Quite simply – Americans tend to agree that we should regulate our CO2 pollutants, we are supportive of rebates for purchases of solar and fuel efficient vehicles, and among other areas we are electing more officials to urge action on global warming. Visit wwwAmericanProgress.org to read the full article and see some helpful charts.

To do your part in making a switch to cleaner energy, you can register for a free solar assessment today at OpenNeighborhoods.net

Join other Venice residents for a birthday party at the Whole Foods Market Venice store. The event will feature free samples and music on September 17th, a healthy eating party for kids and a wine tasting for adults on September 18th, and a raffle complete with birthday cake on September 20th.

In addition to these fun activities, a few Whole Foods vendor partners are joining in on the celebration!  From a special sweepstakes with a chance to win an all expenses paid trip to Muir Glen to free Odwalla bars (Sept. 18-20), special birthday products throughout the store, and donations made to Whole Foods Market’s Whole Planet.

Whole Foods Market Jamboree is located at 225 Lincoln Blvd in Venice. For more information, please visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com.

TreePeople is an environmental nonprofit that unites the power of trees, people and technology to grow a sustainable future for Los Angeles. Simply put, their work is about helping nature heal our cities. They will have their acclaimed “Watershed in a Suitcase” on hand to illustrate the role that trees play in harvesting rainwater in our urban watershed.

Stop by to learn about the experiences you can have with them as well. Have you been up to their park and enjoyed the trails? It is a great afternoon of easy hikes with the kids. Did you know that they have an amphitheater with summer programs?

Featuring performances by Exactly, Bone Creek, PLUS, Steven Boz. Laura Leavitt, Artisan Venice. Come at 6pm for free Happy Hour Acoustic Set and enjoy ½ price drafts and apps.

The Waterfront Concert Theater – 4411 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, 90292

Writing is known to be a restorative tool that reduces stress and bolsters the immune system, so come join us for what promises to be a transformative experience. Instructor Karin Gutman has been working with writers for 10 years helping them to discover, develop and write their life-based stories. She also teaches at UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

For more information, visit: www.writetoheal.com

Sign up before December 3, 2010 to learn more:

• Free solar assessment of your home or business
• Group pricing of solar panels with 20-30% discount
• Residential/commercial solar rebate
• 30% federal tax credit
• Immediate savings on your electric bill with solar lease

Program Details

SELECTED INSTALLER: After a competitive bidding process, Open Neighborhoods has selected Martifer Solar USA for community-wide solar installations and group solar discounts in the Los Angeles area until December 3rd.  Based in West LA, Martifer Solar is major solar installer and has completed numerous local installations including Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, the Pasadena Unified School District and numerous residential homes throughout Los Angeles.

PRICING: Martifer Solar USA is offering all-inclusive residential and commercial pricing starting at $4.78/Watt (DC) for fully-installed American-made SolarWorld panels, including web-based performance monitoring.  Group pricing may drop to $4.22/Watt DC based on total participation.

ELIGIBILITY: The program is open to residential and commercial customers of both LADWP and SoCal Edison. Renters – please note that property owner contact information is essential for a free solar assessment.

FINANCING:

• Residential

1. Zero down lease – available through Apollo Energy (LADWP customers) or Sun Power (SoCal Edison customers) with no upfront costs and immediate electric bill savings for qualified installations.
2. Cash purchase: 3-payment schedule
3. Same As Cash: all payments and any interest deferred for 6-12 months (up to $45,000)
4. Home Equity line of Credit-  a line of credit through home owner’s bank will offer most attractive rates.
5. Solar Loan -  a solar-friendly bank like Bank of America may provide financing for the project.

