Construction, Real Estate

A Glass House on the Range

On the outskirts of a tiny agricultural town , Joseph, Oregon, where hay bales and tractors are the usual roadside attractions, sits a 1,440-square-foot glass box.

Three sides of the house are transparent, made from triple-paned glass, leaving the living area, kitchen and bedroom visible. The fourth wall is clad in cedar siding to protect against the wind in the winter. The glass walls, which climb to 16 feet in some places, overlook the 80 acres of farmland the house sits on, plus vistas of field, sky and mountain.

The couple screened four other architects before choosing Jim Olson of Olson Kundig Architects in Seattle, whose firm had designed several of the homes they had clipped from magazines over the years. “It’s not every day that someone comes in wanting something so small,” says Mr. Olson, whose residential projects usually range from 4,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet. “But I think there’s a certain luxury to be able to live in a minimal space surrounded by this incredible amount of nature.” The design and construction of the house and a nearby barn, used for guest and garage space, cost about $1 million.

A 78.5-acre parcel of land nearby, with a three-bedroom house, barn and other buildings, is listed for $1.5 million, according to Real Estate Associates.

“Everybody said, ‘How can you build a glass house out where it really gets cold in the wintertime?’,” says Ms. MartzEmerson. “Well, it’s warm and cozy inside.” Monthly utilities for the home run around $35.

Walls of glass are challenging for a meticulous couple who remove their shoes before entering the house. The couple have the glass professionally cleaned once or twice a year (the exterior takes about 10 hours), and regularly clean a few panes during their visits.

Read the rest of the story in the   Wall Street Journal

Real Estate

What the New Consumer Protection Bureau will do for Home Buyers

Part of the financial reform bill signed into law by President Obama includes the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will write new rules and monitor problems and abuses in areas such as residential real estate settlements, credit scores, “truth in lending,” and equal credit opportunity.

KEEP THIS IN MIND

• Before the Bureau can begin implementing new laws to assist consumers, the president must nominate a director for the Bureau and the Senate must confirm the nominee. While this may take time, mortgage industry leaders say some of the core changes promised by the legislation either already are in effect or should be soon.

• Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has until Sept. 19 to designate a transfer date when key legal and regulator authorities shift from agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to the new consumer bureau. Once that takes place, the Bureau will begin implementing the new laws.

• One of the earliest and most widely anticipated changes expected to take effect impact home appraisals. By law, the agency must create new interim rules on appraisal accuracy and independence to replace the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) rules imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2009. Many in the real estate industry, as well as home buyers and sellers, report HVCC standards led to low home valuations that, in some instances, derailed home sales transactions.

• A national hotline system also will be developed that will allow aggrieved mortgage borrowers and others to issue complaints and alert the Bureau to unfair and deceptive practices.

• Rules requiring mortgage loan officers to verify mortgage applicants possess the ability to repay the loans they’re seeking also is high on the list.

To read the full story, please click here:
LA Times

nevada county fair

Danny Kemp to be Inducted into Nevada County Fair’s Hall of Fame

Danny Kemp Inducted into the 2010 Nevada County Fair Hall of Fame
Danny Kemp Inducted into the 2010 Nevada County Fair Hall of Fame

Danny Kemp has been named as the 2010 inductee into the Nevada County Fairgrounds’ Hall of Fame. The Fair’s Board of Directors chose Kemp for his significant contributions to the Fair and to the youth of Nevada County.

Kemp recently retired as the Ag Mechanics instructor from Bear River High School, where he had been teaching since 1986.  It was his inspiration, and his desire to support the Ag Mechanics students, that created the highly successful Ag Mechanics Auction at the 2004 Fair. Kemp worked tirelessly with the students and the Fair to create a quality exhibit that has grown to fill the Sugar Pine Lodge at the Fairgrounds. Now in its seventh year, the Ag Mechanics Auction has raised more than $240,000 to benefit the students of Nevada County.

“I am thrilled with how the Ag Mechanics Auction has grown since its inception,” said Kemp. “I am proud of the students who make it happen, and I am pleased that it opens another avenue for children to be successful.”

