Citi, Bank of the West to keep taking IOUs
Citibank and Bank of the West will continue accepting California IOUs, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s office said late Friday. Citi (NYSE: C) agreed to accept the notes for another week -- to July 17.
Bank of the West, which initially told the Treasurer’s office that it would no longer accept the notes, changed its mind and will now do so “indefinitely,” according to the Treasurer’s office, which had urged all the state’s major banks to continue taking the IOUs.
More than 60 credit unions will accept the IOUs, according to the California League of Credit Unions. Some community banks said they’ll also accept the notes from existing customers.
Major banks which rejected Lockyer’s request include Bank of America, (NYSE: BAC) Wells Fargo, (NYSE: WFC) J.P. Morgan Chase, (NYSE: JPM) and Union Bank. Lockyer’s office said U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) did not provide a “definite answer” on whether it will continue accepting the IOUs.
Most major banks in California had originally said they would accept California IOUs only through July 10. “Citi made a difficult but responsible decision, both from a customer and taxpayer perspective,” Lockyer said. “As for the other banks, their refusal to continue accepting IOUs is disappointing. I understand their position, but I don’t agree with it. “I continue to believe they would better serve their customers and the taxpayers of California if they continued to accept the IOUs,” Lockyer said.
“Hopefully, they will have a change of heart.”
I don't exactly know what to make of a situation where Government & Banks begin to exchange IOU's.
And these aren't traditional government "IOU's" (ie bonds), with a legally binding agreement to pay back the amounts, collateralized by some thing. No, these are just straight unsecured IOU's, like you'd get from your deadbeat brother.
I assumed that Government would only accept IOU's, NOT issue them. Strange Day's, folks, strange fucking day's.
I just wonder what's next? Because issuing IOU's starts to blur the line of just what "debt" is, and how trustworthy our governments promises are. The whole edifice is starting to blur... who is dependable, who needs money, who will go out of business?
Seems Cali would have issued bonds or something before this happened. That they didn't seems to indicate they couldn't.
And you can tell from the article that accepting them is a dicey business. Banks are in a precarious position themselves. They are supposed to owe Real Money to the US Government.
This gels with my thesis of Keep Your Money, and segue's into the local hilarity surrounding the failed establishment of Crown Point Bank.
Folks, Keep Your Money! When a snake oil salesman comes and tells you that they have the latest & greatest perpetual motion machine, for the love of God, don't buy it!
Here is Gerlicher & Costa's initial attempt to fleece the masses:
A new player in local finance?
Investors plan to start nationally chartered bank in Bend
Pending regulatory approval, Bend could soon be home to a new nationally chartered bank.
A group of investors led by Sisters resident Elijah Aldinger has proposed creating a full-service commercial bank that would be headquartered in downtown Bend with a branch in Portland.
The proposed bank, which would be called Crown Point National Bank, would specialize in servicing the banking needs of small businesses, said the bank’s president and CEO, Andrew Gerlicher.
“This is a great place to open a bank,” Gerlicher said. “People are discovering Bend, have been and continue to, and the opportunities are real and, we think, dependable.”
Gerlicher said the bank has 43 founders who have pooled more than $4 million to fund the bank’s organization, and that additional capital would likely come from a public stock offering sometime after the bank gains regulatory approval.
Gerlicher estimates the bank will open by the first quarter of 2009. Despite the current economic climate, Gerlicher said, it’s a great time to open a bank.
While many banks have slashed their lending in the wake of the housing and credit fallout, falling real estate prices have created demand for loans, which presents opportunities for banks with clean balance sheets, he said.
Gerlicher said the bank is not being created to take advantage of the current situation but because it believes in the long-term potential of the Bend and Portland markets. “The things we’re hearing in the news are temporary things ... cycles tend to work their way through issues, so you really want to look beyond that and not hang the whole prospectus of the enterprise on a point of time,” Gerlicher said.
“It’s the overall demographic changes, the continued growth and the people moving in, and, really, in Oregon in general. The same trends can be seen in the Portland market, so this is a long-term business that has a long-term view.”
The bank has applied for a national charter with the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which requires the applicant to include the word “national” in its name or the abbreviated suffix “N.A.,” which stands for “national association.”
Banks without a federal charter are chartered by states. Gerlicher, an attorney with 25 years of experience working for Umpqua Bank, West Coast Trust Co. and First Interstate Bank, said the bank chose a national charter partly due to his and other Crown Point executives’ experience in dealing with federal regulatory agencies.
Gerlicher said the differences between federally chartered and state-chartered banks are small. The bank’s headquarters will be in the former Washington Mutual Home Loan Center in downtown Bend, at 956 N.W. Bond St. Washington Mutual closed its home loan centers across the country in March, according to Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot, vice president of national public relations, Northwest bureau, for Washington Mutual.
Renovations on the bank’s future home, at the corner of Bond Street and Oregon Avenue, are under way.
Gerlicher said dedication to customer service and a community bank mentality will attract customers in a crowded field of banks downtown.
“Local businesses, I’ve found, prefer to work with people who they can get in touch with in person and who can give them the immediate, intelligent response to their requests,” Gerlicher said.
“We’re going to hire experienced and seasoned bankers, and help these businesses get that level of personal service, to be able to talk to someone on the other end of the line.”
Though it plans to specialize in small-business banking, Crown Point also will offer home and personal loans, and checking and savings accounts, and its deposits will be secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Gerlicher said.
The bank expects to finalize a Portland location in coming months. Should it be approved, Crown Point will join the Bank of the Cascades, founded in 1977, and High Desert Bank, founded in 2007, as the only banks with headquarters in Bend.
Linda Navarro, president and CEO of the Oregon Bankers Association, isn’t surprised a new bank is opening in Bend. The region’s demographics make the area attractive, and speak to the fact that there’s a strong future for community banking in Bend and elsewhere, she said.
“Banks continue to provide viable services to their communities ... and even with consolidation in the banking industry, new banks continue to organize because there is a place for community banks, especially in local communities where management and employees are centralized in the community,” Navarro said.
“They truly embody the definition of serving and growing a community.”
Sorry, but the parrellels to earlier hucksters is just amazing.
“Local businesses, I’ve found, prefer to work with people who they can get in touch with in person and who can give them the immediate, intelligent response to their requests,” Gerlicher said. “We’re going to hire experienced and seasoned bankers, and help these businesses get that level of personal service, to be able to talk to someone on the other end of the line.”
OK boys and girls, it's time for NAME THAT HUCKSTER!
What huckster said this?
"They want to live in a custom home," _________ said. "And they don't want to sacrifice quality. They want to be close to walking trails and the mountains. They're really mobile and they have a lot of money," _______ said.
If you guessed BECKY BREEZE, You Win!!!! Who could forget the salad days when articles with titles like Condo-mania appeared in the Bulletin with such regularity, that we didn't even think how preposterous they really were.
And if you just rolled in off the turnip truck, you should know that the "custom home" Breeze is speaking of was her very own Plaza condominiums, a disaster that went down to foreclosure.
OK, on to our next Huckster!!!! Who said the following?
In Franklin Crossing at the corner of Franklin and Bond — the downtown’s first new five-story mixed-use building — buyers lined up to snap up reservations on the buildings eight top-floor condominium units last spring, despite prices that ranged over $1 million, ___________ said.
If you guessed NORMA DUBOIS, you win!!! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!!!
Turnip truckster will be happy to know that Franklin Crossing NEVER "Sold Out" and still has cobwebbed units galore available to this day.
OK, our next Huckster is up! It's a toughie, so I'll try to give you more material...
"They told me, start conservatively," he recalled. "I just really didn't want to go there. I wanted to break down the barriers and go with the philosophy of if I build it right, they will come."
"The day we opened the doors, it had the buzz we were looking for," _______ said. "It could have been in Portland or San Francisco."
"Everything is going according to plan," _________ said, "and it feels good."
If you guess JODY DENTON, you WIN!!!!! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding... well, OK, you get it.
Turnipers, it should be obvious that Bend is all about PR & MARKETING PONZI SCHEME'S TO YOU, dumbfucks who just fell off the meat wagon.
That's ALL that happens here.
It's why this blog is periodically "written off" in the comments. The grifting crowd really, REALLY hates this motherfucker.
MOST of the failures of Bend are not even acknolwedged. Only the really zingers that are too big to coverup, such as Cessna's Complete Failure with Columbia Air, and others. Most of the small stuff simply closes, and goes out with a whimper.
Who are the Failures of Tomorrow?
Well, it is typically people who start a modest enterprise, in the same spot as something similar that has recently failed. Usually easy to spot because of lines in the Bully like this:
Bend and Redmond to get new restaurants
Longtime Central Oregon restaurateur Axel Hoch and business partner Mark Perry are planning to open a new steakhouse in Bend’s Mill Quarter district. The restaurant, to be called the River Mill Grill, will be in Fireside red’s old location, at 803 S.W. Industrial Way, Suite 202, in Bend. Fireside red closed in May.
So why do these people think they will succeed where others have failed miserably?
Why it's The Doctrine of Bend Exceptionalism, of course. That feeling that makes you want to piss away your life's work because your a Narcissistic Fop who thinks they will always succeed where other mere mortals have crashed & burned.
BUT, you have to appeal to THE NORMALS, and not come off like an asshole, so the Ace In The Hole always comes out:
Hoch, who previously opened Le Bistro, the Old Bend Blacksmith Shop and Barney Prine’s Steakhouse & Saloon, said the location — with its expansive deck and view of the river, The Old Mill District and Les Schwab Amphitheater — was too good to pass up.
Ahhh yes. The Olde Location That Is Too Good To Pass Up. Who has recently succumbed to this load Of Shit?
Let's play Guess That Dupe!!!!
“It is exactly the same food, same menu and the same staff — it’s just a new location,” said ____________, co-owner of __________. “We are excited to be a part of downtown.”
If you guess "Cheri Helt" and "Zydeco", then you win!
But then again, it could be 900 Wall, or a host of other Bend businesses that have frisked the owners CLEAN of all their Worldly possessions. No one says it better than Hot Young Margie:
Marge said...
The Shire shit, was a good one. Bottom? Not for 3-5 years. Their holding time. More Cali-suckers. I say, fleece em and eat em.
All these NOOBS jumping in, just because prices have fallen UNHEARD OF amounts. And their newest, best-est idea is some sort of VALUE-PRICED MENU.
Cessna? Value Priced Menu.
Zydeco? Value Priced Menu.
Crown Point Bank? Value Priced Menu.
The Shire? Value Priced Menu.
Tuscany BUTTPLUGS? Value Priced Menu.
River Mill Grill? Well, let's see:
“It’s a great location, great parking and good timing,” said Hoch, adding that the menu will be “value-oriented.”
