#General Construction in Brea

[pierceconstructionandrepair]

Pierce Construction & Repair offers Best Construction Services, Handrail, fence, gates, decks, Windows and Siding Replacement in Brea and Fullerton, California. Visit now!

[fatehbaz]

85% of natural asphalt is found in the Western hemisphere; the most famous asphalt field is probably the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, but the largest reserves are in Alberta, which hold an estimated 2.2 trillion barrels. In addition to the natural reserves, asphalt has, for the last 100 years, primarily been produced by refining crude oil residue. Asphalt’s most common use is as the binder in blacktop; aggregate makes up the remaining 95% of the dark mix we see on roads and highways. [...]

The largest antique source of asphalt was the Dead Sea, where chunks of seafloor asphalt periodically broke off and rose to the surface. In ancient Egypt, this asphalt was used to waterproof boats [...], as well as roads, canals, and roofs, and it was prized enough that Alexander the Great’s general Antigonus started -- and lost -- a war with the Nabataean Arabs over the Dead Sea’s asphalt. [...]

Asphalt was rare in road construction until it hit the big time in 1867 with the asphalting of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Soon Washington was an “asphalt city,” and the quiet, smooth streets inspired other cities to follow suit. Paving became ever more important with the popular rise of bicycles and then cars. At the turn of the century, refined asphalt was developed and largely supplanted natural asphalt due to its higher quality and volume. This was also the time when concrete emerged as a road paving material, and a competition between concrete and asphalt emerged [...].

O’Reilly closely associates war and asphalt. In World War II, asphalt served many purposes. From the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Tinian in the Northern Marianas, Navy construction battalions used asphalt to construct airfields and roads on short notice. Over 17,000 tons of asphalt were brought ashore during the Normandy landings. [...] During the Vietnam War, building asphalt runways was fundamental to the American policy of aerial bombardment. Asphalt has continued to be the material of choice for ad-hoc roads and runways built during the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

---

Text by: Alexander Luckmann. “Asphalt and Sand: A Material History of Extraction and Consumption.” Cleveland Review of Books. 13 May 2022.

[jobkash]

Cost Accountant (Construction)

Cost Accountant (Construction)Join a leading construction general contractor in Brea, CA, known for delivering high-quality projects and fostering a collaborative work environment. We are seeking a talented and detail-oriented Cost Accountant to join their dynamic team.As a Cost Accountant, you will play a crucial role in our financial operations, focusing on job cost accounting. You will be…

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Vickie Moseley

Vickie Moseley has 252 stories at Gossamer, some of which have also made their way to AO3. She has obviously contributed a ton to the fandom over the years! I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Giving Thanks, Stunned, and a bunch of post-eps for particular episodes, including “Firewalker” and “Pine Bluff Variant.” Big thanks to Vickie for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Not really. Well, actually, it has always surprised me that anyone would read my stories even during the heyday of the series, but that’s my self-consciousness talking. That people are discovering The X-Files is not at all surprising and that they are stumbling on fan fic is a natural extension and I find that wonderful. My husband and I never watched Grimm when it was on network TV and we’re currently going through that series, so it’s the streaming-on-demand-there-isn’t-anything-new-on-TV times we find ourselves.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Friendships. I have a group of women that I’ve been friends with for over 20 years. Until this year we gathered in person every year. We are in contact on Facebook messenger all the time and a conversation will start up just out of thin air when we haven’t conversed for months! It’s been wonderful knowing these women from all parts of the country (and the world for that matter).

And strangely enough, medical research. My writing tended to focus on ‘injured Mulder’ (or Mulder Torture as we termed it) and I also liked reading that in fan fic. Two years ago this managed to help me in real life. My husband experienced a bilateral pneumothorax (both lungs collapsed spontaneously). One of my favorite stories that I have read and reread is “Short of Breath” by the incomparable dee_ayy. She did some serious research while writing that story and it’s all in that fan fiction. I’m not saying it’s the same as a medical degree, but I knew what was happening, why the doctors where performing certain procedures and it really eased my mind as we went through the whole experience. I never would have known what was going on if I hadn’t read that story so many times.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Email was the ‘social media’ for the day. That, and newsfeeds. There were two newsfeeds in the beginning: the official FOX website had a message board, and there was one on ‘alt.tv’ which was an internet newsfeed where fans posted spoilers and discussed episodes. The alt.tv newsfeed got tired of the fan fic writers posting stories so a separate newsfeed was formed just for fan fic. EMXC, which was an AOL mailing list, was invite only and somewhat exclusive at first, but opened up to everyone. When the old OSU (Ohio State University) mailing list turned into Gossamer and Ephemeral, the fandom, and fan fic just skyrocketed.

But what you lived for the most, as a writer, was actual feedback. Emails from people all over who read your story. It was nice to get a quick ‘Hey, read this and really like it!’ but the wonderful emails, the ones you kept in folders on your inbox, were the ones that went into detail, sometimes critical, sometimes grammar related, but always showing where you could improve, or where you touched someone. Every friend I have from the fandom started as feedback, either to me or from me. I’m on AO3 and I appreciate ‘kudos’ but I really love getting comments.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Confidence in my writing. I learned a lot from other writers. Constructive feedback was a gift! I may never write the great American novel but I don’t think I’m afraid to give it a shot after all my years in fan fic.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

They had me at ‘aliens’. I’m a sucker for UFO shows. Was front row center at Close Encounters of the Third Kind, read many of the UFO standards, still watch Ancient Aliens on History Channel. I was waiting for The X-Files based on the tiny blurb in the 1993 Fall Preview Guide from TV Guide.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I kinda got fired from a job I loved and couldn’t go back into that arena for a long time. I was so depressed I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets. My husband ‘gave’ me the internet for my birthday just to get me out of the dumps. I went straight to ‘yahoo’ and typed in X Files. After reading all the character bios I saw a ‘hyperlink’ (yes, that’s what we called them in 1995) to something called ‘fan fiction’. It was the OSU tree directory of about 100 fan fiction stories. I was instantly hooked.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I still love the show and all the fans I run across. I was not happy with S8 or S9 but I did watch The Truth. I was on Haven for a while during the reboots (S10 and S11) but it wasn’t the same. I’ve got all the seasons on DVD or blu ray and both movies. When I hear from fans, I’m so happy to connect but I don’t go out and look for new stories anymore.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

None. My heart belongs to Mulder ;)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Captain Kirk, Spock, Captain Picard, Will Riker, Luke, Han, Leia, Poe, Rae, Kylo at the end. I like strong characters but it’s OK if they have flaws. I’d like to see more strong female leads in science fiction (Gammora and Nebula are favs of mine, too). I love Brea Larson’s portrayal of Captain Marvel!  

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

Sure. When the Pandemic hit we started going through the series for maybe the 20th time. It’s nice to watch them on a larger TV screen. Kim Manners was a genius with lighting and showing just enough of the ‘monster’. I suspect he will be better appreciated in the future than he was at the time he was alive.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I still go back and read my favorites from XF. I read Blood Ties by Dawn about once a year, the whole series. I go back and read the Virtual Season X seasons. We had some really good stories in those years.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to list! Dawn, of course. Susan Proto (I co-wrote with her), Sally Bahnsen, dee_ayy, Suzanne Bickerstaff’s Magician Series was the first (and only) fantasy I ever truly liked! I loved all my co-writers and there are plenty of writers that I wish we’d gotten around to collaborating.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I’m proud of Out of the Cold because it’s Mulder before Scully. I’m partial to the Flight Into Egypt series because I like ‘righting’ what I thought Carter got wrong in the end.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I keep trying! I’m working (have been working for almost a decade now) on a Flight Into Egypt story set at Christmas. Each fall I drag it out of mothballs, write a paragraph or two and get busy doing Christmas stuff. Funny, but it was easier to find time to write when I was a working mom of 6 than as a retired grandma of 3.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I’m putting together a cookbook for my kids and grandkids of all our family recipes. It’s not just the recipes, but the stories behind them. It’s a WIP (work in progress).

