Well that is not really how the saying goes, but if you are looking for a yummy treat for your sweet valentine or special occasion, check out , locally owned, California Sungold Pistachios.

This family run business began as an investment dream and evolved into a way of life.  While gainfully employed in the dairy field and as a teacher, Rick and Demetra Chamberlain purchased 20 acres of pistachio trees in 1983. 

Upon harvesting their first crop, they quickly realized that they would not be able to make their first mortgage payment.  After hand packaging their delicious nuts, they hit the road to sell their goods.  Their successful travels evolved into a full time successful business.

The company is currently boasting 70 acres of pistachios trees.  Their warehouse is located in the town of Oakhurst, where they package, store and ship their products.  Many products selections are available for your eating pleasure.  Enjoy bags of delicious pistachios, chocolate covered fruit, caramel corn, gourmet almonds, and chocolate espresso beans.  Don’t forget to check out their gift baskets and gift sets.

Local residents will also enjoy free delivery and those ordering 10 or more items will receive an additional 10% discount.  For more information visit their website at www.californiasungold.com or call (559) 676-7848.
 

E-Waste is described as electronics that have little or no further value to the consumer or business.  From VCR’s, televisions, compact disk players, cell phones to computers, etc.  It is the fastest growing solid waste generated in the United States.   Every holiday Americans receive wonderful updated electronics during the holiday season.

Environmentalists wonder where all of the old equipment will go.  Landfills are filling up nationwide.  These electronics contain harmful components that are terrible for the environment when deposited in landfills.  

E-waste creates a burden on landfills.  Toxic substances can leach into the groundwater and soil.  Harmful substances like copper, lead, mercury, arsenic, PCB’s, zinc, cadmium and nickel can be found in electronic devices. Because of the dangers, it is illegal in California to dispose of these items in landfills.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some manufactures, retailers and service providers offer recycling of e-waste for free or for a minimal charge.  Many of the components can be easily recycled into other items for the consumer.

There are efforts begin made to ensure that harmful substances do not get deposited in any landfill and Oakhurst is jumping on board as well.  The Oakhurst Chamber of Commerce has scheduled two days to deposit your unwanted electronics.  Saturday, January 5th, and Sunday January 6th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can rid yourself of these unwanted items.  There are no limitations to the amount of items that you can bring.  Collection is being taken at the Chamber parking lot, next to the library.  For more information, call (559) 683-7766.

In continuation from Friday’s post….

Consider combining your balances from all of your credit cards into a consolidation loan or putting all of your debt on one card. This way, you will be able to make larger lump sum payments. Making smaller payments to several cards will take you longer to get out of debt. It is also not as daunting having only one payment to make instead of many. If you cannot combine your debt, then make large payments to your highest interest rate credit card, and minimum payments to your lower interest rate credit cards, until your debt is paid in full.

Do not add more debt to what you currently owe. Put away or cut up your credit cards. Think how every $50 you charge is another monthly payment that you must pay back.

Always pay more than the minimum payments. How sad to look back 20 years from now and realize that you are still paying for Aunt Dolly’s fuzzy robe and slippers. Give till it hurts. It will make you proud to see that balance drifting away!

Try to reduce your interest rate. Many banking institutions are willing to negotiate your rate once they know that you might be having trouble. They would rather keep you as a customer, with you paying some interest, rather than Charging Off your debt and then having nothing in return. Of course they are always hopeful that you might want to charge some more too.

Return unused purchases. Don’t let them lay around the house. If you don’t need them, take them back. You will appreciate the credit issued on your credit card more than the clutter in your closet.

Keep track of how you are doing. Log your payments. One of the biggest motivators is to see that debt going away. In time, and with careful planning, you will be free of all of your credit card worries.

Christmas and Hanukah are now over.  Your guests have gone home.  Many people experience the post holiday blues.  One reason you might be feeling a bit down is knowing that those credit card bills will be rolling in soon.