• Commercial
  

1. Commercial Lease – Property lease panels until the end of the lease term and will have an opportunity to buy the system out right after the end of the term.
2. Cash – Property owner pays cash for project installation.
3. Line of Credit- financed with line of credit in which building was purchased.
4. SolarLoan from Bank – Martifer will work with client to get best rate possible.
5. SoCal Edison commercial customers may also qualify for revenue-generating power-purchase agreements (PPA) in which a third-party company will buy the system and components and take all rebate and tax credits.  The system buyer sells energy to the commercial property energy at a lower cost.

Solar Carport System

SOLAR PRODUCTS: Martifer Solar is offering the same all-inclusive group pricing for ground or roof-mounted panels, solar carports and shade structures.  Where applicable Martifer Solar may also include its proprietary solar tracking sysem that follows the sun’s movement through the sky and improves productivity of solar generation by up to 25% higher.

LOCAL EVENTS: Open Neighborhoods is offering solar workshops and information sessions across the Westside to present information on green power purchasing options, available solar tax credits and utility rebates, and the economics of how solar results in immediate electricity savings.

Sign up today to get notified about our local events and workshops — and learn how you can save on your electric bill with no upfront costs.

Come out this SATURDAY, AUGUST 21 from 10AM to 12Noon to Beethoven Elementary at 3711 Beethoven Street, Mar Vista.

Download the flyer here.

Saturday August 21st, 10am-6pm

Westfield Culver City
6000 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230

Learn how to get all the business features you need on your WordPress site.

A new online webinar from Lucy Beer of WebTrainingWheels.com:

Set Up Your WordPress Site For Success
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (PT)
Fee: $10
More info, register: http://wordpress-business.eventbrite.com/

We deliver all over Southern California. Log on to www.nutrifitonline.com or call (310) 473-1989 to learn more.

Tip Number Six: Yes, you can dye your eyebrows when you get your hair done. Have grey hairs in your eyebrows? Feel like the color is not quite matching with your haircolor? Ask your stylist to tint them while you are having your color done–the charge will be minimal, if any, and you will be thrilled with the results. Some salons may have you sign a release for this–but it’s only to protect them if you have an allergic reaction or something strange.  If your stylist knows you well, and has a history of coloring your hair, this will not be an issue. If you are concerned, they can do a little test on a sensitive area of skin beforehand to give you piece of mind.

Mary Kay Holmes has been a hairstylist in Los Angeles for 12 years, and works out of a private studio space in Culver City. After growing up in New Mexico and moving to California in 1995 to work in the movie industry, she settled in Mar Vista with her husband and two children in 2005. Now if only she could figure out how to add an ocean view and infinity pool to her roof, she would consider this neighborhood paradise! Check out her website www.mkstyles.com.

Along with a 30% federal tax credit and utility rebates you can now own panels for a fraction of their actual cost. Or you can avoid any upfront costs and realize instant savings with a monthly lease payment that is less than your electric bill. The program is open to residential and commercial customers of LADWP and SoCal Edison.

We will be conducting a series of events and workshops in the coming months in Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, Mar Vista and Del Rey.

Sign up now to receive a free solar assessment. Come learn details tomorrow August 13th for a candlelight evening in the garden at Earl’s Gourmet Grub’s Fish Fryday in Mar Vista — 6pm to 9pm at 12226 Venice Boulevard. RSVP to eat@earlsgourmetgrub.com.

Tip Number Six: What Is Accepting? “What is” is the root of relieving all suffering, stress, and fear. Having the willingness to accept any pain we may have is how we come to know our happiness. By knowing the source of our tension and why it is there, we open the doorway to change. For example, a boyfriend didn’t call you back when he said he would and it hurt your feelings, or a co-worker spilled coffee on important papers and you freaked because you didn’t have copies, or you lost your patience with a driver who blocked you in at a Trader Joe’s parking lot. Accept imperfection. When we greet whatever is happening with acceptance, we take things less personally and experience more inner-balance. Realizing that you cannot always change your circumstances or other people’s, ask yourself if you can accept yourself in the present situation as it is.

