Latest news with #ThomasMoser
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kerr County authorities discussed warning systems at least 20 times since 1987
Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016. Moser noted that neighboring counties had much more advanced flood warning systems than Kerr County, "even though this is probably one of the highest flood-prone regions in the entire state." Kerr County's existing water monitoring mechanisms were not "flood control or flood warning systems," Thomas explained, adding, "I think we need a system that can be operated or controlled by a centralized location." MORE: 'We are very flood prone': Local Texas officials spent years discussing potential warning system Following the March 2016 meeting, the flood warning system was discussed at 10 more commissioners' meetings that year. But after the county failed to secure FEMA grant funding to implement the system, it appeared to fall off the agenda. In a November 2020 discussion of a new FEMA emergency alert program, Thomas noted, "We've been trying to get a new Flood Warning System here. We haven't been able to do it." The last time commissioners mentioned the flood warning system was in July 2021, meeting minutes show. But since then, other local government bodies in Kerr County have discussed the possibility of a new flood warning system for the area. In April, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, a government body that manages the watershed, convened a special meeting of its Board of Directors. The board voted unanimously to select a firm called Kisters "to develop a Flood Warning System in Kerr County." Meeting minutes show the company was slated to receive a contract worth up to nearly $73,000 as part of the proposed system, the status of which is currently unclear. MORE: Kerr County plan labeled flash flooding 'highly likely' with 'major' impact on public safety When the area flooded on Friday, Ingram City Council Member Ray Howard got three flash flood alerts from the National Weather Service, but none from Kerr County authorities, he told ABC News. "The river came up so fast," Howard said. "There's nothing you can do about that, but there should be early warning systems to get something, a warning, faster." Howard noted that money has been a barrier to implementing such a system. "We need to get funding for that," he added, "for sirens or something that's going to help out the community." But 2016 meeting minutes show there was also opposition to a flood warning system among some commissioners, with one saying, "the thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of [the] night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all." Another commissioner voted against submitting a grant application for the warning system, saying he thought "this whole thing is a little extravagant for Kerr County." Instead, several county officials argued that the county's informal system of "river calling" — essentially a phone tree to warn camps of imminent flooding — was sufficient. Howard disagrees: "Obviously calling from one place to another isn't fast enough," he told ABC News.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kerr County authorities discussed warning systems at least 20 times since 1987
Since 2016, the topic of a "flood warning system" for Kerr County has come up at 20 different county commissioners' meetings, according to minutes. The idea for a system was first introduced by Kerr County Commissioner Thomas Moser and Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas in March 2016. Moser noted that neighboring counties had much more advanced flood warning systems than Kerr County, "even though this is probably one of the highest flood-prone regions in the entire state." Kerr County's existing water monitoring mechanisms were not "flood control or flood warning systems," Thomas explained, adding, "I think we need a system that can be operated or controlled by a centralized location." MORE: 'We are very flood prone': Local Texas officials spent years discussing potential warning system Following the March 2016 meeting, the flood warning system was discussed at 10 more commissioners' meetings that year. But after the county failed to secure FEMA grant funding to implement the system, it appeared to fall off the agenda. In a November 2020 discussion of a new FEMA emergency alert program, Thomas noted, "We've been trying to get a new Flood Warning System here. We haven't been able to do it." The last time commissioners mentioned the flood warning system was in July 2021, meeting minutes show. But since then, other local government bodies in Kerr County have discussed the possibility of a new flood warning system for the area. In April, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, a government body that manages the watershed, convened a special meeting of its Board of Directors. The board voted unanimously to select a firm called Kisters "to develop a Flood Warning System in Kerr County." Meeting minutes show the company was slated to receive a contract worth up to nearly $73,000 as part of the proposed system, the status of which is currently unclear. MORE: Kerr County plan labeled flash flooding 'highly likely' with 'major' impact on public safety When the area flooded on Friday, Ingram City Council Member Ray Howard got three flash flood alerts from the National Weather Service, but none from Kerr County authorities, he told ABC News. "The river came up so fast," Howard said. "There's nothing you can do about that, but there should be early warning systems to get something, a warning, faster." Howard noted that money has been a barrier to implementing such a system. "We need to get funding for that," he added, "for sirens or something that's going to help out the community." But 2016 meeting minutes show there was also opposition to a flood warning system among some commissioners, with one saying, "the thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of [the] night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all." Another commissioner voted against submitting a grant application for the warning system, saying he thought "this whole thing is a little extravagant for Kerr County." Instead, several county officials argued that the county's informal system of "river calling" — essentially a phone tree to warn camps of imminent flooding — was sufficient. Howard disagrees: "Obviously calling from one place to another isn't fast enough," he told ABC News.
