BE SAFE – KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH SANTA MONICA’S CRIME MAPPING SYSTEM

Edited by Jodi Summers

 Live in Santa Monica? http://www.santamonicapd.org/crimemapping let’s you know exactly what’s happening in your neighborhood. The Santa Monica Police Department’s new crime mapping system is available for public use.

Always ahead of the curve, SMPD’s system allows the public direct access to crime data for the City of Santa Monica. The data is available for crimes that have been reported within the last 90 days and is updated daily.

The system may be accessed via the Internet at http://www.santamonicapd.org/crimemapping.

Search by crime type proximity to an address, intersection or landmark, as well as for the entire City or within the boundaries of the Police Department beats.

The maps and/or reports from the system may be printed or saved in PDF format.

Due to the unique and sensitive issues surrounding sex-related crimes, the Police

Department does not include information about those crimes through the system. In

order to obtain information about sex-related crimes, please contact the Criminal

Investigations Division at (310) 458-8451.

The Police Department will continue to post daily reports of Calls for Service logs and Arrest logs on our website - http://www.santamonicapd.org.

ZIP Codes Where People are Buying Real Estate

ZIP Codes Where People are Buying Real Estate

by Jodi Summers

It was always our theory that this recession would hit bottom by first quarter and then wallow for a while. Well…it looks like things are starting to improve in parts of the country – both locally and beyond. Information compiled for BusinessWeek.com by First American CoreLogic notes that housing sales are improving significantly in key ZIP codes around the country where inventories are shrinking and prices are stabilizing. Here are the top 10 ZIP codes with improved home sales:

1.    94533, Fairfield, Calif. , Fresno,  

2.    92376, Rialto, Calif. , Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario,  

3.    91342, Slymar, Calif. , Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana,  

4.    92126, San Diego, Calif.

5.    33914, Cape Coral, Fla. , Fort Meyers,  

6.    93065, Simi Valley, Calif. , Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura,  

7.    95123, San Jose, Calif.

8.    85379, Surprise, Ariz. , Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale,  

9.    93722, Fresno, Calif. , Madera,  

10. 95624, Elks Grove, Calif. , Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville,

Source: BusinessWeek.com, Prashant Gopal

10 Unhappiest American Cities

10 Unhappiest American Cities
by Jodi Summers

Oh, be glad we live in a part of the country where the weather is delightful. Hard to be depressed on a beautiful day. As a recent BusinessWeek.com report reveals, no sun, no jobs and lots of foreclosures are the recipe for unhappy citizens. Statistics show higher levels of suicide, clinical depression, divorce and violent crime.

In the name of analysis, BusinessWeek.com ranked 50 of the largest metros based on their misery and depression levels. The depression scoring is based on insurance reporting. The rest of the rankings come from the National Assembly of County & City Health Officials, FBI crime reports, the U.S. Weather Bureau and the U.S. Census.

Most of these cities had these problems before the economy headed south – and current economic woes certainly can’t be helping.

Here are the top 10 most depressed cities as per Businessweek.com No place in California is on the list:

1. Portland, Ore.

2. St. Louis

3. New Orleans

4. Detroit

5. Cleveland, Ohio

6. Jacksonville, Fla.

7. Las Vegas

8. Nashville, Tenn.

9. Cincinnati, Ohio

10. Atlanta

Source: BusinessWeek.com, Prashant Gopal (02/26/2009)

MEASURINGWORTH LETS YOU CALCULATE VALUE OVER TIME

MEASURINGWORTH LETS YOU CALCULATE VALUE OVER TIME

by Jodi Summers

Calculate the value of time spent in a negotiation, or wow your friends at social gatherings…MeasuringWorth lets you calculate cool statistics. MeasuringWorth -http://www.measuringworth.com - is a service for calculating relative worth over time.

Here’s the website babble: Measuring Worth Is a Complicated Question, as intrinsic things are priceless. The love of your life or a beautiful sunset. There is no objective way to measure these, nor should there be.

