Westminster, Mass.-based Aubuchon Hardware, a 121-store independent chain operating in the Northeastern United States, celebrated a grand opening of its Lake Placid, N.Y., location April 7.

The new store, a replacement of the previous Lake Placid location down the street, was built to reflect the style of an Adirondack mountain lodge, according to Bernard Aubuchon, Jr. “It’s really a good looking store,” he told Home Channel News. “It’s an Adirondack-style building with wooden beams and stone foundation work along the outside.”

Marysville, Ohio-based The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. named more than 100 non-profit organizations as 2012 GRO1000 Grassroots Grant recipients. 

The grants will help build or enhance greenscapes in communities as part of the national GRO1000 initiative to create 1,000 community gardens and green spaces by 2018. 

A list of recipients can be found at http://www.grogood.com.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe’s is in the early stages of bringing a store to South Dennis, Mass., on Cape Cod.

"The site Lowe's is pursuing has been designated in the Cape Cod Commission's Regional Policy Plan as being within an Economic Center," said Stacey Lentz, a Lowe's spokeswoman. "We will work with the town, Cape Cod Commission and stakeholders to make this a project the community and Lowe's can be proud of."

According to an article in the New York Times, Scott the Scot of Scotts Miracle-Gro’s new ad campaign was created to instruct and educate.

The ad campaign comes after the Marysville, Ohio-based lawn care giant expanded its advertising budget to about $135 million, up from about $85 million, according to the article. The character on the commercial, played by a Scottish actor named Phil McKee, provides expert advice in a Scottish accent.

H&S Ace Hardware, an 80-year-old hardware store in Louisville, Ky., closed last month under pressure from its creditors, according to an article in the Courier-Journal.

Store manager Dave Phelps told the newspaper that the company's secured creditors ordered that the 135,000-sq.-ft. store be shuttered.

The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) will return to Arlington, Va., for its annual Spring Conference geared toward professionals seeking home improvement data and ways to use it.

One of the new twists for the upcoming April 18 event at the DoubleTree Hotel Crystal City by Hilton is the inclusion of a presentation from the U.S. Census Bureau on The American FactFinder data tool.

When the President of the United States visits a factory, that's news. But there was even more to President Obama's trip to Master Lock's Milwaukee plant -- there was talk of jobs. 

After recognizing Master Lock several times in recent months for moving some jobs from China back to the United States, President Obama visited Milwaukee last week led a discussion on jobs and the economy. 

According to an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, the maker of storage containers and Sharpie pens is investing in its plant in Mogadore, Ohio.

In addition to making physical improvements to its Ohio facility, Newell Rubbermaid is bringing in almost 140 jobs. The moves are partly the result of the closing of a company facility in Greenville, Texas.

The Wichita Eagle reported that the Dondlinger family of Dondlinger and Sons Construction plans to add two more Williams Ace Hardware stores. 

The Goddard and Andover, Kan., locations are expected to open in the coming months. The family already owns the Williams Ace Hardware in Wichita.

Boise Cascade announced Jan. 17 that it was adding 40 positions to its Western Oregon Region mills in Medford, White City and Willamina, according to an article in the Oregon Mail Tribune.

Company spokesman R.J. Roberts told the newspaper that the Idaho-based wood products supplier has increased market share for its plywood and engineered wood panels, both in domestic and Canadian markets.

Is that a small village near the banks of the Provo River? Actually, it's the HGTV Dream Home 2012.

The latest in the series of HGTV Dream Homes is in Park City, Utah, near the Provo River.

Lumber Liquidators and Sherwin-Williams are among the sponsors of the HGTV Dream Home 2012. Bissell vacuums and Delta Faucet Co. are also co-sponsors of the Dream Home, which serves as the grand prize in an HGTV promotional sweepstakes.

CFP Components, a division of Columbia Forest Products, has acquired Cabinotch, a maker of ready-to-assemble face-framed cabinet boxes that feature Columbia’s formaldehyde-free PureBond hardwood plywood.

The Cabinotch system, which involves a patent-pending interlocking side panel-to-face frame joint, has been shown to help cabinet shops reduce costs and improve productivity, according to the company.