Your Escondido Home

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day

2009-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

If you are in your forties or older, you might remember how optimistic the Disney corporation was in their future back in 1967. That's when the updated Tomorrowland opened in Disneyland with such rides as: The People Mover, The Adventure thru Inner Space (with the big eyeball), and of course, the Carousel of Progress with the air conditioning, short lines, and boppy music. This optimism came despite the fact that Mr. Disney died the year before of lung cancer and their most recent animated success was 101 Dalmatians back in 1961.

After you left The Carousel of Progress, you rode up a ramp where the narrator of the show introduced you to a model called "Progress City." What it lacked in boppy music, it made up for in spectacle. How many city planners were influenced by this ride and "Progress City" will never be known, although Disney's optimism despite loss and repeated failures (see Monkeys, Go Home! 1967) has perhaps rubbed off.

North County Times columnist Jeff Frank asked the question in his article, (Is it) Time for Escondido to shift direction? He pointed out some of Escondido's past attempts at making itself an upscale retail/entertainment center and questioned whether the planned Marriott hotel might be another box office failure, similar to Disney's Those Calloways, 1965 . The hotel has been a contentious issue and Frank suggests that perhaps a less contentious alternative might be "an indoor mini-golf course and arcade, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor or perhaps a small classic-car museum to play off the success of Cruisin' Grand."

That article was printed in the Sunday, July 11th edition of the North County Times and as of this moment, no one has commented on any of his ideas. Since then, articles have discussed a potential stadium for the Chargers, and an In-n-Out Burger restaurant. The Paramount Condominium Project actually has been changed from being a 92 unit four story project of 3 and 4 bedrooms with private elevators and a minimum of 1880 sq ft., into a 116 unit three story project with 81 2 bedroom units of 993 sq ft and no elevators. The Westfield company has abandoned plans to add 450,000 sq ft of retail and entertainment space at Shoppingtown North County in favor of cosmetic changes and refurbishing the existing space.

These have generated a fair number of comments after the articles were published online, but many of the comments are off topic, sensationalistic, or lack even minimal insight as to the impact of these projects on the area. The Escondidans who visited the Carousel of Progress seem not to have been much influenced by its message.

If you were, and have not felt comfortable providing an optomistic message on Escondido's future in the comments portion of the North County Times because so many other commentors have responded without courtesy, please don't remain part of the silent majority. Comment on this blog. These comments are moderated and must add to the knowledge and appreciation of our readers in order to be included. No insults or ignorant attacks will be published here. Possibly, after several years, rather than presenting resources for the improvement of our town, this will be a resource all of its own.

Improving your rental business

2009-05-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Of course, there are thousands of ways to improve your rental business from Allowing pets to charging Zero for the first month's rent. Many of these attempts at promotion are a mistake, however, and should be replaced by the ever so reliable, keep your buildings nice and your tenants happy.

Most amateur landlords have a problem putting these two principles in practice, and can relate many horror stories about being taken. That's where a library can help. We have books to help you redecorate, to mediate disputes, and to make friends and influence people.

Every landlord's guide to finding great tenants by Portman, Janet.
Berkeley, CA : Nolo, 2006.
Call #: 346.7304 P
ISBN: 1413304133 (alk. paper) 9781413304138 (alk. paper)
Description: 470 p. ; 23 cm. + 1 CD-ROM

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We can also direct you to a consumer rating site for tenants so you can keep tabs on amenities and how your building compares with others in the same market or a free online classifieds service so you can save your money for improved building maintenance.

Keeping in touch with water

2009-05-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

If you have a question about how much water Esconididans used last year or what the average rainfall is in Hemet, call the Library at 760-839-4839. However, if you haven't formed your question yet; if you just have an uncomfortable feeling about how little you know about the drought, the best way to get a lot of information these days is to search a variety of websites; better even than asking a meteorologist.

When it comes to water ecology/conservation information, there are hundreds of websites with potentially valuable information, many of which are updated on a regular basis. Certainly, good sites for Escondido residents would be the City's Water Conservation website and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California bewaterwise.com.

For timely water news, you should visit three additional sites: Steve Betheil's Water Secrets Blog which covers world water shortage/water pollution news. Anonymous posts water stories that the Natural Resources Defense Council won't on his Western Water Blog. Aqua Blog Maven's water blog, Aquafornia, produced by the Water Education Foundation, is very frequently updated. There are hundreds if not thousands of articles just on San Diego, and there's also the Weird and Wacky section which goes to show that not all water stories are depressing during a drought.

Drought Measures - What?

2009-03-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

We are currently in a drought watch. That means that we need to use less water in a variety of ways. It does not mean that the water police will spy on you.

Now that we have invested in the infrastructure necessary to obtain and store water from multiple sources - sources which may be thousands of miles apart in entirely different weather systems - droughts do not effect us that season. What happens is that number crunchers review our water use, our water allotment, and such environmental data as snow pack and reservoir levels to provide us with 99% certainty that we will always be able to turn on the tap.

Encouraging customers to voluntarily reduce their water use is the preferred way to balance our use with our allotment. Other ways are through fines, increasing fees, providing rebates for the purchase of water conserving equipment and putting our limited resources into a market based system in which people can profit by using less water.

Check out more tips for positive ways that you can prosper during this drought at the Escondido City Utilities Department Water Conservation Page.

Drought Measures - Why?

2009-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, the "who" of the drought was highlighted using one lawsuit as an example. However, the lawsuit described is only the most recent of many lawsuits directed towards redistributing the flow of publicly funded water projects and restoring native fish habitats. Even if the litigants, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Secretary of the Interior (Kempthorne), were not involved in a plan to restrict water flowing to Escondido through the Central Valley Project, there would still be a problem obtaining enough water.

