Author Archives: LocalRealty

  • August 11, 2026
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Sanborn Sheriff Upgrades To .308 Rifle After Grain Elevator Incident

Category : Uncategorized

Good morning, Sanbornians! Your ever-faithful correspondent returns with another update from our beautiful little corner of California, including a very brief word about the grain elevator.

The sheriff’s office has asked everyone to “remain patient while the investigation continues,” and the grain elevator itself remains closed pending structural assessment and several “other considerations.” I have been specifically asked not to elaborate on those considerations, which is convenient because I am not entirely certain I want them elaborated upon for me.

What I can report is that the county council held an emergency session the following week. By the end of the meeting, officials had approved funding for a substantial upgrade to the sheriff’s department’s equipment, including the acquisition of .308 rifles for its designated marksmen.

This is the department’s first meaningful equipment upgrade since the council approved replacement flashlight batteries in 2024. Whatever happened at the grain elevator, it apparently made a compelling argument for loosening the county purse strings.

Why The Sheriff Asked For .308

I attended the council meeting myself and did my best to faithfully record Sheriff Dalton’s presentation. I understood perhaps half of it, which still puts me comfortably ahead of several council members who spent the first ten minutes asking whether .308 referred to the rifle or the cost per round.

The sheriff explained that the department’s current long guns are aging 5.56 patrol carbines. Those remain useful for ordinary law enforcement work, but the grain elevator incident apparently revealed limitations when deputies needed greater precision across Sanborn’s long stretches of agricultural land.

Sheriff Dalton repeatedly used the phrase “engagement distances.” I asked afterward what that meant and learned it is simply the professional way of describing how far away the thing requiring the department’s attention happens to be.

The sheriff recommended .308 Winchester because it occupies a useful middle ground for precision applications. The cartridge has decades of military, law enforcement, sporting, and civilian history behind it, and its performance is thoroughly documented rather than experimental.

It also offers the department practical logistical advantages. .308 Winchester is among the most established precision-rifle cartridges in the country, making ammunition considerably easier to source than something rare or proprietary when supply trucks remember that Sanborn exists.

The caliber can also remain effective across the longer distances presented by rural and agricultural terrain. Sheriff Dalton cited its established use at ranges approaching 800 to 1,000 yards, which seemed excessive until everyone in the room remembered why the meeting had been called.

The council approved the request unanimously. That is an unusual occurrence in Sanborn County government, but apparently understandable given the circumstances at the elevator.

What Makes A Precision Rifle Different?

The sheriff’s department later invited local press to observe a demonstration at its range. This gave me an opportunity to discover that there is considerably more separating a precision rifle from the average patrol firearm than simply putting a large scope on top and speaking about it seriously.

The department selected a bolt-action .308 platform rather than simply purchasing more versions of the semi-automatic rifles already carried by deputies. Sheriff Dalton explained that the simpler, rigid action of a purpose-built bolt rifle is well suited to applications where mechanical consistency and accuracy are given priority.

My translation for the readership is that there are fewer things happening inside the rifle between deciding to fire and the projectile going where the operator intended. I was told this explanation was not technically complete but was close enough for publication.

Purpose-built precision firearms also place greater emphasis on consistency between the shooter, rifle, and optic. Adjustable chassis and stock systems can accommodate different users, while quality triggers, barrels, and optical systems are selected around the expectation that small deviations matter.

This is the type of engineering philosophy familiar to CheyTac USA. The company’s work in precision firearms has long centered on building platforms around accuracy, consistency, and the specialized demands placed on rifles intended for serious long-range applications.

During the demonstration, one of Sanborn’s deputies placed three rounds into a group roughly the size of a quarter at 100 yards. I found this extremely impressive and somewhat unsettling once I remembered that somebody at the sheriff’s office had apparently decided this capability was necessary after visiting the grain elevator.

Training Comes With The Equipment

The new rifles will not simply be handed out and thrown into patrol vehicles. Sheriff Dalton has established a qualification program for the deputies selected to operate them, with recurring certification intended to ensure the equipment remains in trained hands.

I attended part of the first session and was surprised by how academic the whole affair appeared. There were notebooks, charts, discussions of environmental conditions, and significantly more mathematics than I expected from an activity whose most recognizable component is pulling a trigger.

The point, according to the instructors, is consistency rather than improvisation. A precision platform only provides an advantage when the person behind it understands the equipment and has demonstrated the judgment required to use it responsibly.

That last part seemed to satisfy several members of the council. Sanborn has historically had unfortunate experiences with government employees improvising.

Where CheyTac Fits In

For anyone familiar with CheyTac USA, the sheriff’s sudden interest in serious precision equipment should sound familiar. CheyTac has built its reputation around firearms designed for demanding applications where accuracy is not merely a pleasant feature but the central purpose of the platform.

That philosophy becomes especially relevant when considering a .308 rifle. The caliber itself is mature and widely understood, so much of the difference between an ordinary rifle and a serious precision platform comes down to how effectively the firearm is engineered around consistency, ergonomics, and repeatable performance.

For professional users, those details matter far more than appearances. A rifle intended for carefully controlled precision work has a fundamentally different job than the general-purpose carbine riding around in a patrol vehicle.

That is also why Sanborn’s purchase represents more than simply adding another caliber to the department armory. The council is funding an entirely different capability, along with the training required to support it.

