Fannie Mae: Walk Away and You Will Pay

Top 10 Green Building Products 2010

Written by Susie Kim-Carberry

Published on June 24th, 2010

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Posted in Green Design, LEED certification, News, Programs and Standards

Reclaiming Foreclosed Properties
 
To help communities hit “first and worst” by the foreclosure crisis, a new report describes three dozen strategies communities can use to reclaim foreclosed properties, encourage positive reinvestment, and stabilize their neighborhoods. The study, by PolicyLink and the Northwest Area Foundation and Family Housing Fund, details how many of these approaches already are at work across the country.
 
Download the free report by, “When Investors Buy Up the Neighborhood: Strategies to Prevent Investor Ownership from Causing Neighborhood Decline”:
 
www.policylink.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lkIXLbMNJrE&b=5136581&ct=8313075

New Video: Trees Increase Property Values
 
Like electricity or water, trees are an important part of a community’s vital infrastructure. Trees can impact the purchase price of a home by as much as 20 percent, according to the U.S. Forest Service. When planted properly, they also can help homeowners reduce heating and cooling costs.
 
A new, 6-minute video, “Community Trees: A Living Investment,” helps community advocates and residents to expand their depth of understanding about how trees impact property values, save energy, and make communities more livable.
 
To view the video and share with others, visit:
 
www.youtube.com/user/foreststewardship#p/u/1/KzEFl2wrVW8
 

Webinar on Energy Efficient Windows
 
Windows in the United States account for 30% of building heating and cooling energy loss.  A free webinar on June 22, 2010 will provide information about the U.S. Department of Energy's effort to bring affordable triple pane and low-e storm windows to the marketplace. Both homeowners and buyers can take advantage of the energy savings from windows available in the DOE’s volume purchase program.
 
Advanced registration is required via this link:
 
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/webinars.html
 

Find Eco-Friendly Lodging This Summer
 
Hotels that have earned the Energy Star use at least 35 percent less energy and emit at least 35 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than their peers. For your next vacation or business trip, find hotels that have earned the Energy Star:

www.energystar.gov/buildinglist

How Is Air Quality in Your Area?
 
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your outdoor air is and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. View air quality forecasts and real-time data reporting for nearly 400 U.S. cities here: www.airnow.gov/
 

Of the five candidates running for the coveted seat, former Sheriff Don Horsley has been the assumed front runner since he started campaigning for the seat when he left the Sheriff’s post almost four years ago.

Horsley has the biggest campaign war chest and commands the vast majority of endorsements form elected officials and organized labor.

But despite the near-incumbent advantages Horsley enjoys, at least two of opponents have taken ground away from Horsley and may yet force a runoff election in November.

Coastside activist and small business owner April Vargas has run easily the most active grassroots campaign and is actually walking precincts and directly contacting voters in a countywide race with more eligible voters than even a congressional district. Without the same financial resources and labor support enjoyed by Horsley, this is certainly an uphill proposition for Vargas but her long relationships with the grassroots have paid off.

Firstly, Vargas successfully grabbed the endorsement of the San Mateo County’s Democratic Party Committee of which she is a member. The Party endorsement in a county that is overwhelmingly Democratic in its orientation is a major coup – so much so that Horsley and some of his supporters loudly complained about the endorsement and attempted to call the validity of the endorsement into question in at least one news article.

Horsley himself suggested that the endorsement was rigged and described it as “partisan” – an odd choice of words for an organization that is explicitly partisan.

At the same time that Horsley was crying foul over the Democratic Committee endorsement, Vargas landed the endorsement of the local chapter of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club likely has several thousand members in the County and Vargas should enjoy an incremental boost with the Club’s stamp of approval.

San Carlos Councilmember Matt Grocott who is also running for Supervisor has surprisingly edged out Horsley and company in the media endorsements hunt.

Grocott landed the endorsement of the Daily Journal – the County’s remaining functional daily newspaper with the largest coverage area. The Daily Journal cited Horsley’s ideas to address the county’s budget deficit as falling “…short of fiscal responsibility” and described Grocott as a no-nonsense fiscal conservative who “…has proven experience in both collaboration and difficult decisions on a variety of topics.”

Grocott also won a split decision in the endorsement issued by the Daily Post newspaper which endorsed both he and Horsley as the two candidates that paper would like to see in a runoff election. But the newspaper, which has championed the issues of fiscal responsibility and for reducing public employee compensation and benefits, hinted that Grocott may be the preferred candidate in such a runoff.

All candidates are likely waiting with baited breath for the endorsement of the venerable San Mateo County Times which, as a piece of a regional newspaper chain, has declined in value for San Mateo County readers.

Perennial candidate and Libertarian Party activist Jack Hickey is also seeking the Supervisor prize. Hickey, who oddly enough serves as an elected member of the Sequoia Healthcare District Board with Horsley, is running on a platform of fiscal reform. Hickey runs for just about every office for which he is eligible and then some. While Hickey has not garnered much traction, he has successfully built a profile in San Mateo County as an anti-tax advocate as the frequent and sometimes exclusive ballot signatory opposing any and all taxes on the ballot for cities and school districts for many years.

Hickey is guaranteed to get some votes but without any institutional support or much of campaign he is not likely a contender.

Lastly, local gadfly Michael Stogner has also thrown his hat into the ring. Stogner is best known for his failed effort to launch a recall of San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks in the wake of the Sheriff’s detention at a Las Vegas brothel in 2007.

Stogner has done very little in terms of a campaign but by virtue of being on the ballot, he may get some votes.

With all of the activity and spread of endorsements the election to fill the third district supervisor seat will very likely go to a runoff in November. Time will tell who survives round one."

BE SURE TO VOTE!

js

You can find out more about tankless water heaters at this site:  www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com.  I just made the switch after my water hear (with tank) died a few weeks ago.  More expensive?  Sure, in the near term but long term you will love the savings, from money to space to maintenance.  The plumbing community is up to speed on installation so it's not like putting in something experimental.

Here's a quick overview from that site...

How do Tankless Water Heaters work?

Tankless Water Heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. Therefore, they avoid the standby heat losses associated with storage water heaters. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. In an electric Tankless Water Heater an electric element heats the water. In a gas-fired Tankless Water Heater a gas burner heats the water. As a result, Tankless Water Heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don't need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water. Typically, Tankless Water Heaters provide hot water at a rate of 2 – 5 gallons (7.6 – 15.2 liters) per minute. Typically, gas-fired Tankless Water Heaters will produce higher flow rates than electric Tankless Water Heaters. Some smaller Tankless Water Heaters, however, cannot supply enough hot water for simultaneous, multiple uses in large households. For example, taking a shower and running the dishwasher at the same time can stretch a Tankless Water Heater to its limit. To overcome this problem, you can install a “whole house” type Tankless Water Heater or install two or more Tankless Water Heaters, connected in parallel for simultaneous demands of hot water. You can also install separate Tankless Water Heaters for appliances—such as a clothes washer or dishwater—that use a lot of hot water in your home.