Modified Phase II Water Restrictions

July 11, 2007
South Florida Water Management District

Covering Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Martin Counties:

• All landscape irrigation is restricted to two days per week.
• For properties with less than five acres:
  • Odd-numbered addresses may water from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
  • Even-numbered addresses may water from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays.
  • Installations which irrigate both odd and even addresses, including multifamily complexes, may water from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. Low-volume hand-watering is also permitted from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on designated irrigation days.
• For properties with more than five acres:
  • Odd-numbered addresses may water from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
  • Even-numbered addresses may water from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays.
  • Installations which irrigate both odd and even addresses, including multifamily complexes, may water from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m., two days per week, on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays or Sundays. Low-volume hand-watering is permitted from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on designated irrigation days.
• For new landscaping: Plantings that have been in place up to 30 days, on properties less than 5 acres, can be watered from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. every day except Fridays.
  • On properties more than 5 acres, irrigation is permitted from 12:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. every day except Fridays.
  • Plantings that have been in place between 30 and 60 days, on properties less than
    5 acres, can be watered from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays
    and Thursdays. On properties more than 5 acres, irrigation is permitted from 12:01
    a.m. to 8 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Home Security - Industry Statistics

NBFAA - Electronic Life Safety, Security & Systems Professionals
www.alarm.org

Source: Simon Hakim, Temple University, 215-204-7476

Where Burglars Enter a House...
One survey in Pennsylvania showed that 81 percent of residential intrusions occur through the first floor. 34 percent of burglars entered through the front door;23 percent through a first-floor window; 22 percent through the back door; 9 percent through the garage; 4 percent entered through a basement;4 percent through an unlocked entrance; 2 percent through a storage area;and only 2 percent entered anywhere on the second floor. A study in Connecticut showed that 12 percent of burglaries occurred through an UNLOCKED door and that in 41 percent of alarmed homes that were burglarized, the security system was not turned on.
Source: Simon Hakim, Temple University, 215-204-7476

Police Believe Security Systems Reduce Burglaries...
90 percent of police believe alarms deter burglary attempts.
Source: STAT Resources, Inc., Boston, Mass., 617-734-2000

In 1994, the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a Board Resolution stating that professionally installed and monitored alarm systems are useful instruments to deter crime and provide peace of mind for residential and business owners. The organization also pledged to work with the alarm industry to help reduce the problem of false alarms.

Source: International Assoc. of Chiefs of Police, Alexandria, Va., 703-836-6767

Family Disaster Planning Website - State of Florida

FloridaDisaster.org/family

For a few moments on the Florida Disaster website , you will be asked to provide information about your home, family, and pets. Using the information you provide, this website will create a personalized Family Disaster Plan that you can print out and save for future emergencies. Included in your plan will be:

• Recommended amounts of food and water based on your family information.
• Contact information for your local emergency responders and maps of your local Evacuation Zones
• Checklists of important steps to take before, during, and after a disaster!

Remember, the best way to make your family and home safer is to be prepared before a disaster happens.

Creating your plan is easy and only takes about 10-15 minutes. visit family disaster plan website

How Often Should My Piano Be Serviced?

1993 Piano Technicians Guild

Your piano is an investment in your future. It can bring you and your family a lifetime of music, adding immeasurable joy and beauty to your home. Since it is also such a large investment, it should be maintained with the utmost care. Regular servicing by a qualified technician will preserve your instrument and help you avoid costly repairs in the future.

Because your piano contains materials such as wood and felt, it is subject to change with climatic conditions. Extreme swings from hot to cold or dry to wet cause its materials to swell and contract, affecting tone, pitch, and action response or touch. You can reduce the severity of these effects by placing your piano near a wall away from windows or doors that are opened frequently. Avoid heating and air conditioning vents, fireplaces and areas which receive direct sunlight. Your piano will perform best under consistent conditions neither too wet nor dry, optimally at a temperature of 68 degrees F and 42 percent relative humidity.

While pianos generally fall into vertical and grand model categories, each manufacturer selects its own materials and utilizes its own unique scale and furniture designs. Every piano requires a different level of maintenance, depending upon the quality of materials used and the design and level of craftsmanship. Manufacturers can provide general advice on tuning frequency but your technician can give specific recommendations based upon your usage and locale. Here's what some of the major piano manufacturers recommend:

Steinway & Sons (also Boston & Essex)

Your Steinway piano was tuned many times before it left our factory. It was tuned to and should be maintained at A440 pitch. This is the internationally accepted standard and the standard for which all Steinway pianos are engineered.

Unfortunately, no matter how expertly a piano is tuned, atmospheric variations and the nature of the piano's construction constantly conspire to bring it off pitch.

Your Steinway has been designed and built so that in normal use and under normal conditions it should need only periodic tuning. We recommend that your technician be called at least three or four times a year. You, however, are the final judge and should have the piano tuned as often as you think necessary. To put the matter of tuning into perspective, remember that a concert piano is tuned before every performance, and a piano in a professional recording studio, where it is in constant use, is tuned three or four times each week as a matter of course.

Tuning is an art practiced by skilled professionals and under no circumstances should anyone other than a professional be allowed to tune your Steinway piano.

Yamaha Pianos

New pianos should be tuned a minimum of four times the first year to compensate for the normal settling that takes place. Subsequently, as a matter of standard maintenance, a piano should be tuned at least twice a year.

Of course, some musicians will choose to have their own piano tuned more often to satisfy their own personal musical requirements.

When your piano needs tuning, consult your authorized Yamaha piano dealer or call a skilled qualified specialist such as a Piano Technicians Guild Registered Piano Technician (RPT). View recommendations for other models or read the complete article

Mobile Repair For Dents, Scratches, and Chips On Your Cars

CCommunity Provider

Repairing the dents, scratches and chips on you car can improve the appearance and improve its overall value, whether you plan to turn-in or continue to enjoy the car. The average car can have 4-6 dents, scratches, or chips.

Bringing your car to a dealership bodyshop can be expensive and take days.

The Chip Eraser is a mobile repair service that comes to your home or place of work. The Chip Eraser will repair any chips, scratches, dents, dented bumpers, door dings etc with quality repair service, computer custom color matching, and with over 30 years of experience in quality repair work.

Professional Auto Repair - Alternative to the Expensive Dealership

CCommunity Provider

Auto Tech and Body is the alternative to high priced dealerships. Their technicians are ASE trained to work on all domestic vehicles as well as European and Asian made automobiles.

Auto Tech and Body provides certified insurance work for both body and repair. Their repair services cover regular maintenance through major repair or mechanical or electrical systems. They moved into a new state of the art 22,000 square foot facility in 2006.

Their motto is to provide quality service at competitive prices. Call them today for a free consultation or to schedule service.

Poll: Florida voters confused about referendum on property tax reform

TALLAHASSEE Whether Florida voters will approve "super-sizing" the homestead exemption next January remains an open question, according to a statewide poll that indicates the fate of the property tax cut may hinge on campaigns by Gov. Charlie Crist and other elected leaders.

A majority of likely voters support the Republican-led Legislature's plan for larger homestead exemptions, but confusion about the proposal abounds and it does not have the clear 60 percent support needed for it to be written into the state's Constitution. Read complete article

Calculate your cost/savings under the new plan with the Sun-Sentinel online calculator tool, click here.