ls G-l-Y the new D-l-Y?

words, doing more with less. Typical permaculture projects include intensive food gardens, rainwater harvesting, greywater systems, passive solar, natural building, and lots of creative re-use of salvaged resources.

There are a growing number of nonprofit permaculture-based groups making interesting changes in the fabric of life, especially in urban neighborhoods. Many of these groups are getting serious funding and are participating in local retrofit programs.

Becoming knowledgeable about the kinds ofprojects being undertaken in your area will likely inspire new thinking around merchandise and promotion. For example, in areas where greywater systems are now legal, stocking non-PVC pipes and fittings might be a good idea.

[lon

IvrE. rHE oNE PHRAsE that best .l-' sums up the ongoing shift in household economic behavior is this: less is more. For anyone who pays attention to the history of this industry, it's a familiar story that comes about with every recession. Folks are tackling more projects on their own, so the trades are suffering.

But this time around, the return to d-i-y may be different in some important ways that just might stick. There are many good reasons for dealers to pay attention.

Most people I know aren't simply doing without: They are discovering new ways to create the lifestyle they want, spending less money, and doing more themselves. More households are growing their own food, taking steps to "decarbonize" their homes, and generally looking for simpler, healthier "green it yourself' projects they can take on inexpensively.

The terms "green it yourself' or

"g-i-y" are catching on, describing everything from caulking windows with a solvent-free sealant to rigging your own greywater system. In some neighborhoods, if you want to keep up with the Joneses, it's not the size and expense of your solar panels, but how little you spent building your own wind generator from an alternator salvaged from old Buick, spare bicycle parts, and a plastic milk jug. The permaculture movement is on the leading edge of this resurgence of self-reliance. In short, permaculture is a holistic approach to creating household and community-scale sustainability based on modeling and enhancing natural systems. It's deeply green and aimed at creating abundance with fewer inputs-in other

Building close relationships with local nonprofit permaculture groups and practitioners is a good idea, perhaps with some cross promotion that will bolster your company's green reputation. And if g-i-y and permaculture can really help your community become greener and more resilient, you might find that this new kind of di-y is good for you, too.

Jay Tompt Managing Partner, Wm. Verde & Associates

@15) 32t-O848 info@ williamverde.com

Quail Run Building Materials, N. Phoenix, Az., addel a 5,000sq, ft, branch in Wickenburg, Az.

Staffers include Jean Patterson and Jim Swaine.

Ace Hardware expects an August opening for a new 25,000-sq. ft. store in Bisbee, Az.

Owner Les Orchekowsky also holds Aces in Sierra Vista and Benson, Az.

Bremer Hardware, Gridtey, Ca., closed at the end of March after more than 70 years.

All employees and remaining inventory were moved to owner Keith Harshbarge/s new Ace Hardware on the other side of town.

Ace Hardw?ro, Orland, Ca., has rebuilt and reopened its store, which was destroyed by fire 14 months prior.

Owner Ben Pforsich spent the interim operating from a smaller, temporary storefronl.

Modesto True Value Hard. wafe, Modesto, Ca., is closing after 36 years,

Lowe's opened a 94,000-sq. ft. store Feb. 5 in Hobbs, N.M.; is seeking approval to build a 111,348-sq. ft. store with 26,568-sq. ft. garden center in Lakeport, Ca., and is prepping the site for a new store in Sonora, Ca., and hopes to begin actual conshuction later this month.

Home Depot apptied to buitd a 134,240-sq. ft, store including 28,086sq. ft, garden center in Lodi, Ca.

Dunn Lumber, seatfle, wa., was honored as advocacy group AtWork!'s Supporter of the Year.

Dunn has a person with disabilities working in eight out of its 12 stores and hopes to one day have at least one worker with a disability in every store.

Golden State Lumb€r. petaluma, Ca., was fined $20,000 by the California Air Resources Board for failing to inspect its diesel trucks for compliance with the state's smoke-emission standards.

Habitat for Humanity moved its Yakima, Wa,, ReStorO toa larger, 22,000-sq. ft. facility Feb, 3.

Buyers Scour North Pacific

North Pacific Group, Tigard, Or., is seeking court approval to sell a portion of its assets for $20-25 million to Atlas Holdings LLC, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Ct.

Under the deal, Atlas Trading would acquire North Pacific's food and agriculture and utility and construction units, the Portland-based portions of its hardwood and industrial products unit, and the company's Portland Trading Platform.

North Pacific, once the third-largest private company in Oregon, was forced into receivership on Jan.20, after its lenders filed a lawsuit claiming the company and its subsidiaries had defaulted on $42 million in loans. That figure has since been reduced to $30 million, according to Edward Hostmann Inc.. the crisis management firm that now controls North Pacific.

Hostmann is completing negotiations on a final agreement to sell another North Pacific division that "would substantially reduce the debt" to lenders and "plans to move for its approval as soon as possible."

Still up for grabs are North Pacific's building products division, Southern Trading Unit, and hardwood lumber and flooring manufacturing plants in Arkansas ind Missouri. A manufacturing plant in Raymondville, Mo., was shut down in late January.

Murphy Readies Plywood Mill

Murphy Co., Eugene, Or., is working to reopen Panel Products' plywood plant in Rogue River, Or., after acquir- ing the shuttered facility out of receivership for $3.6 million.

President John Murphy hopes to restart the softwood plywood mill, down for over a year, as soon as the company can complete repairs. set up relationships with suppliers and vendors, and hire 135 to 150 workers.

Murphy also operates a hardwood plywood plant in Eugene. an engineered lumber plant in Sutherlin, Or., and veneer mills in Elma. Wa.. and White City, Or.

Mendocino Rehiring at Ukiah

Mendocino Redwood Co. is rehiring 24 workers who were furloughed from the company's mill in Ukiah, Ca., last May because of high inventories of logs and lumber.

"We have reduced our inventory and business is better," said c.e.o. Richard Higgenbottom. "We expect our mills to be busy."

A new development is that the plant will now mill the Douglas fir logs it harvests instead of selling them. Also, a flexible team of workers will operate a planer and make fence boards.

One reason for the good news is that the 2009 and 2010 harvest numbers will be above last spring's estimation. Last May, the anticipated harvest for both Mendocino Redwood and sister company Humboldt Redwood was 70 million bd. ft.-less than one-third of the normal harvest. "We are on our wav back." said Higgenbottom.