Manufactured Home Fire Safety Myth vs. Reality
Truth be told, manufactured homes are safer than the conOn May 23, a manufactured stant myth that surrounds them home at Palm Desert Greens about fire safety. caught fire. Thankfully no one Myth: There is a traditional was injured; however, the bil- perception that manufactured lowing black smoke was seen housing is more vulnerable to for miles. For those who live in fire than other forms of singlemanufactured homes, it was a family housing. stark reminder of how quickly our homes may go up in smoke. Reality: The fact is that manufacBy Françoise Rhodes, Editor
Before Changing Your Lawn - pg.4
tured homes are no more prone to fire than site-built homes, according to an annual report released by the Oklahoma State Fire Marshall’s office. Similar studies have echoed the above statement when a national fire safety study conducted by the Foremost Insurance Company shows that site-built homes are more than twice as likely to
Read To The Rhythm - pg.8
experience a fire than manufactured homes. According to this study, the number of home fires is 17 per 1,000 for site-built homes while only eight per 1,000 for manufactured homes. What caused the improved fire safety of manufactured homes? Strict construction standards. Continued on page 12
Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe - pg.9
Editor’s Inbox
Notes from the Editor
Dear Francoise, What happened to the Brain Teaser in the last issue? Jack R., Palm Desert CA Well Jack, you got me on that one. I could easily come up with a story about how making sure all the articles I wanted in the paper where in place (which is always true), however in this case I simply forgot!!
If you didn’t know by now, it’s Restaurant Week until June 7. I call it the “Dream week for foodies” because it is the perfect excuse to try new restaurants throughout the CV. Over 70 restaurants are participating and it’s simple. Go to www.palmspringsrestaurantweek.com for a list of participating diners. Each restaurant offers two three course meals; one priced at $26 the other at $38. Look at the menu and decide, drinks and gratuity are not included. The food is plentiful and delicious.
The Brain Teaser is one of those things that I become immersed in when searching for a teaser that is difficult, but not too difficult to where I don’t understand it (there are a lot of those in cyberspace). Glad you missed it, and enjoy the puzzler in this issue.
With that said, fires are a sobering fact no matter where you live. Recently there was a fire in a local MH community; this started me thinking about manufactured homes and fires. I’m hoping the cover story will shed some light on the myth and the realty of manufactured home fires.
Regards, Françoise
Have a great week and eat up!! I certainly will;-))
PS. Do we have any jigsaw puzzle solvers out there? Is so please
** Don’t forget, the DMHN is now online at www.desertmobilehomenews.com.**
send me a photo of your latest work to post in the paper.
Send notes to the Editor to: Françoise Rhodes - Editor/Desert Mobile Home News Mail: 41-995 Boardwalk, Suite L2 , Palm Desert CA 92211 Email: news@dmhnews.com or Fax: (760) 776-5733
Françoise Rhodes news@dmhnews.com
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June 4, 2015
Shrewd Bond Refinancing In Indian Wells The Successor Agency of the former Indian Wells Redevelopment Agency has adopted Resolution Bill SA No. 2015-03 authorizing the issuance of Series 2015 Refunding Bonds. This refinancing strategy has the potential to save the City of Indian Wells up to $2.5 million, depending on bond market conditions and Federal Reserve policy in July of 2015. “One of the City’s primary goals
in the short- and long-term is to continually enhance the City’s financial condition,” says Indian Wells City Manager Wade McKinney. “This bond refinancing initiative will result in significant debt service savings for the Successor Agency and City.” City of Indian Wells 44-950 Eldorado Drive Indian Wells, CA 92210-7497 T. 760.346.2489 F. 760.346.0407
BRAIN TEASER
ANSWER ON PAGE 14
Puzzle: Please pick the piece that’s missing from the diagram on the left.
June 4, 2015
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Before Making Drastic Changes To Your Lawn And Landscape: Six Tips To Consider enjoy backyard barbecues with friends and family? Is your yard a restful oasis or a play area for children and pets?
