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Stuart, Florida -Congratulations are in order for Sean Lukas, a project manager at Ocean Gate General Contractors who was notified earlier this month that he passed the Florida general contractors license exam. Lukas, who has an extensive history in the construction industry decided that it was time to further his commitment to his profession and work towards earning this certification. After several months of studying and attending specialized classes, Lukas was rewarded for his determination.

“I’ve wanted to take my career to the next level for a while now,” stated Lukas. “Ocean Gate gave me the opportunity and its support in order for me to accomplish my goal.”

Lukas has worked in the construction industry for nearly ten years. Starting out at as superintendent at Ocean Gate General Contractors, he learned the trade and developed his skills before moving up to a project manager position. Lukas has worked on a variety of public and private ventures throughout his career including projects at South Fork High School, St. Lucie Inlet State Park and the Boca Raton Airport. His specialty is with aviation related structures including pre-engineered metal airplane storage hangars and Fixed Base Operations.

Mark MacDonald, president of Ocean Gate General Contractors said, “We are so proud of Sean for his accomplishment. He took the initiative to make a real commitment to the industry and to serving clients.” Ocean Gate is a company firmly grounded by the belief that education makes for a strong foundation to exceed client expectations. The firm fully encourages and supports its personnel to pursue these skill and knowledge enhancement opportunities.

With origins dating back to 1972 as Ocean Gate Builders, Ocean Gate General Contractors was founded in 2001 by President Mark MacDonald. The company facilitates new commercial construction for governmental, public and private sectors, and developments with a diverse clientele statewide. Ocean Gate’s “client-first” methodology has led to a unique benefit of direct communication and streamlined building success, with a dedication to serve clients and the community for a higher standard of service. Ocean Gate General Contractors is centrally located at 2854 SE Federal Highway in Stuart. For more information, call 772-283-6744 or visit www.OceanGateGC.com.

A group of journeyman line electricians from Naperville’s Department of Public Utilities-Electric placed fourth overall recently in the American Public Power Associations’ eighth annual Lineworkers’ Rodeo.

More than 60 teams from around the country took part in the event, held April 19 in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
City of Naperville electric utility linemen Ivan Westcott, top, and Vince Bartlett compete during a recent rodeo for utility workers. A team from Naperville placed fourth among more than 60 towns in the recent competition.
Ivan Westcott, from left, Shaun Roam, Vince Bartlett and Doug Newberry – journeyman line electricians from Naperville’s Department of Public Utilities – recently represented the city at the American Public Power Associations’ eighth annual Lineworkers’ Rodeo.
(Courtesy of the City of Naperville)
Teams participated in the following events: cross arm change-out, insulator change-out, 600-amp switch change-out, double cut-out change-out and the pole top rescue.

Two teams represented the city in the five events. One of the teams, consisting of employees Vince Bartlett, Ivan Westcott, Shaun Roam and Doug Newberry, scored a perfect 100 on all the events, resulting in the fourth place overall trophy for that team.

Other employees who participated in the rodeo included Kevin McCall, Jake Johnson, Dan Grimes and Dan Hrpcha . Naperville linemen Dan Hiemenz and Mike Adams served as judges for the rodeo.

“We are delighted and quite proud of our electric utility linemen that placed so highly in this competition,” Director of Public Utilities Allan Poole said in a news release distributed by the city last week. “These valued employees are in the field every day working safely and making sure Naperville businesses and residents have the best service available and they are very skilled at what they do. Our congratulations on their accomplishment.”

The annual rodeo is held at the same time as APPA’s annual Engineering and Operations Technical Conference. Two levels of competition take place, journeyman and apprentice.

According to the APPA, a journeyman lineworker has more than four years experience, and an apprentice has four or fewer years of experience.

Journeymen compete in the five events, while apprentices take a written test and compete in four events. All the events are judged on criteria of safety, work practices, neatness, ability, equipment handling and timely event completion.

By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 News

SEATTLE – When faced with a plumbing emergency, thousands of people turn to Beacon, the area’s largest residential plumber.

Boosted by a multi-million dollar ad campaign and led by owner Bill Cahill, the business has become one of the best known companies in the Northwest.

But the KING 5 Investigators have learned that Beacon customers could overpay for an under-qualified plumber.

Bud Shasteen is one of dozens of homeowners who now regret the phrase that popped into their heads in their time of need: “Quit freakin’, call Beacon.”

He is still fuming at the price a family member paid for a plastic pipe, nearly $200 plus labor. A plumber installed it to divert downspout water that was leaking into the basement.

