11-25-08

 11-25-08Merced Sun-StarMerced is #1 AGAIN!...dave95348, The Sunspothttp://sunspot.mercedsunstar.com/?q=node/5618There was this article on safe havens in the Real Estate Market. Surprise, surprise: Merced isn't on the list. But the end of the article also provides a list of the WORST markets...guess who's numero uno?Safe Havens in Real Estate...Louis Jones, Kiplinger.com, Yahoo.RealEstate...Nov 21st, 2008 http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/safe-havens-in-real-estate.htmlWith foreclosures skyrocketing and home prices plummeting, real estate has had a tough year. But in certain pockets across the country the damage has been minimal -- if nonexistent.We found six cities with slow, steady growth, using data from Fiserv Lending Solutions, a home-price research company. These cities' local economies have kept unemployment and foreclosure rates below average. Plus, their affordability index -- a measure of home prices versus family income -- is low. For comparison, we also pinpoint an average market and the worst market in the countryWorst MarketCalifornia Central Valley12-month change in home values:Merced: -42.3Stockton: -40Salinas: -38.7Modesto: -37.9Riverside: -36.8Vallejo: -34.5The market hit hardest by the housing bubble is the Central Valley in California, where aggressive development and price hiking has yielded more homes than jobs. Now many homeowners owe more than their house is worth and are being forced into default.Still, it's not all doom and gloom for the California housing market. The drop in home values has created an affordable market for first-time home buyers. And, on average, monthly sales have almost tripled from last year. Although the Valley has seen the worst of the crash, it may well be one of the first areas to recover.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I sure hope the author is right about that last point...Man killed by train was UC Merced student...VICTOR A. PATTONhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/564093.htmlA man killed by a train early Sunday morning has been identified as Luis Alonzo Lopez, an 18-year-old freshman student at UC Merced, according to the Merced County Coroner's Office. Tom MacKenzie, sheriff's spokesman, said Lopez was from San Joaquin in Fresno County.Lopez was killed after he was hit by a train around 3:30 a.m. near Highway 59 and Olive Avenue, Merced police reported. Police said the train's operators spotted the man lying on the tracks, but didn't have time to stop.Cmdr. Floyd Higdon said police have preliminarily determined the death to be a suicide, pending final autopsy and toxicology results. The victim's family and friends, however, believe the death was an accident.Luis' uncle Marcos Gallegos, 34, said Lopez was celebrating his 18th birthday before his death. Lopez lived in an apartment not far from the train tracks. Gallegos said his nephew had been drinking heavily -- and had been in a fight with a close relative -- before his death.Gallegos said Lopez left the apartment after the fight, and some friends had been looking for him afterward. Even though Gallegos said Lopez was stressed out, balancing work and school, he was not the kind of person who would kill himself. Gallegos said his family believes Lopez slipped and fell on the tracks. "We don't think he committed suicide," Gallegos said... Students, faculty rally at Merced CollegeLooming budget cuts may mean less education across county...DANIELLE GAINEShttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/564086.htmlAlma Cordeiro is scared. The 34-year-old single mother from Livingston planned to graduate from Merced College with her registered nurse's degree and set sail on a better life. She hoped to own her own home, pay for her 13-year-old daughter's college and get off unemployment assistance. "I'm afraid I am not going to be able to make it," Cordeiro confessed. "My dream is not going to come true -- if this happens.""This" is the proposed mid-year funding cuts to Merced College, which could lose up to $2.9 million if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new budget proposal is passed by state legislators.For Cordeiro, Merced College is her lifeline, her chance at success. If student costs go up, she may have to drop out, and then who knows what will happen? "We want a better future," Cordeiro said at a rally on campus Monday to protest budget cuts. "People are going to schools to become better people, to get away from crime and welfare and everything else."College president Ben Duran said the cuts could mean any number of things: fewer classes, less course availability, fewer student services. "We will certainly face mid-year reductions in our budget," Duran said. "And this is coming at a time of increased enrollments across the district."The Merced College rally is only one of many occurring around the state as a result of the deep cuts confronting all levels of the education sector. As a whole, the California community college system faces $332 million in mid-year budget cuts under the Schwarzenegger plan. That's on top of the $290 million community college budget reduction imposed in the initial budget just a couple of months ago."Times are tough in this country; times are tough in California," said Scott Lay, president of the Community College League of California. "Times are tough, but there is hope in our community colleges."An analysis by the league earlier this month found that cuts would force community colleges to turn away 262,845 students -- or the enrollment equivalent of the entire University of California system.More than 100 students, faculty and prospective students