A Zillion Dollars of Asphalt

Today, the Austin City Council approved a proposal for primary and secondary providers of “hot mix asphalt concrete” for the city’s roads. I scanned over today’s agenda and what stood out to me were the ginormous dollar amounts attached to the approval- the City approved $20,422,334 for asphalt… ASPHALT! It seems so exorbitant and while I’m sure Austin (not Texas, we’re just talking about Austin) will use all of this asphalt, it feels like the city just went to dad and said, “hey dad, I know that Diesel jeans are like waaay expensive and I *could* wear Old Navy, but I really need them to fit in, pleeeeeease?” knowing full well he’d say yes if I did the pouty eyes. Hey Austin, can I have $20mill [insert pouty lips here]? I could use it too, you know!

Wynn Won’t Be In A Jam Again

The other agenda note that stuck out to me happens to also be concrete related. Remember when a construction truck at the Monarch site blocked the road, stopped traffic during the morning rush hour and Mayor Will Wynn hopped out of his car, used some of my favorite cuss words and told them to get their butts out of the street for at least an hour? I think he’s got a GREAT solution cooked up in a recommendation for city council he’s co-sponsored… in the future, concrete may be poured by permit from 7pm to 6am in the Central Business District and I would assume the main goal is traffic congestion since so many new high rises are sprouting in that area.

With so many moving parts in our city, it’s always good to keep an eye on what’s up with the City’s agenda. What do YOU think about the millions being spent on asphalt and the possibility of permitted overnight concrete pouring?

photo credit

Why I Care

Yeah, I’m sick of the “go green” crap too, but guess what- it worked on me. Fifteen years ago, my Whole Foods eatin’ Grandma bought me a canvas bag for groceries. Later, she asked why a college student wouldn’t carry a canvas bag for groceries, rather use wasteful plastic. The answer is that I was lazy- too lazy to remember to carry it and too lazy to even find it. I carry it now because I drive a car I can keep them in and because I can carry all my groceries in 4 bags instead of 20.

When I was a child, my father groomed much of the acreage we lived on. He left the live oaks and chopped down the scraggly cedars that grow like weeds and stifle ground foliage, we braided smaller saplings into arches, we climbed the big trees and we loved the nature surrounding us from an early age. My stepmother insisted in the 90s that we crush cans and recycle them, and would ask us to save our paper so she could take it to work to recycle it into note sheets. I didn’t start recycling until a year ago, and I’ve lived in new homes for almost 5 years where the entire landscape was reduced to dirt piles, only to add new saplings.

Although I always have loved nature, I haven’t nurtured it until it became convenient for me. I’ll admit this.

Austin’s Regulations

I don’t know what the regulations are in your city, but here in Austin most new land developments whether commercial or residential are required to have an exorbitant amount of “green space” which annoys developers to no end. It’s expensive for them to not be able to build on 100% of the land they’ve put money into. Water treatment systems are required on all new developments and building standards almost always have to comply with the Energy Star ratings.

So how then is Austin cheating the system? By saying they require 20-30% of all approved developments to be “green space,” but not requiring the “green space” to be the original trees and green space that previously existed. Instead, developers are allowed to excavate and turn the dirt on the entire plot of land- be it 1 or 1,000 acres. They rape the ecosystem, plant a few little stick trees, leave a scraggly spot as a “pocket park” and call it eco-friendly. Aww, good job, let’s give city council a big ol’ pat on the back for this fake-appease-the-hippies-law, why dont we?

Biggest Sham Ever

This is the biggest sham I’ve ever heard of and when we speak out against it, people are amazed that the “green space” required doesn’t have to be the existing land, rather ends up being clumps of monkey grass, a few lantana and tiny aspen saplings from another state which may or may not end up living in Texas soil.

Austin, we’re tired of just talking about it. We don’t want to go all hippie on you, but we’re pretty close to doing so- picket signs and all. I may have voted for Bush (twice) but I love my freakin’ trees. I know California doesn’t understand why developments that carve into our precious 2222 mountain won’t ever sell (because you’ve demolished a natural landmark we adore), but it’s not California who needs to understand- it’s our elected officials.

