california: Gov says - drought is over, prices rise in celebration! - 03/31/11 11:51 PM
Governor: Drought is over.
What a great headline on the front page of our daily newspaper today. Accompanied by a photo of two goofs standing out in the snow with some 15' long stick suspended from a ski pole measuring how heavy snow is. I don't know - I guess it was meant to convince us the Gov. knows scientific stuff.
But the message was clear, our state reservoirs have reached such high levels after two years of rainy winters and plenty of snow up high that the drought declared in 2008 no longer exists. WhooHoo! The biggest reservoir in the system, Oroville Dam, … (2 comments)
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california: Southwest California Legislative Council stakes positions on November Ballot Props - 09/20/10 08:15 PM
As you are aware, the California Association of Realtors does not take positions on ballot propositions that are not real estate related. On the November 2 ballot are a plethora of propositions but none that are deemed RE Related - so no official CAR position statements.
However, if you are curious, the Southwest California Legislative Council, a business advocacy group composed of business & civic leaders from the Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore & Wildomar Chambers of Commerce (and of which SRCAR is a founding partner), has considered each propositions during the past few months and has published the following positions:
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california: Whose money buys CA Governors race? - 09/17/10 02:22 PM
'Progressives' in California are calling into question Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's massive spending on behalf of her own candidacy. As of yesterday she surpassed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in all-time spending racking up over $119 million - mostly of her own money.
Liberals, trying to rally support for Moonbeam Brown, have tried to portray her spending in a bad light - she's just trying to buy the election.
Well, apparently she can afford it, she has a helluva business record that obtained it for her and she believes she has the best plan to right the many wrongs of … (16 comments)
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california: CA DRE Hopes To Put The Bite on Exploding Short Sale Frad - 06/17/10 07:49 PM
Thank heaven somebody is finally stepping up. We have been deluged with short sale scams in our market since short sales replaced REO's as our primary housing alternative almost a year ago. Many Realtors are also hiring these so-called expert negotiators because they are either too lazy or too incompetent to do it themselves. These can be time consuming transactions but if you promise your customer you are going to do it - then do it. Now your license can be on the line if you hire an unlicensed person to do the job you are being paid to do.
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california: Another $40 Billion in Tax Increases? You Ready California? - 05/03/10 08:32 AM
Ahhhh, the tax & spend boys in Sacramento are at it again. $40 billion in proposed new taxes including the 3% withholding on Independent Contractors again. This is much easier than actually cutting spending or acting in a rational and prudent manner. All you people voting for these liberal spenders, WHY?
Kevin's Corner Are You Ready For The Big One? I don't mean for the big one (earthquake) on the San Andreas fault line (although you should be ready), I mean are you ready for the big California Budget fight? Ahhh, I bet your first thought was "I couldn't … (0 comments)
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california: Calling All California Veterans - Needs Assessment Survey. - 04/27/10 10:25 AM
Calling all Veterans
The California Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet) is looking for feedback from Californians who have served in the armed forces, including family members or anyone interested in veterans services.
The State of California is trying to prioritize its efforts in addressing the needs of veterans living in the state and they have posted a Needs Assessment Survey on-line to get that direction.
To respond simply visit www.calvet.ca.gov or www.veterans.ca.gov and click on the Veterans Needs Assessment link. The survey ends May 15, 2010 so take a moment to help them help you.
Dear California Veteran,
The … (5 comments)
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california: Inmate Release Makes Communities Safer - Realtors® Beware/Be Aware - 04/07/10 07:44 PM
The headline in today's Californian sums it up pretty accurately - 'Violent Parolees not being watched'. Of course you've been keeping up with this prisoner release debacle that has saddled our state after the passage of AB 3X 14 last year. As many as 40,000 inmates will be released into our streets and cities and the exodus has begun.
You may recall we were assured by the lying hypocrites that voted for it (21 Democrats. all 15 Republicans and 4 Democrats voted NO) that NO 'violent criminals' would be released. At the time the bill was passed I published a partial … (6 comments)
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california: Legislative Summit - Are You Part of the Solution or the Problem? - 03/31/10 02:35 PM
Photos courtesy of Kristin Fuller Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations, Part 1Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations, Part 2Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations, Part 3Just a couple final comments on the recent Legislative Summit that didn't make it to print in my newspaper article. Businessman after businessman told stories about specific impacts to their business from California's over-regulatory climate. A local news paper publisher told how his company could actually hire additional people if they weren't constrained by overtime and break rules. They have people who would prefer to work flex schedules of … (2 comments)
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california: Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations. Pt 1 - 03/31/10 12:11 PM
L to R: Miller, Emmerson, Jeffries, Nestande, Hollingsworth
66th District Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries recently hosted a Legislative Summit on Jobs and Regulations in California. Held in the Riverside County Supervisors Chambers, the dais included Jeffries, 65th District Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, 64th District Assemblyman Brian Nestande and 71st District Assemblyman Jeff Miller along with Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth.
During the 3 hour meeting, the Legislators listened much more than they talked as they heard from 3 separate panels of local business leaders and nationally recognized relocation consultant Joseph Vranich.
Of the 10 panelists who testified, Southwest County was … (0 comments)
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california: Meg Whitman - The Real Deal? - 03/03/10 04:24 PM
This past Monday I had the opportunity to hear Meg Whitman at a small meet & greet. Whitman is one of two Republicans running to be Governor of this great state of California, though why any sane person would do that I'm still not certain. I made the trek with a couple other political hacks and cynics who had similar questions about her sanity, her commitment and her qualifications.
We all came away converts.