What exactly that capability is expected to address remains somewhat less clear.

Again, I have been asked not to elaborate on the grain elevator.

Sanbornians React About As Expected

Community response to the purchase has been mixed in the way Sanborn responses to most things are mixed. Some residents are reassured that the sheriff’s department will finally have modern equipment suited to the county’s wide-open rural terrain.

Others have suggested that officials might consider explaining what happened at the grain elevator before spending public money on the ability to respond to something from farther away. This question received no formal answer at the council meeting.

Even Councilmember Briggs seemed unusually subdued. Briggs, who has opposed everything from park benches to replacement sewer covers on philosophical grounds, abstained rather than voting against the purchase.

That is perhaps the most convincing evidence yet that whatever occurred was serious. The man once filibustered a proposal to replace the batteries in the emergency exit signs.

New Equipment And Familiar Questions

For now, there is reason for cautious civic optimism. The sheriff’s department has new equipment coming, a qualification program to accompany it, and, for the first time in recent memory, enough money allocated to maintain both.

For professional users interested in the engineering behind this category of firearm, CheyTac USA is worth learning more about. Its focus on precision firearms makes the company a natural place to explore the design philosophy behind purpose-built rifle systems, including the increasingly important role of established calibers such as .308 Winchester.

As for the grain elevator, please direct any further questions to Sheriff Dalton. I have reported everything I was authorized to report and, frankly, everything I am comfortable knowing.

The building remains closed.

The investigation continues.

And I am pleased to report that the flashlight batteries are holding up nicely.

CheyTac USA

+17315356029

24070 US-70, Huntingdon, TN 38344

  • July 21, 2026
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Landscape Contractors Called In As Sanborn’s Volunteer Landscaping Program Disappears Into The Brush

Category : Uncategorized

Good morning, Sanbornians! Your ever-faithful correspondent returns with another update on the county’s ongoing struggle against nature, which continues to be less of a struggle and more of a slow, leafy surrender.

The rewilding situation mentioned in previous dispatches has not improved. If anything, the vegetation has developed what county officials are diplomatically describing as “enthusiasm,” though several residents have used language that cannot be printed in a publication still technically available at the elementary school.

The South Side Becomes Transitional Green Space

Several neighborhoods on the south side have now been reclassified by the county assessor as “transitional green space.” This is a cheerful bureaucratic way of saying that the yards have merged together and nobody can tell where one property ends and the next begins.

The Hendricks property on Maple Street is now technically a meadow. The parking lot behind the old savings and loan also has a mature tree growing through the asphalt that was not there in March, though the bank’s former manager insists it has improved the curb appeal.

Six months ago, the county council decided the remaining residents could handle the maintenance problem themselves. This was partly a budget decision and partly an expression of the famous Sanborn spirit of self-reliance, which has historically produced mixed results but rarely results this green.

The council’s plan was simple. Residents would contribute tools, attend a short training session, and spend a few weekends reclaiming the most overgrown parts of town before the flora had time to organize.

A Community Effort Takes Root

Phase one was the equipment drive. Since the county sold most of the parks department’s tools during last year’s emergency budget auction, residents were asked to contribute whatever lawn equipment they had at home.

The resulting inventory included fourteen lawn mowers in varying states of usefulness, one weed whacker with a dead battery, and a ride-on mower manufactured in 1987. The mower started once, made a sound like a distressed farm animal, and has declined to participate ever since.

Dale Hurley also offered his chainsaw. Dale was willing to lend the tool, but only if he remained the sole operator, a condition he explained repeatedly while holding it across his lap during the planning meeting.

Phase two was the training session, led by Carl Betancourt. Carl had watched a significant number of YouTube videos on landscaping and felt confident that this made him the county’s most qualified available instructor.

The lesson covered basic mowing technique, edging, and “dealing with growth that seems resistant to removal.” That final section concerned the local vegetation’s habit of returning within hours of being cut, sometimes with entirely different leaves than it had before.

Several attendees left the session early. Carl maintains that this was because of scheduling conflicts and not because the vines behind the community center had begun tapping against the windows in a recognizable rhythm.

Phase three was the actual work. Seventeen volunteers spread across three neighborhoods on a Saturday morning with the optimistic goal of reclaiming the most overgrown properties before lunch.

By noon, two mowers had broken and someone had driven directly over a fire hydrant that was no longer visible above the grass. The vegetation on Birchwood Lane had also been described by multiple volunteers as “uncooperative,” which is the only description the county attorney has approved for publication.

The effort was suspended in the early afternoon. The county council met the following Monday, while Carl was taken somewhere quiet to rest and answer a few questions about what happened behind the Vickers residence.

The Council Discovers Professional Landscaping

The vote to allocate funds for professional landscape contractors passed four to one. The lone dissent came from Councilmember Briggs, who maintained that the volunteer initiative “just needed more time and possibly a second chainsaw.”

The motion passed over his objection, marking a positive development for Sanborn County even if it arrived several neighborhoods later than it should have. The adults, as the younger residents like to say, had finally been called.

Professional landscape contractors bring equipment that works, training that did not come from a video filmed in someone’s garage, and enough experience to understand why a property keeps failing. Most importantly, they can establish and maintain a landscape rather than leaving it to revert to wilderness the moment everyone goes home.

