Hummingbirds flourish in Clark County

Hummingbirds flourish in Clark County

Hummingbirds flourish in Clark County. Lynn Marie Goya‘s backyard is filled with Hummingbirds that  flourish in Clark County. The Western Flyway travels down the Colorado River and hundreds of bird species travel the water road from Mexico to Canada. Migratory birds from white swan, to egrets to bald eagles travel this route. Some birds travel thousands annual of miles in their migratory journey.

Educational Benefits for Veteran's Children

Educational Benefits for Veteran’s Children

As children across America head off to college, the costs can be staggering. But there are many educational benefits for veteran’s children who are permanently and totally disabled due to service-related circumstances or whose parent died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition.

As part of their veterans’ benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helps cover education and training support through the Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) program. Benefits may be used for on-the-job-training, to take part in an apprenticeship, to be certified in a chosen field or to obtain or a college degree.

DEA will also help pay for correspondence courses or remedial, deficiency and refresher courses, under certain circumstances.

Children or spouses with disability may also find resources to support their training needs. Special Restorative Training or Special Vocational Training may be accessed to overcome or lessen barriers from physical or mental disabilities so that they may pursue educational or vocational programs. Dependents or survivors of a person that the VA has determined has a service-connected permanent and total disability or who is a member of the armed forces and is hospitalized or receiving outpatient medical care services or treatment are also eligible to apply for these funds.

Eligible dependents may receive up to 24 months of benefits. As of October 1, 2013, some benefits were expanded to 81 months through the GI Bill. Children of qualified veterans must be between the ages of 18 and 26, in most cases and not be serving in active duty within the armed forces. Spouses may qualify for benefits for up to 10 years from the date you were found eligible for benefits by the VA.

For more information, or to apply, obtain VA Form 22-5490. educational-benefits-for-veterans-children

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Lynn Goya is a regional best-selling author and Emmy-nominated writer who covers business, people, the environment, and families for regional, national and international publications including USA Today, Audubon and Outdoor Family. With many family members in the military, including an uncle who was a fighter pilot and POW in WW II, she has long been an advocate for military men and women.

 

Veterans Win in VA Reform Bill

Student Veterans Win in VA Reform Bill

Some win, some lose.  The VA Reform Bill, set to be signed into law on Thursday, demands that all public schools receiving GI Bill funds provide veterans with in-state tuition, saving students thousands of dollars per year.  Currently, many states already offer veterans in-state tuition.  This bill would extend that benefit to all states.

The losers, however, may be public schools, most of which have already swallowed huge cutbacks during the past recession. Veterans were a reliable source of much-needed revenue. The student veteran paid the difference between in-state and out-of-state costs, while the federal government covered the core in-state tuition fees. Public schools will now receive only the in-state fees.

Not all schools are subject to the new law, however. Private and for-profit schools already pull in the majority of funds distributed through the GI Bill.  Eight of the top 10 schools who received GI Bill funds for the 2012-2013 academic year were for-profit colleges, according to a Senate report (read here). Taxpayers spend twice as much, on average, to send a veteran to a for-profit school even though analysis shows that most students fail to obtain a degree. Almost 66 percent of students enrolled in for-profit schools dropped out in 2008-2009 without obtaining a degree.

For-profit colleges are also well paid. The University of Phoenix may be paid up to $20,000 per year through veterans’ benefits. Over the past five years, in fact, the University of Phoenix has received over $1 billion from 80,000 veterans using the GI Bill. Investigators say that private colleges often fail in core educational missions – educating students and helping them find jobs – all the while loading them with debt or sucking dry a GI’s educational benefits. Seven of the eight for-profit schools currently under investigation by state attorneys general or other federal agencies for “deceptive or misleading recruiting” are on the top-federal-aid list for receiving the GI Bill.

The Center for investigative Reporting found that a single campus of the University of Phoenix received $95 million — more than the entire University of California system — yet had an overall graduation rate under 15 percent. (No statistics were available that broke out veterans graduation rate.) Three hundred of California’s for-profit private schools failed to pass minimum standards for accreditation, yet they still received GI Bill funds. Many veterans now feel “tricked” into attending for-profit schools that fail to deliver a quality education.

