Podcasts about point blue

Point Blue examined where the wind is good and the impacts are lesser

Sarah from the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber talks about an upcoming ribbon cutting at Point Blue plus their upcoming Business Recognition Awards Ceremony & Annual Meeting. Learn more HERE! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wendy Millet is the Ranch Director at TomKat Ranch, a 1,800-acre grass-fed cattle ranch located on the California Coast. Wendy has devoted her entire career to conservation and land stewardship, serving in various capacities at well-known conservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. And for the past 10+ years, she's been helping the team at TomKat achieve its mission “to provide healthy food on working lands in a way that regenerates the planet and inspires others to action.” In this discussion, we covered a range of topics including the history of TomKat ranch and its current agricultural initiatives, the ranch's commitment to science-based data collection and analysis, what Wendy looks for in potential team members, and a few exciting projects that are in the ranch's near future. We also talked about Wendy's personal connection to the land and her career trajectory, including how she fell in love with western landscapes, her love of transcendentalist authors, her professional experiences with both non-profit and for-profit organizations, and much more. -- Topics covered: 00:54 - What is TomKat Ranch? 3:45 - What does regenerative agriculture mean to TomKat? 6:40 - Is there a blueprint TomKat followed for starting a ranch? 9:30 - The partnership between Point Blue and TomKat 15:45 - How much of Wendy's daily work is influenced by data collected by Point Blue? 18:00 - Keeping everything on the rails at TomKat 19:00 - What does Wendy look for in potential team members? 21:00 - How have California's recent rains affected TomKat? 23:00 - How Kat Taylor has influenced Wendy 27:00 - How does Wendy focus her conservation efforts on the ranch? 29:00 - Acting as a network for learning 30:45 - Projects that can become a larger movement in the future 33:15 - Wendy's upbringing and background  35:00 - Ranch vacation in Jackson and Wendy's return to the West 36:25 - How Wendy's formal education helped to guide her career 39:00 - Florence Williams and The Nature Fix 40:00 - What has Wendy learned from TNC and The Conservation Fund 43:00 - Wendy's work in the financial side of the timber industry  44:50 - Wendy's work with Western Landowners Alliance  47:45 - Young people in agriculture  51:50 - Heroes and mentors of Wendy's  55:35 - Why should a lifelong city dweller care about the land? 56:15 - Common misconceptions about agriculture and ranching 57:00 - Books and podcasts Wendy recommends  58:26 - What music have you been listening to? 59:30 - What gives Wendy hope for the future

This week we discuss the (current) results of the midterms.

Mike, Sean and Martin give their take on the Blue Gold Game 2022. Martin gives you his OnPoint segment. Come meet the crew of the Leprechaun Connection Podcast this weekend at the Legion of the Leprechaun tailgate! Go Irish!!**WARNING**This episode contains explicit language. Support the show (https://leprechaunconnection.com)

Dr. Terry L. Root, Professor Emerita at Stanford University, continues her discussion of Climate Change. Root earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico, her master's degree in Biology from the University of Colorado and her doctorate in Biology from Princeton University. She was a professor at the University of Michigan for 15 years before moving to Stanford University for  another 15 years. She was a lead author of the 4th Assessment Report for the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change that in 2007 was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Vice President Al Gore. She also participated in other Assessment Reports in 2001 & 2014. Root was awarded the Spirit of Defenders Award for Science by Defenders of Wildlife in 2010, and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 for the conservation organization Point Blue. She served on the National Audubon Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019 and currently serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, Birds Caribbean, and is on numerous science advisory boards, including the American Wind and Wildlife Institute. She has been engaged in climate change studies for most of her career and talks with us here about that issue and its impacts on wildlife. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25149153)

Dr. Terry L. Root, Professor Emerita at Stanford University, continues her discussion of Climate Change. Root earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico, her master's degree in Biology from the University of Colorado and her doctorate in Biology from Princeton University. She was a professor at the University of Michigan for 15 years before moving to Stanford University for  another 15 years. She was a lead author of the 4th Assessment Report for the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change that in 2007 was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Vice President Al Gore. She also participated in other Assessment Reports in 2001 & 2014. Root was awarded the Spirit of Defenders Award for Science by Defenders of Wildlife in 2010, and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 for the conservation organization Point Blue. She served on the National Audubon Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019 and currently serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, Birds Caribbean, and is on numerous science advisory boards, including the American Wind and Wildlife Institute. She has been engaged in climate change studies for most of her career and talks with us here about that issue and its impacts on wildlife. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25149153)

Dr. Terry Root is an active conservator of the earth and all its species. She was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change Report in 2007, resulting in Dr. Root being co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Vice President Al Gore. In addition to other honors, Root was awarded the “Spirit of Defenders Award for Science” by Defenders of Wildlife in 2010, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from the conservation organization Point Blue. She served on the National Audubon Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019, currently serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, Birds Caribbean, and is on numerous science advisory boards, including the American Wind and Wildlife Institute. Root earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico, her master's degree in Biology from the University of Colorado and her doctorate in Biology from Princeton University. She was a professor at the University of Michigan for 15 years, and then at Stanford University for 15 years where she still serves as Professor Emerita. She joins us at the microphone from her home in Sarasota, FL. You can contact Dr. Root at TRoot@Stanford.edu The Storytellers hosted by Grace Sammon, focuses on individuals who choose to leave their mark on the world through the art of story. Each episode engages guests and listeners in the story behind the story of authors, artists, reporters and others who leave a legacy of storytelling. Applying her years of experience as an educator, entrepreneur, author, and storyteller herself, Grace brings to listeners an intimate one-on-one experience with her guests. The Storytellers is a copyrighted work © of Grace Sammon and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Visit Grace at her website www.gracesammon.net. Contact Grace about being a guest on the show, email her at grace@gracesammon.net Follow Grace: On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GraceSammonWrites/ On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/GraceSammonWrites/ On Twitter https://www.twitter.com/GSammonWrites On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-sammon-84389153/ #TheStorytellers #Storyteller #Storytellers # Storytelling #AuhtorInterview #LetsTalkBooks #LeaveYourMark #Legacy #AuthorLife #StorytellerLife #ArtofStory #nobelprize #nobelprizewinner #climatechange #theearthsstory #audobon #birds #audobonsociety #universityofnewmexico #stanford #sarasotaflorida #mathematics #science #environment #wildlife #birding #algore #defenseofwildlife #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork

Dr. Terry Root is an active conservator of the earth and all its species. She was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change Report in 2007, resulting in Dr. Root being co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Vice President Al Gore. In addition to other honors, Root was awarded the “Spirit of Defenders Award for Science” by Defenders of Wildlife in 2010, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from the conservation organization Point Blue. She served on the National Audubon Board of Directors from 2010 to 2019, currently serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife, Birds Caribbean, and is on numerous science advisory boards, including the American Wind and Wildlife Institute. Root earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico, her master's degree in Biology from the University of Colorado and her doctorate in Biology from Princeton University. She was a professor at the University of Michigan for 15 years, and then at Stanford University for 15 years where she still serves as Professor Emerita. She joins us at the microphone from her home in Sarasota, FL. You can contact Dr. Root at TRoot@Stanford.edu The Storytellers hosted by Grace Sammon, focuses on individuals who choose to leave their mark on the world through the art of story. Each episode engages guests and listeners in the story behind the story of authors, artists, reporters and others who leave a legacy of storytelling. Applying her years of experience as an educator, entrepreneur, author, and storyteller herself, Grace brings to listeners an intimate one-on-one experience with her guests. The Storytellers is a copyrighted work © of Grace Sammon and Authors on The Air Global Radio Network. Visit Grace at her website www.gracesammon.net. Contact Grace about being a guest on the show, email her at grace@gracesammon.net Follow Grace: On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GraceSammonWrites/ On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/GraceSammonWrites/ On Twitter https://www.twitter.com/GSammonWrites On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-sammon-84389153/ #TheStorytellers #Storyteller #Storytellers # Storytelling #AuhtorInterview #LetsTalkBooks #LeaveYourMark #Legacy #AuthorLife #StorytellerLife #ArtofStory #nobelprize #nobelprizewinner #climatechange #theearthsstory #audobon #birds #audobonsociety #universityofnewmexico #stanford #sarasotaflorida #mathematics #science #environment #wildlife #birding #algore #defenseofwildlife #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork

In this episode, Duncan discusses the importance and usefulness that video can have in your business. Video acts as an initial connection point to get to know you better and helps to address and answer the sort of unspoken questions that viewers may have. Looking to incorporate high quality video into your practice? Check out our friends at Idea Decanter who can help you prepare, shoot and edit video to professionally convey your messaging: www.ideadecanter.com

