A business card is a useful networking tool, but can it be a weapon in the hands of a terrorist?
“Assuming I’m a terrorist and want to get some biological
contamination going . . .” said Bill Partridge as he handed me a business card, “I just did it.”
The events of Sept. 11 last year showed the need for increased alertness and protection, and the G8 Summit in June emphasized it more. Security of assets and people is a 24/7 job, says Partridge, executive vice-president of the Building Owners and Managers Association in Calgary.
The scenario of an infected or poisonous business card is possible, but not very probable. It’s important to get out real information about safety and security threats. The real question is, which threats are credible?
“Are we going to be lulled into a false sense of security by a number of false alarms?” asks Partridge.
Building operators need to be able to determine the credibility of threats – and decide what action to take if the threat is real.
That’s why BOMA and eBridge Learning Solutions Inc. of Calgary have developed a security planning course for building managers.
It’s an online course that can be taken at the student’s convenience, and students can e-mail questions to an instructor in the U.S.
The course costs $150 US for BOMA members and $250 for non-members.
Terrorists don’t have to look like terrorists. They could resemble a person who looks like a courier, a photocopier technician – even a journalist.
“In most offices, the first person you see is a young female who’s been told all her life not to talk to strangers,” says Partridge. “And what does she have to do now?”
The security book that is part of the course has topic
headings such as Isolating the Storage Zone, and lists such as the seven things you need for a mailroom emergency kit.
Partridge says that a lot of the knowledge involves assessing which threats are real. Most building managers know if any of their tenants are potential terrorist targets or suppliers to potential targets.
The emphasis is on communication. What, for example, do you do if the gathering area for your emergency response team is no longer there?
BOMA’s material doesn’t give answers as much as it asks some necessary questions. The real answers are unique to each building, says Partridge.
Calgary house sales were down slightly in August from July but the market continues to move ahead of last year’s figures, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
It was the best August on record for residential sales under the Multiple Listing Service.
A total of 2,133 residences sold last month, down from 2,197 in July but up from 2,028 in August 2001. Sales in August 2002 included 1,605 single-family houses, 514 condominiums and 14 mobile homes.
The real estate board said condos are about 24 per cent of sales so far this year, and are 32 per cent ahead of last year. Single-family houses are 13 per cent ahead of last year’s numbers.
The average single-family house cost $219,557 in August 2002, up from $198,755 a year earlier. The average condo cost $153,520, up from $137,665, and the average mobile home cost $49,221, down from $53,281.
The median residential price in August was $184,900, compared to $169,000 in 2001.
New listings in August numbered 2,784 units, up five per cent from a year earlier. The total inventory was 4,175 units on Sept. 1, compared to 5,227 last year.
Buyers had a bit better selection in the Edmonton housing market last month as inventory continued to rise in the capital, says the Edmonton Real Estate Board.
New listings numbered 1,752 last month, an increase of 5.3 per cent from a year earlier. Inventory reached 2,259 as 1,388 residences sold during the month.
Market demand has swung towards higher-priced homes. The median price of single-detached houses in Edmonton was $164,900, an increase of $24,900 over a year ago.
The average selling price of single-family houses was $173,485, an increase of 14.3 per cent. The average condo price was $113,975, and the average for all properties was $151,755, up 15.8 per cent from August 2001.