Yet they stay in business through creative marketing and aggressive recruitment using veterans to reach out to target young veterans whose pockets are still full of GI Bill benefits.

For-profit school lobbyists routinely block legislation that attempt to determine whether veterans are getting a good education through for-profit schools. Additional losers may also include states, like Nevada and Idaho, that had already passed legislation providing the same benefits in order to lure veterans to their colleges and their state. Veterans “bring a worldly view,” says Ross Bryant, a veteran who attends the University of Nevada Las Vegas as an in-state student. “[States] hope we will stay here.”

by Lynn Goya

8/4/2014

Lynn Goya is a regional best-selling author and Emmy-nominated writer who covers business, people, the environment, and families for regional, national and international publications including USA Today, Audubon and Outdoor Family. With many family members in the military, including an uncle who was a fighter pilot and POW in WW II, she has long been an advocate for military men and women.

Dogs Help Veterans Cope with PTSD

 

Top PGA Golfers Tee-Up to Support Veterans and Families

Lynn Goya talks PTSD

Dogs Help Veterans Cope with PTSD

What if you discovered a way to save two lives at the same time? That’s what Cathy King, a long-time animal rights activist found she was able to do when she paired animal rescue dogs with veterans who needed the love and guidance of a trained rescue dog. Dogs offer their owners unconditional love, along with tools to help veteran through the mind-bending experiences of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Service dogs help veterans with PTSD, panic disorders, anxiety disorders, depression and other conditions. Studies have found that service dogs trained specifically to be paired with veterans can reduce the severity of PTSD symptoms, suicidal behaviors as well as panic and anxiety disorders.

Formerly the Executive Director of Friends of Animals, King always had an interest in pet therapy. Animals, especially dogs, have been shown to improve the well-being of older people, hospitalized patients and heart attack victims. Simply petting a dog can lower blood pressure. Bringing a dog into a children’s cancer ward or an assisted living home has been shown to boost patients’ moods and their social interaction.  A UCLA study found that dog owners need less medical care for stress-related aches and pains than people without pets. Some studies show that pet owners actually live longer than non-pet owners.

Armed with this knowledge, King decided to start a nonprofit, Canines with a Cause, in 2011 that would rescue dogs from shelters, then train the dogs to help veterans with PTSD who are returning from war to cope with their symptoms. One in four Iraq and Afghanistan veterans experiences PTSD, depression and/or anxiety, making it difficult to reintegrate into civilian life. A companion dog can help heal the invisible wounds of war.

There is a huge demand for dogs to be matched with different populations, says King but she decided to concentrate specifically on veterans. “Dogs for autistic children need to be trained very differently than a see-alert dog, for instance. It didn’t make sense to try to be everything; it wasn’t working as a model. That’s why we ended up focusing on veterans. Now we are not trying to train a number of different types of dogs.”

The nonprofit focuses on three programs. Pawsitive Partnership: Veterans, that takes rescued dogs and pairs them with veterans who work together through the Canines with a Cause training program to meet the veteran’s needs.  These free training courses can last as long as the veteran likes, giving both the veteran and the dog time to learn and practice the Canine Life and Social Skills curriculum.

The Comfort Crew: Veterans goes one step further, training veterans to take their dogs out to aid other veterans in need.  The therapy animals are trained to go to VA hospitals and assisted living programs to provide comfort and love to veterans unable to care for a dog on their own.

Most recently, Canines with a Cause partnered with the Utah State Prison Women’s Correctional Facility to teach female prisoners how to train service or assistance dogs for veterans. There are more than 2.4 million people in prison, more than half of whom suffer from mental illness. This program allows these inmates to feel as if they are contributing to society as well as garnering the benefits of caring for and working with service animals as they train them. The Pawsitive Healing Prison Program allows the animals to live with the inmates, providing the women with a much-needed opportunity to love and cherish another living being. Trained dogs are then matched with veterans based on personality traits, size, energy level and other characteristics. “Most of these women are there for life, so they have very little interaction or touching. They really do bond with the dogs,” King said.