The San Diego County Water Authority estimates that between 75% and 95% of our water needs to be imported due to our arid climate, dense population, and intensive agriculture. In order to secure the importation of our water, we purchase water rights and develop infrastructure, but in the case of a drought or environmental disaster in that distant location, our aqueducts may run far under capacity.

As for droughts, the current forecast for the Central Valley water supply is running 80% of average in the north bound San Joaquin River and 70% of average in the south bound Sacramento River. The long standing drought in the Upper Colorado Basin has recently broken, however, the reservoirs on the Colorado River are at about half of capacity. A very good site to check on the current conditions is the Drought Monitor of the National Drought Mitigation Center of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

The recent success of NRDC v. Kempthorne came after the defeat of Defenders of Wildlife v. (Secretary of the Interior) Norton, an attempt by environmentalists to protect endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico. In March of 2003, a federal court found that (1) the Dept. of the Interior (DOI) cannot control whether water reaches the Colorado River Delta, and (2) under the terms of the Treaty of 1944 and the Law of the River, the DOI has no discretion to release additional water to Mexico.

Additional lawsuits pertaining to the Colorado River habitat are bound to make their way through the courts, however, perhaps closing the desalination plant in Yuma or the emptying of the newly concrete lined All-American Canal. It may only be a matter of time.

Drought Measures

2009-03-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

As the City of Escondido will soon suffer a water shortage, Escondidans - who have this month enjoyed over three inches of rain - should be interested in the whys, whos, and wherefores of the upcoming "drought." This entry will provide the who's.

Federal District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger of the Eastern District of California ruled in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Dirk Kempthorne that the Central Valley Project had to increase the fresh water it allowed to flow into the Delta and out to sea to flush the ecosystem and improve the health of several endangered fish species, most notably the indicator species called the Delta Smelt. Judge Wagner was born in L.A. in 1940, graduated from USC and then UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law in 1966. He helped found San Joaquin College of Law in Fresno in 1969 and held a variety of legal posts from then until 1991 when he was appointed to this judicial seat. In another controversial case in 2008, he ruled that the City of Fresno owed 225 homeless citizens 2.35 million dollars for the destruction of their property during several city clean up campaigns (over $10,000 per person). Fresno Mayor Alan Autry was not happy with the agreement, complained to the press in a written statement, and Wagner ordered him to appear in court to defend his words.

Natural Resources Defense Council founded in 1970 employs more than 300 people, mainly lawyers and lobbyists, who "strive to help create a new way of life for humankind, one that can be sustained indefinitely without fouling or depleting the resources that support all life on Earth." Doug Obegi is the staff attorney on the Western Water Project for NRDC. Born in Orange County, he graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law in 2006. Prior to working for NRDC he worked for the Ocean Conservancy as a policy analyst. Obegi's explanation for the importance of this action is contained in his paper titled Fish Out of Water.

Dirk Kempthorne, was the United States Secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009. Born in San Diego, he moved to Idaho where he was elected both Senator and Governor of the state. As Interior Secretary, he was awarded the 2007 Rubber Dodo Award for not placing a single plant or animal on the federal endangered species list during his administration up to that time - 472 days. The previous record was for 376 days between 1981 and 1982.

Mission Park Neighborhood

2009-02-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

If the heart of Escondido is a place not a mood, then the Mission Park Neighborhood might just be the spot. It's centralized location includes shopping centers, restaurants, entertainment spots and the Joslyn Senior Center. In addition, hundreds of professionals are employed there by institutions such as Chicago Title, Kaiser Permanente, Mission Middle School, and Escondido's Chamber of Commerce.

It is a neighborhood dominated by apartment complexes and rental houses. As you drive through, you will see pedestrians on the sidewalks, young men on street corners, and children playing in parking lots. These are indications of an urban environment within a city comfortable with its suburban lifestyle. This density has been achieved despite the area's 35 foot height restrictions as most of it is R-3 Medium Multiple Residential zoned.

Perhaps the Mission Park Neighborhood, with all of its people, business, and professional employment does represent more to the pulse of the City than just its centralized location.

Fences define a neighborhood

2009-01-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

If you saw this huge house on the left behind a common chain link fence, you might rightly guess that it has been abandoned since 1977. The mansion on the right is behind a bamboo screen and is housing the poor of Vangvieng, Vietnam. The fences people choose frequently reflect the value they place in the homes they enclose. If you value your home more than a chain link's worth, come to the library and check out one of these books.

Ultimate guide to fences, arbors, and trellises : plan, design, build. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Creative Homeowner, c2008.
Call #: 717 U
ISBN: 9781580113908, 1580113907
Description: 287 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

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Fences, walls & gates by Scott Atkinson. Menlo Park, CA : Sunset Books, 2004. Call #: 624 F
ISBN: 0376017597
Description: 128 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

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The fence bible by Jeff Beneke. North Adams, MA : Storey Pub., 2005.
Call #: 717 B
ISBN: 1580175309 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1580175864 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Description: 261 p. : ill. ; 29.5 cm

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Amgen Tour of California

2008-12-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

The fourth running of Amgen's Tour of California will introduce San Diego County, and especially Escondido, to world class cycling on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. We will host the eighth and final stage of the race.

Racers will begin that day's 98 mile course on Bernardo Center Dr. in Rancho Bernardo and wind through San Pasqual, past the Wild Animal Park, up Bear Valley Parkway past the Mayflower Dog Park, up the grade to Harrah's Rincon Casino, continue to Lake Henshaw, and even to Palomar Mountain. They will continue down the south grade road, rejoining highway 76, go to Cole Grade Road, and over to Valley Center Road and back down Valley Parkway. The race ends at the intersection of Grand Ave. and Broadway in Escondido.

A recently announced list of competitors included Lance Armstrong.

Planting the right plant in the right season

2008-12-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

It's been cold and wet the last week. Roof leaks have shown up where there have never been leaks before. This is no doubt a good time to plant pansies, agapanthus, and tulips. Check it out on the Demesne Planting Calendar. But are those plants hardy enough to thrive in our fair city?

