Month: January 2012

Blu Homes Personalizes Home Design for Consumers

Las Vegas— California-based precision home builder, Blu Homes, has taken a significant step toward revolutionizing the way homes are built in the United States with the announcement that it has sold and will be manufacturing the first Blu home personalized entirely online in 3-D by a consumer.

The two-bedroom Element 48 home was designed by Cathy and Walter Pearlman, using the Blu | 3-D Configurator, bluhomes.com/configurator, which allows anyone to go online to style, visualize and spend time in their own Blu Home before it is ever built.

Blu Homes demonstrated the Configurator at the ShowStoppers @ CES 2012 media event in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Unlike conventional architectural 3-D renderings, Blu is able to connect the 3-D models created in the Configurator back to Blu’s precision-building process, creating a seamless integration between design and manufacturing and advancing construction quality significantly. Blu builds each home from the client’s 3-D custom model, using precision tooling and trained craftsman in its climate-controlled factory in Vallejo, CA.

After choosing the Element, one of Blu’s seven eco-friendly, architect-designed home designs, the Pearlmans were able to personalize everything for their new Pembroke, MA home—from exterior siding and kitchen appliances to bathroom fixtures and cabinetry finishes—all in an easy-to-use, realistic 3-D environment. The Pearlmans then sent their design to their dedicated Blu representative. After just one meeting to confirm their selections – with only one minor change to the bathroom tile – they were ready to purchase their home at a fixed, pre-agreed upon price.

“At first, designing our home online seemed so high-tech that it felt more like something our kids’ generation would do. Once we tried it ourselves, we realized how fun and easy it is—especially since everyone at Blu was standing by to help us,” said Cathy Pearlman. “It turns out designing your home online—and then having it built straight from the online designs—is something anyone can do. And getting such a high quality home at a fixed price and in such a convenient way really makes things more relaxed for us!”

“Designing and building homes has historically been an expensive, arduous and time consuming process. This is particularly true for architect-designed homes that typically require months of costly design effort and numerous in-person meetings that can be stressful for all parties,” said Bill Haney, Blu Homes co-founder and president. “With the Configurator and our proprietary IP, Blu is leveraging all of the benefits of online retail, such as lower selling costs, a more convenient shopping experience, reduced need for brick and mortar presence, and streamlined sales and building processes. At the same time, we’re investing in a world-class sales team that supports our customers through the entire process. And customers get world class design support, the tools to personally choose all the finishes for their homes all for free — and then get a fixed price for the house they have chosen!”

“We hope that many more customers will choose to save time and money by building their own eco-friendly, precision-built homes this way,” said Maura McCarthy, Blu Homes co-founder and VP, sales and marketing. “The Configurator makes everything easier for both the customer, and for Blu. The customer gets a beautiful, convenient shopping experience, while Blu gets the benefit of automatically processing customer purchase requests.”

Since its October 2011 launch, almost 6000 home designs have been saved with the Configurator. Anyone can access the Blu Configurator for free at bluhomes.com/configurator and begin customizing a Blu home today.

Blu Homes’ core design and engineering technology—and the technology behind the 3-D home designs in the Configurator—is Blu | 3-D, a proprietary design software similar to that used by automotive and aeronautical designers and engineers at companies like Boeing and Volvo. To create the Configurator, Blu Homes worked with UI experts and game developers to design a consumer-friendly user interface.

 

 

Blu Homes’ design team uses Blu | 3-D technology to design and build each home. Because it provides engineering information not often considered in architectural software – such as demands on the structures from wind, snow and seismic activity – Blu is able to achieve climate-specific engineering. That information is then automatically detailed in the building plans used in construction. This means that each home is built with remarkable precision with much lower variance allowances than in average stick-built homes.

All Blu finishes, fittings, appliances and systems are selected by Blu designers for their leading environmental performance, resulting in healthy and beautiful living spaces and high indoor air quality. Offering at least 50 percent energy savings over comparably sized existing homes, Blu homes are Energy Star rated and LEED certifiable.

For more information on Blu Homes go to bluhomes.com.

Health Department Offers Free Radon Test Kits for Homeowners

January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Radon cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled but more Vermonters than ever before can find out if it exists in their homes. The Vermont Department of Health distributed 1,700 free radon test kits to homeowners last year and has more than 3,000 free kits to give away this year.