On the rare occasions when a match doesn’t work out, the dog is never returned to the shelter, King emphasized. Instead, the dog is matched with another veteran or an outside family. To find out more or to donate to this Utah organization, go to www.canineswithacause.com.

By Lynn Goya

Lynn Goya is a regional best-selling author and Emmy-nominated writer who covers veterans, business, people, the environment, and families for regional, national and international publications including USA Today, Audubon and Outdoor Family. With many family members in the military, including an uncle who was a POW in WW II, she has long been an advocate for military men and women.

Published in Veteran Journal

5-24-2014

Tax Tips for VA Loan Borrowers

4 Top Tax Tips for VA Loan Borrowers

Many people dread it, but it comes like clockwork every year – TAX TIME!  Tax Tips for VA Loan Borrowers can take advantage of many tax deductions that can result in paying less to the IRS, or getting a refund, when filing their taxes.

  1. Veterans who obtained VA purchase loans in 2012 can write off these costs:
  • Mortgage Interest
  • Discount Points
  • Origination Fees

Tax Tips for VA Loan Borrowers

The “big 3” mortgage write-offs can put many veterans who use them well over the standard deduction on their 1040 tax returns for 2012. VA borrowers, like other homeowners, are allowed to write off ALL of the mortgage interest they pay every year.  For the initial couple of years, almost all of your mortgage payments will go toward interest.  Therefore, this deduction is pretty sizable for new homeowners.

Discount points and origination fees associated with your 2012 home purchase can also be deducted – even if you weren’t actually the one to fork over the dough. VA loans allow for up to all closing costs and up to 4% concessions to be seller-paid.  Even if the seller or someone else pays discounts and origination for the buyer, the buyer can still itemize them on the tax return.

  1. Deduct Interest through a VA Cash-out Refinance

A VA Cash-out Refinance Loan can enable veterans with credit card debt to turn their high-interest debt into a low-interest mortgage payment with a tax benefit to boot.  Most credit cards carry an interest rate of around 21%.  The going mortgage interest rate is currently around 3.5 percent.  Veterans benefit twice when using the cash-out program, because they can reduce their monthly payments on their credit card debts and take the tax deduction on the mortgage interest paid.  When the VA cash-out program is used, the mortgage balance increases to reflect the cash taken from the home’s equity.

  1. No Capital Gains for Most Home Sellers

Married homeowners filing jointly can sell a home for up to $500,000 tax free. They must occupy the home for two years.  Capital gains can be avoided even if a different home is sold every two years.  Single filers are permitted to sell a home up to $250,000 with the same tax-free benefits.  As long as the home is used as a primary residence, a requirement for VA borrowing anyway, many veterans avoid paying taxes after selling a home. For active duty military members frequently reassigned, this can be an especially handy tax deduction.

For more on VA loans, contact a specialized lender.

By Lynn Goya

Published in Veterans Journal

1-7-2013

 

 

Lynn Goya builds coalitions

Lynn Goya builds coalitions

Many people can write well, and some people speak eloquently.  Lynn Goya has demonstrated effective coalition building has benefited her community. Lynn Goya builds coalitions.

Emerge Nevada Program

Subject: Lynn Goya’s Emerge 2010 Nevada Program Application

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my humble opinion that anyone seeking a leadership role in today’s divided and patrician world of politics must possess patience without becoming complacent, must be able to actively listen while not allowing the discussion to go on ad nauseam, must be able to advocate for one’s beliefs without becoming a bully, must be willing to incorporate other opinions in the discussion without selling out on one’s own principles, and most of all, in the end of the day, must possess the communication skills to articulate the outcomes both verbally and in writing so that others are willing to accept them as their own.  The descriptors listed in the above statement are the essence of Lynn Goya!

Many people can write well, and some people speak eloquently, but in my opinion, few people possess the above referenced skill set.  Additionally, few people understand how to apply them in constructive coalition building that effects community change.  Lynn Goya has the skill set described; she has demonstrated effective coalition building time and time again, and through her involvement, she has benefited her community.

