The defunct but much loved 2nd Street Bakery will have a more civilized appearance soon. The co-operatively owned and operated Civilization will open it's doors this weekend to little fanfare or even great feats of human accomplishment. It will however, become an incubator of inspiration as long as-like most experiments in human co-operation- it will outlast it predecessors.
From their website www.welcometocivilization.com:

Gainesville will soon be home to the only worker owned cooperative in the southeast United States. The Terranova Catering Company is merging with a new restaurant called Civilization which will be opening soon in the old 2nd Street Bakery location, 1511 NW 2nd St. One of the goals of this effort is to create a stable and prosperous business where management is democratically elected by all worker owners and everyone shares in the
responsibility and the profits.

A great location in a great piece of Gainesville architecture on the eastside of town, Civilization is located at 1511 NW 2nd St or call them at 380.0544

The Pleasant Street Historic Society is having a fund raiser to rehabilitate the Smith-Griffin House. It was Ms. Smith-Grifffin's will to have the house donated to be a black history museum and they are far from reaching their goal.
And talk about history I don't know how old Mike Boulware is, but he's going to be rockin' it in the tye dye,and his namesake is part of the springs where the community got together to vote to have Gainesville made the new county seat.
Come to the Thelma Boltin Center- 516 NE 2nd Ave in Gainesville on THIS Sunday, September 20 at 7pm till they're done.
check out more info at www.pleasantstreetneighborhood.com

As you all know, not all paints are created equally toxic. While some paint companies claim zero VOC to their labeling, the regulations on this are lax, and there are other toxic ingredients in traditional paints that do not contribute to smog, which is really what the EPA considers when measuring VOC content. AFM/Safecoat is a company dedicated to making healthy paints, stains and coatings and has been for almost 30 years. They are not just another paint company that has recently added a "green" paint line to their lines of toxic paint. They are a company making zero VOC AND solvent free paints, coatings and stains formulated specifically for the chemically sensitive. It still boggles my mind why we would coat our inside living surfaces with things that came out of petroleum refineries and glycol, the same thing that we use as antifreeze in our cars.
Read this explanation from AFM/Safecoat on the truth about toxic paints...

"According to the EPA, a volatile organic compound is classified as any carbon-based chemical that is
readily vaporized at room temperature, that can react with nitrogen and UV,
thus creating smog. However, when the EPA created the VOC regs, they gave
specific exemption to several chemicals that are still carbon-based, but do
not react to create smog. Ammonia and butyl acetate are two of the more
common ones. Anyway, when paint companies use these and similar chemicals
in their formulas, they can have the VOC test results show that the paint is
Zero VOC less exempt compounds. Otherwise known as, "Calculated VOC".

The term "odorless paint" actually refers to the process of adding another
set of chemicals to paint to act as masking agents. Some of these
ingredients also act as formaldehyde precursors, which are undetectable in a
liquid state, but actually chemically react to create formaldehyde once the
curing process starts. Keep in mind, odorless mineral spirits is still
mineral spirits! Just because it no longer has the usual solvent smell
doesn’t mean that its no longer dangerous. But for some reason, we humans
have this innate desire to connect the strength of smell to a danger level
or lack thereof.

Regarding the MSDS... An MSDS only has to list hazardous chemicals that make
up more than 1% of the volume of the entire formula. In essence, a paint
company can put in several formaldehyde precursors, chemical masking agents
and biocides, and not have to list any of them because individually they are
less than 1% of the volume. If an ingredient is part of a "proprietary
blend", it doesn't have to be listed either.

For human health concerns, the VOC level of a product is not important. The
TOXICTY of the ingredient, whether its a VOC or not, is important. Oranges
are not regulated, as far as I know. Yet, orange oil is a VOC. Pine trees
are not regulated by the EPA either.

In an effort to sell product, the paint companies are trying to make
everyone think that their zero VOC formulas are safe for humans without
actually coming out and saying it. They use terms like “green” and
“eco-friendly” etc., and we all read into it too much. If you really want
to use a paint that is truly healthier for the occupants, then look into
products that have been used successfully by the chemically sensitive.
These “canaries in the mineshaft” have been able to tolerate AFM Safecoat
paint since it came out almost 30 years ago. AFM lists all of their
ingredients on their data sheets. Yes, it has titanium dioxide in it, as
does all white paint. But, so does toothpaste."

I hope that clears the air so to speak...

Click here to view our September 2009 newsletter DIG (Do It Green)

Gainesville, Fla. -- The University Athletic Association at the University of Florida has committed to offset the carbon footprint of the entire 2009 - 2010 athletic program.
UF continues to bridge environmental awareness with college athletics, following the first carbon neutral football game in 2007 and the first carbon neutral home football season in 2008, with the first carbon neutral athletics program in 2009. The UAA has joined with the Neutral Gator Initiative to achieve these goals, which will be funded by the UAA and through sponsorships from local businesses.
“We are excited to strengthen our commitment to the Gator Nation by partnering with the Neutral Gator Initiative to make our athletics program carbon neutral,” Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. “The university is a leader in academics and athletics, and now we are proud to lead the way again by being the first carbon neutral athletics program in the nation.”
Neutral Gator, an initiative of the nonprofit Earth Givers, generates local offset credits through community development projects, focused primarily in low-income sectors of the Gainesville area. All of this year's credits will be applied to the Gator athletic program’s approximately 2,500 ton carbon footprint, which are generated through weatherization efforts in low-income households as well as local and regional natural area restoration projects.
UF's collaboration with Neutral Gator is the latest in a series of steps to enhance their work in raising environmental awareness throughout our community. Along with their commitment to offsetting the carbon footprint of game day activities, UF President Bernie Machen was among the first university presidents to sign the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. The UF campus is also home to the first and only Platinum LEED certified athletic facility in the nation and recently added an LED Jumbotron in to the south end zone at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
A carbon offset represents the reduction of 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. Offsets are generated by either reducing or sequestering carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon offsets can be used by businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. The feature that sets Neutral Gator apart from other carbon offsetting companies is that all of Neutral Gator's offsets are locally generated and locally applied.
For more information on Earth Givers or the Neutral Gator Initiative, please contact Jacob Cravey at jacob@earthgivers.org

Please check out a shout out from a great blogsite on remodeling here. There you will find the blogsite Kitchen and Residential Design.com talking about our concrete and recycled glass countertops and the local engineer/artist/craftsman James Catabia's countertops using locally sourced recycled content.
Or just stop by our showroom sometime and see these for real...