Radon is a naturally-occurring gas that results from the breakdown of uranium in the bedrock, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking) in the United States.

“Radon causes lung cancer over a long period of time, and we know that about one in every eight Vermont homes has elevated levels of radon,” said Lori Cragin, a Health Department epidemiologist.

January is Radon Awareness Month. Because radon levels can change daily, weekly and seasonally, a long-term test of 3-12 months (ideally including a heating season) is the best way to accurately test for the gas.

Radon can get into your home from the soil. A house can act like a large chimney, with warm air rising and escaping out upper floor windows and through cracks in the attic. This creates a vacuum at the lowest level of the house, which can pull the radon from the soil into the home.

The likelihood of a radon problem cannot be predicted by the style, age, or location of a home. All homes are at risk. You cannot know the radon level in a house without testing for it. Testing is easy. Open the kit immediately and leave it in place throughout a heating season, and then mail it back to the Health Department to get your results.

Get a free kit by e-mailing radon (at) ahs.state.vt (dot) us, or call 1-800-439-8550.

Exposure to radon is preventable and fixable through proper venting techniques. If test results show high levels of radon in the air, a mitigation system can be installed at a cost of approximately $800-$2,000.

For more information about radon, radon testing and mitigation, visit the Health Department website at healthvermont.gov.

Ruidoso sees rebound in building values

By Dianne Stallings dstallings@ruidosonews.com

Building values in December for the village of Ruidoso hit more than $2 million, rebounding nicely from a sluggish November.

Although fewer permits were issued, just 65 compared to 106 the previous month, the value of the construction more than doubled from $996,347 to $2,069.394. Fees collected also increased from $15,987 to $17,839.

Permits for six single-family dwellings helped pump up the value, accounting for $1,567,478. Two were more than $350,000 each, Building Official Shawn Fort reported.

Six different contractors are handling the home building projects. They are LLB Construction, Dig It Construction, Ratliff Custom Homes, Sun Valley Home, Roper Construction and Tower Construction.

Read more online at Ruidoso News…

BLM sites could see bump in admission fees

In an effort to maintain and improve facilities and services at three popular fee sites in the Las Cruces District, officials with the Bureau of Land Management are proposing to increase visitor fees in 2012, including at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site between Carrizozo and Tularosa.

It would be the first increase at the sites since 1996, when fees first were established. The other sites being considered are the Dripping Springs Natural Area and Aguirre Spring Campground in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces. The deadline to submit comments is Jan. 23. Read more at RuidosoNews.com…

Dance, Eat, Learn, Celebrate and Be Inspired at the 1st Annual New Mexico Black History Month Festival

NM Black History Month

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The New Mexico Black History Month 2012 Organizing Committee has prepared a month of creative, educational, and engaging programming for the entire month of February. The New Mexico Black History Month 2012 Festival begins Friday, February 3 and continues until Sunday, February 26, 2012. A full calendar of events is available on the New Mexico Black History Month 2012 website, www.nmblackhistorymonth.com.

Sponsored by the City of Albuquerque, the Office of African American Affairs and Bernalillo County each event in February focuses on one of five major areas: culture, cuisine, health, positive youth development and education. The Black History Month 2012 Festival events include: “Roots Revival,” an original cabaret performance by A-list Albuquerque artists, a Cotton Club Gala sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated Albuquerque Alumnae Chapter and the New Mexico Divine Nine Council featuring Bernard Purdie and Friends; an open discussion with Vertamae Grosvenor, author of Vibration Cooking, and “Masters of Motown” featuring artists performing top hits from Motown.

Cathryn McGill, founder/director of The Black History Month 2012 Organizing Committee says of the planning efforts, “The 2012 Black History Month Festival is an opportunity to build and strengthen community from the inside out. Organizations within the African American community are historically coming together to produce a slate of activities that will be universally appealing.” Co-Chairs of the event are Gene Grant and Cecilia Webb.

The New Mexico Black History Month festival encourages New Mexicans to learn about the contributions that African-Americans have made to the state and to the nation throughout the years.  More information about dates and times of the Black History Month Festival events are located on the New Mexico Black History Month website, www.nmblackhistorymonth.com.

The mission of the New Mexico Black History Month Organizing Committee is to preserve the rich cultural heritage that African Americans have made to the state of New Mexico and the United States. The Black History Month Organizing Committee is a collaboration among organizations in Albuquerque who serve the African-American community.