During the 2008 Clark County Convention, Ms. Goya chaired the Platform Committee.  I observed Ms. Goya’s patience, active listening skills, ability to advocate, ability to incorporate others’ opinions, and ability to produce a written document that was true to the mission.  As the Chairman of that convention, her responsibilities were huge, and her obstacles were great.  Under Ms. Goya’s leadership, the Platform Committee demonstrated how to take the big tent of ideas, along with compassionate people, and build a coalition where everyone was allowed to participate.  In doing so, Ms. Goya and her committee produced a great document under difficult circumstances on time without any blood-letting.

During one debate over a platform plank regarding juvenile justice which is Ms. Goya’s passion, the vote did not go her way.  Ms Goya advocated for her position without using her position as chair, and she did not anger a very contentious crowd. As I was curious, I left that meeting and did an investigation of my own regarding the treatment of juveniles who find themselves in the justice system.  I must say

Ms. Goya won a convert in me that day with her intellect and passion.

I admire Ms. Goya’s leadership qualities, and I hope the admission committee shares my view. In closing, Ms. Goya will be a great ambassador for Emerge Nevada.  As always, Ms. Goya will donate far more goods to the steward’s pantry than she will ever use!

Sincerely,

William H. Stanley

IUEC Political and Organizing Director

Lynn Goya builds coalitions

Lynn Goya's Writing for Families

Kudos for Lynn Goya’s Writing for Families

Lynn Goya’s writing for families received numerous kudos for each of the four editions of Fun with the Family in Las Vegas by Globe Pequot Press.

“The informal tone and exhaustive detail let you know the author is a mother who knows what kids like and how to find it.”–Daily Herald (Chicago)

From the United States

VespaGal

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2008

I’ve never been to Vegas; never really wanted to, actually. But guess what? We’re a military family and our motto is: ‘Home is where the Air Force sends us.’ How do you tell two teenagers that they have to leave their friends in our nice quiet community to move to “Sin City”? Well, for once, I did the right thing. I picked up Lynn Goya’s book, FUN WITH THE FAMILY LAS VEGAS and poured over the contents in one afternoon. The once crisp clear pages are now folded, marked, tabbed, and highlighted to grab the attention of my once unenthusiatic teens. Well, one month til “zero hour” and we’re ALL (myself included) actually really looking forward to checking out the great kid-friendly activities that Ms. Goya’s book introduced us to. Here’s the thing, my original plan was to avoid “the strip” at all costs — especially with the kids. However, Ms. Goya took me by the hand (well, it felt like that while I was reading it) and showed me each kid-friendly spot that “the strip” has to offer. Anyone for Laser Tag at Circus Circus? Uh, sign me up! Of course, you’ve got the Venetian and their gondola rides (Goya covers all that for you too), but frankly, most kids are going to want to have a hand in choosing which hotel to stay in based on which one has the coolest pool. Guess what, the book lays all that out for you as well. I’m telling you, as a military family we’ve traveled to at least 20 countries and countless states within the US and my bookshelf is busting at the seams with guide books to prove it. When comparing the general information that each of my other books has to offer with Goya’s FWTF LAS VEGAS, I have to say this one holds up on its own. For one, I can’t tell you how many times we would vacation and all my kids would talk about was how bored they were. Too many of today’s books show you where to stay, where to eat, how much each will cost you and the occasional historical building/monument that will take up all of 10 minutes until boredom sets in. How sad is it that we adults forgot how to have fun. I dare you all to try this one out for a day if you find yourself in Vegas. Hit the occasional casino if you want — Goya shows you each one’s kid-friendly hot spots, but get a car and drive off further afield to check out the REAL Las Vegas. Believe it or not people actually live there, and they love it. What’s not to love when you have Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in your back yard!!! Goya’s book covers it all, and more. I, for one, have gotten over the shock of having to relocate to Las Vegas and this book lent a huge hand in that recovery. I’ve got big plans for us all after all of the boxes are unpacked and this book will live permanently in my car for the next three years. Take the challenge and live like a kid again.
Mitch Spradley

