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Former Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club GM Nordstrom Lands on Feet at Payson, Ariz. Rim Golf Club
Nordstrom brings a wealth of private club experience to The Rim Golf Club. His well-versed skillsets are highlighted with over two decades of club management of experience and additionally, over twenty-two years of experience in food and beverage/restaurant management. Prior to joining The Rim Club, Nordstrom recently served as the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, a club consistently rated as one of the top twenty five golf courses in California and regarded as the top course in San Diego County. From 1995 through 2000, Nordstrom served as the General Manager at San Diego Country Club, a member-owned club that has hosted US Women's Open and is the home course of the legendary champion Billy Casper.
Nordstrom is no stranger to the Arizona golf scene, having served as the clubhouse manager at Moon Valley Country Club from 1989 through 1995, where he oversaw the annual LPGA Standard Register/PING tournament with over 160,000 spectators and day to day clubhouse management for this Phoenix club and its 850 members. He also has over two decades of stand alone restaurant management, serving as the General Manager of Karsten Fine Dining in Suquamish, Washington (1988 to 1989) and was the owner/operator of Ferguson's restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona (1967 to 1988). "It is fitting that we have a leader of this quality and skillset at a club such as The Rim Golf Club," stated Doc Belitz, Vice President of Operations for OB Sports (management company at the Rim Golf Club. "Steve not only brings a ton of private club experience from a number of prestigious clubs, but he brings culinary and dining experience that will take our event and food and beverage atmosphere and execution at The Rim, to the next level." About The Rim Golf Club: For more information about The Rim Golf Club visit www.therimgolfclub.com or call (928) 472.1480. The Rim Golf Club is professionally managed by Scottsdale-based OB Sports Golf Management. OB Sports is a diversified, golf-oriented company with a long history of success that currently manages 45 premier golf courses and country clubs throughout the United States. Known for its comprehensive and personalized services since 1972, OB Sports has become widely acclaimed as the leader in boutique-style golf course management. For more information on OB Sports, visit www.obsports.com, call 480-948-1300. You can also "Like" OB Sports on Facebook at www.facebook.com/obsports, follow OB Sports on Twitter: www.twitter.com/obsportsgolf or view the OB Sports You Tube Channel at www.youtube.com/obsportsgolf. San Diego Sheriff's crime report for 9/9/2011 - 9/15/2011: 33 local crimes found...
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego Follow the link above to view the entire mapping tool...
July Real Estate Sales Not So Hot:Rancho Santa Fe Down 26.7 Pct. Solana Beach Down 71 Pct...
Prospective homebuyers in July worried about national and international economic problems, from a potential U.S. government default to European debt to high unemployment, real estate agents said. Buyers who did enter the market bid low on houses attempting to score deals. Meanwhile, some sellers decided to wait it out for better prices. Yet others decided to rent their houses instead of selling. But it all added up to a historically slow July. "It was rough," said Fred Bradley, a Rancho Penasquitos broker. "July isn't supposed to be rough, but it was." The 721 houses sold in July in North County were the fewest since 1984, down 11 percent from June and 8.7 percent from last July. Rancho Penasquitos, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe and Carmel Valley sold 35 percent fewer homes in July than in July 2010. Normally, summer is a real estate agent's busiest season as people try to make purchases and move before school starts. The median price fell to $425,000, down 5.3 percent from June and 7.6 percent from July 2010, according to the assessor records. "I think there's a lot of folks right now that are really concerned about the global economy," said Brian Westre, a Rancho Bernardo broker. "Anytime markets are rocked, they start to worry about their own job."
Overall, North County foreclosures in the first half of the year are at their lowest since 2007; mortgage interest rates are well under 5 percent; and the median price of $425,000 is at the same level it was in 2002, or 33 percent off its 2007 peak. But prices may be too high for local buyers: Many tried to get deals with low offers.
"The buyers, by and large, are waiting for prices to go down, and sellers are waiting for prices to go up," Bradley said. "We're stuck in the middle." Some sellers are choosing to rent their houses instead of selling. The house rental market is hot, as credit-troubled residents still need somewhere to live. "Rents are pretty good. A lot of people are renting their property out; if they have the equity, they do it," said Sharon Johnston Mead, a Vista broker. "I'm not having any trouble renting mine, knock on wood." BREAKING NEWS 4:30 P.M. - WONDERING ABOUT I-5 TRAFFIC HASSLES IN NORTH COUNTY SAN DIEGO, CALIF. HERE ARE A FEW REASONS WHY.
