This week’s Happenings is an extension of last week’s Happenings. Yet again, Chris having such great customer service skills another tenant showed his appreciation by bringing Chris a bouquet of flowers. Go Chris!!!!!!!!

KYODO

SEP 22, 2014

NAGOYA – Despite the popularity of koalas, the number of those kept in Japanese zoos has been more than halved from the mid-1990s peak as their population continues to grow old.

The difficulty of accommodating their fussy eating habits — they feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, which are expensive to grow in Japan — is also overshadowing their future in this country.

The first koalas arrived at Japanese zoos in 1984, with the number rising to nearly 100 by 1997, living in nine zoos. Since then, their numbers have continued to dwindle, falling to around 40 at present.

Most koalas in Japan are past breeding age, and mating opportunities for younger ones are declining amid concerns over the risks of inbreeding.

To inject fresh blood into the aging zoo population, an arrangement has been made to introduce six new koalas from Australia, the animal’s only native habitat. They will be the first new koalas to come to Japan in three years.

Masami Kurobe, an expert at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya, said bringing in new koalas is the only remaining option to stem their decline in Japan. Still, he warned that successful mating may not be easy since koalas are known to be picky when it comes to partners.

“It’s unclear whether this will immediately lead to breeding,” Kurobe said.

Higashiyama Zoo, which cares for five koalas, is responsible for coordinating breeding for the species across zoos nationwide.

Koalas typically live about 10 years when kept in zoos. Threatened by creeping urban development, the loss of forests and car accidents, their population in the wild in Australia has also been shrinking. In 2012, the Australian government designated the koala as an endangered species.

When Japanese zoos keep koalas from Australia, they are required to grow their own eucalyptus trees to make sure a fresh supply of leaves is available at any time. Koalas are very choosy eaters — while they feed exclusively on eucalyptus, they often stop eating if continually served the same variety of leaves.

Higashiyama Zoo grows around 30 varieties of eucalyptus in four locations. Since chemicals can’t be used, bugs have to be removed by hand, bringing the annual cost of growing the eucalyptus to upwards of ¥50 million.

A single koala is more than three times as costly to feed as an elephant, and that rises to more than 17 times when compared with a lion. In fact, the cost of feeding a single koala each year eats up more of Nagoya’s municipal budget than the mayor’s annual pay, which is around ¥8 million.

The Okinawa Zoo and Museum had been keeping three koalas, but the last one died in 2010. Growing eucalyptus trees on the storm-prone subtropical island was a challenge that occupied much of the zookeepers’ time.

“Eucalyptus trees are vulnerable to typhoons and sea breezes as they fall over easily,” a keeper at the Okinawa Zoo recalled. “We were always busy running around.”

Last year, in an attempt to raise awareness about the difficulty of taking care of koalas, Higashiyama Zoo solicited online donations to help cover the feeding costs, collecting around ¥5 million. And yet the initiative drew criticism from people skeptical about keeping koalas at such an astronomical cost.

Kurobe framed the importance of keeping koalas at Japanese zoos as a matter of contingency planning for when the wild koala population is further threatened.

“It’s impossible to keep koalas without people who know a lot about their life and needed facilities,” he said. “The number of koalas in the wild in Australia is rapidly declining, so maybe, continuing to keep (koalas) in Japan will provide some insurance in case of extinction.”

**Note this article originally appears in Japan Times and can be read and referenced here: Japan Times Article ***

Temperatures have been hitting record highs in the triple digits here in Southern California, and here at POUCH Lake Forest it is no exception. We especially know moving and working in this heat can be exhausting, and even dangerous for some. After working in their unit and the outside heat many of our customers come into the office and comment on our “amazing” air conditioned office and how great it feels. We invite them to have a seat and offer an ice cold water and relax for a few minutes before taking off to finish their day. This small insignificant gesture is just one of our small ways of saying “Thank You, we appreciate your business”.

Don’t forget to stay hydrated while working out there in the heat, feel free to come into our office and ask for a drink of ice cold water if you need to, we will be happy to give some!