The worth of monetary transactions is also difficult to measure. While there is a price, wage, or other kind of transaction that can be recorded at a precise price, the worth of the amount must be interpreted.

The price of a hamburger is probably worth more to a starving homeless person than to a very wealthy one. An allowance of five pennies a week was worth more to a child in 1902 than it is to a child today.

It can be more difficult when the question is to determine the “historical” worth of something. The price, even deflated for inflation, is not enough. Was Andrew Carnegie richer than Bill Gates? Did Babe Ruth make more than David Beckham? Was the cost of a loaf of bread more then than now? These questions all depend on the context and the calculators on this web site enable users to make their own comparisons.

Users of these calculators often come back to us and ask how they are to decide which indicator to use. As a guide to users of our calculators, we present here Measures of Worth. This essay provides a methodology for deciding which measure of worth is appropriate for the subject at hand.

**

http://www.measuringworth.com/

http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/currency%20exchange%20rates.jpg

HOME OWNERSHIP EQUITY TIPS

HOME OWNERSHIP EQUITY TIPS

by Jodi Summers

1. The equity in your personal residence shouldn’t be used to pay for vacations, education, new cars and credit-card debt. Many homeowners who participated in serial refinancing when rates were low and money was easy found they had no equity left when the credit crunch hit in August 2007. A good portion of these repeat refinancers now owe more than the current value of their home.

JONATHAN CLUB SHOULD SHARE THE WEALTH

JONATHAN CLUB SHOULD SHARE THE WEALTH

By Jodi Summers

Share the wealth – if the Jonathan Club is going to be making money off of leasing public lands – the City / state should be entitled to some of the proceeds – which can be used to offset the expenses on the newly opened Annenberg Community Beach House.

The timing was perfect, we were set to schmooze with the local politicos at the official opening of the Annenberg Community Beach House over the weekend, when we got word that another Gold Coast property, the Jonathan Club (located @ 850 Palisades Beach Road since 1927) will be meeting with the City of Santa Monica on May 12^th to discuss the terms of leasing part of the public beach to a private entity for private use.

Officially the terms for the May 12th City Council meeting are:

Item - 2-A: Conference with real property negotiator (Govt. Code section 54956.8): Property: three parcels seaward of the 1921 Mean High Tide Line and adjacent to 850 Palisades Beach Road
City negotiator: Andy Agle
Negotiating parties: City and Jonathan Club
Under negotiation: lease pricing and terms

If you want to comment on this, in support or in opposition, you can:
1. speak during Public Comment at 5:45 PM on Tuesday, May 12th, and/or
2. send an email to the Councilmembers at Council@smgov.net by 5 PM on Monday, to make sure they receive your comments before the meeting.

To enlighten those of us who are not members, Wikipedia notes that Jonathan Club is a private social club in Los Angeles, and has been rated among the top five private city clubs of the United States for many years. Membership in the club is by invitation.

The Jonathan Club maintains two clubhouses, one in downtown Los Angeles at 545 South Figueroa Street (built in 1924) and one on the beach in Santa Monica at 850 Palisades Beach Road, where they have been since 1927.

It is noted that the private club’s location on a public beach in Santa Monica has been a continuing source of controversy, since that portion of the beach is off limits to all but club members and their guests.

The beach club is a power-lunch hot spot in L.A.’s Westside, and the facility is used primarily by members’ families and guests. (Anyone know the cost of a membership?)

It has been noted that many Los Angeles private clubs have struggled to recruit younger members, but the Jonathan Club’s beach facility has been a strategic asset in luring new
members.

As we go further with this tale, figure all kinds of benefits have been grandfathered in to the business and location as the City has evolved.

Perhaps, since a reported $27 million was just spent to open the Annenberg Community Beach House, a portion of the Jonathan Club’s gross revenue (perhaps as much as 30%) should go toward offsetting the expenses for the public beach house.