The water crisis facing California is serious and carries imminent environmental, financial and human impacts. Cash incentives are being used in some areas to get homeowners to voluntarily give up their lawns. Before making drastic changes to your lawn and landscape, the National Association of Landscape Professionals offers the following tips to help home and business owners make smart decisions: Tip #1: Evaluate what you have. Some elements in your landscape may already be drought-friendly, but you may need to change others. Calculate how much water you are using now and how frequently you are watering. Tip #2: Consider the environmental and human impacts.
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Tip #5: Seek the advice of lawn and landscape professionals. With a variety of different rules and restrictions at the state and local level, it is important to make sure you are making changes that are in line with the regulations. Lawns and landscapes offer benefits that mitigate drought impacts. Grass cools the air around a home or building, reduces pollution, limits heat islands, suppresses dust, controls soil erosion and sequesters carbon.
green, it may be dying. Grass actually goes into a dormant state during a drought. It may look brown, but it’s not dead. If the crowns and root system are intact and have adequate moisture, grass can sustain itself.
Tip #6: Install drought-friendly landscaping and change your watering practices. There are many ways to make a landscape drought-friendly, enjoyable and useful.
Find a landscape professionTip #3: Educate yourself. Most Tip #4: Think about how you al and get more tips on www. people over water their lawns intend to use your lawn or land- loveyourlandscape.com and assume that if grass is not scape moving forward. Do you
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June 4, 2015
Is Your Manufactured Home Skirting Ventilated? Ventilation of the crawl space is just as important for a manufactured home as a site-built home, and lack of ventilation causes similar problems to both: wood rot of the floor framing, warped floor boards, and mold growth.
the home. Skirting with built-in ventilation holes is available or you can install solid decorative skirting, such as simulated brick or rock, and cut-in the required vents at regular intervals. The ventilation openings should be evenly distributed on all four sides of the home to get the necessary cross-ventilation air flow. Also, be sure to place a vent within 3-feet of each corner to prevent any “dead air” pockets in the corners, and don’t block the vents with stored items in front of them later.
The skirting itself is necessary for two reasons: to keep rodents and other nuisance animals out of the crawl space and because mortgage lenders require it as prerequisite for loan approval. But air flow through the skirting is necessary to carry away the moisture that is constantly rising out of the soil While skirting ventilation is under the home. important, it’s just one part of The standard prescription for keeping the underside of a manventilation is one square inch ufactured home dry and secure. of ventilation opening for every square foot of floor space of Continued on page 10
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FREE Movie Of The Week The Mizell Center welcomes everyone to June’s Movie of the Week featuring some of your favorite stars. We are featuring films starring James Earl Jones, Michael Keaton, Robin Williams . . . and more. Movie of the Week is every Thursday at 10:00 AM. The Movies are free and so is the popcorn!! Come on down and enjoy a movie...and have a delicious lunch afterwards. June 11 - Multiplicity Burdened with too much to do and too little time, Doug Kinney resorts to cloning himself to meet both his career and family obligations. His solution succeeds at first, but matters deteriorate once the clones begin thinking for themselves. Cast: Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell.
perated spouse (Sally Field), is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job - disguised as an English nanny. Cast: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan. June 25 - Man’s Favorite Sport In this entertaining 1960s comedy, Rock Hudson plays Roger Willoughby, a fishing gear salesman for Abercrombie & Fitch who’s ordered by his boss to participate in a fishing competition. There’s only one problem: Roger’s never worked a rod and reel in his life! But he goes along with the charade, until he meets the beautiful Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) and becomes involved in a sport of a very different kind. Cast: Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss.
June 18 - Mrs. Doubtfire Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard (Robin Wil- For information, call Mizell at liams), estranged from his exas- 760-323-5689.
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June 4, 2015
Bike Donation Drive For Boys & Girls Clubs The City of Palm Springs’ Office of Sustainability, in cooperation with the Active Transportation Committee and Coachella Valley Bicycle Coalition, kicked off its annual bike donation drive happening now through June 20 as part of their Bike Month nonmotorized transportation initiative. The Boys and Girls Club of Palm Springs and the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella Valley in Mecca will be the recipients of the donated bicycles. As an initial boost to the donation drive Trek Bikes has given a $3,000 donation to purchase new bicycles.
