”

As to whether Shafter inmates would again pick up litter, he said, “That’s certainly everyone’s expectation.”

Inmates to do litter pick-up could come from Los Angeles County. Supervisors there are slated to discuss this week a proposal to send at least 512 prisoners to the Taft Community Correctional Facility.

If that happens, those inmates could do litter pick-up on area highways, said Taft City Manager Craig Jones

But Jones didn’t seem to have much confidence Los Angeles County supervisors will make a decision soon.

“They keep putting (a decision) off, but they haven’t pulled it (from their agenda) yet,” Jones said.

Other efforts

Meanwhile, other groups have been doing what they can to clean up trash along the roads, but it’s hard to make up for the loss of inmate crews.

Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall personally leads weekend clean-ups on Highway 99 ramps under Caltrans’ Adopt-a-Highway program. Last year, he increased those clean-ups from once a month to twice a month.

Keep Bakersfield Beautiful leads intermittent clean-ups by volunteers and weekly clean-ups by kids sentenced to community service for some offense. The kids pick up trash three times a month on Highway 99 and once a month on Chester Avenue. And there are businesses and individuals who participate in Adopt-a-Highway.

But unlike Caltrans staff and the inmates, volunteers and juvenile offenders can’t work on the highways themselves in Bakersfield, only in certain, relatively safer areas, such as on- and off-ramps. That leaves miles and miles untended when they’re covered with trash.

Enriquez said he understands litter isn’t Caltrans’ main responsibility.

“They’re pulled in many directions,” ranging from maintenance to traffic control when there’s an accident, he said. “It’s a community problem … That’s why we talk about solutions, the things we can do as a community to not just point fingers at Caltrans.”

Caltrans has OK’d six sites in Bakersfield for its Adopt-a-Highway program, and 31/2 have been adopted, said Deanna Hornback, a Caltrans coordinator for the program. Adopters for Bakersfield sites commit to six clean-ups a year.

Adopt-a-Highway sites are usually two-mile stretches of roadway that volunteers “adopt” for clean-ups. But Bakersfield highways have been deemed too dangerous for that standard, Hornback said.

“The problem in Bakersfield is the high traffic volumes, high accident rates, steep slopes, the ice plants (that) make it slippery,” Hornback said. “(Caltrans) supervisors have determined that it’s not safe for adoptions on the mainline (highway).”

Local volunteers are frustrated by that restriction, she conceded.

“Even more important than how it looks is the safety of the people that we’re putting out there,” she said.

City solutions in works

The city of Bakersfield is working on other ideas, too, which could alleviate trash on the highways between interchanges, places volunteers can’t go.

Caltrans has proposed giving Bakersfield the money Caltrans would normally spend on inmate crews if the city would take over some responsibility for litter on highways.

How exactly that would happen is still being sorted out, but it could involve the city hiring contract labor, said John Liu, deputy district director for maintenance and operations for Caltrans District 6. The Bakersfield Homeless Center has been involved in those discussions, Liu and Bakersfield Solid Waste Director Sal Moretti said.

The cost of one inmate crew for one year is about $125,000, Liu said, and roughly half that much is available in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Liu said he suggested the city and Caltrans come up with a contract for this option by July, when the new fiscal year starts and more money would be available.

“This is something that’s new for both of us,” Liu said. The idea is that such an agreement would include traffic control, temporary signs and other measures to protect workers.

Of course, the easiest, quickest option remains contracting with inmates, Liu said.

“If a prison came on board, we could do that a lot faster because we do those types of contracts all the time,” he said. On the other hand, there is “zero indication” that would happen anytime soon.

Without additional hands to work on the highway stretches now, anti-litter advocates are pushing other methods, such as enforcement of litter laws and education.

“We really need to educate the public on the importance of keeping their community clean,” Enriquez said. “That first impression that people have as they drive through Bakersfield is unfortunately very negative because of the trash.”

See the results »

View previous polls »

PORT ST. LUCIE — If Bass Pro Shops dives into Port St. Lucie’s growing retail sector as expected, it could help the city reel in other large retail chains and boost property values, local officials said.

The national outdoor sports retailer’s quality fishing and hunting merchandise, its reputation as a tourist attraction and a prime location off Interstate 95 at Gatlin Boulevard — in the vacant Kohl’s building — are being cited as key factors that will lure shoppers to Port St. Lucie.

“I think there will be a positive impact and it’s reflective of the continuing development of that intersection,” City Manager Greg Oravec said. “It shows the value of the area. We expect (Bass Pro Shops’) investment in the community will attract additional investment of businesses of a similar quality.”

It’s uncertain how much sales and property tax revenue a Bass Pro Shops would generate for the city, but local officials say the company’s decision to occupy vacant retail space will increase the potential for jobs, real estate and economic activity.

Property values for the parcel and surrounding lots should increase, said Larry Pelton, president of the St. Lucie County Economic Development Council. 2012 property tax figures for the Kohl’s parcel were not available, according to Elaine Camacho, executive secretary at the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office.

The vacant 100,000-square-foot building could’ve sat empty for at least another two years, Pelton said.

Bass Pro Shops has not said whether it would renovate or expand the existing building, said Katie Mitchell, company spokeswoman. Any structural improvements would be recorded and the property value would increase when the parcel is compared to similar-sized lots during the county’s annual appraisal, Pelton said.

