| Norfolk Botanical Garden demonstrating conservation method
The small building where visitors buy tickets for boat rides at Norfolk Botanical Garden is now one of the garden displays, rather than simply an adjunct structure. The building's cedar shingles are gone and in their place is a green roof, a living bed of succulents such as sedums and hens and chicks. The year-round roof will be a natural part of the growing season along with all the rest of the garden's plant beds. Come spring and summer, the succulent roof will bloom and hens will produce chicks. Come fall, many will turn a rich red, pink or chartreuse, said Melissa Butler, herbaceous plants curator at the garden. "They are really very pretty in fall," Butler added. But unlike other plants in the garden, pretty is as pretty does for these succulents.
West Hylebos Wetlands Park reopens in Federal Way with new boardwalk
As the sun glistened through hemlock trees, Bud Urling enjoyed walking through West Hylebos Wetlands Park on a new $1.4 million boardwalk Wednesday. The three-quarter-mile walkway is now wider, higher and wheelchair-accessible for the first time. The 120-acre Federal Way park reopened Friday after being closed for six months to replace the original wood boardwalk that was rotting in places. "I think it is a really great job," said Urling, 83, of Federal Way. "It takes a lot of doing to make these little turns," said Urling, admiring how the planks fit together. "It's nice because it's level." The boardwalk is made of composite recycled plastic and wood, which is slip-resistant when wet and longer-lasting than wood, said B. Sanders, the city's park planning and development coordinator.
Update: Budget Heads to Governor's Desk
If paying $1 more per pack doesn't make smokers ditch their habit, the state has other ways to help them quit. The budget will spend $30 million on smoking cessation and prevention programs. DRIVE MY CAR: Anyone who drives a car will pay more. The annual vehicle registration fee will increase from $55 to $75; driver's licenses will cost $10 more; and the fee to title a vehicle goes up $24.50. FLOAT MY BOAT: Don't think you can escape the new fees by taking to the water. The budget adds between $1.25 and $11 to boat registration fees, depending on the boat's size and motor. LOCK AND LOAD: Breathe easy, all you outdoorsmen. Hunting and fishing fees remain unchanged from last year. THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Buying a hunting license is one thing; finding a place to hunt is another. The budget could make that easier.
Time Domain Showcases Precision Location Capability of Ultra Wideband ...
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Time Domain Corporation (http://www.timedomain.com/), a leader in precision ultra wideband (UWB) real- time location systems (RTLS), today demonstrated its Precision Location Ultra Wideband System (PLUS) product line at the HIMSS08 healthcare conference and exhibition (Booth # 2377). PLUS, which employs Time Domain's patented UWB technology, enables RTLS solutions to move from an "approximate presence" technology to a solution that precisely locates and monitors the interaction of people and assets for a host of new healthcare applications. PLUS can read thousands of small, active RFID tags per second through multiple walls with a precision of 12-36 inches.
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