New York Times Company Posts Loss - New York Times

New York Times Company Posts Loss - New York Times: "The New York Times Company, the parent of The New York Times, posted a $335,000 loss in the first quarter — one of the worst periods the company and the newspaper industry have seen — falling far short of both analysts’ expectations and its $23.9 million profit in the quarter a year earlier."
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Newspapers are in trouble. Competition from the internet is one reason. You can get tons of news, tailored to your interests and viewpoints, for free.

Foreclosed properties stiffing homeowner, condo associations

Foreclosed properties stiffing homeowner, condo associations: "An ironic twist on the foreclosure problem: What if the banks that repossess all those houses and condos for non-payment are none-too-strict about making their homeowner and condo association payments?

That seems to be a widespread problem in Florida, according to a survey of associations released this week. Here's a snippet:

Nearly two-thirds of survey participants said that banks and mortgage lenders now holding title to the foreclosed units or homes currently are not meeting their legal obligation to pay fees or other assessments owing to the association"
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So I guess the association has to foreclose on the bank that foreclosed on the owner?

globeandmail.com: Vancouver transit riders tasered for not paying fares

globeandmail.com: Vancouver transit riders tasered for not paying fares: "VANCOUVER — The country's only armed transit police have been tasering passengers who try to avoid paying fares.

According to documents provided in response to a Freedom of Information request, police patrolling public transit in the Metro Vancouver area have used tasers 10 times in the past 18 months, including five occasions when victims had been accosted for riding free."
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Ouch.

My Way News - 5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; felt 450 miles away: "WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) - A 5.4 magnitude earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people up to 450 miles away early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. It was felt in such distant cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Des Moines, Iowa, 450 miles northwest of the epicenter, but there were no early reports of injuries or significant damage."
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This woke me up. At first I thought wind was rocking the house, but then I realized it must be an earthquake. I've been through quite a number of these in California so I just went back to sleep. None of the kids even woke up. But for the Chicago area, this is quite an event.

Senate OKs sweeping property insurance changes -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Senate OKs sweeping property insurance changes -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
I like this bill, but it looks like it won't pass in the House. Insurance coverage is very important to community associations and owners. If the coverage isn't there when you need it, a whole chain of horrible events ensues.

Huge state quake predicted within 30 years

Huge state quake predicted within 30 years: "(04-14) 11:32 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A strong and deadly earthquake is virtually certain to strike on one of California's major seismic faults within the next 30 years, scientists said Monday in the first official forecast of statewide earthquake probabilities. They calculated the probability at more than 99 percent that one or more of the major faults in the state will rupture and trigger a quake with a magnitude of at least 6.7. An even more damaging quake with a magnitude of 7.5 or larger, the earthquake scientists said, is at least 46 percent likely to hit on one of California's active fault systems within the next three decades. It probably would strike in the southern part of the state, the scientists warned."
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I guess anything that is left after the foreclosure epidemic passes will be cast into the sea by The Big One. The Ventura earthquake damaged a lot of CID units, especially condo buildings, and led to lawsuits among insurers, contractors, and associations. It is hard to envision what would happen if another major disaster hit CID housing in its weakened state, with numerous owners not paying assessments and property values falling.

Punditry | Professor Bainbridge

Punditry | Professor Bainbridge on Barack Obama: Is he a Marxist?
Law prof Stephen Bainbridge on how far to left is Obama?

As other staples soar, potatoes break new ground | Reuters

As other staples soar, potatoes break new ground | Reuters
I was thinking that if some of these rust belt cities like Youngstown (see below) decide to clear away the burned out houses maybe they could use the land to plant potatoes. Just a thought.

I suppose setting up a factory on that land is out of the question. After all, China has such an advantage, being so much closer to the US market. China is a mere 7,000 miles or so away. How can a distant province like Youngstown, Ohio, possibly compete for sales in the American heartland?

Meaning that maybe there is a better way to revive the local economy than knocking down houses, asking people to move out, and making more open space.

U.S. housing collapse spreads overseas - International Herald Tribune

U.S. housing collapse spreads overseas - International Herald Tribune: "The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices down from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even in parts of India."
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I wonder if common interest housing in other nations will have the same revenue issues that are now hitting many US CIDs. Here everything ultimately depends on the individual owners. Even though CIDs are quasi-public entities, the cost is entirely privatized. Elsewhere, maybe the state will step up to keep these things solvent.

The incredible shrinking city - Apr. 14, 2008: "YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (CNNMoney.com) -- Youngstown, Ohio, has seen its population shrink by more than half over the past 40 years, leaving behind huge swaths of empty homes, streets and neighborhoods. Now, in a radical move, the city - which has suffered since the steel industry left town and jobs dried up - is bulldozing abandoned buildings, tearing up blighted streets and converting entire blocks into open green spaces. More than 1,000 structures have been demolished so far. Under the initiative, dubbed Plan 2010, city officials are also monitoring thinly-populated blocks. When only one or two occupied homes remain, the city offers incentives - up to $50,000 in grants - for those home owners to move, so that the entire area can be razed. The city will save by cutting back on services like garbage pick-ups and street lighting in deserted areas."
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Kind of a strange twist on eminent domain...I have never heard of a city paying people to move out so they can plow the house under. It is a sad situation. The foreclosure tsunami was the last straw. Read down and you will see that other rust belt cities are sending delegations to learn the Path of Wisdom as laid down by the Elders of Youngstown.