For the 65 percent of Sanbornians who still have homes, this means their yards may eventually resemble yards again. For the remaining 35 percent, the improved landscaping should at least make the scenery more pleasant while they continue disputing the county’s definition of “temporary displacement.”

What Landscape Contractors Actually Handle

Professional landscape work begins long before anyone starts a mower. Contractors assess the site, identify drainage and soil problems, evaluate the existing plant material, and determine what the property should become rather than merely cutting down whatever is currently visible.

Design and installation can include grading, retaining walls, irrigation systems, planting plans, and hardscape construction. Each element has to work with the others, because a beautiful yard with poor drainage is only a decorative way of moving water toward the foundation.

This is one reason professional planning matters in areas with slopes, difficult soil, or unpredictable growing conditions. Sanborn has all three, plus several conditions that local scientists have asked us to stop describing until their investigation is complete.

Maintenance is the second part, and it may be the more important one here. Regular mowing, pruning, irrigation management, weed control, and seasonal adjustments keep a finished landscape from slowly becoming the problem it was designed to solve.

The Torrey Pines team has extensive experience providing landscape maintenance San Diego property owners rely on throughout the year. San Diego’s neighborhoods include coastal properties, inland heat, slopes, variable soils, and plant palettes that require different approaches rather than one maintenance schedule copied from house to house.

Ongoing care also protects the original investment. Irrigation problems can be corrected before plants decline, pruning can preserve shape and health, and weeds can be managed before they seize the side yard and begin demanding representation at council meetings.

Torrey Pines Landscape Company Returns To Sanborn

Among the landscape contractors being evaluated by the county is Torrey Pines Landscape Company, already familiar to regular readers of this publication. The San Diego firm has submitted a proposal, presumably after reviewing our conditions and deciding that professional pride was stronger than self-preservation.

Torrey Pines handles both large-scale landscape construction and ongoing maintenance across San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods. Their experience with challenging terrain, difficult soil, and vegetation that does not always behave according to the brochure makes them perhaps uniquely suited to Sanborn’s particular situation.

The firm can look at a property as a complete environment rather than a collection of unrelated plants and surfaces. Grading, drainage, hardscape, irrigation, and planting all have to support the same design, which helps a landscape look intentional when it is installed and remain functional as it matures.

Their attention to continued maintenance is especially important for our county. Sanborn’s core problem has never been getting vegetation to grow; the problem is persuading it to stop growing through windows, pavement, and occasionally occupied structures.

A company that returns throughout the year can respond as conditions change. It can adjust irrigation, manage seasonal growth, preserve the intended form of trees and shrubs, and identify developing problems before the yard becomes legally indistinguishable from public wilderness.

A Worthy Adversary For The Forest

Professional help is coming, Sanbornians. The county council has made a responsible decision, and the vegetation may finally meet its match, or at least encounter an adversary with functioning equipment and proper insurance.

Residents are encouraged to cooperate with whichever landscape contractors the county selects. Please keep access points clear, remove abandoned vehicles from proposed work areas, and report any vegetation that appears to be behaving unusually to the county hotline rather than attempting contact yourself.

We would also like to thank Carl Betancourt for his leadership during the volunteer initiative. Carl is resting comfortably following the Birchwood Lane incident and is expected to resume speaking in complete sentences once the doctors determine why he keeps referring to “the root beneath us all.”

Dale Hurley would still like his chainsaw returned. County officials believe it may be somewhere near the south side tree line, though nobody has volunteered to retrieve it.

For homeowners who would rather not wait for another county program, Torrey Pines Landscape Company offers the design, construction, and ongoing care needed to keep a property beautiful after the installation crews leave. Contact their team and give your yard the professional attention it needs before Sanborn’s enthusiastic greenery decides the matter for you.

Torrey Pines Landscape Company

+18584541433

5560 Eastgate Mall, San Diego, CA 92121

  • July 2, 2026
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Sanborn County Vanishes From The Internet, Local SEO Agency Vizolutions Arrives To Restore The Map

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Category : SEO Agency

Good morning, Sanbornians! Your humble county reporter returns with alarming news from the invisible frontier, which is what I have decided to call the internet after several weeks of being told I do not understand it.

Sanborn County has vanished from the web. Not in the dramatic way, mind you. There was no smoking server room, no melted keyboard, and no town clerk screaming into the night as sparks flew from a government computer still running Windows Vista.

No, this disappearance happened slowly, then all at once. First the tourism board slipped from page one of Google to page three, a place usually reserved for abandoned recipe blogs and medical advice written by strangers named “HealthDad47.”

Then our local businesses stopped appearing on maps. Then someone searched “things to do in Sanborn County” and received results for Sanborn, New Hampshire, a dental office in San Bernardino, and a Reddit thread about a ghost town in North Dakota.

The Welcome to Sanborn County sign still stands at the county line, smiling through sun damage and bullet holes. The diner is still serving breakfast. The hiking trails have not moved, though visitors are once again reminded not to follow any trail that appears to breathe.

Yet, as far as the internet is concerned, none of it exists. Since people apparently choose where to spend their weekends and money by typing words into a rectangle, the county has been experiencing what I will diplomatically call a tourism adjustment.