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2002

One person found this helpful
Amazon Customer

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2002

wild dolphin

The Problem with Wild Dolphins

The problem with dolphins is that they are not whales.  Because they aren’t and never have been considered endangered, they lack protections that other cetaceans enjoy through the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Until recently the only human threat to wild dolphins was their unintentional capture in tuna nets and their kidnapping for captive dolphin swim and clandestine defense programs.  But the current euphoria over swimming with wild dolphins in once-isolated Hawaiian bays appears to reflect a worldwide surge in frolic with dolphin “eco-tours.”

Four years ago an isolated bay on Oahu had six dolphin watching tours; last year the same bay hosted fifteen tour boat companies that were each carting groups of about 20 snorkelers to dump into the midst of a single spinner dolphin pod.   Add about 15 kayaks from another tour company and a napping bay for dolphins turns into a Friday night frat party – with about the same amount of decorum.

When a dolphin is spotted, boats converge, trying to intercept moving pods or drop their guests into the midst of stationary pods.  There are reports of a tour company off the Big Island that employs kayakers to herd dolphins toward customers.  As boatloads of tourists move in, it appears that dolphins and other sea life move out. Fishermen report that their catches have dropped dramatically, putting their livelihood in jeopardy, even as they dodge “eco-tour” boats.

The reason tour companies can offer dolphin swim programs is because dolphins are predictable.  Each night they swim hundreds of miles to forage for squid and small fish, then return at daybreak to a handful of shallow, sandy-bottomed bays and inlets around the Islands to sleep and reenergize – safe bays that allow dolphins to keep an eye out for marauding sharks.

It is the “absurdity of programs” as well as the increasing volume and intrusiveness of the swimmers that disturbs Peter T. Young, Director for Hawai’i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources.  Programs advertise spiritual communion, healing, and other touchy feeling interspecies exchanges, as well as the lure of interspecies bonding. The most outrageous was a request to start a birthing service with dolphins.  “Not only is that a safety hazard to humans, it has an obvious impact on the dolphins.”  Sharks and dolphins commonly occupy the same waters and those unscripted, and blessedly infrequent, interactions have also been documented.  Last year, “as people were in a boat looking down,” says Young, “a shark came up through middle of a pod with one of the baby dolphins in it mouth.”

The problem is that no single agency has jurisdiction to implement specific programs, although, Young says that the state has been told in “no uncertain terms” that cetacean protection is a federal issue.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries is in charge of coastal waters and cetacean viewing guidelines and on June 16, 2005 NOAA resubmitted the Marine Mammal Protection Act to Congress for reauthorization, along with recommendations for changes to key provisions strengthening enforcement and clarifying “harassment.”  Although scheduled for review every five years, it was last amended in 1994, well before swim with dolphin programs were really an issue.  Connie Barclay, NOAA Fishery agreed that at the last annual meeting of the Marine Mammal Commission “the topic of spinner dolphins was big.”  In mid-May at the NOAA Fisheries meeting of this year in Houston, Young again sought help from individuals within the federal agencies.  We are trying to get all of the different agencies together, said Young.

  • In the meantime, the State of Hawaii passed a bill placing a moratorium on new launching and landing permits to specific bays where dolphins and other marine wildlife have been steadily pushed out by excessive human interaction.  The moratorium will remain in place until an environmental impact study authorized in the same bill is completed (projected date 2007).
  • The State is also amending current permit language to replace existing permits as they expire compelling eco-tours, surfers, drifters, tour boats (and others) to keep the recommended 50 yards away from dolphin pods in bays and to swim away from wildlife or risk losing their permits.