Kemp has always been a great supporter of the Fair. He was a member of the Nevada County Fair’s Board of Directors from 1985 through 1989, and, even today, he continues to be available to provide his assistance to the Fair team. Following each Fair, he makes it a point to meet with management and provide his positive critique and to offer his help in continuing to improve the Fair. He has always been a person that the Fair team relies upon for advice and direction.

“Danny is an individual who has made significant contributions to the Fair,” said Fairgrounds CEO Sandy Woods. “He is a person that we appreciate and admire, and his presence will indeed be missed in the future. It is a well-deserved honor for him to be named to the Fair’s Hall of Fame.”

Kemp, who has lived in Nevada County since 1975, has been a teacher in Nevada County for 34 years. He started his career at Nevada Union High School, and then began teaching at Bear River High School when it opened in 1986. In 2005, he received a Teacher of Excellence award from the California Ag Teachers Association.

Kemp will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at opening day ceremonies on Wednesday, August 11. In addition to access to the Fair and its many activities, he will receive a portrait donated by Shaffers Originals.

For information about the Nevada County Fair, August 11 – 15, visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

animals

An Encounter With a Red Fox

The really nice thing that I like about living in Nevada County is that every once in awhile, I get to see some of natures hidden creatures. Shy among all of them up here is the red fox.

Driving down to the Flour Garden coffee shop the other morning I spied a fox crossing the road. Now I don’t know if it’s a true Sierra Nevada red fox or a lower mountain fox.   All I know is that it had a red tail and I couldn’t tell if it had a white chest since of course it was crossing the road in front of me and getting away as fast as it could. I live at an elevation of 3,700 feet and red foxes like to live at an elevation of 4,000 to 10,000 feet.

The Sierra Nevada red fox is smaller than the lowland population of red foxes.  How much smaller I don’t know and the critter wouldn’t stop to let me measure him so that I could find out who his parents were. The trappers loved the Sierra Nevada red fox because they have a softer fur than their cousins down in the valley. But it seems that the non-native red foxes  are crowding out the native red fox. The Sierra Nevada red fox is on the endangered species list.

Sierra Forestry Legacy states that the habitat for the Sierra Nevada red fox is:

“Preferred habitat for the Sierra Nevada red fox appears to be red fir and lodgepole pine forests in the subalpine zone and alpine fell-fields of the Sierra Nevada. Open areas are used for hunting, forested habitats for cover and reproduction. Edges are utilized extensively for tracking and stalking prey. The red fox hunts in forest openings, meadows, and barren rocky areas associated with its high elevation habitats. Found mostly above 6,000 feet in the summer months, Sierra Nevada populations were historically found in a variety of habitats, including alpine dwarf-shrub, wet meadow, subalpine conifer, lodgepole pine, red fir, aspen, montane chaparral, montane riparian, mixed conifer, and ponderosa pine. Jeffrey pine, eastside pine, and montane hardwood-conifer also are used. This species is known to inhabit vegetation types similar to those used by the marten and wolverine. The range of the Red fox is from the northern California Cascades eastward to the northern Sierra Nevada and then south along the Sierra crest to Tulare County.”

Well, I can say that made my morning, since the little guy was only a couple of hundred feet from my house and I was glad he was in our neighborhood.

nevada county fair

Sponsor and Drive a Car in the 2010 Nevada County Fair

Sponsor and drive a car in the Fair’s Demolition Derby and you could win $1,000 for your favorite charity

Back by popular demand, the Nevada County Fair is providing organizations and businesses the opportunity to sponsor and drive a car in the Fair’s popular Demolition Derby, while at the same time raising money for a favorite charity or service organization.

Organizations and businesses can purchase a car for $500 and the Fair will provide a Derby car to use in the Demolition Derby. The organization can choose to provide its own driver or the Fair will provide a driver for the car. Additionally, the car can be picked up on August 6 to customize the car or it can be left at the Fair, where it will have a number painted on it.

The sponsored Derby cars will participate in their own event at the Demolition Derby, held on Sunday, August 15, at 7 pm in the Arena. The last of the sponsored cars moving will receive $1,000 towards the charity or service organization of their choice.  Last year’s winner was Mark Andreus, who received $1,000 for his charity, Christian Encounter Ministries.

