Sonny Star, a Klass act
Sonny "Loose Lips" Star mentioned the name of a real nice lady Friday night. We miss her. But, under cover of this fine person, Sonny took another shot at the county's natural resources. Sonny's taste is all in his mouth.
Sonny was evidently disappointed at not being included in the entourage of Raunchwood's Big Vegas Weekend, featuring Oscar de la Hoya (or was it de la Renta?). Maybe Raunchwood found fairy shrimp in Las Vegas fountains. It wiped out about 3,000 acres of their habitat near Le Grand a couple of years ago. Sonny cheered silently in the background, while county staff did nothing. The rear end of the Pomboza, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, Shrimp Slayer-Merced, cheered louder.
Things have changed but not, of course, in Sonny's little bubble. The Pomboza bill to gut the Endangered Species Act failed. Rep. Richard Pombo, Buffalo Slayer-Tracy, was defeated. He's now a lobbyist like his mentor, Jack Abramoff. And the Pomboza recently lost its best friend in the Department of Interior, Julia McDonald, now under investigation for serving special interests instead of the public interest on a variety of projects, including the critical habitat designation for vernal pools and their associated endangered species. Merced County contains the richest fields of pools in the state.
Then, of course, there is the housing boom, which has become a vortex and a cause for panic in some financial circles. "But Darling," Sonny would have told the Raunchwood Set if only he'd been invited, "of course the boom would still be going if it weren't for those nasty little shrimp.
"Predatory lending? Surely you jest. Let the bankrupts eat almonds. What's a 42-inch diameter, mile long sewer pipe to nowhere for, anyway?"
Madame McClatchy trained Sonny to say all the right things at all the right times.
Bill Hatch
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5-18-07
Merced Sun-Star
Loose Lips
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/13597255p-14195831c.html
Merced builder in the crowd for Vegas fight...Partying like it's 2005 ... Merced's once blazing hot housing market is now colder than a bowl of icicle soup, but that doesn't mean that Ranchwood Homes president Greg Hostetler is feeling the chill...Hostetler -- the self-made Los Banos native who builds subdivisions with swanky names -- has been laying low for the past couple of months, but burst back onto the jet-set scene recently when he attended the title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at Las Vegas' MGM Grand hotel. Lips wonders why Hostetler seems untouched by the recent "correction" (read: screeching halt) in the housing market. Maybe it's all those almond trees he has up his sleeve ...
Susie Rossi...is about to receive a tribute that is as bubbly as her personality was...The City Council is set to vote Monday night on plans to name the fountain in Bob Hart Square after Rossi who was known for her dedication to transforming downtown into a vibrant and entertaining area. With any luck, no fairy shrimp will take up residence in the fountain. It would be a pain to get a federal wetlands permit every time the city wants to turn on the spray.
5-16-07
Modesto Bee
Foreclosures rise...J.N. Sbranti
http://www.modbee.com/business/story/13589271p-14188648c.html
San Joaquin County had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last month, and Stanislaus and Merced counties weren't much better. One of every 131 homeowners in San Joaquin County were in default on their mortgages and being foreclosed this April, according to RealtyTrac's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. One of every 180 homes faced foreclosure in Stanislaus County, and one of every 210 homes in Merced County.