Learn about Black History Month

Origins of Black History Month

The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. That September, the Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by black Americans and other peoples of African descent. Known today as the

Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures.

In the decades the followed, mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the Civil Rights Movement and a growing awareness of black identity, Negro History Week had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses. President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. The 2013 theme, At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington, marks the 150th and 50th anniversaries of two pivotal events in African-American history.

To learn more: + Remembering Yesteryear

Maybe Dog is Man's Best Friend or at Least Should Be!

There is solid evidence that pet owners fare better than non-owners on several dimensions . Pet owners have greater self-esteem, are more physically fit, tend to be less lonely, are more conscientious, are more extraverted, tend to be less fearful and tend to be less preoccupied than non-owners. - reference Allen R. McConnell, PhD, of Miami University in Ohio


+27 Health Advantages of Pet Owners

Affordable Housing? In the Bay Area?

With the inventory of real estate for sale declining and in some cases completely disappearing, buyers have been pushed into the rental market.  The increase in rental demands have pushed rents higher too.  Now there is a lack of affordable housing options for the "Regular Guy".

 

San Francisco rentals were a different world when Chuck Post became a leasing agent - just four years ago.

 

"In 2009 we were actually discounting rents, offering things like a free month's rent when you moved in, perhaps throwing in free parking," he said.

 

Those days are long gone.

 

Now as the economy roars back, his listings draw long lines of wannabe tenants, and apartments get snapped up in less than a week.Rents in San Francisco are escalating at breakneck clips this year, largely driven by an influx of tech workers. Oakland and San Jose likewise are seeing steep run-ups.

San Francisco's bigger apartment complexes saw average asking rents break the $3,000 mark in the third quarter, hitting a record $3,096 across all size units, according to data service RealFacts. That's an 11.9 percent bump from the same time last year.

 

Median asking rents for San Francisco apartments listed on www.livelovely.com clocked in at a record $3,398 in the third quarter, up 21 percent from 2012, said apartment-finding company Lovely.

"Rents are rising faster in San Francisco than almost anywhere else in the country," said Jed Kolko, chief economist with housing service Trulia. "Rising rents are a bigger challenge than rising home prices, especially in a place like San Francisco where buying is out of reach for many middle-class and lower-middle-class people."

 

Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the think-tank San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, said the city is facing a "crisis of affordability."

 

"What happens when you let a city get this expensive, is that over time, only the wealthy can live there. You lose everyone else," he said.

 

A spike in evictions has spurred protests of gentrification, including one at City Hall on Thursday.

 

The root cause is simple, Metcalf said: "The growing regional economy coupled with decades of under-building housing."

 

San Francisco's construction boom is helping to increase inventory. But to really make a dent on the housing shortage, Metcalf said, the city would need to deliver 5,000 new housing units a year for quite some time. It's averaged 1,500 units a year over the past 20 years.

 

"There's a lot of brand-new Mid-Market stuff with nice amenities and high prices competing for the well-paid tech people," said Laura Gray, a leasing agent with Paragon Real Estate Group. "The not-brand-new units are left struggling a little bit."

 

For instance, she's listing for $2,900 a one-bedroom at a 6-year-old luxury building near AT&T Park and Caltrain.

 

"A year ago, this would have rented for $3,500," she said.

 

Other agents said that there remain plenty of wallflower apartments, either because they're in undesirable areas or overpriced.

 

But that's cold comfort to the folks engaged in the blood sport of apartment hunting in San Francisco.

Rosie Simeonova and Jay Dillon thought they were prepared when they moved here from Los Angeles last month.

 

"We knew San Francisco would be expensive, so we upped our budget," she said. "We knew it would be competitive, so we were very prepared with our renter's resume, employment confirmation, credit reports, pay stubs, anything you could possible ask for."

 

They quickly discovered that their $2,500 limit for a one-bedroom near Dillon's new job at the University of San Francisco didn't go far.

 

"We must have seen over 30 places," Simeonova said. "We'd go to an open house for a little tiny apartment and there'd be 20 people on the stairway frantically filling out applications. The landlords had no leeway for renters; a lot of times they would just offer 15-minute windows to see places. It was intimidating."

 

They got more aggressive. When they spotted an Inner Richmond place that seemed to fit their needs, they called the leasing agent and asked to meet before the open house, offering to sign a lease on the spot. That did the trick.

 

Lovely said that rents for studio apartments rose the most, with the $2,370 median up 24 percent from last year and 16 percent from the second quarter.