Lynn Zavaro is an author and artist who has emerged as a defining voice in the art of guiding others to know themselves and create the life they want through the lens of spiritual psychology. She has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in a clinic counseling individuals, couples, children and youth groups. Lynn developed a series of interactive and experiential books and games to support others in having fun while artfully discovering themselves on their creative life paths. Her book and card deck set, The Game of You – An Interactive Way to Know Yourself, Create the Life You Want releases this Fall 2010 from Schiffer Publishing. Find out more about Lynn, her upcoming workshops, and play a free sample game on her website: www.gameofyou.com. Lynn also writes a weekly food blog combining The Game of You cards with a little insight, story and a recipe or two: www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com. She lives in Venice, CA.

The fish will be frying and the brews flowing from 6pm to 9pm on Lucky Fryday the 13th of August. Price is $12.95 per person, kids under ten half price. 12226 Venice Boulevard, Mar Vista. RSVP by Wednesday, August 11th to eat@earlsgourmetgrub.com.

Tip Number Six: Setting Boundaries:  Women who are juggling work, family, aging parents, start-up businesses, and relationship issues are subject to constant demands from others.  By learning to set healthy boundaries, you’ll feel better, and so will everyone you interact with.  Healthy boundaries are created from strength rather than fear.  Healthy boundaries mean being able to say yes when you mean it, and say no like you mean it.  Clarity, consistency, and a firm belief that you deserve adequate time and resources to respond to a request will help you respond to others with good boundaries.  Practice setting small boundaries, and the bigger ones will seem like less of a challenge.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and frequent speaker and author specializing in women’s health and well-being, and chronic health issues. Learn more about her practice at www.drkubacky.com.

Tip Number Six: Track Your Efforts. A good web analytics software such as Google Analytics (which is free) is a must in order to properly track and analyze your online marketing efforts. You will be able to see where traffic is coming from, which of your website pages are most popular, what keywords are leading people to your site, how long they stay, what they click on and much more. So for each of your marketing efforts you should be able to see the results and determine whether it was cost-effective or not. Repeat or expand on those efforts that are working and refine or drop those efforts that aren’t making any headway. If you speak to customers over the phone, or in your store, always ask how they found you and keep a record of that information – not all data can be gathered from your website. Looking at the keywords will give you insight into how people really search for your business and can give you ideas for ways to add to, or tweak your website content.

Lucy Beer is an online marketing professional of more than 8 years. She loves to consult with and teach small businesses and entrepreneurs how to develop their online marketing strategies. She works one-on-one with individuals, or in small groups to train your staff, whether you are a total beginner or are looking to take your web marketing to the next level. She is also a WordPress-aholic and provides WordPress training. She blogs at www.webtrainingwheels.com and you can reach her at: lucy@webtrainingwheels.com

Come celebrate the re-launch of the site as Los Angeles’ leading source for news on the effort to green and clean our county’s transportation system.

To celebrate the “re-launch,” LA Streets Blog is throwing a party and fundraiser in West L.A. on August 25th. The party starts at 7:00 at 11555 National Boulevard and will feature drinks and munchies served in a casual atmosphere. Who’s coming? Some Streetsblog royalty: Sierra Club leader Darrell Clarke, Move L.A.’s Denny Zane and the Green L.A. Girl herself to name a few.

The suggested cost of admission is $20 with a $5 discount for students. All this is on a sliding scale…Streetsblog isn’t going to turn anyone away that wants to hang out. You can pay at the door or in advance via PayPal.

Drinks, munchies, a raffle, a chance to hang out with cool people…and all for $20 ($15 for students). Naturally, these are suggested donations, you won’t be turned away anyone if you want to get down with Streets…blog.

