This post by Gene Wunderlich, a realtor in California, makes me wonder if we are begininning to see a grass roots movement of change in our country.
Yessterday I heard 5 more stories, just from people I talk with in passing, of people being laid off from jobs they have had for more than 10 years. Every time someone loses their job, there is stress about where the money will come from for health insurance, mortgage payments, and food and education for the children.
Our government is supposed to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people" but I'm not sensing that the peoples' voice is being heard clearly in Washington. Does anyone else have this impression?
CALIFORNIANS ! Are you tired of politics as usual in Our state? Have you had it up the kazoo with the stalemate in Sacramento that has lead us to sky-high taxes, reduced services, massive prisoner releases, water shortages, record unemployment and an education system that ranks among the worst in the nation?
Did you know that through the last several election cycles we changed some faces (due to term-limits) but didn't manage to change any parties lines? Because the politicians drew their own district lines and if there's one thing politicians do well, it's protect their own ASSets.
Well now regular folks like you and me (hopefully more like me) now have a shot at changing the stranglehold imposed on us by these hacks. The Citizens FIRST Act we voted for overwhelmingly in 2008 says we now have the right to draw those district lines in a simple, efficient and straightforward manner that makes sense for US, not THEM.
If you care, please follow the links in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association newsletter and lets get our state moving again. California has always been a leader, lets start leading in a positive direction for a change.
You Can Help Draw the Lines and Make Elections Fair
Before the Voters FIRST Act, California lawmakers were charged with drawing their own legislative districts. This means the politicians could select the voters they wanted and virtually guarantee their reelection.
But no more!
California voters changed all that when they authorized the creation of the Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) in the November 2008 General Election. Now YOU can apply to serve on an independent Commission that will draw district boundaries for the state Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization.
The official Web site of California's new Citizens Redistricting Commission is www.WeDrawTheLines.ca.gov.
These are shuttlecocks on the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art here in Kansas City. They always make me smile so I thought they might make you smile too.
The shuttlecocks are the work of Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen. They created quite a stir here when they were originally placed in 1994. You can just imagine some of the letters to the editor in the Kansas City Star, can't you? ^_^ There's another shuttlecock, not in this photo, on the front lawn and yet another around back - as if giants were playing Badminton and the main building of the Nelson were the net.
Many people, such as myself, felt joy the moment we saw the humongous shuttlecocks while others felt that such whimsical art was unsuitable right out in front of the Beaux Art, symmetrical, traditional and stately building. The Nelson-Atkins building, in the background, has housed major art collections since its' opening in 1933.
Permanent collections include paintings by Caravaggio, Poussin, O'Keefe, Van Gogh, Manet, and more. 33,000 pieces are housed within the Nelson. Sculptures, furniture, vases; Ancient, Chinese, European, African, Japanese and Native American works are represented amongst the vast collection. As a matter of fact, a new building was built not long ago to provide more space for displays in storage. Ah, but that's another story for another post.
Yet another rainy day here in Kansas City did not stop workers from testing the Plaza lights.
There are thousands of lights which are all turned on simultaneously every Thanksgiving.The lights are strung along the roofline, windows, doors and sometimes architectural dteails of each building on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
They started stringing the lights in October.
Picture on the right is of workers going up on cherry pickers to get one of the towers.
It's rained every single day since the testing process began.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza consists basically of the blocks bordered by 46th Ter on the North, Ward Parkway on the South, Jefferson on the West & Baltimore on the East. For some reason, the Google map zoomed in when inserted into this post, so to get the whole picture you'll need to minimize one click.
Not the preferred time to have TWO flat tires, but better now than in the snow and ice.
At the moment, I am enjoying coffee & football at the Firestone on 75th & Wornall. Brandy & Bob helped me select the appropriate tires and now the mechanics are putting them on.
My car is also getting an alignment. I can bring it back twice annually to have it aligned at no charge.
The Kansas City Chiefs are WINNING!
13-10 Chiefs against Raiders YAY!
Now, if only KC can keep it going in the second half; that's where we tend to drop the ball. And Oakland is fierce in second halves.
Mike provides an excellent review of the next "wave" in internet communication. I find the advances being made in computers, and the way we use them, fascinating.
You may have heard some rumors by now about Google's new venture, Google Wave. If you aren't one of the lucky ones who have had a chance to explore it first hand, here are 5 things you need to know:
1. Email as we know it is on its way out the door. The format of Wave provides extreme flexibility in its use. You can use it just like traditional email with some extra bonus features. Or you can incorporate multiple people into a conversation thread at any point and have the entire conversation history available to them without needing to forward anything. You can use it as a virtual conference room, where multiple invited users can collaborate and share ideas in real time. Or you can use it as an public forum/chatroom where anyone can add their thoughts over time.
