Museum Tower Owners Association
Newsletter

February 27, 2006

For highlights of the Feb 16 Board Meeting click here.


CITY COUNCIL TO HEAR DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN
After more than three years of public input and community workshops, the revised Downtown Community Plan will be considered for adoption by the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, February 28, at 2 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 12th floor, 202 C  Street. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting, which will also be televised live on City TV 24.  
The Plan will guide downtown's build out for the next 25 years. It is designed to be flexible enough to provide a framework for future land-use decisions, while being able to adapt to changing market demands. To read a complete copy of the Downtown Community Plan, visit www.ccdc.com/planupdate.
►Website Update - Visit your website often.  You will frequently find answers to your questions there.  The website is constantly being updated and useful information is being added all the time.  The Community Connection page has been expanded.  All of the Committees have been added to the site with contact information.  Stay informed.  Check out the Contact Page for all of the important contact information.
►Padres Tickets Anyone?  -  Jim Roberts and Julie Dillon have Padres season tickets in the Founder's Club, great seats between home and first base, Section L, row 7, seats 8 & 9 (on the aisle, just under the overhang.)  The seats in this area are more roomy and also have food service.  They would like to share the season with someone.  If interested give them a call or email them. jroberts@pinnacletower.org
►Tired of Banging Doors? - There is a solution.
  Are you tired of the front door to your unit banging every time you let go of it?  Happy to report that there is a simple solution.  Follow this link to find out how to adjust your door to close slowly and quietly.  http://www.taymor.com/c05_door_closers/door_closer_600_instructions.pdf  There are 2 adjustment screws on the plunger that control the speed of the door closure.  Once the cover has been removed the screws are easily accessible with a ladder.  With a screw driver turn screws clockwise to slow down the closure of your door.  Everyone will benefit from this adjustment.
Time for the GREEN to go? - If you would like to get rid of the Styrofoam protection from your front door I am volunteering to do the job for you.  Just give me a call and I will remove it from your door and properly dispose of it.  Call me, Pat McArron, at 619-865-4702 or email me: pat@pinnacletower.org

< This is NO way to treat our home - Put your trash where it belongs.  If for no other reason - do it as a courtesy to your neighbors.  One of our homeowners took this picture of trash carelessly left in the P2 Elevator Lobby.  Please take your trash to the appropriate locations in the building.  We have a trash room located on the ground floor of the building.  Use it.  Thank you from your neighbors..

►Know your surroundings - One of our homeowners has brought to our attention the importance of knowing your surroundings, in particular who and where registered sex offenders are in our neighborhood.  Thanks to Megan's Law this information is readily available so that those who may be vulnerable can take precautions.  For all the details please visit the state Govt website:  http://www.ag.ca.gov/megan/

►Filter - Filter on the Wall - Which is the cleanest of all?  Yes - this is your reminder to keep that filter clean.  Attn newest homeowners please visit the website to find out what to do.  You will find the information under Q & A in the homeowners' section.

< Whats WRONG with this picture ? -  Just about everything.   Sadly we have to repeat this admonition:  Do NOT place ANYTHING into the trash chute that is not contained in a secured small plastic bag (about the size of a plastic grocery store bag is preferable).  Why?  Just look at the picture.  Thats why.  In this recent photo you will note that someone thoughtlessly threw loose wall paper into the chute followed by loose newspapers etc.  Homeowners are reminded that you are responsible for the actions of your contractors.  When you hire someone to do work in your unit it is up to you to see to it that they do not abuse our building.  Please take pride in the Pinnacle and use common sense.

►Ten Tips for Earthquake Safety  -  Doug Copp, Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team, provides information that will save lives in an earthquake. Doug knows this from experience. He has crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and is still a member of many rescue teams. He was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and has worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. Click on 'More' (just below and to the right of this article) to read Doug's Ten Tips for Earthquake Safety.
  • 1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" when buildings collapse are crushed to death. People who get UNDER objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
  • 2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void (space) next to it. 
  • 3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
  • 4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
  • 5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
  • 6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
  • 7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
  • 8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked
  • 9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
  • 10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper. Spread the word to everyone YOU care about and save someone's life!

That's it for this edition of the Pinnacle Newsletter.  Please continue to share information. 

That is how we can all be best informed.

 

Your editor,

Pat McArron

www.pinnacletower.org