attended the rally Monday morning. "We are important!" read some of the signs held by students. Christine Grimaldi, a graduate and classified employee at Merced College, was one of several speakers. "When they cut the budgets at community colleges, they cut the possibilities for many to get an education," she said. "And when they do that, they effectively cut out the possibility for many to have a bright future."Not if Merced College's administration can help it. "Community colleges have historically suffered the most during these budget crises," Duran said. "We know we're going to see enormous cuts to our budget. We believe, however, that if community colleges were fully funded, our ability to stimulate economic expansion is unparalleled."Modesto BeeDon't up pay while cutting admissions...Editorialhttp://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/511057.htmlDoes the California State University system exist to serve students or those who draw a paycheck from it?That question becomes necessary in light of two stories last week about CSU:That the system will accept 10,000 fewer students in the fall because of cuts of $66 million to its $2.7 billion budget;That CSU employees, faculty and staff, will receive millions of dollars in raises over the next year, some getting as high as a 19 percent increase.Taken together, these stories are an outrage. If the CSU's situation is so dire that it must renege on its reason for existence, then why on earth are some employees getting huge raises?In private industry, when a company runs into trouble, its employees are asked to sacrifice. Often it is unfair, but the alternative can be that the company goes out of business. Many employees willingly make sacrifices to keep their jobs. That is also happening in many public agencies, such as the city of Modesto, where some employee groups have agreed to a salary freeze in light of the bad economy. But in the CSU system, it is the "customers," whom we call students, who are being asked to sacrifice.Last year, the CSU system had 460,000 students enrolled on 23 campuses from Arcata to San Diego. The chancellor has agreed to limit enrollment to around 450,000 full-time students for 2009-10. That is a cut of 10,000 students, but arguably has a larger impact, because enrollment was expected to grow next year by as much as 20,000 students. It means some qualified students may be denied access to a state university which, for many, is their only affordable option.Thursday, the University of California system offered a similar solution without getting specific, saying it might have to limit undergraduate enrollment. Such suggestions are as inappropriate for the UCs as for the CSU campuses.But the CSU system added insult to injury by deciding to reward its administrators with thousands of dollars in raises. Facing similar cuts across the nation, university presidents are, instead, taking pay cuts.So we must ask: Who is being served by the CSU trustees' approval to cut admissions while increasing many administrative salaries?In a time of economic crisis, denying or delaying access to education can be the same as denying or delaying access to success. If this is the only solution the chancellor and trustees can offer, then they have failed in their appointed duties. After all, universities exist to educate -- not just to employ educators.Report: Ag subsidies doled out to wealthy2,702 growers get $49M in payments...Michael Doyle, Bee Washington Bureauhttp://www.modbee.com/business/story/511224.htmlWASHINGTON -- Millionaire farmers continue to pluck crop subsidies they don't deserve, federal investigators say.At least 2,702 farmers nationwide received subsidies from 2003 to 2006 even through they were making more than the $2.5 million gross income cutoff. The unwarranted payments totaled $49 million and exposed enduring Agriculture Department management problems, investigators concluded."USDA cannot be assured that millions of dollars in farm program payments it made are proper," the Government Accountability Office investigators noted in the report issued Monday.In one case, investigators noted, "an individual with ownership interest in a professional sports franchise received a total of more than $200,000 in farm program payments for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006."Other rich and unjustified crop subsidy recipients identified by investigators included "a top executive of a major financial services firm," a "founder and former executive of an insurance company" and a "former executive of a technology company." The department's Farm Services Agency stated in its official audit response that it "made the best use of the resources available." It further stressed that the reported improper payments amounted to less than 1 percent of total crop subsidy payments.The findings underscore some of the major challenges facing whomever President-elect Barack Obama taps to be agriculture secretary.When he or she takes office, the latest 48-page GAO report will be sitting atop a stack of previous audits, investigations and congressional hearing transcripts that convey a common message:"Without better oversight to ensure that farm program funds are spent as economically, efficiently and effectively as possible, USDA had little assurance that these funds benefit the agriculture sector as intended," the report warns.Crop subsidies and other direct payments total $16 billion annually. The payments favor Midwestern and Southern states dominated by wheat, corn, rice and cotton. Fruit and vegetable growers don't receive direct subsidies.California farmers, for instance, received $166 million and Florida farmers $11 million in 2005, according to a database compiled by the Environmental Working Group.In wheat-rich Kansas, subsidies totaled $333 million.Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois and Texas accounted for one-third of the individuals receiving unwarranted subsidies, investigators found.Auditors attributed the problem in part to the Agriculture Department failing to systematically check tax returns on subsidy recipients. Agriculture Department officials retorted that they lack the legal authority to do so.The 2008 bill changes the $2.5 million income cutoff for subsidy recipients. Now, subsidies are banned to farmers with off-farm income exceeding $500,000 or on-farm income exceeding $750,000.Fresno BeeEnvironmentalists draft bold roadmap for Obama...DINA CAPPIELLOhttp://www.fresnobee.com/641/v-printerfriendly/story/1035928.htmlA united and diverse coalition of environmental advocacy groups has sent President-elect Barack Obama its roadmap for change - and it represents a U-turn from the policies of President George W. Bush.The 391-page report titled "Transition to Green" lays out what the incoming Obama administration can do in its first 100 days and beyond at more than a dozen different agencies to achieve the dual goals of cleaning up the environment and revitalizing the economy. "It gives a whole vision on how to move forward to repower, rebuild, refuel America," said Jim Lyon, senior vice president for conservation for the National Wildlife Federation, one of 29 groups that signed onto the laundry list of policy recommendations. Many of the suggestions in the report released Tuesday echo what Obama has said on the campaign trail and signaled during the transition: capping the gases blamed for global warming; basing environmental decisions on sound science; and taking a more cautious approach to energy production on federal lands. Other recommendations appear to be more aggressive than Obama's stated policies. The groups call for cutting funding for nuclear energy, reinstating a moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and reconsidering recent oil and gas leases in some parts of Alaska. The bold outline from groups working to protect oceans, increase park space and reduce pollution shows that the environmental community is going on the offensive, after eight years of playing defense. The Bush administration in the last eight years has eased some environmental protections, and in the next eight weeks it is set to relax regulations governing power plant emissions and protecting endangered species. Environmentalists are hoping to capitalize on a new Democratic administration and a larger Democratic majority in Congress that have already signaled that energy and environmental policy are a priority. "We know this administration is much more friendly to environmental protection than the one that is leaving town," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife, which signed onto the report with the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Rivers, Greenpeace and the National Audubon Society. "We all see this as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past," Schlickeisen said. But they admit there could be some stumbling blocks - namely, a nation in the throes of an economic crisis and larger caucus of moderate Democrats from manufacturing states. "We need to be able to show that an aggressive response to reducing global warming emissions will not harm the economy, but in fact generate new jobs and marshal investment in clean technologies," said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It has to be done in a way that is sensitive to regional concerns and jobs." Conservation groups challenge owl recovery plan...JEFF BARNARDhttp://www.fresnobee.com/641/story/1034825.htmlConservation groups are suing the Bush administration to undo the northern spotted owl recovery plan that is making it possible to ramp up old growth forest logging in Oregon. A coalition of conservation groups filed motions Monday to intervene in a timber industry lawsuit over the owl in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Seattle Audubon Society and the others argue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was politically influenced by the Bush administration and violated the Endangered Species Act by ignoring the best available science, both in the plan for saving the owl from extinction and in deciding to reduce protections for old growth forests where the owl lives by 1.6 million acres. The spotted owl was declared a threatened species in 1990 primarily because of heavy logging in old growth forests. Lawsuits from conservation groups led to the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan, which cut logging on federal lands by more than 80 to protect habitat for the owl, salmon and other species. The declining log production led to economic pain in the region, particularly in small logging towns, and the Bush administration has been trying since 2000 to relax environmental laws and regulations to boost logging levels, with little success. The owl recovery plan twice flunked peer reviews by outside scientists who said it contained no scientific basis for allowing more logging of the old growth forests set aside under the Northwest Forest Plan as habitat for the owl. The plan also identified wildfire and the invasion of spotted owl territory by the barred owl as factors in the threatened bird's decline. Dominick DellaSala of the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, served on a team of scientists who worked on the owl recovery plan before it was taken over by the Fish and Wildlife Service. He said they were prevented from doing their jobs by a group of Bush administration officials in Washington, who needed an owl recovery plan that would allow logging in old growth forests in order to push through the so-called Whopper, or Western Oregon Plan Revision, which dismantles the Northwest Forest Plan for saving owls and increases logging on federal lands in western Oregon. Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice, the public interest law firm representing the conservation groups, said the owl recovery plan, smaller critical habitat and the Whopper, "are the final pieces to the puzzle the Bush administration has been putting together the last eight years to undo the Northwest Forest Plan and deliver unsustainable amounts of timber to the timber industry." Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Joan Jewett said she could not comment on pending litigation. Tom Partin, president of the American Forest Resource Council, said the recovery plan was a good one, but leaving so much forest in critical habitat will prevent the logging needed to prevent future wildfires that will destroy even more acres. "We need the ability to manage the lands to be sure they stay in a more healthy state," Partin said. "We just feel we'll lose more acres of owl critical habitat to fire." Research shows that spotted owl numbers continue to drop by 4 percent annually as a result of logging, wildfires and an invasion of its habitat by the barred owl, a more aggressive East Coast cousin that migrated across Canada and has been working its way south. The Bush administration agreed to produce a new spotted owl recovery plan and review the critical habitat designation under terms of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by the timber industry. Sacramento BeeChronicling civil-service life for California state workersUC police get immediate 8 percent salary bump...Jon Ortiz, The State Worker...8-24-08http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/2008/11/uc-police-get-immediate-8-perc.htmlUC police have a new contract that gives them an immediate 8 percent pay increase with reopeners for the second and third years of the three-year deal. The deal also bumps up uniform allowances from $800 to $1,000 per year and boosts POST certification by $50 per month. You can read about the contract in this month's PORAC Law Enforcement News piece by clicking here. (To rotate the downloaded page in Adobe Reader, click the "Rotate Counterclockwise" icon in the toolbar at the top of the document.)The article's author, Dieter Dammeier, is a partner at Lackie, Dammeier & McGill, based in Upland. The firm specializes in police contract negotiations. We called Dammeier to confirm the article. While we had him on the phone, we asked him a few quick questions about the contract, since he's the firm's chief police contract negotiator. How the heck did you get this deal done, given California's budget crunch?You're talking about a very small (300+ members) but a very important group -- in my opinion the most important group that there is.What drove this deal? There's a lot of competition for police, and many UC officers have been getting hired away by nearby communities that pay more. Santa Barbara, Irvine, places like that ... officers have been walking across the street for a better deal.IMAGE: The University of CaliforniaCategories: Pay and benefits, Unions / contracts Tags: , , UC peace officers negotiate largest raise for state LE...Dieter Dammeier, Bargaining Bulletin...11-24-08http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/081121%20PORAC1.pdfWhile the doom and gloom of this year's state budget was being haggled out in Sacramento, negotiations were going on between the University of California and the Federated University Police Officers Association (FUPOA) representing the 300-plus police officers who protect the 10 UC campuses through California. Given the backdrop of the state's fiscal crisis, extra effort was needed to get the UC to prioritize public safety.The result of the har4d work of the negotiation team which included Andrew Lopez (UC Irvine), Darren Miller (UC Santa Barbara), Scott Scheffier (UCLA), and Joey Williams (UC Berkeley), was the best contract in FUPOA's history and far above anything received this year by any other state funded law enforcement agency...The result of everyone’s efforts paid off with the resulting deal. The three-year contract calls for an 8 percent immediate salary increase in year one, with reopeners for additional salary increases in years two and three after new market surveys are obtained...As a result of the increases, UC officers have far surpassed their counterparts of the California State University System, and servers of the campuses are the highest paid officers in their local law enforcement market...Stockton RecordDeveloper sues district over eminent domain...Keith Reidhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081125/A_NEWS/811250321/-1/A_NEWSLOCKEFORD - A developer is suing the Lockeford Community Services District for not using eminent domain to buy a pricey, 63-acre lot next to his land to absorb his proposed subdivision's future wastewater.Livermore Acres Inc. owner Ernest Pestana has long been at odds with the Lockeford Community District over the pricing and timetable to provide sewer and water service to his proposed 300-home subdivision, Lockeford Oaks, at Brandt and Jack Tone roads.The Lockeford Oaks project could not go forward without the purchase of the 63-acre lot, for which the services district says Pestana must reimburse it through higher sewer and water connection fees.Pestana, however, claims