Free Republic

It is one of the country’s most exclusive and expensive area codes and home to stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Taylor Swift. But soon Hollywood’s elite may no longer be allowed to customize and upgrade their luxury residences – at least until they address the lack of affordable housing. That’s according to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin, who alleges that the city has failed to follow state laws requiring approval of a plan to build low- and middle-income housing. The ruling, issued in late December, will temporarily suspend Beverly Hills’ ability to issue new building permits. That...

New photos show the renovation of the White House is almost complete after two weeks The Oval Office has new wallpaper and the Roosevelt Room and West Wing lobby new carpeting The South Portico steps have also been renovated for the first time in more than 60 years  And much work was done to replace the White House's HVAC system, which was installed 27 years ago Because it has run constantly since then, it had had the equivalent of 81 years of regular usage There were also IT upgrades and general paint jobs - the latter of which continued Tuesday...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAREZ – Two U.S. Soldiers here are in the process of composing contracts to renovate nearly 150 schools throughout Iraq's Ninewa province in just 100 days.Staff Sgt. Bryan Lightfoot, Company C, 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion attached to 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and Spc. Joe Winebarger, Company C, 422nd CA Bn., are doing what Soldiers do best – making a challenging task seem like a piece-of-cake. Lightfoot said getting the contracts done so the schools can be upgraded, thereby providing better education facilities for Iraqi children, is no doubt a priority. "All across Ninewa...

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2009 – Renovations have begun on a water treatment plant near the villages of Hitaween and Adamiyah, Iraq. Army Lt. Col. Mark Solomons, commander of the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, receives a tour of the Hitaween, Iraq, water treatment plant, July 27, 2009. Coalition forces are funding some renovations to the facility, which will be carried out by Iraqi contractors. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The sparsely populated, rural patch of land west of Baghdad relies heavily on the facility...

BAGHDAD — Two quality healthcare facilities will boost Baghdad’s medical community. Once a thriving cardiac hospital, the Ibn al Bitar Hospital was severely damaged during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The hospital, located in an urbanized area of Baghdad west of the Tigris River, was destroyed by looters who stole all of the equipment and burned the building to the ground. Only the concrete foundation and the ground floor remained. The hospital’s director general and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, worked together to rebuild a new modern and functional critical care unit. Construction of this two-story building began...

BAGHDAD — For the second time in a little more than a month, the partnership between the Kindi Neighborhood Advisory Council and the Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment’s Company E, has led to another school being opened in the area. After opening the Waoud Kindergarten in July, the Andalas School, which will serve as a middle and secondary school, was opened Aug. 26. The project, which took nearly two months to complete, was one of the first that Co. E, which is attached to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division,...

US President George W. Bush's successors will inherit a difficult war on terrorism-but they will also get a Hollywood-worthy, state-of-the-art White House facility room from which to run it.The "situation room"-the high-tech hub immortalized in movies as a dimly lighted conference table with decorated generals and power players in dark suits advising the president-is getting a facelift.

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Army News Service, Aug. 22, 2006) – Wounded Soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center now have a place to call home during their recovery. Post leaders turned 24 barracks rooms built for two into 12 spacious living areas for single occupants last month. The new rooms can accommodate servicemembers recovering from varied impairments, and brings BAMC's number of wheelchair-accessible rooms to 24. “With just the original 12 rooms, we were running out of space due to an increased numbers of patients from the war on terror,” said Lt. Col. Barbara Holcomb, commander, Special Troops Battalion. “We...

Former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik is under federal investigation for possible financial improprieties .....focused on a foundation affiliated with the city’s Department of Correction during Mr. Kerik’s tenure.....Last month, Kerik pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors....Under an agreement that allowed him to avoid jail time and a felony conviction, he admitted accepting $165,000 in apartment renovations from a company accused of having ties to organized crime...... The foundation....came under scrutiny in early 2003..... a former high-ranking Correction Department official was arrested and later pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges, admitting that he stole more than $137,000 from the fund....

Baqubah General Hospital underwent massive renovations aided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Iraqi Directorate General of Health. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Claude D. McKinney Baqubah General Hospital Renovations Complete The upgrades will improve the working conditions for patients and health care providers. By Claude D. McKinney Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers BAQUBAH, Iraq, Feb. 28, 2006 — After a year under construction, the Baqubah General Hospital is finished, complete with a new incinerator and reverse osmosis water treatment system; plumbing and sewer system upgrade; architectural renovations; emergency backup generator...

MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 12, 2005 – Whether the key to a bright future for a country is to educate the children of the present will be tested in northern Iraq over the next generation, based on the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region North. The 324 schools renovated in Iraq's seven northern provinces under the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund will benefit 42,000 students. All but nine of the schools are completed, and only one of those will not be finished by the end of January, officials said. Officials also noted that under the Commanders Emergency...

The police chief welcomes visitors to Suq Ash Skuk Police Station. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Suzanne Fournier Station Renovations Support Iraqi Police, Residents Currently, 19 of the 31 (or 61 percent) of the police facility projects planned for the Thi Qar governorate are complete. By Suzanne M. Fournier Gulf Region South U.S. Army Corps of Engineers BASE CAMP ADDER (ALI BASE), Iraq, Nov. 2, 2005 — Completed reconstruction of a police station project in Suq Ash Skukh, Iraq, will serve to support and provide increased protection for both the police assigned to it and the town's...

As you enter the building from one of our two parking lots, you enter our newly constructed Gathering Area that serves as our “concourse” leading either to our parish center and offices, or to the worship space. Accessible from the Gathering Area is the place to hang coats and hats, the restrooms, babysitting room, and a multi-purpose room.

The New York State Legislature has come in for quite a lot of brickbats lately, most of them deserved. But no one can accuse them of equating Zionism with racism, nor making excuses for bloody tyrants, nor looking the other way during genocide. Or, for that matter, taking bribes from Saddam Hussein. This is why it warms our hearts to see those battered Albany pols questioning the continued utility of the welcome mat that New York has extended this past half-century to the United Nations. This has come to a head as the world body seeks to rebuild and expand...

The Fleet Center's Web site in Boston had the Dem Convention announced and on their Web site month's in advance. Why is their no mention of our convention on Madison Square Garden's Web site?????? http://www.thegarden.com/boxoffice.jsp Jul 31 New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Sun Radio City Music Hall 7:30 PM Aug 05 WNBA vs. USA Basketball Radio City Music Hall 7:00 PM Aug 13 The World's Greatest Singing Groups Radio City Music Hall 8:00 PM Aug 18 - Aug 19 An Evening With Rush Radio City Music Hall 8:00 PM Aug 20 Michael W. Smith - MercyMe Radio City Music Hall...