The Federal Reserve raise their Key Interest rate ...

 The Federal Reserve raised the key interest rate (Fed Funds) from 0.25% to 0.50%. It's been a long time since this has occurred however they feel You will see that this sill start to cost you more for nearly everything you do ... Read the full story from the Associated Press ...



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FEDERAL_RESERVE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-12-16-14-01-26

CVWD increases conservation programs, drought penalties

If you are like me at all, I have not been following the printed materials in my water bills recently because I switched to Desertscape. This was obviously a bad move because of several things. Check out this article from CVWD of November 10th ...

The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) Board of Directors today committed additional money for rebate programs, adopted a ban on irrigation on certain days of the week, and increased drought penalties.
The new measures were adopted to help CVWD meet its state water conservation mandate. The state is requiring CVWD customers to reduce overall domestic water use by 36% when compared to the same month in 2013 or face penalties of up to $10,000 per day.

The board approved $2 million in additional conservation funding with most of it going to CVWD’s conservation rebate programs. In addition, a consultant will be hired to perform comprehensive water audits for some of the district’s largest water users, and academic consultants would be hired to perform targeted research and public education messaging to promote reduced water use.
The board approved new day-of-use restrictions for irrigation. Starting Dec. 1 and through March 31, outdoor irrigation for CVWD domestic customers will be prohibited on Mondays and Thursdays.
Drought penalties were increased for water use in tiers 3-5. The increased drought penalties will go into effect with December water use for bills produced in January. 

Under the increased drought penalties, residents who do not limit their outdoor water use to 36% below their monthly budget are subject to drought penalties structured as follows:

Water use in Tier 1:                             No Penalty
Water use in Tier 2, up to 64%            No Penalty
Water use in Tier 2, above 64%          Regular rate + $2.51/unit
Water use in Tier 3                              Regular rate + $5/unit
Water use in Tier 4                              Regular rate + $10/unit
Water use in Tier 5:                             Regular rate + $20/unit

About 76% of CVWD customers currently are meeting the drought budgets. As a result, about 5 billion gallons of water have been saved by CVWD domestic customers compared to water use in 2013.
Statewide mandatory water-use restrictions remain in effect, including prohibiting water runoff and irrigation during and 48 hours following rain. In addition, CVWD requires sprinklers to be fixed within 24 hours and leaks to be fixed as soon as possible.

CVWD continues to strongly discourage overseeding during the drought.

The state considers a month-to-month rolling average when considering a district’s conservation efforts. CVWD customers saved 21.3% in June, 40.6% in July, 26.5% in August, 16.4% less water in September, and 27.7%  less water in October. The average over the five-month period is 27%.

For conservation rebate programs, tips and additional information, visit  www.cvwd.org
The Coachella Valley Water District is a public agency governed by a five-member board of directors. The district provides domestic and irrigation water, agricultural drainage, wastewater treatment and reclamation services, regional storm water protection, groundwater management and water conservation.

El Nino follow up ...

While you are thinking about the possibilities, check out this Red Cross site of checklists for numerous situations, in particular:  Winter Storms, Thunderstorms, Power Outage, Earthquake and when you think you are done, check again for your littlest members of the family - Pet Safety ...

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster-safety-library

Everyone is warning us that this is an El Nino year ... Are you ready?

Don't say that nobody warned you ... We've been hearing it for weeks and a great article appeared in the LA Times about a month ago which I include for your review ...

http://www.latimes.com//home/la-hm-el-nino-20151017-story.html

5 Pros and 5 Cons of Homeowners’ Associations

Obviously, we homeowners in Desert Pride are not involved with a Homeowner's Association. Check out this article and chime in with your thoughts - POSITIVE or NEGATIVE ???

Across the U.S., homeowners’ associations are on the ascent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 59 percent of newly constructed homes in 2014 were part of a homeowners’ association. That’s up from 46 percent in 2009.