The hotel owners have called it other things. Most of those things cannot be printed in this family publication, even after the standards were relaxed following the courthouse collapse.

Now, this is not the worst thing to happen to Sanborn County. That distinction still belongs to the Flood of ’97, the termite courthouse collapse, or possibly the week the lake lights learned everyone’s middle names. But it may be the most confusing, because nothing changed except whether people could find us.

Before calling professionals, the town tried to fix the issue ourselves. This is our tradition. It is how we handle everything, from municipal wiring to sinkholes that hum.

The mayor’s nephew offered to “optimize the website” and changed the homepage font to something he described as “more clickable.” Tourism did not recover. The new font did, however, make the county seal look like it was advertising discount fireworks.

A council member suggested we simply “get on the Google.” She then created a Google Business Profile listing town hall as a restaurant, which led to three confused families arriving for lunch and one health inspector leaving in tears.

A local business owner paid $200 to a freelancer who promised page-one rankings in 30 days. The freelancer delivered a report full of colorful graphs that all went up and to the right, which was encouraging until someone noticed the numbers corresponded to absolutely no additional visitors.

The chamber of commerce briefly considered billboards. This plan was abandoned after the diner owner pointed out that billboards are mostly seen by people already driving through town, and our current issue is that no one knows we are worth driving toward in the first place.

These were good people doing their best with tools they did not understand. The problem is that doing your best with SEO is a bit like doing your best with electrical wiring. The enthusiasm is appreciated, but the results can become alarming in ways that smell like burning plastic.

Thankfully, help has arrived in the form of Vizolutions, a new SEO agency working with Sanborn’s businesses to drag us back into searchable existence. Their arrival was treated with the usual mixture of gratitude, suspicion, and fear that they might ask to see the old tourism website’s backend.

They explained that Sanborn’s online visibility had eroded for several reasons. The website had not been updated in a way search engines could properly understand. Local business listings were either unclaimed, inconsistent, or still using phone numbers that connected to a fax machine in the sheriff’s evidence closet.

The tourism content was also thinner than it needed to be. Apparently, one paragraph titled “We Have Hills” is not enough to outrank neighboring towns that have pages dedicated to restaurants, attractions, trail guides, seasonal events, and places where the ground does not occasionally open.

Then there were the backlinks. Vizolutions explained that whatever authority the county once had came mostly from directory listings created in 2014, many of which no longer matter. I nodded as if I understood, because several people from town hall looked pale, and I did not want to add to the panic.

What I took from the meeting is this: having a website is not the same as being on the internet. Our website existed the way a tree falling in an empty forest makes a sound. Technically real, practically irrelevant, and probably surrounded by something watching from the brush.

Vizolutions began with what they called a technical audit. I understand this to be the internet equivalent of checking whether the building is up to code before letting the public back inside, which is a practice Sanborn only recently adopted after the library stairs began choosing victims.

They reviewed how fast the website loaded, how the pages were organized, and whether search engines could actually read what was on them. Several issues were found. Nobody screamed, but the assistant treasurer did ask whether it was “too late to start over with pamphlets.”

Next came the content work. Vizolutions explained that if Sanborn wants to appear when people search for things to do, places to eat, or trails to hike, the website needs content that actually covers those topics in useful detail.

This felt obvious in retrospect. It was like being told that if you want people to come into your restaurant, you should put a menu in the window rather than a handwritten note that says, “Food happens here.”

The local SEO work made the most sense to me. Vizolutions is helping businesses claim and update their listings, correct their hours, add accurate addresses, include real photos, and make sure search engines understand who they are and where they operate.

That may not sound glamorous, but neither is sandbagging an office park, and we all remember how important that turned out to be. If someone searches for local seo near me, the point is for the right result to appear instead of a locksmith, a pumpkin patch, or a forum post from 2008 accusing the county of being a shared hallucination.

That is the real promise for our local businesses. When someone nearby needs a diner, plumber, hotel, hiking guide, exterminator, gift shop, or unusually calm attorney, they should be able to find the correct Sanborn business before giving up and driving to a town that has invested in metadata.

There are already signs of recovery. The tourism board has begun appearing for search terms that actual humans might type. A few businesses have received phone calls from people who found them online rather than through the traditional methods of cousin referrals, wrong turns, or fleeing into town after dark.

The hotel even had to turn down the “No” part of its No Vacancy sign for a few hours last weekend. We are not declaring victory yet. Sanborn has learned caution, usually from the ashes of whatever optimism built.

Still, it is nice to be visible again. A place can survive a flood, a fire, a courthouse collapse, and a lake that whispers in the voice of your childhood piano teacher. What it apparently cannot survive is being invisible to people who decide where to go by typing words into a rectangle.

Vizolutions is still here, still working, and still doing whatever it is they do in the office with the multiple monitors. They tell me SEO takes months, not days. That is fine by us. Sanborn County understands patience, because we have spent generations waiting for things to improve and occasionally waiting for the all-clear siren to mean what it says.

If your business has slipped out of search results, disappeared from maps, or begun receiving calls from customers who say they could not find you until their nephew got involved, it may be time to call Vizolutions. Sanborn is finding its way back onto the internet, one corrected listing and useful webpage at a time, and there is no reason your business should remain lost in the digital woods.

