•ri» ,.s rwka*MMMAta9fiMNftj|WlRwHIWwj*&%JwttMÌM*MDNÌ »• -. 4 ,. . • . P age A 6 3>i}e ^ortlanì» ÜDhserucr Save on home weatherization Residential heating oil custom ers have ju st one more m onth to take advantage o f a special offer from the Oregon O ffice o f Energy to save even more money on hom e w eather­ ization. The O regon O ffice o f E nergy’s S tate H om e O il W e a th e riz a tio n (SH O W ) program offers free, o n e­ time, hom e energy audits and cash incentives to help im prove hom e energy efficiency. H om eow ners and renters who add insulation or a new high efficiency burner by O ctober 1st can receive and extra $ I (X). Through the free hom e energy audit, hom eow ners and renters can learn w hat they can do to save the most energy and money. T rained energy specialists will check the insulation in the attic, the walls, and the floors, inspect the w in ­ dow s and perform a renters u n d er­ stand w hich actions make the m ost sense for them. As a special incentive, the SH O W program is offering all households that heat with oil cash rebates o f 25 percent o f the cost o f insulation or a new high efficiency (lam e retention burner. Funding for the rebates is lim ited and will be available w ith no m axim um incom e limit on a first- com e, first-served basis until the m oney is gone. The m axim um rebate is $400.00, but if the w ork is com plete before O ctober 1st, custom ers can receive an ex tra $100.00. M ost custom ers wait until alterth e cold w eathercom es to schedule their energy audits and to have w ork done, w hich m eans they pay m ore than they need to for hom e heating. By having the w ork done before the heating season begins, custom ers can save even m o re.L o w -in terest loans are also available to pay for those m easures and for new . energy saving w indow s or high efficiency replacem ent oil furnaces. T he loans are offered by p artici­ pating lenders throughout the state at 6.5 percent interest to people who heat their hom e w ith oil. “A dding insulation before the win ter begins m akes sense." Build to suit IRIS USA Inc., the A m erican sub­ sidiary o f IRIS O H Y A M A Inc., Jap an 's largest m anufacturer o f plas­ tic consum er products, has purchased a 23-acre site and is b u ild in g a 3 8 1 ,m by room fonnat. Some segments will be broadcast from the homes of Hi ime Shi ipping Netwi irk's popular shi iw hosts. Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization, works in partnership with people in need to build affordable hous­ ing. The houses are then sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. Habitat for Humanity is cele­ brating its 20th anniversary this year by building its 50,000th house. RENT YOUR NEXT WASHER DRYER FROM THE HOME LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS W ith o p tio n to buy. This C o u p o n G o o d F o r $ 1 0 O ff D E LIV E R Y AND INSTALLA TIO N FEE rental Co. w ash er 1 6 5 7 S. E. TA CO M A ST. W IL L IA M S LA N D SC A PIN G 289-0841 Bob Arcand. chairman and CEO of The Arcand Company, recently was ap­ pointed tothe influential editorial advisir- ry board o f Housing and Development Reporter. Published in Washington D.C., the housing trade magazine reports on cur­ rent legislative actions and judicial opin­ ions affecting housing, community de­ velopment, real estate business, finance and taxation. The board, comprised of leaders in the housing industry, meets quarterly to dis­ cuss key housing topics and industry trends, provide insight intocurrent indus­ try activities, and review the direction of When Kemp headed HUD Jack K emp talked a better gam e than he played w hen he headed the H ousing and U rban D evelopm ent D epartm ent, his su ccesso r H enry C isneros said T uesday. C isneros told reporters that Kemp, selected by R epublican presidential challenger Bob D ole as his running mate, cleaned up corruption in the vast agency and brought lots o f en ­ thusiasm to the jo b , but also “spent a lot o f tim e sort o f raising exp ecta­ tions and speaking about program s that never cam e to fruition.” K em p was housing secretary un­ der President G eorge Bush from 1989 to 1993. C isneros, the form er m ayor o f San A ntonio, replaced him when President C linton took office. C isneros said K em p m ade hun­ dreds o f speeches pushing the idea o f selling public housing developm ents to the residents, ’’but at the end o f the day, one developm ent in the w hole United States, in W ashington, D.C., was so ld .” "W e ’ve tried to take those same concepts and m ake them real so I understand how slow it w as, but most A m ericans probably believe that he was doing this on a m assive scale. It ju st d id n ’ t prove to be true,” Cisneros said. He said K em p ’s addition to the Republican ticket w ould bring “a broader vision than the D ole vision” to