In a previous post, The Sunset New Western Garden Book was described as a must read. The bulk of the book is an encyclopedia of plants and each entry mentions in which climate zones the plant does best. Escondido is both a Climate Zone 20 and 21 depending on where you are. A very good site to help you select a tree for our climate zone is Cal Poly SLO's Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute's Selectree.

The USDA categorizes "hardiness zones" according to the mean of the lowest temperature recorded each winter. We are a USDA hardiness zone 9. This is for areas which get no colder that 20 degrees fahrenheit. A great site to help you select a plant for our hardiness zone is NC State University Urban Horticulture Department's Plant Fact Sheets.

Craftsman Homes

2008-11-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Craftsman style bungalows are the dominate type of home to still stand in Escondido among all those built between 1915 and 1940. Largely this is due to such design features as rooms opening off each other rather than off long, dark hallways, and rooms built in attic spaces. These were low cost ways of increasing useable space that work as well now as a century ago. With their numerous widows, porches, and wide eaves, inspired by homes built earlier in India, they are also quiet well adapted to Escondido's summer heat waves.

You might be looking into building new, smaller housing or refurbishing an existing Craftman home rather than chosing a McMansion. The Library has a good collection of books on the subject and we can help you find businesses that can supply you with architectural salvage such as Architectural Relics right here in Escondido.

Craftsman homes : architecture and furnishings of the American arts and crafts movement by Stickley, Gustav, 1858-1942. New York : Dover Publications, 1979.
Call #: 728.3 S
ISBN: 0486237915
Description: 205 p., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 28 cm.

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Craftsman bungalows : 59 homes from the Craftsman edited by Gustav Stickley. New York : Dover Publications, 1988.
Call #: 728.373 C
ISBN: 0486258297 (pbk.) :
Description: viii, 151 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

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The Battle of San Pasqual

2008-11-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

Instead of a long distance drive to Tombstone or Bodie or Rhyolite in order to see history come alive, a great alternative would be to visit the annual San Pasqual Battle Reenactment December 7th, 2008.

The Mexican-American War battle reenactment is an annual event attended by hundreds of people on the Sunday closest to the day of the battle, December 7, 1846. However, each weekend, 10 to 5, you can learn about the battle at the San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park located at 15808 San Pasqual Valley Road Escondido, CA 92027.

There will be an earthquake tomorrow, you can count on it.

2008-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

It's always a big news story when an earthquake hits Southern California. This one is different, it is a drill to help public agencies get better prepared. If you should visit a hospital or school and see hundreds of people milling about, they are probably one of San Diego County's over 450,000 participants.

For more information and for some earthquake safety tips visit the US Geological Survey page or Shakeout.org.

What's up?

2008-10-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

You might find it interesting to compare the changes in neighborhood perceptions in a good economy versus a bad one. For example, in 2006 Escondido was building towards a better future by tearing down run down eyesores but in 2008 not only has construction stopped, and the properties become vacant lot eyesores but according to these comments the city is an overcrowded slum.

In 2007, because of perceived marketability in a down market, D. R. Horton tried turning the Paramount condominium complex from an upscale arts-oriented project with larger units and elevators, planned for "young couples, empty nesters, and those in between ... captivated by the lifestyle that downtown living affords." (SD Biz Journal) into just another family housing project.

Professor Sorin Matei, (Purdue, Communications Dept) wrote a report for the Kettering Foundation titled “Good” and “bad” neighborhoods: perceptions and reality. Matei states in his study of Lexington, Kentucky that "growth has pushed the perceived points of economic, civic and political gravity toward the south of the city. The north, while still commercially vital, hosting much of the services and industry, has become a perceptual “black hole”, the residential areas being considered unwelcoming and declining. This, despite the fact that many lesser known but quite welcoming neighborhoods are located here"

Through researching census data for Lexington, Matie found that crime in the north, though higher per square mile was actually similar per thousand residents to that of the south. See graphic on the left. Other "findings reveal that the two most important factors [in the perception of a desirable neighborhood] are lower population density and higher educated residents. The neighborhoods that fit this description are not the most expensive ones, neither the trendier ones."

Is Escondido as desirable a place to live now as in 2005? With the lower cost of housing and the same events, resources, and services, it's far more so!

Your historic place in the world

2008-10-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

After you've found your place in the world using the Thomas Guide, one interesting search is to find out who first owned the property. Thanks to the Bureau of Land Management, you can search those "land patent" records online.

Click on "Search Land Patents", and then select the "Standard" search tab. Select the state along the top, and then select the county from the drop down menu in the "Land Description" section. Enter the block number under "Section NR" and the township and range information as well. Finally, ask for Glorecords to show you the "Results List" by "land descriptions, sorted by "Location" and click "Search"

From the results list, you can select the property by clicking on the Aliquot Parts that describe your parcel. The parcel described last week was "the North West quarter of the South East quarter of section 2, of the 12 South township of the 2 West range." It appears that the North West and North East quarters were joined in the North Half and go by the accession number CACAAA 081439 .

If you open up the record, you'll see that the area around Vintage Place, in Escondido was originally patented by Fred S. Rogers January 21st, 1890. Mr. Rogers - thanks to research materials available in the Pioneer Room - was a 25-year-old dry goods clerk, son of William and Eliza Rogers and brother to Sylvester S, also of Escondido. William was in real estate development and Sylvester owned Escondido's first prescription drug store at the time. Fred and his pregnant wife Nellie moved from Escondido to Syracuse, New York where he worked as an electrical engineer. Fred's son Malcolm Jennings Rogers was born there September 7th, 1890. Malcolm was a pioneering archaeologist and Curator of the San Diego Museum of Man.

