Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is fond of repeating a story from his days as Mayor of Philadelphia. After a prolonged cold snap, temperatures quickly soared into the upper 50s causing 58 water main breaks in the city service area. The Philadelphia water managers reported back to him that some of the pipes had been installed in the 19th century and were not buried deep enough. When the rapid change in weather occurred, the ancient parts of the water service infrastructure simply failed.

Although few utilities currently use equipment brought into service during the 1800s, managing aging infrastructure is an ever present challenge for most water providers. Most utilities grew up along with their communities, providing increased services to meet the need of a growing consumer population. Building new facilities to meet increasing need only made sense and new customers meant additional revenue to the provider.

As infrastructure assets reach the end of their service lives though, communities without an expanding revenue base struggle to find ways to pay for not for expansion but for infrastructure and facility replacement. Should a key piece of that infrastructure fail unexpectedly, smaller communities may have to absorb significant service rate increases.

In a recent New York Times opinion, (February 15, 2010) columnist Bob Hebert wades into the issue of decaying facilities and the battles states and communities are facing when it comes to replacing expensive infrastructure. “Ignoring these problems imperils public safety, diminishes our economic competitiveness, is penny-wise and pound-foolish, and results in tremendous missed opportunities to create new jobs on a vast scale.” Using the ‘jobs’ rationale, Hebert implies that Washington DC can provide a funding solution and thereby deliver relief from high unemployment rates.

Squeezing every possible day of service out of existing facilities is good management. But providing continued service with old facilities is begging for trouble. At some point, water and sewer service providers will have to confront the very real possibility that they will have to replace expensive plant and facilities by themselves. Handling these costs – some of which could be enormous – has many managers losing sleep.

The best way to handle this problem according to Hebert, is to look for help from the national treasury. Budget hawks are sure to resist. With the current deficit and budget crises, resolving this conflict won’t be easy and could certainly be expensive. Communities and water utilities – like Rendell’s Philadelphia water department – will still have to come up with a way to pay for repair and replacement costs. Washington may not have the ability to help.

Water utilities in the United States typically serve small groups of customers. In fact, 85% of American water utilities serve fewer than 3,300 customers. Some of these small business units are now faced with huge expenditures for facility replacement. Distributing many millions in facility replacement costs to just a few thousand customers can mean huge service rate increases.

The Times Hebert recognizes that a failure to replace important infrastructure has far reaching negative consequences. Finding the dollars to do the job is – as it always is – the main problem. Water providers need to plan sooner rather than later for the unavoidable need to replace expensive equipment and facilities – or wait for the next set of pipes to burst and figure out how to pay for it then.

Specializing in Water Utility Consulting, author Jason Mumm is a respected financial advisor to water and wastewater service providers across the country. His organization, StepWise Water Utility Consultants, assist utility organizations improve operations, improve cash flow management as well as manage customer rates in a difficult financial situation.

When many people, singles and families alike, think about booking a holiday, many of them would only think about going to the beach for a fortnight’s lounging on the beach under the sun and swimming in warm, blue waters.

However, many of the best, most famous beach locations are magnets for hordes of people. It appears that most people like the sand, the sea and the sun. Now some people go to these destinations precisely because they are busy. They like the crowds and the night clubs that attract them. Mainly singles go to these types of places and a holiday romance is not far from many peoples’ minds.

Couples and older people may prefer a little less noise, pollution and commotion. However, there are beaches which meet these demands too. Often they are private beaches. Some have hotels on them but some do not. Those that do not frequently have inland beach cottage rental properties instead. These are virtually always self-catering.

When most people think of a beach it is automatically connected with the sea. However, this need not inevitably be so. There are also inland beaches on lakes and rivers. These beaches are usually referred to as inland beaches. Accommodation can be a problem with even some of the best inland beaches.

Many of these inland beaches are simply not well-known enough to make a hotel commercially viable, but some of them have cottage rentals as an alternative. These cottages, or cabins sometimes, can be difficult to find if you do not reserve early enough. They are usually complete homes, fully equipped with all the household facilities you have grown accustomed to: a fully furnished living room, multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, and a modern kitchen.

Inland beach cottage rentals are popular because they are often situated exactly on the water’s edge. This makes the bit of beach right before your cottage your private beach. You can sleep on it at night if it’s hot, lie there all day or set up a few fishing lines.

In the evenings, you can hitch up with neighbours to have a party or keep yourself to yourself. For this reason, it is a good thought to check photos of the cottage before you make a booking.