“Not only will (Bass Pro Shops) revive interest in users in Port St. Lucie, but it could help raise the value of other retail space in the area,” Pelton said. “I assume that brokers will start getting real imaginative for existing space that’s around. They’ll start trying to figure out what kind of retailers to go after that would complement it.”

The Home Depot and a new Wendy’s restaurant are the only tenants at Gatlin Plaza, but Jonathan Cohen, vice president of Blumenfeld Development Group, which manages and leases plaza space, said there’s room to grow. There’s also been heavy interest from businesses looking to move in, he said, but wouldn’t disclose specifics.

Bass Pro Shops would be the beginning of realizing a vision that not only would enhance local tourism by promoting fishing and hunting, but would generate enough retail interest to one day construct a regional mall in the southwestern end of the city, Mayor JoAnn Faiella said.

“(Recruiting Bass Pro Shops) was one of many ideas on the table for economic development and it’s helping market the city very aggressively,” she said. “We want to attract people to come to Port St. Lucie and live here.”

That marketing tool could be known as the “drive-by factor,” said Dorothy Hudson, a Realtor and commercial manager with Alex MacWilliam Inc. Real Estate.

“It brings people to the area and bringing people to the area makes any particular area where there’s a big national tenant like that more attractive,” Hudson said.

Bass Pro Shops, which the company says attracts customers within a 45-mile radius, typically have open shopping floors, boat showrooms, marine equipment and entertainment features such as shooting and archery ranges, giant saltwater aquariums and full-service restaurants.

The company, founded in 1972, never has closed one of its more than 50 stores in the U.S., Mitchell said.

“Every time there is a good, nationally recognized commercial tenant, you’re stepping up a notch in the local economy, and I think Bass Pro Shops is very high-profile,” Hudson said. “They’re certainly well-known, and I think it’s a big plus.”

Faiella announced the company is expected to employ 150 full-time positions. It’s yet to be determined if Bass Pro Shops’ presence would benefit local service industries, like building, maintenance and landscaping, Mitchell said.

Port St. Lucie city officials announced Tuesday that Bass Pro Shops has started the approval process, but negotiations for the Kohl’s site are not complete. City officials and the company are working through the process, which is expected to be finished by March. Faiella said the new store could be open by summer.

Staff writer Eric Pfahler contributed to this report.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published
Friday, Jan. 25 2013, 8:00 PM EST

Last updated
Friday, Jan. 25 2013, 6:16 PM EST

Q: This is the year we have
decided to make a landscape plan.
Do I need to hire a professional?
– Dave S., Tulsa

A: Although the average
homeowner can certainly experience
some anxiety with
plant selection and artistic
design, there is no one more
qualified to develop your
particular landscape plan
than you.

A landscape is more than
just the plants and trees in
your yard. It encompasses all
living and nonliving elements
of your environment. A welldesigned
landscape increases
home value and creates a
pleasing environment.

A good place to start is with
a site evaluation. You will
want to document everything
in your current landscape.

Include any structures,
driveways, sidewalks, utilities,
existing beds, trees and
shrubs. Note environmental
conditions such as amount of
sun, excessive wind and drainage
issues. Once you have
accurately recorded your site
characteristics, you can begin
to evaluate the positives and
negatives to determine what
you hope to keep and what
parts of your existing landscape
that need to be changed.

At this point it is helpful to
set some landscape goals for
your property. How do you
want to use your landscape?

Are you primarily entertaining,
or do you need privacy?

Do you need space for pets?

Are you planning to grow
vegetables? Are there any
future considerations, like
the addition of a pool? As a
family, make a list of all your
ideas and intended uses for
your space.

Once you have determined
your goals, you can start
putting your ideas on paper.

Hopefully you have been
able to create a fairly accurate
scale drawing of your
space that includes any existing
plants, trees and structures
that you plan to retain.

It is sometimes a good idea
to make several copies of
your plan so you can experiment
with different design
layouts. Some questions
to address before making
final decisions: Do you have
adequate irrigation? Do you
plan to compost? Have you
allowed sufficient space for
trash and recycling carts?

When the time comes to
actually implement your ideas,
it is advantageous to seek a
landscape designer or architect.

Their knowledge and
expertise can be an invaluable
resource. Do your homework
and select someone who values
your opinions and whose
work you admire. This is a
major investment that, if done
properly, can pay significant
dividends for years to come.

For more detailed information,
Oklahoma State Extension
Service has a series
of Landscape Design fact
sheets available at tulsaworld.com/osugardeningfactsheets.

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If you have a garden-related question
for the Master Gardeners to answer
in a column, call 918-746-3701.

Original Print Headline: Follow the plan for landscaping bliss

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Garden tips

Ornamental perennial grasses such as pampas grass may be cut back to 4-6 inches anytime in winter. However, because of winter attractiveness, most gardeners choose to wait until early spring to cut them back. All of the dead tops of these grasses should be removed by early spring, allowing sun to get to new growth.

Liriope or “monkey grass” – which is not a grass, but in the lily family – stays green year-round; it also benefits from trimming to 2-3 inches before new growth begins in spring. Liriope and all ornamental grasses will benefit from nitrogen fertilizer in spring when pruned.