Officials with Orange-based Southern Connecticut Gas appear to have had a change of heart about the utility’s decision to suspend service on natural gas-fueled furnaces and other appliances for consumers who don’t have repair contracts with the company.

Vic Fryxell, senior director of gas operations for SCG, said the repair and maintenance work, which the company calls discretionary work or charged service, will resume sometime in mid-October. The company suspended most non-emergency work requiring entry into a customer’s home in March in an effort to

Most empty nesters downsize. Not this couple: Rebuilding on the same Southern California property where they’d raised their three children, the duo upsized from around 6,000 square feet to 10,500—and did a complete about-face design-wise. Leading the clients on their journey from traditional to contemporary were L.A.–based architecture firm KAA Design and San Diego’s Pamela Smith Interiors. A full-fledged collaboration gave rise to what’s been dubbed the Tree House. 

The trapezoidal site was, in a word, spectacular. Set on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean about a mile away, the two acres were filled with mature oaks, Torrey pines, and magnolia trees—ergo

Southern Connecticut Gas has quietly stopped doing what it terms non-contract or “charged” service on natural gas fueled furnaces and other appliances, a move a company spokesman said is designed to protect employees who do the work.

SCG technicians will still make repair calls for customers who have service contracts, according to Ed Crowder, a company spokesman. But for those without a contract, SCG is urging them to call in a plumber or a heating ventilation and air conditioning contractor, Crowder

Alex Hechart, who grew up in Anniston, recently started a home design service with her mother, Donna Woodfin. Based in Birmingham, “Home with Hechart” offers design services as well as a shopping website for home goods. 

The mother-daughter duo offer design services by the hour (for design ideas, party prep or holiday decorating), by the room or by the project.

The online shop, HomeWithHechart.com, features pillows, rugs, mirrors, fireplace screens, ottomans, dressers, lamps, linens, glassware, tableware, gifts and more.

The Star posed 10 questions to the design duo:

Why did y’all decide to start a design business?

Alex: We decided to start Home with Hechart because we’ve always loved decorating and playing around with interior design together. Growing up, we were always redoing our house or sprucing up a room. We would go to furniture stores, and we were always so excited about every project. We knew that we could