Yup, same shit, different day. Everyone buys the infinite river of bullshit sluiced down their gullet by The Eternally Optimistic Bend Media Machine.
Not a single NEW IDEA in sight. Always the same BULLSHIT recycled in exactly the same spot, with exactly the same reason for WILD & ETERNAL SUCCESS: Value Priced Menu.
Same shit, just a little cheaper.
This is exactly the sort of thinking that will keep Bend in an eternal malaise.
Bend has exactly 3 BUSINESS PLANS:
- Subdiv (or Bank or Restaurant or...) with New Value Priced Menu
- Ski Hill
- Perpetual Motion Machine (aka Garbage-Fueled Buttplugs)
Bend's recent success is more indicative of a country that is DYING than anything. What do you do when you don't have a lot of time left?
Well, you gather up what you DO have, and go off and spend it in an orgy of hookers & blow, and basically come out the other side ready to die.
Bend is a community that revolves around HOOKERS & BLOW. Ski hills to find the hookers, homes to snort the blow, and buttplugs when your fucking mind is gone.
Bend is a side-effect of a country in decline. The last gasp of hedonists who implant pump-up cocks & fake titties, and squirt their love juice over anything that moves. Ask Bledsoe: he built the Magnificent Pleasure Palace Xanadu where he swallers donkey cum by the bucket & you can always stuff a 14" inflatable cock-balloon in your best friends wifes ass.
This is Bend.
"Where's the blow, Big Boy?"
hbm, do you have a dog that'll Fill me Up?
OK, this chick is just hot.
148 comments:
Next Shock Coming: Commercial Real Estate
The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing this morning on worsening conditions in commercial real estate – falling rents, fewer tenants, and defaults on debt down the road. This seems to be the first hearing on Capitol Hill to focus on these issues and what can be done. “Not much” seems to be the reasonable answer.
The written testimony from Jon Greenlee, of the Federal Reserve, is particularly disheartening. There is currently about $3.5 trillion of debt associated with commercial real estate, about half of which is on the books of banks. He suggests that the Fed has been following this situation closely and has stayed on top of banks’ exposures to the sector. He also has some rhetoric about the recent stress tests. Why do I not find this reassuring?
James Helsel, on behalf of the National Association of Realtors, is even more negative. He argues that this sector supports 9 million jobs and many of these are now in jeopardy. Of course, he is looking for a bailout of some kind (who isn’t?) but still he is right about emerging problems in and around the retail sector.
Jeffrey DeBoer, of the Real Estate Roundtable, has a similar line – as he sees the numbers, commercial real estate is 13 percent of the economy and it’s in trouble because there is not enough credit to go around. He wants – of course – more cheap government credit for this sector; and he has an extensive blueprint/Christmas list of items.
I’m not convinced by the economic merits of their bailout cases, but it’s good to have these lobbyists making their case out in the open – this is a refreshing change from the banking sector, which prefers to work behind closed doors.
Across all these sectors, it’s amazing to see such free market (and even some libertarian) interests come together and – with one voice – clamor for government subsidies.
The Federal Reserve, of course, is already supporting a large part of the credit market. It would not be a surprise if it moves more of this support toward commercial real estate over time, but it’s hard to see how we can afford to risk the kinds of measures Mr. DeBoer proposes at this stage.
The underlying problem here is that consumers and businesses are spending less – mostly because they feel the need to be more careful and to increase their savings. Until private-sector spending finds a sustainable level, measures to directly support commercial real estate are likely to have little impact.
There will be defaults and debt restructurings. This is an unavoidable part of our current slowdown, but watch out for the further damage to banks’ balance sheets that lies ahead.
06 July 2009
An Example of "Shadow" Inventory In The Keys Which Is Not Found On The MLS
Developers, for the most part, have lost their asses in the Keys during the Housing Bubble.
At this moment, we've got rows of new and used empty houses, town homes, and condos all throughout the Keys where the lights and water have never been turned on or where the once lived in unit hasn't seen a living soul in months. (The condo unit next to my rental has never seen a human being for the past 13 months and it is in foreclosure. This next door condo, for whatever reason, is not currently listed on the Key West MLS.)
Out here on the north end of Key West, there are dozens of brand new condos built in 2005 which have never been sold. I've driven by these "ghost" condos nightly and wondered who in the world is going to buy one of them at 2005 prices? After all, the high end of the market is only beginning to fall now.
If these expensive homes did not move for the past four years, who in their right mind would buy one now just as Prime and Jumbo borrowers have begun to default on their loans at faster rates than the sub-Prime borrowers? As more Prime and Jumbo borrowers default on their old homes, the pool of prospective buyers of such expensive homes as this town home grows smaller.
More so, what bank is going to lend anyone money on one of these unless they have the full $220,000 down payment? Lending has changed drastically and you won't see cab drivers being able to buy (I know a cab driver in Key West who bought two of the smaller Seaside condos by using Option ARMs. He's now trying to short sale one of them) these type of townhomes on less than $100,000 a year family income any longer.
Please note that this is the only one of these 3 story town homes currently listed on the MLS. That means all the other ones still sit on the developer's inventory where they (the developers) are waiting to drib and drab these empty town homes onto the MLS one at a time, hoping that the slow approach will artificially keep these homes high prices propped up.
The problem with this developer's method of stemming potential home price drops is this: the pool of investors who can afford this type of place at the new listing price of $1,100,000 (woo-woo, you save $100,000 off 2005 prices) is quickly shrinking like a puddle on hot asphalt.
The fact that this home was marketed at $1,200,000 for over 750 days with no price change tells us this developer has been in denial for much too long and is now beginning to realize . . . much too late . . . that this market ain't coming back any time soon.
Indeed, all one must do is follow the burgeoning price reductions on expensive homes in Key West (as I do with my own Excel spreadsheet) to see the trend to the downside is strong and picking up steam.
More about this later, but just keep in mind the "low" inventory which Realtors keep harping upon as a good sign that Real Estate is bottoming in the Keys: Realtors are neglecting all the defaults and pre-foreclosures in the pipeline (where seventeen $1 million and higher homes are now in default in Key West), plus the inventory as shown on the MLS is not showing all the empty homes such as these townhomes in Seaside Court.
Watch the prices on expensive properties fall, folks. When the upper end crashes, it will put even more pressure on people with tiny cottages, condos and townhomes who are still living in la-la land and asking $350,000 upwards for places which sold for $90,000 less than a few years ago.
Keep the powder dry (cash) and don't buy 'til the next leg of the crash begins in earnest with the Prime and Jumbo borrowers beginning to default in numbers that will make the sub-Prime crash look like peanuts.
Whereas today there is usually one or two deals where the house is at 1995 prices, sometime in 2011-2015 there will be dozens of these bargains.
Expect More Home Price Declines Almost Everywhere
By Nick Timiraos
Nearly 85% of the country’s housing markets are facing an increased risk of home price declines over the next two years, and prices are likely to slide in half of the largest 50 U.S. markets through the beginning of 2011, according to a report from mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc. (Read full report.)
Rising unemployment is accelerating foreclosures and home price declines in a diverse group of markets that are likely to spread the reach of housing pain beyond the hardest hit four states–California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona.
Outside of the Sunbelt, the markets that showed the greatest risk of future price declines included Bend, Ore.; Winchester, Va.; Honolulu and Atlantic City, N.J. “Probabilities of lower house prices in two years have risen significantly in MSAs as diverse as Kennewick, Wash., and Kokomo, Ind.,” the report says. The report doesn’t estimate the severity of those price declines.
Among the nation’s 50 largest housing markets, 28 are now in the highest risk category with at least a 75% of price declines. The probability of declines over the next two years rose to 92% in Nassau County, N.Y., in the first quarter of 2009, up from 78% at the end of 2008. The mortgage insurer pegged an 88% probability for declines in the New York City area, up from 68% in the fourth quarter.
The risk of future declines declined in just five of the top 50 markets, including Houston, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. Overall, risk scores declined in just 57 (or 15%) of all 381 housing markets tracked by PMI.
Sorry, but I can't help but re-print this oldy, but goodie:
Bend Media Feel Pressure From Declining Real Estate Industry
Bend is $20 million in the red. For years, the city relied on huge increases in building permits and fees to pay its bills, but now, Bend's housing market is collapsing. And one local journalist is questioning whether the hometown newspaper was too much of a booster. Ethan Lindsey reports.
Realtors and builders in this town are looking for any way to start selling homes again.
David Fisher covered the industry for the Bend Bulletin as it went from boom to bust.
David Fisher: "Having said that, you gotta realize that every editor in a market like this, is well aware that real estate and development is the 800 pound gorilla. A great deal of the newspaper's wealth flows from the health of the real estate and development industry. And in the past year that has started, first slowly, and now more rapidly, to go away."
Industry leaders wanted to change peoples' perceptions, so at an annual real estate summit last month, they rolled out a turnaround ad campaign.
Tim Knopp is the executive vice president of the Central Oregon Builders' Association.
Tim Knopp: “Day after day, if people are reading negative national stories, it makes them think maybe this isn't a good time to buy, maybe I should wait. And in 30 years, this is the best buyer's market I've seen.”
At that real estate conference, the city's most prominent property appraiser made a big speech where he predicted things would turn around in 60 days.
David Fisher covered the speech and says his experience made him skeptical of that upbeat forecast.
So, he contacted several local experts who didn't see the glass as quite that full.
He wrote his story and went home.
The next morning he woke up, got the day's paper, and almost spit out his coffee.
The headline? “Housing forecast: It'll only get better”
Missing? Two of three critical voices in Fisher's story.
Bill Valentine, a Bend investor, was one of the people dropped from Fisher's story.
Bill Valentine: “Mr. Fisher has interviewed me over a half-dozen times over the past two years and every time that we've spoken he's used my information in the resulting piece that followed, in a day or two, usually.”
Fisher says he was so angered by the changes that he called in sick to work for two days.
He'd been unhappy with editorial changes and overly-optimistic headlines in the past, but had never seen one side mostly cut out of his stories.
David Fisher: “And the only thing I could conclude is that was something that was going to happen with regularity. To me, that was a harbinger of worse things to come and I really didn't want to put my name on it anymore.”
When he returned to work, he met with his editor and expressed his concerns.
He admitted to his boss that he wasn't really sick for the past few days - and said he wanted to be switched off the real estate beat.
In an email Fisher later sent to the paper's human resources department, he detailed the conversation.
Fisher was subsequently fired.
cont:
At this point, the story becomes he said, he said.
Fisher says he was told he was fired was for lying about being sick.
John Costa is the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin. He will not comment on Fisher's firing. But he denies altering Fisher's story to suit the city's real estate interests.