So, what’s the draw of homeowners’ associations? By the same token, what are the drawbacks?
“A well-run and managed HOA can be a blessing, and a poorly managed HOA can be a curse,” says Bruce Ailion, a broker at RE/MAX Town and Country in Woodstock, Ga.
Here, real estate agents and homeowners weigh in on the blessings and the curses of homeowners’ associations (HOAs).
Pro No. 1: Your neighborhood will look good.
Generally, an HOA establishes rules to ensure the neighborhood looks sharp, says Brad Pauly, owner and broker at Pauly Presley Realty in Austin, Texas. These include strict guidelines about keeping lawns manicured, restrictions on parking boats and other large vehicles on the street, and limitations on exterior paint colors.
“This type of oversight eliminates issues with one or two properties weighing down all property values due to an unpleasant exterior,” says John Lyons, a broker with Baird & Warner in Chicago.
Pro No. 2: You’ll enjoy access to amenities.
An HOA usually offers community amenities such as a pool, a fitness center, parks, children’s play areas and security gates, Pauly says.
Pro No. 3: Your maintenance costs will be shared.
HOA dues are earmarked for maintenance of shared spaces, according to Lyons. This includes community lawn care (but not for your own yard), community snow removal (but not for your own property) and upkeep of common areas like the pool or the fitness center.
Pro No. 4: You’ve got a built-in mediator.
Involved in a tiff with your neighbor over that big oak tree that’s losing limbs? You can settle some confrontations with your neighbors by taking your grievances to the HOA’s board or management company, Lyons says.
Pro No. 5: You can get to know your neighbors.
Gina Estrada, who lives in a gated HOA community in Clovis, Calif., says that if you’re elected to serve on the HOA board or are otherwise active in the association, you’ll become better acquainted with your neighbors. Heck, you might even make some new friends. “I believe we should know our surroundings, including the people in them,” Estrada says.
Con No. 1: You’ll fork over HOA dues.
When buying a home in a community with an HOA, you’ve got to add HOA dues to your budget. The dues vary, but typically run in the hundreds of dollars per month.
Con No. 2: Your hands will be (somewhat) tied.
If someone buys a home in an HOA community and wants to make changes to the property, such as the addition of an enclosed patio, it normally must be approved by the HOA’s board. “It’s possible that an HOA could prevent certain updates on a home,” Pauly says.
Con No. 3: You might be hampered by an HOA’s financial woes.
If an HOA is facing financial problems or is ensnared in a lawsuit, it could harm your ability to obtain a loan for a home and could hurt sale prices of homes in the community, Pauly says.
Con No. 4: You’ll lose some of your freedom.
When you live in a community governed by a HOA, you’ll have to follow its rules, even if you think they’re ridiculous, Lyons says.
“You do, however, have the option of petitioning the homeowners’ association to change any rule you don’t agree with. But if you lose, you will have to live with it,” Lyons says.
Con No. 5: You might be the victim of a “rogue” board member.
Estrada says her HOA elected a “rogue” homeowner to the board who decided to flaunt the rules and do whatever he wanted. For instance, Estrada says, the rogue board member thought the community needed speed bumps to slow down speeding drivers, so he had them installed. That move caused a neighborhood uproar. The process to take out the speed bumps and remove the rogue homeowner from the board cost several thousand dollars, including legal fees, she says.
“When there is one rogue homeowner, it can really mess things up,” Estrada says.
Problems also arise when homeowners stop attending HOA meetings, Estrada says, and it’s left to a small group of people to make decisions.
“The board of directors is made up of your neighbors. If you want to have a say in how things go, you have to serve on the board,” says Ailion.
Original posting on October 15, 2015 by John Egan

Concerts coming to old Sam's Club - LQ

I've been contacted by a number of people who were either excited by or a bit concerned about the possibility of 3 concerts to be held at the old Sam's Club site in La Quinta in April, 2016. Two of the three are scheduled for the Thursday before each CoachellaFest weekend and the third is the Thursday before Stagecoach starts ... The news first hit a few weeks ago on the news:

http://www.kesq.com/news/la-quinta-waiting-for-more-information-from-coachella-valley-windup/35829096

Can the City and Businesses use the money?
Is the City's profit going to exceed the manpower to oversee the event?
The concert would appear to be inside ... any concerns over noise?
Do the hours of the concerts concern you? (9:30 pm - 4:30 am)
What about parking, probably not a problem considering the hours or ?
Where are 10,300 people plus crew/staff going to go at 4:30 in the morning?
Will the streets be clear by regular business hours Friday morning?
It's not a big deal because they're piggybacked onto Coachella and Stagecoach?

These are just a sampling of questions/comments from these folks. Do you have any thoughts to share???

AYSO Event and Parking in Desert Pride

I just saw this posting in Next Door Neighbor and wanted to share with everyone in Desert Pride who has not yet signed up for Next Door Neighbor (BTW, if interested - email me Roger@RogerASullivan.com) Here's the article ...


La Quinta has issued a special use permit to the AYSO for use of La Quinta Park (Blackhawk Way) for a Halloween Carnival on October 23, 24, and 25. There was an ad in the LQ Gem. For those who live just north of the park, as I do, I was concerned about people parking in our neighborhood and walking through the water basin to the event. There are already over 3,000 likes on their facebook page so it might be a big event.

I contacted the event manager through their facebook page @facebook/halloweencarnivalandpumpkinpatch. His name is Robert and he assured me that they would not permit those in attendance to park in the neighborhoods just north of the park if they do not live in those neighborhoods. If anyone else is concerned about this, I would encourage you to contact him via private message on the facebook event page.