the debate on urban issues. Specializing in residential & commercial: L a w n s & sc r u b s G ard en s T illin g Edging T ree T rim m ing Service Speedy Service Friendly Call For Quote Hauling Available at Reasonable rates heating oils Call-Let us give you a “Quote ” Best Cash Prices Z SA T1SFACTION GV A RANTEED I 104 NE Russel Portland, OR 97212 282 5111 /, S olar energy is providing e lec­ tricity for the building and is resp o n ­ sible for heating and cooling the water. It s quite fitting that solar pow er is being harnessed for the A tlanta G am es, w hich have been character­ ized by high tem peratures. H ow ev­ er. even on overcast days, solar p o w ­ er is proving its value to hundreds o f ithletes and thousands o f sp ecta­ tors. The 275 solar panels keep the pool tem perature at a constant 26 degrees C /79 degrees F (plus or Looking for trends, insight Dad’s Any & All Landscape needs! World’s largest solar building The N atatorium is not only a beau­ tiful location for som e o f the O ly m ­ pics m ost breathtaking events, it also is the w orld's largest solar build­ ing. Attack landscape weeds thisfall. Don't let them grow through the winter or they willbeabigpmblemthe followingspring, according to Ray McNeilan, home horti­ culturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. "Many landscape weeds are easier to kill now, before their root systems spread and become w ell-established,” said McNeilan. An alternative to hand weeding is the use of a pre-cmergent herbicide. How­ ever, before buying any pre-emergent herbicide materials, check the product label to be sure the herbicide is safe to use around woody or herbaceous plants. For lawns, McNeilan recommends a treatment with a weed and feed combina­ tion or hormone type broadleaf weed killer sprays. Lawn weeds, like weeds in flower and shrub beds, will be easier to ki II now before their root systems become better established. Lawn weed killer will control many weeds that will germinate this fall as well as those that arc now thriving. "And the fertilizer in weed and feed combinations will give the lawn a final boost to keep it Itxiking healthy through the winter,” McNeilan said. Pruning landscape plants B oh R ost A lthough spring is the best prun ing tim e, a light fall pruning is beneficial to som e shrubs and trees "Som e plants need preparation forthe winter, especially those with an abundance o f tw iggy grow th, said Ray M cN eilan, hom e horti­ culturist with the Oregon State Uni­ versity Extension Service. "High w inter w inds may dam age these plants if they are n 't pruned down to a m ore com pact size.” In addition to pruning lighter grow th, prune the crossing grow th in the interior o f the plant, as well as dead o r diseased wood. The rem oval and disposal of diseased w ood after pruning is im­ portant. O therw ise fungus diseases on the w ood will overw inter and co n ­ tinue to be a problem next spring, M cN eilan said. M cN eilan em phasized that fall pruning should be light. Heavy pruning o f shrubs and other plants is a spring activity, tecture of the building, produce elec­ tricity w hich is fed into A tlan ta's utility grid, thereby m aking a signif­ icant contribution to overall energy production and reducing the cost o f electricity forthe Natatorium by about 30 percent. PV (photovoltaic — com m only called solar electric) panels generate pow er by co n v ert­ ing the light o f the sun directly into an electrical current. Each panel produces 120 watts o f electricity. The total capacity o f the N ata torium panels is 344 kilow atts — enough pow er for 40 hom es. T here are several other solar an d e n e rg y e f f ic ie n t p ro je c ts throughout the O lym pic village and A tlanta that w ere put in place through a cooperative agreem ent betw een the D epartm ent o f E n­ ergy and a num ber o f private co m ­ panies represented by the Solar Energy Industries A ssociation and the A lliance to Save Energy. Housing advocates needed publication. Members are selected based on their industry involvement and in- depth knowledge of issues. Arcand is an acknowledged expert in the affordable housing industry, serving as an ad vi sor ti) numeri >us housing gri >ups. “Bob Arcand ’ s insight and experience will be a tremendous addition to our board’s efforts,” said Barry Jacobs, edi­ tor-in-chief of Housing and Develop­ ment Reporter. "W e’re extremely pleased that he has agreed to join," he added. Arcand, f ounder ofThe Arcand Com­ pany, has 20 years of experience in the affording housing investment industry. Protect your landscape minus I degree) the tem perature m an­ dated by the rules o f com petition for in te rn a tio n a l sw im m in g e v e n ts. W ater is pum ped through the solar heating system , w hich heats the w a­ ter using free energy from the sun during the day. At