May 2009 Archives

You can’t serve patience, optimism, irony or principles for dinner, but they’ll help get you through these hard times. 

Right now, my family is in a place of financial recovery, much like the country. Things haven’t been going according to plan lately and there’s a lot to sort out. Recovery is a process, often a slow and painful one. While I am not prepared financially for such things, I am prepared mentally to fight for what I believe are the right choices for my family.

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Very few things captivate Southern Californians like the topic of real estate.  California has lived through previous housing bubbles but nothing like the size of the current housing boom and bust.  Let us look at a few key points.  The median price for a home in Southern California in February of 2000 was $197,000.  At the peak of the housing bubble, a Southern California home was going for $505,000.  The current median price?  Try $247,000.

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There are several dilemmas you encounter when doing a story about California real estate.  First off, though everyone agrees we’re in a “bust” phase in our housing cycle, the effects of this particular bust are all over the place, with no discernible connection between sales figures in Riverside versus Orange County, or home prices in Culver City versus Malibu.  Second, it’s a story that almost everyone has a vested stake in … the people in front of the camera, behind the camera, to the side of the camera.  You may have bought your home at the high end of the market, and see only grief ahead.  Or you’re trying to sell to sell a second home, and are worried that you’re going to take a huge loss.  Or you’re an academic expert who’s used their insider knowledge to buy various properties all across town.  In other words …  this is one story with no discernible, disinterested party.  Everyone brings a whole lot of personal and financial baggage to this particular table, and it showed how each of us approached and reacted to the story.   

On top of that was the endless stream of anecdotal observations we kept hearing.  You’d confirm that there’s been a 50 percent drop in southern California home prices.  Then someone would tell me that that couldn’t be true because their neighbors just sold their home for more than the asking price.  Next I’d read a report about the glut of unsold homes in this market … only to have someone question me about this because they’d been unsuccessfully looking for a house to buy.  Every fact and figure and statistic we came up with had a dozen anecdotes that seemed to contradict it.  Some of the answers to this paradox can hopefully be found in this week’s SoCal Connected piece, and in the blog posting by Burt Slusher.  The rest can be explained by pointing out that this housing bubble we just went through was the biggest, baddest one ever in California history … so it shouldn’t be surprising that the aftermath is more than a bit messy and surreal. 

Is it time to buy? Have prices hit bottom yet? When do you think the market will start to recover? Share your thoughts on the real estate market, and your stories of buying and selling, foreclosing and starting over.

The Web Team revisits the North HIlls' family trying to live their California dream in the midst of the recession. The Maxwells consider themselves a typical middle class family, even though mom, Nikki, and dad, Bill, haven’t had steady work for months.

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California, I may want a divorce. From everyone. Voters, the Governor, legislature... splitsville.

For years, the Los Angeles beachside community of Venice has been a magnet for the so-called "vehicular homeless." These are people who park in residential and commercial neighborhoods and live long term in their recreational vehicles, vans and cars. The motor-homeless say they have no place else to go and only want to be left alone. But many Venice residents contend the vehicle dwellers are turning their community into skidrow by the sea.

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Home sales are up … prices are down … mortgage rates rock-bottom. By most historical measures, this looks like the ideal time to take the plunge and buy a house in southern California.

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Watch the full episode.

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Watch Val's complete chat with teen sailor Zac Sunderland following his travels through the Panama Canal.

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An update with teen sailor Zac Sunderland following his travels through the Panama Canal.

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Would YOU be willing to pay more for private fire protection? Is that fair to the people who can't afford it?

Is it time to buy?

Last fall, Vicki Curry and I - along with correspondent Judy Muller - reported on the new phenomenon of ‘firefighters for hire ’ - for a segment we called “Fire, Inc.” These are private companies - generally staffed by a mix of entrepreneurs and retired fire professionals - that sell fire prevention services to individual homeowners, or work through insurance companies like Chubb. If you watched that segment (and it’ll be re-broadcast this week), you’ll know that their primary service involves spreading a fire retardant gel or foam over a client’s house if it’s determined that that home is vulnerable to an oncoming wildfire. Obviously, these private companies want to get in, do their job and get out of the fire zone before the evacuation order is sounded.

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Homeowners are turning to a new breed of private firefighting services.

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Do you think there should be a crackdown on clinics, or do you think marijuana should be legalized? Share your take with us.

Recently retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray is on a crusade.

You might think a conservative judge from a conservative county would advocate for the prohibition of marijuana, but - based on his experiences - he is adamantly pro legalization.

Witnessing first hand what he calls the utter failure of our current policies of drug prohibition - marijuana in particular - he cites unnecessary prison growth, increased taxes, increased crime and corruption, and loss of civil liberties as the unhealthy side effects of an anemic policy in need of drastic reform.