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I had a book, just a cheap paperback of unexplained events—all true stories, supposedly—that I got a lot of ideas from. Or, like Carter, I would see something in the news and it would turn into a story. One time I had a dream about our Pur water filter and it turned into a fan fic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

My older sister named me because my Mom and Dad let her. I never used a pen name. That’s my real name, you can google me and find out all about me. I used to have a wiki page or so my kids told me.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My kids used to tell their friends that ‘Mom is famous on the internet’ as a joke. Most of my friends know. My other life is in politics and the two lives usually don’t cross but once on a campaign I was asked by a reporter if I was the ‘same’ Vickie Moseley who writes fan fiction. If I had lied, that would have been the story—that I lied about this hobby of mine. Like it was something to be ashamed of or I was ashamed of my writing. So instead of ducking the question I said ‘yeah, have you read any of my stuff?’ Fan fiction was not mentioned in the finished article.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

I’m on AO3 but only a partial list. My website is still up thanks to Mimic.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Back when I started writing (1995) it was a sort of commune. We all loved reading fan fiction, we didn’t want the story to end with the credits. So if you wanted to read, you were encouraged to write, too, so that others had stories to read and share. It was a cooperative arrangement very much like the old Literary Societies back in the 19th Century.  I really miss that, so I hope that on some level that is still going on.

(Posted by Lilydale on November 10, 2020)

[titian-kestrel]

Nancy Drew Network Challenge

None of the games have been set in Central or South America, so here’s my entry to the challenge:

Nancy Drew: Trouble at Terranova

As an appreciation for her help in Skipbrot (and a sly way to keep Nancy in her debt), Dagny Silva has arranged for Nancy to spend a week at the Terranova Resort in Costa Rica!  A sustainable eco-resort in the lush jungles of Costa Rica is just the place to reconnect with Ned.  Terranova recently won a prestigious ecotourism award and is undergoing an expansion of the property.  Nancy and Ned’s romantic getaway turns sour when the construction site experiences a series of accidents that seem anything but.  Is the environmentally-conscious veneer of Terranova hiding an unpleasant truth?

Suspects

Xiomara Salas - Terranova’s deputy manager, a confident and capable leader, ensures the comfort of all the resort’s guests.  Does she still harbor a grudge for being passed up for promotion to general manager?

Julio Alvarado - He is the gardener that oversees the resort’s crops, which allow Terranova to be self-sustaining.  As an indigenous Costa Rican, he is frustrated by the government’s preferential treatment of eco-resorts while opportunities for indigenous remain few.

Tyler Bailey - As the resort’s surf instructor, he��s passionate about traveling the world to catch “the” wave.  Would he sabotage the construction project to escape his restrictive contract?

Dr. Rao and Sirisha Rao - The only other guests that could’ve been involved are an ecology professor from UC Brea and his visiting his daughter, who just completed two years with the Peace Corps in Nicaragua.  Sirisha is a fervent believer economic and environmental justice - how far would her beliefs take her?

Phone Characters

Alma Garrido - As a government inspector in charge of certifying eco-resorts, her knowledge about certification compliance raises questions on Terranova’s “sustainability.”  

George and Bess - Eager to offer a hint to Nancy, and remind her that this trip is supposed to be for spending time with Ned!

[drawlfoy]

Fixed

masterlist

request guidelines

requests are open as usualllll

pairing: draco x slytherin!reader

request: yes! i’m combining 2 slytherin!reader requests because they’re rather similar and i feel weird putting two nearly identical ones out, but i swear the storylines aren’t altered.

summary: draco has a teasing relationship with the reader--they playfully argue and go back and forth but never acknowledge the fact that there may be something more. draco notices her pulling back and becoming more reserved. he follows her out of the dining hall one day to find her having a breakdown over a dark secret.

warnings: breakdown (and not the dancing kind), if the summary didn’t already explain that. swearing and potentially suggestive argumentation. also ooc draco and i say “fuck you” to canon in this one

a/n: this is the first time i’m merged two requests together, so i’m feeling a little wacky but i hope it turns out to what you guys wanted! i’m so so lucky to have readers. i’d love any comments that you may have on my work, even if they’re constructive criticism!

music recs: peach pit is what comes to mind but i’m listening to scary stories as i write this lol because i live on the edgeeeeeee

word count: 2,924

Y/N was an organized girl, no doubt about it. So organized, in fact, that she never lost anything, and she most certainly never lost track of her wand.

So when she noticed in Charms that her wand was not stowed away in her cloak pocket, she immediately knew who did it.

Without even as much as a hello, Y/N strode over to her “friend” and fellow house member Draco Malfoy and shoved her hand into his pocket, wiggling it around.

“At least buy me dinner first.” Draco had started at the sudden sensation, but once he smelled the perfume of the witch behind him, he knew exactly who it was, not bothering to give her much of a reaction.

Y/N fished around his pockets for a bit before grabbing his shoulder and yanking him around.

“Where is my wand, Draco? I know you have it.”

He smirked evilly down at her, his eyes glinting with mischief. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sweetheart.”

“Yes, you do!” She pulled him towards her by his green and silver tie, trying to look as menacing as possible. “I swear to god, Draco, I’m gonna hex you into oblivion if you don’t give it back.”

“With what wand?” He laughed. “And let’s be real here, Y/N, you wouldn’t anyways. You love me too much.”

Y/N’s cheeks grew red at the suggestion.

“As if, Draco! Give me my wand back, or I’ll throttle you with my bare hands!”

“Ooh, kinky.” 

She let go of his tie, shoving him away. Who was he to suggest these things to her? He’d never been interested as long as she could remember--no matter how many subtle hints she’d dropped, he remained oblivious, instead choosing Pansy’s incessant fawning.

Pretending like it didn’t hurt when he was ignoring her was easy. Pretending it didn’t hurt when he was inches away from her face and fake flirting with her was a whole other deal. 

“Give me my wand, you git,” she commanded, holding her hand out. Perhaps if she was animated with her hands, he wouldn’t notice her blush. 

Draco raised an eyebrow, one side of his lip rising along with it. 

“Ask nicely.”

“May I please have my wand back?” she spat, each word filling her mouth with venom.

“We could work on your tone a tad, but I guess I might as well,” he responded, nonchalant and ignorant of the searing look she sent him. Digging through his satchel, he retrieved her wand, pressing it into her hand.

Y/N sent him a syrupy sweet smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. In the corner of her vision, she could see Pansy watching her with a sour look on her face.

She was never one to disappoint an audience.

“Thank you, Draco,” she cooed, taking a complete 180 from her previous demeanor. Throwing all caution to the wind, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, lingering for a moment longer than necessary. 

When she settled back down to her usual height, she noticed that his eyebrow was still arched, but his evil look was replaced with one of inquisitiveness. 

“I knew you were in love with me,” he crooned.

“No, I’m just a big fan of charity work,” she shot back, spinning around and walking back to her desk.

It was, after all, just another Tuesday.

♥♥♥♥

“Are you still hopelessly obsessed with Draco?”

“Huh?” Y/N diverting her attention from her studies to what her roommate, Millicent, had just asked her. “Sorry, I was deep in a passage and didn’t catch that.”

Millicent rolled her eyes, crossing her legs on her bed. 

“I asked, are you still into Draco? I remember you talking about him in 4th year when we were getting dates for the Yule Ball arranged.” 

“Oh.” Y/N let her eyes fall back onto her textbook. “I don’t know, Mills. I think he’s kind of an arse. He totally knew that I was into him and asked Pansy instead.” 

Millicent chuckled sourly at that.

“Yeah, he was kind of immature back then,” she offered, resting her chin in her hand. “But, I don’t know, don’t you think that you guys have chemistry?”

Y/N thought for a few moments.

“I can’t say,” she responded. “But chemistry doesn’t really mean anything if they don’t care about you, you know? I think he messes with me just so he can feel like I’m still on the hook.”

“How do you know that?” 

“How do I know that he’s just using me?” Y/N rolled her quill over in her hands a few times. “I can’t say for sure, but I’m normally good at reading these situations and I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“So you’re saying that you do have hopes that he’s interested?” Y/N didn’t have to turn to know that her roommate was plotting. 