A small amount credit card debt can be good to have.  It helps to keep your FICO credit score in a positive place.  Unfortunately many American’s carry too much credit card debt.  The average American has $9205 on their credit cards.  This is triple what the amount was in 1990.  The holiday season does not help, as shoppers will be driving those totals up even higher.

Nationwide, foreclosures and bankruptcy are up.  It is important that consumers pay more than the minimum payment on their credit cards to get out of debt.  Take into consideration, that if you pay the minimum payment on $1000, it will take you almost 22 years to pay it off.
 
Here are some steps you can take to become debt free.

Firstly, don’t ignore the bills as they come in.  It might seem easy to pretend that they do not exist, but ignoring them will only make matters worse.  Once creditors add late fees, plus interest, plus potentially raise your current interest rate, you will find that it will be more difficult to get out of this financial suicide.  Don’t forget that creditors will report all late payments to Credit Reporting Agencies once they are 30 days late.

Check back on Monday for the continuation of this post.

If you are looking for a wonderful place to celebrate the New Year, consider dining at Three Sisters Café.  They are currently accepting reservations for the 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. seating times.  Dinners are $65 per person and will include your choice of delicious meal selections.   The menu choices are:

Veal Chop with Brandied Morel Cream

Roasted Stuffed Breast of Chicken

Broiled Filet with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Grilled Halibut with Papaya Chutney

Your New Year’s dinner will also include a glass of champagne and the chef’s special dessert.

This wonderful restaurant boasts Chef Richard Beyerl, who was named one of “America’s Outstanding Chefs” by the National Registry, Chefs in America.  He was also selected by “Sterling’s Who’s Who“, for his high standards.

If you are unable to enjoy their special New Year’s dinner, you will surely enjoy the breakfast menu which includes Crepes, German specialties, as well as traditional breakfasts.  Diners can also feast on their delicious lunch menu featuring Crepes, salads, sandwiches, Panini’s and various seafood choices.

The Three Sisters Café considers itself “a charming San Francisco Cafe serving professionally crafted sauces and creative entrees”.  They are located minutes from Yosemite National Park.  Their display of beef, pork, lamb, fish, and pasta; as well as vegan and vegetarian dishes are sure to delight all types of taste buds.

The Three Sisters Café is located at 40291 Junction Drive, Oakhurst, 93644.  To make your reservations, call (559) 642-2253.

If you’re in business (and even if you’re not) you know that China is fast becoming a leader on the world economic stage. In March 2007 the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored a trip to China and the chamber is planning to return to China in October 2008. If you want to go, you should make arrangements now so that you can be prepared and have everything in place, as space is limited.

The price of the trip is $1,499 per person. This price takes into account double-occupancy and includes round trip airfare, the costs of staying at a 4 or 5-star hotel, tour bus, tour guides, 3 meals per day, entrance fees for attractions and taxes. You will truly get your money’s worth and then some on this trip. You can get a single room for $450 more. If you want to take a business class flight (round trip) add $4,500 to the original price.

Participants are responsible for making sure their passports are up to date. You must register for the trip by 8/1/08 and a registration fee of $200 is due at the time of registration.

To get an information packet about this exciting trip, call the Chamber at 559-683-7766.

Forming and leading a championship power agent team can be quite a challenge, but it is well within the realm of most ambitious and talented agents. With the right information and some hard work and determination, you can build a team that will more than pay for itself by generating substantial revenue and freeing you up to pursue other opportunities—both personal and professional.

In this session, John Featherston, President & CEO of RISMedia, teams up with Agent Team Coach Ralph R. Roberts and a panel of the top Power Team Leaders from across
North America to reveal what it takes to build and manage a highly successful power agent team.Topics they will address include the following:

• - Structuring your team, from simple agent-assistant teams to more robust teams consisting of listing agents, buyer’s agents, closing coordinators, and more
• - Identifying your needs
• - Recruiting the right talent
• - Transitioning from independent agent to Power Agent Team Leader
• - Mastering the art of delegating
• - Supplying your team with the tools and technologies to succeed
• - Training new team members
• - Keeping the team on track with weekly meetings
• - Compensating your team to ensure maximum productivity
• - Avoiding and resolving conflicts among team members
• - Marketing your team to build a strong brand presence
• - Identifying new opportunities and adding new teams
• - Overcoming the top challenges to operating a successful agent team