Here he shares with correspondent Judy Muller why he thinks our current drug laws are ineffective:

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There are now more medical marijuana clinics in the city of Los Angeles than there are Starbucks. It may seem surprising until you take a closer look at how LA’s city leaders have handled the regulation of these dispensaries.

Since the passage of Prop 215 in 1996, Los Angeles has had an open door policy when it comes to medical marijuana dispensaries. And while many we spoke with applaud and support marijuana for medicinal purposes - and even for recreational reasons - most are upset at the lack of zoning laws when it comes to the dispensaries. It’s now easier to open a medical marijuana facility than it is a nail salon or a yogurt shop. That’s upsetting residents who are seeing 5 and 6 clinics on one stretch of a boulevard. City leaders seem to recognize the need for zoning of the dispensaries, but seem to be unable to pass and enforce such laws. Now, with an estimated five hundred clinics in the city, many are wondering if those clinics will be grandfathered in when and if the new law is passed.

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Is graffiti vandalism or art?  At the same time as law enforcement imposes harsher penalties on graffiti writers, the fine art world and corporate America are embracing them.

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The 15 Los Angeles council members earn $178,789 a year - about $80,000 more than their counterparts in more expensive San Francisco and New York. And way more than the Miami City Council whose part-time pay is just $6,000 a year. At nearly $180,000 a year our council members - public servants as they are called - earn 400% more than the average Angeleno. In no other city could we find as big a disparity.

Jill Stewart is the Deputy Editor of News at LA Weekly.

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Bryan Ordaz, Joanna Alatorre, and Damon Horton

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Bryan writes:

Hello KCET,

It's me Bryan. I just wanted to talk a little about I feel and how I have been ever since I met you guys and my experience throughout the year at Locke High.

My experience being a part of the documentary was eye opening. I was a little shy at first because I wasn't used to having to deal with cameras following me around at school. However, it didn't take long before I overcame the shyness and the embarrassment of being on TV.

I loved the way the final product turned out. Friends and family even cried after seeing it on TV. I guess they were so touched by the documentary that is drove them to tears. It has been a great experience that I know I will remember even when I get older.

My experience at Locke under the new Green Dot system has been good. I feel that this year compared to previous years has been night and day. I say that because the students seem to actually want to learn and pay attention at school. Yeah, there are classes that I struggle with, but I know that no matter what the NEW Locke is going to make history. Teachers care about the students and to educate them, while students have a new perspective toward school. They want to learn and set goals for themselves. It has been a good year!

Bryan

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Joanna writes:

Dear KCET,

These past couple of months participating in the So Cal Connected documentary of Inside Locke High & Return to Locke High has been both inspiring to me and my friends.  It was inspiring to me because this documentary gave me the motivation to keep moving in my life.  It made me realize that there are other students out there just like me that have given up and some that haven't.  So realizing that, I asked myself, "Why am I going to give up?"  I am not only going strong for myself, but for my family too.

Thank You,

JOJO

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Damon writes:

Dear KCET,

Basically, my experience with KCET has been great. The documentary hasn't only helped me, but it has helped my family. I think it is the same for Bryan and JoJo. The changes that Green Dot made at Locke High School took some time to get used to. To tell you the truth I'm still getting used to it. At the end of the day, there are less fights amongst students and it seems that the students are learning and actually wanting to learn! So, I guess it is good for all of us. I want to thank Green Dot and KCET for everything.

Damon

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Judy Muller investigates charges that L.A. has become “the Mecca for medical marijuana dispensaries” with local residents blaming city officials for “pot clinics gone wild.” 

Talk about a guy who likes a tough challenge. Steve Barr, the founder and chairman of Green Dot Public Schools says he can take the worst-performing campuses in Los Angeles and put them on the path toward academic excellence. We talk to Barr about taming L.A.’s blackboard jungle.

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No one expected much from Locke High at the L.A. Unified School District’s band competition. After all, they’re just a so-so school in Watts.

But they have a couple of tricks up their band uniforms.

They’re playing complicated Stephen Sondheim music from “Sweeney Todd.” The band director is an inspirational taskmaster. And the kids are determined to prove that their school is as good as any other school anywhere.

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Locke High School sits in the center of rival gang territory in Watts. Fights. Graffiti. Truancy. Apathy. All daily occurrences at the notorious, sprawling campus where students were more likely to drop out than graduate.

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Val Zavala talks with Zac Sunderland, the 17-year-old Southern California teenager on a solo sailing journey around the world. After last week's story we checked in with Zac via webcam to see how he's doing. The Caribbean was supposed to be easy sailing. And it was -- until he was hit by a 30-foot rogue wave.

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I did a webcam interview with Zac Sunderland who is sailing around the world solo, hoping to set a record as the youngest person to do that. Here are some bites that didn't make it on air.

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Here in Hollywood/ Los Feliz we have the nation's biggest hospital. This $600 million Kaiser Medical Center  opened in March. It is completely computerized, with electronic records, state-of-the-art equipment and spacious design.

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