“I’m saying that I really don’t have time to be worrying about it right now,” Y/N opined. 

Before she knew it, a hand was taking her quill out of her hand and closing her textbook.

“Hey! You can’t--”

“It’s been too long, Y/N,” Millicent whined. “We need to have a good gossip, and now that midterms are over, we can catch up. Please?”

Y/N couldn’t help a smile from creeping into her stony expression. While she had had reservations about her roommate at first, she soon learned that they brought the best out in each other.

“Okay, okay, but I’m not making any rash decisions, alright?”

“And when would I ever let you do that anyways?”

They both erupted in giggles while Y/N allowed her friend to pull her onto the bed.

“So, for starters,” Millicent began. “I heard that Draco and Pansy are going through a rough patch right now.” 

“And who did you hear that from?”

“Irrelevant. But if you care, Blaise, and Theo confirmed it as well. And I would’ve found out without their help...they’re acting weird. Pansy looks like she’s ready to slit his throat at a moment’s notice, if you haven’t been paying any attention for the past 4 hours.”

Y/N laughed nervously. Of course she had noticed...but she didn’t want anyone to realize how much she actually cared.

“Yikes, I hope they figure that out. Their parents are going to be mad if they break up, right?”

“No, probably not. His parents really want him to end up with a Greengrass...something about settling a deal from a few generations ago.”

“Oh.” Y/N swallowed any other hope that she had left. “That sucks for Pansy. I know how much she likes him.”

Millicent paused for a moment, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t act like you haven’t been feeling bad as well,” she said, her tone softening. “I’ve noticed the pain in your eyes whenever you see them together.”

“And it doesn’t help when he seeks me out to mess with me!” Y/N exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “I try so, so hard to forget about him and pretend like he doesn’t matter to me, but he finds all of these ways to keep butting back into my life and it always works...”

Her roommate began rubbing her back, allowing the few tears being shed to fall in peace. 

“You’re worth so much, Y/N,” she told her firmly. “And unless I’m wrong, which we know is impossible, I think he kind of likes you too.”

“I don’t think you understand, though,” Y/N whispered. “Why would I ever want to be with someone who thinks of me as a second choice?”

Millicent was silent for a few breaths.

“Yeah. Maybe his parents pushed him to date her, though? Maybe he has a good excuse?”

“I don’t know, Mills. I’m just not going to think about it anymore, alright?”

♥♥♥♥

Draco was sitting across the breakfast table from Y/N, watching her sip her tea, waiting for the moment to throw another comment her way. 

The screech of owls interrupted his thought process, signaling that the morning post had arrived. A snowy owl landed gracefully next to Y/N’s plate, bearing a letter with a red wax seal on the back.

She shook herself out of her daydreams--she had been up late the night before cramming for an exam and had burnt through an entire candle. Stroking her owl, she whispered a genuine thank you and instructed it to fly on home.

Y/N picked up the letter, fingering the parchment. It was clearly from her parents--the wax seal bore the mark of her family’s crest. Confused, she ripped open the envelope and began skimming the letter.

Oh, no. Oh, no.

Her vision began to blur as she folded the parchment up, shoving it back into her pocket. 

“Hey Y/N, what’s going--”

Before Draco could finish his sentence, she was already halfway down the aisle, moving quickly to the exit. He watched her go, wishing that he could follow but knowing that it wasn’t a good idea with the tension regarding Pansy.

It was high time to break up with her anyways--no reason to keep up appearances when he didn’t desire her.

♥♥♥♥

As the week went by, Draco noticed more and more changes in Y/N’s demeanor. She was eating less and spacing out more. Her skirt was wrinkled on Friday, something that rarely ever happened, and she was no longer sending him bitter remarks in response to his flirty ones. On Saturday, she stayed in her dorm instead of joining her friends for a day in Hogsmeade, something he had never seen her miss before.

Something was clearly wrong with Y/N, and for some reason, this twisted something in his chest more than breaking up with Pansy did. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw her messing around in the common room, either. It was unnerving, really. The witch had no business worrying him like that.

So, when he passed by her during a free period and saw her walking ahead of him, he made the executive decision to finally do something.

“Y/N!” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. “Y/N, wait!”

She halted, turning around slowly. When she saw who had called her name, she stiffened and made to continue on her path. 

Draco, anticipating such a reaction, had already begun to jog towards her, lightly pushing past the rest of the students going the same direction.

“Y/N! Please, I need to talk to you!”

 She picked up the pace, but Draco’s long legs caught up to her as he slipped a hand into the crook of her arm, startling her.

“What do you wa--”

“Can I please talk to you? It’ll just take a second. I promise.”

Her expression was unreadable, but he could tell that she was considering her options. 

“Fine,” she finally said. “What is it?”

“Not here,” Draco quickly said. “Somewhere private. The common room, maybe?” 

“If you wanted to off me, I doubt anyone would notice if you did it right here,” Y/N said, waving her hand dismissively. “But if you would really like to talk there, then I guess I’ll comply.”

Without another word, Draco led her down to the dungeons, keeping his hand tucked in her arm, not trusting her to stick by him. It felt strange--normally he was the one holding his arm out, but then again, this entire situation was out of character for him. 

Once they had reached the common room, Draco waved his wand and lit the fire, sitting down in front of the couch to watch the green flames lick the stone.

“Sit,” he instructed, patting the space on the couch next to him. 

Surprisingly, Y/N did as she was told, folding her legs up on the couch and sending Draco a death stare.

“Get on with it.”

“I just...I wanted to make sure that you were alright,” Draco faltered. Playing therapist was not something he had experience with. “I’ve noticed you acting strange since you got that letter at breakfast and it’s making me worry. Can you just tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it and we can be normal again?”

Y/N was silent for a while.

“You can’t fix this. Not this time. I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean I can’t? Just tell me, Y/N, please.”

Silence again...except for something else. Draco stole a glance at Y/N and was stunned to see the firelight illuminate tears rolling down her face. 

“Oh, no, Y/N, what’s wrong?” 

The question only made her gasps for air louder as Y/N curled herself into a ball.

“I’m sorry,” she managed. “You should go. You can come back later when I’m calmer, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t apologize,” Draco murmured, bringing up a hand to steady her shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll make it better, alright?”

“My parents are forcing me into an arranged marriage,” she whispered, hugging her knees to her chest. “He goes to Durmstrang. I hate him. They offered my hand in marriage because they want his father to be more amiable to mine in this business deal, and since I’ve never been in a relationship, they think it’s the only chance I have anyways at finding a life partner.”

The sobs had stopped. Her tears fell silently now, staining the whites of her sleeves.

Draco himself had to process the information. Y/N, married to someone else? No, he never could’ve imagined that.

Without anything particularly useful to say, Draco just opened his arms.

“C’mere,” he awkwardly mumbled. 

Y/N studied him for a few seconds.

“I’m going to get snot on your shirt.”

“I don’t care.” 

With that settled, Y/N released her knees from her hold, instead crawling into his lap. He stroked her hair as she wept into his shirt and clung to him.

Oh, how this was embarrassing for her. She supposed that there was a reason why her parents were so desperate to accept an offer for her hand. 

Draco suddenly stopped, moving his hands to tap her shoulder.

“Y/N,” he began, “Would they make you marry him if you were already in a relationship?”

She sat up, blowing her nose into her handkerchief before answering.

“No, probably not. Why?”

“Well...” He pondered for a second, wondering if he was really going to be brave enough to say what he wanted to. “What if I was in the picture? They wouldn’t care to pass you off to some random Durmstrang boy if you had a Malfoy instead, right?”

Y/N stared at him.

“Er... probably not. That’s nice wishful thinking there, Draco.”

“I’m being serious!” He wasn’t expecting it to go this direction. 

“How do I know that you’re not joking?” she queried, scootching further away from him and trying to ignore the pain that flashed across his eyes.

“I let you cry all over my dress shirt,” he reminded her, motioning to the stains on his chest. “Do you think I’d do that for any girl?” 

Y/N just shrugged, hiccuping once before she stuffed her handkerchief back into her pocket. 