New Mexico Turns 100 – The ‘Land of Enchantment’ Honored on Commemorative Forever Stamp

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE NEW MEXICO STATEHOOD STAMP
U.S. Postal Service Salutes New Mexico Statehood on new Forever Stamp. (PRNewsFoto/U.S. Postal Service)

SANTA FE, N.M. — The United States Postal Service today delivered one of the nation’s highest honors to New Mexico with the issuance of a commemorative Forever Stamp recognizing the state’s 100th anniversary.

“Known for its rich history, vibrant cultures and stunning geographic diversity, New Mexico is the ‘Land of Enchantment,'” said Mickey Barnett, vice chairman, Board of Governors. “Today, the Postal Service is proud and honored to create this lasting tribute to New Mexico through the issuance of this commemorative stamp.”

Barnett dedicated the stamp today at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.

Joining Barnett were: Susana Martinez, governor, State of New Mexico; David Coss, mayor of Santa Fe; Edward Romero, former United States Ambassador, Spain and Andorra; Veronica Gonzales, secretary of Cultural Affairs, state of New Mexico; Marie Therese Dominguez, vice president, Government Relations and Public Policy, U.S. Postal Service; and Richard Sheaff, art director.

The stamp art shows a landscape in northern New Mexico, about 65 miles northwest of Albuquerque. In this sweeping view of the high desert, junipers and pinon pines grow in the foreground. In the middle distance, the Rio Puerco courses through an arroyo, while in the background, two peaks known as Cerro de Santa Clara and Cerro de Guadalupe are silhouetted against a vast sky.

When Spanish missionaries arrived in present-day New Mexico in the 1500s, they found a region already settled by Pueblo and Navajo people. The flags of both Spain and Mexico flew over the land before it became American soil. Northern New Mexico was ceded to the U.S. in 1848 at the end of the U.S.-Mexican War. Two years later, Congress established the New Mexico Territory. English-speaking cattle ranchers, cowboys, and miners mingled with the earlier Native American and Hispanic residents to create the unique cultural diversity that characterizes New Mexico today. Even after it became a state in 1912, New Mexico retained much of its frontier and Old Mexico flavor, and Spanish and English are both widely spoken.

A resident of New Mexico for more than 35 years, artist Doug West is best known for his southwestern landscapes and skies. Art director Richard Sheaff selected one of West’s existing oil paintings for the stamp art.

New Mexico Statehood is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

The stamps go on sale today at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com and by phone at 800-782-6724.

Customers may view the New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp as well as many of this year’s other stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps , through Twitter @USPSstamps  or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark, New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

New Mexico Statehood Forever Stamp
Postmaster
120 South Federal Place
Santa Fe, NM  87501-9999

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 6, 2012.

How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly “USA Philatelic” catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
P.O. Box 219014
Kansas City, MO  64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are four philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

  • 468161, First-Day Cover, $.88.
  • 468165, Digital Color Postmark, $1.60.
  • 468191, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
  • 468199, Cancellation Keepsake (Digital Color Postmark w/Pane), $10.95.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow USPS on Twitter @USPS_PR and at Facebook.com/usps.

The Carrizozo Chamber of Commerce Invites YOU to Celebrate New Mexico’s Centennial

Take a guided Tour of Lincoln County
Friday and Saturday, January 6 and 7, 2012
New Mexico’s Centennial Tour of Lincoln County

Friday, January 6, 2012, Carrizozo, Capitan and Alto’s Spencer Theater

Saturday, January 7, Ruidoso Downs’ Coe Ranch, Lincoln and Fort Stanton

Thursday and Sunday spend time touring Ruidoso sites and general area.

Friday, January 6, 2012
The tour bus will pick up participants at their Ruidoso hotel starting at 8:30 for the drive to Carrizozo. Lincoln County resident Dennis Dunnum will be your host as he explains some of the history of the area on our drive.

Our first stop will be at The Carrizozo Woman’s Club as the members host you with a 10 am brunch* in their registered state and national historic site building. At
the brunch 93-year-old Carrizozo historian Johnson Stearns will share with you some stories of the early times here from his own personal experiences.

Next will be a visit to the Carrizozo Heritage Museum to see exhibits of old-time ranch life and browse the unique gift store full of items of all kinds
for all ages. Formerly this building housed an old ice plant, so this structure is really considered to be a pretty cool place.