Your Place in the World

2008-10-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Thomas Guides published by Random House are extremely handy for giving directions. Almost all streets, geographic features, and political jurisdictions are recorded on its pages. People also frequently use the guides to find the zip code associated with a particular address. A little used feature of the guides is the pink township markings of the Public Land Survey System with which you can describe a unique parcel of land using horizontal and lateral lines, similair to the more familiar longitude and latitude lines.

Rather than the Equator or the Prime Meridian Escondido's initial point from which to be measured is Mount San Bernardin o. Most of Escondido is in the 12th township south and second west of that mountain. A township is made up of 36 sections, each section being one square mile. Sections are numbered from 1 to 6, east to west then below that 7 to 12, west to east, back and forth. Imagine a survey crew on horseback in 1852. The Thomas Guide prints most of the section numbers in pink and prints plus signs at most of the section's corners.

A piece of property is described as being a numbered lot of certain dimensions in a parcel or subdivision described something like "the North West quarter of the South East quarter of section 2, of the 12 South township of the 2 West range." The property described, if it existed, would be off Vintage Place.

Girtsman's Housing Bubble

2008-10-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

Some on the greatest novels written in the English language were written by disillusioned World War One veterans. Some of the greatest movies were written by World War Two veterans. Some of the greatest songs were written by Viet Nam War protesters. It would not be too much of a stretch to expect that the Iraq War and the international economic crisis we're in now, might lead to the golden era of a different, contemporary type of artistic expression.

Perhaps people will express themselves with music videos on YouTube like Dave Girtsman, of Blimp. If you would like to contribute to the "Golden Era of YouTube 2001 - 2021" by creating your own work in cyberspace, you might try learning tricks of the trade from this book, checking it out from the Escondido Public Library!

YouTube 4 you by Michael Miller, Indianapolis, Ind. : Que, c2007.
Call #: 006.7 M
ISBN: 0789736985, 9780789736987
Description: x, 197 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

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Escondido Gang Prevention Group to Hold Community Forum

2008-10-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Escondido Gang Reduction, Intervention, and Prevention Task Force (E-GRIP) is inviting the Community to attend one of two separate public forums to express their concerns regarding gang activity, and any suggestions on how to keep youths from joining gangs.
Escondido residents are encouraged to attend the location that is nearest to their home. Childcare and Spanish translation will be provided.
The dates and locations are:
Ø October 7, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. ● Rose Elementary, 906 N. Rose St., Escondido
Ø October 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. ● Felicita Elementary, 737 W. 13th Ave., Escondido

Consumer Comments on Contractors

2008-09-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Small Business Administration's Advertising Primer tells businessmen that "Nobody sells you better than a satisfied customer, so in your efforts to gain sales from new prospects, remember that you can build sales equally well through customer referrals" So in this era of great technology, you would think that finding a blog entry with someones' first hand account would be the best way to go to determine which contractor you should hire.

Perhaps, but you don't know if the person giving you the glowing referral isn't the contractor's brother-in-law. Also, Internet entries are hard to find and never expire although the tiling subcontractor hired by the pool builder might have been fired for that bad workmanship, or he might even have retired.

What would be good would be ratings from a large number of each contractor's clients. It really works for books and professors. Someday one of the following companies will be your trusted resource:

Kudzu Free. Several listings and reviews for local area. Not comprehensive. Links to other reviews by each reviewer. This cuts down on the likelihood of the brother-in-law writing a phony review.

Angie's list One year membership costs $50 in advance. No survey could be completed due to cost. There are many complaints that it is not satisfactory, however.

Service Magic Free. Looks very professional. No local listings found.

Insiderpages Free. Easy to use. Part of the IAC group which owns Ask.com and Expedia. Has many local listings and several reviews. Reviewers are ranked by number of reviews posted so you can see how many reviews they've written without clicking and seeing all of the person's other reviews.

Toolman Depot Free. Straight forward search strategy but at this point so few listings and reviews that it's hard to judge its value. Perhaps in a few years.

Christmas Parade - Aid

2008-09-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Major social/cultural events define a town that hosts them. How they form, grow, are maintained, and the people who participate are definitive because nothing that important can exist in a vacuum. For example, children who march in the annual Christmas parade probably perform better in school because they are brought lovingly into the community fold. Studies on student volunteer programs confirm this. Cities with high performing schools are highly desirable places to live, so cities with superior events do more than entertain, they enhance home values.

Street Fair, First Night, Grape Day, and Cruising Grand are events which will be discussed in Your Escondido Home in the future, but until this morning's announcement that the police presence at the 2008 Escondido Christmas Parade would be funded by a donation from the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, it appeared that that event would be cancelled. Perhaps the marching bands had played their last note on North Broadway. This morning, in fact, the Jaycees were still posting that the 2008 Escondido Christmas Parade would be postponed until 2009.

Now that this year's parade has a pulse, consider not only attending - 9:30 AM, December 13, 2008 - but also volunteering to help, or possibly even joining the Escondido Jaycees as a member. The next parade meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cocina del Charro, 525 N. Quince St.

Consumer advice on contractors

2008-09-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Blogging is a wonderful way to record information. The problem is that the information you place online is, quite possibly, as invisible to the world as it would be sitting on your own hard drive.

Say that you have a complaint against a building contractor and you believe that it would be a service to warn others of their shoddy work. People who want confidence in a contractor before they call them might look for "escondido strawbale house contractors complaints" on Google or Dogpile. They won't find Leslie Miley's blog though, unless they know to search on the contractor's name: Three Little Pigs Construction. Exchanging the word "recommendations" for "complaints" does pull up an article on Anthony Flynn of RAF Construction but that article, as well as Mister Pimley's complaint about Mission Pools were posted on the Internet within the last few months. Miley's blog was posted almost two years ago.

Nothing but serendipity led to finding Laura Silver's list of recommendations last updated 18 months ago. Mentioning it and linking to it here will make it that much more prominent in the Google hit list next time someone searches.

