Phoenix enacts a Domestic Partner registry for city residents.

Registry Will Provide Hospital Visitation Rights for Unmarried Couples

12/17/2008
WASHINGTON –The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, praised the Phoenix, Arizona City Council and mayor for voting today to enact a domestic partner registry for city residents. The registry will permit unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and receive hospital visitation rights. The registry, which will become effective February 9, 2009, will be available to both same-sex and different-sex couples.
"Today, the city of Phoenix has begun to recognize what we have known for a long time – that our relationships are just as true, meaningful, and deserving of legal protections as anyone else's," said Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors member and Phoenix resident Linda Elliott. "With this registry, we can feel confident that we can visit our loved ones in medical facilities at a time when they need us most. We thank Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilman Tom Simplot and the entire city council for taking this step towards equality."
Phoenix joins more than 70 other cities and counties nationwide with domestic partner registries.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Seniors: Investing In The Next Big Boom- Ourselves!

I turned 50 this year so I wonder about my future and where I will be. Will I stay in my home, will I move out of state, will I move to a gay retirement where your neighbors are your family and everyone belongs. SO when ever I come across a gay retirement I love to blog about it because I wonder often where I will be.

The experience of people being together and sharing in the same values and activities is what creates a community.
With the aging of the baby boomers, the redefinition of family and the new concepts of aging mean that anyone at the advent of the changes and in the right place at the right time will be ready to serve a changing senior housing and residential care market.
RainbowVision Santa Fe, serving the GLBT population, is already ahead, and Joy Silver, President/CEO, wants to take the brand internationally. She says the RainbowVision model serves the mainstream boomers as well as the GLBT population- and for similar reasons....

for more information plaeas contact Linda Wieczorek 602-391-8246 AZhomes4u@gmail.com

Selling your Home - Feng Shui Staging Tips

Impress buyers by improving your home's energy




Feng Shui (meaning Wind and Water in Chinese) is the ancient art of placement to promote harmony, wealth, success and health. Feng Shui deals with the location and architecture of buildings, along with interior design and exterior landscaping. A working knowledge of Feng Shui may even help in home selling and home buying in today's multicultural world.
Feng shui has thrived in China for hundreds of years, but this design philosophy has only recently made a splash in real estate.The concept has gained popularity in the United States during the past 30 years, and now frustrated home sellers are using feng shui to make their homes more appealing to potential buyers.

1. Make your front door welcoming. Energy enters your home at the front door, so invite it in! Make your door stand out by painting it a color that contrasts with your home, adding a new welcome mat and flanking the door with plants. Choose plants with rounded leaves as sharp leaves can appear aggressive to buyers.

2.Engage the senses as much as possible. Feng shui practices include lots of horizontal space and properly lit rooms.

3.Create space Create a "room of first impression." Buyers generally decide whether they will buy a home in the first eight seconds they spend there, so you want them to see the best room first.

4. Create a clear path to this room with a runner rug or with eye-catching art and accessories.

5. Furniture should not be placed in the direct path of entrances/exits of a room.

6. Be sure a solid wall of support is supporting large furniture. Placing a couch or bed under a window is a bad idea in feng shui.

7. Stimulate your home's energy with sound by adding a wind chime to the front of your house.

8. Remove clutter and depersonalize.