If an inland beach cottage rental sounds right for you, there are thousands to choose from in the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes are a particularly beautiful place to go. There are excellent locations in the Finger Lakes region of New York state and along Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

You will not be disappointed about going on holiday to an inland beach cottage rental property. There are so many variations that there is certainly something for every pocket and every family size. Singles are not so well catered for, but if you want a quiet holiday alone. maybe to study, then this might right be for you too.

You can fly into some of these resorts by seaplane, but it is more likely that you will take your own car or a rental car, if you want to get out and do some exploring further afield. Personally, I would rather hire a dinghy.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

Barry Castle was owned by William de Barri in the twelfth century, but it was raized to the ground by Llewellyn Bren in 1316. Many believe that the Cavaliers rebuilt and that the Roundheads destroyed it again. Whatever is true, it was never rebuilt again after that.

The Norman invaders were thoroughly detested by the local people and they had to build large mansions to defend themselves from frequent assaults on them by the people of the valleys and the mountains. During the reign of Henry III, there were 12 castles within six miles of Barry. In Glamorgan, there were 30 castles and in South Wales as a whole there were 150 !

Porthkerry and its church which lies on the wooded hill to the west of it are said to have taken their name from Ceri, who, in turn, is said to have founded a port there, ie ‘Port Ceri’. People say that Ceri ap Caid, the King of Essyllwg, lived in Porthkerry before the Christian era and that his bard, Corvinor, was the first to build a ship with sails and a rudder for the ‘race of Cymru’. Some believe that Ceri was a nephew or grandson of Caractacus (Caradog) and that he took over the leadership of the government in South Wales when Caractacus had to journey to Rome.

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John Wesley preached in the Porthkerry Church and sometimes outside in the churchyard too between 1741 and 1743. Today, there are two very old churches still in use in Barry: St. Cadocs Church in Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan Church in Merthyr Dyfan. One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Cadoxton was the largest village in the Barry area: thus, in 1844 the Parliamentary register contained 25 names: 20 from Cadoxton and five from Barry. The one church was dedicated to St. Cadoc, who had been accustomed to spend Lent on Flat Holm and Barry Island. The village (Cadoc’s Town)took its name from the church, which was founded in 800 AD.

Merthyr Dyfan Church, which is situated in the north of Barry, was founded in 600 AD and the name means Dyfan The Martyr. There were two saints of this name. The one travelled to Barry to convert the local people to Christianity and the other lived in the sixth century. He was the son of a Welsh chieftain. His sister was also martyred and the town of Merthyr Tydfil is named in her memory.

The Christian faith grew very quickly in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the middle of the second century, the Prince of Siluria, Llewrwg, became the first king, of any country in the world in all history, to be baptized into the Christian faith. He sent to Rome for more Chritian teachers and was sent two monks named Dyfan and Fagan. Dyfan was martyred near the church and the Fagan was canonized. St. Fagan’s situated between Barry and Cardiff was named after him.

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In the Eighteenth Century, they found dishes, saws, knives, flints, a scraper, a prehistoric horn celt with strange markings, a spokeshave and some arrowheads from the Neolithic Period. These artifacts are safely ensconced in the Museum of Wales in Cardiff, but unfortunately, no one at the time thought the find significant enough to warrant a dig and now there are houses on it.

They also found an ancient Roman kitchen complete with utensils and food remains which appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry like the Marie Celeste. That wasn’t investigated either. In 1533, the King’s Antiquary, Leland, was told to tour all places where records were held. It took him nine years and his description of the island was as follows:

“It is about a mile in circumference and has good corn, grass and some wood, and there is no dwelling on the Island, but in the midst of it is a fair little Chapel of St. Baruch which is visited by many pilgrims. It took the name Barri from this holy man who was buried there and whose remains are yet on the Island”. (The Welsh name for Barry is Y Barri).

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Vikings raided the coastline of south Wales in the Tenth Century often taking hostages from the monasteries, but they did not seek to settle the area. The island was known as the ‘Saints’ Retreat’ or the ‘Island of Saints’ for a long time. Later, in the Sixteenth Century, the island was used by smugglers and pirates and was known locally as the ‘Smugglers’ Fortress’. This occurred at the same time as Bristol, Britain’s second largest port, was growing rapidly.

Barry Island soon became the centre of piracy and smuggling in the Bristol Channel. In 1784, the island became known as the “Fortress of Knight”. Knight was the most prolific pirate and smuggler in the channel and people were to terrified to speak out in court against him., although he was also considered a bit of a local hero. His armed ship was called ‘John O’ Combe’. He was eventually forced out to Lundy, which he also fortified. He and his successor, Arthur, returned to Barry so frequently that H.M. Customs asked the government to station a cutter in Penarth and 60 troops to Barry.

