Elon Musk is the second richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of 151 thousand million dollars Forbes.

But unlike other emperors, Musk does not live in a large palace located in a very exclusive neighborhood. In fact, the founder of electric car company Tesla and space company SpaceX appears to reside, it has been revealed, in a tiny 20-by-20-foot (about 35-square-meter) home in a secluded location in the far south. Just a few steps from the border with Mexico.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpacerX and the second richest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine. (Reuters)

Newspaper Houston Chronicle He states that Musk lives in a manufactured home that costs only $50,000 and pays rent of $250 a month to his company, SpaceX.

This tiny house is located in Boca Chica, Texas, where the SpaceX rocket launch and test base is located.

Musk, who has listed at least seven mansions he owns in California, are valued at $100 million according to him. interested in tradeHe kept only one mansion in the San Francisco area, which he uses exclusively for juveniles.

Musk himself confirmed in a tweet on Twitter, My main residence is literally a house under $50,000 in Boca Chica/Starbus, which I rent from SpaceX. Its awesome. The only home I own is one for juveniles. In the Bay Area [de San Francisco].

the gate Teslarati He revealed that this house is the ready-made model approved by the companys Casita name boxableSpecializing in Design and installation of high-tech prefab homes. Made of steel plates and concrete, this tiny house is easy to transport and assemble and costs less than many Tesla models.

It looks comfortable for one person, or even a couple, and would obviously work well with Musk as a studio located next to his companys rocket launch and test center. In addition, it serves to accentuate the image of detachment towards matter and commitment to its ideal of colonizing Mars, which is the ultimate goal of SpaceX.

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The Casita by Boxabl style includes a full kitchen with double sink, oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, and cabinets; Full bathroom spaces for living room, bedroom, washing machine, air conditioning, heating and LED lighting, among other details.

Boxabl certainly did not miss the opportunity to do marketing and play on the idea of simultaneously helping solve the problems of affordable housing on Earth and providing SpaceX with homes to colonize Mars.

However, singer Grimes, Musks girlfriend and mother of their son, is said to apparently not live in this house but in Austin, Texas, so, for now, the unit that Boxabl has installed for SpaceX and Musk will serve as the poles workspace remain. Boca Chica, even if his family resides elsewhere.

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Elon Musk lives in a prefab "house" next to the SpaceX base for which he pays $250 a month. - Amico Hoops

From a rough start as a child struggling with asthma and pneumonia to a career that included a blind-side layoff after securing a multi-billion-dollar contract for his employer, Canyon Lake resident Mike Duffy has emerged as a major player in the local commercial real estate market. Mike was honored at an industry luncheon last week as the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021.

Mikes commercial real estate success at Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers is the culmination of 13 other careers. The 57-year-old successful businessperson fashioned a dynamic, growing business from those steps to success.

Mike Duffy speaks after accepting the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021. Mike lives in Canyon Lake and works for Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers.

The recent award from Menifee is particularly noteworthy because Menifee is the fourth fastest-growing city in Riverside County and sixth fastest-growing city in all of Southern California. Menifee is growing at twice the rate as its neighboring Southwest Riverside County cities.

The events that led up to Mikes noteworthy contribution to the burgeoning citys vibrant economic development demonstrate that adversity and challenges are great steppingstones to a successful future for some people. Mikes life started with challenges.

As a child, I had asthma and pneumonia and wasnt doing well, he said. Our family doctor suggested swimming to build my body up. That changed my life from declining to thriving. In my first year as a 7-year-old swimmer, I qualified for Junior Olympics in Orange County and won a silver medal. That was my first life lesson if you put hard work in, have good coaches, and you listen to them and follow their guidance, you can achieve what you and others can be proud of.

Mike became Orange Countys second-best butterfly swimmer in his age class.

Swimming success wasnt his last life lesson at a young age. Mike wanted to go to a YMCA camp, but his parents told him they couldnt afford to send him. Faced with this obstacle, the 9-year-old entrepreneur talked his teacher into giving him two cases of toffee-covered peanuts and sold them door-to-door. He earned enough from those sales for YMCA camp two years in a row.

Selling door-to-door was a great lesson in determination and persistence, Mike said. With each door he knocked on, he dreamed of going to camp, and that exuberance spilled over into an enthusiastic, happy face that melted the resistance of those he encountered with his peanuts. It was a worthy cause, and he gained confidence with each transaction.

Mikes education continued into his teenage years. His business stints in lawn mowing and jobs at pizza parlors gave him invaluable experience. He learned to work with customers and develop a pleasing personality. He found that his integrity brought customers back.

From junior high through college, Mike played on football teams, generally as a defensive back. During high school, he lettered in not only football, but in three other sports his senior year. As a competitor, he thrived on learning and achieving.

Football also brought challenges hed endure the rest of his life. His first concussion happened during the homecoming game in his senior year of high school. It wasnt his last. Long before rules and protocols kept players out of the game when knocked out, he suffered 10 more concussions in college as a defensive back and punt returner.

As a result of all of the head injuries, Mike now wears a hearing aid to drown out the sound of tinnitus, a debilitating ringing in the ear condition. Despite otherwise normal hearing, to compensate for the ringing in his ears and the resultant drowning out of conversations, Mike developed the ability to read lips.

Mikes parents owned a mechanical parts business in Orange County during his high school and young adult years. He worked there while in high school and for six years after getting a bachelors degree in Business Administration from Cal Lutheran University.

Observing his self-employed parents was an up-close experience in the rewards and sacrifices of working for oneself. He learned that the ups and downs of the industry required a steady attitude as finances waxed and waned. During slow times, it was essential to work hard and look beyond the present to a more prosperous future. During good years he saw how vital it was to prepare for the inevitable lean times.

After working in the family business, Mike said he discovered his work ethic and integrity determined his income. A steady paycheck was undoubtedly valuable, but he said he dreamed of not having a limit to his income and of driving hard toward the future despite not knowing how much money he would make each year.

His dream in college was to eventually work in the stock market or the bond market. Mike ultimately pursued neither career path as he continued to work in the family business.

Yet another step toward his recent honor as Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year came during a brief stint in the mortgage business as a home loan officer. In 1992, mortgage interest rates continued their decline from the previous decades almost 20% rates and dropped below 10%.

Mike was surprised to see other loan officers with tears in their eyes after believing theyd never see mortgage rates under double digits again. The mortgage business gave Mike an understanding of the needs and perspectives of actuaries and underwriters.

In 1994, returning to his entrepreneurial instincts, Mike and a friend started a business helping owners of manufactured homes secure and use FEMA grants for necessary seismic upgrades after the devastating Northridge earthquake. While the company only lasted for a couple of years, Mikes lessons about financing and helping others were another stepping stone for his future.

In 1995, Mike went to work for insurance industry giant Aetna, becoming one of the top sales managers in the country before taking a break after five years to help once again in the family business.

In 2006, Mike got a brokers license while briefly self-employed and became the broker of record for three independent loan officers. This was his second stint into real estate finance, adding to his cumulative education.

He returned to Aetna in 2007, worked up to National Sales Manager for the Individual Health Insurance Line while dabbling in real estate on the side. In 2016, he had just secured a multi-billion-dollar contract for Aetna when the corporation decided to shut down that part of their business, and Mike and his entire division were out of work. The decision had blindsided them. It was a moment of reckoning and reflection for Mike, and he said it had him recounting the life lessons he had learned and looking for how they could help his future.

Mike transitioned from a corporate job to being self-employed in residential real estate. He and his wife, Kim, had just moved to Canyon Lake. Mike called his uncle, a wholesale lender, to get the name of the largest real estate company in their new community. His uncle mentioned Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers. Mike called and, in 2017, signed on with the firm.