A series of small fires charred brush along northbound Interstate 5 near Manchester Avenue on Monday afternoon, casting clouds of smoke over the freeway and forcing authorities to close a lane briefly as firefighters doused the blazes. Firefighters responded to reports of three or four small fires burning on a hill near the freeway about 2:30 p.m., a NorthComm dispatcher said.
Fire causes were not immediately known. Also holding up traffic was this accident, according to CHP:
Scenes from a San Diego County Wildland Training Exercise at Lake Hodges, Calif. DAY 2..
A little rain didn't dampen the spirits of hundreds of firefighters from 28 San Diego County fire agencies on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 as they concluded annual wildland training at Lake Hodges, Calif.
And for some bonus coverage...
...Dial it up. Fire training exercise over, the lake re-opens to fishing on Wednesday. PLUS BONUS COVERAGE OF 'THE ACCIDENT' AT THE LAKE...Featuring the Del Dios Bicycle Players.
As fortune - bad - would have it, a bicyclist suffered a fall at the right place with hundreds of EMTs around.
So, as an added busines we bring your photos from 'The Accident' as well.
Last but least, the lake as it stands Monday, May 16, 2011
Enjoy? MORE WILDLAND TRAINING FROM LAKE HODGES, DEL DIOS, CALIF...
Like I was saying, its the annual Wildland Training Day at Lake Hodges and about 100 engine companies along with numerous batallion chiefs and firefighting apparatus, and about a half-dozen fire suppression non-stealth helicopters trained all day Monday at the lake.
They came from every firefighting agency in San Diego County for the hootenanny at the lake.
It was a fun day for all what with seminars, hands-on training and well, sitting around in fire engines all day. Warning: Arsonists Beware, Stay Away from Lake Hodges Monday for the Lake is Fire-Training or Something...
All of San Diego County's fire agencies turned out in force on Monday for the annual meeting of the clans. Well, the annual wildfire exercise. And what place more appropriate than at the Del Dios Fire Station and Lake Hodges where the 2007 Witch Creek Fire was brought to its knees and vanquished.
Agencies, along with all available firefighting helcopters, spent the day doing stuff around the lake. This included wildfire training seminars at the station as well as hands-on fire suppression and safety drills at the lake. Anyone who was stranded around Lake Hodges due to, I dunno, having a crappy Toyota RAV 4 transmission, were just plain out of luck, but we digress...
....Enjoy! San Diego Sheriff's crime report for 5/9/2011 - 5/15/2011: 11 local crimes found...
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego For more information, follow the mapping tool above....
BREAKING NEWS 1 P.M. -- Fire at Cielo Village closes Del Dios Highway at 1 p.m. Friday; Re-opens an hour and a half later...
Crews knocked down a brush fire that broke out near Cielo Village. The fire was reported shortly after 12:45 p.m. in an area near Del Dios Highway and Bing Crosby Boulevard, according to Cal Fire. Small, separate fires also broke out in the area. Authorities said the fires were apparently sparked by a passing vehicle with a malfunctioning exhaust or brake system. Below is the real-time CHP SigAlert report brought to you real-time ONLY at Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News...
Predator in Print: MainStreet Media Snarls at Two Local Papers. The Review vs. Coast News and San Diego Community News. Alleged shakedowns, threats...
On Valentine’s Day, Anthony Allegretti, president of MainStreet Media Group, a company that publishes eight community newspapers in San Diego County, wrote letters to two fellow publishers. One went to Jim Kydd, owner of the Coast News Group, which publishes the Coast News and Rancho Santa Fe News, and the other to Julie Hoisington, owner of the San Diego Community Newspaper Group, which publishes the La Jolla Village News, Beach and Bay Press, Peninsula Beacon, and San Diego Downtown News. Despite the date, the letters expressed no adoring praise. Instead, each missive consisted of two letters and 28 pages of material downloaded from the legal website Lexis. “Your newspaper, the Rancho Santa Fe News, has violated the law through below cost selling,” read the cover letter to Jim Kydd. “The Rancho Santa Fe News has caused the Rancho Santa Fe Review to lose sales and profits of no less than $300,000 during 2010.” Allegretti claimed that Kydd’s publication, theRancho Santa Fe News, was violating California’s Unfair Practices Act by undercharging for advertising. “According to California Law, the Rancho Santa Fe Review is entitled to injunctive relief awards of no less than three times the amount of actual damages, or $900,000 plus attorney fees,” read the letter. “If the below cost selling of advertising does not cease by March 15, 2011, MainStreet Communications will instruct its attorneys to commence drafting a lawsuit. Once that process begins, MainStreet Communications will not settle until the court has ruled.” The second letter to Kydd included the statement: “MainStreet’s attorneys estimate that to take this matter thru trial will cost up to $2,000,000.” 