The small seaside village of Rhoose, five miles from Barry, was so well-known for its wreckers that George II sent troops to break up them up. They landed at Aberthaw, just up the coast a bit further, “the Rhoose men’s favourite landing zone, from where they could easily transport the contraband along Port Road to Cardiff, the main market for such things”. While digging out for the docks at Barry in the late nineteenth century, several large caves were filled in. They had probably been used by the pirates who were moved on in about 1850.

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Many people that go on vacation prefer to rent a home in their destination rather than staying in a hotel. Most of these people do this because it gives them the freedom to cook their own food and eat out at what time they like without missing set meals that they have previously paid for.

It can be more difficult to find such a vacation rental than simply making a hotel reservation. However, most holiday makers say that the endeavor is worthwhile. There are a few items that you should check up on if you are not to be dissatisfied when you get there.

It is very useful if you have friends or family living in the destination locale and if you do have this advantage, you should use it, but all is far from lost if you do not. There are often agencies for these types of vacation rentals as many people who live in such locations rent their homes out in the peak period and they do this via those agencies.

There are also quite a few web sites specializing in home rentals for holiday purposes. Some of these Internet agencies just charge on behalf of the property owner and others can arrange swaps, which is a great, low-priced way to travel the world.

The surveys that these web sites carry out are typically quite comprehensive, containing such predictable details as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, but also such information as whether there is a phone, a car, bicycles or scooters on the property, along with distance to the shops, main road, airport, train and bus stations.

However, if you have any questions still unanswered, you are usually encouraged to ask them directly to the property owner via the agency’s web site. It is a good idea to rent a vacation home through a rental agency for security purposes, because if a problem does arise then you have a mediator on hand. In these situations the agency would handle the whole affair, up to the point of criminal proceedings.

You may also like to ask about the age of the property, because often the day to day repairs of the place is down to you while you are there, as are breakages, unless those things are covered by the owner’s insurance policy.

You should also find out whether you are allowed to use the home owner’s bedding, linen, and towels etc.. Often you just consider the house and its contents as your own, unles a cupboard or door is locked and you have not been given the key.

One last piece of advice is to get proper directions. Places that you are not familiar will look very different in the dark than they do in the daylight, particularly if the property is out of the way.

Therefore, if you are expecting to arrive late or if there is a possibility that you might be held up, ask for photographs of key points taken in the twighlight. It will make certain that you get to your destination vacation home rental with no difficulties.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

Before you can incorporate a company in Canada, no matter what province or territory you live in, you will be required to provide some form of name search and as well, you might also be required to provide a name search to register a proprietorship, business name or a partnership.

A preliminary name search is a pre-check of a proposed company name, business name or sole proprietorship name before you order your full Nuans name search report or other similar name search. Having a preliminary name search done prior to ordering a full search can save money in the long run.

Prior to registering your business, the appropriate government office handling name clearances will review the name search to make sure there are no names on the report which could be considered a problem. The government in the federal jurisdiction will refuse to register a name that sounds the same as a name that is on record.

If you place an order with a search house for a Nuans name search report or similar report a preliminary name search is normally done as part of that fee. Determine in advance before ordering your name search that the preliminary name search is part of the service. A full Nuans name search must not be provided without first having a preliminary name search performed. There is was exception to this rule. If you are registering a partnership, sole proprietorship or business name and the province or territory does not require a name search then in that case you should pay separately for a preliminary name search to be done before you register your business name. I will go into this further below.

Just because you have a name search (Nuans report) is not a 100% guarantee the government is going to accept your name. If the Nuans search house does not perform preliminary name searches prior to ordering a full Nuans report you should look for another one. A Nuans name search report can be ordered without a preliminary name search but an experienced search house will do a preliminary name search first so you have less chance of your name being rejected by the province or territory in which you wish to register your business without charging you extra.

Think of it this way. Say you plan to incorporate a business with the name Johnson Lawn Services Ltd. The search house you are working with tells you there is no other name registered exactly as that. The search house does not bother to pre-check names as part of their service and there is a name already registered called Johnson Lawn Services Inc. Since the search house has told you there is no exact name you register your company. Mr. Johnson of Johnson Lawn Services Ltd. becomes aware that you have registered a company with almost the exact name except the ending. He considers this competition and since he has had his name for a number of years he decides to sue you to obtain an order to force you to change your company name. It is possible he could obtain an order such as this if he can prove your name is a conflict. This would cause you wasted time and money. Further, would you really want to have a company with a name that close to another company’s name. It would also be a problem for you.

When you receive a full name search report or Nuans report you can review the report yourself and should be able to tell if there is a name that is too similar to the name you wish to register. This would be another good idea just to be sure.