The next post will present an alternative way to research consumer comments. Stay tuned.

Education Options

2008-09-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Say that you wanted to learn how to play the guitar. There are three Escondido listings in the yellow pages under Music Instrustion - Instrumental: B&H Music, The Music Room, and The Music Playce.

Arthur Golden is hosting two classes this fall at the Palomar College Escondido branch.

Jack Brooks is offering a class Wednesdays after school for teens through the Escondido Recreation Department. The classes are held just next door to the library at the Mathis Center.

In the past, guitar classes have been offered at the Escondido Adult School - ROP.

You might try looking for a tutor to come to your home on craigslist.

And of course, you can check out one of the dozens of books or videos available at the Library here at Second and Broadway in Escondido and strike out on your own.

Proposition A: Regional Fire Protection

2008-09-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

There have been a large number of major fires in San Diego County in the last 15 years: the Harmony Grove Fire 1996, the La Jolla Reservation Fire 1999, the Pechanga Fire 2000, the Viejas Fire 2001, the Gavilan Fire 2002, the Pines Fire 2002, the Coyote Canyon Fire 2003, the Paradise Fire 2003, the Cedar Fire 2003, the Mataguay Fire 2004, the Witch Creek Fire 2007, the Rice Fire 2007, the Harris Fire 2007, and the Poomacha Fire 2007. All of them cost over a million dollars to fight and did over ten million dollars damage. Many took lives.

Fire protection issues make for lively discussions at both the state and local level, but little department funding has been added. A mandatory weed abatement program has been put into effect charged to rural land owners. Studies have shown this to be the most effective method of reducing the dangers of wildfires; however, weed abatement in San Pasqual would have meant little to the homeowners in Scripps Ranch and Rancho Bernardo or in the Escondido neighborhoods of Sonata and Lomas Serenas in 2007. They needed fire fighters, fire trucks, and airtankers.

Jerry Sanders and Ron Roberts have developed Proposition A for the November ballot. If approved by two-thirds of the county's voters, the parcel tax is expected to generate about $50 million a year to improve the funding of the Regional Fire Protection Agency. As of today opposition to the proposition has not united, but opponents are comprised of those who don't want to pay additional taxes and those who feel that the money raised will not be enough to do the job.

Trees don't only make paper

2008-08-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Which of us didn't dream of having a treehouse to escape when we were 5? Treehouses are part of our culture from the treehouse in Swiss Family Robinson to Bart Simpson's Treehouse. Being an adult now, you might now have the ability to make something fascinating as well as safe.

There are some wonderful examples online at the architectural blog WebUrbanist and the Library has a couple of recently published books. Read up and good luck!

Build your kids a treehouse by Schmidt, Philip. Chanhassen, Minn. : Creative Pub. International, c2007.
Call #: 690.89 S
ISBN: 9781589232877 (softcover)
Description: 142 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

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Treehouses and playhouses you can build / by David R. Stiles; Salt Lake City, UT : Gibbs Smith, c2006.
Call #: 690.89 S
ISBN: 1586857800; 9781586857806
Description: 144 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.

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Escondido Union School District

2008-07-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Summer is a wonderful time to relax and play in and around Escondido. Fall is a great time, too, because it's the time that children go back to school and parents no longer have to pay for daycare or juggle their schedules to watch them. Posts at Your Escondido Home will return to a more regular pace when that happens.

For now, you might be interested in learning about your neighborhood school , its calendar, its policies, its boundaries, and telephone numbers to call for more information. If you're interested in its testing results, you should visit the California Dept. of Education page. If you're interested in something more subjective such as "Will my child enjoy the program?" you might research the reviews on greatschools.net.

Landscape: a problem or an opportunity?

2008-06-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

If your home is landscaped with the classic look of junipers or azaleas under the eves and patchy yellow grass from there to the curb, you've probably thought once or twice about making drastic changes. Where can you get ideas that won't cost you a fortune?

Here's a website and a book:

Landscape Online won't help you select plants for your container garden, but it has hundreds of well illustrated articles which are keyword searchable. Cover the drop down menu titled "Research" and select "Search Articles." I tried the terms "Gophers" and "Palms". The first led me to an article on "critter control". The second provide pictures of the Frederick Law Olmstead landscaping for Stanford University using "Trachycarpus fortunei" - windmill palms.. along with 245 other articles

Sunset Before & After Garden Makeovers by Vicki Webster and the editors of Sunset Books. Menlo Park, Calif. : Sunset Pub., c2006.
Call #: 712.6 S
ISBN: 0376031883
Description: 144 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

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Bidclerk

2008-06-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

The internet is crowded with advertising - much of the information is highly selective and exaggerated. That might be helpful to you, because hiring a building contractor is as much like hiring a best friend as it is like buying a case of canned corn.

For those of you who would like to push the experience of home construction closer towards the "You say, they do, you pay" model, there is Bidclerk. Free for those of us who want to hire building, landscape, or swimming pool contractors; you simply describe what you want done and contractors who pay for the service will be able to contact you with a price quote.

You are not required to take the lowest bid or even use any of the bids submitted there. It is suggested that you ask for references and check the status of their contractor's license before agreeing to hire them.

They do not provide a list of their subscribing contractors, or even publish an estimated number of subscribers, so Bidclerk's effectiveness is unknown. Similar websites to Bidclerk include: BidstreetUSA, and Constructiondeal.com.

Eviction Resources

2008-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Possibly, a public librarian's most frequent legal reference question is "How do I evict a deadbeat tenant?" Like all legal, tax, and medical questions, we are unqualified to offer advice. Still, we aim to help out as best we can by buying books and directing people to informative websites. Our best book is:

The California landlord's law book : evictions by David Brown, Berkeley, CA : Nolo.com
Call #: Oversized 346.79404 B
ISBN: 0873375432
Description: v. <2> : ill., forms ; 28 cm. + 1 computer laser optical disc (4 3/4 in.)