“I wouldn’t.” Draco answered his own question, reaching up to gingerly brush her hair out of her eyes. “I know it must be weird seeing me with Pansy.”

“Yeah, no shit,” she mumbled. “I didn’t even think about that. My disbelief was due to the fact that you’ve never been interested.”

Draco flinched. 

“I don’t think you’re completely right there,” he said, his hand pausing to cup her face. 

“Are you forgetting the Yule Ball ordeal? How you knew how much I liked you but you still went with Pansy instead?”

“You don’t understand,” he responded hastily. “I didn’t know--I was 14 and an idiot. I couldn’t tell if you liked me or not and I knew that she did, so I wasn’t afraid.”

“And so you dated her for another 2 years?” Y/N answered in disbelief, seemingly forgetting the fact that she had just been crying her eyes out.

“At first it was to make you jealous,” Draco explained. “But then Pansy’s parents began to expect a lot out of us, and I was waiting for the right time to break it off, and it just didn’t....ever come around.”

Draco jumped as Y/N smacked his shoulder.

“You’re an idiot,” she snapped. 

“I know.” Draco gulped. “And I’m sorry about that, Y/N, I really am. Let me make it up to you. Owl your parents and tell them that you had forgotten to mention that you’re already in a serious relationship with me.”

He curled an arm around her waist, highlighting the fact that while she wasn’t lying on his chest, she was still nestled into him.

“Under one condition,” Y/N told him, an elvish glint in her eyes.

“Yes?” He reached up his free hand to boop the tip of her nose.

“What was that?!” Y/N jerked her face away from his.

Draco smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, I’ve always wanted to do that. You were saying?”

Her mouth was parted slightly in confusion as her brain tried to recall what she was about to say.

“I--just don’t be a pill, Draco, alright?”

“C’mon now, when have I ever been one?” He smirked down at her, wearing the expression that he adopted whenever they teased each other in class.

Y/N was trying her hardest to stay composed, but a genuine smile fought its way onto her face. It only widened when Draco leaned forward, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Pulling away, he uttered the words that would lead to her lightly smacking him on the shoulder again:

“I told you I could fix it.”

final a/n: kindaaaaaaa mad that i took on this request at this point because i totally could’ve turned this into a series where the reader and draco don’t admit feelings this early and instead decide to “fake date” so both parents would be happy but i have a lifeeeee grossssss

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 4 July 1837

8 ¼

12 10

fine morning F65° at 9 10 – breakfast about 10 minutes or ¼ hour with A- before Mr. Gray came asked how she was  middling   I calmly said she could not be better going on in this way I was very sorry only wished her happiness would not wish her to stay here if she thought she could be happier anywhere but it was a serious thing  in leaving here she left independence and I thought almost every comfort  she cried but did not speak as she had evidently done her breakfast I begged she would not stay unless she liked it and she was just gone before Mr. Gray came – sat talking to Mr. Gray about furnishing the hotel – he very knowing about beds and furniture in general – particularly about feathers – should buy the tick and weigh it than put in as many feathers as required and weigh the bed and pay for the feathers per lb. 1/6 per lb. for the best Dantzic – well dessed by the feather merchant – will ¼ weight or 6lbs. out of 20 in dressing – feathers called 1st and 2nd

SH:7/ML/E/20/0086

grays – 2nd grays as good as the 1st but the 1st a better colour, that is, white – feathers should be well stoved (in a large iron room (oven) with sulphur) on apt to smell putrid – sat talking till 10 1/3 when Holt came and Wood the engineer  Grays’ brother in law an upholster did not wish me to name this to Mr. Harper or the head designed for upholsterers some allow their designers ssix guineas a week – had H- in the little room with the great plan before us – it will be difficult for Messrs. Stocks and c° to carry off the Spiggs water – talked over Mr. Rawson’s low bed sough or loose, and staith at the bottom of the Bank – H- would rather give him a thousand pounds than miss it – Mr. Pollett came at last after 11 Mr. Harper came and finding H- with me I left them a little while together and while the 4 men were together I came upstairs – copied the plan of Lower brea by SW- dated 21 January and lent to me by Mr. George R- sometime back – Mr. Harper sent for me – gave him Bates’ estates – Wood throws blame on Mr. Husband – sent off John Booth immediately for Mr. Husband and with a line or 2 in pencil to ‘Messrs. Parker and Adam solicitors H-x’ to ask either of them to be here at 8 this evening to meet Mr. Harper and told John to let Holt the engineer know Mr. Harper was here – went into the cellar – looking over papers of one sort or other and wrote the above of today till now 1 ½ - a little while ago the H-x paper came and a civil letter from Mr. Harper’s brother the solicitor at York to say his brother had not received my letter but he (Mr. Edward H- the solicitor) had written to inform him of there being such letter – H-x letter queer looking address to me or A- one or both informing me or her that Francis Carter had let his house for lodgings to a man who pottered the whole street and begging ‘pase’  peace, I suppose – went down to A- she said she had written to her sister and after telling the contents gave me the copy of her letter to read  little Mary and Hannah to go next Friday week A- said she had asked for Crownest  thought of going to Scotland for three weeks and asked me to let George go with her as far as Edinburgh  she should order furniture in Leeds in going  at Kendells’  of course I thought all arranged well then said I it is done I can only hope you will be happy  I supposed there was an explanation to her sister and said am glad you have written for if you had not I should  I am satisfied this is the best way you could have managed the matter I was not a little surprised to find the letter so expressed that that Mrs. S- would suppose A- wanted part of Crownest for some friend no hint at her going to Scotland nothing that as at explanatory or that could not easily be got over it might have been done to try me I saw this and laughed in my sleeve but said nothing and went to Mr. Harper a little while with Mr. Harper – he had sent for me vid. line 12 of this page to say Wood the engineer said he had never seen the plan of the wheel as amended by Mr. Husband and approved at York – I had sent off John Booth to H-x immediately for Mr. Husband and Messrs. Pollett and Wood were detained till he came – he proved that Mr. Wood had seen the plan and had it in his possession some weeks and it being referred to in the estate Mr. Harper took Mr. Husbandds’ copy of the plan and signed it, and insisted on the contract being adhere to – he agreed to my agreement for the pen-trough etc and allowed extra £6 for the back shuttle omitted! in the last estate – H- said he was glad to settle the matter on these terms – afraid of their setting aside the contract, and then he could not tell what I should have to pay (some hundred) for useless weight of iron – they would now lose £30 or £40 by it – He had bound them down to a month for having all done – but they were to make all possible exertion to get the pumps going in a fortnight from this time –Mr. Husband to be finally settled with tomorrow – a clerk of the works would be wanted for 2 months longer – I begged Blythe might have the place – H- had named it to him and he begged to consider about it – it was now about 21/4 – went back to A- who left me for ¼ hour while I saw Mr. Jubb in the north parlour and sat with her till she rode off to Cliff Hill about 3 ½ - began by hoping her going to Scotland would do her good she did not know that she should go said I had always thought she had better not go there without me and that she had better make a very different journey and go with me to Rotterdam etc etc I quizzed her a little and I think she was not sorry to get right again   when she said we had been unhappy of late no no said I not we I know nothing about it and you have been more unhappy in your stomach than in your heart – told A- I had asked Mr. Jubb (who called about 2 ¼) what he thought would be good for her; and I much wished she would be persuaded to take what he recommended (blue pill at night and effervescing draught in the morning)  out again about 3 ½ - about with Mawson at the hay barn road thro’ the wood – (A- took back to Lower brea this afternoon the plan of the Lower brea land I rough copied this morning) sometime with Mawson settling about the hay barn road – the 3 men he has now at the meer barrowing stuff (ornament stuff) to the by wash not enough for so long a run as from near the hut (on the other side) and to be taken off tomorrow to form the hay barn thro’ the wood at 4/. per rood – at the meer about 5 – full nearly within 2 or 3 in. up to the by wash so as to run over – stood musing and watching the 3 men till 6 – came in at 6 10 – dinner at 6 ¼ Mr. Harper (1st time) dined with us he having to stay till 8 to meet Mr. Parker respecting advertising and letting the Northgate hotel –sat at table about 1 ½ hour – Mr. Harper explained defect in Fowlers’ Hungford market roof (the tie-beams supported by iron rods the iron rods too slender to be of any use as spurs) and said that turning to his papers the other day reminded him of professor Morris of Cambridge shewing that the Menai bridge was wrong in principle the curve ab should = bc and equilibrium is the principle of a suspension bridge .:. ed should = cd which is not the case