Julie Hoisington’s (Picture, left) letters were nearly identical. In his cover letter to Hoisington, Allegretti claimed that she was selling below-cost ads in the La Jolla Village News, which was hurting advertising revenues at MainStreet’s paper, the La Jolla Light. The letters are the latest skirmish in what has been an ongoing clash between Allegretti and local competitors, one that started shortly after Allegretti’s company, MainStreet Media, ventured south in 2004 from its Gilroy, California headquarters and began buying community papers in San Diego County. “I’m sure this is a scare tactic that he’s probably tried before,” Kydd says from a narrow cubicle inside Coast News Group offices. Kydd, who started his paper in 1986 out of the garage in his Encinitas home, is not bashful in showing his contempt for Allegretti. “He knows some papers are hurting and now is the time to push them out. But I won’t be bullied.” According to the display-ad rates at each paper, both Hoisington and Kydd charge less than their MainStreet competitors. They say they can because their overhead is lower than MainStreet’s and it costs less to run their businesses. The price for one full-page black-and-white ad in Hoisington’s La Jolla Village News is $1480 for one week or $1101 per week for 26 weeks. In Allegretti’s La Jolla Light, the same ad costs $2420 for one week or $1950 per week for 26 weeks. 
In Kydd’s Rancho Santa Fe News, a full-page black-and-white ad costs $1305 for one week, $810 per week for 26 weeks. In Allegretti’s Rancho Santa Fe Review, the ad costs $1315 and $1035, respectively. Although Kydd (pictured left) and Hoisington consider Allegretti’s letters just another attempt to corner the community-newspaper market in San Diego County, both fear that he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. In fact, Allegretti has a long history of buying community newspapers. From 1989 to 2000, he grew the Independent Media Group, where he was chief executive, from 4 daily newspapers to 44 publications throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. In 2000, those papers were sold, and Allegretti moved west to California’s Central Valley to run Pacific-Sierra Publishing, where he continued to buy small daily and weekly newspapers. Four years after arriving in California, Allegretti and his senior vice president, Steve Staloch, along with investors, bought out Pacific-Sierra and formed MainStreet Media Group, acquiring the La Jolla Light in the process. Now, seven years later, with backing from Brookside Capital Partners Management out of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Housatonic Partners, MainStreet Media Group has grown from 8 publications to 17. The company owns the La Jolla Light, Del Mar Times, Solana Beach Sun, Ramona Sentinel, Poway News Chieftain, Rancho Bernardo News Journal, Rancho Santa Fe Review, and Carmel Valley News. In 2009, the company acquired three competing newspapers in Del Mar, Carmel Valley, and Rancho Santa Fe and began calling its San Diego operations MainStreet Communications.