Vizolutions

+19495369766

4660 La Jolla Village Dr Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92122

  • August 28, 2019
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Proud of Our Home and Home Builders

Tags :

Category : Custom Home Builder

As small as it is, you know that Sanborn County carries a lot of pride for its businesses. Some small, some not so small, we have a lot of respect and admiration for those that run a business right here in this beautiful county.

As such, we have a lot of pride in our local home designer. Obviously, they do incredible work, but what most probably don’t know is that they are so sought after that they design high-class homes in Newport Beach and surrounding areas. That’s when they’re not improving our town, of course. Even with their 5-star reviews, Sailhouse is just as well-liked online as through word of mouth. After all, when you end up with a beautiful backyard and home, people want to know who did it!

Despite being a small town, we’ve had several folks here employ the use of Sailhouse for personal projects, and it’s really given our town a beautiful feeling. We joke about how small of a town we are, but it’s all in good jest. We know we’ve got good folks here, and the great workers at Sailhouse just down the street have added wonderfully to the culture of our town.

As we’ve mentioned, Sailhouse not only designs homes here but they are also one of the top custom home builders in Newport Beach. They offer an all-inclusive home building team that will help you from the planning stages of your project, to the bulldozing and bricklaying, to installing that final lightbulb. They pride themselves on a finished, elevated, and quality product from their team. 

Just look at this home. Obviously meant to be placed near the beach, this house combines elegance and dramatics with the giant glass opening to the front of the home and the curved edges of the walls. The house looks like it’s meant to be there, and you haven’t seen anything quite like it before.

On their website, they quote Ralph Lauren, “Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.” These fitting quotes are placed elegantly throughout their website as a way for you to get to know the personal aesthetic of the Sailhouse team. You really feel like you’re getting a team who embodies the quotes on their walls and the culture they have created. You’ve got a team that is working hard to exceed any and all expectations for their clients.

This home really strikes us. It’s such a classy style with the white walls and the dark framing of the roofing. It is so classy, and it embodies the feeling that the Sailhouse website and portfolio gives. It’s truly a high-end experience. It looks like something you could expect in a home design magazine. Whoever owns it is surely proud to. 

Frank Gehry says, “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” This is another quote that Sailhouse seeks to exemplify. Much like a small town, good architecture will last for years beyond its initial inhabitants. They leave a mark on each and every neighborhood they work in. 

We’re proud to have Sailhouse as a thriving business in our town.

Sailhouse Custom Homes

170 Newport Center Dr Suite 220, Newport Beach, CA 92660

(949) 281-6044

  • July 24, 2019
  • 0

Avoid the Heartache and Mediate

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Category : Divorce Mediation

Divorce is expensive. It hurts. It’s the end of a union that at once was thought to be for forever. Not only is it an entire change of life for the people that are involved, but it’s also only made worse when other people become involved. First, it’s close family and friends. Then, extended family. And, when you’re in a small town, everyone knows. Not only do they know, but they have an opinion. That’s where rumors and drama come in. 

I’ve once heard of a young couple who were seeking a divorce in the early 1990s. They made a mistake getting married and they knew it. The young woman didn’t want anything. Just a simple, clean divorce. The young man listened to his family and friends, and hired an expensive lawyer in a silk suit, refusing to even speak to his soon-to-be ex-wife. Only to walk into the courtroom to find that his ex-wife had indeed not hired an Orange County family law lawyer, and instead just stood there plain-clothed and honest. “I don’t want your money. I just want to be free.”

That could have all been avoided if there were more communication. The young man could have saved possibly hundreds of dollars and just consulted a divorce mediator. A divorce mediator is someone who acts as a moderator for discussion between the couple about the division of assets and marriage. A much cheaper option, the couple usually saves money and heartache from having a long and drawn-out legal battle. 

McNamee Mediations could have saved this couple. The thing is they, save couples like this all the time from the difficult divorce battles that we hear about so often. Just a few months ago, Beth B. writes, “Colleen is seriously a miracle worker!  Our divorce had been dragging on for nearly four years, and we had made very little headway using other mediation and divorce professionals without success.”

Another client, Craig G. says, “Colleen was great to work with and made a very difficult and emotional situation manageable. … The cost was very reasonable and a fraction of what it could have been taking other legal options.” This is just another example of where McNamee Mediations have stepped in, saving another family from the long, costly, drawn-out process of divorce. 

Because of the high divorce rates they grew up with, millennial couples are getting married later and later. Millennials are lowering the divorce rate nationally. An article by the USA Today says, “University of Maryland professor Philip Cohen found that from 2008 to 2016, the U.S. divorce rate dropped by 18 percent. … To measure the divorce rate, Cohen compared the number of divorces to married women. When controlling for other factors like an aging population, the results show only an 8 percent drop, “but the pattern is the same,” Cohen notes.” The article by the USA Today summarizes it to say that it’s likely the divorce rate will continue to drop because people are waiting until they’re older, more financially secure, and better educated.

So, it looks like millennials are paving a new path to marriage. It makes sense that they’re taking the less traditional path to a more amicable, communicative divorce as well. For instance, in high-cost of living areas like Irvine, divorce mediation may seem impossible, but with a great mediator like McNamee, it’s certainly possible in even the most complicated of cases.