From the Museum we will drive down historic 12th Street with a stop at the 408 Gallery, home of the Burros of the Southwest, and enjoy original art available from folks in Town as well as the surrounding area.

 

Then it will be on to Roy’s Gift Gallery and Olde Time Ice Cream Parlour — the other registered state and national historic site in Town. Enjoy a sample of Roy’s goods from the original fountain built in 1908 and still in operation!
* The Woman’s Club brunch will be quite filling, so there is no planned stop for lunch — only refreshments at Roy’s and a snack before our last stop of the day.

As we leave Town on Highway 54/ Central Avenue, on your right is McDonald Park named in honor of the first Governor of New Mexico, William C. McDonald. Although the Gov is honored here, his resting place is in
White Oaks at the Cedarvale Cemetery.

Capitan’s visit will feature a stop at the Smokey Bear Museum and Park where
you can see a short film about the bear’s life-saving experience and
growth into a national fire fighter. Note: it’s Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear.
As we leave Capitan, we will drive by the planned renovation of the old Capitan train depot. The final stop on our way back to Ruidoso will be a guided tour of the
Spencer Theater. The Spencer family has been longtime ranchers in the Carrizozo area, and there are several structures in and around Town that are attributed directly to their generosity and desire to help the community as they lived and worked here.

Your return to your hotel will be around 5 p.m. when you can relax and enjoy dinner on your own.

Saturday, January 7, 2012
The tour bus will pick you up again from your hotel at 8:30. If the weather is inclement, the bus will drive you to each site where possible; otherwise, please wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers for what could be a chilly, but often sunny day in this Land of Enchantment.
After a short drive to the Coe Ranch on Highway 70 east, we will stop at this landmark and hear Lincoln Historian Drew Gomber explain the history of the Lincoln County area starting with this large ranch, which is an important part of this history.

From there, we will go to the historic Town of Lincoln for Drew’s tour of various places, including the Tunstall Store and Court House. This is really Billy the Kid Country, as you will hear. You should enjoy Drew as he has ‘a million’ tales about these former locale wild westerners he will share.
Then we will proceed to Fort Stanton for a true Mexican lunch, a presentation about the Fort and a guided tour of their sites. If the weather is inclement, we will be
able to see the main areas from inside the building where lunch will be served.

Anticipated return to Ruidoso will be around 5:30 p.m. as you enjoy the rest of your time in Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs with Chambers of Commerce details on sights to enjoy.

REGISTRATION for the Guided Tour of Lincoln County
Friday, January 6, and Saturday, January 7, 2012

In Celebration of New Mexico’s Centennial Per Person Covering:

  • Bus Transportation $48 To and from hotel both days
  • Tour Guide $10 Local Carrizozoan Dennis Dunnum
  • Woman’s Club brunch $22 Full and tasty food at historic site
  • Carrizozo Museum $10 Historical presentation of ranch life
  • Roy’s Ice Cream Parlour $10 Tasty treat at second historic site
  • Smokey Bear Museum $12 Historical movie of Smokey’s life
  • Snack before Spencer $ 5 Munch on bus; sodas at Theater
  • Coe Ranch $12 Old ranch with lots of area’s history
  • Tour of Lincoln $19 Lincoln County War and Billy the Kid
  • Fort Stanton $22 Tour and lunch
  • Total Cost $170 Per Person (less hotels)

The Lodge at Sierra Blanca is offering a special room rate of
$69.00 + tax Suites $79.00 + tax Phone: (575) 258-5500
Web site: http://www.lodgeatsierrablanca.com
More information re this Chamber Tour? Call 575-973-1607 or visit http://www.ruidosonow.com/festival-of-lights/ to register today! (scroll down to Jan 6 event for form)

 

Governor Susana Martinez Unveils New Funding Formula For New Mexico’s Colleges And Universities

NM Flag

Institutions will be rewarded for graduating more students, as opposed to constructing buildings

SANTA FE – Governor Susana Martinez recently met with a large group of regents, governing board members and post-secondary institution presidents in Socorro to discuss the state’s new higher education funding formula.

The new formula will reward New Mexico’s higher learning institutions based on outcome measures that reflect student achievement and preparedness for New Mexico’s workforce, as opposed to basing the allocation of funding on measurements like the size (square footage) of each institution. In addition, while the current formula funds colleges and universities based on courses and degree programs started, the new formula would be based on courses and degree
programs completed.