First, a few basics. Whitman is richer than God. As the former CEO of eBay, she is a billionaire and she has been spending a bunch of … (9 comments)
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california: California Could Use A Good High Colonic. So could the rest of the country. - 01/27/10 09:58 PM
I got into a little political chat with fellow California Rainer Gene Riemenschneider about the idea of California having a part-time legislature like so many other states. Since 1966 our legislature has done nothing so much as act to convince us we're too big to be governed part-time. We need the chuckleheads around for a full year every year for our own good. Meanwhile the state's in worse shape that the Federal Gov't. Our deficits are bigger than most states entire budget. We lead the nation in taxes yet we lag the nation in education; we excel at unemployment and foreclosures but can't provide … (5 comments)
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california: Another One Bites The Dust - USAO Indicts 2 for fraud. - 12/15/09 11:41 AM
And the hits just keep on comin'. Not that they've made a substantial dent yet in the army of fraudsters who contributed to our housing meltdown, but nonetheless it's always gratifying to see another of these swine with their names up in lights.
These two were really small potatoes glomming only $777,000 (that they're indicted for). In our area, where it took more than 5 years to indict perpetrators charged with over 200 fraudulent transactions and more than $140 million in ill-gotten gains, it is really really sweet to see these people getting cracked for just 2 deals and under $1 … (10 comments)
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california: Californian's - Lend Your Support to ACA 8 - 08/10/09 08:40 PM
It's been seven months since Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) introduced ACA 8. This bill would prohibit the Legislature from voting on bills without giving the public 72 hour notice of the content and an opportunity to comment. The bill goes on to require that ALL bills be available in print for at least 24 hours prior to a Legislative vote. You can read the full bill here: ACA 8
But so far, ACA 8 has yet to receive its first hearing. "I find it ironic that a bill that would put an end to back room deals is … (0 comments)
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california: HELP for Riverside County Homeowners? Thanks Ted Lieu. - 07/30/09 09:40 PM
Interesting times out there. I just got back from a Foreclosure Crisis Town Hall meeting up in Riverside with Assemblymember Ted Lieu. Assemblymember Nestande was a co-sponsor of the event but was not in attendance.
You might remember Ted Lieu recently for ABX2 7 - that was the one where the headlines trumpeted a '90 Day Moratorium on Foreclosures' but four paragraphs in you found the text that said it didn't apply to over 90% of the lenders in California. But everybody remembers the headlines and figures we got a reprieve until September 15. Wrong. Lieu told us today he was … (0 comments)
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california: CA Moves to Ban Black Cars! Not. - 03/28/09 06:18 PM
By now you've undoubtedly heard at least two versions of the story about the California Air Resources Board seeking to ban black cars. It was widely noted yesterday by everyone from Rush Limbaugh to every state and local pundit. Heck, if I'd have had time, I'd have done one myself.
It was a juicy story, wasn't it? Yet another California state agency run amok. Then it turns out ARB had eliminated that section of the reg, not in response to public outcry mind you, if that section ever existed in the first place. They might have just been yanking our chain all along.
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california: Sacramento Bee Just Posts Unemployment Graphic for Cal - 03/20/09 04:14 PM
The Sacramento Bee has just posted this graphic to their website. It is a fascinating and frightening specter. Watching our Governor and his new BFFF Obama the past couple days, then you look at this map, it's like watching Nero fiddle while Rome burns.
Just click on the Sacbee page to slide the timeline.
Yeah. We're havin some fun now. Of course that's just my opinion - I could be wrong.
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california: Fraudster Claims Inalienable Right to Scam - 02/03/09 08:29 PM
'It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye'. Did your mother ever tell you that when you were a kid? Yeah, I never understood it either - but then I never poked my eye out either so that might be the difference. It really was all fun and games.
But while nobody would accuse the real estate fraud industry of being all fun and games, at least it has been a relatively peaceful genre of crime - which may be one reason it hasn't garnered the attention in deserves from law enforcement. As our own DA told us - … (1 comments)
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california: California Moves Forward with Statewide MLS. - 01/27/09 11:29 AM
At our mid-winter Legislative Meetings in Monterey last week the California Association of Realtors moved forward with it's proposed statewide MLS system. The process, which started over 2 years ago, has now moved to the critical phase of product development and augmentation.
Last week CAR debuted a new brand for the product previously referred to as just the CalMLS system. The program will now be known as CalREDD, or California Real Estate Dynamic Data, a wholly owned subsidiary of the California Association of Realtors. CAR also announced vendor selection for development of the system naming Rocklin California based Concentric as the … (1 comments)
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california: Ding-Dong. The Wolf is at the Door. - 12/08/08 11:36 PM
I sat in on a 2 hour webcast today of a rare convening of both houses of our Legislature in a joint session to discuss what passes for a budget on the left coast. As Harold Hill might say - we got trouble, right here in Californee, that starts with T and it rhymes with B and that stands for budget. Holy Moly, what a train wreck. Led by our newly elevated Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, the meeting consisted of an hours worth of presentations followed by an hours worth of Q & A. In a somewhat frightening spectacle, my screen … (9 comments)
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california: Schwartzenegger to Lincoln & Columbus - Ged Oudda Heah! - 11/15/08 01:13 PM
10-15 ca holidays According to his press flacks, Gov. Schwarzenegger has nothing against Abe Lincoln or Chris Columbus, he just doesn't think state workers need to get a paid holiday off to celebrate them anymore. Worried about his legacy as a tax & spend Republican, Gov. Arnhole has proposed this sweeping CUT to a state budget faced with an estimated $24 Billion shortfall next year, $28 Billion by 2010.. Frequent readers may recall our saga this year with a state budget deficit approaching $15 Billion. (It's All About the Balls and Nice Budget Boys & Girls). A budget was finally passed … (9 comments)
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