What are your thoughts on the Jonathan Club leasing public land for profit? Tell us, tell the City - Council@smgov.net.

**

Thank you to the always-reliable Zina Josephs of the Friends of Sunset Park and…

http://www.businessweek.com/1997/16/b3523140.htm
http://www.ulcc.org/utility/platinumclub.asp
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2007/05/08/men-clubs-private-forbeslife-cx_hp_07networks_0509clubs.html

http://www.fosp.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_club

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/images/2008/01/07/2007_1104_jonathan_club.jpg

http://www.ulwaf.com/Site-Images/PacificElectricRear.jpg

http://www.hcareers.com/public/profile/jc/image.gif

http://images.forbes.com/media/lifestyle/2007/05/09/5_0509feat.jpg

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/images/2008/01/07/1908_0107_jonathan_cluba.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/2605753923_c9d7aab63e.jpg?v=0

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/6976232.jpg

http://www.faithcoinc.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beachclublogo.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/2606646198_7b7bf3fcdd.jpg?v=0

http://annenbergspaceforphotography.org/images/ACBH/GrantMudford_012sm.jpg

HOUSEPLANTS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE HEALTHIER

HOUSEPLANTS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE HEALTHIER

Here’s a fabulous tidbit you can share with your friends about greening your environment. According to a recently completed two-year study by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, the following houseplants help get rid of common household toxins like benzene (solvent found in detergents, rubber, inks, and paints), formaldehyde (used in particle board and grocery bags), and trichloroethylene (used in varnishes, adhesives, and paints):

1. Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)

2. Lady palm (Rhapis spp.)

3. Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)

4. Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)

5. ‘Janet Craig’ dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’)

6. English ivy (Hedera helix)

7. Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii), xylene

8. ‘Alii’ ficus (Ficus macleilandii ‘Alii’)

9. Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’)

10. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum spp.)

11. Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’)

12. Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

13. Kimberley Queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)

14. Florist’s mums (Chrysanthemum morifolium)

15. Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)

All the details @ http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2007/ps_3.html

EXPENSIVE RENT V.S. CHEAP RENT IN THE U.S.

EXPENSIVE RENT V.S. CHEAP RENT IN THE U.S.

California cities have among the highest rents in the country, claiming four of the top rental prices for the nation’s 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community survey.

San Jose has the most expensive lease rates in the country with renters paying an average of $1,314 a month; the area just north of San Francisco is second at $1,210; and our beloved Los Angeles, it’s a relative bargain at $1,101. So says

California rents even beat out those in New York, which has the seventh-highest rent of any major metropolitan area. But Thomas Davidoff, assistant professor at the Haas Real Estate Group at the University of California, Berkeley, says the differential between high and low rents in California is much less dramatic than in New York.

“Nothing in California matches rents in Manhattan, but in New York if you factor in Brooklyn, rents get lower,” says Davidoff.

Signing a lease in Miami and Orlando fetched monthly rents of $1,031 and $981 respectively.

“Miami and Orlando were two pretty hot areas when the housing market was raging for conversion of apartment stock into condominiums,” he says of the mid-decade housing boom. “So that reduced supply.”

The survey looked at renter-occupied units paying cash rent, and defined gross rent as the contract rent plus utilities, if utilities were paid by the renter.

On the affordable end, cities such as in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, where the slumping job market has lead to rent rates of $678 and $608. Pittsburgh has struggled to rebuild its economic base after the loss of its steel industry, and residents are leaving the city.

“The bottom line is that Pittsburgh is undergoing a sea shift in its economic base,” says observes Davidoff.

Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “Rents are relatively low because it’s in a state which is losing population, and it is simply not doing well.”

Rust belt cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, still have low rents compared with the rest of the country. Even though, according to the U.S. Office of Policy Development and Research, apartment vacancies are limited because of a lack of new construction, a rental home in Cincinnati will still cost only around $652 per month.