“The central goal of New Mexico’s higher education institutions should be to graduate the students New Mexico’s economy will depend on for decades,” said Governor Martinez. “In an increasingly competitive global economy, this formula will help us deliver the graduates we need for the jobs of tomorrow, and it serves to intently focus our attention on the achievement of our students.”

Under the formula, institutions would receive funding for graduating students in so called “STEHM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Health Care and Mathematics) fields. A recent study disclosed that New Mexico’s economy will require nearly 50,000 employees with STEHM degrees by 2018 and nearly 95% of those jobs will require post-secondary education and training.

“For the first time in the history of New Mexico, the younger generation is less educated than the generations before,” said Higher Education Secretary Jose Garcia. “This new formula is our opportunity to make sure today’s students are tomorrow’s successful employees.” For decades, the New Mexico higher education funding formula rewarded measure such as student enrollment and square footage. This created a system where New Mexico taxpayers paid over $53,000 per completed degree, compared to neighboring Arizona, which pays $39,000.

Last year, in an event that was also held at New Mexico Tech, the Martinez administration announced that an agreement had been struck with the state’s colleges and universities to impose a two-year moratorium on the construction of new buildings, in an effort to curb the proliferation of new construction that had been occurring, at least in part, due to the incentive for increasing square footage that was built into the state’s current higher education funding formula.

 

Ski Apache runs 100 percent open

By: Jim Kalvelage jkalvelage@ruidosonews.com

Ski Apache is at 100 percent. All runs are open. All lifts and the gondola are operating. So far this winter the ski mountain has received 63 inches of snow despite a La Niña forecast for below-average winter precipitation.

“You never trust a weatherman,” Justin Rowland, Ski Apache’s director of operations, said Thursday. “The only people that predict the weather are magicians and fools. I never listen to the weatherman. They tell us, ‘It’s a great year,’ and it’s bad. And they tell us, ‘It’s just OK,’ and it’s stellar. They don’t know. They can tell you if it’s going to snow tomorrow or the next day, but that long-range stuff I don’t trust yet.”

The average full season at Ski Apache sees 180 inches of snow, both natural and manmade. A year ago at this time there were 52 inches of snow on the trails north of Sierra Blanca peak.

The pre-Christmas snowstorm was tops for the mountains, with Ski Apache graced with 24 inches of snow. Three other storms in preceding weeks also weighed in.

“We’re better just in a month,” Rowland said of December.

Rowland said the crowds have been big and skiers and snowboarders have been having a great time.

“We’re 100 percent open and we’re rocking,” Rowland said. “Skiing has been exceptional. The amount, the quality (of snow), the grooming that’s been done on it. We’re able to get on it and make sure it’s groomed out. The weather’s just beautiful. We’ve been busy, really busy. It’s been crowded up there but we’ve been able to get to everybody and take care of them,” Rowland said of the past two weeks.

The pace at Ski Apache is being duplicated the business community.

“It’s unbelievable how many people are up there and how many people are in town,” said Gina Kelley, Ruidoso’s tourism director. “The sidewalks are jammed. I see lots of big families. I see a lot of people carrying a lot of bags. Hopefully our Midtown merchants are seeing the kind of success that it looks like.”

Kelley said people are asking about other things to do in the Ruidoso area, such as snow tubing at Ruidoso Winter Park.

“We’re always a popular Christmas destination but I think that these kinds of conditions we have up at Ski Apache, all it can do is help. I think that’s why we’re seeing so many last-minute people because a lot of people are calling saying the conditions are so perfect.”

Kelley said the feeling from lodgers and Ski Apache is that this Christmas has turned out to be better than a year ago.

Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marla Lewis agreed. She noted there are a plenty of people in town and more continue to come in.

“From talking with merchants, they’re saying people not only are shopping but they’re also purchasing,” Lewis said. “It could be, from the indications, that there’s an up-tick in the economy and people are starting to feel a little more like spending more money now.”

The lodging sector also has seen a great week.

“The Visitors Center (located in the chamber) has had an incredible amount of phone calls for lodging,” Lewis said Thursday. “By this afternoon, the lodgers will probably be full except for a few that are small condos. We’ve had requests for a number of large parties. They just keep coming in.”

Woooohoooo!!!!! Click here for a current snow report…