The Solar State gets two Solar Projects Going

The solar state of Arizona is dedicating two solar projects in October. The Mesquite Solar I facility near the Harquahala Valley by Sempra Generation is the first one. This will be a 150-megawatt power plant that will sell its power to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in California.

The project benefits Arizona because solar panels for generating power will be sourced from Goodyear plant of Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd. Even though not all the panels for the project will come from the Goodyear plant, it is still a big deal for the company manufacturing photovoltaic panels.

The second project to be dedicated is the much smaller project of First Solar Inc. based in Tempe. This 17-megawatt facility is the Paloma Solar Power Plant in Gila Bend. The power generated by this project will go Arizona Public Service Co. (APS).

The Paloma Plant is the first of the projects planned by APS which is seeking to generate 100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power by 2014. It has already announced several of the proposed plants.

Gila Bend is working to be the solar capital of the solar state. It is seeking to attract projects to the city by streamlining the requirements for setting up the power plants.

Third Time Lucky Pharr Gets Costco to City

As a “card-carrying” member of Costco, Pharr City Manager Fred Sandoval knew the potential that the warehouse retail giant offered to the city. That’s why he and his staff tapped a Texas government economic incentive in their third attempt to offer Costco $11 million to induce them set up shop in Pharr.

Costco was paid $5 million to purchase land at 1501 W. Kelly Avenue and an additional $1.5 million for construction. The city is further committed to pay $1.5 million per year for three years after Costco opens.

When complete, the 148,000-square-feet store will employ about 120 people. Sandoval is confident that the store will sell not less than $150-200 million a year and that the sales tax on taxable sales will pay back the $11 million incentive in about five years. Items such as food and medication, and bulk sales to other stores for resale, are not taxable.

City leaders are hoping that Costco would do more by acting as a catalyst for development of the area from Kelly Avenue to the north of U. S. 83 along Jackson Road. They think that the store will attract not only locals but also people from around and from Mexico. People who would otherwise have never to come to Pharr would come once Costco is open.

Costco has company in the form of another membership warehouse, the Sam’s Club at 1400 E. Jackson Ave. in McAllen half a mile away. Both stores together can draw more people to the area in general, the city leaders feel.

Relocation of Trees

The site proposed for Costco had 48 live oak trees and tree-lovers had mounted a protest against cutting them down. City decided to pay $50,000 in expenses to move some of the trees to city parks and keep them alive. 20 of the trees have been relocated to Tierra Del Sol Golf Course and several city parks.

20 were destroyed as being too large or too sick while the remaining eight are on site to be used for landscaping.

There are many causes that can be attributed to chronic knee pain such as Osteochrondtiris Dessecans, a Torn Meniscus or joint effusion, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupis and more. Clearly these serious conditions should be ruled out however, faultybiomechanics MUST also be a part of the differential diagnosis and many practitioners just don’t pay attention to their patients biomechanics, this is often overlooked.

We develop faulty Biomechanics through our daily activities of living mostlly due to bad habits. Many of us slouch, sit for hours with our legs crossed or stand on one leg while chatting to our friends. These things can attack our core musculature, alignment of the pelvis and low back,  the hips and the knees. There is something called Serial Distortion that is often a factor. Serial Distortion is caused when any joint is not doing its job. The joints above and below become affected and don’t perform as within their design parameters.

When we use improper mechanics, our bodies start to compensate or in other words, adapt to these stresses we are placing on ourselves. As a result, muscles, ligaments and tendons start to wear out at an accelerated rate and it is this wear and tear that patients experience as pain. If you are one of these people the pain will not go away until the Biomechanical stresses are corrected. Meaning you need to work on your biomechanics to attempt to get them closer to original design parameters.

When you have issues of posture and improper biomechanics, it takes time to correct and you have to know what it is you are trying to do to assist yourself and these practices need to be consistent daily alterations in your routine. Things that can help knees in particular are: Standing on both your legs evenly as opposed to standing on one leg. Engaging your core musculature both when standing and sitting. Thinking about stretching your body vertically as if there was a rod running through the top of your head into the earth. Trying to “Align” your back, hips, knees and feet in a straight line as much as possible when standing and walking.

There are a series of exercises meant to stabilize the knees which are also helpful that may be the source of a future article. There are both gym oriented ones and also ones you can do at home with the rubberband. You can also get this information from competent personal trainers orphysical therapists and these may also be available online.