A Name search would be accepted for registering a company in Ontario even if the names are almost 100% identical. Referring back to the two names above, these names only differ because of the last word in the name. The Ontario Ministry of Government Services would accept this even though both names are very close. This would not be the case with the federal government since they are more careful with name acceptances.

In Ontario and Alberta and possibly in other Canadian jurisdictions, you can register a business name, sole proprietorship or partnership without providing a Nuans name search report. This means the government will not be reviewing the name prior to registration and therefore the onus is on you to ensure you have a name different from others. In fact in Alberta and Ontario you can register a business name exactly the same as another business name.

In a situation such as this you would want to purchase a preliminary name search. To conclude, in a case where you are registering a partnership, business name or sole proprietorship and a name search is not necessary you should purchase a preliminary name search. As a matter of fact, a lot of searches houses will check your name for free prior to registering a business name or a sole proprietorship or a partnership. If you are unclear about the website you are dealing with contact them. I am sure they would be glad to advise what their policy is.

Resources for Canadian Business Owners provides information about legal and government services for Canadian businesses as well as further information about doing a Company Name Search.

Nearly every family or social event includes the eating of food and the drinking or drinks in the celebration. Think of Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings. In this article, I would like to speak about that centre piece of the wedding reception: the wedding cake.

The guests come to eat, drink and be merry and the bride’s parents always put a great deal of work into the organization of the wedding reception. The wedding cake is the focal point of the top table and the whole function in general. The wedding cake has traditional significance and it is often considered bad luck not to have a slice of the wedding cake.

There are specific rules for the timing of the cutting of the wedding cake that have become part of tradition. For example, if the wedding reception takes place at lunch or dinner, it is traditional to cut the wedding cake just before the sweet is served.

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However, if the reception is to take place in the late afternoon or early evening, the cake is served as soon as the guests arrive. In some traditions the bride and groom cut and eat the first slice together as a symbol of their vows to love, honour and obey each other. The remainder of the cake is generally cut by one of the assistants, like the maid of honour or a family relative.

It can be quite hard to choose the wedding cake. Traditionally, people opt for a white cake with white icing for weddings, however these days, people are becoming more adventurous and are choosing more exotic flavours and colours.

Some couples choose to have a wedding cake which has different flavours on each tier. While white icing is still the overwhelming favourite, people do order other colours like pink and yellow. Chocolate and mocha are also popular. These days you can have what you like. It is your day, after all.

Everyone enjoys the wedding reception. It is the most well-liked part of the wedding day and everyone looks forward to seeing the cake cut and sharing it with the bride and groom.

If you are considering becoming a cake decorator, you have a few choices to go about it. You could buy a book or a course or get a video in order to teach yourself how to decorate cakes from the plain to the ornate. You could also go to a night school class to learn the art or cake decoration.

Without a doubt, the very best way to learn cake decorating is to take a course. DVD’s, videos, and books are all well and good, but you cannot converse with them or ask questions. If you attend a class for three months or more you will learn more and get a more profound understanding of the art of cake decoration. You will learn how to put real emotion into the decoration of the cake and you will be able to translate the wedding couple’s dreams into a cake that you and they can be proud of.

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With so much need for financial aid right now, many people are going online to see what they can find. It seems a large number of them think they might be able to get money from the stimulus bill that was passed out earlier in the year. It is true that the Democrats do have a long history of giving out money but in this instance it might be hard to get any from a grant or loan. It might be that people thought there could be a stimulus rebate check in the works as was given out to people several years ago under the Bush administration.

Many Americans are having a very difficult time right now financially and they are looking for ways out anywhere they can find them. Because the stimulus bill is so big and so many companies seem to be getting bailed out, people might be under the impression that there is money for them there as well. They don’t understand or care that all the money from the stimulus bail out is coming from our own taxpayer dollars. It will be our children that will end up paying for much of this in the form of higher taxes.

When you think about it, it is sad that there are people that honestly believe they are going to be getting something for nothing from the government. It is sad that they think the government is there just to give them free things. Did these people really feel they were going to get free money if Obama was elected?

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While it is very unlikely that there is going to be an Obama rebate check sent out to us, there still may be ways to profit from the stimulus bill. If you can get a job that was newly created because of the bill you will have found a way to get ahead. There are many jobs that have been saved and ones that have been created as a result of this bill and that seems to be the best way to directly profit from it.

Businesses as well as state and local governments have been the main recipients of the money that has come from the stimulus bill. There is very little set aside for the likes of you and me and whatever there is will be hard and confusing to qualify for. So, if you do need money to pay off loans or for other purposes, the stimulus bill will probably not be your answer.