CHANGE THE CODE, AUSTIN… NOW! The 20-30% should be EXISTING green space, not puny plants post-excavation!

For some time, I’ve heard rumors of Austin City Council passing some insanely ridiculous mandates that require home sellers to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency to obtain a certificate of compliance that could cost homeowners any profit margin they could ever expect in the sale of their home!!! (for full story, click here)

Apparently these proposals are soon becoming a reality in Austin and tomorrow, Single Pointe will be attending a REALTOR-sponsored luncheon that will have Q&A time for the City Council members. My first question would be “are you out of your ever loving mind?” Single Pointe will be printing out all comments to this story (click here to leave your comment) and taking them to the meeting.

I could write pages and pages on this about how I smell something fishy and I sense that someone’s pockets are about to get really full while Austin home sellers feel the excrutiating pain of this INSANE proposal. Instead, I’ll request that anyone reading this, go comment and tell the City Council what you think, even if you’re out of state (what would you do if this were YOUR city? have you seen this happen before? wth?)!

I’ve closed comments here so they are all in one place (here).

This important bill regarding transportation safety may seem a silly bill to highlight and I nearly skimmed over it because it’s nothing more than a silly safety bill for cars. But I continued to read:

The legislation directs the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue new safety standards within specific time periods that will lead to the installation of safety technologies as standard equipment in all vehicles to prevent deaths and injuries in and around motor vehicles. These safety technologies are already available as standard equipment, upgrades or optional equipment in many makes and models of vehicles. The bill also requires the department to establish a database of noncrash incidents and develop a program to provide the public with safety information regarding nontraffic dangers to young children.

Since 2000, over 1,350 children have died in non-traffic incidents, with at least 227 fatalities already in 2007 according to KIDS AND CARS. Back-over incidents have increased dramatically claiming the lives of 474 children from 2002-2006 compared to 128 from 1997-2001. Backovers now account for half of all non-traffic fatalities involving children. The federal government does not collect data about non-traffic incidents, so the actual fatality numbers are likely much higher.

A 2002 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 9,100 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms (176 per week) due to non-traffic incidents in a one-year time period. Some of the deadliest months for children killed in noncrash incidents occurred in 2007. In July, 2007 alone, 34 children died in nontraffic incidents, followed by 31 fatalities in August and 26 fatalities in April.

That definitely took my breath away. I thank the many people who toiled over passage of this bill, namely the families who urged passage of this bill who lost their own children. Please pause today in memory of their children and thank them for protecting OUR children.