John Costa: “Frankly, in the grand scheme of real estate stories, it ranks, I don't even think it achieves the middle. It's basically one of those stories that we all do, you do them too, in which an editor says go to the luncheon, cover what is said at the luncheon, and that's what came back.”
Costa points to positive and negative real estate stories the newspaper has run before, during, and after the housing bubble.
Central Oregon clearly relies on real estate development. Oregon job statistics show real estate and construction employment made up 17 percent of local jobs last year. That's noticeably higher than the state average.
Real estate and construction are two of the biggest advertisers in Bend says builders' association executive Tim Knopp.
Tim Knopp: “We want to make sure that the media knows that if things are going bad for the entire industry, its going to affect them as well. And it has. We just need balance. We'd have discussions with any media outlet about that and I think they want to do that.”
It's not just the Bend Bulletin. Other local outlets, including the Sisters Nugget newspaper and Bend Living magazine, also say they have heard criticism from advertisers that negative media is hurting the housing market.
Bulletin editor Costa says part of his job is talking to realtors and builders, and every other sort of business leader in town.
John Costa: “A lot of the people who are our advertisers, I know them. We all know them. I've been around here, myself, my family, my kids, my boss. We play golf. We go to charity events, we raise money together for causes. So I know them. If they want to talk to me, I am perfectly happy to take calls from them.”
But Costa denies that any of those relationships affect his newspaper's business coverage.
John Costa: “Most of the people that I've talked to in the industry understand fundamentally that we keep the trust of our readers. That everything they do or say in our newspaper, either when they are quoted in stories or taking out ads, that information is believable if people trust the newspaper.”
Fisher says now that he's unemployed, he's going to be house-dad to his 2 young kids. He says he doesn't plan on pursuing any legal action against the Bulletin.
Anyone heard about Fisher recently?
Funny that a comment in one of hbm's recent rants (Nothing to Do in Nowhere), that the person basically admits that HEDONISM is BEND'S ONLY INDUSTRY:
stephen W said:
I'm sorry but the whole REASON WE LIVE HERE IS THE OUTDOORS AND THE AMAZING BEAUTY. most places have the same problem, its the always greener idea. if you lived in Portland you would be saying "man, i wish there was a trail system like shevin close to my house" plus if you lived in Portland you would be saying there isn't much going on here either.
so when you get bored go for a run on an amazing trail, bike on a mountain road, float the river, drink one of our local beers, or go to sisters for the day.
so next time you get the feeling that "there isn't anything to do here" go outside, just out your front door, and be happy your not living in a some crowded name-less American city or suburb that could be anywhere in the country
"I WANT TO BE ABLE TO PLAY ANYTIME I WANT!"
REALTORS: A trustworthy lot:
Bend Sees Rise In Median Home Prices And Interest Rates Are Going UP!
There is definitely renewed interest and more sales taking place RIGHT NOW in Central Oregon including Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver and La Pine. And Interest Rates are going up!
Bends median sales price for a single family home rebounded in to $217,000, an 11 percent increase from the April median of $197,000 the latest report from Bratton Appraisal Group.
Home sales in Bend also increased from 107 in April to 122 in May, a jump of 14 percent. That's a 6 percent increase from the 115 sales recorded in May 2008.
Home sales in Redmond rose from 39 in April to 52 in May an increase of more than 33 percent. It's also a nearly 37 percent increase from the 38 sales recorded in May 2008
To anyone considering purchasing real estate in Central Oregon and is currently sitting on the "proverbial" fence, We strongly encourage you to act now…Do not miss the BEST buying opportunities by waiting for a bottom which will occur with out us knowing about it!
And more:
We may never see this kind of a home buying opportunity again. The time has never been better be a buyer in Bend, Oregon. The exceptional selection of homes on the market, low prices and record low mortgage interest rates make this possibly the best time in history to be purchasing a home or property. Even with the lower prices, many sellers and developers are still willing to negotiate. Some sellers are in a position to carry contracts or offer creative financing options. The best selection of homes and properties one could hope for can be found throughout town. From downtown condos, to golf communities, to quiet neighbohoods, to country homes, to farms & ranches - it's all here. This is Bend, Oregon and people want to live here.
My team and I look forward to serving you.
Norma
Realty Times used to have about 30 "subscribed" Realtors in their LAME-ASS BEND DIRECTORY.
There are now 4.
And the 4 left are still as deluded as ever.
Another TOLD YA. People are starting to attach FINANCIAL STIGMA to homeownership. Like now.
Many believe home ownership is no longer a way to build wealth
By Amy Hoak
MarketWatch (MCT)
CHICAGO - Nearly half of American adults who participated in a recent survey said they no longer believe that homeownership is a realistic way to build wealth, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling reported this week.
The findings, from a recent survey of about 1,000 people, run counter to the long-held perception that a home should be part of a person's financial strategy, the NFCC said.
"It had been considered the cornerstone of wealth building," said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the NFCC. Homeownership had been a significant tool that most people felt was necessary to prepare for retirement, she said in a phone interview.
The survey was conducted because the organization was curious about future implications of living through the mortgage meltdown, she said. Whether consumers reflect on their own experience or are just "observing the guy in the cubicle next door," conditions have caused many people to change their attitudes about housing, she said.
For now, anyway. According to an annual survey from the NFCC released earlier this year, 57 percent of adults reported that they were spending less than they were a year ago, Cunningham said. But 45 percent of those who were spending less said that if their financial situation improved, they would resume their spending habits.
The results released on Monday found that nearly one-third of those polled don't think they will ever be able to afford to buy a home. Forty-two percent of people who have purchased a home - but no longer own it - don't think they'll ever be able to afford to buy another. And 31 percent of those who still own a home don't think they'll ever be able to buy another - whether it's to upgrade their existing home or buy a vacation home.
According to the survey, 74 percent of those who have never purchased a home said they could benefit from first-time home buyer education.
"The good news from the survey is that people now seem to grasp that buying a home is a complicated process and admit that they would benefit from education in advance of signing on the dotted line," Cunningham said in a news release.
Iconic Waikiki Hotel Closes
HONOLULU (AP) - The Y-shaped Ilikai hotel that has graced the Waikiki skyline for nearly five decades and hosted everyone from U.S. presidents to Elvis Presley has closed.
The new owner ceased hotel operations on the iconic property on Thursday because of mounting operating losses. The 30-story Ilikai was considered Hawaii's first luxury high-rise hotel when it opened in 1964. It gained prominence in the 1970s when it was featured in the opening sequence of the hit TV series "Hawaii Five-0."
However, by Thursday afternoon, the open-air lobby had turned into a virtual ghost town as the last guests checked out and were relocated to other hotels. Ballrooms and several shops had already been closed for years. The condos and time-share units will not be affected.
Arnal Chandra, of San Francisco, was one of the last guests to check out. Chandra, who has stayed at the Ilikai every two months or so for business, said he'll miss the hotel and employees he's gotten to know personally.
"The service is always great," he said. "It's very sad to know they won't be here or I won't be able to come back to this hotel and see them."
The final hours for the roughly 75 full-time employees who abruptly lost their jobs were filled with hugs, picture taking and emotions. Wearing bright floral leis and black buttons to show support for their union, they tearfully turned in their hotel ID cards and uniforms before they punched out one last time and were handed their final paycheck.
New York-based iStar Financial Inc., which acquired the hotel for $51 million at a foreclosure auction in May, hasn't indicated what it will do with the 203 hotel rooms in the 1,000-unit hotel-condo-timeshare property. It announced the closure Tuesday.
"It's a shock to us. We never thought we would be on the streets tomorrow," said guest services employee Joli Tokusato. "A lot of us have worked here for so long, we don't know how to write resumes anymore and the job market is extremely tight, so a lot of us are very, very scared for what the future might hold."
While holding back her tears, Tokusato cheerfully assisted guests behind the granite desk she stood behind for so long. She began her career 19 years ago as a "pool girl."
"I have an empty feeling right now," she said, adding that her fellow workers are like family.
The employees expressed frustration about how a vibrant, successful 800-room hotel operation has been dismantled, sold off in pieces as time shares and forced into foreclosure in just three years by former owner Brian Anderson.
Many still hold out hope that the new owner will reopen the Ilikai with the same employees. However, many fear the iStar will open the Ilikai with a non-unionized work force. iStar did not return a phone message Thursday seeking comment.
Bellman Bob Kong has worked at the hotel since 1978 and said he loved his job and serving countless honeymooners, vacationers from around the world and celebrities. As evidence of his always-on-the-go job, the 56-year-old Kong nearly looks like a man half his age.
"I was six years from retirement. Now I don't have a job," said Kong, whose worried about being able to pay for medical benefits and find a new job to support his three children and mortgage in high-priced Hawaii. "It looks pretty grim."
Besides presidents and Presley, former guests who stayed at the Ilikai include Stevie Wonder, Lucille Ball, Mickey Mantle, Redd Foxx and many other celebrities.
Even the market for Perpetual Motion Buttplugs is starting to blow away... and remember that GREEN ENERGY was Oregons Economic Second Coming.
Pickens Plan for Huge Wind Farm Blows Away
T. Boone Pickens, the conservative Texas oilman who became the unlikely face of energy reform efforts during the 2008 presidential campaign, has announced that he will not move forward with plans to build the world's largest wind farm in his home state.
Pickens' company's spokesman cited "the collapse of the capital markets" and "the steep downturn of natural gas prices" as the reason for the decision, as the Washington Post reports. (Pickens also cited a lack of transmission lines.) The spokesman insisted that "Boone still remains committed and focused on developing wind energy in the United States."
Indeed, Pickens plans to instead build three or four smaller wind farms at a cost of $2 million, the New York Times notes. He told the Times that he could potentially decide to build the larger wind farm – "anything’s possible," he said – but his decision is seen as evidence that the wind energy movement is faltering.
(See Katie Couric's interview below with energy investor T. Boone Pickens Jr. from July 2008 - in which he talks about his plan to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil through the development of alternative energy sources.)...
OK, I'm going to hit 800 comments this week if I have to sit here copying & pasting all fucking week!
Good Oregonian piece on ranching in E. OR:
Oregon's cattle country is on the ropes
To hear rancher Ken Holliday tell it, the romance of ranching has long been gone. But the constant roller coaster ride that sapped the thrill is on a downhill run with the recession, leaving ranchers feeling beaten.
...
"It's never been easy to make a living," says Holliday, who runs a 10,000-acre ranch near John Day. "But now, you kind of wonder why you even do it."
...
Summer is supposed to be beef's best-selling season. But for many ranchers, the recession heaps pressure on an Old World industry trying to find a place in a new age. Cyclical downturns are the norm in agriculture. But this one exacerbates a fundamental shift unfolding in the beef cattle industry, moving toward tightened regulations, choosier consumers and heightened environmental concerns.
segue's, day's. WTF? You don't have to put an apostrophe before every damned "s" you type.
