I just got this email from our NY Senator Cathy Young. Apparently the growth in bears is not just our particular area. The Governor put it quietly into law that our county can hunt bears. I say quietly because no one around here knew about that new law until the local paper mentioned it. Here's her email: "Dear Ann, Black bears are an important and natural part of our environment, and their population in New York is growing. As the number of bears increases, sightings in our area are becoming increasingly common and the likelihood of interaction with people inevitably rises. With an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 bears in New York's woods and forests, it is important to know how to avoid bears and how to react if you come in contact with a bear. Black bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. However, damage to property is much more common. Follow these tips to steer clear of bears and protect your family, pets, and home: Never feed bears intentionally; feeding creates human-bear conflicts and is illegal. If a bear learns it can be fed by humans, it will become more bold and aggressive towards people. Avoid leaving out food and garbage that will attract bears. This includes bird feeders, which should be removed after April 1 if there is a risk of attracting bears. Remove the grease from gas and charcoal grills after use. Do not leave out pet food or even empty dishes, which can still attract a bear. Do not operate a refrigerator or freezer outside or on an outside porch. Bears will be able to smell what is inside. If you are camping in the woods, there is an even greater need to exercise caution: Keep your campsite as clean as possible. Do not leave out food, coolers, or anything else that may carry the scent of food, including the clothing worn while preparing or eating a meal. Cook and eat before dark. Bears become more active after sunset. If you do encounter a bear, keep these tips in mind: Never approach or surround a bear. Any action that makes a bear feel threatened can provoke an aggressive response. Be especially cautious around cubs. Mother bears are very protective. Use noise to scare bears away. Yelling, clapping, or banging pots will help frighten the bear off. Never run. If in close quarters, back away slowly. Do not throw food at an approaching bear. It will further encourage them to approach humans. By following these tips and precautions, we can ensure that black bears keep to themselves and conflicts are avoided. Working together, we can maintain and protect our bear population, while also protecting people and their property. For more information on New York's black bears, visit the Department of Environmental Conservation's website at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6960.html. As always, never hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can help with. Warmest regards, Senator Cathy Young 57th District Albany Office: 307 Legislative Office Bldg Albany, NY 12247 518-455-3563 District Office: 700 West State Street, West Gate Plaza Olean, NY 14760 716-372-4901

Here's an updated version with labels: Some activities that we need to plan for: (1) I work from home at a computer 40+ hours/week. (2) We have a 7-month-old son and plan on having more children. I will need to be able to supervise children while I work in the office and kitchen. They will need space to play, space to store their toys, space to do projects, and space to do homework. (3) We plan on purchasing an upright piano once we're settled in the new house. I play and the children will take piano lessons. The piano's home should be a little removed for some acoustic privacy. (Practicing in a main family room where everyone can hear you can be a little nerve-wracking.) I'm not sure exactly how we'll use each room, but my current plan is to have the "Office" be my main workspace, with a secondary workspace set up in the "Sun Room" so I can supervise children playing in the yard while I work. I'm open to more advice and brainstorming, especially from people who have experience with older children since I'm still a parenting newbie. :)

hi everyone! thanks for all your responses. It's a long story, but I'll try to be brief. For 3 months we tried to get the GC to the bank. They had 2 meetings set up w/him, which he didn't show up for. Finally, he agreed to go to the bank w/us. After that meeting he needed to submit to the bank a cost breakdown, because he claimed he needed $89K to finish the job. The bank also wanted to see a list of where all the $$ was spent. So we asked for a copy as well. As it turned out the lists had some red flags in them, so for the next 3 months we had a meeting every week trying to get him to produce factual figures, as the first list was bogus. He said he paid the painters $5k. We knew he hadn't, because we did all the painting and paid for all the supplies out of our own pockets and he never reimbursed us! Not one dime! Asked us if we could just consider it sweat equity, so we agreed. Anyway, he did give us copies of the purchase orders for all the trades, so we called them up and found out the real amounts he had paid them. There were 3 vendors, aside from us, that he neglected to pay, which on his list he claimed he did pay. A lot of the vendors on his list had added amounts that they never got. Guess who pocketed that? Yep, the GC! All in all, there was $42K unaccounted for, and each week when I'd ask for an explaination, he'd claim other items over again that I'd already accounted for! We were getting no where fast with this guy, so we hired an atty. The next few months were bogged down with Atty meetings, phone calls, letters to the GC, etc. All this to no avail. All during this construction time, which started in feb. 2006, we were having the battle of our lives with cancer. they didn't expect my DH to live six months, now it's 1 and a half years later and we've just about won that battle! So, as you can see, we were not on top of things at the construction site. the GC never even went to the construction site, unless it was to have a meeting with us! We submitted a list to ROC with 25 items in our complaint. All our exposed windows leak. Our concrete floor cracked right through the middle of our great room, in two places, and not just on the break lines! They did numerous screw ups throughout the job and refused to correct them. All the arches were done wrong, and we told them that as they were framing them up, but wouldn't do them the way the plans specified. Now, the place is all sheetrocked and painted! I could go on and on, but I'm sure you don't want to hear it all. It's just too much and we are very saddened. We should have been living there many, many months ago. We need all the final plumbing and electric before we can begin to go forward. Plus all the baths need to be tiled. I mean there's no way we could even live there if we wanted to. It's a nightmare! what else can I say? And yes, I have been running searches on him, that's how I know about his home and how much he owes on it and how there's no equity left in it. He used to own property in the area we are building in, but he sold it in 2005, that's when we first got his proposal on our home. Well, I hope I've answered everyone questions. I appreciate all your feedback and support. We really need this. Thanks again.

A Certificate of Occupancy is granted by the city when the builder has met all of their requirements. You will not be involved in that process. Definitely ask for a key if you want it but don't be surprised if the builder wants to be sure nothing gets scratched or a window or door doesn't get left open at this late date. Don't let anyone rush you; say you need more time if you feel rushed. They signed a contract saying they would deliver a completely finished and working house so make them meet that obligation. Turn everything on and look in every corner, check every switch, door & knob and sight along every wall with a strong LED flashlight. Bring someone along to take notes. I don't know how to schedule a private home inspector; you need to ask the builder about that. I'm an architect and a builder would expect me to have inspected the house every few weeks especially before things were covered up. At this stage all you can discover are poor finishes or things that don't work and your contractor should have already found them. Remember, signing off on the house does not in any way relieve the contractor of his responsibility for building to the requirements of the contract documents. Don't sign anything that says otherwise. A walk-through should only be a courtesy.