San Diego's Source for Business

The Escondido Public Library subscribes to a very informative newspaper, The Daily Transcript. If you are a residential contractor and new home construction is drying up, you should certainly come into the library and we can provide you with it and other tools to keep your business afloat.

Since you are currently online, you might want to check out. From the home page, you see links in an Information box such as Construction and from that selection there is a Construction BidBoard searchable database - Sorry - it and many other features are for subscribers only.

It is still a worthwhile site to add to your favorites list, though. A few of its free features:

• In the Resources box there are links to the Small Business Center, SBA News Notes, and CSSM Leadership Series. These hold a lot of information helpful to businessmen looking to change the direction of their businesses.
• Also in the Resources box there is a link to the San Diego Sourcebook and San Diego Newsmakers. These provide you with business contacts and a little background on each.
• In the Research box there is a link to Public Notices. Here you may want to select 600 City of San Diego or 802 Proposals/Bids in order to review building projects currently open for bid.
• As you are not a subscriber, you cannot search the database and the above view of Public Notices only shows what was published that day. To review previous dates, open one of the selections - 600 or 802 - and then scroll to the bottom of the page. There you will be allowed to Browse by Publication Date and can open each day's advertisements as far back as you'd like.

Sometimes propoganda is fun!

Even at Your Escondido Home there is time for fun. "Riding" the rising and falling costs of homes plotted versus inflation is one of those times. Thanks to blogger Richard Hodge's use of Atari’s Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 you can experience the rises and falls of home costs from 1890 to 2007. The propaganda comes when you reach 1997 and you notice the steep, unending, upward climb ending with tracks to nowhere - presumably a horrific fall.

Hodge, got his information from Robert J. Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, so the data should be reliable. Selectively presented in order to provoke an emotional response, but reliable.

Oceanfront Escondido?

With the recent report in the North County Times titled Local fault capable of 7.5-magnitude quake. You might be wondering how Escondido might fair. Historically, the most significant local earthquake appears to be the 5.4 magnitude Oceanside earthquake of July 13, 1986.

According to the Southern California Earthquake Center's searchable earthquake catalog, verified by the California Department of Conservation, there was a 4.3 magnitude quake at 33.070 latitude -116.803 longitude on December 4th, 1991. This would be a couple hundred yards north of the Wild Animal Park. The Escondido Times Advocate, however, didn't mention it.

The Elsinore Fault (pictured), which had a 6.0 magnitude quake on May 15th, 1910, runs closest to Escondido. A 6.0 quake on the fault near Palomar Mountain could lightly damage some buildings in town. A 7.0 quake there could cause heavy damage to many buildings depending on the depth, direction and variation of the seismic waves produced. A 7.0 earthquake has the equivalent strength of the sudden detonation of 32 million tons of TNT.

Because of the strength of the bedrock under Escondido, it is unlikely that the energy from the seismic waves will be amplified and extended here. Therefore, even in the event of a 7.0 earthquake on the nearest location of the nearest fault to Escondido, damage should not be catastrophic.

Property Finder provides answers

The Escondido GIS (Geographic Information System) maintains a website called Property Finder. Among many applications, some yet to be realized, are those mainly intended to allow users to search for available retail, commercial, office, and industrial property in Escondido. If you are a realtor with Escondido listings or a property owner with vacant (non-residential) space for lease or sale, you can apply for a login and password and post available properties to the searchable database.

Some of the unrealized applications:

If you're thinking of renting an apartment and you'd like to see if it is on a busy street click in the box in front of "Average Daily Traffic Counts (2004)" in the left hand menu. Traffic numbers will appear in yellow boxes when you search for that address.

If you'd like to see the percentage of renter occupied versus owner occupied homes within a .5 mile radius of a home you're looking to buy, or want to see the percentage of households with five or more occupants because of parking fears, run a demographic report.

If you'd like to be hired to work for a television sound crew, but thought you'd have to move to Los Angeles, you can find employment information clicking on the "Demographics" search tab, and selecting the report titled "Business and Workforce" from the dropdown box. In 2005 there were 53 people who worked in the motion picture industry living here in Escondido. You don't have to move.

Is now the time to buy?

The economy is really bad, so is it a really good idea for you to buy rather than rent. Don't play a hunch, check out one of these three books and make an informed decision.

Tips and traps when buying a condo, co-op, or townhouse / by Robert Irwin. New York : McGraw-Hill, c2007.
Call #: 643.12 I
ISBN: 0071467955 (alk. paper), 9780071467957 (alk. paper)
Description: xi, 208 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

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Why rent? : own your dream home! / by Entrepreneur Press and Jason R. Rich. [Irvine, Calif.] : Entrepreneur Press, c2006.
Call #: 643.12 R
ISBN: 1599180359 (alk. paper), 9781599180359 (alk. paper) Description: xiv, 225 p. ; 19 cm.

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The geek's guide to home buying / by Karen James. Birmingham, Ala. : Crane Hill Publishers, 2006.
Call #: 643.12 J
ISBN: 9781575872544 (pbk.), 1575872544
Description: 192 p. ; 21 cm.

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Escondido Spring Garden Tour

Join the Escondido History Center for their second annual spring garden tour on April 19th. Gardens include the San Diego Home & Garden Magazine's 2002 Garden of the Year: Villa Floreal at Oak Creek Adjacent to Felicita Park, you can park there at no charge and walk a very short distance to this arborist's amazing woodland garden with year-round creek. The second garden has expansive views, yet feels secluded, and caters to our feathered friends. The third garden features literally hundreds of roses, dahlias, gladiolas, and other flowering plants for what just might be a sensory overload. Refreshments, a plant sale and goodie bags are all included in this event that supports the EHC Endowment. Tickets are $15 at any garden on April 19th, but only $12.50 if purchased in advance. Pre-sale tickets are available at The Escondido History Center, El Plantio Nursery, or by mail at least 10 days in advance.

Sponsored by El Plantio Nursery and Grangetto's Farm & Garden Supply.
PLEASE CARPOOL
Start with free parking at Felicita Park for adjacent garden
OR call hotline at 760 743-4382 for all addresses and directions
April 19
10am-2pm
$15 at the gate