Camden targets blighted buildings for demolition | Courier-Post | courierpostonline.com

Camden targets blighted buildings for demolition | Courier-Post | courierpostonline.com
CAMDEN — The city is plagued by thousands — estimates are between 3,000 and 5,000 — of abandoned buildings, the result of decades of depopulation and disinvestment.
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And lots of them are about to be destroyed.

Dan Walters: Stockton not only California government in financial distress - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee

Dan Walters: Stockton not only California government in financial distress - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee

Mammoth Lakes, one of the state's smallest cities, is going through the same process as Stockton, having lost a big lawsuit, and if it can't work out a payment plan for the judgment, it's probably headed to bankruptcy court.

A number of school districts have been listed by the state as being in fiscal distress, some facing the prospect of state receivership. And cities large and small throughout the state, especially those that overspent housing bubble revenue, are likewise in trouble – including the largest, Los Angeles.

The city's top administrator, Miguel Santana, used the B-word this month as he reported a large and increasing deficit in the Los Angeles budget, terming it "crisis mode" that could require privatization of some city services, layoffs of employees and new taxes to relieve.

"We're facing the complete devastation of city services, including public safety," Santana told theLos Angeles Times.

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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. I was in Pasadena from Friday to Sunday for my mother's 90th birthday, and it is remarkable how successfully Pasadena has redeveloped its downtown. But as we can see, many California cities are in an increasingly desperate situation.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/16/4416349/dan-walters-stockton-not-only.html#mi_rss=Top%20Stories#storylink=cpy

Excite News - US home-buying season finally signaling a recovery

Excite News - US home-buying season finally signaling a recovery

WASHINGTON (AP) - Five years after the U.S. housing bust sent sales and prices plunging, the spring home-buying season is pointing to a long-awaited recovery.

Reduced prices, record-low mortgage rates, higher rents and an improving job market appear to be emboldening many would-be buyers. Open houses are drawing crowds. A wave of foreclosures is leading investors to grab bargain-priced homes.

And many people seem to have concluded that prices won't drop much further. In some areas, prices have begun to tick up.

Interviews with more than two dozen potential buyers, sellers, brokers, Realtors and economists suggest that confidence is up and that sales will move slowly but steadily higher.

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U.S. Standard of Living Has Fallen More Than 50%: Opinion - TheStreet

U.S. Standard of Living Has Fallen More Than 50%: Opinion - TheStreet
 In fact, Western wages have plummeted so low that a two-income family is now (on average) 15% poorer than a one-income family of 40 years ago.
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Man on kayak trying to keep geese away drowns after he falls into pond and swan attacks him | Mail Online

Man on kayak trying to keep geese away drowns after he falls into pond and swan attacks him | Mail Online

A man died after he fell off a kayak into a pond and a swan attacked him.

Anthony Hensley, 37, drowned on Saturday after the swan he was checking as part of his job at a condominium complex in Cook County, Illinois charged at him.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2130244/Man-kayak-trying-geese-away-drowns-falls-pond-swan-attacks-him.html#ixzz1sCeAv19f

Energy company refuses to recognize HOA authority

In 2003, she said, the HOA approved a resolution to assess a $5,000 bond against any trip across Grass Mesa roads by vehicles weighing more than 75,000 pounds. The resolution was formally recorded with the Garfield County Clerk in 2004.

Encana, however, is refusing to recognize the resolution.

“This was never agreed to and was dropped,” Hock wrote on April 10, referring to the resolution.

“They don't have to agree to anything,” Brock said. “It's a resolution for all the owners up there,” She noted that Encana has purchased five lots in the Grass Mesa subdivision.
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Unfortunately, we don't recognize HOAs as a legitimate form of local government. Go pound sand.

HOA president arrested for gun threat

OAKLAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Michael Hudzik, 65, president of the John's Cove subdivision Homeowners Association in Oakland, was arrested on Tuesday, accused of threatening a father and son with a gun.

"We're citizens here! We're just trying to have a peaceful life! You're going to threaten a family with a gun?" asked neighbor Lazina Joyner.

Tino Alonzo says the father and son were in the neighborhood visiting his son to go jet skiing at the nearby lake, as they were leaving police say Hudzik felt they were driving too fast.

"He started waving a gun at him, said 'Get back in the truck, or I'm going to shoot you,'" Alonzo said.

HOA president arrested for gun threat: MyFoxORLANDO.com

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Another HOA boss allegedly uses a heater to assert his authority over the inmates. Seems there was a similar incident posted here recently involving a Phillipine HOA.