Mike credits Chuck Whitehead and Margaret McCoy of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers for his success.

I loved their teaching and I faithfully went to their mentor class, Mike said. I attended every training event and conference call. Their generosity and patient mentoring grounded us and gave us excellent role models to follow.

It wasnt easy, he said. Mike contacted everyone he knew and worked on social media. He quickly gained 20 prospects.

Man, I thought this was going to be easy, Mike said. I wrote 33 different offers. They were all turndowns except for the last one. After six months with no income, that 34th offer resulted in a $1200 commission.

His wife Kim got her license that same month, and over the next six months, the couple closed over $3 million in sales. In 2018, after their first full year in the business, Mike and Kim were honored as Rookies of the Year from the large Realty firm. Later that year, they were named to the Best of the Best Realtors by the readers of Inland Empire Magazine.

Mike said he ventured into commercial real estate through his work on the residential side. One of the buyers showed him a Canyon Lake property of a large ranch that he wanted to sell. That listing for the $6 million property was the beginning of his commercial work and led him to co-found the Unique Properties Division of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty.

His first commercial transaction was selling an industrial property to the City of Lake Elsinore. Mike soon worked on churches, shopping centers, and other commercial leases and sales from that launchpad.

The commercial real estate information, analytics, and marketing services industry giant CoStar Group honored Mike as the PowerBroker Quarterly Award Winner for Q4 2020.

In February 2021, after almost two years of work, Mike was part of the listing team that sold the iconic Cherry Hills Shopping Center in the heart of the citys northern shopping district for over $13 million. Later, Menifee asked CoStar to identify the top Menifee commercial agent, which turned out to be Mike, leading to him being honored as the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021.

Mike expressed great satisfaction in fulfilling his dream, which came about through his unique series of career choices.

I have the embedded belief that God loves me and that God loves a comeback story, Mike said. Come what may, I could fail, but I know one thing for certain, no matter what, God, my parents, my wife, my children, and my grandchildren will always love me. Thats the bedrock foundation that my life and career are built on.

His advice to people who are searching for their way in life is straightforward.

Find someone who believes you can do it, then find a way to get in front of them and let them mentor you, he said. Without the support and leadership of Chuck Whitehead and Margaret McCoy at Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty, none of this would have been possible.

Whats next for this grandfather of seven?

Im so happy that I can now be a mentor for another agent, Mike said. Were working hard to develop a formidable, powerhouse commercial division that handles all kinds of commercial business. My goal in 10 years is to help build the most influential commercial real estate group in Southwest Riverside County, making an even greater contribution to the success of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty.

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CL broker points to his history in winning award - The Friday Flyer

Stephanie Kruse and her husband paid a company in British Columbia to build their roughly 8.5 x 20 foot tiny home. Living in it allowed them to save money for travel and a down payment on a traditional house. (Photo by Erin McKinstry/KCAW)

Tiny homes have gained traction in recent years as an affordable housing alternative, but building them legally poses challenges in many communities. Sitka was one of the first cities in the country to introduce a set of tiny home friendly code changes last year. But, a year after passing the groundbreaking ordinance, no one is building them.

A few years back, Stephanie Kruse and her husband decided they were sick of renting.

They moved around a lot for Kruses job, so buying a house wasnt a great option. Besides, with Southeast Alaskas high rental rates, they werent saving enough for a down payment.

Its hard to put away money when youre paying so much in rent. And you know, at the end of the year, you dont get anything back from that besides having had a place to live, Kruse said. So, for us, we wanted to do something that would allow us to build some equity with that 1200 plus dollars a month we were paying in rent and housing costs.

They looked at manufactured homes and RVs, but ultimately settled on a tiny house on wheels.

We preferred the tiny house for a lot of reasons. One of them for sure is that a tiny house holds its value a lot better than an RV because its built with more traditional construction materials that are meant to withstand the weather. And then also, you know, theyre whimsical and fun and interesting.

With beige siding and a blue metal roof, the roughly 170-square-foot house looks like a mini single-family home. Kruse and her husband took out an RV loan and paid a company in British Columbia to build it. They moved it to Juneau on the ferry and parked it on a shared lot.

When Kruses job brought them to Sitka, the tiny house came with them. Even with their loan payment and the cost to rent a spot at a local RV park, Kruse said they were paying a couple hundred dollars less a month than if they were renting.

I think the kind of ruling concept for people who do small homes or tiny homes is a small house for a big life. If you can reduce your housing expenses and kind of minimize that in your life, but still make it a pleasant place to be, Kruse said. And that gives you the ability to kind of put your funding towards the things that you are really passionate about in your life.

For Kruse and her husband, that meant a trip to Japan and saving to buy a regular house. And when they sold the tiny house and left Sitka for the Pacific Northwest, thats exactly what they did.

I think its a really great stepping stone to home ownership like it was for us.

But even though rent in Sitka is high and home ownership can be cost prohibitive, people in Sitka arent following in Kruses footsteps. Thats despite changes to the citys building and zoning codes a little over a year ago to make tiny homes easier to build. Pat Swedeen is Sitkas Building Official.

Theres definitely been a few individuals who have been interested in it. Weve also had actually a couple of companies think about maybe trying to go that route, Sitkas Building Official Pat Swedeen said. Thus far we havent had anybody actually begin that proper process of permitting and, and constructing a tiny home.

Even before the changes, Sitka didnt have a minimum house size, but meeting building standards for small structures was a challenge. So Sitka adopted a set of international regulations to make it easier to build houses under 400 square feet, allowing for things like ladders and lower ceilings.

It also addressed a legal grey area for tiny homes on wheels. Before last March, Sitka considered them RVs like almost any other place in the country, and legally, you cant live in an RV year-round in Sitka. Now, they have their own designation. Theyre allowed in trailer courts, and there are some zones where they can be placed on lots by themselves with planning commission approval.

The two main barriers in most places are zoning and building codes, Tiny Home Industry Association communications director Alexis Stephens said. She said Sitkas changes are a big step in the right direction. Sitka is one of just a few across the country to update their zoning regulations to be more tiny home friendly.The progress is really picking up but to put that into context, theres almost 90,000 municipalities in the United States, having more than a dozen embracing tiny homes, still leaves quite a bit of work to do.

And even with the regulations changes, there are still barriers like the cost of construction, Swedeen said.

Per square foot, a tiny home isnt really super affordable. You know, since its small, its not like the cost of building a 2500 square foot house. But you know, you still need to have cooking appliances, you still need to have heating appliances, you still need to have bathing facilities and a toilet and things like that.

Financing and land availability are also big hurdles. Tiny homes on wheels arent allowed as accessory dwelling units in Sitka, so you cant just buy one and park it in someones yard.

Jennifer Younger bought Kruses tiny home as an affordable option for her son. Much like Kruse, it allowed him to save money to buy his own house. Now, theyre looking to sell, but Younger said land availability has stopped a lot of buyers.

Weve had several people very interested and check it out and its a beautifully built little home, but people just dont have property to put it on, she said.

Even though tiny homes havent taken off, Sitka Conservation Society Sustainable Communities catalyst Chandler OConnell said she isnt discouraged. SCS partnered with a Sitka High School construction class to build their own tiny house a few years ago. Their efforts to sell it sparked a community conversation, which contributed to the eventual code changes.

And I think our learning from past code changes is it takes a while for that information out there. It takes a while for people to understand the implications and think about how they want to implement that in their own building decisions. Im excited to see how it can shape Sitkas housing market over the next few years.

She said she sees tiny homes as one affordable housing option of many. They wont work for everyone, but its about getting more tools in Sitkas housing toolbelt.

Throughout April and May, KCAW News will be bringing you stories about affordable housing solutions every Friday as part of our Building Solutions series. Erin McKinstry is a Report for America corps member.