What is shaping up as the most significant drought in decades has impacted much of the West. A lack of adequate rain, sizzling temperatures and a snowpack that all but vanished have led to major cutbacks in surface water deliveries, including to Sacramento Valley rice fields. This year's rice acreage is about 20 percent lower than normal as a result.  A massive challenge is fast approaching. There's a growing concern that there will be little water on the landscape after harvest. That water helps break down rice stubble, but most importantly, it is vital to the health and survival of millions of birds that spend their fall and winter in our region. Shallow-flooded rice fields provide more than 60 percent of the fall and winter diet for 7 to 10 million ducks and geese during their annual stay in the Central Valley.  The lack of water for wildlife is a major concern for those who see and appreciate the Pacific Flyway on a regular basis. “My concern is that there isn't going to be any water to put out there,” said grower Kurt Richter of Richter AG in Colusa. “What's so critical to me is all of the surrogate habitat rice fields provide in that time of the year to the Pacific Flyway. You have shorebirds and waterfowl that are migrating from Canada all the way down to South America. We are a stopping point; a truck stop for them so to speak. They need that water out here, to in as a place for shelter and a food source. This is a deep concern to all of us.” “It is super challenging right now,” said Manuel Oliva, Chief Executive Officer of Point Blue Conservation Science, a key conservation partner with California rice growers. “Millions of birds will be arriving. They're going to be tired and looking for a place to rest, looking to refuel or settle in for the winter. There's likely not going to be enough habitat for them. Some are going to try to move, and they're going to use energy they do not have. That makes them more vulnerable to predation or other hazards. As they are squeezed in to reduced habitat, it can increase opportunities for outbreaks of diseases like cholera or botulism.” “What we're seeing is an unfolding disaster right in front of our eyes, from a waterfowl perspective,” remarked Jeff McCreary, Director of Operations for the Western Region of Ducks Unlimited, another longtime conservation partner with rice. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we're going to need to do something more than just pray for rain. Typically, when we talk about disaster it's from a social standpoint – people are suffering. This is an environmental disaster in which people and wildlife are suffering.” Currently, our California Rice Commission survey indicates less than 25 percent of the usual acreage will be shallow-flooded. That's insufficient to support our flyway visitors. As a result, a coalition of conservation, water and agricultural groups are seeking $10 million from the Legislature and Governor, to fund groundwater pumping for wildlife later this year. “Hopefully we'll have some opportunities to utilize surface water in those areas where it's available,” remarked Northern California Water Association President David Guy. “We know it will be limited. Hopefully, there'll be some opportunities to pump groundwater in some other areas, to help spread waters out across the region, help the birds spread out across the region to avoid some disease issues that we've seen in the past. Hopefully, we can do our part in this valley to help birds. This fall we want to make sure we do everything we can to help the birds.” Among those concerned about the health of the Pacific Flyway is Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins.  “I think we should all be concerned,” Atkins said. “We've seen the devastating wildfires, the smoke, the strain on our energy supply, and now we're certainly in the middle of another historic drought. We seem to say that more and more frequently. Climate change is here. It's real, and it's challenging our ability to produce food and energy. We have to work together to find solutions that are going to protect vital habitats, while at the same time maintaining a healthy agriculture industry. I think rice farmers know as well as anyone that it's not fish or farms. Protecting ecosystems is just as critical for our own health, our own sense of well-being as it is for wildlife that call California home.” Episode Transcript Eileen Javora: Right now we are seeing an intense drought across the Western United States. Jim Morris: Meteorologist Eileen Javora. Eileen Javora: More than 90% of the land in the west is in drought conditions and nearly 60% or so is in extreme or exceptional drought. Jim Morris: Northern California Water Association President, David Guy. David Guy: Well, it's really an extraordinarily dry year. And is what we're finding is that it almost just keeps getting drier. There's just less water out on the landscape. Than at least we've seen in any of our lifetime. Jim Morris: An immediate focus in the Sacramento Valley is finishing the growing season and harvesting crops, which provide widespread benefits. Next up, averting a potential environmental disaster by seeking creative ways to get water on a parched landscape. David Guy: Hopefully we'll have some opportunities to utilize surface water in those kind of areas where it's available. It's going to be limited this year. We know that, and then hopefully there'll be some opportunities to pump groundwater in some other areas to help spread waters out across the region, help the birds kind of spread out across the region to avoid some disease issues that we've seen in the past. And that hopefully we can just do our part in this valley to help birds. That as we all know this valley is very committed to the Pacific Flyway and both the waterfowl as well as the shorebirds. And I think this fall, we want to make sure that we've done whatever we can to help the birds. Jim Morris: The stakes are high, but many are focused on this critical subject. Welcome to Ingrained: The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers to help tell their stories for the past 30 years. And this is no doubt. One of the most challenging years during that time, a lack of adequate water is a growing problem, and it is getting drier on the landscape. I'm in, Calusa visiting with grower, Kurt Richter. And Kurt, where are you with the growing season? And how's the rice looking? Kurt Richter: The rice looks good. We are coming out of the weed control stage of the season and working our way into heading. Jim Morris: Tell me about heading and what that means? Kurt Richter: Heading is when the rice is what we'd call heading out. That's where the plant goes into the reproductive stage from the vegetative stage and produces its seed. Every grass plant produces seed, rice is technically a grass plant. And when it produces its seed that comes in the form of rice kernels. Jim Morris: And the Sacramento Valley is a good place to grow rice and the warm days and cool nights worked very well for it. It has been extremely hot, but we are into a more mild stretch. How does that help the heading process? Kurt Richter: We have been recently in some pretty extended periods of a hundred plus degree days, and we are trending downward now. You're in the heading stage like we are now, which is followed by the pollination stage. You want temperatures to be a bit more mild, the hotter it is the more devastating it's going to be to the pollination process. And that's going to be difficult for kernels to fill properly in all those little seedlings that the plant produces when it's in high heat. Jim Morris: And it has been a challenging growing season with about 20% of the rice not planted this year in the Sacramento Valley because of the dry conditions. And we're also entering another critical time. So after harvest a shallow amount of water is normally put into the fields which breaks down the rice straw and it times perfectly with the Pacific Flyway migration, but there are serious questions about the availability that water. What concerns do you have about that? Kurt Richter: My concern is that there isn't going to be any water to put out there. Several of the irrigation districts that rice farmers use in this part of the valley have already announced that there will not be any winter water available and that's hugely concerning. I mean, from the farming side of things, that is how we decompose our straw, but that's really secondary to me because we have other methods that we can go about doing that. What's so critical to me is that all the surrogate habitat that rice fields provide in that time of the year to the Pacific Flyway, you've got shorebirds and waterfowl that are migrating, from Canada down to all the way down to South America, we are a stopping point, we're the trucks stopped for them, so to speak. And they need that water out here to have as a place for shelter. And they also, the waterfowl at least, utilize the food source of rice residue that gets left behind in the field. Just little kernels of rice that fall off the plant when you're trying to harvest it, they find those, they root them out in the mud and they eat them. Not to mention the fact that the shorebirds who don't eat rice grain so much as they eat organisms. Well, you have a flooded field, you've got all sorts of bugs and invertebrates swimming around out there. And that's a fueling station for those birds too. So they rely on this area for generations as a place to stop, refuel, rests, nest, all sorts of things like that. But if this is a dry landscape, it's not going to work and I don't know what's going to happen, but it is something that is of a deep concern to all of us. Jim Morris: Millions of ducks depend on the Sacramento Valley for food and arresting place. And the water situation is currently dire. Jeff McCreary is a biologist and director of operations for Ducks Unlimited's Western Region. Jeff, your concerns in this area? Jeff McCreary: We're facing an unprecedented drought. This is not just a drought that's in California. It's a Pacific Flyway drought. It's a Western drought and it's affecting birds all across this part of the country. What we're seeing here is an unfolding disaster, right in front of our eyes from a waterfowl perspective, waterfowl need water, and that water is typically in wetlands and winter flooded rice. This year we're seeing reductions in both of those, in the acres of both of those. Currently I see two issues. There's the ongoing issue in the Klamath Basin, where birds that are breeding in the Central Valley of California are flying to the Klamath Basin, where there is very little water and the risk of a botulism outbreak is imminent. And I would expect that we will see really bad news in the papers sometime soon on that. The second issue is what happens when the rest of the birds and those birds and Klamath Basin come to the Central Valley and the Sacramento Valley to winter. Is there going to be water on the landscape? All signs point to very, very little. Shasta, Oroville, Folsom, record lows. Some small irrigation districts will have water for rice, but really desperate times call for desperate measures. And we're going to need to do something more than just pray for rain. Jim Morris: That something more we'll hopefully include help from the legislature and the governor to get more water for the flyway. A coalition of conservation, water and agricultural groups seeks $10 million to provide water for wildlife. Our California rice commission survey of growers indicates at the present time, less than 25% of the usual shallow flooded winter rice acres will have water on them this year. That is not enough to adequately support a healthy Pacific Flyway during peak migration. Jeff McCreary: Well, there's an opportunity that hasn't existed in California for quite some time with some extra revenue that can be utilized to help with disaster. And typically when we talk about disaster, it's from a social standpoint, people are suffering. This is an environmental disaster in which people and wildlife are suffering. One opportunity and one of the few levers that we have, and it's a desperate lever to pull is to subsidize groundwater pumping, to supplement what little surface water is going to be available for both rice lands and many dwellers. Jim Morris: Our conservation partners are so important for protecting wildlife in rice fields. And I'm in Petaluma at the headquarters of Point Blue Conservation Science, happy to see at the nearby park, some rice birds, a squadron of pelicans this morning, that was really cool. And a visiting with Manny Oliva, Chief Executive Officer of Point Blue. Manny has degrees in mechanical engineering. He's worked at the Foreign Ag Service, at USDA, and his passion for nature was fueled while growing up in Guatemala. Manny, thanks so much for your time. And I know we don't have [Matts 00:08:44] or Scarlet Macaws in our local rice fields, or I haven't found them yet, but what are your thoughts about the Pacific Flyway and the important role rice fields play for habitat? Mani Oliva: We're very lucky here in California to have these amazing birds here as part of the Pacific Flyway and rice fields are mainly important to these species and these birds. One of the things that we have to remember is that the Central Valley has lost over 90% of its wetlands over time. And I think that's a really important number to remember, 90% of the wetlands are gone. And the idea that these birds are a declining species in North America, the Central Valley hosts over 5 million waterfowl and half a million shorebirds. And having this concept are having these rice fields. These flooded rice fields work in tangent or work in width. These natural wetlands provides this amazing habitat for these birds. It's really critical. And we've already proven that flooded rice fields are amazingly powerful wetlands for these birds. I also want to sort of, as a tangent, bring these birds being part of the local areas and local systems brings, is big for the economy, it's big for culture and for producers as these birds are also helping to decompose rice straw and creating that healthy environment that we want. Jim Morris: We have a concern this year because of the drought. And what thoughts do you have as we're going to head into the big migration time, millions of birds depending on rice and some water out there. And it's super challenging right now. Mani Oliva: It is super challenging right now. And millions of birds will be arriving and they're going to be tired and looking for a place to rest or look into refuel or looking to settle in for the winter. And there's likely not to be enough habitat for them. So some are going to try to move, and they're going to be using energy, energy that they do not have, and that makes them more sort of vulnerable to predation or other kinds of hazards. As well as these habitats, also, as they're squeezed in, are opportunities for diseases like cholera or botulism that we have to be careful for. But one of the things that we have to remember, it's not just this one year that we're dealing with, we're dealing multiple dry years, and that has a cumulative effect on these species. So we're all looking also, trying to understand what is the long-term effects of all of these dry years on these species over time. Jim Morris: Through our partnerships and creativity, we're trying to help this drought situation to get a little more water on the landscape. How much do you value these creative partnerships between rice growers and organizations like Point Blue. Mani Oliva: Honestly, none of this work could happen without these partnerships. We all have these gifts to bring, we all have these diversity of thoughts that are really important to solve these complex problems. We really needed this as all of us are the diversity of thought to really think through what are the opportunities and what are the challenges to the solutions that we can offer? Droughts to hard for everyone. They're hard for people. They're hard for birds, fish, even the bugs, all of these in it. What we need to do is we have this diversity of thought around how can we best resolve these issues? And come up with the proper solutions. Point Blue as an organization, we believe in this multiple benefits solutions, how can our natural resources provide multiple benefits? But the challenge is really is, how do we do this in continually growing pressures? And that just puts more emphasis on collaboration and diversity of thought and just working together. And we're proud to offer our science to the community and work together to help make this happen. Jim Morris: Visiting with Senate President pro Temp Toni Atkins. And you've met with rice growers, and you've been out to the fields. There's certainly more to California rice than providing America's sushi rice. What are your thoughts about the important role Sacramento Valley rice fields play for wildlife? Toni Atkins: Well, first and foremost, let me tell you, I love sushi rice, Jennifer and I partake a lot. I think California rice fields make an ideal environment for so many species of fish and birds. I'm proud that our state is home to a long stretch of the Pacific Flyway and millions... We know millions of migratory birds make their way through our skies every fall, every spring, and they need a place to rest and recover on that journey and rice fields support native fish as well. And I think it's important that people know that Chinook salmon, it mimics the floodplains that historically have served as breeding grounds provides a rich source of food for fish and birds alike for thousands of years before even the area being reshaped by development. So there's so many reasons to recognize the role that rice plays in California. Jim Morris: And our ecosystem is very special in California, and it certainly is a challenge this year with the drought. So what concerns do you have specifically for those millions of birds that are traveling through the Central Valley later this year and the potential that there may be little water on the landscape during this peak migration period? Toni Atkins: I'm very concerned. I think we should all be concerned. We've seen the devastating wildfires, the smoke, the strain on our energy supply. And now we're certainly in the middle of another historic drought. We seem to say that more and more frequently. Climate change is here, it's real. And it's challenging our ability to produce food and energy. Particularly as we face immediate climate impacts, we have to work together and we have to work together to find solutions that are going to protect vital habitats, while at the same time maintaining a healthy agriculture industry. I think rice farmers know as well as anyone that it's not fish or farms, protecting ecosystems is just as critical for our own health, our own sense of wellbeing, as it is for wildlife that call California home. Jim Morris: I mentioned about working together. There is a legislative option that could provide additional water to rice fields this fall in case the drought continues. And what are your thoughts about working to ensure that we do not have a collapse of this invaluable ecosystem in the Sacramento Valley? Toni Atkins: I'm really proud that this year, the legislature and governor have made truly historic investments in climate resilience, certainly protecting wetlands and working lands, conserving ag land and advancing historic funds for a drought package to help farmers through these trying times. But I think it's really likely that this drought will continue into the fall. I know that we have some optimism that next year will be an El Nino year, which will bring more rain. But the reality is that we're likely to experience more sustained droughts as the world gets warmer. That's the impact of climate change. I think we're going to face some very difficult decisions ahead because of it. We're going to have to engage the ag industry, even more so than we have in the past. We're going to have to look to science and we're going to have to work with community and my counterparts here in the Capitol to see what we can do to protect farmers and to maintain critical habitat. So I'm committed to that. I remain committed to that. I think it's important. And I really appreciate the time to talk about this things. Jim Morris: Hopefully help for the Pacific Flyway will come from the legislature. Hopefully the drought will end sooner than later. Thankfully, passionate people are committed to do what they can to help wildlife endure this challenge. That we'll wrap up this episode. Thank you to Senate pro Temp Toni Atkins, Manny Oliva, Jeff McCreary, Kurt Richter, David Guy, and Eileen Javora for their comments and expertise. You can find out more at podcast.calrice.org. We also have a special drought page set up at calrice.org, which has a lot of information on impacts to California rice. We appreciate your comments, please subscribe and thanks for listening.

