Fishman Realty

Daylight Savings Time ends at 12:01am on November 6^th.

With that are a few things to think about:

• If you use a timer on your electricity, don’t forget to reset it to the new time
• It is also a great time to check/change your fire alarm batteries
• Pull in your hoses and turn off the water to your spiget
• Don’t forget about your furnace.  It should probably be cleaned before the cold settles in
• And if you’ve forgotten to have your sewage pumped (for you well people) you might want to get that done before the ground freezes.
• You might do a test run with your generator (if you haven’t already had to use it) in the light of day while you still have power and time to make any repairs if needed
• Have you lined up your plow company for your driveway (your young shoveler)
• Do you have canned food?  More importantly, I suppose, do you have a manual can opener? Get your “power outgage plan” in place before you need it!  Who wants to be in the long lines at the grocery store the day of the storm?  Well, unless you like the social aspect…. 

 As we prepare for the typical Maine weather, we always want to be like the Boy Scouts and “be prepared”!  Are you?

Many Smiles and Warm Wishes!

What a weird weekend!!  The Patriots lost to the Steelers, Maine received several inches of snow pre Halloween, and now many people’s attention is being turned to the seemingly strange election for Mayor in Portland.
This morning alone I have gotten four separate communications from potential Mayor Candidates in my email.  It seems so confusing with 15 candidates to choose from and Maine’s first use of a ranked voting system.  So with that in mind I decided to do a little web research and share my findings with you.

My first question…
What is ranked voting and how is it different from other types of voting?
What I learned about Ranked Voting is that it provides an alternative to plurality and runoff elections. In a plurality election, the highest vote-getter wins even if s/he receives less than 50% in the first round and voters must return to the polls a second time.   It seems to me this Ranked voting system, all though confusing at first glance helps to eliminate the need for multiple trips to the voting booth, while also helping to decrease some of the negativity sometimes associated with elections.  The candidates are forced to be more aware of the fact that even if they are not an individual’s first choice each and every vote still could affect their chances for candidacy.   They seem less inclined to bad mouth their opponents.  This I like!
How many choices for Mayor will I need to be prepared to make? 
With 15 Candidates to choose from I have been trying to spend some time figuring out just which one I will choose.  Little did I realize I need to know which one I want in order from 1-15. “On the ballot will be 15 names, and voters will be allowed rank their choices from 1 to 15. The ballot is too complicated to be understood by the city’s voting machines, so only first-place votes will be announced on the night of the election,” said Caleb Kleppner, vice president of TrueBallot Inc. 
I found a really good article written by David Sharp of the Sun Journal that helped me understand more about the new voting system and what could be expected.  http://www.sunjournal.com/news/state/0001/11/30/portland-mayoral-election-be-nontraditional-quirky/1105520?fb_ref=.Tq7KuYrlBLQ.like&fb_source=profile_oneline
I hope everyone takes the time to do a little research of their own on this topic as I am such a fan of our Little City and think it is very important that we take the choice for Mayor serious.  Good luck and happy voting 1 week from tomorrow!

Just for fun!

• Total U.S. pumpkin production in 2008 in major pumpkin producing states was valued at $141 million.
• Total production of pumpkins by major pumpkin-producing states in 2008: 1.1 billion pounds
• 496 million pounds of pumpkins were produced in Illinois in 2008.
• Thetop pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
• The top ten pumpkin producing counties in Illinois are Tazewell, Kankakee, Mason, Logan, Will, Marshall, Kane, Pike, Carroll and Woodford.
• Pumpkins are grown primarily for processing with a small percentage grown for ornamental sales through you-pick farms, farmers’ market and retail sales.
• Around 90 to 95% of the processed pumpkins in the United States are grown in Illinois.
• Pumpkin seeds can be roasted as a snack.
• Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A.
• Pumpkins are used for feed for animals.
• Pumpkin flowers are edible.
• Pumpkins are used to make soups, pies and breads.
• The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
• Pumpkins are members of the vine crops family called cucurbits.
• Pumpkins originated in Central America.
• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
• Pumpkins range in size from less than a pound to over 1,000 pounds.
• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
• The name pumpkin originated from “pepon” – the Greek word for “large melon.”
• The Connecticut field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.
• Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
• Pumpkins are fruit.
• Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October.
• In colonial times, Native Americans roasted long strips of pumpkin in an open fire.
• Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.
• Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
• Native Americans called pumpkins “isqoutm squash.”
• Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

Source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/facts.cfm

On July 11th the Red Cross in Portland, Maine issued a Press Release stating that, “New England Red Cross blood supply has dropped to critically low levels.” The Red Cross is in desperate need of donors with all different blood types to help them recover from this shortage. 

Please join our staff September 14th, from 12:00-7:00, and donate to this very worthy cause.   Our office is sponsoring a public Blood Drive at the Red Cross on 524 Forest Avenue.  All donors will be entered in a raffle to win a $100 Gift Card to Home Depot to put towards their next home project, and will also receive the heartwarming feeling that comes from possibly saving another person’s life.  

Individuals who are 17 years of age, meet weight and height requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on their height) and are in generally good health may be eligible to give blood. Please bring your Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID when you come to donate.

I recieved this link today and thought I should share it with everyone. It is map of the United States that shows where Americans are moving to and from organized by County. Click on Maine then click on the Cumberland County. It is very apparent that more people are moving out of Maine then are moving to Maine. Makes me wonder what we can do as a State to change this and bring people and business to Maine. Check it out it’s very interesting!http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html

Who wouldn’t love to stay home and work all day in their pajamas? This is definitely one of the advantages I can see to working from home. It can also be one of the disadvantages depending on your personality and work style.

Working from home or “telecommuting,” provides many people with more time with their family, flexibility, and a financial savings on office expenses. There is also a savings on gas, wardrobe, not to mention time spent traveling to and from work.

So what are the disadvantages to working from home?  Over 40 % of the U.S. population could work from home at least part-time if they wanted to, but don’t.

Why is this?  If you are someone that has worked from home in the past, I don’t need to tell you that there is a competitive spirit that comes from getting out of the house and going to the office every day. Some people experience less pressure when “telecommuting,” and have less drive to succeed subsequently. There is also the personal distraction of chores, phone calls, children and pets that can limit the amount of work you get done from home. These may be the reasons that you decided to stay home in the first place.

If you are a business owner that is currently working from home and finding it is not fitting your work style, contact Fishman Realty Group. The available office space in Portland is plentiful and we can surely find something within your budget and close to home. And if working in your pajamas is a must…You can make that a company policy in your new office!