“I knew he was going to come into town and try and buy everyone out. This letter,” Kydd holds it up, “is a scare tactic so that he can buy my paper and have a monopoly. He wanted to buy me out, but I told him no, not for any price.” Inside San Diego Community Newspaper Group’s offices near the corner of Cass Street and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, Hoisington, who started publishing the Beach and Bay Press in 1988 and the La Jolla Village News in 1993, talks about her experience with Allegretti since he took over the La Jolla Light.Hoisington says that she has received letters from Allegretti in the past. And on two occasions, he offered to buy the La Jolla Village News. “He threw me a ridiculously insulting offer a few years ago, after I received the first letter. This time, we met, and I told him he was a bully, but if he really wanted me out, then make me a fair offer. I gave a number. He followed with a letter of intent with some ridiculous conditions attached,” she says. “I have no problem with competition in the marketplace. But since Allegretti and the MainStreet Media Group took over, there’s been a different type of competitiveness.” Hoisington adds, “We are the real local community newspapers. We’ve raised our children in the community, and we run our business here. But my concern is that they are a corporation with investors and money in the bank. I don’t have deep pockets to go through some lawsuit. I am concerned that I might have to play the legal game.” In his letters to Hoisington and Kydd, Allegretti referred to a 2008 predatory-pricing court case, Bay Guardian Company vs. New Times Media, LLC. TheBay Guardian newspaper was awarded $21 million in damages after a jury found the Guardian’s rival alternative newspaper, the SF Weekly, guilty of underpricing ads with the intent to drive the Guardian out of business. In that case, the Guardian presented evidence that shortly after New Times Media acquired the SF Weekly, a corporate executive told Weekly staff that New Times “would make the Weekly ‘the only game in town’ by subsidizing aggressive advertising sales,” according to a November 24, 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Allegretti warned Hoisington and Kydd that he has been in contact with the same legal team that represented the Guardian. However, “It is only predatory pricing if the price reduction is implemented for the purpose of driving a competitor out of business,” says Richard Spirra, who practices media law in San Diego. “There are legally permissible reasons for a newspaper, or any other business, to cut the price it charges customers to below the company’s cost of producing its product. For example, a company may offer a significant discount to new customers to generate new business.” Predatory pricing cases are difficult to prove, says Spirra. “Under the applicable California law, if the defendant company’s owner or employees testify that the company had a valid reason for reducing its prices, the plaintiff must convince the jury that the company’s real reason for decreasing prices was to drive the plaintiff out of business. This is difficult because, in most cases, it is unlikely that an employee of the company will admit, or that there will be notes or memos that state, that the purpose of the price reduction was to drive a competitor out of business.” Hoisington and Kydd say that the antitrust laws Allegretti cites are meant to protect small businesses like their own from large ones like MainStreet, not the other way around. Jeffrey Shohet, who practices antitrust and complex business litigation in San Diego for DLA Piper, agrees. “Predatory price litigation is typically a remedy for the smaller competitor to challenge the pricing practices of its more dominant rivals. Typically, the predatory ‘pricer’ is the larger company with resources to price below its cost and outlast its smaller rivals who cannot match such low prices for very long.” Tracy Pendergast publishes the luxury real estate magazine San Diego Premier Properties and Lifestyles. In December 2009, MainStreet Communications acquired part of Premier. One year later, frustrated by Allegretti’s business tactics, Pendergast decided to buy Premier back. I called her office to ask about her experience with Allegretti. “During our publisher meetings, he would make comments about sending letters to his competitors for selling ads below cost. He said that, technically, papers only needed to sell one page below cost to violate the law.” Asked to comment, Allegretti stated by email, “This is a legal matter and I have no comment on pending legal matters.” Steve Staloch, vice president of MainStreet, Joe Niehaus of Housatonic Partners, and Donald Hawks of Brookside Capital Partners Management also refused to comment. San Diego Sheriff's crime report for Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 4/12/2011 - 4/18/2011: 10 local crimes found.
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego For more information, follow the mapping tool above...
FREE MONEY AT MISSION FEDERAL CREDIT UNION SOLANA BEACH, CALIF.? NOPE but thief got away with $3K...
A man wearing a black bandanna over his face robbed a Mission Federal Credit Union branch around 11 a.m. today, Wednesday in the 900 block of Loma Santa Fe at Solana Beach. The suspect was described as a black man in his mid-30s who was wearing a black baseball cap, a black leather jacket, and a black bandana over his face, San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Jim Walker said. The man had his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, but no weapon was seen, Walker said. No vehicle was seen as the man fled on foot with an estimated $3,000. He was last seen on foot, heading toward the Vons market in the Lomas Santa Fe Plaza shopping center, Walker said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Department's at 858-565-5200. Moose No Longer Loose So Get Off Our Cloud and Return Those Damn Bronze and Iron Sculptures...OH THE HUMANITY STOP THESE HORRIBLE THEFT AND RETURN INCIDENTS!!!
Anybody around Rancho Santa Fe missing a giant outdoor bronze horse statue estinated to be worth $4,000? How about somebody at Solana Beach missing a cast-iron statue of undescribed nature estimated at $6,250? You're not exactly in luck, but have no fear, sort of, the San Diego Sheriffs Department is on the case. Those tributes to the bronze and iron ages are being sought as a result of the mother lode of the entire set, a 600-pound bronze moose, suddenly showing up back at its pre-stolen home on the southwestern outskirts of Ramona. A woman who had read a newspaper article about the statue's theft was visiting a popular equestrian area at Dye Road and Southern Oak Road in Ramona lnear sunset ast week and spotted the at-large moose, said Sgt. Christina Bavencoff of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The woman said she left the area for abut two hours. when she returned, lo-and-behold a 600-pound bronze moose at the same spot staring at her in a vacant field, according to Bavencoff. "Sometime between 7 and 9 at night, a truck or a van or something probably pulled in to dump it off there," Bavencoff said. "Everybody's pretty much just baffled." The moose vanished from a Ramona home in late February, and more than 17 other statues also had been stolen in recent months across the North County region. Among those were a cast-iron statue worth $6,250 stolen from its Solana Beach owner and a bronze horse statue worth $4,000 stolen from someone in Rancho Santa Fe.