night, the system can be oper­ ated to radiate heat into the night sky, thereby cooling the w ater to the ap ­ propriate tem perature for the next d a y ’s events. The 2,800 photovoltaic panels, incorporated into the striking archi­ A re you concerned about the fu­ ture of low and m oderate incom e housing for the elderly ? Do you have som ething to say about the shortage o f low -incom e rental units? A re you interested in issues o f safety and security for the elderly tenants o f subsidized housing? If so, you need to participate ift the H ousing T ask Force. People o ver the age o f 6 0 -e ld e rs of all races and backgrounds, and those with disabilities are needed to serve on the H ousing T ask Force of the P ortland/M ultnom ah C o m m is­ sion o f A ging (PM C oA ). P M C o A 's mission is to im prove the quality o f life for our co m m u n ity ’s elders. At the heart o f this m ission is the urgent need to advocate on a variety o f housing problem s faced by low and m oderate incom e elders. This one year com m itm ent will be exciting, challenging, and fulfilling. Y ou will m ake new friends as you advocate for those w ho cannot advo­ cate for them selves. 1 he H ousing T ask Force m eets on the second M onday o f every month from 2:00pm to 4 :0 0 p m in the d ow n­ town area, accessible by public trans­ portation. For m ore inform ation and an ap­ plication packet, call Karylinn Echols at PM CoA at (503) 823-5269. Scraping the skies Jutting far out o f the skyline of G erm any's financial capital, the tall­ est office building in Europe is rap­ idly nearing com pletion and looks set to add som e Hair to F ran k fu rt’s ordinary-looking centre. Built to a revolutionary design by em inent architect N orm an Fos­ ter, its facade will be adorned by hanging gardens at dizzying heights containing olive trees and bam boo bushes. The skyscraper will serve as the new headquarters o fC om m erzbank AG, G erm an y ’s third largest bank, and will have a height o f 298.74 m etres (980 ft) including a 40-m etre (131 ft) aerial. HINTS FOR HOMEOWNERS The G reat Clean-Up O f ’96 — R igh tin g R ecord Storm D am age (NAPS)—Coast-to-coast bliz­ zards and late-w in ter flooding have caused the Federal govern­ ment to issue more disaster decla­ rations already this year than in all of 1995. Coupled with new laws th a t prohibit homeowners from sending leaves and downed branches to public landfills, the backyard afterm ath of the Great Blizzard of ’96 has folks scram ­ bling to recycle their yard debris. “The losses of w inter are the homeowner’s gain,” notes Mike M c G ra th , e d it o r - i n - c h i e f of Organic G ardening m agazine. McGrath advises homeowners to collect, shred, and compost yard debris into “garden gold.” “It is foolish to throw away g ra ss clip p in g s and le a v e s ,” McGrath explains, “and then go to a store and buy fertilizer and m ulch.” So-called y ard w aste, says McGrath, is just a few steps away from becoming “better fer­ tilizer and mulch than you can buy anywhere.” The key, McGrath reports, is to learn the basic recipes for good, clean compost. Done correctly, converting volumes of yard debris into an enriched soil conditioner takes as little as two weeks. The first step, however, is col­ lecting the debris. V acu u m and s h re d yard debris to break down volume and accelerate composting. per’s chips. Then, says Gilbert, that newly made mulch is ready to prevent—or smother—weeds. • T urn d o w n th e v o lu m e . “The early snow last fall trapped a lot of leaves on people’s lawns,” notes Jean Nordgren of The Toro Company. Reducing the sheer vol­ ume of d ebris, according to Nordgren, is a key concern among hom eow ners—especially those with urban lots or limited space. * G et lig h t on y o u r la w n . To break down the volume, “Sweep up the lawn first,” advises Nordgren says an electric blower- Tim G ilb e r t of T he P a t r i o t vac with a special vacuum mode Company, manufacturers of chip­ chops up fallen leaves as it picks ping, shredding and vacuuming them up. Cutters reduce leaves ten­ machines. “Get ground clutter off fold, making them ideal for com­ the turf, so that sun and air can posting. Toro also makes compost reach the grass.” bins, which according to Nordgren, P atrio t m akes a m achine to encourage the proper mix of mois­ speed lawn clean-up, a combina­ ture, air and temperature, promot­ tion ch ip p er blow er vacuum . ing faster compost-making. Resembling a lawn mower, it vac­ • F ree in fo rm a tio n . Home- uums leaves as you walk behind owners seeking advice on com­ it, shredding and depositing them posting and yard clean-up should neatly into a collection bag. The contact the Yard Waste Hotline built-in chipper converts pruned toll-free at (888) 798-CHIP (2447) branches into coin-sized landsca- for a free brochure. 4