Spindle could be yours for just $150,000 :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

Spindle could be yours for just $150,000 :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-StateBerwyn's Spindle -- the west suburban skewer of cars made famous in the movie "Wayne's World" -- is for sale. Last summer, the company that operates the shopping plaza where the Spindle has stood since 1989 said the sculpture needed to be removed, in part to make room for a new Walgreens.
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This is totally bogus, dude. That spindle is one of the few cool things about the west side suburbs. I used to go to that mall all the time when we lived in Oak Park. Sigh.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive: Concerns about the big bank holding companies: "April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bank holding companies including Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have the thinnest safety cushion against losses in seven years. The margin may erode further in coming weeks. Credit ratings on $704 billion of bonds have been cut this year following the collapse of the U.S. housing market. Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said last week that the downgrades may compromise bank capital ratios enough that some of the largest institutions will no longer be considered well capitalized. Falling below a regulatory benchmark that is intended to maintain a minimum level of capital to protect depositors against losses would subject banks to more scrutiny from regulators than they have ever experienced. ``This is a nightmare for the country,'' said William Isaac, who was chairman of the FDIC from 1981 to 1985. Banks will ``raise what capital they can, then they'll slow down their growth and stop lending, and what should be a mild recession becomes a much more serious one.'' The biggest danger to the economy is that to preserve their ratios, banks will cut off the flow of credit, causing a decline in loans to companies and consumers."
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Can we panic yet?

MM08-11.pdf (application/pdf Object)

California Law Revision Commission comments on pending legislation
Here you will find CLRC's comments on AB 1921 and also the CID Bureau bill.

Comment from Brian Hebert, Executive Director of CLRC
Scroll or click down to where I posted a link to California A.B. 1921and go the comments, and you will find a lengthy comment from Brian Hebert in which he responds to some of Donie Vanitzian's main points. I appreciate Brian taking the time to do this. I will follow his suggestion and post a link to the version of the bill he recommends.

The Daily Times - www.delmarvanow.com - Salisbury, Md.

The Daily Times - www.delmarvanow.com - Salisbury, Md: Property manager pleads guilty.
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $19,000 from a homeowner's association she was hired to manage. Sixty-nine-year-old Marsha Renfrow was the manager and treasurer of the Sundowner Park Association from 1992-2006.
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Seems like the worse the economy gets the more property managers decide to rip off their clients.

Police: Woman Stabs Husband During Fight Over Hot Dogs For Dinner - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando

Police: Woman Stabs Husband During Fight Over Hot Dogs For Dinner - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando: "RANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A 28-year-old woman in Orange County stabbed her husband during a fight that sparked over having hot dogs for dinner, according to a sheriff's office report."
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I notice that this took place in Florida. Is there something in the water down there? Or maybe it's something in the hot dogs.

'Ruthlessness gene' discovered : Nature News

'Ruthlessness gene' discovered : Nature News: "Selfish dictators may owe their behaviour partly to their genes, according to a study that claims to have found a genetic link to ruthlessness. The study might help to explain the money-grabbing tendencies of those with a Machiavellian streak — from national dictators down to 'little Hitlers' found in workplaces the world over."
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I wonder what sorts of social roles these "little Hitlers" are attracted to? Probably positions where they can have power over people and can make their lives miserable, and where they have few if any checks on that power. Let's see...where might we find positions like that?

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times: "A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment."
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Blogging for pay--the new indentured servitude. Apparently they are getting fat or skinny, can't sleep, have no social life, and drop dead from heart attacks. Could it be that living on Red Bull and Doritos and staring at a computer screen 20 hours every day is bad for you?

Statement by the Family of Charlton Heston: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Statement by the Family of Charlton Heston: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 5, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Legendary actor, civil rights leader and political activist Charlton Heston passed away today, at the age of 84. He died at his home with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, at his side. Mr. Heston was loved by his two children, Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell, and his three grandchildren, Jack Alexander Heston, Ridley Rochell and Charlie Rochell."
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I'm sorry to hear this. He was a fine actor and a fascinating individual.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

Bloomberg.com: Banks delaying foreclosure on delinquent mortgages: "April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Banks are so overwhelmed by the U.S. housing crisis they've started to look the other way when homeowners stop paying their mortgages. The number of borrowers at least 90 days late on their home loans rose to 3.6 percent at the end of December, the highest in at least five years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington. That figure, for the first time, is almost double the 2 percent who have been foreclosed on. Lenders who allow owners to stay in their homes are distorting the record foreclosure rate and delaying the worst of the housing decline, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, a unit of New York-based Moody's Corp. These borrowers will eventually push the number of delinquencies even higher and send more homes onto an already glutted market."
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With 2% foreclosed on and another 3.6% having one foot in foreclosure and the other foot on a banana peel, I think it safe to say that there is no end in sight to the mortgage meltdown.