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A year after Sitka made space for tiny homes, no one is building them - KCAW

LA GRANDE A local home builder is offering a small solution to a countywide housing problem tiny homes.

Megan Fehrenbacher, owner of Mega Tiny Homes in La Grande, has been building tiny homes for just over two years, starting out with a small cottage she built after a friends retreat burned down in Tollgate.

Fehrenbacher said the business has an important role in not only building affordable homes for the community, but as a form of rehabilitation. She said she had grown frustrated with substance abuse treatment centers, which she saw as a retreat that did not prepare its graduates for life after therapy.

I wanted to start a work rehab, where they dont just go to rehab and talk about themselves, Fehrenbacher said.

The inspiration comes from her son, who she said struggled with substance abuse disorders in the past. Now, shes helping to build futures.

My son went through 18 rehabs, said Fehrenbacher, noting the most beneficial to her sons health were work rehabs, where he would spend time on farms or recycling centers working and building up his marketable skills.

All of the other rehabs, he would get out and nobody wanted him, Fehrenbacher said. I said to myself, I can do this better.

She built her first tiny home with the assistance of Stacey Bowman, who now works for Mega Tiny Homes.

I learned a lot, Fehrenbacher said.

Navigating through the codes and requirements of homebuilding, such as proper electrical work, was a challenge for the fledgeling homebuilder. Still, orders began coming in.

Her first order was for 60 houses. However, the order was a sham, with the buyer fronting the money for only five houses. Fehrenbacher was wary and able to keep her business from going into excess debt.

Tiny houses, which have experienced a huge increase in support over the past decade, have attracted young homeowners and elderly alike. The low-cost of entry allows first-time homebuyers to get a foot in a market that increased dramatically since the 2009 housing crisis, which saw foreclosures across the country and downwardly spiraling home prices that left many with negative equity. And older homebuyers are interested in smaller spaces, due to children leaving the home and having excess space.

Tiny homes often are confused with modular or manufactured homes, which Fehrenbacher said have lower quality than her companys tiny homes. While manufactured homes have improved over the years, the stigma around them remains, as well as often true stereotypes of cheaper materials and workmanship in their construction.

For Fehrenbacher, the focus is on quality.

We definitely build a heavy and nice house, she said.

There is a drawback, however. In Oregon, tiny homes are technically illegal to sell instead, Fehrenbacher markets her homes as trailers or cabins to work around the prohibition.

Of the workers at Mega Tiny Homes, Ray Valdez is the most dedicated. Prior to his employment, he would walk to the manufacturer each work day, sit down for lunch and wait for his chance to work.

At first, Fehrenbacher wasnt interested in hiring the man. After a week, Valdez left. Fehrenbacher asked her employees which car he drove. They replied he didnt. She ran after the man and hired him on for a week. She said Valdez is her most crucial employee.

Hes the man, she said.

As home prices around the state continue to rise, Fehrenbacher said she hoped the legislation around tiny homes changes, and her business helps to solve the housing issues in La Grande and Union County.

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Little homes in the valley | Local News | lagrandeobserver.com - La Grande Observer

With winds up to 140 mph, a tornado that carved a nine-mile path through St. Landry Parish on April 9 into the next morning killed one person, injured seven and damaged 15 homes.

About 180 miles north in Shreveport, the same storm system killed a 48-year-old man when a powerful gust knocked a tree onto his mobile home.

The severe weather came just weeks after a tornado outbreak wreaked potentially millions of dollars in damage from flash floods, harsh winds and hail in Louisiana and surrounding states.

Some experts say the storms are part of an alarming trend: tornadoes are spinning up more often in Louisiana. A recent analysis by E&E News of the past 70 years of tornado activity in the southeastern United States shows tornado activity in the Deep South is more prevalent than once thought.

Increased attention on tornadoes in the South has given rise to a belief and public perception that the traditional tornado alley in the Great Plains is shifting southeast. But several experts say that likely isnt the case.

We need to be very cautious with the idea of tornado alley shifting, said Sean Sublette, a meteorologist for Climate Central, an organization that researches climate change and its impacts. Tornadoes are not leaving the Plains and migrating to the Southeast.

Weather researchers from Norman, Oklahoma on Monday were employing drones to comb the St. Landry Parish area near the site of a Saturday torna

Instead, theres been an increased focus on tracking tornadoes in whats sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, an area covering the lower Mississippi River valley and through the Deep South. The area also covers northern and central Louisiana.

Tornadoes commonly seen in the South and the ones that typically spin up in Louisiana are often tough to spot and arent as eye-catching and iconic as those captured by storm chasers in the Great Plains.

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Still, rougher terrain and a plethora of manufactured homes make concentrated twisters more perilous in southeast states.

Deaths caused by tornadoes have been slowly ticking up over the past four years in Louisiana. At least five people were killed by them last year, up from two in 2016, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Storms that produce tornadoes in Dixie Alley have also been undercounted for years, said Brad Bryant, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service in Shreveport. It wasnt until the late 90s and early 2000s that researchers began taking a closer look at how often they happen.

I think the general weather community got more of a sense that there are a whole lot more tornadoes happening in the Southeast than previously thought, Bryant said. Theres more understanding of these tornadoes.

Understanding how frequently they happen in the region has prompted agencies like the National Weather Service to look closer at where tornadoes happen over the years.

Often, the agency will send survey teams to check for signs of a twister, but it can sometimes be days before theyre able to confirm whether one touched down.

Thats because tornadoes here tend to be short-lived, especially near the coast, and coverage from trees and rain can mask them. Theyre also generally weaker than those in the Great Plains, but their sporadic nature and ability to spin up during storms can make them just as dangerous.

One theory behind the increase in tornadoes in southern states is areas in the southwestern U.S. becoming hotter and drier. That in turn could be creating a wetter and more unstable atmosphere thats capable of producing more tornadic activity.

Experts have also observed differences in the numbers of violent storms that coincide with ocean temperatures. Because of the cyclical nature of weather patterns, more data over a longer period is needed to see if tornadoes are happening more frequently in Louisiana, Bryant said.

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Are tornadoes moving from the plains to the South and Louisiana? Not likely, experts say - The Advocate

Forest Rivers Sunseeker Classic motor home is built on a Ford E-450 chassis, framed with vacuum-bonded laminate, and crammed with features the armchair outdoorsman would never consider. On the 31-foot model I piloted recently, those included a propane furnace to keep the cabin toasty in freezing temperatures, two refrigerators (one for the indoor kitchen and one for the outdoor one), three sleeping areas, and dozens of cabinets, drawers, and compartments to conceal disorder.

All that engineering was pretty satisfying at the campsite. On the road it was noisy, adding clatter and a little bit of mysteryhoney, did you hear that?to the task of keeping a 14,500-pound motor home upright going over winding mountain roads and through crowded interchanges. At least thats how I saw it. Like a real RV dad, I was doing my best to ignore the complaints of the unhappy campers with whom I was sharing the cabin. My kids had been slugging each other periodically, and when the iPad ran out of juice they tossed markers in my direction. My wife, Eleanor, had a premonition somewhere in the Allegheny Mountains and was now certain our brakes were about to give out. And that was before I opened an artery in my hand with a hatchet and wound up riding an ambulance from an obscure state park to an emergency room, asking myself how, exactly, Id come to believe this would be a relaxing vacation.

The Clark familyin Elkhart.

Photographer: Lyndon French for Bloomberg Businessweek

It had started some months earlier, when Id convinced the editors of Bloomberg Businessweek that we should visit Elkhart, Ind., where the worlds largest RV companies are based. Elkhart, which is about halfway between Ohio and Illinois and just south of the Michigan state line, may not be known as a tourist destination. But, as Id insisted to Eleanor, its a surprisingly bucolic place, where Amish farms mix with factories.