Most of the thefts occurred within the last six months, she said. Bavencoff said she had no idea whether the statues were being sold or scrapped or smuggled across the Mexican border. However, she urged residents to be careful; while many of the statues were stolen from front yards, some were taken from backyards. Such an invasion could lead to violent confrontations between the thieves and surprised residents, she said. Anyone with any information about how the moose traveled to the vacant field ---- or tips about any other statue theft ---- is asked to call the San Diego County Sheriff's Department at 858-565-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. San Diego Sheriff's crime report for Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. and area 3/30/2011 - 4/5/2011: Seven local crimes found...
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego For more information, follow the mapping tool above....
Selected North County crime notes from police and sheriff’s reports for March: SOLANA BEACH: Tidewater Tavern on North Coast Highway 101 was vandalized $500 in damage between 5:15 and 7:30 a.m. March 29. SOLANA BEACH: A thief stole a $750 cellphone and $100 of electronic equipment from a 27-year-old man between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. March 21 on Cedros Avenue. SOLANA BEACH: A 31-year-old man was kidnapped and his car was stolen and recovered at 10:55 p.m. March 23 on Lomas Santa Fe Drive. DEL MAR: A juvenile was arrested for vandalizing city property and possessing spray paint and marijuana on Camino Del Mar at 27th street, 4:27 p.m. March 27. DEL MAR: An 18-year-old man was arrested after burglarizing a vehicle on Stratford Court between 2:45 and 2:48 a.m. March 26. Deputies recovered the $165 in electronics he stole from the car. DEL MAR: A 53-year-old man suffered major injuries after fighting another 53-year-old male transient at 12:50 p.m. March 25 on 14th street. Breaking news 3 p.m. - Get ready, get set, STOP on Interstate 5 around Del Mar for a spell longer due to a collision just north of Birmingham Drive...
Yeah, it's Friday, so you know what that means. TRAFFIC HASSLE bleepin' so-and-so commute north. That's a real-time Caltrans photo of what's going on there so either avoid getting on Interstate 5 or else. Considering traffic gets insane after 3 p.m. on Friday, this accident made it worse. The scene was cleared in an hour. Traffic is proceeding at around 15 miles per hour, or slower, from the Highway 56 merge at Carmel Valley north through Lomas Santa Fe. So, that's the April Fools Kommute Killer for now. Expect tough going through early evening.
Sorry to report, but that's the way it goes, April Fools Friday. Don't say you weren't warned.
OH THE HUMANITY!!! Dump truck Ditches Del Dios Highway, Calif. Morning Rush Hour Traffic...
Just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 31, and just in time for morning rush hour, a dump truck overturned on Del Dios Highway near Lake Hodges Dam, Ranch Santa Fe firefighters said. Maybe, the dump truck driver was watching the waterfalls continuing at the dam. Maybe, those stinking dump trucks shouldn't be allowed on narrow, two-lane Del Dios Highway where they spew pollution, clog up traffic and, yes, even overturn and truly turn the highway into a nightmare, especially at rush hour. But we digress. Del Dios Highway was CLOSED, closed we tell ya, from 8 to 9 a.m. so a lot of people didn't get to -- Maynard G. Krebs voice, please -- "work". But gee whiz, no injuries, so that's, er, nice, we guess. The dastardly dump truck -- its ownership not revealed -- had been towing a small flatbed trailer with a tractor. That's just the worst kind of traffic possible on the misnamed highway because these stinking trucks and trailer go like 30 miles per hour under the speed limit. They also don't turn off when a long line of vehicles is behind them and technically, the law says it's illegal to drive with five vehicles, or more, in the rear.
ANYWAY, Firefighters found the truck and erstwhile trailer lying on its side on the guard rail along the lane headed from Rancho Santa Fe to Del Dios.