 

For all sizes of apartment complexes, Oakland clocked in at $1,595, a 15 percent increase, while San Jose was at $2,180, up 13 percent from last year, Lovely said.

 

For buildings with 50 or more units, RealFacts said Oakland's average rents of $2,124 in the third quarter were up 10.3 percent from 2012, while in San Jose the $2,015 average was a 9.2 percent bump.

 

Reference - Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Your nails are talking to you ... are you listening?

Regardless of what you’re doing with your nails, you need to start reading the signs they’re sending. Below, we’ve listed out what’s going on with your nails, and what exactly they’re trying to tell you.

Peeling: If your nails are peeling, it could mean that you’ve got a deficiency when it comes to mineral absorption. While this can be caused by something as minuscule as not chewing your food enough, it could also mean a low amount of acid in your stomach, which means that your food isn’t properly digested.

Dry Cuticles: This one may seem obvious, but dry cuticles means you’re lacking in the hydration department. Especially if you work in an office where you’re constantly washing your hands or you’re always washing dishes (and particularly in the winter), resolve to use cuticle oil at least once a day to keep your fingers in great shape.

White Spots: While most people believe that white spots on nails are actually a sign of a calcium deficiency, they can actually be a small area of nail fungus or a tiny result of trauma to the nail like bumping or dinging your finger. If there is pain in your nail, seek medical attention to treat fungus. If there’s no pain and it’s likely the result of trauma, the white spot must simply grow out (which can take up to eight months).

Breaking: There are a few reasons why your nails could be breaking, and they range from harmless to significant. Your nails could be breaking because they’re exposed to water, soap or detergent for too long, or they could be breaking for more serious reasons, like endocrine disorders or malnutrition. The key to determining which is causing your nails to break is to take notice of whether your nail’s thickness, color, etc. have changed over time. If you notice a change in your nails and stop exposing them to water and detergent, yet the change persists, see your doctor.

Yellowing: Besides smoking, your fingers could be turning yellow due to a few reasons. First, it could be nail fungus, which can be taken care of with an anti-fungal medication from your doctor. If it’s not nail fungus, your nails could be turning yellow because you paint them too often and you neglect to use a base coat.

Dark Vertical Lines of Color: While dark marks underneath nails could be benign moles underneath your nail bed, single, new bands of color could also indicate melanoma. If you notice this, see your dermatologist immediately.

Hard as Rock: If your nails are hard as rock, strong and don’t break easily, it’s a good sign that you’re in good health. Keep up the good diet, exercise and nail care regimen! 

Separating From the Bed: Nails separating from the bed can be due to injury or infection, a reaction to a drug, thyroid disease or psoriasis. Once there is space between the nail and the bed, infections can occur underneath the nail. Most times, nails will reattach themselves to the bed within a few months, but if you think you may have a more serious condition, seek your doctor’s guidance.

Source -  By Augusta Falleta     For more beauty information: Beauty High

Interesting New Stories - Planes land at wrong airports!

Interesting & Scary News . . .

Afraid to fly already?  This story will open your eyes to a whole new concern ... does your pilot know where he is going?  Seems like a silly question you would have to ask yourself when you board an airplane, but I bet these passengers will ask themselves that every trip they make from now on!

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines suspended two pilots from flying on Monday after their jetliner with 124 passengers landed at the wrong airport near Branson, Missouri, late on Sunday, a spokeswoman said.

A Southwest captain, who has worked 15 years for the airline, and a first officer were removed from flying duties pending a federal investigation of the landing, said Michelle Agnew, a Southwest spokeswoman.

The Boeing 737-700 landed at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport instead of at Branson Airport, the main commercial air strip near Branson, which has a much longer runway, Southwest said in a statement. The airports are about 7 miles apart.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the mistaken landing but had no other comment, spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.

The plane left Chicago Midway Airport on Sunday on a flight to Dallas Love Field with a planned first stop in Branson, a musical entertainment and tourism mecca in southwest Missouri.

                                                                      

Southwest is looking into "all the circumstances" that led the captain to land at the wrong airport, Agnew said.

After landing at the wrong airport, passengers were taken by ground transportation to the correct airport and then were flown to Dallas on another jet later on Sunday, she said. Southwest apologized to passengers, is refunding the cost of their tickets and giving them travel credits, she said.

The airplane took off on Monday afternoon with a new flight crew, Agnew said. It was bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma, for refueling and would go back in service, she said.

