FRIDAY 4th OF JULY
DOWNTOWN FIREWORKS
PRODUCED BY GAGE

JULY 4 TO INCLUDE FIREWORKS, BOATS & MUSIC

Mick Conati of The Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE) promises that the 2008 version of the annual riverfront Fourth of July fireworks display will be "better than anything we've seen in past years - and we've been fortunate to have some pretty great fireworks shows in this city."

Conati, vice president of GAGE's Downtown Development Division, said the production by Melrose Pyrotechnics, Inc. promises to be both patriotic and awe-inspiring. The show will include new displays that are more intricate and thrilling than in past years.

Melrose has taken top awards in national fireworks competitions, and the company will be sharing its winning displays with Evansville. And Evansville's riverfront is the reason the unique display is possible.

"This show is only possible because we are able to do it on the water. Evansville is among a very few locations where spectators will be able to experience such a show. You will see things you will never see anywhere else. It's like riding a roller coaster. It will shake you up and rattle you around," said Garry Poe of Melrose.

The fireworks show is free and no button is required.

A new holiday tradition is starting in conjunction with July Fourth this year. Conati said about a dozen members of the Evansville Yacht Club will parade their boats on the Ohio River along Evansville's riverfront. Decorated in the festive red, white and blue Independence Day theme, the boats will sail along the riverfront starting at 7 p.m. A Statue of Liberty replica will grace the lead boat. Holiday boat parades are a tradition in costal locations.

Pre-recorded music, presented through the sponsorship of CBS 44, starts at 6:30 p.m. A segment of patriotic music will precede the fireworks.

A few local non-profit organizations will be selling refreshments at booths along the riverfront prior to the start of the fireworks. "We'd like to expand the event next year by arranging more pre-fireworks entertainment and invite additional community organizations to become vendors," Conati said.

Conati explained that without the commitment and financial support of Old National Bank and Casino Aztar, the annual fireworks show would not be possible this year.

"Casino Aztar's passion for the community has been strong since our arrival in the city. We made a commitment to support the fireworks display in our first year in the downtown, and we have continued our support. It is one of our favorite community events. We are excited to see what unfolds this year as each show continues to be more thrilling," said Stacey McNeill, Casino Aztar's marketing director.

Kathy Schoettlin, Old National's director of marketing and communications, said, "As a community partner, Old National is proud to be the sponsor of the 2008 fireworks display. We're pleased that all community members will be able to enjoy this spectacular, patriotic show free of charge."

Free parking will be available in all city parking garages and in the Civic Center parking lot on Walnut Street.

If weather conditions delay the start of the fireworks Friday evening, Conati said he will relay information to media outlets and details will be broadcast via the riverfront sound system.

In our continued quest to provide safety tips, we thought it would be useful to review safety procedures for boats.

The Ohio River provides plenty of boating opportunities and with the upcoming 4th of July weekend, many boaters will take advantage and cruise the river. It never hurts to be prepared. We wish every one a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend.

How To Stay Safe While Enjoying Your Boat

Following a safety regimen on your boat is just as important as following one in your home. While many people have items such as fire alarms and extinguishers in their homes, they don’t think to take the same safe guards on their boats.

If your boat has a cabin it should have a fire alarm and for added safety install a carbon monoxide detector. Getting a early warning can literally save your life!

The American Boat and Yacht Council now requires that a carbon monoxide detector is installed on all new boats. Even if your boat is powered by a generator it doesn’t mean that your safe from carbon monoxide. Heating and cooking appliances and even lanterns can emit deadly carbon monoxide.

You should always carry a fire extinguisher aboard your boat no matter what size it is. For the best fire protection, make sure that there is a fire extinguisher on both ends of your boat even if it’s a small boat.

It may surprise you to know that the regular 10-BC dry chemical type fire extinguishers will only last for about ten seconds if you need to use them! They are great for really small fires or fires that you see immediately, but if it turns serious they won’t be any help.

There are also Coast Guard regulations that you must follow when choosing a extinguisher for your boat. If your boat is over 26′ long, you are required to have at least two 10-BC extinguishers onboard.

You may also be surprised to learn that even if you follow the Coast Guard regulations, you’ll only be equipped to extinguish small fires! For better protection keep at least a B-II extinguisher onboard, or better yet go for at least a 60-BC rated fire extinguisher.