You can donate at the door or through PayPal or JustGive through the Streetsblog website at http://la.streetsblog.org/

For our transit riding friends, The Big Blue Bus Line 8 runs from both UCLA and Santa Monica right by the St. Andrews. Look for the stop at National and Federal.

http://www.bigbluebus.com/busroutes/location/index.asp?routeid=8

Let’s party! Because the next day it’s back to work…

Tip Number Six: Keep Looking For Offers. The top 3 factors, in my humble opinion, that get a home sold are: location, price, & accessibility. So you’ve got all 3 going for you & now have an offer. Woohoo! Right about now, most homeowners want to stop doing open houses & limit when to show their home. This mindset is similar to switching from running to walking when the finish line is in site. If you have a great offer & the perfect buyer for your home, keep showing it! Maybe you’ve even become friends with the buyer, great! But if anything happens to their loan, their cash, they change their mind. Guess what? You start all over again! Don’t stop until you cross the finish line, in this case means your home is officially SOLD! Click through this slide show for tips on how to create accessability: http://homesellingdiy.com/archives/66

Kim Halverson is a second generation Realtor, with her sister Kristine, in Los Angeles’ Westside. Her focus incorporates qualities that result in confidence and trust from buyers and sellers.  See more about Kim at: www.KimAndKristine.com. Also for practical home selling tips go to: www.HomeSellingDIY.com

Tip Number Five: If you have frizzy hair and want to save yourself time in the morning, get a Brazilian Blowout. Yes, they are expensive…but if you can let your hair air dry wavy with no frizz or blow out in half the time, isn’t an investment worth it?  Do a consult with your stylist and find out if your texture is a good candidate–I have a client who called from Florida and was air drying with no frizz!

Mary Kay Holmes has been a hairstylist in Los Angeles for 12 years, and works out of a private studio space in Culver City. After growing up in New Mexico and moving to California in 1995 to work in the movie industry, she settled in Mar Vista with her husband and two children in 2005. Now if only she could figure out how to add an ocean view and infinity pool to her roof, she would consider this neighborhood paradise! Check out her website www.mkstyles.com.

Tip Number Five: Loving-Kindness.  Loving-kindness is the end-all-be-all of discovering our true happiness. How much we love ourselves is directly equal in proportion to how much we are capable of loving and receiving love. To affectively embrace and embody the act of loving ourselves, we have to be kind to ourselves and respectful. This loving-kindness placed toward us will then project outwardly to others. In full circle it will reflect back to us. Take a moment to see if there is a way you are being hard on yourself like judging yourself for not being good enough at your job, or basing your inner-value by the amount of money you have in the bank, or feeling undeserving of a friend’s compliment. Learning how to offer ourselves more loving-kindness softens our heart and enables us to care for ourselves more deeply in order to cultivate more generosity towards others with greater ease.

Lynn Zavaro is an author and artist who has emerged as a defining voice in the art of guiding others to know themselves and create the life they want through the lens of spiritual psychology. She has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in a clinic counseling individuals, couples, children and youth groups. Lynn developed a series of interactive and experiential books and games to support others in having fun while artfully discovering themselves on their creative life paths. Her book and card deck set, The Game of You – An Interactive Way to Know Yourself, Create the Life You Want releases this Fall 2010 from Schiffer Publishing. Find out more about Lynn, her upcoming workshops, and play a free sample game on her website: www.gameofyou.com. Lynn also writes a weekly food blog combining The Game of You cards with a little insight, story and a recipe or two: www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com. She lives in Venice, CA.

Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, NextAid, and international fitness and self-esteem program, KidTribe, host a unique, community event and fundraiser. Funds raised go towards building Women and Girls’ Health Resource Centers in Sierra Leone and Namibia. This special day of “edutainment” will raise awareness of the plight of young women and girls in developing countries.

When: August 7, 2010, 2pm – 5pm (Media call time 1pm, arrivals 2pm)

Where:  At the historic Jim Henson Company lot (originally the Charlie Chaplin Studio and more recently the A&M Studio) at 1416 La Brea Blvd, Los Angeles 90028.

Contact: Susan von Seggern, 213-840-0077, susan@susanvonseggern.com

The minimum donation for entry is $15 per child or $50 for a family of four. Proceeds will go towards building Women and Girls’ Health Resource Centers in Sierra Leone and Namibia.