The goal for the bike donation drive is 30-40 new bikes and 50-60 used bikes, which will be distributed between the two organizations. The following breakdown illustrates the needs of the two boys and girls clubs. In an effort to make drop-off locations more accessible, these are the sites throughout the Coachella Valley that will be accepting bicycles through June 20. Hot Purple Energy 810 Farrell Drive, Palm Springs
Palm Springs Cyclery 611 South Palm Canyon Drive, A key component of the pro- Palm Springs gram is to also provide helmets Palm Desert Cyclery and locks for each bike to ensure 77750 Country Club Drive, not only the safety of the rider, Palm Desert but of the bikes themselves. Each bicycle recipient (child and SunLine Transit Agency guardian) will be given a safety 32-505 Harry Oliver Trail, Thousand Palms and education tutorial.
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READ To The RHYTHM At The Palm Springs Public Library prevent summer learning loss! Registration begins at the Library on Monday, June 1, 2015 and the program will continue through July 23rd. Offering something for everyone in the family, there is a program for every age; Youth: Pre-K – 5th grade, Teens: 6th – 12th grade, and even adults! The theme for this year’s eight-week program is READ TO THE RHYTHM! Students that are registered and check-in weekly at the Library will receive a weekly It’s almost summertime and gift. There will also be spethat means it’s time for Sum- cial performers every week for mer Reading at the Palm each age group, a 5-Book ReadSprings Public Library! Re- ing Challenge, and a weekly search has shown that when prize bag drawing. Adults will young people aren’t engaged in play Book Bingo and can ateducational activities during tend Tuesday afternoon movie the summer, they experience musical screenings and some learning loss. Reading just five Wednesday evening lectures books over the summer can about Native American Bird
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Singing and Dancing, Key Players in Rock N’Roll, and a nostalgic look back at Big Band Era films.
programs including the steel drums, dance performers, pop star picture day and creating their own guitar picks.
Wednesday afternoons are for Youth (grades Pre-K-5) and will feature magicians, puppet shows, special musical shows and more! On Thursdays Teens (grades 6-12) will enjoy many
The Library is located at 300 S. Sunrise Way, on the corner of Sunrise Way and Baristo Road. For more information call 760322-READ or log on to www. palmspringslibrary.org.
SURVEY SAYS! Percentage who believe some finances should remain private, even from spouse/partner, by age groups.
29% ~ 18 - 34 32% ~ 35 - 44 22% ~ 45 - 54 46% ~ 55 - 64 51% ~ 65 and older Source: National endowment for Financial Education
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June 4, 2015
Chinese Chicken Salad with Red Chile Peanut Dressing
INGREDIENTS • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar • 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger • 2 teaspoons chipotle pepper puree • 1 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon honey • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil • 1/2 cup canola oil • Salt and freshly ground pepper • 1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded • 1/2 head romaine lettuce, shredded • 2 carrots, shredded • 1/4 pound snow peas, julienned • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion • 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken • 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves • Chili oil, optional • Grilled lime halves, for garnish
DIRECTIONS 1. Whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, chipotle pepper puree, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and canola oil in a medium bowl. 2. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 3. Combine cabbage, lettuce, carrots, snow peas, cilantro, and green onion in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine. 4. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the shredded chicken, chopped peanuts, and mint. 5. Drizzle with chili oil, if desired. Garnish with grilled lime halves. **Send your favorite recipe to the editor and if published, win a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant. news@dmhnews.com
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New Preschool And Multi-Purpose Hall Breaks Ground On June 3, 2015 Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and Preschool in Indio celebrated the groundbreaking of its new preschool building and multi-purpose hall located at 82-470 Bliss Avenue in Indio, CA. The kick-off of this new construction project comes on the heels of the school’s major yearly fundraiser, Night at the Races, which raised over $30,000 for Continued from page 5 Experts recommend that you check the crawl space regularly, looking for any of these potential problems: 1. A clothes dryer vent that terminates under the home dramatically raises humidity levels. Make sure the dryer vent duct has a louvered termination panel at skirting or beyond, and that there are not tears in the duct run.