There are only a limited number of cars available. Call the Fair Office at
(530) 273-6217 to reserve your car and obtain a list of rules. Forms are also available click here: NevadaCountyFair.

This year’s Nevada County Fair is August 11-15

Source: Wendy Oaks
Nevada County Publicist

Business, Local Writers & Contributors

Does Your Website “Suck”

By: Lisa J.  Lehr

Everyone knows by now (or should) that if you have a business, you must have a website. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar building and a strictly local clientele, you need a website to stay competitive. Many people toss their phone books into the recycle bin as soon as they get them, so they’ll never know you exist unless you have an Internet presence. Potential customers check out your location, your hours, and what makes you stand out from your competitors before they consider showing up in person.

Okay, so you have a website. Can you cross that off your list now?

In a word, no. Because the reality is that your website probably—statistically speaking—sucks.

If people are bored, confused, or turned off by what they see, or if you just haven’t given them the information they were seeking, they leave and do not become buying customers. It’s that simple! So how do you get your website to “not suck”?

I’m so glad you asked.

Here’s a basic checklist of what your website must do, be, and say in order to be effective:

  • Does it clearly tell your site visitors what you do?
  • Is the look-and-feel consistent across all pages?
  • Is your unique selling proposition clear?
  • Is it focused on the customer, not on you?
  • Does it tell your site visitors what you want them to do?

Chances are, you’re not even sure of the answers to all these questions. You may not even understand what the questions mean! That’s normal, because effective web copy writing is probably not your business.

Does your website suck? If so, run, don’t walk, and get help with it before it “sucks” your business right down the drain.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for the message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

—
Lisa J. Lehr
I write words that make you money–just ask me how.
www.justrightcopy.com
Visit my website and sign up for my fr~ee marketing tips.
New! No~cost Marketing Guide now available at my website.

nevada county fair

Nevada County Fair Celebrates the Day for People with Disabilities


This year also marks FREED’s 25th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of American Disabilities Act

Join us at the Nevada County Fair on Friday, August 13, for the annual Day for People with Disabilities. This day at the Fair will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the American Disabilities Act and the 25th anniversary of Nevada County’s FREED Center for Independent Living.

During the Day for People with Disabilities, which happens every year on the Friday of the Fair, those with disabilities are admitted to the Fair at no charge, as is a guest or a chaperone. Additionally, individuals are given free parking, and vendors are brought in to offer products and services that cater to people with disabilities and to those that assist them.

There are several events and activities planned throughout the day. In the Ag-Sperience area, there will be an accessible location for individuals to see and interact with the livestock. In the same area, Master Gardeners will be demonstrating “Accessible Gardening.”  On the patio of the Northern Mines building, the Gold Country Wood Turners will offer a sit down lathe for those who are wheelchair bound to try their hand at creating wood art.

Mark Wellman, a nationally acclaimed author, filmmaker and motivational speaker, will be at the Fair’s climbing rock wall, where Mobile Rock is donating time for those with disabilities to have a try at climbing. Wellman will then be joining Candace Cable of Turning Point Tahoe on the Budweiser True Music Stage at 2 pm for an inspiring, motivational presentation.  Rounding out the evening, local DJ and break dancer, Rico Stephenson, will serve as the DJ at the Fairgrounds’ Dance Pad.

FREED Center for Independent Living, founded by Nevada County resident Sam Dardick, is a non-profit group dedicated to serving people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against disabled people.

The Day for People with Disabilities is presented by Pacific West Pharmacy, Inc. and FREED, The Independent Living Resource Center.

For information about the Nevada County Fair, August 11 – 15, visit NevadaCountyFair.com.

nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairgrounds and the Food Bank of Nevada County Team up to Feed Those in Need

Visit the Nevada County Fair and help your community at the same time

Imagine being able to visit the annual Nevada County Fair at a discount, and be able to help the local Food Bank at the same time? At this year’s Fair, you can! The Nevada County Fairgrounds and The Food Bank of Nevada County are teaming up to help feed those in need.

Bring a can of food (or two or three) to the Fair on Sunday, August 15, and the Fair will give you a coupon for $1 off general admission to the Fair on that day.  The Food Bank will have food collection bins available at the Fairgrounds from 10 am – 5 pm at Gates 1, 3 and 5, which is also where you’ll receive your coupon. It’s that simple!