The Mayor’s Kill Shot on Suburban LA

The Mayor’s Kill Shot on Suburban LA
Indeed, the State as well as the city of Los Angeles has all but abandoned the idea of promoting the development of stand-alone single-family housing, of yards front and back.  Opting instead for “smart growth” developments that make for higher concentrations of people all throughout the State and especially here in Los Angeles throughout the past decade, State and civic leaders have demonstrated a preference for transit hub development and densely-packed mixed-use corridors, even in edge cities and collar counties.
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A "kill shot" for single family homes is a big shot in the arm for common interest housing, with all its problems.  

Pa. homeowners group says seeing eye dog has to go

READING, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania housing development with a one dog per household rule said a family must give back a seeing eye dog they're training.

Steve and Annette Yerger's daughter was trying to earn a $1,000 college scholarship by raising Ives, a 4-month-old retriever mix, for one year. But the family already has a pet dog.

The Oak Meadows Homeowners Association in Berks County denied the family's request to keep Ives until December, when he'd return to the Seeing Eye program for the next phase of his training by professionals.

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More bad press for Privatopia.

North Las Vegas HOAs and homeowners trade blows - View - ReviewJournal.com

North Las Vegas HOAs and homeowners trade blows - View - ReviewJournal.com

Joe Salvatore likens life in the Autumn Chase Homeowners Association to “a terrorist state.”

Police officers have randomly knocked on his door and asked questions.

He records constantly to document his whereabouts in his own neighborhood.

And he will get the mail only at 1 a.m.

His behavior might seem paranoid to some, but to Salvatore, a North Las Vegas homeowner, it covers his tracks.

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Thanks to Rodney Gray for this link to yet another bizarre owner vs. hoa story.

Man gets 3 years in defrauding of condo associations - News - Crain's Chicago Business

Man gets 3 years in defrauding of condo associations - News - Crain's Chicago Business

(Crain's) — An Arizona man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison for his role in defrauding 48 Chicago condominium associations of about $2 million.

Jay Strauss, 76, of Scottsdale, Ariz., also was ordered to pay $2 million in restitution, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Chicago. The judge, Robert Dow Jr., noted in court that it is unlikely restitution will ever be paid.

Mr. Strauss pleaded guilty to defrauding the condo associations, made up of more than 700 individual unit owners, by falsely claiming that his property management company, Chicago-based Regent Realty Group Inc., was using association payments for property maintenance. The funds actually were being used to pay off debt on other real estate owned by Mr. Strauss and a partner.

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Thanks to Chicago Tribune real estate reporter Pam McKuen for this link. As she says, it's about time and it should have been a longer sentence.

Mike Bloomberg's New York: Cops in Your Hallways | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

Mike Bloomberg's New York: Cops in Your Hallways | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
Have you heard about the "Clean Halls Program"?  It seems that in NYC landlords can turn their buildings into Constitution-free zones.

In effect since 1991, it allows police to execute so-called "vertical patrols" by going up into private buildings and conducting stop-and-frisk searches in hallways – with the landlord’s permission.

According to the NYCLU, which filed the suit, "virtually every private apartment building [in the Bronx] is enrolled in the program," and "in Manhattan alone, there are at least 3,895 Clean Halls Buildings." Referring to the NYPD’s own data, the complaint says police conducted 240,000 "vertical patrols" in the year 2003 alone.

If you live in a Clean Halls building, you can’t even go out to take out the trash without carrying an ID – and even that might not be enough. If you go out for any reason, there may be police in the hallways, demanding that you explain yourself, and insisting, in brazenly illegal and unconstitutional fashion, on searches of your person.

Sacramento-area home prices remain in a rut

Sacramento-area homes are cheap. Interest rates are low. The inventory of new homes is tight.

But prices stubbornly refuse to rise.

"It's a very strange time," said Doug Covill, immediate past president of the Sacramento Association of Realtors. "I question if we've ever seen anything like it before – to see this low of an inventory where values aren't going up."

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If the demand side of the market is sufficiently suppressed, the usual operation of the law of supply and demand is curtailed. In this snapshot of one of the nation's most distressed residential real estate markets, the suppressing factors are ultra conservative lending standards, high unemployment and reduced household income and weak consumer confidence.

Wendell Cox: California Declares War on Suburbia - WSJ.com

Wendell Cox: California Declares War on Suburbia - WSJ.com
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a planner who opposes the current plans for higher density housing, which would of course lead to lots of condo and townhouse construction and hardly anything that isn't in a CID.  He says:

"To understand how dramatic a change this would be, consider that if the planners have their way, 68% of new housing in Southern California by 2035 would be condos and apartment complexes. This contrasts with Census Bureau data showing that single-family, detached homes represented more than 80% of the increase in the region's housing stock between 2000 and 2010."

