Southern California real estate bosses have dramatically cooled their hiring pace as high interest rates trim construction plans and home sales. My trusty spreadsheet found property-linked employment in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties was 755,900 in March 2024. That’s up only 2,200 jobs from February and 36% slower than the seasonal norm.…
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About 13,000 runners are signed up to trek the seaside route for the 20th running of Orange County’s signature marathon on Sunday, May 5. The weekend also features a 5K and a fun run for kids on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday. Festivities for the Hoag OC Marathon Running Festival including an expo,…
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While the vast majority of bulbs are meant for sunny locations, some are excellent candidates for the shade garden. Walking in my neighborhood the other day, I spotted the flowers of two bulb species that are durable and guaranteed to spread in shady locations. The first shade lover I spotted was Natal or bush lily…
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An Orange County judge has ruled Anaheim can’t require transitional or supportive housing operators to get permission from the city to open after the City Council denied a nonprofit from opening a group home in 2021. State law governs group homes, such as when they need to be licensed and how many people per bedroom.…
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Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from April 25 to May 2. Kitchen at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 1601 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach Closed: May 1 Reason: Cockroach infestation Reopened: May 2 Texas Pit Bar-B-Que, 24601 Raymond Way, Suite 2, Lake Forest Closed: April…
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UC Irvine chancellor told the campus community in a Friday night message that university officials intend to continue discussions with student protesters who formed a Gaza solidarity encampment earlier in the week. Though more demands have been made in a counterproposal received Thursday – some of which he said “can be easily met” but some…
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Today, I must get my David Letterman on and discuss the Top 10 reasons commercial real estate deals fail to close. As I have discussed in this column, ad nauseam, commercial real estate transactions are simply leases or purchases. We differ from our residential brethren, in that a large percentage of our transaction volume is…
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As student protests become more volatile, with vandalism and skirmishes between protesters and police as well as continuing unlawful action by students and other protestors, it is becoming ever clearer that claims by students and faculty that they are engaging in non-violent direct action and free speech were false from the very beginning. Their strategy…
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The Veuve Clicquot-branded umbrella within the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA Wednesday night was a telling touch. Its student owner didn’t bring it to camp as protection against the rain; it was dry in Westwood. No, the brolly brandisher just grabbed the thing, its deep yellow nylon canopy the same color as the fancy Champagne’s famous…
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All eyes are on America’s college students. Over the past two weeks, a new wave of activism has unfolded at college campuses across the country — with students gathering in marches, demonstrations, and tent encampments to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The largely peaceful, pro-Palestine demonstrations have been upstaged by sometimes violent counter-protests, police force,…
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