The fix was expensive. Experts also say it was also improper, since the kind of pipe used is meant for indoor use only.

“My daughter was shafted, really,” Shasteen said. “It’s just a vinyl, plastic pipe.”

Theoria Engstrom paid Beacon nearly $14,000 for a new sewer line. A month later she called the city with a permit question and learned Tacoma’s average side sewer replacement job cost less than half that price.

“I just felt terrible. I couldn’t believe it. Then of course you feel kind of ashamed that you were taken in, said Engstrom.

It may be the most well-known plumber in the state, but Beacon has plumbed its way right into hot water with the Better Business Bureau, receiving a dreaded “unsatisfactory” rating for not resolving consumer complaints.

The company says only a small fraction of its customers file complaints. They acknowledge that with its ad budgets and 24/7 emergency response – it may be more expensive than other plumbers.

“The industry we’re in is a very challenging industry and we have to send capable, experienced people out for those emergency jobs,” said William Cahill, Beacon owner.

But are you always getting that service?

The KING 5 Investigators noticed something when reviewing the 40 complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office – many of them about incomplete or poor workmanship. When we punched the names of the Beacon employees listed in the complaints into the state’s database of licensed Plumbing contractors, we found almost all of those we could identify by first and last name were plumber trainees - a license almost anyone can get for $37.

“We don’t have to have a licensed plumber for clearing drains and doing menial tasks,” Cahill said.

It’s true that trainees can do some work on their own. But we found complaints in which people we identified as Beacon trainees were doing work that should only be handled by fully licensed plumbers.

According to one complaint from a Kent woman, Beacon pledged to send a “really qualified” plumber for her bathroom remodel, which she says resulted in a leaky tub and sink. We found that her “really qualified” plumber was actually a trainee.

KING 5 News Investigator Chris Ingalls asked: “Is it fair to charge the rate that you charge if a trainee’s going to respond to the call?”

Cahill said: “A lot of my guys can do the work and they’re challenged with taking the test.”

The state’s test is only part of becoming a plumber. Thousands of hours of on-the-job training are also required.

KING

Beacon has become the area’s largest residential plumber and one of the best known companies in the Northwest.

State regulators investigated several complaints and has fined Beacon eight times since 2003 for unlicensed work.

“It’s actually the Washington law that plumbers must be certified and trainees must be supervised,” said Elaine Fischer, Labor and Industries.

In another case, the state cited a Beacon trainee for plumbing a toilet. Yet one month later the company sent him to a Seattle apartment building where he was accused of botching another plumbing job.

The landlady, Vita Otrubova, didn’t know he was a trainee until we showed her the records.

“It’s very disturbing,” she said.

Beacon says its worker may not hold a plumber’s license, but he does have years of experience.

“Why doesn’t he have the license if he’s so experienced and been on the job so long?” Otrubova said.

Cahill told Ingalls: “I’ve got a few trainees out there. There’s nobody that’s been inappropriately charged and my guys work their guts out.”

Beacon says many of its competitors use trainees, too. That may be true as state regulators say unlicensed work is a persistent problem in the plumbing trade.

Beacon opened its doors to the KING 5 Investigators allowing us to shoot whatever we needed. They said they have nothing to hide. After we met with them the company launched a major PR campaign. We’ve heard from dozens of supporters. The company sent out a press release and just today ran an ad in the newspaper saying it’s trained its 85 employees to the highest stan

Investigative reporting may sound glamorous to news viewers, but much of what we do is often tedious and time consuming.

Earlier this year, our researchers looked up 2,300 hundred listings of San Francisco locksmiths in AT&T’s www.yellowpages.com. We then checked each listing to determine how many of those companies had licenses. The process took well over a month. We found out only about three percent had the proper license to legally operate as locksmiths in California. You can do your own license check of any locksmith you find by going to http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=7on_your_side&id=5079713.

Last month, we then sent off the same list of locksmiths to the disclosure office of the California State Board of Equalization. We submitted a public records act request and asked them to determine if the Boston locksmiths had proper seller’s permit. The permits allow the company to collect sales tax on behalf of the state.

After weeks of time consuming research by the staff of the Board of Equalization, we compiled the information they gave us into a spread sheet. We found out that only 7 percent of the San Francisco locksmiths listed in www.yellowpages.com definitely had permits. Another 17 and a half percent did not have seller’s permits under their name, but businesses with different names at their address did.

The supervisor in the Disclosure Office told us it was unclear to her whether those permits also applied to the locksmiths we submitted.

