The process of gathering "legal" building permit data and assembling a personal and/or property profile is gathering steam.
I wonder if this is a program that will allow an individual or a property to opt-in or opt-out? How close is this material getting to being a credit report?
Wonder if the providers of the original material, local building departments, are selling the data?
Wonder if there is any way to correct errors or mis-statements?
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
USDA Millionaires - Senator Coburn's Report
Yesterday, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) released a report that provides a considerable amount of data on various programs at the USDA. Taking the press release and popular media account as a starting point, it did not take long to drill down to the report from Senator Coburn.
The report gives a lengthy list of programs and a brief summary of what each program is expected to accomplish. Contained within the report is the USDA's summary of various policies and protocols.
To help the interested reader along, portions of the report are highlighted.
If you want to skip my highlighting, the source material is published on Senator Coburn's website. You can also search "Coburn Millionaire Report".
Informative reading.
Ciao!
The report gives a lengthy list of programs and a brief summary of what each program is expected to accomplish. Contained within the report is the USDA's summary of various policies and protocols.
To help the interested reader along, portions of the report are highlighted.
If you want to skip my highlighting, the source material is published on Senator Coburn's website. You can also search "Coburn Millionaire Report".
Informative reading.
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Litigation and Legislation-- Pesticides and Clean Water - H.R. 872
The players and script for the play are summarized by the National Cotton Council on November 4, 2011. There are so many acronyms that's hard to navigate the tall grass, but I'll give it a go:
- NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
- EPA's 2006 Final Rule on Aquatic Pesticides
- PGP - Pesticide General Permit
- Pending litigation relevant to the situation - U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (National Cotton Council, et al. v. EPA)
- Legislation - H.R. 872. The status of the bill and positions taken by congressional leaders is summarized in the material published by the National Cotton Council.
- Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (HR 872) is a positive-sounding name for the legislation. There is another side to the coin, as illustrated by the talking points published by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides.
- Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) are summarized in the November 7, 2011 edition of Ag Professional.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Silly Season of Politics: The Code of Ethics
When candidates face questions from the media, the all-too-common approach is framing the exchange in a "gotcha" sound-byte and as an adversarial ambush. Everything seems to depend upon fifteen seconds of fame.
Perhaps, it is time for a refreshing to review of the foundation for the profession of journalism- the Code of Ethics.
Perhaps, it is time for a refreshing to review of the foundation for the profession of journalism- the Code of Ethics.
Grassroots - Guerrilla Marketing
Conveying a message with a call to action can be time-consuming and more importantly costly. Every month I wonder about the advertisement in the yellow pages and am driven to distraction by tele-marketers with their irritating recorded messages. Worrying about my web page not having a premium spot on the mega-search engine is not high on my list.
However, this past week a national conservation group sent an email. It was concise and included three topics that had talking points for each action item. As an illustration for this blog posting, I have bundled portions of the conservation group's email to show the positive points and effectiveness of their lobbying campaign.
From my perspective, it would certainly be handy if more national organizations facilitated and actively supported a similar campaign for a variety of functions:
However, this past week a national conservation group sent an email. It was concise and included three topics that had talking points for each action item. As an illustration for this blog posting, I have bundled portions of the conservation group's email to show the positive points and effectiveness of their lobbying campaign.
From my perspective, it would certainly be handy if more national organizations facilitated and actively supported a similar campaign for a variety of functions:
- Alert members to issues show the pros and cons without taking a stand. Let the reader decide.
- Call for individual action in regional or state-specific matters. It does not have to be the first tier reader taking action, but it can be a resource document for re-distribution to a second or third tier readers. Service providers can circulate the material to their banker, lawyer, or accountant. The campaign may generate referral business from one of the down-stream recipients.
- Offer timely webcasts or email blasts that can be re-packaged for individual clients - cut & paste.
- Inform reader/clients with a couple or paragraphs or a two to five minute webcast a snippet of continuing education. It is an opportunity to set the hook for future business and possibly connect with others having a similar professional interest.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Yellow Book Appraisal Resource
Appraisals for Federal land acquisitions have a special set of documentation requirements that are different from the typical report prepared under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
The Yellow Book - Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions - can be purchased or downloaded from a couple of online sources. The Department of Justice provides a link that appears to identical to the published hardcopy version of the textbook (ISBN: 0-922154-66-X).
For reference, it is probably worthwhile to have a copy of USPAP available. Perhaps, modifying USPAP's Advisory Opinion No. 11 to incorporate the special topics from the Yellow Book is a worthwhile exercise. Keeping the similarities and differences between USPAP and Yellow Book in focus may be helpful for some readers.
Another interesting resource has been published by a real estate school based in Florida and is linked to a publication of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Florida. Jumping past the first few pages and looking at the reference section in the addenda. There are several documents and court cases cited for support documentation.
A large project that is coming through the farm fields and towns of the San Joaquin Valley is California's Bullet Train.
Ciao!
The Yellow Book - Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions - can be purchased or downloaded from a couple of online sources. The Department of Justice provides a link that appears to identical to the published hardcopy version of the textbook (ISBN: 0-922154-66-X).
For reference, it is probably worthwhile to have a copy of USPAP available. Perhaps, modifying USPAP's Advisory Opinion No. 11 to incorporate the special topics from the Yellow Book is a worthwhile exercise. Keeping the similarities and differences between USPAP and Yellow Book in focus may be helpful for some readers.
Another interesting resource has been published by a real estate school based in Florida and is linked to a publication of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Florida. Jumping past the first few pages and looking at the reference section in the addenda. There are several documents and court cases cited for support documentation.
A large project that is coming through the farm fields and towns of the San Joaquin Valley is California's Bullet Train.
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Shameful Community Organizer-- The Dilbert Principle
Fresh out of the gate from Sonoma County's own, Lew Perdue, a new blog.
Mr. Perdue provides links and commentary to political and economic topics facing us daily. It's a move beyond his usual venue--the wine industry insight.
For those readers wanting to dig a little deeper into the inner workings of government, the task is most likely going to be tougher.... Well, so much for transparency! It is F.O.I.A. foiled! Public records an oxymoron.
Although tempting, the Peter Principle just did not cover of the issue.
Ciao!
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