• Dr. & Mrs. Greg Gulbransen, in memory of son, Cameron, age 2, who was backed over and killed on October 19, 2002 (Oyster Bay, NY)
• Bill & Adriann Nelson, in memory of son, Alec, 16 months, who was backed over and killed on April 24, 2004. (Dix Hills, NY)
• Packy & Brenda Campbell, in memory of son, Ian Joseph, 22 months, who died when a vehicle was inadvertently knocked into gear on April 14, 2004 (Farmington, NH)
• Mrs. Susan Auriemma, in honor of daughter, Kate age 31/2, who was backed over and injured on May 27, 2005 (Manhasset, NY)
• Britt Gates, in memory of daughter, Zoie Beth Gates, age 2 ½, who was killed by a power window on November 3, 2001 (Anthony, KS)
• Ms. Melissa Feimer, in memory of her niece, Vada Schoon, age 3, who was backed over and killed on June 7, 2006 (Cliffside Park, NJ)
• Steve & Shannon Campbell, in memory of son, Drew Campbell, 26 months, who was backed over and killed on April 20, 2003 (Cincinnati, OH)
• Michael & Sharron DiMario, in memory of son, Gino J. DiMario, age 7, who was backed over and killed on February 19, 2005. (Cincinnati, OH)
• Orin & Arden Rosenfeld, in memory of daughter, Veronica Rosenfeld, age 2, who was backed over and killed on March 27, 2005 (Baca Raton, FL)
• Mark & Keiko Warschauer, in memory of son, Michael Warschauer, 10 months, who died after being inadvertently left in a hot car on August 8, 2003 (Irvine, CA)
• Smith & Julie Peck, in memory of son, Jackson Peck, age 4, who was backed over and killed on December 23, 2004
• Ms. Amie Duemer, in memory of son, Josef Duemer, 1yr, who died after being inadvertently left in a hot car on August 3, 2005 (Lubbock, TX)
• Tim & Angela Gridley, in memory of daughter, Aliviah Faith Gridley, 26 months, who was backed over and killed on December 30, 2005 (Cedartown, GA)
• Travis & Sally Knoll, in memory of son, Davin Knoll, age 4, who was strangled in a power window on June 2, 2004 (Sheboygan, WI)
• Phil & Cheryl Bransom, in memory of son, Douglas Bransom, age 7, who was struck and killed by an SUV on May 30, 2006 (West Linn, OR)
• Todd & Melody Costello, in memory of son, Tyler Costello, 8 months, who died after being inadvertently let in a hot vehicle on July 29, 2002 (Medina, OH)
• Kevin & Bethany Falkner, in memory of son, Steven Matthew Falkner, age 3, who was killed by a power window on January 7, 1998 (West Plains, MO)
• Ms. Lisa Rice, in memory of son, Craig Rice, age 5, who was backed over and killed on July 13, 2003, (Sacramento. CA)
• Aaron Chatten, in memory of daughter, Madison Faith Chatten, 15 months, who was backed over and killed on May 3, 2005 (Glasgow, MT)
• Bob & AnnMarie Pszybylski, in honor of son, Robert Pszybylski, age 2, who was critically injured when struck by a vehicle on April 7, 2006 (St. James, NY)
• Rodney & Meredyth Bryant, in memory of daughter, Annabelle Riley Bryant, age 2 ½, who was killed after being backed over on May 4, 2005 (Glen Allen, VA)
• Matthew & Lisa Cavallaro, in memory of daughter, Agatha, age 2 who was backed over on Father’s Day, June 20, 2004 (Muttontown, NY)

While eating my lunch of Mountain Dew and Cheez-its, I watched the mid-day Fox News coverage of the 2008 Presidential election.  Benn & I are mega-fans of Fox News and it’s on in the background whether here or at the office.  Today, they were talking about how demeaning it was to women that Oprah selected a man for her vote and chose race over gender (the later of which she has devoted much of her life to empowering).

First of all- gimme a freakin’ break.  Not only do I not care about ANY celebrity endorsement, I don’t care that Oprah has to pick a candidate based on her skin or her gender.

Second of all- the sources they referred to were (get this) commenters on the Oprah.com blog.  Seriously. 

SO, if you want to make national news, just go talk politics on a celebrity’s site and you’re a shoe-in to being a news source.  Oh, brother.

Each candidate on all sides brings a unique perspective and plan to overhaul the White House.  Every single candidate yarps about how much trouble Washington is in and how they plan to fix our nation.  Aside from how I feel about that angle, I am interested in what the pulse of the real estate community is for issues most dominant in our industry… 

Which candidate has the best plan for recovery of the credit crunch?

Who best understands the plight of the self employed (Realtors)?

Is there a progressive plan to insure the self employed (Realtors)?

Does anyone have a good understanding of the housing slump?

Does the RE community need a candidate with a corporate background or a political background?

All that said, who is the BEST overall candidate for the real estate industry in the 2008 Presidential election?

Larry wrote about the Skyhook Theory this week and for those of you who don’t regularly read his articles, you really should add him to your feeder! The Skyhook Theory is simply the belief in something bigger (than you, your career, or your commission)… something bigger (the sky) that grounds you (the hook). Larry writes that he learned about it from a professor and asserts that it could have been a religious belief, but he maintains that the Skyhook transcends any religion.

Kudos to NAR for urging Congress to allow non-Employer Groups (aka the Self Employed) to offer Health Insurance. If we could get a bulk rate for our optional insurance (just as Dell, Archstone-Smith, Best Buy, and thousands of other companies) through NAR, there wouldn’t be such a disparity between the Realtors that are insured and those who are not. Moreover, with 1.3 MILLION “employees,” NAR represents a gigantic work force. I hope they continue to squeeze Congress on this issue- WE DESERVE IT!