PORTAGE
City Council tightening its contractor licensing
The City Council Ordinance Committee will forward an amendment to the full council that will tighten contractor licensing penalties.
This is the third time the city has amended the ordinance this year.
It is an effort, City Council member Liz Modesto said, to "weed out bad contractors and protect homeowners."
Earlier this year the council approved amendments adding to the acts for which contractors can have their licenses suspended or revoked.
The new proposal, which will be presented to the full council at its Dec. 2 meeting, states that a contractor or subcontractor will have their license suspended or revoked if they are cited for using unlicensed contractors or subcontractors three times. It further states they cannot regain their license for one year and the reinstatement must be approved by the city's licensing board.
PORTAGE
City Mulls move to ban obstructing mailboxes
The City Council Ordinance Committee approved forwarding new language to an existing ordinance that will make it unlawful for a person to park any vehicle that blocks or obstructs a mailbox and prevents delivery of mail by the post office.
City Council member and Ordinance Committee Chairperson Liz Modesto said the new language is a result of the complaints from homeowners who have had problems with the issue.
The ordinance will likely be in front of the full City Council at its Dec. 2 meeting.
VALPARAISO
Two Valpo professors get grants for research
Two Valparaiso University faculty members have been named university research professors and will receive support for projects on assessing the impact of Chinese air pollution and traditions of restorative justice in Ethiopia.
Physics and astronomy professor Gary Morris and history professor Charles Schaefer will receive $4,000 grants and a semester of full-time leave or two semesters of half-time leave to support their scholarly work.
Morris will study measurements of air pollution carried by wind currents from China to Japan. He received a grant earlier this year to measure Chinese air pollution and assess the country's pollution control strategy for the Beijing Olympics.
Morris will return to Japan in 2009 to collect air pollution data at a time when Chinese emissions are likely to be closer to typical levels.
The project is expected to help scientists and government officials around the world better understand how air pollution affects communities hundreds or thousands of miles from the source, improve air quality forecast models, assist in urban planning and tailor plans for improving air quality.
Born in Ethiopia as the son of Lutheran missionaries, Schaefer serves as a specialist on the country for Amnesty International-U.S.A.