In the cliffs below Kealakekua Bay, where dolphins typically rest, the state implemented a no swim, no vessel area.  “I discussed it with NOAA,” he says, “before we moved forward. Our interest is in resting areas. We are listening to biologists and doing what we can to encourage people to avoid specific activities and to help policy makers make decisions.”  Ideally, Young would like to see the MMPA amended to provide greater clarity on harassment and to allow state and federal agencies to have joint enforcement powers over violators. “Right now there is a 50-yard guideline for spinner dolphins, but that is a guideline, not a specific rule.  We’d like to impose a condition that if a dolphin approaches you in their resting area, you will retreat unless it puts you or the dolphin in danger,” says Young.

“Clearly,” agrees Barclay, “the distinction between ‘viewing’ vs. ‘interacting’ with wild marine mammals needs to be made clear to the public.”

by Lynn Goya

New Pools Make a Big Backyard Splash

If a kitchen is the heart of a home, today’s pools might be the soul.  Top pool designers say that pools are more than just a place to splash with the kids.  Great pools serve as meditation room and entertainment focal point — an idealized reflection of nature that combines sight, sound, light and movement  into a Zen-like space that can help a homeowner when he wants to either focus inward or reflect outward to see his place in the world.

Over-the-top island retreats with sauna caves, 20-foot waterfalls and televisions in the swim up bars have given way to vanishing edges and zero-entry pools that blur the line between the pool, the horizon and the architecture of the house.  The pool design is often integral to the design of the home with architects, landscape architects and pool designers working together to create seamless integrated design that enhances the overall shape of the property.

According to Ed Kahn, editor of Pool and Spa Living and Luxury Pools, water features are more important than ever.  “Most people used to think in terms of fountains,” he says, “but I see an increasing use of jets, sheet falls and waterfalls and various takes on moving water.”  Another trend Kahn sees is a more subtle use of play equipment.  Instead of a diving board or slide, modern design uses shoots and diving rocks that integrate into the design while still creating a safer playing area for the kids.

The best designers, he says, can do it all.  Many use CAD design tools to show what your back yard will look like with various designs and configurations, integrating outdoor kitchen and play areas, the reflection pool, the integrated wiring package and the lights that show everything off to advantage.  That means that it is more important than ever, he says, to get a great pool designer who knows how to pull it all together.

Skip Phillips owner of the internationally award-winning Questar Pools and Spas from Escondido California, agrees.  Sixty percent of his business, he says, is tearing out poorly designed and constructed pools, many that are less than five years old.

It is the package, not just the design that is important, he says.  Make sure that your pool builder has the background and education in construction and engineering that can assure that your beautiful design isn’t ravaged by the design element you most love.  An overflow design that can’t hold water will quickly lose its aesthetic appeal.

Clients are better-educated and more well-traveled than ever, and that is influencing design.  “The U.S. isn’t driving pool design; we are well behind the curve,” he says.  “The Indonesians and Europeans have been designing water vessels for at least 3000 years.”  Phillips designs pools that owners will love whether or not they ever get wet.  “The utilitarian goals of a pool are really second or even third down the line.  With good design, the space itself should be so wonderful with audible and reflective qualities that if you never get in you still won’t regret putting in a pool.”

He advises clients to look for an “intellectual package” that coordinates with the home’s architecture on color continuity, balance, scale and structure.  A good pool designer can switch gears, he advises.  Most architects have a theme, but a pool designer has to be able to go from working with an antebellum mansion to a French château.

Many pool designers emphasize the importance of finding a contractor who is an expert in your soil and climate conditions.  Joe Vassallo with Las Vegas-based Paragon Pools is an expert  in his region as well as in all the bells and whistles that glitzy Las Vegans demand.  Situated in one of the fastest growing housing markets in the country, in his 14 pool-building years he has watched the pool design scene transform.

He loves playing with new technologies that allow him to offer greater safety and convenience or more sophisticated design. New lighting effects, for instance, let a homeowner change the color of the pool at whim;  “wet flame” water features can add a dramatic third element to pool design.

Vassallo often installs Fiberstars Jazz Light ™ that uses the same lamp technology found in many luxury cars today.  Brighter, whiter light enhances colors creating a brilliant glow throughout the pool.  It is also the most energy efficient pool light available with bulbs that offer a 10,000-hour life, adding beauty while saving money.