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the local Catholic school. Proceeds go toward maintenance and operations, including textbooks and instructional materials, computer software and technology upgrades, professional staff development, and tuition assistance.
and Preschool. “In the midst of many Catholic school closures throughout the nation, this is our second major construction project in 10 years, thanks to the generosity of local benefactors. We are truly blessed to have the support of the community.”
“The support of the community is vital to our ability to thrive,” said Diane Arias, Principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School
Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and Preschool is a privately-funded, local parochial school with a long tradition of
2. Tears in the belly board (also called belly wrap, which is the plastic sheet that seals the underside of the home) leave the home open to moisture intrusion coming up through the floor. Open the skirting at a few points around the perimeter, and do a quick scan of the underside of the home with a flashlight.
Big water pipe leaks make a mess quickly and get noticed right away. But a pinhole leak can go unnoticed for months, while soaking the insulation under the floor and slowly spreading.
providing a faith-based education to Coachella Valley children since 1951. The school provides an accredited education to 261 students in its preschool program and grades K-8. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School and Preschool are a nonprofit organization. More information about the school can be found at olphschoolindio.com.
skirting zipped up.
5. Bad site drainage can make the ground under a home muddy or, even worse, allow ponds to form during the rainy season. A properly graded site, with 4. Gaps in the skirting, sizable the ground sloping away from damage holes, or an access the crawl space on all sides, hatch that is left ajar will al- is important. If you find that low critters under home that the ground under your home pull down areas of belly board remains wet for long periods, 3. A plumbing leak can also and insulation, along with consult a professional contraccause problems under the home. damaging ducts. Keep the tor for a solution.
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June 4, 2015
PUZZLES & HOROSCOPE
Answers: Sodoku, p.15, Crossword, p.15
HOROSCOPE • JUNE 4 - JUNE 10 ARIES (March 21-April 19). Telling the truth keeps things simple. But which truth should you tell? There are many angles you could take on the matter at hand. Consider saying nothing at all, at least until your feelings have settled.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There are many ways to cultivate good fortune, the most effective of which is to embody it. When you think of yourself as a genie in service to others, you’ll bring upon yourself a most auspicious energy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Today your tendency is to grip the controls harder than is necessary. This limits your range of motion and puts a damper on your response time. If you took your hands off the controls for a minute, what would happen?
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You see the potential in others. Be careful. Potential is not reality. Don’t let the blind spot caused by hope and kindness keep you from moving toward more opportune situations.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Enjoy this balanced moment of life. There’s less friction around you now that you’ve resolved your feelings about a certain someone. Still, there’s not enough peace in the atmosphere for things to be boring! CANCER (June 22-July 22). If you could move, where would you go? You probably won’t go there anytime soon, but there are elements of this place you could bring into your life now, and the emotional benefits would be fortifying. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Relationships need the right spatial balance. Too much closeness fast-tracks you to boring-land. Too much distance, and the relationship lacks momentum. Merely being aware of this will help you find the optimum spacing. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re ready for the kind of challenge that will make you think deeply. This could come in the form of a difficult job, an impossible person or a heady piece of writing.
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). No one is saintly all the time, not even the actual saints. To be human is to make mistakes often, sometimes massively. Cultivating a kinder, gentler inner voice is the order of the day. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). If you find yourself alone, you won’t be for long. Your creative mind is like a beacon to other creative minds, and they’ll find you in even the most uninspiring of environments. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You don’t have to fret over appearances. You’ve already put so much energy into learning how to best present yourself and your work that it is now second nature for you to make a stellar impression. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The destination is unclear. The end-goal is changing. These are good reasons to slow down. If you don’t know where you’re going, there’s no sense in setting a speed record to get there.
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Continued from cover
dicates that HUD standards, adopted in 1976, have a positive effect on fire safety in manufactured housing. When construction methods and standards are considered, there appears to be a distinct and safe advantage to living in a factory-built home.
without passage through other doors. Site-built homes are required to have only one exterior door and no “reachability” requirement.
has a greater chance of becoming a “total fire” because of the increased amount of time needed for fire equipment to reach the home.
