Sandy Valley

It is raining again

September 21, 2007

Softly the rain builds. Each minute more drops come than the minute before. From the quiet still dampness of the desert night the rain grows stronger.

We've been very fortunate the last couple of days. It started last night really when a Pacific Ocean storm came in across the desert. The rain came, weak at first, and stronger before fading again as it does west of the mountains. Having just arrived back in town we timed our return to coincide with the coming of these beautiful days. Earlier in the evening things were exciting for a time. The national weather service saw fit to issue a tornado warning for our town. Doppler radar showed a large thunderstorm rotating over the valley. It seems there was no actual tornado but it was one intense hail storm. In the time it takes to walk through the house the storm went from light rain to a barrage of the frozen pellets and as quickly faded to a hard driving rain. Without a doubt one of the best things about living in the desert are the days when it is cloudy and rainy.

Snowy spring

March 21, 2006

The first night of Spring 2006 brought snow to the desert southwest. At lower elevations the snow took the form of rain more frequently than snow but it was beautiful and refreshing all the same.

A series of accidents on Columbia Pass and the closure of Columbia Pass as well as State Route 160 near Mountain Springs meant a morning spent at home. The sights of the first day of Spring in Sandy Valley are much better than those from my office.

Labor Day

September 6, 2005

The weekend wrapped up with an enjoyable barbecue at the Sandy Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Along with the traditional burger and hot-dog fare teams took to battling the barrel down the line with fire hoses. A great end-of-summer time in the warmth of the Nevada desert. Clicking on the photo will take you to some more photos of the afternoon.

Las Vegas developer applies for Sandy Valley water rights

August 12, 2005

A Las Vegas development company, JV Properties, LLC, made application to the state of Nevada for 3620 acre feet of water a year in Sandy Valley. JV Properties, LLC has been involved in developing several properties in Clark County including the Mountain's Edge community in the vicinity of Blue Diamond and Buffalo in Las Vegas.

Read more for the complete application.

APPLICATION TO APPRORIATE WATER NO. 72909 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that on the 7th day of June 2005 JV Properties, LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada made application to the State Engineer of Nevada for permission to appropriate 5.0 c.f.s. of the public waters of the State of Nevada. Diversion is to be made from an underground source at a point located within the NW 1/4 NE 1/4 Section 14, T25S, R57E, MDM or at a point from which the SW corner of said Section 14 bears S 30° 53' W, a distance of 5616 feet (approx. 3 1/2 miles SE of Sandy, NV). Water will be used for municipal purposes from January 1st to December 31st of each year. Hugh Ricci, P.E. State Engineer PUB: Aug. 11,18,25 Sept. 1, 2005 LV Review-Journal

PICO HOLDINGS INC May 27, 2005 10-K filing

June 2, 2005

Future looking statements from PICO HOLDING's annual 10-k filing considering its subsidary VIDLER WATER COMPANY, INC.

BACKGROUND

We believe that continuing trends in Nevada and Arizona indicate strong future demand for Vidler's water rights and water storage assets.

Based on census figures, in the three years ended July 1, 2003, the population of Clark County, Nevada, which includes metropolitan Las Vegas, increased 14.6% to almost 1.6 million residents. Around 70,000 people are moving to the area annually. Currently Las Vegas takes most of its water supply from Lake Mead. Due to the continued growth in demand for water and 5 years of drought, the level of Lake Mead has reached 50 year lows. Accordingly, Las Vegas is aggressively seeking to conserve water (e.g., rules have been introduced restricting water use in new homes) and to diversify its sources of water supply. At the same time, the increasing cost of housing in Las Vegas is leading to more rapid growth in outlying areas within commuting distance.

Over time, we believe that these factors will lead to demand for water in parts of southern Nevada where Vidler owns or has an interest in water rights, including southern Lincoln County/northern Clark County and Sandy Valley and Muddy River in Clark County. If growth management initiatives are introduced in Las Vegas, this will lead to even more rapid growth in the areas surrounding metropolitan Las Vegas.

In Arizona, the continued growth of the municipalities surrounding Phoenix in Maricopa County is likely to lead to strong demand for Vidler's water rights in the Harquahala Valley. According to census estimates, the population of Maricopa County increased 9.5% in the three years to July 1, 2003, to almost 3.4 million residents. Many of the municipalities surrounding Phoenix/Scottsdale where the growth is concentrated, do not receive allotments of water from the Colorado River, and are therefore forced to find alternative supplies of water.

Accessory apartments for Clark County?

May 28, 2005

The Clark County Commission will consider a change to the county's land-use code, Title 30, allowing accessory apartments in several single-family residential areas. Accessory apartments would be limited to 30% of the square footage of the main residence and in the urban and suburban areas could not exceed 1000 sq. ft. In rural areas the maximum size, also limited to 30% of the main residence, is 2000 sq. ft.

In rural areas the accessory apartment can be the building that was originally the primary residence but the accessory apartment cannot be rented or leased until the principal residence is occupied by the property owner. A condition of the accessory apartment proposal would require that the property owner occupy either the primary residence or accessory apartment and that a deed restriction be placed on the deed listing and acknowledging the conditions of the accessory apartment provision.

Not so neighborly

May 20, 2005

For the last couple of months we've been trying to work with some vicious dogs being kept by a neighbor. After several requests the neighbors have chosen to do nothing about the constant barking. Recently Sarah was told that the constant barking of the pack of dogs is a desired trait. As you can clearly see in this brief movie these vicious dogs are continuing to come through the fence and have already attempted to bite or bitten ourselves, our dogs and our horses. Yet, in our neighbor's action this is our problem.

Update: Vote about what you think about this situation.

The text at the end of the video points out that our neighbor emerged during the taping of this video and proceeded to do nothing more than watch.

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