For the uninitiated, you might want to mention that Crown Point Bank was a FAIL.
Or a never got started.
CACB threatening to go below $1 again...
The reason that banks are taking Calif. IOU's is that they pay 3.5% interest. Banks are only paying around 2% on CD's now.
If you are a private citizen, and have a couple of million sitting in cash, that difference is around $30,000. a year more in income.
Private citizens are now selling these on e-bay.
Jumped the gun on that Ilikai story. They're opening it back up as a hotel, only without food services.
"And these aren't traditional government "IOU's" (ie bonds), with a legally binding agreement to pay back the amounts, collateralized by some thing."
_____________
There is a legally binding agreement. All IOUs are contracts that are enforceable in courts.
Most bonds are not collateralized. The ones that are often have the word "collateralized" in their names, such as CMOs, CDOs and CBOs.
Most government bonds are backed simply by the issuing entity's credit rating, as are these IOUs. The interest rate paid and the price of the instruments on the secondary market are functions of this credit rating, among other things.
Where is BP I'm so fucking horny.
Where is BP I'm so fucking horny.
"“People are discovering Bend"
People have been "discovering Bend" for 30 years, at least. And it remains poverty-with-a-view.
What has to happen before we can move in the direction of sustainable prosperity is that the GOBs and GOGs and the politicians they own have to give up their grandiose visions and understand that Bend DOES NOT HAVE TO BE, SHOULD NOT BE and probably CAN NOT BE a metro area of 200,000 or even 100,000 or maybe even 80,000 people. Bend needs to concentrate on becoming the best possible version of what it can be -- a pleasant, pretty, livable small town with outstanding schools and other public services. Our role model should be Prescott or Ashland, not Denver or Phoenix.
PS: The fingernails on the babe with the hot dog frighten me.
"Longtime Central Oregon restaurateur Axel Hoch and business partner Mark Perry are planning to open a new steakhouse in Bend’s Mill Quarter district. The restaurant, to be called the River Mill Grill, will be in Fireside red’s old location, at 803 S.W. Industrial Way, Suite 202, in Bend. Fireside red closed in May.
So why do these people think they will succeed where others have failed miserably?
Why it's The Doctrine of Bend Exceptionalism, of course."
I'm not so sure in this case. Axel has been in the restaurant business a long time, knows the town and has been successful. If anybody can do it he can.
A steak house makes a lot more sense that a tapas bar. Bend (for the umpteenth time) is just not that sophisticated. We're not ready yet for tapas and "Deep."
That said, that seems to be one of those locations that SHOULD be great for a restaurant but for some unknown reason just never works out that way. There have been about five different restaurants in the original Honkers space and they all folded. We'll see.
"Bend needs to concentrate on becoming the best possible version of what it can be -- a pleasant, pretty, livable small town with outstanding schools and other public services. Our role model should be Prescott or Ashland, not Denver or Phoenix."
Reiterate, small town..as in 1980, small town. We (our infrastucture) can not handle any more. We need to learn to be a smaler town. Without exponential growth, as in ponzi growth. Support what we have and hope the population decreases. We live with nil county/city services and take care of our own. I see no other way for our area to survive
Marge: I think we basically agree except I have the impression you see the ideal future Bend as a version of Burns. I think we can do better. There is a middle ground between insane Phoenix-style growth and tumbleweeds blowing down Main Street.
Lots of good comments on that cattle ranching article that Butter put up. My favorites:
"Remember Eastern Oregon has resources that will never be used up: Basalt, juniper, and sage brush."
*
"If God didn't intend for man to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat."
Funny story: I lived in Bend for a year. Discovered Fireside Red and ate there a lot. Good food. Great view. Told most of my local friends about it.
Got a call when I was back in Tucson from one of my local friends in Bend who just couldn't find the place. We laughed as I, the out of towner, guided him into the place like an air traffic controller from 1200 miles away.
The problem with Fireside Red IS the location. It's a great location - once you find it. Very few restaurants can survive on only locals eating there, they need the tourist traffic.
Coming off the roundabout and making an immediate right into the parking lot just isn't what people expect to do especially out of towners. That and if I remember right a good portion of the building sits below the grade of the road so it doesn't even have great signage.
The cannot fail new guy needs to address the first IMHO.
Re: An Example of "Shadow" Inventory In The Keys Which Is Not Found On The MLS
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Same thing here.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12804342
" Draper » It's called Canyon Vine Cove, but a more appropriate name might be Foreclosure Boulevard.
Within walking distance of the Draper Temple, trophy home after trophy home was built in recent years, with construction fueled by the lax lending standards and adjustable-rate loans that would later help push the nation's teetering economy into recession...."For years, everybody was focused on owning something bigger and better -- that's what all of this is about," said Realtor Rick Bentley, as he drove slowly to the top of the street, where work on an almost unbelievable 26,000-square-foot castle -- the word "house" hardly does it justice -- stopped about a year ago."
####
Lots of high end RE for sale down in this corner of the valley. Within a half mile of the house are a half dozen that are still priced in the $1M range.
Same as when I was in Bend, I ride past them and wonder how the hell are they going to move it all. Even if there are jobs here.
####
You want a good model check out Logan, UT. Without the Mormonism, of course. But Logan has had a thriving university for decades now, which unfortunately Bend may never have.
I've been to Bend. I've been to Logan. Logan is a shithole and Bend is a pretty nice town.
Marge: I think we basically agree except I have the impression you see the ideal future Bend as a version of Burns. I think we can do better. There is a middle ground between insane Phoenix-style growth and tumbleweeds blowing down Main Street.
*
FUCK YOU HBM, this is why you'll always be the ass-hole.
The happy middle of Phoenix and Burns, is BEND, and it Sucks. I'll take Bend as Burns any day over Bend is a little Phoenix, or Tucson, or Chandler, or any Southern Arizona Cali 'retirement center'.
Our role model should be Prescott or Ashland, not Denver or Phoenix.
*
Excuuuuuuuuuuuse me asshole. But Ashland & Prescott are nasty little tourist towns.
Not coincidence that in 2006 Prescott was #1 most over-valued and Bend #2.
Ashland lost it charm year ago, ... Ashland is on I5, if it was isolated it would be fucked. Prescott is also on a major freeway route.
Bend is a desert-island.
Funny that all your paradigms always go back to media manufactured 'tourist towns'.
Seeing the hucksters like you and Switzer, and Costa lose their asses are the only thing thats going to change or save Bend.
The ship may be going down, but to the very end the troops rally "We can be a better tourist town".
I say FUCK-YOU to HBM, and his buddy's that moved here in the last 20+ years.
"Seeing the hucksters like you and Switzer, and Costa lose their asses are the only thing thats going to change or save Bend."
My ass is quite safe and secure, thanks. Don't know about Switzer's or Costa's.
"The ship may be going down, but to the very end the troops rally "We can be a better tourist town"."
The timber industry isn't coming back and Bend isn't going to develop any other manufacturing base because there's nothing here to manufacture. So a tourist town is all it can realistically be. What do you want it to be instead? Burns West?
If you want to live in some godforsaken shithole in the middle of nowhere with no jobs and nothing to do but get drunk and watch the dust blow through town, why the hell don't you move to Burns? They'll be glad to have you.
Why can't Bend be burns? It was always Burn's, it was Burns' when I moved here in the 1960's.
It was ONLY when FUCK-HEADS like HBM, and COSTA came to Bend and said "WE CAN MAKE THIS LITTLE SHIT-HOLE INTO A TOURIST TOWN", .. and make some money.
Well you happy now happy? Bend is no longer Burn's, now its Ashland out in the middle of the fucking desert. All dressed up, but with no fucking customers, a sad dying whore, lots of pimps like Swizter, Costa, Hollern, HBM, ... COVA/CORA folk all pimps, but your whore is dead.
Bend will return to Burn's west, so be it HBM and all us old-timers relish the thought, so why in the fuck don't U leave now and help expedite the exit of carpet-baggers.
What a fucking idiot.
"What a fucking idiot."
Which one?
The one who misuses apostrophes. Or "apostrophe's"if you're a moron.
Yep! That's the one I meant.
One trillion dollar deficit. Awesome.
Re: I've been to Bend. I've been to Logan. Logan is a shithole and Bend is a pretty nice town.
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Towns nowhere near an interstate. Started with logging.
One used the early 1900s state land university push to start one. The other didn't, but let the laborers build cottages on the west side with surplus lumber.
Today one has an UE rate of 4.1%, #4 in the nation, and the other has one of 15.2%, #360 of the measured 370 MSA's.
Both have ski mountains, because both are in the west. Although I agree Powder Mt. ain't much. Close to Mt. B, but not quite there.
Shithole?
Please expound on your experience.
I've had several good experiences there, mostly just before LoToJa, plus have met with one of their mojor employers many times over the years.
Maybe because I don't need a Deep, Logan is a "shithole".
But then if you need a "Deep", you might want to check somewhere than Bend.
Cause it's long gone.
Yes, Tim, I wish I could have an easy spellcheck...drives me nuts.
Re: Bend is no longer Burn's, now its Ashland out in the middle of the fucking desert. All dressed up, but with no fucking customers, a sad dying whore, lots of pimps like Swizter, Costa, Hollern, HBM, ... COVA/CORA folk all pimps, but your whore is dead.
####
Another Buster truth that is actually true. A rare thing.
Thing is, in a normal economy you would have enough tourist customers to keep a nice little town going.
Butter, I'm just working on 800. If it gets too slow, I'll start talking about Cheney and some secret NSA/CIA program to kill potential brown-skinned terrorists.
After all, Bend is just like Jackson Hole.
Maybe it was the Mossad. I forget the details. Must have been that truth serum shit they gave me when I tried to get into the West Bank.
I'm not the one who made that last apostrophe comment. There are some Tim impostors here, or at least some Tim sympathizers.
How to delay a housing bottom: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE56D04920090714
If it gets too slow, I'll start talking about Cheney and some secret NSA/CIA program to kill potential brown-skinned terrorists.
Bend is just like Jackson Hole. - bp
*
Well BPUSSY, there is a 'bend' connection to 'dark-skin genocide', and its called Suterra.
Suterra leads the world in aerial bio-encapsulation sterilization technology, which has now been applied in South America for the past five years.
These new aerial drones controlled by NSA/CIA from WASH-DC area, can now spray the time released 'SUTERRA STERILIZATION' products, and then in a generation no more 'dark skin' folks and 100% denial.
I love Bend!!!
The one who misuses apostrophes. Or "apostrophe's"if you're a moron.