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As for websites, the San Diego Superior Court offers a bit of help navigating their own specific requirements to file an unlawful detainer action. Note two links in the left hand column: "Forms" and "Self Help Center" The first one provides you with a pdf file of the unlawful detainer information sheet for San Diego County. The second one provides you with most of the other forms you'll need IF the tenant does not respond to your 3 day notice and you need to take him to court.

Many people come into the library to photocopy other forms, such as the 3-day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit out of the California landlord's law book. Alternately, you may be able to use the forms and legal advice included in the Nevada County Court's Unlawful Detainer Instructions for Landlords.

Old Escondido Neighborhood Group

2008-05-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Old Escondido Neighborhood Group (OENG) was organized in 1989 to preserve the historic character of that neighborhood. They do that by hosting parties, educational walking tours, and quarterly town hall meetings at the Escondido Public Library, Turrentine Room to foster the camaraderie you would normally only get in small towns. They also lobby City Hall for neighborhood improvements and assist the city in applications for redevelopment grants.

If you are fortunate enough to live in one of the 900 homes within the district bounded by Fifth Avenue on the north, Chestnut Street on the east, Thirteenth Avenue on the south and South Escondido Boulevard on the west then you are automatically a member.

Real Estate Syndicates and Investment Trusts

2008-05-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

The cost of real estate has been falling for more than two years now. Perhaps you feel that the bottom has been reached and now is the time to buy low, however, you have no desire to become a landlord or to move into a larger home just for the sake of the investment. What you might consider is finding a Real Estate Syndicate or a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust). They purchase and manage commercial properties (including apartment complexes) and pay you a monthly dividend.

For advice concerning the strengths of the current market, there was a May 5, 2008 article in Forbes titled "The REIT Time?" You can read it online by signing onto and searching Business Source Premier with your Escondido Public Library card.

If you do decide to invest in a REIT, there are many companies looking forward to assisting you. The Bank of Escondido and Realty Income Corp are both here in Escondido.

Yellow Straw Bales used in green homes

2008-05-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Straw-bale construction is a distinctive method of enclosing and insulating a post and beam house built to meet California seismic codes. Several local contractors and architects are available in the North San Diego County area to help you build with straw.

Projects that have been highlighted in the local media include and the Atkins home in Fallbrook built by RAF Contruction of Ramona, the Dunham-Kidwell home in Jamul designed by Hubbell & Hubbell and built by Sustainable Building Systems and the Chris Exline home of Escondido built by his father David Exline of Three Little Pigs Strawbale Design and Construction of Paso Robles.

You can read more about the building method in the book,

Straw bale building : how to plan, design & build with straw by Chris Magwood & Peter Mack Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada : New Society Publishers, c2000.

Call #: 693.997 M

ISBN: 0865714037

Description: xvii, 234 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
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San Diego's Source for Business

2008-04-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-04-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-10T14:12:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-04-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

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

How does Escondido stack up?

2008-03-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

If you are considering moving to ...or from...Escondido in the near future, there are many factors that can help you make the decision. Family, a job opportunity, or going away to attend college are often reasons.

If the world is your oyster, though, you might consider visiting Sperling's Best Places online to rate your city. There Escondido compares well statistically to similar cities like Chula Vista or Murrieta; how does your city compare?

You might also compare a region's economics. The Milken Institute says that the San Diego economy, which was ranked #1 in 2002, has steadily fallen to #72 in the 2007 report. Whereas Ocala, FL, which was rated 117 in 2002 is now rated #1.

Calculate Your Mortgage Payment

2008-03-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the era before computers, people would frequently come to the library to look for books of loan amortization tables. That's because they were NOT exciting reads, were seldom referred to, and were never owned by ordinary people. So, they are a fabulous example of why people needed libraries.

Now, most people calculate loan payments online or with special software. A good website for that is on Yahoo Finance. Other calculators there allow you to compare various loan terms, or whether it's best for you to pay points in order to qualify for a lower interest rate.

What is a librarian to do without storing and dusting thousands of boring, seldom read books? We get to spend more time helping people and the library's shelves get to hold books that are exciting and seldom sit long enough to need dusting.

San Diego County Fair

2008-03-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Although San Diego County may not be the Agricultural Mecca it once was, there is still a very large and very popular County Fair held every summer in Del Mar. As a master gardener, you can show off your most beautiful flowers in the Paul Ecke Jr. Flower & Garden Show. As a carpenter, you can check out the woodworking exhibits.

Entrance forms are available at the Escondido Public Library in April and the entrance deadlines are usually in the beginning of May.

Correction 4/4/2008 Entrance forms are no longer being sent to public libraries. In order to participate, please click on the logo and then on "Win a Blue Ribbon" to obtain an entry form online.

Landlord's Be Cautious

2008-03-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

Landlords should be cautious in deciding to whom to rent their home or apartment. Unscrupulous tenants can easily cost them several thousand dollars in lost rent and legal fees. Even higher amounts if they vandalize the property. Sites like criminalwatchdog.com or youcheckcredit.com provide answers, but at a price. Also, they often require proof of the tenant's consent to do the background checks.

An easier and free way to check how often someone is involved in the San Diego Court system is by performing a Court Index Inquiry. If you search on their name and they are involved as a defendent in a civil case with a number that starts with a U, then they were most likely sued for Unlawful Detainer in an attempt to evict them.

This is by no means fool proof. There are easily over 50 unlawful detainer lawsuits against people with the common name of Jose Garcia. There are more than 100 criminal cases against a Jim or James Jones. Even when a name is uncommon, there is no way of saying, using this index, that your prospective tenant was not evicted outside of San Diego County.

For more security there is always criminalwatchdog.