If you are in need of a mediator, please reach out to:

McNamee Mediations

4590 MacArthur Blvd Suite 500, Newport Beach, CA 92660

(949) 223-3836

  • March 16, 2019
  • 0

The Office Redesign

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Category : Office Furniture

Gary Bookershelves read through the entries for what felt like the hundredth time. His office furniture store was holding their first ever office makeover contest. The store had been up against tough competition ever since the big box store, Furniture Bonanza, had opened just outside of town. People seemed more interested in driving 15 minutes to buy their cheaply made furniture than shopping local.

So, Gary had come up with a plan to boost sales. He was hosting a contest where all local businesses were welcome to submit their dream office design on his website. Gary would pick the winner and then remodel their office, free of cost to them. It would be just like Extreme Home Makeover, but for offices. His goal was to remind the community how important it is to shop local. If he was being honest, he also hoped to inspire some of his fellow business owners who didn’t win to revamp their office space.

Gary thought he had narrowed it down to three finalists, but it was so hard to choose. He continued to thumb through the entries while he ate his turkey and mayo sandwich. He was the type of person who ate the same thing for lunch every day. His assistant Shelly never tired of teasing him about it. Maybe he would get her opinion on it, “Hey Shelly, can you come in here for a sec?”

Shelly sprung up from her chair and scurried into Gary’s office. Gary really liked Shelly. He liked her spunky personality and the way she styled her hair. Short and red, but not bottle dyed. She appeared in the doorway, “Hey boss, what can I help with?”

“Listen to these three descriptions and tell me which one you like the best,” Gary replied.

Shelly clapped her hands and jumped up and down, “Oh goody, is this for the contest? I was honestly hoping I would get to help. How exciting! Okay, read them to me,” she said. Her face all the sudden adopting a serious look.

Gary chuckled a little, “Okay, so first we have Penny’s Pocketbooks. Penny the owner wrote this: My dream office is one with pizzazz. Pocketbooks are my business, and I think it would be really fun to have an office completely designed with that in mind. All of the décor would be pocketbook related, and each desk and chair would be a different color- just like my sales floor!” Gary looked up from Penny’s proposal, “So what do you think of that?”

Shelly squished her nose, “A little bland, what else do you have?”

“Okay, Sam’s Sandwiches wrote: Our dream office would be as delicious and colorful as our sandwiches. Everything would be in green, brown, and red, just like the most common ingredients in a sandwich.”

Shelly’s hand went up, “I’m going to stop you right there because I’m bored already.”

Gary laughed, “Okay, okay, how about this one, Kara’s Daycare wrote: My dream office is one that inspires creativity, learning, and positivity. Working with kids all day has taught me there is nothing more important than imagination, and I would like my office to reflect that. The most important aspect of my dream office would be designated spaces for the kids to read, color, and play. Bright, happy colors would occupy all the décor. Of course, it would be nice to have a small desk of my own too. Thanks for your consideration and for supporting local shopping!”

“Oh my, I love Kara’s Daycare! Isn’t it obvious Gary?” Shelly started, “There is no better candidate!”

Gary tapped the proposal in front of him and replied with a big smile, “So, should I call her, or would you like to?”

You can find a great office furniture store here:

Creative Office Design
15440 Laguna Canyon Rd #120, Irvine, CA 92618
(714) 328-7627

  • February 26, 2019
  • 0

The Best Turf Installation in Town

Tags :

Category : Turf Installation

Dale cruised down the road in his Toyota Tundra with the radio playing country music. The song ended moving into an advertisement for NoMow Turf Installation. “For years NoMow Turf Installation has provided Orange County with excellent service. We’ve created beautiful lawns and saved the drought-prone community tons on water. Why? Because we care! Call us today for a free quote and see what NoMow Turf Installation can do to make your world more stunning!” Dale mimicked the last sentence of the radio ad. It was, in fact, his voice.

It was true, he really did care about the community. He was born and raised in Orange County and NoMow Turf had thrived here, he wanted to make sure he gave back to the place that had given him so much. He pulled into a spot along the town square and made his way to the Orange Coffee Café. As he walked in the door, Sarah an eager blogger smiled brightly and waved. “Hi, Dale! Over here!” she motioned for him to sit. There was a coffee already on the table. “Double shot with skim, right? Sorry, I hope that’s not creepy! I asked your assistant what your coffee of choice was when we set the meeting. I like to be prepared. I also Googled you,” she smiled like that was the most normal thing in the world.

“Great!” Dale said, taking a seat and shifting around a little. He enjoyed her enthusiasm. “So, what would you like to know?” he asked.

“Yes, great, let’s dive right in. I like your style Dale. So, what was your inspiration for opening NoMow Turf Installation? You know, what made you fall in love with turf?”

Dale had to think about that one for a minute. He loved what he did and was good at it, but he realized it wasn’t so much the turf he loved, but the people. “I guess I’m not in love with turf,” he said, “I am, however, in love with helping make the community a more beautiful place. I enjoy saving people money on their water bill, and helping the area save water!”

“Wow,” Sarah replied, “Insightful! So, Dale, any other love in your life right now?” her eyebrow shot up.

Dale smiled, “With all your Googling I figured you would already know the answer to this one. I have a beautiful wife and wonderful kids.”

“Ha, I did know that,” she said, I just wanted to get some more quotes for the article.” Sarah continued, “Well, what’s next for the business? Expansion? Selling? Please tell me you aren’t selling!”