But as we reported back in February, many of the addresses listed in the phone books for unlicensed locksmiths either don’t exist, or are occupied by other unrelated businesses. Therefore it appears that any permits at those addresses would not belong to the locksmith.

Neither the State Board of Equalization nor the State Controller’s office accepted our request for an interview for reaction to our findings. But the Board of Equalization did issue this written statement.

“It’s very important for businesses to register with the state, so they can lawfully collect and report sales taxes. For that reason, we do outreach to business communities, and offer workshops for new business owners to explain their tax responsibilities.

We also have a new team of staff going door to door throughout San Mateo and San Francisco Counties, making sure each business they visit is properly registered. We also maintain a hotline for people to anonymously report a business suspected of tax evasion. You can reach that line by calling 800-334-3300.

There are penalties for knowingly operating without a permit. The basic penalty for late payment of taxes is 10%, but operating without a permit can land an even bigger fine: equal to 50% of the tax owed. So a business owner who operates for six months without a seller’s permit, and collects $3,000 in sales tax, will not only owe the back tax, but another penalty of $1,500.

In some cases of tax evasion, there’s a lack of education and awareness. In others, people are actively evading their responsibilities. An estimated five percent of all businesses in the state operate without necessary seller’s permits. We do not have an estimate for sales tax figures related specifically to locksmiths.

Generally speaking, locksmiths should register for seller’s permits, given that many repairs include materials that are taxable under California law. If a locksmith is found to be operating without a permit, the appropriate penalties will be levied.”

Left unanswered by the Board of Equalization is what if anything will they do to go after the locksmiths without proper seller’s permits. Another issue, how do you go after these businesses if their address is unknown?

Meantime, the locksmith license given by A1 San Bruno Locksmith, License number 658701, does belong to A-1 San Bruno Locksmith. But here’s the problem. The Department of Consumer Affairs tells us the license was cancelled following the recent death of the contractor. The Department says anyone using anyone else’s license is committing fraud, which is a criminal offense. It will be up to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office to determine whether any charges will be filed against A-1 San Bruno Locksmith.

By Joel Johnson

Q: My new car is from the same manufacturer as my previous one. And I still have the wireless key fob from the older car. Can I have it reprogrammed as an extra door opener?

A: It is possible, depending primarily on what company made your car. Some fobs can be reprogrammed entirely by the end-user — that’s you — with processes that usually involve turning the ignition switch on and off several times, waiting for some lights to flash and pressing some buttons on the fob. Most cars limit how many fobs can be paired to their ignitions. (Four is a common maximum.)

Information about programming many manufacturers’ key fobs is available on the internet, although no one site acts as a central clearinghouse for all car models. The site programyourkeys.com, for example, has a collection of guides for many European makes and models. If your car isn’t there, the best bet is to visit an auto enthusiast chat board such as automotiveforums.com and either search the entries or post a query.

Several Auto locksmiths manufacturers require the use of special scan tools to reprogram their key fobs. Some license those tools out to locksmiths and auto repair shops. Others allow only dealers to han-dle reprogramming. Depending on the brand of car, the cost to reprogram a key could range from a couple of hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars. If you don’t think you can reprogram the key fob yourself, I suggest talking to a locksmith first; they almost always offer a cheaper price than you would find at the dealer.
Some states think that dealers holding the keys to the keys is unfair. California’s state legislature has passed a bill that would require all auto manufacturers to provide replacement key closed to all registered locksmiths by 2013. But by that time, we may all be opening our car doors with fingerprints.

Car Locksmith in New York

Chicago Locksmiths

Many people don’t know that when you get a new car (not a used one) you have a tag with your keys (GM cars have a knock-out plug where the key ring would go) that gives you the code. Many newer cars have it in the form of a bar-code with some numbers above it. Many ASIAN manufacturers have a number on the original key stamped in below the key head (usually 4 digits; this means an original key with the company logo, not spares). If you memorize these numbers you’ll always have a means to get a key cut by a locksmith if you need one. If you write it down in your owners manual you’ll always have it in your glove box too.

You might want to consider encoding it with some letters vs numbers. Take any 10 letter word (or word combination) you like and make that your word. For example you could remember simultaneous. Take the 1st 10 letters (notice they are all different from each other) and number them 0-9. See below:

If your code is 7635 for your Mitsubishi. You could write NAUT in your owners manual and even write key code right beside it. Then even if someone saw it they wouldn’t be able to do anything with it. Just make sure you pick a word you can’t forget that has at least 10 letters and they are all different from each other (or the first 10 are).