This session will also touch on advanced topics of how to promote and expand your agent team:

• - Generating ever-increasing leads through R-Commerce
• - Streamlining operations with the latest technology
• - Building trust through communities with social media and blogging
• - Expanding your talent pool and scaling your business with virtual assistants
  
  

Moderator & Panelists:

Moderator: John Featherston, President and CEO, RISMedia
Agent Team Coach: Ralph R. Roberts

Panelists:

Brandon Fairbanks, Broker/Owner, Montecino & Associates Real Estate
Domenic Manchisi, Team Leader, Prudential Towne Centre Realty
Chip Neumann, Partner, Neumann Real Estate
Wayne Turner, Broker/Owner, Wayne Turner Real Estate Company
Michelle Turner, Second in Command, Wayne Turner Real Estate Company

Donald Trump appears to have his eyes on the central valley and Running Horse may be the perfect development in need of such a name and reputation. The failed Running Horse development was auctioned off this last week and purchased by La Jolla Loans whom originally financed the project. The City of Fresno will negotiate the purchase of Running Horse and would like to sell it to Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is now in process of organizing his team to build and complete the project. I am excited to hear of the Trump organization showing an interest in the Central Valley and hope to see Mr. Trump show an interest in future developments in Fresno and Madera Counties. To keep up to date on this development and for information on how to purchase a Trump property in Running Horse just visit this blog regularly for the latest news and information.

The Next Oakhurst Chamber’s After Hours Business Expo is going to be held on Thursday, October 25, 2007 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. at the Yosemite Gateway Board of Realtors on Junction Drive in Oakhurst.

There will be trade show boot displays available for interested vendors to interact face to face with attendees. To meet demand, companies can also make their presence know by attending virtually, through a video display on your business. Normally the Chamber’s Expos Trade Shows sell out early and there is not enough space to host all businesses who are interested in participating.

It’s no wonder that small businesses are growing by leaps and bounds in the county. There are about 2000 non-farm establishments in the county and about 25% of them are women owned. For more facts on business growth, visit these two website links.

This is just one of the many ways that the Chamber encourages people and businesses in Madera County to shop locally. This is a great place to make connections and discover new local companies with great products and services. This is a great place to discover the new businesses and entrepreneurs. For more information, contact Katie at the Oakhurst Chamber at 559-683-7766 or visit the Chamber’s website at
http://www.oakhurstchamber.com.

The good news is that this smoking ban could spur home sales over the next 14 months, as people try to reclaim their privacy and autonomy. But for others, especially those who cannot move, buy or sell a home easily, it could be a hardship and a financial nightmare. They may not be able to get the right price on their condo, or they may have to by a detached home, typically more expensive than a condo. They have to absorb moving costs and other relocation costs, which could be a financial hardship at this time.

It will be interesting to see if other communities around California and the country follow suit, enacting and enforcing stricter smoking bans. We’d like to know what you think about the smoking ban. Is it good or bad? Fair? Needed? Is government over-stepping? What will the economic impact be, on shops and restaurants? How will this impact your family and your lifestyle?

A number of cities around the country have instituted smoking ban in bars and restaurants. Most restaurants in Washington DC, for instance, have experience a 10% to 50% drop in customer volume and receipts. It varies by establishment, season, and day of the week and time of day. in nice weather, the smokers can still manage. Understandably, smoking customers may now drink and dine elsewhere. Or they may not linger as long over a meal or dessert as they used to. Either way, many establishments are feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks.

Please feel free to share your comments here on how you think the smoking ban could affect you if it were adopted in Madera County.

Madera County’s position on smoking in public spaces and places can be found here.

The county sponsors “Smoke Free Work Place” training and outreach, and efforts to keep youth from smoking.