To purchase tickets or make a donation, visit NextAid www.nextaid.org/donation.htm. For more information, please visit the FACEBOOK Page or email events@nextaid.org or call (424-298-8451),

Tip Number Five: Your Thyroid, Depression, and Anxiety:  Your thyroid is a small gland in your neck that impacts over 100 bodily systems and functions.  If it’s unbalanced, you can experience debilitating symptoms.  On the mental health front, under-active thyroid (hypothyroid) can mimic depression, and over-active thyroid (hyperthyroid) can present as anxiety.  Women are more inclined towards hypothyroidism than men.  If you’re feeling “off,” make sure you and/or your therapist are considering all the possibilities, including underlying physical causes.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and frequent speaker and author specializing in women’s health and well-being, and chronic health issues. Learn more about her practice at www.drkubacky.com.

Tip Number Five: Be Social. Many business owners groan at the thought of social media, another item on their already too-long to-do list. But I invite you to consider that it’s a very inexpensive way to promote your business, and you have the ability to find your precise audience. Contrary to popular belief, you DON’T have to be a total narcissist to participate effectively in social media, and in fact it’s much better if you have other people’s benefit in mind, not your own! Many entrepreneurs and business-owners have a great passion for their business and industry niche. That passion is contagious and appealing to potential customers – social media is the perfect vehicle to share it. Take the approach of providing interesting, valuable or entertaining updates that showcase your personality and company values. Look for opportunities to help others rather than overtly self-promote. Goodwill will generate great word of mouth and social proof for your business. You can also use social media to find out what people are saying about your business or industry and you can respond directly or answer questions. Increasingly, Tweets and other social updates and profile information are being archived by search engines, so it offers another opportunity for your business to gain visibility. Social media is a long-term strategy so give it a few months of consistent work before making any determinations about its effectiveness.

Lucy Beer is an online marketing professional of more than 8 years. She loves to consult with and teach small businesses and entrepreneurs how to develop their online marketing strategies. She works one-on-one with individuals, or in small groups to train your staff, whether you are a total beginner or are looking to take your web marketing to the next level. She is also a WordPress-aholic and provides WordPress training. She blogs at www.webtrainingwheels.com and you can reach her at: lucy@webtrainingwheels.com

Tip Number Five: How Easy Access Sells Homes. You would think that a home for sale listed on the MLS would be able for buyers to see, right? Wrong! As I write this, I can’t get 2 of my buyers into see a condo they have the cash, the loan, they want to move & I can’t get them in! Argh! It reminds me of that scene in Pretty Woman. Remember when she had all that cash to buy some respectable clothes & no one would help her? So frustrating. When selling your home, accessibility is one of the top 3 reasons a home will sell. Make sure you are able to let buyers into your home to write an offer. Listen to this audio to create access not obstacle for selling your home: http://homesellingdiy.com/archives/69

Kim Halverson is a second generation Realtor, with her sister Kristine, in Los Angeles’ Westside. Her focus incorporates qualities that result in confidence and trust from buyers and sellers.  See more about Kim at: www.KimAndKristine.com. Also for practical home selling tips go to: www.HomeSellingDIY.com

Tip Number Four: Don’t cut your own bangs. Your hairstylist will happily get you in for a quick 5 minute trim–ask them what they charge and if you can call them the day of.  Most won’t charge more than $5 if you are their client, and you won’t have a bad hair day because you were too shy to ask!

Mary Kay Holmes has been a hairstylist in Los Angeles for 12 years, and works out of a private studio space in Culver City. After growing up in New Mexico and moving to California in 1995 to work in the movie industry, she settled in Mar Vista with her husband and two children in 2005. Now if only she could figure out how to add an ocean view and infinity pool to her roof, she would consider this neighborhood paradise! Check out her website www.mkstyles.com.