The first step in correcting these issues is understanding that they exist. Then practicing these changes in mechanics on a daily basis. If you do there is a VERY good chance you’ll reduce or eliminate your chronic knee pain.

Dr. Camp can be reached at his San Francisco office at 415 922 2225.

How ? Sleep !

Many people have that idea that eight hours sleep is needed to get completely rested. In fact Americans are one of the most sleep deprived nations.

Current research shows that a minimum of six hours sleep is needed to retain information learned that day. So if you are studying or taking up a new skill, be sure you get at least six hours sleep on the days you are performing newtasks or learning new information.

It is when we are sleeping that the brain processes the days information. That’s when we analyze the information absorbed during the day and separate what we’ve learned that needs to be stored and what to let go.

If you don’t get a decent nights sleep, you won’t have the recall that your counterparts who ARE Sleeping well will develop. It takes hundreds of thousands of neural connections to create memories and its during sleep that the brain reactivates/repeats the neural activity performed each day reinforcing our memories.

Researchers are discovering that our brains are NOT inactive during the sleep cycle but in fact doing the work needed to learn and remember new activities.

Other than humans, there is NO animal on the planet that tries to push the envelope as per denying ourselves sleep to “Get things done.” Humans have something to learn from other species.

Bottom line….. as Dave Atell says, “Get some sleep !”

Dr. Ed Camp

Construction Jobs Increase in Utah

While construction jobs were being lost in most of the country, employment in the Top of Utah showed an increase of 2 percent in the construction sector according to employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA). Both federal and state construction jobs increased in the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan area including Weber, Davis and Morgan counties.

The AGCA report mentions that construction employment declined in nearly half (153) of the 330 metropolitan areas while it remained stagnant in a further 39 areas. Construction demand was low to nil in many parts of the country, with modest improvements in private construction being offset by fall in construction funded by governments.

The demand in Utah arose mostly from the transportation sector with increases in both numbers and sizes. For example, the $5 million rehabilitation project from Washington Boulevard to Harrison Boulevard on the 12^th Street was executed during the past year. Auxiliary lanes were added to I-15 from Bountiful to Centerville and from Clearfield to Layton in Davis County, which also accounted for a major construction work on 500 South in West Bountiful.

A few major construction projects are scheduled for the coming years raising hopes of creating a large number of jobs. An environmental study is already on for a $80 million project to add Express Lanes on I-15 while a $70 million extension is planned to S. R. 93 in Clearfield.

The Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan area has clearly recovered from 2010 when it lost 12 percent jobs compared to the previous year.

lauchpad magazine awarded seven Paul Mitchell products with the Readers Choice Award in 2011, and allure magazine’s Best of Beauty Award went to products in their new Awapuhi Wild Ginger line. Flip through any magazine and you are likely to find a different Paul Mitchell product featured in each one for fabulous styles from chic to voluminous.

My favorite Paul Mitchell products are those in the Tea Tree line, featuring Tea Tree oil. The scents of the Tea Tree invigorating shampoos are incredible—Lemon Sage, Lavender Mint, and Tea Tree special with peppermint. These shampoos are sure to turn your shower into a spa-like indulgence. Not only will it give you a refreshing tingle during your shampoo, but it will also leave your hair feeling silky and smooth.

Paul Mitchell has a list of charities they support on their website, and the owners of Paul Mitchel have even founded their own charity, Grow Appalachia. My favorite charity, Invisible Children, is one of the charities they support. You can’t beat Paul Mitchell products—they offer luxury hair care at an affordable price, all while supporting many charity efforts around the world.

Visit A Cut Above, a Bryn Mawr Hair Salon (PA)—carrying both Paul Mitchell and many other great products to compliment, personalize, and perfect your new hairstyle. Skip, the owner of A Cut Above, was a platform artist for Paul Mitchell, starting as Paul’s assistant at hair shows and later moving on to become Paul Mitchell’s number one national show team and platform artist. You’re sure to get the perfect cut and style at A Cut Above!

Jobs Scene Looks up in Orlando

When Steve Brogan, a carpenter, started looking for work in early 2009, the only worthwhile construction job available was the Amway Center. At that time, Orlando City was also beginning to hire construction workers through the Blueprint Employment Office, with a view to get local workers for local projects. Brogan managed to get work through sheer persistence.