SH:7/ML/E/20/0087

but Telford was the inventor of the suspension principle and was thinking too much of the invention to work it out right – Professor Airie had observed at the 1st (in his lectures) that there was an error in the mathematical construction but left his pupils to find it out – had not courage to explain – Captain Brwon saw the error and built Hammersmith bridge over the Thames right – Vauxhall bridge would tumble but for the smartness of the span of the arches – the famous bridge over the Doria at Turin (vid. last and 1st numero of the Transactions of the engineers) tumbling down – too little allowed by government for the school of drawing (architectural drawing) £250 per annum – one or 2 necessary works would cost the whole EG. Piranesis’ antiquities of Rome – could not be bought perfect for less than £100 in Rome – and duty 1d. per plate – it would cost from £100 to £150 – the celebrated German work (published at Berlin and just complete) on ornament = £30 guineas English money at Berlin – Mr. Parker came at 8 – left him with Mr. Harper about ½ hour – then had all in to tea and coffee at 8 ½ - A- had talked more than usual at dinner – joined in the conversation con spirit, and ditto ditto at tea – spoke very decidedly against Mr. Carrs’ having the hotel – to be advertised immediately – in the London Times and Morning Herald – 2 H-x papers Leeds mercury Liverpool ditto Manchester Guardian Yorkshire Gazette and Edinburgh North British advertiser = 9 papers – Mr. Harper said he had told Mr. Parker what it should let for to remunerate me  (which seemed to be £450) – H- thought 5pc. enough on building! and had evidently reckoned 5pc on £7000 + £3000 as value of the old house and land taken – yet he afterwards seemed to eat up his words a little so as to mean 5pc. clear and 2pc. to be laid by for repairs – but £450 rent = 5pc. on £1000 without anything to lay by for repairs – However he said I had better turn it to something else than little it for less than £300 a year – Mr. P- thought Carr should have it for less than anybody else – why said I, should he have Northgate for a hundred a year less than he now pays for the White Swan? the absurdity struck P- and he agreed that he ought not to pay less than £400 – but  to ask £500 – he from the 1st moment mentioned furniture – I agreed that if required I would find all but plate, china, linen, and culinary things – I think there was a 5th exception but I forget what – what pc. to be paid on the furniture? put it to the vote all round A- and Mr. Harper said 10 Mr. Gray 15 Mr. P- 20pc.  and would not take less – H- thought £2000 would do all required of me – term to be 5 years – security for the rent from 1 September next – Blythe considered to accept the place of clerk of the works – P- took me aside into the little parlour and gave me back my bond of 1835 to Mr. William Wainhouse for £1000 – it was 10 ½ before Messrs. P- and H- went away – raining then

Mawson having the mowing and hay making and housing at 13/. per DW- he finding all beer cut the grass growing on the intend Incline platform at the top of the bank – yesterday afternoon and mowed the wheat field today – he pays for 7DW. mowing advised by J. Booth

Robert Mann + 5 at the new pool a little while in the morning then the rest of the day throwing up on the east side the soil of the back Lodge road near the top – 3 of Mawsons’ men at the meer barrowing stuff from near the hut to by-wash ornament – 2 masons at the new door into the kitchen – Edward at the laundry drying closet - [?] of the old garden wall near the west yew tree taken down for bricks for the laundry chimney – fine day raining at 10 ½ pm F55° at 11 10 pm

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

FROM RENTACOP TO ROBOCOP “The security-driven logic of urban enclavization finds its most popular expression in the frenetic efforts of Los Angeles's affluent neighborhoods to insulate home values and lifestyles. ...new luxury developments outside the city limits have often become fortress cities, complete with encompassing walls, restricted entry points with guard posts, overlapping private and public police services, and even privatized roadways. It is simply impossible for ordinary citizens to invade the 'cities' of Hidden Hills, Bradbury, Rancho Mirage or Rolling Hills without an invitation from a resident. Indeed Bradbury, with nine hundred residents and ten miles of gated private roads, is so security-obsessed that its three city officials do not return telephone calls from the press, since 'each time an article appeared . .. it drew attention to the city and the number of burglaries increased'. For its part, Hidden Hills, a Norman Rockwell painting behind high-security walls, has been bitterly divided over compliance with a Superior Court order to build forty-eight units of seniors' housing outside its gates. At meetings of the city's all-powerful homeowners' association (whose membership includes Frankie Avalon, Neil Diamond and Bob Eubanks) opponents of compliance have argued that the old folks' apartments 'will attract gangs and dope' (sic).

Meanwhile, traditional luxury enclaves like Beverly Hills and San Marino are increasingly restricting access to their public facilities, using baroque layers of regulations to build invisible walls. San Marino, which may be the richest, and is reputedly the most Republican (85 per cent), city in the country, now closes its parks on weekends to exclude Latino and Asian families from adjacent communities. One plan under discussion would reopen the parks on Saturdays only to those with proof of residence. Other upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles have minted a similar residential privilege by obtaining ordinances to restrict parking to local homeowners. Predictably, such preferential parking regulations proliferate exclusively in neighborhoods with three-car garages. 

Residential areas with enough clout are thus able to privatize local public space, partitioning themselves from the rest of the metropolis, even imposing a variant of neighborhood 'passport control' on outsiders. The next step, of course, is to ape incorporated enclaves like Rolling Hills or Hidden Hills by building literal walls. Since its construction in the late 1940s Park La Brea has been a bit of Lower Manhattan chutzpah moored to Wilshire Boulevard: a 176-acre maze of medium-rent townhouses and tower apartments, occupied by an urbane mix of singles, retirees, and families. Now, as part of a strategy of gentrification, its owners, Forest City Enterprises, have decided to enclose the entire community in security fencing, cutting off to pedestrians one of the most vital public spaces along the 'Miracle Mile'. As a spokeswoman for the owners observed, 'it's a trend in general to have enclosed communities'. 

In the once wide-open tractlands of the San Fernando Valley, where there were virtually no walled-off communities a decade ago, the 'trend' has assumed the frenzied dimensions of a residential arms race as ordinary suburbanites demand the kind of social insulation once enjoyed only by the rich. Brian Weinstock, a leading Valley contractor, boasts of more than one hundred newly gated neighborhoods, with an insatiable demand for more security. 'The first question out of their [the buyers'] mouths is whether there is a gated community. The demand is there on a 3-to-1 basis for a gated community than not living in a gated community.'

The social control advantages of 'gatehood' have also attracted the attention of landlords in denser, lower-income areas. Apartment owners in the Sepulveda barrio of the Valley have rallied behind a police program, launched in October 1989, to barricade their streets as a deterrent to drug buyers and other undesirables. The LAPD wants the City Council's permission to permanently seal off the neighborhood and restrict entry to residents, while the owners finance a guard station or 'checkpoint charlie'. While the Council contemplates the permanency of the experiment, the LAPD, supported by local homeowners, has continued to barricade other urban 'war zones' including part of the Pico-Union district, a Mid-Wilshire neighborhood, and an entire square mile around Jefferson High School in the Central-Vernon area. In face of complaints from younger residents about the 'Berlin Wall' quality of the neighborhood quarantines, Police Chief Gates reassured journalists that 'we're not here to occupy the territory. This isn't Panama. It's the city of Los Angeles and we're going to be here in a lawful manner.’ 

Meanwhile the very rich are yearning for high-tech castles. Where gates and walls alone will not suffice, as in the case of Beverly Hills or Bel-Air homeowners, the house itself is redesigned to incorporate sophisticated, sometimes far-fetched, security functions. An overriding but discreet goal of the current 'mansionizing' mania on the Westside of Los Angeles - for instance, tearing down $3 million houses to build $30 million mansions is the search for 'absolute security'. Residential architects are borrowing design secrets from overseas embassies and military command posts. One of the features most in demand is the 'terrorist-proof security room' concealed in the houseplan and accessed by sliding panels and secret doors. Merv Griffith and his fellow mansionizers are hardening their palaces like missile silos. 