The vaccine was just starting to become widely available when we arrived at the end of March, and RVs remained compelling to travelers understandably turned off by the idea of sharing an airport waiting room or hotel lounge with a nose-masking stranger. Meanwhile, large portions of the American workforce were continuing to log in to the office virtually, creating an opportunity for the younger and more adventurous to work from the road, integrating their jobs into the #vanlife. Even the Oscar-winning film Nomadland romanticized this lifestyle in its own way.

The pandemic has been good for owners of vacation rental properties and shareholders of Airbnb Inc. Its also been great for the RV industry. After all, a motor home (or travel trailer, which is an RV you drag behind your car or truck) is like a halfway house to nature, perfect for indoorsy types who still enjoy national parks and retirees looking for a safe way to drive across the country to see their grandchildren. And so, starting last spring, people began canceling European honeymoons and going to RV dealerships instead. The motor-home-curious flocked to rental offices and Airbnb-style sharing websites. This drove so much demand for new RVs that by the time we got to Elkhart, help wanted signs were calling out from factory gates and roadside billboards.

Conventional wisdom says that workers and vacationers are on the road back to pre-pandemic norms. But its also possible that the sudden embrace of RVs signals the beginning of a longer-term trenda future in which tech executives and second-grade teachers finish their last Zoom of the day, emerge from their respective travel trailers to gather around a campfire, and unwind over cold beers and hot smores. Lets hope theyll all be trained to chop kindling safely.

There was really only one way to find out how realistic that vision was. When the kids school headed into spring break, I took the family to Elkhart, picked up the Sunseeker, and hit the road.

The Sunseeker in action.

Photographer: Lyndon French for Bloomberg Businessweek

The vacation, such as it was, started at the Thor Motor Coach Class B plant in Bristol, Ind., right outside Elkhart. It was, to the extent such a thing is possible, ground zero for the RV boomthe place where the biggest company makes its hottest models. Although a cold front was threatening ominously, it was sunny. Inside, workers wearing T-shirts ducked in and out of a procession of Ram ProMasters that snaked around the factory floor. Plumbers, carpenters, and electricians did their thing. A horn would honk, and a van shell would roll down the line to the next station.

Indiana, where more than 80% of North Americas RVs are made, came to play an outsize role in the industry more or less by accident. In one version of the story, the son of a prominent Elkhart merchant was captivated by the travel trailers hed encountered at the 1933 Worlds Fair in Chicago and begged his parents for startup capital. His success inspired other entrepreneurs, and a network of companies sprung up to manufacture motor homes and supply the nascent industry with specialized suspension systems, gas ranges, and refrigerators. Over the decades, the ranks of once independent RV companies consolidated into a small group of conglomerates, the biggest of which are in Elkhart.

Thor Industries Inc., which accounted for roughly 40% of all RV sales last year, is one of them. The company was founded in 1980 by a descendant of the brewer Adolphus Busch and spent the ensuing four decades acquiring manufacturers, including Airstream Inc., Jayco Inc., and a dozen other makes youve probably gawked at on the highway. Thors lineage and its thirst for acquisitions make it a little like the Anheuser-Busch of motor homes. Forest River Inc., which is owned by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and which owns Coachmen RV, Shasta RV, and other manufacturers, is the second-biggest: the industrys Heineken, as it were. Forest River is based in Elkhart, too.

Data: Compiled by Bloomberg

Thor, like the rest of the industry, had been focused on building travel trailers and larger motorized coaches, which might have a washer-dryer and theater seating. But in recent years Class B motor homeswhat the rest of us call camper vanshave been the fastest-growing segment. Class B vehicles are easier to drive without sacrificing too many amenities. Thors TMC Tellaro, for instance, is a 20-footer that can sleep up to four semicomfortably. Depending on the model, it can also cram in two propane burners, a microwave, a kitchen sink, a full (if tiny) bath, and an innovation called a cassette toileta commode that empties into a tank that works like a rollaway suitcase. That feature, I was told, is big in Europe.

Thors Martin.

Photographer: Lyndon French for Bloomberg Businessweek

Factories in Elkhart County shut down in March 2020 and reopened in May. But despite having been offline for two months, manufacturers delivered more RVs last year than they did the year before. More than 530,000 vehicles will be shipped to North American RV dealers this year, a record, according to estimates from the RV Industry Association.

Our products were kind of built for something like this, said Thor Chief Executive Officer Bob Martin, a former offensive lineman at Purdue University who spoke to me across the length of a conference table overlooking the scenic St. Joseph River. RVs had normally been the domain of snowbirds, motor sports enthusiasts, mountain climbers, pet owners, pro golfers, touring rock bands, and all manner of germophobes. The pandemic has added to those ranks, created new ones, and, of course, proved the germophobes right. Our customers think about those kinds of things, he said. They know who cleaned their RV, because they cleaned it. They know who has been allowed in the unit, because its their unit.

The earliest RVs were basically tents on wheels, covered wagons that hitched to cars instead of horses. But it didnt take long for a group of entrepreneurs to realize they could make more money by complicating things. By the late 1930s, Elkhart was already delivering extravagant travel trailers that anticipated the bigger-is-better fifth wheels (a technical term for a trailer that hangs over the bed of a pickup truck). Some innovations, like the slide-out sections that make an RV wider at the campsite, were widely adopted. Others were not. Long before it was acquired by Thor, Jayco made a pontoon-camper hybrid called the Camp-n-Cruise. It sold poorly. Winnebago Industries Inc., based in Iowa, briefly sold a flying RV called the Heli-Home. It was a neat idea, said Al Hesselbart, the retired staff historian at Elkharts RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum & Library, a facility dedicated to the glories of recreational vehicles and manufactured housing. But it was one of those giant steps that was way too big for the customers.

These days RV companies are still cramming their products full of products. Higher-end motor homes include gas fireplaces and heated tile floors. The plant manager at Rev Group Inc.s Renegade RV factory bragged about the Amish-built cabinetry his employees were installing. An executive at Gulf Stream Coach Inc. boasted of his companys cradle of strength system for lowering the vehicles center of gravity and making it easier to drive. At Nexus RV, co-founder Claude Donati showed off 4x4 drivetrains aimed at improving towing capacity, perfect for hauling a $200,000 sports car behind a $200,000 RV.

A Renegade RV is assembled in Bristol.

Photographer: Lyndon French for Bloomberg Businessweek

Photographer: Lyndon French for Bloomberg Businessweek

Their enthusiasm was only slightly diminished by rising production costs. Skilled workers in need of employment are hard to find in northern Indiana right now, and good ones are commanding higher wages, said Donati. Finding parts is an even bigger problem. When Nexus normal supplier of wheel well liners ran out of inventory this spring, the company found them on Amazon. It bought mattresses online at Wayfair and generators off the shelf at a Menards hardware store. Its like, do we ship it without a generator? Donati asked. You might be putting someone in a position not to have as much fun.

Id rented our Sunseeker from an outfit called Road Bear RV, which, as it turned out, was facing a similar predicament. A week before we arrivedwe drove a normal rental car to get thereI got an email from the reservation desk alerting me to a pitfall of renting an RV in March: I could hook up the RV to a water supply, but Id have to take responsibility if the pipes burst. This didnt seem like a big deal at the time, but then the cold front swept in, promising overnight temperatures in the 20s. The safe plan, a Road Bear representative said, would be to camp without running water.