New York Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Thomas Moser, Woodworker Whose Chairs Were Works of Art, Dies at 90
Thomas Moser, a self-taught woodworker who quit his job as a college professor in 1972 to found a furniture company in Maine and then spent five decades resurrecting traditional American styles with an unmatched attention to detail and craftsmanship, died on March 5 at his home in Harpswell, Maine. He was 90. Aaron Moser, one of his four sons — all of whom have worked at the company — confirmed the death. Thos. Moser Furniture, which Mr. Moser and his wife, Mary, opened in an abandoned grange hall in New Gloucester, Maine, was a throwback to the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, though in its styles it reached back another 100 years, to the simple forms of Shaker chairs and tables. It also pushed against two dominant, intertwining trends in American furniture making: the commodified blandness of midcentury modernism and the replacement of small workshops with corporate production facilities, many of which were overseas and used unsustainable materials and practices. Mr. Moser was a businessman as well as a craftsman, and he drove his company to grow. Eventually it moved to a larger space in Auburn, Maine, where today some 60 craftspeople turn out about 10,000 items a year. Every Thos. Moser piece is made by hand; the wood — primarily ash and cherry — comes from within a few hundred miles of his workshop; and each item is finished simply, with oil and wax, never varnish or paint, so the grain of the wood and the precision of the joints are evident. Mr. Moser's work is not cheap. A single continuous armchair, an original Moser design with one sinuous piece of wood as both back support and arm rest, can run up to $2,730. But he saw the value in different terms: These were items to serve multiple generations, and, amortized over 75 years or more, such a chair starts to look like a bargain. 'These days, you can go to Ikea and buy a whole house's worth of stuff for several thousand dollars, and throw it all out in five years,' he told The San Francisco Chronicle in 2013. He added, 'Our furniture might take two months to make, but we want it to stay in the family and have it passed down from generation to generation.' His customers certainly agreed: Some 40 percent of buyers own multiple Thos. Moser pieces, even if they had to save for a year to acquire them. He designed a lectern for Bill Clinton, a chair for Pope Benedict XVI and seats for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, the George W. Bush Presidential Center and the New York Public Library. Mr. Moser approached his work philosophically. Among his many quotations was one borrowed from the Shakers: 'Build an object as though it were to last a thousand years and as if you were to die tomorrow.' Thomas Francis Moser was born on Feb. 23, 1935, in Chicago and raised in Northbrook, a suburb. His mother, Sabina, died when he was 14, and his father, Joseph, who worked in the typesetting department at The Chicago Tribune, died when he was 18. He joined the Air Force after high school and spent four years as a military police officer in Greenland. After his service, he studied speech education at what is now the State University of New York at Geneseo, graduating in 1958. To earn money, he tuned pianos and repaired antiques. Mr. Moser married Mary Wilson, his childhood sweetheart, in 1957. Along with their son Aaron, she survives him, as do their other sons, Andrew, David and Matthew; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. The Mosers moved to Ann Arbor in 1958, where Mr. Moser taught high school and studied for a master's degree in fine arts at the University of Michigan, which he received in 1962. He also put a lifelong love of working with his hands to use, building their home from a Sears kit. He went on to receive a doctorate in speech communication from the State University of New York College at Cortland in 1965. After teaching for a year in Saudi Arabia, he moved with his family to Lewiston, Maine, where he was hired for a tenure-track position at Bates College. In addition to teaching communications there, he coached the debate team, taught in a local Congregationalist church and spent his free time teaching himself woodworking. He fell in love with the complex array of skills needed to produce a chair or table that, to the untrained eye, looks deceptively simple. A mortise and tenon is one of the oldest types of joints, but learning to make one perfectly takes years. Eventually he decided he could succeed as a commercial furniture maker, and in 1972 he took a sabbatical from teaching. He never returned to the classroom. His company's initial business was almost entirely through its catalog, which he and his wife called their 'portfolio of ideas' and which they advertised in the back of The New Yorker. Eventually they opened showrooms, and today they have four — in Freeport, Maine; Boston; Washington; and San Francisco. Unlike some craftspeople, who keep their techniques a close secret, Mr. Moser was open with his. He explained them in a series of books, starting with 'How to Build Shaker Furniture' (1977), which today are considered classics among woodworkers. As he grew older, Mr. Moser slowly pulled back from daily woodworking, though he remained involved with the company until January, when he and his wife sold it to Chenmark, a Maine-based holding company. 'I still have a lot of design in me,' he told The Portland Press Herald in 2007. 'I hope it never gets extinguished, because then it would be regretful, what I could have done.'
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apartment Building Amenities Jump the Shark—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week
In the news: builders are hoarding materials, Royal Caribbean's $165M beach club, TikTok's influence on the trades, and more. Royal Caribbean's flashy new $165 million beach club is bringing cruise ship amenities to shore. But islanders fear the Paradise Island resort will divert tourism from local Bahamian businesses. (The New York Times) Fremont, California, just became the first U.S. city to buy its own citywide flood insurance, betting on fast payouts over slow federal aid in light of Trump's plans to dismantle FEMA. (Bloomberg) Thomas Moser, founder of Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers, dies at 90, leaving behind a legacy of handcrafted furniture admired by presidents and popes alike. (Portland Press Herald) Builders are scrambling to hoard materials as Trump's tariff chaos threatens to drive up costs—by as much as $10,000 for a single family home. (The Wall Street Journal) Tea rooms, yoga studios, and rooftop terraces: Developers are folding these amenities and more into apartment buildings to lure in buyers and renters with the fantasy of all-in-one lifestyle hubs. But without thoughtful design, the perks risk being more hollow than helpful. (The Architect's Newspaper) TikTok is reshaping the building trades, with plumbers, home inspectors, electricians, and welders gaining new business by sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of their work on the social media platform. (Dwell) Top image courtesy of Darcstudio