The Branson landing marked the second time in less than two months that a pilot landed a jetliner at the wrong airport in the Midwest.

On November 21, a Boeing 747 cargo plane flown by Atlas Air that was supposed to land at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, instead landed on the much shorter runway at Colonel James Jabara Airport, a Wichita city airport.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Scott Malone, Phil Berlowitz, Dan Grebler and Amanda Kwan)

Mormon Island under Folsom Lake

Former Gold Rush Town discovered as Lake Folsom hits lowest levels in decades

Historically low waters levels in Northern California's Folsom Lake have exposed the remains of a Gold Rush-era mining town flooded decades ago.

 

Remnants of the town of Mormon Island have been uncovered by the lake's receding waters, drawing people out to the lakebed in search of artifacts, The Sacramento Bee reported.

 

The lake's level is the lowest it's been since the winter of 1976-77, one of the worst droughts in state history, the California Department of Water Resources said.

                                 

In the 1800s, Mormon Island had a population of 2,500, but it dwindled to a few families by the 1940s.

 

The town founded by Mormon prospectors during the Mexican War once had four hotels, dry goods and other stores, and seven saloons.

 

Gold was discovered by members of the Mormon Battalion, who stayed in the area at the confluence of the north and south forks of the American River to continue prospecting.

 

The town was flooded after Folsom Dam was built in 1955.

 

So far, people have found rock-lined foundations, old glass, a doorknob and rusty nails. More items were expected to be exposed as the water continues receding.

 

Richard Preston of the California State Parks system says people are welcome to look at the remains, but that both state and federal laws prohibit the taking of artifacts.

   Folsom Lake

 

Property of the Week ... Featuring Pescadero Apartments in Sought After Redwood Shores

This week's feature property is Pescadero Apartments, located at 950 Redwood Shores Pkwy in beautiful Redwood Shores.  We designed Pescadero Apartments with your needs in mind.  Not only do we offer great amenities, but we are located in an ideal location.  You can swim in our year round heated pool, enclosed in a greenhouse setting or relax in the hot tub.  Throw your next party at the clubhouse or work up a sweat in our fitness center with all new equipment.  Pescadero Apartments also offers a sauna and steam room. 

Don't want to park your car outside ... great, we have garages.  Our gated community is staffed by an extraordinary leasing team 7 days a week for your convenience.  You will have the opportunity to take advantage of walking/biking/running trails all around the area along with the convenience of Nob Hill Shopping Center just up the street. 

Check us out online at:


Pescadero Apartments-Find out more


We hope to meet you soon and welcome you as a resident to this gorgeous community. 

Don't just MAKE a resolution this year ... KEEP IT!

We've all done it.  Every year once that ball drops at midnight we make a resolution of some sort.   Save more, lose weight, have more "me" time, but come February we are spending and eating as we did before.  According to a Harris poll, these are the most common New Years resolutions and the apps that can help you attain them.  My resolution this year is to keep my resolution and hopefully actually attain it. 

1. Lose weight
Nutrino: Enter your current and target weights and food preferences and this app builds a personalized menu to bring you closer to your goal.

2. Improve your finances
Budget Boss: Create a budget quickly and effortlessly—then watch your predicted savings grow with easy-to-read graphs.

3. Exercise
Human: Commit to moving at least 30 minutes every day with this simple app, which uses location tracking to measure your activity and notifies you when you’re done.

4. Get a new job
Job Search: Find open positions near you and submit applications from your phone.

5. Eat healthier
Fooducate: Scan grocery barcodes and get a nutrition grade from A to D with this award-winning app.

6. Manage stress better
Take a Break!: Relax with 7- or 13-minute guided meditation audio tracks that let you choose between a voice, music, and nature sounds.

7. Stop smoking
Quit Smoking: Enter your current smoking habits and this app will design a unique, gradual schedule to wean you off cigarettes.

8. Improve a relationship
Back in Touch: Import your phone contacts and create settings on how frequently (monthly, weekly, etc.) you’d like to touch base with each of them. Then, the app reminds you to give ‘em a call at the interval you chose.

9. Stop procrastinating
Finish: Get stuff done with this app that lets you enter tasks and due dates (with flexible short term, mid term, and long term timelines), then reminds you until the job is done.

10. Set aside time for yourself
BRB: Need to unplug? Download this app that lets you craft a message that notifies your contacts you’re taking a break from your phone, which is shareable via Facebook, Twitter, or text.

Time for a Change of Scenery? Start the New Year off at Marlin Cove Apartments