“Of Course not, I plan on keeping this business locally and family owned for a long time,” Dale said with confidence.

“That’s great, I mean, the other option would have made a good story too. I can see it now Local Business Owner Goes Big Time, Leaving Orange County in the Dust. That would be hard-hitting stuff!” She said.

“Haha, you sure have a lot of energy” Dale replied.

“I know, I think I got an extra shot of espresso in my coffee this morning. Just one more question, how do you feel about winning the town business of the year award? It’s your first year winning such a prestigious award. I’m sure you must be proud. Any other thoughts, emotions, feelings?” Sarah leaned forward.

Dale was surprised. How did she know he had won the award? He had his hopes, but he didn’t even know for sure himself. “How do you,” he started but she cut him off.

“Oh, I’ve got sources. Sources on the inside, if you know what I mean?” She replied winking at him.

He had no idea what she meant but nonetheless, he was excited!

I had a wonderful time meeting with Dale. If you are in the market for turf, please check out:

NoMow Turf
26674 Vista Terrace, Lake Forest, CA 92630
(855) 968-8873

  • January 4, 2019
  • 0

Luxury Landscaping

Tags :

Category : Landscaping

Melissa, a reporter for the Sanborn County Daily, walked into the Cozy Café and looked down at her watch, 5 minutes until 7 AM perfect, she thought. She grabbed a coffee, sat down, and waited. After another 5 minutes, she saw a gentleman walk through the door wearing a Torrey Pines Landscaping San Diego shirt. Melissa waved her hand and smiled. The man waved grabbing a coffee quick and then approaching her.

“Hi, Melissa?” he questioned.

“Yes, hello!” She stood extending her hand, “You must be Paul it is so nice to meet you! Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of your work.”

“Wow, thanks,” he replied. Melissa couldn’t help but notice the glimmer of genuine happiness in his eyes. He must receive compliments all the time, she thought. How refreshing it was to talk to someone with a bit of modesty.

“Well, let’s get started, Paul you have recently relocated to our town and with you came quite the business. What inspired the move?” Melissa questioned.

“Well, my family and I were just looking for somewhere quiet to settle down and this seemed like the perfect place,” Paul replied.

“That’s interesting,” Melissa continued, “Most people have never even heard of our quiet town, let alone relocated here on a whim without some sort of family tie. So, you really have no ties to the area?”

“Um, no. We don’t have any ties to the area, unfortunately,” Paul went on, “we had heard about the town through a friend who absolutely raved about it and we just couldn’t get it out of our heads.”

“Well, we are certainly glad you are here!” Melissa said, “I’d love to hear more about your work.”

Paul started, “Yes, I love my work! My business caters to homeowners who are bored with their current backyard set up. I work with my customers to create their dream oasis. It honestly is a dream come true for me. I love seeing a customer’s face when a project is finished. That is the best part of my job by far.” Paul smiled genuinely and Melissa could tell he meant what he said.

“That is so endearing Paul. I think the public would love to know how you got started in the landscaping business.” Melissa said.

“Well, it is something that has run in the family, my grandfather had a landscaping company and then my father and then me. I guess you could say it just runs in our blood.” Paul said with a laugh.

“That is so sweet,” Melissa said, “Okay, one final question for you, What is your number one goal for your business?”

“That is a great question,” Paul said, “and it’s easy for me to answer, I want to make Sanborn County the most beautiful county to live in the entire country! And that’s no joke.” Paul said with a wink.

Melissa could tell why the business was doing so well, “Wow, what a personality” she thought.

“Anything else you would like our readers to know?” Melissa asked Paul.

“If you are looking for landscaping help make sure to look up Torrey Pines Landscape Contractors! You won’t be disappointed.” Paul ended with.

“Thank you so much for your time Paul,” Melissa said, “I can’t wait to see how you help to transform the neighborhoods here!”

Here’s where you can contact them if you are looking for some landscaping help:

Torrey Pines Landscape Co.
(858) 454-1433

  • December 15, 2018
  • 0

Business Consulting Changes The Town

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Category : Consulting

Breaking news was not a term thrown around at the Sanborn Gazette very frequently. For once they had something that warranted the terminology, writer Sharon Smith thought as she left the new Business Consulting Firm’s office. She rushed back to her home base, the Gazette’s two cubicle office, to write her piece on the business.

New Business, PerSynergy Coaching, Takes Sanborn by Storm

A new business is making a splash in our small town of Sanborn. Sanborn, with a population of just 1,006 is home to just over a dozen small local businesses. In the past, our economic growth has been a challenge. Small businesses were pushed to the wayside, while citizens opted for the 15-minute drive to the big city to do their shopping at the big chain retailers.

Well, not anymore! This top-notch coaching firm has infiltrated our community, working to turn the economy around. Seven of our local businesses have already chosen to use their services with shocking results! These businesses include the famous Patty’s Diner, Thomas’s Shoes and More, and Frank’s Food and Stuff.

I was able to score interviews with some of these establishment’s owners along with the leader of PerSynergy Coaching. The rest of the business owners were, unfortunately, not available for comment at this time.

When asked about the progress they were making, Mrs. Patty herself said, “It is amazing! Sales are through the roof. People are willing to stay here and grab a bite to eat instead of driving into town to go to the Cheese Cake Factory. Things could not be going better, I would highly recommend these business consulting pros to anyone.”