Safety is always designed into every pool he designs, says Vassallo, who joined with the City of Las Vegas and the Red Cross to sponsor an annual Pool Safety Fair.  He would love to see all pools take advantage of the new laser technology that is invisible to the eye, sets off an alarm whenever it is crossed.  “It works for burglars as well as little kids,” he laughs.

The alarm system can be retrofitted to an existing pool as well as easily be incorporated into the new integrated wiring packages that many new homeowners are installing both indoors and out.  The Jandy AquaLink Control system lets homeowners heat up the spa, turn on water features, control the backyard lighting, see if the cleaner is running and check on their pool equipment from inside the home or from a cell phone or remote computer.

Vassallo has become a leader in salt-water pools, as well, and loves how gentle these pools are on the skin – as well as on the finish materials of the pool.  Clients absolutely love the effect when combined with an ultraviolet ozone generator and top-of-the-line filtration system.  “It just feels wonderful!” he says.

With all of this technology, advises Vassallo, follow-up service is mandatory and should be performed by the company, not the product manufacturer.  “You want equipment and service where if something goes wrong, a technician shows up and you aren’t stuck with a call center who walks you through diagnostics over the phone.”

Scottsdale-based Mike Ferraro of Phoenecian Pools also emphasizes the importance of selecting a pool company that will be with you long term.  Like other leading pool designers across the West, his clients want clean, architectural lines that expand their outdoor space.

A specialist in hill design, one of his favorite pools cantilevers over the edge of a cliff in a vanishing edge design that disappears into the horizon.  The last 12-feet of the pool are actually suspended in air, he says.

He recommends looking for someone who is familiar with your area so that they can design to your lot and location.  “We design, build and maintain our pools and I think doing all three means we understand the workings of a particular system like no one else.”

His clients are requesting pools that incorporate either natural materials like quartzite, travertine and flagstone or glass tiles that reflect the desert light.  Zero-edge pools, classic, clean linear design that has a timeless feel is also hot, he says.

Water features are as varied and inventive as possible.  Ferraro is using a lot of copper and bronze sculptures with water running from pouring vessels or from hand-carved scuppers that come directly out of the pool wall.

He also likes to integrate big granite boulders that blend in with the surrounding landscape.  Stacked stone walls that mimic Anasazi structures can stay dry or become “wet walls” that allow water to subtly trickle through the cracks to imitate a natural stone seep.

“People love old-world looking pools,” he says, “but with a modern twist.”

 

by Lynn Goya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

designers are using tile increasingly creative ways

There’s Something about Tile

12-31-2003

There is something about tile that is timeless and personal in a way that no other home finish can match.  It can fit the interior of a remodeled house built in the last century or a post-modern loft that looks as if it were plucked from the future.  If tile is anything – and it is anything today – it is the most personal of all finishes available to today’s luxury homeowner.

Deedee Gundberg, senior designer for tile and stone for Ann Sacks, says tile can achieve almost any design you can imagine.  “You can go modern, traditional, transitional — anything is possible.”  Founder Ann Sacks retired in 2003, after building a company that features quality hand made tiles from a variety of exclusive artists.  They currently have between 40 – 50 artists who design exclusively for Ann Sacks and whose work is featured throughout their 17 showrooms around the country.

There are more options in types of materials available than ever before.  “It is fun for designers to come up with new and creative ways to use these materials,” she says.  She sees designers mixing colors and shapes together, combining striking decorative metal or glass accent tiles with stone or ceramic tiles to create a very personal style for their clients.  “Different mediums look beautiful together,” she says.

But tile isn’t just for the kitchen, bath and floor anymore, says Gundberg.  Tile is more and more seen throughout the house.  Rich leather tiles can warm up a study or add elegance to an elevator.  Stainless steel tiles add drama to a modern kitchen.

Glass tiles have gone from an exciting trend to a design staple over the past five years.  The iridescent Loom, manufactured from an antique mold by the acclaimed Bisazza factory of Italy, uses hand weaving to create a texture that appears to soften and warm the glass.  The Erin Adam collection is another popular glass tile that has been featured in everything from kitchen backsplashes to framing a fireplace.