But contemporary residential security in Los Angeles - whether in the fortified mansion or the average suburban bunker - depends upon the voracious consumption of private security services. Through their local homeowners' associations, virtually every affluent neighborhood from the Palisades to Silverlake contracts its own private policing; hence the thousands of lawns displaying the little 'armed response' warnings. The classifieds in a recent Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times contained nearly a hundred ads for guards and patrolmen, mostly from firms specializing in residential protection. Within Los Angeles County, the security services industry has tripled its sales and workforce (from 24,000 to 75,000) over the last decade. 

'It is easier to become an armed guard than it is to become a barber, hairdresser or journeyman carpenter', and under California's extraordinarily lax licensing law even a convicted murderer is not automatically excluded from eligibility. Although a majority of patrolmen are minority males earning near the minimum wage ($4-7 per hour depending on qualifications and literacy), their employers are often multinational conglomerates offering a dazzling range of security products and services. As Michael Kaye, president of burgeoning Westec (a subsidiary of Japan's Secom Ltd), explains: 'We're not a security guard company. We sell a concept of security.’ (This quote, as aficionados will immediately recognize, echoes the boast of Omni Consumer Products' Dick Jones - the villain of Paul Verhoeven's Robocop - that 'everything is security concepts ... sometimes I can just think of something and it makes me so horny'.) 

What homeowners' associations contract from Westec - or its principal rival, Bel-Air Patrol (part of Borg-Warner's family of security companies, including Burns and Pinkerton) - is a complete, 'systems' package that includes alarm hardware, monitoring, watch patrols, personal escorts, and, of course, 'armed response' as necessary. Although law-enforcement experts debate the efficiency of such systems in foiling professional criminals, they are brilliantly successful in deterring innocent outsiders. Anyone who has tried to take a stroll at dusk through a strange neighborhood patrolled by armed security guards and signposted with death threats quickly realizes how merely notional, if not utterly obsolete, is the old idea of the 'freedom of the city'.” - Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles. Photographs by Robert Morrow. New York: Vintage, 1992. pp. 245-250.

[fairestfall]

@soughtfor​

        It is amazing how the events of the past unum have changed everyone so drastically. The gelfling are lost and hurting, still reeling over a betrayal at the hands of ones whom they viewed as benevolent, generous, and kind. Tavra is trapped inside the body of a spitter. Brea is isolating herself in an attempt to cope with the loss of mother and the harsh words of eldest sister. Seladon is hiding her fear behind a well-constructed mask, and Rian, the mischievous son of the captain-of-the-guard, of whom Snow was quite fond, is now bitter and withdrawn, his grief consuming him in a nigh impenetrable fog. 

She forces her bare feet to make noise against the earth as she approaches out of his periphery, a cup of ta in hand. The exiled Councilor glances down at his furrowed brow, and her own worry lines deepen. She thinks that he must be the most wounded out of all of them, for he bears the heavy burden of seeing his beloved drained before his very eyes and his father murdered, not to mention the heavy responsibility of being the unofficial leader of this resistance. 

He is so young. Too young to have to carry the world. 

She kneels and offers him the cup. “It’s a cold night to be alone. Mind if I join you?” 

[laconservancy]

Los Angeles Needs Stronger Demolition Deterrents

In September 2019, the former longtime residence of Hollywood actor Eva Gabor (a 1938 Colonial Revival-style home) was partially demolished without proper permits. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.

Preservation is fundamentally about people and the stories told through historic places. If you no longer have the place, can you still tell the story? You can, but it won’t be as real, tangible, or relatable if you can’t see, touch, and experience the place in which the story took place.

Demolition is an ultimate and irreversible loss. Over time, we quickly forget a lost building and its stories ever existed. This is especially true for subsequent generations that will never have the opportunity to learn this history. It is the reason why the Conservancy works so hard to develop alternatives and press for ways to keep and reuse older and historic buildings.

Not all demolitions are the same, especially those that occur without first securing proper permits and approvals. The City of Los Angeles is clear, stating in its building code that “no person shall demolish any building or structure unless said person has obtained a permit.” In late September 2019, the owner of 100 Delfern Drive in Holmby Hills began demolition without the necessary permits in hand. This 1938 Colonial Revival-style house was once the longtime residence of Hollywood actor Eva Gabor. Though the City’s Department of Building and Safety issued a stop-work order, the damage was already done with the front of the house partially demolished.

This demolition was especially egregious as the house was currently pending review by the City’s Cultural Heritage Commission as a potential Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM).

Councilmember Paul Koretz initiated the nomination and the full city council voted to support this effort in early September, prompting an emergency stay on any demolition activity and major alterations.

While the house at 100 Delfern Road is important for its association with Eva Gabor, its story is more than that alone. It was designed by Paul R. Williams, one of our preeminent architects whose career spanned almost six decades, from 1923 to 1973. Williams achieved success where others failed, breaking through racial barriers and becoming the first African American member (and later, Fellow) of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

The Gabor house now sits with its grand portico and front details in a pile of strewn debris while awaiting an outcome on its potential HCM status. This is an especially sad commentary on how some consider older and historic homes only for their location and lot size. While not every older home needs to be preserved, far too many are needlessly thrown away without considering alternatives or the impacts of out-of-scale new construction on adjacent homes and neighborhoods.

While it is still too soon to know what will happen with the Gabor house, other historic homes are currently under demolition threat— or have already been demolished—including more than a few designed by Williams. An example is the 1938 Tudor Revival-style Gladys Collins Lehman house in Toluca Lake. Most recently advertised for sale as an “utterly enchanting home” by “‘architect to the stars’, Paul Williams,” the home was demolished in August 2019, despite its owners acquiring a permit to remodel only and add onto the existing house. Unfortunately, these are not the first nor likely the last houses by Paul R. Williams to be demolished.

In late October 2019, the 1927 Tudor Revival house at 361 N. Citrus Ave. in Los Angeles was demolished, causing shockwaves amongst residents. Its new owner applied for a demolition permit on the day of closing and did not provide adequate notice to the public. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.

Guardrails for Demolition

This is a familiar story in Los Angeles, with demolition becoming the norm. Some may recall the Art Deco Mole Richardson building, in Hollywood at La Brea and Willoughby, and its surprise demolition in 2014. In a period of only five days, a demolition permit was applied for and issued. The community remained unaware of the permit until the building was razed months later. At that time, the City lacked a process or requirement for public notice of demolitions.

Through our efforts and those of Hollywood Heritage, the loss of the Mole-Richardson building prompted the City to approve the Demolition Notification Ordinance, a citywide policy that requires public disclosure of demolitions for structures older than forty-five years.

Established in late 2014 and amended in 2018, property owners must inform abutting neighbors and their councilmember’s office of any planned demolition activity and post a visible public notice on the property. This process creates a thirty-day window for stakeholders to potentially negotiate preservation alternatives. This could include nominating a property for HCM designation, as has occurred for other threatened historic properties since this ordinance went into effect. We owe many thanks to Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell for leading this effort toward passage.

The City’s “scorched earth” policy is another tool available to discourage illegal demolitions. If a building is found to have been demolished illegally, the City can impose penalties, including monetary fines and a five-year construction moratorium on the site. Though too late to save the building, it can act as a deterrent to demolition. For instance, in 2013, the owner of an early 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival house in the Whitley Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) tore down the property in its entirety, despite having been issued a permit for interior remodel work only. In 2014, the owner of the San Marino Villas demolished the Mediterranean Revival apartment building and HCM without any permits. In both of these cases, the City invoked its scorched earth policy, limiting development on the site.

In May, Councilmember O’Farrell introduced a motion to revisit the City’s current tools to address unpermitted demolition, remodels, and additions. Some offenders factor in the penalties for violations as a cost of doing business and proceed even without proper permits because the potential for profit is too enticing. With the problem only escalating, the Conservancy strongly supports this effort. We look forward to seeing what comes of this motion.

