Does your apartment building meet today’s standards for functionality, design and seismic safety?
Today’s tenants have higher standards when it comes to style, convenience and earthquake safety. A recent Suffolk University/Los Angeles Times poll showed that 80% of Angelenos support their city’s mandatory seismic retrofit law —and, there are many vulnerable […]
Nobody knows where or when the next major earthquake will strike. And while there is clear evidence about what types of buildings are most likely to suffer damage from seismic shaking, it’s always best to know your risks by having your apartment building inspected to identify its own unique strengths […]
Sixty miles up the 405 freeway stands the sprawling 95-acre Anheuser-Busch brewery where, since 1954, some of the world’s most famous beer labels are made: Budweiser, Bud Light and more recent labels like Bud Ice, Kirin Ichiban and Chelada.
That Van Nuys facility today is a testament to the financial benefits […]
Two recent earthquakes — 6.4 magnitude earthquake and a 5.4 aftershock — have seriously shaken Humboldt County in less than two weeks. The quakes have damaged bridges, shaken homes off their foundations, left some 72,000 homes and businesses without electricity, and disrupted phone and internet service.
Only the nearby airport and […]
How many unsafe, soft-story apartment units are there in Orange County?
That question and similar ones about other counties in California led Optimum Seismic, Inc. and the U.S. Resiliency Council to team up with Esri, a leading mapping company, to combine resources to develop maps showing where thousands of potential soft […]
This month, an estimated 18 million Americans will take part in the Great ShakeOut, a national safety drill designed to heighten awareness of the many ways to prepare for a major earthquake.
The month will be filled with messages about earthquake risk and personal safety, culminating with the annual drill, which […]
As fire season heats up in California – and open spaces dry into withered reminders of the constant threat wildfire poses to our communities – Orange County residents are rallying together to fight back through prevention.
People who live in our canyons and open space communities depend on one another for […]
Does your building show the telltale signs of dry rot?
Bubbling paint. Spots of orange-brown spore dust. Brittle or spongy wood that crumbles at the touch.
Tenant complaints of a fungus growing out of the wood on a fifth-floor balcony in Berkeley were repeatedly ignored until 2015, when that balcony collapsed, killing […]
Victorian and Queen Anne mansions were once all the rage. These stately and ornate structures, with brightly colored facades, turrets, spires and wrap-around porches, were built to impress — reflecting the optimism and opulence of a society experiencing unprecedented prosperity from industrialization and improvements in transit and communication. It was […]
Nobody knows exactly where or when the next major earthquake will strike, but we do know that quakes are inevitable in California and many other states.
It’s also clear what types of buildings will likely suffer the most damage from seismic shaking.
Beyond these basic points, it’s always best to assess your […]