Antique stone tiles may be the ultimate luxury.  Culled from ancient streets, public buildings and houses in France and Spain, the terra cotta tiles can be anywhere from 200 to 1000 years old.  The Biblical tiles, thick limestone slabs from Israel, can be up to 2000 years old.   The tiles are reclaimed, cleaned and labeled to show where and when they were originally laid.  “It is very beautiful,” says Gundberg. “They have developed a patina over time so they have a really beautiful surface.“

Jennifer Capasso, head of sales for Walker Zanger, agrees homeowners are progressively more sophisticated consumers.  Many visit the showroom time after time to make sure that they find exactly what they want. “They go to our showroom and to all of our competitors before they make their decision,” says Capasso.

“Our clients go for a look without being concerned with the cost,” says Capasso.  “They might use a neutral limestone or slate and then add a little kick of glass as an accent piece or to carve out a space,” says Capasso.  They feel pretty safe [without a designer] because they have gone to the websites, the magazines, the showrooms.

For more than 50 years Walker Zanger has specialized in Old World stone culled from quarries around the world and tile lines produced by domestic and international artisans that combine traditional tile-making techniques with modern sensibilities.

Homeowners are buying ceramic tiles with smaller and more interesting shapes,” she says.  People can’t seem to get enough of the “subway tile,” a clean brick-shaped tile that is stunning in white and is often used in backsplashes or tiled walls.

Capasso loves the floors that combine different shapes or sized of tiles to create a random pattern.  To be effective, she warns, that kind of treatment is best when it is used in a large space.

“Patine is the hottest metal tile we have right now and we can’t keep it in stock,” she says. This embossed copper tile is usually used as an accent in the kitchen.  Glass is also very hot right now, adds Capasso who loves when clients install glass tiles along the water line in pools.

But at the end of the day, we are selling stone,” she admits.  The last two years has seen their stone lines expand from one to five lines.  Wine connoisseurs love to create a wine cellar encased in natural stone.  The natural insulating abilities keep the temperature and humidity constant, but it is the beauty of the room that is the real draw.  “Stone is authentic; it has been around for thousands of years,” says Capasso.  “It makes your house look like it has been there since the 12th century.”

Leigh O’Dell, marketing director for Pratt & Larson Ceramics, loves the versatility of ceramic tiles.  The twenty-five year old company started out with two people in a basement and has grown to encompass 100 employees, 120 showrooms and a reputation that is second to none.  Aside from the designs generated by the owner and the designers, any employee can produce a design and if adopted will get a royalty every time it is purchased.  “We release new tiles every other month,” says O’Dell.  The Portland showroom is as much a market research center as a showroom.  “We always try to keep our ear to the ground and respond to what our dealers tell us customers are saying.”

Their classic line still sells like hotcakes and includes traditional images of fruits, vegetables, animals and flowers.  The last two years, however, has seen the company add an historical line of egg and dart tiles and glass tiles designed by tile makers from Seattle and California.

Their more recent lines, however, are also very popular and include timeless designs like harlequin tiles and 2-inch hexagon and 2-inch diamond tiles primarily used in bathroom flooring, counters and surrounds. “We have seen a move back to the retro bathrooms,” says O’Dell.

“Almost every order is custom made,” says O’Dell. Pratt & Larson has 1000 different tiles with a library of 300 standard color options, “but if you can’t find the right pink,” says O’Dell, “we will match it for you.  We can truly customize the order.  There are very few dos and don’ts in our line.”

Any style can be ordered in any of their four distinctive glaze lines:  R-gloss, Parchment matte, Watercolor and Craftsman, as well as several specialty glazes.  “We can make a black bear, a brown bear or a polar bear with a red eye,” says O’Dell, who has been with the company for 12 years.  For the Oregon museum of Science and Industry they created bas relief tiles that included a cog and wheel, insects and a human skull.  “You don’t often get projects like that,” she laughs.

by Lynn Goya

Published in Estates West

12-31-2003