Taxpayer dollars came to work then. Aside from the Rancho Santa Fe Fire engine company and San Diego Medical Services ambulance and crew, San Diego County Department of Public Works employees cleaned up the road while California Highway Patrol officers told people they couldn't drive anywhere. The accident remains under investigation with no charges filed as yet, said Julie Taber, Rancho Santa Fe Fire spokesperson. Oh, the humanity! (By the way, photo below, the waterfall event is coming to a close at Lake Hodges Dam where the one month-long attraction was enjoyed by one and all.)
San Diego Sheriff's crime report for 3/21/2011 - 3/27/2011: 16 local crimes found
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego For more information, follow the mapping tool above...
San Diego Sheriff's crime report for 3/14/2011 - 3/20/2011: 10 local crimes found...
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/region/northcountysandiego For more information, follow the mapping tool above....
Breaking news 4 p.m. -- It's Friday, why is stuff always happening to make traffic worse? Just some kind of bad moon rising, or doublemoon or whatever you calls it. A vehicle fire just past Via de la Valle at Interstate 5 around 3:30 p.m. reduced already slowing Friday p.m. drive-times to a robust 15 to 20 miles per hour from Del Mar Heights Road north to Santa Fe Drive, Encinitas. Don't expect to hit 60 mph until just before Carlsbad where it then slows down again before the Highway 78 interchange.
Other worries earlier this afternoon included a hit-and-run accident at Carmel Valley Road by the freeway exchanges. For CHP details on each hassle, see below:
Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Del Mar home prices drop 16 to 37 percent in February, North San Diego County Realtors Association says...
Rancho Santa Fe median home prices dropped 16 percent on February compared to February 2010, leveling out at $1.85 million for 11 home sales. Median sales prices over the same period dropped 20 percent to $1.12 million for four homes sold at Solana Beach and 37 percent for 11 homes averaging $1.32 million at Del Mar. Those figures were supplied Friday by the North San Diego County Association of Realtors.
"The HomDex affordability percentage for all homes in North San Diego County – single-family detached and single-family attached together – decreased to 38 percent in February 2011 from 40 percent in January 2011," association analysts said. "Median days-on-market for single-family detached homes in North County increased slightly from 68 days in January 2011 to 69 days in February 2011." Freddie Mac’s national average commitment rate rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.95 percent in February 2011 compared to 4.99 percent in February 2010. The number of sales also dropped, as buyers fell out of escrow after trouble getting loans, real estate agents said.
Inventories swelled, as sellers tried to unload their homes for less than they owed in mortgages and pushed up the number of listings. AREA DETACHED HOME PRICES FOR FEBRUARY A roundup of the median sale prices in North County communities, listed by ZIP codes with the percentage from February 2010.
* There was one house sale in Rancho Santa Fe (92091) in Feb. 2010. NOTE: Median figures can be skewed by low volume combined with the sale of several unusually expensive or inexpensive homes. San Diego County and California Luxury Home Values Rise Slightly in Fourth Quarter 2010, according to First Republic Prestige Home Index...
In the quarter ended December 31, 2010, the Index indicated the following:
San Diego Area Values Values in San Diego rose for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2009. Ann Brizolis of Prudential California Realty in Rancho Santa Fe said the luxury market is becoming more active. "We had a very robust first quarter thus far. The number of sales has increased, and prices are stable. Since January 1, we have had three closings of $4 million to $6 million. Buyers are realizing that the biggest drop has already happened and there is also good inventory." However, Chuck Gifford of Prudential California Realty in Rancho Santa Fe said he expects values to continue to soften in luxury communities across the region, even though the market for all cash transactions is heating up. "The pedal is to the metal in San Diego for all-cash buyers. There are buys you just can't resist." Los Angeles Area Values Luxury home prices in Los Angeles rose for the first time since the second quarter of 2008.
In Beverly Hills, there are a growing number of buyers, but a limited number of luxury homes for sale. "There is a huge amount of pent-up demand and a very tight market," said Billy Rose of Prudential California Realty in Beverly Hills. "Financially savvy buyers are really looking to buy, but they are constrained by a lack of inventory. Buyers are likely to look back in early 2010 as the bottom, and we're likely to start seeing appreciation, barring any unusual events."