Are you interested in finding out about Obama back to school grants for moms? Please go to my site Obama Government Stimulus Grants to learn more about getting financial assistance from the government.

There will come a time in our lives that we will be involved in a procurement process of some kind. The procurement process does not actually happen in one single step, but a process that deals with one party getting their hands on a particular services or goods. This process may involve private individuals or business. Whether dealing with individuals or business proprietors, the important thing is that all the needs of both parties are met.

The process of government procurement deals with mainly all the same things as an ordinary procurement process, except for the fact that this deal involves the local, state or federal government and an individual or a business.

The reason that the government takes on in this kind of is that they need to be able to go through with some public government plans or endow with the public with necessary goods. The services are more often than not obtained for these projects; as a result construction contracts are often involved in the procedure.

Significant characteristics involved in the construction contracts come into play when it comes to the government procurement process. The procurement is the legal contract that legally binds that you and the government go into. This legally binding agreement deals with all the ins and outs of a construction project, together with the provisions, materials or services required plus the fiscal portion of a simple remodeling job or a massive construction project.

Government procurement is done in a series of steps before it commences in construction contracts. First, they have to recognize the specifics of their needs. This could be certain products, materials or services. They also sort out all the details and intricacies that they are looking for, as well as hashing out all the particulars of the aspects of project cost. Once they have a solid idea of what is needed, then they will proceed to the next step.

Step two deals with the government agency finding the best possible supplier for their needs. They usually shop around in order to find the best possible people or company for the job. It is in this phase that all the negotiations, bidding wars and proposal acceptance takes place. Once the best supplier has been chosen, then the next step in the procurement will commence.

Next on the government procurement process is finalizing the legal agreement and the exchange of goods will take place. This is also when all the payment plans are done and commenced. The construction contracts are drawn up, signed, sealed and delivered.

Whether the payment is done in full or in installments, the contract stipulates that the government still has the right to back out of the deal and look for other options. As the supplier, you need to make sure that what you are providing is of good quality and that your services are up to par. That way, there will be no need for the deal not to push through.

The process of submitting an application for a request for proposal is difficult and time intensive when not understood,and trust that it’s hard to understand.. Leon Beckstone works with businesses to prepare a well written “RFP” for the bidding process. He has some filing experience with construction contracts, government procurement and other similar topics as well.

Most people look forward to going away on vacation and a lot of people like to make intricate plans and bookings. After all you usually have to make allowances for flights and hotels. However, there can also be car, tour and bicycle bookings too, depending on the type of holiday you want.

As an alternative to a hotel, you might want to think about hiring a private cottage. Cottage rentals are a good option to a hotel or guest house. In general, cottage holidays are self-catering, so you would have to be ready to put in a little more work than if you went on an all-inclusive hotel stay. A small cottage on the coast in an isolated setting would suit many people, but a vacation cottage on the coast might be better for others.

If you choose the right location, you can have whatever sort of cottage you want. Go to the coast if you like sailing or snorkeling. A seaside resort location would offer more night life most likely. If you want a quieter fishing vacation with canoing or boating, a quiet lakeside retreat would be more fitting. Then there are mountain retreats and several other levels of isolation and nightlife too.

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If you would like to go to see museums and other touristic sights, you should select a site near an appropriate city. It just requires a little forward planning and consideration.

We live in Wales and there are thousands of rental cottages of all types in all manner of locations. If you have a large family, you could hire several cottages close to each there and live in a kind of old fashioned village. There are also modern camps like ‘Center Parcs’ which have hundreds of very modern cottages in small groups of four or five so that families or friends can stay in a group together.

These contemporary cottages are very luxurious, with Jacuzzis, swirl baths, large flat screen televisions and all manner of entertainment equipment and satellite TV. The cottages are set in acres of woodland and wildlife is everywhere. There are deer, badgers, foxes, squirrels and dozens of types of birds including kingfishers, geese, ducks and swans.

The swimming pools are fully heated and go inside and outside into the woods, so that even in the middle of winter you remain warm. There is also archery, boating and hiking with many courses of differing hardship to follow. It is great to walk in the woods knowing that you cannot get lost with animals around every corner.

The wildlife is used to human company, so much or it is not afraid and they come right up to you if you stop for a picnic. These holidays are not so cheap as going to a self-catering private vacation, but they are safe, particularly for young families.

You can come across cottage rentals through a travel agent, but you can also find them by searching in your local newspaper. These are some of the best finds because the cottages might be only a few hours drive away, but that is remote enough to make a big difference. You do not really need to get on a plane to have a great vacation with a difference.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Welsh love spoons, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online