: February 2009

Animal Friends of The Valleys is a wonderful organization that provides services for our four legged (and some winged) friends. A few years ago, I adopted the light of my life, Domino, a black and white tuxedo kitty. Last year I submitted his photo for their annual calendar. Guess who's the pet of the month for February, 2009? Am I a proud papa? You bet! Isn't he adorable?

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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Each January for the past seven years, a group of die-hard Little Feat fans have headed for Negril, Jamaica to hear their favorite band perform on the beach. As you might imagine, when you put several hundred people with a shared interest together, strong friendships develop. Not only have I enjoyed the opportunity of getting to know the band members better, I've made wonderful friends and have spent time pursuing one of my other passions: photography.

Little Feat's keyboard player Bill Payne is an artist in every sense of the word. He plunged into photography a few years back and his skills shine there, too. A few weeks ago in Jamaica, he shared some of his work in a session called Tracing Footsteps. His images are magnificent. He uses a technique called layering in some of his shots, and he inspired me to try my hand at it.

I took a photo of a cracked concrete path and super-imposed it on a photo of Paul Barerre and Craig Fuller. The possibilities are limitless. Working with my creative side really makes me feel alive.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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I met Maryann Edwards a few years ago when she was a member of the Temecula City Council and I was board chairman of The Southwest Riverside County Association of REALTORS. She was always a great guest speaker and she is now doing a tremendous job as Temecula's mayor. I run into her from time to time at Mission Oaks Bank. She works there and it's where I do my banking.

You can always count on Maryann to have an opinion and to take a stand. I asked her to weigh in on the economic stimulus package:

Those Pesky Earmarks: A Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

We’re in the middle of the most extreme economic slowdown in 30 years. 

So let’s talk about “stimulus” in the form of earmarks.

An earmark is a congressional provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific

projects in a specific Congressional district. The key word here is approved.

“Earmark” has become a dirty word because targeting money to study the sex habits of gnats

is ridiculous and irresponsible. But earmarks for good projects bring tax dollars home,

help to stimulate local economies, and create jobs.

As a bona fide conservative, I am a champion for fiscal responsibility. Remember that the funds targeted

for earmarks are already approved. So I expect my Congressman to aggressively

bring those tax dollars back home to pay for GOOD local projects, and Congressman Issa has done just that.

Along with Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and in partnership with Congresswoman Mary Bono,

Congressman Issa has brought our tax dollars home to help fund the Congressionally approved

(2001) Army Corps of Engineers Murrieta Creek Flood Control Environmental Restoration project. When

fully funded and completed this $90 million four phase project will protect Old Town Temecula from

the kind of disastrous flooding experienced in 1993. It will protect the Metropolitan Water District’s waste

treatment facility in Murrieta, and it will ensure that Camp Pendleton’s water supply is protected and controlled

during peak rainy seasons.

So the next time you hear someone criticizing earmarks, tell them the truth. There are good

earmarks and there are bad earmarks. Let’s encourage our Congressional representatives to bring our local

tax dollars home for only good local projects – and my sincerest apologies to the fleas.

Maryann Edwards

Mayor

City of Temecula

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the farmers market in Old Town Temecula. Laura and I try to stop by every Saturday morning when we're in town. During our visits, we've grown to know George Petrou and look forward to stopping by his booth. George is 84 years young. He invites you to taste his olive oils and garlic, and then goes on to extoll their virtues. He points to the fact of how good his health is and mentions that his mom is well over 100 and still going strong!

Pay a visit to his website. If you check out the farmers market section, you'll see he is indeed a very busy man. I for one am a big fan of his and hope that I can be as young as he is when I reach 84!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    

Active Rain Ambassador   (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

 Subscribe in a reader