Do you want to become a reviewer for ebird? Which bird is the logo of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology? Do you think sparrow populations are declining? What abour vireos? Can you “rent” land from farmers to help shorebirds?  In this fascinating episode, we talk to Christopher Wood, who heads ebird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ashwin Viswanathan who is part of Bird Count India and NCF. Over one billion birders use ebird.  How did it become this global behemoth? Hint, it wasn't driven by America.  How does ebird track and help avian populations, migration and mapping birds. How do different countries use it, and is India really the “global custodian” of so many species including the Common Rosefinch, Bar-headed Geese, or Blythe's Reed Warbler? Christopher Wood is the Managing Director, Center for Avian Population Studies and Director, eBird. Full bio here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Chris was fascinated by dinosaurs as a child. Now, he says, he has moved to their closest living relatives. Ashwin Vishwanathan is a Research Associate, Education and Public Engagement at the Nature Conservation Foundation or NCF.  He is a part of Bird Count India which encourage bird watching using ebird as a tool. Episode Timeline 10:32: Listen for a fascinating explanation of the challenges that ebird faces, especially if the goal is to develop maps for where birds are every single week of the year.  How can the methods of analysis of ebird's data correlate with other data such as the breeding birds survey.  The bias between how birdwatchers are bird-watching and what they are seeing. 13:00 Patterns of bird movement and population linked to habitat and climate change.  Chris talks about the interplay between forests and farms, and why the vireo population is going up.  Ashwin talks about how certain species has expanded all over India.  Hint: it is India's national bird.  In that sense ebird is a great “hypothesis generator” as Chris says. 18:00 different in the migration and arrival dates of the Eastern Phoebe and Orchard Oriole.  Ashwin talks about the black-capped kingfisher and how the data helped them realize that it was “entirely a winter migrant.”   23:00: Which are the top countries that supply data to ebird? 25:00 the link between identification and probability.  Why are some birders able to glance at a flying bird and immediately identify it? It has to do with filtering data rather than paging through a field guide. 29:00 how a remote community in Mexico called Mayan Jays used ebird to attract nature tourists to their area.  The same with Honduras, Guatamala, Columbia.   34:00 how to get indigenous tribal communities to share their knowledge of nature? 37:00 How do you marry specificity and local context with access and global knowledge. Ashwin talks about vernacular languages for bird names.  Ebird has 42 different languages that it supports and 68 choices.  How to preserve local knowledge and culture? 42:00 Diverse systems are inherently more stable.  How does ebird help conservation.  Listen for a fascinating new idea adopted by the Nature Conservancy, which typically buys land for conservation.  They worked with the farmers of the Central Valley of California where a lot of shorebirds and ducks migrate through.  For example, can rice fields and the flooding that farmers do be adjusted to benefit both farmers and their food production and the shorebird habitat.  Point Blue used ebird data to “rent” land from rice farmers to keep the water in the rice fields. 47:00 how village panchayats are using ebird data for local policy decisions.  How a road in Kerala is named after the orange breasted green pigeon 50:00 Do you want to become a reviewer for ebird? Here's how.   55:00 Are Eastern Yellow Wagtails present in India? How do ebird reviewers preserve the integrity of the data? 56:00 how does ebird figure out if you are a good birder or not? How does ebird model data based on bird calls?  58:00 Do you want to know why your checklists were accepted or rejected? List length is a way to predict how likely it is for a species to be reported. And about the Kerala Bird Atlas. Listen to this fascinating episode Links: ebird, Bird Count India