Brogan is now working at New Horizon Construction Services. According to the company, they found everything they wanted in a worker in Brogan, a go-getter. And this trait is seeing him through when things are a bit slow at New Horizon. Employers are happy with someone who feels that the only way he can straighten out his life is through getting back to work.

Brogan indeed had problems with his life, and had got into detox end of 2008 before he could really start looking for work. He now feels that things are falling into place.

And the City of Orlando is continuing with the Blueprint Employment Office program to get local workers working on other local projects such as the Performing Arts Center and Citrus Bowl renovations. The City could definitely benefit with more go-getters like Steve Brogan.

How much Will GulfQuest Maritime Museum Cost?
Another City Project

In a further increase of construction costs, the Mobile City Council approved an increase of $180,000 for constructing the GulfQuest Maritime Museum. Earlier rounds had increased it by $239,000. With the latest increase, the city’s contract with W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. handling the museum’s structural work stands at $14.3 million.

Mobile’s head of architectural engineering, Brad Christensen, attributed the cost increases to problems of keeping the Mobile River out of the museum’s waterfront work site. The paperwork involved in approving the cost increases took several months after the problems had occurred.

While the earlier cost increases were funded with the city’s portion of Alabama Municipal Trust Fund, the latest increase will have to be paid out of $3 million new debt issued over the summer.

Cost of the museum project is not yet fully clear. The museum director, Tony Zodrow, puts it at about $35 million but a more realistic estimate is $38 million. The city has already put aside $25 million for the construction, made up of $21.4 million debt and $3.6 million savings from a previous refinancing.

The federal government paid $10 million through transportation grants.

Redesign of the 25,000-square-foot, four story office building at 200 Government St., which the city had bought for $949,000 in 2008, is proceeding. The first two floors of the building have already been renovated at a cost of $554,000. The task of redesigning the third floor has now been entrusted to Holmes & Holmes Architects for $20,000.

On competing the third floor, the building will accommodate the city’s Weed and Seed program, which is an anti-blight, anti-crime initiative funded with federal dollars.

A Model Transit Oriented Development in Murray

Fireclay Villages is a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) that will house 400 apartments, 268 income-restricted units, and office and retail space. The project on a 26-acre site near the Fireclay TRAX commuter rail station is one of the largest developments built in Murray City. Located at 4400 South and 100 West in Murray, Utah, it is a joint venture between Strategic Capital Group (SCG) and Miller Development Company (MDC).

Scheduled to be completed in three phases over the next five years, the project will create 1 million square feet of new living space and a total of 94,000 square feet of office, restaurant and retail space in the city. It is designed to encourage a walkable urban lifestyle where people will drive less and walk/cycle more. Colin Wright of Strategic Capital Group feels that the residential/commercial/retail project will serve as a model for future TODs in Utah.

Transit Oriented Developments

TODs happen when people cluster around mass-transit stations to save on driving and commuting time. TODs are characterized by buildings that accommodate both commercial and residential occupants, with businesses typically on the first floor and residential/office space on floors above. TOD is driven by such factors as pollution, traffic congestion and loss of open space, and involve people moving from run-down sections of town to city centers.

Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, estimates that they will be adding another 1.4 million people along the Wasatch Front over the next 30 years. That represents an increase of 65 percent.

Fireclay Villages can thus be said to present the shape of things to come.

1. Experience

A broker’s experience plays a large part of his or her ability to find you affordable insurance. Before you hire a broker, do some basic research on how long he or she has been in business. However, a qualified broker doesn’t necessarily mean someone who has been in business for 10 plus years. Even one year may have been enough time to gain some valuable experience.

2. Read reviews

If your prospective broker has been in business for a while, then there is a good chance that there are local reviews for that broker from other clients. Of course, this all depends on your location and prospective broker. For example, TSC Direct car insurance is a popular company in New York. Regardless, most of its customers probably read various TSC Direct reviews before they made their choice to join the company.

3. Their concern for you

An auto insurance broker’s job is to help you find the most affordable car insurance, based on your driving history. With that said, if the broker does not have your best interest in mind, then you do not need to hire that broker. How do you know if they have your interest in their mind? Listen to their tone of voice — do they sound genuine? You probably know what business or sales tones of voices sound like. A broker should not carry that tone. What kind of insurance are they referring you to? Can you find something cheaper on your own? If so, then they probably aren’t looking out for your best interest.

If you take these three tips to heart, you should be able to find a quality insurance broker. Never settle for a broker before you do your research.