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Show Page 8 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXI Issue II May 1, 2013 Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index: Help Preserve & Share Family Photos & Memories FamilySearch International, a nonprofit, can be searched for free to help further expand Transportation and housing prices rise again volunteer-driven genealogy organization, your family tree. The Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.4 percent from February to March. Over the last twelve months, prices have increased 2.3 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. In comparison, prices have increased nationally at a rate of 1.5 percent year-over-year, with a 0.3 percent increase from February to March, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rising housing and transportation prices were the primary drivers for inflation. Transportation prices, up 1.1 percent, increased more than any other category, driven primarily by higher gasoline prices across the state. The average price of gasoline in the state of Utah jumped 50 cents per gallon over the past two months, increasing transportation prices 4.4 percent since January. This is typical, given gasoline’s seasonal pricing pattern of bottoming out in January, then picking up again into the spring and summer months due to increased demand and the switch from winterblend gasoline to summer-blend gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency requires the use of purer, reformulated gasoline blends from spring through early fall to mitigate pollution and the heightened propensity for smog when temperatures rise across the states. While transportation costs saw the sharpest increase, housing costs, up 0.7 percent, had the most significant impact on this month’s inflation figures, since housing represents the largest share of consumer spending—approximately 35 percent. Housing costs — which include rent, hotel room rates, and the purchase of common household appliances —increased for the third month in a row, resulting in an increase of 3.7 percent over the past twelve months. Because these costs are generally stable, and given the size of their share in consumer spending allocations, the 0.7 percent increase is considerable. According to the most recent report from the Utah Association of Realtors, median home prices are up 13.3 percent and inventory of homes for sale is down 22.4 percent. These data point to an improvement in consumer demand for key areas of the economy and corroborate the positive data seen in the local housing market. Education and communication prices fell 1.2 percent from February to March, compared to 0.1 percent increase nationally. However, even after the decrease, education and communication prices have inflated more than the price of any other category within the CPI over the past 12-months, largely due to increasing tuition prices across the state’s educational institutions. This trend will likely continue, as the Utah Board of Regents recently raised tuition by five percent across all public colleges and universities. The price reversal in, March, was largely due to a fall in communication technology prices, such as mobile phone plans and computer accessories, as education prices remained flat. Other categories were mixed in March. Prices declined in recreation, down 0.4 percent; and medical care, down 0.1 percent, but increased in food at home, up 0.5 percent; clothing was up 0.4 percent; and other goods and services were up 0.1 percent. Prices for food away and utilities remained unchanged from February to March. “We have several reasons to be optimistic about our local economy,” said Scott Anderson, Zions Bank President and CEO. “Our housing market is strengthening, our exports grew nearly 40 percent this year, and our pro-business tax policies and well-educated workforce are enticing more and more employers to our state every year.” Analysis and data collection for the Zions Bank CPI and the Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index are provided by the Cicero Group. The Cicero Group is a premier market research firm based in Salt Lake City. announced the release of significant new enhancements to its web services that allow visitors to collaboratively build their family tree online, preserve and share precious family photos and stories, and obtain personal research assistance—all for free. Find out more at <FamilySearch. org> “Every person who has ever lived has a right to be remembered, and is a story waiting to be told,” said Dennis C. Brimhall, CEO for FamilySearch. “Every family is a story in progress.” Brimhall explained that the new FamilySearch.org features help move family history beyond research to appeal to a larger audience of people who are very interested in their family’s stories, but who don’t consider themselves genealogists or researchers. “We all treasure memorable family photos and ancestral stories that inspire, amuse, or connect us. Families can now share and preserve for posterity those social heirlooms that help vitalize their family history,” Brimhall added. The enhancements include Family Tree, an online application where users begin by adding information about themselves, and then start to add information about their ancestors to collaboratively build, manage, and share their family history. The tree is already populated with over 900 million records contributed by patrons. And there are billions of historic records that The Photos and Stories feature lets users preserve favorite family photos of ancestors and share them through social media. One can tag people in a photo to identify who they are and connect them to respective ancestor profiles in the Family Tree. The photos can then be easily shared with