Car Locksmiths

Source:http://www.lock-man.com

Sliding Glass Door Lock

Sliding glass doors are a special problem to secure. The Sliding Glass Door Lock in our catalog is an excellent supplemental lock for them.

Not like the cheaper ones that end up breaking. These are very strong and can be used on the inside of the door or it can be mounted on the outside to use the door as an entrance. Comes with 2 keys (Specify extra keys on the order form at 2.00 each). Very easy to install. Comes with complete instructions and everything you need.

Source:http://www.lock-man.com

Screws can be put in the top of the frame by sliding the door back, that extend almost on top of the sliding door but not quite. This will allow the door to still roll smoothly but not allow it to be lifted. Many times the bad guys will attack these doors by lifting them and trying to get them off their track.

Drive screws into the upper track to keep the sliding panel from being pried up and out of the lower track. Use sturdy panhead screws, spaced about every 8″, and drive them so their heads just clear the top of the door. For metal door frames, use self-tapping screws and a low drill speed.

Source:http://www.lock-man.com

We can never fully protect our homes and offices from burglary. But additional protection for our most valuable possessions is possible with the use of safes. Safes are used for storing our jewelries, documents and money. Safes are also for storing dangerous items like guns. Accidental gun injuries in the house are prevented when are armors are securely hidden from our children. Fireproof safes also protect our documents from destruction during fire or arson.
Safes are good investments for our homes and businesses. Before making a purchase, ask yourself the following questions and weigh your answers carefully:

1. How many items do I need to keep in a safe?
Banks provide safes that you can lease to store small pieces of jewelry or a few documents. Safes from the stores are available in different sizes. Choose a safe that can meet your requirements but is also not too small in case you want to store more items in the future.

2. Do I need a fireproof safe?
Safes made of fireproof material are more costly than the ordinary safe but provide greater protection to your valuables.

3. Where will I hide my safe?
Plan an excellent place to situate your safe. The safe should be properly hidden but should also be accessible to the owner. Wall safes are designed to be hidden beneath paintings. Safes can also be installed by attaching them to the floor.

4. Do I want a safe with keys or a safe with a combination lock?
Which type would be more convenient? Remember that codes have to be memorized and keys kept secure.

5. How much budget do I have for my safe?
Always consider price versus durability and quality and purchase the most useful one that fits your budget.

6. Do I have armors in the house that I would like to store in a gun safe?
If you’re not comfortable with this idea, you can store your armors at gun clubs to protect your children and maintain your peace of mind.

Fireproof safes provide good storage for items with sentimental and/or monetary value. You can choose to store these items in the bank but having fireproof safes in the convenience of your home provides you an easier access to your belongings. Check if the safe is fire resistant or fireproof. These terms are not the same. Fireproof ratings are computed by how much heat the safe can withstand for a certain period of time. Consider your requirements before choosing one over the other.
Gun safes are high quality safes made of thick steel.
Gun safes are very durable and were manufactured to keep your armors secure. However, plan beforehand on where to position them in your house because drilling holes through them is not that easy.

Source:http://www.mr-locks.blogspot.com

Do you have one of those cars with the key that is constantly breaking in two? You know who you are. The common cars for this to happen on are GEO’s and most Japanese manufacturers have a few years or models that are prone to it.

The problem is a poor design of the key. You have 8 or 10 tumblers in your locks with half being on one side and half on the other. To make it convenient for you so no matter how you put the key in it works; the manufacturers put all 8 or 10 cuts on both sides of the key. This makes for a very weak key.

Hold your key up if you have a GEO and look down the key like you’re looking down a gun barrel. You’ll see the only thing holding the key together is a very thin strip of metal between the grooves that are on each side of the key.

I have been out to stranded motorists who have had their key break off in the ignition or some other lock, 3 times or more. They are realy annoyed at the situation as it can sometimes take an hour to get them on the road (if the whole ignition has to be disassembled to get the broken key out). If you have an ASIAN vehicle I recommend you inspect your key at it’s deepest grooves for cracks. It may have a crack on both sides in which case it is going to break off in one of your locks any day (expensive). Emergency Locksmiths

Go to the locksmith shop and he can code cut a key (see #1 above) that will work only one way when you put it in (I usually cut a notch in the head of the key to show the customer which way is up). It will work all your locks just fine and be MUCH stronger to avoid this breaking off problem. It will cost more than a duplicate, but you’ll wish you had if you get stranded.

Source:http://www.lock-man.com