All food collected on that day will be given to The Food Bank of Nevada County, which distributes food to those in need in our county.  At last year’s canned food drive, 1,240 pounds of food were collected – enough to feed 550 – 600 families.

It’s the best of both worlds – fun at the Fair, while helping out in the community. It’s all part of Community Involvement Day, sponsored by YubaNet.com and The Food Bank of Nevada County, on Sunday, August 15, at the Nevada County Fair.

This year’s Fair is August 11 – 15. Visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for more information or call the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217. For more information about the Food Bank of Nevada County, visit www.foodbankofnc.org or call 530-272-3796.

Real Estate

Former NFL Player Arthur J. Marshall Jr. Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud

Former Georgia and NFL player Arthur James Marshall Jr. was sentenced to 69 months in prison for bank fraud related to an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme and was also ordered to pay more than $3.6 million restitution to his victims.

Former NFL wide receiver Arthur J. Marshall Jr. was sentenced to 69 months in prison for bank fraud related to an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme.

According to Moe Bedard of LoanSafe.org, Marshall, of Martinez, Florida, was indicted in June 2009 on 22 counts related to falsifying mortgage applications, real estate contracts and other paperwork that he fraudulently presented to lenders to obtain home loans. The banks were left with millions in bad loans as Marshall’s criminal enterprise crumbled during the housing crash.

Marshall plead guilty on October 2, apologized in court to his victims and promised to make things right in the future. As part of his plea agreement, Marshall has agreed to repay $3.6 million in restitution according to the Victoria Advocate.

“I didn’t intend for them to get hurt, but they did and that’s my fault. I will do everything in my power to make this right. And I will,” he said.

Marshall played five years in the NFL from 1991 to 1996 as a wide receiver with the Denver Broncos and New York Giants. He played at the University of Georgia from 1988 to 1991. He had 87 receptions, 1,267 yards and four touchdowns in his career.

The evidence presented at sentencing revealed that Marshall falsified sales contracts, personal finance records and other documents as part of his mortgage fraud scheme. The victims of Marshall’s scheme included banks, a family who never got a property title from Marshall after paying him $100,000 for a home, and members of the American Legion.

It also says an unnamed couple paid Marshall $100,000 in 2008 to build them a house. Prosecutors say Marshall did little construction work on the home and refused to transfer the title for the property to the buyers

Nevada County Vineyards & Wineries

Pilot Peak Vineyard and Winery

By Jacque Wilson

This year marks the 6th annual release of wines at Pilot Peak Winery, one of the foothills premiers’ destination wineries.

The Penn Valley winery, on a hillside overlooking Pilot Peak, continues to offer varied events during the year.

To celebrate, the winery has expanded its signature, flower-filled terraces, relocated the dance floor and added colorful landscaping.

During the weekends, from noon to 5 p.m., Pilot Peak offers one of the most unique and complimentary wine tastings around – called “comparative tastings.”

Wines are served in flights of four with pairings, so you can compare and contrast the wines, as well as enjoy the marriage of food and wine.

The wines include Grenache Rose, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, LiVedo, Paramour, Syrah Port and Judges’ Choice Awards in the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle wine completion.

“At Pilot Peak, we believe wine should be experienced sitting down with food, family and friends in a beautiful setting,” says Nancy Stevens, co-owner. “We offer this opportunity to every visitor that comes to our winery.”

Saturday Sunsets at the Peak are a crowd favorite, with live local music and reasonably priced food prepared by local restaurants and caterers.  The Saturday event is from 6-10 p.m.

Pilot Peak helped lead the effort to open the Grass Valley Wine Company at 151 Mill Street in downtown Grass Valley.  “The new location offers access to our wines not only on weekends but during the week” says winemaker and co-owner Lynn Wilson.

“The best is yet to come” says Len Stevens, the fourth partner in winery.  It recently changed its name to Pilot Peak Winery Company and plans to offer micro brews at its locations in the future.

Jacque Wilson is a co-owner of Pilot Peak Winery

Pilot Peak Vineyard and Winery
12888 Spenceville Road
Penn Valley, CA 95946
530-432-3321
Website PilotPeak


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