Weekly Continuity and Construction Update (as of September 25, 2015)

Greetings!

Heather has joined the legions of staffers who are cashing in on their PTO before the fiscal year ends, and Patti is writing this post in her place. Let's take a moment to acknowledge that the shape of the new building is emerging quickly and dramatically, while the impact on our day to day operations is barely noticeable. Quite the feat! High fives all around for that.

Two follow-ups from recent issues:

• Folks who use the Talk Studio, which includes everyone who was working on the pledge drive, have noticed that the lights in the Talk Studio have been flickering. We think this has to do with construction, and we think that changing the light bulbs to a different wattage will solve it. Look for the strobe light experience to be mitigated after this weekend.

• Folks who work in The Loft enjoyed the company of flies recently. The flies have died off and the multitude of fly carcasses will be dealt with by the cleaners. 

(Non-construction note #1: You might be interested in this feature story about cluster flies in which Steve Zind explains they smell like honey when you crush them. Yet another reason to visit The Loft.) 


Hot topics to help you navigate the coming week:


The construction crew is riveting! Literally, they are riveting bolts to the steel girders, and this has the potential to make a staccato banging sound. This work was started in the last few days and no issues were reported by on air folks, so we're hoping that continues to be the case.

A new roof is being constructed on top of the existing roofs of the Talk Studio and Master Control, which includes duct work in the ceilings above those spaces. Tricky! The work window for this is 9:05-11:30 a.m., and then again from 1:05-2:55 p.m. to avoid impact on live shifts. This work began this week and should wrap up at the end of next week, 10/2.

(Let's pause again for non-construction note #2: can we collectively gasp at the realization that next week is the beginning of October. How did that happen??)

The generator is being relocated onto a new pad. Moving it will take up to 2 hours, and we will be without a backup power source during that time, which will be noticeable should the power go out. Risky! Brian and Laurie are looking into renting a mobile generator to cover us while the main generator is moved. This work will be scheduled for sometime in the next few weeks.  

Parking. Let's not have a blog post that doesn't mention parking, eh? Thanks for all of your efforts to comply with last week's parking instructions. The construction crew has a goal of giving us two (two!) paved (paved!) parking areas before Thanksgiving. Laurie is thinking ahead to snow plowing and show removal in the current parking configuration, and we're all counting on the new paved lots to alleviate that potential problem.

Take the bus! Please! The fewer cars the better. VPR has bus passes available for staff to use for daily commuting to work. See Laurie. Note to bus riders: CCTA changed the route through the Fort slightly: the bus now stops on Ethan Allen Avenue (which runs in front of Elley Long's entrance) two easy blocks from VPR!

Want a tour? The building site has changed a ton since the last round of nosy lookyloos got an up close look at our new digs. Be on the lookout for an email announcing tour sign-ups. Appropriate footwear required.

(Speaking of of footwear... non-construction note #3: a pair of suede, heeled women's boots has been sitting in the stairwell that leads to the newsroom for more than a year. That is long past the statute of limitations for leaving a pair of shoes in a public space. Alex Keefe is ready to throw them away, so claim them quickly if they are yours.)


Behold, the forecast of construction activity for the next three weeks:

28	29	30	1	2
Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concrete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall
5	6	7	8	9
Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall Curbs started	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall Curbs
12	13	14	15	16
Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall	Concete Steel Work Roofing Studio Walls Steel painting Retaining Wall