in court documents that the district is gouging him for millions of dollars by purchasing the lot outright instead of using eminent domain.The district bought the land for $2.2million from Black Mountain Development, which had acquired it from the Frank D. Bolea Trust in 2005 for the same price. Pestana believes the district could have purchased the land at a much lower price in today's market, according to court documents. A lower price for the land would mean lower sewer and water connection fees for Pestana.Lockeford Community Services District attorney Ryan Bezerra disagreed that the $2.2million price is inflated and said the district was happy it purchased the Bolea property without using eminent domain."The district did what it could to expedite the process for the Pestana project," Bezerra said. "Now, they would prefer to not pay the adjusted connection fee. They want to pay the price they think is fair."In a 13-page complaint, Pestana claims the district could have implemented eminent domain to purchase the land for $6,000 an acre, $360,000 total. Pestana believes the district's purchase price for the lot will result in his having to pay what he calls "a staggering $4.8million" in sewer fees, according to court documents.Pestana complains in the documents that the district's purchase was "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion."Messages left at Pestana's office for comment were not returned."We are defending the suit," Bezerra said. "I can't say much else, because it is in litigation."San Francisco ChronicleGo On Record With The EPA...Cameron Scott, The Thin Green Linehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=49&entry_id=32995In these last months of the Bush presidency, I'm finally un-repressing much of the sheer outrage that I'd filed away in the "useless frustrations" drawer for so long. Isn't it criminally negligent homicide to refuse to regulate carbon dioxide, which has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt—deniers, get over it; it really has—to jeopardize all life on the planet?That is exactly what Bush Inc. has done, for a year and a half since the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant (ruling, as PDF, is here).Don't expect any midnight regulations of carbon dioxide from these chuckleheads. Nevertheless, you can work one of Bush's delay tactics to your advantage: There is an open comment period at the EPA on the issue of carbon regulations. All comments will be available on the EPA's website and will certainly be reviewed by the incoming Obama administration. In our representative democracy, you can't always make government do the right thing, but you can make it very, very difficult for them to claim to represent public opinion when they do the wrong thing. Comments close in three days, so hop to!Midnight Cowboy...Cameron Scott, The Thin Green Linehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=49&entry_id=32954Continuing my challenge of identifying last-minute regulations—or, more accurately, de-regulations—issued by the outgoing Bush administration, I learned that Bush has gutted a long-studied limitation on lead pollution that was formalized by his own officials last month. The regulation was the result of accumulating scientific evidence suggesting that lead is more dangerous than previously thought—and it was previously thought to be pretty darn toxic, given that it's the only pollutant for which you have to sign a waiver when you move into an apartment. Lead exposure is particularly damaging to children, who suffer from what amounts to brain damage as a result. And exposure isn't just a tragedy for the children exposed: It's been linked with violent behavior in later life. Lead particles emitted from factories such as steel mills and smelters land on the ground nearby, where they continue to pose a risk to children—particularly low-income children, whose neighborhoods are invaded by dirty industries—who might play there. Some scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure. The EPA's proposed lower limit was accompanied by enforcement through monitors placed near any factory emitting a half a ton of lead a year. After a quick stroke of Bush's pen, the monitors will be limited to factories emitting a full ton of lead per year, which lets more than half of the factories off the hook. The move came a few weeks after industry lobbyists met with administration officials. Bush couldn't possibly justify increasing the allowable level, so he merely cut enforcement. But clearly allowing higher levels was the goal: The lobbyists argued that they couldn't meet the new standards and would rather take their business to countries with lax environmental laws. So Bush is willing to risk higher violent crime rates and sacrifice children at the altar of making life a walk through the park of deregulation for industries. He must be desperate to land himself a lobbying or consulting job, start date January 21. Sadly, such ill-considered last-minute giveaways can't be easily undone by the incoming administration. Bush himself tried to gut Clinton's final strokes of the pen, but only succeeded in rolling back a third of them. So we will be stuck with these shameless panderings to dirty industries, which put the public at risk.Bush's actions beg the question, in my opinion, of re-examining lobbying and campaign finance laws. What do you think?Contra Costa TimesRecycled materials market chaos spurs talk of easing restrictions...Matthias Gafnihttp://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_11067117State and local waste diversion agencies are trying to calm the jittery waste industry