On Saturday, September 13, 2014, Fountain Valley Self Storage had a very good turnout from our annual customer appreciation day, which was “FREE Shredding.”  Our tenants were happy for the opportunity to do their annual shredding for Free.  They highly appreciated it and said that this extra service we provided makes it easier to clean up their storage. Now they can organize their storage to create more space for other important items that need storing.  And their comment “until next year”.

At Anaheim Self Storage, we have a few rose bushes out front next to the sidewalk. The bright colors accent our facility’s façade and are appreciated by the passersby. One woman in particular took notice to a beautiful blossom that caught her eye. She walked up to it and carefully pulled the rose up to her nose, closed her eyes and took in the fragrance. She smiled and proceeded to walk into our office. She came in to ask if we would mind her cutting that particular flower. She explained that her mother loves roses and she would love that one. It was Monday and our landscapers would be here tomorrow and prune the bush anyway. I said of course and even provided her the scissors to accomplish the task. She was delighted. After taking her flower, she returned to the office and returned our scissors. She thanked me for the rose and said she walks by us every day. And, we have a nice looking building. She likes our colors.

Storing business records can be dangerous if done improperly. An information security breach can be costly, and storing your business records in your office can be inconvenient and increase liability. Fortunately, there are ways to store business records safely and efficiently.

When you store business records improperly, you may waste a great deal of time and effort in trying to find them again, or you may even violate the chain of custody. However, POUCH Self Storage & RV and POUCH Records Management is prepared to help you store your business records. We are happy to store your important records in an organized manner so you may retrieve them easily and efficiently. We currently store thousands of files for hundreds of customers, safely and securely. If you are interested in storing your business records in the best way possible, look no further than POUCH Self Storage or POUCH Records Management.

Would you like to know more about how to store business records? Call POUCH Self Storage & RV at (888) 927-6052 for more information. If you would like to know more about our  self storage facilities , feel free to visit our website or stop by and see us in Orange County.

Today’s Happenings is about one of our happy-go-lucky tenants. While in his unit he retrieve his metal stilts to make his journey back home a little more interesting. He must have been at least 8 feet tall.

One afternoon a tenant came in to pay his rent.  He then started a conversation regarding our Fountain Valley Community and its future.  He mentioned he’s running for public office and would like to write his experience about self storage and how our facility was his storage place of choice.  We told him we would really appreciate it and the plans he has for the betterment of our community.  One of us ended up having this picture taken with him as proof that he really is one of our tenants.  Who knows he might get elected. 

Who would have thought that Pouch Self Storage – Anaheim was a place to meet singles? Last week, one of our tenants was unloading his belongings onto one of our carts from his truck. A few seconds later, another truck pulled up into the other loading zone and a young woman got out. She came in to grab a cart and began unloading too. At the same moment, both noticed each other had placed a guitar on their own carts. They paused for a moment and smiled, acknowledging each’s musical instrument. They then resumed unloading their vehicles. Both pushed their carts to our lifts and pressed the down buttons to return them to the ground floor. As they waited, they looked at each other again, smiled and then introduced themselves. The conversation immediately started about the guitars. They were momentarily interrupted when the lifts reached the bottom. They simultaneously pushed their loads into the lifts, closed the doors and sent them upstairs. They walked up the stairs together.

A short period of time later, they both came downstairs together, returned our carts and gave us back the keys. They walked out outside and talked for a little while. Soon, they shook hands and smiled, then they left. Yesterday, the man came in to go in his unit. He said, “ I just need to get my guitar.” As I handed him his key I asked about how his conversation went with the other guitar player from last week. He grinned and said, “ We started dating!”

This last week goes to show we are more than just a storage facility, we are also known as the guardians of  6th street here in Tustin.
Well this is what happened: we got this phone call from one of the home owners saying she was going to the hospital and could we go over and make sure her side gate was locked. She said she didn’t want her dog running the streets of Tustin. Well after going over and checking on her gate and dog, all was fine. So not only are your belongings safe, but the neighborhood is well looked after. We like to also report that our neighbor and her dog are just fine.

So this is Tustin saying nothing is safer then when it is stored here and so is the neighborhood.