If you suspect a historic home in your neighborhood is threatened with demolition, give us a call at (213) 623-2489.

[pierceconstructionandrepair]

Pierce Construction & Repair offers Best Deck & Porch Repair & Installation in Fullerton, California. Go through the top Deck Builder & contractors in Fullerton. CA. Call us today.

[sidewalkstamps]

WM. SIMPSON CONST. CO.

I stole this photo from the Historic-Cultural Monument Nomination application for the Fairfax Theatre Building at 7907 West Beverly Boulevard; it was taken of the sidewalk on Beverly Blvd. by Steven Luftman in 2020. The Historic-Cultural Monument Nomination Continuation Sheet explains that the William Simpson Construction Co. not only constructed the sidewalks (which are “subtly tinted gray”) but the building, as well. The application describes the Company as “pioneers in the development and use of architectural concrete” (I’ll call this Source 1 going forward. pg. 117).  The company was founded in 1879 in Denver, but was in Los Angeles by 1915 and “became one of the largest building contractors in the United States” (Source 1, pg. 30). They were family owned for 90 years and built many famous Los Angeles buildings, such as the Pantages Theatre, the Wiltern Theater, Griffith Observatory, CBS Television City, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Seibu Department Store (now the Petersen Automotive Museum) and more! They also constructed the Arrowhead Springs Hotel. The LA Times says this is in Lake Arrowhead, but if it’s the more famous one in San Bernardino, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to see it - please let me know if you have a connection!! [Ryon, Ruth. "Dillingham Subsidiary Simpson in 2nd Century" Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) Mar 30 1980: 3. ProQuest.  3 Aug. 2021]. Plus, they built Los Angeles’s first high-rise building, the Occidental Center [”Obituary 3 -- no Title.” Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) Dec 15 1972: ProQuest. 3 Aug. 2021]. They were the construction company for many notable architects, including Walker & Eisen (8th & Olive Holding Co.) (“Banks, Stores & Offices.” Building and Engineering News, vol. 23, no. 2, 1923, p. 16.).

William M. Simpson (I’ll call him WMS going forward) was “a sleigh and wagon maker in New Brunswick, Canada” who became a building contractor once he moved to Colorado. He moved to Southern California on the recommendation of his son, William A. Simpson (I’ll call him WAS going forward). By 1920, he was a member of the Southern California Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, whom were “organized for the uplift of the construction industry and for the betterment of the contracting business” (Southwest Builder and Contractor, Volume 56-57, 1920). Not only was he a member, but he was often their representative in meetings, such as one with the Pasadena association of general contractors who wanted to affiliate with Simpson’s Los Angeles chapter.

Here’s their advertisement from 1920 in trusty Southwest Builder and Contractor:

Here’s their slightly later advertisement from The Los Angeles Times in 1924 ("Display Ad 64 -- no Title." Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 1924: 1. ProQuest.  2 Aug. 2021):

As you can see from this ad and is stated in many job award listings, the company was once headquartered at the Bank of Italy Building in downtown Los Angeles. The building, located at 649 S. Olive St., is now the NoMad Los Angeles Hotel, but was originally built specifically for the Bank of Italy headquarters in 1922. You may know the Bank of Italy became today’s Bank of America.

By 1938, they were located at 816 W. 5th St. and showing up in a publication called Violations of Free Speech and Rights of Labor - uh oh! I didn’t read the whole publication, but it seems a group intent on “maintaining the ‘open shop’“ in as many industries as possible in Southern California wrote a letter to 15 notable members of the “building industry,” Mr. Wm. Simpson being at the literal top of the list, hoping they would participate in reaching their goal. He was also invited, as a member of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association of Los Angeles, to a luncheon with the same goal hosted by famous anti-unionist and The Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Education and Labor. Violations of Free Speech and Assembly and Interference with Rights of Labor. Hearings Before a Subcommittee, Seventy-Fourth Congress, Second Session, on S. Res. 266, a Resolution to Investigate Violations of the Right of Free Speech and Assembly and Interference with the Right of Labor to Organize and Bargain Collectively, vol. Part 63, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1936).

William’s sons WAS and Colin Campbell grew the company to be one of the nation’s foremost. WAS was a trained civil and architectural engineer, a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, and a commissioner of L.A. County’s Housing Authority. In 1969, the Dillingham Corporation bought the Company but operated it separately through the early 1980s (Source 1, pg. 31). At the time of purchase, the Company had “a $100 million work backlog including a $31.5 million contract to build a manufacturing facility for the Lockheed L-1011 airplane” [”Dillingham Buys Simpson Construction.” Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) Dec 1 1968: ProQuest. 3 Aug. 2021]. In the 1970s, they built monumental projects, often using flying forms.

Colin died at 72 from a heart attack while on a fishing trip with his wife, Ada. At the time, he was vice president of the Company and lived at 401 S. Burnside Ave., which I believe is in the Park La Brea complex [”Colin Simpson, Construction Executive, Dies.” Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) Sep 22 1961: ProQuest. 3 Aug. 2021]. WAS died eleven years later.

[stargategarage111]

Comparison of Gate, Ball and Butterfly Valves

Valves, in a myriad of designs and sizes, are an integral part of piped systems that convey gases and liquids. They serve to control and regulate the flow of these substances in a safe, secure and prescribed manner. There are several types of valves that are in common use, including but not limited to the Gate, Ball and Butterfly valves. Maintaining such piped systems require the right type of lockout device that best suits the valve type, to ensure the safety of both the technicians and environment.

It's important to understand how these valves function, where and how they are used to help choose the right lockout device.

The Differences between Gate, Ball and Butterfly Valves

These three valves among themselves make up a major share of the valves that find use in industrial settings. There are, however, design differences that serve specific applications and need special lockout devices to ensure safe maintenance.

The Gate Valve - This valve functions very similar to a gate, a simple open/close movement, with the disc perpendicular to the direction of the flow. Available in Wedge, Knife, Parallel Slides and Pipeline slab designs, they serve a myriad of purposes. Discharge is usually complete with no residues left standing in the pipeline.

The Ball Valve - A rotary ball design is the main component of these valves. Quick to respond, these valves are also easy to use and maintain, and are ideal for clean operations.

The Butterfly Valve - Designed in the form of a disc or double or triple offset shafts that operate perpendicular to the flow direction, these valves ideally can control flow, but do leave some residual material in the pipes.

GATE VALVES

Variant: Wedge

Uses and Functionality: It is often used to either fully open up the pipe structure to enable free flow or completely cut off the flow when fully closed. It can function well across different temperatures and pressures; however, is susceptible to seepages under very high pressures, unless lined with special seat inserts to ensure a snug seal.

Applications: Gate valves are extensively used in large-scale systems that require uninterrupted bi-directional flow of liquids and gases, or uni-directional discharges at specific time intervals.

Operation Modes: Manually operated using round handles. Operations can be automated using electric actuators or pneumatic handles.

Construction Materials: Metal (steel) with special seat material if required.

Variant: Parallel Slide

Uses and Functionality: Parallel gates come with powered discs, separated using springs or spreading bar. More effective than wedges when responding to temperature changes.

Used in steam systems, to discharge or shut down the flow of steam.

Applications: High-temperature steam systems or those that convey saturated steam.

Variant: Pipeline Slab

Uses and Functionality: Available as a solid slab or two-piece expandable wedge slabs, pipeline slabs again can totally shut off or allow bulk discharge of material via pipelines.

Variant: Knife

Uses and Functionality: Suited for larger piped networks, knife valves can be effectively used to regulate or throttle flow under low pressure, as opposed to general use of gate valves.

With V-port and o-port options, these valves support single directional flow, and with resilient seat options, can offer drip-tight operations.

Applications: Used in large piped systems handling slurries, pulp, semi-solids, powders in bulk, as well as effluents.

BALL VALVES

Uses and Functionality: Ball valves have a relatively restricted resistance to temperature fluctuations, but fare well under moderate pressure differences.

Applications: Most widely used for all applications.

Operation Modes: Round or level-handled manual operations, or automated operations via hydraulic/pneumatic systems.