If Road Bear was worried Id get an incomplete experience, they didnt show it. RV rental companies, much like the rest of the industry, have spent the past year riding the Covid-19 roller coaster. Road Bear and its sister company, El Monte RV, had traditionally done most of their business with tourists from Europe, who were shut out of the U.S. by travel bans. But domestic demand was more than picking up the slack. Road Bears parent, a company in Auckland that had started out running helicopter tours in New Zealand, increased U.S. rental revenue 30% in the second half of 2020, compared with the year before.

The Road Bear rental office was situated in the back corner of an empty lot on Forest Rivers Elkhart campus, in a corrugated metal building that would have looked to the uninitiated like a good place to do something illegal. Inside, a counter was mounted in front of the broadside of a motor home called a Coachmen Leprechaun. Would our RV lead us to a pot of gold or a pot of something else? A clerk took my credit card and handed over a packet of toilet chemicals.

We had rented the RV through Road Bears factory direct program, an offering it developed to help solve a key logistical problem. The company manufactures its RVs in Indiana, but its offices are near major cities. So Road Bear offers renters their choice of the companys RVs for $9 a day to pick up a motor home in Elkhart and drive it to a rental location. After insurance, campsite fees, and gas, our trip worked out to about $170 a day.

At first glance, the Sunseeker compared well to the types of hotel rooms we could get for the money. For one thing, there was a semblance of privacy: My 7-year-old daughter claimed the loft over the cab, and my 5-year-old son slept on the pull-out sofa in the living area. My wife and I had the master bedroom at the back, with wardrobes and a television.

On the other hand, the Sunseeker was a lot more complicated to operate than a two-queen room at the Hilton. When we took possession of the motor home, a Road Bear employee spent 15 minutes walking us around the vehicle while delivering a series of commandments. Start the engine and engage the emergency brake before you extend the slide-outs. Turn off the propane before you fill the gas tank. If you must use the toilet, flush with windshield wiper fluid, because it has a lower freezing point than water.

Scenes from the road.

Photographer: Patrick Clark for Bloomberg Businessweek

We camped in Elkhart that evening, celebrating Eleanors birthday with McDonalds and cheesecake, and soon realized that the Road Bear tutorial had been somewhat inadequate. The RV beeped and buzzed for reasons we couldnt account for. The internet told us to make sure we flipped the breaker before plugging an RV into a power source, but there was no breaker in the electrical box at our first parking slot. I took a breath, imagined offing my family in an electrical explosion, and plugged in. Nothing bad happened, but a couple of hours later we had to spend 10 minutes looking for an elusive light switch. I woke up cold in the middle of the night, dialed up the thermostat, and then smelled something burning. A bit of Googling indicated that the smell was probably just construction debris left in the furnace. To be safe, I turned off the heat and went back to sleep.

Id been warned that a new RV takes a little while to get used to, and moreover that RVing was a lifestyle for people with a certain capacity for self-reliance. RVers had to be comfortable driving a big rig and making minor repairs. Yes, they appreciated modern conveniences such as dishwashers and satellite television, but they also didnt mind cramming themselves into tiny showers or acquiring a basic understanding of electrical system design.

Even before we left Elkhart, it was clear my family might not quite meet this description. I had bought the hatchet as a jokeit was on one of the checklists wed found on the internet covering what to pack on an RV tripand I figured Id buy wood and fire-starters like any basic urbanite. But theres something about having driven a rickety house-car up a windy Appalachian hillside that makes you feel vastly more capable than you actually are. And so I found myself making kindling at Little Beaver State Park near Beckley, W.Va. A light snow was falling, and my children pulled up their camp chairs to watch me nurse the fire while Eleanor cooked burgers on the electric stove that folded down from the motor homes outdoor kitchen. Then my hatchet blade slipped. I didnt feel pain, at least not at first.

Clockwise from top left: The author, grooming at Jellystone Park; dinner in Kentucky; the case for not making your own kindling; the outdoor kitchen.

Photographer: Patrick Clark for Bloomberg Businessweek

Getting to the emergency room in rural West Virginia seemed like it would be an order of magnitude harder than plugging in a motor home. My first instinct was to wrap my wound in a towel and hope. Eleanor didnt think that was a solution and called 911. By 2 a.m.after a 30-minute ambulance ride to Raleigh General Hospital, where the staff sewed me up and called me a cab back to the campsiteI faced a new set of questions.

Could I drive the Sunseeker with nine stitches in my hand? (I thought so.) Did Eleanor want to drive? (No. She didnt.) Were our collective nerves too fried to face another drive through the mountains? (Yes.) Did we have enough propane in the tank to last another day of freezing temperatures? (Maybe?) In the end, we spent a rest day in Little Beaver, ordered Dominos, and shut the doors against the cold.

The guy dressed like Ranger Smith at the camp store in Luray, Va., heard me say my name and made a crack about Clark Griswold, the everyman played by Chevy Chase who dragged his family through hilarious misadventures in the Vacation movies. I didnt mind. Jellystone Park resort, the Yogi Bear-themed chain of RV campgrounds, felt like a party, and, after the ER visit, a relatively safe one. Kids jumped on bouncy pillows and waved at a bear who was riding around on the back of a golf cart. Adults played classic rock at respectful volumes and tended their fires.

A strange thing about RVing is that you can theoretically go anywhere, but many people take their vehicles to glorified parking lots so they can make camp 20 feet away from the next group. This is not universally true: Some stay for free at Walmart parking lots and national forests. But RVerslike motorcyclists and Jeep peoplelike being around their own kind. That often means in diagonal rows of RV-size spaces, each one with an electrical box, a water spigot, and a hole in the ground to connect the tube that empties waste. Usually theres a picnic table. Sometimes theres a way to hook up to cable TV.

Snapshots from the Clarks vacation, including, top left, a post-injury indulgence.

Photographer: Patrick Clark for Bloomberg Businessweek

The Luray Jellystone was a little bit like that, but its RV sites were built into a hillside and along a grassy quad, making it feel less like a parking lot and more like a summer camp, where we could enjoy the kinship of a hundred or so families who also recognized the pleasures and pains of vacationing in a house-car. The temperature had started climbing, and so we were able to plug the Sunseeker into the municipal water supply. I flipped the switch on the electric water heater (having learned to conserve propane) and took a hot shower. More important, I was finally able to complete an important rite of passage: I got to empty the wastewater tank.

Our campsite at Jellystone didnt have a sewage hookup, and it took two laps around the park before I managed to pull up on the correct side of the communal dumping station. I affixed one end of an accordion tube to the Sunseekers undercarriage, screwed the other end to a concrete basin, and pulled a gray handle to empty water from the sinks and shower.

It was easier than I expected, but there was a catch. Everything on the Sunseeker was new, but the tube that Road Bear had supplied me with was not, and when I pulled the plunger, water poured through slits in its midsection. I should have realized what would happen next, but then I pulled the handle to release the toilet tank. Wastewater came pouring through the slits and onto the gravel road next to the basin. In a flash, I understood the appeal of Thors poop suitcase.

On the drive north from Virginia, we assessed the vacation. I had liked driving the RV, clatter and all, and loved pressing the button that made it expand, though the size of the vehicle made it inconvenient for side trips and excursions. Eleanor agreed that the Sunseeker was big enough to provide a bit of privacy, but small enough to be an intimate space for a family of four. That was nice. It had probably been a worthwhile adventure, and she would never do it again.

Which was fine. I got my first vaccine shot shortly after we returned the Sunseeker to the Road Bear office in industrial New Jersey. A few days later we booked airplane tickets to visit family in Florida. The kids went back to school full time, a triumphant moment that signaled the end of what for me had been the most difficult and best parts of the pandemic. Trying to maintain Zoom-school discipline and tending to the emotions of kids whod been separated from their friends was terrible. On the other hand, Ill probably never spend as much time with them again.