Here is how he identifies himself:  "Mr. Cox, a transportation consultant, served three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission under the late Mayor Tom Bradley."  That seems to suggest that he is a Democrat, like Bradley. But if you check out his wikipedia page, you see this:  "He has authored studies for conservative think tanks such as the Cato Institute, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation,[1] and the Reason Foundation,[2] and for industry groups such as the American Highway Users Alliance, a lobbying and advocacy group for automobile-based industries."

I think that gives a little clearer picture of where he is coming from. 

Town That Served As ‘Hunger Games’ Backdrop On Sale For $1.4 Million « CBS Charlotte

Town That Served As ‘Hunger Games’ Backdrop On Sale For $1.4 Million « CBS Charlotte

"Shepherd, 83, told the Associated Press that fans have swarmed his 72 acres of land, despite the fact that it’s all private property. “Day and night, they’re driving through, taking pictures, getting out and walking,” he said. “I’m just bombarded with people.”  Shepard is no Hunger Games enthusiast, having never read any of the series. He is now even less enthralled by its passionate fan-base, which is why he has put the property on the market for $1.4 million."

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Not a bad deal--it works out to less than $20,000 per acre, and with no homeowners' association.

The pros and cons of homeowners associations - Yahoo! Finance

The pros and cons of homeowners associations - Yahoo! Finance

"Most associations work reasonably well most of the time, but there are tons of examples of really troubling rules," says Evan McKenzie, associate professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of the book "Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government."

Among other actions that have aroused controversy, associations have banned owners from renting out residences and have forbidden inflatable lawn ornaments at Christmastime.

HOAs and condo associations are bound by state laws. Florida, Nevada and Virginia have ombudsmen to hear complaints. In the rest of the states, the state government plays a minimal role, McKenzie says.

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This is basically an "on the one hand, on the other hand," article.

Rodney Gray's new documentary: The Hoax

NEW HOA DOCUMENTARY FILM, THE HOAX

Hi there, I'm Rodney Gray. I am a former U.S. Marine, an actor and a filmmaker, who is currently directing and producing a feature documentary on the homeowners' association (HOA) industry for submission to film festivals and future distribution, but also as my MFA production thesis at the University of North Texas.

My new film, The HOAX, follows an investigative reporter, homeowners, and HOA reform activists as they reveal shocking evidence of financial and psychological hardships experienced by people throughout Texas and Nevada. A few of these people, including the filmmaker, have been the subject of adverse actions from the very HOAs created to help them.

Please feel free to visit our websites to find out more information, get updates and watch the teaser trailer.

The HOAX Movie Website:

http://thehoaxfilm.com/

The HOAX Trailer Tease and Campaign Website:

www.indiegogo.com/thehoaxfilm

Spread the word and please share these links. Help us bring injustices into the light.

Best to you all,

Rodney

Austerity in Heaven’s Corridor

Austerity in Heaven’s Corridor
"The Left should be paying attention to Florida. If you’ve ever desired a nightmarish vision of the legislature-driven austerity measures sure to proliferate around the country in the coming years, look no further than the Sunshine State’s 2012 budget. With little protest, Florida lawmakers are eviscerating public welfare and rapidly turning the state into a haven for the exploitation of workers. Despite the laughable “moderation narratives” now propagating in local newspaper coverage–which depict it as part of a trend away from rightist absolutism–the 2012 budget is nothing less than an unqualified victory for free market zealots everywhere: its legislatively-imposed austerity measures and multi-billion dollar tax cuts will no doubt serve as a useful model for other “business friendly” Southern states and the country as a whole."
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I don't follow Florida public affairs except where condos and HOAs are concerned. This article paints a picture of the state as a model for the nation.

Architects float answers to rising seas around the world – USATODAY.com

Architects float answers to rising seas around the world – USATODAY.com
BANGKOK (AP) – A floating mosque and golf course for the submerging Maldives islands. Amphibious homes in the Netherlands lifted to safety as waters surge beneath them. A hospital perched on 400 stilts to protect patients from Thailand's devastating floods and the encroaching sea..Around the world, architects and city planners are exploring ways mankind and water may be able to coexist as oceans rise and other phenomenon induced by climate change, including extreme, erratic floods, threaten land-rooted living. With the Dutch at the helm, projects in the cutting-edge field of aqua-architecture are already in place, including a maritime housing estate, floating prison and greenhouses in the Netherlands..
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Makes sense that the Dutch would be doing this, after all those years living below sea level.

Americans brace for next foreclosure wave | Reuters

Americans brace for next foreclosure wave | Reuters

Many more U.S. homeowners face the prospect of losing their homes this year as banks pick up the pace of foreclosures.

"We are right back where we were two years ago. I would put money on 2012 being a bigger year for foreclosures than 2010," said Mark Seifert, executive director of Empowering & Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), a counseling group with 10 offices in Ohio.

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The Housing Bubble keeps on giving trouble.