Local Industry News & Notes for Sunday, January 4, 2009

• KIUC drops rates

• Professional appraisal organizations react

• G. N. Wilcox Trust awards $10,000 grant

• Sealy leads industry in mattress ‘greening’

• Raising the bar on business communications

KIUC drops rates

Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) announces its rates have dropped for the month of January. Residential effective rates dropped from $0.27453 in December to $0.24308 per kilowatt hour for the month of January.

Decreases in our monthly effective electrical rates reflect decreases in our monthly fuel costs, because the energy adjustment component captures the cost difference between the current fuel costs and the fuel costs that were used to calculate the base rates.

The recent reductions in oil prices have translated into reduced January diesel and naphtha fuel prices for KIUC, which is automatically passed on to members and customers in reduced effective rates.

For current rate information, go to www.kiuc.coop

Professional appraisal organizations react 

The nation’s largest organizations of professional real estate appraisers – the American Society of Appraisers, the Appraisal Institute, the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers – have issued the following statement in reaction to the revised Home Valuation Code of Conduct (Appraisal Code) released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

Now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have taken steps to improve appraisal quality by establishing an Appraisal Code, we suggest lenders set their policies to use the most competent appraisers available. Now more than ever we need to return to the time-tested process of choosing appraisers based on quality, not price. We firmly believe the best and most efficient way for lenders to identify competent appraisers is to seek out those with advanced education, experience and credentials including professional appraisal designations.

We are reviewing the revised Appraisal Code to study its impact on the appraisal profession and the mortgage lending industry. While we applaud the thrust of the Appraisal Code to increase appraisal independence, we have continuing concerns that certain elements are at odds with the goal of obtaining competently prepared appraisals, specifically, provisions that place increasing reliance on unregulated appraisal management companies. Like much of the mortgage industry during the years that lead up to the current housing crisis, these entities are unregulated. Further, the current business model of many appraisal management companies places appraisal quality last, while shifting the cost of appraisal management services to the consumer without any disclosure. 

For many years after the Great Depression, lenders sought out competent appraisers as a central component of risk management activities. This system worked. Those tables turned in recent years however, as the lending industry became dominated by loan production and computerized risk management. We pledge to work with Congress to reestablish and emphasize the fundamentals of collateral valuation as it reviews the future of the mortgage lending industry next year.

ASA is an international organization of appraisal professionals and others dedicated to the education, development and growth of the appraisal profession. ASA is the oldest and only major organization representing all disciplines of appraisal specialists, originating in 1936 and incorporating in 1952. ASA’s headquarters is in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

G. N. Wilcox Trust awards $10,000 grant

Hale ‘Opio is a non-profit organization whose mission is “Embracing Children and Youth Entrusted to Our Care”, and has been providing community-based programs for education, prevention, diversion, and treatment for children and youth, ages 0-20 yrs., since 1975. 

Maintenance of properties always presents challenges, but for non-profit agencies, the issue is especially daunting. Most foundations and other donors want to support programs directly related to the at-risk adolescents in our care. Many people of Kaua`i give generously from their hearts and provide support directly benefiting the youth we serve.  However, when it comes to the less glamorous or more mundane needs like maintenance of our facilities, it is usually very hard to find people’s hearts touched by this need. We are extremely fortunate to find support for these projects from some foundations and trusts, like the G. N. Wilcox Trust.

Owning our own facilities presents challenges of upkeep and repair that must be met by monies from fundraising efforts. In 2009, we plan to begin work to establish a fund set aside only for maintenance and repairs expenses such as bamboo removal, interior or exterior painting, plumbing problems, roof repairs or replacing a floor.  In December, Kalepa Sunrise Rotary Club helped us paint almost half of the Boy’s House interior walls. The final coat in some rooms will be completed by a Boy Scout troop during their holiday break while they are working on their Eagle Scout requirements.  Mahalo to all who help us provide residential services for youth in need.  We share the success of our youth with you, as it truly does take ALL of Kaua`i to raise a youth! 

Hale `Opio is very grateful for the support from individuals, companies, and foundations such as the G. N. Wilcox Trust, who continue to extend their support of our programs, including those essential maintenance projects that allow us to provide residential services to youth in need.

Sealy leads industry in mattress ‘greening’

The demand for greener living is permeating every aspect of everyday life. Hotel guests are evaluating the products and services they buy and use for green attributes at unprecedented levels. Even as individuals travel, they are reassessing how they will get there, where they will stay and what impact they will leave behind. Being socially responsible is no longer a corporate nicety, but a necessity to remain relevant and profitable. Globally, hotels and motels are exploring ways to accommodate green seekers cost-effectively without sacrificing guest comfort.

While conventional pillowtops cannot be detached from mattresses, the innovative reversible pillowtop on the Sealy Posturepedic Convertible Collection mattress has been engineered to be easily removed, rotated or replaced by a single person using Velcro brand fasteners, which adhere the pillowtop to the mattress’ core. Rotating and inverting the pillowtop allows for four different sleep-surface configurations, extending product life and lowering the total cost of ownership. Instead of replacing the bed every five to seven years, just the pillowtop can be replaced.

Environmentally, the effect of Sealy Posturepedic Convertible Collection pillowtops is dramatic. A hotelier could cut their number of discarded mattresses in half, over a 15-year period.

In addition to appeasing customers’ appetites for all things green and providing cost savings for hospitality providers, the Sealy Posturepedic Convertible Collection provides the opportunity to enhance customer satisfaction and increase average daily rates through a superior sleep experience.

For more information on the Sealy Convertible Collection, go to www.sealyhospitality.com

Raising the bar on business communications

On New Years Day, 2004, The Graphics Grapevine launched, with the goal of raising the bar on print communications produced in-house by Kaua`i small businesses. The personal computer had given non-designers broad access to the software, fonts, and artwork to build fliers, brochures, ads and mailers.

The Grapevine, a quarterly online e-zine, started with design basics. A guest article in the premiere issue, “What is Graphic Design?” reminds us how widespread (yet invisible) graphic design is in our lives and attempts to define the art form.

Tips on layout, type, color, photography, image resolution, graphic effects, file formats, creative problem-solving, branding, marketing, copywriting and more arrive in subscribers’ e-mail boxes once each quarter. The stand-alone articles are printer-friendly pdf files so readers can pick and choose what’s relevant for them to download and save.

The scope of the e-zine has also expanded beyond graphic design over time, flowing naturally into branding and marketing, and most recently into human motivation and sales psychology.

The current “anniversary” issue is, in fact, all about copywriting. Other special editions have been dedicated to color, digital photography, type, and marketing. Linda Pizzitola, principal of Kauai Design Graphics Inc., welcomes questions and suggestions for future topics. To subscribe, e-mail: linda@kauaidesign.com with “Graphics Grapevine” in the subject line.

For a free consultation on your upcoming design or copywriting project, contact Pizzitola at 822-0055. See sample projects, a client list, back issues of The Graphics Grapevine and more at  www.kauaidesign.com