I didnt know it, but when I stepped out of the puddle of wastewater at Jellystone Park, the worst of the pandemic was probably behind us in the U.S. (Fingers crossed.) There had been a water hose nearby, but I couldnt figure out how to get it to work, so I gave up on cleaning up after myself and approached the driver behind me to apologize. Its our first time doing this, I told him. We rented this thing. I kind of made a mess.

Thats OK, he said. I hope you had a good time.Read next: JetBlues Founder Is Preparing to Launch a New Airline in a Global Pandemic

More here:
Pandemic Vacation: What We Learned Driving 1,100 Miles in an RV - Bloomberg

Blanca Tamayo was dying when she arrived at UCI Medical Center. She had been shot in the head and her two children were among the four killed in a mass shooting in Orange five weeks ago.

A team of doctors, surgeons and nurses saved her life and cared for her as she recovered. Now, the sole survivor of the tragedy that unfolded on March 31 was being released.

For the record:

1:36 PM, May. 06, 2021An earlier version of this article referred to Luis Tovar as Blanca Tamayos ex-husband. The two were never married.

On Wednesday, Tamayo sat quietly in a wheelchair, holding two flower bouquets and wearing a T-shirt with an image of her 9-year-old son, Matthew Farias, who died in her arms that day.

This hospital has been great, Tamayo said in a low, raspy voice. I have my family, the father of my boy and my son who love me and support me and Im thankful for that.

She paused, placed her right hand over her chest and cried for Matthew.

Hes an angel and hes with God now, his mother said.

At that moment, words failed her. Her daughter, 28-year-old Genevieve Raygoza, was also killed.

Kneeling down next to her, 25-year-old Louis Tovar Jr. whispered comforting words to his mother. Tovar, whose father and two siblings were killed in the shooting, said the road to recovery will be long for his mother.

Im excited to have her back home, he said. Just happy to have her back for Mothers Day.

Tamayo said her only plan for Mothers Day was to spend it with family.

Try and enjoy whatever life God has left me, she said.

Blanca Ismeralda Tamayo, with her son Louis Tovar Jr., pauses in an emotional moment at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The mass shooting occurred on the evening of the last day of March in a commercial building that housed several businesses, including Unified Homes, a manufactured-home dealer and real estate company that the gunman targeted.

Orange Police Department detectives alleged that Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, drove a rental car to the building at 202 W. Lincoln Ave. They alleged that Gonzalez used bicycle-type locks to shut the front and rear entrances before carrying out the shooting, targeting mostly employees of Unified Homes.

The incident, the third mass shooting in the United States that month, stunned the quiet north Orange neighborhood.

In addition to Genevieve and Matthew, the dead included the owner of the business, Luis Tovar, 50, and longtime company employee Leticia Solis Guzman, 58.

Tamayo was found holding Matthew in her arms, family said. The day of the shooting just happened to be one of the days that Matthew had accompanied his mom to work at Unified Homes instead of going to day care, family said.

Louis Tovar Jr. said his mother was shot twice in the head and once in the arm.

Michael Lekawa, head surgeon at UCI Medical Center, said Tamayos gunshot wounds caused some facial fractures and she required brain surgery.

Lekawa, who was assisting the night the mass shooting happened, said head injuries can be among the most catastrophic a person can experience. Looking at Tamayo, he said he expected her to recover well at least physically.

Gonzalez, the suspected gunman, was wounded after exchanging fire with police officers. Authorities said officers were forced to use bolt cutters to gain entrance.

A photo released by authorities showed a man entering the business dressed in black and gray with sunglasses, a baseball hat and black bandana covering his face. He had a backpack on his left shoulder and a gun in his right hand.

Authorities said they recovered a semiautomatic handgun and a backpack with pepper spray, handcuffs and ammunition that they say belong to the suspect.

Gonzalez, who has not been arraigned, is facing four murder counts and three attempted-murder counts for firing at two officers who were not struck and for critically wounding Tamayo, according to a statement that Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer released last month after filing the charges.

The taking of the life of another human being is the most serious of crimes, he said. And the slaughter of multiple people while they were essentially locked in a shooting gallery is nothing short of terrifying.

Detectives say they dont have a motive for the shooting. They are also looking at how the suspect obtained the firearm.

Back at the hospital Wednesday afternoon, Rafael Farias stood by himself a short distance away, watching his wife address the media. He wore a golden rosary with a photo of his smiling son, Matthew. Farias said losing his boy triggered memories of his own father, who died when he was 3. He has tried to take it one day at a time, focusing on supporting his wife and expressing gratitude to the hospital staff, family, friends and the public.

Im just grateful for this miracle, he said, looking over at Tamayo. I might not be able to see my son anymore, but I can at least see him through her.

Farias said hes going to focus on helping his wife while she continues to recover from her injuries. He said shes going to need 24-hour supervision and help moving around so she can avoid injuring herself.

I have a very quiet and calm environment for her and for her family to come over and visit, he said.

Farias said all he can do now is try to move forward as best he can. I have to continue living life for [my son], for his life, he said. I have to stay strong-minded.

Farias described Matthew as a smart, charismatic, athletic and energetic little boy. He said he loved seeing how happy he was around his mother.

He would give her kisses and flowers and hugged her every time he got the chance, he said.

Farias hoped to watch his son grow up and play sports.

I wanted to be his No. 1 fan, he said.

He said every now and then, he has dreams of him. He smiles thinking about it.

Hes joyful and happy, he said.

Hes up in heaven now and I know hes running around chasing his sister Genevieve, the boys father added.

In one dream, Farias said, he saw his son at the grocery store sitting on top of a shelf. He asked his son what he was doing up there and his son said he was just thinking.

I told him come on down, he said, recalling. Thats when I hugged him and I wake up from the dream.

Read more:
Mother who survived Orange mass shooting but lost two children leaves hospital - Los Angeles Times

AWAY 100 FREE CIGARETTE WASTE RECEPTACLES TO LOCAL BUSINESSES. >> IF A LOCAL BUSINESS WANTS TO HELP DO THEIR PART AND ENSURE THAT THEIR CUSTOMERS OR THEIR EMPLOYEES HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO DISPOSE OF THEIR BUTTS WE JUST ENCOURAGE THEM TO APPLY. JACLYN WEVE GOTTEN SOME HEAVY DOWN FOREST. A LOT OF LIGHTNING STRIKES AS WELL. SOME OF THAT HEAVY RAIN HEAD RIGHT FOR US. WINSTON-SALEM IN THE SECOND THIS. FURTHER SOUTH YOU CAN SEE WHAT ITS DOING IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE. THIS IS A TORNADO WARNING. THIS STAYS IN EFFE UNTIL 1:15. HERES WHAT WE KNOW AT THIS POINT. A FEW MINUTES AGO THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER DECIDED THAT OUR AREA INCLUDING THE TRIAD IS NOW UNDER A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER INSTEAD OF THE MARGINAL RISK THEY HAD ORIGINALLY PUT US UNDER. SCATTERED SEVERE STORM THREAT, AREAS OF WIND DAMAGE ARE LIKELY. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALS POSSIBLE. FOR THE AREAS SHADED IN GREEN, IT IS STILL AN ISSUE. TALKING ABOUT ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. HAIL UP TO AN INCH AND LOW TORNADO RISK. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SAFE SPACES. ITS THE INNERMOST ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE AWAY FROM DOORS AND WHEN DOES. MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THIS AND MAKE SURE YOUR EARPHONES ARE FULLY CHARGED. TEMPERATURES GETTING INTO THE UPPER 70S. PREVIOUSLY AREAS TO THE SOUTH HAD A HIGHER SKIP SEVERE WEATHER THAN WE DID. THIS IS ENOUGH TO CREATE INSTABILITY IN OUR ATMOSPHERE. THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND INTO TH EVENING WE CONTINUE TO SEE A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS. THE MOST SEVERE THREAT WILL BE IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON. WE HAVE TO BE ON GUARD THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. COULD BE SOME STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS AS WELL. WE ARE WATCHING THESE LITTLE POCKETS. THERE SMALL IN SIZE BUT POWERFUL. EVEN IF YOU DONT GET A SEVERE STORM YOURE SEEING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. UNDER AN LIGHTNING IS A RISK IN AND OF ITSELF. DAMAGING WINDS CAN BE JUST AS DAMAGING AS A TORNADO. A LITTLE MORE OF THAT ACTIVITY AND WE CALMED DOWN INTO THE LATER PART OF THE NIGHT. THATS GOOD NEW ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE WE WANT TO BE AWARE. WE HAVE ANOTHER LINE OF STORMS. THIS ONE I DONT LIKE THE LOOK OF. WE HAVE THREE IMPACT DAYS IN A ROW. WEDNESDAY ALSO AN IMPACT DAY. PLEASE STAY WEATHER AWARE AND