the online community. Also, favorite stories about an ancestor may be uploaded to preserve them for future generations. “When a parent or grandparent takes the time to tell you a story, there’s a bonding that occurs there,” Brimhall said. “Likewise, a family photo and story preserved and shared in the context of one’s family tree, in an instant, can personally touch us and teach us time-honored principles by those who have gone on before us, like the value of hard work, dealing with life’s ups and downs, and the impact of choices.” Other features added include the interactive Fan Chart, a tool used by millions to create a colorful fan chart of their ancestry; the Family Tree Wizard, a tool that asks questions to help you begin to build your personal family tree and get you started; and Live Help, a global online community that provides free product help and personal research assistance by phone and web chat 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. The help website and services are available in ten languages. Try River Cruising For a More in Depth Cultural Experience By Patty Crim River cruising has become one of the hottest trends in travel over the last two years. The growing demand for more remote and undiscovered destinations is being accommodated by river cruise companies such as Viking, AmaWaterways, Uniworld, and Avalon. Most of these companies have added anywhere from two to thirteen new vessels to their fleet this year and have more being built. Floating down the rivers in Europe, Asia, Russia, and even Africa, with such ease, is allowing travelers to experience a deeper part of a country’s culture. Many people have limited time and arranging itineraries to see these destinations would take a lot of effort. The benefits of river cruising are many. To begin with, patrons arrive at a destination that lies in the heart of a country, not at the shores around the country where one would have to take additional travel to reach an inland town. This convenience means less time is spent “getting there” and results in more time “being there.” Imagine only unpacking once; the ship is your floating luxury hotel that moves past scenery that is seen in fairytales. Sit out on the deck of the ship and watch ornate cathedrals and castles, vineyards, quaint villages with cobble stone streets just slowly slip by. This is just a glimpse of the ever changing scenery along the river banks. There are over 30 different itineraries to choose from. For example, start in Budapest and travel down the Danube River enjoying a Pictured above is a photo from Snowbasin’s totally rad end of the Season throwdown DJ and visit to a 900 year old Benedictine abbey, even attend a classical concert in Vienna and end Costume Party held april 14. Photo courtesy of Mountain luxury real estate. your journey in Nuremberg. Or visit the tulips and windmills in Amsterdam and enjoy the river as it winds around the Netherlands. How about Paris to Prague? Start with seeing the Eiffel tower then cruise along the Rhine River and stop to take a romantic walk through the amazing mid-evil town of Rothenberg. Some Snowbasin’s Totally Rad End of the Season Party Join us June 15 forShoppeRS! our 9th Annual RemembeR Guest Appreciation Breakfast Mention Valley eleMentary at sailings are as short as six days and others are as long as two weeks. Staying in the town you begin or end at for additional days is a way to extend the vacation. Themed cruises are also available, for instance one theme is dedicated to culinary delights, wine tasting, and cooking schools. One of the newer opportunities offered in river cruising exploration is the experience of visiting Vietnam and Cambodia. Roll down the Mekong river and visit ancient temples like Angkor Wat, go to a silk weaving village, and even get a special blessing from a buddest monk. This opportunity ranks quite high with some on their bucket lists! Again, this is just a sample of the itineraries offered. Remember, sailings are offered in Russia, China, and Africa! The above mentioned river cruise companies provide luxury vessels with five-star accommodations and amenities on board. Maximum occupancy ranges from 60 to 260 passengers. Additional benefits also included are all exquisite meals, shore excursions, wines and spirits, local entertainment, engaging lectures on board, and complimentary internet. These are wonderful values to your vacation; however, this is not the average cruise vacation! There are pros and cons to every vacation option but traveling along the rivers of these beautifully historic countries offers such a unique encounter, some will want to try. Please feel free to contact me for more in depth information about itineraries and airfare and promotions that these companies are offering. You won’t want to miss the boat on these offers and be left up a creek (or river) without a paddle. My office hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. More information available at 801-394-2667 work or 801-698-4639 cell. You can also e-mail me at <pcrim@morrismurdock.com> 801-745-4000 2555 WOLF CREEK DR. EDEN From the Service Deli www.valleymarketeden.com STORE HOURS: MON. - SAT. 7 AM - 10 PM SUNDAY 7 AM - 9 PM Any Tub Ice Cream OFF $1.00Expires with coupon 5/15/13 Any Sheet Cake $1.00 OFF with coupon Expires 5/15/13 From the Bakery Bouquet of 10 Tulips Buy One Get 1/2 OFF with coupon Expires 5/15/13 Mother’s Day Cards Buy One Get 1/2 OFF with coupon Expires 5/15/13 Looking for an experienced agent to sell your home? 30 years of experience selling Ogden Valley Homes Multi-Million Dollar Sales Master Of course I can sell your Home, Condo or Property! Paul L. Judd pauljudd@mstar.net Western Family 1% Milk 1-208-240-8296 50c OFF with coupon 5460 E 2200 N Eden, Utah Expires 5/15/13 www.pauljudd.net |