"California is hosed!" - Megan McArdle

Is California Too Big to Fail? - Megan McArdle: "You can blame Republicans who won't pass a budget, or Democrats who spend every single cent of tax money that comes in during the booms, borrow some more, and then act all surprised when revenues, in a totally unprecedented, inexplicable, and unforeseable chain of events, fall during a recession. You can blame the initiative process, and the uneducated voters who try to vote themselves rich by picking their own pockets. Whoever is to blame, the state was bound to go broke one day, and hey, today's that day!"
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And that is the way it looks. So what is to be done? Federal bailout? Bankruptcy and receivership?

California voters kill budget measures - Los Angeles Times

California voters kill budget measures - Los Angeles Times: "Schwarzenegger has called for cuts that would hit every corner of the state. He announced plans to lay off 5,000 of the state's 235,000 workers and has proposed slashing education by up to $5 billion, selling state properties, borrowing $2 billion from local governments and potentially reducing eligibility for healthcare programs.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa predicted that the city's budget could take a hit -- but he vowed a fight: 'I'm going to do everything I can to protect the city coffers.'"
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I guess the voters of California aren't quite as fond of paying taxes as they are of government services. There is a close relationship between the two, but you'd never know it if you look at election returns.

A gated community with excitment

Detectives shot 25 times at Harvell | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register: "Three West Des Moines police detectives fired 25 shots at a serial rapist last week after he pointed a blank-firing gun and threatened to kill them, according to a search warrant unsealed this morning.

Adam Harvell, 36, was shot and killed after the detectives took a different search warrant to his townhouse in the Village at Glen Oaks, a gated community southeast of Jordan Creek Town Center."

The Columbus Dispatch : No hat, no hood, no shades? Come on in

The Columbus Dispatch : No hat, no hood, no shades? Come on in: "Westerville police have asked the city's 21 banks and credit unions to post window signs that direct customers to put away cell phones and remove sunglasses, hoods and hats.

The idea is to weed out those who want to conceal their identities from security cameras to rob the bank or credit union."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this interesting link. It is strange how private property ownership leads to the ability to make strange rules and exclude everybody who won't go along.

Of course, public schools are notorious for this sort of thing. My son's high school principal is rabid about hats. He has "No Hat Zone" posted on all the doors and the staff are instructed to holler at anybody who sets one toe inside the building while wearing a hat. Why? Who knows. The school has no gangs.

Condo board backs down

The BIG One - WTAM 1100: "(Perry Township) - An Ohio condo board that told a military mother to take a Blue Star Flag emblem out of her window will now allow it to stay.

The head of the condominium management company says the board won't penalize Marlene Gano of Perry Township, though it earlier said that her display violated condo rules.

Rem Commercial Association Management President Gary Duvall says the dispute with Gano and her 76-year-old husband, Richard, brought his company dozens of calls and e-mails, including some death threats."
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Too bad it takes death threats to make a condo board see the light of reason.

Aldermen: City 'gypped' in privatization of parking meters :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall

Aldermen: City 'gypped' in privatization of parking meters :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall: "Five months after privatizing Chicago parking meters with only five dissenting votes, the City Council took the contractor to the woodshed today amid accusations that it botched the transition, concealed problems and 'stole' money from motorists who parked at improperly calibrated downtown meters.

The outrage was so great about a 75-year deal tied to a steep schedule of rate hikes that several aldermen believe there may be grounds to cancel the $1.15 billion lease with Chicago Parking Meters LLC."
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When they approved this, the word from the aldermen was that they didn't need to read it. Now I guess they want a Mulligan.

Homeowners Associations:The Enemy of Solar? - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

Homeowners Associations:The Enemy of Solar? - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com: "Lawmakers in Texas are considering a bill that would prevent homeowner associations from banning solar panels, and similar laws are already in place in a dozen or more states, according to the Database of State Initiatives for Renewable Energy — including Arizona, Colorado, Florida and California, among others."

Coyote Gulch lawsuit dismissed > About Town > Stories > Lakewood > YourHub.com

Coyote Gulch lawsuit dismissed > About Town > Stories > Lakewood > YourHub.com: "A lawsuit filed by a homeowner's association against the city of Lakewood and Jefferson County over the Coyote Gulch baseball field has been dismissed.

The Coyote Gulch Homeowner's Association filed the lawsuit in February on the grounds that the baseball field, now under construction, is contrary to the Coyote Gulch conceptual master plan approved in 1995."

Blog: Condo association throws taste out window - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

Blog: Condo association throws taste out window - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio: "In a move that seems to defy all logic, common sense and good taste, a condo association in the Canton area has ordered a couple living in one of its homes to take down from their window a Blue Star Flag honoring their son’s more than 30 years of service to the U.S. Army.

Having a flag of any kind hanging from a window apparently violates a rule set up by the condo association to ensure uniformity within the development, and if the couple don’t remove the Blue Star Flag, they face being charged a fine of $50 per day, according to the Canton Repository."