Peter began his adventures in wine as a teenager, suckering and tying vines and driving irrigation tractors during summers in the vineyard where his father grew grapes for Napa Valley wineries. He moved to Budapest, Hungary in 1990, working in the World Bank and USAID programs to privatize the country's wine industry after the fall of communism. In the four years before returning home to manage the family vineyard in 1994, Peter helped build a winery, started a négociant company, and began collaborating with Kádár Hungary, a cooperage located in the renowned Tokaj region, that the Molnars now own, in partnership with the de Pracomtal family of Taransaud Cooperage, in Cognac. In 1995, the Molnars teamed up with winemaker Michael Terrien to vinify their first Pinot Noir from Poseidon Vineyard, aged in Kádár barrels. They discovered an abandoned walnut orchard on the volcanic slopes of the high Mayacamas Mountains of Lake County, California in 1998; an ideal site, they believed, to grow mountain fruit. After planting in 1999 and 2000, they debuted their first Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon in 2002 and their first Poseidon Vineyard Chardonnay the following year.When not in the vineyards or at the cooperage, Peter travels to winemaking regions around the world to collaborate with barrel customers. A lifelong sailor and open water swimmer, Peter is also a licensed Merchant Marine Captain and Master who applies his skills and experience to support and fund marine conservation, working with San Francisco Baykeeper, Point Blue's Farallon Patrol, and the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. He resides in Berkeley with his wife, Jess, 15-year-old twins, Eszter and Gabriel, and dog, Jericho.https://www.obsidianwineco.com/https://www.instagram.com/obsidianwineco/Lip BarDiscount Code: Swirl Suitethelipbar.com/pages/_go_?ref=444…tm_medium=HomepageFollow The Swirl Suite:@SwirlSuitewww.swirlsuite.com Sarita @VineMeUpTanisha @GirlMeetsGlassLeslie @Vino301Glynis @Vino_NoireSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/SwirlSuite. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Peter began his adventures in wine as a teenager, suckering and tying vines and driving irrigation tractors during summers in the vineyard where his father grew grapes for Napa Valley wineries. He moved to Budapest, Hungary in 1990, working in the World Bank and USAID programs to privatize the country's wine industry after the fall of communism. In the four years before returning home to manage the family vineyard in 1994, Peter helped build a winery, started a négociant company, and began collaborating with Kádár Hungary, a cooperage located in the renowned Tokaj region, that the Molnars now own, in partnership with the de Pracomtal family of Taransaud Cooperage, in Cognac. In 1995, the Molnars teamed up with winemaker Michael Terrien to vinify their first Pinot Noir from Poseidon Vineyard, aged in Kádár barrels. They discovered an abandoned walnut orchard on the volcanic slopes of the high Mayacamas Mountains of Lake County, California in 1998; an ideal site, they believed, to grow mountain fruit. After planting in 1999 and 2000, they debuted their first Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon in 2002 and their first Poseidon Vineyard Chardonnay the following year.When not in the vineyards or at the cooperage, Peter travels to winemaking regions around the world to collaborate with barrel customers. A lifelong sailor and open water swimmer, Peter is also a licensed Merchant Marine Captain and Master who applies his skills and experience to support and fund marine conservation, working with San Francisco Baykeeper, Point Blue's Farallon Patrol, and the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. He resides in Berkeley with his wife, Jess, 15-year-old twins, Eszter and Gabriel, and dog, Jericho.https://www.obsidianwineco.com/https://www.instagram.com/obsidianwineco/Lip BarDiscount Code: Swirl Suitethelipbar.com/pages/_go_?ref=444…tm_medium=HomepageFollow The Swirl Suite:@SwirlSuitewww.swirlsuite.com Sarita @VineMeUpTanisha @GirlMeetsGlassLeslie @Vino301Glynis @Vino_NoireSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/SwirlSuite. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Duncan discusses the importance and usefulness that video can have in your business. Video acts as an initial connection point to get to know you better and helps to address and answer the sort of unspoken questions that viewers may have. Looking to incorporate high quality video into your practice? Check out our friends at Idea Decanter who can help you prepare, shoot and edit video to professionally convey your messaging: www.ideadecanter.com

If you think your nearest highway packs a lot of traffic, it probably doesn’t hold a candle to the air traffic in the Sacramento Valley each fall and winter. This is the time of year for the massive and masterful Pacific Flyway Migration, where millions of birds travel thousands of miles. Fresh from harvest, Sacramento Valley rice fields are a key rest and refuel stop for ducks, geese, and shorebirds. Combined with nearby wetlands, this part of Northern California provides an invaluable habitat to many a weary winged traveler.  Rice growers work with conservationists to ensure their fields are bird-friendly, including Avian Ecologist Kristin Sesser with Point Blue Conservation Science. Kristin and her colleagues have a multi-faceted approach to wildlife conservation. They are part of a great collaboration between farmers and conservation organizations.  “There’s no way we could succeed in our work without our amazing conservation partners. They make the work more enjoyable to engage in, the science stronger, and the programs and practices more enduring,” she remarked. “These partners include the California Rice Commission and the rice farmers themselves, as well as NRCS, The Nature Conservancy and Audubon California. We all work together to enhance the rice landscape for waterbirds.” Hopefully, working together, waterbirds will continue to flourish in the Central Valley for future generations to enjoy.   Episode Transcript Charley Mathews Jr.: Living out in rice country is special to me. There are people in the world that like to live near an ocean, near a river, near a creek, just for that comforting background noise. It's that type of white noise that's comforting. Out here, it's a different type of white noise. We have white swans, white geese, white shorebirds, all very noisy. But it's also something that's very comforting. For me, it's part of my childhood. It's something that I always remember. Jim Morris: Rice grower, Charley Mathews Jr. commenting on this remarkable time of the year in the Sacramento Valley. Charley lives in Marysville, which is a very popular wildlife stopover, and one bird, in particular, attracts a lot of attention year after year. Charley Mathews Jr.: The White Tundra Swan is probably the largest of the migrating birds. It mixes in well with the migrating ducks and geese. It's a huge bird. It's got a particularly loud sound. Its wings flap and hit the water when they take off, and it's become very popular. They're also very helpful to the rice farmer because, what they're doing with their extra-large web feet, is they're helping incorporate that rice straw, and soil, together to get it to decompose. And it's kind of like having free labor. Jim Morris: A few inches of water in those same fields that produce America's sushi rice, now provide a vital habitat for millions of birds. The environment has taken center stage in rice country, and it's time for the Pacific Flyway migration. Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast, episode three. I'm your host Jim Morris. I've worked with farmers and ranchers for nearly 30 years, and I'm a passionate supporter. Rice farmers in particular, deliver two major benefits to our state: growing food and nurturing wildlife. And it's time to get back on the road so we can visit with a key conservation partner. Not too far from Charley Mathews Jr. and Marysville, and all of the Tundra swans, and geese, and ducks, is Montna Farms, near Yuba City. And there are Tundra swans, geese, ducks, and shorebirds out here, as well as Kristin Sesser, of Point Blue Conservation Science. Jim Morris: Kristin, some people spend their nine to five in an office. You and I once in a while, get out and get to see this beauty. What does it all mean to you when you're out here? Kristin Sesser: I really love being in the rice fields in the Sacramento Valley. I've been watching birds since I was a kid. And in these rice fields, we are just surrounded by birds. There's something to look at everywhere. Jim Morris: Absolutely true. And especially this time of the year, with it being the Pacific Flyway migration. So for those who don't really understand what the Pacific Flyway is, can you explain? Kristin Sesser: Well, I think of the Pacific Flyway, as something of a highway in the sky. And so there are a lot of birds that nest in Alaska and Canada, and then they move to more Southern climes for the winter, and they come through along the Pacific Flyway. And some of them are heading down as far south as Chile and Argentina. Other birds actually stay, and winter here in the ricelands, and the managed wetlands of the Sacramento Valley. Jim Morris: How much variety of wildlife do we have coming on this big journey? Kristin Sesser: Well, we have birds as small as a Rufous Hummingbird, which you can see at feeders here in the Sacramento Valley. And then birds like the small, little, Least Sandpiper, which are here out in the ricelands, and I can even see some now. Then anywhere from birds as fast as the Peregrine Falcon, and as big and majestic as these Tundra Swans that we're surrounded by. Jim Morris: When these millions of birds make their trek, how important are rice fields in the Central Valley, for that part of the equation? Kristin Sesser: Well for waterbirds, the ricelands, and then the managed wetlands that the ricelands surround, are critically important. Many of these birds get quite a bit of their nutrition throughout the winter from rice. And it's an important place for them to rest and refuel, and they basically spend their whole winters here. Jim Morris: And how does Point Blue, help this process in rice country to make sure the habitat is the best it can be? Kristin Sesser: We do quite a bit of science to support the conservation efforts. And we also work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, to work on and develop practices that enhance ricelands for waterbirds. And some of that science, it can vary from using telemetry to track birds, to using satellites to understand... To track the water, and understand where the water is moving, and when it becomes available and when it's not. Jim Morris: And telemetry, that caught my ear. So what does that mean? Kristin Sesser: So telemetry is, we put these transmitters on the birds. They wear it like a backpack, and then we can use antennas to track where they go. And so, we have in the past, put transmitters on Dunlin, which is a small-medium-ish shorebird, and then also Long-billed Dowitchers. And so the Dunlin was kind of an interesting case. And that's where some of the Dunlin, we actually tracked them day and night. There were Dunlin, individual Dunlin, that would spend both the nights, they would sleep in the rice fields, and then they would actually forage in the rice fields the next day. And then there were some Dunlin that would spend the nights in the rice fields, but then go to managed wetlands during the day. And so, it just really showed us how important having both flooded rice, and managed wetlands are for these Dunlin. Jim Morris: That's cool because you would not have known otherwise except for that very high tech research that was done. So, unfortunately, over the decades, the worldwide bird population is down. What can you draw from that in terms of trying to maintain what we have here in rice country? Kristin Sesser: It's true that especially shorebirds have declined quite a bit over the last 50 years. And we think one opportunity is... I would like to point out that one of the bright spots was waterfowl populations. Many of them are actually doing much better, than some of the other birds. And if we can expand some of this wonderful habitat for waterfowl, to include a bit more shorebird habitat, which tends to be on the shallower side, I think we can really make a difference for shorebirds. Jim Morris: And when you say shallower, so the water depth is critical, right? Some birds love it, really shallow other birds, like a few more inches in the field. So, that would be very helpful. And I think you were destined to be out here because, in college at Humboldt State, you actually worked on a project involving a rice bird. Can you explain? Kristin Sesser: Sure. So I did my thesis at Humboldt State University, on Long-billed Curlews. So, Long-billed Curlew is the largest shorebird in North America. They have a very long bill, hence the name. And I studied a group of about 10 birds. They nested in Oregon and Nevada, and they came to the Central Valley. And they spend about nine months of their lives in the Central Valley, and only go up to Oregon and Nevada, for those three months, to attempt nesting. And for a set of those birds, they spent almost their entire winters in the ricelands, and the wetlands of the Sacramento Valley. And so, it was a fun place. I spent a lot of time, even before I started work at Point Blue, traveling the rice roads, and looking for my Curlews. Jim Morris: That's awesome. And for those of you who like the 49ers, there's a little bit of history, that actually does somewhat involve a Curlew. Because the curlew is also called the candlestick bird. And that's where Candlestick Point and Candlestick Park, got their name. Do you know what a group of Curlew is called? Kristin Sesser: [Laughs] I don’t. I think it's just a flock. Jim Morris: Okay, well, people have fun names for bird groups. I've read that a group of Curlew is called, a curfew. Kristin Sesser: Oh my goodness, that's great. Jim Morris: So we've established how gorgeous of an area this is, worth protecting, hopefully for generations to come. So, Kristin, what is a perfect day in the field look like to you? Kristin Sesser: Oh, that's a good question. I would have to say, it would include sunrise. So a lot of the work we do is, we try and get out in different times of the day, because the birds move around at different times. Any day I can be out here doing some science to support conservation. And then when I get to see a lot of different species. So, when I'm in rice country, and they're shallow fields, and deep fields. And just the sound is part of it, is there are so... The calls of all the different species, it's really amazing. Jim Morris: I echo Kristin’s thoughts. I get to see wildlife in rice fields several times a week. It always gets my heart pumping, always brings joy. Whether it's seeing a bald eagle, giant garter snake, or any of the nearly 230 wildlife species found in rice. What we have in that environment is exceptional. And one of my favorites is this odd-sounding bird:  [Audio clip of bird call] Jim Morris: That's an American Bittern, which to me sounds a little like an office water cooler. They have brown speckled plumage. They try to hide and rice fields, but you can definitely see them if you keep your eyes open when you're traveling North of Sacramento. That wraps up this episode of Ingrained, but it's just the start of our environmental coverage. Coming soon, we'll have a look at how rice fields help ducks, and how those same fields are poised to help salmon. Very exciting research. Thank you to Kristin Sesser, Point Blue Conservation Science, Charley Mathews Jr., Montna Farms, Page Design, Social Crows, Kurt Richter, and Unearth Digital Media, for all of your help. And please spread the word about our podcast. We welcome your comments and questions. Go to podcast.calrice.org, for much more information. Thanks for listening.