In Santa Barbara, the luxury market was also picking up. "Properties that are well priced are selling fast and closer to asking price," Joanne Schoenfeld of Santa Barbara Living Real Estate Brokerage. "We're getting more realism on the part of sellers." San Francisco Bay Area Values Values in the San Francisco Bay Area posted their third increase in the past four consecutive quarters, although the gains were very modest. "We're off to a good start in 2011," said David Shepardson of Coldwell Banker in San Francisco. "It is shaping up to be a pretty strong year because of low inventory and the fact there are quite a few buyers out there. It's also apparent very quickly that if the property is overpriced, it will sit there." On the Peninsula south of San Francisco, the fourth quarter was unexpectedly strong. "In the past two years, we only had two sales over $6 million in Woodside and Portola Valley," said Wendy McPherson of Coldwell Banker in Woodside. "In the fourth quarter of last year, we had six sales over $6 million all the way up to $15 million. All of sudden people have their confidence back." In the Marin County, the market was also brightening. "This is the year we're going to see a very good recovery," said Olivia Decker of Decker Bullock Sotheby's International Realty in Mill Valley. "We had three months of good sales from December through February. This is encouraging because it is winter, and we're not even in the spring buying season yet. The market is definitely much better."
About The First Republic Prestige Home Index The First Republic Prestige Home Index is the first statistical model of its kind customized to measure changes in homes valued at more than $1 million in key California urban markets. Some common features of luxury homes in the Index: 3,000 to 6,000 square feet, three to six bedrooms, and three to six bathrooms. San Francisco Bay Area properties include a cross-section of luxury homes in Alamo, Atherton, Belvedere, Danville, Healdsburg, Hillsborough, Lafayette, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Mill Valley, Moraga, Orinda, Palo Alto, Piedmont, Portola Valley, Ross, St. Helena, San Francisco, Saratoga, Sonoma, Tiburon and Woodside. Properties in Los Angeles represent a cross-section of luxury homes in Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, La Cañada Flintridge, Encino, Los Angeles, Malibu, Marina del Rey, North Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Playa del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City and the West Los Angeles enclaves of Bel Air, Brentwood and Westwood. San Diego properties represent a cross-section of luxury homes in Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, La Mesa, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego and Solana Beach. In producing the Index, Fiserv CSW Inc. draws upon its economic database and years of experience in tracking single-family home values; collects and cross-checks data from multiple sources; achieves a weighted balance of validation elements such as repeat sales, comparable sales, and physical home characteristics; and combines this with First Republic's extensive local market knowledge. About First Republic Bank First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) and its subsidiaries provide private banking, private business banking and private wealth management. Founded in 1985, First Republic specializes in exceptional, relationship-based service offered through preferred banking or wealth management offices primarily in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, San Diego, Portland, Boston, Greenwich and New York City. First Republic offers a complete line of banking products for individuals and businesses, including deposit services, as well as residential, commercial and personal loans. More information is available on the Bank's website at http://www.firstrepublic.com. About First Republic Private Wealth Management First Republic Private Wealth Management is the investment management, trust and brokerage group of First Republic Bank. First Republic Private Wealth Management offers objective advice and fully customized solutions with the same level of exceptional client service that has been the hallmark of First Republic Bank for more than 25 years. First Republic has the flexibility to provide individuals, families, businesses, endowments, schools and non-profit organizations with appropriate choices that responsibly meet a client's specific investment objectives. VIDEO: Madeleine Pickens on Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell and NEWS UPDATE with the BLM
NEWS UPDATE: I met with Bob Abbey, the Director of the BLM, last week in Washington. We discussed his statement to the press rejecting our sanctuary proposal. He reassured me that he is still committed to going forward with our plan. He said some of what he said to the press was misinterpreted. I made it clear to him that we are very disappointed that they are going through with the Antelope Complex gather on our land in Nevada, despite thousands of comments opposing it. I did ask him to cancel the gather, but he didn’t seem too keen to do that. We look forward to proving that our plan work. Thank you all for your continued support. Please share our updates with your friends and family. Together, we can make a difference. Madeleine Pickens & all the mustangs Here’s the latest reporting from the first week of the Antelope Complex gather Please see the sequence of photos below from Day 6 of the gather. A mustang trying to escape once captured, trying to jump the fence. After 4 attempts, he is still not successful. It's heartbreaking.
Follow Madeleine on Twitter:http://twitter.com/mpickensBecome Madeleine Pickens' Friend on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?# No wild mustangs for you: Madeleine Pickens fought the BLM and the BLM won...For now.
Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens talk wild mustangs at Oklahoma State football Saturday night.