Construction Materials: Metal with soft seats, Teflon, polymer or elastomeric seals. Soft seats are often used in lower temperature settings.

BUTTERFLY VALVES

Uses and Functionality: Butterfly valves find use only in low pressure and low temperature flow systems. Lightweight and short face-to-face dimension, they can be used both for isolation and regulating the flow of material using their characteristic quarter turn rotating action.

Applications: Widely used for regulating large volumes of liquid and gaseous material. Disc designs are not advisable for hazardous, hydrocarbon or other inflammable substances.

Operation Modes: Valves can be operated using manual levers or energized hydraulic or pneumatic actuators

Construction Materials: Metal with metal or soft seats with polymer or elastomeric seals. Select styles have alternate metal and graphite layers sheets in the seal.

Valves are usually constructed using a range of metals that support specific thermal and corrosion resistant properties that make them ideal for select industrial uses. Common construction materials used are copper, bronze, graphite, tungsten, aluminum, brass, different types of stainless steel or fortified iron, as well as special alloys such as stellite, monel, colmonoy, hastelloy C, nickel with iron or bronze with aluminum or silicone.

The specific design considerations of these valves require special lockout devices that offer fool-proof mechanism to deactivate pipe systems during maintenance or repair services. We can provide valve lockout devices, from brands such as Lockout Safety, Master Lock and Brady, that will offer the best safety for technicians troubleshooting or maintaining such systems as those outlined above.

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Are you peering into your Southern California lawn picturing refurbishing and changing your property? Dozens of questions might be swirling in your mind but one predominant, preliminary question will emerge when beginning the amazing journey of the landscape design process. "Just how much does a landscape style cost?" If your landscape style task includes numerous elements, paying a certified landscape designer will be a rewarding financial investment.

Without utilizing a landscape designer that spends lots of hours planning the details, you could end up blowing your spending plan or winding up with a design that develops into a setup nightmare. You may be lured by the deal of a landscape contractor to not charge for their landscape design, but remember you most frequently get what you pay for.

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By Nigel Duara | CalMatters

The red flags are everywhere for a builder staring out at wide swaths of Riverside County’s second largest city: grassy lots, bumpy dirt roads, entire blocks without streetlights and an unreliable water system where water pressure drops without warning.

“Sometimes cabs won’t come if you call them here,” said former Moreno Valley councilwoman LaDonna Jempson about the low-income area called Edgemont, which she used to represent.

 Lea este artículo en español.

Still, the lack of infrastructure, from roads and electricity to water and sewer, hasn’t stopped state housing planners from earmarking some 14,000 low-income units in Moreno Valley to help address the state’s housing crisis — even if none of it ever gets built.

Local officials say what happened here has happened across Riverside County and other parts of California over the last eight years, and it’s likely to happen again over the next eight. State auditors note it’s the result of California’s ineffective affordable housing plan, which allows communities across the state to set big goals without offering an incentive to follow through on building more units. It assumes that local markets will magically solve an expensive problem that’s been simmering for decades.

Former city councilwoman LaDonna Jempson photographed at a new development in Morena Valley on Feb. 4, 2021. Photo by Nigel Duara, CalMatters

So far, the process is lose-lose: Developers don’t want to touch density housing projects that usually deliver a very low return, local communities oppose tall, busy apartment buildings and, though the state can make demands, its housing allocation process gives it no way to enforce the construction of actual units.

Allocating affordable housing

Under the state’s Housing Accountability Act passed in 2017, the Legislature was mostly concerned with punishing communities that zone out affordable housing. Lawmakers didn’t foresee the practical effect of that policy: Today, if a community creates zoning for affordable housing and no one builds, the community simply gets another dollop of affordable housing in the next allocation.

That’s what happened in Riverside County. During the state’s last Regional Housing Needs Allocation process (a series of eight-year cycles that takes into account a host of factors to determine regional housing needs, including population, employment and household growth), the county was allocated more than 30,000 units across all income levels between 2011-2019, and 40,000 units allocated between 2021-2029, with 17,000 of those units designated for very low- and low-income housing.

To build those units, the county zoned more than 1,000 parcels and thousands of acres for high-density housing and waited. And waited.

“To date, no developments have been approved or applied for that took advantage of the previous effort,” the county wrote in its appeal of its latest allocation.

‘It doesn’t pencil’

Housing of any kind gets exponentially more expensive the higher you build, said Nick Cammarota, general counsel for the California Building Industry Association. And density housing projects of several stories with 20% set aside from very low- or low-income housing units are going to pass the costs on to tenants paying full fare.

“The reason (affordable housing) doesn’t get built is because it doesn’t pencil,” Cammarota said.

Then there’s local opposition. “Density attracts opposition,” Cammarota added, “even if it’s just the same density as what’s surrounding it.”

A last barrier: the cost of infrastructure. In a place like Riverside County, a desert spread across 7,300 miles that shares an eastern border with Arizona, developers are responsible for paying for new water and sewer lines to housing projects, a cost that stops most projects in their tracks.

Before the coronavirus pandemic upended nations and sent the core of California’s social safety net into freefall, affordable housing and homelessness were at the top of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s agenda. A major vehicle for advancing that agenda was the construction or conversion of new affordable housing.

The main barriers to new affordable housing are finding sites close enough to transit and jobs to create housing where low-income people will want to live. Then, local governments have to get developers to bid and build on those sites.

Zoning doesn’t spur building

Riverside County is home to four of the newest California cities, and when those cities incorporated, the county was left without four of its largest transit and employment hubs.

“We identified land, but the market is just not there,” said Riverside County interim CEO Juan Perez.

It’s going to take money, and lots of it, to fix the broken road from zoning to building, Perez said.

The state’s Housing and Community Development spokesperson Tressa Mattingly concedes her department’s enforcement is mostly limited to zoning.

“Local governments have far less influence over whether developers come in with applications,” Mattingly said. “If developers do not bring forward applications, this in itself is not a violation.”

The RHNA process allows for rich municipalities to argue down their allocations, based on an appeals process that is subject to intense lobbying. That’s partly how Beverly Hills and Newport Beach ended up with tiny affordable housing allocations.

Former city councilwoman LaDonna Jempson walks through unpaved roads in her district on Feb. 4, 2021. Photo by Nigel Duara, CalMatters

Cities appeal allocations

Cities across Southern California made pleas for smaller allocations. Downey contends that the cost of improving its water lines will fall to developers, who will choose not to bear the cost and refuse to build. Orange County argues that its sewer system can’t bear the increased influx of proposed housing allocations in its unincorporated areas. Pico Rivera says it has no excess land to rezone. And Barstow’s appeal of its allocation closely mirrors that of unincorporated Riverside County.

“The city has plenty of affordable land and vast areas zoned for housing,” the city of Barstow wrote in its appeal letter. “We are pro-growth, but the demand is not present.”

For newer cities without much power, the allocations remain high. Moreno Valley, known as MoVal to locals, received an allocation of 13,627 very low-income units and 3,779 low-income units.

Dirt roads, potholes

Former city councilwoman Jempson doesn’t think they’ll ever get built.

While hotels are going up at busy intersections and $400,000 homes are rising behind a golf course, the district’s edges have the same beige and ochre color scheme as the better part of town, with the same palm trees and a more distant view of the mountains.

But as Jempson drives deeper into the district, the roads get bumpier, the houses bunched more closely together. A rooster crows in a dusty front yard. There is little sign of public transit.

Finally, she reaches the block she wanted to show. A sign says “Pavement Ends,” and indeed it does. The dirt roads line the poorer parts of Moreno Valley, juddering drivers with large potholes carved into the earth by rain.

“Don’t drive down here if you’re expecting,” Jempson said with a laugh. “These potholes will send you right into labor.”

Jempson sees potential in this area. But for now, the state hands down the number of affordable housing units it wants, cities and counties appeal their allocations and California’s affordable housing crisis continues with no end in sight.

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Nigel Duara joined CalMatters in 2020 as a Los Angeles-based reporter covering poverty and inequality issues for our California Divide collaboration. Previously, he served as a national and climate correspondent. California Divide is a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.

-on February 24, 2021 at 07:28AM by CALmatters

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