before it starts sending aluminum cans and glass bottles to landfills because the economic crisis has rocked recycling profits.An emergency workshop in Sacramento on Dec. 10 will focus on ways to maintain a once-thriving recycling industry that suffered a precipitous profit drop largely due to a Chinese market meltdown. If demand for recycled metals, glass and paper does not improve, some believe haulers may ask the state for a reprieve from Assembly Bill 939 — the landmark 1999 state law requiring jurisdictions keep at least half of their waste out of landfills."If they took all of what they've been diverting, landfills would be overwhelmed," said William Winchester, a Southern California consultant and broker to recycling facilities, who has heard AB939 may come under fire. His clients, including one in Contra Costa, have begun looking at tweaking disposal contracts, which could lead to higher garbage rates for residents."I know everyone is looking at their agreements. We're constantly looking at projections and data for them, which is like looking into a crystal ball," said Winchester, a Berg Mill Supply Company executive.Last week, the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority board set up an ad hoc committee to monitor the recycling market. The agency contracts for garbage service and recycling in Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Danville and unincorporated Contra Costa County areas near those cities. "We may have to make temporary amendments to our contracts ... to ensure we keep these commodities out of the landfill," Executive Director Paul Morsen told the board. In the past, the authority received about $1 million in profit-sharing from Pacific Rim Recycling, a Benicia firm that sorts and sells recyclables from homes along the Interstate 680 corridor. The authority faces difficult budget issues, Morsen told the board, including a significant drop in those funds, if not a stoppage.Against the background of growing concern, the larger crisis abated somewhat.At the beginning of November, Steve Moore was renting warehouse space to store thousands of tons of recycled materials. The owner of Pacific Rim Recycling could not find a buyer, let alone a profitable sale price.Since then, Moore has unloaded his entire inventory."I'm safe through the first week of December," he said.Prices have only slightly increased, but Asian buyers are finally buying materials again, and most importantly, shipping costs have nose-dived. At the Port of Oakland, container costs on westbound freighters have dropped from about $1,100 to $400, Moore said."There's more empty containers going back toward Asia, so prices are coming down," he said. The lower costs save him about $25 a ton, allowing him to just about break even on certain orders."I still think it's very touch-and-go. We haven't seen the economy improve, have we?" Moore asked. "I have short-term relief, but there's an unknown future."Some in the industry are hoarding materials, betting on higher prices.Winchester has a few thousand tons of materials warehoused for clients. His Southern California brokerage firm consults and markets for recycling centers."They have contracts that require the collection of waste," Winchester said. "The flow does not stop, even if it's not profitable to move or just unable to move."The specter of a never-ending stream of materials with no place to go has perked Sacramento's ears. The California Integrated Waste Management Board's market development committee will host the upcoming workshop to find short-term and long-term solutions, said spokesman Jon Myers."One fortunate thing that's taking place is we're trying to get ahead of the issue," he said.The state is not shying from its recycling drive. At the Nov. 13 Integrated Waste board meeting, members granted a nearly $400,000 consulting contract to identify the cost effect of expanding commercial recycling.So far, no disposal contracts in California have been renegotiated because of the market collapse, Myers said. And tweaking AB939, he said, should not be on the table."I'm sure there are other solutions without the adjustment of AB939," he said.Waste Management, the largest recycler in the state and nation, is not prepared to ask for state law waivers, said company spokesman Kent Stoddard."We're worried and we're watching the markets very carefully. There may need to be some action by the state, but I don't think we're there yet," he said.Waste Management — which sold 5.8 million tons of recycled materials in 2005 — has not had to stockpile materials in the weak market, Stoddard said. But, the domestic market needs a boost to help stabilize the battered commodities, he said."The industry is very, very nervous. It was so sudden, like almost overnight, from robust demand, high pricing to almost no demand, low pricing," Stoddard said."It's much deeper and broader than we've ever seen in the past, so a little panic is setting in."Recycling lawIn 1989, the state Legislature passed Assembly Bill 939, the Integrated Waste Management Act, because the growing volume of waste threatened to overwhelm landfills. The law created the California Integrated Waste Management Board, required waste reduction and set goals of diverting materials from landfills: 25 percent by 1995 and 50 percent by 2000.Monterey HeraldWal-Mart buys second Salinas site...LARRY PARSONShttp://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_11069216?nclick_check=1The number of Wal-Marts in Salinas appears ready to double. The world's largest retailer is positioned to open a second store in north Salinas, just a few miles from the city's current Wal-Mart in the Westridge center. The new store would go into the former home of Home Depot in the Harden Ranch Plaza center. County real estate records show Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust paid $8 million in mid-November to H.D. Development of Maryland Inc. for the 9-acre parcel and building at the northern tip of the Harden Ranch center. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Trudi Hughes said Monday, "I can confirm the purchase, but we are in the final stages of forming what and whether we develop that property." Hughes said the retail chain likely will make a formal announcement about the property "after the first of the year." Wal-Mart has a store in the Westridge center, one in a former Kmart in Marina and is looking at adding a new store to a proposed Soledad shopping center. Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue didn't brim with joy at the news. He said he is glad that Wal-Mart stands to fill a big vacancy in the Harden Ranch center, which was created by Home Depot's departure. "The owners of the center have been real concerned about not having a tenant in a critical spot," he said. But Donohue said adding another Wal-Mart to the city's retail sector "doesn't float my boat. ... My reaction is simple. Now, we have two Wal-Marts instead of one," he said. "We still have a retail agenda to pursue." The former Home Depot property at Boronda Road and San Juan Grade Road includes a 102,000 square-foot main building and a 20,500 square-foot garden center, according to county records. Donohue expressed concern that a second Wal-Mart could hurt existing Salinas retailers. And he isn't convinced the city would receive a big shot in the arm from sales tax growth with another Wal-Mart. "We'll see," he said. The site is at a lower corner of the city's 2,400-acre, "new growth area." Formally annexed to the city in May after years of planning, the growth area has room for 11,400 homes and 1 million square feet of commercial space to be developed over the next 20 to 30 years. Home Depot moved from the Harden Ranch center to its new store in the Boronda Crossing center after that development west of Highway 101 won city approval in 2005. The Wal-Mart in the Westridge center is one of chain's busiest stores, and officials have broached the idea of expanding it from 40,000 to 60,000 square feet to ease the crunch on customers. Meanwhile, the city of Soledad is nearing a decision on whether to allow a new Wal-Mart as the anchor store in a shopping center proposed by Creekbridge on the north end of the city. The first hearings on the proposed Soledad Plaza Shopping Center should occur in February, said Creekbridge vice president Robert Bikle. Environmental consultants are in the process of preparing responses to public comments about the project, he said. Bikle didn't express surprise at Wal-Mart's purchase of the former Salinas Home Depot. He said he thought the deal "had been in the works for quite some time." Because the new Wal-Mart property is in a retail center, Donohue said the city wouldn't have much say over a new Wal-Mart there. "They bought it. They're going to come in. I need to see details, but my understanding is they are free" to use the property as a Wal-Mart, he said. Los Angeles TimesNo lines, no fears in Downey takeoverU.S. Bancorp had been lined up in advance as a buyer. The deal unfolded without disrupting operations or causing panic among customers...E. Scott Reckard and Tiffany Hsuhttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-downey25-2008nov25,0,4556639,print.storyU.S. Bancorp's weekend takeovers of failed Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank appear to have gone smoothly for customers and bank employees, a contrast to July's collapse of IndyMac Bank.Federal regulators, who seized the two Southern California thrifts Friday night, already had lined up U.S. Bancorp as the new owner. U.S. Bancorp pledged to honor all deposits, including uninsured funds, and said it would not close any branches. On Monday, the branches opened for business as usual, and customers took the change in stride."All the banks are merging. That's just the way the economy is these days," said Bernadette Hingle, 56, who opened a checking account at Downey recently because it seemed "old-fashioned." She said she'd be a "little leery" if she had $200,000 on deposit.The lack of panic Monday was a reversal from the chaos that reigned when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over IndyMac without finding a buyer first. Depositors queued up for hours in the summer sun to pull deposits out of the Pasadena thrift.U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank, also moved quickly to calm Downey employees, holding introductory sessions with the new bosses.At one meeting in Ontario, employees "actually stood up and applauded," said U.S. Bancorp Vice Chairman Joseph Otting, the top California executive with the giant Minneapolis bank.About the only difference customers and employees noted at a former Downey branch in Burbank were U.S. Bank leaflets promising: "The future looks brighter with US" and touting its "prudent approach to banking, strong balance sheet and solid capital position."Retired aircraft worker Richard Lee McWilliams, 78, of Burbank, a 20-year Downey customer, said he used to regard the Newport Beach thrift as a "nice little place, where they used to know my name whenever I walked in." "But then," he added, "they went cuckoo." McWilliams said Downey offered him a new mortgage two years ago with a lower payment but demanded an upfront fee of $2,300. Offended, he moved more than $100,000 from his Downey accounts