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bendmorons.blogspot.com
Bend there, done that!
Another Buster truth that is actually true. A rare thing.
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BPussy you didn't talk that way when we were an item.
Feel safe in SLC?
Have you found a new older man to love you there?
"Bend will return to Burn's west, so be it HBM and all us old-timers relish the thought, so why in the fuck don't U leave now"
You don't own fucking Bend, Buster, and you don't tell ME where to live. But since Burns is your idea of paradise, why the fuck don't YOU leave? Just get on Highway 20 and drive east for a few hours. They'd welcome you with open arms.
The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Burns are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else. People who have no brains, talent or balls only feel comfortable living in shitholes like Burns and want every place to be like Burns.
Buster is such a pitiful putz he can't even hack it in BEND, much less a real city, which is why he keeps hoping Bend will turn into Burns.
>> The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Burns are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else.
HBM, that is terrible. I know some people who "choose" to spend their lives in Burns (or Burns-esque towns) who are absolute salt-of-the-earth good people.
I understand Buster was getting under your skin but that claim is utterly ridiculous and you know it.
From the Bull:
Imagine winning a million dollars for being the best at tossing a bag of corn into a hole. Such an award is attainable at a national competition to be held in Las Vegas in January, 2010. Most Central Oregonians are not familiar with the beanbag toss...
What, now you all are having cornhole contests to raise money?
Looks like we're going to need a new CBS station. The company that owns KOIN Local 6 in Portland and KBNZ in Bend filed for bankruptcy and is turning the company over to lenders.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1426264120090714
Oregonians don't know cornhole? Come on! What about beer pong?
Does anyone know the population of Bend
in 1990
in 2000
in 2009??
According to Census data:
1990: 20,469
2000: 52,029
2007: 74,563
And the 2008 estimates is 80,995.
"HBM, that is terrible. I know some people who "choose" to spend their lives in Burns (or Burns-esque towns) who are absolute salt-of-the-earth good people."
I never said they weren't good people. I said they don't (as a rule) have the brains, talent, balls and ambition to make it in a more competitive urban environment.
Why are Burns and so many towns like Burns dying on the vine? Because their best people ("best" in the sense of smarts, talent, ambition, etc., not virtue or character) almost always leave. Why do they leave? No opportunities. And their departure means even fewer opportunities in the future. It's a downward spiral.
Let's face it, if you were a young person with brains, talent and ambition, would you spend your life in Burns if you could help it? Be honest.
Just listened to this great 1980s song and couldn't help but think of our Buster on his way to Bangkok. I used to think this song was a glorification of Bangkok as "sin city" but if you listen to the lyrics it's just the opposite:
.
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDIZTmH6Qsw
I'm assuming you linked to some hot ABBA-penned Chess.
Butter, when we're talking ABBA, I can't help you.
Small towns have no opportunity to see how the rest of the world lives.
If you go away to college for 4 years, you will NEVER come back to Bend.
Wait. Didn't Duncan go to college and come back?
"If you go away to college for 4 years, you will NEVER come back to Bend."
Not true. There are some people who have what it takes to make it in a bigger city but choose to live in a small town because of the slower pace, family connections, etc. They place those considerations ahead of ambition, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying such people are pretty damned rare.
If I had grown up in Bend I would NEVER have spent my life here because there were no opportunities to get anywhere in my chosen profession. What would I have had to look forward to as the pinnacle of my career -- managing editor of The Bulletin? Instead I worked at a series of progressively bigger jobs in progressively bigger markets until my wife and I, after some 20 years, finally decided it was time for a lifestyle change.
Adding to the 800 comments:
I have never adovcated that Bend become Burns. Nor do I have any feeling that I would ever live in Burns. I would live in Dayville, it is my favorite place in the state. The John Day hospital is good and they have a small golf course. Airlife goes on frequent runs, so you don't have to drive to Bend in an emergency.
Sorry, I am a pre 90's Bend persona. Poor and without the Rolex friends seems good to me. You westies can have Phil's trail. I just want to drive through tow without gettin flipped off or honked at.
Wait. Didn't Duncan go to college and come back?
*
Yes, and he ended up the most successful comic book salesperson in Bend, and all the while racking in min wage. A true example of of college to bring to a Bender.
Just listened to this great 1980s song and couldn't help but think of our Buster on his way to Bangkok. I
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Bangkok is a terrible place. Never in any of my rambling on ALT to BPUSSY have I ever advocated Banger's as a place to hang.
First of all I don't even advocate paying for BPUSSY.
Bangers is 10X-50X of the rest of the country in cost. What's the fucking point? If you want the bang for the buck go to Udon-Thani. For me I head down south near the Malay border.
On this trip I plan on spending 4 hours tops in Bangers. I hate the fucking place. It's like Mexico City, really no redeeming quality.
If your a whore-monger, Pattaya, or Patong is way better, and Udon-thai is way cheaper. Udon-Thani is the mother source of the fresh girls that go to bangers in the first place, if your a whore-monger go to the fucking source.
This is like say that everyone who goes to the USA heads to NYC and stays there, what the FUCK??
I hate NYC and I hate bangers.
Up Country, Hong-Mae-Song, or Malay south, there you can live like a king for $10/day. In Bangers it costs $500/day to live well. What's the fucking point?
Lastly Bangers is full of foreigners ( farang ), why the fuck would I go to a place full of fucking white-people??
Here's my preference down south, I prefer to go to villages that have never fucking SEEN a white-person, that way virtually every girl is curious to know whether white guys really do have big dicks. The surprise on their face, is worth going where no white-fuck has ventured before. Lastly, why go to Bangers and fuck women for MONEY who have been fucked by 100's of white guys? When you could go to any fucking village in Thailand and fuck virgins for FREE? In remote villages many 30 yr old girls are virgins, and there is never enough men to go around, because most men die of motorcycle accidents of alcohol poisoning.
Bangers is a BIG BEND. Enough Said.
The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Burns are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else. People who have no brains, talent or balls only feel comfortable living in shitholes like Burns and want every place to be like Burns.
*
SHIT HBM sweety pie, if you substitute BEND for BURNS, I would almost agree with you.
BEND is BURNS and always was, ... get over it fuck-heads you were sold a bag of shit when you bought into Bend.
The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Bend are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else. People who have no brains, talent or balls only feel comfortable living in shitholes like Bend and want every place to be like Bend. - HBM
( HBM an accomplished Princeton Journalist who is buried near Bend, Oregon )
*
Shit HBM, this is why I love you. Maybe someday we can have a beer near Reed College, and fuck in the bushes.
It's now 6:30pm here, and this will be my last internet hot-spot/cafe for a long time boyz.
Se ya'll in about six weeks.
If you moved to Bend in the last 20+ years, your an asshole, and if you want to know why Bend is a shit-hole, look in the mirror.
bye, I love ya all,
Lastly, why go to Bangers and fuck women for MONEY who have been fucked by 100's of white guys? When you could go to any fucking village in Thailand and fuck virgins for FREE?
ya, that's what you thought about the last chick but as it turns out, she was just another ho looking to make some money off a white guy. You are straight up pathetic having to travel that far to get pussy. Your whole " I wouldn't fuck Bend pussy if you paid me" is bullshit! You have no choice but to travel to Malay and fuck little girls. You'd fuck under aged county bumpkins if it were legal here. Creepy dude, fuckin creepy....
Welcome to the slog
In California and a handful of other states, one out of every five people who would like to be working full time is not now doing so.
It is a startling sign of the pain that the Great Recession is inflicting, and it is largely missed by the official, oft-repeated statistics on unemployment. The national unemployment rate has risen to 9.5 percent, the highest level in more than a quarter-century. Yet it still excludes all those who have given up looking for a job and those part-time workers who want to be working full time.
Include them — as the Labor Department does when calculating its broadest measure of the job market — and the rate reached 23.5 percent in Oregon this spring, according to a New York Times analysis of state-by-state data. It was 21.5 percent in both Michigan and Rhode Island and 20.3 percent in California. In Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana, Nevada and Ohio, the rate was just under 20 percent this spring and may have since surpassed it.
...
Costa: Remember to READ these AP & re-print pieces!! Me no wanna spend or get drunk when I read BAD NEWS...
Does anyone know how the schools in Bend will be effected by the budget problems?
Does anyone know what the average salary of teachers in Bend is? Is that public info?
Any town (Bend) where the population quadruples in 18 years is going to have growing pains, big time.
As the recession/depression takes hold, population should at least level off.
"HBM an accomplished Princeton Journalist who is buried near Bend, Oregon"
But I didn't spend my life in Bend. I didn't spend my life in the town where I was born either. I moved around and worked in urban areas for metro papers until I accumulated enough of a pile to be able to relocate to Bend.
And Bend isn't a shithole like Burns -- not even close. Burns has absolutely NOTHING going for it.
"SHIT HBM sweety pie, if you substitute BEND for BURNS, I would almost agree with you."
Bend is no place for a bright young ambitious person either. Not that it's a shithole, but there are no decent jobs here for an educated person outside of government and education.
Burns OTOH has absolutely NOTHING going for it. Not even scenery. It's poverty without a view.
"I prefer to go to villages that have never fucking SEEN a white-person, that way virtually every girl is curious to know whether white guys really do have big dicks. The surprise on their face, is worth going where no white-fuck has ventured before."
"Tee-hee, that little pink thing on old white man look like penis, but it too small to be one! Tee-hee!"
Marge: "I just want to drive through town without gettin flipped off or honked at."
Funny, that has never happened to me once in almost 25 years of living here. Could it be your driving?
"You westies can have Phil's trail."
What's a westy? What's Phil's trail?
"You are straight up pathetic having to travel that far to get pussy."
Chill, it's all just Buster's fantasy anyway.
HBM said...
"But I didn't spend my life in Bend. I didn't spend my life in the town where I was born either. I moved around and worked in urban areas for metro papers until I accumulated enough of a pile to be able to relocate to Bend."
Ya HBM, some real gems. The fucking Mercury News in that cosmopolitan hub of culture, San Jose, California. Bend (or even Burns) looks like Xanadu compared to that crap hole. And unless you were cranking out meth on the side, there's not a paper in the land that paid you so well as to accumulate enough of a "pile" to do anything. They notoriously don't pay shit.
You moved here for the lifestyle and to raise family, just like everyone else. And like everyone else, you were probably willing to sacrifice for what Bend had to offer. You were probabaly pretty happy with that lifestyle, too, until this latest wave of shit followed you up here and the economy tanked.
Pet Airways
OMG! How long do you give them before they're Chap 11 asking for gov't loans?
Proof that we're a decadent society. Can you imagine trying to explain this to some farmer in India or China? Hell, Indiana or Iowa for that matter.
