March 27th, 2015 at 8:00 am
Thousand Oaks is more than acre upon acre of suburban homes interrupted by shopping malls. It’s also home to 1,700-acre Wildwood Park, a sprawling recreational area featuring waterfalls, archeological sites, and an extensive multiuse trail system for hikers of all levels. Many residents of the city northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County aren’t even aware that the park’s natural beauty beckons just off Highway 101. Literally a few steps from neatly manicured backyards bordering a gently sloping canyon, Wildwood also offers nature hikes, biking, horseback riding, summer day camps, and interpretive programs.
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March 27th, 2015 at 7:30 am
Imagery provided by Photo Works / Shutterstock.com
It’s that time of year again! Bring out the bunting, shine up the seats, and fire up the grills, because it’s time for Opening Day 2015–the day of the year when children of all ages drift on down to their local ballparks to celebrate the start of baseball season.
This season, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin their season at home on April 6 against divisional rival San Diego Padres, who have spent the off-season collecting talent in an effort to compete for the National League West title. They’ll need all the help they can get, as they’ll face 2014 National League MVP and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw under the sun in Chavez Ravine. The ace lefty returns with his blistering four-seam fastball and hyper-focused precision to hopefully once again dominate hitters throughout the league.
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March 26th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
One of the most important decisions you’ll make during the home-buying process is choosing how you will finance your new home. Several options are available, and factors such as down payment percentage and your credit score are important considerations.
One popular mortgage option is the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) home loan. This type of loan is most frequently obtained by first-time homebuyers or individuals with less than excellent credit. Find out if an FHA loan is right for you by reading the following summary.
What is an FHA loan?
FHA is a government agency operating as part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It aims to promote access to homeownership and maintain stability in the housing market. The FHA was initially created by congress in 1934 and is currently the largest mortgage insurer in the world. The FHA program was established as a New Deal program during the Great Depression. Although often referred to as an FHA loan, the FHA doesn’t actually borrow the money to lend to home buyers. Instead, the FHA insures mortgages that meet a set of standards. By insuring the mortgage, buyers are able to obtain better terms and conditions than they would had they taken out a private mortgage. For a loan to be FHA-backed, it needs to come from a private lender authorized to deal in FHA mortgages.
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March 26th, 2015 at 1:00 pm
As part of our Social spotlight series, created to help you get to know our social networks, today we’ll be discussing the search engine giant’s social network, Google+.
The lowdown
As indicated by the name, Google+ is owned and operated by Google Inc. The social network launched in June 2011, and many compared it to the social-giant Facebook. On Google+, users have the ability to create their own profile and create a separate business page. From a page or profile, users can connect with others and add contacts to circles. Users can customize circles to group contacts in any way desired. They can connect with others through communities by searching for interests. Google+ supports text posts, images, events, and video. Although there is some talk about images and text posts being separated, currently all posts appear centralized on a user’s profile. As part of their Google+ profile, users are given access to Google Hangouts, where they can instant-message and video-chat.
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March 26th, 2015 at 11:00 am
If you followed our March gardening tips, your garden should be almost ready for the upcoming spring planting season. If not, start with our March to-dos before moving on to our April list.
Follow the tips below on what to plant and how to maintain your garden for stunning results this spring.
Assess your garden. Is it ready for planting? Before you put any new plants in the ground, be sure you’ve fully removed all weeds from your garden. If you haven’t, weeds can grow out of control and take over the entire area. Weeds also compete with your new plants for nutrients, water, and sunlight. If you don’t weed your garden, you risk losing many of your plants.
After weeding, place an inch or two of mulch around your annuals or any other plants you intend to keep over the summer. The mulch will help hold in moisture.
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