Lisa is the director of the Bird Conservation Program at the Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT) in Chester County, PA. As a federally licensed bird bander, she manages the Rushton Woods Bird Banding Station, which includes a migratory passerine program, a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program, and a Northern Saw-whet Owl research program. Allison joined the Trust in January 2016 as a Bird Conservation Associate and was given the additional responsibility of Pennsylvania Motus Project Manager in January 2017. Alison has been working as a Bird Banding intern at the Trust since 2013. She brings to the Trust seven years experience in bird monitoring methods after working for Point Blue, a leading conservation science organization based in California

Episode #57 with Breanna Owens is an interesting discussion of the migration of grey wolves into southern Oregon and Northern California and its effect on ranchers. Breanna herself is a rancher and Program Director for Working Circle Partnership which joins the California Wolf Center, Point Blue Conservation Science with local ranchers in Northern California. Her unique perspective provides insights into the challenges of managing wolves and cattle for the benefit of both. Breanna's E-mail: breanna@workingcircle.org for wolf info                            bowens@pointblue.org for Point Blue info Point Blue: https://www.pointblue.org/ California Wolf Center: http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/ Photos: 

En el episodio número 32 del podcast de LuisGyG, entrevisto a Marcela González, directora de marketing para MercadoPago México. Te habla de comercio electrónico, Point Blue, un dispositivo para hacer cobros como si se tratara de una terminal bancaria y cómo potencializar tu negocio. También nos comparte su experiencia acerca de cómo descubrir tu verdadera profesión, qué tanto te puede convenir un MBA, y mucho más. Dale play, escúchalo y compártelo con tus amigos.

Spring is the busy season for the avian ecologists and interns of Point Blue Conservation Science working at the Palomarin Field Station just north of Sausilito, California. Point Blue Conservation Science has been at the forefront of protecting nature for over half a century. The Palomarin Field Station is one of the premier national locations for long-term studies on birds and their habitats and training of the next generation of conservation scientists. I was able to visit with staff members and interns of Point Blue at the station on a gorgeous April Saturday morning. The woods were filled with the singing of very active songbirds getting ready to migrate or nest.  As I got my equipment ready to record the visit for the podcast, a few smiling interns walked by empty handed and then disappeared into the brush. People who works outside like this always look so happy and carefree, it made me smile. A few minutes later the interns re-appeared holding a white cotton bag they said contained a Ruby Crowned Kinglet that had flown into their mist nets, which you will hear more about in the podcast audio. Mark Dettling, the Point Blue avian ecologist was handed the bag and he clipped the bag onto a strap across his chest and began to warm up his hands for handling the bird for the bird banding process. Lishka Arata, the Outreach and Education Coordinator for Point Blue was also present and assisted Mark in explaining the procedure. The interview started with the bird banding but instead of beginning the audio there, I decided to put the bird banding explanation toward the end of this episode and lead with Mark and Lishka’s introductions. After the introductions, Mark and Lishka took me outside to walk to the net locations so I could get a better understanding of what the process and their research. We began at the closest mist nets and then walked the property around the station to several other mist net locations. My goal with the field trip was to take you, the listener, through the process in hopes you get the desire to visit the field station or a similar station near you to learn more about birds and how this research can give insight into the health of environment, how it is changing and how the birds, animals and plants are adapting. During this show you will hear ambient sounds such as some Townsend Warblers and other birds we encountered. You will also hear us slushing through mud puddles, breathing a little hard as we walked uphill and wind in the microphone. I hope you can get a feel for the walk, maybe close your eyes and listen and concentrate on the sounds of the outdoors. Enjoy the show and the photos of our trip in the show notes. More pictures of the bird banding and mist nets can be found at www.beprovided.com. Music by bensound.com and Introduction by Dale Wilman and Photos by Duperron Photography

Topic:Adapting to a changing climate Guest & Organization:Ellie Cohen, President and CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science since 1999, is a leader in catalyzing collaborative, nature-based solutions to climate change, habitat loss and other environmental challenges. She and Point Blue’s 160 scientists work with natural resource managers, ranchers, farmers, local governments and others to reduce the impacts of environmental change and develop climate-smart conservation approaches to benefit wildlife and people. Ellie is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Observer Organization representative for Point Blue. She is Immediate Past Chair and Steering Committee member of the CA Landscape Conservation Cooperative, an invited member of the SF Bay Area’s Resilient by Design Research Advisory Committee, and co-founder of the Bay Area Ecosystems Climate Change Consortium. Ellie was honored with the Bay Nature 2012 Environmental Hero Award for her climate change leadership. Ellie received her undergraduate degree in Botany with honors at Duke University and an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where she was honored with the first Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Award. She speaks regularly on the urgent need to include nature-based approaches in the climate change solutions toolbox. http://www.pointblue.org/about-pointblue/our-team/president-ceo/ (Learn More about Ellie and her work here.) Jonathan Parfrey is the Executive Director and Founder of Climate Resolve, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, founded in 2010, that is dedicated to creating practical solutions to meet the climate challenge while making Southern California more livable and prosperous today and for generations to come by inspiring people at home, at work, and in government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution, as well as prepare for climate change impacts. Climate Resolve is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, founded in 2010, that is dedicated to creating real, practical solutions to meet the climate challenge while building a better city for Angelenos. Their mission is to make Southern California more livable and prosperous today and for generations to come by inspiring people at home, at work, and in government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution, as well as prepare for climate change impacts. Resources:http://infiniteearthacademy.com/podcast/bonn-chance/ (Infinite Earth Radio Episode 096: Bonn Chance) with Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists http://cityclimateplanner.org/ (City Climate Planner from the World Bank) http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/brief/city-climate-planner-certificate-program (City Climate Planner Certificate Program) https://www.rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/the-Carbon-Free-City-Handbook-1.0.pdf (Carbon-Free City Handbook) (a publication released at COP23 at the UN 2017 climate conference in Bonn, Germany that helps city staff implement climate policies and actions that resolutely place their communities on an aggressive path toward sustainable, low-carbon economies) http://www.pointblue.org/ (Point Blue Conservation Science) http://climateresolve.org/ (Climate Resolve) https://www.lgc.org/ (Local Government Commission ) https://www.newpartners.org/ (2018 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference– February 1-3, 2018)