2. No more screen changes. One of the best features of Wave (IMO) is that everything happens within one browser window and there is no need to change pages or reload information. On Facebook (and others) you have to leave one friend's profile to go view another's. On Wave, everything is on one screen right in front of you, all the time! Even in traditional email you have to either open a new window to reply to a message or at the least you are sent to a new page if you use web based mail. In Wave, your replies happen right on the page as you're looking at it. In fact, everything happens so simultaneously in Google Wave that you are actually able to watch as people type their messages (so practice your typing skills!). This adds a new conversational element that so far has not been seen in online communication. Rather than most instant messenger programs where you see the "so and so is typing" message while you wait for their reply, Google has made that typing visible to you as it is happening. It becomes more like a phone conversation where you can know how you want to respond before the other person is done talking. (Note: you can make your typing invisible if you don't like being watched)
3. Conversation playback. Yes, you already have the ability to track the history of your email conversation by scrolling through the thread, but Google has taken this a step further. They have turned that thread upside down, made it disappear, then created a playback button so you can watch the entire conversation unfold in the order it all happened! In traditional email you would have to scroll to the bottom of an email thread, then read backward through the conversation to get to the present (if you are lucky enough to have the whole conversation still intact on the thread!). Google's playback feature fixes that problem once and for all.
4. Go public or keep it private. In Wave, as opposed to traditional email, you have the ability to make your thoughts and information viewable by the general public or only to those you choose to invite. Public Waves are searchable much like Google's famous search engine, so you can find (and join) conversations about almost anything. On the flip-side, if you are sharing sensitive information you still have the ability to control who is invited to read it. Private waves are not searchable to everyone, only to those who are involved in them. Just be aware though, before you post anything you wouldn't want to be seen, anyone you invite to join your Wave can in turn invite others (who can then use the playback feature to see exactly what has been said). One nice feature around the public vs. private topic is the ability to post private replies within a public or multi-participant wave. If you join a public Wave, or any Wave with multiple participants, and you want to comment in private to someone else in the Wave you can do that right within the same Wave, and nobody else can see it.
5. The sky is the limit. Google decided to roll out its product slowly and started by allowing web developers to play with it and begin designing new applications that will cooperate with Wave. There are some very interesting tools being developed and perfected so that when Wave is released for public use the kinks will hopefully be worked out. For now however, there are still some issues with various features and with compatibility on different browsers, etc. But, because Wave is still in the initial stages, the direction it will go is somewhat unknown. It will be defined by the creativity of its users, and that is where the genius lies. The door has been left open for you and I to decide how we want to use these new tools.
I have to say that from a marketing standpoint, Google has been brilliant in their release of Wave. They are releasing it slowly enough that the demand is quickly building, and when it is finally available to everyone it should take off very quickly. So, even if you don't have access yet you may want to take the time to learn about it so you can hit the ground running!
Tuesdays are Agent Tour in Kansas City. This is when all of the real estate agents from all of the companies hold open listed homes that have recently come on the market, are going to come on the market, or have had updates or staging done. The agents holding the homes open provide lunch so that we can have a slice of pizza or a tacqita as we take in all the new inventory. The object is to see as many homes as you can between 11am and 1 or 2pm. Oh, and exchange information with all the other realtors along the way.
My favorite house today was 30 W Concord Avenue, on the Missouri side. Offered at $360,000, it was the most inviting home on the tour and the best value in Countryside. The location is perfect! Two blocks east of Loose Park; 2 blocks west of UMKC. It's a 4 bedroom, 1.1 bath built in 1915. Stone basement, craftsman style with the nice front porch and good woodwork. The dining room has the most fabulous painted design you have ever seen. Two of the bedrooms have vanities, Euro style.. The kitchen is perfect. This is what all of those buyers moving in from the suburbs once the children are off to college are looking for - "we want that Brookside character." Well, this is the one.
The Senate approved the Tax Credit Extension through May 1, 2010. First Time Homebuyers can still receive an $8000 Tax Credit if they purchase before the date. In addition, a $6500 Tax Credit has been approved for repeat buyers providing they have lived in their home for 5 of the previous 8 years. The cap for home price is $800,000.
Income limits have been expanded to $125,00- for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. There are prorations for incomes up to $145,000 single and $245,000 married.
Buyers with contracts in place by April 30 have an additional 60 days to close. Military personnel serving overseas for at least 90 days between January 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010 have an additional year.
To redeem the credit, buyers make the claim on their income tax return. If the amount of your credit exceeds taxes, the government issues a check - just like a refund.
The $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit ends November 30, 2009 - just 26 days from now. The House and the Senate are near agreement on extending the credit.
The Senate is voting today and the House will, hopefully, vote on or before Friday of this week.
The new measure will extend the credit to include homes under contract by April 30, 2010. There is a possibility that the new bill will include people beyond First Time Buyers. There is also verbiage in the bill to increase the income limits.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Autumn in KC 
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