When I started my Neighborhood Safety Program one year ago I never imagined that it would be needed so soon! On July 1st when the Gap fire began, the San Antonio Creek/Park Highland Neighborhood Safety group jumped into action. There were constant updates to the neighbors via Walkie-Talkie and email. We were communicating regarding the location of the fire and our evacuation status. Many of us could see it from out our windows and with no electricity the Walkie-Talkies were very helpful. We were under evacuation warning, which, thanks to our extensive preparation, was very calm and organized. Thankfully we were never forced to evacuate but we were certainly prepared to do so. We live in an area where we should always be prepared for a possible fire, I encourage every neighborhood to join together and create a neighborhood safety program.

“I GUESS WE ALL LIKE TO BE RECOGNIZED NOT FOR ONE PIECE OF FIREWORKS, BUT FOR THE LEDGER OF OUR DAILY WORK.” Neil Armstrong. And while the summer’s fireworks started in full force on the July 4th holiday, they continued daily last week in the financial markets as Bonds and home loan rates ignited and began the week by improving sharply. This early-week rally was sparked by a speech made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said that the Fed may continue to provide emergency loans to investment banks to help them overcome credit problems. This led to improvement in the Bond market because the markets saw this as a sign that the Fed is willing to take action to maintain stability and counter any turbulence or explosions that may occur.

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Because of the rash of media stories regarding the rampant number of foreclosures across the country, I am often approached by prospective buyers interested in purchasing bank owned properties along the South Coast.  The first thing that I tell everyone is that there are not many foreclosed properties in our area.  So far this year, through June 17th, there have only been 46 properties taken back by lenders from Carpinteria through Goleta.  This is in sharp contrast to North County where there have been 465 foreclosures during the same time period.

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If you or someone you know has a home being threatened by fire you may want to learn more about this product or something similar.  For people living in a high risk fire area, which seems to be almost anywhere in CA or the Western United State, it might be worth investing in and keeping it on hand. What I am talking about is a fire retardant gel that can be sprayed on your house if it is in eminent danger. This company says it protects for a matter of hours up to 3 days.
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This year Village Properties is proud to be the Title Sponsor for the 2008 Santa Barbara Triathlon! Even better, the beneficiaries for this year are Computer for Families and the Teacher’s Fund.

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