Introduction: Join Jason Hartman and his mom on this episode of The Creating Wealth Show as they discuss their long road trip through several markets including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville, Birmingham and Dallas. You'll learn about the “minimalist management” philosophy in creating bulletproof rental properties that require very little maintenance and a good overview of several markets.   Also, a big thank you to all of the doctors in the audience who provided advice and support relating to my mothers carotid artery surgery. She's doing well in the Cleveland Clinic provided a top-notch medical experience.   Visit www.JasonHartman.com to view properties in these markets and to register for our Little Rock Property Tour and Creating Wealth Bootcamp in late September. Happy investing!   Key Takeaways: ·      (1:40) Brief update about Jason's Mom's post-surgery health & the Cleveland Clinic ·      (5:54) How to handle late rent for long distance self-managed properties ·      (11:55) How to handle long-distance evictions without a property manager using an eviction service ·      (14:49) A special message from Bill Clinton ·      (18:28) Pleasantly surprised by downtown Cleveland ·      (21:23) Moving on to Birmingham and minimalist management styles ·      (26:44) Coming up in mid-late September: Little Rock Creating Wealth Seminar and Property Tour   Links: www.JasonHartman.com Audio Transcription: ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Creating Wealth with Jason Hartman!  During this program Jason is going to tell you some really exciting things that you probably haven't thought of before, and a new slant on investing: fresh new approaches to America's best investment that will enable you to create more wealth and happiness than you ever thought possible.  Jason is a genuine, self-made multi-millionaire who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.  He's been a successful investor for 20 years and currently owns properties in 11 states and 17 cities.  This program will help you follow in Jason's footsteps on the road to financial freedom.  You really can do it!  And now, here's your host, Jason Hartman, with the complete solution for real estate investors.   JASON HARTMAN: Welcome to the Creating Wealth Show!  This is your host Jason Hartman, and this is episode #389!  Thanks so much for joining me today.  I kind of feel like I haven't been with you in a while!  At least not directly.  In that we've played a lot of interviews with guests and so forth, but not that many where I've just kind of been talking to you.  So I'm really glad to just be talking to you today, and going over a bunch of issues.  And I'm actually on the way to the airport.  I'm here in the south, in beautiful Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Mom is with me, she's taking me to the airport.  The first thing I wanted to say is, since I announced my mom's medical condition on the show, several weeks back, thank you so much to all of you.  I guess we've got a lot of doctors in the audience, so we really appreciate the calls, and the emails, and the advice we got from you, so thank you very much for that, and I'll give you a little update into what has happened since then.  Here's mom.  Mom, say hello!   Surgery in Cleveland   MOM: Hi, everyone.  I just want to say thank you also, for all of the concern that Jason's audience seem to show about my carotid artery operation, and just want to let you all know that everything turned out terrifically well at the Cleveland Clinic.  That is just a classy place to go, if you have anything wrong.   JASON HARTMAN: Good stuff.  I would totally agree; the Cleveland Clinic is an incredible operation.  I was very impressed.  So, with all of that, real estate is kind of in our DNA.  What happened is, I actually flew to Cleveland to meet my mom there, and she drove up there, and, well, I was in Cleveland, we were there for about a week with her recovery and so forth from the surgery, that went very well, as you just heard, and I met with our Cleveland local market specialist, who actually is one that we've been working with for quite a while in another market.  He formed an alliance with a group up in Cleveland, and I met with him, and I looked at their properties, and I gotta say, I did not think I would like Cleveland very much.  We have shied away from a lot of the previously blighted markets.    We're still shying away from the real blighted ones like Detroit.  But, you know, I was pleasantly impressed with Cleveland.  I really was.  It was amazing.  Now, I was impressed with all of the extensive downtown redevelopment projects; I was impressed with the properties, and the cash flow on those properties; I was impressed with the rehab.  Again, we're working in Cleveland, with the same provider we've been working with for many, many years in another market.  So, you'll hear more about that, and you'll hear more about his partner in the Cleveland market that's doing the direct business.  More on that to come.  I did shoot some video, and I'll share that with you on our YouTube channel, and maybe we'll even play the audio track from some of that video.  We might even do that on this podcast, time permitting, because one of those audio tracks is really just a conversation, while the other videos are looking at properties, and so the visual helps.  But for the conversation, we can probably just play the audio part of that video on the podcast here today.  And then, mom and I, after looking at Cleveland—oh, mom, you gotta share the funniest thing.  And I was very concerned about you during the surgery, as I was pacing around the waiting room and so forth there at the Cleveland Clinic.  But I knew you were okay when you were in the intensive care unit and you demanded your iPhone, and what were you doing on your iPhone?  I actually took a funny picture of you, why don't you talk about that?   MOM: Well, I had the operation the 2nd or 3rd day of the month—   JASON HARTMAN: It was the 2nd, it was July 2nd.   MOM: Okay, it was July 2nd.  Anyway, the rents are supposed to be in my bank account on the first day of the month.  So, I was simply calling those that I didn't think had paid yet, that weren't registered in my bank to pay their rent, immediately.   JASON HARTMAN: I know my mom's been on a few shows before, everybody, and you've heard her talk before.  She's the—I call it an extreme do-it-yourselfer.  She's not a do-it-yourselfer; she's an extreme do-it-yourselfer.  That mansion in which you live, you probably would have built it yourself if you could have.   MOM: I could have gotten rid of all of the bad health.   JASON HARTMAN: Yeah.  I tell you, building a house is a nightmare project.  So I would never recommend that to anybody.  But you know, that was your childhood dream ever since you saw Gone With The Wind as a little girl.  But anyway, what you do, that I think is kind of interesting—number one, you self-manage all your properties.  You don't use managers.  And you self-manage from a long distance.  You have properties as far away as about 2,000 miles or so, and then you have closer properties that are within, I don't know, maybe 60, 80 miles.  Biloxi, Gulfport, that's where you've got one.  You've got another one in Tuscaloosa I think, right?   MOM: Yes, uh huh.  Those are the closest.   JASON HARTMAN: Do you have anything in Mobile, Alabama?   MOM: No, uh uh.   Dealing with Late Rent   JASON HARTMAN: So, those rental properties, what you do that's interesting, is you have all your tenants deposit the rent into your bank account.  So, you bank with a big national bank, and they're responsible for going to the bank and depositing the money into your account on the first.  And I remember when you were in the intensive care unit, and this was literally, I mean—look, folks.  I tried to stop her.  I tried to take the phone away.  She wouldn't have it.  Just, you have to know my mom to understand that.  You're not gonna stop her from doing anything.  And so, you had a sheet of paper there, and you were looking at the deposits, and you had a pencil, and you were writing down on a sheet of paper which ones had deposited, and you discovered that of all your rental properties, four people had not made their deposit, and you were calling them on your iPhone from the ICU, where they strictly say that you are not allowed to have phones in there.   MOM: Well, actually, it was only three people.  The bank had kind of made a mistake on one of the tenant's deposits; I couldn't quite recognize it, but they corrected that the next day, and the tenant told me that they had definitely deposited, and they were telling the exact truth.  So it was only three people that hadn't deposited immediately.   JASON HARTMAN: What strikes me as interesting—and again, if you use property managers, you don't have this opportunity—but I remember listening to you talk to your tenants on the phone, and what strikes me as interesting is how I think that because you have this kind of a personal relationship with them—of course it's a business relationship, you're not friendly with them, so to speak.  You're not getting too close to them, in other words.  But because they know you, and they view you as an actual person, rather than some sort of nameless, faceless institution, I feel that you exert some more pressure over them to get them to pay, and pay quickly.  Do you agree, or have anything to say about that?   MOM: I just make it very clear that I cannot tolerate late rent payments when they sign that lease.  And they know that I expect and demand that my rent be paid the first day of the month.   JASON HARTMAN: So, tell the listeners kind of how you handle that, and what you say to people, and things like that.  And by the way, folks, we're gonna cover a lot of other subjects in this show, in this episode, so I'm just going over a few things here that struck me as kind of funny with mom.  But, tell the listeners how you handle that, what you say to them.   MOM: Well, I simply call them and say, hi whoever it is on the other end of the line.  I don't see your rent in my bank deposit yet, and is there a problem, or did you already put it in, or what is going on?  And they tell me what has happened.  And I say, look, you know there's a $60 late fee if you don't have the rent in there the first day.  I really do not want your $60.  I simply want your rent on time.  When will the rent be put in the bank?  And they tell me.  And if it isn't in there on that first day of the month, I say, well, be sure to put in the $60.   JASON HARTMAN: For the late fee.  Okay.  And do they usually do that?  Do they cooperate, and put it in?   MOM: Yes, most of them all do that.  There is one tenant that does not do that, and all of those $60 late fees will simply be deducted out of their security deposit when they leave.   JASON HARTMAN: Okay.  So, now, you did have a problem, though, that was kind of stressing you out on one of your properties.  