Urban Hunting Gaining Ground

Urban Hunting Gaining Ground: "Government agencies searching for a solution to control booming deer numbers are turning to hunters in greater numbers. Suburban and urban hunting opportunities continue to grow in Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania and other states, and a state Supreme Court recently upheld a lower-court ruling in a case that pitted a homeowner's association against bowhunters. The Archery Trade Association took legal action against the Reston, Virginia, Homeowner's Association after it tried to stop two men from hunting on their own land."
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Former Anaheim city manager hits jackpot with pension - OC Watchdog - OCRegister.com

Former Anaheim city manager hits jackpot with pension - OC Watchdog - OCRegister.com: "Few have profited from California’s government retirement system as former Anaheim city manager Jim Ruth — who is one of the highest-paid retirees at $219,045 a year.

Ruth, 73, continues working, earning another $225,000 annually from another local agency.

Even he says government retirements need to be reformed."
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Nice gig. Orange County is supposed to be the land of conservative Republicans, tax revolts, and private government. But it seems that Mr. Ruth has found a way to triumph over all those forces. Should we applaud or throw up?

Recession over?

Housing Starts, Permits Both Unexpectedly Lower - Economy * US * News * Story - CNBC.com: "The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 12.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest on records dating back to January 1959, from March's upwardly revised 525,000 units."
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The folks who look at the stock market seem to be more optimistic than those of us who think more in terms of housing as the engine that drives the economy. I think there will be no turnaround in unemployment and consumer spending until the housing industry recovers.

Jon Talton | What if Starbucks is an artifact of an economy that's not coming back? | Seattle Times Newspaper

Jon Talton | What if Starbucks is an artifact of an economy that's not coming back? | Seattle Times Newspaper: "What if Starbucks is an artifact of an economy that's not coming back? A time of rising, if fleeting, American affluence as we moved from dot-coms and telecoms, to day trading and house flipping, all based on the biggest run-up of debt in the history of the world. For this venti, triple-shot America, it might have been the quintessential bubble drink."
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And the symbol of that era would be a self-employed real estate salesperson sitting in Starbucks all day with a laptop and a cell phone. But Starbucks changed some things, and I hope they make a comeback. Americans won't settle for bad coffee anymore, and lots of people want a place to sit that has some atmosphere and you don't get rushed to hit the street. Plus, where else are all the people with English degrees supposed to work?

Biden Reveals Location of Secret VP Bunker - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com

Biden Reveals Location of Secret VP Bunker - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com
Imagine him as President. And guess who's behind Biden in the succession line? Nancy Pelosi--at least, as long as she is Speaker of the House. That could change, given her bizarre antics regarding the "torture" crisis.

Distressed property sales hit upscale condos - Los Angeles Times

Distressed property sales hit upscale condos - Los Angeles Times: "Across Southern California, projects conceived during the housing boom, but completed after the bust, are sitting largely vacant. Developers are desperate to unload these units, but they face some particular challenges. Banks often won't provide mortgages to buyers in buildings that are less than 50% occupied, reducing the pool of eligible purchasers. Converting the projects to rentals means even steeper losses because the cash flow often won't cover a developer's construction costs.

Condo developers are now hosting their own auctions to attract a critical mass of buyers fast. It's a practice that Irvine real estate consultant John Burns projects will become more widespread this year."
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This one comes from Fred Pilot. There is so much bad news in real estate these days that it is hard to reconcile with the claims that the recession either is, or soon will be, in the past.

Flu--free, or three free!

FT.com / Americas / Society - Deserted Mexican hotels offer flu-free guarantees to lure visitors: "Visitors to one hotel, The Royal, are being offered a “flu-free guarantee”: anyone who contracts the flu virus within 14 days of checking out gets three free annual holidays."
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Sounds like a deal.

UPDATED: NY Times' Maureen Dowd Plagiarizes TPM's Josh Marshall | thejoshuablog's Blog

UPDATED: NY Times' Maureen Dowd Plagiarizes TPM's Josh Marshall | thejoshuablog's Blog
This is interesting because it shows that major media journalists not only read the lefty blogs, but they let themselves be spun by them.

Dispute over mortgage payoff leads to trouble

BBCW: Dawn Welsh of Hillsboro, MO Arrested for Trespassing in Her Own Home After Supposed Mortgage Scam
This is all over the web and YouTube, and I don't know the truth of it. One of my students alerted me about it. Seems like a strange story--but she is becoming a cause celebre in some circles.

Condo associations dying as fees dry up - St. Petersburg Times

Condo associations dying as fees dry up - St. Petersburg Times: "Homeowner associations, the de facto local government in much of Florida, are getting desperate.

Assessment payments are as low as 50 percent in some communities, causing some board members to consider measures that might include publicly shaming those who are delinquent.

'When I tell you it is an unadulterated nightmare out there, I mean it,' said Harry Burnard, who owns Qualified Property Management in New Port Richey, plus a side business that fronts the dues and collects the debts."
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Public shaming? Now there's an idea. How about the stocks? Pillory?

Acclaimed Economist Says Recession Is Over at SmartMoney.com

Acclaimed Economist Says Recession Is Over at SmartMoney.com: "The source is Robert J. Gordon, an acclaimed macroeconomist and professor at Northwestern University. It’s surprising to learn he thinks the recession is over, because he is one of seven members of the elite Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Analysis . These are the people who decide officially, for the record books, when recessions begin and end—usually many months after the fact, when the decision is really obvious. I’m unaware of any previous case in which a member of this Committee has ever stepped forward and declared the end of a recession in real time.

Gordon bases his gutsy call on an indicator that he says the Committee never even looks at: claims for unemployment benefits."
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Sure hope he's right.