Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Patio season to extend to end of March in Victoria - Times Colonist

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A bylaw allowing businesses to temporarily expand their patios into public spaces has been extended to the end of March.
The Business Recovery from Pandemic Bylaw and related Build Back Victoria program, which permitted the patios so businesses could meet pandemic-related social distancing requirements, had been due to expire at the end of this month.
The program has been extended twice to help with economic recovery as the pandemic started to wane and restrictions were relaxed.
Alongside the extension, council — meeting for the final time Thursday before the Oct. 15 municipal election — streamlined the application process for patios and established a pilot project for a mobile vending business licence.
Businesses that have patios or want to extend their patio spaces have been told to expect more scrutiny and tighter rules under the next city council.
The city is preparing a report, expected in the new year, to look at many aspects of the bylaw, including times of day and seasons the patios are used and the way they are ­maintained.
Patios will need to be inspected before occupancy to ensure they’re accessible, clean and neat.
The city expects many of the temporary patio and outdoor spaces will be removed this fall, since several are not being used regularly.
There are currently 69­ permits under the Build Back ­Victoria program, including 53 for outdoor patios on public land and eight for patios on private land.
Patios not approved by the end of March through either the current or future bylaw would need to be removed at the cost of the business owner.
aduffy@timescolonist.com
Glacier Media Digital
© 2022 Victoria Times Colonist

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Gold gains as dollar dip offsets some pressure from rate hike bets - CNBC

Gold gains as dollar dip offsets some pressure from rate hike bets  CNBC
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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Artificial intelligence is giving way to new tools for neuroscience research - News-Medical.Net

Artificial intelligence is giving way to new tools for neuroscience research  News-Medical.Net
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3 Scenic Hiking Trails Surround The Small Town Of Ely, Minnesota - Only In Your State

The small town of Ely, Minnesota, sits tucked away in northeastern Minnesota within the Superior National Forest. This area shows how the state earned the nickname “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” There are also a lot of great hiking trails in the region. Maybe not 10,000 of them, but still quite a few. Here are a few that aren’t too far from town.
 
With all the lakes, trails, and scenic views, Minnesota is a great state for anyone with an adventurous spirit. Have you made the trek around any of these trails? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

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Monday, January 9, 2023

Redesigning the broken cycle of furniture | Oliver Space - Medium

Oliver Space
Jun 30
In the blink of an eye, it’s been three years since Oliver Space launched in June of 2019. Our small team of 10 has grown to over 100, we’ve expanded from San Francisco to service six cities along the West Coast and Southwest, and have gone from furnishing our crammed co-working space to furnishing 10s of 1000s of homes.
At the same time, we’ve seen the problems of the furniture industry become more dire than ever. The good news is, we’ve innovated quickly to offer consumers a solution to the broken system.
When we initially launched Oliver Space a short three years ago, “supply chain disruptions” and “inflation” were not part of everyday conversation. These challenges are becoming the new normal, and nowhere is it more dire than in home furnishings.
The furniture inflation is nearly double the overall inflation rate, which is at a 40-year high. This makes an already expensive category even less affordable. Supply chain disruptions have turned delivery delays from weeks into months, or even over a year. Furniture is the #1 category by volume that American consumers buy, with untenable price tags and unacceptable lead times.
The alternative may be furniture resale marketplaces, projected to grow 70% from 2018 to 2025. Unfortunately, in the resale market you’re limited to unpredictable selection, quality, and cleanliness of items, and forced to deal with complicated logistics and negotiation.
When your furniture no longer works for you, selling is also no walk in the park. You either give it away for pennies on the dollar, or worse yet, resort to discarding it on the sidewalk just to get rid of it. The result is that furniture is the fastest growing waste category, at 20 billion pounds every year and only going up.
Simply put, the industry and consumer experience are at unsustainable breaking points.
2. We have tirelessly innovated on the furnishing experience over the last three years, most recently launching Refurbished products and Trade-In.
Oliver Space is reimagining the industry with consumers at the forefront. We recently launched two exciting updates to the way we help people furnish their homes: Refurbished products and Trade-In, which together provide our customers a fully circular platform from purchasing furniture to finding a second home for their pre-owned Oliver products.
Refurbished Products: Similar to “certified pre-owned” programs, we guarantee the quality of our refurbished items, while still providing the same all-star service our customers expect.
Every time we receive an item back from a customer, we meticulously clean and refurbish it to meet Oliver’s standards for a specific condition tier. Customers can then choose from Brand New, Like New, Very Good, and Age-Worn conditions (at varying price points) to find the perfect item that fits their aesthetic and budget. This way, Oliver has the unique ability to give consumers what they want: affordable items without sacrificing quality, style, or time.
Trade-In: What about the part no one likes to think about — what to do with the furniture you no longer want? Our trade-in program takes care of that. We pick up your Oliver items in exchange for credit to use on future Oliver orders.
While some brands are launching resale and trade-in programs, they leave customers to figure out packaging and transportation themselves. By handling all aspects of delivery, pickup, and refurbishment, we’ve combined the great value of used furniture with the convenience of white-glove service and our brand promise of a cleaned and refurbished item.
3. Oliver users are raving about the experience.
After becoming accustomed to the stress of what has always been a broken experience, it can be difficult to imagine things being any other way. But every day, we hear from our customers the difference a painless furnishing process makes. That’s what keeps us working hard to continuously improve the experience.
This is what Oliver users have to say:
At Oliver Space, we have always made the process of furnishing your home easier. That means the fastest delivery in the category, assembly included on every order, and an affordability that makes elevating your space more accessible than ever. We’re excited about what we’ll learn over the next year and are grateful to those who have been along for the ride so far.
Chan Park, CEO
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