>> Let's face it, if you were a young person with brains, talent and ambition, would you spend your life in Burns if you could help it? Be honest.
Granted, the examples I'm thinking of are in the minority in towns like Burns, but there are successful national artists and ranchers etc who choose to live in very rural areas.
What it does show is your unflattering elitist attitude toward a simpler folk imported directly from metro California.
By your logic, all city people are brilliant, ambitious and wildly successful. This is not the case. Just as all people who live in Burns or similar are not unambitious, unsuccessful yada yada.
That all said, give me a choice between hanging out with some up-tight neurotic urbanites vs. some down-home ranchers and I'll choose the later every time.
Most of the people who live in small towns are afraid of the outside world. They are afraid to test their skills in the real world, because they fear they will come up short.
Most natives of small towns in Oregon only travel outside the state to visit RENO- the armpit of Nevada.
Less than half of the people in Douglas County have even a high school education.
I'm sure Bill Gates will be sending recruiters to the area, in order to snap up such outstanding candidates.
Who is Bill Gates?
"there are successful national artists and ranchers etc who choose to live in very rural areas."
Well, once you're an established artist or writer you can live anywhere. But artists and writers who are starting out and need to make a name for themselves still tend to congregate in cities. That's where the scene is; that's where they need to be to get noticed.
And if you're a rancher you pretty much HAVE to live in a rural area, don'tcha? They don't have many ranches in New York City.
"By your logic, all city people are brilliant, ambitious and wildly successful. This is not the case."
And of course I never said it was. Why do you resort to misrepresenting my argument? Is your own argument that weak?
"Just as all people who live in Burns or similar are not unambitious, unsuccessful yada yada."
As I said, there are always exceptions. But if you're ambitious, why would you stay in Burns? And how big a success can you be in any field in Burns (aside from ranching, that is)?
This is not being "elitist"; this is simply recognizing a socioeconomic fact of life. Most opportunities for success are in the cities. So those who choose to pursue those opportunities leave places like Burns and go to the cities. Those who either don't choose to pursue them or don't have what it takes to pursue them (brains, talent and balls) stay behind. That has been true since this country was founded and always will be.
"give me a choice between hanging out with some up-tight neurotic urbanites"
Ummm, stereotype much?
HBM 7/04 >> The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Burns are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else. People who have no brains, talent or balls only feel comfortable living in shitholes like Burns and want every place to be like Burns.
HBM 7/15 >> Ummm, stereotype much?
People stay in places like Burns because they do not like other races.
If you move to a big city, you may have to live next door to a Negro,or talk to an Asian.
Since HALF the children in elementary school are Hispanic, the change is coming, whether you like it or not.
Ooooo. hbm burned by display of prejudice again.
Correction of first quote date:
HBM 7/14 >> The only people who spend their lives in shitholes like Burns are the ones who don't have the brains, the talent or the balls to cut it anywhere else. People who have no brains, talent or balls only feel comfortable living in shitholes like Burns and want every place to be like Burns.
HBM 7/15 >> Ummm, stereotype much?
"People stay in places like Burns because they do not like other races."
That's sometimes part of it. When we first moved to Bend we kept running into people who had moved here from California "to get away from crime."
"Were you ever personally a victim of crime there?" I'd ask.
"Uh, no."
"Did you have a relative or neighbor or friend who was a victim of crime?"
"Uh, no."
The phrase "get away from crime" clearly was code for "get away from black and brown people."
I've been thinking about writing a parody of "Heart of Darkness" and setting it in Bend. The tentative title is "Heart of Whiteness."
Quim: I used intemperate language. I was tired of Buster making Burns out to be some kind of paradise that Bend should aspire to become, and I over-reacted. I apologize.
However I still stand by the central point that, as a rule, the smartest, most talented and most ambitious people are not found in the Burnses of this nation.
>> Quim: I used intemperate language. I was tired of Buster making Burns out to be some kind of paradise that Bend should aspire to become, and I over-reacted. I apologize.
I understand....I am totally guilty of this from time-to-time too so don't feel too bad.
>> However I still stand by the central point that, as a rule, the smartest, most talented and most ambitious people are not found in the Burnses of this nation.
I agree....in general this holds true. I came from a very small place and I have lots of friends who are still there. It's all about living up to your potential in life I think. I turned out nothing like what people expected in my small hometown.
Now, I must get back to my FT job as the exec director of the Harney Co Chamber of Commerce.)
OK, I don't even have time to read all the posts, but let me throw in that if you want real health care, like in pretty much every other industrialized country. you know, those that get better results with half of our cost, then you need to call you conbgress critters this week.
Like right now. Screaming about how they happily have public insurance while denying it to you an your family is encouraged.
Here is a tool to help you with the most important Dem critters, who seem to be paying more attention to their funders than to their public:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/publicoption
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OK. Butter, that should be worth at least ten posts from those who think that Bush and his friends actually are helping them. Just like Kathie and crew are heping you in Bend.
And as usual I can't/ fucling control my fingers in a hurry...
Later, kunts.
You're damn right people move to the "Great Northwhite" to get away from the blacks and browns. Most people who have never left the Northwest don't understand the realities of racial tension.Don't believe me? Go to the city ( especially a nice shitty East Coast city) and try to befriend and maybe help out your friendly neighborhood ghetto master and see how fast he either rob's you, assault's you, or kill's you. Better yet just drive through the hood and stop and talk to the locals, see how fuckin friendly they are.
Jobs or no jobs Bend is "White Flight"
Call me racist if you want, but you can't call me a liar.
Did you read the Daily Mail online (UK)how people have to wait an average of 9 months for arthritis treatment? Welcome to socialized medicine. The article is available on DrudgeReport
Sorry I was born here in small odunk oregon I know it would have been better for me culture wise to have been born in detriot. Gang bangers is where it's at. You are a bunch of elitest from cali who are jealous of native oregonians so to make yourself feel better, you gotta put us down for not experiencing the world? What about having some mother fucker insurgent trying to kill you while you are defending your country in a war in a country where no one wants you? Have you ever had bullets flying past your head? Oh yes I'm sorry I was born in oregon.
Those last three trolls have combined IQ of 180. Although the very last may have been smarter than he realized: "...mother fucker insurgent trying to kill you while you are defending your country in a war in a country where no one wants you?"
###
A country that does not in any way threaten our country, except for the possible price of its fossil fuel reserves to us.
###
Socialized medicine. Versus privatized health insurance. One covers the whole, the other only covers the healthy. Got cancer? Get rescinded.
Galbraith Jr.: "...from the book I am currently reading, "Predator Nation" by James K. Galbraith, subtitled "How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too"
It is a fascinating view from an economic scholar on how corporations use government to prey on the masses. His famous father suggested he write it from his deathbed:
"On Wednesday, April 26, 2006, I visited my father in his room at Cambridge's Mount Auburn Hospital for what would prove to be the last time. I told him a little bit of what I'd been working on, and he said, "You should write a short book on corporate predation. It will make you the leading economic voice of your generation." Then he paused and added, with his usual modesty, "If I could do it, I would put you in the shade."
He has some great insights into the current fight over health care reform in this book (among many other subjects covered):
"The struggle is epic precisely because it is zero sum. Here we see the immense power of the legitimating myth: by discussing it as though the issue had something to do with the efficiency of markets or the freedom of consumer choice, the defense of a functionless pool of profits can be made to seem a legitimate political position."
Another money quote:
"Insurance in general is therefore intrinsically a service that the public sector can competently provide at a lower cost than the private sector, and from the standpoint of an entire population, selective private provision of health insurance is invariably inferior to universal public provision. Private health insurance companies would not exist except for their political capacity to forestall creation of universal public systems, backed by their almost unlimited capacity to sow confusion among the general public over the basic economic facts. Liberals who support anything less than a common, public insurance pool have no argument. They are simply tugging their forelocks and bending their knee before this particular bastion of private power."
So one of you conservatives again tell me why we need a profit motive in the health care system? Any more than in something like municipal water? Or interstate highways?
It's like a toll road to keep your kid or your mom healthy.
The loss ratio, i.e. how much in claims is actually paid out, is far more important than the health of their customers.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "FLASH--Summit 1031 Bankruptcy Petition":
Yes, real estate "was" extremely liquid. You were living in a cave the last decade if you can't see that.
Larkin and Lyons became Principals in 2006. They were running the shop 2006 and after...AFTER THESE LOANS QUIT BEING MADE! I've heard from more than one source that the partnership agreement Lyons and Larkin entered into, had wording basically saying that Neuman and Stevens were to give up day to day operations of Summit and focus on unloading these investments. I believe in the time that Lyons and Larkin were principals that amount in real estate investment dropped by somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 million. So it sounds to me like the money that came in with Lyons and Larkin in charge, did, in fact stay in the bank. Why in the world would all these banks have been courting them for these funds if they weren't at the bank's disposal???
Unfortunately the other 2 principals had created the original hole that they were unable to dig out of.
Plus, from the sounds of it, if the Bonding Company would do their job and insure the funds, then creditors would be damn close to recovering all their money.
How can you possibly think a guy getting 16% off every asset unloaded is in the real world? A guy who hasn't unloaded a single asset yet? The real world is that there are A LOT of assets out there that, granted, in today's market don't have the highest value....but I know for a fact he's turned down multiple fair offers on these properties. That's all money that could be in these creditors hands if it wasn't for his greediness.
Stephanie Studebaker-DeYoung has left a new comment on your post "FLASH--Summit 1031 Bankruptcy Petition":
Dear Summit 1031 Exchangers,
I am so sorry your money has been caught up in the Summit 1031 Bankruptcy. You have reason to be very upset. You trusted Summit 1031 with your money and suddenly the company is in bankruptcy court. It is an unfortunate situation for all, but mostly for the exchangers. Summit 1031 owed exchangers $27.8 Million, but they only had $13.6 Million in cash. Their shortfall was $14.2 Million. How could this have happened? It is upsetting and you want answers, but mostly you want all your money back! I can understand the anger you have. Who wouldn’t be angry? You have every right. You also deserve to hear the truth about what has happened.
GOAL: Are there better solutions to getting your money back to you? I want to know and I want to do what I can to make that happen.
Did you know the principals of Summit 1031 always wanted to turn over their assets to help pay off their debt to you? They never intended for this to happen and have always wanted to do what was right by their clients. However, since the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, this has been practically impossible. All that seems to be going on is rising professional and attorney fees. I just submitted an objection to fees amounting to almost $1 Million. I am doing this to help minimize the cost, help maximize the value back to the exchangers because it is what the principals and I want.
I know you have no reason to trust me, but if you want to know more about what is happening to your money, I have posted the information on a website.
