The case of the accidental landlord

April 21, 2012 (Original publish date) • By Dennis Beaver Every day, all across America, hundreds of families who never planned on, wanted to or were asked, suddenly find themselves responsible for running a business, far too often lacking the skills or experience to...

For home fire safety, remember the PASS word

April 07, 2012 (Original publish date) • By Dennis Beaver When Costco, Sam’s Club and a few other retailers began to carry fire extinguishers, sales across America skyrocketed. In a minute, we’ll give you some tips on what to look for, but first, an answer to a...

It’s 2 a.m. — Where are your smoke alarms?

March 31, 2012 (Original publish date) • By Dennis Beaver Recently we told you about the new California law which now requires that homeowners have a carbon monoxide alarm (detector) in addition to a smoke alarm. Interestingly, those articles generated a number of...

When jealousy simmers over 15 years

February 25, 2012 (Original publish date) • By Dennis Beaver There’s nothing like a fight over money to deeply scar wonderful memories of growing up on a dairy farm in California’s Central Valley in the 1960s. Aida, her sister, Daniela, and their two brothers grew up...

With family farms, equal does not mean equal

February 18, 2012 (Original publish date) • By Dennis Beaver Today’s question should be of special interest to all families in agriculture, where some of the adult children might already have other occupations, perhaps live far away and do not want to — or are unable...