On a typically day Patty’s Diner might have had forty customers cumulatively throughout the day. Now, Mrs. Patty states an average of sixty customers throughout the day. “The growth is staggering,” she says!

Thomas, the owner of Thomas’s Shoes and More, says, “I love, love, love, working with PerSynergy. They help me get the job done and business has never been better. They have quickly become a pillar of this community, and a beacon of hope for all small business owners. To him I tip my hat.”

Thomas’s Shoes report earnings that are 25% higher since they hired the consulting firm. They rave, “business is so much better!” They also have been able to take on more staff members, stimulating the economy.

When asked what his vision is behind his consulting firm the owner states, “Our vision is simply to improve this great community. I have always loved this community. My grandparents were born and raised here before moving away, but I remember coming to visit as a kid. The more jobs we can create in Sanborn, the more successful I feel we have been. We have a vision of a self-sustaining Sanborn. A community where you do not have to drive into town every time you want to grocery shop or get a haircut. We have to build on what we have here in order to create something beautiful.”

So, there you have it, this is the way of the future for Sanborn. There will be more reports to come on how this new business is vastly impacting our small community, so stay tuned!

You can find these consultants here:

PerSynergy Consulting
5 Somerset, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679
(949) 543-0415

  • December 7, 2018
  • 0

The Lawyer Who Cared

Tags :

Category : Immigration Lawyer

Joan Midler had been on her way to work that Wednesday when she caught sight of something that seemed very interesting.

‘What is that?’ Her blue eyes widened and her brows knotted together. The young immigration lawyer from Orange County had a thing for helping foreigners. She loved interacting with people from other countries, who had different cultures and beliefs, working with them had widened her horizon.

She quickly parked her car to one side of the road and got out of it.

Of recent, there had been an influx of about twenty thousand refugees from Syria and they were having a hard time fitting into the small Californian city.

A mischievous smile pricked her lips as she recalled the complaints she had gotten from some of the refugees who could speak English. Language was a big problem here, and they had no choice but to begin ESL classes.

“Hello!” She called out to the three children and a middle-aged woman on the other side of the road. They seemed to be in some kind of fix, and they really looked confused.

Joan straightened her skirt and marched confidently in her black pumps towards them. They were arguing with a bus conductor who had begun yelling. And from his filthy lips, a dozen curse words fled into the air.

Joan noticed that the woman and the children who were obviously hers because of the strong resemblance seemed confused. They looked at the angry guy in bewilderment.

They were thinking, “Why is this guy yelling on such a sunny day?”

When she arrived at the scene, Joan couldn’t help but admire their colorful dresses which reminded her of some Indian movies she had seen when she was a kid. The girls covered their head with a little scarf, while the woman veiled herself with a Hijab.

“Hello” Joan flashed a smile at them.

The woman quickly shifted and pulled her children away from the stranger. Her swift action didn’t go unnoticed. It only made Joan laugh.

“Look, I am here to help you.” Joan pressed a hand on her chest, a gesture most people understood as love or peace. Obviously, they were new to the area and they needed some help.

Joan heard the kids whispering something in a language similar to Arabic, which she understood partially. Due to the nature of her job, Joan had learned to adapt to languages quickly. She knew how to speak French, German, Russian, Spanish and Turkish fluently. Other languages came in bits.

“What do you want here lady? Are you coming on the bus or what?” The angry conductor fired at her.

“Um, not really,” Joan paused and ran her eyes over the woman and her kids.

“Don’t look at them. They got on the bus and won’t pay, even after we dropped everyone at the last bus stop.” The man was still annoyed.

At that point, Joan understood what was going on.

“Whoa, did you care to find out where they were going or you were just yelling?” Joan wondered.

“I work on a bus, not some interview company.”

Joan ignored him and moved towards the woman and her kids who were about running when she raised her hands in the air and screamed, “Salam!” At once, they all stopped and stared at her in wonder.

“Salam?” A smile split the chubby face of the mother, as “Salam,” was the call for peace. It was a welcome. It was an invitation.

Joan hoped the woman wouldn’t gush out more Arabic, because she would be totally lost.

“Um, where were you going?” Joan gestured with her hands hoping they would understand, and they did.

The youngest kid screamed, “Arsadia…”

“Just hear that, ain’t no place like Arsadia!” The conductor yelled.

Joan laughed as she realized they meant, “Arcadia,” but their accent had caused a little confusion.

“I have a car; I can take you wherever you want. You can trust me, Salam.” She pressed her hands together and bowed her head like she was in prayer.

The woman moved closer to Joan. Apart from the fact that the woman spoke a word she understood, there was something about her sapphire eyes. They were calm, considerate and friendly. She could trust this woman.

“If you are thinking of leaving without paying…”

Joan flipped her purse open and handed him a few dollars.

She grabbed one of the kids and raised him into her arms.

“Next time, learn to be nicer to strangers. You don’t know when you’ll find yourself in need of help.” She waved a finger across the man’s face.

Five minutes after, her new friends were already in her car heading to her office where she would bring in a translator and help get them the assistance they needed.

They drove off to:

K Nair Law Group
31897 Del Obispo St Suite 225, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 493-4150

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