As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, I’ve been busy having three bedrooms and a bathroom painted, which forced me to clean out my closets. The project was time-consuming, but I’m happy to say I didn’t spend a lot of money. It made our home more aesthetically pleasing and I’m looking forward to having houseguests again.

That got me thinking about other little things my husband and I could do to spruce things up that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Read more

Learn more on our Storm Damage Resource Page for Bay Area Residents.

We’re grateful that El Niño conditions are finally beginning to arrive in the Bay Area. However, you should be aware that when rain meets drought-hardened earth, the likelihood of flash flooding increases exponentially. Being informed is the best way to stay safe this rainy season. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), most flash floods happen as a result of heavy localized rainfall. These floods can become raging torrents of fast-moving water that rip through river beds, city streets and valleys, sweeping everything with them. Read more

Here at American Ratings Corporation, creators of the Diamond Certified Resource, we love social media. Why?

Consider small-town America. Fifty years ago, the community epicenter might have been the local diner—you’d stop in for a cup of coffee and stay for the fellowship. In today’s world, small-town America is online and community centers have gone digital. Whether you’re catching up with a friend from high school, scrolling through pictures of your niece’s wedding or wondering how to remove wine stains from your carpet, social media channels are the places to connect. Read more

Welcome to the Bay!

Since most of our readers are Bay Area residents, we spend a lot of time on this blog writing about domestic concerns like landscape design, plumbing and the Giants. But today, I get to write for a different audience. Have you recently bought a sweatshirt at Pier 39? Did you get stuck driving up Divisadero yesterday? Did last week’s earthquake wake you up? If so, then today I’m writing for you: our beloved Bay Area visitors.

American Ratings Corporation (ARC) is a local company that serves local consumers, and 80 percent of our staff members are Bay Area natives. Below, we share our favorite off-the-beaten-path places to visit and things to do. Read more

Over the course of the past year, American Ratings Corporation (ARC) has been looking for more ways to become involved with our community in Marin County. This summer, we’ve had the opportunity to host an intern from the Marin County School to Career Partnership program. The program helps high school students (and new graduates) develop on-the-job, real world skills by connecting them with local businesses. For the past five weeks, Ryan Tooker has been working with ARC’s Digital Team, analyzing media data, assisting with production and going on video shoots. He has also shadowed in our Ratings Department, witnessing firsthand how a company qualifies to become Diamond Certified. It’s been such a pleasure to have Ryan around. Read more

Parents, get ready, for they are coming.

Remember last September? Just after Labor Day, you sent them off with new lunchboxes, pointy pencils and extra-long pants. The classrooms unto which they were delivered smelled of fresh paint. They cried a little, and so did you. You went home to an empty house and drank a well-deserved, oddly uninterrupted cup of coffee.

Well, parents…eight PTA meetings, seven slumber parties, four music recitals and one soccer tournament later, your precious bundles of joy are coming back. Read more

We’re so excited about the publication of our 2015 Diamond Certified Directory! (If you haven’t received your FREE copy in the mail yet, click here.) The 11 county-specific versions began arriving in Bay Area mailboxes last month, and the response has been great. “It arrived the same day that a tree fell in my yard,” writes Louisa K. in Albany. “I found a tree service professional who came out right away.” Calvin G. in Palo Alto keeps the Diamond Certified Digital Directory on his smartphone so he can always find a quality service provider, and Cassandra C. from San Francisco says, “I love the directory. I don’t trust anybody but Diamond Certified to work on my house.”

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