North Carolina: Severe weather threatens Piedmont Triad

Updated: 6:49 PM EDT May 3, 2021

Severe weather is threatening the Piedmont Triad on Monday. Click the video player above to watch the latest forecast from WXII 12 NewsWXII 12's meteorologists said the primary risks for storms include heavy rain, induced flash flooding and frequent lightning. A few storms Monday afternoon could produce wind damage.Scroll down for live updates.More weather coverage: Closing and delays | Latest weather forecast | Post pictures to the uLocal North Carolina Facebook Group | Traffic information | Report closings and delays | SkyCams | Download the WXII12 News mobile appLIVE UPDATES3:15 p.m. update: The tornado warning has been lifted in Montgomery and Randolph counties.3:05 p.m. update: No damage has been reported in Randolph and Montgomery counties yet.3 p.m. update: Randolph County Schools said all schools in its system have been instructed to go into tornado position. Asheboro City Schools said students and staff will not be dismissed until the warning has been lifted. Dismissal and bus routes will also be delayed until the warning has passed.2:30 p.m. update: A Tornado Warning has been issued for Randolph and Montgomery counties by the National Weather Service until. Seek shelter immediately if you are in this location. The warning expires at 3:15 p.m.1:30 p.m. update: A Tornado Watch has been issued for Montgomery County by the National Weather Service. Be ready to seek shelter if a warning is issued in your location.There are about 1,000 tornadoes a year in the U.S. that kill an average of 80 people and injure 1,500. Being informed and prepared before a tornado hits can make the difference between life and death.1. Stay informed; understand the terminology. Download the WXII app to be aware of alerts, listen to NOAA Weather radio, or tune in to Channel 12 when there is impending severe weather.A tornado watch means that tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned into weather coverage.A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.2. Prepare your family well in advance of severe weather.Put together a disaster supplies kit made up of basic items that your household may need in the event of an emergency.You may need to survive on your own after a storm strikes. This means having your own water, food and other essentials in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours.Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days.FEMA supply checklistBasic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week, or longer. Your supplies kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.3. Have an emergency communication plan in place before the threat of severe weather.Have an emergency communication plan in place that all members of your family understand. Many families experience unneeded stress when tornadoes strike because they do not have a plan in place to be warned, stay safe and find one another after the storm has passed.4. Know about tornadoes, and know what to watch for.Some tornadoes are clearly visible, but rain or low-hanging clouds often hide others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little if any advance warning is possible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still.Look for the following danger signs:Dark, often greenish skyLarge hailA large, dark, low-lying cloud (particularly if it appears to rotate)A loud roar, similar to the sound of a freight trainA tornado may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through MayTornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.5. Know where to go to stay safest.If you are in a residence, small building, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center or high-rise building:Go to a pre-designated area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of a small interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck.If you are in a pickup line at your childs school, get inside the building as quickly as possible.In a high-rise building, go to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible.Make sure you are wearing sturdy shoes.Do not open windows.If you are in a mobile home, manufactured office building or camper:Get out immediately and go to a pre-identified location such as the lowest floor of a sturdy nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes.Related: South Carolina man dies when tornado destroys his mobile homeIf you are not in a sturdy building, there is no single research-based recommendation for what last-resort action to take because many factors can affect your decision.Possible actions (that do not guarantee safety) include:Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter. If your vehicle is hit by flying debris while you are driving, pull over and park.Take cover in a stationary vehicle. Put the seat belt on and cover your head with your arms and a blanket, coat or cushion if possible.Lie in an area noticeably lower than the level of the road and cover your head with your arms and a blanket, coat or cushion if possible.In all situations:Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location.Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries.Click here to watch the latest news and weather from WXII 12 News. Listen while you drive -- watch wherever you are, whenever you want. (Live during the news hours, most recent newscast in between times.) Click to download the app.

Severe weather is threatening the Piedmont Triad on Monday.

Click the video player above to watch the latest forecast from WXII 12 News

WXII 12's meteorologists said the primary risks for storms include heavy rain, induced flash flooding and frequent lightning. A few storms Monday afternoon could produce wind damage.

Scroll down for live updates.

More weather coverage: Closing and delays | Latest weather forecast | Post pictures to the uLocal North Carolina Facebook Group | Traffic information | Report closings and delays | SkyCams | Download the WXII12 News mobile app

LIVE UPDATES

3:15 p.m. update: The tornado warning has been lifted in Montgomery and Randolph counties.

3:05 p.m. update: No damage has been reported in Randolph and Montgomery counties yet.

3 p.m. update: Randolph County Schools said all schools in its system have been instructed to go into tornado position. Asheboro City Schools said students and staff will not be dismissed until the warning has been lifted. Dismissal and bus routes will also be delayed until the warning has passed.

2:30 p.m. update: A Tornado Warning has been issued for Randolph and Montgomery counties by the National Weather Service until. Seek shelter immediately if you are in this location. The warning expires at 3:15 p.m.

1:30 p.m. update: A Tornado Watch has been issued for Montgomery County by the National Weather Service. Be ready to seek shelter if a warning is issued in your location.

There are about 1,000 tornadoes a year in the U.S. that kill an average of 80 people and injure 1,500. Being informed and prepared before a tornado hits can make the difference between life and death.

Download the WXII app to be aware of alerts, listen to NOAA Weather radio, or tune in to Channel 12 when there is impending severe weather.

A tornado watch means that tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned into weather coverage.

A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.

Put together a disaster supplies kit made up of basic items that your household may need in the event of an emergency.

You may need to survive on your own after a storm strikes. This means having your own water, food and other essentials in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours.

Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days.

FEMA supply checklist

Basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week, or longer. Your supplies kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.

Have an emergency communication plan in place that all members of your family understand. Many families experience unneeded stress when tornadoes strike because they do not have a plan in place to be warned, stay safe and find one another after the storm has passed.

Some tornadoes are clearly visible, but rain or low-hanging clouds often hide others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little if any advance warning is possible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still.

Look for the following danger signs:

The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.

The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.

Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May

Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

If you are in a residence, small building, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center or high-rise building:

If you are in a mobile home, manufactured office building or camper:

If you are not in a sturdy building, there is no single research-based recommendation for what last-resort action to take because many factors can affect your decision.

Possible actions (that do not guarantee safety) include:

In all situations:

Click here to watch the latest news and weather from WXII 12 News. Listen while you drive -- watch wherever you are, whenever you want. (Live during the news hours, most recent newscast in between times.) Click to download the app.