And this is a long distance property again; it's about 2000 miles away from you, so, it's far away, and you actually called up a real estate agent, I think you were called a Century 21 office, and kind of describe for the listeners that whole story.  And that happened this month.  You know, these are unusual, but it happened to happen this month, you happened to be in the intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic, which I think is ridiculous that you were doing this, but, I don't know.  Maybe that's what keeps you alive, is you have a purpose, you know?  You knew you had to recover from surgery, and recover quickly, because you had to collect your rent.  So, it's kind of like Viktor Frankl's Man's Search For Meaning.  Another version of it.  The modern version.   MOM: Well, what happened is that this tenant is now—we're in the eviction process.  And the tenant had moved in a girlfriend, and he simply didn't pay.  So, I called a local real estate agent, and I told them the situation, and I asked them to, would they please go over there and just check and see if the place looked like it had been abandoned?  If tenants were still living in there, or what.  Anyway, the gentleman, very nicely did go over there, and—   JASON HARTMAN: The realtor.   MOM: The realtor.  And as he was there, someone was coming out of the door.  And it happened to be the girlfriend.  And I said, please let me speak with her.  And so, she just took his phone, and took it in the house; the poor real estate guy lost his phone.  He was ready to call the police to get the phone back.  She carried out a ten-minute conversation with me about when they were going to pay rent, and all of the details.  I said, please, now give that man back his phone.  I talked to the realtor—   JASON HARTMAN: This is hilarious.  It's like a reality show, you know?   MOM: I talked to the realtor, a few hours later I called him, and said, I wanted his address, I wanted to send him a check for his work in helping me out.  And he refused the check, and he says, that's just my job, to give really good service to people.  So I thought, that's a great guy.  And I will certainly go back to him when I need to.   JASON HARTMAN: Yeah.  So, the realtors—you know, there's—what you've gotta realize, if you want to self-manage your properties, and if you want to be an extreme do-it-yourselfer like my mother—I mean, the vast majority of my clients, you know, and I'm talking vast, vast majority.  Maybe 95% of our clients, use property managers.  And you know, I do it both ways myself.  Some of my properties I self-manage, and as I've said to you on many episodes for a long time now, I was happily, pleasantly surprised that I could do this from a long distance.  I never thought that was achievable.  And for our members, I taught a whole webinar on that topic, and I've talked about it on the podcast as well, on prior episodes, about long distance self-management of your properties.  So, there are advantages and disadvantages to each.  What you're hearing now is from an extreme do-it-yourselfer.  So, good.  Anything else on that?   MOM: No, other than the fact that I have now done all of the eviction preparation work.   Do-It-Yourself Eviction   JASON HARTMAN: So, how do you handle a long distance eviction like that?  Without a property manager?  Tell us what you do.  You go online, you find an eviction service, etcetera—tell us what that's about, and how it works, and how much it costs.   MOM: Well, first off, I do file a three-day notice to pay rent or quit.  Because I know all of the details.  And I then hire a process server, which costs anywhere from $30 to $50 or $60 to get the thing served.  Then you send the proof of service to the attorney.  And you can go online and just Google eviction services.  You always want to get a firm that specializes in evictions.  Don't get a firm that does every other kind of legal work.  Just evictions only.   JASON HARTMAN: Yeah.  So, there are lots of law firms out there.  They are technically law firms, that offer eviction services, that are like an assembly line.  They're a mill, and they just process evictions, and deal with tenant issues, like crazy.  And one of the things I say when I talk about self-management, is that sometimes, your property managers will actually do this process themselves.  You know, they will go, and they will post a three-day notice right on the door.  Sometimes they nail it right to the door.  And it's kind of embarrassing for the neighbors to see that.  And they will actually do all of this, and they will handle the eviction, they will show up in court, they will take it all the way through getting your judgment against the tenant, which you can later collect on.  Or, at least, try to collect.    And I've talked a lot about that.  A lot of those judgments are a lot more collectible than people think.  In fact, when you were online today, I saw on your computer screen, mom, when you were online looking at eviction services, I saw that there was like a banner add there on that website that said, we want your old judgments.  And so, a lot of these services, and a lot of other people out there, will actually buy these judgments from you.  Now of course they're gonna buy them at a discount, so if you have a tenant who owes back rent, or has damaged the property, and you've got a judgment against them for, say, $2000—I've never sold off a judgment like this, but I would assume that these services will buy the judgment from you, and do all the collection themselves for maybe 50, 60 cents on the dollar, depending on how big it is, how collectible it is, etcetera, etcetera.  But you can just sit there with a judgment and wait, and collect eventually too, and those judgments do accumulate interest.  So, this can actually be kind of a good investment, oddly.  And if that tenant ever tries to get an auto loan, or apply for credit somewhere, or someday buy a house, that prospective lender will usually say, hey, you gotta pay off this judgment before we're going to give you a loan.  So, don't just assume that because the tenant is broke today, or they're a deadbeat today—fortunes change, and that won't stay the same forever.   BILL CLINTON: Hi.  This is Bill Clinton, and I want to invite you to hang out with my friend, Jason Hartman, in my hometown of Little Rock.  Jason and his interns, you know I like interns, are having his famous Creating Wealth Seminar and Property Tour here!  So drop everything, including Hillary, and go register at www.jasonhartman.com, right now.  This event is coming up soon, but, as I like to say, it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is' is.  See ya there.   JASON HARTMAN: So, what else happens in the eviction service?  Tell us about that.  Anything else?  Did you hire the attorney on that one already?   MOM: Yes, he sent me a couple of forms to fill out.  And his price for an eviction in Riverside County is $670.    JASON HARTMAN: Now that's pretty expensive, actually, huh?   MOM: The prices went up, I think, about a year ago, or a few months ago.  Because it was usually around $599, something like that.   JASON HARTMAN: Boy, I've heard of people hiring them for a lot less than that!  I've heard of people getting them for $2, $300.  You know, I bet you—and now, those are old properties that are in the Socialist Republic of California.  And I'll bet you, although I do not know, this is just a guess—that part of that has to do with the fact that California's such a tenant-friendly state, and it's just harder to evict people there.  You know, one of the reasons we don't recommend it as a market.   MOM: You know, I don't know.  In some counties—Los Angeles County has a different price, and I think San Bernardino County has a slightly different price, and Riverside County has a slightly different price.  So it depends on which county you're operating in.   JASON HARTMAN: Have you ever done one—did you do one here in the south, where you've got your Southern United States properties?   MOM: No, I've never done an eviction here.   JASON HARTMAN: And your cash flow's so much better here too.  You've gotta—see, my mom's strategy—look, folks.  Of course your family's never gonna really listen to you too much.  But now I can say, you should see her expression right now.  Oh, here we go again, rolling the eyes.  But, selling those properties, those properties that she's had for decades, okay?  From the 70s, 80s, 90s, maybe you bought some in the 90s, I think you did, and selling them on 1031 exchanges, and exchanging those into other properties in more landlord-friendly places, and you know, with much, much better cash flow, that would be a great strategy for you.  But speaking of that, let's talk about some of the markets we saw.  Because we took a road trip after your surgery; they let you out of the hospital after two days in ICU, and one day, or one night, I should say, in the regular room in the hospital, where we watched fireworks from your room.  And it was pretty good, actually.  Cleveland had, I don't know.  How many fireworks displays did we see there?  Maybe 13, 15 fireworks displays?  And a beautiful sunset.    The Cleveland clinic is like, a hospital that's sort of on the swankiness level, almost, as the W Hotel, but with the service of a Ritz Carlton.  I was just totally impressed.  And I know you were too.  And so, we watched fireworks there, and you checked out the next day.  And then we drove around Cleveland.  And number one, that was super impressive.  But then we took a road trip, and we went to Cincinnati, we looked at properties, we went to Birmingham, we looked at properties, we went to Nashville, and then back home to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and then I took off to Dallas to go look at some discounted mortgages, discounted notes.  And we're thinking of offering that to our investors.  So, we'll talk about that on a future episode in more detail, but it's interesting.  Talk a little bit about Cleveland, if you would, mom, and then let's talk about, maybe the other highlight would be Birmingham.  I'll talk a little bit about the properties I looked at in Dallas, and then we'll kind of wrap up here.   MOM: I was really, really, really impressed with the city of Cleveland.  I had it in my mind that it was one of these old steel kind of rust belt cities.   JASON HARTMAN: A blighted area.   MOM: But wow was I impressed.  Downtown—beautiful, beautiful displays of flowers everywhere.  And darling restaurants, and shops.  I just couldn't get over how lovely it looked!  It was incredible!  And then, the drive that we took along Lake Erie, where all of those big, beautiful houses were—I mean, some of them were just like castles.  I was just blown away.   JASON HARTMAN: Those are like the old money—probably old industrial money—homes, and they were very impressive.   MOM: But there were also beautiful neighborhoods that, these weren't castles, but they were beautiful big homes, just one house after another, huge big lawns, everything was green, lots of trees, flowers, just a lovely sight to drive around.   JASON HARTMAN: Amazingly, you know, some of these former rust belt cities are really finally getting it.  