Rawhide was flying on Friday as Madeleine Pickens went "No, you d'int" to Bureau Of Land Management officials who, once again, rejected her overtures to create a private-public partnership preserving habitat for an estimated 40,000 wild mustangs. Owner of the exclusive Del Mar Country Club and married to oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, Madeleine Pickens has advocated for animals for decades. While married to Gulfstream Air founder and top horse breeder Alan Paulsen before his death in 2000, Pickens was involved in the thoroughbred industry, and later helped lobby the passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act by Congress. Pickens has been going round with BLM officials since 2008 when the agency said it was considering putting to death about one-quarter of the mustangs running wild across 10 western states, including roughly half of Nevada.
About 33,700 wild horses roam freely in 10 Western states, about half in Nevada, according to BLM officials. The BLM set a target level of 26,600 horses and burros in the wild, removing 10,637 of the animals from the range in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Pickens bought the 14,000-acre Spruce Ranch and the adjoining 4,000-acre Warm Creek Ranch last year to serve as a wild mustang sanctuary. She renamed the ranches the Mustang Monument preserve. The preserve also has grazing rights for 564,000 acres of public land. Pickens' most recent proposal calls for a nonprofit foundation to take care of the animals under a government stipend of $500 a head, per year. BLM officials said they only pay $475 a head in holding costs for horses kept on midwestern farms. "Her prospectus, as presented, does not demonstrate an obvious cost savings to the American taxpayer," said BLM director Bob Abbey, who also criticized Pickens' media campaign supporting the sanctuary, telling Associated Press some of the information requires clarification and context, and that other information is "just plain false." Pickens defended her statements.
Pickens has been mounting a very active publicity and email campaign about the wild mustang issue, saying her proposal would result in "huge savings" because it would involve the government initially turning over 1,000 wild horses in short-term holding facilities where costs run $2,500 a head, per year. Holding costs totaled about $37 million of the $63.9 million designated for the BLM's wild horse and burro program in the last fiscal year. Activists maintain the mustang roundups and removals were being conducted to appease ranchers and make room for cows. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MADELEINE PICKENS RESPONDS TO BLM’S 1/21/11 ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING SAVING AMERICA’S MUSTANGS ECO-SANCTUARY PLAN
Not even one month ago, on January 4, 2011 in Las Vegas, BLM director Bob Abbey stated publicly that my idea “has merit and deserves serious consideration.” Today, he has rejected the project, notifying the media, but providing my foundation with no explanation, despite our three years of hard work on the plan. My eco-sanctuary proposal offers a cost-effective solution to the problem of the BLM’s roundup and warehousing of as many as 40,000 wild horses in off-the-range holding facilities. It is exactly the kind of public/private partnership solution that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has stated is essential to reform of the wild horse and burro program. So imagine my astonishment when I read in the news release that my plan didn’t save money. During our three years of work, BLM officials at every level acknowledged in meetings with me that the eco-sanctuary plan saves the taxpayers money. Mr. Abbey’s suggestion that the area lacks enough water or forage to support wild horses is also perplexing. I’m puzzled by his statement to the media that my proposal seeks to place 10,000 horses on the Spruce Ranch, site of the future eco-sanctuary. In fact, our most recent proposal to the BLM was for approximately 1,000 horses on the approximately over half a million acres encompassed by the Spruce. This was made clear in numerous meetings with the BLM, and is explained on our website as well. (See Sanctuary Q & A #19, November 2010.) The target number of 1,000 horses is consistent with the number of cattle the BLM has consistently authorized on the public lands portions of the ranches I purchased. It seems that the BLM believes there is enough forage and water for cows, but not enough for horses on those same lands, from which the cows have been removed. In addition, in every meeting we’ve attended with the BLM, we’ve been consistent in agreeing that the BLM would ultimately determine the number of horses allowed on the land. We have presented a plan to take care of the 30,000-40,000 wild horses that are currently being warehoused by the BLM. The additional horses would, of course, be housed on land purchased in the future. The Spruce is a pilot program, undertaken with the intent of showing the BLM how this proposal will be possible. It was never intended to put 30,000 -40,000 horses, or even 10,000 horses, on the Spruce. -Madeleine Pickens Also, please continue TAKE ACTION to stop the upcoming Antelope Complex gather in late January 2011.
Also check out the Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco Sanctuary Page:www.mustangmonument.com Become a supporter of the wild horse issue: Click here
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