Continued here:
North Carolina: Severe weather threatens Piedmont Triad - WXII12 Winston-Salem - WXII12 Winston-Salem

A Sounders fan gets poked (Image: Seattle Fire)

To speed the process of getting the citys young adults inoculated against COVID-19, the Seattle Fire Department will begin deploying its mobile vaccination teams to neighborhood breweries, outdoor dining areas, business districts, parks, and beaches.

Officials call the new mobile vaccination strategy an effort to meet Seattle residents and workers where they are and increase vaccination rates, with a focus on younger Seattleites.

The Mobile Vaccination Teams will begin their tour of duty to reach the 16 to 30 crowd Friday in the University District and will be partnering with Big Time Brewery & Alehouse and Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery to offer discounts to clinic patients. More deployments and deals will follow.

The effort comes as the city says it estimates more than 70% of Seattle adults have at least started the vaccination process. According to King Countys vaccination dashboard, while vaccination first dose rates for county residents 50 and older range from 76% to nearly 97% for those 75 and older, only 59% of those 18-49 have started the process and 42.5% of those 16-17 have at least one shot.

With a major increase in the federal supply, CHS reported here on the sudden shift in the city that has made the vaccine suddenly widely available in the city. Despite the wide availability, the region has struggled with continued spread of the virus though there are signs of a plateau and hope the area will not need to roll back to a higher level of restrictions on businesses and social gathering.

Officials have responded with a flurry of partnerships that include vaccinations offered at major sporting events and sessions with church organ accompaniment at Capitol Hills St. Marks Cathedral.

The citys vaccination efforts come as part of a pieced-together federal strategy forged during the Trump administration mixing commercial and retail providers and municipalities together in a loose network to distribute the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson developed and manufactured vaccines. Since launching its vaccination effort on January 14, City of Seattle says it has administered over 170,000 vaccinations to eligible adults over 111,000 individuals. These vaccinations have occurred at 88 Adult Family Homes, 90 affordable housing buildings with seniors and people with disabilities, 19 pop-ups, 18 permanent supportive housing buildings, two vulnerable youth-serving organizations, city sport events, and the four city-affiliated fixed vaccination sites including the megasite at Lumen Field.

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Seattle 'Mobile Vaccination Teams' to target young adults at breweries, outdoor dining areas, parks, and beaches - CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News

Across the country, particularly in Portland and Oregon, elected officials have tried to ward off evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemicsometimes by banning them outright.

But in one low-income community in East Portland, the holes in several layers in the social safety net became evident when a letter arrived in mailboxes.

Last October, residents of 11 homes in a mobile home park along Southeast Powell Boulevard received notice they'd have to move out. The owner of Kelly Butte Place, on Southeast 112th Avenue, wanted to redevelop the property.

For Beverly Smith, 74, the bad news seemed to defy logic. First, the notice arrived in the middle of a pandemic and amid a thicket of new rules designed to prevent people from being displaced.

Second, Smith and her husband, Philip, own their home.

"We're looking for somebody to assist us. We need help, that's what it boils down to," Beverly Smith says. "They've got all these plans about how they're shuffling us around like domino chips."

Manufactured home parks offer a form of homeownership often within reach of low-income buyersbut it means owning only the structure, not the land under it. So it's housing that comes with the added insecurity of losing an investment if the homes, sometimes old, can't be moved or the cost of moving, sometimes upward of $40,000, proves prohibitive.

The state has long recognized the need to protect mobile home park residents, requiring long notice periods before closure. In August 2018, Portland took the added step of zoning existing locations specifically as mobile home parks, so that they could not be closed and rezoned without significant review.

The difference for Kelly Butte Place was that the owner, Adam Hoesly, had applied to redevelop the property less than two months before the city changed the zoning.

Hoesly sought to build 26 "affordable" single-family homes. To do this, he'd likely have to demolish any homes that the owners left behind.

He tells WW he plans to move forward. "As it currently stands, tenants have been given more than a years notice as well as relocation fees to aid in their transition," Hoesly says. "The plan is to replace the 11 mobile homes with 26 affordable homes, as defined by the City of Portland."

If the Kelly Butte development were to proceed, it would do exactly what the Portland City Council is actively working to avoid, says Cameron Herrington, a program manager with the nonprofit Living Cully, which helped advocate for the mobile home park ordinance. "It's blatantly against the spirit of what the City Council was trying to do."

Tenants rights advocate Margot Black has been organizing the residents of Kelly Butte Place throughout the winter.

"The city knew in 2018 that these tenants were going to be displaced and did nothing," Black says. "They had no plan."

It was only after inquiries by WW that the city canceled the permits to redevelop Kelly Butte Place.

On Jan. 19, Matt Tschabold, policy and planning manager with the Portland Housing Bureau, told two residents who addressed the bureau's Rental Services Commission that since permit applications were submitted before the ordinance went into effect, it could still be approved.

"A property owner is subject to the land use and zoning code that is in effect when they submit an application, and unfortunately the city does not have the discretion to change that state law," Tschabold said at the January commission meeting. "Their application is subject to the laws that were in effect when they submitted that application."

WW contacted City Commissioner Dan Ryan's office on Feb. 8 and the Portland Bureau of Development Services on Feb. 10, inquiring whether the city would in fact approve the application. (Ryan oversees BDS as well as the Housing Bureau.)

On Feb. 14, David Kuhnhausen, BDS's permitting services manager, told WW the permits had been canceled, saying the property owner had failed to request the necessary permit extensions to keep the application valid.

"The permits were canceled on Feb. 8, 2021," Kuhnhausen wrote to WW. "Any future development permits at this site will be reviewed to comply with current zoning regulations."

The permits expired more than seven months ago, on June 30. It's not clear why the permits weren't canceled then.

Hoesly says he received no notice the permits had expired. "The city at times has an antiquated system for alerting the status of permits and I was not notified that the permit had expired in June until late last week," he says.

The permit cancellation is good news for Lucenda and Joe Brisack, who bought the home they share with their 8-year-old daughter on Dec. 30, 2018. That was nearly six months after the application for redevelopment was submitted.

"It's the worst feeling in the world that someone looked into our face, knowing that we were giving every cent we had to buy this place to give our daughter a home and stability, and they never said anything," Lucenda Brisack says.

In this small cul-de-sac, with bright, pastel-colored homes and neatly decorated front porches, resides a tight-knit community that considers itself a family. When residents received letters telling them the mobile home park, developed in 1997, would close and they had to be off the property by Oct. 20, 2021, community members feared for their futures but decided to put up a fight by writing letters to public officials and testifying at the Rental Services Commission meeting.

Black, the tenants rights organizer, says the city's decision to cancel the permits is significant but the owner could still kick residents off the land even if he can't redevelop the property.

"The city knows when displacement occurs or is about to," Black adds. "It needs to start providing meaningful and proactive resources to prevent and mitigate it."

Most of the residents could not afford to relocate their homes. Sandra Lovingier bought hers in 2009 and wrote in a handwritten letter to WW that she's confident she'd end up homeless if she had to vacate the property since she can no longer work because she has multiple sclerosis.

"I put all my retirement money into buying my home," she wrote. "I've invested every dime to make this my forever home."

Families still paying off their homes will have to continue paying their mortgages regardless of whether they can afford to move them.

Collectively, the residents offered the landowner $1.1 million to buy the land themselves but never received a response, Beverly Smith says.

"It's really frustrating to be blatantly treated like you don't matter," Smith says. "The city is supposed to be empathetic to the homeless. They're everywhere in this city. If they're having difficulty, what's going to happen to us? We're seniors."

Correction: Thisstory initially used the nameKelly Butte Park to refer to the mobile home park. While the park is referred to by several names in documents, it is registered with the stateas Kelly Butte Place. WW regrets the error.

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Residents of an East Portland Mobile Home Park Were Told to Get Lost, in the Middle of a Pandemic - Willamette Week