They're not doing the idiotic thing, you know, the big government liberal thing, where they drive all the businesses out, like California has been for so many years.  And they're getting it.  I mean, there are a whole bunch of incentives to move your business to Cleveland.  They'll give you free real estate, they'll give you free warehouses.  And I mean, mom, one of the things that just, I couldn't believe it—you know, we went to the rock and roll hall of fame, we had lunch downtown, we had dinner downtown the night before, at that beautiful restaurant—what was that called?  Blue Nose, or something?   MOM: I think it was Blue Point, or Point Blue?   JASON HARTMAN: Blue Point, yeah.   MOM: And there was a horse with carriage that you could drive around the city with—   JASON HARTMAN: There were a few of those, remember?  And remember my dog Coco, who's in the back seat here—   MOM: Oh, there was more than one of them, definitely.   JASON HARTMAN: Remember how Coco freaked out thinking that horse is a big dog?  She didn't know what to think of that.  But, that was amazing.  And, it was so clean, I didn't see a single homeless person anywhere.  Now, maybe it's just too cold to have many homeless people.  But it wasn't cold when we were there, of course, in the summer time, but it is other times of the year, and I mean, I was just amazed.  I did not think it would be that nice.  It certainly wasn't that nice last time I was there years ago.   MOM: And there was one charming area called Little Italy, with all of the tables out on the sidewalks, and the tablecloths, and people eating out in the evening.  It was just totally charming.  I was—I liked it a whole bunch.   Birmingham, Alabama, Real Estate   JASON HARTMAN: Okay, let's switch gears, and let's talk about our next real big property stop.  I mean, we did some others, but you know, these are the major highlights we'll give you.  And that was Birmingham, Alabama.  Now, we've been doing business in Birmingham for a while.  We stayed at that beautiful Weston Hotel in Birmingham, and that whole new area of redevelopment there that was really, really nice.  Shops, restaurants—it was gorgeous.  It was really nice.  Then we went out with our provider who we've been working with for a long time.  We saw some of the homes that you, the listeners, our clients, have purchased and rented.  And some that are in escrow, or under contract, I should say, and you know, you haven't closed on them yet.  We saw some of those, and took some video.  And the thing about Birmingham is that there are different management styles, different rehabbers or local market specialists that we work with have a different style of doing business.  And you know, one of the things I say is that this is a very fragmented industry.  Everybody works a little differently.  That's what keeps the institutional investors largely out of our business.  I know we've been talking about hedge funds, and private equity being in the real estate business.  But, they don't like it very much, and they're not really staying in it.  They're not here to stay.  Because   it's just too fragmented for them.  It's not easy for them, like other institutional investments that offer lower returns.  But when it's not your money, your return is not that critical of an issue, okay?  And that's how they think.  They just get paid to manage capital, right?  So, Birmingham, the key thing there is, our local market specialist there, is what I call the minimalist manager.  And what I mean by that is that these properties are really designed, and the rehab is done in such a way that the property is kind of bulletproof, if you will, where there's just not that much to break.  And you know, I was thinking about all the properties I own, and have owned over the years, and the things that break, and the things that I get—you know, calls on, or you know, the property manager shoots me an email on, asking me, do I approve this expense to fix this or that.  And I couldn't believe our local market specialist there, who's also a property manager.  You know, mom, do you want to talk about some of this minimalist management?  That you, by the way, loved it, okay.  I was a little bit less enamored of it than you.  But the more I think about it, the more I think, gosh, you really could have nearly expense-free properties with this style.  What are your thoughts?   MOM: I was impressed.  Because if you don't have a garbage disposal to fix, or a dishwasher—   JASON HARTMAN: You know, they said the actually prefer properties with no garages, and if it has a garage, they usually take the garage door out and just make it a room!  Because it's less things to break, you know?  There's never going to be a garage door to repair.  There's never going to be a garage door opener to repair.  Things like that.   MOM: Yeah.  And no microwave oven to replace.  I just love the whole concept of this minimalist type of thing.  It reminded me of houses that were built in Los Angeles in the 1940s.  They didn't have all of these great, modern improvements, you know?  All of these kitchen packages, the stove, the refrigerator, the microwave, the garbage disposal—that wasn't in existence in Birmingham.  And those would be great houses.  The rent might be lower, but you're not going to spend all of that money fixing them up and hiring plumbers to go out there.   JASON HARTMAN: Well, the rent really is quite good.  I mean, these are lower middle houses, okay?  And so, the typical deal there that we looked at, where you'll buy the property for maybe $55-65,000—I mean, there are—this fluctuates, but this is what we kind of looked at that day.  And it will rent for about 1.2% of the value.  Maybe somewhere in that range.  So, your $60,000 property will rent for $800 a month.  And it's a minimalist deal, so again, the tenant doesn't have very high expectations.  They get a single family detached home, and they get a yard, front and back, and they get three bedrooms, and one or two baths—   MOM: And another nice aspect of those homes is, because they are the older homes, is that they typically have hardwood floors in.  So, hardwood floors are much more desirable than carpets.  And you don't have to keep replacing the carpets.   JASON HARTMAN: Yeah.  A lot less maintenance there.  So, that's the minimalist style of management.  And what it means—no garbage disposals, no dishwashers, no microwave, no garage, and obviously, no refrigerator, washer, and dryer.  The tenant supplies their own.  And the tenant can treat the dishwasher just like any other appliance.  They don't, a lot of times, expect a washer, dryer, or a refrigerator.  So, they bring those, and they can bring a dishwasher too.  There are dishwashers that are mobile, that are, you know, not built in.   MOM: When I said the rents are lower, they're not lower in—they're lower than the rents that you would get in California.  But in relation to the prices that you pay for those houses, you are having positive cash flow!  I mean great positive cash flow.  And the point is that you get to keep most of it, because you don't have to spend it all in repairs.   JASON HARTMAN: Yeah, good stuff.  And we're gonna be touring, by the way, slated for mid, maybe late September, but our Little Rock Property Tour.  By the time you hear this I'm pretty sure it'll be on the website at www.jasonhartman.com, so there's another great market that you can look at.  And I just—we're kind of running out of time, so I think I'm going to skip telling you about our Dallas tour.  I mean, not ours as a company, but my Dallas tour.  And I'm not gonna tell you about discounted notes, and those kinds of opportunities, in this show, because we're already at about 30 minutes here.  But I do want to tell you, go to www.jasonhartman.com, join us for our Little Rock Creating Wealth Seminar and Property Tour, and that will be in mid-late September, more details to follow very soon, but you can register and get the early bird pricing, at www.jasonhartman.com, in the events section.    [MUSIC]   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): I've never really thought of Jason as subversive, but I just found that's what Wall Street considers him to be!   ANNOUNCER (MALE): Really?  How is that possible at all?   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): Simple.  Wall Street believes that real estate investors are dangerous to their schemes, because the dirty truth about income property is that it actually works in real life.   ANNOUNCER (MALE): I know!  I mean, how many people do you know, not including insiders, who created wealth with stocks, bonds, and mutual funds?  Those options are for people who only want to pretend they're getting ahead.   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): Stocks, and other non-direct traded assets, are losing game for most people.  The typical scenario is: you make a little, you lose a little, and spin your wheels for decades.   ANNOUNCER (MALE): That's because the corporate crooks running the stock and bond investing game will always see to it that they win!  Which means, unless you're one of them, you will not win.   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): And, unluckily for Wall Street, Jason has a unique ability to make the everyday person understand investing the way it should be.  He shows them a world where anything less than a 26% annual return is disappointing.   ANNOUNCER (MALE): Yep, and that's why Jason offers a one book set on creating wealth that comes with 20 digital download audios.  He shows us how we can be excited about these scary times, and exploit the incredible opportunities this present economy has afforded us.   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): We can pick local markets, untouched by the economic downturn, exploit packaged commodities investing, and achieve exceptional returns safely and securely.   ANNOUNCER (MALE): I like how he teaches you to protect the equity in your home before it disappears, and how to outsource your debt obligations to the government.   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): And this set of advanced strategies for wealth creation is being offered for only $197.   ANNOUNCER (MALE): To get your creating wealth encyclopedia, book one, complete with over 20 hours of audio, go to www.jasonhartman.com/store.   ANNOUNCER (FEMALE): If you want to be able to sit back and collect checks every month, just like a banker, Jason's creating wealth encyclopedia series is for you.   [MUSIC]   ANNOUNCER: This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company.  All rights reserved.  For distribution or publication rights and media interviews, please visit www.HartmanMedia.com, or email media@hartmanmedia.com.  Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice.  Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, or business professional for any individualized advice.  Opinions of guests are their own, and the host is acting on behalf of Platinum Properties Investor Network, Inc. exclusively.