Gardener's Must Reads

2008-03-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

We like to highlight our new books, but frequently our older books are the ones gardeners consider essential. Here are three excellent examples:

Reader's digest practical guide to home landscaping. / Pleasantville, N.Y. : Reader's Digest Association, [1995] - 14th printing
Call #: OVER 712.6 R
Description: 479 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.

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The Ortho home gardener's problem solver / created by the editorial staff of Ortho Books ; editor, Cheryl Smith. - 3rd edition
San Ramon, CA : Solaris Group, c1993.
Call #: OVER 635 O
ISBN: 089721255X
Description: 399 p. : col. ill., col. maps ; 28 cm.

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Sunset new western garden book / by the editors of Sunset books and Sunset magazine. Menlo Park, Calif. : Lane Pub. Co., - 8th Edition
Call #: Over 635 S
ISBN: 0376038853
Description: 1 v. : ill. ; 28 cm.

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What brings home buyers to Your Escondido Home?

2008-02-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

MSN has a nice article with some good links titled What realty agents won't tell you. It explains there are some pieces of information that an agent simply can't speak about due to fair-housing laws. That's where librarians come in; we generally can tell you by pulling up statistics, first-hand reports, and historical records.

Sorry, if you're planning to move into a cheap apartment owned by a slumlord, crawling with gangs, close to being condemned; we won't stop you. However, you might note an anxiousness in our voice when we say, "I highly suggest you check out ARJIS" or "That is a very spacious area, lots of open fields, no houses, no playgrounds,.. no birds,.... no wildlife..... Geotracker is a site you might want to visit."

Real estate agents are knowledgeable professionals, and they will often tell you the same sites in much the same ways as librarians, but they deal on commission and have an obligation to protect the seller and seller's agent as well as to protect you. A librarian's obligation is to provide facts which help you make better decisions. Therefore, we might just hurt the interest of a slumlord or someone trying to sell a toxic waste dump.

Crime in your neighborhood?

2008-02-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

Potential renters and home buyers are always asking if the apartments they're looking into are in high crime neighborhoods. For San Diego County, the answers can come from creating a map on ARJIS (the Automated Regional Justice Information System).

One tip: A large number of neighborhoods might look like high crime neighborhoods. Be sure to compare the address that interests you with another address you are familiar with to get best results.

Escondido to host Firescaping Program

2008-02-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

The City of Escondido Utilities Department and Rincon del Diablo MWD are hosting a workshop about fire-resistant landscaping from 6 to 9 p.m. March 3, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd. Douglas Kent, author of “Firescaping: Creating Fire-resistant Landscape, Gardens, and Properties in California’s Diverse Environments” will speak. For more information call: (760) 839-4076.

Check the book's status

Losing your home?

2008-02-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

The HOME Clinic is a community service program of the Housing Opportunities Collaborative, a coalition of nonprofit organizations and agencies in the San Diego region.

This Clinic will pool attorneys, real estate and mortgage industry professionals, housing counseling agencies, fair housing agencies, and other public agencies into one location to give you a one-stop shop of counseling resources. It can connect you to legal assistance, consumer protection assistance, credit counseling, and fair housing counseling, in English and in Spanish.

Educational sessions on credit management, mortgage loans, bankruptcy and consumer protection will also be provided.

IF YOU NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE, CALL 1-888-995-HOPE.

Searching for a house?

2008-02-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

There are many websites you can use to locate houses for sale including the official site of the National Association of Realtors, Redfin, and Zillow.

Each has its own reason to visit as each has different features. Realtor.com has featured tours, Redfin has a forum to ask questions online, and Zillow has an automatic appraisal system based on recent home sales. If you aren't in the market for a home, an entertaining part of Zillow is their page highlighting the homes of the stars.

Of course the blockbuster site of the future might be owned by Google - see their beta site Google Base which allows you to search for haunted houses or houses with firepoles for sale worldwide. It's also good to find a house by street name which is almost impossible on the other sites.

1001 ideas for home improvement

2008-02-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

1001 ideas for kitchen organization / by Joseph R. Provey.
Upper Saddle River, NJ : Creative Homeowner, 2007.
Call #: Oversize 643.3 P
ISBN: 1580113613, 9781580113618
Description: 253 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

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1001 ideas for floors : the ultimate sourcebook : flooring solutions for every room / by Emma Callery.
Chanhassen, Minn. : Creative Publishing International, 2008.
Call #: Oversize 747.4 C
ISBN: 9781589233577 (pbk) 1589233573 (pbk.)
Description: 240 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

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1001 ideas for color & paint / by Emma Callery.
Upper Saddle River, NJ : Creative Homeowner, c2006.
Call #: Oversize 698.14 C
ISBN: 1580112889
Description: 240 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

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Contractors State License Board

2008-01-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

If you are planning on hiring a certain contractor, want to make a complaint about one, or hoping to become one, the California Contractors State License Board is the website you will want to visit. There is information on current laws, warnings on door-to-door scams, and links to various associations like the California Landscape Contractors Association where you can search for member contractors in your area.

Trulia - Real Estate Answers

2008-01-28T14:31:00.001-08:00

Although the librarians at the Escondido Public Library would love to answer all of your questions and give you informed advice, often times there are better authorities than a librarian. One source you might try is "Trulia Voices". Agents monitor the site and volunteer to answer your questions. Trulia is also a place for Realtors hoping to promote their home sales business, so you can also use its very functional search engine to find yourself a house. Try clicking on this link:

Escondido Real Estate

Local Specialty Nurseries

2008-01-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

Whether you are building a Japanese garden or prefer a native landscape, there are several local resources to help you besides the collection and assistance of the Escondido Public Library.

Las Pilitas (The stream basins) is a nursery and a 5000+ page website that specializes in native plants. The owners have years of experience from Cal Poly SLO. They frequently have the ability to tell you whether a sprout is going to grow into a weed, tree, or flower.