Another Coast Guard regulation requires that you keep three day time use and three night-time use flares onboard if your boat exceeds 16′ in length. But, no matter what size your boat is, flares may be your only way to signal for help in an emergency.

Flares should be kept in water proof containers and make sure you check the expiration dates regularly. The flares often still work beyond their expiration dates and can be kept aboard as long as you add new ones.

Even if you and your passengers are expert swimmers, no boat should leave shore without life jackets for each person onboard. An expert swimmer will still drown if they’re injured and can’t swim!

There are three different types of life jackets, Type I, Type II and Type III. While having any life jacket on your boat is better than none at all, the right one could make all the difference in life or death!

The best type of life jacket to carry is Type I. In an emergency it can save your life literally without any help from you! It has more buoyancy than the other two types and will keep you floating face up.

Type II is a lot cheaper, but cutting corners on a life saving device isn’t the best way to save money! Compared to the buoyancy of the Type I jacket, this one only has about a third as much. It is very uncomfortable and won’t keep you floating face up in the water.

Type III life jackets live up to all the requirements of the Coast Guard, but in reality it’s only good for emergencies that happen close to shore. They do provide about the same buoyancy as the Type II jackets and are very comfortable.

If comfort is a main concern opt for manually inflatable PFDs, they are also Type III life preservers. They keep you afloat face up and are extremely comfortable to wear.

Source: http://www.handyhouseholdhints.com/cars/how-to-stay-safe-while-enjoying-your-boat/

The University of Southern Indiana is going to break ground on a new $ 31.9 million Engineering Center. The 122,500 square foot facility will serve both business and engineering program interdependently, providing shared classroom and laboratory space.

This expansion will greatly contribute to the local economy. We applaud USI for this bold undertaking.

To read more about this exciting project, click here to read the article from Inside INdiana Business.

 

Even though the age of the internet has made a lot of information accessible to all, there are still instances when the expertise of a licensed realtor is needed. Take for instance the sites that allow you to find out the home-value of your home. These sites operate on specific parameters and can not take into account any improvements you have made to your home.

There are two ways to get the value of your home. You can call an appraiser who will give you the value of your home on a fee based service, or you can call your realtor and ask him or her to prepare a market analysis for you. This service should be free and will give you the market value of your home. Please feel free to call us at 812-499-9234 for a free market analysis of your home.

Home-Value Web Sites Miss the Mark

Online home-value sites offer some useful tools, but their estimates are often wrong.

"The percentage of error on these estimates is still very large," says Delores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast at the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. If there are not many comparable sales in one area, for example, she says, "the estimates will have huge errors in them."

Zillow.com and Cyberhomes.com rely on computer-generated automated models to estimate values. The models help compensate for the fact that many neighborhoods don’t have enough sales to generate accurate values based on experience.

But these computer models don’t reflect home condition, improvements and may not even accurately convey property descriptions.

Marty Frame, general manager of Cyberhomes.com, says the data on the site is best used as a way to form an overall impression of a neighborhood.

"Our goal is to provide you all this information and let you cherry-pick the things that are most interesting to you," Frame says. "You're going to look at an estimate and say, "that makes sense' or 'that doesn't make any sense."'

Source: The Associated Press (06/23/2008)

This article is of interest for condominium or cooperative buildings.

If the condominium association has to pay for improvements of the common areas and you are charged for it, you can ad these as expenses incurred to your property and minimize your tax exposure on eventual profits.

A Commonly Missed Tax Break

Condominium or cooperative residents often miss the fact that upgrades to the common areas of communities can affect the amount of tax an owner pays when the home is sold.

If the property is a principal residence and the owner has lived in it for two of the previous five years before the sale, a big chunk of the profit is already exempt from federal tax — $250,000 for a single person and $500,000 for a married couple.

But the seller will owe taxes on any profit beyond that, and he will owe taxes on the whole amount if the property isn’t a primary residence.

A proportional share of the amounts spent by the condo or cooperative association on improvements to the property — not simple maintenance — can be added to the amount paid for the property, or in tax lingo, “the basis.” The basis is subtracted from the sales price to determine any taxable profit.

