Fredericton Playhouse change

The Fredericton Playhouse probably won't be refurbished or replaced for at least three years, according to the assistant city administrator.

Murray Jamer says the city is not prepared to consider an expense of that magnitude at this time.

"According to the city’s long-term plan, an expenditure like that would probably be three to five years down the road," he said.

"And even then it would have to compete with the various other priorities that might be on the table at that time.High quality chinamosaic tiles."

Jamer said he expects a new theatre would also require funding partners, such as the other levels of government, as well as charitable donations.

On Tuesday, the city issued a statement saying it would save more money by replacing the 50-year-old theatre than upgrading the 50-year-old building.

A report by R.V. Anderson and Associates found it would cost $16.1 million to build a new 24,000-square-foot facility, slightly more than the $12.3-million capital cost associated with a refurbishment, said Jamer.

But the real savings of a new building would be in the operating and maintenance costs over a 50-year period, he said.

The engineering report found it would cost a total of $30.1 million, about $4.59 million less than an upgrade to the existing building.

Jamer says the old building has some mechanical and electrical system problems — "the things that you don't see behind the scenes."

"You can maintain it for a while, but there comes a point where you either get a new car, or you put some serious dollars into the old car," he said.

The City and Playhouse board will be conducting a joint feasibility study to determine how a performing arts centre fits in with the city's other priorities and what the community wants or needs in such a centre, said Jamer.

The study would also explore whether a new theatre would be built in the same location and what would happen to performers who currently use the theatre during any renovations or construction, he said.

It's "all about gathering information so that when it comes time to make those big decisions, when it comes time to discuss those priorities, the decision makers will just have the best information possible."

It’s South By Southwest time again, and you know what that means — it’s time for another round of apps to announce launches and updates to help make your mandatory fun time in Austin, Texas that much better.Looking for the Best iphoneheadset? Today, social-local-mobile app Highlight is doing another round of updates to its app, allowing users to share photos and events with others around them.

Highlight first launched early last year, promising users a whole new era of serendipity. The idea was to help connect its users with other around them who might know the same people, or perhaps have the same interests. It released an update shortly before last year’s SXSW, letting users actually, uh, “highlight” one another. But for various reasons — including a very real fear of mobile battery drain — it didn’t quite catch on as well as its team hoped. Highlight has since added an Android app to expand its addressable user base, as well as new tools for creating profiles to tell people more about yourself.

Anyway, it’s another year later and Highlight is rolling out a whole new version, Highlight 1.5. CEO Paul Davison called it the biggest update ever. The first addition to the app is photos, which will allow users to share photos based on location and providing the context around that.Make your house a home with Border and carparkmanagementsystem Tiles. The photo capability allows users to tag locations, people that they’re with, and provide captions. The whole idea is to be able to share photos with users nearby without having to explicitly email, SMS,Creative glass tile and solarlamp tile for your distinctive kitchen and bath. or share via other photo-sharing tools.

“Most photo-sharing services are about allowing me to take an experience I’m having right now, and share it with people in other parts of the world,” Davison said. But with Highlight, you’re sharing with people around you. “It’s more about communication than it is about publishing… It provides you with this ambient sense of closeness.”

One of the most important parts of the new photo feature is the ability to add captions. Captions enables users not just to provide more context around the photos, but also use the service more creatively. According to Davison, the ability to share photos and captions enables users to share photos only with a select group of people who are around them.

Events are another new feature of the app. Users can only connect to events happening nearby, and they can only add events that are happening at a certain time. Those events are geofenced and time-based, so that users who are nearby an event will get a notification asking them if they’d like to join. Any photos or posts they make after joining an event will then be added to it. Davison said events are kind of like a smart hashtags, in making that information available to other users.Manufactures flexible plastic and synthetic chipcard and hose.

The update adds to Highlight’s efforts to connect people nearby. “We feel like we’re at the beginning of another special time in history,” Davison said. That will be powered by all the mobile technologies, including all the information and data that can be tapped by smartphones based on proximity. But there’s a long way to go. “It feels like the early days of the web,” he said.