Even though the frequency of manufactured home fires is less than that of site-built homes, Some resistant features of the the manufactured home fire HUD code include strict stan- is usually more severe because dards for flame spread and manufactured homes tend to smoke generation in materials. be smaller properties than other Also egress windows in all bed- homes. With room sizes being rooms, smoke detectors, and much smaller, fires can spread Why? Manufactured homes are at least two exterior lockable more quickly. Another explathe only homes with a national doors, which must be remote nation is location, a manufacbuilding code. The fire study in- from each other and reachable tured home fire in a rural area
So remember to use common sense, make sure all of your smoke alarms are working, never leave burning candles unattended, and keep space heaters at least three feet from the wall. For more fire safety tips visit http://www.nfpa.org/safetyinformation/for-consumers/ escape-planning/fire-safety-inmanufactured-homes.
An in-depth study into the fire frequencies of manufactured homes built before the advent of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) construction and safety standards, as well as homes built after the standards went into effect in 1976 found that post-HUD constructed manufactured homes burn less often and have lower fire losses than pre-HUD homes.
Friends Of The Desert Mountains Hike Upper Elevation Hike: Ernie Maxwell Trail Saturday, June 6, 2015 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM Interpretive hike led by George Raymond. This is a popular trail
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for both people and pets. Hike rating is easy to moderate, approximately 4-5 miles round trip. Elevation gain approximately 500 feet. Bring snacks and 2 liters water per person. Wear closed-toed shoes, hat, and
sunscreen. Must be 14 years old. Minors must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Limited to 20 participants. Cost: National Forest Adventure Pass ($5/day or $30/year) or Interagency Annual Pass required.
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Location: From Highway 243 in Idyllwild, head southeast on N Circle Drive. Turn right onto S Circle Drive then left on Fern Valley Road to trailhead in Humber Park. RSVP: 760-862-9984.
June 4, 2015
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DESERT MOBILE HOME NEWS
THE CLASSIFIEDS 760-776-5181
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ROOFING
Services SWAMP COOLER SERVICE WHITE REFLECTIVE ENERGY STAR* ROOFCOAT ~Low Payments~ FREE ESTIMATES Call Jim (760) 324-8385 P.S. Bus. Lic. #5581 (No State License)
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MAR-LYNNʼS UPHOLSTERY Furniture, Autos, Boats and Golf Carts. Reasonable rates. Quality Workmanship! Free estimates.
(760) 360-7918
Mobile Manufactured for Sale
Mobile Manufactured for Sale
DESERT MOBILE HOME NEWS DISCLAIMERS
GENERAL POLICY: Please check your ad the first day it runs to see that all the information is
Date Palm C.C.
correct. This will ensure your ad is exactly what you want readers to see.
Great 2Bedroom/2Bath with
Call us the very first day your ad appears to make any changes or correc-
add on enclosed sun room and
tions. This way, we can credit you for the first day if any error occurred.
private entrance. Over 1600
The publisher wants to do everything possible within the confines of good
Sq. Ft., that is on the golf
taste and legal constraints to help you advertise your products or services
course with great views.
to your best advantage. The newspaper does reserve the right to edit or
Kitchen has newer stove and
reject any copy or illustration.
above micro plus refrigerator & D/W. A great buy at only
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY:
$19,900, owner motivated.
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal
Serial#32272X/U
Fair Housing Act of 1968 as amend, which makes it illegal to ad-
Call Pat @ Maple Ridge
vertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race,
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color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertise-
SELL YOUR AUTO OR RV TODAY!
ment for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are
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NOTICE TO READERS:
hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportinity basis. To complain of discrimination, Call HUD toll-free at 1-800-424-8590
California law requires that contractors taking jobs that total $500 or more (labor or material) must be licensed by he con-
BRAIN TEASER ANSWER Puzzle Answer: Answer: C 14
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tractors state license board. State law also requires that contractors include their license number on all advertising. you can check the status of your licensed contractors at www.cslb. ca.gov or 1-800-321-CSLB. Unlicensed contractors taking jobs that total less than $500 must state in their advertisements that are not licensed by the contractors state licensed board.
June 4, 2015
Desert Mobile Home News
June 4, 2015
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The Classifieds PUZZLE ANSWER
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