“It surprises me that many community association owners are not aware of this tax benefit. Particularly for older home owners who have watched real estate profit build up over many years and now have a profit of more than $500,000, every dollar of capital improvements they can document is valuable,” says Benny L. Kass, real estate attorney.

Source: The Washington Post, Benny L. Kass (06/21/2008)

Even though PETA receives at times unfavorable news, this time they are in the light for good news. PETA has awarded Evansville’s Smurfit-Stone recycling company an award for saving the life of a puppy that was in the cardboard crusher. We congratulate everyone at Smurfit-Stone for being a good corporate citizen.

To read more about this award, click here.

The Plaza Downtown located at 101 SE Third Street will be part of the loft & condominium tour. My wife Kathy and I will be at The Plaza from 4:00PM to 7:30PM. We look forward seeing you on the tour.

The Kunkel Group & United Fidelity Bank Loft & Condominium Tour July 11, 4pm – 7:30pm

A recent city incentive program put in place by Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel sparked interest in developers to create several new luxurious lofts and condominiums in the heart of the city. In order for the community to learn more about the new spaces and to see firsthand the revitalization efforts, the Downtown Loft Tour was organized in 2001. Entering into its 6th year, the highly anticipated Downtown Loft & Condominium Tour is set to showcase stunning finished and unfinished lofts to the public. The one day event held in July annually attracts over 3,000 people interested in the free self guided tours. All registered participants receive a packet of information on each loft and a map to help guide them along the Downtown area. During the tour, local music and art will be featured in the park on Fourth and Main Street. Artists from around the Tri-State area will showcase their works while local musicians plan to entertain the crowds around the gazebo. This welcomed edition to the loft tour began last year and will continue to grow in 2008. The Downtown Loft & Condominium Tour will take place on Friday, July 11, 2008. Free registration is scheduled to open promptly at 4pm, at which time the lofts will be accessible for showings. In addition, music and art in the park will begin with its programming at 4pm.

Location: Downtown (Registration at Main & MLK Blvd and at Main & Second Street)

Cost: Free with registration (need wristbands that you get at registration to enter lofts)

Contact: Jocee Gleason (812) 424-2986

This is a GAGE Event

It never hurts to be prepared before you put up your home for sale. The items mentioned below are just a few, but they can help you to minimize the stress of preparing a home for sale and these suggestions could help you maximize your sales price as you have already taken care of issued that might have come up in a home inspection.

Please feel free to call me at 812-499-9234 if you have any questions or if we can assist you to prepare your home for sale.

5 Things to do Before Putting Your Home on the Market

1. Have a pre-sale home inspection. Be proactive by arranging for a pre-sale home inspection. An inspector will be able to give you a good indication of the trouble areas that will stand out to potential buyers, and you’ll be able to make repairs before open houses begin.

2. Organize and clean. Pare down clutter and pack up your least-used items, such as large blenders and other kitchen tools, out-of-season clothes, toys, and exercise equipment. Store items off-site or in boxes neatly arranged in the garage or basement. Clean the windows, carpets, walls, lighting fixtures, and baseboards to make the house shine.

3. Get replacement estimates. Do you have big-ticket items that are worn our or will need to be replaced soon, such your roof or carpeting? Get estimates on how much it would cost to replace them, even if you don’t plan to do it yourself. The figures will help buyers determine if they can afford the home, and will be handy when negotiations begin.

4. Find your warranties. Gather up the warranties, guarantees, and user manuals for the furnace, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and any other items that will remain with the house.

5. Spruce up the curb appeal. Pretend you’re a buyer and stand outside of your home. As you approach the front door, what is your impression of the property? Do the lawn and bushes look neatly manicured? Is the address clearly visible? Are pretty flowers or plants framing the entrance? Is the walkway free from cracks and impediments?

Source: http://www.realtor.org/rmosales_and_marketing/handoutsforcustomers/handouts/seller14

Date: 7/12/2008 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Cost: free

Location: 4-H Center Fairgrounds
Boonville New Harmony Rd
Evansville, Indiana 47725

ITEMS TO BRING:
(Please be sure items are clean and sorted.)

Aluminum cans Metal food cans
Cardboard Catalogs/magazines
Newspaper Mixed paper
Glass containers #1 & #2 plastic bottles

VANDERBURGH COUNTY RESIDENTS ONLY

Please call 436-7800 for any questions.