I don’t think the principals of Summit are not to blame. Their business was not able to pay you back. They should have to deal with whatever consequences they get, but based on the truth or at least the complete facts and circumstances that led to their bankruptcy. They did not intend for this to happen and they just want you to get your money back. They have been, since DAY 1, wanting to give all they had to cover the shortfall. They transferred practically everything they owned personally to help pay you back, but with the outrageous legal fees and the falling market it will be tough.
Please know that if the principals could go back and do a better job at getting your money to you they would, but now your money is in the hands of Kevin Padrick and I want you to be aware of what he is doing to get your money back. I think Terry Vance would do a better job and maybe you would not have to pay Kevin Padrick and his team of professionals the $1 Million of professional and legal fees they have submitted in their fee application. This is only for 5 months worth of work. Kevin Padrick is supposed to have this job for 5-7 years. At this rate, it will be at least $11 Million for the duration of his tenure as bankruptcy trustee.
Please go to my website at www.summit1031bkjustice.com for more information. I think you having more information on this case can only help you to get your money back.
Please see for yourself what the goals of the principals have been by viewing the taping of Kevin Padrick and Obsidian’s presentation at: http://www.summit1031bkjustice.com/?page_id=254
Sincerely,
Stephanie Studebaker-DeYoung
(I am an investor in 4 of the LLC’s where the principals’ interest has been transferred to the Trustee of the Summit Bankruptcy and I am the daughter of Mark Neuman, one of the principals of Summit 1031. I am a person who wants your money paid back to you.)
Posted by Stephanie Studebaker-DeYoung to Juniper Ridge Info at July 15, 2009 2:39 PM
Re: (I am an investor in 4 of the LLC’s where the principals’ interest has been transferred to the Trustee of the Summit Bankruptcy and I am the daughter of Mark Neuman, one of the principals of Summit 1031. I am a person who wants your money paid back to you.)
####
She forgot to mention this:
2) The home purchase Padrick speaks of occurred in October of 2002, 6 1/2 years ago. My dad foresaw the rise in the Bend market and wanted me to purchase a house before it became unaffordable. I told him that I could not currently afford to purchase a house in Bend, but that I would check out Redmond. He said that I should buy on the west side of Bend, where the properties held their value better. I told him he was crazy. I could never afford a house on the west side of Bend! He said that if I could find a good deal, he would loan me the money for a down payment. I worked hard looking for a deal. At that time, houses were selling for $125/square foot across the board. Then I stumbled on a development called Skyliner Summit. They were selling larger homes for $95/square foot. What if I could one day sell this for $125/square foot? That would be good. Dad thought it was a good deal too, so he agreed. He said that I could pay him back for the down payment when I sold this house sometime in the future.
About a year ago, I received an email from someone at Inland saying that I owed them money for this down payment. I said that was a deal between my dad and me. I never borrowed money from Inland. Then at a lunch with my dad, he asked me to pay this back. I said “But Dad, that wasn’t the deal. The deal was that I would pay it back when I sold the house.” He said that he needed to pay off this loan at Inland. I told him that he should pay it back, not me, because that was not what we had agreed to. I argued that he should consider the down payment his contribution to helping me pay for college, and forgive my debt to him. He must have thought I made a good case, because he agreed to it. He paid interest on this loan for the duration and paid it off in full with his personal funds. What about this is criminal?
####
Criminal? Who knows. Self serving with other peoples money? Fuck, yes.
Get over it, Steph. Your Dad made some risky choices, and they imploded with the RE market. If he had put the exchange funds in the FDIC guaranteed accounts that he stated he would in his marketing materials, none of this would be happening.
Greed is pathetic in the end.
Comments on Galbraith were awsome.
Comments that followed were intelligent, well though out, and well written.
Definitely a cut above the usual drivell in the comment section.
One aspect of socialized medicine.
About 5% of the population of the US are illegal immigrants.(States like Oregon, it is more like 10-15%).
They usually get paid in cash, under the table.
So, they will not pay anything into this system, but will get full benefits (paid by the suckers who work for a real paycheck.)
"So, they will not pay anything into this system, but will get full benefits (paid by the suckers who work for a real paycheck.)"
I would assume those who apply for health care would have to produce some form of ID (Social Security card, green card, driver's license, etc.) or maybe a specially issued medical care ID card. So your theory is just more right-wing bullshit, isn't it?
I have to give you some credit, though -- using the bugbear of "freeloading illegal immigrants" is a new tactic. I guess the right wingers have decided that simply screaming "SOCIALISM! SOCIALISM!" isn't going to get the job done.
I guess the right wingers have decided that simply screaming "SOCIALISM! SOCIALISM!" isn't going to get the job done.
Give it time...
"What about having some mother fucker insurgent trying to kill you while you are defending your country in a war in a country where no one wants you?"
I've been scratching my head trying to make sense out of that one for the past 20 minutes.
"So one of you conservatives again tell me why we need a profit motive in the health care system? Any more than in something like municipal water? Or interstate highways?"
Everybody (except the real hard-core Ayn Rand-type libertarians) understands the public benefit in providing public education. But inexplicably, most people don't see the public benefit in providing public health care. I think this is due in part to the failure of advocates of health care reform to make the economic case for it. They try to play on sympathy, telling heart-wrenching stories about people who can't get care or go bankrupt trying to pay for care, but rarely talk about the economic costs in terms of lost productivity, lost lives and waste of health care dollars resulting from our ridiculously fucked-up "system."
I think we just went down the wrong road when we had companies providing health care benefits. Companies should pay salaries, not provide benefits.
Having said that, I am a bit skeptical about how well our gov't will do. If we end up with an agency like the IRS, god help us.
I also don't believe the comparisons about outcomes. We have a country that's just a lot different from the ones we compare to, including a huge urban poor underclass that brings down our stats. And a medical and drug technologies industry that we as a country subsidize to the benefit of all other countries.
No doubt to me that we need a change. At least need to mix things up some so that other countries have to bump up what they pay for the drugs we develop.
In Oregon, it is ILLEGAL for hospital emergency rooms to ask if you are a legal immigrant.
They are not allowed to deny treatment,even if no ID is produced.
Re: So, they will not pay anything into this system, but will get full benefits (paid by the suckers who work for a real paycheck.)
####
So I take it you don't have a problem with their employers not paying into the social security system? Or Medicare? Or fed and state taxes?
It's all the illegals fault?
On top of hbm's point about some sort if ID will be needed for care--you also seem to be forgetting that the illegals and the other 45-50 million currently uninsured only get care via the ER right now. And that is a very expensive way to provide care.
Health care is good for society, just like having clean water. They are very related, because without clean water you won't have good health.
Yet no one argues that we should only have private water supplies, instead of municipal supplies for everyone to access at a nominal cost, with private competition coming from bottled suppliers or whatever that one can buy if they want to and can afford to.
"In Oregon, it is ILLEGAL for hospital emergency rooms to ask if you are a legal immigrant."
Can they ask if you aren't an illegal immigrant
Expect the health bill to change significantly to pick up Blue Dog democrats... http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200907151403dowjonesdjonline000758&title=centrist-dem-leaderhas-committee-votes-to-block-health-bill
One aspect of socialized medicine.
About 5% of the population of the US are illegal immigrants.(States like Oregon, it is more like 10-15%).
They usually get paid in cash, under the table.
So, they will not pay anything into this system, but will get full benefits (paid by the suckers who work for a real paycheck.)
You're leaving out the part that the services those illegals provide are at LOWER COST, which saves YOU money. So yes they DO contribute.
Bolldoze the 'burbs?
July 16, 2009
The Honorable Charles B. Rangel
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. House of Representatives
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Rangel:
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association, I am writing to
express our appreciation and support for H.R. 3200, the "America’s Affordable Health
Choices Act of 2009." This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to
effective, comprehensive health system reform. We urge members of the House Education
and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees to favorably report
H.R. 3200 for consideration by the full House.
In particular, we are pleased that the bill:
• Promises to extend coverage to all Americans through health insurance market
reforms;
• Provides consumers with a choice of plans through a health insurance exchange;
• Includes essential health insurance reforms such as eliminating coverage denials
based on pre-existing conditions;
• Recognizes that fundamental Medicare reforms, including repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula, are essential to the success of broader health system reforms;
• Encourages chronic disease management and care coordination through additional funding for primary care services, without imposing offsetting payment reductions on specialty care;
• Addresses growing physician workforce concerns;
• Strengthens the Medicaid program;
• Requires individuals to have health insurance, and provides premium assistance to those who cannot afford it;
• Includes prevention and wellness initiatives designed to keep Americans healthy;
• Makes needed improvements to the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative that will enable greater participation by physicians; and
• Initiates significant payment and delivery reforms by encouraging participation in
new models such as accountable care organizations and the patient-centered medical home.
The AMA looks forward to further constructive dialogue during the committee mark-up
process. We pledge to work with the House committees and leadership to build support for
passage of health reform legislation to expand access to high quality, affordable health care
for all Americans.
This year, the AMA wants the debate in Washington to conclude with real, long overdue
results that will improve the health of America’s patients.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Maves, MD, MBA
####
Note that the bill states:
"Innovation and delivery reform through the public health insurance option. The public health insurance option will be empowered to implement innovative delivery reform initiatives so that it is a nimble purchaser of health care and gets more value for each health care dollar. It will expand upon the experiments put forth in Medicare and be provided the flexibility to implement value-based purchasing, accountable care organizations, medical homes, and bundled payments. These features will ensure the public option is a leader in efficient delivery of quality care, spurring competition with private plans."
So basically the bill is mandating innovation. That's so fucking special. I wish I was special.
"And these aren't traditional government "IOU's" (ie bonds), with a legally binding agreement to pay back the amounts, collateralized by some thing. No, these are just straight unsecured IOU's, like you'd get from your deadbeat brother."
___________________________________
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD AND SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ISSUE GUIDANCE ON CALIFORNIA REGISTERED WARRANTS
Sales and Trading of State’s IOUs are Subject to MSRB Rules for Municipal Securities
Alexandria, VA – The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued guidance that registered warrants, also known as IOUs, being issued by the State of California are municipal securities, which means that any person or entity acting as an intermediary for the purchase and sale of warrants may need to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, sales and trading activities relating to California’s registered warrants by securities firms and banks are subject to the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD AND SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ISSUE GUIDANCE ON CALIFORNIA REGISTERED WARRANTS
Sales and Trading of State’s IOUs are Subject to MSRB Rules for Municipal Securities
Dude, the MSRB is the Beavis & Butthead of securities regulators...
Uh huh huh huh uh huh huh Beavis and Butthead wuz like pure genuis dude.... Maybe there is help for the MSRB afterall.