Founded by a bequest of Ruth Larabee in 1957, Quail Gardens is a 35-acre jewel in nearby Encinitas. Membership benefits include admission to a pre-sale for the Fall Plant Sale, 10% discounts at seven local nurseries as well as their own, classes and events, and library borrowing privileges - an opportunity to learn much, much, more.

The palms of Wilkens Nursery highlight thousands of xeriscape gardens in Escondido. Located at 13970 San Pasqual Rd., they have the products and the advice you need on Arecaceae.

The Ref USA Directory Database

2008-01-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Word of mouth is the best way to find good repairmen and subcontractors, but what if you're a new resident to Escondido, or you're an experienced Realtor, but the house you're selling has massive steel cantilevers and one is cracked, so to clear escrow you need a structural engineer and a welder?

To find out more information than the yellow pages listings, you can search the RefUSA database through the Escondido Public Library.
1. Go to http://www.library.escondido.org.
2. Click on “Databases” in the upper right of the screen.
3. Select “Reference USA”.
4. Enter your 14 digit library barcode and click on “Login”.
5. Choose to Search the U.S. Businesses or U.S. Residential databases.
6. Using Custom Search select what you want to find, not what you want to know. So for instance, select "Yellow Page Heading", "City, State", and "Sales Volume" in order to find welders in Escondido who make over $500,000 a year. In the "Summary View" the results will tell you the business's name, address, and telephone number.

"Detail View" will often tell you the name of the owner or manager, the number of years they've been in business, provide you with a Mapquest link to more easily find them and much, much more.

Gardens that fit Escondido's Environment

2008-01-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

Bringing nature home : how native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens / by Douglas W Tallamy. Portland, Or. : Timber Press, 2007.
Call #: 639.9209 T
ISBN: 9780881928549; 0881928542
Description: 288 p. : col. ill. ; 24 cm.

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Hillside landscaping / by Susan Lang. Menlo Park, Calif. : Sunset Books, c2007. 2nd ed.
Call #: Oversize 712 L
ISBN: 9780376037787 (pbk.) : 0376037784 (pbk.) :
Description: 160 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

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A pattern garden : the essential elements of garden making / by Valerie Easton ; photography by Jacqueline Koch, with Richard Hartlage and Allan Mandell ; foreword by Suzy Bales.
Portland, Or. : Timber Press, 2007.
Call #: Oversize 712.6 E
ISBN: 9780881927801; 0881927805
Description: 216 p. : col. ill., col. map ; 29 cm.

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Environmental Cleanliness

2007-12-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

If you've got children who play in the fields and pick up and take home everything they find, you may want to enter your street into the search engine on the Geotracker website. It lists such toxic waste sites as LUFTs (Leaking Underground Fuel Tanks) and SLICs (Spills, Leaks, Investigations, and Cleanups) and links to online reports as to the cleanup status of each. Developed by California's State Water Resources Control Board.

Real Estate Blogs

2007-12-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

Localism.com is a website that lists and promotes real estate professionals. In beta now, it hosts profiles of many Escondido Realtors and allows each to write blogs. The next three links are current examples.

Sharon Filbig, Prudential (Real Estate) - San Diego County Real Estate

Rich Johnson, Windermere (Real Estate) - Windermere Exclusive Properties

Lee Rumble, (Mortgage Lender) - Rumble Financial

Real Estate Investing

2007-12-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Here are three new books that could help you make a large amount of money in the currently poor housing market.

The pre-foreclosure real estate handbook : insider secrets to locating and purchasing pre-foreclosed properties in any market / by Frankie Orlando. Ocala, Fla. : Atlantic Pub. Group, c2006.
Call #: 332.6324 O
ISBN: 0910627665; 9780910627665
Description: 345 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
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Clark smart real estate : the ultimate guide to buying and selling real estate / by Clark Howard & Mark Meltzer. New York : Hyperion, c2007.
Call #: 333.33 H
ISBN: 140130785X : 9781401307851
Description: xii, 143 p. ; 24 cm.
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Real estate investing for the utterly confused / by Lisa Moren. New York : McGraw-Hill, c2006.
Call #: 332.63 M
ISBN: 0071472347 : 9780071472340
Description: ix, 223 p. ; 24 cm.

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Providing Information to Improve Your Living Situation

2007-12-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

Why a blog?
The Escondido Public Library set up a blog and not just a web page or a wiki because the world changes rapidly and many people are worried about whether they are getting the most current information. Web pages are great places to provide information and to provide links to even more information, but they often stagnate. Wikis can be topical and extremely current, but they are also chaotic, and the background used to reach their current state is fairly hard to retrieve.

Can you tell me when there are updates?
Blogs allow people to sign up for RSS feeds to inform you when updates are made. Feeds from many blogs can be organized by a site like Bloglines or Google's Feedburner so you are notified when content is added rather than having to open the site to check for new content. Please consider subscribing to our feed today by clicking on a link in the right hand column.

How can I find articles of interest?
This blog will contain labels which will allow you to easily pull out subjects of special interest to you and ignore the rest. Labels are in the right hand column. You can also search through the text of these blog entries by using the "search blog" search box in the upper left corner. In these ways the blog can contain a variety of information for contractors, gardeners, Realtors, landlords, home buyers, or students.

Mission
The posts on this blog will attempt to provide factual information from which you can form your own opinions and in doing so you can improve your living situation. Comments made in response to these posts will be moderated to encourage users to also stick with facts whenever possible.

Using the posts.
A large number of these posts will highlight new books coming into the Escondido Public Library. As this website ages, many of the books mentioned will be removed from the library collection. Before visiting the library for one of these books, please check our catalog using the link in the top right. If a book that interests you is checked out or is no longer in the collection, there is a WorldCat search box on the page to simultaneously search the catalogs of thousands of different libraries. If you don't find the item in a local library, the item might be available through the Escondido Public Library's interlibrary loan program. Please visit the library during our open hours so we can help you with your research.