duaneruth
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Astroturfers
Uh, that law suit is about labeling of products and pertains to almost all artificial grass products. It talks about concerns that maybe some products should be labeled, not that they are dangerous. They named manufacturers, not installers- that's why EasyTurf and OmegaTurf were not on there. They also named some stores that sell turf. FieldTurf is what EasyTurf sells. Check to see if they were on there. And if you knew what Omega Turf was, you could check that too. No worries though, artificial turf is safe and those law suits, when resolved, will result in backing that claim up. I can say that the SYNLawn we are installing here is lead free. All of it- so don't let people tell you different. And don't let them tell you that nylon is dangerous- it's the strongest, most resilient, most durable fiber in the industry. And AstroTurf did go bankrupt many years ago. GM just did as well. They were both the biggest companies in their category at one time. That has nothing to do with AstroTurf today and the products they make today have no relation to the older products. Today they make the most advanced systems available for sports surfaces. What they do have is a rich history of product development and manufacturing knowledge that is unequaled in the industry. Other brands of sports field product are bought and sold. Simplistic analysis of these concepts serves no purpose. Finally, all companies, including SYNLawn bring samples to your home. But little pieces have little to do with demonstrating what the product looks like installed! You are correct, that many companies won't leave samples- for many reasons- they don't want you to figure out that the 6 companies you are calling all sell that same generic product for drastically different prices, or they don't want you to be able to compare them side by side- just for the visual impact, or they don't have much to give away, because they really don't do much installing, etc.... Stop and consider the wisdom of purchasing an expensive product that has a supposed long term warranty from a company that doesn't even have a building, something anchoring them to the community, a business address, at least a permanent parking spot for their truck! These are the mistakes people make over and over. Pay no attention to the man behind the green curtain is the mantra in the synthetic grass industry. I want you to start paying really close attention. Because you just might find that it's a man ready to take off in a hot-air balloon he filled with all his promises and leave you with your problem lawn and no ruby slippers to click together! Ok- enough of this - it's starting to sound like a Lakers / Magic debate!— June 10, 2009 10:41 p.m.
Astroturfers
Some useful information- "Sledgehammer" does not really seem to work on Nut Grass - not in our experience - hardly anything will. But Nut Grass is pretty rare. It's hard to imagine why an 8 year installation warranty would be needed – and of course, it pre-supposes that the company doing the installation will be in business 8 years from now. Most manufacturers do not give 8 year warrantees, some do - but in most cases with installer companies, your warranty recourse is simply with the installer who put the generic grass in for you. 4" of base is acceptable, but not at all necessary - 3" is all that is needed. However, making it look good is quite another matter. That's where the skill & expertise comes in. Check out various installer company web sites & look very closely at their photos - you will generally see pictures of flat, carpet-like, dark, green fake grass. That is if the pictures are actually of their work. Many sites feature photos of work that is not at all done by the company showing the photos. In fact, there are many installer companies that use cookie cutter web sites showing the same photos- even identical sites with a logo change. In many cases, the photos pre-date the products allegedly being sold. That’s not "state-of-the-art" at all. These projects are easily recognizable as fake carpet. There are many of these sites in San Diego & way too many installations that are publicly visible showing this type of work. Incredible synthetic grass doesn't look anything like a flat carpet. There's a lot to learn about synthetic grass so please, go visit the show rooms & warehouses of any company you are considering & look at their displays of their product. Above all, remember that synthetic grass is a product, not a service & you definitely get what you pay for!— January 6, 2009 11:34 p.m.
Astroturfers
AstroTurf is actually a leading brand- it's the most advanced system of artificial turf surfaces for sports fields & it's not anything like what's being described as the old AstroTurf - it's the sister company of the nation’s number one brand of synthetic landscape grass - SYNLawn. SYNLawn & AstroTurf are one of those factories that is mentioned in the "article" - the biggest one by far. SYNLawn & AstroTurf invented these products being described that don't contain rubber crumbs - about 7 years ago. The texturized nylon at the bottom is called a Root Zone (TM) in AstroTurf products & a Thatch Zone (TM) in SYNLawn products. Today, SYNLawn manufactures & installs over 50 styles of the highest quality synthetic grass & putting green surfaces nationwide through its own SYNLawn retail outlets. Responsible for most of the prominent installations around the country, SYNLawn is also featured in Lowe's Home Improvement Stores. If you want to be floored by Synthetic grass in its true "state of the art" then go see SYNLawn for yourself. Our unique 8,000 Sq. Ft. display of over 20 of our installed products speaks for itself. 7050 Miramar Road, San Diego, CA 92121.— January 6, 2009 11:32 p.m.