A quick update on our friend Jack Elliot, whom somebody a while back cited as a sterling example of the excellent medical care offered here in Bend:
After a cortisone shot in his ankle that caused excruciating pain and forced him to spend his vacation in Spain in a wheelchair, he had surgery to fuse the ankle -- more weeks of excruciating pain. Then he developed an infection and they put him on oral antibiotics. Now it appears that the infection has gotten into the bone and he's on IV antibiotics and facing another surgery to try to clean the mess out. Who knows where this will lead. I just hope the poor SOB doesn't end up losing his leg.
I can't help but wondering whether proper antiseptic procedures were followed before, during and after surgery. Jack had the operation done at The Surgery Center, which (from my experience) is mainly interested in shuttling patients in and out the door as fast as possible to collect more money. I would NEVER have another surgery done there.
Like much else about Bend, we like to pretend that our medical care is just outstanding, but the ugly truth is it SUCKS. IMHO.
RE: So basically the bill is mandating innovation. That's so fucking special. I wish I was special.
####
Don't worry--the insurance industry is spending $1.4M/day of our premiums to make sure you won't receive innovation, especially that frightening public option thing.
That makes me feel even better if we were still sending in yet another $680 check while still paying off the deductible for an ER visit in January. I think it is a much better use of my money than paying for actual customer health care needs.
But then, since our insurance was a BC/BS group policy through the shop employing Trudy, we don't have that anymore...
I just read this morning that small biz (defined as <500 emps) employ 99% of those left employed. And are having the most trouble keeping employees insured because premiums continue to increase far beyond the rate of inflation. And because of that, between 2000 and 2007, the number of small biz still offering insurance benefits dropped from 68& to 59%. (Source)
The bankers (except for Goldman) got spanked, but the health insurance industry is continuing to fuck America in the ass. And, like hbm says, injured and sick people are not productive.
"I can't help but wondering whether proper antiseptic procedures were followed"
Actually this is becoming more common all over the U.S. The same thing happened to a guy in my office - surgery and then a nasty infection that was worse than the first thing. And he didn't get worked on near here.
The bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Bound to happen when millions of people (and animals) are given needless antibiotics (e.g., antibiotic handsoap). It's evolution of an organism in real time.
"Dude, the MSRB is the Beavis & Butthead of securities regulators..."
Nonsense. Plus, this was from the SEC and the MSRB. Further, the settled law in this area is perfectly clear, and has been for many decades.
Antibiotics are handed out even when the doctor isn't sure if an infection is bacterial or viral, and even when the infection would go away just as fast without the antibiotic. Why? Because patients whine.
Patients are notorious for discontinuing the antibiotic as soon as they feel well, allowing "somewhat" resistant bacteria to hang around and breed into entirely resistant bacteria.
We have a lot of bugs now that need to be treated with our final line of antibiotics. That means there's nowhere to go once these become resistant.
It's a real mess.
If you want to get worried, read about resistant bugs in the Russian prisons, where prisoners have been passing around diseases and almost all prisoners start, but don't finish, rounds of antibiotics.
The Russian prisons and Western hospitals are brewing superbugs for us all to enjoy.
"The bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics."
Yes. Which is why it's all the more important to observe basic sanitary precautions before and during surgery so the bugs don't get into the wound in the first place.
The large majority -- I believe somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% -- of post-surgical infections can be prevented by such routine measures.
I don't know what Jack is going to do but if I were him I would be making an appointment with a good malpractice lawyer ASAP.
"Antibiotics are handed out even when the doctor isn't sure if an infection is bacterial or viral, and even when the infection would go away just as fast without the antibiotic. Why? Because patients whine."
We also have the opposite problem -- doctors so indoctrinated against the unnecessary use of antibiotics that they fail to use them even when necessary.
I'll cite my own case as an example. In February 2008 my dentist discovered I had an abscess in one of my pre-molars (bicuspids). There had been no pain; it was an old root canal job that had "gone bad," as he put it. He referred me to a local endodontist to re-do the root canal, which I accordingly had done.
Now, when I went to see the endodontist I had an active bacterial infection above one of the teeth in my upper jaw. He knew this. There actually was a small channel or "sinus" in the gum from which pus was draining. (Sorry for the gruesome details). Before the procedure I specifically asked the endodontist if I should have an antibiotic. "No," he said, "I don't want the sinus to close up prematurely." Or some bullshit like that.
So he did the root canal and I started having pain around the tooth and above it, in the area of the left maxillary sinus. He went back in and did an "apiectomy," another gross procedure involving cutting away the end of the tooth root. Still no antibiotics prescribed.
By this time I had a nice infection going in my left maxillary sinus. I saw an ENT who put me on Augmentin. By then it was too late; the infection was entrenched, and soon spread into the other sinus cavities. In July I finally had the tooth pulled -- by my dentist, NOT by the quack endodontist -- but the sinus infection still wouldn't clear up. Finally in October I ended up having sinus surgery, which ultimately resolved the problem -- at the cost of months of pain and literally tens of thousands of dollars ... ALL of which likely could have been avoided with the timely administration of a broad-spectrum antibiotic.
I later did some research and found that it is SOP for endodontists to prescribe antibiotics for a week or more PRIOR to surgery if they're operating in an area with an active bacterial infection, precisely BECAUSE of the risk that the surgery will spread bacteria into the maxillary sinuses. I had TWO surgical procedures in the same area and the fucking incompetent witless son of a bitch still refused to prescribe an antibiotic.
I should have sued the idiot endodontist but I just wanted to put the whole fucking horror story behind me, so I contented myself with calling him up one afternoon and reaming his ass for about half an hour and hinting that I was thinking about suing him. Gave him at least one sleepless night, I hope.
Sorry for the long tale of woe but I wanted to show that there are two sides to this antibiotic question, and there are times when antibiotics ARE appropriate.
God, hbm, you just depressed the hell out of me.
"God, hbm, you just depressed the hell out of me."
Why? There are good endodontists around; I just had the bad luck to fall into the clutches of an imbecile.
Word of advice, though: If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, DEMAND that the endodontist prescribe an antibiotic before he starts cutting into your jaw. I didn't know any better then, but I sure as hell do now.
Bend goes from boom to bust, housing crisis at heart of the fall
BEND, Ore. (AP) - This city in Oregon's scenic high desert once had one of the nation's hottest economies. Resort developers, bankers, construction workers and luxury car dealers rushed for a piece of the action.
Now some locals call Bend "poverty with a view."
The county it anchors, Deschutes, shows some of the most serious recession pain in the land, as measured by The Associated Press Economic Stress Index.
The county ranked fourth this spring among American counties of more than 25,000 people in a measurement of the yearly rise in the AP index. The index measures unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies at the county level across the nation - the higher the index's number for a county, the worse the recession's impact.
continued
The population numbers are backward-looking. Let's see whether we have growth or loss in population numbers in next year's numbers.
Obama threatens to rip out hearts of Congressmen with his bare hands, ala Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090717/D99GETS80.html
Re: Word of advice, though: If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, DEMAND that the endodontist prescribe an antibiotic before he starts cutting into your jaw. I didn't know any better then, but I sure as hell do now.
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Or find someone else, who knows what he is doing.
How? Exactly.
Lack of info doesn't make a transparent market. Story of health care, period.
Re: Bend goes from boom to bust, housing crisis at heart of the fall
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Doesn't it make you sleep better knowing that those behind the boom have successfully gained control of City Hall?
And they are led by a cheerleader with an IQ just above room temp?
Along with a guy they voted in who didn't even run?
That's why I left.
Good luck.
Deschutes County is on the cusp of besting last years NODs, a record of 1958. 1903 and counting...
But then there a more than a few around here, too. Read an article blaming the local marry early and pump kids out routine blaming it.
"Doesn't it make you sleep better knowing that those behind the boom have successfully gained control of City Hall?
And they are led by a cheerleader with an IQ just above room temp?
Along with a guy they voted in who didn't even run?
That's why I left."
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I totally relate! I left because I was less than completely impressed with the guy the city hired to empty the trash cans in Drake Park. I'm never going back!
Re: I totally relate! I left because I was less than completely impressed with the guy the city hired to empty the trash cans in Drake Park. I'm never going back!
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So you have as much concern about a Drake Park maintenance guy as you do about those spending hundreds of millions of your and others tax dollars.
You are why Bend will never be more than a pretty stop on the drive. Got nothing but more empty houses to offer.
I would love to come back, and probably will, for a visit.
"Lack of info doesn't make a transparent market. Story of health care, period."
Very true. You have no way of knowing which health care providers are competent, other than word of mouth.
Ask your physician or dentist? Forget it. EVERY doctor will tell you EVERY other doctor is the greatest since Hippocrates. It's professional courtesy.
Best advice I can give is to research your problem BEFORE you go in for treatment so you have some idea what the state of the art and standards of practice are. That approach has its limitations but it's better than nothing.
OSU is moving it's entire School of Education to Bend. Corvallis will still have a Bachelor's program, but if you want a graduate degree in teaching, you gotta come here.
"OSU is moving it's entire School of Education to Bend. Corvallis will still have a Bachelor's program, but if you want a graduate degree in teaching, you gotta come here."
No offense, Bendites, but this seems like a mistake (in case you can't tell, I'm not from there).
I don't know why OSU is doing this -- other than it's clear that they don't want to give up on the Bend campus.
From the grapevine I hear that there are hardly any students there. They won't even give us an honest number as to the number of students enrolled at OSU-Cascades. Part-timers counted as full-timers, etc.
Oh well, heaven knows Bend needs the stimulous. Good for you.
School is moving to Bend, to get rid of dead wood.
When you take over managing a business, and can't fire large numbers of dead wood employees, because of unions, MOVE the business. Half of the workers will not move.
If that does not do the trick, move it again, and half of those will not move.
This is all because of unions, who protect the lazy, the incompetant, and the dregs.
This is all because of unions, who protect the lazy, the incompetant, and the dregs.
AMEN
Steph continues to post on my JR blog, defending dad.
http://tinyurl.com/kvhmm9
I reminded her of their last newsletter, stating that exchange funds were being held in FDIC-insured funds.
Which was a lie.
HBM: "I should have sued the idiot endodontist but I just wanted to put the whole fucking horror story behind me, so I contented myself with calling him up one afternoon and reaming his ass for about half an hour and hinting that I was thinking about suing him. Gave him at least one sleepless night, I hope."
BP: "I should have sued the idiot City Council but I just wanted to put the whole fucking horror story behind me, so I contented myself with calling up one council member one afternoon and reaming his ass for about half an hour and hinting that I was thinking about filing a complaint to the Ethics Commission. Gave him at least one sleepless night, I hope."
Did BP really leave?
Or just change his initials to HBM?
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