to a credit union, leaving less than 10% of the original sum in a checking account, he said."What Downey did is wrong, but everyone was doing it, so they joined in," McWilliams said. "And they got away with it for a while, but it jumped back and bit them in the ear."For U.S. Bancorp, which with $247 billion in assets is nearly 20 times as large as Downey and more than 60 times PFF's size, the acquisitions are "an expansion, not a consolidation move," Otting said.As a large commercial bank, it can offer a far wider range of personal and business banking services than Downey and PFF could as thrifts, he said.In preparing for the takeover, the FDIC had conducted a confidential auction for the Southland thrifts but didn't notify U.S. Bancorp that it had won the bidding until Thursday.As payment for the takeovers, U.S. Bancorp will absorb the first $1.6 billion in losses from the failed banks' loans, with the FDIC taking on the risk of an estimated $2.1 billion in additional losses afterward. Investors in U.S. Bancorp appeared pleased Monday. On a day when the federal bailout of Citigroup Inc. buoyed investors in financial stocks, U.S. Bancorp shares rose $2.57, or 11.4%, to $25.10.Shares of the failed thrifts' parent companies sank nearly out of sight Monday. Downey Financial Corp., which said it would file for bankruptcy protection, tumbled 13 cents to close at 5 cents; PFF Bancorp Inc. dropped 35 cents to 1 cent.CNN MoneyHome prices in record declineA Case-Shiller survey shows a 16.6% annual decline in the summer months as the housing picture continues to deteriorate...Les Christiehttp://money.cnn.com/2008/11/25/real_estate/third_quarter_case_shiller/index.htm?postversion=2008112515NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The home price plunge stayed on a record pace this summer, according to a widely watched gauge of national real-estate markets released Tuesday.The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price national index recorded a 16.6% decline in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago. That eclipsed the previous record of 15.1% set during the second quarter.Prices in Case-Shiller's separate index of 10 major cities fell a record 18.6%, while its 20-city index dropped a record 17.4%With foreclosures soaring at record rates, the economic picture dimming and job losses ramping up, all the elements were in place to push prices lower. "The turmoil in the financial markets is placing further downward pressure on a housing market already weakened by its own fundamentals," said David Blitzer, Standard & Poor's spokesman for the indexes, in a press release. "All three aggregate indices, and 13 of the 20 metro areas, are reporting new record rates of decline...Prices are back to where they were in early 2004."The 10-city index is now 23.4% off its peak price, which came in June 2006; the 20-city index is down 21.8% from its July 2006 high and the national index has fallen 21% since the third quarter of 2006. Home prices in the 10-city index have fallen for 26 consecutive months. The decline has broadened over the past 12 months, with prices dropping in every city of the 20-city index during September.In the weakest market, Phoenix, the 12-month loss came to 31.9%. Las Vegas prices plummeted 31.3% and San Francisco recorded a 29.5% decline. The best performing markets, Dallas and Charlotte, N.C., still posted drops - 2.7% in Dallas and 3.5% in Charlotte. With San Francisco and Las Vegas, the other members of the 10-city index are: Miami, down 28.4% year-over-year; Los Angeles, down 27.6%; San Diego, down 26.3%; Washington, down 17%; Chicago, down 10.1%; New York, down 7.3%; Boston, down 5.7%; and Denver, down 5.4%.In addition to Phoenix, Dallas, Charlotte and the cities in the 10-city index, the 20-city index is made up of: Detroit, down 18.6%); Tampa, Fla., down 18.5%; Minneapolis, down 14%; Seattle, down 9.8%; Atlanta, down 9.5%; Portland, Ore., down 8.6%; and Cleveland, down 6.4%.Foreclosures continue to take a heavy toll, with sales in some cities dominated by properties repossessed by banks and then put back on the market, often at bargain prices. In Las Vegas and Cleveland, for example, about half of all homes for sale are bank-owned properties, according to the real estate Web site, Trulia.com."Foreclosures are clearly a part of the market now," said Blitzer.He added that the national index price trends tend to be more moderate because they encompass many more exurban and rural areas, where, in many cases, home prices never skyrocketed as they did in some of the hotter, urban markets.Karl Case, the Wellesley economics professor who is the Case in Case-Shiller, said during a news conference about the latest index report that he would hesitate to put a number on how much further prices could fall, but the increasing job losses will surely worsen the situation."There's no cushion against unemployment," he said.And Pat Newport, an economist with Global Insight, pointed out that the latest numbers don't even capture the impact of some of the events of the past couple of months."The real economy took a sharp turn for the worse towards the end of the third quarter," he said. "Since then, housing permits are down, the National Association of Home Builders index of activity dropped to a record low in November and purchase loan applications were down 15%. That's telling us the housing market has worsened a lot."Add to that a jumping unemployment rate and more bank woes and it portends lousy home price numbers for months to come, according to Newport."As bad as the latest Case-Shiller numbers appear to be, they are bound to get a lot worse," he said